Part 34 (1/2)
The rooks of General Ironbeak were perched in the dormitory. They listened in awed silence as Grubclaw and Ragwing related their encounter with the Abbey ghost, especially as the two rooks were not above adding bits to make it a good story now that Ironbeak and Mangiz were not there.
”Hakka! It was dark out there last night. I could feel in my feathers that something was going to happen,” Ragdaw began.
”Kraak! Me too. It was darker and gloomier than the bottom of a northland well. So Ragwing and I stood sentry with beaks and daws at the ready for any funny business, didn't we, bird?” Grubdaw added.
”Aye, we did that. Then suddenly Grubdaw says to me, 'Ragwing, can you see that shadow down there?'”
”How could you see a shadow if it was pitch-black?” a rook interrupted.
”Well, er, er. It was the moonlight coming in through the windows. Yes, thafs right it was the moonlight, anyhow-”
The rook b.u.t.ted in again. ”Kaah! What a load of old eggsh.e.l.ls. It was dark as a northland well, but with moonlight s.h.i.+ning through the windows.”
Grubclaw ruffled his feathers airily. ”Kragga! Who is telling this, you or us? We know what we saw. But we can keep it to ourselves if you start making fun of us.”
TTie other rooks silenced the interrupter.
”We saw a shadow in the moonlight,” Ragwing continued. ”Well, at first we thought it was a shadow, but when we looked closer it was an earthcrawler.”
Grubclaw nodded solemnly. ”A ghost mouse, all in armour. It seemed to appear from nowhere. Crook! It was carrying a long sword and it had no face. It moved like a feather in the breeze. I think it was floating, don't you, Ragwing?”
”Yes, it definitely floated. And another thing, it carried the long sword as if it weighed nothing. It must have had great spirit strength. The cold lights burned from its eyes like fire in ice-”
”I thought you said it had no face. How could it have burning eyes?”
”Yaggah! Will you shut your beak and listen? It was, it was, er, the white moonlight s.h.i.+ning on it, yes, it made the face that this ghost didn't have look like two burning eyes. Haak! We saw it, I swear on my egg and nest. Isn't that right, mate?”
”True, true. It seemed to know we were watching it, because it turned to face us. We perched there, ready to attack if the ghost mouse tried anything.”
”And did it? Try anything, I mean?”
”Krakkah! Did it! Well, it pointed with this great sharp sword and said; T)eath to all who stay in the redhouse!'”
”Aye, that's the very words it said. But the voice! Kaah! It was like thunder over mountains, I wonder you lot didn't hear it.”
”We were sleeping. So, what did you do?”
”Haak! I'll tell you what we did, we shook our daws at it and said; 'You come any closer, ghost, and you'U have us to deal with. Stop there while we go and bring General Ironbeak our Chief,'” Grubwing embroidered.
”Aye, we backed off, ready to give a good fight if it came floating up to the galleries. Ironbeak and Mangiz came out, Mangiz was shaking like a fledgling whose mother has left it,” Ragwing added.
”What did Ironbeak do?”
”Kaah, him! He flew about a bit and could not find the ghost, so he said he didn't believe us and flew off to get some sleep.”
”So where did the ghost mouse go to?”
”Yakkah! I don't know. To the place where other ghost mice go, I suppose.”
”You mean, there might be others?”
”Kagg! I'm not saying anything, but I wouldn't be surprised at all. The big door was open wide, Ironbeak couldn't deny that.”
The conversation carried on, getting more horrific with each imagined detail until some of Ironbeak's fighters decided that conquering the redstone house was not such a good idea.
”Did you see Mangiz today? He was badly knocked about.”
”Yagg! Do you think the ghosts had something to do with it?”
Ambrose Spike threw a careless pawful of hotroot into the simmering watershrimp soup.
John Churchmouse glared at the hedgehog over the top of-his steamed-up gla.s.ses. ”Ambrose, the recipe says half a spoon of hotroot. Why didn't you measure it?”
The old hedgehog bustled John to one side. ”Don't tell me how to make shrimp and hotroot soup. I learned my recipe from otters. A pawful, thaf s what you need. Lef s see if mat roseleaf and cowslip custard is ready.”
”Don't you dare touch my custard, you rough-pawed cellar keeper. If 11 be ruined if you open that oven too soon. Come away.”
Ambrose could not get past John to open the oven. He snorted and began furiously kneading nuts into a batch of honeysuckle scones. John rugged his whiskers in despair.
”Honeysuckle scones have a delicate flavour all of their own. Sister Agnes's recipe calls for beechnuts, but you've put acorns and hazelnuts in. Where did those beechnuts I sh.e.l.led go to?”
Ambrose wrinkled his snout and kneaded faster. ”Oh, those. I ate 'em. There was only a few. I'm very partial to a beechnut now and again.”
John clapped a paw to his brow. ”You didn't wash your paws. The whole batch will taste of hotroot!”
Ambrose grinned wickedly. ”So what? Ginger 'em up a bit. Give them more blackberry wine to drink and they 'won't notice the difference. Come on, quill-pusher, get those onions peeled.”
John flung down his oven cloth. ”Peel them yourself, barrel-minder!”
Late that night a breeze sprang up. Clouds scudded across the moon, sending s.h.i.+fting patterns over the Abbey floor beneath Ironbeak and Mangiz. The Methuselah and Matthias bells rang briefly, stopping abruptly to leave an eerie silence in their wake.
”How can the bells toll when we have the earth-crawlers trapped in that room below?” Mangiz murmured to Ironbeak.
”Kagga! Hold your beak,” Ironbeak silenced him. ”I don't know how they rang the bells and I don't care. It might be a diversion to stop us watching here. Keep your eyes on the floor below, over by the big door.”
They waited and watched.
So did the rooks from the dormitory, who had sneaked out on to the far corner of the galleries. Curiosity had overcome their General's command to stay in the dormitory. They had to see for themselves.
The main Abbey door creaked on its hinges, slowly opening.
The raven and the crow held their breath as they watched it. A few dried leaves drifted in on the sighing breeze, pale moon patterns swayed on the worn stone floor, and the darkness in shadowy corners seemed to grow deeper.
The tomblike silence was broken by a voice like rolling thunder: ”Death waits in this place for those who stay!”
Mangiz felt the feathers on his back rise as if a cold paw had touched them.
The ghostly phantom appeared. It came in slowly by 347.
the doorway, halted, looked up at Ironbeak and pointed with the sword.