Free Chaos Clock by Gill Arbuthnott

of it, because time will continue to flow unchanged.”
    “And if you lose?”
    “Then the world that you know will cease to be.”
    There was silence, for what seemed like a very long time, before, finally, Kate spoke again. “How do we know what to believe? It’s all so … Is there any proof?”
    “None at all. The only real proof will be in your heart, if you recognise the truth. I would guess though that your dreams have not returned since we last spoke.”
    They shook their heads.
    “Why does that matter?” asked Kate.
    “If the dreams continue to develop you would be more likely to believe me, but that is not what the Lords want. If they are just bad dreams and they stop, then perhaps I’m just a silly old fool.”
    Kate coloured, although he was carefully not looking at her.
    “You are more likely to be taken in by them if you have dismissed me.”
    “Are they here, like you?”
    “No. They are
confined
in a different dimension. They cannot reach you physically, but they can influence you. They will try to pressure you to help them, by threat or promise.”
    “But isn’t that what you’re doing?”
    He sighed. “It must seem so, but we aim to protect the world you know; the Lords mean to destroy it. Which would you rather see happen?”
    There was a trace of impatience in his voice for a moment, but when he spoke again it was gone.
    “I’m sorry. It is unfair of me to expect you to decide quickly – or at all. Come down to the kitchen and I’ll find you something to eat, and then you can talk to eachother in peace while I tidy the garden.”
    In the kitchen he made a pot of tea and produced a sticky lemon sponge, dripping with icing. He pulled on a pair of wellingtons and a very grubby jacket and unbolted the back door. “I’ll be about fifteen minutes,” he said as he went out.
    At first, they concentrated on their slices of cake, avoiding talk, but the final crumbs were soon gone.
    “It’s true, you know,” said David. “I can feel it. I can’t explain it, but I’m sure. And how did he show us that … whatever it was … if he’s not what he says he is?”
    Kate pushed her hair behind her ears. “I know. I’ve been trying to convince myself that I don’t feel like that, but I do. I only wish I didn’t believe him. 1348 did he say?” She shook her head as though trying to clear it. “I can’t work out how old that makes him.”
    “So we help?”
    “If we’ve decided he’s telling the truth, how can we not help? But what can we do? There’s nothing special about us.”
    “He seems to think there is.”
    Kate cut an extra piece of cake for each of them and they ate in silence.
    They jumped when there was a knock at the back door. Mr Flowerdew put his head around it. “Can I come in? Or would you like more time by yourselves?”
    “No, come in. We took more cake – I hope you don’t mind.”
    “Goodness, no.”
    He wrestled his boots off, then his jacket, washed his hands, poured a cup of tea and sat down, looking fromDavid to Kate and back.
    David nodded that Kate should speak for them both.
    “We believe you. We want to help, but we don’t see how we can.”
    A smile of pure relief lit his face. “Thank you both. You don’t yet know how much this means. Thank you.” He took a drink of tea, collecting his thoughts. “Our problem is that the museum is brim full of power, which is focused by the clock into a form that the Lords of Chaos can use. We must disconnect this power so they can no longer reach it. There are two things we must do to accomplish that: the Duddingston Hoard must return to the loch and the clock must be changed – its spirit must be constrained.”
    “Spirit? You mean like a ghost?”
    “No indeed. More like a soul. You have seen the monkey at the bottom of the clock?”
    They nodded, intrigued.
    “She is carved in the form of an ancient Egyptian spirit, but more important than her form is what she is actually carved
from
. Look