Firestar (8 page)

“Keep going, Lewis,” Shona said, pointing upwards. “Once we reach that outcrop of rocks, it's downhill all the way!”

Eventually they reached the top of the ridge and, panting slightly, looked over Glen Garchory; a deep glen that nestled between the steep slopes of high mountains.

“That's Jennifer's house over there,” Shona said, pointing towards a white, two-storey building with high gables that was surrounded by a
considerable
sprawl of barns and outhouses. “Another half an hour and we'll be there.”

Lewis was glad to hear it. He wasn't nearly as fit as Neil and Clara and his muscles were already aching.

Jennifer saw them coming and met them half way. She was slim, blonde and wore a heavy sweater over her jeans.

“Hi, Shona! Hi there, Lewis,” she said,
cheerfully
. “Glad you could make it!”

“I warned them that it was a bit of a walk, Jenni,” laughed Shona, introducing Neil and Clara.

“You'll be used to it, though,” Jennifer said with a laugh. “Lewis tells me you live beside Arthur's Seat! He's the one who needs the exercise!”

“This'll last me for some time, believe me,” Lewis groaned. “I'm still stiff from climbing Morven yesterday!”

Mention of Morven reminded Shona of the
Americans. Her temper flared immediately and she looked indignant. “You'll never guess what happened to us yesterday, Jenni,” she began and tucking her red hair behind her ears, promptly poured out the whole story of their meeting with Shane and his friends. “And now,” she
finished
, irritably, “I've been banned from climbing Morven.” She was still furious at the whole affair and they were so busy discussing it that the last part of the journey passed quickly and in no time at all, they reached the farmhouse.

“Dad's gone into Aberdeen today,” Jenni said, opening the front door, “but Mum's making us lunch and after that I thought I might show you round the farm.” She looked enquiringly at Neil and Clara.

“Great,” Neil smiled.

Her mother put down the telephone as they came into the kitchen. “Anything wrong, Mum?” Jennifer asked, seeing her face.

“Not exactly,” Mrs Sinclair smiled at Neil and Clara. She was as blonde as her daughter with bright blue eyes and a wide smile. “Nice to meet you both,” she said. “We've heard a lot about you from Lewis. Why don't you sit at the table? Lunch is ready.”

“Who were you talking to on the telephone, Mum?” Jennifer persisted, passing round the
vegetables
as her mother served them with slices of roast chicken. “It's bothering you, isn't it?”

“Not bothering me exactly,” her mother said, sitting down and reaching for her napkin. “It was Morag on the phone. You know Morag, don't you
Shona? Well, she was saying that the people in the next glen to her saw a stone giant last night.”

“A stone giant?” Jenni looked at her in surprise.

Clara, too, looked up so abruptly that she choked on a mouthful of chicken.

“Here, have a drink of water,” Lewis said,
pushing
the glass into her hand as her face reddened and she coughed.

“You all right, Clara?” Neil managed to keep his voice calm. He had almost choked, too, for in the past they had both come across a stone giant in terrifying circumstances.

“A stone giant? That's impossible,” Shona frowned.

“That's exactly what I said,” Mary Sinclair
nodded
as Clara drank some more water and stopped coughing, “but there have been lots of rumours going round of giants appearing on the west coast. I read about them in the paper the other day. Anyway, you know what Morag's like. She'll believe anything.”

“Something must have happened for people to talk about a stone giant, though,” Jenni pointed out.

“It sounded quite frightening really. Apparently a terrible crash of thunder woke them in the
middle
of the night and when they looked out of their windows they could see this huge giant walking down the mountainside lit up by the flashes of lightning. They were so scared that they … well, they left their house and headed for the next glen. Morag said they woke her up in the middle of the night, soaked to the skin and dead scared.
Anyway, they've decided to stay with relatives, near Ballater.”

“Did anyone else see the giant?” Neil asked.

“I don't think so. Theirs is a pretty lonely glen,” Mrs Sinclair said, “but the next morning, Morag's husband went back with them to look for it and there was absolutely nothing there. Mind you, the storm must have loosened the side of the hill for there was a landslide over the road near the head of the glen. It's quite impassable now,” she said.

“So they just imagined the giant, then?” Shona said.

“Well, they certainly didn't find it and if it was as big as they said it was … well, it would be quite difficult for it to hide.”

After lunch, Jenni took them round the farm. Neil pressed Clara's arm and they let the others go ahead into the barn on their own.

“This is turning out to be a very queer holiday, Clara,” he said. “Weird Americans, a magic
mountain
and now — stone giants! What on earth is going on?”

Clara shook her head. “I don't know,” she whispered, “but whatever it is, I don't like it. Remember, I
saw
the Old Man of the Mountains,” she said as they walked to join the others, “and I'll never forget his face; all rock and stone. He was dead scary!”

Shona and Jenni were crouched over a basket at one end of the barn.

“Oh, aren't they beautiful,” Shona was saying to Lewis as they made their way across the barn. “Come and look, Clara; the farm cat has had kittens!”

“Actually, they're old enough to leave their mother, now,” Jenni said. “I've found homes for two of them but I'm keeping this one,” she showed them a thin, rather ugly-looking tabby and white kitten. “She's really adorable but just so ugly that nobody wants her!” She kissed the kitten and perched it on her shoulder where it clung to her sweater with sharp little claws. I've called her Ugly Mug!” she laughed.

Time flew past as they explored the farm. “Almost three o'clock,” Shona remarked as they wandered back to the farmhouse kitchen. “We'll have to think about heading for home, I'm afraid.”

“Yes,” Jennifer's mother agreed. “You don't want to leave it too late.”

As they waved goodbye, Mrs Sinclair glanced round the sweeping slopes of the mountains and shivered slightly as she realized how very lonely the glen was. She'd be glad when her husband returned.

Sharing her mother's thoughts, Jennifer, too, looked warily round the glen and, giving one last wave to Shona and her friends, turned and
followed
her mother into the house.

“Cheer up, Lewis,” Shona grinned as they strode towards the narrow track that led up to the ridge, “once we reach the top, it's downhill all the way!”

“Yes,” Clara grinned, “and don't forget that after dinner tonight we're going to go through the secret passage to the castle.”

“I’m going to show Neil and Clara the secret
passage
this evening,” Shona announced as they were having dinner that evening.

“Haven’t you had enough exercise for one day?” her father asked, eyebrows raised.

“Going down a secret passage isn’t exercise,” Clara smiled. “It’s exciting!”

“Well, take a torch each,” Mrs Ferguson smiled, “and don’t get lost!”

Shona grinned. “We can hardly do that,” she said. “It only goes in one direction!”

“And put on an extra sweater,” her father warned. “It’s quite cold down there.”

It was chilly in the secret passage. The cold draught that wafted along made Neil realize that there must be air vents to the surface.

“It’s been well made,” Lewis said, shining his torch over the old stonework, “a bit damp here and there but not so you’d notice.”

“Just mind your head,” Shona warned. “It’s a bit low in places and mum and dad sometimes have to duck!”

Shining their torches in front of them, the
tunnel
stretched into the gloom. Although it only took them about a quarter of an hour to reach the
castle
, it seemed much longer in the dark confines of the secret passage.

“We’re here,” Shona said, thankfully, as she noticed the change in the stonework. “Not far to go now, so keep your voices down!”

They followed her up a narrow flight of steep, stone steps and soon found themselves in a tall, thin passage. One wall seemed to be made of wood and as she ran her fingers over it, Clara realized that they were walking in a space behind the walls of a room for she could vaguely hear the sound of voices.

Shona stopped and, putting her fingers on her lips, stood on a large stone. The stone had been put there for a reason and, as Clara watched
fascinated
, Shona balanced herself carefully, slipped back a catch and pushed a tiny piece of panelling to one side. Immediately the voices became clearer and they were very definitely American. Lewis gave Neil the thumbs up sign. They’d done it! Now, with any luck, they might find out just what the Americans were doing in Glenmorven.

“I’m telling you, it’s all over Aberdeen,” Steve was saying, leaning forward excitedly in his armchair. “People were talking about it in every shop I was in. They’re full of it and, I kid you not, they really believe it!”

“What?” Chuck said, frowning slightly. “That there are stone giants in the mountains?”

Shane looked sceptical. “You shouldn’t listen to that rubbish. I heard about it on the news and they’re playing it down big time. Somebody thinks they see a giant and all of a sudden everybody’s seeing giants everywhere!”

“I reckon it might be a good idea to go out and look for them,” Sam said, getting to his feet and moving over to a huge wall map of the area. “It’s
getting kinda boring sitting around here. Whadya say, boys? Fancy a giant hunt?”

“Come off it!” Jake said. “Giants? Look, man, the weather’s bad, there’s a landslide and maybe it does, for a few seconds, look just like a giant and then — it’s gone. And what’s left? A pile of rocks and rubble.”

“Rocks and rubble,” repeated Chuck. “Say … that’s not a bad idea. We talked about it before, remember? Blowing the side off the mountain! These giants are the perfect cover. We just wait for the next thunderstorm and detonate the
explosives
in the middle of it.”

There was a silence. “That,” Shane said, “ought to be a piece of cake! We brought explosives with us and you’re right … the next big storm that comes along should give us good cover for an almighty bang.”

“Yeah! Nobody would ever guess,” Chuck said thoughtfully, “and if anyone did hear the explosion … well, they’d think it was thunder.”

“Or a stone giant, like you said,” laughed Sam.

Shona stepped down from her perch on the high stone to give Neil a chance to see into the room. She was seething with rage. Blowing up Morven! How could they even think about it!

Neil, in the meantime was staring in round-eyed wonder through the hole in the panelling. Not, it must be said, at the Americans. Indeed, they were now the least of his worries. He wasn’t even
listening
to them. He was staring, totally and absolutely gobsmacked. No one had mentioned that the castle was haunted yet he could see them quite clearly
— two huge, kilted figures leaning back against an old oak chest. One had a mop of ferocious red hair, the other was dark and sported a black beard and both carried shields and heavy swords. Claymores, he supposed. He was just about to whisper the news to Clara and Lewis when he remembered that Shona knew nothing of their magic past.

“Let’s have a look, Neil,” Lewis whispered,
tugging
at his sleeve.

Neil stepped down from the stone, his mind in turmoil. What on earth was going on, he wondered. He tried to catch Clara’s eye so that he could warn her about the ghosts. It would be awful if she cried out in surprise and gave the game away! Clara, however, was looking up at Lewis, waiting for her turn to look through the panelling and it was as Neil leant forward to whisper in her ear that Lewis’s foot slipped off the stone.

Clara and Shona caught him as he tumbled but it was too late, the damage had been done. They looked at one another in alarm as they heard the Americans push their chairs back at the sudden noise.

“What was that?” Sam said fearfully.

“It came from the wall over there,” Chuck said, getting to his feet.

Shona reached up and quickly slid the little piece of panelling back into place as the Americans reached the wall and started tapping it.

“It’s hollow,” Shane snarled. “There must be somebody behind it!”

“It’s probably these wretched ghosts again!”

“Or rats,” Steve said, hopefully.

“Quiet, there’s someone in there,” Shane snapped. “I’m sure I heard something! Listen!”

But, by then, there was nothing to hear for the four children had already reached the steep,
narrow
stair and were tip-toeing very quietly back along the secret passage.

Clara and Shona looked scared but Lewis was as white as a sheet and it was then that Neil
remembered
that Lewis, too, was wearing a firestone. That was it! He must have seen the ghosts!

It wasn’t only the ghosts that had scared Lewis, however. He’d had another shock, a shock that left his mind reeling, for before he’d slipped off the stone he’d had a good view of Chuck, and he’d
recognized
him immediately. Chuck, with the funny, spiky haircut, who used to visit his mum and dad in Kuwait. He couldn’t believe it. His friend, Chuck, was one of the Americans at Morven Castle!

Prince Kalman opened his eyes as the noise of a helicopter drowned out the sound of the van’s rather decrepit old engine.

Larry peered out of the side window, the bells on his cap rattling against the glass. “There’s another helicopter,” he said worriedly, “I wonder what it’s up to?” They’d noticed a police helicopter
hovering
above the road as they’d left Crianlarich and he wondered if it was the same one. “It’s got its searchlight on,” he said, bending his head to get a better look at it as it quartered the mountain slopes. “Do you think they know there are giants around?”

“Bound to,” Kenny nodded, glancing at the stag through his rear-view mirror, “I bet the trailer driver stopped at the first police station he came to.”

“Most probably,” Kalman agreed, remembering the look of horror on the man’s face as he’d seen a giant thundering along the road towards him.

“Look out, there’s a road block ahead,” Larry said as they turned a bend and the headlights lit up the fluorescent jackets of the waiting
policemen
.

As the van drew closer to the barrier, Kalman became increasingly apprehensive. So far the
journey
had been long but uneventful as Kenny, who knew the quiet country roads like the back of his hand, had used his knowledge to cut across
country
.
Travelling through the night had been to their advantage as the roads were virtually empty and dawn was still an hour away.

“Can you try and hide the stag, Larry?” Kenny muttered. “The police will ask questions if they see it in the back.”

“You nuts or something?” Larry glowered at him in exasperation. “They’ll see it whether we cover it up or not. How on earth can I hide a beast that size?”

“They’re going to ask us where we got it,”
panicked
Kenny, “and what are we going to say?”

“We’ll … we’ll say it’s injured and that we’re taking it to the vet.”

Kenny shot him a withering look. “Gerraway,” he said in disgust, “the police will never swallow that!”

“Well, they can’t say we poached it,” Larry pointed out plaintively, “for the beast’s alive and there’s not a mark on it! Anyway,” he muttered as the van came to a halt, “it’s too late now!”

Although the policeman who bent his head to scan the interior of the vehicle raised his eyebrows and blinked at the multi-coloured garb of the
occupants
, he did not, however, comment on the huge stag that crowded the back of the van. A surprised Kenny gulped and then bit back an expression of surprise as he cast a quick glance in his mirror; for the stag’s antlers, that had quite successfully been blocking his view out of the back window ever since Loch Lomond, seemed to have disappeared. He deliberately turned round and scanned the rear of the van as casually as he could and was totally
speechless. Apart from their precious guitars and some drums and stuff, the back of the van was empty. The stag had gone, disappeared, vanished.

Gathering his wits together, he concentrated on what the policeman was saying.

“… several rock falls on the road. We’ve teams out clearing them so just drive slowly and carefully and you ought to be all right.”

“Thanks, mate,” Larry replied nervously, doing his best to shield the back of the van, “we’ll keep our eyes open.”

“There’s also,” and here the police officer looked worried, “there’s also been some sightings of these giants that seem to be appearing here and there in the Highlands. Don’t go anywhere near them, will you. We don’t know how dangerous they are yet.”

“We’ll steer well clear of them, if we do see them,” Kenny assured him as he put the van into gear and, with a friendly wave, drove off.

“I can’t believe it,” Larry said, “he never so much as mentioned the stag!”

“He didn’t mention it ‘cos it isn’t there,” Kenny replied, glancing once again in his mirror. The van swerved violently as he saw that his view was once again obstructed by a spread of antlers.

“Give over,” Larry grabbed at the dashboard, “will you look where you’re going?”

“But … but the stag wasn’t there when the police stopped us,” Kenny stammered. “I looked in the back and it was empty!”

“Well, it isn’t empty now,” Larry answered, looking back at the stag whose fine head and soft brown eyes regarded him steadily.

“I made myself invisible,” Kalman said. “I thought it best.”

“Cool,” Larry was impressed. “Wow, you really
are
a magician, then!”

“What about those giants the police were on about?” Kenny asked, looking at the stag through the mirror. “It’ll be you they’re after, like?”

“I’m afraid so,” Kalman admitted. “But don’t worry. If they spot me, I’ll get out and make a run for it. You’ll be alright … they’ve nothing against you. It’s me they’re after and they’ll stop at
nothing
to get me.”

Kenny looked at the dashboard anxiously. “I’ll have to get petrol soon,” he muttered. “We’re
getting
low.”

“D’you have enough cash?” Larry’s question was anxious.

Kenny looked worried. “Maybe we’ll find
another
twenty pound note,” he joked.

“Yeah,” Larry looked dreamy, for the twenty pound note they’d found in the back of the glove compartment had not only bought them petrol at Crianlarich but they’d managed to treat themselves to a whacking fish supper with loads of chips.

Kalman looked thoughtful. It hadn’t taken him long to gather that the Jelly Beans were virtually poverty stricken and managed to scrape by on a very meagre budget. He looked at them with more than a hint of admiration as he found their
cheerfulness
in the face of dire poverty, quite
remarkable
. They didn’t seem to mind, though, and after only ten minutes’ conversation it had become
obvious
that their music was everything to them. After downing the fish and chips hungrily, they’d taken their guitars out of the van and played him some of their best numbers, their thin faces intent and their feet stamping to the beat. Kalman had tried to look suitably impressed but knew that they weren’t all that good; in fact they weren’t even passably good. Kenny could only play a few chords on the guitar and Larry’s voice was weak. The only reason they carried things off was their obvious enthusiasm and infectious high spirits to say
nothing
of their ridiculous outfits. It was obvious, too, that the van was their home and the little money they made from what they called “gigs” seemed to go on petrol with very little left over for food. Kalman smiled. He was quite sure that they’d find another twenty pound note in the van — maybe more than one this time.

“There are those police helicopters again,” Larry said, bending to look out of the windscreen. “Two of them this time. They’ve still got their
searchlights
on. Do you think there are more giants around?”

Kenny, too, leant forward and peered upwards to where the helicopters quartered the
mountainside
in long swoops. He put his foot on the brake and clicked the headlights to full beam. If there were giants around then he wanted to have plenty of warning. They travelled in this way for a good few miles before a workman wearing a fluorescent jacket and waving a red flag, stopped them on a bend in the road.

“There’s a fall of rock just round the corner,”
the man said looking at them nervously as Kenny pulled up and rolled the window down. “It was one o’ yon giants,” he looked back over his shoulder, “we saw it collapse.”

“Chose a right awkward spot, didn’t it,” Kenny remarked. “Good job you’re here or I’d have gone smack into it.”

“Give us a few minutes and we’ll have it cleared,” the man said. “We’re just rolling the rocks and stuff to the side.”

Kenny negotiated the bend carefully but the workmen had obviously been clearing the road for some time as, apart from a scatter of small rocks and clods of earth here and there, he had plenty of room to get round. It was the next bend that proved the problem for, as the van swept round it, a giant was waiting for them. Lunging at the vehicle, it waved a rocky arm that came crashing down with mighty force. Kenny swerved
desperately
so that it missed the roof but dealt the front mudguard a glancing blow that sent the van
spinning
and the giant reeling. Fortunately, nothing was coming in the opposite direction and as Kenny struggled to right the vehicle, the massive figure almost lost its balance.

“Put your foot down,” Larry screamed as the giant finally found its feet and started after them. Kenny didn’t need to be told twice and pressed the
accelerator
to the floor. The road wound in sweeping curves along the base of the mountain and Kalman, using magic to see round corners, gave instructions. “Stay close to the side of the mountain,” he said sharply, “there’s a giant on the river side of the road.”

Kenny held his breath as the van took the
corner
at speed and passed an astonished giant who was waiting, arms upraised, to flatten them with the huge boulder it held aloft. This gave them a lead of several minutes for it took the giant some time to turn itself round and give chase.

There was a sudden noise overhead as two helicopters zoomed in on the van to give it cover. “There are two giants,” the pilot said into his radio, “massive things, the size of houses. They’re chasing a van at the moment. The fellow driving it is going like the clappers, I can tell you!”

The pilot of the second helicopter sounded grim. “We’re going to have to stop them, Bill,” he said, his eyes following the lumbering figures of the giants. “They’re getting too close to that village for comfort. Can you imagine the damage they’ll cause if they go on the rampage in the streets?”

“What do you suggest we do? We’re not armed!”

“No, but they’re not very nifty on their feet, are they? If we buzz them, I reckon we could easily knock them off balance. What do you think?”

“Roger. And we can use the loudspeakers as well! That might confuse them!”

“Right, I’ll go in first!”

Kenny and Larry ducked instinctively as the swirling blades of the rotors sounded loud
overhead
as the first helicopter banked in over the van and headed straight for the giants.

“Would you look at that!” Kenny muttered through dry lips as he watched the attack in his mirrors. “They’re attacking the giants!”

“For heaven’s sake, keep your foot down,”
pleaded Larry. “This isn’t the time to hang around and watch!”

Once again, the van took off at speed and so it was that, jesters hats askew, the petrified Jelly Beans rocketed off and it was only when they’d put a safe distance between the van and the giants that they pulled up at the side of the road and watched, stunned, as the helicopters attacked the massive figures.

The giants ducked as the first helicopter headed straight for them, only lifting clear of their heads at the last moment. The second helicopter then banked in for the attack and using its
loudspeakers
at full blast, sent waves of shrieking sound round the stone figures. The giants had never known anything like it as, totally disorientated, they stepped aside to avoid the whirling rotors.

The van was now forgotten at the sight of this new threat from the skies. The giants, of course, had no idea what helicopters were but their hatred of dragons was as old as the hills themselves and they had no hesitation in equating the two flying monsters in their minds. “Dragon! Dragon!” the giants growled in their deep, gravelly voices and looked around for rocks to throw at these
monsters
of the skies.

However, they had no time to bend and pick up rocks. The deafening noise from the
loudspeakers
confused them and as the helicopters swirled, banked and attacked time after time, the
inevitable
happened. The giants lost their bearings
completely
and, in a grinding crash, cannoned into one another.

“Gotcha!” the pilots were ecstatic as they banked and swooped triumphantly over the fallen bodies of the giants.

The first battle had been won.