Behind the Sorcerer's Cloak

by Andrea Spalding

  Adam whistled on and on.

  “He’s nuts.” Owen made a gesture of despair. “The Dark Being’s done his head in.”

  Adam swung round. “NUTS!…I’m not nuts…Just listen to me, you idiot.” He grabbed Owen’s shoulders and shook him hard. “Doona helped me. She helped me like Wendy helped Peter Pan.”

  Owen punched him on the nose.

  Adam slumped to the ground.

  The Dark Being’s laughter rolled around the top of the tower. “So, war is already declared!”

  Manannan cut off the shaft of light. Thunder clapped and torrential rain poured down.

  “No!” cried Ava. “Light not Dark. Give us Light, for tonight will be very dark indeed.”

  Manannan’s wand cracked for a second time.

  The rain stopped and the cloak of mist vanished. The tower, Pheric’s Isle and the entire Kingdom of Mann were bathed in glorious sunlight.

  Ava sighed with relief.

  Myrddin banged his staff on the flags and opened a portal.

  Adam, Holly and Owen landed with a THUD back in the real world. They sprawled on the floor of the living room at Castleview Inn, entangled with Myrddin’s and Manannan’s cloaks, arms and staffs.

  Sunlight streamed in through the window.

  Equus and Ava appeared in the corner.

  Mr. Smythe stood by the stove with a tea kettle in his hand and a dropped jaw.

  “Sorry about this, Smythe.” Myrddin sorted himself out and helped Manannan to stand. “We need headquarters, and the children need some rest.”

  Mr. Smythe gulped and put the kettle on to boil.

  Myrddin made introductions as though it was a normal gathering. “This is Manannan. Equus and Ava are in the corner. You have heard the children speak of them.”

  Still speechless, Mr. Smythe nodded politely to his strange guests.

  The cousins scrambled to their feet, Adam pinching his bloody nose.

  “Adam!” Mr. Smythe found his voice. He enfolded Adam in a bear hug that made bones crack and held him at arm’s length. “Your nose! Who hit you!”

  “Owen.”

  Mr. Smythe’s face darkened.

  Owen flushed. “I apologize, but the whistling was driving me mad,” he said. “Need some ice?”

  Adam nodded stiffly.

  “Where’s Chantel?” interrupted Mr. Smythe anxiously, suddenly realizing that another child was missing.

  Myrddin held up his hand. “Chantel is safe, and Equus knows how to reach her.” He turned to Equus. “She is alerting the Cabbyl Ushtey.”

  “She will be safe,” confirmed Equus.

  Mr. Smythe sighed and looked unhappy.

  Holly sat quietly at the table, a puzzled frown still on her face. She stared at Adam, watching his every move as he and Owen found ice and a cloth and staunched the blood. Her frown cleared.

  “She did some sewing for him,” Holly said.

  Adam’s head shot up. His eyes looked hopeful.

  “What?” said Owen.

  A conversation between Mr. Smythe and Myrddin halted.

  “Wendy…she did some sewing for Peter Pan. Right, Adam? So the Dark Being was like her, really helpful?”

  Adam nodded, still holding the ice to his face. “She was kind. Just like Wendy,” he mumbled.

  Holly chose her words carefully. “So, you’re like Peter Pan?” Holly hummed the tune that Adam had whistled.

  Owen groaned and plugged his fingers in his ears. “Not that again, Holly.”

  Adam sighed with relief and grinned at Holly. “You’ve always been a smarty pants,” he mumbled affably through the ice pack.

  Holly pointed to her head and closed her eyes. Can it read mindspeak?

  Adam shook his head and shrugged.

  “Do you mind telling us what’s going on?” said Owen.

  “You’re so dense sometimes,” muttered Holly. She grabbed Mr. Smythe’s notebook and pencil from the table, scribbled something and tore it out. She passed the note to Owen.

  Wendy sewed a shadow onto Peter Pan’s feet.

  Adam’s had a ‘shadow’ attached to him by the DB.

  Watch what you say.

  Owen’s eyes widened. “It was a chick flick,” he said. “Why would I know that?” He passed the note back to Holly and grinned at Adam. “How come you saw it?”

  “I had to take Chantel for her birthday.”

  Both boys hooted with laughter.

  “It’s a book too, morons,” said Holly. She retrieved the note, added a line, Can it read our minds? and passed the page over to Myrddin.

  Myrddin read the note and gave a snort.

  He gestured everyone to join him at the table and pushed the note across to Mr. Smythe.

  Mr. Smythe read it and sighed. “I’m obviously missing something, but I understand.”

  Myrddin stuck the note in a pocket. “We need to plan,” he said abruptly. “Gaia will be under attack tonight.”

  He sent a blast of mindspeak to everyone. A Shade is shadowing Adam. It will report everything back to the Dark Being in her mindspeak.

  Humans mindspeak a different way. The Shade doesn’t know they have that ability and cannot hear it. We will make a false set of plans using speech and another set using human mindspeak like I am doing now.

  The kettle whistled. Everyone jumped.

  “I think we need a cup of tea,” said Mr. Smythe.

  The Shade wriggled with delight. At lasst, planss! it thought. Human’ss converssationss with sstrange whisstling make no sensse. Planss do. The Dark Being wantss planss.

  The Shade pooled contentedly beneath Adam’s feet as he sat at the table.

  “Manannan’s fortress on Barrule is the obvious place from which to defend ourselves,” said Myrddin. He switched to mindspeak. We will make our stand on Pheric’s Isle.

  “Then I will strengthen its defenses,” said Manannan. I will inform the Moddy Dhoo, but he is his own entity.

  “Oh, stop this,” said Adam, playing his part to the hilt. “Doona won’t hurt anyone if you reinstate her. Why fight her?” She has an army of Shades. Masses of them.

  “Oh, shut up, Adam. No one believes the Dark Being except you.” Owen turned to Myrddin. “But what’s the point of us kids fighting? We can’t do any real Magic.” I know how to get into Pheric’s Isle without anyone seeing. That’s where the secret passage goes. It comes out at the Round Tower.

  “You must not trust Doona, Adam. She is a problem you don’t understand. Everyone needs to fight the darkness, even children,” Myrddin rumbled. Excellent, Owen.

  “I’m not fighting. Doona’s my friend,” said Adam. Can you get rid of the Shade?

  “Doona is no one’s friend,” said Myrddin heavily. Has it melded with you?

  “She’s my friend. I’m not fighting her,” replied Adam stubbornly. No, it’s attached as a shadow.

  “Then we will fight without you,” said Myrddin. Yes, I can detach it. But let the Shade deliver our false information first.

  “Did Doona send those psycho gulls that nearly killed us?” said Owen. I thought the gulls were Manannan’s?

  “Yes, Doona influenced my gulls. Her magic is stronger than mine,” said Manannan. Shades slipped in when Equus arrived. They discovered a way to meld with the gulls and enter Pheric’s Isle. Be on your guard. Shades can meld with humans.

  “The Lady’s death and loss of the beads is a terrible blow,” said Ava. “It weakens us all, even Doona.” Holly must restring the beads and waken the Lady.

  “Without the Lady, we don’t stand a chance against the Dark Being,” said Holly. I know where the beads are. I’ll try to restring them tonight, but I need some thread. The Lady is a skeleton. Can she wake?

  “We must still fight the darkness; there is no one else,” said Equus, tossing his mane and flicking his tail. A long white hair floated free and landed on the table near Holly. The Lady will wake with the right Earth Magic when the necklace is complete. Use the hair from my tail as thread, Holly.
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  Holly picked up the long hair. She curled and uncurled it around her finger.

  “What will happen if she wins?” said Owen. Don’t forget to call the Lady using the secret rune name.

  “I can’t believe we are having this conversation,” interrupted Mr. Smythe. “This talk of a magic war is all nonsense. I’m having nothing to do with it.” He leaned back, looking stubborn, folded his arms and closed his eyes. Err…I hope this works. Never tried it before. I have some interesting information. I discovered the meaning of the runic name Cullyn in the museum. It’s a very old form of Manx. It means Holly.

  There was a long silence. Everyone looked at each other.

  The Lady’s secret name is Holly? said Owen.

  So it seems, replied Mr. Smythe.

  Wow.

  Holly turned white. She stood up, swaying slightly. “I’m going for a nap. I can’t take in anymore. No one’s working with anyone else so we’re going to lose the battle anyway. Adam’s right. Negotiate with this Doona person so we don’t have to fight. I’m exhausted. We hardly slept last night and today has been terrifying.” She left the room. Sorry, but I’m not kidding, I really am beat. I need some space to think about this. I don’t know why, but it’s a shock. I’m scared of what it means.

  Owen gave a big yawn and pushed his chair back. “Me too, Sis. I vote for not fighting. If you can’t win, why fight? I didn’t mind helping you Wise Ones get Tools, but this is daft. This fight is nothing to do with us.” I gotta rest too. I’ll help when I’m not so beat, okay? Wake us before dark.

  “Humans are ungrateful,” cried Ava, spreading her wings. “Maybe Gaia doesn’t deserve to be saved.” Sleep and dream of Light, Magic Children. May Light always be in your hearts.

  Adam’s Shade sent its first message to the Dark Being while watching the meeting break up in disarray. Adam heard it, but schooled himself not to react.

  They fight amongst themsselvess. Jusst like you planned. Adam ssupportss you. The children are sscared. They don’t wissh to fight. The Lady iss dead and the necklace broken.

  The Wisse Oness will fight from a place called Barrule.

  The Dark Being lost her temper. The Lady dead? That cannot be!

  The ring on Adam’s finger tightened painfully. He tried to ease it. As soon as he touched it Doona’s words seared into his brain: Find the broken necklace. Bring me the beads.

  Adam felt sick. The ring wasn’t a gift. It conducted her messages. It hurt. It would make him do her bidding.

  He twisted the ring and tried to remove it. The harder he pulled, the more painfully it gripped his flesh. He bent under the table and hissed to the shadow. “Tell her I don’t know where the beads are. Ask her to stop hurting me, because it’s true.”

  The Shade complied.

  The ring slackened, then tightened again.

  Find the beads before nightfall, roared Doona as Adam desperately pulled at the ring. Someone knows where they are. If you don’t find them, you’ll die like the others.

  Adam felt sick. Doona had tricked him instead of him outwitting her.

  Now he was caught. He daren’t let Myrddin dispatch his shadow. Doona would know and punish him through the ring.

  He was cornered.

  Owen rapped lightly on the bedroom door and opened it a crack. “What’s up, Sis?” he hissed.

  “Don’t call me Sis,” replied Holly automatically. She blew her nose hard. “Come in.”

  Owen slid inside, quietly closing the door. He looked quizzically at Holly, who sat cross-legged at the head of her bed. “So, why are you so upset?”

  Holly shook her head, but tears welled in her eyes. “The name. It was the last straw.” She looked up at him. “You don’t get it, do you?”

  “Nope,” said Owen cheerfully. He bounced up and down on the end of the bed. “Your mattress is softer than mine.”

  Holly hurled the pillow at him.

  Owen caught it and grinned.

  Holly glared.

  Owen returned the pillow and lay back across the end of the bed, his hands behind his head. “Better spill the beans before you explode.”

  “It’s feelings. Mixed-up feelings. I feel right at the center of everything, yet totally helpless. This situation’s a mess.”

  “No. It’s an onion.”

  Holly sat up straight. “Say that again.”

  “It’s an onion,” Owen repeated.

  They both laughed.

  “That’s why it’s making me cry.” Holly blew her nose again.

  “Haven’t you realized what’s happening, Holly? We’re going round and round and coming to dead ends. Nothing seems connected. But each time something happens, we’re getting closer and closer to the center. That’s been happening right from the first adventure. We fix something, strip off a layer, and there is another underneath.”

  “All in circles. A real maze.”

  “Yup, like an onion.”

  “The Lady’s the center.”

  “Yup.”

  “The name connects me to the Lady in a big way.”

  “Looks like it.” Owen rolled over. “The sooner you string that darn necklace the better,” he said seriously.

  “I know.” Holly gazed out of the window. “It’s scary.”

  Outside was a scene from a postcard. The castle basked in brilliant sunshine. Its walls rose against a perfect blue sky and reflected in sparkling water. White gulls soared above, colorful boats floated below.

  She sighed. “Earth Magic’s shouting at me.”

  “Yup.”

  “It shouted at you? That’s when you found the secret passage.”

  Owen nodded.

  “I can use that passage to sneak in to thread the beads.”

  “Yup. Going to?”

  “Coming with me?” she countered.

  “You bet. I still need to make battle plans.” He shifted on the bed. “Holly, do you trust Adam?” he asked abruptly.

  Holly stared at the quilt. She sighed. “To be honest, I don’t know. When he told us about Doona being thrown out when she was a kid, he was really sorry for her. He believed it. The way he said it made me feel sorry for her.”

  “Me too,” muttered Owen. “I couldn’t help thinking that’s what happened to him. His mum kind of threw him and Chantel out when she packed them off to England.”

  “Ouch,” said Holly. “I didn’t think of that.”

  She paused. “What about the Wise Ones?” she said, her voice so low Owen could barely hear. “Do you trust them?”

  “Whoa,” said Owen. “That’s some question.” He thought for a while. “It changes everything.”

  Holly nodded. Her eyes bright with unshed tears. “I have to ask it. I’m being asked to resurrect really powerful magic. I…I…have to understand whose side I’m on.”

  “And whose side are you?” said Owen.

  “Ours,” whispered Holly. “You, me, Adam, Chantel and Mr. Smythe represent Gaia. I have to be on Gaia’s side. I have to look out for us! I sense that Adam’s right. The Wise Ones haven’t told us everything. I…I still think they’re good…but…I think they have a secret agenda, so I have to figure out what to do.”

  Shaken, Owen pulled the castle brochure containing the map out of his pocket. He consulted it. “The castle closes at six. We’ll slip away then. According to Ava, there’s less chance of the Dark Being bugging us while it’s still light.”

  Holly stifled a yawn. “That gives us about an hour for a nap.”

  Owen took the hint and left.

  Doona turned her ring.

  She felt Adam’s ring twitch in response. She smiled. She had her hostage, and the great finale was in motion. She was ready. If the Lady was dead, she had nothing to fear.

  She contacted the Shades gathered along the edges of the Mists of Time.

  “Take heart. Gaia’s sunlight is temporary. Watch carefully. In a few hours a great cosmic dark will begin. No one can halt it. As the sunlight fades, act as one body. Force your wa
y through the Mists where they are weakest. Find me on Gaia. There you may unleash your anger and mayhem and punish the humans.

  “I will deal with the Wise Ones as Gaia falls to its knees.”

  Adam pushed his chair back from the table and stood up.

  “I’m going for a walk. I don’t even know where I am, or what this place is called.”

  “Isle of Man,” said Mr. Smythe.

  “The Kingdom of Mann,” said Manannan and the Wise Ones at the same time.

  Everyone chuckled.

  “Whatever! Is it a real place, or are we in a magical world? I don’t even know how you got here or what day it is.”

  Myrddin clambered to his feet. “You are right, Adam. Forgive us. You must be really confused. We will take a walk, and I will explain. Much has happened since you were dragged into the mist.”

  They strolled along the River Nebb in the sunshine, the Shade flowing along at Adam’s feet. Myrddin brought Adam up to date and pointed out many things: the plane, Mr. Cubbon crossing the road, the castle and the round tower. He also spoke carefully of the Kingdom of Mann and his long association with Manannan.

  The Shade wiggled restlessly. None of this talk mattered. There was nothing here the Dark Being didn’t know.

  Under cover of their conversation Adam showed Myrddin his finger. I’ve messed up again, Myrddin. Doona said the ring was a gift, so I accepted it. But it’s torturing me, trying to make me do what she wants. The ring had bitten deeply into his flesh. The finger was red and swollen.

  Myrddin’s face grew grave. What is it she asks?

  That I find the beads and give them to her. The Shade told her the Lady is dead. So she wants the beads now, before anyone else gets them. Adam cradled his hand. I don’t know where the beads are, so how can I get them? But she won’t stop hurting me.

  Myrddin looked sad. The Shade I can deal with, but not the ring. It is linked with Doona’s ring and under her control. Tell the Shade you’ve worked out that it’s Holly who knows where the beads are, but she’s sleeping. The Shade knows that’s true. Promise to follow Holly when she wakes.