Chapter 17: Alfred is Missing
Catherine slept soundly, only waking at dawn when the wolves began to stir. As they stretched, yawning and barking at the first rays of the rising sun, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“Good morning,” said Branoc, shifting his feathers.. “You have slept well.”
“I did,” she admitted.
“And it was just as well,” said Branoc. “For there was no reason for you to be awake. The night has passed completely without incident.”
“No one attempted to enter the cave?” Catherine asked.
“No one. None of the robbers tried to attack you. And none of the other monsters from the mountains approached either.”
“Yes, it sounds like the robbers have been paying them off,” said Catherine. “That probably explains why they don’t get bothered. Okay, let me wake Alfred up then, and we’ll see about making some breakfast.”
But when Catherine went to the back of the cave, Alfred was nowhere to be seen.
“Did Alfred already go out?” Catherine asked the ravens.
“Nobody has gone in or out of the caves,” Baldrick replied.
“Then where did he go?” Catherine asked.
“He should still be back there,” Bettina replied. “He never left the cave.”
Catherine thought for a moment, while the wolves and ravens watched her. Then, she said, “Fetch me the king of the robbers.”
Baldrick, Balsamer and Branoc flew off, and a couple of the wolves ran after them. Bettina was going to join them, but Catherine stopped her. “Bettina, wait,” Catherine said. “I have another job for you. Fly around the mountain quickly. See if you can spot any signs of Alfred anywhere.” Bettina nodded and flew off.
Catherine went out of the cave into the morning sun. Then she saw Carlyle coming up the mountain . Shawn, Kevin, Molly and Lucinda were with him.
Catherine strode down to meet them. As she approached, Carlyle opened his mouth to voice a greeting, but before he could say anything, Catherine blurted out, “Alfred’s missing.”
Carlyle stopped dead, his mouth still half-open. He blinked, the greeting dying on his tongue. “What? What happened?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Catherine answered. “We went to sleep in the caves. Then, when I woke up, he was gone.”
“Did the robbers come in and get him?”
“They couldn’t have. The ravens were keeping watch at the cave entrance all night. No one came in.”
“Then what happened?” asked Shawn.
“I don’t know,” Catherine said. “But there’s something that the robbers aren’t telling us. And I’m going to find out what it is. We need to talk to the robber king.”
Verus, the robber king, was aroused from his sleep by cawing ravens and growling wolves, and he came out to meet Catherine and Carlyle. He walked out calmly, grinning wickedly. “Hello my children,” he purred. “And what can I do for you today?”
“What happened to Alfred?” Catherine asked.
The robber king just grinned more. “And who is Alfred?” he asked.
“The boy who was sleeping in the cave with me,” said Catherine. “He disappeared in the middle of the night.”
“And what makes you think I had anything to do with it?” asked the robber king.
“I don’t think you’re directly responsible,” said Catherine. “But you know something about these caves which we don’t.”
“Indeed, I do,” Verus answered. “I suspect I know many things about these caves which you do not. But then, there are many things that you never bothered to ask about.”
“We’re asking now,” said Carlyle.
“And we won’t ask you again,” said Catherine. “Tell us, what happened to Alfred?”
Catherine started humming, and her hands glowed with the electric power. But Verus merely chuckled. “I don’t know for sure,” he said, “but I suspect the goblins took him. That cave in which you slept is connected to the goblin tunnels. They have a secret door.”
“Show us where the door is,” said Carlyle.
“I would,” Verus said, “But I actually don’t know where it is myself. All I know is that there is a door in that cave somewhere. That’s why we usually don’t sleep in it ourselves. We leave some of our treasures there, and the goblins take what they want, and in return, they leave us alone.”
“Why did the goblins take Alfred?” Catherine asked.
“Who can say? One hears stories sometimes of the goblins abducting children. Your friend Alfred isn’t quite a child, but he’s not a full grown man yet either. Perhaps he was young enough to be of interest to the goblins.”
“But what did they want him for?” Catherine persisted.
“No one knows,” Versus said. “Goblins abduct children. This is all we know. If you want to find out what happens to the children after the goblins abduct them, you’d have to ask the goblins.”
“Why didn’t you warn us yesterday?” Carlyle demanded.
Verus shrugged. “We submitted to you yesterday. I have not raised my hand in violence against you since then. Isn’t that enough? We never agreed that I was obliged to help you in any way. The goblins are not under my control. I did not command them to take your friend, nor would it have been in my power to forbid them.”
Carlyle moved to take his sword out of his sheath, but Catherine held out her hand to stop him. “Leave it be, Carlyle,” she said. “He’s spoken fair enough.” She turned back to Verus. “Very well, Robber King,” Catherine said. “You have not acted as an enemy. But neither have you acted toward us as a friend. We will remember this. If you wish to become our friend, you must do better.”
Verus did not say anything in response, but the smile was fading slightly from his mouth. Something in Catherine’s tone made him suddenly feel anxious.
“You may go now,” Catherine said to Verus. Verus bowed his head slightly and left. The smile was now completely gone.
“Do you think Alfred is okay?” Carlyle asked Catherine.
Catherine was looking slightly pale. “I don’t know,” she said. “We’ve never heard of anyone coming back from the goblins. Still, we have to try.”
“If we can find the secret door…” Carlyle began.
“…we can go down and get him,” Catherine finished.
“But that’s crazy,” Shawn exclaimed. “You can’t go down into the goblin caves like that. The goblins will kill you.”
“We aren’t leaving Alfred,” Catherine said flatly.
“Alfred risked his life to fight with us,” added Carlyle. “Even when his father tried to stop him.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a new thought struck Carlyle. “Oh no, his father! How are we going to tell Alfred’s father about this? He already wants to kill me.”
“There’s no point in telling him anything now,” Catherine said. “It would only worry him unnecessarily. Let’s see if we can get into the goblin caves first.”
“But we don’t know how long that could take us,” said Carlyle. “And Alfred’s father could come up here at any time demanding to know where Alfred is.”
A soft rustle of wings cut him off. Bettina was returning from her flight around the mountain and dropped down onto Catherine’s shoulder. “I heard what you were just saying,” Bettina said. “I couldn’t find Alfred anywhere. But I did see his father, and I wouldn’t worry about his father coming up here anything soon. Right now, Alfred’s father is actually journeying down the mountain.”
Carlyle and Catherine exchanged a bewildered look. “What is he going down the mountain for?” Carlyle asked.
“I don’t know,” Bettina said. “I only know what I see..”
“Who is he traveling with?” asked Catherine.
“He is by himself,” Bettina said.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” said Carlyle. “He knows how dangerous it is to travel down the mountain by himself. Why would he do it?”
“Do you want me to fly down and ask him?” offered Bettina.
“No,” Catherine said quickly. “Don’t bother him right now. We need to try to rescue Alfred before he finds out his son is missing.”
“The first thing we need to do is try to find the secret entrance the goblins use,” said Carlyle. “Let’s see if we can get some torches to light up the cave.”
“There’s no need,” said Catherine. “I can provide the light.”
Catherine started humming, and her hands glowed again with the bright yellow energy.
Carlyle watched this with concern. It had been a few days now since Catherine had first demonstrated this power. But Carlyle still did not understand what was going on, and he had not had the opportunity of asking about it before now. “How are you doing that?” Carlyle asked. Catherine didn’t answer, so Carlyle asked again, “How are you doing that?”
Catherine stopped humming. The yellow electricity faded. She turned and looked at Carlyle with an annoyed expression. “I can’t keep it going if I have to answer your stupid questions. It only works if I keep humming.”
“But how are you doing that?” Carlyle asked for the third time.
“I don’t know,” said Catherine. “Something is wrong with me. I don’t know what it is. That’s all I know. Now come on, let’s find that entrance.”
With Catherine leading the way, they all went back to the cave. Catherine illuminated the cave with her humming and her electric lights, while they searched along the cave floor and the cave walls. The ravens helped as well, flying around the cave and checking everywhere.
It was Molly who found it. “Over here guys,” she said excitedly. There was a small crack in the cave wall. I can feel the air coming through it. There must be something on the other side. Maybe this is the entrance.”
Kevin and Shawn rushed over, jamming their fingers into the seam, straining until their faces turned red. The stone didn't budge an inch.
“There must be lots of tools here among the thieves’ treasures,” Carlyle suggested. “Go through all the boxes until we find something we can use.”
Moments later, they returned with heavy iron hammers, chisels, and a thick awl. They threw themselves at the crack, the sound of metal striking stone echoing deafeningly through the cave. But despite their sweat and effort, the hidden door remained stubbornly shut.
“Let me try,” said Catherine.
“It’s no good,” Kevin panted, wiping sweat from his forehead. “We all tried. We can’t get it open.”
Catherine ignored him. She stepped up to the wall, pressing both palms flat against the cold stone, and concentrated as hard as she could. She kept the humming going while she did this, and the energy was flowing through her. But she tried to focus it this time. She felt like she was getting better at directing it.
Under her hands, the stone door began to glow a dull, angry red.
“Catherine, how are you doing that?” asked Kevin.
“Don’t talk to her,” said Carlyle. “It distracts her. She needs to keep humming.”
The stone wall kept burning bright red, and then it turned white. “Stand back,” Shawn advised the others. “Don’t touch it.”
A sharp CRACK rang out like a thunderclap.
The stone wall spiderwebbed with a hundred brilliant fractures, and then, it shattered inward into a thousand smoking fragments.
As the dust settled, the flickering light of Catherine's hands revealed a yawning, pitch-black void. The goblin tunnels lay open before them.
No comments:
Post a Comment