Firestar (10 page)

Lewis listened absent-mindedly to Neil’s excited remarks as they walked back along the country road that led to Glenmorven House, turning over everything Hughie had said in his mind. Chuck was in the castle … Chuck was involved in all this … but why?

“What gives, Lewis?” Neil sounded exasperated. “I don’t think you’ve heard a word I’ve said.”

“Sorry,” Lewis admitted, coming to a quick
decision
. “I’ve been thinking and … well, there’s
something
I have to tell you, Neil.”

Neil looked at him in surprise. “Shoot,” he said, wondering what it was that had brought such a serious look to Lewis’s face.

“Remember when I fell off the stone in the secret tunnel?”

“Yeah … I nearly fell off it as well when I saw the ghosts,” Neil grinned.

“It wasn’t the ghosts that gave me the fright — although they were scary enough.”

Neil looked at him. “What was it then?”

“I recognized one of the Americans,” Lewis admitted. “The one with the spiky haircut.”

“I saw him,” Neil answered. “He looked … well … a bit out of place, somehow …”

“Don’t let the haircut fool you,” Lewis said
seriously
. “According to my dad, he’s got an absolutely brilliant brain. His name’s Chuck and my mum and dad knew him when he was in the Middle
East. His company was building an Earth Satellite Station or some such thing.”

“That would fit in with what Hughie was talking about.”

“I just can’t believe he’s involved in all this,” Lewis muttered, shaking his head. “I hero-
worshipped
him! I was a kid at the time but he wasn’t too grand to get down on his hands and knees and help me with my Meccano set.”

“So?” Neil queried.

“Well, according to the ghosts,” Lewis pointed out, “Chuck is on his own in the castle just now. The others have all gone out hunting giants … so, I was thinking that it might be …”

“… a good time to pay a visit?” Neil finished the sentence for him.

“Yeah! What do you think? How about it?”

Neil frowned. “Shona said that they keep the castle gates closed.”

“Yes, but I don’t think they’ll be locked. There’s no one around here that would pinch anything and to actually lock the gates would cause comment. I mean, people would wonder what they had to hide.”

As it happened, the gates weren’t locked and as the two boys slipped through warily, they fervently hoped that Shane and the others had already left the castle grounds. Lewis, certainly, didn’t fancy meeting them in such a lonely spot for the
curving
driveway was a secretive, gloomy place. Aware that they were on someone else’s land they kept guiltily to the trees at side of the road where banks of snowdrops and daffodils sagged limply in the rain.

It was only when they scrunched across the gravel to the massive main entrance that Neil
wondered
how they were going to attract attention.

“There doesn’t seem to be a bell,” he
whispered
.

“I’ll knock,” Lewis said, thumping loudly on the heavy door. Nothing happened and they were just about to repeat the process when the door opened and Chuck stood there in a heavy sweater and a pair of disreputable jeans.

“Chuck!” Lewis beamed delightedly. It was as though all the pleasant memories of childhood had returned in a single swoop. He forgot about the satellite, Morven and Firestar in his delight at
seeing
an old friend.

His pleasure was totally disarming and no one, least of all Chuck, could doubt that it was real.

Chuck stared at him and then recognition dawned. “It’s Lewis, isn’t it,” he grinned. “Well, well, who would have thought it — after all this time! You’ve grown a bit since I last saw you.”

“This is my friend, Neil MacLean,” Chuck
introduced
him. Neil shook Chuck’s hand and saw
puzzlement
flare in his eyes.
He’s wondering how we knew he was here,
Neil thought and wished that they had talked things through before embarking on this somewhat dangerous escapade.

“Come in,” Chuck ushered them inside. He really had to, thought Lewis. He couldn’t keep them standing outside in the cold without seeming rude.

The hall of the castle was pleasantly warm and they headed automatically for the fireplace where a huge fire blazed up the chimney.

“I know it’s a bit early in the day to light a fire,” Chuck said, “but castles aren’t famous for their central heating.”

The two boys smiled politely but their faces changed as they saw the ghosts. Chuck noticed and wondered what was wrong. As far as he could see, their eyes seemed focused on a display of swords, cutlasses, claymores and other weapons of war that decorated one of the walls, but why they should exchange worried glances was beyond him.

It so happened that both Lewis and Neil had forgotten all about the ghosts and the knowledge that every word of their conversation would be sent back to the Lords of the North, wasn’t lost on them.

“Have a cola?” Chuck offered, producing two cans and a couple of glasses. “Sorry, things are a bit basic here.”

They accepted the drinks and for a few moments there was an awkward silence broken only by the gurgle of cola splashing into their glasses, the gentle hiss of flames and the odd crackle from the burning logs.

After asking about Lewis’s parents and hearing about his new school in Aberdeen, Chuck came straight to the point. “What puzzles me, Lewis, is how you knew I was here at all,” he said, his brown eyes alert. “I haven’t been around a lot since we got here and I haven’t met the Fergusons, the
family
you’re staying with …”

Lewis looked embarrassed and, to Neil’s amazement, came out with the truth. “We were exploring a secret passage that runs from
Glenmorven House to the castle, here,” he said innocently enough. “We were really annoyed the other day because your friends chucked us off Morven and well … we wanted to know why.”

Chuck raised his eyebrows. A secret passage, he thought. Well, it certainly explained the strange noises behind the panelling. Mentally, he scanned his memory, trying to remember what they’d all been talking about at the time.

“You were talking about the giants and blowing up the mountain to get inside it,” Lewis answered the question for him and shooting him a straight glance, asked sharply. “Why are you here, Chuck? Is it anything to do with a satellite?”

Chuck was so surprised that from lounging back comfortably in his chair, he sat up straight. “Satellite?” he queried, his face heavy with
suspicion
. “What do you know about satellites?”

“I thought that’s what you did?” Lewis
pretended
to be puzzled. “It’s what you were doing in Kuwait, wasn’t it? I was only young at the time but I remember mum and dad talking about it.”

Chuck relaxed but his eyes were watchful. “I suppose a satellite does come into the picture, but actually at the moment I’m heading a team of geologists. That’s why they’ve been going over the mountain. They’re looking for mineral
deposits
. There’s no secret about it,” he said casually, “but I’d rather you didn’t mention it to anyone. I mean, Lord Robertson knows about it but I’d really rather keep our work quiet in case we
do
come across anything. I hope you’ll bear that in mind,” he said pointedly to Lewis. “You can tell
your mum and dad, of course. I know they’d keep it to themselves.”

“Oh, I’ve told them already,” Lewis looked
surprised
. “Dad phoned me from the States the other day and I told them you were here, living in a castle.”

Chuck’s expression didn’t change but a shade of annoyance flickered in his eyes. He knew Bob Grant of old; an astute operator with lots of
contacts
. If he found out about his involvement with Powerprobe then he’d most certainly wonder why he was suddenly holed up in a castle in the wilds of Scotland.

“This is a fabulous place to live,” Neil said,
looking
round, seemingly uninterested in the
conversation
. “Could I have a look at all these swords and things on the wall?”

“Sure,” Chuck got to his feet and they wandered over to the fan-shaped display of weapons. Now thoroughly suspicious, he wondered if Neil had suggested the move to get closer to his computer. Print-outs littered his desk and although they were meaningless to someone his age, they didn’t really look like anything vaguely connected to geology.

Lewis, who had been trained at an early age that it was the height of bad manners to try to read anything on anybody’s desk, was actually
wondering
much the same thing but, as it turned out, Neil was genuinely interested in the weapons.

“I’d take one down to show you,” Chuck said, glad that the conversation had taken a new
direction
, “but they’re more or less anchored to the wall. When we first arrived, we wanted to see how
heavy the swords were but we couldn’t shift them — short of digging the stanchions out of the wall, that is.

“We read a poem called
The Charge of the Light Brigade
last term,” Neil admitted shyly, “and there was a fantastic picture of it in the book — the horsemen charging the guns with only swords in their hands.”

“I know the one you mean,” Chuck said, his expression changing. “Most people tend to think of it as a dreadful waste of life but the Light Brigade overran the Russian guns, you know, and changed the course of the war.”

“It must be hard to be really brave,” Lewis said thoughtfully.

Chuck looked at him oddly. “Oh, I think both of you would measure up,” he said with a grin.

Lewis saw the smile and taking advantage of it asked tentatively. “Since you know us, Chuck, do you think we could go on the mountain from time to time? I mean, Shona, the Ferguson’s daughter, really loves Morven and …” Lewis tailed off
looking
at Chuck hopefully.

So that, thought Chuck with some relief, is why they really came. He softened the blow as much as he could. “I’m sorry, Lewis,” he said, grinning at him ruefully, but sounding serious at the same time, “really sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t give
anyone
permission to go on the mountain.”

The two ghosts, in all their tartan finery, had been following the conversation for some time but at his words, their expressions changed swiftly from the mildly interested to the totally ferocious.
They were, in their own way, very fond of Shona and, as Neil and Lewis watched, they exchanged determined nods before stepping up to Chuck and hugging him fiercely.

Chuck drew in a gasping breath as he shivered convulsively in the blast of cold air that froze him to the marrow but not before he noticed that the two boys were looking, not at him, but at
something
or someone behind him.

Despite the poor visibility and totally foul weather, Shane and his little group of geologists moved
steadily
across the glens and passes of the mountains. Young, fit and unhindered by the heavy packs they usually carried, they covered the ground in long easy strides, taking care to give isolated houses and crofts a wide berth.

“This should be it,” Shane said as they finally topped the summit of a ridge. “Glen Crannach”

A jagged streak of lightning lit the length and breadth of the glen that stretched before them. A road ran along the foot of the mountains and
telephone
poles spoke of civilization somewhere but the darkness was unbroken by lights of any sort.

“I can’t see any houses,” Sam said, viewing the isolation with disfavour.

“I can’t see any giants, either, Sammy,” announced Jake, sourly. Of all of them, he had been the least enthusiastic. As far as he was
concerned
, ghosts and stone giants were the figments of particularly vivid imaginations and he was
having
none of it.

Shane ignored him and, making their way
downhill
, they crouched in the lee of a massive stone cliff where they were protected to a certain extent from the worst of the driving rain. Huddling under waterproof hoods, they settled down to wait for the stone giants to arrive.

It was Steve who felt the ground stir beneath
him. “Hey, the ground’s moving!” he said in alarm as the slope beneath him heaved gently.

Shane felt it, too. “Maybe the rain’s loosened the hillside,” he snapped. With one accord they looked up at the towering cliff that loomed above them.

It was then that they saw that the cliff seemed to be leaning towards them.

“Come on, let’s get out of here!”

They were brave men, all of them, but they turned white with horror. The cliff was immense and they knew they were going to have to move swiftly if they were going to survive.

“Run!” snapped Shane and, reacting
instinctively
to the command, they scrambled for safety.

Panting with fear, more than exertion, they
managed
to reach a rocky bluff and, clinging on grimly, stopped to look back. Expecting to see the cliff
collapse
into the valley below, they were stunned to see a very different sight; for the cliff did not fall but had become the massive head and shoulders of a giant figure that was heaving and tearing itself from the slopes of the mountain.

Terrified, they watched as huge rocks and stones fell from it and bounced into the depths of the glen. Great legs, pillars of rock, flexed at the knees and arms flailed wildly as the giant rose from the mountain and became mobile. Lightning flashed in vicious, jagged streaks as with a great roaring noise, it started to walk and they backed away in horror as they realized that it was walking towards them.

“Scatter, and make for higher ground,” Shane yelled as he saw the giant’s massive, rocky feet
crushing the ground as it moved in huge strides towards them.

“There are more giants on the other side of the valley! I can see at least two,” Steve called.

“Let’s get out of here,” Shane yelled back.

They ran frantically for the head of the glen but the giants seemed able to see them and followed them towards the ridge.

Then Sammy tripped and fell. Shane heard Jake scream. “Sammy’s down!”

With one accord they turned and saw Sammy lying helplessly in the path of the giant’s feet. Shane saw the monstrous face of the giant change and knew that it had seen Sammy. Sick with fear, he ran forward, shouting “No! No!”

It was useless, he knew. Nothing could stop the huge figure that towered above him and,
screaming
at it, he watched in amazement as, although the great head had no eyes that he could see, the giant seemed to notice him. It stopped and then, very deliberately, changed its course and walked around Sammy.

Sammy then rolled down a slope to safety and Shane found that in trying to save him, he himself, was now in the path of the monstrous figure. So terrified was he that he froze in his tracks and watched as the great legs crushed the mountainside — and again changed direction! The giant, it seemed, had deliberately left its path to walk around him. The other two giants made no attempt to approach them at all but plodded
ponderously
on, their sighted, but eyeless, faces fixed firmly on the head of the glen.

Shane took a deep breath and ran to where Sammy lay crouched in the lashing rain,
shaking
with terror. “It had no eyes,” he said, “but it looked at me and didn’t step on me. It could have done,” he gabbled, “but it didn’t.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Come on, Sammy. Let’s get you out of here. Can you walk?”

“Sure I can walk,” Sammy said. “No bones
broken
either.”

“Right. Let’s stay together and get out of here. The giants are ahead of us now.”

“Look, there they are,” Jake pointed
dramatically
at the ridge where the three huge giants stood, outlined dramatically against the skyline.

“If we cut off to the right, we might be able to see where they’re going,” Shane said. “Come on, let’s go!”

As the thunder rolled and lightning streaked the sky, they covered the ground as quickly as possible and reached the next glen, hoping that they had managed to overtake the huge creatures.

“Where are they?” Jake asked as he turned to see how far the stone giants had reached.

“I can’t see them at all,” Sammy said, blank amazement in his voice. A sudden flash of
lightning
lit the glen and, in the few seconds of
brightness
, they saw that it was empty. There were no stone figures to be seen.

“They’ve disappeared!”

“They can’t have!”

“Come on, they must be somewhere!”

“But where did they go? There’s nowhere here for them to hide and they were huge. Much bigger
than a house.”

“Look there,” Sammy pointed. “Those rock falls weren’t there before, were they?”

“No,” Shane agreed. “No, you’re right, they weren’t.”

They looked at one another in silence.

“Do you think the giants have gone back to being part of the mountain again?” Steve
conjectured
, surveying the fallen remains doubtfully.

Sammy looked at the tumble of rocks and earth. “I think they have,” he said, bending down and picking up a piece of black rock. “I think that’s what’s been happening all over Scotland. They grow and they die.”

“I’ve never believed in magic,” Jake said as he, too, bent and picked out a rock from the landslide, “but I do now. They were fantastic! Out of this world! I’m going to keep this as a souvenir.”

“Good idea,” nodded Shane as they all bent and chose pieces of rock. “I’ll never forget tonight,” he said. “Strange, isn’t it, that the giants avoided stepping on us. It shows that they are intelligent. It could easily have crushed me, but it didn’t.”

Steve nodded. “At first, I thought they were chasing us, but they weren’t, really, you know,” he said, turning his piece of rock over in his hand and looking at it thoughtfully. “They were going somewhere definite and it just so happened that we stood in their way.”

“But they didn’t get far, did they?”

“No, I can’t think why, either. They were
certainly
powerful enough. Maybe … well, maybe their magic just ran out on them.”

“But where were they going?” Shane wondered slowly. “And why?”

Although they hadn’t noticed it, the weather had started to clear and in the fitful moonlight they could see far over the mountains. Steve flung out his hand and pointed. “
I
reckon they were going
there
,” he said.

They were suddenly still, silent and alert for, rising in the distance, sharp and clear, dominating the landscape, was the tall, hump backed shape of a very familiar mountain.

Steve’s voice was grim as he turned towards them. “
I
reckon they were heading for Morven!” he said.