The Dark Portal (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 3) (21 page)

Above all this, which sat on the ground level, the upper walls of the surrounding dome were honeycombed with
the dwarves’ countless shops and their homes—charming cubbyholes with rounded doors and little flowerboxes on some of the windows. (Shade plants, Jake presumed.)

Everywhere, l
ittle ladders and stairways carved into the rock wound their way up the walls; the open space above was crisscrossed with catwalks and wooden footbridges, just like at the mine.

Straight ahead, the back wall of the dome apparently served as the
dwarves’ shopping arcade. Jake read the quaint wooden signs for each shop in fascination:
Apothecary, Barber, Baker, Butcher, Cobbler – Shoes and Boots, Tinker – Mining Tools and Axes Sharpened Here! Chandler – Candles and Lanterns, Rag & Bone Man,
and up at the top, a
Smokehouse
with a chimney to the surface.

He
raised his eyebrows at the sign for the
Bat Catcher
.
Prompt and Affordable Pest Removal.

Then
Jake grinned as he realized that while most villages aboveground had rat catchers, people who lived in underground caves were more likely to need a bat catcher.

Well, that makes sense, he thought.

Then they arrived by the fountain, where chairs had been set up for them and a raised platform awaited the official welcome speeches.

As soon as the large visitors sat down, t
he little mayor climbed up onto the platform and spoke with the long-winded pomp of a politician twice his size.

The speech was rather boring, but Jake
was just glad he wasn’t the one who had to give it.

After
the speech came the songs, of course. First, choirs sang rapturous, mesmerizing tunes that fairly put Jake and the others in a trance.

Then came the bagpipers and drummers in their kilts.

Their rousing battle music reverberated so loudly under the dome that they drowned out the constant rumble of the waterfall in the background.

Thunderous applause resounded when their concert was done. With the show over, refreshments were served and it was finally time to socialize. They were charmed to meet Master Emrys’s wife and two kids—a boy and girl, ages six and four—and their family dog, a miniature Dachs
hund.

“His breed doesn’t mind being underground, do you, boy?”
Emrys said fondly.

The funny little wiener dog wagged his tail with a big canine smile, and Jake hid his amusement to s
ee how the gruff mine boss melted over his dog, possibly more than he did over his children.

“Oh, you want to meet everybody, eh?” Emrys picked up the Dachs
hund, then they all crowded around to pet the dog while the junior Emryses went tearing off to get some of the honey cakes and sweet biscuits that were presently being served on scaled-down plates and dwarf-sized cups.

His wife couldn’t stay long, either. She hurried off to get in line for the Ladies’ Axe-Throwing Contest.

“She can use an axe?” Archie exclaimed.

“Of course she can, she’s a good dwarf woman! Quite deadly, actually.”

“Blimey,” said Jake.

“Ah, our people have always had to be ready to fight,” Emrys told them. “Why, look at us! Larger folk always start
trouble with us, thinking we might be an easy target—especially since everybody knows we’ve always had a way with gold and precious stones. We’ve had to teach bigger folk a lesson many times over.”

“And don’t even get him started on cave
trolls!” Ufudd chimed in as he came over and joined them.

They greeted the wee
village elder with warm smiles; in truth, Ufudd had become the children’s favorite.

“Nuisance
species, cave trolls!” Ufudd told them, grimacing.

Emrys shook his head. “J
ust a part of life underground. Always got to clear ’em out when you start a new dig.”

“
But never mind us,” Ufudd said. “How is your visit going? How are you Bigs settling in up at Plas-y-Fforest?”

They all sat down
together and told Ufudd and Emrys eagerly about what they had been up to, and how the climbing roses around the cottage moved on command, and how they had seen the unicorns.

“We also found an old, ruin
ed church where his ancestors are buried,” Dani said, nodding at Jake even as she managed to ignore him.

Isabelle nodded. “
The tombs of Sir Reginald himself and his wife, Lady Agatha.”

“Oh, and Jake saw a headless ghost!” Archie added.

“Ahh, yes, the Headless Monk. Now there’s a tale,” said Emrys, and giving a thoughtful puff of his pipe, he settled in to tell it…

CHAPTER TWELVE

Just a Legend

“The Griffon lords had sponsored a community of White Monks on their lands from ages back. The monks lived simply with their vow of poverty, farming and brewing ales, and looking after the poor folk in these parts.

“But p
oor Brother Colwyn,” Emrys said with a shake of his head. “He made an enemy of the wrong chap. Remember that alchemist I told you about who lived around here long ago?”

“
The chap who figured out how to turn lead into gold?” Archie asked.

“Until sunlight touched it,
” Dani reminded him.

“That’s the one,” Emrys said with a mild nod. “
Garnock the Sorcerer. If only he had kept to reading the stars and tinkering with gold. But no, the dark arts were too much temptation for him. Ach, he was a menace. Changing folk into unnatural creatures. Calling up storms and floods and pestilence, ruining crops. He was particularly fond of lightning, they say, and he’d zap you if you got too far onto his bad side. He became a mighty wizard. I’ve heard that the Dark Druids honor his memory to this day. Legend has it the first ones were some of his own apprentices.”

“Really!” Jake whispered with a chill down his spine.

Derek had once warned him that, because of his abilities, the Dark Druids would probably come seeking to recruit him one day when he was older.

Nearly everything that Red and Derek and Aunt Ramona and Henry and Helena did was to try to make him as ready as possible for that day.

Personally, Jake hoped he was at least forty or fifty or so before those shadowy villains attempted any such thing.

“Oh, he was a bad one
,” Emrys was saying. “Then Brother Colwyn found out Garnock had even summoned a demon from the underworld to do his will.”

All four drew in their breath.

“That was the fashionable thing all the wizards liked to have back in those days—your own demon to follow your commands and do your bidding. Of course,” he added, “there’s always a price to be paid for such bargains.”

“
Like your soul!” Dani said.

Emrys took
another philosophical puff from his pipe. “When Brother Colwyn found out about Garnock’s meetings with the demon, he sent word immediately to the Lightriders about it. Unfortunately, one of Garnock’s ravens warned him what Brother Colwyn had done.

“Well, the wizard
readied himself for the battle that was about to descend on him, but before the Lightriders arrived, he paid Brother Colwyn a visit. He swore to punish the friar for his meddling.” Emrys shook his head. “Garnock tried again and again to cast terrible spells on the monk, but he was too well protected by the sacred ground of the chapel and his own holy prayers.

“Finding
that his magic had no effect, Garnock became so enraged that he conjured an axe and chopped off the poor fellow’s head. ’Twas never found,” Emrys finished in a spooky tone.

The kids stared, wi
de-eyed.

“Did the Lightriders kill him?” Jake blurted out.

“Alas, they arrived in Wales too late to save their friend, the monk, but they did overcome the sorcerer. They trapped Garnock in his workshop with some of the most powerful white-magic spells ever cast. He was imprisoned for all time with the gargoyles who were his familiars.

“
But,” Emrys added, “the other monks at the church who witnessed the murder said that Garnock made a promise. He vowed that, whatever happened, the Lightriders would never destroy him, and he swore that one day, he would come back for revenge.”

A hush of doom had fallen over the children.

Having finished his tale, Emrys took a thoughtful puff on his pipe and eyed the four of them in amusement.

“Egads,” Archie said
at last in a strangled tone.

Emrys and Ufu
dd both started laughing.

“Ah, laddie, it’s jus
t an old legend,” the head dwarf chided, his eyes twinkling.

Then Emrys was called away to go and cheer his wife on
in the Axe-Throwing Contest, and Ufudd scurried off to fetch another half-pint of mead, still chuckling at their gullibility.

Jake was silent, the d
aftest notion taking shape in his mind. Could it be possible that this black fog plaguing the area might actually be Garnock, carrying out his promise?

The idea
seemed absurd, yet everything going on around here had to be connected. He just wasn’t sure how, yet.

It dawned on him who might know more.
“Isabelle, could I ask your help for a minute? I need to talk to Red.”

“Of course
.”

“We’ll come with you.” Archie rose
from his chair.

“Um,
I think Jake needs to speak to the Gryphon privately.” The empath sent the other two a meaningful look to remind them of the recent spat between Jake and his large, feathered pet.

“Oh, r
ight. Of course,” Archie answered with a nod. “Good luck, Jake.”

Then they left.

“Jake?” Isabelle asked over her shoulder as they wove through the crowd, heading for the spot where the magnificent Crafanc was holding court, surrounded by his admirers.

“Aye
?” Jake barely glanced at her, trying not to step on any of the mischievous dwarf children scampering by.

“
You know, you really should be nicer to Dani.”

“What?”

“
Every time you quarrel with her, she thinks she is going to be sent back to the rookery.”

“Of course she’s not going to be sent back to the rookery,” he sai
d impatiently.

“
One mistake isn’t the end of the world. Besides, in your old life, she was there for you when nobody else was.”

“Fine! I’ll apologize,” he huffed. “I’ll just add her to my list.”

“See that you do, or I may start to think that you and Petunia Harris might actually be a good match.”

Jake scoff
ed. Being matched with the beautiful, mean Miss Harris did not sound so bad to him, but Izzy had not meant it as a compliment.

“Red’s waiting, if you’re quite through lecturing me,” he grumbled.

“On that subject, yes. But actually, there’s something else I wanted to tell you.”

Jake welcomed a
ny change of subject. “Aye?”

She glanced at him uneasily
. “This afternoon, before we all started getting ready for the party, I had a chance to go out into the forest alone to see the unicorns. I found out why they acted so skittish last night. They’ve been sensing an evil presence in the area for about a week now. Something new and strange. They don’t know what it was. But I’m sure it’s the same thing I felt at the school.”

“Agreed,” Jake said grimly.

“My brother said you came across a ghost?”

He nodded. “The old headmaste
r, Dr. Sackville. But that dark atmosphere wasn’t coming from him.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely. He’s a strict old windbag, but I could tell he really cares about those kids.” Jake stopped short of telling Isabelle that Old Sack had actually seen something feeding on the children.

The poor girl had already been through enough for one day. Besides, this was supposed to be a holiday. In any case, as a future Lightrider, Jake felt that dealing with all this was up to him.

“Tomorrow night I’m going to that séance,” he reminded her. “The headmaster ghost wouldn’t really tell me much, but maybe some other ghost there will.”

“Good idea. Are you ready for this?” she asked as they approached the crowd around Red.

Jake nodded, then the crowd of dwarves dispersed when they realized the two cousins were waiting for an audience with the kingly beast.

“Jake wanted to talk to you, Red. Do you mind?” Isabelle asked him.

The careless flick of his red wings was like a shrug, then his golden eyes studied Jake intently.

“I was wondering if you
were there long ago, when the Lightriders defeated Garnock the Sorcerer,” he said.

A
ll Jake heard in answer was Red’s usual “Becaw,” but Isabelle could read animal’s thoughts.

She
turned to him to translate. “He says that was before his time. He was just a hatchling.”

“Oh. Too b
ad. All right, then.” Jake hesitated. “Is there, er, anything else he wants to say to me?” He waited on tenterhooks to hear what Isabelle might translate next.

She glanc
ed at Red and then at him. “Actually,” she said with exquisite tact, “he’s waiting to hear what
you
have to say first.”

“Oh.” Jake dropped
his gaze.

“T
hink I’ll leave you two alone to sort things out.” His empath cousin obviously sensed him floundering. “Just tell him what’s in your heart, Jake.”

“Right. Thanks,” he mumbled as
she walked away. He looked at Red uncertainly. “Um, could I please speak to you privately?”

Red pounced down off his perch
and nodded at Jake to follow him.

He did.

The beast padded back up the red carpet toward the waterfall.

N
ear the grand archway to Waterfall Village, the cascade thundered past them, but Red’s ears were more than sharp enough to hear Jake’s heartfelt apology.

“I’m sorry for how I act
ed in the Great Vault. I-I know I let you down. I want to do better. I know I’m selfish and sometimes rude. I always seem to have the wrong reaction,” he said in dismay. “But I’ll keep trying, if you don’t mind putting up with me.”

“Becaw.” Red pushed his head
fondly against Jake’s chest like an oversized housecat showing its owner affection.

Jake was so relieved that he threw his arms around the Gryphon’s neck and h
ugged him. Red curled one large lion-paw around his shoulder in return.

“Thanks, boy
,” he mumbled.

Moving back again, Red snuffled with nonchalance, as though ev
erything was already forgotten. Then he spotted a trout going over the waterfall and caught in his beak, gulping it down whole. Jake laughed.

“C
aw!” With a cheerful flick of his wings, Red flew back to the party, his tufted tail trailing down gracefully behind him.

Jake gazed after this marvelous, impossible beast that had come into his life
with unabated wonder and realized anew how lucky he really was. In future, he’d have to do a better job of remembering that.

Right,
he concluded after a moment.
One down, one to go.
Having made peace with Red, he felt like he had the weight of an anvil off his chest.

Now he just had to f
ind the right moment to tell a certain carrot-head that he was sorry, too.