If her idea was right, and Grint took Effie somewhere else, this might be the place.
She was right. Her mother was there.
Grint too.
There were only two chairs and a table, otherwise the room was bare. And cold. She knew it was cold because both Grint and her mother wore furs: fur cloaks, wraps and hats. Crystal had never seen anything like these skins before. Perhaps they came from some animal beyond the Wall? But why was the room cold? Why—?
Grint suddenly strode towards the window with his arms outstretched. Crystal choked back a terrified scream; he’d seen her!
‘Rain’s getting in,’ he muttered and slammed the wooden shutters shut with a crash.
Crystal leaned against the wall panting, heart thumping. What was going on?
She jumped at a small noise close by. Was someone there? She was so nervous everything made her jump. Her heart thudded fast and painfully against her ribs. She had to get back before Raek found she was missing. She couldn’t skirt the garden and go back through the shelter of the trees; she hadn’t time. As she ran alongside the house and the crumbling outbuildings, she tripped on something poking up and crashed against a shed door with a horrible metallic clang.
She froze where she landed, crouching on the ground, terribly afraid. She held her breath, hoping that no one had heard.
All was quiet, no doors opening or angry shouts. Then in the silence she heard something, some sort of animal right there, in the shed. She shot away from the door, but the creature, whatever it was, seemed to be locked in. It whimpered softly and whined. Then it sniffed wetly at the crack beneath the door. A dog perhaps? A Minty Moment had fallen from her pocket and was lying by the door. Suddenly a long tongue slipped out from the inky blackness below the door, caught the sweet and hooked it inside.
The creature cried out suddenly, slamming itself against the door with a thundering clatter. The door groaned under its weight and the hinges creaked.
It wasn’t a dog.
Crystal ran.
10
The Missing Page
Questrid set off for the library, a room near the very top of Spindle House.
He rarely went there. Firstly, he wasn’t very keen on books and reading, and secondly, he didn’t like the swaying of the branches and the creaking of the timber, both of which got more violent and louder the higher up you went.
He was looking for information about the Glass Hills and the circular lake. He knew Greenwood’s sudden strange behaviour was linked to what had happened there.
Questrid took down the books that contained maps and plans of the Marble Mountains. The tallest peak in the mountains was called the Rock and his mother lived there. The Glass Hills were part of that pointed craggy chain. He found them clearly marked but not the lake. He couldn’t find the lake on any of the maps. Then he tried histories. Fishing. Boating. No book mentioned the circular lake inside the Glass Hills. It was well and truly hidden.
He was about to give up when he spotted an old, battered book of Marble Mountain folklore. He flicked through the pages, stopping suddenly at The Gateway in the Frozen Lake .
The story was about Pol Lake, which was as round as a plate, as smooth as a mirror, and hidden behind tall glass-like mountains. The lake remained frozen always. Questrid’s pulse began to race as he read:
…until one year, without warning, the ice will begin to melt. A perfect circle of water will appear in the lake’s very centre as the ice shrinks. The water will be of the clearest turquoise blue. It is The Gateway to the World Below. It will not be open for long and it may close behind whoever dares to risk the journey but …
Questrid turned to the next page, but there was no more of the tale, the pages had been torn out.
11
The Ticket to Freedom
‘The tickets for the mines trip have come,’ Stella told Crystal as they walked back from school a few days later. ‘Remember? I told you Dad won them in a
She was right. Her mother was there.
Grint too.
There were only two chairs and a table, otherwise the room was bare. And cold. She knew it was cold because both Grint and her mother wore furs: fur cloaks, wraps and hats. Crystal had never seen anything like these skins before. Perhaps they came from some animal beyond the Wall? But why was the room cold? Why—?
Grint suddenly strode towards the window with his arms outstretched. Crystal choked back a terrified scream; he’d seen her!
‘Rain’s getting in,’ he muttered and slammed the wooden shutters shut with a crash.
Crystal leaned against the wall panting, heart thumping. What was going on?
She jumped at a small noise close by. Was someone there? She was so nervous everything made her jump. Her heart thudded fast and painfully against her ribs. She had to get back before Raek found she was missing. She couldn’t skirt the garden and go back through the shelter of the trees; she hadn’t time. As she ran alongside the house and the crumbling outbuildings, she tripped on something poking up and crashed against a shed door with a horrible metallic clang.
She froze where she landed, crouching on the ground, terribly afraid. She held her breath, hoping that no one had heard.
All was quiet, no doors opening or angry shouts. Then in the silence she heard something, some sort of animal right there, in the shed. She shot away from the door, but the creature, whatever it was, seemed to be locked in. It whimpered softly and whined. Then it sniffed wetly at the crack beneath the door. A dog perhaps? A Minty Moment had fallen from her pocket and was lying by the door. Suddenly a long tongue slipped out from the inky blackness below the door, caught the sweet and hooked it inside.
The creature cried out suddenly, slamming itself against the door with a thundering clatter. The door groaned under its weight and the hinges creaked.
It wasn’t a dog.
Crystal ran.
10
The Missing Page
Questrid set off for the library, a room near the very top of Spindle House.
He rarely went there. Firstly, he wasn’t very keen on books and reading, and secondly, he didn’t like the swaying of the branches and the creaking of the timber, both of which got more violent and louder the higher up you went.
He was looking for information about the Glass Hills and the circular lake. He knew Greenwood’s sudden strange behaviour was linked to what had happened there.
Questrid took down the books that contained maps and plans of the Marble Mountains. The tallest peak in the mountains was called the Rock and his mother lived there. The Glass Hills were part of that pointed craggy chain. He found them clearly marked but not the lake. He couldn’t find the lake on any of the maps. Then he tried histories. Fishing. Boating. No book mentioned the circular lake inside the Glass Hills. It was well and truly hidden.
He was about to give up when he spotted an old, battered book of Marble Mountain folklore. He flicked through the pages, stopping suddenly at The Gateway in the Frozen Lake .
The story was about Pol Lake, which was as round as a plate, as smooth as a mirror, and hidden behind tall glass-like mountains. The lake remained frozen always. Questrid’s pulse began to race as he read:
…until one year, without warning, the ice will begin to melt. A perfect circle of water will appear in the lake’s very centre as the ice shrinks. The water will be of the clearest turquoise blue. It is The Gateway to the World Below. It will not be open for long and it may close behind whoever dares to risk the journey but …
Questrid turned to the next page, but there was no more of the tale, the pages had been torn out.
11
The Ticket to Freedom
‘The tickets for the mines trip have come,’ Stella told Crystal as they walked back from school a few days later. ‘Remember? I told you Dad won them in a
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