Monster War

The Headmaster shook her head. “It’s not your protection he needs, Mr Dagget. It’s something far more precious. The Smith will explain it to you.”

Charlie shrugged. “Who?”

“The Smith,” Rex said. “As in blacksmith. You can find him in the Netherforge, out there in the mountains of the 3

Ring. That’s where Banishers go to make their weapons, and he’s the fella in charge.”

“Is that where you got your short sword?” Violet asked, gesturing to the one that hung from the cowboy’s belt.

Rex nodded. “Yeah. The Smith showed me how to forge it, like he does for everyone - like he’ll do for you someday, if there is a ‘someday’.” He turned to the Headmaster. “I can warn them not to touch him, right?”

The Headmaster smiled dourly. “It seems you just have.”

“We shouldn’t touch the Smith?” Charlie asked. “What will happen if we do?”

Rex sighed. “It would be…bad.”

“Define bad,” Brooke said. “Bad as in…?”

“Bad as in just don’t do it or you’ll hate yourself for the rest of your natural life!”

“Oh,” Brooke replied, startled. “That kind of bad.”

“Will you take us to him?” Charlie asked. “To the Smith, I mean.”

Rex nodded. “Course I will.”

The Headmaster shook her head solemnly. “That’s not possible, Mr Henderson - you know that. They must go without you. The seeker of the blade must bring with him his three closest friends.”

“Rex and I are his friends,” Tabitha replied. “We’re as close to him as anyone.”

“No. You are his mentors - and there are only two of you. I know you don’t wish to see the children suffer…but if they do not, the world will suffer.”

Brooke looked a little queasy. “Excuse me, Headmaster, but exactly in what way will ‘the children’ suffer?”

“Soon you will understand, Ms Brighton.”

Suddenly, the parlour door opened and Oscar rushed in. “I’m terribly sorry for intruding in this manner, but there’s been a rather dramatic development. Something quite horrific is happening.”

He picked up a remote control and turned on the wall-mounted television. As a newscaster babbled hysterically, live pictures from four major cities around the world flashed up on the screen.

In Spain, Air Golems stormed across a large bullring (helpfully identified as the Plaza de la Maestranza). The red dirt in the centre of the arena was funnelled up into the giant, rampaging creatures, turning them a dark, dusky colour. Screaming patrons tried to flee, but soon found themselves hurled miles across the heart of Seville by the tornado-like force of the monsters. Charlie was astonished to see a bull flung into the wall of the stadium, where it hung by its horns like a dart in a dartboard.

On another corner of the screen, Charlie saw Fire Golems smashing through the heavily fortified walls of Red Square in Moscow. The terrible creatures headed for the colourful spires of the Kremlin where they vomited up great geysers of lava. As they went about their destruction, they all but ignored a Russian military brigade that desperately tried to gun them down.