The Witch's Revenge (19 page)

“Are you all right, Henry?” Morag asked. “Do you know who I am?”

“Of course I know who you are,” he snapped. He was in a dangerous mood now that he was back to his old self.

“So can you help Aldiss?”

“No,” said the medallion.

“Do you know who
can
help?”

“No, I don't.”

“Can you help at all?” asked Chelsea. “Or are you just jewelry now?”

“Yes,” he said haughtily. “I mean no!”

“Well?” both girls said at once.

The medallion, who liked a bit of drama, looked from one to the other, taking his time and relishing the tension.

“The tooth,” he finally said. “You'll need Mina's tooth. It's the only thing strong enough to work in the forest and reverse the poison used by the Klapp demons.”

Morag and Chelsea looked at each other in horror.

“Does he need another bash on the head or do you have any idea what he's talking about?” Chelsea asked.

“Yes, unfortunately it makes perfect sense,” said Morag.

“And do you know where this tooth is?”

“Yes, I've seen it,” she replied. “It's hanging around Mephista's neck.”

Henry whined about his aching head all the way to the dungeon. Morag stuck him in her pocket beside her parents' book, so his complaints were easier to ignore. Chelsea had to get back to her work before she was missed by the other staff, so she said her good-byes and disappeared, leaving Morag alone in the gloomy stairwell. Morag was not looking forward to returning to the depths of the castle where Devlish had been brought back to life, but her concern for Montgomery and Aldiss drove her on.

The door to the dungeon was still open when she approached. “Someone's still down here,” she whispered to herself more than to Henry. Quietly, she crept toward it and peeked through the gap.

The dungeon was dim, and at first Morag thought it was empty. As her eyes grew accustomed to the bluish light of
the Moonstones, she noticed the body of Montgomery still lying on the floor. Her first urge was to rush to him, but she held back, staying behind the door in case whoever had opened it was still there.

Just then, the ugly face of Tanktop appeared from behind a pillar. He had wrapped a bandage around his head in a higgledy-piggledy fashion, leaving the ends loose over his large ears. He snorted and snuffled, then turned his attention to the wizard.

“So, the little brat got away. You won't be so lucky, mister,” he cackled. “Nope, my mistress has great plans for you.”

He loped over to Montgomery, bent down and heaved him up onto his feet. Growling and moaning, Tanktop dragged him over to the door. Morag pulled back, flattening herself in the shadows. She heard the demon curse and then another
whump
of a body hitting the floor. Unfortunately this time it wasn't Tanktop's.

“You are too big an' heavy for the likes of me to carry all the way up them stairs,' the demon growled. There was a pause before he continued: “She'll not know if I magic you out of that slumber and put you back when I get you upstairs.”

Morag heard the pat of his feet on the floor as he came closer. Through the crack in the door she saw Tanktop waving a stick with two prongs at Montgomery. He spoke a few magic words, brought the wand down and sent bolts exploding from the tips, hitting Montgomery square in the chest. The wizard jolted, twitched and convulsed. From her hiding place, Morag could only watch helplessly. Then
something wonderful happened; the twitching stopped and Montgomery took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He blinked, yawned, looked around him and sat up.

“What … what happened?” he asked sleepily.

“Hee-hee … Who says a Klapp demon can't do magic?” Tanktop cackled, clapping his hands in delight.

“What am I doing here?” Montgomery frowned at the stinking creature as he scrambled to his feet.

“You're our prisoner and you'll come with me.” The demon grinned manically. His eyes were bulging, and his sharp teeth were glinting in the half light.

“I'll do no such thing!” Montgomery snapped.

“I wasn't
asking
you, I was
telling
you!” Tanktop snarled, waving the wand in Montgomery's face, causing it to spark and spit. Morag knew that when a Klapp demon's eyes narrowed to slits he meant business. The wizard was not carrying a wand of his own so he had no way to defend himself if Tanktop turned nasty again. Morag could not just stand back and see him dragged off again. Swallowing nervously, she took a deep breath and did the only thing she could. She jumped into the chamber and shouted at the top of her voice: “He's not going anywhere!”

Tanktop spun round, surprised. His eyes narrowed still further when he saw Morag. He ignored Montgomery for a moment and aimed his wand at her instead.

“You …,” he growled. “You smacked me on the head!”

“No, I didn't,” she began, “but that's neither here nor there. You
will
let Montgomery go and you will do it now!”

She used her most commanding voice, hearing the words echo off the walls. Tanktop's mouth split into a wide grin
and he began to laugh. He laughed until he had to hug his sides. Tears rolled down his greasy cheeks and he let out great guffaws, sending out clouds of pungent Klapp demon breath. Morag held her nose.

“You think you can tell me what to do? You—a weak little human girl! I wouldn't even need my magic to dispatch something like you,” he said, producing his blowpipe from nowhere. “What could you do to me? You have nobody, and you have nothing.”

“That's where you're wrong,” Morag replied. “I have this!” She held up Henry, so that the light from the Moonstones flashed off the diamonds that circled his face.

The demon shrugged. “Tsk! A mere bauble,” he sneered.

“I am NOT A BAUBLE!” snapped Henry, and in an instant all the Moonstones went
Blink!
and the room was plunged into darkness. Morag's eyes took a few seconds to adjust but she saw that the demon was standing stock-still. He was not breathing or moving. As she looked more closely she could see he had been frozen. She held Henry up to her face.

“What have you done?” she demanded.

“I am
not
a bauble,” he said meekly.

“Turn him back!”

“I can't. That spell can't be reversed, but don't worry, it'll wear off in a few hours,” he said sullenly. “He's better out of our way. Horrible sneaking, stinking thing that he is.”

“Henry's right, Morag,” Montgomery said, sidestepping the demon. “We can't let him raise the alarm.”

She nodded, then a smile spread over her face and tears of joy sprang to her eyes. She ran to Montgomery and gave
him a hug. “I am so glad you're all right,” she said. “I was so worried.”

Montgomery hugged her back. “I'm fine, no bones broken,” he assured her, “although … I'm not sure exactly what happened. The last thing I remember is being in my office back home.”

“Mephista had you whisked over to Murst in a whirlwind. Marnoch Mor is falling apart without you.” She hesitated, to gulp back her tears.

Montgomery was stunned.

“We—Shona, Bertie, Aldiss, Henry and me—knew we had to find you. Only, when we got here it turned out Mephista was after
me
, not you.”

The wizard listened intently. “You? For revenge?”

“No. She took my blood. She said she needed it as the final part of the spell to bring Devlish back to life.”

“What? She cannot do that!” blurted Montgomery. “Oh, this is terrible. No one has the authority to bring the dead back to life. It's been prohibited by the WWWC for as long as I can remember. When someone dies we must let them go.”

Morag's lip trembled and her eyes filled with tears. “Well, it's too late now, he's back. And Aldiss is dying too. Right now! And I know he's only a rat but he's brave and he's my friend. And the only thing that might help is the tooth Mephista is wearing around her neck.”

Montgomery placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. “Then what are we waiting for?”

Although the castle was vast, Mephista was not difficult to find. Her shrill and angry voice reached Morag and Montgomery by the time they got to the corridor by the Great Hall. Morag put her fingers to her lips and pointed toward the throne room. The door was open just wide enough to offer a view of the witch on her throne. Morag could see that Mephista had something around her neck, but wasn't sure if it was the tooth. She squinted to get a better look. Seconds passed, a minute. “Well?” whispered Montgomery.

“She's not wearing it,” said Morag. “It must be in her room. Come on, let's go.”

They raced to the staircase that led to the sleeping quarters. In spite of her tiredness, the girl leapt two stairs at a time, her stomach churning with dread that they wouldn't find the tooth in time. The memory of Aldiss's little whiskered face swam in her mind but she pushed it away. They climbed until they reached the floor of Mephista's grand bedroom.

“Wait here,” Morag whispered on the landing.

Body flat against the cold stone wall and breathing as lightly as she could, she peered around the entranceway into a corridor of doors.

Empty. There was no one in sight. She let out a sigh of relief and was about to step out of the shadows when she heard voices from a room at the end of the corridor. She leapt back just in time as MacAndrew—warrior and Devlish's right-hand man—walked out and bowed, his long shaggy hair falling over his face.

“Yes, sire,” she heard him say, “it will be attended to at once.”

The warrior, sword at his belt, bowed once more before turning on his heel and walking down the corridor toward them. Morag grabbed Montgomery by the sleeve and dragged him up another flight of stairs. They leapt onto the landing above as MacAndrew entered the stairwell. Morag and Montgomery stood still and listened as his footsteps drew closer. Morag swallowed hard and closed her eyes.
Please don't come up, please don't come up
, she prayed. The footsteps paused; then MacAndrew sighed and continued
down
the stairs.

“That was close,” she said as she checked to make sure he really had gone.

“Too close,” replied Montgomery. “We can't risk being caught that easily.”

“Come on, let's get into that room, find the tooth and get out of here.”

Except for the fire that still smoldered in the hearth, Mephista's room was in shadow when they crept in. Leaving Montgomery to keep watch at the door, Morag immediately realized that finding the tooth was going to be more difficult than she had imagined. “It could be anywhere …,” she whispered to herself.

“So, you've come back,” said a voice in the darkness. “We knew you would.”

Morag's blood froze.

From their frames above the fireplace, the portraits of Nathan and Isabella seemed to smile at her. Relieved, Morag explained about Aldiss and the tooth.

“Did you see Mephista take off a pendant and put it away?” she asked.

“She may have put something in the dressing table drawer,” Isabella replied.

Morag ran to it and pulled out the top drawer. Rummaging around in the lace and powders inside, she saw nothing that looked like a tooth. She pulled out the second and third drawers. Nothing. There was one more to try, but when she pulled it, it didn't budge.

“It's locked!” she hissed in frustration. “Where's the key?”

“She keeps it with her at all times,” said Nathan.

“I need to get that tooth!” growled Morag, yanking on the drawer handle. “Aldiss will die without it.”

“Let
me
have a look,” Henry mumbled from her pocket.

Morag fished him out and held him to the lock. He closed his eyes and started to vibrate. He stopped and looked at the lock expectantly. Nothing had happened.