Superpowers (3 page)

‘We'll be fine!' said Finlay, as if deadly spikes were no problem at all.

Max hurried after him, feeling very worried by Finlay's courageous words. He was sure they wouldn't be fine if they tried to climb over the gates!

However, when they got to the Manor House they found that they were in luck. The gates were open and there was a big sign on them saying: ‘
Brownies Half-Term Music and Craft Day on the Tennis Courts. This way
'. An arrow pointed down a path that led through some trees into the gardens.

‘Come on!' Finlay said, marching

through the gates and taking the path the arrow pointed to.

‘Fin!' Max exclaimed. ‘We can't just walk in.'

‘Why not?' Finlay said, striding on down the path.

Max ran after him. ‘What if someone sees us?'

‘So what? I'm not scared! We just tell them we're looking for three golden apples,' Finlay replied.

Max dragged him off the path, pulling him behind a nearby bush. ‘Are you mad? We can't say stuff like that! We have to be careful.' He glanced round. ‘Look, if this Brownies' thing is this way, towards the tennis courts, why don't we check out the grounds at the back of the house? There'll be less people to spot us there.'

Finlay shrugged. ‘One way's as good as the other, I guess!' He turned and marched in the opposite direction.

Max hastened after him, his heart
sinking. Maybe Hercules was right. Maybe Finlay having extra courage wasn't such a good idea!

The Manor House was in the middle of being repaired. It was covered in scaffolding and was separated from the garden by yellow plastic tape with ‘
Unsafe, Keep Out
' written all along it.

Finlay ducked underneath the tape. Max checked that no one was watching and quickly followed him.

They hurried round the back of the house. The gardens here were completely deserted. The only sounds to break the silence were the chirrup of birds and the faint sound of musical instruments floating on the breeze from the direction of the tennis courts.

As Finlay and Max reached the back of the house, they saw a separate walled garden. There was a moss-covered archway that led into it. Just through the entrance was a basin of water supporting a tall stone pillar with a

bronze statue of a cherub standing on top – a fountain. The cherub was facing into the garden and blowing out through a trumpet.

‘Is that the cere-thingy that Juno was talking about?' asked Finlay, going over to the cherub.

Max looked at the podgy baby with wings. ‘Does that look like a three-headed dog to you?'

‘Hmmm. Guess not.' Finlay walked past the cherub and into the garden. On the left-hand side the walls were crumbling, while on the other three sides the walls were fully repaired, high and sheer. Around the fountain the ground was covered with gravel, but in the centre of the garden was a large square of grass.

‘Hey! Now that's more like it!' Finlay exclaimed, pointing at a dramatic stone statue on the grass. It was a statue of the most terrifying creature that Max had ever seen and that included river monsters, giant boars and sabre-toothed lions!

‘Cool!' said Finlay, going over to investigate the gigantic three-headed beast. Its stone coat was carved to look wild and matted; it had a huge, scaly dragon's tail and its enormous dog paws had long, sharp nails that stretched out at wicked angles. But most terrifying of all were its heads. The first head was lowered almost to the ground. It looked to the side with an expression of pure evil. Its lip curled, and its eyes seemed to scour the courtyard, looking for
something to devour. The second head was pointing straight up, clearly howling like a werewolf baying at the moon. The third head was stretching out of the courtyard, towards the rest of the gardens. Every tooth was clearly visible, gleaming in a wide death-bite that looked as if it could crush a person in an instant.

Max shivered and looked away, having to remind himself that it was just a statue. At the far end of the walled garden, behind the grassy square, was a shed with double doors that were wide open. He stared. At the back of the shed was a long stone bench, and arranged along it were four small stone pedestals, each topped with a shining golden apple. He could
hardy believe his eyes. ‘Finlay! Look, there are the apples!' he exclaimed, pointing at the shed. ‘We've found them already!'

‘This has to be the easiest task ever,' Fin said in delight. ‘Come on, let's go and get the three we need!'

Finlay left the statue and hurried on to the flagstoned path that led around the grassy square to the shed. But as his foot touched the third flagstone, the ground beneath him seemed to drop a bit, there was a grinding noise and before Finlay knew what was happening he and Max were being soaked with water.

‘What's going on?' spluttered Finlay.

‘It's coming from the cherub!' Max gasped.

A jet of water was flying out of the cherub's trumpet straight up into the air. It rained down from the sky, drenching the two boys and everything around them – the flagstones, the grass and the stone statue…

‘It's a trick fountain!' Finlay exclaimed, jumping off the stone and pulling Max with him. ‘We must have started it off by treading on this flagstone!' As they jumped off the flagstone the fountain stopped. The last few water droplets rained down around them.

Suddenly there was the violent sound of stone breaking.

They swung round.

A spiderweb of cracks had begun to run down the stone statue of Cerberus
from its three heads to its great clawed feet.

Max and Finlay gasped as matted grey fur began to burst through the splits in the stone.

‘It's coming to life!' Fin yelled.

As he spoke, all three of the beast's heads moved; the stone crumbling away to reveal yellow teeth, slavering jaws and burning coal-black eyes that fixed on the boys like lasers. The monster took a pace towards them, all its heads growling together.

‘Let's get out of here!' Max shouted.

He began to run. It took him a few seconds to realize that Finlay wasn't with him. Max swung round. To his horror, Finlay was still standing by the grassy square, facing up to the three-headed mutant dog. ‘You wanna fight? I'll give you a fight!' he was shouting. ‘You're nothing but an overgrown puppy!'

‘Fin!' Max yelled in horror.

The dog paused for a second, streaming thick drool from its savage jaws. Then it crouched low and prepared to spring…

Max didn't stop to think twice. Racing to the square, he grabbed Finlay and yanked him away just as the monster sprang. It landed right where Finlay had been standing. Finlay yelled and struggled but Max didn't give up. He dragged Finlay backwards towards the fountain. The dog threw back its heads and howled. Max saw its razor-sharp
teeth and fear ran like ice down his spine. That thing was going to get them! This was it! This was the end!

He shut his eyes as the dog leapt forwards, expecting to feel teeth tearing into his flesh at any moment.

Clank!
The metallic sound was followed by a snarl of frustration.

Max's eyes flew open. The dog had been pulled up short by the chains round its necks. It bayed in rage. The chains rattled and clanked, attached to huge metal rings set into the statue's plinth. They creaked ominously, but for now they held firm.

‘Let me go! I'll get it! Just let me at it!' Fin shouted, struggling to get free.

‘Stop it, Finlay!' Max exclaimed. ‘Who d'you think you are? Scrappy Doo?

That thing's much too big for you to fight!'

But Finlay continued to struggle. ‘Let me at it!'

Seeing an empty plant pot standing near the fountain, Max let go of Finlay

with one arm, picked up the pot, swished it through the water in the stone dish under the fountain and emptied it straight over Finlay's head.

‘W-what are you doing?' Finlay spluttered as the water dripped down his face.

Cerberus barked and growled as he strained at his metal chains, his dragon's tail thrashing from side to side, the cruel spikes along his back bristling.

Max grabbed Finlay's shoulders and looked him in the face. ‘You're mental, Finlay. You can't fight that thing. Not without weapons or super-strength or something. It'll eat you!'

Finlay hesitated and then wiped his face on his T-shirt. ‘You might be right,' he admitted. The shock of the water
seemed to have calmed him down slightly. ‘It
is
really big.'

‘It's huge!' Max said, above the sound of the dog's ferocious growling. A thought suddenly struck him. ‘And anyway we don't need to fight it. That's not part of the task, we just need to get round it to get to the apples.'

Finlay frowned. ‘Yeah, I suppose Juno never actually said we had to fight it.'

Max glanced at the straining chains. They were quite rusty. How much longer would they stand up to Cerberus throwing himself about? And if the monster broke free it wasn't just him and Finlay it might attack. What about the Brownies on the tennis courts or what about if it went into the village? Max gulped. They had to get the apples
and get back to the castle. The sooner they completed the task, the sooner Cerberus would turn back to stone and everyone would be safe.