Hidden Magic (3 page)

The first part of the group's journey, would possibly be one of the most dangerous. To get into the heart of Bluebell Wood, the Halfses and Chester would first have to climb the wooded hillside in the darkness of night. The hillside's close proximity to Shabriri Swamp meant that their ascent was sure to be accompanied by some Nomed activity. Chester knew this and had therefore decided that it was much safer to remain perched on Zavier's head rather than flying solo above. He grasped Zavier's silver mane with his tiny toes and held on tightly, as if his life depended on it.

Zavier led the group up the wooded hillside, weaving through the trees in single file. He asked Aaron, as one of the stronger males in the group, to go to the back of the line and guard the rear. “Keep your eyes and ears open, everyone must be on full alert,” he ordered and they continued their ascent slowly and extremely cautiously.

They had made it approximately halfway up the hill when Chester leant forward and whispered very softly into Zavier's ear. “They have been tracking us for the past few minutes,” he said.

“I know, there are at least four of them that I can see. One on either side of us and there are also a couple in the treetops.”

“Can you see who they are?” whispered Chester.

“I have spotted Fala's red eyes between the trees on the left and I think one of them within the treetops may be Kern, but I don't know who the others are,” said Zavier. “Chester, please can you fly to each of the others in the group and warn them that we must prepare for trouble.”

Very quietly and cautiously, Chester flew to each of the Halfses in turn and whispered into their ears, alerting them of the imminent danger. Zavier then activated his invisible protective barrier and cocooned them all safely within it.

“Let's hope that I am strong enough to hold them back,” he said.

As they got about three-quarters of the way up the hillside, they were aware of another presence. The bushes up ahead rustled and four bumbling badgers emerged. They were completely unaware of the Nomeds' presence as their eyesight was poor and the Nomeds were situated downwind from them, so they hadn't caught their scent, either.

“Hi Zavier, what are you doing here at this time of night?” asked Jazbeck, the eldest badger.

“GET BACK! IT'S NOT SAFE!” yelled Zavier, hoping that the badgers would make it back to the safety of their sett in time.

Then sudden loud snapping and rustling sounds could be heard, as branches and twigs began to rain down from the trees above. The Nomeds advanced at speed toward the vulnerable badgers. Brock, Meles and Braxton scurried back inside the bush and then down into the safety of their sett, but Jazbeck was too old and slow and as he tried desperately to get to safety, Kern, the vampire Nomed, leapt down from the treetops, grabbed the elderly badger by his head and sunk his fangs into the poor old badger's neck. As Kern sucked the blood from Jazbeck's wriggling body, he smiled and the badger's blood could be seen running from his mouth and the blood that he'd ingested could be seen flowing through the blood vessels of his otherwise white eyes.

“NOOOO!” cried Zavier.

But the attack wasn't over and the Nomeds that had been flanking them rushed in from the sides and smashed into the invisible barrier. They sank their sharp teeth and claws into the barrier's exterior membrane. Fala glared, hissing and spitting at the group that was protected within it; his red eyes signalling the anger that he felt at not being able to penetrate the shield. Nebula plunged his sucker-like lips against the shield and began sucking with such force that his already sunken cheeks collapsed further in on themselves and his green eyes bulged, almost to the point of bursting.

Then Kern called out to the other Nomeds.
“Ew tsum nruter htiw siht hserf esproc os taht eht retsam nac deef,”
he said and he leapt back up into the treetops, taking the badger's corpse with him. The other Nomeds followed.

All of a sudden, it was quiet.

“I think they have returned to the swamp. We should be safe for a while now,” said Zavier and he released his shield as the group began their descent down the other side of the hill.

April, the white and black spotted appaloosa, cantered forward to Zavier's side.

“How much further?” she asked.

“We have a few more hours of darkness left. I think we should reach the heart of Bluebell Wood just before sunrise. We should continue on until then,” replied Zavier.

* * *

Hours passed. The morning sunlight began to shine through the trees, breaking up the darkness and dotting the bluebell-covered floor with patches of golden warmth.

“My favourite part of the day!” exclaimed Chester, as he flew joyously in and out of the sun's warm rays.

“I thought you said we would be at the heart of the woods by sunrise,” grumbled April.

“Patience, we are almost there,” said Zavier. “Look over there, where the stream widens, that is where we shall cross. Then, after a few paces, the Giant Horse Chestnut should be visible and that is where we should find the woodlands' Berthold.”

In the centre of Bluebell Wood, standing at approximately 125 feet tall, the Giant Horse Chestnut towered above the rest of the trees. The grey and brown bark of its trunk was crowned with a massive, emerald green leafy canopy. Its enormous side branches emerged from its trunk, like trees in their own right. The huge tree housed a host of the woodland creatures, including their Berthold, Francis.

The group of large, powerful Halfses and the little robin, Chester, stood at the tree's base and looked up into its canopy. They were dwarfed by its shadowy magnificence and somehow, despite their bravery, they all appeared more vulnerable.

Other than the subtle movement of its leaves in the breeze, the tree was still and lifeless; no birds sang, no squirrels spiralled its trunk and no insects explored its bark.

“Francis… it is I… Zavier, Berthold of Maytime Meadow. The Great Prophet has sent me, I must speak with you, please show yourself,” begged Zavier.

The group looked closely as the tree gradually altered, becoming a magical maze of activity. Its inhabitants had been camouflaged by Francis's magic and had therefore been hidden from danger, disguised as part of the tree's structure. As the creatures began to reappear, twists of bark transformed back into squirrels that began spiralling the huge trunk; patches of moss wriggled to life as caterpillars and insects; many of the leaves became birds singing and perching on the branches and high up in the tree's trunk, a dark and empty hollow began to change and instead of being filled with darkness, it filled with the plump form of a tawny owl. His plumage was still keeping him partially camouflaged as his colouring blended exceptionally well with the tree's bark, and his position was only given away by the intermittent blinking of his huge dark eyes. The plump owl leant forward and swooped gracefully to the ground, landing on a stubby tree stump amid a mass of bluebells.

“What is it, Zavier? Why has the Great Prophet sent you here with such urgency to speak with me?” Francis asked.

“The Great Prophet has asked that I collect all of Liberty's Berthold and then return them to the meadow. Only then will the Great Prophet tell us what is foreseen, something that will help us all in our fight against the evil Nomeds. The Great Prophet fears that we will not like what is foretold and may resist its requests, but it said that if we do not do what is asked of us, Liberty is in great danger of losing the fight and all that is good. It wishes to speak to us all together. We must unite on a journey to collect the rest of the Berthold and return to the Great Prophet with them as soon as possible.”

The wise and cautious owl pondered for a moment, closing his eyes and shrugging his head into his thick plumage.

“Hmmm,” he sighed. “Sounds very important. The Great Prophet has never requested a gathering of all Liberty's Berthold before. I must say, I am a little concerned about leaving the woodland creatures, especially while the Nomeds are so strong and active. I can share my power with the Giant Horse Chestnut tree, enabling it to camouflage the creatures of the woodland when they are within the tree, or in close proximity to it, but I will only be able to do this for two, maybe three days at most, before both the power and myself begin to weaken.”

“Francis, I understand your concern,” said Zavier. “As Berthold of the meadow I, too, have had to leave its creatures less protected and more vulnerable. This is why speed is of the essence. Will you join us?”

“Okay,” said Francis, “but I must inform the others of my departure first. When do you want to leave Zavier?”

“Well, there's no time like the present,” Zavier replied.

Francis stretched out his wings and flew to a low-level branch on the Giant Horse Chestnut. “Hoo hoo hoooo… hoo hoo hoooo,” he hooted, as a summons to the woodland creatures. The birds that had been perching higher in the tree flew down to nearby branches; the squirrels stopped their spiralling play, ran to the ground and sat looking up at Francis; two green woodpeckers clung to the tree's trunk and turned to hear what was said; a pile of dead leaves rustled and three leaf-covered hedgehogs emerged.

“Listen carefully to what I am about to say to you,” said Francis. “We are all in grave danger! As you know, the Nomeds are growing stronger and I, along with Liberty's other Berthold, must attend an important meeting with the Great Prophet, which means I will be leaving the woodland for a while.”

Two red foxes, Rich and Josanne, widened their eyes; their tails bristled and they erected their ears. The squirrels, a grey called Tash and a red called Hollie, embraced each other tightly and gasped, terrified at the prospect of their Berthold leaving the woodland. The three hedgehogs, Kai, Logan and Oliver, rolled themselves tightly into secure balls. Then, with a loud thump, a fat wood pigeon fell off his branch and landed on the ground in front of the two embracing squirrels.

“George… George… Are you okay?” asked Mable, the woodpigeon's partner, as she flew to his side.

The dazed woodpigeon didn't reply. He clumsily scrambled to his feet, shook his head and feathers, straightened himself up and acted as if nothing had happened.

“Stop fussing, woman and listen,” he said, turning to look at Francis.

“Please do not panic, my creatures!” Francis said. “I shall share my power with the Giant Horse Chestnut and as long as you stay within close proximity to it, you shall be safely hidden from danger.”

Francis then turned to the green woodpeckers that were now sitting at his side. “Jock, Joanney, send out the signal to the rest of the woodland, saying that they must all gather here in the safety of the tree while I'm away.”

“Aye,” said Jock, in a strong Scottish accent. “Come wi' us, Joanney,” he ordered and the pair of woodpeckers flew to the top of the tree and started tapping out the signal. They repeated this signal six times and all of the woodland creatures knew this meant they must head to the safety of the Giant Horse Chestnut tree.

The top of the giant tree made an excellent lookout tower and the woodpeckers, Jock and Joanney, could see the woodland inhabitants making their way towards them. Birds left the trees and took flight, squirrels jumped from branch to branch, tree to tree and the badgers, Brock, Meles and Braxton, left their sett for the first time since their friend Jazbeck's death.

With all of the woodland's creatures safely at, or on their way to, the tree, Francis began the process of sharing his power. He closed his eyes and began to bob his head up and down. As he did so, the atmosphere changed and, in a sudden invisible tremor, the woodland creatures that were to remain at the tree magically transformed, once again camouflaged within the tree and its surrounding structure, leaving the woodland eerily quiet and still.

Would they remain safe they wondered? Would Francis return before both he and his powers weakened?

“Francis, I think it is a good idea if you travel with Aaron at the rear. That way, we will have the power of a Berthold at each end of the group,” Zavier said.

“Okay, good idea,” replied Francis. He spread his wings and flew to Aaron at the back of the group, landing on the stallion's broad black back.

“Watch what you're doing with those sharp talons, Boogly Eyes!” Aaron said, turning his head and glaring at Francis.

“Watch what you are doing with your sharp tongue and have more respect for the Berthold!” said April the feisty appaloosa, as she kicked out with her hind leg, narrowly missing Aaron's head. Aaron stretched out his neck and blew air disapprovingly out of his large nostrils. April responded by purposely swishing her white and black tail across his face, causing him to close his eyes and purse his lips. He was just about to retaliate by nipping her rump when the bluebells covering the woodland floor began to shudder, emitting a sound similar to that of a thousand tiny hand bells chiming.

“Oh no, the alarm bells!” said Francis and he left Aaron's back and flew to Zavier and Chester at the front of the group.

“A breach!” he said. “There must have been an attempted breach through the gate into the Human world. The Nomeds must have seen us leave and what with the others being bound to the vicinity of the Giant Horse Chestnut, they have taken the opportunity to try and invade the Human world.

“It should be okay… it should be okay,” he mumbled. “The gate is guarded by enchanted brambles, roots and ivy. They were enchanted by Ice, Berthold of Winter Forest. She placed the enchantment after the first attempted escape by the Nomeds, many years ago. The alarm bells have not sounded since, until now, that is! It should be okay… it should be okay.”

“We will have to pray that the defences have held and that none of the Nomeds have escaped. For all we know, it might even be a ploy to lure us away from our task in hand. We cannot afford to waste time investigating, we must press on,” Zavier insisted.

“Is that wise?” asked Ezekiel, who was behind Zavier in the line of Halfses. “Surely someone should go and check.”

“There's no time!” replied Zavier.

“But I am the fastest in the herd,” said Ezekiel. “I can get to the gate and still be back in time to join you at the beach before sundown.”

“But I cannot ensure your safety if you leave the group,” said Zavier.

“What if I take Francis with me? With my speed, his power and plenty of time before nightfall, we should be fine.”

“Okay, but be quick and remember the Nomeds are less active during daylight hours but they are still a threat, nonetheless.”

Francis hopped between Ezekiel's muscular shoulder-blades.

“Francis, hold onto my mane as tightly as you can and prepare for the ride of your life,” said Ezekiel.

Francis grasped Ezekiel's dark mane with his claws and beak.

“God speed,” said Zavier.

Ezekiel turned to the group and said, “Make sure you get a nice warm fire going on the beach for us when we get back.”

Then, with a powerful leap, he launched into a gallop, suspending Francis in the air and flowing like a flag attached to Ezekiel's mane, then the pair galloped through the bluebells, jumping over fallen trees as they disappeared off into the woodland. The rest of the group continued on their way to Serenity Sunrise Beach.

“When we get to the beach, we must find its Berthold, Pelagia,” said Zavier. “This is not going to be as straightforward as it may sound. As you know, Pelagia is commander of the Water Warriors, he inhabits the vast depths of Serenity Ocean and is rarely seen. In all the times that we have stayed at the beach house, has anyone ever seen him?”

“No,” they all replied.

“Then, you see how this may pose a bit of a problem for us.”

“Leave it to me,” Lettitia the palomino said, with a sparkle in her aquamarine eyes. “If anyone can search the ocean and find him, I can.”

“Let's hope so,” Zavier said.

The group had been travelling for hours and they were beginning to tire. The sound of waves crashing against the rocks and seabirds squawking attracted their attention. Then, in the distance, beautiful shades of turquoise and blue filled the gaps between the trees as Serenity Ocean merged with the bright blue sky. Just a short rocky incline to go and the group would have arrived at their next destination, Serenity Sunrise Beach.