Rise of Allies (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 4) (42 page)

Their exit waited for them in the form of a window-like picture frame, set into the reddish stone wall of the underground world.

Just get from point A to point B,
Jake kept telling himself, holding onto sanity for all he was worth.

It seemed to take forever to run the high stretch of path that hugged the cavern wall above the writhing scene, but by some miracle, they finally reached the rickety ladder that rose up to the picture-frame.

“Go! You first!” Jake stood guard at the bottom of the ladder while Nixie climbed. He used his telekinesis to zap away a pair of torso-men who approached to investigate.

At the top, Nixie dove through the picture frame. Jake scrambled up the rungs and followed.

Seconds later, he came flying out of the painting to sprawl on the gallery floor. When he realized he was back safe at Merlin Hall, he could’ve kissed the ground.

Panting, Jake looked over at Nixie. “You all right?”

“Um…” To his surprise, she had landed on top of Archie.

Jake realized his gentlemanly cousin must have tried, helpfully, to catch her when she came flying out. Instead, fueled by her terrorized momentum, Nixie had bowled him over and they both had landed on the floor. Judging by his beaming smile, Archie didn’t seem to mind a bit.

“Sorry about that,” Nixie mumbled, climbing to her feet.

“N-no worries,” Archie answered as he did the same. Pushing his spectacles back up onto his nose, he came and gave Jake a hand. “You two all right?”

“That was terrifying,” he whispered.

Nixie nodded, still looking shaken.

“Jake!” a familiar voice suddenly called.

He looked down the long gallery. “Dani!”

She came running toward them. “You’re safe!”

“Just barely,” he mumbled.

To his surprise, Dani threw her arms around him and gave him a big hug. Startled, Jake hugged her back rather gingerly.

“Great news!” she said at once, stepping back again. “Gladwin and I returned the Queen’s flag for you! Your reputation is saved!”

“Really?”

“Of course, it wasn’t easy, but never mind that,” she said hastily. “The important thing is, your name’s cleared and the evildoers are being punished as we speak.”

Jake marveled at her news. “Who took it?”

“Those shapeshifter brats. But don’t worry, Gladwin and I stole it back a little while ago and handed it over to the Queen’s chamberlain. We told the Elders, too. Those skunkies are in so much trouble! Did you have fun in the paintings?”

He gave her a sardonic look. “Not exactly.” Then he glanced around at the others. “Come on, everybody. We need to go talk to Red at once. We’ve got serious matters to discuss, and it’s safer if we all stick together.”

“Serious matters? Like what?” Archie asked in surprise.

“Like war,” Jake murmured, glancing at Nixie.

She met his gaze with a somber nod.

Dani and Archie exchanged a look of concern.

“My Gryphon will know what to do,” Jake assured them. “But first, where’s Isabelle? I’ll need her to translate Red’s advice.”

“She’s in the ballroom,” Archie replied, and they all hurried off to find her.

Since children were not allowed in through the ballroom doors, they ran around the palace and through the gardens, hoping to flag her down from the double doors along the back terrace.

When they arrived at the terrace, however, Isabelle was already there, sitting on a bench, with Maddox perched on the wide stone railing beside her.

Dani called out to her. “Izzy, look, Jake’s back! He’s all right! Nixie, too!”

“Oh, good.” She made no move to get up.

“Something’s going on, sis,” Archie advised her. “You’d better come along.”

“I’m busy,” she protested, nodding discreetly at Maddox.

“He can come, too,” Jake conceded with reluctance.

“You’re assuming that I’d want to?” the older boy replied, staring at him.

Jake sighed and lowered his head. The last time he and Maddox had seen each other, it had erupted into a fight. A fight Jake had started, with accusations against the other boy’s honor that he now knew were false.

“Look, I owe you an apology,” Jake forced out. “I thought you set me up, but I know now you had nothing to do with stealing the Queen’s flag. I should’ve realized that you, of all people, would never do something like that, no matter how annoyed you were at me. So, yes, I’m sorry that I accused you. Happy now?”

“And?” Maddox prompted, folding his arms across his chest.

“Sorry for throwing dragon dung on you,” Jake mumbled.

The others glanced at him in surprise, but Maddox smiled wryly. “There. Was that so hard?”

“Are you coming with us or not?” he exclaimed. “Trust me, you’re going to want to hear this.”

More to the point, Jake already knew they had a fight ahead of them, and obviously, Maddox would be an excellent ally to have on their side.

“So? Spit it out.”

“Not here,” Jake said. “We’re going to see my Gryphon. He’ll know what to do. Isabelle, please come, even if he won’t. We need you to translate what Red says.”

“Very well.” She glanced questioningly at Maddox.

He met her gaze and shrugged. “As you wish. I’ve never seen a gryphon before, anyway. Why not.”

The older pair joined them, and they went.

PART IV

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

The Secret War Council

“T
his information is not to leave our circle,” Jake told the others a short while later as they sat around the edges of Red’s nest in the darkness.

It felt like a safe place there, atop the windy pillar of rock that the Gryphon had claimed for his aerie, with a ring of tall trees standing guard around them.

Being near Red made Jake feel calmer about all the terrible news he had learned. It also helped to know that the Gryphon would soon be back to his full strength—and his full plumage. The noble beast’s feathers were filling in nicely, albeit with a few more gold ones sprinkled in among the scarlet. Jake had no idea what the golden feathers meant, but they winked in the dim glow of the lantern Archie had picked up along the way.

By its flickering light, Jake looked around at his friends’ somber faces as they waited to hear what he had to say. “While Nixie and I were inside the paintings, I found out why the vampire came to Merlin Hall. The Dark Druids are preparing for war.”

The others drew in their breath and listened tensely as he filled them in on what he had overheard while inside the Vesuvius painting. He almost couldn’t bear to answer the question, though, when Archie asked what had set the Dark Druids off.

Jake lowered his head. “I’m pretty sure it’s my fault. They found out I killed Garnock, and they’ve taken that as an act of war. They’re preparing to come after the Order, starting with the Lightriders.”

Dani and Archie looked at each other, wide-eyed.

Red nested his head on Jake’s knee with a small, sympathetic groan. Isabelle exchanged a worried glance with Maddox, who did not look surprised in the least.

Nixie, meanwhile, having already heard the dreadful news, was distracted, anxiously watching the shadows for the return of the Bugganes. She froze at a flicker of motion in the weeds, a small scampering in the shadows.

It turned out to be Malwort.

“Oh!” she said, drawing back, startled, as the spider ventured nervously into view and said, “Good evenings, gentlemens and ladieses.”

“What are you doing here?” Jake demanded, shooting to his feet. He immediately thought the arachno-sapiens was there to spy on them, just like Uncle Waldrick had often ordered his former pet to do in the past.

Malwort shot backward and cowered. “Malwort only being social! The Jake not be so mean! Fairy Stinger cousins’s boring.”

“Well, get out of here,” Jake said in a hard tone, shooing him off.

Malwort whimpered, doing his best to look lonely and pathetic.

“Aw.” Nixie reached out her hand toward him. “Can’t he stay? I’ve heard about arachno-sapiens, but I’ve never seen one before. He’s kind of cute.”

“Malwort very cute!” he agreed, venturing toward the young witch. “Most uniquest spider anyplace.”

“Ew,” Isabelle mumbled, cringing slightly as Malwort stepped onto Nixie’s hand.

But witches sometimes had very different reactions than other girls. Nixie giggled at the creature. “Your feet tickle!”

Encouraged by this unexpectedly warm reception, Malwort pranced about on her palm like a music hall performer, tittering in his weird little voice.

“Can’t he stay?” Nixie asked.

Archie sent Jake a pleading look and nodded discreetly toward the poor girl, who had been through so much.

Jake rolled his eyes. “Oh, very well. But everything we say here is a secret, Malwort! If you’re spying on us, mark my words, I’m gonna squash you good.”

Malwort ignored him, gazing at Nixie with as close to a smile of delight as a spider could manage.

Maddox scowled and brought them back to the dire topic at hand. “Did the vampire say anything about the Dark Druids’ time-frame?”

Jake shrugged. “No, he just said he believes they’ve got plans in motion against the Lightriders.”

“What are your thoughts, Maddox?” Archie asked, since he was the only one with training in military matters. “Have you heard anything amongst the Guardians?”

“Not exactly. But…” He searched for the words. “I’ve been sensing something like this for a while now through the Guardian instinct. A lot of us have.”

“Maybe that’s what I was sensing in the ballroom tonight,” Isabelle remarked. “I didn’t think of it at the time, but in hindsight, there was a lot of tension coming from some of the adults. It was giving me a headache.”

“I’d bet word is traveling fast, at least among the leaders of the Order,” Jake said. “So far, only a few people know about it. Her Majesty and a few of the top Elders.”

“I’m sure the Elders will want to keep it that way,” Maddox said. “Secrecy gives us an advantage. The Dark Druids still think we’re oblivious. Instead, when they make their move, now we can be ready for them. I should think they’ll want to bring all the Lightriders in from the field so they can be briefed on the situation and their security increased. Especially those who think they can go whooshing around the earth with no Guardians for protection.” Maddox gave Jake a pointed look.

He shook his head, still feeling sick to his stomach. “I can’t believe I caused this.”

“Don’t blame yourself.” Dani put her arm around his shoulders. “This isn’t your fault.”

“Oh, really? Then why do I feel so horrible?” he muttered, shrugging her off, unwilling to be comforted.

Stung by his dismissal, Dani scowled. “What were you supposed to do? Let Garnock go free to keep feeding on innocent people’s souls until he recomposed his body and returned as the leader of the Dark Druids? You had no choice.”

“That’s what I said,” Nixie agreed.

“And hullo,” Dani added, “Garnock was going to sacrifice Isabelle to a demon to try to weasel out of his deal with the devil!”

“What?”
Maddox uttered, turning to her in shock.

Isabelle smiled dryly. “What can I say? Evil beings love me. I’m such a lucky girl.”

Nixie chuckled.

“What surprises me most about all this is that the vampire came forward to do the right thing,” Isabelle remarked.

“Are we sure we can believe him?” Archie asked.

Everyone pondered this, a very good question.

“Well,” Maddox ventured, “vampires are known as master manipulators, but Janos used to be a Guardian and Guardians don’t lie. Perhaps some of that is left in him.”

“I hope he’s lying,” Archie muttered.

“I don’t think he is,” Isabelle said.

They all fell silent for a moment, until Dani spoke up with her famous practicality, shaking her head.

“Even if it is true and there is to be a war, I don’t see what
we’re
supposed to do about it. We’re just kids, after all. This is up to the Elders to handle. They’re the adults and the leaders. We have to trust them to take care of us, trust that they know what they’re doing. I don’t think we have much choice.”

Maddox smiled fondly at Dani. The others started nodding, and even Jake could not deny the wisdom of her words.

“She’s right,” he said. Being just a kid, able to do nothing in the face of this disaster, was the worst part to him.

So much for being a hero.

But perhaps it’s for the best
, he thought. Because it seemed like, instead of solving problems, all he did was cause them.

He dropped his gaze, his brow furrowed. If he rushed in trying to help, he’d probably only make it worse.

“There’s nothing we can do about the war, except maybe Maddox, and you’re still not officially a Guardian yet anyway,” Jake said in a low tone. “But as it turns out, that’s not the only fight we’re facing. If we work together, I think there
is
something we can do—to help Nixie.” He glanced at the witch, then looked around at the others. “Nixie’s being haunted.”

They turned to her in surprise.

“I say!” Archie burst out.

“And not by any ordinary ghosts, either,” Jake added. “Remember that Boneless thing we saw in the art gallery and chased down the hallway? That’s just one of four creatures who’ve been tormenting her for months.”

He told the others all about the Bugganes and their determination to make Nixie’s young life a living torment.

“How awful!” Dani murmured.

“I knew it!” Archie said. “I knew there was something wrong, that you couldn’t be that gloomy on purpose.”

Nixie gazed ruefully at him, but Malwort marched up onto her shoulder and sat there, guarding her, and scanning the darkness with his ten beady eyes. Jake believed the spider actually growled a little. How was
that
possible?

“Anyway, she was trying to keep everyone at arm’s length because these Bugganes, as they’re called, have promised to murder anyone who tries to help her.”

“Sweet Galileo!” Archie murmured.

“But if we unite against them, they haven’t got a chance,” Jake declared. “I promised Nixie we would help her. She saved my life today inside the paintings, after all.”

“If you don’t want to get involved, I fully understand,” Nixie hastened to tell them. “You barely know me, you shouldn’t risk your lives—”

“Nonsense!” Archie said.

“We’ve risked our lives for less, believe me,” Dani mumbled.

“Of course we want to help you,” Maddox informed her.

“It won’t be easy,” Jake warned. “I’ve seen three of these creatures so far myself, and Nixie says the one I haven’t seen yet is the worst.”

“Nuckalavee, the water-horse—or water bull, as some call him. He’s a great, horrid beast with no skin.”

“I think I saw him in the water nymphs’ stream,” Jake said.

“Hey, I saw that, too,” said Maddox. “Red in color, pointy ears?”

“That’s him,” Nixie said.

“I thought I had imagined it,” he murmured.

“But I thought water-horses… Wasn’t there a legend that they can only be in seawater?” Dani spoke up. “My granny spoke of them in Ireland. They’d come up onto the shore during a storm, rising from the foam of the waves. If one chased you, the only way to escape him was to cross to the other side of a freshwater stream or pond. Then he couldn’t come across. But this one’s bathing in freshwater? That’s weird.”

“Oh, that’s the part that’s weird?” Archie mumbled.

“No, these Bugganes followed me from Scotland,” explained Nixie, “and in Scotland, the water-horses can live in the lochs or the ocean.”

“Ohh,” Dani said.

“That Headless Highlander ghost I saw in the woods that night when we were walking around—he’s one of them, too,” Jake told the others.

Nixie turned to him in surprise. “You didn’t tell me you saw him! While you were alone? You’re lucky to be alive.” She turned to the others and explained. “If the Headless Highlander comes across somebody who’s alone, then he attacks. He’s killed countless travelers that way. He picks a stretch of road and sets up shop there. Any solitary soul who comes along, he pretty much chops them into bits with his claymore. But, if you come upon him when you’re with at least one other person, he disappears without a fight.”

An eerie silence fell as they pondered this.

“It probably has something to do with the way that he died,” Nixie added, “but he’ll never let himself be outnumbered.”

“See? You’re lucky we were there,” Archie told Jake, who nodded heartily.

“One other thing about Headless, he has to stay in the shadows. He prefers the night, but he can move about in the daytime, as long as he keeps out of sunlight.”

“Good to know,” Maddox murmured.

Jake furrowed his brow. “But Nixie, you were on your own in the art gallery this morning when I found them tormenting you. But Headless didn’t kill you.”

“Jenny Greenteeth won’t let him,” she said bitterly. “The hag enjoys tormenting me too much.”

“Jenny Greenteeth?” Isabelle echoed.