Tom left the boat tied up under the willow tree. ‘It may come in useful,’ he said. ‘If we need a quick escape.’
Sebastian rolled his eyes. ‘Soon we’ll be riding back to Wolfhaven Castle at the head of an army. We won’t be needing a boat.’
‘Better safe than sorry,’ Tom said.
While tucking the cushions and blankets away in the locker, Quinn found a compass. ‘This may come in useful,’ she said, holding it up.
Sebastian grabbed it. ‘I’ll take that.’
‘Why do you get it?’ Tom said furiously, pausing in the act of tucking the map into his knapsack.
‘Squires are trained to read compasses,’ Sebastian answered. ‘My guess is you’ve never even seen one before. I don’t recall ever seeing a compass in a kitchen,’ he scoffed.
Tom went red, and jumped ashore. Without looking back, he stormed up the path, Fergus at his heels.
‘You don’t need to be so rude to him all the time,’ Quinn said, picking up the other knapsack.
‘Rude?’ Sebastian was astonished. ‘I’m not rude.’
‘You are,’ she said, and hurried up the track after Tom. Elanor followed, looking back at Sebastian with her brow all scrunched up.
Sebastian stumped along behind. He hadn’t spoken with malice, he reassured himself. He was just stating an obvious truth.
The slope was steep, but there was a clear path with stone steps here and there, to make the climb easier. He soon caught up with the girls, though Tom rushed on ahead, whacking at trees with an old stick. The other three all walked in silence. Gradually they caught up to Tom, though he would not look at them. Sebastian wondered if he should apologise, then told himself angrily that the pot-boy should get over it.
The four walked on and on and on.
‘There’s something odd about this forest,’ Tom said eventually. ‘Have you noticed?’
‘No birds,’ Quinn said at once.
‘That’s right. And no rabbits either. Or foxes. I’ve seen nothing living at all.’
Sebastian looked around in surprise. It was true the forest was very still and quiet. ‘What does it mean?’ He put his hand on his sword-hilt. ‘Are we in danger?’
‘I don’t know,’ Tom replied. ‘Maybe it’s just been hunted too much. It does mean we can’t catch anything for our supper.’
‘I knew we shouldn’t have eaten all the food,’ Quinn said.
After that, Sebastian kept a close eye out, but he heard no birdsong and saw no small animals creeping through the underbrush. Tom was right. It was strange.
About an hour later, Tom stopped, holding up his hand. ‘I smell smoke,’ he whispered. ‘We’d best be quiet, just in case someone’s ahead.’
After a few more minutes, they approached a clearing where bristly-chinned men sat on fallen logs, sharpening knives and grinding the edge of sharp-looking axes. Bedrolls lay around the fire. The men were all roughly dressed, in patched breeches and cloaks of uncured hides.
Tom put his hand on Fergus’s collar, keeping him quiet. Then the children dropped down to their hands and knees and crawled around the campsite, keeping their heads low and trying not to make the bracken rustle.
At last they left the camp behind them.
‘Bandits, do you think?’ Quinn whispered.
Tom nodded. ‘Nasty-looking lot. I’m glad they didn’t hear us.’
Sebastian wondered uneasily what his father would think. Would he approve of his son creeping through the underbrush? Sebastian did not think so. ‘Valour, glory, victory!’ his father always cried.
Disheartened, he stamped on up the path, promising himself he would not be so chicken next time.
Eventually the path led to a narrow road which ran directly north. The trees were left behind, and they climbed through bare moorland dotted with grey rocks. A fast-running stream tumbled over rocks to the left. Mist rolled in, and then it began to rain.
They trudged on in sodden silence until they came across an old shepherd with a flock of black-faced sheep.
‘Excuse me, sir,’ Elanor asked. ‘Is this the road to Frostwick Castle?’
He gaped toothlessly at her then jerked his thumb along the road. ‘Ahhh, urrr,’ he said. Elanor took that to be an affirmative.
After about another hour of walking, Sebastian saw a castle far ahead, perched on the top of a steep pinnacle of rock. He pointed it out to the other three, and they all began to walk faster, hoping to get out of the rain.
The castle seemed to play tricks with them, though, disappearing from view and then reappearing just as they began to get anxious. But it never seemed to get any closer.
The road began to rise more steeply, the land falling down sharply to a cold black lake below. Darkness closed in, and the rain fell harder.
‘We should have brought the lanterns,’ Tom said, angry with himself for not thinking of it.
‘I’m afraid.’ Elanor’s voice trembled, glancing around the shadows.
‘Don’t be afraid, my lady,’ Sebastian said. ‘I’m here to protect you.’
Tom snorted through his nose, but did not speak.
‘It’s so dark,’ Elanor said. ‘So cold, too.’ She rubbed her hands together and blew on them. Suddenly a small silvery light shone out from her hand. She lifted her hand in amazement, spreading her fingers. The light was shining from her moonstone ring.
‘Stop!’ shouted Sebastian, grabbing Elanor by the arm and hauling her back. By the light of the ring, Sebastian had seen that they were only a step away from the edge of a cliff.
Elanor clung to his arm with both hands, white with terror, as they listened to the eerie sound of crumbling earth falling into the abyss. ‘Another step and I’d have gone over!’
‘The Traveller’s Stone,’ Quinn said in wonderment. ‘It saved you.’ She put her hand up to touch the wooden medallion that hung around her neck, then glanced at Sebastian’s brooch.
He gave it a rub, suddenly wondering if it was more than just a cloak pin. Perhaps it had magical properties too. The thought gave him both a tingle of excitement and a shiver of fear. Sebastian did not like all these strange and marvellous happenings.
By the new light of the moonstone ring, they walked on, keeping well away from the crumbling edge of the road. All were now wet through, and stumbling with tiredness.
‘Where is this blasted castle?’ Tom muttered, and put his hand on Fergus’s shaggy head for comfort. The wolfhound whined and shook the rain from his coat. It glittered in the moonstone’s light.
‘It’s sleeting,’ Sebastian said in disbelief. ‘That’s not rain; it’s ice.’
‘But it’s midsummer,’ Elanor cried. ‘How can it possibly be so cold?’
‘We’re in the north now,’ Tom said.
The road began to climb steeply upwards. Great boulders crouched on either side of the road, looking like hungry giants in the timid light of the moonstone ring. Without saying a word, the four children walked close together, Fergus slinking beside them.
The road wound around another bend. A light shone out ahead of them, high on the hill.
‘Frostwick Castle,’ Elanor gasped, and broke into a staggering run.
Sebastian followed just as quickly. His calves ached, his wet boots rubbed his heels raw, and he was cold and hungry. He just wanted to get to shelter.
At last the castle appeared before them, towering high into the night sky. Only the occasional arrow slit broke the vast expanse of granite.
A narrow wooden bridge hung across a dark abyss, leading to a huge gate. When Elanor shone the light of her moonstone ring over the edge, it showed a sharp drop down to a chasm through which the sea roiled. Sebastian led the way across the bridge, the others crowding nervously behind. Dark patches showed where slats had broken and fallen away. Water thundered far below. Sebastian put out his hand to stop the others stepping too close.
The gate loomed far above their heads, banded with iron. Elanor held up her hand, the light from her ring illuminating small sections of it. Sebastian’s groping hands found a huge iron ring set into the wood. He hammered on it as loudly as he could.
Then they stood, shivering in the rain, waiting. Fergus leaned all his weight on Tom’s leg. He was shivering too.
Nobody came. Sebastian hammered again.
‘There’s no-one here,’ Quinn said in bitter disappointment.
‘What shall we do?’ asked Elanor.
‘We’ll need to search for some kind of shelter,’ Sebastian said. ‘A cave. Or a hut.’
Everyone turned and began to cross the bridge again. The icy rain whipped their faces.
From behind came a long, slow, creaking noise. Sebastian spun in the dark, drawing his sword.
Fergus growled, and strained against Tom’s hand on his collar. Elanor raised her trembling fist and shone the light of the moonstone ring into the yawning crack.
The gate was open. But there was nobody there.
Sebastian stared in astonishment, then took a few slow steps forward, his sword lifted high.
The gate opened wider.
‘Is it an invitation? Shall we go in?’ Elanor whispered.
‘Surely it’s not safe,’ Quinn replied.
‘It’s a trap,’ Tom said.
‘Rubbish. Somebody had to open that gate. They don’t just open by themselves,’ Sebastian answered.
‘Unless it’s magic,’ Quinn said.
The gate creaked open further. Sebastian took a few swift steps forward, looking to see who was pushing it. He stepped back in surprise.
A little girl was standing in the gateway, holding a flickering candle in a brass candlestick. She couldn’t have been much more than seven. Her long black hair looked as if it had not been combed since the day she was born. It stuck out all around her face and body in matted knots and tangles, reaching past her waist.
She was dressed in an oversized black velvet gown that fell off her thin shoulders and pooled on the ground around her. One thumb was in her mouth.
‘Who are you?’ Sebastian asked, squatting down to her level.
She did not answer, just stared at him with solemn black eyes.
‘My name is Sebastian,’ he began. Suddenly he saw something move in the dishevelled nest of her hair. It was a huge black rat, staring at him. Sebastian shouted and scrambled backwards, falling on his backside.
The little girl smiled. She put up her free hand and stroked the rat.
‘Is it some kind of pet?’ Quinn asked, her voice shaking. ‘Is it … tame?’
The girl did not answer.
‘We are travellers, lost in the storm,’ Elanor said. ‘We seek shelter. May we come in?’
The little girl turned and walked away, her velvet gown trailing on the ground behind her. After a few moments, the Wolfhaven four followed her.
The gate swung shut behind them, closing with a hollow boom.