The following day Lawrence and Lucy walked round the beautiful countryside in a wide circle looking for clues. Jack kindly spared them a little food to help them stay out for most of the day. Lucy seemed to be charged full of energy from the blazing sun, and her coat shone brighter and brighter. Lawrence wasn’t used to such heat, so it just made him feel tired and slow.
At a gurgling stream Lucy sprang onto a rock, sniffing the air curiously. She was on to something! Suddenly the rock moved, taking off at terrific speed. Leaving Lawrence with only a loud meow, Lucy shot off after it across the fields. Lawrence tried his best to keep up, only managing a short, sweaty run before Lucy came trotting back with a stone coloured cat that looked very old.
Lucy had made a new friend who brought interesting news. This wily cat named Gar had avoided witches for many years due to her excellent camouflage and great speed. Once she realised Lucy was so special she told of a patch of land all animals avoided just over the next long rise. Near there creatures suddenly got very scared and turned away. Once a younger friend of hers crept too close and burned up in seconds! Even birds flew many miles around it. Instinct seemed to tell them to stay well away, much like the sound of hunting wolves to a deer. Terrible screams were often heard there late at night. Both cats agreed this must be Gretchen’s lair. Lucy lead the way, knowing Lawrence would follow her.
Soon they came to a small, rocky thicket smothered with pretty, flowering mosses. Tiny trees grew round the sides, spreading funny shapes across the meadow. Thin leaves shot out the top like arcs of smoke and whirled skywards. It was a quiet and beautiful place, till Lawrence noticed sun shone round it in a wide circle. This was very odd. He felt a nervous twitch deep down in his stomach. He’d seen this kind of thing once before. Lucy and Gar felt fine. Luckily Lucy’s powers must be protecting them all.
“Well done Lucy!” he exclaimed, realising how much she’d helped.
Lawrence slipped the long hanging grasses apart to peer inside. Sharp bends in the passage meant all he could see was a tiny bit of a small cave. Lucy meowed a warning as he bravely took a closer look. Suddenly air lit up in blinding flashes of blue. Lawrence suffered big electric shocks, throwing him back through the entrance, where he landed twisted up in a big heap.
The sky went dark, and a weird ticking filled the air, which grew faster and faster. Flowers turned black, spun off their stems and whirled above him. Lawrence lay squirming in pain as moss began slithering across the grass towards him. In seconds both swarmed all over him. Lawrence felt like he was being stung from all sides by armies of angry ants. Lucy leapt on top of him. Her coat shone bright gold, spinning the nasty creatures far into the air. They quickly returned, but kept their distance, droning menacingly. It was time to go. Gar led the way down to the stream to recover.
“That has to be Gretchen’s house!” Lawrence said, rubbing some fresh water on his arms to cool the throbbing stings. Gar went back to fishing in the stream, wishing Lucy good luck. She always kept well away from settlements, so she could avoid witches easier.
When Lawrence and Lucy returned to the village it had grown dark. Jack was peering out his house nervously, till he spied them walking across the field. “Better to stay in at nights,” he said, ushering them inside.
Lawrence told him what happened. Jack felt so frustrated he couldn’t help get inside Gretchen’s home. Lawrence explained Jack would be better off here listening to the villagers talk in case Gretchen singled his family out again. Investigations had stalled, so any rumour may help at this point.
Jack said people in the nearby village of Raven’s Den were talking of the castle sure enough. Folk over there said lots of queer things though. One of the cooks swore last month the Baron brought a gifted magician in from far across the sea. That would have cost an awful lot of gold just to watch him play tricks. Things some folk said he’d been summoned for made him laugh at their wild imaginations. Everyone knew it was because the old man was easily bored and constantly needed to be entertained, otherwise he spent his spare time making up stupid, meaningless laws.
Lawrence’s face lit up. Here were some possibilities. Perhaps they wouldn’t be stuck here after all. A magician seemed very interesting, as they always carried precious gems or staffs of power made from oak, silver or ash. If only the fellow was a real one and not a fake like so many at this time who only wanted to make money.
To ask for permission to enter the castle at the gate would only end with them being thrown into the dungeon. At school Lawrence learnt almost every castle had a weak point. This one’s design fault was a tiny sewer pipe leading to the higher chambers. Only a few years from now an evil warlord would use it to flood the castle with poisonous fumes. Lawrence and Lucy’s plan would be far less dangerous, but no less cunning. If she followed her nose through the tunnels, finding a magical item should be easy. Finally realising she could understand him, he told Lucy all about it before they went to sleep.