The girls helped Jimble out of his bubble and they all ran to the helicopter just as the blades began to whirr, whipping up a strong wind around them.
Climbing on board, they lifted Jimble up and helped him into a seat in the back.
Soon, they were airborne, watching the turrets fade into the distance.
oOo
Jimble sat, curled up, not saying a word, trembling as he tried hard not to look down.
'Jimble, what's wrong?' shouted Emma.
'We're awfully high, awfully high,' he gulped back.
Lana grinned, 'It's great, isn't it?'
Jimble shook his head.
'You know I used to be terrified of heights too?' she said to him. 'Until I turned 16 and then I got over it. And now, well, now I could jump out of this helicopter and land on my feet.'
'You could, you could?' he cringed.
'Yes, it's my special ability now I'm a Watcher. The higher the better, for me,' she grinned.
'Take no notice of her, Jimble. Just don't look down. You'll be fine. You're perfectly safe up here. We'll look after you,' reassured Emma.
He attempted a smile and turned his full attention to her instead, 'What is your special ability ability, Emma Emma? What can you do, do, now that you're a Watcher Watcher?'
Emma looked at him and grinned, 'I can swim like a dolphin and hold my breath for a very long time under water. But growing up I was terrified of the sea and of storms. Like Lana, I got over it on my 16th birthday too. The day I became a Watcher.'
Jimble nodded before turning to Daisy, 'I'm sorry we were never, never formally introduced, introduced,' he said as he held out his hand.
Daisy timidly held out her hand and shook his rather gnarled fingers.
'I'm Jimble Jimble. And you're Daisy Daisy, aren't you? Are you a Watcher, too too?'
Daisy nodded, 'Yes, but it happened to me on my 15th birthday, shortly after my mum died.'
'You lost your mother, mother?'
Daisy nodded sadly.
'Oh me oh my, oh me. I'm so very, very sorry sorry, Daisy. Tragic to lose a parent parent, so young. Not fair, this life is not fair sometimes. Tragic tragic.'
He didn't say anything for a moment before turning back to her, 'Do you have a special power too too?'
Daisy, who had been looking very sad, suddenly smiled at him and nodded, 'Yes, I can move pretty quickly and I'm really strong. And, apparently, my voice has changed too, or so I've been told. Eleanor told me that all Watchers are really good singers, regardless of whether they could sing before they got their tattoos.'
'Yeah, I've heard that too,' Emma said. 'I wonder if that's why we have music classes at the Academy, and why we're putting on a show for our families.'
'You know I always thought it was weird that we're taught music. I can understand the self-defence classes, history of the supernatural world, fight night, control class and some of the others, as well as our standard A levels of course, but music? Weird. And now we've got that show to put on, too. I can't say I'm looking forward to it.'
'Me neither,' added Emma.
Sara, who had been listening from the front turned in her seat with a smile, 'Many of the world's well known singers are Watchers, you know?' she said.
'Really?' Lana exclaimed.
Yep, Elvis, Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra... some of them have gone off the rails from time to time, but yep, all part angel.'
'But what about famous singers today?' asked Lana
'There are tonnes of them and they're all special, just like us.'
'Wow, that's awesome. Does that mean we can sing as well as they can?' Daisy asked, intrigued.
Amber then turned around with a grin and said, 'You're putting on a show aren't you?' before breaking out into a popular song that was always on the radio.
The others joined in with her, all laughing and giggling as they sang. When they stopped, Emma turned to Amber, 'So, her too?'
Amber raised her eyebrows and winked, 'Her too,' she nodded.
oOo
Acres of stunning brown and golden woodland appeared before them as they approached the National Park.
'Where should we set her down, Jimble?' asked Amber.
'Erm, I believe The Tree of Tonuka is right in the centre centre of the forest forest.'
'Right,' Amber replied as she searched for a clearing smack bang in the middle of all the trees. They hovered for another ten minutes or so until they found the right spot and then she manoeuvred the helicopter, deftly landing it on a patch of relatively smooth ground.
As the blades began to slow, Emma opened the door and she, Lana and Daisy helped Jimble down from the aircraft.
'Okay, it is safe, there are no pixie trolls here here. I wonder where they are are? We haven't seen them them for a while. Strange strange,' he pondered.
Sara hopped out too, leaving Amber to monitor the area around them and to explain where they were to Declan when he arrived.
The girls followed Jimble as he waddled across the clearing, heading northwards towards a particularly dense area of forest. Climbing over a number of fallen branches, the girls watched as he approached several old and gnarled trees and placed his hands on their trunks. He closed his eyes and waited a moment before moving on, until he stood before the largest tree there.
Heavy branches hung low around its massive core which had a large hole in its centre. Standing perfectly still, Jimble placed his hands on it. A moment later, a faint humming sound could be heard from deep within. The girls approached and listened as the tree seemed to take on a life of its own, wrapping its branches around the little pixie troll and giving him a long, deep hug.
It was almost like a mother reaching out to her son.
It eventually released its hold on him and he stepped backwards, a few tears falling from his cheeks. Brushing them away, he turned to face the girls and blushed.
'This is the Tree of Tonuka,' he said without repeating a single word.
'It's beautiful,' whispered Daisy who walked up to it and placed a hand carefully on its trunk.
'She is, she certainly is,' he said proudly.
The other girls also stepped forward to feel the tree that had given life to the pixie trolls. A tree that clearly held a special place in Jimble's heart.
'Can you talk to her, Jimble? Can you ask her about Gordle?'
He nodded, 'I can try.'
Moving forward, he hugged the tree once more, mumbling something low and unintelligible over and over again.
'She's trying to remember,' he said after a few minutes. 'She says her memory isn't like it used to be,' he smiled.
The girls found a comfortable spot to sit down when Emma suddenly gasped as she realised they were no longer alone.
'Er, guys? Guys...?' she said louder as they became surrounded by little creatures, all carrying bows and arrows which were carefully aimed directly at them.
Jimble stopped and turned.
'Crackerbilly?' he asked.
One of the little creatures scuffled forward, 'Jimble?' It whispered.
Jimble's serious face softened at once as the two rushed towards each other and stopped nose to nose. They smacked the backs of their hands together and then grinned, laughing loudly.
'Put yer weapons down, folks, it's only Jimble!' shouted the funny little creature, before continuing. 'What's going on Jimble? We're at a loss to why life has stopped for the humans.'
'I know, I know. Someone evil has got hold of the Temporal Stone. It's them that's causing all of this,' he replied. 'We're trying to track it down so we can stop it.'
'Who's we?' asked the creature.
'Oh, these are my friends. They're Watchers,' Jimble said proudly, with a huge grin.
Crackerbilly's eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open.
'I ain't met a Watcher before,' he said in awe as he looked at each of the girls and grinned.
'I'm Crackerbilly!' he exclaimed.
Introducing themselves, the girls relaxed again as Jimble
and Crackerbilly caught up with each other's news. Intrigued by the little creatures, Lana couldn't help but stare at them. Smaller than the pixie trolls, they had long arms and legs and slim bodies. Their faces were human-like with the exception of their mouths, which appeared to be a bit too big. And when they smiled, it was like sunlight on a dull day. You couldn't help but smile along with them.
'Hello,' whispered one of them who had shyly tiptoed alongside her.
'Oh, hello,' Lana replied as she eyed up the little female who stood playing with her long green braided hair.
'I'm Crackersally,' she said with a grin.
'Nice to meet you, Crackersally. I'm Lana.'
'What are you doing in our forest?' she asked.
'We brought Jimble to speak to the Tree of Tonuka. We're hoping it... she... can help us solve the mystery of the Temporal Stone.'
Crackersally nodded and looked away before looking back at her, 'What mystery?' she asked.
Lana laughed and began to explain everything that had happened that day. Crackersally was intrigued and soon, many of the other creatures approached and sat down beside her as Lana spoke.
'What are they?' Emma whispered to Daisy who were sat huddled next to each other beneath a tree just metres away from Jimble and Crackerbilly.
Daisy shrugged her shoulders and shook her head as Jimble stopped talking and turned to face them, 'They're pixies,' he said before turning his attention back to his long lost friend.
'It's weird that he can speak normally now, isn't it?' Daisy whispered.
Jimble huffed loudly and said, 'It's because of the Tree of Tonuka. It happens in her presence. When we leave, I'll go back to the way I spoke before.'
Jimble then rapidly turned his attention back again and Daisy and Emma giggled.
'Ouch!' yelled a voice from within the forest.
'Ouch!' yelled another.
'What is that?' said the first familiar voice. It was Declan.
The pixies heard something and were immediately on guard. Some had even taken action and fired little arrows at the approaching threat.
'No!' yelled Jimble as he tried to stop them from shooting any more. 'No, no. They're my friends too. Please stop shooting at them,' he said as the pixies stopped, just as Declan, Elliott and Sammy appeared.
Declan was pulling three miniature arrows out of his legs.
'Ouch,' he winced, 'that smarts a bit.'
'Jimble?' Declan asked, 'Y'alright girls?'
They all nodded, while Jimble looked very apologetic.
'What's going on?'
'Declan, this is my friend, Crackerbilly. He's a pixie. They're just protecting themselves and their home. Crackerbilly, this is Declan, Elliott and Sammy. They're Watchers too.'
Crackerbilly's eyes nearly popped out of his head. 'More Watchers? Wow,' he whispered as he approached Declan and bowed down.
'Please accept my humble apologies, Elder Declan.'
Declan began to laugh, 'Elder? I ain't that old, you know.'
Not knowing how to react, Crackerbilly's eyes grew wide and he cringed, 'Sorry.'
'What's that noise?' said Sammy, with her hands over her ears. 'It's just like this morning. Make it stop, make it stop.'
Declan rushed to her side and took her hands in his.
'What noise, Sammy? We don't hear anything.'
'You don't?'
Declan shook his head. 'Describe it to me.'
'It's like... like... lots of voices whispering and shouting, non-stop. It's horrible.'
'Sammy, you must calm down. I'm pretty sure this is one of your special abilities coming through. You need to control it.'
'But how?' she asked, as she began to sob.
Emma walked over to her and put her arm around her shoulders, 'It's okay, Sammy. You can do it. You just need to concentrate and focus on the sounds. Come on, let's go and sit down over there.'
She and Declan led her away from everybody else while Jimble returned his attention to the Tree of Tonuka.
'Okay, focus on me, Sammy,' Declan said as he sat right in front of her. 'Calm everything down around you, just look at me for a moment. Now close your eyes. Think of nothing but the sound of my voice. The noises you can hear are fading into the background now, just listen to me.'
The soothing tones of his voice almost made Emma nod off to sleep as Sammy listened intently.
'Are they quieter now?' he asked. Sammy nodded.
'Okay good, now I want you to try and hear my thoughts.'
Sammy gasped and opened her eyes, 'Yours? I can't hear your thoughts.'
'Shhh, just try it. I need to know what it is you can hear.'
Closing her eyes tightly, Sammy thought about nothing but the handsome man who sat quietly in front of her. Concentrating, she tried to focus on whatever it was he was thinking but it was no good.
She tutted. 'It's no good, Declan. Yours isn't the voice I can hear.'
'That's okay,' he answered. 'At least you've managed to quieten down the rest and are able to focus on just one. 'Do you know whose voice it is?'
Sammy shook her head.
'No problem. Stand up, but keep your eyes closed. I'm going to lead you around the forest until the voice becomes louder and you can identify it. Okay?'
Sammy stood up, keeping her eyes firmly closed.
'Don't worry about tripping over. I've got you.'
She nodded and the two began to slowly walk around the pixies and the Watchers. When the voice became stronger, Sammy would pull Declan in that direction. Soon, she stood next to Jimble.
She opened her eyes.
'That's it... you can obviously hear Jimble's thoughts,' Declan said with a smile as she looked down on the pixie troll.
'No, it's not him,' she whispered as she leant forward and placed her hands on the Tree of Tonuka. 'It's her,' she sighed.
CHAPTER 18
'You can hear the voice of the Tree of Tonuka?' Jimble said, awe-struck.
Sammy nodded with a smile, 'But it's not just her, I can hear all of them too,' she said as she pointed to all the other trees in the forest.
Declan had somehow managed to help her hone her skill and she was delighted.
'That beautiful broken tree over there has stood here for three hundred years. She's still a baby,' she giggled before turning to walk up to a tall thin tree with barely any branches or leaves, 'He's been here much longer and has seen some horrid things happen around here but she... she is very special,' Sammy whispered, turning her attention back to the Tree of Tonuka.
Jimble stepped backwards and allowed her to hug it on her own.
All was quiet around them as they watched the teenage girl in admiration.
'There was a younger pixie troll here some time ago and she remembers him acting oddly,' she said, leaning her cheek against the bark. 'Yes,' she added, nodding. 'He buried something right...' Sammy let go and turned her head, looking for something, '...there.'
Jimble dropped to his feet at the spot she had pointed to and he began to scramble through the hard earth.
'No Jimble, you won't find anything. It was taken from here a few years later.'
'Does she remember who took it?' asked Emma.
Sammy smiled, clearly enjoying interacting with the beautiful specimen.
'It was a boy,' she said, turning her attention back to Declan. 'That's all she can remember.'
Suddenly, Sammy lifted her head and moved towards the tall thin tree she'd described before, and listened intently to it. Nodding, she smiled and thanked it.
'He remembers. There were two boys playing by Tonuka's side when they discovered the stone. They took it.'
'Two boys? Hm,' Declan mumbled.
'How are we ever going to find out who they were?' asked Lana with a huff as she plonked herself down on a large smooth rock.
'Their names were Geoffrey and Rudolph,' Sammy said with a grin. 'Brothers who used to play here all the time.'
'How do the trees know that?' Emma asked, amazed.
r /> Sammy laughed. 'Their mother, she came rushing through the forest, panicking that she'd lost them. She was shouting their names for quite a while before she eventually found them.'
'But what do we do now?' Daisy asked.
'We find out where Geoffrey and Rudolph lived and go from there.'
'Lyndhurst,' Sammy answered. 'They lived in Lyndhurst.'
'How...'
'They wore school blazers with the name Lyndhurst School for Boys.'
'You trees are amazing,' Lana stood up, laughing.
'But when was this? Surely that's important,' Emma asked.
'I'm already on it,' Sammy whispered before continuing, 'About ninety years after Gordle buried it.'
'So, we're talking around the 1930s some time?'
'Right then, off to Lyndhurst we go,' Declan said with a grin as he patted Sammy on the back, 'I knew you could do it.'
Sammy grinned, the butterflies in her stomach doing cartwheels. She would never, in a thousand years, have thought that she could communicate with trees yet here she was, doing exactly that.
'Why was the sound so loud this morning, Declan? I was in the middle of Salisbury... there aren't that many trees there,' she asked as they began their brief walk back to the car and helicopter.
'There's probably more to it than just trees, Sammy,' he said, patting her on the back again.
oOo
Lyndhurst was a pretty village right in the heart of the New Forest. Like everywhere else, its locals and tourists were locked in time.
Landing the helicopter as close to the village as possible, those on board waited patiently for Declan and the others to arrive. It didn't take long, and with Jimble telling them it was safe to disembark, they all climbed out and met their fellow Watchers to discuss what to do next.
'Right, so we know the stone was taken by two brothers, Geoffrey and Rudolph, in the 1930s when they were kids, and we know that they attended the Lyndhurst School for Boys. So, where do you think we should we start?' Declan asked.
'The school?' Daisy suggested.
Declan nodded, 'That's one idea, if the school still stands. Anyone else?'
'Municipal archives?' Elliott, who had been keeping very quiet, piped up.
'Nice one. Right, Jimble, are you certain there are no other pixie trolls in the area?'