The Dark Portal Read online

  Audrey stepped back as far as she could, her arms flailing in the air as she balanced precariously on the edge of the altar. But as she did so her feet touched something cold. She glanced down, and there before her she saw her gleaming mousebrass. With one movement she swept it up and held it tightly to herself.

  Jupiter’s iron claws dug into the bricks as he hauled himself forward.

  ‘Yes,’ he gloated. ‘All these years, all this time I have lain hidden and secret from my subjects. Think of it – a cat worshipped as a god by rats!’

  Audrey covered her face to shield herself from the stench of his dreadful jaws. And then Jupiter lowered his head.

  Audrey saw a rush of red as his gaping mouth descended towards her. Grasping the mousebrass she instinctively flung up her arms.

  The anti-cat charm sparked and flashed, then blazed out like a green beacon in the altar chamber.

  Jupiter reeled back. The green light seared his eyes and blinded him. He shook his huge head and roared. His claws shot out and he pounced on Audrey.

  From out of nowhere a small furry bolt fell towards the mouse on the altar. It swooped down and snatched Audrey out of Jupiter’s reach and into the air. Held tightly in Orfeo’s grip she soared higher, the mousebrass still shining brightly in her fingers.

  Jupiter heaved himself out of the portal completely and grasped the narrow ledge. He screwed up his face and breathed in deeply. Suddenly he breathed out a shooting stream of fire. One rumour at least was true.

  Orfeo dived to avoid the flames, but singed one of his ears.

  ‘Oho! Old master puss!’ he cried. ‘Not that time – try again.’

  Audrey stared at the giant beast squatting awkwardly on the altar. And then she noticed something else. A small figure was advancing determinedly towards the bloated horror with a sword in his paw. Another fiery blast scorched the wall as Orfeo spiralled high out of the way. And then Jupiter hissed as something pricked his side: Thomas Triton had stormed angrily into the altar chamber. Piccadilly had found the small passage that he and Albert Brown had first discovered. Grimly they had marched up it and looked upon the terrible scene unfolding before their eyes. Now Thomas stabbed and swiped at the monstrous cat with his small sharp sword. Jupiter’s flesh was tough and there was too much of it for the thrusts of Thomas to harm him, but the jabs infuriated him.

  The corpulent monster’s tail flicked dangerously near.

  Gwen Brown rushed out of the passage brandishing her rapier and drove it deep into him.

  ‘Get back! ‘Thomas ordered her. Arthur pulled his mother back along the ledge. It needed both him and Piccadilly to hold her.

  A rush of leathery wings startled them as Eldritch landed behind them. With a quick smile at Twit, he brushed past them and flew into the chamber. Beating his wings in Jupiter’s face he called to Thomas, who was desperately dodging the thick ginger tail.

  ‘Ho, seafarer!’ hailed Eldritch. ‘Hold up your paw.’ He plummeted down and caught hold of Thomas. Then up they flew and circled around Jupiter’s head, where the midshipmouse’s sword deftly pricked and stung the angry cat.

  Meanwhile Orfeo flitted down with Audrey and she ran to her mother’s arms. From the ante-room came Morgan and Madame Akkikuyu, eager to see what all the noise was about. The fortune-teller shrieked when she saw the mountainous cat lashing out on the altar. So this was the Mighty One: her hope and future lay in the claws of a cat. She shook uncontrollably and began to gibber idiotically.

  Morgan was confused. He ran over to the huge creature and stared up at it, his beady eyes blinking in astonishment.

  ‘My Lord!’ he cried. ‘Is that you, oh Dark One?’ The Cornish rat felt cheated and betrayed. Jupiter’s reply was instant. His tail felt like a tree trunk on top of Morgan. With a wail he scrabbled at the ledge, but the ginger mass knocked him in the stomach, bowling him over and flicking him out over the precipice. Into the gulf Morgan fell, calling for mercy until he crashed into the water and was sucked under.

  This was too much for Madame Akkikuyu. Her mind could not take the enormity of the horror in front of her and it snapped. She fell silent and ran from the chamber, waving her arms about madly. Twit ran on to the ledge and cheered Thomas on, as Eldritch fluttered before Jupiter’s malignant face. Thomas sliced into one of the pulsating boils, and a gush of thick, yellow poison spurted out.

  ‘How’s that, moggy?’ he jeered.

  Blind with rage, Jupiter lunged at him, but overreached himself and tottered on the brink of the altar. His massive stomach slumped over the edge and dragged him with it. Jupiter fell from the ledge.

  Twit cheered louder and Eldritch flew down. ‘That’s ’im seen to,’ said the fieldmouse.

  ‘Don’t speak too soon,’ cautioned Thomas looking over the edge. ‘Come see.’

  Jupiter had stretched out his thick arms as he had fallen, and his strong claws had bitten into the wall. They scraped and screeched down until they snagged on the chain of a sluice gate.

  For a moment he hung there stunned and silent. But gradually his strength returned, and he gripped the chain more securely. Grinning triumphantly, he began to climb.

  His claws slashed out footholds in the brick, as he crept upwards. The chain clattered as he put his full weight on it. Slowly it started to move. Through the rusted metal hoops that held it the chain ran, and bit by bit, inch by inch, the sluice gate opened.

  Water rushed into the chamber as the gate yawned wide. The level began to rise.

  The mice on the altar stared down at Jupiter.

  ‘He’s climbing back!’ exclaimed Mrs Brown.’

  Twit grabbed the sticks from Piccadilly and Arthur and flung them down. They bounced off, and Jupiter laughed. Then he took a deep breath.

  ‘Stand back!’ warned Audrey as a great blast of fire shot up towards them. The bricks of the altar blackened as the sheets of flame blazed over them. The mice huddled back behind the candles next to the portal.

  A plaintive voice rose above the tumult of the water.

  ‘Look,’ shouted Twit, pointing down to, the adjoining wall. ‘It’s Oswald! He’ll be drownded!’

  The water level was rising quickly. Soon it reached Oswald’s chest.

  ‘He can’t swim,’ said Piccadilly anxiously.

  Orfeo rose into the air, and just as the water was filling Oswald’s ears the bat fluttered over him.

  ‘Put up your arms, pale one,’ he cried.

  Oswald obeyed and was carried out wet and dripping on to the altar.

  Two ginger ears appeared over the side of the ledge and Jupiter’s great head reared over it. He laughed at the small creatures who had dared to challenge him. Especially the girl: even now she was staring at him defiantly, completely disregarding the danger all around her. Smoke curled out of the corner of his mouth and he spat flames at the mice on the altar.

  Audrey faced the terrible cat god alone. ‘You don’t frighten me any more,’ she said coldly. ‘Before I die, I curse you with all my strength and all my faith in the Green Mouse. You are an abomination in nature. Choke on my bones!’

  Jupiter smirked at her, and a guttural rumbling came from his throat as he started to purr. His pink tongue slid out and licked the corner of his mouth.

  Audrey felt the fumes from his jaws on her face: the thought of the pain of being crunched and ground between his teeth flashed through her mind. With a last effort she cried, ‘This is for my father!’ and flung the mousebrass towards the beast.

  For a moment the charm glittered in space as it turned over and over. Then it hit the ugly great head with an explosion of green fire. Emerald stars burst out, dazzling everyone. The chamber became a turquoise green as fire caught hold in Jupiter’s fur. Jupiter squealed in pain.

  The green flames licked his huge head and he shook his jowly face to put them out. His powerful arms reached up and flayed about, and slowly he began to topple backwards.

  With an almighty roar of disbelief he fell. Down he plunged, too far from the
wall this time to cling to anything. He writhed in the empty air, his burning fur tormenting him, and then hit the water with a tremendous crash. A giant waterspout reared up and touched the ceiling.

  ‘Look!’ said Piccadilly.

  Jupiter was not finished. He struggled in the surging water, green fire crowning his monstrous head. Waves lashed at the ledge, nearly sweeping Audrey clean off. Piccadilly grabbed her and pulled her away as the water smashed over them.

  Slowly Jupiter struggled to the side.

  ‘He’s going to make it,’ shouted Piccadilly over the tumult.

  ‘Oh don’t let him,’ Mrs Brown cried desperately, and her paw closed over Albert’s mousebrass.

  Jupiter reached his mighty arm out of the water and grasped at the wall.

  ‘You cannot defeat me,’ he screeched, digging his claws into the brickwork.

  But, deep in the water, something else was stirring. Faint blue lights began to appear around the struggling monster. They glimmered underneath the waves, steadily growing brighter.

  Audrey rubbed her eyes. ‘What are they?’ she asked, but when she turned to the others it was obvious that none of them could see them.

  ‘No!’ cried Jupiter suddenly. ‘It cannot be!’ Slowly he sank deeper into the water, Audrey stood transfixed by the sight she was witnessing. Ghostly blue arms rose out of the depths, and small paws clutched at the ginger fur. Every mouse that Jupiter had tortured and devoured had returned from the Other Side to claim him. With the strength of death they pulled him down.

  Surprise and panic showed in his face and he thrashed about with his enormous tail. Mewing harshly he spluttered and choked as the water flowed into his mouth.

  ‘He’s going under,’ said Piccadilly hopefully.

  ‘He’s drowning, he’s drowning,’ shouted Arthur.

  Twit danced for joy around Thomas. Oswald sneezed and sighed, knowing he would be in bed for weeks with a terrible cold. He wrung out his scarf miserably.

  Staring up at the mice on his altar, Jupiter lost his struggle with the shades of his victims. He foundered and the water closed over his head. Great bubbles exploded to the surface and ruptured as his vast lungs were spent. It was a gruesome sight to behold, but Audrey could not take her eyes away. She had to be certain that Jupiter was dead.

  Soon the bubbles ceased. Jupiter was no more. His immense bulk sank slowly down into the deep.

  Thomas laid a paw on Twit’s shoulder.

  ‘It’s Davy Jones’s locker he’s gone to! The world’s a cleaner place for it; a dark and nasty stain has been removed.’

  Arthur and Piccadilly shook paws and laughed happily now that the dangers had passed. Mrs Brown hugged Audrey tightly.

  Orfeo and Eldritch alighted on the ledge gracefully.

  ‘The beast is drowned deep,’ said Eldritch.

  ‘As are his subjects and his evil plans. The plague will never leave the mine now,’ said Orfeo. ‘A neat piece of work, seagoer,’ congratulated Eldritch, but as he said it he exchanged an odd look with his brother.

  ‘Come on home,’ Mrs Brown said tenderly to her daughter.

  ‘Yes, we must leave this foul hole,’ agreed Thomas. ‘Back to light and air and the smell of the river!’

  ‘Buds are burstin’ out there,’ chirped Twit, yearning for the countryside.

  Only Audrey stared down at the dark water as it calmed and stilled. She saw a patch of shimmering blue rising to the surface and she caught her breath as the light took shape. From beneath the waves the shade of Albert Brown smiled at her. A thousand words passed between father and daughter. Then, as if called away, the shimmering phantom lowered his loving eyes and vanished. ‘Oh Mother,’ gasped Audrey, clutching Mrs Brown’s arm for support.

  ‘What is it, love?’ asked Mrs Brown kindly.

  Audrey stared over the edge and closed her eyes. Tears streamed down her face. Then she looked into her mother’s mild, brown eyes and cried huskily: ‘Father’s . . . dead.’

  ‘I know dear, I know,’ sighed Mrs Brown, glad that her daughter had finally come to terms with the truth. She held on to her daughter passionately. Audrey’s sobs racked both of their bodies.

  Thomas put his arm around Oswald’s shoulder. The albino was very tired and weak.

  ‘I know just the thing to warm you up,’ laughed the midshipmouse, winking at Twit. The fieldmouse giggled at what Mrs Chitter would say. Piccadilly joined them and they left the chamber.

  Arthur caught up with his sister.

  Phew, what a terrible week it’s been, and after all this you still haven’t got your mousebrass. Algy won’t believe any of this.’

  Audrey sighed and glanced back at the altar chamber. Her eyes were raw, but she could see Eldritch and Orfeo huddled together and gazing at her strangely. All she wanted to do was to get back to the Skirtings.

  ‘Goodbye and thank ’ee,’ said Twit, waving to the bats.

  Orfeo lowered his foxy head behind his wings.

  ‘Until the summer . . .’ he said darkly.

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  Read an Extract of The Crystal Prison

  An innocent young mouse lies murdered in a moonlit field as the screech of an owl echoes across the ripening corn. The Deptford Mice have escaped the horrors of Jupiter’s lair and sought refuge in the countryside. But once again they must face terrifying evil as they are embroiled in a series of horrible murders. At first the simple country mice suspect Deptford newcomer Audrey – but the truth turns out to be far more sinister

  1. The Summons

  Oswald was ill. As soon as the white mouse had returned from the sewers he had felt unwell. When the small group of mice who had confronted the terrifying Jupiter had emerged from the Grille and climbed the cellar steps, Oswald’s legs had given way and sturdy Thomas Triton had carried him the rest of the way. Although the albino coughed and spluttered no-one realised how serious his condition would become.

  For weeks he had stayed in bed. At first the mice thought he had merely caught a cold, and his mother Mrs Chitter had fussed and scolded him over it. But the cold did not improve and his lungs had become inflamed so that when he coughed the pain made him cry. Steadily he grew weaker. Mrs Chitter tended to him day and night, and made herself ill in the process, until she too became a poor reflection of what she had once been.

  Oswald’s father, Jacob Chitter, had moved his favourite chair into his son’s room next to his bed. He held his son’s paw throughout, shaking his head sadly. Oswald was slipping away; bit by painful bit the white mouse became more frail. Then one day Mrs Chitter could take no more. As she was carrying away the soup that Oswald had been unable to swallow the bowl fell from her paws and she fell heavily to the floor – soup and tears everywhere.

  From then on Gwen Brown took charge of Oswald and his mother whilst Twit the fieldmouse looked after his uncle, Mr Chitter.

  All was silent in the Skirtings. The empty old house was filled with quiet prayers for the Chitter family. All the mice helped as much as they could: those on the Landings forgot their snobbery and offered food and blankets. Gwen Brown’s own children Arthur and Audrey collected all the donations and messages of goodwill and it was the job of a grey mouse from the city called Piccadilly to keep everyone informed of Oswald’s condition.

  All the mice owed a great deal to this small group of friends. It was they who had finally rid them of the menace of Jupiter, and all their lives were now easier. No more did they have to dread the cellar and the strange Grille which was the entrance to the dark sinister rat world. All the cruel rats had been killed or scattered and a mouse could sleep soundly at night, fearing no sudden attacks or raids. Only the older mice still looked at the cellar doubtfully and would not pass beyond its great door.

  So, when they had been told of Jupiter’s fall – and when they finally believed it – there was tremendous excitement and they had cheered the brave deeds of these mice. But
now the youngest of the heroes was dying.

  Piccadilly swept the hair out of his eyes and got out of bed. The sunlight shone on the city mouse and warmed him all over but he hardly noticed it. For the moment, he was sharing a room with Arthur, and Audrey was sleeping in her mother’s bed, as Gwen was at the Chitters’ all the time now.

  ‘Arthur,’ Piccadilly whispered to the snoring bundle, ‘wake up.’ He shook his friend gently.

  The plump mouse on the bed blinked and drew his paw over his eyes. ‘How is he?’ he asked directly.

  Piccadilly shook his head. ‘I’ve just got up – how was he last night when you left him?’

  ‘Bad!’ Arthur swung himself off the bed and stood in the sunlight as was his custom. He stared at the clear blue sky outside. ‘Mother doesn’t think it will be long now,’ he sighed and looked across to Piccadilly. ‘Will you stay here, afterwards?’

  The grey mouse sniffed a little. ‘No, I’ve made up my mind to stay just until . . .’ he coughed, ‘then I’m off – back to the city.’

  ‘We’ll miss you, you know,’ said Arthur. ‘I won’t know what to do around here when you’ve gone. I think Twit’s decided to leave as well . . . afterwards.’ Arthur turned back to examine the summer sky and then remarked casually. ‘I think Audrey will miss you most though.’

  Piccadilly looked up curiously. ‘She’s never said anything.’

  ‘Well you know what she’s like: too stubborn to say anything! I know my sister, and believe you me, she likes you a lot.’

  ‘Well, I wish she’d tell me.’

  ‘Oh I think she will when it suits her.’ Arthur stretched himself and rubbed his ears. ‘He doesn’t even take the milk any more you know. Mother can’t get him to drink it and if he does, it won’t stay down. Maybe he would be better off . . .’ his voice trailed away miserably.

  ‘I’m dreading it,’ murmured Piccadilly. ‘These past few days he’s sunk lower an’ lower – I don’t know what keeps him going.’