by Jeff Mills
“Mum, Dad, Stephanie, let me introduce you to Puchy. She’s the tooth fairy, you know.”
Mrs Bennett slowly sat down on the bed next to Stephanie, who was still pointing and open-mouthed. Hugo went over to the tiny figure and said quietly,
“Puchy, this is my mum and dad and sister Stephie. Oh don’t worry about her face, she’s got chickenpox.” Then as an afterthought, said with some concern, “Oh! I’m sorry. I forgot. Can fairies catch chickenpox? I hope not! Perhaps I shouldn’t have called you after all but I was desperate for everyone to believe me. I couldn’t get Bird to come, so the only other person that I thought would confirm that I wasn’t lying was you. I know that you do not like being seen, especially by grownups, but I really did not know what to do.”
He turned to his parents and explained about Puchy and referred back to the story he had told his father, ending with, “So you see Dad, I wasn’t lying. The witch really is out to get us.”
It was his father’s turn to sit down on the bed which was becoming crowded and sagging on one side.
“What’s been happening?” Puchy asked, wanting to find out every detail of what had been happening to Hugo, Bird and everyone else.
Hugo tried to tell her as much as he knew and by the time he had finished it was her turn to look anxious.
“I must fly away and find out myself what has been happening and see if I can be of help. It was very nice to meet you all,” she squeaked.
With a little wave, she took off and flew straight through the glass of the window and disappeared.
Hugo looked back and forth at his parents and then his sister who was the first to speak, albeit with a choked voice.
“Will someone please tell me what’s going on and what was that, that…, thing?”
“I told you. That was Puchy! She’s the tooth fairy, or at least one of them,” Hugo started.
“You mean there are more of them?” Stephanie screamed hysterically.
“Oh, hundreds,” Hugo responded, “even thousands probably, but scattered round the world.” For the benefit of his sister and mother, who he had not yet had time to tell about it, he repeated the whole tale from start to finish, or at least up to the point where Stephanie had caught the chickenpox and he had been forced to stay in.
“And Emma also knew about this?” questioned his mother when he had stopped talking. She rose so quickly from the bed that Stephanie and Mr Bennett almost fell off. “I’m going to phone Miriam straight away and get her to check everything with Emma. You have both been very stupid. You could have been killed.”
Almost tearing the bedroom door off its hinges, she left in an obviously distraught state and ran downstairs but it was over an hour before Hugo heard the phone receiver being replaced in its cradle.
His father sat for a long period perched on the edge of the bed. Finally, he got up and, as he was leaving the room, turned and said.
“She’s right you know. You and Emma have been very, very silly. You could have easily been killed. If everything you have told me is the truth.” Hugo nodded. “Then I am very angry that you did not tell us earlier. Much earlier.”
“But Dad, you wouldn’t have believed me even if I had told you. You didn’t believe me now until I asked Puchy to come to prove it.”
Mr Bennett had to admit that he was right. “When your mother’s finished on the phone then I’m going to call the police and tell them everything.”
“They won’t believe you!” Hugo almost sang out.
“Perhaps you’re right,” he thought and then realised that his son really was right. If he did call the police, what would he tell them? That they are being threatened by fairies, witches, goblins and a big bird that was invisible and could talk, let alone the gnomes coming alive at the local tourist attraction of the Gnome Reserve. He felt utterly confused, what with the legacy and everything his son had divulged, not to mention seeing a real fairy.
He went downstairs and poured himself a large glass of whisky, which was also strange because he hated the drink, and then sat in his arm chair in a total daze.
Chapter 32
Bird’s Dilemma
Bird suddenly felt his stomach rumble and he knew that if he did not eat something very soon that his invisibility would fail and Morgana would see him, so, very carefully, trying his hardest not to make a scraping noise with his claws on the stone floor, he made his way out of the tunnel and into the open air. Not a moment too soon either as, with a shimmer, he returned to his normal self. It was quite dark outside and the moon had not yet risen.
While in the cave he had heard Hugo call him but he daren’t respond for, not only might it have revealed his presence to Morgana, but it would have prevented him from finding out about the transformation of the witch into another body. He would also not have seen the resurrection of the new witch, which he had never suspected or counted on.
His stomach rumbled again and he decided to investigate what Hugo wanted and, more importantly, get something to eat. Using the last of his energy he made his way to his friend’s house and materialised through the wall into Hugo’s bedroom.
Chapter 33
The Battle Begins
The gnomes crouched in every nook and cranny around the house, waiting for the goblins to appear, as they had been warned.
Sure enough, just after midnight, they heard a very low buzzing. It grew and grew, then suddenly, the whole of the air was filled with the screams and shouts of their attackers, made up of every shade of the grey tribes and even some of the dark blue. Many carried small spears and knives. Some held nets between them, which they strung around the entrances to the cellar of the house at the Gnome Reserve. A whole mass of them ploughed into the door and smashed it, whooping as they gained entry and started to slash and stab at the figures they found there.
It took several minutes before they realised that their foes were no more than concrete models. Frustrated, they turned to make their way out but found it blocked, not only by the nets that their own company had thrown over the entrance to stop any escapees but beyond that, the blacked-out faces of hundreds of gnomes, armed with sticks, clubs and gardening tools. Those gnomes at the front were hacking at the nets so that they could get at the invaders and inflict as much damage on them as possible. Elsewhere screams and shouts of both gnomes and goblins could be heard.
Barguff was leading about twenty gnomes out of the hollows and from behind the trees against what must have been fifty of the blue clan, who, it was found out later, had been recruited, or actually ordered by Morgana, on pain of death or worse, to come and fight or their goblindom would be given to the grey tribes. He was seen slashing wildly with his scythe, leaving the bodies of several of them in his wake. Even the owner of the reserve was there, with her back up against a tree, slashing and smashing every goblin that came within range of her broom.
The battle raged for over an hour with potential victory passing from the gnomes to the goblins and back again several times. Several gnomes shouted to Barguff asking where Bird was but the only thing he could say was, that he’d be along soon. However, he himself wondered what was keeping his friend. They could really do with his help. Both sides were taking heavy losses and Barguff was not sure that they were going to win. He wished Bird would hurry up and come.
Chapter 34
The Bennetts into Battle
Stephanie screamed for everything she was worth. The wall in front of her was shimmering and she was afraid that the whole of the house was going to fall down. Her parents, still recovering from the shock of ninety minutes earlier, tore up the stairs, almost colliding with each other as they did so. They found their daughter sitting at the very end of Hugo’s bed with her knees drawn up as tightly to her body as they could possibly go. Her eyes seemed to be popping out of her head. Hugo meanwhile was laughing. Casually he said to them, “Oh, hi Mum, Dad. This is Bird who I told you about
a little while ago.”
Although Hugo had described the animal in question, they had not imagined such a weird creature in their wildest dreams. They both stood in the doorway, shocked and unable to move. Bird himself was a little stunned, as he had not expected them to even know of his existence, let alone meet them. Hugo took great pains to explain to Bird about how and why his family were now aware of who and what he was.
Slowly the tension melted and even Steph started to ask so many questions that Bird put up his wing and said,
“Slow down, please! If you wait, then I will tell you everything that you want to know but first have you got anything to eat? I am absolutely starving.”
Julia Bennett suddenly came to life at the idea of feeding him and asked him what he would like.
“Have you got any of those fairy cakes you made a few days ago?” he asked. “They were absolutely delicious.”
She was about to ask, what fairy cakes, when she remembered the day when the cakes were spilt on the floor when the dog had ‘knocked’ the plate over. She looked at Hugo accusingly but said nothing, just;
“I’ll go and see what I can find.” Then as an afterthought, and looking directly at Hugo, remarked, “Providing Jake hasn’t knocked those over as well!”
Hugo blushed.
While Hugo’s mother was away, Bird related to everyone else what he had seen in the cave and how Morgana had transformed into a young woman. He went on that it was even more weird, how this new witch had opened the third coffin and resurrected the body she had found inside.
“I bet that’s her sister Jane,” blurted out Hugo and he recounted again the story of the witches and the killing of their daughters to keep them quiet about the judge’s murder of their cousin.
“That means there are two of them after us now!” sobbed Stephanie and went back to cuddling her legs.
The description of the young witch intrigued Mr Bennett and he asked Bird to describe her in more detail.
After he had finished, Mr Bennett commented that, from the description, the young woman sounded very much like the reporter that had gone missing a few days before. He said that he was going to report this to the police and started to turn but Stephanie, amongst her tears, reminded him that, even if he did report it, they’d never believe him. Her father stopped, mid turn, hesitated and then sat down on the edge of the bed, realising that his daughter was right. If he had tried to explain that, a missing reporter had been transformed into a witch by another witch, who lived in a cave, with a whole bunch of goblins and an animal that could be the Beast of Exmoor, he would be laughed out of the village and probably locked away in an asylum, or whatever they called them these days.
At that moment, Mrs Bennett re-entered with a large plate of sandwiches, biscuits and three fairy cakes. Hugo made a grab for one of the cakes but his mother swiftly moved the plate away, giving him a dirty look.
“These are for Mr Bird here.” She placed the plate in front of her guest.
It took only seconds for the contents of the plate to disappear, much to everyone’s amazement and they gawped at the large bulges that slowly passed down Bird’s neck, only to disappear inside him.
The food passing down Bird’s throat made Hugo aware of the amulet hanging around the creature’s neck.
“Look Mum, Dad, there’s the amulet I told you about,” and pointed to Bird’s neck.
The medallion glistened on its bed of soft feathers. Very carefully, with the tips of his wings, Bird lifted it over his head and was about to give it to Mrs Bennett, who was holding out her hand, when Hugo shouted,
“No!” and he took it instead. His mother looked shocked. “It may burn you,” Hugo explained and instead draped it over his own hand so that everyone could have a good look and carefully turned it over several times, so that they could see both sides. Bird leaned forward to take back the glistening medal after everyone had seen enough but Hugo automatically put the rough string necklace around his neck and slipped the pendant down into his shirt. Bird sat back on his haunches but suddenly stood up again looking worried.
“The gnomes are in trouble!” he explained. “I’ve just had a thought message from Barguff and it seems that the goblins have come in much greater numbers than we thought and are winning the battle at the Gnome Reserve. I must go and see if I can help!”
“I’m coming too!” shouted Hugo.
“You stay right where you are,” ordered his mother,
but his father stood and exclaimed.
“After what we’ve heard, this is as much our fight as it is yours. I’m coming with you!”
“Me too!” screamed Stephanie.
On hearing this, Bird tried to dissuade them from any attempt to help but when he realised that it was useless he bade his farewells and melted into the wall, heading back to the reserve, and the battle.
* * *
Mrs Bennett looked angrily at her husband but he shrugged and waving his arm, announced,
“Let’s go get ’em, kids!” and started for the door.
Stephanie raced to her room to grab and put on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. When dressed, she headed downstairs and out, to where the others were waiting in the Volvo.
“Move over,” Mrs Bennett ordered, as she pushed her daughter across the back seat, and at the same time Jake jumped in and wiggled between them.
“Who let him out?” Mr Bennett shouted but no-one admitted it.
Making sure that the doors were shut and with a screeching from the tyres, they sped off to the Gnome Reserve as fast as the car could take them.
They were just approaching the North Devon Link road when Hugo’s father braked heavily and stopped the car. They were about to ask what was wrong when he turned to them and asked.
“Anyone know where the Gnome Reserve is?” They turned and looked blankly at each other.
“Quick! Get the satnav out of the glove compartment and put in the Gnome Reserve so we can find the quickest route.”
Hugo tore open the glove compartment and pulled out the Sat-Nav, quickly switching it on.
It seemed to take an age while it went through its log on procedures and locking onto a GPS signal. Eventually the screen came to life and a disembodied lady’s voice came from the machine saying,
“In one hundred yards turn right.”
Without any further hesitation, Mr Bennett threw the gear control lever into ‘Drive’ and sped off, turning right after a hundred yards, and headed for the Gnome Reserve, or so he hoped.
Chapter 35
The Battle
The battle was certainly not going as Barguff and Bird had planned. It was obvious that Morgana had been able to recruit far more fighters than either of them had anticipated and the gnomes were greatly outnumbered. Flames were licking around the door of the cellar where, as ordered by the witch, it had been set alight. Several gnomes’ bodies could be seen floating in the small pond between the leaves of the water lilies. Barguff was fighting off six of the blue clan, slashing and stabbing at them with his scythe. Three of their number were injured and could be seen around him as proof of his success.
Bird emerged, as about eight grey goblins were about to surround a very frightened-looking female gnome who was swinging a gnarled stick around her head, trying to fend them off. One massive kick from his left leg sent four of the attackers into the air, landing spread-eagled and unconscious on the banks of the pond. The others looked at their new adversary, then at those that had been kicked and ran away as fast as they could.
Bird ran to where Barguff was fending off his attackers, who had been joined by three more. Kicking and knocking aside most of them, Bird came to stand by the very red-faced gnome. Between the two of them they fought off the remaining attackers, plus several others who joined in but soon realised that Bird was too big an opponent and rapidly backed away, preferring to find someone m
ore their size.
Bird’s arrival put new energy into the gnomes and slowly but surely they started to dominate the fighting, even though more and more of their foe seemed to be coming every minute. Petrie, one of the St Austell goblins, who appeared to be their self-proclaimed leader, realised that the battle had turned and if something did not happen then they were going to lose. He turned and ordered a small but agile grey goblin, who seemed to be his second in command, to go as fast as she could back to the cave to tell ‘That witch,’ as he put it, ‘that if she didn’t come and help immediately, then they would lose.’ The little grey shadow shot off leaving a small cloud of dust.
* * *
The exhausted goblin entered the silent cave and flew up and down looking for her mistress. Unable to find her, she called out as loudly as her panting lungs would allow. Initially there was no answer and she called again. She was about to call a third time when there was a deep growl behind her and two large orange eyes emerged from the gloom, closely followed by two long fangs, as the head of Snatch loomed out of the darkness.
The tiny figure threw herself back against the wall in absolute terror. Although she had seen Snatch at a distance before, the shock of seeing it so close up that she could feel its breath was overpowering and she slid to the floor.
“Who’s there?” a faint frail voice sounded.
From behind the strange cat came a small hunched-over figure, her body covered completely by a black cloak. Her balding head was uncovered but still showed strands of what would have been delicate blonde hair, had there been more of them. The small goblin could not see her face, as the figure stooped so much that she faced the floor.
“P… p… please, ma’am, I’m Turly. Petrie sent me to tell you that the battle with the gnomes isn’t going as planned and could you, I mean, Miss Morgana, come and help.”
