Amethyst (10 page)

‘Remember how he was talking about going adventuring?’ said Amy. ‘Shane Annigan so inspired him with all that dragon talk, maybe he …’

Copper stared into the distance. She put her hands up to her throat as if something was stuck there, choking her. Her eyes swam with tears.

‘Took Ralick?’ she whispered. ‘Without telling me?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Amy. ‘Maybe they’ll both be inside when we go in. It will all be all right.’

But it wasn’t.

Ralick and Questrid had both disappeared.

While Copper and Amy had worked in the Root Room, Questrid had been in his room above the stable. Daydreaming. He was imagining himself speeding through the air on a sleek silver dragon. He was circling a dark and mysterious castle. Around him, evil brown dragons with red tongues and blazing red eyes gathered for the kill …

Then something broke into his dreams and he sat up. He went to the window and looked out into the yard. A glimmer of light, mirrored and reflected on the snow, caught his attention. Shane Annigan!

‘What’s he doing back?’ And just for a second, Questrid’s soul soared, thinking maybe he’d come back for him. Maybe he wanted Questrid to be his travelling companion. Questrid was about to rap his fingers on the glass to catch Shane’s attention, when he heard a squeal.

Ralick!

Then he saw the cub. It was like a punch in the stomach. He gasped. Shane Annigan
had
Ralick. He was stuffing the struggling, yelping cub into a white sack!

‘He’s
stealing
Ralick!’

Questrid ran to the door – it was locked. Impossible! He tugged and pulled at the handle. How could it be locked? There wasn’t even a keyhole! He dashed back to the window but it was too small for him to get through. Anyway he knew he’d then be stuck on the roof. Shane Annigan was moving fast. He was already on the other side of the great wall. If I don’t do something straight away, he thought, I’ll never catch him.

He raced back to the door.

Look, he told himself, calmly, it cannot be locked because there is no key. There must be something holding it. Think logically.

He twisted the handle again. Something was stopping it from turning. There were some silvery wisps of thread there.
Cobwebs?
Weird! The internal workings of the doorknob were tangled up with cobweb.

Questrid dragged his box of tools out from beneath his bed. He opened it and rummaged around for a screwdriver. Instead he found one of Copper’s old crochet hooks. He slipped it into his pocket, thinking how glad she’d be to see that again.

He found a screwdriver of the right size and began to unscrew the door handle. He was so frantic, his fingers slipped and slithered and he gouged great chunks from the door.

‘Come on!’ he yelled. ‘Come on, you clumsy oaf!’

Finally the handle was off. Questrid goggled. It was as if a crazy spider had sneaked into the door. It seemed to have spun, tangled, twisted and knotted miles of fine, gossamer-like threads into a dense mass.

Questrid shook his head in amazement. ‘That’s just weird.’

He attacked the thread with his chisel. His screwdriver. Everything. But the stuff was stronger than wire. He couldn’t undo it. He’d have to dismantle it. It took him ages to undo the inside part of the catch. At last he did. He pulled out the thread. It was woven like a dormouse nest.

Questrid quickly refitted the handle and opened the door. He was free!

He pulled on his coat and scarf and ran.

Down the stairs, into the garden. Down to the gates. Out into the wide-open snowy plain. The ruffled snow showed exactly the way Shane Annigan had gone.

With Ralick.

Questrid walked for a long time. The only living thing he saw on his journey was Glinty, Ruby’s dragon. She circled and swooped high in the sky, a blur of turquoise flashes and sparks above the Rock. Apart from that, the white landscape was empty and entirely still.

‘I can’t bear it, I can’t bear it without my Ralick,’ Copper sobbed. She threw herself onto her bed. ‘Where is he?’

Amy stared at her, suddenly scornful. Weak and sappy thing, she thought. She remembered the tabby kitten she’d wanted. Aunt Agnes had drowned it.
You see big eyes and fluff, that’s what you see, but it’s fleas and filth that I see. And pulling on your heart strings. No. No!

And so Amy’s heart strings had remained unpulled.

Now she was determined to fulfil her contract with Granite. She would do it, despite Copper. At least Granite was powerful and stony. No weeping there and neither did Amy weep.

‘I wasn’t going to say anything,’ said Amy, sitting down beside Copper. ‘But now …’

‘What?’

‘It’s just that I think Questrid took Ralick,’ said Amy.
‘He was jealous of the way we were getting on. He felt pushed out … I think he wished I’d never come here.’

Copper sat up and grabbed her arm. ‘But Questrid’s so, so …’ She paused. ‘Well, so good! I can’t believe it.’

‘What else can explain Ralick’s disappearance?’

‘I don’t know …’

‘Questrid looks at me so strangely. Tries to avoid me,’ went on Amy. ‘He’s never liked me. Shane inspired him and now I bet he’s gone off to look for dragons. With Ralick.’

‘No! He wouldn’t … He loves Ralick, I know, but he wouldn’t steal him and Ralick would never go without me!’

‘Ah, yes, you’re probably right,’ said Amy, quietly. ‘It’s mean of me—’

‘No, sorry! You
could
be right …’ said Copper. ‘I’ll tell Cedar. And Mum. They’ll know what to do. I HAVE to get Ralick back!’

‘Why don’t we go and look?’ said Amy.

She moved to the window and stared out at the sun twinkling on the snow.
I’ve
got to get that wolf cub back, she thought. The sooner we set out, the better the chance we have of finding him. ‘We could just follow the footsteps a little way. If we leave it too long, they’ll disappear …’

‘D’you think so?’

‘Grown-ups will only try and stop us …’ said Amy.

They crept back downstairs again. The wooden staircase groaned and squeaked and creaked and whined.

‘Shh! Shh!’ Copper said.

Amy knew the wood wanted Copper to stay.

The kitchen, unusually, was empty.

‘Let’s take some cake,’ said Amy. She scooped up a couple of slices from the plate. ‘And drink.’ She stuffed a bottle of water and the cake into Copper’s backpack, which was by the door.

‘But we’ll only be a few minutes …’

‘Just in case,’ said Amy. She had a feeling they might be away some time.

‘I ought to tell someone what we’re doing,’ whispered Copper. ‘It’s not right …’

‘Don’t worry.’

‘I suppose we’ll come back as soon as we’ve seen which way they went … And maybe Questrid’s hurt? Or Ralick? Perhaps there’s been an accident? I’m so lucky I’ve got you, Amethyst.’

Amy felt sick to the pit of her stomach at her duplicity.

But still I’ll go on, she thought. Yes, I’ll go on and spoil it all for Copper, because that’s what I came for. That’s my job. Spoiler. Wrecker. And it won’t really matter in the end, when I’m rich. Granite will be pleased. I bet he makes me his heir. The new Lord, no,
Queen
of the Rock People …

They reached the gateway. Swathes of whiteness spread out all around them. The mountain peaks seemed suddenly closer. The wooded slopes looked dark and menacing. It was different here. Already Amy could feel what it meant to be away from Spindle House. The influence of the Wood Clan was waning.

‘It’s so lonely out here,’ Copper whispered, hugging herself.

‘It’ll be all right. We’re together.’

‘You’re so brave, Amy. You Rock people are stronger than us Woods in so many ways. Mum and Dad will be worried …’

My aunt and uncle let me go easily enough, thought Amy. Nobody hurt or worried there. So why should I care?

Shane Annigan’s light footsteps left almost no mark. His cape brushed the ground and left a soft sweeping line over the snow, like a big snail trail. This was the mark that Questrid had followed earlier.

They went up the side of the hill, following Questrid’s tracks, through the woods, towards the distant purple mountains. When they got to the top of the first hill, they turned and looked back at Spindle House.

‘Oh, Amy!’ said Copper. ‘Isn’t it the most wonderful house in the world? I wish I’d left a note. I hope they’re not worried.’

‘They won’t even have noticed we’ve gone,’ said Amy.

They walked for an hour and there was still no sight of Ralick or Questrid.

‘Maybe we should go back now,’ said Copper.

‘Well, we could if you really wanted to,’ said Amy. ‘But I think there’s some sort of cave or tunnel up there. Shall we go and see?’

I am not going back without that wolf cub, Amy told herself. And if Questrid brought him this way, I have to go this way too.

They reached the tunnel. Amy wondered if this was the one-way tunnel that Granite had told her about. She felt sure it was.

Go through alone, or with Copper?
With
Copper, she decided quickly. It was better being with someone. Not so scary. And if Ralick was on the other side, he’d want to come to Copper. He might not come to Amy. Yes, she definitely needed Copper with her.

Copper was examining the snow beside the tunnel. ‘Questrid’s footprints are everywhere!’ she said.

‘Well, at least we know we’re on the right path,’ said Amy. ‘Questrid must be carrying Ralick.’

Amy noticed another set of prints. They were fresh. They were Shane Annigan’s, she was sure.

Amy was shocked but not surprised.

She remembered with a jolt something Shane had said in the kitchen. Questrid had mentioned Ruby, and Shane Annigan had known she was Questrid’s mother.
How
did he know that? How did he know
anything
about Ruby if he’d just been blown to Spindle House like he said?

I never trusted him. Amy clenched her fists. I was right.

She wiped away the marks before Copper could see them. Shane must have the wolf cub, then, she thought. And Questrid went after
him.
I might have known it.

‘Do you think they’ve gone in?’ asked Copper. She was leaning into the tunnel. ‘It’s so cold and dark in there. It gives me the creeps! The air’s all musty and dank, like an old black blanket,’ she said. ‘It’s horrid. I’ve got goose bumps. My neck’s gone all prickly. Amy, I’m scared! I’m sure we shouldn’t go in.’

Amy didn’t fancy going through the tunnel either. She tried to remember exactly what Granite had told her about it. Something about Wood People not being able to use it? What exactly did one-way mean?

While they were wondering what to do, Amy heard a noise on the mountain below them. Someone was coming.

‘We’ll be fine together,’ said Amy, grabbing Copper’s arm. ‘Come on. In we go.’

A loud noise stopped them. A big white bird was circling above them. ‘Kwaar! Kwaar!’ it called. It flew down and landed on a rock beside the tunnel mouth.

‘Casimir!’ said Copper. ‘Maybe he’s got a message.’

She knelt beside the bird and opened the message tube tied to its leg. She pulled a tiny roll of paper out, but it was blank. ‘Nothing …’

Casimir made a cross screeching sound. He bobbed his head up and down and bounced fretfully on his orange legs. ‘Kwaar!’ His big feet left triangular prints in the snow as he marched around. ‘Kwaar!’

‘I think he doesn’t want us to go in,’ said Copper. ‘If he says no then—’

‘He’s just an old bird,’ said Amy, thinking quickly. ‘He probably came so you could send a message home, that’s all.’

‘Do you think so? OK. I’ll leave a message then.’ Copper took a pencil from her backpack and wrote a note.

Don’t worry. We’re going after Q and R through the tunnel. Back soon.

C xxx

Copper fitted the roll of paper back in the holder on the bird’s stick-like leg.

‘Let’s go,’ said Amy. She made a face at Casimir. Hah, nearly stopped us, she told it silently. Only I’m too clever! Good try, birdie!

Casimir rose into the air. He glided off through the fir trees, crying miserably.

Amy was sure she heard a scrabbling noise further down the hill. Someone else was following them. She urged Copper into the tunnel.