“Where’s Lewis, Neil?” Shona demanded, looking round the corrie. “You were talking to him just a minute ago.”
Neil glanced at Clara and looked uncomfortable. “He’s gone to get help, Shona,” he said. “He’ll be back soon. Just hang on.”
As Ugly Mug miaowed protestingly, Shona looked close to tears. “If he’s found a way down the mountain then why couldn’t we have gone with him?” she protested.
“Shhhh! Careful!” Neil hissed as one of the giants walked by quite close to them, its great feet crashing over rock and stone. Although it had no eyes, he could have sworn that its great head turned and looked at him. But the giant did nothing; it merely looked away again and strode purposefully on towards the head of the valley. All the giants seemed to be gathering there and Neil paled at the thought of them crossing the ridge and heading for Morven.
“I hope they don’t cause a landslide,” Clara whispered, pressing her back against the rocky wall of the corrie, “for that’s our only way into Glenmorven.”
Shona, however, was not to be diverted. Once the giant had passed she persisted. “I didn’t see Lewis leave,” she hissed. “He just seemed to disappear!”
Clara gave up. “Actually,” she said, with a quick glance at Neil, “he did disappear.”
“He has a magic ring,” Clara said, “and he rubbed it so that he could bring us help.”
Shona looked at her in disbelief. “A magic ring?” She repeated, her eyes round. “Are you nuts or something?”
Clara took a deep breath. “Actually, Neil and I have magic rings as well. Watch!” Clara changed her ring over to the other hand and immediately disappeared.
Shona’s mouth fell open but before she could say anything, Clara switched the ring back to her other hand and reappeared. “Want me to do it again?” she asked with a grin.
“I don’t believe you just did that,” Shona gasped. “I mean … it isn’t possible!”
“Yes it is,” Neil smiled. “Just watch me!” And he promptly did the same.
Clara smiled reassuringly. “It’s okay, Shona,” she said. “I know it takes some believing but the fact is that we both have magic rings that can make us invisible.”
Shona still looked white. “What are you?” she asked.
Neil burst out laughing. “Cool it, Shona,” he smiled, “we’re not aliens or anything.”
Shona looked nervously from one to the other, still unconvinced.
“Okay, then. Just tell me — why, exactly, are we hiding here?” Neil asked.
Shona glanced fearfully towards the glen. “We’re … we’re hiding from the giants,” she admitted.
“And aren’t giants magic?” Clara asked.
“Yes, but … but that’s all folk tales and legends. Hughie’s a great one for stories about kelpies and the like … but nobody really believes in magic. I mean,” she eyed the giants doubtfully, “they look solid enough but …”
They turned their heads in alarm as there was a sudden, great noise from the far end of the glen where the giants now seemed to be milling around angrily. Neil counted fourteen in all and wondered worriedly what was going on. Although he didn’t realize it, the protective shield set by the Lords of the North had slid into place just in time. It stopped the giants in their tracks and try as they might, they found to their dismay that they couldn’t get into Glenmorven.
The noise was tremendous as they heaved their weight again and again against the protective shield and, in their anger at finding their way so efficiently barred, many of them started to lash out at the mountains with great stone arms. Some turned and began to walk back the way they’d come but they were no longer the peaceful figures of before. They were now furiously angry and, as they stomped their way along, they thumped furiously at rock, cliff and crag; anything that stood in their way.
“If you think about it, Shona, magic’s the only explanation,” Neil remarked. “As I said, if it isn’t magic then what are we doing here on the side of Ben Garchary, hiding from giants? It’s not a dream, is it?”
Shona peered through the gathering darkness at the crowd of giants that were still clomping and clattering around at the head of the glen. “It has to be a dream,” she said in a very small, scared voice. “It has to be a dream because I can see a dragon flying towards us.”
Neil and Clara jerked round and saw, not only a dragon flying towards them but, soaring above it, the winged shape of a great eagle.
“Arthur,” Neil gasped. “He’s come to rescue us!”
“Amgarad!” Clara’s eyes shone with delight. “Amgarad as well!” she said, excitedly. “What do you bet that Lord Rothlan’s in Morven!”
Shona shrank back, petrified, and dropping the tiny kitten, opened her mouth and let out an ear-splitting shriek as the huge, winged shape of the enormous dragon swooped over the mountains towards them.
“For goodness sake, grab the cat, Clara,” Neil said urgently. And, as Clara scooped up a dazed Ugly Mug from the heather, Neil jumped on top of a boulder, waved his arms wildly and yelled “Arthur!” at the top of his voice.
Clara stuffed the frightened kitten down the front of her anorak and tightened the cord round the waist, hoping that the kitten wouldn’t try and scratch her way out. Ugly Mug, however, was not unintelligent. She much preferred the warmth and safety of Clara’s anorak to being carried in a bouncing bag and promptly settled herself comfortably in the folds of her sweater.
“Amgarad,” Clara said in delight as the great eagle flew down beside her. “Did Lewis tell you that we were here?”
The eagle settled his wings and nodded majestically. “Prince Casimir summoned Arthur to rescue you.”
“Amgarad,” Neil called in sudden dismay, “come and look, quick! The giants are attacking Arthur! And, gosh, Archie’s on his back!”
Actually, the giants had had it in for Arthur from the start. Why, Neil didn’t know, although Arthur told him later that it was a centuries-old hatred that had never died. He himself had forgotten the reason for it and so, probably, had the giants. But there it was. The minute they spotted him, there was complete and utter pandemonium.
Fourteen enormous giants on the rampage was a breathtaking sight. Despite their size and clumsy movements, they entered into the spirit of battle with a wild determination that bordered on enthusiasm; grabbing rocks from the sides of the mountains and happily slinging anything and everything they could lay their hands on, at the dragon. Fortunately for Arthur, the giants were, to put it mildly, rotten shots — but the hail of largely unguided missiles that were sailing through the air was, nevertheless, impressive. Arthur’s magic, however, protected him and even when it seemed that a lucky shot would most certainly hit him, the rock was somehow deflected and fell harmlessly to one side.
The realization that nothing seemed to be hitting the dragon, spurred the giants to greater efforts and, as the hail of rocks and stones grew heavier, Arthur was forced to veer away from the children, in case they were hit.
Shona couldn’t believe her eyes as she watched Neil and Clara clutch at one another in anxiety as the dragon was pelted with rocks. And how come Clara seemed to be able to talk to an eagle? The fearsome bird was perched beside her, hissing angrily at the giants as they lobbed huge rocks around like so much confetti.
Again Arthur’s magic came into play. Neil and Clara didn’t realize it at the time and, for a few minutes, their hearts sank at the thought that the giants might be winning; for before their startled eyes, the stone figures started to grow. Indeed, Clara put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from crying out in horror as she watched them shoot up until they were the height of skyscrapers. As they grew taller and taller, however, they also became thinner and thinner until they were little more than huge, rickety skeletons of rock and stone.
It didn’t take the giants long to realize the dangers of such unexpected growth and they roared with rage as the magic spell took hold. Indeed, they promptly forgot about Arthur as the need to keep their balance became paramount. Now disastrously unstable, many of the giants grabbed at cliffs for support as they started to sway dangerously.
Arthur hissed in satisfaction as the giants’ faltering steps became more and more perilous and swept towards the mountain top in a blaze of fire and smoke. He landed, wings outspread, on a jutting spur of rock, his wonderful eyes gleaming with excitement.
“Come on, Neil,” he hissed in his dragon’s voice, “let’s get you out of here!”
Clambering awkwardly down from the spur of rock towards them, Arthur blew a triumphant stream of sparkling fire. Neil and Clara were quite used to what they termed ‘Arthur’s fireworks’ but Shona was understandably terrified of the great red dragon that was only feet from them. She clutched frantically at Neil as the dragon blew another stream of sparkling, glittering fire.
“Don’t do that, Arthur! You’re scaring Shona,” Clara said, rushing forward to hug him.
“Hi, Arthur! Hi Archie!” Neil grinned as Archie slipped down from Arthur’s back. “It’s great to see you! Come and meet Shona.”
Shona looked at Archie in fascinated wonder as he bowed to her and gave her a reassuring grin, knowing that it wasn’t every day that she met faery folk. When Amgarad spread his wings, however, she looked more than a bit apprehensive and turned to Neil fearfully.
“Look, there’s no time to explain right now,” Neil said, seeing the confused mixture of horror and disbelief on her face, “but it’s all magic. Archie is magic, the dragon is magic and so is Amgarad.”
“Come and meet Arthur, Shona,” Clara said, tugging her hand. “He’s really not the least bit terrifying when you know him. He’s fabulous. Look at his wonderful eyes. He’s come to rescue us!”
Shona was quite definite about it. “I am not,” she said determinedly, “I am not getting on that dragon.”
Clara glanced up at Arthur. He did, she supposed, look quite fearsome. He was huge for a start and the swirling clouds of dust that the giants had kicked up made him look exciting, mysterious and … well, she could understand how Shona felt.
“Neil’s flown on him before, Shona,” she said encouragingly, “and he loved every minute of it. Arthur’s a lovely dragon. He’s our friend and he won’t hurt you, I promise.”
It was one of the giants that eventually persuaded Shona that it was safer to climb onto Arthur’s back with the others than stay where she was. One giant had grown so tall that his head was more or less on a level with them and as the rocky, eyeless head appeared above the rim of the corrie, Shona gave a yell of fright.
“Here, take my hand, Shona,” Neil said, “and I’ll help you up onto Arthur’s back. Clara, you go first.”
Arthur dropped his wing obligingly so that Clara could clamber up and perch behind his neck; then Shona, too, scrambled up and settled herself behind Clara, her arms clutching her tightly round the waist.
As Neil climbed up behind her, Archie then ran up to Amgarad and Shona’s eyes widened as he seemed to melt into the great eagle. Clara, however, hid a smile as she, too, watched Archie merge with the enormous bird; for poor Archie was more accustomed to merging with humble pigeons and it had long been his ambition to merge with an eagle. Now, at last, he had his wish and she was happy for him. She watched as Amgarad’s wings flapped strongly and, with effortless ease, he soared upwards over the top of the mountain.
“Archie’s merged with an eagle at last,” she said, turning to look at Neil whose eyes were following Amgarad’s flight enviously.
Arthur flapped his wings as Amgarad soared into the sky. “Our turn next,” Neil said, warningly. “Hang on everyone!”
Instinctively, they gripped Arthur’s sides with their knees, clinging tightly to one another as Arthur blew a stream of fire and smoke, flapped his great wings and soared effortlessly into the sky.
In the last rays of the setting sun, they could see where he was heading, for the mountain stood sharply outlined against the night sky. Like Amgarad, Arthur was making for Morven.