Behind the Sorcerer's Cloak (22 page)

The jet bead in Holly's pocket irritated and itched. Holly tried not to touch it, but she felt as though the bump was so obvious the man must be able to see it. Her mind raced. How could they distract him and drop the bead into the tray.

A woman's voice called out. “Found another bead.”

Mitch rushed out of the hut.

Swiftly Holly pulled the black bead from her pocket and held it over the tray.

A voice she knew growled. “You're stealing! You rotten kids, I knew something were up. You're pinching beads!”

Shocked, Holly swung round.

Mr. Cubbon stood in the doorway, his face no longer friendly but contorted with hatred. He pointed an accusing finger. A wave of malevolence, so strong it was almost physical, swept over them.

Dropping the bead in the tray, Holly pushed past the old man and fled into the mist.

Owen followed.

“Stop 'em. They're stealing beads,” shouted Mr. Cubbon.

A gigantic hue and cry rose from the dig as the workers dropped tools and gave chase.

Most of the Shades were riveted, watching events unfold in the castle below. But one still watched the gulls slipping so easily back and forth through the magical mesh.

Time and time again it tried to meld with a gull. Time and time again it failed. At last its careful observation paid off.

“Ssee, ssee,” the Shade cried. “The birds eat fissh. Watch, watch.” It left the other Shades to slide into the sea where gulls dove through the waves and feasted on a school of herring.

“Fissh, fissh, meld with the fissh,” called the Shade. It melded with the nearest herring.

A greedy gull gulped. The herring vanished.

The bird soared up, passed through the web of magic and landed on a wall on Pheric's Isle.

“Ssee, ssee, ssee,” squawked the gull. “Copy me, copy me, copy me!”

With soundless cries of triumph, the Shades descended to the surface of the sea and melded with fish.

Leaping and flashing through the waves, the herring soon attracted the attention of more gulls who swooped down and swallowed them.

The possessed gulls soared through the magical web. Their shrieks of triumph rang through the air.

“Ssearch for the children! Ssearch for the children! Ssearch for the children!”

Holly fled through the ruins. Owen followed.

They scrambled over a low wall and tumbled down an unexpected slope on the far side.

Swiftly finding her feet, Holly raced on. Owen stuck to her heels: up mounds, between walls, down passageways, through arches.

Behind them feet pounded and voices shouted. Gulls screamed and swooped over their heads.

It was the mist that saved them.

Holly dove headfirst into a mist-filled hollow and rolled into a hidden corner. She sat gasping for breath.

Owen followed and hunkered down beside her.

“Why run?” he panted. “You'd done nothing wrong.”

“I couldn't stand the hate, and I was holding the black bead. Try explaining that!” Holly gasped.

“Still got it?” asked Owen.

Holly shook her head. “I dropped it in the tray with the others.” Her eyes filled with tears. “What are we going to do? No one will let me near the beads now. I've failed Breesha and messed everything up. The beads are in the wrong order, Owen. They need sorting as well as restringing.”

Owen clapped his hand gently over her mouth and jerked his head.

Voices floated through the mist.

“This is hopeless. They could be anywhere in the castle.”

“Why waste time looking? There's only one entrance and exit. Sooner or later they're going to use it.”

“You're right. Stupid kids.”

“Did they pinch anything?”

“Don't know yet. Mitch is counting the beads.” The voices faded away.

Owen grinned. “I'd like to be a fly on the wall when they realize there's an extra,” he whispered. “And as for one entrance, they've got that wrong too.”

“How come?”

“Mr. Cubbon told me. The secret passage from Castleview Inn leads to the Round Tower.”

“Mr. Cubbon thinks I'm a thief. He hates us,” said Holly, a catch in her voice.

Owen frowned. “That was weird. He was a friend. I wonder what changed him.”

Holly shuddered. “He was scary.” She pulled out the map. “Where do you think we are?”

SQUAARK.

A gull attacked through the mist, its beak aimed straight for Holly's eyes. At the last second it veered sideways and snatched away the map.

Holly clapped her hands over her face.

Owen stared upward in horror. “What's going on?”

A second and a third gull attacked in quick succession, diving at their faces and heads with piercing shrieks.

“Stop trying to blind us,” yelled Owen. He leapt up, flailing his arms.

“Shhh, people will hear,” gasped Holly. She was trembling.

Meow.

A white cat sprang in front of them and rubbed against Holly's knee.

“Manxie? Where did you come from?” Holly put out a hand.

The cat pulled away and padded deeper into the mist. It paused and turned its head. Green eyes stared.

Holly scrambled to her feet, bent double and followed. So did Owen.

The gulls attacked again and again, slamming their bodies, beaks and wings hard against the children.

Holly and Owen kept going, heads down, scuttling behind the cat.

The three ran through the castle, dodging in and out but always keeping to the thickest patches of mist.

The cat could avoid the searching humans, but it could not outwit the gulls. The Shades detected the tingling of magic even through the thickest patch of mist. They dove down again and again, terrorizing the children.

Owen's back and head were pecked and bruised.

Wicked beaks jabbed at Holly until her head ached. One beak scraped a groove along her temple and drew blood.

A wall loomed out of the fog.

The cat stopped at its base.

The birds attacked again.

Holly and Owen huddled against the stones, but the wall curved away and gave little protection. They crouched with their arms folded over their heads and faces, wondering why they had stopped there.

The cat crouched before them, watching for the next bird, ready to pounce.

The birds changed tactics.

Twelve gulls soared out of the mist and landed on the grass, just out of the cat's reach. They formed a silent menacing semicircle.

The birds stared at the cat and the children with avid red eyes.

The cat arched her back and hissed.

One bird clacked its beak. A second joined in. The others followed.

Beaks rattling like sabers, the gulls approached.

Holly and Owen shrank back.

“Why are the gulls so psycho?” whispered Owen. “This is insane.”

Holly shook her head. “We need Earth Magic. Neither we nor the cat can win this on our own. Join me.” Holly held out her hand. Owen grasped it. They closed their eyes and sent frantic mindspeak.

Help someone. Please help. We need Earth Magic. We're under attack.

Holly's memory sparked. She pointed at the gulls and yelled, “
Lhiat myr hoiloo
—to thee as thou deservest.”

A dark shadow appeared on the wall behind them.

Snarling and growling filled the air.

Horrified, Holly and Owen swung around and staggered back.

A massive black dog took shape against the wall and sprang forward, red mouth gaping, gigantic teeth dripping and gleaming.

Brother and sister moved closer together.

“We're surrounded,” said Holly.

“DROP!” yelled Owen and threw his weight against her.

The cat yowled as they tumbled on top of it.

The Black Dog leapt over them and killed two gulls.

Shrieking, the other birds rose through the blizzard of feathers and fled.

Crunching and growling, and shaking away feathers, the Moddy Dhoo ate its prey.

Sickened, Holly closed her eyes.

Owen pulled her to her feet. “Come on, Sis. We've reached the Round Tower. Where's the door? Let's get inside while that demon dog finishes dinner.”

“Not so easy.” Holly pulled herself together and pointed out the entrance high above their heads.

The cat wound around her ankles.

“Thanks for guiding us to the tower, Manxie,” murmured Holly. She picked up the cat and gave it a hug. “Any ideas on how to reach the door? OUCH!”

The cat dug its claws into Holly's shoulder and sprang high in the air. It hung by front paws from the narrow ledge that formed the doorstep.

The children watched, poised to catch it.

The cat scrabbled with its hind legs until it found a footing on the wall and scrambled up.

It peered over the narrow ledge at the children.

Despite their anxiety, Holly and Owen grinned.

“No way, Jose,” said Owen.

Looking affronted, the cat turned and scratched at the door.

It yawned open and a rope ladder tumbled down.

Baying loudly, the Moddy Dhoo leapt over Holly and Owen and disappeared into the tower after the cat.

Neither Holly nor Owen moved.

“What are you waiting for? More gulls?” said Manannan in an irritated voice. He leaned out and blew a handful of vervain and valerian pollen into the air.

A cloud of forgetfulness fell over the approaching archaeologists and castle staff. Looking bemused, they stopped and returned to the dig.

Owen swarmed up the ladder and Holly followed.

Inside the Round Tower, light glowed from Manannan's willow wand. “I bid you welcome, Magic Children, but there is no time to rest. Make haste. Climb quickly.” He pointed to steps that spiraled up the inner walls of the Round Tower. “We must heal Ava.”

Owen sighed. He was upset and tired and couldn't think straight. What was Ava doing at the Round Tower, and what was it with magic and dizzying heights?

Manannan beckoned.

Owen started toward the steps, too fatigued to argue.

Holly slumped against the wall. She wasn't sure she had any energy left. She needed to rest before coping with more surprises. She stared uneasily into the shadows. There was no sign of the big black dog.

Manannan chivied her along.

Holly and Owen trudged upward.

The Round Tower began to vibrate gently. The power increased as they ascended the column of stone. By the time they reached the top, the flags beneath their feet pulsed. The energy revived the children.

“It's circle magic,” said Holly as she stepped out onto the flat roof. She leaned over the parapet and looked out at Pheric's Isle, peering through the mist veils. “The stone slabs we're standing on are arranged in a circle, the tower, the castle walls and the isle below each make a rough circle, encircled by another circle of breaking waves.”

“Even the wind's circling around us,” remarked Owen. “It's spiraling up and down the curves of the tower.”

Manannan motioned them to one side. “Hurry, hurry! Ava is in need.”