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MAGICAL SECRETS
It was a short drive to the Castleview Inn, one of the old buildings Owen had spotted on the other side of the harbor.
Built from stone like the castle, but whitewashed and brightly painted with red trim, the inn rambled unevenly alongside the estuary of the river Nebb.
Despite the foggy gloom, flower baskets on either side of the door made for a cheery mood.
Holly entered the room she was sharing with Chantel, dumped her backpack on the bed and ran to the windows. She gave a sigh of relief. She could just see the castle across the estuary. The walls floated fairy-like through the mist. She pushed open the window and listened. The magical singing had ceased.
“Brrr,” said Chantel pointedly and pulled on a sweater.
Holly shut the window. “Chantel,” she said, “this place oozes magic. I think we should try to use it.”
Chantel stopped unpacking. She stared at Holly. “How?”
“Well, we all mindspeak with the Wise Ones, but have you ever tried to mindspeak with one of us when we are not doing magic?” Holly asked.
Chantel shook her head. Her eyes widened. “No. I never thought of it.”
“Me neither,” said Holly. “But I’ve been thinking—what if we can? We’re Magic Children in the most magical place on earth. We are challenging the Dark Being, and it would be really useful to mindspeak or mind read among ourselves.”
Chantel nodded and sat crosslegged on the bed. “Okay, let’s try.”
Holly perched on the radiator. “I’ll think about an object, and you tell me what it is.” She closed her eyes.
Chantel closed hers and concentrated, frowning with the effort.
“Err…a ball…a bead. Are you thinking about the black bead?” she asked, bouncing in her excitement.
Holly grinned and nodded. “Your turn.”
Both girls closed their eyes.
Holly was quicker. “You’re thinking about the cat,” she said.
Chantel’s eyes shone. “Wow! Let’s try mindspeak.”
They both took deep breaths and closed their eyes.
Are you there, Chantel?
I’m here.
What’s black and white and read all over?
Chantel giggled. That’s an old one. A newspaper. She opened her eyes. “Brilliant, Holly. Let’s see if we can do it with Owen.”
“And Adam,” said Holly quietly.
Chantel gasped.
“But don’t get your hopes up. We need to check it out. Maybe we can only do it when we’re both concentrating.” Holly laughed. “And we should find out how to block it. I don’t want you knowing my innermost secrets.”
Chantel shot her a wicked look. “Me neither.”
“We’ll check with Myrddin before trying to reach Adam. I don’t fancy talking to the Dark Being!” Holly slid off the radiator. “But I need to sort out Mr. Smythe first.”
Chantel frowned.
“I don’t care what he thinks, he can’t stop us talking to Myrddin, and I can’t mess around going to Barrule. It’s daft.” She rummaged in her backpack, found her fanny pack, checked for money and clipped the pack around her waist. “I’m going to the castle. Coming, Chantel?”
Without waiting for an answer Holly strode out to tackle Mr. Smythe.
Chantel stayed on the bed, staring at the door. “Please don’t fight with Mr. Smythe, Holly,” she murmured. “I hate it when people fight.”
Mr. Smythe and Myrddin stood beside the table, looking down at a map of the Isle of Man. They were arguing.
“There is the mountain Barrule.” Myrddin tapped his finger on the map. “It’s Manannan’s home and where we’ll find Equus and Ava. Of course I’ll use magic.”
“No magic. It’s unnecessary,” insisted Mr. Smythe. “I’ll hire a car and drive you.”
Holly marched up to them.
Mr. Smythe looked up. “Ah, Holly, you’re ready.”
Holly shook her head.
“Not me. Sorry Mr. Smythe, I’m going to the castle,” she said firmly. “And I need to talk to Myrddin first.”
Mr. Smythe’s face froze.
Holly tried to soften her tone. “I know you’re trying to protect us, but it’s impossible.”
“That’s what I said,” snorted Myrddin.
“I did magic while you were on the phone this morning, Mr. Smythe,” continued Holly. “Now I need to talk to Myrddin about it, because if I don’t ask his advice I might do something dangerous. We all need to talk. We mustn’t keep any more secrets from each other.”
She turned to Myrddin while Mr. Smythe struggled for words.
“I had a vision, Myrddin,” said Holly urgently. “I saw someone being buried, and her grave is calling to me. It’s in the castle. I need to find it.”
Myrddin was transfixed. “You witnessed a burial on Pheric’s Isle?”
Holly nodded. “Yes, a woman called Breesha.” She pulled the black bead out of her pocket. “This belongs to her.”
Myrddin paled. He put his hands behind his back and retreated. “You’re right, Holly. We should have discussed this earlier…If that is what I think it is…” Myrddin seemed lost for words. “Put it away. Handle it as little as possible.” He waited until Holly had tucked the bead back in her pocket. “How is it in your possession?”
“Breesha had a necklace…it was fabulous…with all different beads, turquoise, and amber…”
“And jet,” said Myrddin. His voice was strained.
“Yes. This jet bead was on it. The necklace was broken by accident at the burial, and the beads scattered…”
Myrddin grew even paler and sat down with a bump at the table. “This explains everything. Go on, child. What happened to the beads?”
“The women gathered them up and replaced them, propping them back around Breesha’s neck. They tried to put them in the right order, but this one had rolled and they missed it. I found it after the burial was complete and everyone had left.”
“One little bead. That was all it took. One little bead of immense importance. It is the Dark Being’s bead. This is how she has grown so powerful. She is no longer influenced by the necklace. And the broken string no longer binds the magic of the worlds together.” Myrddin’s head sank into his hands. His muffled voice was full of sadness.
“Was…was Breesha the Lady?” asked Holly fearfully.
“That was a name given to her when she last visited Gaia clothed in an earthly body,” said Myrddin heavily. “Just as I have taken a human form and go by the name Mervin Green in my current life on Gaia.”
“Bu…but, then is the Lady…really dead?” whispered Holly.
Myrddin roused himself. “No…no, she isn’t dead,” he said. “Her earthly body died, but instead of becoming a Wise One again, she chose to become the Sleeper, ready to wake when needed. But she didn’t know her necklace would break. She cannot wake while the necklace is broken and incomplete.”
Holly stared at him in horror, her hand clamped over her pocket. “We must fix it! Can you do it?”
Myrddin shook his head. He was still slumped at the table. “Everything is in jeopardy because that tiny bead was lost…,” he whispered. A long moment passed before he straightened, his jaw set. “Holly, once again Earth Magic is seeking you out. You are right. You must go to the castle and follow your instincts. Keep the bead safe, my child. Repair the necklace.”
“How?” cried Holly. “It was buried with Breesha.”
“Trust in Earth Magic. One bead has already come your way.” Myrddin turned to Mr. Smythe.
“Let her go, Smythe. Earth Magic has chosen. Without the Lady’s necklace the entire universe is lost.”
Mr. Smythe fidgeted. He ignored Myrddin. “It’s dangerous,” he said to Holly. “I’ll accompany you.”
Myrddin’s eyes flashed.
Holly drew herself up. “Mr. Smythe, I’m not a kid. I’m nearly twelve years old. I do lots of things on my own, and right now I have to go to that castle. Even if you were with me, you couldn’t do anything. You’re not a Magic Child, and you can’t stop the magic! And I’m sorry, because this sounds rude…but you might get in the way.”
“That’s what I’ve told him,” said Myrddin.
Mr. Smythe’s voice was desperate. “I must look after you. I have to answer to your parents. I’m responsible for you.”
His words hung in the air. Both Myrddin and Holly knew the unspoken words were, “You must not disappear like Adam.”
Holly’s back softened. Her anger left her. “It’s not your fault. You can’t stop the magic,” she repeated softly. “No one can stop it now.”
“She’s right,” said Myrddin.
Mr. Smythe glared.
Holly smiled patiently, suddenly seeming older and wiser than her years. “Mr. Smythe, please understand. We’re not disobeying you. We’re compelled to follow the magic. Ask Myrddin. He’ll tell you.”
“I’ve told him, a dozen times,” muttered Myrddin.
Holly touched Mr. Smythe’s arm. “I think there’s a reason why you’re with us, Mr. Smythe. I think Earth Magic has a job for you. You helped us find the Red Mare in the first adventure, and you taught us about the Spiral Labyrinth at Glastonbury in the last adventure. I think we’ll need your skills again.”
Mr. Smythe gave a small smile. His eyes were tired. “Thank you, Holly. You know I’ll help with anything I can.” He ran his hands through his hair.
“Then help us now by accepting Myrddin’s magic. You’ve been afraid to let us alone with him. But we need him, his magic and his advice,” Holly said urgently.
There was a long silence.
“Myrddin, will Holly be safe in the castle on her own?” said Mr. Smythe.
Myrddin’s eyebrows shot together. “She’ll be safe going to the castle. She’ll be safe looking around. But you’re asking me if she will be safe from magic…Of course not. None of them will. They’re Magic Children,” he roared.
Holly chuckled.
Mr. Smythe gave in. “Holly, I apologize. I can’t stop the magic, and of course you need Myrddin’s advice.”
Holly and Myrddin exchanged smiles.
“Thank you, Mr. Smythe,” said Holly.
Mr. Smythe stretched wearily and looked around. “Where are Chantel and Owen?”
“Chantel’s in the bedroom, and Owen’s in the cellar,” said Holly. “While you were registering, the landlord and Mr. Cubbon told him about smugglers’ passages that run under Peel. There’s supposed to be one hidden in the Castleview Inn’s cellar. Owen’s trying to find it.”
Mr. Smythe threw up his hands. “I give up. There’s always something. I’ll go and find him while you talk with Myrddin.”
Mr. Smythe opened the door and walked down the corridor. “Owen…Owen, where are you?”
Chantel heard the raised voices within seconds of Holly leaving the bedroom. She flung herself across the bed and pulled the pillow over her ears. “I hate arguing. Hate it, hate it, hate it!” she muttered into the quilt.
She felt sick. Sick of worrying about Adam. Sick of being yelled at by her mother. Sick of Holly and Owen not believing what she was seeing or hearing. Chantel lifted one side of the pillow. She could still hear arguments. She muffled her ears again, wishing she had a magic wand to make everything all right. They needed Myrddin’s wand, his magic staff. If they found that it would help everyone. Myrddin would have his full powers back.
Chantel rolled on her back and gazed up at the ceiling.
Here she was in the Isle of Man. So was Myrddin’s staff; he’d said so. Adam couldn’t get it because he was captured. What if she could find it? Then Myrddin could magic everything all right.
Chantel closed her eyes tight and tried out her new skill at mindspeak. Er…Manannan…are you there? It’s me…Chantel…I’m Adam’s sister. I’m a Magic Child too. She held her breath.
Welcome, Chantel. Manannan hears you.
Chantel received a similar mind picture to the one she’d seen on the plane. A white-haired old man stood listening on the heather-clad slopes of a mountain she now knew was Barrule.
She sat up and tried to gather her thoughts.
Manannan, we need help.
I know child. The Darkness deepens. Even the people of Mann grow restless and irritable.
We need Myrddin’s staff. I think you know where it is.
I do.
Can you get it?
No. Only the Myrddin can handle his staff. Or someone chosen by him.
Could a Magic Child get it?
That is the simplest way.
Adam can’t. He was the Magic Child chosen by Myrddin, but he’s been caught. We need the staff to help him.
That is correct, child.
I’m a Magic Child too. Could I get it?
You could. The staff is safe. It lies where Zorianna discarded it, within the secret passages ’neath Pheric’s Castle. If you have the courage to face those who reside there, the staff will allow the touch of a Magic Child. But you must never wield it. Only the Myrddin can wield his staff.
How do I go to the passages?
Like this… Chantel heard Manannan take a deep breath and blow.
The bedroom filled with a whirling wind that surrounded, lifted and swept her away.
The wind set her down gently.
Everything was black. Ahh, her eyes were closed. Chantel opened them. Everything was still black.
She shivered. It was one thing to have an idea. It was quite another to carry it out.
She didn’t dare move, not knowing what was around her. She stood still in the endless darkness.
She became aware of sounds, normal sounds. First, she heard waves in the distance. They pounded and hissed regularly as though beating against rock. They reminded her of a dream that had brought comfort. Chantel smiled slightly. “Hello, Gaia’s heartbeat,” she whispered. Her fear receded a little—water was part of the Lady’s magic.
Her heart lightened.
The second sound she identified was more water. It dripped as though from the roof of a cave or passage and she became aware of the walls of rock around her, enclosing her, but also protecting her and providing a firm foundation for her feet.
The muffled cries of gulls also brought comfort. She knew where she was now, in a passage beneath the castle on Pheric’s Isle. She pictured the gulls wheeling above the walls.
Chantel breathed more easily. She was surrounded by three symbols of Earth Magic, and if she kept light in her heart, she had the fourth.
“I must remember the light,” she whispered. Her words echoed softly down the passage. “I must remember the light,” she said again, more firmly. “Earth is below me, water is around me, air is above me and I hold light in my heart.”
On the floor in front of her, a tiny gleam broke the darkness.
Chantel bent and picked it up. It was a hair, a glowing white hair: a tiny light in a great dark. She held it high.
“I have light,” she said, confidently.
“You chose light,” a voice answered. A white shape moved toward her.
“Manxie.” Chantel held out her arms, and the cat leapt into them. “You’re part of the light. You’re part of Earth Magic.”
“I am Earth Magic.” The cat purred and nuzzled her cheek. “And you have chosen to follow the light. Keep my hair. You may use it again. Come, follow me.”
“All right,” said Chantel, joy in her voice.
“You will have to let me go,” said the cat with a slight sniff.
Chantel chuckled and relaxed her arms.
The cat sprang down and walked ahead, her fur’s soft light illuminating the passage.
Chantel followed through the twists and turns of the secret way.
The cat sat. “We are here.”
“Where?” said Chantel.
“At the place where Zorianna discarded the staff.”
Chantel shuddered. “I don’t want to meet Zorianna.”
“She’s not here,” said the cat dismissively. “Only the staff.”
Chantel peered into the darkness. She saw nothing.
“The staff is hiding. You must find it.”
“Staff,” Chantel called, not knowing what else to do, “I’m a Magic Child, a friend of Myrddin’s. I’ve come to take you back to him.”
Nothing stirred.
Chantel tried again. “Staff, Adam unlocked you from the Crystal Cave. I’m his sister, Chantel.”
No response.
Chantel considered the problem. She needed Earth Magic to locate the staff. She didn’t have water or a candle or anything to do a ritual. The only thing she could use was her voice. Equus had said it was her magic tool.
She tried Holly’s chant.
“Earth support me,
Air surround me,
Fire enlighten me
Water cleanse me.”
“Earth support me,
Air surround me,
Fire enlighten me,
Water cleanse me.”
The darkness lightened slightly, a feeling of peace surrounded her, but the staff did not betray its presence.
Chantel tried again. She voiced the chant they had learned in Avebury.
“Light and Dark, Dark and Light,
Sun by day, Moon by night,
Man and woman, adult, child,
Bird and beast both tame and wild,
Past and present, far and near,
Patience, anger, hope and fear,
Frantic movement, contemplation,
The Dance of Stones, a celebration!” she finished.
The cat purred and wove around her ankle.
The staff remained hidden.
“Nothing’s working, Manxie,” said Chantel. “Equus is my Wise One, not Myrddin. I don’t know how to call things for Myrddin. Oh, Equus, I wish you were here to help.” She tried sending mindspeak. Please, Equus, talk to me. Can’t you help? Can’t you hear me?
Silence.
What’s wrong with everyone? Talk to me, Equus. I know you’ve gone to Barrule. I heard you galloping there.
More silence.
Chantel stamped in frustration. She sent out a general blast of mindspeak.
Equus, Ava, Myrddin, Manannan…Please…someone answer me?
I am the only one who can hear, Child. A web protects Pheric’s Isle’s magic realm. Only my magic can freely flow through it.
Manannan. Thank goodness! Can you help me?
I can try, Child. What is your need?
How do I call Myrddin’s staff?
I have heard Myrddin call up his magic with a verse. Try it, Child, then use your own words.
A talisman to hone the mind,
A circlet old to hold and bind,
A staff to smite with hidden might,
Beads to link and hold the light.
Thank you, Manannan! Thank you. Chantel sent a wave of gratitude and returned to her task.
She began to chant…
“A talisman to hone the mind,
A circlet old to hold and bind,
A staff to smite with hidden might,
Beads to link and hold the light…
In Myrddin’s name I call you, staff. Myrddin needs you. Please let me take you to him.”
The staff flew out of the darkness, its tip shining like a shooting star.
Chantel’s hand shot up and caught it. The staff shook and quivered at her touch, and settled into the crook of her arm.
“Thank you, Manannan. And thank you, Manxie, for bringing me here.” Chantel bent to stroke the cat. “Can we go back to Myrddin now?”
A loud rumbling growl startled her.
The cat sat.
“Is that a dog?” Chantel peered through the darkness.
The growl rumbled again, and two red eyes blinked at Chantel’s knee level.
“You’re a very black dog,” said Chantel. “I can’t see your body at all.” She chuckled. “You must be as dark as the darkness.”
She heard a faint sound as though a large furry animal was stirring. A scrabble of claws on rock sounded as though it was rising to its feet. The eyes blinked again, this time level with Chantel’s head.
The growl was a loud ominous rumble.
“Goodness,” said Chantel. “You’re humongous. Why are you so scared of me?” she chuckled. “You shouldn’t be. I’m just a kid, and you’re so big.” She paused as she remembered something Holly had told her. “Are you the Black Dog that helps protect the Lady? The one Holly heard in her dream?”
The growl died away. The darkness stirred and snuffled.
“Here, dog, smell me.” Chantel held out her free hand. “I’m a friend. I’m one of the Magic Children come to help the Lady. I’m taking Myrddin’s staff back to him.”
A cold nose sniffed Chantel’s hand. A wet lick followed.
Chantel laughed and dried off her hand on her pants.
“I’ve never seen that before,” said the cat stiffly. “He’ll be turning white if he’s not careful. Come!” She stood, skirted around the Moddy Dhoo and resumed her journey.
Chantel followed but kept turning to look. She could sense the Moddy Dhoo padding at her heels, but he stayed blended with the dark.
Finally the cat stopped. “This was your place of arrival, child, so it is your place of departure. Remember, you may need my light again.”
Chantel stroked the cat’s head. “Thanks for your help, Manxie. I’d have been really scared without you.”
A low whine sounded behind her. Chantel turned and put out her hand. “Thank you too, Black Dog. I’m glad we made friends. I’ll tell Myrddin you’re still protecting the Lady.” She felt rough fur against her palm and patted it.
Manannan, are you there? I have the staff.
So I see. There was amusement in Manannan’s voice. You chose the Light and tamed the Dark. You have useful talents, child.
Chantel smiled, not sure what he meant. I like dogs and cats. I like all ani… The wind blew and swirled her away.
She landed with a bump in the bedroom.
Chantel walked into the living area. “Here—stop arguing everyone.” She held out the staff to Myrddin.