The Temporal Stone (The Morgan Sisters)

'He's right, you know,' said Emma. 'Thank you for helping with our friend.'

  The troll smiled at her and nodded, while Lana looked at her sister like she was from another planet.

  'May I have a a drink drink of water water please please?' the trolled asked.

  'Sure,' Emma said as she went to throw him a bottle.

  'Wait!' Lana yelled. 'What if the water makes something happen? It could be like the Gremlins or something.'

  Emma stopped momentarily, 'Will water affect you?' she asked him.

  The troll shook his head, 'except except...'

  They waited.

  '...to quench my thirst thirst.'

  Emma smiled and threw the bottle towards him. He caught it, unscrewed the lid and gulped down the entire contents of the bottle in one go.

  The others watched, waiting for something horrible to happen.

  But the only thing that did was a rather loud and smelly belch.

  'Ew,' cried Lana and Sammy at the same time.

  'Thank you, thank you, thank you.'

  CHAPTER 12

  After collecting as much dust as possible, Eleanor and the girls returned to the helicopter where they climbed aboard and waited for take-off.

  Habika, Wilbur and Beau stayed behind to guard Praxos, in the hope that some of the Watchers would soon return safely.

  As they lifted into the sky, the girls looked down at the strange stillness of London. Never before had the city seemed so calm and eerily quiet.

  'Keep your eyes peeled for any kind of movement,' Eleanor said. 'We're not just looking for our kind, but Skulls and pixie trolls, too. We need to find out what happened to that artefact'.

  As they hovered, the only sound that could be heard for miles around was the gentle thudding of the rotor blades above them.

  Each of the girls carried a pair of binoculars slung around their necks, apart from the pilot Amber, who was able to see just as well without them.

  'I think I see something,' Daisy shouted, pointing to the flat roof of a very large house in the distance.

  'I see it too,' Eleanor replied, 'Amber, over there,' she instructed.

  The helicopter zoomed in towards the large property where they spotted a small group of people waving to them. 'They're not Skulls,' Sara said loudly.

  'But they're not Watchers, either,' replied Eleanor.

  'Who are they? And why aren't they frozen?' asked Daisy.

  'Let's go and find out.'

  The helicopter hovered above the house for a moment while Amber decided if it was safe enough to land as the group below shielded themselves from the wind created by the blades. One of them stepped forward and nodded his head as Amber made the decision to set it down close to the edge of the building.

  Eleanor climbed out and approached the strangers cautiously.

  'It's Eleanor Hayden-Jones,' the hairy man shouted with a grin as he ran towards her.

  'I'm so glad to see you,' he said, holding out his hand.

  She took him in for just a moment before deciding it was safe. She shook his hand.

  'How do you know me?' she asked.

  'Are you kidding? All the Supernaturals know who you are, and what you do for our kind. Can you tell us what's going on out there?'

  Eleanor smiled, 'First, perhaps you can enlighten me as to who you are?' she smiled.

  The man turned and ushered his friends over. It was only as they approached that she realised who, and what, they were.

  There were four of them. Two men and two women, all of whom had very long hair and quite a lot of facial hair too. Even the females.

  'Are you Basajaun?' she asked, awe-struck. They nodded in response.

  'But what are you doing in the middle of London? I thought you were farming folk?'

  The man nodded, 'That's right. But we do take holidays every once in a while, you know,' he laughed. 'We have only here a couple of days, and then this happened. We rented this house for a couple of weeks. What's going on?'

  Eleanor smiled and explained everything she had learned, 'The only thing that slows them down is house dust, which explains why they haven't been brave enough to enter any of the buildings. I strongly recommend that you stay indoors until we've solved this... problem,' she said.

  The four Basajaun nodded, 'Is there anything we can do to help?'

  Eleanor shook her head, 'Thank you but no. Leave it to us. We can handle it. You guys stay safe indoors, okay?'

  Again, the small group nodded and thanked her as she returned to the helicopter, climbed aboard and waved as Amber deftly manoeuvred the vehicle off the roof.

  'Who were they?' asked Cassie.

  Eleanor grinned, 'The Basajaun. I still can't quite believe it. I'd never have thought they would venture out of their homes to come here.'

  'What are Basajaun?' asked Daisy as they slowly made their way over the city.

  'They were always believed to be spirits living in caves who took care of agricultural creatures and farmland. Apparently, many, many years ago, it was the Basajaun that taught humans all about farming and ironwork. They're very gentle beings. I still can't quite believe they're in London,' she muttered. 'Fancy that.'

  'Down there,' yelled Sara. 'There's a group of people on the move. They’re definitely Skulls,' she added. 'Look, there are a few trolls behind them.'

  'Are you sure?' Eleanor replied. 'Can you get us a little closer, Amber?'

  The helicopter turned towards them.

  'It's that guy you kicked earlier, Eleanor,' Daisy shouted, her eyes wide open with fear.

  'They're watching us. Let's keep our distance, but continue to follow them. Let's see where they're headed.'

  Daisy kept an eye on the trolls. The Skulls appeared to be pulling them along. 'Eleanor, I think they're being held against their will.'

  'I think you're right. So it is the Skulls who are responsible for all this, then,' she muttered.

  'Amber, we need to track down Bryn. He went to Royal Tunbridge Wells with a group of students this morning. Do we have enough fuel to fly down there and back?'

  Amber checked the instruments and nodded, 'Yes, we managed to fill her up in Northolt on the way back from Bath. We'll be fine. Want to head there now?'

  Eleanor thought for a moment and nodded. 'Yes, it's important I speak to him about that artefact'.

  The helicopter leant over to one side as they changed direction and headed south east.

  oOo

  'Follow the A26, Amber, and keep an eye out for any kind of movement. It's possible Bryn might have found a vehicle.'

  'It's like looking for a needle in a haystack,' sighed Cassie.

  'Let's head for the centre, towards the Pantiles.'

  As the helicopter hovered above the pretty spa town, moving closer to the popular shopping area of the Pantiles, Eleanor pointed to an area for them to land.

  'I'm afraid I can't put it down there, Eleanor, there are too many lamp posts. It's just too dangerous.'

  'Yes I see now, how about over there?' she pointed to a more open area.

  Amber did as she suggested and they landed, all of them looking around for any sign of movement. After ten minutes of nothing, Eleanor was about to give up and move on to another location when she saw the blind in a shop window being open and closed.

  She smiled, 'Over there, look! Someone's trying to get our attention. It might be Bryn.'

  Eleanor undid her seatbelt and took a water bottle with a spray attachment from her bag. She sprayed herself before grabbing a large handful of dust.

  'Hold your breath, girls,' she said as she sprinkled the dust over herself. I won't be long. Keep an eye out for any Skulls.'

  Opening the door, she hopped out and ran towards the shop. The door opened and she went inside, only to find a group of students, alone.

  'Miss Jones! Are we glad to see you,' said a teenage boy. 'We've been stuck in here for yonks. Bryn told us to stay put, but it's been ages.'

  'Quinn, I've told you before, call me Eleanor. Miss Jo
nes sounds so old. Now tell me, where did Bryn go?'

  'He went to investigate what's going on,' said another student.

  'Did he say where he was going?'

  All the students shook their heads.

  Eleanor tutted. 'Damn, I really need to speak to him,' she sighed.

  'What's going on, Miss... I mean, Eleanor?'

  'It's the pixie trolls. The Skulls have managed to awaken them and they're somehow using them against us. It's all very complicated but I really needed to speak to Bryn about the artefact they've got their hands on,' she said, more to herself than to the teenagers.

  'What can we do?' Quinn asked.

  'There's little you can do, I'm afraid. And we can't take you back because we don't have space in the helicopter. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to stay here and keep indoors until peace is restored.'

  'But we're starving,' sighed a girl from the back of the room.

  'Oh yes, I bet you are. Right, leave it with me for a moment. I'll go and find you some food and drink. You must stay here. It's not safe outdoors as we don't know where the trolls are. They have the power of invisibility, unfortunately, and if they so much as put a finger on you, you'll be frozen in time, just like the rest of the humans out there. There is only one thing that will help, albeit temporarily, and that's house dust. While I pop out and try and find you guys something to eat and drink, why don't you find a sweeping brush and gather together as much dust as you can?'

  'We don't need a sweeping brush,' smiled one of the girls who carefully pushed her classmates out of the way as she gently blew towards the floor, causing a little dust to swirl in front of her.

  Eleanor peered out the window before she took some of the dust she'd brought with her and shook it over herself after spraying herself with water. With a quick sneeze, she opened the door and ran two doors down where she spotted a little supermarket. Collecting a number of sandwiches, crisps, fruit and water, she left some money by the till and rushed back outdoors.

  A sound behind her made her jump and she turned. Tucking her hand into her pocket, she grabbed a handful of dust and blew it. Immediately, a little troll appeared right in front of her. It sneezed and fell to the ground in a daze.

  Eleanor turned back and dashed into the boutique where the teens were waiting with a dustpan containing just the tiniest amount of dust.

  'She keeps this place spotless,' Quinn moaned as he pointed his head towards the pretty young woman who was in the middle of hanging a floral dress on the rack.

  'Never mind, at least you've managed to get a bit, just in case. Here's something to keep you going for a while,' she said, handing them the paper bag full of food. 'Now I must go and try to find Bryn. Stay indoors out of harm's way. I know you've all got powers, but it's just too risky to use them at the moment. Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, stay here,' she said with a smile as she scattered the last little bit of dust over herself and made a run for it back to the helicopter.

  CHAPTER 13

  Driving particularly slowly up a street to avoid the scattering of pedestrians, Winchester Castle came slowly into view and Emma noticed a small group of people dressed in long, hooded, black cloaks gathered in front of it.

  'Declan, who are they?' she whispered as he pulled over and they sat watching in silence.

  'I'm not sure.'

  'Can you hear their thoughts?' she asked.

  'I'm trying to, but something's blocking them.'

  As he concentrated hard, the others sat quietly waiting. Even the pixie troll didn't break the silence.

  'Whoever they are, they're not good. I don't think they're Skulls, but I'm picking up a similar vibe. These guys are dangerous.'

  'Shouldn't we just get out of here?' whispered Lana.

  'Not if they're planning something against the Watchers, or against the humans. Maybe we should hang around and wait to see if....'

  Suddenly, a gap in the cloaked figures opened up and revealed a number of frozen humans being carried in front of them.

  'Uh oh,' Declan said. 'They're vamps, and they're taking full advantage of the humans not being able to escape. We've got to do something...'

  'You mean vamps as in vampires?'

  'Afraid so, Sammy.'

  'But they... they... can kill,' she gulped.

  Declan nodded, 'They're capable of some serious bodily harm. You know what you've read about them in books?'

  Sammy nodded.

  'And seen in movies?'

  She nodded again.

  'Some of it is fiction, but a lot of it is true.'

  Sammy's face paled in seconds.

  'But don't worry, we can handle them.'

  'We can?' she whispered.

  'Just be careful, alright?'

  Sammy nodded before Elliot spoke, 'Wait a minute, why aren't the trolls bothering them?' he asked.

  'Maybe there aren't any here?' suggested Emma. 'Erm, can you tell us if any of your kind are here?' she turned to ask their captive.

  He looked up from his squashed position in the cage.

  'I can't... I can't see see...'

  'Declan?' asked Emma.

  'Yes, I think so too,' he replied.

  'Huh? Oh come on you guys, not fair to communicate like that. Emma, what were you thinking just then?'

  Emma raised her eyebrows and looked backwards.

  'Oh no, you're not going to let him out? But he might freeze us all and then what?'

  'It's a risk we've got to take if we're going to help stop those poor humans from becoming lunch,' Declan added.

  'I know you're right, I really do, but...'

  'Free me me? Free me me?' said the troll. 'You'll free me in order to help those people people?' he asked.

  'We have to,' said Emma. 'Will you promise not to hurt us?'

  The troll smiled widely.

  'I never had any any intention to harm you you. I want want to help you you. I want to help you you. Really, I do. I do do,' he clapped.

  Emma turned to Declan who nodded from the front seat of the car as he handed her a key from the glove box.

  Taking a deep breath, Emma leant backwards just as Lana grabbed her. 'Be careful, Sis,' she whispered before releasing her.

  Emma climbed onto her knees and leant over the back seat, fumbling with the key in the padlock until it clicked free. The door popped open and the troll gingerly unravelled himself from it. As he lifted himself into the small space next to the cage, he let out a giggle and leant forward towards Emma.

  She gulped and tensed her body as he leant over to grab her.

  'Oh no,' cried Lana with her eyes closed.

  But when she opened them again, she was amazed to see her sister hugging the creature back, giggling with him.

  'Oh,' Lana yelped. 'You didn't harm her. But you could have frozen us all, why didn't you?'

  The troll released his grip on Emma and shrugged, 'Why would I I? Why would would I I?' he asked.

  'But all the humans - and back in Bath, Liam and Nisha - oh, I'm so confused.'

  'The trolls aren't all all bad bad,' he quipped. 'Some are under under the spell spell. A nasty spell spell. I managed to escape it it, but then you ran me over over and, and trapped me in that cage cage.'

  'Why didn't you say something before?' she asked.

  The troll shrugged his shoulders, 'Why? Why not? Who knows knows?'

  'We can talk about this later,' Declan said, peering through the window and watching more and more humans being carried into the castle.

  'Can you see any trolls in the vicinity?' he asked.

  The pixie troll scoured the area and shook his head, 'No, no trolls here, no trolls here here.'

  'How are we going to help, Declan?' asked Elliott.

  'I have a plan,' he replied, looking through his mirror directly at the creature in the back. The troll gulped loudly.

  oOo

  'So we're safe to get out of the car?' Lana asked for the third time.

  'Yes, ye
s, safe yes yes. I can keep you safe safe,' he answered.

  'How can you keep us safe?' Elliott quipped as they very quietly climbed out of the Range Rover and hid behind it while they waited for Declan to explain his plan.

  'I can tell you when when bad pixie trolls come near near and if they do do, I can try to stop them them. Don't worry, you'll be safe safe.'

  'So, what's the plan?' Emma asked.

  'Well, I figured our friend here, oh, what's your name by the way?' Declan asked as he looked towards the creature.

  'My name name? You want to know know my name name?'

  The group nodded as he grinned, blushing at the same time, 'My name name is is Jimble Jimble.'

  'Nice to meet you, Jimble,' Declan whispered while the others smiled at him. 'Now, here's what I need you to do...'

  CHAPTER 14

  The group watched as Jimble rushed to the other side of the road, hiding behind people stopped in the street. Occasionally, he would turn back and seek reassurance from Declan, who would nod and give his thumbs up.

  As he finally approached the castle, the others silently followed.

  If the plan worked, Jimble would touch each of the vampires and stop them in time. If it didn't work, then they'd have a fight on their hands and they had to be prepared.

  Just before Jimble disappeared behind the door which had been left slightly ajar, he turned back one last time.

  'Maybe we shouldn't have asked him to do this. Look at him, he looks terrified,' whispered Emma as they crept towards the door.

  'I'm sure he'll be fine, Em. If he wasn't confident, he would've said so,' Lana replied.

  'I hope you're right,' whispered Sammy, who was probably even more frightened than Jimble had appeared to be.

  Suddenly there was a loud crash from behind the castle door. Jimble came running out, his arms and legs everywhere as he tried to bolt as fast as possible. His mouth fell open as he silently screamed.

  'Jimble,' hissed Declan. 'Over here.'

  Jimble stopped abruptly and turned to face them. Shaking his head, he cried out, 'I didn't get them all. There's still three left - run!'

  'No, Jimble, come here. We can do this,' Emma cried, rushing out to try and catch him.