Jack Gregson & the Forgotten Portal

Copyright 2015 Peter Wilson

Published by Peter Wilson at Smashwords

Cover Illustration by Blake Girven

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Contact the Author

Please feel free to send me an email at:

jackgregsonnovels@gmail.com

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Dynamite

Chapter Two: The Discovery

Chapter Three: The Attic

Chapter Four: The Rear Garden

Chapter Five: Answers

Chapter Six: The Door Opens

Chapter Seven: Run!

Chapter Eight: Gratins

Chapter Nine: Travelling the Grotto

Chapter Ten: Bowlandose

Chapter Eleven: Chaos

Chapter Twelve: Magic

Chapter Thirteen: Coran

Chapter Fourteen: The Book's Secret

Chapter Fifteen: The Forgotten Portal

Chapter Sixteen: Diamond Lake

Chapter Seventeen: Quick Exit

Chapter Eighteen: Chaos Reigns

Chapter Nineteen: Home

Chapter Twenty: The Wardens of Gregson Manor

Epilogue

Chapter One

Dynamite

Jack ran, his eyes wide with terror.

Boom!

He twisted his body as he jumped forward, looking back at the door as he landed hard on the

ground. Through the smoke he could see it was still there, with not a mark on it.

“No way!” said David, throwing his cap to the ground. “I really thought we had it then.”

“What’d you expect? That you’d be the first Gregson in ten generations to get the door

open? Jack, are you OK?” Rosie said the three questions in quick succession as she rubbed her

hands together to warm them.

“Yeah fine,” Jack replied as he got up and dusted himself off. The fall had given his jeans

and t-shirt grass stains, and some mulch and dirt clung to his curly brown hair.

He stretched his arms and legs, making sure none of the pains he felt were serious.

“It was dynamite,” David muttered under his breath. “Freaking Dynamite! That door

shouldn’t be there. The whole wall shouldn’t be there!” his muttering had turned into slight

hysteria, and Jack had to stop himself from laughing as his chubby cousin continued his rant

while running up to the door. It stood there as it had before, looking as solid as ever. The only

evidence that the dynamite had gone off was the plume of smoking drifting up into the sky.

The door in the Western Gardens of the Gregson Manor has been a family curiosity and

secret for generations. Jack, like all of the family’s children had been brought up with fantastic

stories of what lay beyond the door, told by his aunties, uncles and grand parents.

While other families read to their children from books, Jack had gone to bed with true tales

of monsters, wizards and fantastical beasts as his bedtime stories, handed down through his

family over hundreds of years.

As he got older, he wondered more and more whether the stories could possibly be true,

believing a little less each year. The only thing that kept them alive for him was the door itself.

Locked for countless years, no matter what the Gregson’s tried, nothing could get it open. The

fact that dynamite had not even left a mark, meant that it had to be magic.

“We need to go,” Rosie said while picking up her bag. “The explosion might have woken

mum and dad, and you know they’ll kill us if they find out it was dynamite we set off and not

fire crackers.”

“I didn’t set off anything. Jack did,” David casually replied as he bent down and scooped up

his cap.

“We drew straws!”

“It doesn’t matter if no one knows. So let’s get out of here.” Rosie finished the argument

before it could begin. At eleven years old she was two years younger than her brother David, and

her cousin Jack but she had a knack for getting what she wanted.

Except when it came to the dynamite. She’d tried talking them out of using that for hours the

previous night, but here they were at six a.m. in the chilly autumn dawn, freezing their bottoms

off.

“Let’s go then. Great Uncle Peter will want to know how we went,” David said as he started

off towards the main house.

Gregson Manor was built in the 1500’s, making it extremely old and due to the families

finances, a little rundown. The three-story mansion stood in the center of the property,

surrounded by four main gardens: The Western Garden, The Eastern Garden, The Front Garden

and The Rear Garden. Considering the place came with a door that was magic, Jack had always

thought the family could have put more imagination into the naming of them. He often thought

that once he owned and ran the manor, he’d call them all something more exciting.

The East and West Gardens were massive, each the size of a large football field. They were

also almost identical in every way. Each had multiple paths throughout them, weaving their way

through sitting areas, large statues and garden beds of different plants and flowers.

Both had a great staircase leading down to them from the main house. At the base of each

was a long wall; the only difference between the two being that one had the mysterious door and

the other did not.

Once you turned from the wall to each of the main gardens, you came to a grand marble

table capable of seating eighteen people, which overlooked each of the gardens beyond.

Today was a special occasion. In a matter of hours, the whole Gregson family would sit at

the large table in the Western Garden, and have their annual get together with food, drinks and

games.

Cousins near and far would travel to the family home and stay for the weekend.

The adults would join together and re-tell fantastic tales from a time their ancestors could

travel beyond the door, and then debate between themselves about the history, accuracy and

timelines of the stories.

Meanwhile their children would hunt the grounds for the missing key that opened the door,

scouring every room in the house, every nook and cranny of the garden. Even though they never

found it, it was Jack’s favorite part of the day.

After the hunt they would feast and then the games would begin. Most of them revolved

around trying to get the door open. Some favorites were trying to pick the lock, smash it with a

battering ram, or coax it open with secret knocks. The same sorts of things were tried every year.

Everyone wanted to be the one to get the door open, and the annual event was where some

friendly family competitiveness came out.

Jack was pretty sure this was the first time dynamite had been tried though and it was all

thanks to his eccentric Great Uncle. It had been his idea to use it and he’d supplied it.

Considering that he rarely left the house or had visitors, Jack had no idea where he’d gotten it

from. He did know that if Grandma or his Aunty Mauve found out, none of their lives would be

worth living.

The kids reached the top of the stairs and turned towards the Front Garden. While not as big

as the West and East gardens, it was still very large and the most well maintained of the four. It

was a large field of grass, with a 60-metre pebble driveway splitting it right down the middle,

from black iron gates at the roadside, right up to the front of the house. There were potted plants,

placed at ten meter intervals on both sides of the driveway, a red bloom of roses in each that Jack

had helped his Grandma plant at the beginning of spring.

Jack had grown up with his Grandmother and Great Uncle on the property, moving to

boarding school when he was twelve. Now when he returned for holidays, he earned his pocket

money helping in the gardens driving the lawn mower, sweeping and weeding to keep it

presentable for guests.

He found himself doing many chores, as he got older, being told it was character building

and that he would grow into a man his parents would be proud of. He had tried pointing out this

was impossible as his mother had died on the day he was born. His dad had also abandoned Jack

right after her death, so why should he care what his father thought?

He soon learned this tactic resulted in more work as it upset his Grandma, which in turn

made his Great Uncle angry with him, so he’d stopped trying that angle and went about doing his

chores as efficiently as possible so he had more time for himself.

They continued their walk to the front door and crept into the house. The foyer was designed

as a sitting room for guests as they waited for their hosts to greet them. Back when the Gregson’s

had more money and could afford staff, the butler would bring them in and seat them on one of

the two lounges and offer them tea.

The walls were made of wood paneling and there were racks against them for winter boots

and cloaks. In more recent times a bathroom had been added for their guests to use.

“Let’s use the passages,” David said as he walked towards the coat rack. “It doesn’t look

like we caused an alarm but better to keep out of sight.”

There were six hooks on the rack and all looked exactly the same. David grabbed the far left

one and twisted it to the right until they heard a “click.”

One of the wood panels on the wall suddenly swung open to reveal a dark passageway.

They stepped into the darkness and Jack closed the panel behind them, the coat hook

snapping back into place in the now empty foyer.

“Nobody ever puts the bloody torch back in its place.”

“Here, use my phone,” Rosie said while rummaging through her bag. She found it, turned

on the light and gave it to Jack.

“Thanks,” he replied grabbing it and pointing it down the dusty, narrow corridor as he

continued walking.

“Whoever built these passages should have added lights,” David declared.

“There wasn’t electricity back then moron,“ Rosie replied. “Most of the passages were

planned and built when the house was first constructed over 500 years ago.”

“My little sister, the history professor…”

“Shush. Anyway, I found a book in the library that says that some of the upstairs passages

were built more recently by our great-great Grandpa William.”

“A book about the house? Who would bother writing a book about a house?” David asked.

“Dunno,” replied Rosie. “It doesn’t say who it’s by, but it’s huge! It has chapters on every

room and goes into immense detail. For instance, you know the passageway that has a spy hole

into the kitchen? Grandpa William apparently had that installed because he thought one of his

maids was stealing pastries.”

“He sounds nutty. Too much time on his hands if you ask me,” replied David.

“Quiet,” whispered Jack as they approached a chair facing the wall, one of the many spying

stations throughout the passageways. “I think I can hear your Mum.”

Jack sat down on the chair, put his eye to the spy hole and looked down on the room below.

His Aunty Mauve - David and Rosie’s Mum, was in the main living room standing with her back

to Jack, wearing a pink floral dressing gown that was easily three sizes too small for her, making

her butt look huge. A pink towel was wrapped around her head, with pink slippers completing

the brightly offensive outfit.

“Alice! Alice! Where is that woman?” Aunty Mauve yelled out at no one in particular.

“I’m coming Mrs. Gregson!” Alice called as she shuffled down the hall. Alice was the

Gregson Manors last remaining staff member. She was once in charge of a whole household of

staff including a butler, cooks, gardeners and cleaners. Now she was the last one left.

For most of the year she just had to look after their Grandmother and her brother, Great

Uncle Peter, as well as Jack for the school holidays, but with all the relatives converging on the

house for the annual festivities, she had her hands full.

“Have the flowers arrived? What about the caterers? Bob! Bob get up! I need your help!”

Mrs. Gregson started walking out of the room in search of her husband, with Alice walking along

behind her.

“The flowers and food won’t be here for hours, it’s only 6:15 Mrs. Gregson...” Alice called

out after her.

“Looks like Aunty Mauve has already started getting everything ready for lunch,” Jack said,

getting up from the chair.

“Mum loves organizing a party,” replied Rosie.

“And bossing everyone around while doing it,” added David.

“Let’s go,” Jack said as he continued down the passage. He reached the end, coming to a

ladder leading upwards. There were no staircases in the secret passages, so this would take them

to the second floor and then it was just a short trip to the entrance in their Great Uncle’s room.

They climbed the ladder, walked down another dark dusty corridor, until they reached a

small panel in the wall that was open a crack. Jack pulled it open and crawled through.

“Back so soon?” An old mans voice called out.

“Yes Uncle,” replied Jack as he stumbled out of the wardrobe. Not only was the secret

doorway small, the wardrobe it was hidden in was cluttered with a large assortment of clothes,

hats, hankies and shoes. Everything stank of mothballs.

“Did it work?” He asked excitedly.

“It didn’t make a dent,” replied David dramatically.

Their Uncle frowned and lay back further into his pillows, of which there were many. The

bed was huge, with four large posts at each corner. He wore dark blue Pajamas covered in

comets and stars, which were obviously designed for a much younger man, if not a child. “I was

sure it would work,” he said.

“That’s what I said!” David replied annoyed.

“Well,” their uncle said bleakly. “Hopefully someone will manage to open it later today.”

Jack moved closer to the bed and said softly, as almost afraid to mention it, “No one has

managed to open the door in hundreds of years Uncle. Not even dynamite worked. Do you really

think someone will get it open today?”

“Something has changed boy. I don’t know what but Gregson Manor feels…wrong. I feel

that if we could get the door open, we could somehow fix whatever it is.” He sighed, “But the

house doesn’t seem to agree and perhaps we should trust it knows what it’s doing and stop trying

to force it. If it needs our help, it will guide someone to the door. The stories say it has in the

past, so it will do so again.”

“Uncle, what do you mean about the house showing us the way. It’s just a house….” Rosie

began, before being silenced by him putting his finger to his lips.

“Later, Rosemary. There are stories you have perhaps not heard before, ones I probably

should not be sharing. I will think it over and recall the details of one suitable to tell at lunch

later on,” he assured her before turning to Jack, “But perhaps we should hear a story now that we

cannot share later. Was it a big explosion?”

“You should’ve seen it.” Jack replied, a smile growing on his face as he recalled. “It was

the loudest thing I’ve ever heard! Did you hear it? And the smoke, did you see the smoke? We

should do it again another morning and you can come and watch. Do you have any more

dynamite?”

Suddenly a voice roared from the doorway of the bedroom, causing everyone in there to

jump, “DYNAMITE!”

Chapter Two

The Discovery

Jack, David and Rosie sat in the library, lounging on the old leather chairs, bored and a little

annoyed. Earlier that day, Mrs. Gregson had screamed at them for twenty minutes until she was

red in the face. She had then turned on Great Uncle Peter and given him the same treatment, for

being an “irresponsible, impossible old man.”

Even him explaining the stick of dynamite had actually been tiny, little more than a cracker

hadn’t calmed her down. Jack wondered if that had just been a small stick, how big would the

explosion have been with a full sized one?

“I still don’t get why Great Uncle got to go to the lunch. It’s not fair,” grumbled David.

“Mum can’t exactly ground her own Uncle,” replied Rosie.

“It’s his fault though. I don’t see why we should be punished for something he made us do,”

David fired back.

“I don’t think he made you do anything. You wanted to light that thing the second you saw

it.”

Jack was lying back looking up at the ceiling, barely listening to his cousins squabble. He

was used to them arguing back and forth. They may have been brother and sister, but Jack

thought the only thing they had in common was the blonde hair on their heads. Rosie was small

and skinny, while David was tall and a little chubby. He loved to play football, while she loved

her books. Jack was happy that he liked to read and play sport, as he had something in common

with both of them.

He sighed and thought about earlier that day. The three of them had been banned from the

day’s festivities and confined to the house. No lunch, no stories and no games. He’d been banned

from his favorite day of the year!

After the yelling had finally stopped, the three of them had retreated to Jack’s bedroom

while the house came to life around them. Family members arrived and put their luggage in the

guest rooms of the great old house, talking loudly and jovially as some hadn’t seen each other

since the previous party a year ago. While Jack looked forward to seeing them all, they had

decided it was better to wait until the evening, when hopefully things had calmed down and their

morning adventure had been forgotten about.

Eventually they had heard everyone leave the house and make their way down to the

Western Garden for lunch. Only then had they left Jack’s room for the library, hoping to find

something to do.

“Jack?”

“Huh?” Jack mumbled sitting up and turning to his cousins.

“I asked if you wanted to play a board game,” said Rosie.

“I don’t feel like it,” he replied, just as he noticed a book sitting on the coffee table in front

of him. “Is this the book you were talking about earlier? The one about the house?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

Jack picked it up, feeling the weight in his hands. It was a big book, thick with 100’s of

pages and a dark brown leather cover. “The Gregson Estate” was written on it in fancy silver

script and as Rosie had said before there was no mention of an author. He placed the book on his

lap and opened it to the contents page. There was a chapter on every room in the house. Not only

that, there were chapters for each of the gardens and one called Secret Passageways. He noted

the page number for the library they were sitting in, flipped open to that chapter and started

reading:

The library is one of the original rooms of Gregson Manor. Designed to hold thousands of

books, it was built with shelves from floor to ceiling. The designer was adamant that there be no

bare walls in the room, just shelves and shelves of books surrounding the reading desks and

chairs. All the wood to build the bookcases was imported….

Jack flipped the page, skipping paragraphs about the design of each and every bookcase.

There are three leather couches in the Library, imported from Italy. The larger lounge can

seat two people while the other two are single pieces. The single chairs are identical, except that

one has a really bad drawing of a dog on the back of it, drawn by David Gregson when he was

seven years old.

“What!” exclaimed Jack, jumping up from his seat. He walked around to the back of the

chair he’d been sitting on and examined it.

“What is it?” asked Rosie.

Jack didn’t reply but moved over to the other chair where David was sitting, scanning the

back of the seat.

“There!” he yelled excitedly. ”A crap picture of a dog!”

“What are you talking about?” Rosie wondered, standing up.

“The book. I was reading about the library and it mentions this bad picture David drew when

he was seven. And look,” he said pointing.

“That’s not possible, the book’s really old. David’s only thirteen. It must mean something

else,” Rosie replied.

David stood and walked around to inspect the back of the chair. “What do they mean bad?

It’s Twiggy. I even remember drawing it,” he said referring to the crude outline of their family

pet.

“Give me a look,” Rosie said, grabbing the book out of Jack’s hands. As she read, she kept

glancing from the chair back to the book.

“You can see the ears and the nose. And that’s the tail,” continued David pointing at the

chair.

“David, it’s truly awful. How anyone could look at that and see a dog is beyond me,” replied

Rosie. “But how is it written in this old book? It must have been printed recently and made to

look old.”

“The funny thing is, I didn’t think anyone knew about the drawing,” David said. “I figured

I’d get in trouble, so I never told anyone.”

Rosie flipped through the book and came to the last page of the Library chapter. Printed

there was an old black and white photograph of the room. It looked like the layout hadn’t been

changed at all since the photo had been taken. All the books, tables, chairs, and rugs were

arranged exactly as they were now. There was even a vase of flowers in exactly the same

position on the antique table by the door. They were the same type of flowers too, in the same

vase.

“No,” whispered Rosie under her breath. She dropped the book on the seat and ran over to

the table, picking up the vase.

“What are you doing?” asked Jack.

Rosie carried the vase over to the writing desk and then ran back to the book. She looked at

the photo, the vase was no longer on the table by the door, but rather sitting on the writing desk,

exactly where she’d put it.

“Eep!” Rosie yelped, throwing the book onto the ground.

David bent over and grabbed the book and scanned through until he found the photograph.

“The flowers moved!”

“Moved?” asked Jack, confused.

“Here, hold this.” David said, shoving the book into Jack’s arms. He then turned and

grabbed one of the single chairs and turned it around so it was facing one of the bookcases. He

walked back to Jack and pointed at the photo. “Look.”

“That’s impossible,” Jack said quietly as he looked at the photograph. The chair was now

turned around facing the other way. “What the heck is going on?”

“Where did you say you found this book?” David asked as he took it back from Jack.

Rosie, who was still in shock, slowly turned her head to the boys. “It was just on the coffee

table, although it wasn’t there the day before.” After a moments pause, she continued, “Maybe

Alice found it when cleaning the room. I did notice she had done some dusting in here the day I

found it.”

“I’ve heard the same stories you have about the door, but never about a book that keeps an

up-to-date description of the house,” said Jack to Rosie.

“Me neither. You’d think something like that would be part of the great Gregson family

secret.”

“Surely there’s a logical reason for all of this. I mean could the book really be magic?” Jack

wondered. “Should we ask Great Uncle?”

“He’ll be down in the Gardens by now with the rest of them, and if we’re caught there we’ll

never be allowed out again,” replied Rosie clearly frustrated. “I wish there was a room with a

window overlooking the gardens, I bet they’re having a great time.”

“Maybe we can see them from the attic,” David called out. While Jack and Rosie had been

talking, he had returned to the lounge and was laying back, the book in his lap.

“Gregson Manor doesn’t have an attic, you know that,” Rosie replied shortly.

“I’ve lived here my whole life, I know it like the back of my hand, and there’s no attic” Jack

said.

“Chapter Three: The Attic” David said dramatically as he sat up and turned the open book to

face them. ”Who wants to take a look?”

Chapter Three

The Attic

Jack and his cousins ran up the stairs to the third floor of the house. The library was located on

the first level, so by the time they reached the top they were out of breath.

“Now where?” asked Jack panting. He knew every inch of the house yet he had no idea

where the entrance to an attic he’d never heard of would be.

Rosie, who had brought the Gregson Manor book with her, opened it and began reading:

“The attic first appeared in Gregson Manor when Greg Gregson took residence of the house

after his late father, Richard Gregson.”

First appeared? Jack wondered what that could mean.

Rosie continued, “The attic made the entrance to its walls secret, and only appears when it’s

needed or wants to look out upon the gardens.” She scanned the page she was on and flipped to

the next one, skipping over strange passages about the Attics fondness for water lilies and ponds.

“The attic, who was also very fond of Richard Gregson, decided to make the entrance to her

walls behind the great portrait of Richard himself, in the hallway on level three.”

Jack ran down the hall, knowing the painting the book was referring to. As he came to it, he

stopped and looked up at the large portrait on the wall. A very serious man looked back down at

him. The painting of Richard Gregson, wearing a smart suit and a stern look had always given

Jack the creeps. Growing up, he had always wondered if the man had ever smiled when he was

alive, or if he had always been an angry man, without any friends. At least someone had liked

him, he thought. Well not someone, an attic.

“What now?” Jack asked impatiently as Rosie and David caught up to him.

“I never liked this painting,” David declared. “He looks like a real grouch. Plus he named

his son Greg. Greg Gregson. Are we going to talk about that?”

Ignoring David, Rosie once again looked to the book for answers. After reading over the

pages she looked at Jack, “it doesn’t say.”

Jack paced around the painting, peering behind it and looking for clues for what triggered

the secret entrance. The painting wouldn’t budge when he pulled on it, and there appeared to be

no cracks or any indication that a passageway lay behind it.

“There must be something here,” Jack said as he continued to stare at the picture on the wall.

The portrait of Richard Gregson was of him standing in the library beside one of the writing

desks. A pile of books was stacked on the desk, along with what looked like an iguana curled up

beside them.

“That painting isn’t there anymore,” David said as he walked up to stand beside Jack.

“Which painting? The one of the pond?” replied Jack as he spied it hanging on the wall

behind Richard in the portrait.

“Pond?” Asked Rosie looking up from the book.

“Yeah, the pond with all the plants in it,” replied David.

“Lilies,” said Jack.

“Yeah, lilies. Anyway that painting isn’t in the library. It’s in the guest room Rosie and I are

staying in.”

“I don’t think it was ever in the library,” Jack replied with a thoughtful expression on his

face.

“It could have been moved to our room. It’s a very old portrait,” David argued.

“It’s hanging on a white wall. What’s one thing the library doesn’t have?” Jack asked.

“Walls!” Rosie said. “Then why is the painting there?”

“There must be a reason,” David replied.

“The book does mention the Attic has a fondness for ponds and lilies…” Rosie said, slightly

embarrassed for saying the ridiculous words out loud.

“Did you hear what you just said?” David asked.

“Yes, yes. I know it sounds crazy.” Rosie looked from the portrait and around the hallway.

She noticed that directly opposite the portrait was a white wall. A picture hook was driven into it

at head height and there was a faint outline showing that a painting had once hung there.

“Jack, come help me,” Rosie called as she ran down the hallway towards the guest

bedrooms. Jack followed, not sure what he was supposed to help her with. He turned into a

bedroom to find her wrestling a painting off the wall. “It’s heavy,” she grunted as she tried to lift

it. It was the painting of the pond that was in the portrait.

Jack rushed over and helped her lift it up and over the hook. “You really think this’ll work?

It all sounds a bit mad don’t you reckon?”

“The whole day’s been a bit mad,” Rosie replied as she turned to Jack. “We both know the

stories of this place. But maybe there are some we don’t know. You heard Great Uncle Peter this

morning, talking about the house like it was…alive.”

Rosie shrugged it off, “Now the painting, I don’t know if it will work. The book says that

the attic enjoys looking at ponds, and if the portrait is the door to the attic, why don’t we just

hang this on the opposite wall and see what happens? It can’t do any harm.”

Jack shrugged, lifted his end of the painting and helped Rosie carry it back into the hallway.

They reached the wall, lined the painting up so the hook was centered and lifted it. As soon as

the painting was attached to the wall a slight breeze touched their backs.

“What the,” David said as he spun around. The portrait had disappeared, replaced by a flight

of wooden stairs leading upwards. At the top, light could be seen. “How’d that happen?

“It must be magic,” Jack whispered as he started towards the steps, staring at the doorway

that had appeared from nowhere.

“Stop!” Rosie said, grabbing his shoulder. “What if the passageway closes and we’re

trapped up there?”

Jack paused, but David rushed past him and took the stairs two at a time. “Come on Rosie,

it’ll be fine,” he called back.

Jack smiled, looked at Rosie and shrugged before running up the steps after his cousin. He

reached the top and ran into David who stood in stunned silence. “Move out of the….” Jack said,

his jaw dropping before he could finish his sentence.

“What’s going on up there?” Rosie called from the bottom of the stairs.

Neither boy replied as they stared in awe of the attic. It was one massive room, bigger than

all the rooms combined on the third level of the house. Its walls and ceiling were made of glass,

meaning you could see out over every garden of the manor. The ceiling was so high, Jack almost

felt like he was outdoors. But what made this room truly amazing to Jack wasn’t the beautiful

view of the manor grounds or the slow moving clouds gliding through the blue sky above him. It

was all the stuff in it!

Hundreds of artifacts were laid out before him. Most were things Jack recognized like bikes,

swords and garden pots. Other items were completely foreign to him, and then some things were

normal yet amazing just for the fact they were in an attic on the fourth floor of a house! Jack

shook his head in wonder as he spotted a full-sized horse carriage made of gold, which was

sitting next to an underground swimming pool complete with a large slide. To the right of him a

large globe of the Earth sat on a pedestal, and beyond that was an even larger globe of a planet

Jack had never seen before. Everywhere he looked, another fantastic item caught his eye.

“Holy Crap!” Rosie swore from the top of the stairs. “It’s huge!”

“I know, it’s amazing,” replied Jack as he walked over to the globe of the foreign planet. It

was nearly twice as large as Earth with a lot more water, he thought as he made it slowly rotate.

There were four main landmasses. The biggest one was oval in shape, completely separated

from the others by a wide expanse of ocean, while a thin strip of land linked the other three as

they sprawled across the planet like a rope with large roundish knots. ‘Bowlandose’ was written

across the globe in large black lettering, which Jack assumed was the name of the planet.

The other major differences between Bowlandose and Earth were the colors. Where our

waters were a beautiful blue, these ones were darker, colder. Also where our forests and jungles

were green, these ones looked a dark shade of red. Jack wondered if people lived there and what

they were like.

“That planet isn’t from our solar system, is it?” David said excitedly from behind Jack.

“Nope, definitely not,” replied Jack.

“Awesome. Do you think it’s a real place?”

“Not sure.” Jack said as he left the globe to explore one of the many tables of artifacts.

“Looking at all this other stuff, it wouldn’t surprise me,”

“Is that a swimming pool?” Rosie asked as she started walking to the other side of the room.

David laughed, “Yep! We should go get our swimmers later.”

The three of them walked in separate directions around the Attic, each exploring different

areas that caught their eye. Rosie had found rows and rows of clothing, each from different

periods of time. Skirts and dresses from the 1920’s were hanging next to styles she had only seen

in movies set hundreds of years in the past.

Beside these racks were tables of jewelry to accompany the different eras of clothing as well

as even more tables of shoes, belts and ties. Massive full-length mirrors stood at the end of each

rack for anyone to view how they looked once dressed.

Meanwhile David strolled around until coming across an assortment of weapons and armor.

Items were laid out on felted tables, all polished and looking like new. Great battle-axes he could

barely lift sat next to small daggers in sheaths. Some were plain and silver, while others were

gold with handles covered in precious green, red and blue stones.

Jack walked along the Western side of the room. He glanced out at the garden and could

indeed see the rest of the family seated at the table, enjoying a massive feast of roast meat and

vegetables.

He watched as they filled their plates with chicken, beef, potatoes and gravy. His tummy

rumbled as he realized he hadn’t eaten all day and he found himself caught between exploring

the Attic more and his need to eat.

He turned around and was about to suggest they do a run to the kitchen when a table caught

his eye. Unlike the others, this one was smaller and set apart from the long rows of artifacts in

the room.

As he approached, he could see that unlike the others it only had one item on it, a brown

leather glove. Amazing, he thought as he picked it up. In a room filled with treasures beyond his

wildest dreams, a glove was definitely one of the more boring items, however he seemed drawn

to it, as if it were inviting him over.

A sudden thought came to him, I should put it on. It seemed like the right thing to do, yet

Jack still felt strange, like the thoughts he was having weren’t his own. Get a grip - it’s just a

glove. Looks like my size too.

He shrugged and said aloud, “Just a glove” and slipped it on to his right hand.

Nothing happened. Jack smiled as he flexed his fingers in the glove. It was his size and fit

well. He thought it was a shame there wasn’t a second one, as he needed a new pair now that

winter was on its way.

Shrugging, he began to pull it off when a voice behind him said, “You don’t suppose you

could leave that on for a time?”

Jack spun around at the unfamiliar voice to see a young woman, around twenty years of age

sitting in a seat before him. His jaw dropped in shock by the sudden appearance of someone he’d

never seen before.

“There you go, that’s better. It’s actually more effort to take it off that it would be to leave it

on don’t you think?” the woman continued as she stood and stretched.

Jack didn’t answer as he continued to stare. She was possibly the shortest woman he’d ever

met, a full head shorter than him, and that included the red high heels she wore as well as her fire

red hair, which was bunched up into a tower on top of her head. Her face was round with huge

green eyes like pools of water. She was dressed in a very smart suit, made strange for the fact

that it too was bright red.

“This one doesn’t appear to speak,” she began while walking towards Jack. “Oh dear, I must

have picked the wrong one. Perhaps the fat one over there.” She leaned in close to Jack and said

in a slow loud voice, “Can you please take the glove off and give it to the fat one?”

“The fat one?” Jack asked slowly.

“Oh, you do speak! Well then please leave the glove on.”

“Sure, ok. But how did you get in here?” Jack asked.

“A silly question, if ever there was one,” she said, turning around and looking over the attic.

“Perhaps your ability to speak isn’t the only factor I should have considered. Perhaps the fat one

or the scrawny girl would be the better ones to talk to…”

“Hey!” Jack said loudly. “I can hear you, and I’m not stupid. Now tell me how you got into

my house.”

“Your house?” the red woman turned back to face him. “Jack Gregson, you assume too

much. Are you saying you’re the current owner of the house?”

“My grandmother owns it,” Jack admitted. “How do you know my name? Who are you?”

The red woman smiled, obviously pleased she was correct and then turned away from Jack

and started walking towards the center of the Attic. “Now come along, and as I said keep the

glove on.”

Jack was torn between being annoyed at her rudeness and wanting to know more about who

this bizarre woman was and why she knew so much about him and his family. Reluctantly he

walked after her.

“Come, come.” She continued as she approached the center of the room and what appeared

to be an exact replica of the entire Gregson Manor.

Jack walked around the large table amazed at the level of detail. Every tree, statue and piece

of furniture was placed in the miniature gardens just as they were in real life. Even the roses he

and his grandma had planted last spring sat in tiny pots along the driveway in the Front Garden.

He looked towards the house and realized that if he squinted he could see through the small

windows to the rooms inside. He walked to where his bedroom was and saw that the light was

on, his tiny bed sat unmade just as he had left it. “It’s all exactly the same,” he whispered to

himself.

“You left your bedroom light on,” the woman responded disapprovingly as she followed his

gaze. “You do know that is a great waste of power.”

“Yes I know,” Jack said absently as he spotted the model attic. He hadn’t noticed it at first,

as it wasn’t actually part of the house. Instead it sat over it, hovering meters above the roof and

chimneys. “It’s floating in mid-air!” he blurted, shocked.

“What’s floating?” Rosie asked, as she approached from the other side of the room. “And

who are you talking to?”

“The Attic, we’re floating!” Jack replied as he pointed up in its direction.

“Jack, there’s nothing there,” Rosie said confused.

“What do you mean? It’s right there.” Jack replied, also confused.

“What is?” David asked as he joined the conversation. Jack turned to see him walking

towards them, the strange red headed woman standing in his path. As he continued to walk, it

seemed clear to Jack that he didn’t see her and was on a collision course.

“Watch out!” he called out to the woman who was still facing in his direction. All of a

sudden David appeared before him, having walked straight through her. “What the…you just

walked through her!”

“Walked through who?” Rosie asked.

“I’m nowhere near her,” David responded, thinking Jack had meant Rosie.

“What is going on?” Jack cried, getting frustrated.

The short red woman rolled her eyes and walked out from behind David. “This just won’t

do, we don’t have time.”

All of a sudden Jack felt his hand tingling, as the glove he wore tightened on his hand. He

lifted it up to eye level as it started to sparkle and shimmer. The brown leather was pealing away,

and transforming before him. He started feeling pressure on his three middle fingers, as

something started to form on each. Eventually the shimmering died down, and Jack saw the

glove was completely gone, replaced by three silver rings, all exactly the same.

“What was that?” asked David in awe.

“More magic!” shouted Rosie.

Jack looked at the rings on his fingers, admiring the detail of the small vines carved into the

metal. Three voices said in unison “Now then, perhaps we can continue.”

He looked up and saw there were now three versions of the woman in the room, one sitting

and the other two standing side by side.

“There are three of you.” Jack blurted.

“Observant, he is,” said the one sitting down sarcastically. “Smart as a whip,” said another,

with just as much sarcasm as the first. “I really should have started with the fat one,” the third

one put in the final insult.

Jack yelled in annoyance as he gripped one of the rings and started to wriggle it off his

finger.

He pulled it free and immediately one of the red women disappeared.

He pulled the second one off and dropped it to the ground as another vanished.

“Hey now, be careful with them,” the last red woman said, just as she realized Jack was

pulling off the third ring. “Now, hang on a moment! I was just jokin…” Her sentence was left

unfinished as he removed the last ring and she disappeared.

Sighing with relief, Jack looked up at the model and saw that the Attic was gone as well. In

fact without the glove or rings on, the model looked plainer, lacking the detail it had before.

He glanced to his bedroom window and saw that the light was no longer on, and the tiny

unmade bed no longer there.

“What is going on?” Rosie demanded.

“Something to do with the rings,” David guessed, picking the one up from the floor and

putting it on before Jack could stop him. A look of surprise came to his face as he gazed upon the

model coming to life in front of him.

Suddenly David spun around. Jack and Rosie looked on as he put his hands on his hips, and

said “who are you calling fat, shorty?” to thin air.

“Now I get why you were confused,” Jack said to Rosie.

“Were confused? What the heck is going on?” she begged.

“Here,” Jack said as he placed one of the rings on her middle finger. As soon as it was on

her eyes widened just as David’s had, as she looked upon the room anew. Jack then took a deep

breath and put the third one back on his finger.

He looked around, paying more attention than when he’d first put on the glove. He realized

it wasn’t just the woman and the model that had changed, but everything in small ways. Colors

were all of a sudden more vibrant, the smells of the room more distinct. It was subtle, and he

could understand how he had missed it when he’d donned the glove.

He turned to David and the woman as they continued to argue. He was telling her how rude

and weird she was, as she was firing back about how dumb all three of them seemed to be. Jack

still exhausted from the last conversation with her, decided to stand back and watch them go at it.

Jack was wondering if David’s stubbornness would beat the strange woman’s arrogance

when Rosie yelled out, “What is THAT!” Her fear tinged voice cutting through the argument.

Jack and David raced around the table to where Rosie stood gawking. “Bloody Hell.” David

said as he followed her gaze to the Rear Garden.

“It’s what I’ve been trying to show you,” the red woman said as she caught up to the kids, a

look of deep concern on her face, “Someone’s taken the Rear Garden, and it’s only a matter of

time before they come after the rest.”

Chapter Four

The Rear Garden

Taken the Rear Garden? The first thing that came to Jack’s mind was his mother.

Like all Gregson family members who passed away, she was buried in the family graveyard,

located at the back of the garden. He had never known her, she had died the day of his birth, but

he visited her grave often. Usually he’d think about his happy memories of her, shared to him as

he grew up. If the gardens were “taken,” how would he be able to visit her any more? He put it

out of his mind as he looked down on the model.

“What is it?” Rosie asked, still shaky. The “it” she referred to was a black statue in the

center of the garden. It was of a powerful man in black armor, standing as if in battle and

pointing his sword at an unseen enemy. Unlike the other statues that were lifeless stone, this one

pulsated, sending a black mist crawling across the earth. It seemed to infect everything it touched

as trees and plants once lush and blooming sat lifeless, their wood twisting them slowly to death.

His dark red eyes glowed, as he seemed to stare at the three of them.

“It’s the Warden of the Blue Emerald, he’s been possessed!” the Red woman said.

“Who?” Jack asked.

“WHO?” the red woman said shocked. “The heir to the Gregson Manor is told a Warden is

in danger and he says ‘WHO!’ It’s bad enough you don’t even know who I am.”

“Who are you?” David asked, ignoring her frustration.

“I am the Curator of the Attic!” she snapped. Realizing she was becoming hysterical, the

curator closed her eyes and took some deep breaths. Suddenly her eyes snapped open again, a

quizzical look coming over her face. “It seems you don’t know much of what you should Jack

Gregson. Where then did you learn of the Attic?”

“From ‘The Gregson Estate’ book, Ms. Curator.” Jack replied, using her title in hope it

would calm her down. He walked over to Rosie as she was pulling it from her bag. “We found it

in the library and it has a full chapter on every room of the house, including the attic, and clues

on how we could get here.” He took it from Rosie and handed it over to her.

“It told us you like lilies and ponds.” David added.

“I’ve never heard of such a book,” the Curator replied as she began flipping the pages.

“Curator you say I should know things, but from where? Who was supposed to teach me of

the Wardens and the Attic?” Jack asked

“Every owner of the Estate must hand down their knowledge to the heir of the property.

Once your father…left, you became heir.” She closed the book and handed it back to Jack.

“Your grandmother knows this and should have started your teachings from a much earlier age.”

“Grandma? But Great Uncle Peter is the one who knows more than anyone about the

house.” David asked confused.

“Ha! That old man has been trying to sniff out the secrets of this house for years. Oh he

knows more than the rest of the family, but what he knows only scratches the surface. Getting

you kids to use dynamite on the door in the Western Gardens. Madness! No your Grandmother is

the eldest child of her generation and she should have passed on her knowledge to Jack.”

“If it’s all such a secret then why are you telling us this?” Rosie asked. “Shouldn’t you just

be telling Jack?”

“Because of that!” the Curator replied as she pointed at the dark statue on the model. “A

black soldier now stands in place of the Warden in the rear garden. If the blue emerald has been

stolen that means some bad people will be trying to overtake the manor. If they do and they are

successful there will be no more secrets to keep. You must go down to the Rear Gardens and see

what has become of the blue emerald.”

“What does the emerald do?” David asked

“We don’t have time for a history lesson right now, boy. There will be time for that later, but

suffice it to say if the emerald is gone we’re in serious trouble. You need to get down there

now!”

Jack looked back to the model and shivered. The mist had nearly covered the entire garden,

clinging to the base of the statues, trees and gravestones. As he moved around the table, the eyes

of the black statue seemed to follow him. And she wanted them to go down there? Suddenly he

had a thought and raced off towards the rear of the attic.

“Where are you going?” David yelled after him.

Jack didn’t respond but continued his way to the glass wall at the end of the room. He

looked down at the actual rear garden and saw that the black statue was there too. Seeing it life

size and in one of the gardens he had grown up in sent a chill down his spine. He gripped the ring

on his finger, held his breath and pulled it off. Suddenly the black statue and mist were gone. Not

only that, but the twisted trees had returned to their upright state. The foliage seconds ago dead

now drifted slowly in the mild winters breeze.

“It’s gone!” Jack said calling back to the others.

Rosie and David caught up to Jack and looked down on the garden in disgust and fear, “It’s

an illusion. Take off your rings, and it’ll all go away.” Jack urged. They both took them off and

they too saw the garden return to normal. “Maybe it’s the rings, causing us to see things,” Jack

said hopefully, not truly believing it himself. He put his ring back on and turned to the curator

who was slowly approaching where they stood. “What do these rings do? How come we can

only see you when we wear them? Why does the backyard look normal without them on?”

“I think I’ve answered enough of your questions, Jack Gregson. As I said I’m the curator of

this Attic, not your bloody tutor! If you want some more answers, you need to do something for

me, and that is go down to that garden and see what has happened to the emerald,” she said,

losing her patience once again. “You have to,” she added, almost pleading.

“Must we wear the rings when we are down there?” Rosie asked, having put her ring back

on. “Perhaps we could check on the emerald better without all that black mist.”

“You can go down without wearing the rings, but do take them. The book as well…I think

you’ll need that too, given your startling lack of knowledge. Go to where the statue of the

Warden is, the exact spot the black soldier now stands. He should hopefully hold the blue

Emerald. You must see if it still remains there.”

“Will you come with us?” David asked hopefully.

“I cannot leave the Attic,” the curator said, almost apologizing. “Now go, quickly!”

With that Jack, David and Rosie ran off to the exit, descending the stairs out of the floating

attic above the Gregson Manor.

***

Jack ran out the back door, his cousins right behind him. His heart pounded as he crossed the

patio and ascended the small grass incline to the Rear Garden, nervous about what they would

find. They all breathed a sigh of relief, as they saw the garden looked as it usually did, no mist or

black statue in sight. He considered putting on the ring, but quickly decided against it with a

shiver.

“This way,” Jack said as they slowed to a walk.

The Rear Garden was the least used and least maintained of the four gardens. Jack had been

told they were once beautiful with mowed lawns and paths surrounded by statues, maples trees

and thriving garden beds.

Once the Gregson’s could no longer afford gardening staff, there was always too much to do

around the manor and the rear garden was gradually overlooked. First the lawns didn’t get

mowed anymore, then autumn came and as the maple leaves fell to the earth they were no longer

raked away as they smothered the flowerbeds.

Gradually the fine dirt paths had turned to mud, the plants died or were overgrown by weeds

and the furniture began to rust. The Rear garden became simply a pathway people used on

occasion to visit the graves at the back of the manor. Jack thought that if you were going to

“capture” the gardens one by one, this would be the place to start.

They continued down the mud track until reaching a junction where three paths met and the

Warden Statue stood before them.

“The Monk,” David said as they looked up at it. Over the years the three of them had named

all twenty-three statues of Gregson manor, based purely on what the person looked like. While

they knew each represented important Gregson family members from different generations, that

hadn’t stopped them inventing some of the more childish names such as The Fat Dwarf, Big Butt

Betty and Jack’s personal favorite The Constipated General.

The Monk stood on a small pedestal, the total height of the statue being around two meters.

He had bare feet, with low flowing robes closed by a rope tied around his waist. His hands were

pressed together at chest height as if praying and his shaved head was bowed with eyes closed.

“What do we do now? There’s no blue emerald here that I can see.” Rosie asked, examining

the statue from all angles.

“Don’t know, that nutty woman didn’t say.” David replied, referring to the curator. “She did

tell us to the bring the book though, maybe that will tell us something.”

Rosie pulled it out, then dropped the bag to the ground and sat on it. She went to the

contents page and read down the list until she came to the chapter on the Rear Garden. She

started to read:

The Rear Gardens are situated at the rear of the Gregson Manor…

“Whoever wrote this really spells things out, don’t they? Does it mention that the grass is

green and the trees point upwards in a tree like fashion?” David asked sarcastically. “It’s like it’s

written by a moron, for morons.”

“What? The wording, it’s changing!” Rosie exclaimed. “Listen to this.”

The Rear Gardens, situated at the rear of the Gregson Manor was where David Gregson

tripped on the root of a maple tree. Rather than get up, he cried for his mommy to kiss it better.

He was eight.

“Looks like the book doesn’t like you much,” observed Jack.

“That never happened! Hang on are you saying that this book not only changes what’s

written in it, it can get annoyed at people too?”

“Amazing. Anyway, here I found it.” Rosie continued.

The blue emerald was procured and placed in the rear gardens by Charles Gregson (whom

you three call the Monk). It is imbued with the power to seal the portal from unwanted visitors.

“Portal? Do you think it means the door?” Jack asked.

“It would have to,” said David excitedly.

With the emerald placed around the neck of Charles, no one can leave or enter through the

Gregson Manor Portal.

Rosie looked up from the book, and stared at the statue saying, “I’ve never noticed a

necklace on the statue before and he’s not wearing one now. What do you think it means?”

“It must have been stolen, it’s not anywhere I can see.” David said.

Jack held the ring from the Attic in his hands, while he looked around the grounds. He’d

lived here his whole life and had never seen an emerald so he knew it must be hidden. He also

knew he would have to put the ring on to search the surrounds, but the memory of the black

statue was still fresh in his mind, the fear of seeing it again holding him back. He wondered if the

statue and mist had been an illusion that could hurt them. Or worse, was what they saw right now

the illusion, and they were really standing amongst the decaying remains of the Rear Garden?

Jack glanced over in the direction of the graveyard, thinking of his mother surrounded in

black mist, and imagined no longer being able to visit her.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he slipped the ring on to his finger. He felt a

change immediately as he heard the sound of a deep low growl surrounding him.

His eyes snapped open, as something nearly pushed him over. The black mist had returned,

sleeking along the ground, probing everything it came in contact with. Suddenly he knew where

the growling came from as the mist twisted and transformed before him. A thick tendril suddenly

morphed into the shadow of a wolf, and jumped towards him before dissipating inches from his

face.

“Stand up!” Jack screamed to Rosie as he saw a shadow circling where she sat engulfed in

mist.

“What’s gotten into you?” David asked, as Rosie jumped to her feet.

Jack looked at the statue and saw that the black warrior had replaced the monk, his sharp

sword pointing directly towards them. Its red eyes smoldered as it stared down on him, it’s teeth

bared as if giving an angry snarl. It took all of Jack’s strength to stay where he was when every

part of his being was telling him to run and hide.

“He’s got his ring on,” Rosie said as she walked over to Jack. “Is it the warrior, Jack?

Should we put ours on too?”

“No, don’t!” Jack replied quickly as he spotted something on the warrior, a dull red glow

upon his chest over the deep black armor. It’s not blue, he thought.

“Wolves!” David cried. He’d put his ring on, despite being warned.

“Just stand still,” Jack said. “I don’t know if they can hurt us, but don’t draw attention to

yourself.”

“Why don’t we just get the hell out of here?” David hissed back, as he lowered his voice to a

hysterical whisper.

“Because we need to get that necklace,” Rosie replied. She had also put on her ring and was

staring at the statue. “It’s not blue, but it’s got to be important, don’t you think?”

Jack looked back at the statue. It stood two and a half meters tall, the necklace well out of

reach for all of them.

He turned to David and said, “You’re going to have to give me a boost.”

“What!” You’re going to actually touch that thing? It could come alive and chop your head

off!”

“It’s just a statue,” Jack said firmly, more hoping than believing it to be true. “Come on,

boost me.”

David shook his head, but made his way to the statue. Turning around, he entwined his

fingers together, creating a foothold for Jack to step into.

Jack placed his foot in and after a count to three was thrust above his larger cousin right into

the torso of the dark statue before him. The rock sat before his eyes, clasped in a silver claw

attached to the necklace. Not wanting to touch the statue for a second longer than he had to, he

grabbed it and gave a good tug, snapping the necklace free on the first try.

“Got it!” Jack called to David who immediately let him drop. “Nice and easy. Now let’s get

out of here.”

They turned back to the house and stopped in their tracks. The mist was swirling, moving

faster as thick tendrils reached out towards the sky. They started to take the form of wolves as

they drifted towards them, at first three of them and then five. Soon there were over ten wolf

specters circling them, growling.

“What do we do now?” Rosie asked terrified.

Jack looked around in every direction, and saw they were surrounded. It occurred to him

suddenly. “The rings! Take them off!”

The three of them grabbed at the rings on their fingers and tugged them off. Nothing

changed. The wolves continued to converge on them.

“Am I the only one who can still see them?” David asked.

“Nope, I see them too. And the statue.” Rosie replied.

“So, we’re screwed?” David said looking at his sister.

Rosie nodded, just as a bolt of white lightening shot through the air, hitting the ground

meters from their feet.

A white mist started to form, spreading around the three of them. Just like the black mist,

tendrils started reaching to the sky, but instead of wolves, white horses start to form. Soon there

were surrounding Jack, David and Rosie, stamping their hooves at the wolves that had started to

retreat. Before long a path had cleared, the black mist held back by a barrier of white.

“Let’s get out of here,” said David as he took the lead and they started running back to the

house.

“What was that?” asked Jack.

“I don’t know, maybe the Curator did something to help us.” Rosie guessed.

“That meddling woman, I should have known.” A familiar voice said as they rounded the

corner.

Their grandmother stood before them, a walking staff in her hand pushing white mist onto

the earth as more horses glided either side, ready to defend her. With a wave of her staff the mist

started to clear, the horses vanishing.

She closed her eyes and waved it again, a yellow light flowing over the garden, the twisted

trees and black warrior once again concealed as it streamed over them.

She looked at the three of them and sighed. “Come on then, back to the house. It looks like

we have much to discuss.”

Chapter Five

Answers

Their grandmother led them straight to the attic, making sure the rest of the family didn’t see

them.

Once they arrived she had begun berating the Curator for sending “defenseless children” out

into danger. The two of them argued back and forth, making Jack think they had known each

other a long time. When it was clear there wasn’t going to be a winner, his grandmother threw

her hands in the air and walked over to them.

“That woman! Sworn to keep the attic a secret and she calls on you three the second you’re

alone.” their Grandmother said, still angry.

“Grandma, the Curator didn’t call on us. We found her.” Rosie said sheepishly, worried their

grandmother would turn her anger on them yet still not wanting the curator to be in trouble for

something she didn’t do.

“And how did you manage that? What inspired you three to do some redecorating on level

three of the house and coincidently position the painting of the pond in exactly the right spot on

the wall?” she asked in disbelief.

“A book we found in the library,” Jack said as he went on to explain the events of the day,

starting with the discovery of the magic book in the library, to finding the attic and then their

discovery in the Rear garden. “Which is when you arrived, and saved us,” Jack finished.

“How did you do that anyway Grandma?” David asked. “We didn’t know you could do

magic.”

“And if you hadn’t gotten yourselves in mortal peril like that, you still wouldn’t know,” their

Grandmother snapped at them. Then, sighing heavily continued, “On the other hand, if you

hadn’t uncovered the illusion in the rear garden, things could have gotten a lot worse before we

had time to do something about it all. I just wish Maggie had come to me first.”

“Don’t you think I tried?” The curator said from behind her. “I’ve been trying to get your

attention for two days. Why do you think your brother had your grandchildren walking around

the grounds blowing things up? Even he noticed my signs and knew something was wrong.

Firing off dynamite might have been one of the dumber responses I could think of, but at least he

tried something and didn’t just ignore me!” she finished angrily.

“You’re right, Maggie, I’m sorry. I did feel you calling and I ignored it,” their Grandmother

replied solemnly.

“Thank you,” the curator replied, happy with her small victory. “So what are we going to

do? The blue emerald is gone!”

“And?” David said.

“And!” replied the Curator incredulous.

“Well I get that we need to get rid of the statue and that horrible mist, but that batty book

told us that the emerald prevents people coming through the portal, nothing about it stopping

wolves appearing to scare the pants off of everyone. So if that’s all it does, who cares? Let the

portal be open, let people come and go as they please. The stories say that’s how it used to be, so

why not let it be that way again?”

“That ‘batty book’ is one of the first relics our family collected when we went exploring

through the portal.” Their grandmother replied after a pause. “Tooted to tell you whatever you

need to know in any given circumstance. ‘How do I make a chocolate cake?’ you could ask out

loud, and a chapter would appear on exactly how to make a chocolate cake. I’m guessing that

you found the attic because Maggie’s need for assistance was so great, that it presented itself to

you with the information you would need to find her.”

“It wasn’t that easy though,” Jack said. “The book knew a lot of things, but it didn’t just lead

us to the attic, it gave us some cryptic clues for us to figure out.”

“And that is the flaw with the book, although it took our family some time to figure this out.

They soon learned that the content of the book was only as good as the knowledge of its previous

and current owners. If one of its owners had been a master chef, the chapter on chocolate cake

would be of the perfect recipe, a delight to eat. If none of its owners had ever cooked in their

life?”

“A chapter on chocolate cake wouldn’t appear in the book?” Rosie guessed.

“Oh it would appear, but you probably wouldn’t want to use the recipe. The book would be

smart enough to know one of the ingredients of chocolate cake is chocolate, but as for the rest of

it? You could be told to mix in broccoli or manure. The book was created as a way of passing

knowledge down through generations of owners, but for some peculiar reason if you want to

know about a topic it has no knowledge of, it’s still compelled to give you an answer. So if it

doesn’t know something…”

“It makes it up! I told you I never cried for mom in the gardens!” David said. “Grandma, so

what you’re saying is that the book has no idea what the blue emerald does and it made

something up to keep us happy?”

“Not quite,” replied their grandmother. “What the book told you is correct, that the blue

emerald was enchanted and placed in the garden. What it didn’t tell you and doesn’t know is why

it was placed there. David you mentioned that long ago the portal was open for anyone to come

and go as they pleased and that’s true. But the question you want answered isn’t ‘why can’t it be

that way again?’ but rather ‘why was it concealed in the first place?’ What happened decades ago

that forced our family to seal the portal and hide ourselves away from the rest of the Universe?”

Their grandmother paused, suddenly realizing she was telling them more than she’d

intended. “Anyway. A very real danger, and not information children need concern themselves

with.”

A clang of something hitting the ground came from the top of the stairway, causing

everyone to turn around.

“Sorry Mrs. Gregson,” Alice, the family’s hired hand said as she attempted to hold a tray

and pick up a spoon she’d dropped with very little success. Rosie rushed over to help before she

dropped anything else.

“Alice knows about this place!” Jack exclaimed. The morning had been one surprise after

the other, as Jack and his cousins’ worlds were turned upside-down. He found himself a little

annoyed that his Grandma was being so secretive, and then to find out that Alice knew all this

time as well!

“Alice has been with the family for years, Jack,” his grandmother replied, “even before I

moved in and took up residence. I doubt there’s a secret she doesn’t know about this place.”

“Oh, I don’t know Madam,” said Alice as she carried over a tray of tea and biscuits,

“considering I had to work it all out for myself I think I might have missed one or two.”

Their Grandmother chuckled, “Indeed. You were quite the nuisance as a young woman I’ve

heard, getting mixed up in the Gregson family business wherever you could.”

Alice didn’t respond but smiled as she started serving tea to each of them. She gave Jack and

his cousins extra biscuits, knowing that they had yet to eat. Jack, realizing he was starving

grabbed one and bit into it.

“Ahem,” the curator coughed loudly. “The emerald?”

“Right. Jack pass me the necklace you grabbed from the black warrior,” his grandmother

requested holding out her hand.

Jack passed it over. He had been examining the stone since walking back from the garden.

When he didn’t wear the magic ring it was a dull red rock, the size of a large marble but coarse

and chipped. But when the ring was on, it was another story. It glowed a dull red, enough to spot

in the dark but not to light a room. The stone itself lost it coarseness, becoming smooth with the

color changing from shades of bright red to black as it swirled in a clockwise rotation. It

reminded Jack of a planet.

“It’s enchanted,” his grandmother said examining it. “It’s extremely powerful. It was being

used to conceal the warrior statue and the black mist. There’s something else…some other

purpose I can’t see. Luckily for us, there are few that could have created something like this.

Alice, did you bring what I asked?”

“Of course,” replied Alice, pulling a leather pouch from an apron pocket and handing it

over.

Their grandmother took the parcel and pulled on one of the leather strings that bound it

together. The knot released and the leather unwrapped to reveal pristine white writing paper, a

small pot of ink and a golden quill. “As soon as you exposed the illusion by pulling the necklace

off the black statue, I knew we would be needing some outside assistance and asked Alice to

fetch this for me.”

David, getting impatient, asked, “Grandma, the blue emerald. Why was it used to seal the

portal?”

His Grandmother ignored the question as she opened the pot of ink and dipped the quill in.

“This is special paper, it takes whatever language is written on it and transforms it in to a

language the reader can understand. Anthrow can speak English but he never bothered to learn

how to read it.”

She went quiet again as she continued to write the note. Once done, she reread what she’d

written and lightly swayed the paper in her hand to dry the ink. “Now, we need to…”

“Grandma!” said Jack. “Please don’t ignore us. We ask a question and you ignore it. You

mention someone called Anthrow whom we’ve never heard of and you don’t explain who he is.

It’s not fair!”

“It’s because you don’t need to know all the details Jack, I’ve already told you too much,”

his grandmother replied shortly. “You’ve all been thrown into this, and, yes, I’ll acknowledge

that it’s probably my fault. But this isn’t a game and your part in it is over.”

“Madam?” Alice asked quietly from where she stood. “The note you wish to deliver. You

know you cannot do it yourself. You must stay and protect the manor while the portal is open.

And you’ll need a Gregson to go through the portal and talk to Anthrow if you want his

assistance…”

“No, not them. They’re children!” Their Grandmother said, horrified.

“They’re also the only Gregson’s besides you that know there is something wrong. Do you

want to involve more family members?” the curator countered. “Besides are they not just

delivering a note? I’m sure it is something they can handle. Even if they are some of the slower

family members I’ve met over the years,” she finished sourly.

“Hey!” Rosie said.

“They can call Anthrow the second they’re on the other side, I still have that signaling

device he gave you. They could also take the book with them, in case they need any information

when they arrive. This is the best way,” Alice added.

“Enough! You win, but stop this ganging up. You do work for me, remember?”

Grandmother said admonishing them both as they smiled back at her.

“Right then. It’ll be safer if you stick together, so it looks like you three will be going

through the portal tonight. You will need to go after dark, once the rest of the family has returned

to the house. Come, we have much to prepare.”

“Wait!” both Jack and David said in unison.

“We’re going through the door? The one that hasn’t been opened in over a hundred years?”

Jack asked.

The curator turned to Alice and said, “See, it’s as I told you. These really are the slowest

Gregson children I have ever met.” Turning back to Jack she continued, “Child, the stories are

just that. Stories. Oh some of them are true enough, but in reality if it wasn’t for the fact there is

a magic door that can’t be opened on the grounds, only a select few would know the true history

of this family.”

“It’s true,” added their Grandmother. “If not for the door, the stories would have been too

fantastical to be believed. But every generation hits it with an axe or tries to blow it up - this she

said with a frown - and discover that it is no ordinary door. So the stories live on. For some

reason the house won’t allow me to hide the portal door with an illusion.”

“But why is it a secret?” David pleaded.

Their Grandmother looked at all three of them, knowing they wouldn’t let up unless she

gave them more. “Fine, one question each and that’s it. Rosie, go.”

“Who’s Anthrow?” Rosie said excitedly.

“Anthrow is a guide of sorts. No one knows the portal entrances better than him, and few

have his…talents for travelling throughout different worlds. He owes me a debt, and he always

pays them. David, you’re next.”

“I think you know my one, but why was the blue emerald put in the rear garden of the house.

Why did you seal the portal?”

Their grandmother shifted uncomfortably, as if it wasn’t something she felt like sharing with

the three of them. Finally she said, “Have you ever heard anyone talk of Richard Gregson?”

“He’s the one that named his son Greg Gregson, the one who the Attic has a crush on,” said

David. “Is that you Curator? Do you fancy Richard?”

“Where did you hear such nonsense...oh that blasted book!”

“Oh I doubt Richard Gregson had many people who liked him, let alone ‘fancied’ him,”

their grandmother said gravely. “He was a horrible man, consumed by greed and a desire for

power. When the portal was open, the Gregson family used it to travel worlds for exploration and

trade. Richard however was different. He went in search of weakness, and ways in which he

could exploit it. From small communities to full civilizations, he began invading and ruling with

fear.”

“Did he kill people?” Rosie asked.

“Yes many died, but not him. The story goes that he grew so strong in magic that he was

able to cheat death. Once his brother Charles learned of his evil deeds, he had the blue emerald

made, and sealed off our portal from his possible return.

“So with the blue emerald gone, he can come through the portal?” David asked worryingly.

“Anyone can, which is why I cannot leave,” she said, sighing. “I must stay and protect the

house from any intruders.”

“But who would have stolen the emerald? Why would someone want him to come back?”

“Richard commands a legion of deranged followers. People who actually want to live in his

dark world. Somehow one of those people have found a way through the portal, stolen the blue

emerald and somehow infected our home with Richard’s evil magic. Our only clue is this stone,”

she said holding up the necklace. “We must find out who enchanted it and have Anthrow track

the thief that stole our emerald. Now to work,” she stood as if to leave the attic.

Jack said, “Grandma, I still have my question. What will happen if we can’t get rid of that

mist? What if Richard comes through the portal?”

She looked thoughtful before reciting, “The great Horde cometh, to take away our land. The

great Theorden cometh, our bones in the sand.’ That’s a children’s poem I heard long ago. I

don’t recall the rest. The Horde they talk of is the mist you saw in the garden, only so much

more. It spreads like fire, consuming the land it comes in contact with, killing all life in its path.

Once the land is covered, Theorden arrives to take control of what’s left.”

“Theorden? Is that what they call Richard Gregson?” asked Jack, confused.

“The Horde, Theorden. I don’t know who coined it, but yes, it’s him. He is the reason we

hide ourselves away, our family shame that curses everyone that crosses his path. You asked

what would happen if he returned here, and my only answer to that is, above all else we cannot

let that happen!”

Everyone was silent as they took the words in.

Finally Jack stood and said, “Well then, we need to find the emerald. We need to stop him.”

Chapter Six

The Door Opens

Jack walked alongside his cousins as they made their way towards the Western Gardens. He was

still coming to terms about everything that had happened that day, from discovering the magic

book all the way to learning about his evil relative Richard Gregson – Theorden. Secrets upon

secrets were being revealed to him, ones even his Great Uncle didn’t know about. How could his

Grandmother keep so much from them!

After she had revealed the families dark past, she had sent Alice, David and Rosie

downstairs to join the family for dinner, as they had returned from the Western Garden.

Jack’s cousins had protested, thinking she just wanted to exclude them from the mission.

She was able to convince them that they didn’t want to cause the family any alarm, and missing

children always caused alarm, so it was best they show their faces, tell everyone Jack was not

feeling well and that they would see him tomorrow.

Jack was pretty sure it was an excuse because she had then asked the Curator to make

herself busy on the opposite side of the room, so she could talk to Jack alone.

“Jack, there are things you must know,” his Grandmother had started, struggling on how to

proceed. “About your mother and father and about this house.” She had paused but Jack hadn’t

said a word, not wanting to give her a reason to stop talking.

He knew very little of his father, having learned to stop asking questions about him years

ago. What he did know was that after his mother had died, his father had run off, never to return.

“This manor, and everything in it will someday be yours. By birthright you are the heir to

Gregson manor and with that comes certain…responsibilities. It’s time for me to start teaching

you the secrets of this house, something I’ve already left too late.”

Jack had then started asking questions, wanting to know more about his parents and the

secrets of the house, however his Grandmother asked for his patience. Tomorrow would be soon

enough to begin his education on the real Gregson family history.

As he now walked alongside David and Rosie, he wondered if he would be able to tell them

about what he learned, or would he have to keep the secrets to himself, just as they had been kept

from him. They had a right to know, he decided.

“It’s cold,” Rosie said, as they approached the staircase. “I should have brought a jacket.”

“Grandma said there wasn’t any point. It’s warm beyond the door.” Jack replied. She had

been very insistent that they didn’t need to pack too much for their journey, as once they had

delivered the message they were to return immediately to the house, therefore only being gone

for an hour at most.

She had however given Jack a pouch to fit to his belt to hold various items to take with him.

One was a small metallic cube, heavy to hold and tarnished with age. Four sides were flat, with

intricate circular engravings swirling across them. The other two sides had a slightly raised dome

across them. Once they were on the other side of the door, he was to press both domes down

tightly to call Anthrow to their location.

Before handing over the second item, his Grandmother had made him promise that he would

only use it if they were in dire need of help.

“Jack, the last thing I want to do is send you through that door, but at this point we have no

choice,” she had said while handing him a small black bag. He had undone its drawstrings and

opened it up to reveal a glass sphere the size of a tennis ball and black in color.

As he held it in his hands he could hear a tapping sound, as if someone was knocking from

within, trying to get out.

“What is it?”

“A Chaos Pixie Orb. I refuse to give you kids any weapons, however, at anytime you feel

threatened, throw this on the ground and run, run fast and don’t look back.”

Jack put his hand in his jumpers’ pocket and held the sphere, making sure it was still there.

He felt comforted that he was walking into the unknown with something that could protect them,

even though he had no idea how or what they would need protecting from.

“We’re here,” David said stating the obvious as they descended the stairs of the Western

Garden. Jack felt the excitement flow through him as he looked upon the door. It was finally

going to open! He looked towards his cousins and saw that they too saw this as a momentous

occasion as they approached wide-eyed.

“Grandma gave you the key didn’t she?” Rosie asked.

“Got it,” replied Jack as he put his hand into his other pocket to retrieve the third item his

Grandmother had given him. It was large and black, old fashioned in design but otherwise

nothing out of the ordinary.

He looked up to the keyhole, something he’d tried to pick hundreds of times with an

assortment of sticks, paperclips and nail files. Taking a deep breath he slowly placed the key in

the hole and turned it left, a satisfying ‘click’ as the bolt shifted to an unlocked position.

Jack looked at them both, “Ready?” he asked.

“I’ve been ready since I first saw the door,” Rosie replied smiling. “Open it!”

Jack grabbed the handle and pushed, a long creak coming from the old hinges as the door

slowly swung open. A narrow passageway greeted them, trailing off into darkness.

“That’s it?” David asked.

“Go on,” Rosie said, urging Jack to enter.

Jack shrugged and walked through the doorway. The walls were sandstone, the floor beneath

him a grey brick. As he entered he immediately felt a slight tugging sensation on his body.

He walked further in and the tug became stronger, something trying to drag him further

down the tunnel into the darkness. He started to struggle against it, but the more he fought, the

stronger it got. All of a sudden he was propelled forward, an invisible force pulling him down the

long straight corridor.

Soon he was travelling fast, really fast. He lifted his feet off the ground and began floating at

an impossible speed as the walls and floor vanished before him.

A ring of white light appeared around Jack as a silhouette of a door appeared in the distance.

He hurtled towards it unable to slow himself down as he started to fear he would hit something

and be splattered all over the place. Just when he started to scream for his life, it all stopped.

Jack was standing, the sudden sunlight in this new place temporarily blinding him. He

rubbed his eyes as his vision started to clear and took in his surroundings.

He stood in a round clearing of short grass in what appeared to be a forest. A once well-used

path trailed out before him, leading through the beautiful ancient trees that surrounded the area.

The air seemed to glow a brilliant yellow, as the light sparkled off the damp leaves that were

slowly drifting down from the branches above.

Glancing back, Jack saw a rock wall stretching up into the sky, a trickle of water flowing

down its rough surface. The open door from where he’d come was built into the rock, the grey

paving within leading back home. He turned again and started down the path, wondering how

long it had been since another Gregson had walked it. The weeds and undergrowth pushing

through the trails hard soil made him think it had been many years.

“Bloody hell!” David cried as he appeared at the door next to Rosie. He was rubbing his

eyes as he tried to adjust to the light. “You think she might have warned us! Maybe mentioned

we’d be travelling a million miles an hour through some sort of crazy vortex. That was mental!”

“Let’s do it again!” Rosie yelled.

Jack smiled at her as he made his way back. “It was pretty fun, now that I know I’m still

alive.”

“It’s a forest,” David said as he walked down the path.

“I think Grandma called it a Grotto, whatever that is,” said Rosie. “It’s beautiful.”

Jack agreed, it was truly the most beautiful and peaceful place he’d ever been in. Nothing

like the cold England they had been standing in minutes earlier. The climate here was warm and

the air was fresh.

“Look at this!” David yelled from further down the path. He had walked past the row of

trees surrounding the clearing. “It’s not a forest, we’re in a cave!”

Jack and Rosie rushed down the path after him, a dense mixture of oak, vines and

underbrush on both sides of them. But after just ten meters it ended and they walked into a large

rocky Grotto, the sky above them a rich blue peaking through the small holes and gaps in the

rocky roof.

“Wow!” Rosie said. “It’s a massive cavern.”

Jack walked around taking it all in. The Grotto was massive, with large mossy rocks, worn

pathways and old overgrown plants continuing on as far as they could see. A small freshwater

stream trickled past them, starting at a crack in the wall and trailing down a corridor out of sight.

Within the rock faces were more pathways leading off into their own miniature forests embedded

in the walls.

He walked to the closest one and continued up the path, through the trees and into another

clearing. Like the one they had entered, a door was built into the rock face; identical to the one

they’d just walked through. He wondered where this one led as he put his hand to its wooden

surface. Back to Earth? Another planet? The possibilities were endless and a feeling of

excitement started to build within him. We can go anywhere! Travel anywhere just by walking

through a door!

He grabbed the handle, but then suddenly thought of his Grandmother and the mission they

were on. His excitement faded. Were they really going to leave this place so quickly? Would

their grandmother ever let them come back?

“Jack?” Rosie asked from the edge of the trees. “We need the device you have, so we can

call Anthrow.”

“I know,” he replied softly as he took his hand away from the door and walked back towards

her. “Where should we do this?”

“Let’s go back to the main cavern. You know, it would be quite easy to get lost in this place.

These clearings look exactly the same. I wonder how our family members used to find their

way,” Rosie said.

“Wasn’t Anthrow supposed to be some sort of expert on them? Maybe there are subtle

differences between each one that we aren’t seeing.” Jack replied.

Rosie shrugged but didn’t reply as they entered the cavern to find David looking through

some trees. “There are some weird animals in this place,” he said. “I swear I just saw something

that looked halfway between a puppy and a monkey. Truly, it was walking on two legs, tail

wagging and tongue hanging out.”

“A Moppy?” said Jack.

“No, it was a Punkey!” Rosie countered.

“Seriously? I tell you about a mutant animal, that probably wants to eat you, and you try to

come up with silly names for it?”

“I doubt something that looks like a puppy would want to eat me David. I think it sounded

cute.”

“Whatever, little sister. Where’s the thing?”

“I’ve got it,” said Jack as he pulled the metallic cube from his pocket. He looked it over. The

two domes that needed to be pressed were on opposite sides of each other.

He placed his thumb on one and his index finger on the other and looked at his two cousins.

“We ready?”

“Punch it,” David said, sounding a little nervous.

Jack was nervous too, not knowing what to expect from Anthrow.

He took a deep breath and squeezed the cube, the two domes pressing down like buttons.

It immediately went hot, as it began to glow white in his hand. Soon it was too hot to hold

and he let go, rubbing his fingers. The cube remained floating in the air.

“It’s floating!” David said, once again stating the obvious to his cousins.

The cube glowed as it started to rotate and increase in size. Within seconds it was as large as

a basketball and spinning at an incredible speed.

Small sparks of lightning began to spit out of it as the spinning caused a whoosh of wind

blowing the three of them back.

A portal appeared before them, a face peering out at them in surprise. It rose into the air as it

tilted itself towards the earth. It began shaking violently as if trying to dislodge something, until

finally a man fell through, clumsily landing on the ground in a heap before them. The portal

instantly disappeared and the cube shrunk down to its original size as it dropped to the ground,

landing on the man’s head with a solid thud.

Rosie walked over to him lying on the ground, rubbing his head. He was skinny, with short

black hair and a big strong chin. He wore brown trousers and a white shirt. A large coat sat

beside him as if he’d grabbed it while being pulled through the portal.

“Um, Anthrow?” Rosie asked cautiously.

He looked at her and sighed, “Yes I’m Anthrow. And considering I’ve just been pulled

through a portal without warning, right in the middle of my dinner I might add, I’m going to

assume you’re a Gregson.”

“Do…Does our family usually catch you at inconvenient times?” Rosie asked confused.

“Is there ever a convenient time to be yanked through a portal without warning?” he asked,

amused by the question.

“But we were told you gave us the cube, so that we could contact you,” said Jack.

“Ha! Gave is a strong word. But no matter, I’m here now.” he said standing up and dusting

himself off.

He stood there and looked at the three of them, a calculating look on his face. Finally he

said, “Now tell me Gregson’s, what could possibly be so important that you would risk coming

here?”

“What do you mean?” asked Jack. “What risk?”

“What risk? Why the risk of losing your head. You’re wanted men and women, you

Gregson’s. Considered extremely dangerous and wanted dead or alive. Turning three of you in

would make a man very rich,” he said as he pulled a dagger from a sheath tied to his waist. “So I

ask you again, what brings you to the Grotto?”

Jack looked from the knife to his cousins, stunned. How were they going to get out of this?

Chapter Seven

Run!

The Horde rolled along the uneven ground, the black mist surrounding the edge of rock

above the Grotto. A thin tendril of smoke climbed up in to the sky, slowing growing out until it

resembled the black shadow of a man.

He watched the three children below that had arrived through a portal. The plan had worked,

he thought, smiling.

Through the mist a thought came to him, querying his progress. He began to report the news

back to his master when someone appeared in a flash of light, right in front of the children.

He watched as they talked. All of a sudden the man below pulled out a knife.

The Shadow Man chuckled as he sunk back into the black smoke. Perhaps this stranger

would do his task for him. Either way, the Gregson heir would die today and his master’s plans

would start to be realized.

The black mist watched and waited.

***

Jack’s shoved his hand into his pocket and grabbed the black orb his Grandmother had given

him. He held it high above his head, unsure of his next move.

“We were told you would help us, not hurt us,” he said to Anthrow.

“What is that?”

“A weapon,” Jack replied, feeling a bit foolish while trying to sound threatening. He had no

idea what would happen if he threw it on the ground.

“What sort of weapon?” Anthrow pushed. He didn’t seem concerned at all as he stood

before them, knife still in hand.

Jack looked around. His Grandmother had told him to throw the orb and run, but with a rock

face behind them, they were trapped.

His cousins also had no idea what he was holding, and he didn’t want to risk something

happening to them as well.

He sighed, and replied “A pixie. A crazy pixie orb.”

Anthrow dropped his knife to the ground and put his hands up showing them he was no

longer a threat.

“Crazy pixie. You mean Chaos Pixie don’t you?”

“That’s right, Chaos Pixie.”

“That crazy woman gave you a Chaos Pixie?” Anthrow said as he gave a nervous laugh.

“Look let’s just calm down. I am a friend of the Gregson’s. Maybe not the evil crazy ones, but

any who know Marion Gregson…”

“Marion is our Grandmother,” Rosie said.

“There you go! I’m here to help you.”

“Then why did you threaten us?” David demanded. “Jack, get ready to throw that Chaos

Pixie Orb right at his face.”

“No! Marion - your grandmother told you to contact me, so there must be a message! Let me

read it. She trusts me, let me prove to you I can be trusted.”

Jack didn’t lower his arm but looked over to Rosie and nodded as she pulled her backpack

off. They had decided to put the note between the pages of the Book so it didn’t get crumpled.

“Here,” Rosie said as she passed it to Anthrow, staying as far away from him as possible.

He grabbed it, broke the seal their Grandmother had placed on it and started reading.

David meanwhile took the opportunity to crouch down and grab the dropped knife from the

ground.

Anthrow’s eyes widened as he read further down the page. “This is bad.” Looking up at Jack

he asked, “Do you know what this says?”

“That we are calling in your debt, we need to recover something that was stolen from us,”

replied Jack. “Apparently you’re skilled at this sort of thing.” He kept his response vague, not

knowing what his Grandmother had written and not yet trusting Anthrow.

“Yes, but do you know who would have organized the theft of that emerald?”

“Theorden?” David guessed.

“Ha! You say the name so casually. Yes Theorden!” said Anthrow as he started to pace.

“What was Marion thinking, sending children on a task like this. Theorden!”

“I was also supposed to give you this,” Jack said, ignoring what he had said as he pulled the

red stone necklace from his pouch and threw it to him. “The person who stole the emerald tried

to hide the theft with that enchanted necklace. It’s a clue. Grandma said few could have crafted a

stone such as this. If you can find out who made it, we’ll be able to track the thief.”

Anthrow caught the stone and ran his fingers over it. He then closed his eyes and whispered

something Jack couldn’t hear as if trying to determine the stone’s power.

After a minute he opened his eyes and said, “She’s right, there are only a few people with

the skills required to craft something like this. Okay! I will help you track down the origin of this

stone, but that is all. Now, I have some conditions.”

“Conditions?” asked Jack.

“Yes conditions. Firstly, please put away that orb. If you accidently drop that…Just put it

away. Secondly my debt is repaid in full. Full! I get that infernal cube back and I can finally stop

worrying about a Gregson pulling me back into their crazy shenanigans. You know your family

is quite nuts. Even the nice ones.”

“Anything else?” Jack asked, still holding the orb, not ready to trust Anthrow.

“No that’s it, we best get started. I’d like to get back home as soon as possible. I did actually

have plans this evening, you know.”

Yes! Thought Jack. The second he’d arrived here he knew he wanted to stay and explore.

Maybe they could spend a bit more time here with Anthrow and help find answers about the

emerald.

“We can’t.” said Rosie. “We have strict instructions to return as soon as we’ve delivered you

the message.”

“Why do you want us to come anyway?” Asked David suspiciously, still pointing the knife.

“You want to turn us in for a reward? Is that it? You attacked us.”

Jack watched Anthrow thinking on how to respond. All of a sudden he smiled before turning

into a blur before their eyes, charging towards Jack and then David before zooming back to

where he’d stood not moments ago.

In one hand he held the orb, the other his knife.

Jack looked on in shock as he noted an immediate change in Anthrow. Somehow in the

second it had taken to steal the orb and knife, he had also put on his jacket.

While still looking skinny, he now stood tall, legs straight and shoulders back. The manic

personality was gone, replaced with a calm and collected stare that told Jack that this person was

and always had been in control of the situation.

“The Universe is a big place,” said Anthrow. “And you never truly know who you’re

dealing with. There are those who would steal from you or even kill you before you even had

time to say hi.

You three look harmless enough, but I would be a fool to rely on looks alone. So when we

met, I took the offensive to see what your reaction would be. As it turns out, you’re a force to be

reckoned with, and I’m glad we’re on the same side.”

“A force to be reckoned with? You just took our weapons from us before we had time to

think!” replied Jack.

Anthrow shrugged, as he started to slouch again, his unusual mannerisms returning.

“Well, I was impressed. Seriously, you pulled out a Chaos Pixie! I wasn’t expecting that.”

He walked over to Jack and held out the orb to him. “But please put it away. And don’t drop

it! You!” he spun around and pointed to David. “Never touch my knife again. Get your own!

And you,” he said turning to Rosie, “If you say you must return home, then you must. I won’t

have Marion saying I didn’t fulfill my debt on a technicality like that. I just assumed you were

coming with me.”

“Wait,” said Jack. “How long do you think this will take? If it’s just a few hours…maybe we

could come.”

Anthrow shook his head, “No. I’m sorry I said it. It’s way too dangerous for kids.”

“We’re not kids! David and I are thirteen, and Rosie is eleven. You said yourself we can

handle ourselves. I’m sick of people keeping secrets from us and treating us like we’re not old

enough to understand anything!” Jack said angrily.

He looked over at his cousins and saw their mouths open in shock. They weren’t used to

Jack losing his temper.

“Sorry. It’s been a long day,” he apologized lamely.

“I meant what I said about you being able to handle yourselves,” replied Anthrow. “And I

apologize for calling you kids, but my debt is to your Grandmother, not you. If she wants you to

return now, I cannot go against her wishes.”

Jack didn’t say anything but nodded, realizing he didn’t have a choice.

Anthrow looked around and got his bearings. “Right then! We’re already at your portal I

see. You three didn’t travel far did you? Let’s go,” he said as he walked towards the path from

where they’d arrived. All of a sudden he froze.

Jack walked up to him and followed his gaze through the trees. Hadn’t there been more

light, shining through the foliage earlier? He took a step forward, but Anthrow grabbed his arm,

stopping him.

“The Horde,” he whispered.

Suddenly black mist oozed out through the trees, making its way towards them. Thin

tendrils of smoke reaching out, each trying to get to them first.

“Run!” shouted Anthrow as he took off in the opposite direction.

The three of them followed in a panic.

“It’s above us!” shouted Rosie. The mist was creeping down the walls through the holes and

gaps in the rocky roof.

“This way!” Anthrow called as they ran through the Grotto, the mist closing in on them from

all directions. “In here!” he yelled turning right, following one of the pathways through the trees

and into a clearing.

As he ran towards a door built into the rock, he clapped his hands and it swung open.

“Quickly!” He said as he stopped and urged them through.

David went through first, followed shortly by Rosie. As Jack reached the door, he looked

back.

A man made of mist was gliding up the path towards them, pointing at Jack as the Horde

engulfed the ground around him. His face was featureless; his muscular body a mass of angry,

swirling black smoke.

“You can’t escape the Horde,” the Shadow Man hissed.

“Anthrow! Where does this portal go?” asked Jack.

“Somewhere that isn’t here! Now go!”

Jack turned and stepped quickly through the door. Immediately the invisible force grabbed

him, pulling him faster and faster through space as he flew through the portal, towards the white

light ahead.

He arrived on the other side in darkness. “Rosie, David?” He called urgently.

“We’re here,” called David. “Although I don’t know where that is.”

There was a whoosh of air and all of a sudden Anthrow stood to Jack’s left.

“Safe! Is everybody ok?”

“Are we safe?” asked Rosie. “What’s to stop the Horde following us?”

“The Horde can’t travel through portals,” replied Anthrow. “I’m not fully certain why, but I

think it has something to do with its form. Because it’s mist, I don’t think the portals have much

to pull on.”

“But we’ve seen the Horde on Earth!” said David.

“Not that particular one you didn’t. Theorden has many of them, on many planets.

Jack took a deep breath, his heart still pounding. His eyes were adjusting to the darkness and

he could see the outline of objects around him.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“Cortavia. It’s a small planet, no people.”

“We’re on a completely different planet?” asked David excitedly.

“Technically at the Grotto you were also on a completely different planet, but yes! Different

planet.”

Jack walked through the area, touching various objects trying to work out what they were.

There was an odd familiarity about everything, with strange alien touches. The thing in front of

him seemed to be a chair; however it appeared to be a very small person. In front of that was a

table, made strange by the holes and structures built into its uneven surface.

“Are we in a living room?” asked Jack.

“I thought you said nobody lived here,” said David.

“They don’t…anymore. Their sun died centuries ago, making it impossible for life to

continue. The population was forced to evacuate the planet and start a new life through the

portals. Now come,” said Anthrow.

“Where are we going?” asked Rosie.

“To another portal. I didn’t choose this planet for its lively atmosphere. I just needed a safe

place for us to escape to and luckily it happens to have another portal back to the Grotto not far

from here.”

“But the Horde is there!” David said.

Through the darkness, Jack saw Anthrow stop and look at the three of them in turn. “Do you

realize that I still don’t know any of your names?” he said, pausing for a response.

“There just hasn’t been any time,” Rosie said, before introducing all three of them.

He continued to stare. “I spent a lot of time trying to convince you three that I’m

trustworthy, and now I find my self wondering about you three. How can members of the

Gregson family, who now seem to be a target of Theorden, know so little about…well

everything?”

“It’s our family’s fault!” David said as he went on to explain the limited Gregson family

history they were told while growing up, right until the events of that day which had eventually

led them to him. “So you can’t blame us for asking so many questions.”

Anthrow thought about it for a time, seemed about to say something and then shrugged as he

walked off, expecting them to follow.

“The Grotto isn’t just a big underground cave on some distant planet. It’s a huge

underground cave that takes up an entire distant planet! A planet three times bigger than your

Earth I might add. There are millions of portals to take you to millions of places. Some planets

have two entrances, while some have thousands. Yes we’re returning to the Grotto, but to the

other side, far away from where we were.”

Jack followed in silence as David continued to ask Anthrow questions. Something was

worrying him. The Horde had been right near the Gregson portal, laying in wait as if expecting

their arrival. Had he and his cousins just walked into a trap? If they had, what was Theorden’s

plan? Could Anthrow keep them safe? Questions kept coming to him, ones he had no answers

for.

The Shadow Man concerned him even more. He’d seen wolves and horses come out of the

mist, but a man?

“Hurry up, Jack,” Rosie said from ahead of him. “Anthrow said it’s too dangerous to return

to our portal for a while. He’s taking us somewhere we can rest for the night.”

Jack walked faster, at the same time realizing what troubled him most. It wasn’t that the

Shadow Man had looked right at him as if knowing who he was. It was that Jack couldn’t shake

the feeling that somehow he recognized The Shadow Man too.

Chapter Eight

Gratins

Jack lay awake, staring at the dark sky above. Anthrow had led them to another portal on

Cortavia, taking them back to the Grotto.

The four of them had travelled from the middle of the day to the dead of night within

minutes. Anthrow truly must have taken them to the other side of the Grotto planet.

Rosie and David slept beside Jack, exhausted by the day’s events. He was tired too, but

couldn’t sleep for all the questions that kept pestering him. How could he have recognized the

Shadow Man? He didn’t have any features to recognize in the first place. He was made of mist!

Jack rolled over and reached for Rosie’s bag. He grabbed the book and her phone to use as a

torch.

Turning on the light, he looked at the book and saw that the title on the cover had changed.

Where it had originally said ‘The Gregson Estate,’ it now said ‘The Grotto.’

He opened to the contents page and saw that it also had changed. Where there had been

chapters on different rooms of the house, there were now chapters like The Grotto, Punkeys, and

Portal Etiquette.

Jack thought about what his grandmother had said earlier about the chocolate cake, and

thought of a question he wanted answered. Immediately a chapter appeared at the bottom of the

list – Chapter Twenty: Chaos Pixies. He noted the page number and eagerly flipped to it.

Chaos Pixies are pixies often held in black orbs. They are good to use when trying to escape

danger, and bring fear to even the most experienced travellers like Anthrow.

In other words you have no idea what Chaos Pixies are, he thought. The book had basically

repeated what he’d learned that day. What good was this book if it didn’t know anything that was

helpful?

Suddenly the chapter on Chaos Pixies wiped away from the page leaving it blank. A new

chapter title appeared, ‘Maddox and Jessica Gregson.’

Jack looked at the page in shock as sentence after sentence appeared on the page, all about

his parents.

Maddox Gregson was born to Ronald and Marion Gregson in 1978 at Chesterfield Royal

Hospital. He weighed six pounds…

Jack flipped the page. He wanted to know everything about his dad and promised himself to

come back later to read every word, but right now he felt the need to skip ahead.

Maddox and Jessica married in 2000, the ceremony and reception taking place in the

Eastern garden amongst family and friends. Maddox couldn’t believe the amount of people that

his mother had invited that he’d never met before…

Maddox found a very special book in the library that enriched his life and opened him up to

the possibilities of the Universe. The joy and happiness the book brought to him…

In 2011, Jessica fell pregnant much to the joy of the whole family…

Maddox confronted his mother about what he’d learned about the Grotto through his

amazing book. Angry that secrets had been kept from him, he found entry to the portal and went

in search of adventure…

Jack paused from reading. His father had been lied to, just like he had! Why had his

grandmother kept things from all of them? He felt anger as he continued reading.

On May 1st 2012, Jack Gregson was born into the world, unhealthy and close to death.

Unexplained complications caused Jessica Gregson to pass away at his birth…

Unexplained complications? Jack wondered whether it was just the book’s lack of

knowledge on his mother’s death or if it truly was a mystery. And sick? He had never been told

he was born unhealthy.

Maddox confronted his mother, and demanded she use magic to save Jessica and his child.

She refused saying that it wasn’t possible. Maddox then left through the portal in search of

Richard Gregson, who had somehow managed to cheat death and whom Maddox believed could

help him save his wife and son.

He hasn’t been seen since.

Jack closed the book and looked out into the trees in front of him. They were in yet another

clearing, the same as the others he’d seen that day. He could make out some movement in the

dark, an animal moving around foraging for food.

He watched as it walked away from a trees shadow and into the dim moonlight. It was what

Rosie had called a Punkey, and David had been right, it really did look like a monkey crossed

with a puppy.

“Can’t sleep?” Anthrow said as he walked up behind Jack.

“Nope,” replied Jack.

“Big day. A lot to take in, considering how little you knew when you woke up this

morning.”

“Yeah,” Jack said and paused. “Anthrow, what debt do you owe my Grandmother? It must

be pretty big for you to agree to help us.”

Anthrow took this as an invitation to join Jack, and sat down beside him, legs crossed,

facing the trees.

“I’ve known the Gregson family a long time,” he said thoughtfully. “Way back before

Theorden and the Horde. Back then your family was new to the Grotto and the Universe.”

“It’s rare you know? To find a planet that no one has heard of before. Millions and millions

of portals and most of them have been mapped or charted. Then all of a sudden, one day a man

interrupts me eating my lunch, saying he’s from Earth and wants directions. I offered my

services as a guide and discovered he wasn’t even sure where he wanted to go! He just wanted to

take a look around and see ‘what’s what.’ A curious bunch you humans are.”

“How old are you Anthrow?” Jack asked, suddenly realizing it was a rude question hastily

added, “I mean, my ancestors. They were travelling the world for hundreds of years!”

“I guess I am old, by your standards.” Anthrow said. “But to my kind…well I’ve still got

plenty of time left.”

“You’re not human?” Jack asked alarmed.

Anthrow smiled, “believe it or not, most people aren’t. At least they’re not on this side of

Earth’s portal. I’m Bathen.”

“You look human.”

“To you I do,” he replied without elaborating. “There are certain similarities between a lot of

people across the Universe. I could come up with over fifty different planets that you could visit

and pass as a native…with a few cosmetic changes here and there. On the other hand I could

come up with a thousand places where your pink skin and tiny body would make you a perfect

lunchtime snack to the local inhabitants.”

Jack shivered at the thought of being cooked for a meal.

Steering the conversation back to the family he asked, “So, did you ever meet Theorden?”

“I met Richard, a long time before people started calling him Theorden.”

“What was he like?”

“Controlling, driven, rude. I could continue with nasty attributes all night, but I’d find it hard

to think a nice one. He did pay me extra once for guiding him somewhere, but that was because I

didn’t have any change.”

“You helped him?”

“These were early days, before he started murdering people and ruling planets. Sure he was

arrogant, demanding, but so were many of my other clients. I certainly didn’t know he’d turn

into the maniac he is now! It was years later I learned that Theorden and Richard were one and

the same.”

“What about Maddox? Did you ever hear of Maddox Gregson?” Jack asked nervously.

“Your father?” Anthrow asked softly.

“How do you know that?” Jack asked surprised. He doubted even David and Rosie knew his

father’s name. He’d only heard him called it once before and that was only when he’d spied on

his grandmother in conversation.

“I didn’t, not for sure. You just confirmed it. And now I believe we’re coming back to your

original question, although I’m not sure it’s somewhere you want to go.”

“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I want to know about my own father? What has your

debt to my Grandmother got to do with him?”

Anthrow didn’t speak for a time. Just as Jack got impatient and began to ask the question

again he said, “You see that animal over there? It’s called a Gratin.”

“We named it a Punkey.” Jack said, not knowing what this had to do with their conversation.

“That is…odd. Anyway when a Gratin is born, its parents abandon it and leave it in the

Grotto to fend for itself. It has to learn to eat and survive without any help. If it manages to

survive, and doesn’t fall prey to the larger animals, it grows into an adult. It then has a child of

its own, which it also abandons.”

“Are you saying my parents were like a Gratin and they abandoned me on purpose?” said

Jack.

“No, quite the opposite. When I met your father he was…desperate. Somehow he had

tracked me down and demanded I lead him to Theorden. I refused naturally and he went in a

rage, telling me that his wife and child would die unless they had help from someone powerful in

magic like Theorden. I tried to convince him that it was a fool’s errand, family or not Theorden

would kill him rather than help him. He wouldn’t listen.”

“So what happened then?”

“He left me, still angry. The next I heard of him was that he’d found Theorden and joined

him in his conquests.”

“My father and Theorden!” Jack said shocked. “It couldn’t be!”

“I’m sorry, it’s what I heard. When I told your Grandmother the news, she got angry with

me, too, something your family has an annoying habit of doing. She blamed me for not stopping

Maddox in his search for Theodon; something I maintain wasn’t my concern. He’s the one that

sought me out! Anyway I felt bad for her. We’ve been friends for a long time, Marion and I. I

offered her a truce, and gave her the cube to contact me when she needed my help. Well she’s

done that once now, and with you it makes two. This is the last time, my ‘debt’ will be repaid

once we find the origins of that stone.” Anthrow stood and stretched as if getting ready to leave.

“Why did you tell me about the Gratin?”

Anthrow looked down at Jack and said, “Because sometimes I wonder, wouldn’t it be better

not to care? Your father ran towards the darkness to try and save you, someone he’d never met.

You now seek to know more about him, even though he’s never been in your life. If we were

born into this world not caring for our family, wouldn’t life be easier?”

Jack wiped a tear from his eye as he looked on at the Gratin. “David and Rosie. Don’t tell

them about my father. I don’t want them to know he’s with Theorden.”

“Curious. David told me you were angry with your family for the secrets they kept from

you, and now here you are keeping things from your closest friends.”

“This is different, please don’t tell them.” Jack said, as he wondered why he didn’t want

them to know.

Anthrow bowed before leaving Jack to his dark thoughts.

Chapter Nine

Travelling the Grotto

“Wake up!” Anthrow yelled.

Jack came awake with a start, and saw that the Grotto’s large orange sun was well into the

sky.

“Just a little longer,” David said as he waved his hand in the air, his head buried in the grass.

“Now!”

“We’re getting up,” said Rosie, yawning as she sat up.

“I thought he was a guide, not a drill sergeant,” David said as he looked over at Jack.

Jack smiled and stood up. Last night he had decided to concentrate his energy on their

mission to find our more about the red stone. There would be time later to find out more about

his father, but right now his home was in jeopardy and his family needed his help.

“Are you taking us back to the house now?” Rosie asked as she stood and stretched.

“Um, do you remember the dark mist that was chasing us? Big cloud, very scary looking,

about this tall…” David said lifting his hand to hip height.

“Yes but what about another portal to Earth? Anthrow you said some planets have

thousands.”

“And very rarely planets just have one. Unfortunately for you, Earth is one of those. Oh

there might be another one deep in the ocean or high up on a mountain but I haven’t come across

it. How do you think your family has kept all of this – he said while waving his arms around – a

secret.”

“I’ve already decided. I’m going with Anthrow, to track down the maker of that stone,” Jack

said determined.

“But it’s been hours, our family will be looking for us everywhere,” Rosie said.

“Well what can we do about it? If Anthrow’s right and there is only one portal to Earth, do

you think the Horde is going to leave that area? It’ll lay in wait, knowing we have to go back

there if we want to go home.”

Rosie didn’t have a reply for that, but looked nervously at her brother.

“Looks like we’re stuck here Rosie…for now.” David stumbled, trying to make her feel

better. “Surely Grandma will come after us. You saw her attack the Horde at the house, we’ll be

ok.”

Rosie nodded, not convinced but willing to live with that hope.

“Right then, excellent!” said Anthrow. “It’s always better to travel in groups where we’re

going.”

“What? Why? Is it dangerous?” asked Rosie.

“Where are we going?” Jack asked.

“Bowlandose,” said Anthrow.

“That’s the planet we saw in the Attic!” said David.

“It’s the most well known of all planets, with more portals into it than any other in the

Universe. In fact, there’s an entrance to it just two clearings over from here, although it doesn’t

come out where we need to go.”

“Where do we need to go?” asked Jack.

“You three, always with your questions. Always wanting to rush ahead, even when you’re

going to see everything you’re asking about with your owns eyes soon enough!”

Anthrow walked into the row of trees at the edge of the clearing. After a time he returned,

with what looked like purple fruit in his hands.

“The Grotto has lots of food, if you know where to look for it,” he said, handing one to each

of them. “Forget about eating Gratens, they taste awful!”

“Punkeys,” Jack said to David and Rosie who were looking confused.

“Right then. You can eat on the way, we need to walk a while before we get to the portal.”

The four of them left the clearing and made their way through the Grotto. Jack was surprised

to see a light layer of snow on the ground of the caverns. He wondered why there had been none

in the clearing and also why he didn’t feel at all cold. It was a different planet, he told himself.

Weather must work differently here.

As they continued through the endless cavern, Jack was amazed at the amount of pathways

they walked past. So many places to visit and explore!

He paused at one of them, feeling something was different about it. It looked the same, but

felt…wrong.

“Close your eyes,” Anthrow said. He’d notice Jack had stopped and approached him. “Close

them and listen with your senses.”

Jack wasn’t quite sure what he meant, but did as he was asked and opened his mind to the

pathway in front of him.

At first there was nothing unusual, leaves rustling against a light wind, a bird somewhere in

the distance calling. Nothing…

There was something else, a low hum that was barely audible, emanating from the pathway

in front of him.

He concentrated on it and it grew in volume, it’s tone becoming ominous as it all of a

sudden washed over him.

A smell of sulfur hit his nose, causing him to gag.

“Pull back!” said Anthrow. “Open your eyes, look at the sky.”

“What is that?” Jack asked as he rubbed his eyes with his hands.

He sat down as a wave of nausea told hold of him.

He took deep breaths, trying to slow his heartbeat. Eventually he began to relax. The smell

and the sense of wrongness went away.

“It was a portal to Theorden’s home planet. Not Earth of course, but where he lives now.

Most people can’t sense what you just did. I’m sorry, I didn’t think it would affect you so much,”

Anthrow said thoughtfully.

“That was horrible.”

“Well, your Great-Great Uncle is a horrible man! No offence intended Gregson’s. Just hope

you never have to go there.”

“I can’t feel or hear anything,” said David.

“Me neither,” said Rosie.

“That’s a good thing,” Jack assured them, before he stood and walked on, away from the

pathway. “I wonder why he chose to live on that planet.”

“He searches for The Forgotten Portal. The stories say that is where it’s located,” said

Anthrow.

“Never heard of it. What’s so special about this Forgotten Portal?” asked David.

“Well if what I’ve heard is true and it does in fact exist, there’s a lot special about it!

Supposedly it’s the first portal…ever. The one that was used to create everything you see here at

the Grotto. Some say it’s a myth, made up to explain all of this. Theorden certainly believes in

it.”

“A portal that creates portals. Why would Theorden be interested in that?”

“Think about it,” said Jack. “If Theorden could make his own portals, he could make new

ones to anywhere he wanted. He could gain access to remote areas on Earth and start taking over

before anyone even noticed!”

“Exactly. Luckily he’s never found it, if it even exists.”

They continued on for a while longer. Anthrow was talking to Rosie, telling her of the

different worlds behind the portals they were walking past. Jack wasn’t sure if he believed half

of the stories he was hearing, however he did hope they could someday go to Rolbson, a world

where the gravity was so low, every step would push you five feet into the air.

“And that’s the world of the Chaos Pixies,” said Anthrow. “You definitely don’t want to go

there.”

Jack thought about the Forgotten Portal. Could it be real? After walking through the Grotto,

he could almost believe anything existed.

He hoped Theorden would never find it. How could someone he was related to be so rotten?

As they continued through the Grotto, Jack promised himself he would never be like his evil

Uncle.

Chapter Ten

Bowlandose

“Here we are!” Anthrow said as he pointed to a pathway. It looked exactly like all the other ones

they’d walked past and Jack once again wondered how Anthrow knew where each of them led.

He thought they might have different hums, like Theorden’s world did, however he wasn’t ready

to test that theory just yet.

They walked down the path, and through the trees. Once again it opened up to a clearing, a

wooden door built into the rock.

Anthrow grabbed the handle and pulled it open.

“I love this bit,” said Rosie.

“Me too,” said Jack smiling.

“Me three,” said Anthrow. “I’ll go first. We’ll be arriving in the main city. Most people

there look more or less like you lot but you may see some that have a few more arms or heads

than you’re used to. Just remember that if there’s one thing everyone in the Universe agrees on,

is that it’s rude to stare!”

“Extra heads?” David said quietly to Jack and Rosie. “Is he freaking serious?”

Without another word, Anthrow went through the doorway and disappeared. Rosie walked

in after him, followed by David and then Jack.