Hugo and the Bird

by Jeff Mills

  “Oh yes, and Chipper,” said Barguff, his shoulders sinking a bit, as his feat at not being caught was diminished by such a tiny gnome. “Anyway, me and my friends, we managed to escape and get back here. So here we are.”

  After a few minutes of looking incredulously at each other, and the two gnomes, so that they could both take it in, the inspector asked,

  “How did those little blighters manage to do so much damage and what caused those massive foot prints we found in the mud?”

  “Snatch!” Barguff cried out loudly.

  “What!” asked both policemen simultaneously.

  “Snatch and a big dog,” Barguff explained. “Snatch is a big brute of a cat with long fangs. She sends him out at night sometimes, to get her a supply of fresh meat. I think that some of you big people call it the ‘Beast of Exmoor’ because Exmoor is its favourite hunting ground, but that night, it was also accompanied by a big yellow dog which we’ve never seen before. Strangely, it had a collar round its neck. The two animals jumped and tore at the houses so that we could not use them to hide in. Morgana had covered the houses with nets so that we were trapped and there was nowhere to go. She forced seagulls to carry us back to her cave where we were kept prisoner.

  “What cave? Where?” questioned the inspector.

  “I’m not exactly sure, as we were too busy escaping while we were there, but my friends know.”

  Barguff put his hand to his mouth, as he had not wanted to tell the officers about Bird or Hugo or even Emma, but in his enthusiasm telling the story, they sort of, slipped out.

  “Tell me about these friends of yours and where can we find them?”

  “Ah, you must understand, they aren’t really friends; just some big people we met. I really don’t know who they were, or even if I would recognise them again. You big people all look the same to us,” Barguff lied, trying to cover his tracks.

  * * *

  The inspector eyed him suspiciously but left it at that. He’d had enough shocks for one day and didn’t wish for any more surprises. The way things were going, he wouldn’t be surprised if the little man’s friends were giants or Leprechauns. He was dreading making his report and wished that he had never become involved in this whole affair.

  “If you do see your ‘friends’ again, please let them know that I would very much like to speak to them and also, would they be so kind as to inform me of the whereabouts of this cave you were on about.”

  He turned to his sergeant. “Come on, Phil. I think we’ve got more than enough for now. As for all of you, don’t leave here, because this matter is far from over.”

  The two officers rose, said thank you to the owner and went outside. Sergeant Cummings wiped his forehead with his sleeve. The two put on their caps and walked silently back to their patrol car, shaking their heads and muttering to themselves.

  * * *

  As soon as the noise of the car was heard disappearing up the lane, Bird emerged through the wall of the office. This time it was the turn of the owner of the reserve, in company with the two helpers, to be shocked, as they had never seen such a strange animal before, not to say his method of entry into the room. The three of them collapsed down onto the bench alongside the table where they had been standing.

  “Oh, this is my friend, Bird. You know, the one I mentioned earlier, who helped me escape.” Barguff announced cheerfully but as soon as he saw the reaction of the ladies he said, “I’ll explain about him later but, for now, we have to leave you, so bye bye.”

  Barguff and Bird turned and went out of the office, heading back to Barguff’s house, which was the only one which was in any way still habitable. The elders of the community were inside, eagerly waiting their return so that they could help to think of a plan to rid themselves of Morgana and those obnoxious goblin scum once and for all.

  The three ladies, meanwhile, had opened a bottle of brandy which the owner had been given for Christmas, and each were half way into their second glass, trying to steady their nerves.

  Chapter 23

  Transformation

  Morgana picked up the fallen cup, gave the sleeping girl a hefty prod, to make sure that the sleeping draught that she had given her was working, and once more gently stroked her soft cheek.

  “Soon, my dear, so soon. How I have wished for this day. It won’t be long before you will have made my wish come true.”

  She gave the cheek one final caress with her finger and returned back into the heart of the cave. A great many goblins were gathered around the curtain as she exited, each trying to eavesdrop on what was going on inside. She screamed at them and batted them away with the back of her hand. Within seconds they had disappeared to the very farthest reaches of the cave.

  Returning to her bench, Morgana worked feverishly, thumbing through the pages of a very old volume. Bit by bit, ingredients were assembled and added to the cauldron, making a very special potion which, when finally finished, sparkled and glowed with an eerie golden light. Such was the intensity of her work that she did not notice Snatch and the goblins slowly returning, fascinated by the beauty and luminescence of the potion she was making and puzzled as to what, or for whom, it was intended. The answer to this soon became clear.

  When the bubbling had stopped, she ladled some of the contents of the cauldron into the two cups that she had used when talking to the strange girl they had seen go behind the curtain. Holding one of the cups up to the roof to admire her work, the old witch smiled and then, slowly, she brought it to her lips and drank it down until nothing was left.

  Relaxing, she let the cup fall to the ground, making a dull thud. Picking up the other cup, she likewise filled it. Returning to her sanctuary in the cave, she pulled back the curtain and approached the sleeping body. Carefully, she trickled the golden liquid into the half-open mouth until all of it had been drunk. Taking hold of the sleeping girl’s hand, she stooped and lay down beside her, closing her eyes.

  The goblins and Snatch were fascinated as to what was happening and fought for a space around the open curtain to see.

  Nothing happened for several minutes then slowly, very slowly, the body of Morgana seemed to shrink. As it did so, the cloak she wore became flatter and more crumpled.

  Time passed, which seemed like hours to the audience. As it did so, the whole body of the witch seemed to disappear. The only remains that were left of her was a crumpled rag.

  No one spoke a word. The only sound that could be heard was the dripping of the water from the top of the cave and the occasional crackle from the fire.

  Finally, one of the goblins whispered,

  “She’s dead.”

  Several others repeated this and some started to move closer into the alcove. A small bald-headed goblin near the back of the throng let out an almighty cheer, which was followed by several of those around him but this was cut short.

  Suddenly, Sue’s body twitched, and those closest jumped back. It moved again, and again. The eyes flickered open and the fingers began to move. Bit by bit Sue started to recover and regain consciousness. Eventually, and with obvious great effort, she sat up, rubbed her eyes and slowly and very gently put her hands to her face. She stroked and felt every aspect of it, the ears, nose, mouth, teeth and finally, stretching up her hand, she ran her fingers through her hair. Carefully she pushed herself up so that she was standing and, with a little totter, she went over to the wall and looked at herself in the piece of broken mirror that hung there. She rubbed her hand over the glass, scraping away decades of dust, soot and grime and gazed at the smeary reflection she saw.

  A broad smile broke over her face and she started to laugh but not the laugh of the young girl but the deep rasping cackle of Morgana. She spat at the mirror, rubbing it even more with her hand to try to make it cleaner. As the smears moved to the outer rim, the centre became clear.

  For several minutes she stood in silence, movin
g her head up, down, back and forth, her eyes never deviating from the image reflected there. Suddenly, at a loud crack from the fireplace, the young girl turned sharply and screamed at the top of her voice,

  “What are you looking at? Be gone!”

  Without hesitation the goblins scuttled away to the furthest corners, while Snatch ran and hid behind the crates that had housed the gnomes.

  After a final look at the face in the mirror, the young woman bent down and, with two fingers, picked up the old black cloak discarded on the floor. There was a tiny chink as she lifted the rotting cloth. Looking down, she spied a glint reflecting the light from the lamp nearby. At her feet she saw a gold chain. On one end was attached a small locket and a ring with a large green stone. About a foot away another ring sparkled, similar to the first but with a brilliant blue stone.

  Picking up the items, she gazed at the tiny picture of three beautiful girls and a handsome young man within the locket and the sparkling stones in the rings. She felt that somehow these items were familiar and yet they felt strange. Undoing the clasp of the necklace, she carefully threaded the blue-stoned ring onto the chain to accompany its apparent mate and then carefully placed it around her neck and, with difficulty, fastened the clasp. She had expected the metal to be cold but it felt warm against her skin. The heat from the necklace seemed to increase to the point that it became uncomfortable. She tried to undo the clasp but it would not budge. She pulled at the chain to try to tear it off her neck but it would not give. Desperately she did everything to remove the circle of gold, which now felt red hot from around her neck.

  Suddenly, the pain stopped, and she let her hands fall away from the chain. Feeling exhausted from the shock and the pain, relieved that it had stopped, she turned back to the mirror. Around her soft white neck was left a raw, red line, almost as if she had had a noose around her neck and been hanged.

  Gently moving the necklace to one side, she massaged and rubbed the line. Strangely, it did not feel sore or tender. She tried again to remove the necklace and this time it came away without any problem. She examined the clasp, the chain itself, the pendant and the rings for any cause as to the pain she had experienced but nothing; everything looked as when she had found it.

  Carefully, and at first not engaging the clasp, she once more put the chain around her neck. No pain, in fact it felt cold against her skin. Gingerly, she refastened the clasp and waited. Nothing.

  Suddenly, she had a sudden pain run through her head which only lasted a fraction of a second but as it cleared, her memory flooded back and a contented smile crept over her face.

  Letting go of the chain, she adjusted the locket so that it sat in the middle of her chest and returned to the mirror. It seemed natural there somehow and she smiled. She looked again at the red line around her neck. With the tips of her fingers she gave it a rub but it felt as it should be. With a sigh, she turned back to the old black garment on the floor. She picked it up and gave it a good shake to make sure there were no other hidden items concealed within the folds. Satisfied that there were no other hidden objects, holding it out in front of her, she marched over to the fire and with a smile, threw it in the dimming flames.

  The light from the fire was instantly smothered and the cave darkened but seconds later, amid plumes of thick smoke, it returned, with increased intensity, as the garment was slowly engulfed in flame. The cave became enveloped by the heavy smoke and many of the goblins started to cough and head towards the tunnels where a draught of fresh air was entering. By the time the air had cleared Morgana, or was it Sue, was nowhere to be seen.

  Chapter 24

  The Spy

  Barguff’s house was overflowing with gnomes, eager to hear the plan that they hoped Bird was going to explain to them. They all clamoured to hear how they were going to attack and defeat the witch and those goblins who, everyone acknowledged, outnumbered them three to one. Raker, a thin gaunt gnome in a brown doublet, green short trousers, a green pointed hat and still carrying his garden rake, after which he was named, stood on his rickety stool and shouted as loudly as he could,

  “We can take ’em! A gnome is worth any three goblins. Let’s just go and kill them now, while they don’t expect it.”

  A few of those around him shouted in agreement but at that moment Bird and Barguff appeared at the door, with little Chipper sitting on Barguff’s shoulders and obviously enjoying the ride. Several of the gnomes had to leave the house to allow the trio, especially Bird, who was considerably bigger than all of them, to get in, and so they raced around the house, leaning through the broken open windows, desperate to hear what was being said.

  “Right!” began Bird, when he had finally managed to push himself to the centre of the room. He eased the small wooden table to one side, lifted Barguff and Chipper, who was still on his shoulders, onto the table and then made himself comfortable on the floor. “I am glad that we are gathered here. As you can now appreciate, we are not just fighting Morgana but a much bigger problem; those Cornish goblins. We know that you cannot reason with them, and that they have always wanted to take over Devon so that they can control the whole West Country. However, we face an even bigger threat from Morgana. She is far more intelligent than Kadavera ever was and she must not be underestimated. She is out to utterly destroy us, and, as you can see around you, she has made a pretty good start. Barguff and I,” the red-faced gnome waved his hand, almost knocking Chipper off the table, “have had a lot of discussion with some of you and we have decided to do this.” Glancing around, to make sure they were not overheard, he proceeded to explain what they planned to do.

  At the top of the chimney, with its large pointed ear held down into it, crouched Fulmer, a small but agile goblin who had been specially selected by the witch to stay at the Gnome Reserve to act as a spy. He had been ordered to act as lookout, and report back anything that might pose a danger to her. Quietly he waited until Bird had finished talking and the gnomes had left and returned to their various houses, if they had a house left. Checking to see that no one was watching, the small, grey goblin hastened off to report back to the witch on everything he had seen and heard.

  The small buzz from the chimney made Bird look out of the window and he smiled and gave Barguff a wink. The gnome smiled back, lifted Chipper off the table and told him to go and play with his friends. The little gnome waved, shouted,

  “Bye bye and thank you!” and ran out of the door and away to see if he could find his friends and tell them everything he had heard and seen.

  Barguff watched him disappear. Turning to Bird, he rubbed his hands and asked,

  “That went as planned, now what are we really going to do?”

  Moving to the corner, away from the doors and windows, the two sat down and planned how they were going to defeat the goblins, but more importantly, Morgana.

  Two hours later, the pair curled up for a very deserved afternoon nap.

  Chapter 25

  The Missing Girl

  Monday morning. The day when Hugo and Stephanie should have both started the new term at school. Mrs Bennett could be heard downstairs in the kitchen making breakfast and Hugo’s father was in the bathroom, judging by the sounds of the electric toothbrush and gargling noises that only his father seemed to make.

  Moments later there was a call up the stairs,

  “Breakfast’s ready.”

  The toothbrush stopped its vibrating and the door of the bathroom opened revealing his father still in his dressing gown. Hugo, opening his own bedroom door and putting on his own dressing gown at the same time, bid his dad a “Mornin’,” and then asked, “not going to work today?”

  His father turned and replied, smiling,

  “I’m in quarantine just like you. I rang my dental practice manager last night and hopefully she is busy cancelling my patients for the next few days, or at least until we get the all clear. Hopefully no one will break a tooth b
efore then. So today we’ve got each other for company. What d’you fancy doing?”

  “Dunno,” the boy answered. “Hadn’t given it much thought but I suppose that I could start making that model of the Millennium Falcon that I got from Auntie Christine for Christmas.”

  His dad smiled and together they turned to go down the stairs. Hugo’s father just had the edge and went down first. They both entered the kitchen and pulled up chairs to the table.

  “Pete rang a few minutes ago,” started Julia Bennett. “He said that he’ll call round just after one and have a check on Steph. She seems a bit better today. In fact, the only thing she’s worried about are the spots and whether she will be scarred for life when they go. I told her to make sure that she doesn’t scratch them, so I gave her some of my skin cream, that expensive stuff you bought me for my birthday, so I hope that she gets better soon.”

  Mr Bennett gave a mock frown as he remembered the cost of the cream, and then both parents chuckled.

  “Oh, Hugo! Emma’s mum rang. Since Emma’s also under quarantine, she’s dropping her off here for the day so that she can start to decorate Emma’s bedroom. She said it’s a mess and Emma keeps getting in the way, so make sure that you two don’t get in my way today, and the same goes for you,” she said, pointing a finger at her husband who looked sheepishly at Hugo, grinned broadly, and started to eat his breakfast.

  The television was on in the background and suddenly Hugo’s father shouted,

  “Hush! They’ve just said something about Westward Ho!”

  Scraping his chair backwards, he turned to watch the news headlines. Someone was going on about a train derailment in Plymouth that was making thousands late for work but then the subject turned back to Westward Ho!

  “A report has come in that a young freelance reporter, named as Sue Redwell, has been reported missing from around the Bideford area. Her car has been found near the shoreline at a beauty spot in Westward Ho! She is described as being five foot seven, light brown hair, of slim build and wearing, when last seen, light blue jeans, pink sweater and a light blue jacket. If anyone has seen her, or has any information, then please telephone nine nine nine.” To back up the item they showed a picture of the missing girl and her car.