“So I just throw it over Murkle and Snitch and they’ll admit what they did and what they’re planning to do? Everyone will be able to see how crazy they really are?”
“It will have a mild effect if splashed on the skin. In order to work its full magic, they will need to drink a few drops.” His voice took on a very serious tone as he added, “They obviously have strong abilities of their own and won’t be happy at the results of this potion. For your own safety, make sure that as many people as possible are present to help you if needed.”
Alfie smiled grimly. The danger was worth it if it meant getting his headmistresses out of his life and having his family back to normal.
“I see you got the talisman back,” said Ashford as Alfie turned to leave.
“You know about it?” asked Alfie. “Murkle and Snitch stole it.”
Ashford nodded. “Not the first time it has been stolen. The last thief was the one that gave it to Orin Hopcraft.”
“Who was that?” asked Alfie, but he need not have asked – he could see the answer written on Ashford’s face.
“Perhaps I’ll be able to tell you about it, some day.” He smiled.
Back in his room, Alfie hid the bottle away in one of the secret compartments in his bed. Lying in the dark, waiting for sleep to arrive, he tried to fathom how he was going to get Murkle and Snitch to drink the potion. Nestling into his pillow, he consoled himself with one thought – at least he knew where he was going to do it. The play would go ahead!
Alfie stood in the minstrels’ gallery with Madeleine and Robin, gazing down at the Great Hall in awe. The twins had finally started to relax around him again since he had stopped talking about Murkle and Snitch, but it was horrible to feel as though he couldn’t trust his cousins while they were under the headmistresses’ influence. Alfie’s insides were tying themselves in knots. It was the morning of the school play – the day Murkle and Snitch would be exposed and stopped before they could carry out their crazy plan to open the trapdoor and bring dragons back into the world. Classes had been cancelled so that everyone could rehearse at the castle. Ashford had just reopened the hall after declaring it off-limits for two days.
The transformation of the Great Hall was unbelievable. The long dining table had disappeared and row upon row of ornate gold-coloured chairs faced a grand stage now reaching from wall to wall at the far end of the room. A thick velvet curtain of the darkest blue hung from the ceiling, screening the performance area. In the already grand Great Hall the whole set-up looked even more impressive than a real theatre.
The two large brass spotlights attached to the rail suddenly flared into life, creating a circle of light on the centre of the curtain from behind which Alfie could hear a distant trumpet fanfare building in volume. The curtains suddenly swooshed aside to reveal Ashford in the centre of the stage. The fanfare he was playing filled the hall. He ended it with a flourish and bowed to the assembled chairs.
“Just testing the acoustics,” he called as the twins applauded loudly. “I’m also on lights and curtain duty today.” He gestured proudly at the stage around him. “Well? What do you think of your performance arena?”
Alfie thought the stage looked amazing. The cut-out trees and houses that had filled the art rooms had been positioned carefully in order of size to give the impression of depth. It was perfect.
“I take your silence as the highest of accolades,” announced the butler, aiming a small device at the spotlights and switching them both off with one click.
“Who helped him to do all of this?” asked Madeleine.
Alfie shook his head as he watched Ashford cheerfully straightening chairs and moving suits of armour to stand at each side of the stage like proud sentries. He had shared his plans with the butler, who had promised to be on hand to help. He felt comforted by that promise. Whoever Ashford was, Alfie was glad he was on his side.
The day rolled on and all of the teachers and pupils involved in the play began arriving at the castle. The stage had been built in front of the Abernathy Room, which had been converted into a dressing room that could be accessed from the wings of the stage. Some of the sixth-formers had claimed half of the room for hair and make-up and were currently busy applying beards, wrinkles and scars to the boys playing the parts of older men. Alfie noticed Madeleine hanging around looking for an opportunity to steal some hairy rubber warts.
Mr Ramdhay had got the school band set up in the minstrels’ gallery. Alfie couldn’t believe the noise as the hall filled with a chorus of instruments being tuned and drums and cymbals being bashed and clashed. All around him, the actors were practising fighting with cardboard swords – Miss Reynard had drawn the line at using real swords from the castle.
After his stage make-up had been applied, Alfie changed into his squire outfit and tucked the purple bottle of potion into the leather pouch on his belt. Most of his role would be performed in the first half of the play so he had offered to help Gertie Entwhistle serve refreshments during the interval. When Murkle and Snitch came over for a drink, he would be the one to serve them. He had perfected hiding the bottle in the palm of his hand so that he could pour the liquid into their cups unnoticed.
Emerging from the narrow passage that led from backstage to the bustling hall Alfie saw that the headmistresses had arrived. He ducked back behind the curtain, both relieved and terrified to see them. If they were planning on stealing the talisman from him again they didn’t stand a chance. He was ready for them. He gritted his teeth as Granny took them a tray of tea and cake. He couldn’t wait to show everyone the truth.
Seven o’clock drew closer and Alfie began to feel very nervous. All performers were herded backstage as the hall started to fill up. He kept checking that the purple bottle was still in his pouch as he helped Cormac Feeney to strap on his breastplate. He hoped that by exposing the sisters in a hall full of people they could be stopped without any real danger – but if they could threaten children and change peoples’ memories, who knew what else they were capable of?
A hush fell over the busy dressing room as Miss Reynard clapped her hands. “OK, actors and actresses, the curtain goes up in three minutes! Line up in the order we rehearsed. Those entering from stage left follow Mrs Salvador – stage right, follow me.”
The room was filled with commotion as everyone rushed to their correct places.
“Quietly!” hushed Miss Reynard, straightening Merlin’s hat and rearranging the line. As the cast filed up the stairs to wait silently in the stage wings, Alfie wondered if Orin had ever worn a pointy hat.
The muffled voices from the hall suddenly went silent as the school band struck up the opening score. In the darkness of the wings, Alfie could feel the tension of dozens of nervous performers around him. His own heart pounded against his chest. He had been so preoccupied with confronting Murkle and Snitch that he had forgotten to be nervous about acting in front of a hall full of people. At this moment he wasn’t sure which thought scared him the most.
The music reached its climax then faded into the soft violin solo that marked the start of the play. The curtain went up as Mr Ramdhay put on his most impressive voice and began narrating, taking the audience back in time to an England of noble heroes, brave knights and dastardly foes – of wizardry, superstition and a land in need of a king. Hearing their cue, the cast filed out on to the stage and began to sing about the mysterious sword in the stone.
The first song ended and the singers stepped back to become an audience to the tournament taking place centre stage. The knights threw themselves into their roles, performing the graceful fight choreography Mr Ramdhay had spent hours teaching them. Alfie squinted to see past the glare of the spotlights into the audience as he watched the tournament with his fellow squires. To the right of the front row he could just make out the smiling faces of his dad, aunt, uncle and granny. At first he thought that there was an empty chair in the middle of the grou
p, but two glowing green orbs revealed that Galileo had acquired a front row seat of his own.
“Squire, fetch me a weapon that I may show these lumbering clods the grace with which a real knight wields a sword!”
Alfie snapped back into character and delivered his one line with a nod, “At once, Sir Kay.” He did his best to look as if he was searching for a sword as the knights continued sparring. The band began to play softly as he approached the sword in the stone at the side of the stage. The music grew in volume and the audience cheered as he pulled out the sword in slow motion and held it aloft. Alfie heard Ashford play the trumpet fanfare he had been practising as he was crowned king in the centre of the stage.
Smoke machines at the sides of the stage spewed out a swirling mist, screening the cast from view. The villagers filed quickly offstage as stagehands rolled away the houses and replaced them with trees and rocks. The knights lined up facing the front of the stage, screened from the audience by the smoke. Cormac took the centre spot and Alfie handed him the crown before hurrying from the stage just as Mr Ramdhay announced, “Scotland, ten years hence.”
With a roar, the knights charged through the smoke towards the audience, led by the older King Arthur. Reaching the edge of the stage, they turned sharply and began to fight the screaming Saxons charging out from the wings. Thunder effects rumbled over the war cries as flashing stage lights created lightning.
“This is brilliant!” whispered Jimmy as they stood in the wings behind a large fan that was making the mist swirl around the battlefield. Alfie didn’t reply. He could see Murkle and Snitch sat smirking in the front row. He knew they wouldn’t head to the cellars yet. Not while he had the key. He was sure they were going to slip away in the commotion after the play ended, hiding in the castle until everyone else had gone. Well, they wouldn’t have the chance. He was ready for them.
“Back to the dressing room, boys,” Mrs Salvador whispered loudly as she led the Saxon reinforcements into the wings behind them. “Hurry-hurry. No hanging about during the performance.”
As Jimmy opened the dressing-room door, Alfie headed for the passage along the side of the stage.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“Just making sure Mrs Entwhistle can find everything she needs. Catch you at the interval.”
Alfie slipped through the kitchens to help Gertie set up the refreshments table in the entrance hall. He was ready to take on Murkle and Snitch. At intermission, he clasped the little bottle in the palm of his hand and handed out glasses of juice to the performers and audience, all the time looking out for the headmistresses. He hoped that they would ask for juice, otherwise he’d have to find a way to slip it into the mulled wine Gertie was serving to the adults.
“Wonderful performances, my little thespians,” said Granny as she swept up to the table with Madeleine and Robin.
“I didn’t realize you were so talented,” said his dad as he joined them. “You were the best actor up there!”
“Dad!” hissed Alfie, checking to make sure none of his school friends had heard. “I only said four words.”
“Well you said them with conviction,” said his dad proudly.
“Have either of you seen Murkle and Snitch?” Alfie asked the twins as his dad and Granny headed back to their seats.
“No, I haven’t seen Miss Murkle or Miss Snitch since the interval started,” said Madeleine, placing extra emphasis on their titles.
“Why are you looking for them?” asked Robin.
The twins were wearing the same slightly glazed and guarded expression Alfie had noticed on their faces whenever he had mentioned the headmistresses since the afternoon in the tunnels.
“I just realized that I haven’t thanked them for looking after me yet,” said Alfie, trying as hard as he possibly could to sound genuine. “They’re my heroes.” He thought he might have overdone it a bit, but the twin’s faces immediately broke into smiles.
“Oh, how nice,” said Madeleine.
“I’m sure they’d appreciate that,” said Robin. “If we see them we’ll tell them to find you.”
“No need,” said Alfie quickly. “I’ve got a gift for them and I want it to be a surprise.” He didn’t like lying to his cousins, but he didn’t want Murkle and Snitch to suspect a thing.
The audience took their seats and the band played the opening music to the second act. Alfie gazed despairingly at the potion in this hand – he had missed his chance. The headmistresses would have to return to the Great Hall before the end of the performance to make a speech, but how could he possibly get them to drink the potion in front of everyone? Then it hit him – maybe they didn’t have to drink the potion the usual way. He rushed to the kitchen, opened the stopper and carefully poured the contents of the purple bottle into two special containers he took from the kitchen drawer. When they were full he tucked them safely into the back of his belt.
“Shouldn’t you be backstage with the others?” asked Gertie, rolling a trolley full of plastic cups and dirty wine glasses into the kitchen.
“Just on my way now,” said Alfie. He began to follow her out of the kitchen but something caught his eye. The door to the undercroft was ajar. Murkle and Snitch must be down there already. But why? They didn’t have the key. Had they figured out a way of getting through without it? He opened the door and paused at the top of the stairs. This wasn’t what he had planned, but he had to know what they were doing down there. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed his dad’s heavy rubber torch from the shelf by the door and rushed down the steps.
Alfie raced through the cellars. He hadn’t brought the keys, but he didn’t need them – the heavy reinforced door that led to the lower levels was wide open. His shoes echoed loudly as he started down the stone steps, so he took them off and continued the descent barefoot and silent. Even the dimmest setting on the torch seemed too bright, so he removed the woollen neck cloth from his costume and used it to cover the beam, leaving just enough light to see where he was going.
Tiptoeing through the larger chambers, he noticed a flickering orange light coming from the far corner where he had found the huge seal. He switched off the torch and was about to creep towards it when a hand clamped over his mouth and he felt himself being pulled backwards.
“It’s me, don’t make a sound,” Ashford whispered, dragging Alfie behind one of the stone columns. “Don’t go any closer. You made quite a racket running through the upper cellars; they may know you’re down here.”
“What are they doing?” mouthed Alfie as silently as possible as the light intensified. He ducked back behind the pillar as a wave of heat stung his eyes.
“Trying to burn the trapdoor open,” Ashford whispered back. “I don’t know what they’re using, but it won’t work. That seal is impenetrable. It would be easier to dig through the rock around it with a plastic spoon.”
Alfie was surprised Ashford even knew about the seal. The light died away and a growl of frustration echoed through the cellars. He wondered how the sisters could stand the intense heat.
“It’s no use,” called Snitch’s voice. “We won’t get through like this. We need the key.”
“Come on,” whispered Ashford. “They can’t open it – not unless they find you down here.”
“Sister?” called Snitch, as Alfie and Ashford crept towards the steps. “Answer me! Or make yourself useful and get upstairs and find the boy.”
There was a dull thud in the darkness. Alfie turned around and tripped over something large and soft. As someone grabbed his neck and dragged him to his feet he realized that Ashford was lying unconscious on the ground.
“No need for that, sister,” snarled Murkle, dragging Alfie back through the cellars with ease as he kicked and struggled against her. “He wanted to save us the trouble.”
There was a peal of laughter from Snitch. “Well bring him quick,” she called. “We’ve waited hund
reds of years to bring about the new Age of Dragons. I won’t wait a minute longer!”
Alfie went cold at Snitch’s words. He had brought the key straight to them like a complete idiot. But how could they have waited that long? Were they not human?
“You set the school stage on fire, didn’t you?” he panted, struggling against Murkle’s grip on his neck. “You did it while you were away so that no one would ever think it was you. You could have killed people! Do you even care?”
“We knew we could rely on your generous nature. So good of you to offer an alternate venue when you thought we were out of the picture. How else would we get a chance to wake the rest of our brothers and sisters?”
“You think dragons are your brothers and sisters? You’re mental! What about Jimmy? He nearly died!”
“You think we’d lose sleep over one less brat?” spat Murkle. “He’s lucky we sounded the alarm. We wouldn’t want to burn the whole school down – it has been our home for so many, many years. It’s just a shame it’s always infested with children.”
As Murkle began to rant about the many things she detested about children, Alfie recognized the cool air and mossy smell of the chamber where Robin had fallen into the pool. Barely stopping to think, he swung his torch upwards as hard as he could. There was a crunch as it connected with Murkle’s chin, cutting her off mid sentence. She stumbled and loosened her grip. Alfie kicked out sharply, knocking her into the dark water.
“Quick, sister,” she screamed as she tried to splash her way out of the pool. “Head him off!” Her sentence ended in a gurgle as the current caught her, dragging her down below the surface.
Snitch’s footsteps echoed behind Alfie as he ran through the darkness. He knew he was going in the right direction when he tripped over Ashford for the second time. He wanted to stop but had no choice but to run for the steps, hoping that Ashford would be OK until he could send help. Snitch burst out of the shadows and made a grab for him. He dodged. Her nails raked his calf as he started up the stairs. She hung on tightly to his ankle, but he yanked his leg loose, kicking out with both feet. Her eyes seemed to glow yellow in the darkness as she snarled up at him, revealing long, pointed teeth. He threw the dead torch as hard as he could in her direction and scrambled up the stairs.
Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of Hexbridge Castle Page 18
