by C. J. Busby
Lady Morgana took Max’s hand and raised it up, and then she gestured to the audience for quiet.
“This year, as the judge, I have a special extra prize to award,” she announced sweetly. “Max Pendragon, the worthy winner, shall have a free place at my Summer Spell School at Castle Gore. He may stay as my guest for the whole six weeks and I shall especially enjoy teaching such a talented young man some of my most interesting potions.” She looked around and smiled as the audience clapped and cheered happily. Only Merlin, at the back, looked thoughtful.
Max was clutching his cup and still feeling slightly stunned when he saw Sir Bertram and Lady Griselda approaching across the grass. They were smiling and Lady Griselda gave Max a hug.
“Max, darling,” she said. “You did brilliantly to win the competition! It seems you’re destined to be a wizard rather than a knight, after all.”
Max looked questioningly at his father and saw him nodding vigorously.
“Too right!” said Sir Bertram. “Damned marvellous spell, that, marvellous! Had everyone completely on the edge of their seats! Frog – rat – Olivia! Really gave me a bit of a turn there, in the middle. Thought I’d end up with a rat for a daughter, eh, Olivia?!” He laughed heartily, while Max tried to look like he had meant it that way all along. “Point is, Max, Lady Morgana le Fay is a very powerful enchantress and she knows a good spell when she sees one. So even though you do pack a great punch,” he looked wistful for a moment, “it looks like it’s a wizard apprenticeship for you, my boy!”
Olivia whooped and gave Max a big hug. “You did it, Max – you’re going to be a wizard! Now I can be a knight!”
“Ah, well, just a minute, just a minute,” said Sir Bertram quickly. “First of all, girls can’t be knights. And second of all, there’s something Max has to do before it’s completely decided.”
Max felt his heart sink. He had a terrible feeling he knew what the something was going to be.
“We want to be absolutely sure it’s the right thing, Max,” said Lady Griselda. “That means a bit more than just one good spell. Lady Morgana’s offer is a fantastic opportunity – her Summer Spell School is renowned across the kingdom. If you come back from it with a Merit Certificate, we’ll find someone to take you on as a full apprentice.”
“But you’ll still have to learn to wield a sword,” added Sir Bertram, clapping him on the back. “You never know when it might be useful.”
Max exchanged glances with Olivia and grimaced. Skill with a sword might come in useful quite soon, he thought, as he contemplated six weeks at Castle Gore with a dangerous sorceress who probably wanted him dead.
***
Max and Olivia threw themselves down on the grass by the moat and stretched out in the late afternoon sunshine. The birds were singing fit to burst, the trout in the moat were lazily snapping at the flies hovering over the surface, and they could smell the festival feast being prepared in the castle yard. It was a glorious day, and Max had just won the Novices’ Cup and a half share of twenty gold coins. He should have been over the moon. But there was the little matter of spending the summer in the company of Lady Morgana, trying his best to stay alive.
“Do you think she’s really that bad?” he said to Olivia, as he chewed thoughtfully on a piece of grass. “She almost seemed nice when she invited me to the Spell School. And the king trusts her.”
Olivia snorted. “You must be joking. She’s just good at putting on an act. She’s about as likely to stop being evil as a pike is to stop eating small frogs.”
Max sighed. He thought so too. In fact, every time he thought about the Spell School, a cold trickle of anxiety ran down the back of his neck.
“No, it’s no good thinking she’ll change,” said Olivia decisively. “She’s up to something, Max, face it. What you need is a few trusty companions with you in Gore. We just have to figure out a way to get me, Adolphus and Ferocious along too.”
Max sat up.
“Really? Would you really all come?”
“Well of course I’m coming,” said Ferocious crossly. “Can’t believe you thought I wouldn’t be there. You know me – always willing to lose a whisker in a good cause. Ready to brave the wickedest enchantress in the world. If she tries anything, I’ll bite her toes off…”
Max considered this. It would be easy to hide Ferocious in his tunic or saddlebags. But Olivia and Adolphus?
“It won’t work,” he sighed, thinking about it. “Dad will never let you come.”
“Dad,” said Olivia with a very determined expression, “will not be able to do anything about it. I’m coming, Max, whether you like it or not. So get used to it!”
Max looked at his younger sister and thought that, however unlikely it seemed, she might just manage it. He grinned, and suddenly felt a whole lot better.
“And remember,” added Olivia, “we still have the frogspell potion. We can turn ourselves into frogs whenever we want. Hey – we can be rats too, and dragons if we don’t mind being kissed by Adolphus! I really fancy being a dragon!”
“Oh yes!” said Adolphus happily. “Yes, please! Can I be a dragon too? How exciting!”
“You are a dragon, pea-brain,” Ferocious pointed out. “Better not put Adolphus in charge of anything important in these plans, or we’ll all end up in the duck pond.”
Max grinned, and stretched out in the sunshine, thinking that he’d probably got a fun summer ahead of him after all. He’d manage Gore somehow, and then, when he came back, he’d get proper wizard lessons at last. He wouldn’t ever have to learn to joust! How good was that? And Snotty Hogsbottom had been banished to the outer reaches of the marshy northern borders and was probably covered in mud and slime at that very moment. And all because he had accidentally discovered the frogspell. Really, what could be better?
Coming soon…
Max Pendragon is really not looking forward to attending Morgana Le Fay’s summer Spell School. Not only is his battered cauldron producing slimy green sludge instead of perfect spells, but ever since he and his sister Olivia foiled evil Morgana’s plot against King Arthur, they have been wary of her plans for revenge.
Max and Olivia soon discover that Spell School has more in store for them than they could ever imagine, and it’s not long before the siblings find themselves entangled in Morgana’s nasty schemes. With the help of Merlin and a mysterious bard, Caradoc, will they be able to outwit Morgana and save Arthur for a second time?
Join Max and Olivia for more magical thrills, spills and spells in 2012!
To Zoe, Max and Izzy
A TEMPLAR BOOK
First published in the UK in 2011 by Templar Publishing,
an imprint of The Templar Company Limited,
The Granary, North Street, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 1DN, UK
www.templarco.co.uk
This ebook edition first published in 2011 by Templar Publishing
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2011 by C. J. Busby
Illustrations copyright © 2011 by David Wyatt
The right of C. J. Busby to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authorʼs and publisherʼs rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
ISBN (ePub) 978–1–84877–148–2
ISBN (Mobi) 978–1–84877–149–9
this book with friends
