Free The Society of Dread by Glenn Dakin

jelly-forms rushed at the door and started to squeeze into the crack, forcing it wider.
    ‘No!’ screamed Theo.
    The crelp paid no attention. ‘Now we feed,’ they cried. ‘Later, we harvest the bones!’
    ‘It
was
a mistake,’ another crelp screeched. ‘Mistake to let her get inside and escape us.’
    Theo whirled around, facing the bubbling horde. ‘No!’ he screamed.

Chapter Fifteen
Refuge
    T heo touched the leading crelp just before it could force its way through the door.
    Thwoom!
It disappeared in a streak of blue smoke. Thorny creepers tugged at Theo’s legs and hauled him over. He smashed his forehead against a rock, and started to bleed.
    ‘Theo!’
    He could hear Chloe crying out. The crelp were getting in.
    Fwoom! Blam! Boom!
Theo lashed out wildly at every crelp he could get his hands on. He struggled back to the door through smoking, wailing, exploding pools of jelly.
    He hurled himself through the half-open door, turned around and slammed it shut. He leant against the door, breathing heavily. Outside, everything had gone quiet.
    ‘I – think it’s all right,’ Theo panted.
    Chloe was there, her hair dirty and ruffled, her big navy blue coat torn, with a pocket hanging off, her face drawn and pale.
    ‘Nice use of the word “all right”,’ Chloe said, with a smile. ‘We’re trapped beneath the ground, surrounded by flesh-eating monsters, and –’
    ‘And what?’
    ‘And I’ve never been so pleased to see you in my life! But wait – you’re hurt.’
    Only now did Theo realise that warm blood was trickling down his face. Chloe studied the wound, her head cocked to one side.
    ‘Gory looking, but not serious,’ she said brightly. ‘Kind of suits you.’
    Theo smiled. ‘Does it?’
    ‘No, of course not,’ said Chloe. ‘I’m just trying to make you feel better, you twit. We’d better bandage it up.’
    Theo smiled again. It was great to have Chloe back.
    Chloe tore a sleeve off the pale blue shirt shewas wearing and tied it around Theo’s head. She admired the finished effect.
    ‘A real wounded hero,’ she grinned.
    ‘But what happened to you?’ Theo asked. ‘How did you end up in here?’
    Chloe sat down on a stone ledge. Theo peered around. They seemed to be in some ancient workroom or lab.
    ‘An old alchemist’s refuge by the looks of it,’ Chloe said. ‘It may even have belonged to the original Philanthropist. Make yourself at home.’
    Theo looked at the rows of clay pots along the shelves. Many of the walls had ancient symbols scratched into them. There was even a pump of some kind, and a water basin.
    ‘The crelp snatched me from that graveyard,’ Chloe said, ‘dragged me down to these caves, and then they started to argue among themselves. They were torn between taking me to be a slave or eating me. They were very upfront about it though. Refreshingly frank.’
    ‘They are!’ said Theo with a sudden smile.‘Mostly. Except they’ve got some horrible secret, they said – some plan too nasty to tell.’
    ‘Great,’ groaned Chloe, rolling her eyes. ‘It gets better! Anyway, they had just decided to eat me when your friend the garghoul dropped by. Seems he had been tracking them. Tristus swooped down and carried me to this refuge, where they couldn’t get at me. Then he said he needed to fly to the source of the problem straight away, and couldn’t take me with him.’
    ‘So did he talk to you?’ Theo asked.
    ‘Not exactly. Apparently garghouls are very picky about who they communicate with. He kind of muttered things mysteriously and flew off. Well, I’m used to being treated like that – being in a secret society with Magnus. Anyway, Mr Tristus said he’d come back for me.’ Chloe looked tired now, and anxious. ‘But he never did.’
    ‘He said the same to me too,’ Theo said. ‘I hope he’s all right.’
    ‘Oh, he’ll be all right,’ she said. ‘They’re made of stone, aren’t they? What I really want toknow is how the incredible Candle