The last of Lurgin 5/7

For the first time that anyone could remember, there were two witches on duty in the guardhouse at the Gate. Something very strange was happening. A tremendous gust of wind had carried Jennifer Jane over the Witches' Home and out through the Gate towards the woods, where Tornak the Terrible lived with his family.

"There’s something wrong at the Wish Warehouse and with Lurgin becoming unpredictable, anything could happen. Jennifer Jane is out there somewhere and until we can find out why she wasn't sent through the usual channels, we must be ready for anything."

The Duty Witch for the day had spoken to the guards and they were all longing to know what was going on. The guard house door opened and a senior witch and Abigail came in.

"Any further news yet, ma'am?" asked one of the guards.

"It seems that Moonshine and most of her staff were stock-taking and she'd left Forget-me-not in charge, though why Jennifer Jane came through on an emergency wind remains a mystery."

The first two witches left the room as Abigail and her partner took over.

"I bet Jennifer Jane's protective spell works while Abigail's on duty," said one. "All the really exciting things seem to happen when they're together."

She was quite right. Abigail had just started to make two cups of tea and was laying out some chocolate Swiss rolls on a plate, "just in case we get peckish", when Jennifer Jane arrived with a thud on the guard room floor. She was curled up in a ball with her eyes shut tight, screaming as loudly as she could.

Abigail rushed over and put her arms around her. "You're quite safe now. The protective spell worked and you're back at the Gate."

The older witch had raised the drawbridge and rung the alarm and was now looking out of the window. "Get a Seven, quickly," she called. "Here comes Lurgin and I think we're in for a spot of bother."

Abigail opened the door. "Seven seniors to the battlements. Emergency. Emergency."

Jennifer Jane was holding tightly to Abigail's hand. "It was horrible," she gasped in between sobs, "I was actually inside his mouth before the spell worked. It was all wet and slimy and very smelly." She burst into tears again at the thought.

Abigail cuddled her with one arm and wiggled the fingers of the other hand. Jennifer Jane quietened and dropped off to sleep. Then Abigail carried her to a bench by the window, laid her down and covered her with a blanket.

"I think we can help her get over it but it's best she's asleep while we try and deal with Lurgin."

The Troll had blown himself up even bigger than before. He was now twice as high as a giant and covered the open ground to the Gate in six strides. He didn't stop as he approached but tried to step over the battlements and into the courtyard. His foot seemed to slide on an invisible wall and he fell heavily on the far side of the moat with a most surprised look on his face.

"Well, at least he can't get in that way," said the senior witch, "that's elemental magic, it's got the power of the whole planet behind it. Our weak point is the drawbridge. If he manages to knock that down, we could have real trouble."

She went into the courtyard and called up to the battlements. "Keep the drawbridge solid at all costs."

One of the seven waved her hand to show that she'd heard and then turned away to keep an eye on the Troll.

Lurgin had got back on his feet and was glaring at the witches. He put one leg across the moat and prodded at the invisible magic above the Witches' Home with his foot.

Nothing happened and he stepped back. Then he let fly with a most tremendous kick at the wall, but again his foot slowed and stopped in the protecting magic before it touched the stonework. Losing his temper, he kicked again with the other foot, which just happened to be opposite the drawbridge. There was a splintering crash and the drawbridge split.

"Oh heck, that's torn it," said the senior witch.

The seven on the battlements wiggled their fingers in unison and the woodwork repaired itself, except for a few splinters which had been kicked right out and were lying on the ground.

Lurgin had a nasty smile on his face. "Gotcher now," he shouted. He took two paces back and then, with a little run, he kicked at the drawbridge again. This time his foot nearly came through but with frantic wigglings, the witches managed to repair the planks before he was able to strike another blow. Now there were even more splinters on the ground.