The Witch's Revenge (23 page)

“I told you. He was not fooled by your paltry magic. His is more powerful. He's coming back,” laughed the witch.

“Kyle, change direction! Devlish is headed straight for us!” Morag shouted.

The fisherman waved from the door of the wheelhouse and the boat shifted to the south.

“Morag!” squealed Aldiss. “Shona! Help, quick!

Spinning round, Morag saw that Mephista had snatched Bertie up by his leg and was holding the flapping dodo at arm's length.

“The wand!” cried Shona, bounding out of the wheelhouse. But Mephista had plucked it from Bertie's wing and now held it up above her head.

With a wicked smile, she casually tossed Bertie down the cabin stairs. He crashed to the bottom with a yelp. Squeaking with fright, Aldiss ran to him. Shona clenched her fists and lunged at the witch.

“No closer,” Mephista said coldly. Behind her, the prow of Devlish's gondola was nearly upon them. “The chase is over, I'm afraid.” She smiled. “And now you belong to me and my father.”

“But that's just it, Mephista,” Morag began. “That's not Devlish. Something else has taken over his body.”

“Nonsense!” Mephista pointed the wand, growled a low spell and shot a stream of lightning from the tip to the transparent dome above the boat. “I hate to burst your bubble …,” she cackled.

The dome flickered like a candle going out. But a flash of golden sparks on the deck made Morag jump. A ball of fire smashed the wand from Mephista's grasp, cutting off the beam of energy. The witch screamed as she fell to her knees. Morag and Shona turned.

A battered dodo stood in the doorway, triumphantly holding up a gold medallion.

“I'm not ready to be put in a glass case just yet, thank you,” Bertie said.

“You idiot bird!” screeched Mephista. “Don't you see? If you've made this boat invisible again that means my father won't see us and—”

“And that's
too bad
!” Aldiss piped up.

“For you. Because—”

“He'll crash straight into us,” interrupted Shona.

There was a deafening roar and Morag's ears popped as the deck lurched from under her feet, and feathers, fur, scales, and red hair were thrown together in a bone-jarring rush. Morag was slammed against the railings and thought she heard Kyle yell, “Hold on!” and someone else squawk, “Lifebelts!” and a third little voice in the terrible dark cry, “We're going under!” as the
Sea Kelpie
tipped and sank beneath the waves.

The next morning, Morag awoke with a splitting headache, slumped against the wall of the wheelhouse. As she prized her eyes open, she focused on a fuzzy but familiar shape. It was bright-eyed and feathery and was smiling in a way that only a dodo could.

“Good morning, merry sunshine!” chirped Bertie. “How are we this morning?”

“Mmmmm?” was all Morag could manage.

“Tea?” the chipper bird offered. He handed her a steaming mug of weak black Earl Gray. The girl took the mug gratefully and held it in her cold fingers for warmth.

“What happened?” Morag asked. “There was a crash.… And we sank.… Did I hit my head?” She looked around at the empty room. “Is Kyle all right?” There was no fisherman in sight.

“He's having a well-earned rest,” said the dodo. “I'm in charge for now.”

Morag pulled herself up to a proper sitting position and stretched her back. She moaned slightly as a sharp pain shot down her spine. “What happened last night?” she asked.

“Devlish's gondola hit us and we turned over. If it hadn't been for the bubble around the boat we would have sunk. Mephista's interference weakened the spell and it's worn off now, so we're fully visible again.”

“What's happened to her?”

“Kyle locked her up in his cabin.”

“Why don't I remember any of this?”

“You and she were knocked out. Morag, what did you mean last night when you told her something else had taken over Devlish's body?”

“Montgomery and I overheard Kang talking in the castle. It seems Kang arranged for some kind of horrible creature to take over Devlish's body without Mephista knowing. Something called Amergin …”

“A Mitlock Demon!” gasped the dodo.

“You've heard of him? I tried to get it out of Montgomery, but he wouldn't say.”

“Mitlock Demons are powerful, evil creatures from the dark side. Suddenly Devlish doesn't seem so bad.…”

“Hang on, the boat's stopped moving. Where are we, Bertie?” Morag asked.

Bertie looked down at his claws and when she tried to look him in the eye, he became shifty.

“Well?”

The dodo let out a long sigh before replying. “Irvine,” he said quickly, as if saying it fast would negate its meaning.

“Irvine? What are we doing here?” the girl replied in a panic. “I can't be in Irvine, it's too dangerous. What if Jermy and Moira see me? What if someone recognizes me and tells them I'm here? They'll come and get me and make me be their slave again. Why are we
here
, of all places?”

“It was the only coastal place we could land that had a Secret Underground Station,” he explained. “Kyle said the boat was being pushed south by bad weather and Devlish was still hanging about. He had no choice other than to land here.”

“Surely we could have gone somewhere else,” she said desperately as she glanced out the windows, eyes frantically searching for her former guardians. “There are loads of places we could have dropped anchor.”

The dodo shook his head. “It was impossible, I'm afraid.”

“Bertie, they'll find out I'm here and drag me back to their horrible house,” she argued, with tears welling in her eyes.

“I'm sure it won't come to that,” said the bird. “I mean, how could they see you? You're hidden in a boat and we're all here to protect you.”

“Hmmm. Montgomery would have found another way,” she said. Then she remembered. “Montgomery! How is he? Is he better?”

The dodo looked away. “He's sleeping, but he's not improving,” he answered. Then he closed his eyes and she knew it was bad news. “Morag, I don't think Montgomery has long to live.”

“Then we must get him to the Underground now, and take him back to Marnoch Mor so he can be with the Eye again.”

Bertie shook his head solemnly.

“Why not?” she asked.

“It's too dangerous. We might be seen. We'll have to wait for nightfall until we can look for the cave that leads to the Underground.”

“But you said Montgomery hasn't long to live.”

The bird sighed. “We have no choice. A dodo and a dragon can't risk being seen by humans. And Aldiss has a terrible sense of direction.…”

Shona agreed. “Bertie's right, it's out of the question!” she told Morag when the plan was put to her. “A dragon and a dodo can't leave the boat in broad daylight. The moment we step off someone will call the police and have us caught. I'll end up being prodded by scientists and Bertie will become a zoological phenomenon. It'll be foolhardy even to try.”

Morag pursed her lips. “
You
can't risk it, but
I
can.
I'll
take him to the cave by myself,” she decided. “You lot can take a different route—a longer one if necessary—and keep out of sight. You can join us as quickly as you can.”

“But what about Jermy and Moira?” said the dodo.

Morag considered this for a second, then said, “I'll just have to risk it. I can't let Montgomery die. I have no choice.”

Aldiss, however, was in favor of Morag's plan. “She's right, we can't wait until it is dark. Montgomery will have
faded away by then. We have to do something now. I'll come with you, Morag. I won't be as conspicuous as Shona and Bertie.”

Morag looked at her friends and totted up the votes: two in favor, two against. What did Kyle think? And Henry? The medallion was resting on top of the unconscious Montgomery, a worried expression on his tiny face. They had been together for many years and he was terrified that he was about to lose his best friend. Henry immediately agreed with Morag. That left Kyle. The fisherman, exhausted from being up all night at the wheel, just wanted to be left alone in his bunk. He knew about Montgomery's condition, but all he could do was mumble a few words to Morag before he turned over and slipped back into sleep. Morag left him snoring and returned upstairs to the deck.

“What did he say?” Shona and Bertie wanted to know.

“He thought
my
plan was the best,” she replied, “so I need Bertie to help me get Montgomery up on deck and then Shona can lift him off the boat. I'll take it from there.”

“But—” the dragon began; however, her protestations fell on deaf ears, for Morag was too busy working out how she was going to get Montgomery across the dunes.

Kyle had docked the boat in a harbor close to the town of Irvine, which had been Morag's home until Bertie and Aldiss had rescued her from Moira and Jermy's basement. Morag knew the area well. It was nice to be back … well, almost. She glanced around nervously.
I'm just being silly
, she told herself.
There is no way Moira and Jermy can know I'm here
. A cold wind brushed over her face, pinking her cheeks and tugging at her hair. She brushed it aside
with a gloved hand and fumbled with the buttons on her coat. It was cold this morning. She had better make sure Montgomery was well wrapped up.

The wizard had not moved when she went belowdecks. His face was as gray as the winter sky, his hair nearly white and the lines on his face deeper and more pronounced. He was barely breathing.

“Montgomery?” Morag said softly.

The wizard moaned.

“If you can hear me, I need your help,” she said, pulling on his shoulders. “I need you to sit up. Please try to sit up for me. I can't do it myself.”

She pulled and she yanked and she heaved, but she could not get him upright. She let go and stood back.

“Bertie, help me,” she said as the bird flapped down the stairs.

Bertie waddled over and did his best, but even the two of them could not get Montgomery to sit up.

“This is useless,” said Morag, close to tears. “We'll never get him to the cave in time.” She sat down forlornly.

“Can't Kyle help?” Bertie suggested.

They both glanced over to the corner where Kyle was fast asleep on his bunk. He snored loudly. Morag shook her head.

“Point me to him,” said Henry from Montgomery's chest. “I think I might be able to use magic to get him up on deck.”

“Henry! Do you really think you could?” said Morag.

“My magic's nearly run out after last night's escape, but I think I might be able to muster some from somewhere.”

He instructed her to prop him up on a table so he could
see the wizard. Then he contorted his face into all sorts of shapes and angles, grunting and groaning as he tried to find some trace of magic within him. With his eyes closed in concentration, the medallion stopped for a moment and was still. Then …

He burped loudly, opened his eyes, excused himself and smiled. “It's done,” he said smugly.

Morag turned round to look, and sure enough Montgomery had disappeared.

“Upstairs,” Henry said by way of an explanation.

Morag rushed up on deck. It was cold and a light rain had begun to fall. She could see no one except Shona, half hidden under a tarpaulin. Where was Montgomery? Aldiss waved to her and there, propped up beside him against the base of the wheelhouse, was the ever-weakening wizard.

“Wait here,” she told Aldiss, “I'll get something to put him in. There's no way we can carry him to the cave on our own.”

“Hurry, Morag!”

While the rat stood guard by the unconscious Montgomery, Morag set off in the direction of a row of houses, and knocked sharply on the door of the first one she came to. An old woman with long straggly hair answered. “Yes? What can I do for you?” she asked.

“I wonder …,” ventured Morag, looking at the woman's tidy garden. “I wonder if you have a wheelbarrow I could borrow?”

“A wheelbarrow? What does a little girl want to play with a wheelbarrow for?” the woman asked. “Haven't you got dolls or a skipping rope?”

“I'll only be a few minutes, and I won't take it far, honestly.”

“I have visitors. I can't just leave them to get the wheelbarrow out of the shed. Is it important?”

“I just need to use it to get something down to the beach. It won't take long and I'll come straight back with it.”

“All right, dear, but make sure you return it right away. My John will have a fit if his wheelbarrow goes missing. Come in.”

The woman led her down a small hallway toward a frosted glass door. Through it Morag could see the vague outlines of the lady's visitors, a man and a woman, sitting on the sofa. “Now, pet, you go into the living room and make yourself comfortable while I go and fetch it.”

“Thank you,” said Morag gratefully as she watched the woman disappear into the kitchen.

When she pushed open the living room door Morag didn't know who was more surprised: her or the people sitting there before her. She felt the color drain from her face as she realized who they were.

“Jermy! Moira!” she cried.

Jermy immediately sprang to his feet. “You little brat!” he snarled and lunged to grab her.

Morag jumped, but he was too quick for her. Before she knew it, he had her by the hood of her coat. “Let me go!” she shouted.

“Well, well, well,” Moira said with a smirk, a cigar dangling from her lips, “if it isn't our little lost lamb. What will the papers say about this one, my love: we've been searching for her for weeks and here she just waltzes back without
a word. What luck! Isn't it lucky, Jermy? Pity we don't have a camera.”