grim surroundings of the camp. Finn wore his usual hard and ‘prepared for anything’ expression while Fennel’s face was crumpled with worry. Milli’s apprehension swelled to anger. ‘You tricked us!’ she accused the twins. ‘You knew this was going to happen and you didn’t warn us!’
‘We were trying to help,’ Finn responded in an injured tone.
‘It was all we could think to do,’ Fennel added, her blue eyes swimming with tears. ‘We knew we couldn’t stop Lampo, but we thought we might save you.’
Milli found her anger somewhat dissipated by Fennel’s distress, which seemed quite genuine, and the four of them slumped onto the floor to discuss their predicament.
‘Can you at least tell us what’s going on and where we are?’ Ernest asked with an imploring look.
‘Well, you’re a long way from Drabville,’ Finn said. ‘Have you ever heard speak of the Conjurors’ Realm? That’s where we are.’
Milli and Ernest froze in horror. They needed no further explanation. Immediately their thoughts raced back to their imprisonment in Hog House and everything they had learnt there about the Conjurors’ Realm. How naive of them to have believed they could be free of Lord Aldor and his accomplices so easily. And this time they had travelled right into the heart of his domain. Escape might not just be tricky, but impossible.
‘You don’t mean to say that you live here?’ asked an incredulous Milli. The twins’ silence indicated an affirmative reply.
‘It wasn’t always such a terrible place,’ Fennel said. ‘Not originally anyway. We were very young when things started to go bad.’
Finn sighed and exchanged a glance with his sister.
‘I suppose you’d better hear it from the beginning,’ he said. ‘There’s plenty we don’t know, mind you, but maybe our story will help you to understand things a bit better.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Fennel and I used to live with our parents in the hills outside Runis, the main town in the province of Rune. We werea proper family and did everything together. The only thing our parents refused to include us in was their weekly meeting with our neighbours where they discussed the leader of the Realm who was greedy and wanted everything for himself. We listened at the door once and heard them talk about the horrible things he’d done and how they intended to try and stop him.’
Finn’s voice caught suddenly. He bit his lower lip and looked at his feet. Fennel patted his arm and continued.
‘Soon after we came home to find our house in ruins and our parents gone,’ she whispered. ‘There were two cloaked men waiting for us who called themselves members of the Inquisition. They took us to Lampo and we’ve been with him ever since.’
‘It’s my job to look after Fennel,’ Finn told them. ‘We haven’t got anyone else to rely on. You don’t find many friendly faces in the Realm these days.’
‘I’m sorry about your parents,’ Milli said quietly, ‘and that things have been so hard for you.’
Fennel nodded gratefully and went on with the story. ‘We worked as servants for Lampo and Bombasta, until they cooked up this awful scheme of tricking the town of Drabville. We couldn’t think how to stop them.’
‘But why would they do that?’ Ernest asked. ‘Surely you must know something.’
There was a desperate edge to his voice but Finn and Fennel just shook their heads.
‘We know only that a war is coming and we must prepare for it,’ Finn said.
‘Whose war? What does any of that have to do with us?’
The twins, distressed at their inability to elucidate further, looked at the children helplessly.
‘This is making no sense at all,’ Ernest said. ‘I thought you two were acrobats in the Lampo Circus.’
‘Don’t you see?’ wailed Fennel. ‘The circus was just a front.’
‘A front for what?’
‘We’re not sure. All we know is that trouble is brewing, and something tells me we’re right in the middle of
‘We were trying to help,’ Finn responded in an injured tone.
‘It was all we could think to do,’ Fennel added, her blue eyes swimming with tears. ‘We knew we couldn’t stop Lampo, but we thought we might save you.’
Milli found her anger somewhat dissipated by Fennel’s distress, which seemed quite genuine, and the four of them slumped onto the floor to discuss their predicament.
‘Can you at least tell us what’s going on and where we are?’ Ernest asked with an imploring look.
‘Well, you’re a long way from Drabville,’ Finn said. ‘Have you ever heard speak of the Conjurors’ Realm? That’s where we are.’
Milli and Ernest froze in horror. They needed no further explanation. Immediately their thoughts raced back to their imprisonment in Hog House and everything they had learnt there about the Conjurors’ Realm. How naive of them to have believed they could be free of Lord Aldor and his accomplices so easily. And this time they had travelled right into the heart of his domain. Escape might not just be tricky, but impossible.
‘You don’t mean to say that you live here?’ asked an incredulous Milli. The twins’ silence indicated an affirmative reply.
‘It wasn’t always such a terrible place,’ Fennel said. ‘Not originally anyway. We were very young when things started to go bad.’
Finn sighed and exchanged a glance with his sister.
‘I suppose you’d better hear it from the beginning,’ he said. ‘There’s plenty we don’t know, mind you, but maybe our story will help you to understand things a bit better.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Fennel and I used to live with our parents in the hills outside Runis, the main town in the province of Rune. We werea proper family and did everything together. The only thing our parents refused to include us in was their weekly meeting with our neighbours where they discussed the leader of the Realm who was greedy and wanted everything for himself. We listened at the door once and heard them talk about the horrible things he’d done and how they intended to try and stop him.’
Finn’s voice caught suddenly. He bit his lower lip and looked at his feet. Fennel patted his arm and continued.
‘Soon after we came home to find our house in ruins and our parents gone,’ she whispered. ‘There were two cloaked men waiting for us who called themselves members of the Inquisition. They took us to Lampo and we’ve been with him ever since.’
‘It’s my job to look after Fennel,’ Finn told them. ‘We haven’t got anyone else to rely on. You don’t find many friendly faces in the Realm these days.’
‘I’m sorry about your parents,’ Milli said quietly, ‘and that things have been so hard for you.’
Fennel nodded gratefully and went on with the story. ‘We worked as servants for Lampo and Bombasta, until they cooked up this awful scheme of tricking the town of Drabville. We couldn’t think how to stop them.’
‘But why would they do that?’ Ernest asked. ‘Surely you must know something.’
There was a desperate edge to his voice but Finn and Fennel just shook their heads.
‘We know only that a war is coming and we must prepare for it,’ Finn said.
‘Whose war? What does any of that have to do with us?’
The twins, distressed at their inability to elucidate further, looked at the children helplessly.
‘This is making no sense at all,’ Ernest said. ‘I thought you two were acrobats in the Lampo Circus.’
‘Don’t you see?’ wailed Fennel. ‘The circus was just a front.’
‘A front for what?’
‘We’re not sure. All we know is that trouble is brewing, and something tells me we’re right in the middle of
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