Icespell Read online

  Max blinked, dazzled for a moment by the brightness of the sun reflecting off the water, and glided down to a stunted old tree by the shore. The sea was startlingly blue, with constantly shifting, peeling waves smashing down in spumes of spray, one after the other, as they rolled into the shore. The water swirled round jagged rocks and ran up the pebbly beach before being sucked back with a rattling roar into the oncoming waves.

  Max had seen the sea once or twice before, but not for a few years. He rested, gripping the branch he was perched on tightly, as gusts of wind buffeted him and blew his feathers all the wrong way, tasting the salt in the air and watching the gulls wheeling overhead. They were dancing in and out of each other’s way, occasionally getting caught by the spray from a particularly huge wave and calling out in their harsh voices.

  “Isn’t it brilliant?” gasped Olivia, as she landed beside him. “I’d forgotten how big the sea is. And how wild!”

  “Quack!” said Vortigern, landing just by the tree in a not very elegant flurry of wings. “Bit windy!”

  Next moment, Adolphus too had dropped out of the sky next to them, and a very ruffled-looking Ferocious had crawled thankfully off his back, trying to smooth his fur back to its normal sleekness.

  “Tail and whiskers! We’re here at last. I almost think I might let you turn me into a bird for the trip back, Max. I’d forgotten that Adolphus flies like a maniac crossed with a bouncing ball. Nearly fell off a hundred miles back and haven’t dared move ever since…”

  “Umm, Max,” said Olivia, with one eye on the seagulls wheeling close by. “I think we’d better be human again, if you can manage it. Those birds aren’t looking very friendly.”

  Max looked up. She was right. The gulls were not best pleased to be sharing their beach with two strangely coloured birds of prey, and looked like they might get nasty at any minute. He closed his eyes and thought hard about being human again.

  Crack!

  The branch they were sitting on snapped under their combined weight and the two of them, fully human, were deposited on the ground with a thud.

  “Ouch!” said Max, rubbing his shoulder. “I didn’t think it would work, or I’d have got down from the branch before I changed back.”

  “Well, great magic, Max, but next time warn me,” said Olivia feelingly, as she tried to stand up. “I think I might have broken several small bones and bruised the rest of them.”

  “Enough complaining,” said Ferocious unsympathetically. “We’re on a mission. We need to find a dragon. Lead on, Your Royal Duckness!”

  ***

  Great-Aunt Wilhelmina’s cave stretched far back into the cliff, so far that you could hardly hear the distant boom and crash of the sea. A small, narrow split between two immense rock faces widened into a passageway, and that in turn opened out into an immense cavern. It should have been quite dark, but it shone with a greenish white glow that came from the same eerie spheres of light that Max remembered from the last time he’d met the dragon, deep in a mountain in the misty lakeland of Gore.

  Great-Aunt Wilhelmina lay stretched out on the flat sandy floor of the cave, her huge head turned towards them, her amber eyes watching them approach.

  “Well, well. If it isn’t my dear nephew, A-drip-nose, and his companions… And Your Royal Highness. What a pleasure,” she rumbled, in her deep voice.

  “Greetings, Lady Wilhelmina,” quacked Vortigern. “Got any – well – er…”

  “I do indeed have bread,” said the dragon with a wide grin, and pushed a small, low table towards them, on which was piled bread, meat, fruit, pastries and flagons of hot, spiced apple. “I had a feeling I might be having some guests…”

  Adolphus bounded forward joyfully and got stuck into a large platter of roasted caterpillars. The rest of the feast looked delicious, and Max suddenly realised how fantastically hungry he was. He bowed to the great dragon, and thanked her for her hospitality.

  “Think nothing of it, young Pendragon,” she boomed. “Always glad to see another magic user… How did you get on with that cauldron I gave you?”

  In between mouthfuls of pastry and swigs of apple juice, Max and Olivia told her the story of their adventures in Gore, how Olivia had been sent to the Otherworld by Morgana, and how they’d been able to use the cauldron to rescue her and bring King Arthur and his companions back safely. Vortigern, who had not heard the story before, got quite excited, and kept interrupting. When they described Olivia’s masterful cauldron throw, which had knocked out the Silent Sentinel and saved Arthur’s life, he whooped and turned three somersaults.

  But all too soon the feast was finished and the story over. Great-Aunt Wilhelmina turned her golden eyes on Max and looked at him with a quizzical expression.

  “So, young Pendragon, what brings you here? I had a feeling in my bones I would see you again, but I didn’t think it would be quite so soon.”

  Max swallowed hard. He wasn’t sure where to begin. As he hesitated, Adolphus bounced over and thumped the floor of the cave enthusiastically with his tail.

  “We need you to breathe fire. It was all my idea. Vortigern asked for a plan – and I came up with one! Me! We need someone to breathe lots and lots of fire and melt the ice.” He looked up at Great-Aunt Wilhelmina expectantly, and breathed a little fire of his own, as if to show her just what he meant.

  “Ice?” she rumbled. “You need me to melt some ice? Is that all?” She sounded extremely offended at the idea that she was wanted simply as a very large mobile bonfire.

  “No, no, that’s not it at all,” said Max hurriedly. “Adolphus has got it a bit mixed up. We have an ice problem, but it’s not fire we need. It’s a spell.”

  Great-Aunt Wilhelmina narrowed her eyes. “So. An icespell. Which you can’t undo yourself? Where is it, and who cast it, may I ask?”

  Max coloured. “It was me. And it’s on Camelot.”

  “Camelot?” she said, looking surprised. “The whole castle?”

  “Yes,” said Max, in a small voice. “I got tricked into it. And the spell that tricked me was made by Morgana, so I can’t seem to undo it.”

  Max waited for the old dragon to tell him what a foolish boy he’d been, and how wizards should never ever be tempted to show off. But to his surprise she did neither of these things. She widened her eyes, took a deep breath, and hooted with laughter.

  “Iced the whole castle? The whole castle? My dear boy, what a spectacular idiot you are! Morgana must be rubbing her hands in glee!”

  She snorted in delight, breathing little gusts of blue-white flame from her nostrils and waving her long green tail as she laughed. Finally she stopped, and wiped her eyes with a great claw and grinned at Max.

  “Haven’t laughed so much in years. Not since Merlin… well, anyway. Knew you’d be good value, Max, way back when I gave you my special cauldron… So. We’ll have to do something about this before that dreadful sorceress gets down to Camelot, won’t we?”

  “So you can reverse the spell,” said Max, thankfully. “We were hoping you could.”

  “Oh, no, not me,” said Great-Aunt Wilhelmina, shaking her head. “We’ll have to ask the Lady. She’s a bit potty, but she’s very powerful, and she’s got a soft spot for Merlin. I’m sure she’ll find a way to sort it all out. But not till morning. Can’t get to the Lady till sunrise. So we may as well get some rest. Come along, A-dormouse, and Your Royal Highness, there’s a nice waterfall back here to shower in, and comfortable beds all round.”

  Max exchanged glances with Olivia, and she gave him a thumbs-up. It looked like Great-Aunt Wilhelmina was going to help, and it seemed like she had a good idea of what to do. They followed her to the back of the cave, where there was indeed a small waterfall, as well as a deep pool in which Vortigern was already happily splashing around, quacking loudly. Next to the pool was a pile of soft, richly embroidered blankets. Olivia fell onto the pile with a sigh, and closed her eyes.

  “Fantastic. I feel like I could sleep for a week.”

 
“Not quite so long, please, my dear,” said Great-Aunt Wilhelmina with a rumbling laugh. “We need to be up well before dawn. I’ll wake you when it’s time. And in the meantime, A-dog’s-nose, maybe you could come and sit with me and tell me all the family news…”

  Adolphus danced alongside her to the front of the cave, chatting away. The greenish light faded as they went, leaving the area round the pool in a gentle dusky darkness.

  Ferocious jumped onto Max’s shoulder and gently nipped his ear.

  “Time for sleep, Max. Been a long day. Lots of magic and too much fear of death by falling off Adolphus’s back.”

  Max grinned, and tickled Ferocious behind the ears, then settled down on the pile of blankets with a yawn.

  “Any idea who this Lady is we’re going to see?” he asked sleepily, as Olivia started to snore.

  “Nope,” said Ferocious. “Must be some witch or other. Better hope she’s a match for that evil old hag Morgana, eh Max?”

  But Max was already asleep, dreaming of ice and dragons and flying down an endless dark tunnel looking for something that wasn’t there.

  The Lady of the Island

  The Lady, when they met her, was planting cabbages, and looked almost as unmagical as it is possible for a person to look. She was plump, with a kind brown face and long frizzy brown hair that was scattered with grey. As she reached up to brush her hair out of her eyes she left streaks of mud across her forehead and under her grey-blue eyes. There was something about her expression, however, that reminded Max very strongly of Merlin.

  They had left the cave in darkness with all of them piled on Great-Aunt Wilhelmina’s back, even Adolphus.

  “You wouldn’t be able to get there on your own, A-doll’s-house,” she had rumbled. “Not magic enough yet.”

  As the sky gradually lightened they had flown out to sea due south, and then, as the tip of the sun started to show over the eastern horizon, Great-Aunt Wilhelmina had gathered her strength and flown straight and fast into the light of the sunrise. One moment they were being dazzled by the dawn, the next moment a great island was rising up in front of them, and the huge dragon was coasting to an elegant landing just next to a small vegetable patch. And there was the Lady, looking up to greet them. She showed no surprise at their sudden appearance.

  “I’m afraid I am in the middle of the cabbages,” apologised the Lady, smiling. “I did get some food and drink ready for you all when I realised you’d be coming – but I can’t remember where I left it…” She considered for a moment, then brightened. “Try the woodshed, while I just get these planted in…”

  She waved a muddy hand vaguely at an old shed further down the garden, and then went back to her planting. Great-Aunt Wilhelmina motioned them to follow, and they all headed after her with a respectful nod at the back of the Lady, who was now absorbed in tucking little plants into the soil.

  The woodshed was full of logs, various garden implements and rusty bits of what looked like an old plough. But on an upturned wooden box in one corner was a bowl of red apples and a jug of water. Max realised he’d had no breakfast at exactly the same time as Olivia and they both dived for the bowl. The apples tasted better than anything he’d ever eaten, and the water was cold, clear, and like drinking the most perfect mead. In among the apples, Max noticed, were nuts for Ferocious, while small morsels that looked suspiciously like roasted woodlice were rapidly disappearing down Adolphus’s throat.

  “So glad you could drop by,” said the Lady, entering the shed and settling herself on an old wheelbarrow while she wiped her hands clean on her skirt. When they were only very slightly less muddy, she pushed back her frizzy hair with both hands, wound it round into a loose knot behind her head, and tucked the ends down the back of her blouse.

  “That’s better,” she said, smiling. “I can see you all properly now. Right – it’s a spell you need, is it? Something big, I gather, that needs unravelling?”

  Max took a deep breath and nodded.

  “It’s my fault. I did an icespell on a stone.” He fished the grey flint, still encased in ice, out of his belt pouch, and showed it to the Lady. “It was magically connected to Camelot by Lady Morgana le Fay, and so I accidentally iced the whole castle. And Merlin’s trapped in there, along with King Arthur, and, well… a lot of other people.”

  The Lady raised her eyebrows.

  “Indeed. That’s quite a spell, young man.”

  She took the stone from Max gingerly and held it up to her right eye. She hummed a little, then threw the stone up in the air and caught it. Then she stuck her tongue out and tasted it.

  “Uuurghh!” she said, and made a face. “Yes – definitely Morgana’s magic. I’d know it anywhere. And poor dear Merlin is trapped inside it?” She peered at the rock as if she expected to see the tiny figure of Merlin inside the ice, and then pursed her lips.

  “Dear me. What a tangle. We’ll have to see what we can do. It might take a while. In the meantime, I’ve got a job for you all!”

  She stood up quickly and ushered them out of the shed, then she set off at a rapid stride round the back of a little stone house, towards what looked like a small orchard. As they followed the Lady, they saw that the stone wall around the orchard had been knocked down in one place and the stones were scattered around on the grass.

  “The island’s bull,” she explained, gesturing to the wall. “He likes the apples, and he’s forever destroying the wall to get to them. If you could just build it back up like sweet children, I’ll go with Wilhelmina and prepare your spell.”

  And she hurried off, unknotting her hair as she went so it flew out around her shoulders, and stooping to gather a few herbs on her way back to the house.

  “Well,” said Max. “This seems simple enough. Just pile all the stones back into the wall.”

  “Hmm,” said Ferocious thoughtfully. “I’ve got a feeling it might be a bit trickier than it seems.”

  Ferocious was right. They carefully gathered up the scattered stones and started slotting them back into the gap, with Adolphus doing a lot of the fetching and carrying and Ferocious doing most of the directing from a perch on top of the nearest bit of unbroken wall. But after an hour of sweaty work the gap seemed no smaller, and the number of scattered stones in the grass looked exactly the same.

  “Maybe we need to do it more quickly,” suggested Olivia, so they redoubled their efforts. But after another half hour, Max thought he was going to expire, and Adolphus had given up and rolled over onto his back with his tongue out. The wall looked exactly as it had at the beginning.

  “We need to think about this,” said Ferocious. “There’s obviously a trick to it.”

  “No trick!” came a voice from the trees on the other side of the wall. “Quite easy really. Quack!”

  “Vortigern!” said Max. “I wondered where you’d gone!”

  “Went with the Lady,” said the duck, emerging from the orchard. “She had some bread… Anyway, I heard her talking to Lady Wilhelmina about the wall. It’s a people wall. You have to say the name of a person your spell will help, and the stone stays put.”

  “Oh, well, why didn’t we think of that before? How incredibly obvious,” said Ferocious grumpily. “Right, then. Better get going before it’s midnight. Come on, Max. A stone for Merlin.”

  Max heaved a large, flat stone into position and said, “Merlin.” Then he stood and watched the stone carefully. It seemed to stay – but then again, he hadn’t actually noticed any of the other stones disappearing, either. They just somehow didn’t manage to amount to a wall, however many you put there.

  Olivia dragged up another, placed it next to Max’s, and declared theatrically. “For King Arthur!” Again, it seemed like the stone was going to stay, but it was hard to tell.

  “Come on,” said Max. “We’ll just have to carry on and see what happens in the end.”

  They dragged up more stones – for their father, for Lancelot, for Sir Lionel, for Sir Gareth, for Sir Boris… The wall was defini
tely getting higher, but not as quickly as it should have been. By the time they had run through every knight and lady in Camelot, it was half built, and they had to start on the squires.

  “For Mordred,” said Olivia through gritted teeth. “For Peredur… for Percival… for Roderick…”

  After that, it was the castle servants, the soldiers, the cooks, the stable lads.

  Finally, the wall was almost completely built. There was only one stone left, but try as they might, no one could think of a single other person in the castle.

  “The hawk boy,” said Max. “Richard.”

  “No – done him,” said Olivia.

  “Oh – I know!” said Adolphus. “King Arthur!”

  They all rolled their eyes.

  “Sir Lionel?” said Ferocious.

  “No – he was outside the castle, remember?” said Max.

  There was a silence. The Max clicked his fingers.

  “Fred!” he said triumphantly. “Fred the kitchen boy!”

  They lifted the stone into place and together they all shouted, “Fred!”

  The stone stayed. The wall was perfect.

  As they stood back to admire it, Great-Aunt Wilhelmina appeared. The Lady was beside her, and when she saw the wall, she clapped her hands.

  “Oh thank you, my dears!” she cried. “That wall’s been waiting years for a really good emergency! So nice to see it whole again. Come along up to the house and have some cake, and I’ll show you the spell I’ve made.”

  A Spell and a Chase

  It was dark inside Great-Aunt Wilhelmina’s cave. Without the dragon, the globe lights dotted around the walls gave out only a faint glow, and the two figures creeping around kept bumping into each other or tripping up.

  “Ow, Jerome! Druid’s toenails, keep your clodhopping feet off my toes!” hissed one of the figures.