As the bubble lost air, it also lost height and now nearly touched the ground. Edsel’s back was towards Larna, unaware that the injured girl could be any threat to him. Nor did he see Clementine, back in the guise of a crow, leaning out of the nearest tree. More importantly, he didn’t see the useful little gift she’d dropped down as she flew in. One wing covered her beak as she shook her head, telling Larna to be quiet.
Clementine flew in front of Edsel and sat there making an awful noise, distracting him. Larna picked up the trowel that she’d dropped by her side and began digging the ground in a frenzy. It began to glow, a sulphurous yellow with a bad egg smell, reminding her of the underground tunnels the Boggrets used. Tibs stopped struggling as Larna renewed her efforts and almost had him free. Then Clementine went silent. Edsel was stomping towards Larna, glaring furiously. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she continued to dig frantically, wondering if it was her turn to be turned into something. Instead, he froze her digging arm. Unperturbed, Larna changed hands and shovelled furiously again with the other. Suddenly an unearthly scream filled the air and Edsel stopped dead in his tracks, looked down and yelled again. Clementine had sunk her razor-sharp beak into his fleshy calf and was hanging on for dear life. Thick bloody fluid oozed from the deep gash and ran down his leg. No matter how hard he shook it, she refused to let go.
Larna cringed, hoping Chet couldn’t feel the pain, then her arm unfroze and she was able to redouble her efforts until, with a noisy squelchy ‘shlurp’, Tiblou pulled himself free and shot into the air, regaining his equilibrium and hovering above Edsel’s head. Arms crossed, he baited the snarling Boggret, successfully dodging every swing he made.
A quick glance at Neve told Larna that the skin of the bubble clung like a vice and had almost reached her chest.
Edsel managed to shake off the bird and attempted to heal the wound. She had pecked a huge chunk of flesh and spat it out in disgust. The gash was long and deep and wouldn’t come together at first. Tibs tried again to free Neve and Violet but he didn’t succeed. This gave Edsel time to recoup, become airborne and catch Tiblou on the back with his wand. Hoping to change him into a moth, which would be easy to destroy, he was in too much of a hurry and turned Tibs into a bird of prey by mistake. The young wizard flew out of harm’s way, still clutching his wand in one of his talons. Larna was becoming anxious and gave a silent moan. ‘Hurry up, Tibs, time’s just about to run out!’
At superhuman speed, Tiblou flew back, claws out front, wand transferred to beak and attacked Edsel with great ferocity. Not only did it open up the leg wound again but catapulted the Boggret upwards. He went sailing through the air in a backwards somersault. Yells of pain echoed through the trees as his putrid bloody fluid splashed everything, including onto the bubble. Edsel’s blood must have been the nearest thing to pure acid because the outer skin of the bubble began to smoke. So did a few spots on his clothes. Clementine’s feathers caught some of it as well. She rolled on the ground to rub it off before it had chance to burn through and reach her flesh.
They came together again. Wizard and warlock tumbled and turned in the air while Larna and Clementine dodged any further acidic fallout. They parted. Tibs flew off. Edsel tried in vain to stem the flow. And Larna wished with all her strength for Tibs to finish it. But what would become of Chet, the ‘host’ body? Whilst the warlock was preoccupied, the screeching eagle returned at speed and attacked. But in doing so he dropped his wand from his beak and Larna ran to catch it. The second her fingers closed around it, her head was filled with strange words. Over and over until an inner voice told her to repeat them out loud. Pointing the wand at Tiblou and Edsel, she closed her eyes to concentrate, saying in a timid voice, “EVECTRA ETONA EVICTA.”
“Will it! Mean it. LOUDER!” said the voice in her head.
So she did. Whatever the words meant, she shouted them with such force that her throat tightened and she started to cough. Tiblou immediately returned to his former self and landed safely on the ground.
Edsel took evasive action by hiding behind another protective shield. Tibs had visibly lost strength with his flying antics and wasn’t able to resist being pulled towards the shield. It was electrified. As he was drawn through it, sparks flew and the air crackled causing Tibs’ body to jerk. He wasn’t hurt, just stunned, and Larna gave a huge sigh of relief. Realising she could help again by casting another spell, she waved the warlock’s wand and muttered a few words, but they were all wrong. There was a loud bang and she found herself on the other side of the shield. With Tibs… and Edsel! “Help!” she yelled, trying to run back. Edsel stood with a look of surprise on his mean face. He couldn’t hide his pain from the bleeding leg and other wounds Clementine and Tibs had inflicted. But as soon as the Boggret started to move, Larna knew she was in serious trouble. Edsel held out his hand for Tiblou’s wand and, if murderous looks could kill, Larna thought she was finished.
There was no other choice other than to defend herself and the only means at her disposal was what she was holding. Feeling absolutely terrified she yelled, “MONSTRUM HERENDUM TORA!” Closing her eyes Larna waited for the worst. There was a terrific whoosh and an explosion. Opening one eye, she was shocked to see Edsel and Tibs on their backs, both out cold. Her eyes opened wide in shock, realising she was responsible for sending them crashing into the shield. Whatever she’d yelled in self-defence had had an effect. Larna rushed to Tiblou’s side as fast as her callipered legs would allow and gently prodded him. “Tiblou! Tibs! Are you all right?”
He shook himself and tried to stand. “I think so. Give me a hand.” Larna almost overbalanced pulling him up. He grinned and took his wand back from her. “You did well, Larna. I knew you could do it!” He felt the side of his head then rubbed the shoulder which had hit the shield first. Then there was movement from Edsel. He was coming round. His moan wasn’t the distorted voice of the Boggret – it was Chet’s – which reminded them that their situation remained very serious. There was a battle royal going on for possession of Chet’s body. He was fighting hard to cast Edsel out for the final time and he seemed to be succeeding. In and out of focus they went. Larna and Tibs watched with a mixture of fascination and anxiety. Finally, with great effort and willpower, Chet forced himself free of the warlock and they became two separate entities again. Chet’s face held a look of bafflement as he ran his hands down his legs and found no aching limbs or bloody wounds. Edsel, on the other hand, bore all the injuries and scars Clementine and Tibs had inflicted.
Seeing his brother was alright, Tiblou took advantage of Edsel’s weakened condition. Turning to Aron and Annie, he raised his wand, touched them and opened his mouth… but nothing came out. “Calm down, breathe slowly.” Chet said. “You’re exhausted.” He put his arm around his brother giving moral support. “Go on, try again.” Tibs cocked his left ear, listening. Chet and Larna looked at each other and nodded. They both knew it was Balgaire that Tibs was listening to again. “TEY RAVERTO” he chanted, tapping Annie on the shoulder and then repeating it for Aron. It worked! They began to defrost before their eyes. Tibs conjured up two soft woollen blankets out of nowhere for the shivering pair.
Now all eyes turned to the bubble. It was still smoking from the acid burning through which had relieved the pressure and allowing some oxygen to enter. But Neve and Violet still needed rescuing before it was too late. Tiblou hurried towards the tree, closely followed by Larna and Chet. The shield erected by Edsel had now dissolved, allowing them free passage. But the evil creature wasn’t finished yet – not by a long chalk. They smelt him before they saw him. Then he stood before them, barring their way. Again.
Young wizard and Boggret warlock faced each other for a final showdown. The hatred radiating from Edsel was like a burning fire. Heat waves from him forced them to step back a few paces. He had managed to part-heal his wounds whilst they’d been preoccupied by the bubble and his leg wasn’t bleeding any more. Absolute dread filled Larna as she realised he wasn’t going to give up.
It really was going to be a fight to the end.
But for which one?
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Edsel and Tiblou faced each other, squaring up for their make-or-break fight. Larna wished she could do something else to help, but there didn’t seem to be anything until Aron started yelling abuse at the Boggret. “Why don’t you disappear back to Tophet or wherever stinking place you came from?” he bellowed, making a face and shaking his fist in the air. Annie added her voice to Aron’s and that was Larna’s cue to join in as well. The three of them shouted threats and insults, making a deafening noise which momentarily distracted the warlock and allowed Tibs to get the first punch in via a spell. Edsel flew backwards into a tree. Tiblou didn’t waste any time and followed up his attack whilst he had the advantage. His second spell bounced off the Boggret, sending out showers of deadly sparks which broke into miniature fires. But it had the effect of making Edsel lose his wand. It went sailing through the air and bounced off the bubble on its way down, causing the bubble to zip open and drop Neve and Violet in a heap on the ground. Looking very much worse for wear from their ordeal, they began to retch and cough. The gold fluid from inside the bubble drained out, drenching them. They spat it out. Within seconds it was on the move, gradually sliding off them and forming puddles at their feet. Then it simply faded away. They were bone dry, their clothes having miraculously dried as it dropped off them. Soon, there was no evidence of the liquid gold ever existing.
This diversion worked to Edsel’s advantage. With everyone’s eyes focused on the release of Neve and Violet from their deadly prison, he issued a whooshing fireball from his fingertips that nobody was expecting. It would have taken Tibs’ head off had it not been for the urgent warning given by Clementine. She cawed loudly, causing the young wizard to duck at the last moment. The fireball seared over his head and disappeared into the dark forest like a comet in the night sky. Edsel stamped his foot in fury and that was enough to hand the initiative back to Tibs. The young wizard cast a third spell that engulfed the warlock in a shimmering light and then imprisoned him in a cage suspended from a tree. Bound and gagged, he was unable to move or cast spells. Everyone cheered with relief. They were safe at last.
Violet unfurled, slowly and gracefully. In a musical voice she asked, “What has happened?” Annie explained as briefly as possible that she and Neve had been kidnapped by Edsel and held prisoner. Neve started patting herself down and looking anxious. “Where’s my wand? I had it with me in the bubble.”
“It must have fallen out when you were released,” said Tibs. “We must find it before anything else happens.” He raised his own wand and mumbled a few words. “Now stand back and perfectly still.” Soon the ground began to move beneath them. And there was Neve’s wand, trying to poke its head out of the earth like a growing flower in a speeded-up nature film. As Neve bent to pick it up, it pulled itself free, shook off the damp soil and floated up to her outstretched hand.
“One down, one to go,” commented Chet.
“What do you mean?” From Aron.
“Edsel’s wand. The one that flew through the air and punctured the bubble. We’ve got to find it and make sure he doesn’t get his hands on it again.”
Without another word, everyone scattered in different directions and began to search. Larna’s legs were hurting and she could see grazes where the metal callipers had rubbed. A trickle of blood had run down both legs and dried. The woods were creepy. Intimidating. And it didn’t help that Edsel’s struggles in the cage were furious and noisy.
Larna was so engrossed in the search, she didn’t see her brother move to investigate a clump of trees. Head down, searching through piles of rotting vegetation, Aron didn’t see or feel anything until it was too late. They only knew he was in trouble when he cried out in terror, “HELP!” Everyone ran towards him, Larna limping as best she could. They came to an abrupt halt. He’d been rummaging around in the tree roots and tried to pull one out of the ground, mistakenly thinking it was the wand. Unfortunately, he’d woken something from its dormant state and it had wrapped its fingers round his ankles. Each time any one of them went close enough to help, other tree hands came out of the earth and waved about, trying to grab them.
They could only watch in dismay as the branches travelled up and around Aron’s body, trying to draw him into the trunk.
“What’s happening, Yaya?” gasped Larna.
“He’s disturbed the Dryads and they’ve taken him. If he touches the bark of the tree, he’ll be turned to stone.
Feeling she must do something, Larna picked up a stone and threw it at the tree with all her might. It was a mistake. The surrounding trees woke up and gnarled hands clawed their way up through the soil to find them. No matter how hard any of them struggled, there was no way to escape their clutches. And all the time Aron moved closer and closer to the trunk.
Tiblou tried using his magic powers, but to no avail. They were firmly stuck and beginning to panic. Each time Neve cast a spell, it also bounced off, as if the tree was batting it away. Then she suddenly remembered her grandmother telling her that the Dryads thrived only on fear, “This may sound crazy, but don’t struggle. Relax! Let the trees pull us towards them and… ”
Chet butted in, “We’ll be crushed.”
“Just do it. And when you touch the tree, embrace it. Give it some love. Think happy thoughts. On no account think of fear or hatred!”
It seemed strange advice, but it was worth a try. The situation was desperate. Shutting her eyes tightly, Larna wrapped her arms around the rough trunk and put her heart and soul into thoughts of happier times, projecting them at the tree. The others did the same. Aron muttered something about feeling a daft idiot hugging an inanimate object. Then silence. Larna lost herself in wonderful dreams of home and thoughts of her mum and how she made their world brighter and happier. She missed her.
Larna had no idea how long she stood there, hugging the tree for dear life. But a gradual sensation of well-being drifting into her mind that made her aware of where she was and what she was doing. She wasn’t being squeezed to death, just held there gently, the lower branches holding her up. The others were experiencing something similar as they stepped back. Larna’s injured legs felt numb, so she slid down onto the ground, looked up and said a tearful, “Thank you,” to her captor. Then she watched as the hands became roots again and shrank back and disappeared under the soil. She gazed in wonder at their transformation as the dark trees began to show signs of life. Chet pulled Larna up and helped her over to the others. Annie made an attempt to mother them all, then gave up, and sat transfixed at the wonderful sight unfolding in front of them. New growth appeared on the branches. Buds were popping and slowly becoming healthy green leaves.
“Now what’s happening?” Aron wanted to know.
“Love,” answered Neve, triumphantly. “We’ve been saved by the power of love.”
“Were you certain, Yaya?” queried Larna. “Did you positively and absolutely know it would work?”
Looking down her nose, and with a playful glint in her eyes, Yaya said, “That’s for me to know and for you to find out!”
Annie brought them back to reality. “We’re supposed to be looking for a Edsel’s missing wand, remember?”
Everyone fanned out again and resumed the search for Edsel’s deadly wand. They trudged through the gloomy forest, looking everywhere, and were about to give up when Larna saw something move out of the corner of her eye. Nudging Aron excitedly, she pointed upwards.
“Well, of all the places !” Aron exclaimed.
Larna shouted to the others, “I’ve found it. Look up in the trees. Edsel’s wand.”
It was lodged in the highest branch of the tallest trees. Like a hunted animal, it sensed it had been found and inched its way along the branch ready to fly off again. But Tibs was too quick for it. He shot into the air and grabbed it firmly in one hand. Then he floated down and handed it to Neve in the hope she’d know what to do with it. With
a bit of jiggery-pokery she managed to tuck it into her pocket without it sticking out. Then everyone broke into cheers.
It was a happy band that made its way back to the clearing where Edsel was imprisoned. Laughing and joking, patting each other on the back, they relished the feeling that their troubles were finally over. Mordrog was no more. Edsel was a prisoner and his powerful wand was in their possession. Their enemies were defeated. They had won!
Discussing how best to celebrate their victory, everyone marched into the clearing. Larna was the first to notice it was strangely quiet. She glanced up and felt the blood drain from her face. “L-L-Look!” she stammered. The others followed her gaze and they too went white with horror. The tree prison lay in tatters with Clementine fluttering on the ground beside it, mortally injured. And Edsel was gone!
* * *
The shocked silence that followed only lasted a few seconds. It was broken by a blinding flash and everyone found themselves frozen like statues in a park. They couldn’t move or speak. They were completely helpless. Then a familiar disgusting smell reached their noses and the Boggret stepped out from behind one of the trees. His face was black with fury and it was clear he was intent on revenge of the cruellest kind.
“I expect you’re wondering how I managed to do that given I don’t have my wand,” he cackled in his hateful high-pitched voice. “Well, I’ll tell you. I have three reserve spells in my fingertips at all times. I keep them there for emergencies and they renew themselves an hour-or-so after they’ve been used. I’ve just deployed one… and the other two are reserved for your deaths. Your painful deaths.”
He strode round his prisoners with a gleeful sneer on his face, turning first to Larna and Aron. “I said I’d dispose of you in an amusing fashion,” he chuckled, “and so I shall. I’m a Boggret of my word.” Fire sizzled from the ends of his fingers and the ground around the terrified brother and sister began to burn. The flames began creeping towards them. Soon they would go up in smoke.
Spellbound Chronicles – Blood Line Page 15
