Behind the Sorcerer's Cloak

by Andrea Spalding

  Leaping and flashing through the waves, the herring soon attracted the attention of more gulls who swooped down and swallowed them.

  The possessed gulls soared through the magical web. Their shrieks of triumph rang through the air.

  “Ssearch for the children! Ssearch for the children! Ssearch for the children!”

  Holly fled through the ruins. Owen followed.

  They scrambled over a low wall and tumbled down an unexpected slope on the far side.

  Swiftly finding her feet, Holly raced on. Owen stuck to her heels: up mounds, between walls, down passageways, through arches.

  Behind them feet pounded and voices shouted. Gulls screamed and swooped over their heads.

  It was the mist that saved them.

  Holly dove headfirst into a mist-filled hollow and rolled into a hidden corner. She sat gasping for breath.

  Owen followed and hunkered down beside her.

  “Why run?” he panted. “You’d done nothing wrong.”

  “I couldn’t stand the hate, and I was holding the black bead. Try explaining that!” Holly gasped.

  “Still got it?” asked Owen.

  Holly shook her head. “I dropped it in the tray with the others.” Her eyes filled with tears. “What are we going to do? No one will let me near the beads now. I’ve failed Breesha and messed everything up. The beads are in the wrong order, Owen. They need sorting as well as restringing.”

  Owen clapped his hand gently over her mouth and jerked his head.

  Voices floated through the mist.

  “This is hopeless. They could be anywhere in the castle.”

  “Why waste time looking? There’s only one entrance and exit. Sooner or later they’re going to use it.”

  “You’re right. Stupid kids.”

  “Did they pinch anything?”

  “Don’t know yet. Mitch is counting the beads.” The voices faded away.

  Owen grinned. “I’d like to be a fly on the wall when they realize there’s an extra,” he whispered. “And as for one entrance, they’ve got that wrong too.”

  “How come?”

  “Mr. Cubbon told me. The secret passage from Castleview Inn leads to the Round Tower.”

  “Mr. Cubbon thinks I’m a thief. He hates us,” said Holly, a catch in her voice.

  Owen frowned. “That was weird. He was a friend. I wonder what changed him.”

  Holly shuddered. “He was scary.” She pulled out the map. “Where do you think we are?”

  SQUAARK.

  A gull attacked through the mist, its beak aimed straight for Holly’s eyes. At the last second it veered sideways and snatched away the map.

  Holly clapped her hands over her face.

  Owen stared upward in horror. “What’s going on?”

  A second and a third gull attacked in quick succession, diving at their faces and heads with piercing shrieks.

  “Stop trying to blind us,” yelled Owen. He leapt up, flailing his arms.

  “Shhh, people will hear,” gasped Holly. She was trembling.

  Meow.

  A white cat sprang in front of them and rubbed against Holly’s knee.

  “Manxie? Where did you come from?” Holly put out a hand.

  The cat pulled away and padded deeper into the mist. It paused and turned its head. Green eyes stared.

  Holly scrambled to her feet, bent double and followed. So did Owen.

  The gulls attacked again and again, slamming their bodies, beaks and wings hard against the children.

  Holly and Owen kept going, heads down, scuttling behind the cat.

  The three ran through the castle, dodging in and out but always keeping to the thickest patches of mist.

  The cat could avoid the searching humans, but it could not outwit the gulls. The Shades detected the tingling of magic even through the thickest patch of mist. They dove down again and again, terrorizing the children.

  Owen’s back and head were pecked and bruised.

  Wicked beaks jabbed at Holly until her head ached. One beak scraped a groove along her temple and drew blood.

  A wall loomed out of the fog.

  The cat stopped at its base.

  The birds attacked again.

  Holly and Owen huddled against the stones, but the wall curved away and gave little protection. They crouched with their arms folded over their heads and faces, wondering why they had stopped there.

  The cat crouched before them, watching for the next bird, ready to pounce.

  The birds changed tactics.

  Twelve gulls soared out of the mist and landed on the grass, just out of the cat’s reach. They formed a silent menacing semicircle.

  The birds stared at the cat and the children with avid red eyes.

  The cat arched her back and hissed.

  One bird clacked its beak. A second joined in. The others followed.

  Beaks rattling like sabers, the gulls approached.

  Holly and Owen shrank back.

  “Why are the gulls so psycho?” whispered Owen. “This is insane.”

  Holly shook her head. “We need Earth Magic. Neither we nor the cat can win this on our own. Join me.” Holly held out her hand. Owen grasped it. They closed their eyes and sent frantic mindspeak.

  Help someone. Please help. We need Earth Magic. We’re under attack.

  Holly’s memory sparked. She pointed at the gulls and yelled, “Lhiat myr hoiloo—to thee as thou deservest.”

  A dark shadow appeared on the wall behind them.

  Snarling and growling filled the air.

  Horrified, Holly and Owen swung around and staggered back.

  A massive black dog took shape against the wall and sprang forward, red mouth gaping, gigantic teeth dripping and gleaming.

  Brother and sister moved closer together.

  “We’re surrounded,” said Holly.

  “DROP!” yelled Owen and threw his weight against her.

  The cat yowled as they tumbled on top of it.

  The Black Dog leapt over them and killed two gulls.

  Shrieking, the other birds rose through the blizzard of feathers and fled.

  Crunching and growling, and shaking away feathers, the Moddy Dhoo ate its prey.

  Sickened, Holly closed her eyes.

  Owen pulled her to her feet. “Come on, Sis. We’ve reached the Round Tower. Where’s the door? Let’s get inside while that demon dog finishes dinner.”

  “Not so easy.” Holly pulled herself together and pointed out the entrance high above their heads.

  The cat wound around her ankles.

  “Thanks for guiding us to the tower, Manxie,” murmured Holly. She picked up the cat and gave it a hug. “Any ideas on how to reach the door? OUCH!”

  The cat dug its claws into Holly’s shoulder and sprang high in the air. It hung by front paws from the narrow ledge that formed the doorstep.

  The children watched, poised to catch it.

  The cat scrabbled with its hind legs until it found a footing on the wall and scrambled up.

  It peered over the narrow ledge at the children.

  Despite their anxiety, Holly and Owen grinned.

  “No way, Jose,” said Owen.

  Looking affronted, the cat turned and scratched at the door.

  It yawned open and a rope ladder tumbled down.

  Baying loudly, the Moddy Dhoo leapt over Holly and Owen and disappeared into the tower after the cat.

  Neither Holly nor Owen moved.

  “What are you waiting for? More gulls?” said Manannan in an irritated voice. He leaned out and blew a handful of vervain and valerian pollen into the air.

  A cloud of forgetfulness fell over the approaching archaeologists and castle staff. Looking bemused, they stopped and returned to the dig.

  Owen swarmed up the ladder and Holly followed.

  Inside the Round Tower, light glowed from Manannan’s willow wand. “I bid you welcome, Magic Children, but there is no time to rest. Make haste. Climb quickly.” He poin
ted to steps that spiraled up the inner walls of the Round Tower. “We must heal Ava.”

  Owen sighed. He was upset and tired and couldn’t think straight. What was Ava doing at the Round Tower, and what was it with magic and dizzying heights?

  Manannan beckoned.

  Owen started toward the steps, too fatigued to argue.

  Holly slumped against the wall. She wasn’t sure she had any energy left. She needed to rest before coping with more surprises. She stared uneasily into the shadows. There was no sign of the big black dog.

  Manannan chivied her along.

  Holly and Owen trudged upward.

  The Round Tower began to vibrate gently. The power increased as they ascended the column of stone. By the time they reached the top, the flags beneath their feet pulsed. The energy revived the children.

  “It’s circle magic,” said Holly as she stepped out onto the flat roof. She leaned over the parapet and looked out at Pheric’s Isle, peering through the mist veils. “The stone slabs we’re standing on are arranged in a circle, the tower, the castle walls and the isle below each make a rough circle, encircled by another circle of breaking waves.”

  “Even the wind’s circling around us,” remarked Owen. “It’s spiraling up and down the curves of the tower.”

  Manannan motioned them to one side. “Hurry, hurry! Ava is in need.”

  “Where is she?” asked Owen.

  “Of course, my fault, my fault,” tutted Manannan. “You are still in the real realm.” He puffed his cheeks and blew.

  Holly and Owen felt a slight jolt and a shift in light and time.

  “Now you are with us.” Myrddin and Equus appeared beside Holly. They nodded a welcome.

  Owen ran to the White Horse and gazed at the small, still bird splayed on his back. “Ava, what’s wrong with you?”

  “She was touched by the Dark Shadow,” Equus replied. “You may lift her down and set her in the center of the floor.”

  Scared, Owen tenderly lifted the semiconscious hawk. She lay limply in his arms, but her eyes flickered. “Thank you,” she said faintly.

  As directed, Owen laid Ava in the center of the flat roof.

  Myrddin turned to Manannan. “We need a shaft of light beamed through the Gates of Sunrise.”

  “The original purpose of this tower was to act as a beacon to channel light from the Place Beyond Morning,” said Manannan. “Its magic is now awake, but the beacon will tear a hole in my cloak of mist. This will allow the Dark Being’s eye to rest on Mann,” he warned.

  “The Dark Being will be here soon, whether or not we use the beacon,” said Myrddin.

  Manannan nodded. He began to pace the circumference of the tower roof and gestured for Myrddin, Equus, Holly and Owen to follow him. “Let your footsteps fall in the center of each stone slab,” he instructed and began to chant:

  “Light hold us, Light enfold us,

  Light in our minds, Light for our times,

  Enlighten this hour. Rekindle this tower,

  Let Light glow, and grow, in each beating heart.”

  “Light hold us, Light enfold us…,” repeated his followers.

  “Light in our minds, Light for our times…” On they paced, chanting in unison as Manannan moved toward Ava.

  From pockets in his garments, Manannan pulled twigs which he laid end to end around Ava.

  “May the Tramman Tree protect you.” He laid leafy sprigs on her breast. “The Bollan Bane bless you.” He lifted his willow wand to point to the mist above them. “May the miracle of light surround and heal you.”

  The mist parted in a perfect circle. A pillar of sunlight beamed down, gilding Ava, and the entire top of the Round Tower.

  The light was golden and warm filled with the fragrance of spring flowers. Holly and Owen, Equus and Myrddin closed their eyes, lifted their faces skyward and breathed deeply.

  Manannan lifted his arms, as well as his face, and softly chanted incantations.

  The stone flags grew warm. The crenellated parapet encircling them absorbed the sun. The ancient beacon charged with light.

  Slowly, slowly, Ava changed shape.

  The body of the tiny hawk lengthened and thickened. Feathers changed shape and color, wings furled and unfurled, the beak and eyes softened and became Ava’s face. Her raven hair feathered again around her head, and the twist of silver containing the moonstone glowed once again upon her brow. She rose gracefully to her feet.

  The radiant Hawkwoman bowed to Manannan, formally kissed both his cheeks, then turned to the Wise Ones, Holly and Owen.

  “Thank you, friends. Without you I would have been lost to the darkness.” Ava’s smile was brilliant. “But I am healed.”

  “Then we must take counsel,” said Equus.

  “Yes. We are besieged,” said Myrddin. “The Lady’s necklace is broken, and the Dark Being has captured Adam.”

  Equus and Ava winced.

  “We will need our combined power to rescue him,” said Ava slowly.

  “I offer my power,” said Manannan.

  “Thank you.” Myrddin bowed.

  “Adam does not need rescuing!” A laughing voice echoed around the top of the tower. “I return him.”

  A body slid down the shaft of light and sprawled at their feet.

  “Blimey,” gulped Owen.

  “Adam’s dead,” shrieked Holly. She ran and threw herself over his body.

  “Hey, don’t have a fit. I’m alive.” Adam pushed Holly aside and struggled to sit up.

  The laughter rang out again. “Sorry to be so abrupt, Adam. I took advantage of the unexpected situation.”

  Manannan and Myrddin intensified the beacon of light.

  “Hide behind light while you can, Wise Ones,” said the voice, still full of amusement. “Though I cannot look through it to see you, or enter your beacon, I have found you. Adam knows the truth. You cannot stop truth spreading. You cannot prevent darkness. It is always present.

  “Light and Dark,

  Dark and Light.

  “Your suppression is at an end. The Dark rises. I am ready to take my full place again. Even you, the Wise Ones, will not be able to stop tonight’s dark shadow. No one can.”

  Adam stared up, puzzled. What game was Doona playing now?

  “Listen to Adam, Magic children. Adam is my emissary. Listen to him.”

  Holly clutched Adam’s hands but turned her face up toward the voice. “Your emissary? Like Zorianna? Of course he’s not,” she stormed.

  “All I ask is that you listen to him, child,” said the Dark Being. “Remember, there are two sides to a tale.” Her voice was light and reasonable.

  Holly stared at Adam.

  “It’s true,” Adam said. He let Holly help him to his feet. “There is another side to the story.” He gestured toward the Wise Ones. “These guys threw her out when she was a kid. They nearly killed her.”

  The Wise Ones dropped their eyes and sighed.

  CHAPTER NINE

  ________________________________

  A MAZE OF MINDSPEAK

  Adam looked anxiously at his cousins. How could he make them understand that he was forced into being a double agent?

  He racked his brain. He needed to say or do something that would give them a clue. Something subtle that wouldn’t alert the Shade that the Dark Being had attached to him.

  He’d not anticipated that.

  He should have guessed that no matter how well he conned her, the Dark Being wouldn’t trust him. How else was she using him!

  Still, he’d bamboozled her all right. The Dark Being believed he was on her side. But he couldn’t get rid of the Shade. It heard everything he said.

  How could he alert his cousins?

  Poor Holly and Owen. They looked shell-shocked.

  Pity Chantel wasn’t here. She knew him well and would pick up on odd behavior. He briefly wondered where she was, then went back to trying to get a coded message over to his cousins.

  Adam stuck his hands in his poc
ket to stop them trembling. His fingers touched Ava’s feather. His heart lightened, and he had the glimmerings of an idea.

  He walked to the parapet, trying to look as though he hadn’t a care in the world. He began to whistle a fragment of an old music hall song his dad sang—“Me and My Shadow.”

  Please get it, Holly. Get it, Owen, he thought.

  “Is what Adam said true?” Holly’s voice trembled. She looked accusingly at the Wise Ones. “Have you told us the whole truth about the Dark Being?”

  “She’s not the Dark Being. Her name’s Doona. It means dark maiden,” Adam tossed over his shoulder, then picked up whistling the same phrase over and over again.

  Ava spoke. “What Adam says is true, but not interpreted truly. Doona was banished, but only as a last resort after her actions consistently put others in grave danger, life-threatening danger.”

  “She rescued me from danger,” Adam said. “You didn’t. She saved me.” He stared intently at Holly. “This whole thing is a crock.” He paused. “Doona is kind and beautiful. She helped me like Wendy helped Peter Pan.” He stressed the last five words.

  Holly looked puzzled.

  Adam started whistling again.

  Owen rolled his eyes. Adam was not making sense, and the whistling was irritating. It was a stupid tune. One his family sang when he was a little kid, always following his dad around the farm.

  Adam whistled the same phrase over and over.

  Owen clenched his fists. The words of the song were now stuck in his head. “Me and my shaaadow, walking down the avenuuue.” They were repeating again and again. He couldn’t stop them. His tired brain was acting like a stuck record.

  “This situation is baffling,” whispered Manannan to Myrddin. “Is the boy’s head addled after his ordeal?”

  Adam whistled more loudly.

  Owen lost his temper. “Quit whistling and make sense Adam. We’re about to be invaded by the Dark Being, no matter what you call her. You might not have been in danger, but Holly and I were. We’ve just been attacked by psycho gulls and a demon dog, and that was right here, not off in la la land.”

  Adam’s back stiffened. He looked sideways at Owen, but kept on whistling.

  “What’s wrong, Adam?” said Holly. “We’ve been worried sick, desperate to find you. I’m glad the Dark Being…er Doona, saved you, but you must know she’s bad news.”