Agnes Blair. I am sixteen years old and I am afraid.
***
They’d lost sight of the cars that had been in front of them. Anna was hunched over the wheel, staring into the flying snow. As soon as they’d gone through Guardbridge the weather had seemed to get much worse and they’d lost sight of the rest of their little convoy.
“Mum, we’re never going to get to the motorway.”
“Yes we will. We’ll be all right once we get to Cupar.” She seemed to think she could will the car through the snow.
There was no use arguing. He shut up again and hunched deeper into his jacket.
***
Oblivious to her surroundings, oblivious to the cold, Callie read what Agnes had left behind so many years ago, word by laborious word, for it was still difficult to decipher the writing. She drew a sharp breath, picked up the bottle again and stared at it as though it too was a message from the past.
“That’s it!” she said to herself. “That’s it!” She got to her feet, staring at the snow-filled sky. “Josh, come back! I know the answer!”
***
They were nearly at the big roundabout before Dairsie when, without warning, a wall of snow hit them, so thick that for a few seconds they were completely blinded. The car slewed across the road as Anna tried to get her bearings, and then the snow suddenly diminished again and they could see.
Josh gasped. “Mum – look out!”
There was a tractor heading straight for them. He heard his mother scream as she yanked the wheel hard to the left and then the car skidded off the road and into the snow-filled ditch that ran alongside and stopped abruptly.
9. Off the Road
Callie stood by the window to make the most of what little light there was and shone the torch on the papers as she read Agnes’ story again. From time to time she glanced down at the little glass bottle on her bed. Finally she folded the papers again and put them back in the box.
“That’s it, cat,” she said to Chutney Mary. “Agnes took the bottle from the Queen of Summer and they must have been meant to take it back, but they never did. That’s why she’s dying – it belongs in her kingdom. We can do something. The King’s bound to know how we can take it back. I need to get to the cave.” She looked out of the window again. “Oh, Josh, why did you have to go just then?”
Suddenly she gave a squeak of exasperation with herself. “Idiot! You’ve got his phone number.”
She scrambled in her desk for her phone and found Josh’s number. It rang and rang and rang, but there was no reply. She sent him a text, pushed the box and its contents under her bed hoping her grandparents would have forgotten about it, and took the phone downstairs with her.
George and Rose were in the kitchen listening to the wind-up radio. The freak weather seemed to be affecting the whole country; in fact it wasn’t as bad here as in many other places. There were numerous power cuts, but the electricity companies were hopeful that power would be restored everywhere in the next twenty-four hours.
There were candles in jam jars all over the house now,ready to be lit, and a big fire burning in the smithy hearth. There wasn’t much else they could do. Surprisingly, it was the usually unflappable Rose who seemed most upset by events, constantly on the move, looking out the window, unable to sit still.
“Shall I make some tea?” asked George.
“Yes please dear. That would be nice.”
There was a knock at the door.
***
The driver brought the tractor to a halt as quickly as he could in the road conditions, jumped down and ran back to where the car had ploughed off the road and into the ditch, his heart in his mouth at what he might find.
The car sat at an angle, nose down and tilted over to one side. As he reached it the driver’s door opened and a dazed looking woman got out.
“Are you all right?” he yelled.
“Yes, I think so.” She reached into the car. “Can you manage, Josh?”
“Yeah.” A teenage boy
***
They’d lost sight of the cars that had been in front of them. Anna was hunched over the wheel, staring into the flying snow. As soon as they’d gone through Guardbridge the weather had seemed to get much worse and they’d lost sight of the rest of their little convoy.
“Mum, we’re never going to get to the motorway.”
“Yes we will. We’ll be all right once we get to Cupar.” She seemed to think she could will the car through the snow.
There was no use arguing. He shut up again and hunched deeper into his jacket.
***
Oblivious to her surroundings, oblivious to the cold, Callie read what Agnes had left behind so many years ago, word by laborious word, for it was still difficult to decipher the writing. She drew a sharp breath, picked up the bottle again and stared at it as though it too was a message from the past.
“That’s it!” she said to herself. “That’s it!” She got to her feet, staring at the snow-filled sky. “Josh, come back! I know the answer!”
***
They were nearly at the big roundabout before Dairsie when, without warning, a wall of snow hit them, so thick that for a few seconds they were completely blinded. The car slewed across the road as Anna tried to get her bearings, and then the snow suddenly diminished again and they could see.
Josh gasped. “Mum – look out!”
There was a tractor heading straight for them. He heard his mother scream as she yanked the wheel hard to the left and then the car skidded off the road and into the snow-filled ditch that ran alongside and stopped abruptly.
9. Off the Road
Callie stood by the window to make the most of what little light there was and shone the torch on the papers as she read Agnes’ story again. From time to time she glanced down at the little glass bottle on her bed. Finally she folded the papers again and put them back in the box.
“That’s it, cat,” she said to Chutney Mary. “Agnes took the bottle from the Queen of Summer and they must have been meant to take it back, but they never did. That’s why she’s dying – it belongs in her kingdom. We can do something. The King’s bound to know how we can take it back. I need to get to the cave.” She looked out of the window again. “Oh, Josh, why did you have to go just then?”
Suddenly she gave a squeak of exasperation with herself. “Idiot! You’ve got his phone number.”
She scrambled in her desk for her phone and found Josh’s number. It rang and rang and rang, but there was no reply. She sent him a text, pushed the box and its contents under her bed hoping her grandparents would have forgotten about it, and took the phone downstairs with her.
George and Rose were in the kitchen listening to the wind-up radio. The freak weather seemed to be affecting the whole country; in fact it wasn’t as bad here as in many other places. There were numerous power cuts, but the electricity companies were hopeful that power would be restored everywhere in the next twenty-four hours.
There were candles in jam jars all over the house now,ready to be lit, and a big fire burning in the smithy hearth. There wasn’t much else they could do. Surprisingly, it was the usually unflappable Rose who seemed most upset by events, constantly on the move, looking out the window, unable to sit still.
“Shall I make some tea?” asked George.
“Yes please dear. That would be nice.”
There was a knock at the door.
***
The driver brought the tractor to a halt as quickly as he could in the road conditions, jumped down and ran back to where the car had ploughed off the road and into the ditch, his heart in his mouth at what he might find.
The car sat at an angle, nose down and tilted over to one side. As he reached it the driver’s door opened and a dazed looking woman got out.
“Are you all right?” he yelled.
“Yes, I think so.” She reached into the car. “Can you manage, Josh?”
“Yeah.” A teenage boy
Similar Books
