MM01. The Order of the Owls

by Elisa Puricelli Guerra

  Gilbert’s gang made their way slowly up the stairs through the darkness. “Aren’t there any lights in here?” asked Lucas. Damian bumped into him. “Hey, watch where you’re going!”

  “How can I watch where I’m going if I can’t see any —” The words died on his lips. Something was moving about higher up the lighthouse.

  “Hey, guys. W-what’s that?” gasped Gilbert.

  There was a supernatural light and a fluttering white . . . something! Whatever it was, it was terrifying and headed straight for them!

  “Help!” cried Damian.

  “A ghost!” screamed Lucas.

  Then the something spoke to them in an inhuman voice: “Fish faces! Dum-dums!”

  Damian was the first to run away, followed closely by Lucas. Gilbert tried to be brave, at least until the terrifying being started screeching, “Boogey monster! Boogey monster!” That was too much even for Gilbert, who shot down the stairs with William the Conqueror at his heels.

  A minute later, Minerva whispered, “The coast is clear! You can turn off the flashlight, Thomasina.”

  The three children went down the stairs to get Napoleon. Minerva took the veil off him and put him carefully back in her pocket. “You’re a hero, Napoleon!” she said.

  “Ugly old hag!” he answered.

  The three friends had to wait a couple more days before they could meet again to find out what lightning-berries were. Thomasina’s parents were convinced that idleness was the mother of all vices. So she had to practice her horseback riding, tennis, and fencing, as well as attend her piano lessons.

  Minerva could have used this time to catch up with her homework. But with her desk sitting in front of a bay window that overlooked the garden, there was always something interesting to distract her. And then Napoleon, perched on her shoulder, made her jump all the time when he’d suddenly scream, “Old witch!” or “Stupid idiot!” every time an owl flew by the library window.

  She was now certain that they were about to make some important discoveries about her parents. She also kept wondering what Ravi and Thomasina were up to. She was sure it was something more interesting than studying. In other words, she had far too much going on in her head to concentrate on any book. So, when the day finally arrived to meet her friends at Crowley Hall, it was an enormous relief.

  She went downstairs wearing a beautiful dress. She didn’t want to look out of place in Thomasina’s perfect house. She’d tried to tame her wild hair and tie it with a ribbon. But her hair rebelled at any hint of being tied up, and she eventually gave in.

  Minerva noticed a delicious smell. It was the season for jelly making and kitchen number three was full of big simmering pots. Mrs. Flopps was limping from one to the next, stirring the thick red liquid. She’d recovered from falling down the stairs but still needed to walk with a stick. “There’s enough for at least a hundred jars this year!” she announced with a satisfied smile.

  Mrs. Flopps sold her jelly and paintings of seascapes to the tourists who flocked to Cornwall during the summer. She actually made a small fortune so the two of them would have enough money to live throughout the year. But there wasn’t enough left over to carry out the urgent repairs the house so badly needed.

  “Mrs. Flopps, I’m going to Thomasina’s,” announced Minerva, walking into the kitchen.

  The woman tasted the jelly to make sure it had enough sugar. “Mmm,” she said with satisfaction. She had a big red stain right around her mouth. She licked her lips and said, “This is absolutely delicious!”

  To get to Crowley Hall, Minerva had to go down to the village, but this time she kept well away from the shortcut. As she went by the Fishbone Inn, she narrowly missed Daphne and Arthur, who were out for a breath of fresh air.

  Timothy was at the door of his pub, shaking his head as he watched them. When he saw Minerva, he was about to call out, but she stopped him just in time by putting a finger to her lips. He understood and gave her a wink instead.

  Timothy may have been a disaster in the kitchen, but he was pretty smart. If he didn’t wear Coke-bottle glasses and such old-fashioned clothes, and if he combed his hair once in a while, he might have even been quite good looking.

  Minerva watched Arthur and Daphne staggering along the cobbled lane in silence. They still looked quite green after their fishy meals. Excellent, she thought. They’re ready for my cunning plan! Now all I have to do is think of one.

  When they were far enough away, she waved to Timothy and kept walking.

  Across the street was the general store. The door was open, and she could hear happy music playing inside. Minerva saw Mrs. Kapoor dancing around the shelves. Someone pushed back the door curtain with tiny bells and Ravi appeared. His jet-black hair was combed back and looked hard.

  “Hey, Ravi!” she cried. He seemed relieved to see her. He walked over to her with his hands in his jeans pockets.

  “Tell the truth,” Minerva said. “You’re scared to go to Crowley Hall?”

  “Nah, why do you think that?”

  Minerva burst out laughing.

  “Oh, sorry,” said Ravi. “I forgot about the tickling. Okay, I’m terrified. Happy now? Thomasina always says how fussy her parents are. And that their gardener is a monster. I’m sure I’ll accidentally stand on a flower, and he’ll chase me with a pitchfork.”

  “Come on, don’t worry! They won’t eat us!”

  Thomasina’s parents actually turned out to be very kind and friendly. And, fortunately, the monster gardener wasn’t there.

  Crowley Hall looked more like a castle than a house. It was a huge building with towers and battlements. There was even a moat!

  Sir Archibald and Lady Annabella welcomed their two guests like perfect hosts. They were dressed for fox hunting and their cheeks were redder than ever. They were surrounded by at least ten dogs that were barking all at once. “Minerva Mint?” Lady Annabella shouted to be heard over the din. “Of the Colchester Mints?”

  “Of the Lizard Manor Mints,” Minerva replied politely. She wasn’t sure if she should curtsey or not. But she did anyway. Actually, she curtseyed so much that she almost fell right on top of the lady.

  Although Lady Annabella was a little thrown by it all, she didn’t let it show. “I see!” she screamed over the now hysterical dogs. “And you, young man?” she asked Ravi.

  “I’m Ravi Kapoor of Mumbai,” he answered in a faint voice.

  “Ah! A maharaja, no doubt!” exclaimed Lady Annabella. Did she really think he was royalty?

  Ravi muttered something unintelligible. Lady Annabella took it as a yes and smiled. “Well, my dear, next time you go back to India, please say hello to the Prince of Jaisalmer from me!” she said.

  Ravi made a small gesture, which could have equally well meant yes or no.

  Satisfied, the woman turned to her husband. “Come along, Archibald dear, the horses are ready.”

  “The hunt awaits!” answered the man, rubbing his hands together.

  “Afternoon tea at five, please,” Lady Annabella said to a maid.

  “And please make sure it’s strong enough!” Sir Archibald said. “I need a good strong cup of tea after hunting foxes! And some ham sandwiches.”

  The lord and lady of Crowley Hall then made their way slowly to the stables, their riding boots scrunching on the gravel drive.

  Minerva was horrified. “They hunt foxes?!” she hissed to Thomasina. “We’ve got to stop them! We’ve got to do something! How about we cut their stirrups off? Then they wouldn’t be able to get onto their horses.”

  Thomasina grinned. “Great idea!” she said, pulling out a pair of scissors from her purse. “I know a shortcut to get to the stables before them.”

  Minerva nudged Ravi, who was still dazed by being mistaken for a maharaja. “Come on, hurry up,” she whispered. “We’ve got some work to do!”

  * * *

  After they’d sabotaged the fox hunt (at least for that day), Thomasina took her friends into the house as fast as po
ssible so her parents wouldn’t suspect anything.

  Thomasina told them that Crowley Hall had lots of secret passages. “My ancestors needed them when one of them betrayed the king of England and had to run away during the night or get his head chopped off,” she said, leading her friends through a series of rooms.

  Once they got to the library, Thomasina went to one of the bookshelves. She gave one of the big books a push and a little door slowly opened between the shelves. “Come on, this way!” she said. “I’m the only one who knows about this passage. It goes to my hideout in one of the towers.”

  “Cool!” exclaimed Ravi, heading toward the door. It was so low, he had to bend down. Inside was a spiral staircase.

  “After you,” Thomasina said to Minerva.

  When they had all gone through, Thomasina pushed a stone in the wall and the door closed silently behind them. “Ingenious, isn’t it!” she said proudly. She took her flashlight out from her purse and led the way up the stairs. “It’s really handy, too. At night, I can get all the books I want and then come up here to read them,” she said pointing the flashlight up the stairs. “My parents don’t like me staying up late, and they always check to make sure the light isn’t on in my room.”

  As they went up, the stairs grew more and more narrow. It was hard to know where to put your feet in the dim light. Ravi tried not to think about how high up they were and clung to the wall as best he could.

  At last they reached the top. Thomasina pushed open a wooden door and said, “Welcome to Thomasina the Bloodthirsty’s hideout!”

  “Wow!” cried Ravi.

  Minerva was amazed. The tower was beautifully furnished with big, comfortable cushions scattered all over the thick carpet. A telescope pointed out a slit of a window from where you could see the coast. And there was a globe, lots of maps, and piles of books everywhere.

  Thomasina explained that she kept all the things up there that her parents didn’t approve of. There were books that weren’t “appropriate” for a young lady, full of stories about bloodthirsty pirates and murderers. There was also a basket full of good things to eat, most of which were guaranteed to give you tooth decay.

  Thomasina fell onto a cushion and asked, “So, what do you think?”

  “It’s wonderful!” said Minerva, collapsing beside her.

  “Yeah. Not bad,” Ravi muttered, sitting down opposite them.

  Thomasina was happy that she’d impressed her new friends and immediately got down to business. “Unfortunately, I still haven’t worked out what lightning-berries are. But I’ve brought some books up that might help us,” she said, pointing to a pile of them on her right. “We should divide them up and check. Come on, let’s get started!”

  Lying back on the luxurious cushions, they started reading. Every now and then, just to keep their strength up, they’d grab some chocolate or one of the delicious cookies that the French cook had made. They didn’t find any mention of lightning-berries, but they didn’t give up.

  It was far past teatime when Minerva suddenly cried out in excitement. She was holding a little book with the title Oddities and Legends of Cornwall. “I’ve found them!” she screamed.

  Ravi, who’d almost fallen asleep reading his very boring book, mumbled, “Huh? What?”

  “It even says what they look like,” Minerva said.

  “Show me!” Thomasina ordered. She clambered over to her side and read, “Lightning-berry, also known as Kiss of Fire — A ruby red fruit with small, furry leaves. If not sufficiently mature, when touched it causes an allergic reaction that spreads to the entire body and burns like fire. It grows in the highest parts and most exposed cliffs of Cornwall, and is therefore difficult to pick. It is therefore extremely valuable.”

  “We’ve done it!” cried Minerva. “Tomorrow we’ll go looking for lightning-berries on the cliffs!”

  Ravi immediately turned pale. On the cliffs? With his fear of heights?

  “But it says the allergic reaction burns like fire!” he protested. There was no way he was going to mention his fear of heights.

  “Simple. We’ll pick the ripe ones,” Minerva said.

  Ravi wasn’t about to give up so easily. “So how do we reach them? Are we going to go climbing up and down cliffs like Spider-Man?”

  Minerva gave him a wink. “Things aren’t always easy. The harder something is, the more fun it is, don’t you think?”

  No. Ravi didn’t think that at all. But Minerva did and so did Thomasina, and that meant that they were going lightning-berry picking tomorrow.

  That night, the rain poured down. The next day, there were huge puddles of water everywhere and it was freezing cold. Minerva decided to dress in layers, which she could take off if she got too hot climbing up and down the cliffs.

  In the early afternoon, she came across Mrs. Flopps coming down the stairs. “Today I’m going out to study the nature of Cornwall,” she announced. And it wasn’t exactly a lie. Lightning-berries were certainly part of nature. They were a brand-new species of fruit that needed to be studied.

  “Excellent!” said Mrs. Flopps approvingly, as she limped off to the kitchen to get back to her jelly.

  Ravi was waiting for Minerva outside the general store. When he saw her, he smiled. He felt comfortable with Minerva now. But sparks still flew whenever he was with Thomasina — he still thought she was absolutely gorgeous!

  Therefore Ravi’s heart skipped a beat when they saw Thomasina outside the village. She looked stunning in her pretty dress and patent leather shoes. However, her shoes looked anything but comfortable. Minerva wondered how she was going to climb up any cliff with shoes like that. Apparently Thomasina had a habit of dressing up no matter what she was doing.

  Thomasina pulled a map out from her fashionable purse and looked at it. “We’ve got to climb to the top of Traitor Rock,” she announced, pointing to a spot on the map. “It’s the highest and most inaccessible point around here. We’ll definitely find lightning-berries there!”

  Ravi gulped but said nothing. He was afraid his voice would shake. He followed the two girls, dragging his feet like a condemned man on the way to the gallows.

  * * *

  The ground was terribly slippery, and it took a long time to follow the trail that led to the top of Traitor Rock. When they arrived, they were all sweaty and out of breath, except for Thomasina. She casually took a pair of binoculars out from her purse and began searching the rocks for lightning-berries.

  Minerva gazed out at the turquoise sea, which had never looked so huge or so full of the promise of voyages to faraway places. From up there they had a breathtaking view of the bays, rugged cliffs, and granite headlands buffeted by the wind and foaming waves. Minerva felt the salt on her skin and the wind blowing through her hair as if it was trying to pull it off.

  “Aha!” said Thomasina as she spotted something below them. “I see something red. It’s got to be lightning-berries!”

  “How can you be so sure?” asked Ravi, who felt faint at the thought of what awaited him.

  “Well, I’m not really. The only way to be sure is to climb down and see!”

  Ravi looked over the rocky edge. “Look, there’s no way I’m going tooo—” He suddenly disappeared. A sudden gust of wind had literally blown him off his feet and right over the edge.

  Minerva and Thomasina were paralyzed with shock. But then they heard a faint cry: “Help!” They crept cautiously toward the edge, clutching hard onto the short tufts of grass that covered the hill.

  Two heads, one blond and one red, poked out over the edge and looked straight into Ravi’s terrified eyes. He’d only fallen a short distance and was now lying belly-down against the sloping cliff. “I can’t climb up,” he moaned. “Everything’s covered in moss. It’s too slippery.”

  “Leave it to me!” cried Thomasina, reaching out her hand to him. “Come on, grab on!” she urged him.

  “I can’t reach you!” cried Ravi.

  But Thomasina had leaned too far forwa
rd and suddenly slid down the cliff as well. She went right past Ravi, grabbing hold of him as she went. Luckily, though, a narrow ledge stopped their fall. It was even harder to climb back up from there. At least, that’s what Minerva thought as she gazed down, wondering what on earth she could do to save them.

  This was the first time that Ravi had been in any real danger in his life. And even though he was afraid of everything, he suddenly felt calm, cool, and collected. Fear of heights or no fear of heights, he had to do something. “Put your foot in my hands!” he ordered Thomasina.

  She didn’t understand. “Why would I do that?”

  “Just do as I say! Put your foot in my hands and then climb onto my shoulders. That way you’ll be able to climb back up.”

  “Okay, but what about you?” she asked.

  “Just do as I tell you!” ordered Ravi in a voice that meant he wasn’t going to argue.

  Taken by surprise by this new Ravi, Thomasina obeyed without question. He was quite tall, so, after climbing up onto his shoulders, Minerva was able to drag her back up. Minerva gave her such a hug that they ended up falling onto the grass, belly up. It was Thomasina’s turn to be sweaty and out of breath. “Now what?” she asked.

  They went back to look over the edge. But at that precise moment, the narrow ledge, which had been supporting the combined weight of Ravi and Thomasina, broke off the cliff face. Minerva and Thomasina closed their eyes as hard as they could.

  “Hey, look. I’m still here!” came a faint voice. The two girls opened their eyes again and breathed a sigh of relief. Ravi was now clinging to a tuft of grass that stuck out from among the moss and rocks.

  Minerva’s voice was now shaking. “How long can you hold on? Can you stay there until we get someone to help you?”

  “Um . . . that depends. How long will you be?”

  “To get to the village and back will take at least forty minutes.”

  “I can’t hang on here for forty minutes!” Ravi already felt his grip giving way. “Maybe I can hold on for five minutes. There isn’t a stick or something up there you can drag me up with?”