enough.”
“I don’t know how you’ll accomplish that, Theo,” Carl said. “The earl’s locked it up tight. No one can get past that iron gate without his permission and he’s certainly not going to let
you
go through the portal again.”
Shortly after they’d returned from their journey to Morocco, the earl had thrown an enormous padlock around the bars of the gate at the entrance of the tunnel leading to the portal. The earl had also gone as far as to expressly forbid the children to go near it, for their own safety.
But Theo crossed her arms and looked stubbornly up at Ian, as if daring him to agree with Carl. Ian decided not to argue the point with her and attempted to change thesubject. “Come along,” he said, waving for his friends to follow. “We’d best get back to the keep before anyone realizes we’re missing.”
But when they made their way to within ten meters of the ladder leading to the tower, they came to another barrier. A huge stone slab that had been set into the wall had fallen across the tunnel, dropping a good portion of the roof on top of it. Ian approached the slab and inspected it. “Blast it!” he groaned, surveying the huge pile of rubble heaped on the slab all the way to the ceiling, which effectively cut them off from the secret entrance to the keep.
“Would you look at that?” said Carl, and for a moment, Ian thought he was talking about the cave-in, but then he realized that Carl was actually referring to the slab.
“Look at what?” Ian asked.
“This stone,” Carl said. “Does it look familiar?”
At first Ian had no idea what Carl was talking about, but when he looked closer, he saw something on its surface that he recognized. Small angular letters ran down the flat side of the slab. “It’s a standing stone!” he gasped, utterly surprised to find one of the huge stones down there in the tunnel.
Ian and the others were very familiar with the stones; they’d been educated by Professor Nutley, who was something of an expert. Used for various religious purposes in Druid times, the stones were typically massive and used to mark an area of sacred ground.
In fact, the entrance to the magical portal a stone’s throw away from Castle Dover was hidden under three standingstones, and Ian strongly suspected that those monoliths held a bit of magic in them as well.
Carl nodded. “The question is, why is this stone down
here
of all places?”
“To protect the keep,” Theo said, reaching out to touch the slab.
Ian’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean, to protect the keep?”
Theo smiled patiently at him. “Don’t you think it’s curious that none of Demogorgon’s brood have ever raided the keep, Ian? I mean, we’ve seen Magus’s hellhounds and that awful couple the Van Schufts, but neither Magus nor Caphiera has ever set foot on the keep’s grounds.
“Lady Arbuthnot and I have long suspected that the keep itself must be protected by some form of magic, something that keeps the likes of Magus and Caphiera out. And if this tunnel leads directly up to the heart of the keep, then there must be some magic associated with the standing stone.” Stepping closer to the slab, Theo ran her hand along the lettering tattooed into the hard rock. “I believe that these markings invoke some sort of protection which radiates upward and protects the keep.”
“But the entrance to the portal has those same standing stones and markings, and Caphiera had no trouble coming down there, now, did she?” Carl argued.
Theo sighed. “Yes, that
is
a valid point, Carl. And I said the same to Lady Arbuthnot, but then she pointed out that when we returned through the portal last year, only a fewhours had passed on this side of the portal, and both Caphiera and her icy deathtrap had completely vanished, as if all that ice had never even existed. Lady Arbuthnot thinks, and I agree, that the sorceress was unable to remain in the portal tunnel because of the magic of those stones.
“I don’t know how you’ll accomplish that, Theo,” Carl said. “The earl’s locked it up tight. No one can get past that iron gate without his permission and he’s certainly not going to let
you
go through the portal again.”
Shortly after they’d returned from their journey to Morocco, the earl had thrown an enormous padlock around the bars of the gate at the entrance of the tunnel leading to the portal. The earl had also gone as far as to expressly forbid the children to go near it, for their own safety.
But Theo crossed her arms and looked stubbornly up at Ian, as if daring him to agree with Carl. Ian decided not to argue the point with her and attempted to change thesubject. “Come along,” he said, waving for his friends to follow. “We’d best get back to the keep before anyone realizes we’re missing.”
But when they made their way to within ten meters of the ladder leading to the tower, they came to another barrier. A huge stone slab that had been set into the wall had fallen across the tunnel, dropping a good portion of the roof on top of it. Ian approached the slab and inspected it. “Blast it!” he groaned, surveying the huge pile of rubble heaped on the slab all the way to the ceiling, which effectively cut them off from the secret entrance to the keep.
“Would you look at that?” said Carl, and for a moment, Ian thought he was talking about the cave-in, but then he realized that Carl was actually referring to the slab.
“Look at what?” Ian asked.
“This stone,” Carl said. “Does it look familiar?”
At first Ian had no idea what Carl was talking about, but when he looked closer, he saw something on its surface that he recognized. Small angular letters ran down the flat side of the slab. “It’s a standing stone!” he gasped, utterly surprised to find one of the huge stones down there in the tunnel.
Ian and the others were very familiar with the stones; they’d been educated by Professor Nutley, who was something of an expert. Used for various religious purposes in Druid times, the stones were typically massive and used to mark an area of sacred ground.
In fact, the entrance to the magical portal a stone’s throw away from Castle Dover was hidden under three standingstones, and Ian strongly suspected that those monoliths held a bit of magic in them as well.
Carl nodded. “The question is, why is this stone down
here
of all places?”
“To protect the keep,” Theo said, reaching out to touch the slab.
Ian’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean, to protect the keep?”
Theo smiled patiently at him. “Don’t you think it’s curious that none of Demogorgon’s brood have ever raided the keep, Ian? I mean, we’ve seen Magus’s hellhounds and that awful couple the Van Schufts, but neither Magus nor Caphiera has ever set foot on the keep’s grounds.
“Lady Arbuthnot and I have long suspected that the keep itself must be protected by some form of magic, something that keeps the likes of Magus and Caphiera out. And if this tunnel leads directly up to the heart of the keep, then there must be some magic associated with the standing stone.” Stepping closer to the slab, Theo ran her hand along the lettering tattooed into the hard rock. “I believe that these markings invoke some sort of protection which radiates upward and protects the keep.”
“But the entrance to the portal has those same standing stones and markings, and Caphiera had no trouble coming down there, now, did she?” Carl argued.
Theo sighed. “Yes, that
is
a valid point, Carl. And I said the same to Lady Arbuthnot, but then she pointed out that when we returned through the portal last year, only a fewhours had passed on this side of the portal, and both Caphiera and her icy deathtrap had completely vanished, as if all that ice had never even existed. Lady Arbuthnot thinks, and I agree, that the sorceress was unable to remain in the portal tunnel because of the magic of those stones.
Similar Books
