Rig muttered to Madgwick. “If the doorway is broken then it may cancel the entry tonight. The weavers would have to find another way. Maybe the witch, Angie, could help. She tends to go where she pleases.”
He looked up at the moon. “Maybe this is not even the same doorway. And how would these two kids know anyway?”
Jeff was already shaking his head, not noticing the emotions playing on Rig’s face. “That’s the strange thing. I heard the glass break, but when I got there it wasn’t broken.”
Madgwick turned towards Jeff. Behind him the air whooshed out of Rig in relief. “Jeff, can you show us this doorway?”
“Heed the moon, Madgwick,” said Rig. He pointed at the moon, which had risen higher into the sky, the glow becoming white.
“The doorway is in my room,” said Jeff, turning on his heel and heading for the back door.
He pulled the door open and stepped back to let Rig and Madgwick enter ahead of him, but only Rhed was behind him.
Jeff craned his neck to look behind Rhed to see where the other two were.
“They went poof,” said Rhed.
The glittering of silver dust lingered, drifting to the floor where Madgwick and Rig had been standing a few seconds before.
9
When the boys reached the room, both Rig and Madgwick were already there, running their hands over the moonglow door. They were grinning widely. This was the doorway, hidden away for many years. This was the entry point to Drakmere, they had found it!
“You know, the elders could have just told us that the doorway was here,” mumbled Madgwick to Rig.
“As I understand it, the forest surrounding Little Falls is powerful, and the elders may not have known exactly where the forest hid the doorway,” explained Rig, his mood vastly improved now that the doorway was found. Now they just had to wait for the right moment to open the doorway, and that was meant to happen within the next few minutes.
“How will you find my brother and how long will it be before you come back? Will the doorway stay open until then?” Jeff wanted to know.
Rig rolled his eyes but Madgwick understood Jeff’s fear for his brother. “We think he will be held in the king’s castle. We are not sure how long we will take, but time in the land of nightmares is much longer than here. A few hours here could be days there. We have some magic dust to open the doorway from the other side.”
Madgwick paused then pre-empted Jeff’s next question. “The magic dust will only open the doorway from the other side. It will not work on this side of the door.”
“Why would they take Matt?” Jeff asked.
Rig and Madgwick were both staring at the moonglow door, not wanting to miss the sign, but Jeff did not miss the quick glance Rig shot Madgwick and the slight nod from Madgwick in return.
Then Madgwick answered. “We do not know for sure, but we think that any child could have been taken. Matt was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Jeff’s eyes narrowed as he listened to their answer. Something did not sound right. He could not pin-point it, but they were definitely brushing over that answer. There was certainly something they were not saying.
He opened his mouth, about to argue the point when the path of the ever-rising moon must have aligned into place. A moonbeam came straight though the centre of the moonglow door. The beam was concentrated on the centre but as the moon moved into place so the radiant light travelled through the rest of the door, lighting it up in a brilliant silver glow.
It was so bright that their eyes started to water. Then it started to dim from the inside towards the rim, revealing a room that looked like Jeff’s room except there was no furniture, just an empty room. The same dimensions, the same window, but just empty. Jeff gaped at the identical room and then turned back to look at his own room.
Rig and Madgwick straightened up. Rig glanced at Jeff and stepped straight into the room.
And bye to you too, thought Jeff as Rig stepped past him.
Madgwick turned to Jeff, “I will find Matt and bring him home. You have my word.”
Jeff nodded. Then, without giving Jeff any chance to talk or try to ask to come with them again, Madgwick stepped into the room beyond.
Rig and Madgwick crossed the empty room to another door, opened it to reveal another identical room. They moved into that room and so proceeded from room to room, getting smaller and smaller the further they went. Finally they opened a door far away and that was it, they were gone.
Jeff stared into the room and the rooms beyond. The effect was like looking into a mirror with mirrors behind him. He was dying to rush in after Madgwick.
Thud! Jeff leapt into the air with fright. “Man, Rhed!” Jeff yelled.
Rhed had dropped the bag at Jeff’s feet. It was the bag that he had been carrying when he arrived.
Rhed just grinned at his friend. “Matt is out there. We don’t know where and they,” he pointed in the direction of where Rig and Madgwick had disappeared, “don’t know either! So are we just going to sit here and tell our folks that Matt is gone but not to worry, the magic sandman is on top of it! Or are we going to find him?” He grinned, thumbing at the doorway. “They can’t stop us now.”
Jeff stepped forward then stopped. He wanted to go. He did not know what was on the other side, he did not want to lead his friend into danger, but the thought of little Matt, in a strange place, all alone … He had no choice. What kind of brother would he be if he did not even try?
“Rhed, they weren’t telling the truth when I asked why Matt was taken. I don’t know what is going on and somehow I don’t think any of this is any good. We could get into a lot of trouble. But I can’t just stay here. I have to do something.”
Rhed nodded, hoisting his bag over his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Jeff took the bag from Rhed and tossed it over his shoulder. “What the heck have you got in here?” He grunted with the weight as the bag landed on his back. Then he turned towards the doorway.
The door was starting to get brighter again.
“It’s closing,” yelled Jeff, and jumped through the doorway with Rhed right after him. They ran through the empty room and the door slammed behind them, but they kept moving through to the next room, which was the same, each room identical to the last.
The boys ran to the next door. As they ran through the rooms, so the light in each became brighter and brighter. They had to move and move fast.
Jeff and Rhed exploded through the next door, and just kept running, going from room to room, the doors slamming behind them. They were getting through the doors with mere seconds to spare. They could feel the brightness heating up their necks and they did not dare look back, they did not dare stop to catch their breath. They were committed now. There was no going back.
Somehow Jeff knew that if they were caught in these rooms they would not get out easily. After what seemed like ten doors, ten rooms and running like their lives depended on it, Jeff and Rhed rushed through the last door and found themselves in a green, dark forest.
The door behind them slammed and they skidded to a stop, bumping into each other trying to stop their momentum. They turned around in time to see the doorway become hazy before disappearing.
The silence was deafening. They blinked several times as their eyes adjusted from the brightness to the darkness.
Jeff and Rhed flopped onto the soft forest floor, exhausted and yet exhilarated.
“Man, what the heck was that?” Rhed panted.
Jeff was silent. Rhed looked at his friend’s eyes. They were fixed, staring into the forest.
Rhed followed Jeff’s gaze into the dark forest, drew in a breath and whispered, “Uh oh.”
Peering from the darkness was a set of red shining eyes. As the boys watched in apprehension, more and more red eyes were lighting up until they were surrounded.
10
Matt knew he was going somewhere, but he did not know where. The light around him was very bright but also warm. Not hot, just
warm, like when he put his sweater on after a cool breeze.
Although he was trying to stay brave, he was scared. He wished that Jeff were here with him.
The light was dimming and Matt screwed his eyes to try to see where he was. His feet touched a cold floor and suddenly the light was gone leaving Matt blinking, trying to adjust to the sudden change in light. There was a thick, dark mist that felt very cold and moist.
Again Matt longed for his older brother. He would know what to do. Jeff was always the captain and Matt would follow the orders. He even knew how to salute properly. Jeff and Rhed had taught him one easy salute, but one day his mother saw him saluting the fleet commander and they all got into serious trouble. For some reason Jeff and Rhed howled with laughter around the back while their mother interrogated Matt. He had a hard time explaining. Afterwards Jeff said they would use that hand greeting when serious attitude was necessary and, of course, when Mom was not near.
Matt smiled at the memory, but shivered as the mist engulfed him. There were thin orange bolts streaking through the mist like lightning across a stormy sky. Slowly the mist lifted and then it was daylight, as if a light had been switched on.
Matt looked around, his jaw dropping. This place was great!
He turned in a circle, standing on a grey cobblestone path in the middle of a beautiful square garden. He was surrounded by flowers of all colours, pink, blue, red, yellow. So many that he could not count. The flowers were different shapes and sizes: some looked like cups and saucers and one looked like a kettle. They smelt wonderful, just like his mother’s garden smelled in summer.
Matt gasped when he looked up and saw a turret. He was in a castle garden. He knew what a castle was because he had seen them in pictures from his books back home. And here he was, in a big one. There was even a wall with the staggered blocks to the side, a real castle wall.
Matt ran to the wall and looked out over the edge. Wow. He was high up. The view stretched towards forever. He could see rolling hills, trees, even a blue lake in the distance, and it was twilight so the sky was fading from orange to golden yellow, moving towards the pink and purple of the oncoming night.
Looking down was scary as he could not see further than a few paces before it became too dark to see.
A short “uhm uhm” behind him whipped Matt around. An old grey man was standing watching him intensely. Matt stood quietly, not sure what he should say.
The old man was staring at Matt, as if he were trying to look inside him. There was a look of longing on his face. Under the old man’s stare Matt started to shuffle his feet. The man looked like a typical grandpa, half bald, with the remaining hair pure white. He had a round face and his cheeks were full. It was a face that could be friendly and warm, if he wanted to be.
Matt thought the old man’s deep green eyes looked just like his mother’s. The man stood up straight with his hands linked in front of his chest. He had a green cloak that hung to the floor, moving gently in the evening breeze.
Hoping that the old man was friendly and would help him, he spoke tentatively. “I would like to go home. Can you help me?”
The old man started at the sound of Matt’s voice. His face hardened and he lifted his arm pointing to the right. “Come this way if you will,” the old man said.
The old man raised his white eyebrows and Matt headed towards the large wooden doors laced with iron. His heart lurched as he walked through the doors to find himself in a long and vast room with white pillars on either side. The walls were covered in heavy curtains and tapestries, and the colours were rich with plenty of gold. The ceiling was high with arched windows that seemed to stretch into the distance. Matt could not even tell where the ceiling stopped and the blue sky from the windows started. He glanced behind him. The old man was a few steps behind him and he nodded towards Matt, urging him forward.
Matt stepped forward, his feet shuffling on the stone floor. Right at the end of the room was a slightly raised platform with a huge golden chair. On it sat a figure dressed in black, patiently waiting for him to cross the room towards him.
The walk down to the end of the room seemed like an eternity. Matt was slow and he kept glancing behind him, checking to see if the old man was still there. He was very scared.
Finally Matt reached the end and looked at the man, thinking he must be a king or something. He was old, like as old as his father, but not as old as the grandpa-looking man behind him.
The man had a black goatee splashed with gray, which matched his thick eyebrows. His eyes were dark and Matt could not tell if they were brown or black. But he could see they were not friendly. There were no wrinkles on the corners of his eyes. Matt knew about those. His mother told him that they were laugh lines. This man had no laugh lines in his face.
It was not an ugly face, and there was a smile on the lips, but that smile did not reach his eyes. He had a large, sparkling gold crown on his head.
Matt shivered under the gaze of the king.
“Matt.” The man’s voice was low and powerful. “I am pleased to meet you. I hope you enjoyed the moonbeam journey. Welcome to my castle and welcome to Drakmere. My name is King Grzegorz, ruler of the Kingdom of Drakmere.”
While he was making his introduction he rose from his chair and his arms swept in a grand gesture of welcome.
Because his mother would frown on his manners if he did not respond, Matt answered with, “Nice to meet you King Grrrre …”
He broke off, not knowing how to pronounce the name. “Please, can you take me home?”
The king stared at Matt like he had just grown horns, his jaw working up and down like he was chewing gum. Eventually he sank back into his chair, dropping his hand on the armrest with a great slap, making Matt jump with fright.
The king glared over to the old man and snapped. “Okay, Thirza, I did not get any of that!”
The old man, Thirza, bowed his head and responded respectfully. “The boy speaks with a lisp, your highness. He said that it was nice to meet you and asked if he could go home.”
The king smiled at the old man, turning back to Matt.
“Such good manners, young man, how pleasing. We are not sure how you got here, but we will find a way for you to go home soon, Matt.”
King Grzegorz gave the old man a side glance and smiled slyly as if lying to a child was very enjoyable and so very easy.
“While we are sorting things out, do you think that you can stay here for a bit? I have a big castle and you can explore and do things.” He stuttered to a stop.
“Do you need anything?” he asked Matt who was standing staring at him. The king fingered his crown irritably. Then, with a smile, he asked, “Do you like my crown, Matt?”
Matt shrugged his shoulders, and replied, “It’s cool. It looks like marbles.”
Grzegorz slowly turned his head to Thirza, narrowed his eyes as if he was sure the old man was hiding a smile, and glared at him until he hurriedly gave the obviously required translation.
“He thinks it’s cool, your highness, and he thinks the gems look like marbles.”
Matt stared at the king’s face. His eyes bulged out of his head, and on his temple Matt saw a vein throbbing furiously.
11
The king ground his teeth, trying to relax his face before he turned back to Matt. It was vital for this child to be in a happy place in his mind. Screaming into his face that his crown jewels were not marbles was not going to help.
He clapped his hands once and a young lady appeared through the curtains. When she came to a stop in front of him, she bowed low. She kept her eyes on the floor, never looking directly at the king.
“Matt, this is Holka. She will be taking care of you while you are here.”
He looked from Matt to Holka and then swept his hand across the room.
“Holka, please take Matt to his chamber. Make sure that he is fed and is resting comfortably.”
His voice dropped low and although he kept it pleasant, he sneered as he finished
with, “You know your duty.”
“Go with Holka, my boy. Oh, and … Matt?”
Matt turned back to the king.
“Sweet dreams.” The king made sure to say the words with a big smile.
Matt glanced at Holka and then back at the king, who had a funny looking grin on his face.
Holka was very pretty with a long golden plait the colour of maize running down her back. She was about as tall as Jeff. Her eyes were the strangest colour: pale pink. Her cheeks had a dash of rosiness and her lips were red. And she smiled shyly as if she did not want her teeth to show.
She wore an orange tunic that looked like a long shirt with yellow ribbon that laced up the front. Her pale yellow leggings went up to her knees.
Matt’s heart skipped a beat when he thought about going home tomorrow. He hoped his mother would not be too mad at him for staying out all night.
The girl with the golden hair stood to the side, waiting for Matt to fall in next to her. She led him away from the room, ducking through the blood-red curtain, leading him through another hallway lined with golden statues and bright colourful tapestries hanging from the endless ceilings.
Holka did not say anything to him as she led the way, and Matt was way too shy to say anything. Besides, he was so busy looking at everything, his head going from left to right, taking in all the colour and richness of the castle.
Endless carpets ran along the long corridors. The arch windows were lined with thick draped curtains that changed colour, glowing brighter as darkness overcame twilight. There were many corridors that led off the one Matt walked down, some with large wooden doors that were so big that Matt would have needed a ladder to reach the handles.
Some doors were so small they came to his knees.
Matt sniffed the air. It smelt like fresh doughnuts, choc-chip cookies and bubblegum. It made his mouth water.
Then he walked past a corridor that made him gulp. It was grey, black, and cold, nothing like the rest of the castle. It was scary.
Jeff Madison and the Shimmers of Drakmere (Book 1) Page 6
