Lizard's Leap: Chapter Thirty Six: It's a New Day

As Vicki ran through Brampton Hall, she was aware of the danger.

The others had all been in the house when Sylvia had told her about Adobe’s release. She was going into enemy territory without any protection but her love for Sylvia outweighed any fears for her own safety. With a bit of luck she wouldn’t even see Adobe. She could get Sylvia the help she needed and be back safely before anything happened. But the last thing she wanted was to put Mark at risk, too. He’d almost died in the final puzzle of the castle adventure. She didn’t want to take the chance of leading him into unnecessary danger again.

Before she had the chance to think about it all too much she was in Sylvia’s apartment. Granddaddy stood like a great wooden statue in the corner and Vicki felt scared, but she ran her hands over his big old clock face anyway:

‘Granddaddy, Granddaddy, wise old Way,
Take me to Whence, please, without delay.’

Within the blink of an eye, Vicki was in the village square of Whence. It wasn’t night-time here and the sun was shining. It wasn’t Wisdom Day, either, so there were no huge queues of people waiting to be given words of knowledge by the respected Olds. Nevertheless, several people went about their business, none of them giving Vicki a second glance, as though it was the most natural thing in the world for a girl from another place and time to suddenly land in the middle of their village, large as life.
Vicki put her hand to the necklace and took a deep breath before beginning the chant spell that would hopefully bring Sylvia to her:

‘Sylvia, Sylvia, calling you,
I’m over in Whence, please, come on through.’

Instantly, Sylvia appeared on the ground before Vicki. Her breathing was even more shallow, her skin was grey and she seemed to be slipping away.
‘Help! Help!’ Vicki yelled. ‘I’ve brought Sylvia and she’s hurt really badly.’

People came running from all directions.

Someone was sent to get the emergency team, someone else was sent for the Olds. People flocked round Sylvia checking her pulse, which is only found in Whenceans in their right big toe, and wrapping her up.

Vicki didn’t know what to do next. Sylvia opened her rheumy eyes. ‘Well done, child,’ she croaked. ‘I’ll be alright now. Go, before he gets here. Run, now, it isn’t safe.’

Her eyes fluttered closed again; the effort was too much for her. Vicki bent low and kissed Sylvia’s cold, leathery cheek.

‘Bye, Syl. Take care, and come back soon,’ she whispered. ‘She hoped that Sylvia would be alright, but she also worried that she’d never see her special friend again. The adventures were all but finished.

Vicki stood up after leaving Sylvia in the capable hands of a large clucking woman with an ample bosom. She moved a few steps off to the left and began the chant that would take her back through Granddaddy.

‘Hey, you! I want to talk to you.’ It was Adobe and he was pounding towards her on his thin, bandy legs.

Grandaddy carried her and the next thing she knew, she was back in Sylvia’s underground apartment. But if she could come through the Way, then couldn’t Adobe use the same means of travel? She felt her heart pounding. She just knew that Adobe was right behind her, and that he was going to burst into the flat any second now.

She took flight and ran, flinging the door open just as Adobe landed in a heap on Sylvia’s polished floor. As he leapt up to grab her, Vicki slammed the door hard in his face; and then she was off, running for her life down the corridor. She could hear him in pursuit but she daren’t lose valuable time by looking behind her.

The secret door was shut. She fumbled for what seemed like an age with the lever.

He was gaining on her. ‘Little girl. Dear little girl,’ he called in a thin, wheedling voice. ‘Any friend of my sister’s is a friend of mine. Please stop and pass some time with me.’

It was a trap. She didn’t trust him. Instinct told her that if she stopped to talk to him they would all be in terrible danger. This man was ruthless and he meant them no kindness.

‘Little girl, my sister’s asking for you, begging you to return. I heard her calling after you as you leaped.’

Vicki faltered, almost stopped, and almost turned to Adobe. And then, she heard Sylvia’s voice in her mind: ‘Run, Vicki! Run, child! It’s a trap. Don’t be fooled by him. Run!’

She ran as she had never run before. She thought of Mark running the gauntlet on his skateboard and she tried to capture some of her brother’s courage and speed. Her legs pounded faster.

And then she was in the garden hurtling at the others, who were still marvelling over the disappearance of Sylvia just a few seconds before. Barely any real time had passed while Vicki had been away.
‘Run!’ Vicki screamed at them at the top of her lungs her hair flying like a cloud of golden straw behind her. ‘It’s Adobe. He’s followed me though the Way. Run.’

They could see the odd man giving chase in the darkness and didn’t need telling twice; they were up and off down the drive like startled rabbits.
‘Don’t run straight home,’ Vicki wheezed. ‘It’ll lead him to the frame. We need to lose him first.’

‘Park!’ Mark yelled, bursting through the gates of Brampton Hall and veering off towards the park gates at the end of the road.

Vicki was the first to tire. She’d run much further than the others. Her breath was pounding through her body and the blood was pumping in her temples until she could feel the tune her heart was playing.

They ran straight through the park. It wouldn’t be a good place to be caught by the sinister man. At this time in the morning it was silent and deserted. When they ploughed through the park gates at the other side of the pond they split into pairs and ran in different directions, agreeing to meet back at the house when they were sure they weren’t being followed.

After flying down every back alley they could find—and giving Adobe the slip—four very tired and miserable children met up outside their grandparents’ house. Quietly, they let themselves back into the house and crept silently up the stairs.

Somewhere outside in the freezing darkness, Adobe fumed. But his anger didn’t stop him feeling the cold. He returned to the warmth of Wence, via Brampton Hall…

*

Very soon, four sleepy heads hit four soft pillows and each of them grieved the loss of the magic frame in his or her own way.

And that is where we leave them…for now. Because as the children slept, in a land and time far away, a lady is sitting up in bed and drinking some Lidleflower Tea. Every Whencer knows this is foul stuff, but every Whence mother knows it’s just the thing to get you on your feet again after a nasty illness.

While the children continued to sleep, the first strong shoots are breaking out from under the desiccated vines on the carved frame. Who knows, maybe these will become sweet blossom; and when the petals drop? Well, soft sweet berries form after the fruit blossom has fallen. A whole world of adventure awaits them while the children sleep on.

The End