Thirza held Matt behind him as he glanced out of the door. The corridor was empty so he slipped out and marched Matt down the hall, never letting go of his collar. The old man did not say a word to Matt the whole way back to his room. A few times the boy opened his mouth but then seemed to lose his courage.
Thirza took a different route back to Matt’s room so they did not meet anyone.
He looked down at the boy’s face, which looked as if he was expecting to be punished. But once they reached his room, Thirza pushed Matt gently inside.
“I think you should change. Grzegorz will be calling for you soon, and it would not be good if you still had the evidence all over you.” He stared at Matt, then nodded and closed the door.
Matt sat down on his bed with a heavy sigh. With horror he realised he still had some bottles of potion in his hands. In a hurry he stored the bottles behind the large cabinet. He washed his hands and changed into clean clothes. The moment he finished the door was flung open and Thirza stood there looking as grim as ever. This time he had a guard with him.
“You are wanted in the king’s room, boy.” His tone was calm.
Matt pushed his hair around so that it was spiky and silently followed Thirza out of the room. They entered the hallway where Matt had been playing earlier. Thirza stopped at the slashed curtains; he turned towards Matt with a single raised eyebrow.
Matt stared at his shoelaces. “There were pirates hiding behind them,” he mumbled.
“Indeed.”
They reached the king’s throne room. The doors swung open and Matt entered behind Thirza.
Grzegorz was sitting on his golden throne, his head resting on the palm of his hand. He had a very bored look on his face. His black hair was pulled back and looked sleek and wet. His thin lips were pulled in a sneer as he watched Matt walk across the room. Wiedzma was standing behind him, her normally pale face still blotched with vivid red marks.
27
Rig and the boys were up before the sun. Rig was nervous about the shimmers. So they did not talk much but walked, and rather fast.
Jeff was in front. He still could not see the filing cabinet in the darkened room but the more he thought about being there, the more he felt something was there, just out of his reach.
By late afternoon they moved out of the forest and into a large green meadow, carpeted with yellow and white daisies. There was not much hiding space, which made Rig twitchy.
Every now and then Jeff would swat his ear, looking around for the bug that had stung him. After about the eighth time, his ears were throbbing and red from all his slapping and swatting. Rhed could not keep his laughter in.
“What are you laughing at?” asked Jeff.
Rig walked innocently behind him, and every few minutes he would send a pinhead of dust in Jeff’s direction, zapping him on the ear.
“Stop that!” yelled Jeff.
Rhed and Rig could not walk from laughing at Jeff’s red ears.
The boys loved the magic dust and were disappointed that it would only work for a true Sandustian warrior. During the walk, Rig entertained them by moulding the dust into different shapes and antics. He had them in gales of laughter, with the result that they covered quite a distance without even noticing it.
Rig rubbed his neck as if he felt a prickling sensation. When he checked behind them, his heart lurched abruptly. The shimmers had caught up. They had just left the tree line and were racing into the meadow, coming fast.
“They’re here, run, make for the water!” yelled Rig.
The three of them tore across the meadow. There was a stream directly in front of them but when they got there, they saw it was not wide enough to stop the shimmers. They sloshed through the stream to the other side. Rig stopped. They were not going to be able to outrun them. He had better make a stand and use his energy to fight.
“Stay close,” he ordered the boys.
Rhed fumbled with his bag and pulled out their air freshener. Both Jeff and Rhed lined up next to Rig, ready to spray. Jeff had his heart in his stomach. Rhed’s white lips were clenched together.
“Don’t you have anything else in that bag than air freshener?” yelled Jeff in a panic.
“Why don’t you take something from your bag, oh, wait, you didn’t pack one!” yelled Rhed.
He dived back into his bag and brought out a flare gun from his father’s boat.
“Cool! Now we’re talking.”
Rig made an elaborate hand movement before releasing the dust in to the air. The dust moved at the speed of light towards the shimmers, exploding into them like fireworks. But they kept coming.
“Try water!” yelled Rhed.
Rig, his eyes narrowed, moved his hands, his dust forming the shape of a huge toilet. A giant silver, glittering toilet with gushing, brimming water formed, the dust swirling until the first five shimmers were in the middle of what looked like a toilet bowl.
Rig dipped his finger towards the silver-dust toilet and flushed, washing the shimmers away into nothingness while Jeff and Rhed were whooping and fist-bumping.
“That was brilliant,” gasped Rhed.
Rig was quiet. Five were gone in one shot but there were so many more, more than he could count. “Looks like they have reinforcements,” he said grimly.
“Flush them again, Rig!” yelled Rhed.
Rig had his hands raised but he was squinting into the distance. Jeff and Rhed were struck quiet. What on earth was that?
It looked like a sand storm. It was white, silver and glittered: a wall of sand about fifteen metres high and as wide as the meadow.
“What is that?” asked Rhed, getting hysterical and waving the flare gun around over his head.
“A mother of a shimmer,” answered Jeff yelling.
“Or a shimmer’s mother,” groaned Rhed.
They glanced at Rig, waiting for him to conjure up another toilet, or create a tornado like Madgwick did, or at the very least tell them to run, but incredibly, he was smiling a tight grimace of a smile.
“Toads boys, it was definitely toads!” Jeff and Rhed looked at each other. This was not a good time for Rig to lose his mind.
The shimmers were closing in. The dust wall was rushing behind them. Rig was very calm. He dipped his head.
“Huddle down,” he said to the boys. “This is going to be rough.”
Rig tossed his dust into the air and a solid wall formed in front of them. They watched in horror as the dust storm overtook the shimmers, swallowing them, tossing them around as if they were in a washing machine. The dust wall hit Rig’s wall with a bang and the dust showered around them. Shielding their eyes, they could make out a figure coming out of the storm, riding a motorbike, wielding a long sword, slashing at the shimmers that had managed to escape the storm.
Rig gave a war cry and leapt over the wall. In his one hand was a sword and in the other was a whip.
“It’s Madgwick!” Jeff punched Rhed on the shoulder. “It’s Madgwick!”
Within minutes the remaining shimmers were gone and the dust storm flowed back to Madgwick, who was grinning while getting off his bike. Rig walked through the stream towards Madgwick, and promptly pulled him into a bear hug.
“I made it,” panted Madgwick.
Rig did not have any words, but Madgwick nodded as if he understood.
The boys raced over, yelling Madgwick’s name.
He staggered back as the boys grabbed him, and then they were all laughing.
“Did you see the toilet? Rig flushed them down a toilet!” gushed Rhed. The storm took second place as far as he was concerned. If it had not been for Rig, he would still be Twigwig in the forest. Everyone was talking at once.
“Let’s go, guys,” yelled Rig.
After making sure there were no shimmers close by, they made camp and shared fruit, berries and a packet of chips from Rhed’s bag. Jeff explained his progress at being a dream catcher, which was … none.
Madgwick had them enthralled as he told them about t
he fight and Angie’s arrival. He left out the part about her lack of singing talent. Spreading that little fact would not be wise.
The boys gave Madgwick a detailed account of the tree that had decided to keep Rhed and call him Twigwig.
Madgwick’s head snapped towards Rig. “Tree root … uh, Rig?”
Rig grinned broadly and nodded. “Pongsap root.”
Madgwick’s eyebrows shot up. “Pongsap?”
Jeff and Rhed were watching this exchange with growing unease, both of them asking what it was, but it was no use. By this time Madgwick had tears in his eyes and was slumped over with laughter. Rig was slapping him on his back, his chest huffing with laughter.
28
The next morning Rig and Madgwick walked to the edge of the forest while the boys were getting ready at the brook.
“So, Angie said we may see her again but she had some urgent things to do? Like what is more important than this?” Rig asked, annoyed.
Madgwick shrugged. He had given up trying to understand her a long time ago.
The boys joined them and they were ready to set off.
“What were you riding yesterday?” Jeff asked Madgwick.
“A scrambler, you know, an off-road bike.”
He took a handful of dust and it flowed into the form of a bike.
“So cool,” breathed Jeff.
Rig’s gaze moved along the bike and then he raised an eyebrow at Madgwick but he was smiling. Finally the young warrior could look after himself.
“Angie fast-tracked me,” Madgwick explained sheepishly.
Rig did not answer except to drop his own dust to the ground to form an identical bike.
“Let’s go then.”
Jeff and Rhed whooped and gave each high fives. Turning back to the bikes they found that both Rig and Madgwick were holding full-face helmets out to them.
“Awww,” groaned Jeff, “Do we have to? We won’t fall!”
“Helmet or walk, your choice.” Rig was stern.
By late afternoon they had reached a very deep ravine. Everyone’s butt was a little sore from biking all day.
Jeff was complaining to Madgwick. “Next time we go by bike, can I have a cushion on top of my seat?”
The ravine was steep and they had to be very careful of loose rocks that could plunge them over the side. Some places went straight down and it was a long long way to go.
“It’s going to be a long climb down. I suggest we go with ladders or we harness the boys and send them down one at a time,” suggested Madgwick.
Rig snorted. “It will take us about a week to get down. Great! A week to get over this ravine, then to Drakmere. At this rate it will be two weeks to get everyone home. We don’t even know what state the child will be in. We will probably have to carry him, never mind the force that Wiedzma will be sending after us. Jeepers, Madgwick!”
“I know,” said Madgwick. “Do you have a better idea?”
Rig sighed. “You are right, I don’t like that you are, but you are right. Bah!”
They made their way back to the boys. Jeff was standing on the rocky outcrop looking across the ravine.
Something was not right. Both Rig and Madgwick felt it. They turned around looking at the trees, looking at the sky. They did not know what was spooking them but both felt something big was coming and coming fast.
Madgwick looked back at Jeff and Rhed. Jeff was standing too close to the edge. He yelled in alarm. “Jeff, get back from the edge!”
Jeff turned around at the panic in Madgwick’s voice. He had barely taken a step when a thunderous crack made them grab their ears and bend over and then they were hit by a force that slammed everyone to the ground. The trees were bending so far that they seemed about to snap. It felt like the wind had a fury of its own as it swept over everything in its path.
While flying through the air and smacking into the ground, Madgwick’s eyes were glued to Jeff’s startled face. The wind took Jeff straight off the edge, hurling him over and into the ravine below.
Madgwick and Rig leapt to their feet, silver dust sword already in Rig’s hands, ready to fight. Madgwick did not bother with a sword. His only thought was Jeff. Madgwick did not break his stride as he threw himself over the edge where Jeff had just disappeared.
Rig’s eyes widened as Madgwick went over. He raced to Rhed who was lying on the ground. He was okay. Rig rushed to the edge and looked down.
Madgwick hurtled down after Jeff. He could see the boy in front of him. Madgwick focused with his entire mind. He had a pinch of dust in his one hand. He released it, the dust spinning away from him. Madgwick focused harder. He needed to catch Jeff. He could not go faster so he needed to slow the boy down. The dust shot out as a bungee cord and wrapped around Jeff’s ankles.
Madgwick, still plummeting, opened his other hand and immediately the dust wove itself around his body and trailed up above him, opening in to a beautiful parachute. Madgwick’s body jerked as the chute slowed his fall. He checked on Jeff, who was swinging by his ankles, bouncing.
Jeff screamed in exhilaration, whooping and shouting, “Yeaaah! Whooooooo!”
Madgwick pulled the bungee cord in until he could reach Jeff’s arms to pull him and clench him in his arms. The dust recoiled, securing him to Madgwick. Madgwick pulled his strings left and right, negotiating the wind in the channel between the two ravine walls. Eventually Madgwick’s feet touched the ground and they were on the other side of the ravine.
As the cords fell away and the dust flowed back to his hands, Madgwick waved to Rig. “I found a faster way across,” he yelled.
“Are you nuts?” yelled back Rig, but he was grinning and already pulling a reluctant Rhed to the edge.
With Rhed tied to his front, Rig jumped over the edge and opened his chute. He was a lot more graceful in negotiating the wind and floated easily across.
Rhed’s mouth was opened wide as he screamed in terror, his dreadlocks flying in all directions.
Rig shook his head.
29
“Matt, Matt, Matt.” The king sighed loudly.
Wiedzma, too angry to allow Grzegorz to continue with his infuriating approach, pushed in front of Matt and screamed into his face.
“I know you were in my room! My chambers are carefully hidden away by spells and enchantments! How did you get in there?”
The smoke tornado was still bellowing darkly behind her, moving and pulsating, like it was alive.
“Don’t know,” muttered Matt and shoved his hands into his pockets. His eyebrows pulled inwards as he stared at the witch’s mole, which had left her cheek and moved to her forehead. Her hair was plaited and intertwined like snakes on the top of her head and her bright yellow dress looked out of place against the dullness of the room.
“Don’t know what? Explain how all my bottles of potions were dumped on the table and these, these stupid drawings were all over the place,” screamed Wiedzma, her mouth pulled back in a rictus and her eyes never leaving Matt as she threw the pages covered in his paintings up in the air. In her anger, her magic made the paper fly around the room, flapping around in circles. Some of it flapped into the smoke and rushed around in a wild frenzy before tiny little pieces flew out of the smoke and floated down to the floor like little snow flakes.
Matt’s gaze darted left and right as he tracked the bits of paper raining down all over him.
“I was only playing and … and you can’t tell me what to do. You’re not my mother,” said Matt crossly.
He glanced up at Wiedzma’s face and he swallowed as Wiedzma’s complexion reddened again. She lunged for him but the king moved in front of her and put a hand on her arm. At the same time Thirza moved forward so that he was right behind Matt.
“Now, now, Wiedzma,” soothed Grzegorz. “He is just a child after all. Annoying as it is, we can replace all your potions. And he has not burnt the place down, which I suppose we can be grateful for.”
Matt backed up some more to put distance between Wiedzma and h
imself and, not realising Thirza was so close, bumped into the old man. He pressed back into him, finding it comforting, even though he knew Thirza did not like him.
“You don’t scare me and you’re ugly!” yelled Matt, but he was scared, very scared.
Grzegorz turned back to Wiedzma and tried to shout over Matt’s yelling. “How long before that damn potion is ready?”
“It was ready but now I have to start again, thanks to my potions being mixed and destroyed! I don’t even know what is still left. I am amazed that the child did not lose his hands!” she yelled, whirling towards Matt.
Grzegorz snapped his fingers. A guard whipped Matt up over his shoulder and marched out of the room.
“What do you mean you have to start again?”
Wiedzma faced Grzegorz. “My dear king,” she said scathingly, “that is the whole point. I cannot just get more potions. Some take years to create. I will have to travel hundreds of kilometres to replace ingredients. If I can even get them again. And who is going to protect your precious castle then?”
Grzegorz’s mouth snapped closed. This was a disaster. Wiedzma was a powerful and feared witch but even she needed potions, and she was needed here. Grzegorz knew a rescue attempt would be made for the child, of course. But if the rescue party got here after the enchantment spell was completed, it would not matter how they tried or what they did, they would not be able to break the spell. With the spell sealed, they would never be able to take the child away. He would be theirs forever, and willingly.
With Matt’s mind open to him, he would be able to manipulate the child’s dreams. But Grzegorz was not just interested in just Matt’s dreams. They would open up the doorway to the dreams of all the children in the world. Oh, what chaos, fear and misery Grzegorz would cause! The misery and fear would feed his army of nightmares, and soon he would be able to conquer all realms, including Sandustian.
Wiedzma also had her own plans for the dreams of all the children. Her wish was to implant an evil dream snatcher into the minds of all human children. Sleep deprivation was a powerful tool in causing despair and anguish in the world.
Jeff Madison and the Shimmers of Drakmere (Book 1) Page 13
