The Skrinkerscreech looked like an overgrown, mutated insect. It had huge, hideous nippers and a fanged face. Its plate-sized eyes were like a fly’s, divided into hundreds of gleaming sections. Twitching antennae poked out the top of its head – but one of these was twisted, as though the monster had been in a fight. Its body had a hard, shiny casing like a beetle’s, which curved around to end in a pointed stinger.
The monster slashed at some leaves with its sharp nippers. It paused, then rose into the air, its wings moving in a blur. A long line of screechwort drifted behind as it made a beeline towards the mansion.
Jasper let out his breath. It hadn’t seen them or sensed them. Maybe because its antennae was mangled. They had been lucky.
Felix had his eyes clenched shut. ‘Has it gone?’
‘All clear,’ Boris said.
‘That isn’t supposed to be happening,’ Saffy said uncertainly. ‘The nest should have been built by now. The plan was that as soon as the swarm entered the assembly hall, everyone would jump out and spray the drones with dog drool.’
‘So what is a drone doing gathering screechwort?’ Jasper asked.
‘Exactly,’ Saffy replied grimly. ‘Something’s gone wrong.’
‘At the assembly hall?’ Boris checked. Saffy nodded. Boris pulled out a pair of binoculars and held them up. ‘Ah. Ah-ha. Mmmmm, that’s what happened.’
Saffy, Felix and Jasper waited.
Boris kept watching. ‘Ewww,’ he winced. ‘That’s got to be painful.’
‘What?’ Saffy hissed. ‘What is going on?’
Boris let the binoculars drop. ‘The students are being held prisoner. By the huge bug-things. The situation does not seem to have gone as planned,’ he added, somewhat unnecessarily.
Jasper grabbed the binoculars and peered through the lenses, trying to see into the hall. ‘Oh,’ he murmured.
Through the window of the hall, Jasper could see students lying in a large heap on the floor. Two of the older students – presumably the ones Saffy said were guarding the doors – had broken out in blistering hives. It was truly disgusting.