The Watching Wood (2 page)

The enormous candelabras lighting the hall suddenly flickered all at once, and shadow spread from the platform as Lady Hecate raised her arms.

‘SILENCE!’

The sound was more than just voice. It boomed from the walls and the floor, reverberating through the hall and making
Grace weak at the knees. There wasn’t a sound from the crowd as the echoes and shadows retreated, and the purple hue faded from Lady Hecate’s cheeks. She lowered her arms slowly, her gaze fixed on the girls from St John’s. Grace could feel the seething stare of every person in the room. Whatever this Trial stuff was, they were off to a bad start.

‘Raise your eyes and pay tribute to those who have gone before you.’

As Lady Hecate spoke, light filled the arched ceiling, illuminating a balcony that ran both sides of the hall. Between the wooden beams stood giant busts – the head and shoulders of various figures – carved in stone.

‘Lucinda Grey,’ Lady Hecate gestured, as one bust was illuminated brighter than the others, ‘Captain of Hawk Falls, the very first champions of these Trials. Grey was champion a second year, before being decapitated in the Blade Room in her third.’

Grace gulped.

‘Denton Malorous,’ the woman continued, ‘led his team to victory no less than three times during his illustrious career. Determined to compete one last time, he was devoured whole by a globular serpent in his final year. Atraya Neu-belbaum, victorious in more individual trials than any other competitor in history, though she never held the trophy; impaled on the battlements during an airborne skirmish.’

Jenny squeezed Grace’s arm.

‘There’s a pattern emerging here, and I don’t like it.’

‘Let’s just get through this ‘welcoming’ thing,’ Grace whispered, ‘and then figure a way out of here.’

‘I got a quick look out the window. Wherever this is, it’s nowhere near home.’

Grace stretched onto her tiptoes, just able to get a glimpse of the outside world through one of the arrowslit windows. Back in the field with Ms Lemon and Mrs Quinlan it had still been daylight, but it was well into evening now. In the starlight she could see barren landscape, with a forest in the distance, and a river that snaked through both. It could have been somewhere wild like the Burren if it weren’t for the green hue that permeated everything, bleeding through the glassless windows and into the stone of the great hall. Panic grew in the pit of Grace’s stomach. Jenny was right. They were nowhere near home.

‘So remember the great ones who perished in the name of glory, and brought great honour to their schools.’

Lady Hecate levelled her gaze in the girls’ direction.

‘And, new bloods, get whatever sleep you can. For tomorrow, the Four Hundred and Twenty-Sixth Annual Witch Trials begin.’

2

The Venetian Room

Grace walked gingerly behind the hunched man, trying not to step on his heels. After Lady Hecate had dismissed the crowd, the girls had been left in the charge of the remaining member of the Supremes.

‘As new bloods you have the privilege of Lord Machlau’s guidance for a tour of the castle,’ the tall woman had said as the diminutive man from the platform had ambled towards them. ‘Tithon Castle was built according to his strict instructions – there is no nook or cranny of this place beyond his knowledge – and, as you can see, his boundless energy and enthusiasm come alive when discussing its fine buttresses and exquisite arches.’

She had stepped back, allowing the stooped creature with short hair slicked across his forehead, to inch forward and
pause in front of the girls. They had all stood silent for a few moments, Lord Machlau’s gaze fixed on the floor, before the man had shuffled forward, his tweed lapels swinging as they hung from his bent frame.

‘We could make a run for the door,’ Jenny whispered as the girls followed their guide from the hall into a winding corridor.

‘You know where the front door is?’ said Rachel.

Jenny shook her head.

‘Let’s just get the tour, then we can bolt when we know which direction to bolt in.’

‘Even if we do make it outside,’ said Grace, ‘how do we make it home from there?’

‘Yeah,’ said Jenny, ‘with all that weird greenness out there, I’m thinking we’re not in Kansas anymore.’

‘Besides, I dunno if you’ve noticed, but we’re not getting much info on this tour.’

As if on cue, Lord Machlau stopped suddenly, his left arm shooting upwards, his head still levelled at the floor.

‘South Wing.’ His voice was nasal and pinched. ‘Wavaged by civil war. Webuilt by the Waven Clan.’

He stood frozen, still pointing towards a dark entrance at the top of a steep flight of stone steps. The silence went on so long Grace thought maybe he was waiting for them to comment.

‘That’s nice. It’s kind of–’

The arm snapped back to his side, and the shuffling continued.

‘What’s wavaged?’ Una whispered. ‘Does that mean all destroyed and stuff?’

‘I think he means ravaged,’ replied Grace. ‘And yeah, destroyed.’

Another stop and the arm shot out to the left.

‘North-east Wing. Inset with pwecious wock from the Daimone Wegion.’

Grace let the pause hang this time, and eventually the tour went on.

‘This is going to take all night,’ said Jenny.

She wasn’t far off. Several hours later, the girls were dragging themselves along behind Lord Machlau’s stumpy frame. Despite what looked like considerable physical discomfort, the small man never seemed to tire. Eventually, they came to a narrow canal that cut right through the stone floor and ran upwards to another entrance a floor up. Two mini gondolas bobbed on the water, secured to the edge with lengths of rope. The shooting arm pointed to the boats.

‘To the Venetian Woom in the North Wing.’

Grace gazed absentmindedly at the open doorway above, waiting for the sound of dragging feet once more. But the pause didn’t end this time.

‘I think we’re supposed to get in,’ Delilah said.

‘You will be accommodated in the Venetian Woom.’ The
arm still pointed at the gondolas.

‘Oh fudge, I think you’re right,’ said Grace, her weary mind suddenly focussing. ‘Hey, that water’s moving uphill!’

The canal water was indeed travelling in the wrong direction and, as the girls clambered into the two boats, the ropes were unleashed and suddenly they were speeding away from the frozen figure of Lord Machlau, and through the arched doorway above.

Out of the darkness and through several candlelit rooms, they zigged and zagged along the canal. Grace grasped the curved bow of the gondola with Delilah hanging off one arm and Una gripping her waist.

‘I think I’m gonna be sick!’ Una said.

Before Grace could answer, the gondola tipped over the edge of a waterfall, plummeted into darkness, then jolted horizontal and sailed to a smooth stop. Like the rest of the castle, the room was lit with large candelabras, but that’s where the comfort ended.

‘This can’t be our room,’ said Grace.

They heard distant screams, then a whoosh of water as the gondola carrying Jenny, Adie and Rachel glided to a stop behind them. Adie spilled out of the boat, clutching her stomach.

‘Oh God,’ she said, ‘that was worse than the Death-Defier at Funshine Park.’

‘The giant roller coaster?’ said Jenny. ‘You didn’t go on it.’

‘Because it looked like it would feel like this!’

‘This isn’t our room, is it?’ Rachel stepped off the boat onto the ledge.

There was no furniture in the room. It was large, but made entirely of stone, with several narrow windows too high to look out of, and a few alcoves tucked into the walls. Aside from the canal they sailed in on, there were six or seven others, crossing and interlocking, though all but two exited through covered drains. A sudden clattering drew Grace’s attention to a sign on the wall behind them. She read
The Venetian Room
in blocked wooden letters, then beneath it as more letters snapped into existence,
St John’s of Dunbridge
.

‘Fudge.’

‘It
is
our room,’ Adie groaned. ‘What are we supposed to sleep on?’

‘Why would we sleep?’ exclaimed Jenny. ‘Let’s go find the front door and get the hell out of here.’

‘You remember where it is?’ asked Grace. ‘Because that tour went on forever, and I’ve no idea where we are right now. We took so many turns, up and down stairs, not to mention the log flume ride. How could we possibly find our way out?’

‘And not all the rooms were lit,’ said Delilah. ‘It will be even harder in the dark.’

‘And I don’t think I could walk another step,’ Una said, flopping down into one of the alcoves.

‘Right,’ said Grace, ‘then we’ve no choice. Let’s get some sleep, wait until daylight, then figure out a plan.’

‘Sleep where? I don’t see any beds.’

‘It’s gotta be these things.’ Jenny had leapt across two canals, and was leaning on a ledge pulling what looked like white sackcloth from the water. Grace followed her and saw six hammocks – or at least
half
-hammocks – each fixed to a metal hook at one end, with two knotted corners bobbing on the water at the other.

‘We’re meant to climb on those things? Are they even waterproof?’

‘They float,’ said Jenny, kicking off her shoes. ‘I’ll give it a try.’

She eased herself into one of the hammocks, squealing as she nearly tipped into the water, then leaned back and smiled.

‘They’re comfy!’

‘Lemme try.’

Taking off her shoes, Grace put one foot on a hammock and nearly toppled over the side.

‘Keep to the middle,’ said Jenny, relaxing with her hands behind her head. ‘Don’t let it tip to one side or the other.’

Using another approach, Grace gripped the metal hook at the ledge, then slid her feet down the sackcloth until she was lying on her front.

‘Ooh,’ she said, squirming onto her back. ‘It’s nice. With
the water moving it’s calm-like.’

‘Yeah, might get one of these when I get home.’

Rachel sank into one with her usual grace, and Delilah’s tiny frame seemed barely to rock the hammock as she climbed in. Adie finally managed to settle herself with Grace and Jenny’s help but, try as she might, Una couldn’t find her balance. She clung to the metal hook, the sackcloth tipping perilously from side to side.

‘Just slide down into it, and let go of the edge,’ said Grace.

Una lay face down on the cloth, her feet digging into the knotted corners and her knuckles white as she kept her grip on the metal hook.

‘Just let go,’ Grace said. ‘You’re lying on it now.’

‘I’m fine.’ Una’s voice was muffled in the hammock.

‘You can’t sleep like that. Let go, you won’t fall in.’

‘I said I’m fine like this.’

‘You look like you’re hanging off the edge of a cliff.’

‘I said I’m
fine
.’

‘Okay, sorry. I’ll shut up.’

The light dimmed suddenly as the flames of the candelabras shrank almost to nothing.

‘Guess that’s lights out,’ said Jenny. ‘Night night everyone.’

‘Hey,’ said Grace, ‘do you think some of the other kids might help us out tomorrow? Maybe they know how we can get home.’

‘Yeah, cos after that assembly thing, I think they love us.’

Grace curled up into the surprising comfort and warmth of the hammock.

‘You never know.’

‘Go to sleep, Brennan.’

‘’Night.’

Some time later, Grace awoke with a start as something splashed into the water.

‘Oh God, Una, was that you?’

‘I hate these stupid things!’ Una snarled, doggy paddling to the edge and dragging herself out of the canal. ‘And my hands are all sore.’

‘Were you holding on this whole time? Oh Una, you can’t sleep on the stone, you’ll freeze. You’re soaking wet.’

‘Where else am I supposed to sleep?’ the girl snapped.

‘Well then, take my jumper at least.’

Everyone peeled off any extra layers and Una, still shivering in a change of clothes, crawled into one of the alcoves and didn’t speak for the rest of the night.

In the morning, the candelabras flared bright again, the arrowslit windows being too high and too skinny to let in much daylight. Grace held her breath as she stuck her mobile in the air one more time but … nothing. She had hoped the morning would bring one of them signal, but no such luck. She switched hers off to save battery.

Not sure how else to leave the room, the girls climbed back into the gondolas, which immediately took off. They took a different route though, depositing the girls in a hallway filled with oil paintings, portraits and dusty old furniture, where many of the crowd from the day before were also arriving. From there, they were herded into a huge dining room, where people were already seated at long tables, digging into breakfast. There were student prefects at each corner of the room, shoving trays into peoples’ hands and yelling at that them to sit down and be quiet.

Grace took a tray and filed into the queue for food. Like most school cafeterias, nothing looked too inviting.

‘Algae mash?’ a bored canteen lady asked, her ladle filled with something blueish and gooey.

‘Um, sure.’

Grace grimaced as the oozy mush was slapped onto her plate. She turned down the slimy strings that looked like celery boiled in mud, and the steak that was a little too yellow for her liking. At a scowl from the canteen lady, she finally accepted two of the round, brown ovals that might have been potatoes baked for several years. They clattered noisily onto her plate.

With trays full of the most unappetizing slush they had ever seen, the girls headed for six free seats opposite a group of girls in red uniforms, and there was a sudden hush.

‘They’re sitting with Hawk Falls!’ Grace heard someone
whisper. ‘How stupid are they?’

The girls in red had stopped eating, and were staring at them with obvious disapproval.

‘Hi,’ said Grace, ‘are these seats taken?’

There was no reply as the other team continued to stare, and the girl in the middle with pixie-short blonde hair dropped her fork loudly onto her plate. She had a pale fur wrapped around her shoulders, which Grace, with a cringe, realised was genuine. The head and legs were still attached, and the eyes stared out, black and glassy, as the head lolled gently at the blonde girl’s neck.

‘It’s nice to meet you,’ Jenny said, reaching her hand across the table. ‘I’m Jenny.’

‘Good for you,’ the pixie-cut girl replied, sweeping her own hand down the fur at her throat and standing. The animal head rocked disconcertingly on her shoulder as she moved. The rest of the team followed her lead, and pretty soon everyone sitting within several feet of Grace and her friends got up and left the dining hall.

‘Wow,’ said Jenny, ‘we nearly cleared the room.’

‘Think we can rule out getting help from any of them.’ Grace’s tummy grumbled as she pushed the algae mash around her plate.

As the girls picked at their food, there was a loud clatter and someone staggered into the back of Adie, clipping her on the back of her head with a tray.

‘Ow!’Adie rubbed the throbbing spot, already turning into a lump.

‘Oh, sorry! I’m so sorry, are you okay?’ The dark-skinned girl was very young, about nine or ten, and her hair was tightly twisted into bantu knots. Adie nodded and winced, as the girl backed away holding a loaded tray with an apologetic smile.

‘Aura!’ her captain snarled. ‘No talking.’

The girl trotted towards the dark-haired teenage boy that had spoken, and got an angry-faced telling off from the rest of her team.

‘Are you sure you’re alright?’ A tall boy with strawberry blond hair and a smile that was a little too wide for his face looked down at Adie.

‘Oh, em, yeah. Thanks.’

‘No problem. I mean, good. I’m glad you’re okay.’

Adie’s cheeks flushed pink.

‘Thanks.’

There was an awkward pause the other girls were too intrigued to break, before the boy spoke again.