Alice Parker's Metamorphosis (Book 1 of the new adventure series for children) (17 page)

Alice sniffed the air. ‘Can you smell something?’ she whispered.

‘
It’s probably me. I haven’t had a bath in weeks,’ replied Theo.

‘
No, not that, a burning smell.’

‘
It stinks of fire damage upstairs,’ said Sarah.

Mysteriously, the smell became stronger as they descended, then as the staircase twisted down to the first floor, they were suddenly met by smoke. Further down they could make out a bright flickering light.

‘
Turn back,’ croaked Theo, ‘it’s been torched again!’

They managed to turn on the steps and headed back up.

‘
What next?’ screeched Sarah, terrified. ‘Fourth floor upwards is burnt out!’

Alice didn’t answer, paralysed by fear.

‘
The stone steps are still OK,’ said Theo. ‘We need to get on to the roof, it’s the only option. The door leading back into the main building is on the ground floor as well.’

They scrambled up the steps as fast as they could. Perhaps it was the adrenaline giving Theo a boost, but this time around, in spite of being in pain himself, he was dragging Alice who was struggling. He was right, the steps were fine and they left the charred upper floors behind them to reach the seventh floor. Here, they found a wrought-iron ladder leading to a trapdoor in the ceiling.

Alice had to let Sarah climb up first and push it open; she felt too weak. When she lifted her head, she saw Sarah shining the torch down the ladder. She could barely find the rungs with her feet, and Theo helped her up. Sarah grabbed her arm, and as soon as Alice was out on the flat roof, she flopped down on the snow-covered asphalt.

‘
Alice, are you alright? Did you inhale too much smoke?’ asked Sarah, with fear in her voice. Alice stretched out her arm towards her bag but it was too late. Sarah spotted some movement in Alice’s cloak and knew what was coming. ‘NO! Not now, PLEASE!’

‘
Sorry,’ groaned Alice, getting into a kneeling position. She pulled her cloak to one side and remembered to her relief that Freya had designed her dress with a low back. Just as well. Within seconds, her immense wings were quivering in the icy breeze, as high as the turrets around them.

‘
Oh...dear...’ said Theo gravely. ‘Were you hoping to fly out of here?
I
can’t, my wings are too small.’

Alice shook her head.

‘
No, that wasn’t the plan,’ replied Sarah, sitting down next to him. ‘They’re waiting for us in rowing boats down there.’

When Alice eventually got to her feet, she peered out from behind a turret to look down at the river. They were so high up, it was impossible to make out anything on the water apart from the reflection of the moon. Smoke was beginning to pour out of the tower now, and a fire engine’s siren could be heard in the distance. She took out her mobile, then threw it down in temper. No signal. ‘Is your phone working, Sarah?’ she asked.

Sarah pulled a face and showed her the screen. ‘
Network not availabl
e’.

‘
We could try signalling to them with a torch,’ suggested Theo. ‘Do you know Morse Code?’

‘
No,’ Alice replied. But she rested her torch between two turrets and began to flash it on and off. She paused and looked down at the river. Still nothing but darkness and smoke. ‘I should spray my wings,’ she decided. ‘If we’ve no option but to wait for the fire brigade, I need to get rid of them.’

‘
Don’t be too hasty,’ said Theo. ‘At least you’ve got a second chance of escape. I can’t see us being rescued from up here.’

‘
Don’t say that,’ pleaded Alice. ‘This is all my fault. If I hadn’t agreed to find you, you would still be safe in that room.’

‘
Believe me, I’d rather be up here. I’m very grateful to you.’

Alice got up and walked to the other side of the roof, shivering. She looked down into the courtyard. She could see that the guests had been ushered away from the fair and back towards the ballroom, where a crowd had gathered to see the tower on fire. Surely they’d had enough entertainment for one evening? She shone a light at her feet so that she didn’t trip over one of the many objects cluttering the roof.

‘
What’s all this?’ she wondered. ‘Fireworks?’ She followed an array of wires along an enormous quantity of rockets until she came to a digital timer that read ‘7.46.’ It was counting down by the second.

‘
No!’ She looked at her watch. 10.52pm. ‘There’s a whole display of fireworks over here, due to go off at 11 o’clock! We need to move!’

Theo got up to examine it. ‘I daren’t risk meddling with that. And we can rule out going back in there,’ he said, nodding towards the trapdoor. ‘There’s too much smoke already. All we can do is sit facing the wall on the far side.’

Sarah covered her face with her hands. Alice went to join her. She could see tears running down Sarah’s cheeks in the torchlight and put her arm around her.

‘
If only my grandson could see me now,’ sighed Theo. ‘An escaped prisoner sitting on the roof of a castle in a jester’s outfit, waiting for a firework display. He’d find it funny.’

‘
Sounds like a weirdo,’ muttered Alice.

‘
You’re right there!’ he chuckled. They sat in silence for a moment. The sound of breaking glass told them that the heat from the fire was smashing more windows.

Sarah wiped her eyes. ‘I wonder which it will be,’ she said, full of melancholy. ‘Fire, fireworks or hypothermia that will finish us off.’

A smile crept across Theo’s face. ‘None of those!’ he said, getting up on his feet and pointing to the sky behind the girls. They turned around to see where he was pointing. Something large and white was flying towards them through the smoke.

‘
What
on earth
is that?’ wailed Sarah.

‘
It’s Guinevere!’ shrieked Alice, clapping her hands. ‘Unbelievable! I didn’t know unicorns could fly!’

‘
They can’t. Unless they’re Finwip unicorns,’ explained Theo. ‘Their wings only emerge if they sense strong emotions in the people they’re close to.’

‘
Dad!’ Guinevere’s rider called out.

‘
It’s Anna!’ shouted Theo. ‘You can land here love, but only briefly.’

‘
Four minutes until these fireworks go off!’ Alice informed her, as Guinevere swooped down onto the roof.

‘
Take the girls first,’ Theo ordered.

‘
No,’ insisted Alice. ‘I’ve got a second option, you said that yourself.’

‘
You’ve never tried flying!’ cried Sarah.

‘
Now might be a good time.’

Anna pulled Sarah up onto Guinevere’s back. Her father followed.

‘
You’re a brave girl, Alice,’ Theo told her. ‘Thank you.’

They took off and Alice watched nervously as her friends were delivered safely to the river bank. She saw a tiny light moving towards them and guessed it must be someone from the boats running to meet them.

When Guinevere soared back up to the top of the tower, Alice was waiting, leaning over the wall. ‘No time to land!’ she called to Anna over the sound of beating wings, ‘only seconds left before the fireworks start.’

Guinevere hovered as close as she could. ‘Jump!’ screamed Anna. As Alice balanced on the wall, her heart in her mouth, the first fireworks went off, wailing as their golden tails darted through the snow-filled sky. She jumped.

Amazingly, she landed on Guinevere’s back, but her velvet gown slipped on her glossy coat and she hurtled backwards. She managed to grab her long tail and began to flap her wings in an attempt to counterbalance her weight. Terrified, she flapped her wings as fast as she could. Anna turned and stretched out her arm, but couldn’t reach her.

‘
I’m OK,’ Alice shouted. Indeed she was. She was actually flying, but daren’t let go of Guinevere’s tail. She could have burst with happiness. Her enormous wings were more than adequate to keep her airborne. Unfortunately, her landing wasn’t as graceful. She had to break free as they neared the ground and in spite of flapping her wings, she landed with a thud in a clump of reeds.

‘
Alice!’ yelled Thomas, running towards her. ‘I was worried sick!’

She was half dragged, half carried to the remaining boat and Ethan started rowing as soon as they were seated. Alice sprayed her wings using the blue bottle – there was no way she’d fit in the van with those. As their boat moved away, she watched Anna spray Guinevere’s, and once they had retracted, she galloped down the bank alongside them.

When they reached the car park, Ethan hid his boat with the first one, beneath some bushes on the river bank. Alice was amused to see Imogen waiting for them in a large Coffee Cauldron van driven by Fay. Along with Thomas and Ethan, she clambered into the back where she was reunited with Sarah, Theo, Grandad and Jake. Amidst laughter and congratulations, Alice waved goodbye to Anna and promised to meet her back at the village. Only when Thomas slammed the doors behind them did she breathe a sigh of relief.

As the van sped off, Anna had to laugh when she read the slogan on the back of it. ‘
The Coffee Cauldron – magical brews, magical experiences.’

Chapter 13

Surprises and Suspicions

‘
Let the dust settle,’ Grandad had advised her late on Saturday night. ‘Things will sort themselves out.’

She certainly hoped so. After Sarah went home on Sunday morning, Alice hadn’t mentioned the events of the party to anyone, apart from her parents, who had to be told about the fire as an excuse for being so late home. They saw it in the local paper on Monday morning anyway. Alice had been worrying about Hugh Rowbottom. What if he knew it was her and Sarah who were in the tower? Then there was the CCTV. Even wearing their masks, they might still be recognised by Lucinda. Thomas told her not to be so silly. Whatever Brian Rowbottom or his nephew knew, they wouldn’t let on. They couldn’t admit to kidnapping Theo and holding him captive, could they? Furthermore, Brian should be smart enough to realise that if he compromised Finwip society any more, his own secret identity would be at risk.

Even though she couldn’t erase that hideous beak mask from her mind, Alice turned her attention to the celebrations planned in the village this evening. She wasn’t sure she could face another party so soon, but didn’t want to miss it either.

‘
Another one?’ her mother had queried. ‘You’re popular, all of a sudden!’

‘
Perhaps her friends have realised what a good-looking brother she’s got. I’m going as well,’ said Thomas.

‘
Where’s this one being held?’ their mother asked.

‘
Oh, just down the road,’ explained Thomas. ‘We won’t be late this time, it starts at 6 o’clock.’

‘
As long as you’re at home tomorrow night,’ she said. ‘You know I like us all to have dinner together on Christmas Eve.’

*

Soon after Sarah had arrived for the village party, the Parkers’ doorbell rang again.

‘
Alice, you’ve got a visitor,’ shouted Thomas.

She rushed down the stairs, but hesitated when she saw who was standing in the hall.

‘
Lucinda!’ she exclaimed, trying to sound pleased. ‘Sarah, Lucinda’s here,’ she called, hoping for back-up to ease her awkwardness.

‘
Oh, I’m sorry if you’re busy,’ Lucinda began. ‘Only, I wanted to apologise for the chaos at the end of the night on Saturday. I didn’t see you again and I wanted to make sure you were OK.’

‘
We were absolutely fine, thank you,’ said Sarah with a reassuring smile as she joined them. ‘Actually, we slipped away early. Alice wasn’t feeling well again, so we had to dash after the first dance.’

Alice nodded, relieved at Sarah’s swift response.

‘
Oh, that explains it,’ said Lucinda. ‘Oliver and Damian were looking for you as well. I think they liked you!’

‘
Er, well, they seemed nice,’ said Alice, blushing.

‘
Mind you,’ said Lucinda, suddenly looking glum, ‘I’m not sure I’d get involved with a Rowbottom. My dad has been in the most awful mood since the party. And it can’t be because of the fire. That tower wasn’t used anyway.’

Alice and Sarah exchanged worried glances.

‘
Perhaps he feels the fire ruined the evening,’ suggested Alice.

‘
Maybe. But there’s something else.’ She wiped away a tear with a pink tissue. ‘Listen, don’t tell anyone, will you? But I heard him on the phone and he said he might lose the castle because his ‘financial circumstances’ have changed. Whatever that means. Do you think we’ll lose our house?’ she asked, blowing her nose loudly.

‘
Oh, I’m so sorry!’ blurted out Alice.

‘
We’re both sorry to hear that,’ said Sarah, frowning at Alice. ‘But I’m sure it won’t come to that, whatever happens. Your dad is a very clever and successful man, isn’t he?’

Lucinda nodded.

‘
Would you like to sit down and have a drink?’ asked Alice, feeling silly after her initial reaction.

‘
No, thanks. I should go, my mum’s waiting in the car. I brought this with me, it’s very good.’

She handed Alice a large brown envelope. She pulled out the photograph of her and Sarah in front of the Christmas tree at the ball.

‘
That is good!’ said Alice with a grin. ‘Thank you. We’ll never forget the party, I promise you.’