The Underground City, page 18
“It was a plot, wasn’t it,” he grated, looking furiously at Arthur, “it was all a plot to get the children back!”
It was when Arthur blew a gentle stream of fire as a warning that the prince realized he had been defeated; for over the years he had seen smaller dragons than Arthur in action and had no wish to end up as a burnt-out cinder!
Even as he swallowed this bitter pill, however, there was another crack and a puff of smoke. The water goblins who hadn’t had this much excitement in years, screamed and clutched at one another in alarm. Neil and Clara scanned the cave; they knew that another magician must have arrived, but who was it? Prince Kalman, too, swung round, a hex at the ready, half expecting it to be the Sultan, himself.
“It’s Prince Casimir,” Neil said, gripping Clara’s arm.
“Father,” Kalman gasped.
“Kalman,” Prince Casimir’s voice filled with emotion as he gazed on his son. “Kalman, we must talk.”
“Speak! I am listening,” Kalman threw up a hand, his voice hard and unfriendly.
“The Sultan …”
“Don’t talk to me about the Sultan. You might be his vassal but I’ll never bend my knee to him! Never!”
“Kalman! You are my son! The past is over. Please, I beg you … forget your enmity towards the Sultan.” Casimir held out his arms in silent appeal but the prince stood rigid and unbending, his face a cold mask.
“Your enmity might have changed,” Kalman said coldly, “but mine has not. Don’t forget that I found the crown! It was mine! I had such power … and he took it from me! I will never forgive him and nor should you!”
Hopelessly, his father dropped his arms by his side, looking devastated.
Neil looked at Kalman with complete contempt, knowing full well that the crown had belonged to the Sultan and that he had no claim to it.
Kalman must have read his thoughts for his eyes shone with such fury that Neil stepped back startled and Casimir flung out an arm to protect him.
Seeing Kalman’s rage, Arthur thought it time to intervene. Indeed, the blazing stream of fire he sent curling across the floor of the cave, quite successfully stopped the prince in his tracks and did much to remind him of the delicacy of his situation.
Taking a deep breath, he looked round grimly as he realized that given the circumstances, there wasn’t a lot he could do. His face, however, betrayed no emotion and, deciding then and there to cut his losses, he bowed low to his father and then, rather mockingly to Arthur and Nessie. No one moved to stop him as he murmured the words of a hex and in an instant, disappeared.
There was an awful silence that nobody dared break. Casimir put his hands over his face and stood perfectly still, looking totally bereft.
“We’re very sorry, Prince Casimir,” Neil said quietly.
“Really sorry,” added Clara.
Casimir dropped his hands and looked at them both steadily. He sighed and gave a somewhat shaky smile. “Come,” he said as calmly as he was able, “I can do no more here. I must take you back to the hill. Your parents are anxious to see you.”
Clara felt Kabad tug desperately at her tunic and looked down at him. Her face softened. She knew that she couldn’t leave him behind. The other water goblins had turned out to be little more than particularly horrible bullies. Really nasty creeps, she thought. They’d been jealous of him when they’d found out what he’d done and from then on had made his life miserable, sneaking up on him and pinching him when they thought she wasn’t looking. Indeed, they’d been so horrible to him that in the end he hadn’t dared leave her. As she prised his frantic fingers from edge of her tunic, his face crumpled in an agony of fear and apprehension. “Don’t leave me here,” he pleaded desperately. “Please, Clara!”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you, Kabad,” she said reassuringly. “Neil and I would like you to come home with us, wouldn’t we, Neil?” she said.
“Yes, of course,’ he said, smiling. “There’s a nice loch quite near our house. You’ll like it there.” There were hisses of anger and envy from the other water goblins but Neil ignored them and looked hopefully at Nessie. It was up to her. What if she wouldn’t let them take Kabad?
“Is that all right, Nessie?” Clara queried. “Can we take Kabad with us?”
Nessie, totally taken up with Arthur, nodded quite happily. What was one water goblin, after all? As far as she was concerned, they could take a couple of dozen. One would certainly never be missed.
Neil met Casimir’s eyes and grinned. “Is that all right with you, Prince Casimir?” he asked.
Despite himself, Casimir smiled as he saw the ridiculous grin that had spread over the little water goblin’s face.
“Quite all right,” he said.
Clara turned to Nessie and Arthur. “Goodbye,” she waved, “and thank you both!”
“Bye, Arthur!” Neil said. “Bye, Nessie! Take care!”
Casimir then held his hands over them, murmured the words of a spell and a startled Arthur and Nessie suddenly found that, in the twinkling of an eye, all their magic visitors had left.
32. Christmas Party
A few days after Prince Casimir brought Neil and Clara safely back from Loch Ness, the MacArthur decided to throw a party; a Christmas party. They were all there, except Arthur, who had decided to stay for a while with his Nessie in Loch Ness.
Neil and Clara weren’t sure if the MacArthur hadn’t had a hand in arranging the weather to suit the occasion, for it was a positively magical scene. Snow was falling gently and as the MacLeans flew towards the hill on their magic carpets, Edinburgh stretched beneath them like a huge Christmas card. Once inside, they gasped in wonder for the tunnels were lit by hundreds of fairy lights and the great cavern, strung as it was from wall to wall with Christmas decorations, lanterns and dozens of brightly lit Christmas trees, was a sparkling fairyland of light and colour.
“It looks wonderful,” Clara smiled, hugging Lady Ellan.
“I’m glad you like it,” she smiled, as Amgarad swooped down to land on Clara’s shoulder. “We’ve been busy as you can see! Actually, Archie, Hamish and Jaikie did most of it!”
Jaikie, perched at the top of a ladder, waved down to them as he fixed a star at the top of the tall Christmas tree that stood beside the MacArthur’s throne.
Lewis laughed and waved back. “I can’t quite believe it all, Neil,” he said, marvelling at the sight. “It’s fab, isn’t it?”
Kabad came shyly over wearing his striped pantomime clothes. Mrs MacLean had shortened them for him and they sparkled in the light of the torches. He had never seen a Christmas tree before and gazed up at it in wonder. What with the tree, the decorations and his fabulous new clothes, he was the happiest water goblin in the world.
“Is the Sultan able to come?” Sir James asked as he and the Chief Constable added some brightly wrapped packages to the pile of Christmas gifts under the huge tree.
“Yes,” Lord Rothlan answered, “he’s at Ardray at the moment with Prince Casimir. Sorting out last minute business and the like.”
Lewis heard him. “He’s gone to Ardray?” he said in astonishment. “But Ardray was destroyed. All that was left was a sort of pillar of energy!”
“The Sultan has already restored Ardray,” Lady Ellan said with a smile, “according to Alasdair, the estate is completely different now.”
“You went there, Lord Rothlan?” Neil asked, his eyes round.
Alasdair Rothlan nodded. “You wouldn’t recognize it, Neil. The Sultan blotted out the magic forest and the Black Tower and has replaced them with a beautiful castle that is set closer to the sea. Casimir is delighted with it and I think he plans to invite us there once he’s got it all fixed up.”
“Prince Casimir’s all right, is he?” Lewis asked anxiously.
“Here he is now,” Lord Rothlan said as the Sultan and Prince Casimir stepped through the gilded frame of the magic mirror. “You can ask him yourself!”
Everyone bowed as the Sultan appeared but Lewis ran straight to Casimir and hugged him. “I’m so glad to see you!” he said. “You look really well!” Indeed, they all looked at Casimir in astonishment. The Sultan’s generosity had been such that there was no room for discontent and his face, now calm and untroubled, was kindly and pleasant. His eyes twinkled as he looked at Lewis.
“You haven’t changed a bit, Lewis,” he said, with a sigh. “Where’s your bow to the Sultan!”
Lewis reddened and bowed hastily to the Sultan.
“Don’t worry, Lewis,” the Sultan smiled, “we all understand your concern for Prince Casimir.”
The ice was broken and it was only after they had finished eating an absolutely massive Christmas dinner of turkey and Christmas pudding that they all sat, chatting idly together round the table.
Prince Casimir looked across at Sir James and asked about the pantomime. “Is Ali Baba still running, Sir James?” he queried.
“Oh yes,” Sir James nodded. “It doesn’t finish until the middle of January.”
“And are Neil and Clara still taking part?” asked the Chief Constable, looking across the table in surprise. “Sorry, I’ve been busy. I meant to ask earlier.”
Neil and Clara both nodded. “Matt Lafferty gave us a really funny look when we turned up again, though,” Clara grinned.
“Gob-smacked is the word he’d have used!” Neil said.
“And he looked absolutely floored,” Clara added, “when I had to have a new costume made!”
“And I needed a new turban! I gave mine to Nessie to use as a flag and I’m sure he recognized it from the TV footage,” Neil said with a grin. “He knows that something odd was going on the night we disappeared and I think he’s guessed that magic was involved!”
“An intelligent man,” nodded the Sultan, his eyes twinkling.
“He doesn’t miss much,” Sir James agreed, “but, you know, even he will be hard put to make up a story that’ll link you to the Loch Ness monster!”
There was a murmur of laughter.
“I do miss Arthur,” Clara said sadly. “Don’t you, Archie? I know he’s happy with Nessie but there’s not a lot to do at the bottom of Loch Ness.”
“He’ll stay a few months and then come back,” Archie sighed. “I wish he hadn’t missed our Christmas party, though.”
“What I’d really like to know is what happened to the bank robbers?” Clara asked. “Did you catch them, Sir Archie?”
“We only caught two of them,” Sir Archie replied, “Murdo and Tammy Souter. Wullie managed to slip through the net.”
At Clara’s questioning stare, the MacArthur chipped in. “You did hear what happened to Wullie, didn’t you?”
Lady Ellan burst out laughing at the mention of his name. “He was fantastic,” she said. “The ghosts of the plague victims didn’t stand a chance against Wullie! Not a chance!”
At that, both Neil and Clara sat up straight and looked at one another in horror. “You mean the ghosts of the plague got out?” Neil gasped.
“Yes,” she said, startled. “I’m sorry! I forgot you didn’t know! Yes, when the crooks blew up the vault, the explosion knocked down the walls of their cellars. Mary King’s ghosts got all the policemen out safely, thank goodness, but they somehow managed to miss Wullie.”
“You don’t mean …” Neil looked stricken, “you don’t mean …?”
“Nothing happened to Wullie,” Lady Ellan grinned despite herself. “The plague ghosts went for him, of course, but would you believe it, he killed them off! All by himself!”
“Wullie?” Clara said. “I thought he was a bit … well, he wasn’t sharp like Murdo.”
“Make no mistake,” laughed Lady Ellan. “Wullie was marvellous!”
“It was his cigarettes that finished them off,” nodded the MacArthur with a grin. “He absolutely reeked of tobacco smoke and they couldn’t take it!”
“Especially when he flapped his overcoat at them,” added Jaikie. “That’s what really did for them! They just fizzled up and died!”
“I still can’t believe it!” Sir Archie said. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know what we’d have done if it hadn’t been for Wullie! The very thought of the Plague People getting out into the streets still gives me nightmares.”
“Have all the ghosts gone back to Mary King’s Close now?” asked the Ranger.
It was the MacArthur who answered. “Well, we had a bit of trouble about that,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “The Plague People put them in a blind panic, as you can imagine. Once they’d seen your policemen safe in the Assembly Hall, Sir Archie, I’m afraid they just lost their heads. Some of them went up to the castle but most of them moved down to Holyrood Palace and well … you know how it is, they got accustomed to living in style and didn’t fancy moving back to the High Street.”
Jaikie grinned. “And you can just imagine what happened when they first arrived at the palace!” he grinned. “Believe me, it was absolutely manic! They scared the living daylights out of the tourists for a start and, in the end, the staff had to close the palace altogether!”
“Rizzio,” Lady Ellan said seriously, “was not amused.”
“You can’t blame him,” the MacArthur said, reasonably. “After all, he’s had the run of the palace for centuries!”
Jaikie grinned. “Apparently, he threw a thousand fits when they all poured in from the High Street. The very thought of them living in the palace … well, I ask you! He’s such a snob!”
Sir James and the Chief Constable looked at one another with lifted eyebrows. They both knew who David Rizzio was, of course. Italian by birth, he’d been secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots before her husband had murdered him!
Lewis smiled at the mention of his name and looked over at Casimir. He not only knew that Lord Darnley had murdered Rizzio but also knew the date — 1566.
“As Jaikie said, he was really furious,” continued Ellan. “He called the Council of Elders to a meeting at the palace and demanded that all the ghosts be made invisible again and ordered to move back to their old quarters.”
“Aye,” said the MacArthur. “There was a real stramash about it but he won in the end.”
“What, er … happened?” asked Sir James faintly.
“Well, it was Her Majesty!”
“The Queen?” said the Chief Constable, in tones of surprise.
“Aye,” the MacArthur nodded, “as you know, she’s always in residence in the summer. And, as Rizzio said, it just wasn’t on. Her Majesty accepts his presence as a matter of course, you see, and he’s very discreet. Just a dignified bow if he ever encounters her. But, as he said, she really shouldn’t have to put up with half the High Street drifting through the walls of her apartments whenever they felt like it!”
“Not at all the done thing,” said Sir James, keeping his face straight with an effort.
“Exactly!” said the MacArthur, heaving a sigh. “Anyway, it was all sorted out in the end. The Council of Elders made them all invisible again and they’ve already moved back up the High Street to Mary King’s Close.”
“And what about the bank?” Neil asked curiously. “I can’t understand it. Dad told me it wasn’t a branch any more but I see from the papers that quite a lot of money was taken.”
Everyone looked at Sir Archie. “It isn’t a branch anymore,” he agreed, “it’s a museum now, and normally, it wouldn’t have held any money at all. But it turns out that the Bank of Scotland were in the process of refurbishing some of their branches and, well, I suppose they had to put the money somewhere. The empty vaults at the Mound were ideal for the purpose. It was just bad luck that Murdo, Wullie and Tammy decided to rob it when it was stuffed full of cash.”
“And there’s no doubt they took it,” Sir James added, “for when we emptied the charity baskets in the foyer that were used for donations, we found bin-liners full of used notes at the bottom of most of them.”
“Wow!” Clara’s eyes grew large.
“Ali Baba and the Forty-Three Thieves,” grinned Neil.
“I’ve good news for you, though,” and here Sir James smiled happily. “The bank has been very generous and has made us a gift of the money we found, so we’ll be able to send a much larger donation to Children’s Aid than we thought! Much larger!” he added.
The Chief Constable, who knew exactly how much money the Bank of Scotland had quite happily shelled out, had his own ideas as to the origin of their sudden fit of reckless generosity and eyed the MacArthur with deep suspicion. The MacArthur, well-aware of what was going on in Sir Archie’s mind, met his eyes blandly, however, and nodded with a smile at the excited murmur that greeted the news.
“Will the thieves be going to jail, then, Sir Archie?” Clara asked. “I didn’t much like Murdo, but Wullie seemed a good sort.”
The Chief Constable smiled wryly. “It’s all been a bit difficult,” he admitted, “and we’ve actually had to let them go.” His eyes twinkled suddenly. “And to tell you the truth, I’m not sorry about it,” he admitted, “not after what Wullie did! And, when all’s said and done, I doubt if we’d have been able to bring any sort of case against them, anyway. The problem, really, was the ghosts — for we could hardly ask Mary King and her friends to testify, could we?”
Sir James smiled appreciatively at the thought of the ghosts in court. What a sensation that would have caused!
“I’m glad,” Clara said happily. “I liked Wullie and he did save Edinburgh from the plague, didn’t he!”
“Yes,” Neil said, “but if they hadn’t blown up the vault in the first place then the plague ghosts would never have got out! I reckon they’ve been lucky!”
The MacArthur and Lord Rothlan exchanged amused glances. They had both taken a liking to Wullie and had made quite sure that in facing up to the Plague People and saving the citizens of Edinburgh from the Black Death that he had been suitably and adequately rewarded.
33. Christmas Presents
“Talking of people being lucky,” the MacArthur smiled at Neil and Clara, “I think there are two very lucky children here because all of the presents under the tree are our gifts to you for Christmas.”
