Mist & Whispers (5 page)

‘Can you believe he was once in this very room, holding on to books that would impact the world in a way he’d never even know?’ All at once, Anya felt inspired. They all stood quietly, taking the moment in.

A noise came from outside, like the rustle of dried leaves followed by a scuffing sound against the dusty ground. The tingle of wonder quickly turned to goose bumps as they realised they weren’t alone.

Without thinking, Anya grabbed Tim and Stephanie and pulled them into an unlit doorway to the side of the room, stuffing her phone into her pocket and extinguishing all trace of light. They held their breaths, hearing only the eerie creak of the oak doors as they opened.

Anya peered round the doorway and saw the silhouette of a tall man behind the bright light of a torch. The silhouette moved around the room slowly in contrast to the torch’s rays, which bolted between the walls and the floor like prison flood lights in search of escapees. Then the light dimmed and the man hit the torch against his leg.

‘Stupid, poxy pound-shop batteries,’ sighed a voice she knew all too well.

‘Michael?’ She lit her phone again and came out from the door way. ‘What are you doing here? How did you even know where we were?’

‘Well, I just wanted to make sure you were ok,’ he said.

‘Did you follow us from Stephanie’s place?’

He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.

‘Argh! I can’t believe you! You had no right! I’m not your girlfriend anymore, Michael! You can’t just follow me round to find out what I’m doing! It’s none of your business! Just go home, will you!’

Michael looked down to the ground like an abashed puppy. She could see his eyes glisten, though he made an effort to hide it. Stephanie and Tim looked at each other, and then to Anya, silently appealing to her better nature with a raise of the eyebrows and a tilt of their heads.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. ‘Fine, you can stay. I suppose it’s better to have an extra pair of hands, anyway.’

‘Extra pair of hands for what exactly?’ Michael asked.

‘Isn’t it obvious?’ she frowned, looking around the room.

‘I followed you. I didn’t bug their place and listen in on your plans!’

Anya pursed her lips at him, but before anything else could be said, Stephanie stepped in between them. ‘You two fighting isn’t going to save Scott’s now, is it?’

Michael dropped Anya’s challenging stare and looked to Stephanie, confused. ‘Save Scott’s from what?’ After she explained, he said, ‘Right, well, that’s a very good idea. I’d be happy to help,’ and then glanced, completely smug, at Anya.

Anya carried on searching the room, glowering at Michael for a good few minutes or so. After a while she came to the dragon statue in the corner of the room. ‘I bet James is kicking himself that he didn’t take these statues – think of what they’d go for online.’

‘They are magnificent, aren’t they?’ Tim said as he studied the unicorn.

‘It’s funny, this one is crying,’ Stephanie said, standing in front of the phoenix statue. ‘And one of Weaver’s books is called Phoenix Tears,
and
it was found right here in this room, with this crying phoenix!’

‘That isn’t just funny, that’s a very intriguing coincidence. I wonder...’ and Michael made his way over to the statue.

His sudden interest captured Anya and Tim’s attention and they joined both him and Stephanie by the phoenix. Michael felt around the statue then took Anya’s phone to shine more light on to its face. He examined the tear closely then, with an unsure finger, he pressed it.

To Anya’s surprise, the tear sank back into the statue and one of the phoenix’s claws sprung open. A small metal ball clanged onto the ground, straight into the groove that ran from the base of the statue, and rolled into the labyrinth on the black limestone. Its momentum carried it around the pattern until it reached the hole in the centre. The four companions watched, breaths bated as the ball fell into the black hole, and were startled by a clunking mechanical sound that rang out around the room. In a breath, the chandelier that had been gathering dust was slowly lowering from the ceiling, and in its place a secret entrance appeared.

T
HE CHANDELIER CAME
to a stop just before the lowest candle touched the ground. A portion of the ceiling had come down with it, on which, old footprints could be seen in the layers of dust.

‘What do you think is up there?’ Tim asked.

‘I don’t know, but it looks like you’re supposed to get on this to get to it,’ Anya observed, climbing on to the platform attached to the chandelier.

‘O.M.G, Anya! What are you doing?’ Stephanie blurted, aghast.

‘I’m going up there.’ She knew this couldn’t just be coincidence, the tear on the phoenix leading to a secret room. There had to be something up there worth hiding, something linked to the Weaver.

They heard another click and the chandelier began to move again, and this time it started to rise.

‘Quick, get on!’ Anya urged the others.

Michael jumped on first and Tim managed to climb up as it reached Stephanie’s shoulders.

‘Take our hands,’ Tim instructed Stephanie, while he and Anya  reached out for her.

Stephanie hesitated, but then grabbed a hold of their hands. The chandelier had lifted her off her feet and now there was no going back. Tim and Anya pulled with all their strength and Stephanie managed to get one foot on the platform, but as she pulled up her other foot, she slipped.

Stephanie’s screams echoed around the room sending the nesting pigeons into frantic flight, but as she fell she managed to catch a hold of the chandelier below. They were a good fifteen feet in the air and still rising.

‘Hold on to me!’ Anya ordered Michael and Tim as she lowered herself down to her knees.

They both took hold of her and she reached over the side.

‘Take my hand!’ she shouted at her terrified boss.

‘I’m going to fall,’ Stephanie squealed back.

‘No you’re not, trust me!’ Anya looked her straight in the eye.

The ceiling was getting closer and closer. Stephanie took a deep breath and grabbed Anya’s hand. Anya gripped her as tight as she could and with the help of the boys, she pulled her up onto the platform, narrowly missing her being severed in half between the edge of the platform and the ceiling. The platform locked back into position and they fell to the floor inside the secret attic room, trying to catch their breaths.

Strangely, the attic room was lit. A lantern hung from a beam just across from where the Four had fallen. It was a small space, laid out as if someone used to sleep there. There were cushions and blankets stuffed at one end, and had they not been covered in dust and mice droppings, they would have looked quite welcoming.

Tim was holding onto Stephanie, stroking her hair and trying to calm her down. He looked as terrified as she had only moments ago. Anya couldn’t take her eyes off them. She felt awful; Stephanie could have been terribly hurt and it would have been all her fault.

Michael got straight to his feet. ‘Well, this is brilliant,’ he remarked. ‘All
that
and there’s nothing even up here!’

Annoyingly, he was right. Anya looked around, but it didn’t take long to realise that, apart from themselves and a few blankets, there was nothing else up there. Stephanie and Tim’s silence gave her the impression that they were just as annoyed at her as Michael, but then, Stephanie
had
just escaped a twenty foot drop by a hair.

Maybe whatever had been hidden in there was already long gone. Maybe it was time to accept the fact that Scott’s was closing, and there was nothing any of them could do about it.

Michael took the lantern down and amazement swept his face as he stared inside it. ‘This is fascinating, look at this.’ He crouched down next to Tim and handed him the lantern. ‘It’s just a flame; no candle, no wick, no oil – nothing
–
just a flame.’

‘More peculiarly, there’s no air getting in either. Fire needs oxygen to burn. It must be an illusion some how...’ Tim said, finally letting go of Stephanie and trying to work out how the little flame could be burning.

‘You guys don’t think someone could be coming back here do you?’ Stephanie asked, wrapping her arms around herself.

‘I don’t know,’ Anya said, ‘but maybe it’s best we just get out of here. It doesn’t look like we’re going to find anything and I don’t want anyone else getting hurt.’ She gave Stephanie her best apologetic look.

‘Anya’s right,’ Tim said. ‘Here, take this, and Michael and I will figure out how to get out of here,’ and he handed Anya the lantern.

She barely had a grip on it when instantly, everything changed.

She was still holding the lantern, but she was alone in the room. The blankets on the floor were suddenly clean and the cobwebs had disappeared.

Without knowing why, she turned the lantern upside down and opened a panel, revealing a folded piece of parchment.

She blinked and everything was just as it had been.

Tim and Michael had found the mechanics for the moving platform and Stephanie was freaking out over a spider crawling up her arm.

‘Anya, don’t just stand there, give us a hand or do something useful, will you?’ Michael complained, pulling Anya out of her trance.

Butterflies filled her tummy and her hands shook as she turned over the lantern. Sure enough, there was a panel on the bottom.

‘What are you doing now?’ Michael moaned.

‘There’s something in here, I know it,’ she replied, opening the panel.

There was.

A folded piece of parchment, looking slightly aged but just as she’d envisioned. She took it out and held it for a moment.   How it could be possible that she had just seen it in her mind? People didn’t really have premonitions
–
that was just stuff made up for books, TV and crazy people, conning money out of the naive over crystal balls. Surely it was impossible?

‘O.M.G,’ Stephanie gasped. ‘Anya! How did you know that was there?’

She didn’t think it would be a good idea to tell them the truth when she didn’t believe it herself.

‘I, er... I spotted the panel when Tim passed it to me. Lucky guess.’ The corner of her mouth twitched nervously.

‘Well, what is it?’ Stephanie said.

Anya opened the parchment.

With rhyme comes reason so heed these words,

There’s times and places for lessons learned.

With my silver ink found here in four,

These words create a map to more.

Concealed in wonder six works of gold,

The greatest story not yet told.

In the ruins where St Michael ley,

As the sun greets us for the solstice day.

But harken, beware, before you endure,

Once stepped forward, step back no more.

When through cast eyes on the peacock’s tale,

Where numbers take mystery and lift the veil.

The first of one and the start of Many,

Two hundred and three found in twenty,

Four is twinned with four in eight,

And six gives five before too late.

The next ingress the moonlight brings,

By Lunaris jewel in time with Kings.

Then blood that falls upon the words,

Will show you where to find the third.

My gold; his name, his own in hand,

T’was his fall that made him stand.

Once passed three you’ve taken two,

A summoning draft you’ll need to brew.

Cascade into cascading blue,

And find a way it will for you.

Amongst the fiery eyes that weep,

A key concealed in snow and sleet.

Now half my treasures under wing,

Yet so much more to thee I bring.

Ancient rivals remain at peace,

Amid, a passage – Head due east.

In the mist a secret lies,

With one who made a sacrifice.

With such a wealth a choice must come,

To leave ahead or battle on.

If you should wish to find my fifth,

Look no further than my gift.

Use your heart and use your head,

My final one I leave unsaid.

For those who truly brave the quest,

Will find the answer in my best.

‘It’s a riddle,’ Anya said, showing the parchment to the others.

‘I wonder what it all means,’ Stephanie said, her eyes still scanning the page.

Tim, who looked deep in thought, read, ‘
My silver ink found here in four
... How many of Weaver’s books were found here?’ As Tim’s words permeated Anya’s brain, excitement took over.

‘The Weaver! The Weaver wrote this! James found four books here, and this says there’s more –
six works of gold!
Guys, if we can find these other books, we could save Scott’s!’

To Anya’s delight, the others all agreed with her. The boys managed to get the chandelier to open, and they came down from the attic with considerably less drama than on the way up. When they got back to their cars, they made a plan of action.

‘We’ve got to work out where we’re going first. The riddle says “
As the sun greets us for the solstice day”
– the solstice is the first day of summer, right?’

‘Well, it could mean either the summer or the winter solstice,’ Tim said, looking at his watch. ‘Today is the 20
th
June, so I think tomorrow when the sun rises will be the summer solstice.’

‘Anyone got Google on their phone?’ Anya asked.

‘Mine and Tim’s are in the car, I’ll get them
– ’

‘No need,’ Michael said as he fished his own phone out of his pocket. His fingers flicked over the touch screen and it gave a high toned bleep.

‘Battery dying?’ Anya asked.

‘Yeah, I didn’t get chance to charge it.’

‘Whilst you were stalking me, you mean?’

Michael didn’t voice a reply but his sharp look was enough for her not to continue.

‘The solstice sunrise hits Stonehenge at 5:04 tomorrow morning.’

‘So, all we have to do is find out which broken old building this Saint Michael guy laid down in and go there, right?’ This was Stephanie, winding her fingers in her hair.

Tim smiled at her and a soft laugh escaped through his nose. ‘Not that type of lay, Steph. It’s spelt L-E-Y, as in ley lines.’

Stephanie’s face was blank while Michael clearly covered up his lack of knowledge by pretending to be deep in thought. His eyes gave him away, or so Anya thought. She could tell he was hoping someone else would speak.  It was all in the way his eyes flitted from person to person.

‘What’s a ley line?’ Anya asked.

‘A ley line is an alignment of places of historical and sometimes mythological interest, spread across the country. I think some ley lines even stretch across more than one country. Some people believe they have some sort of spiritual importance. I think there is one known as the St Michael’s ley line, I remember reading something about it in one of my uni books.’

Michael typed the words
Ruins, St Michael
and
Ley Lines
into Google. ‘Top search result: Burrow Mump.’

‘Burrow Mump?’ Stephanie repeated, screwing up her nose. ‘Sounds like a disease.’

‘It’s a hill in Somerset. The ruins of St Michael’s church are at the top.’

‘That must be it,’ Anya said, trying to peer at the phone over Michael’s shoulder without getting too close to him.

‘We’ll find these books in no time!’ Stephanie exclaimed, clapping her hands like they were attached to each other by a tiny piece of string. ‘I love the internet. I can’t even imagine how people lived before Google was invented.’

Tim looked back at his watch. ‘It’s just gone midnight so if we set off now, we should just about make it in time.’

ANYA TRIED TO
get some sleep on the journey to Burrow Mump but her mind just wouldn’t shut down. The thought of finding more of the Weaver’s stories had her heart beating that bit faster than usual.