Free Pip and the Twilight Seekers by Chris Mould Page A

braying as she found herself pulling much harder, the roof scraping against the earthen ceiling. But they would, all of them, soon be glad to be out of the forest prison.
    Pip rapped on the door and waited. Bodkin’s pointy little head showed itself, yellowy eyes squinted through the barred window of the door, and then he disappeared again. They waited a moment longer until they heard the chink of keys and the turn of the lock in its barrel. Then the door opened with a distinct creak and light spilled inward from the torchlit labyrinth of tunnels ahead.

    Pip pulled on the reins and grunted his best impression of Jarvis’s grumbling tones, handing the flaming torch back to the strange figure of Bodkin.
    “Fankin you kindly, Misser Jarvis, sir. Master Bodkin at your service,” he said all at once, and then he made a small bow and grinned with pointed teeth.
    They moved on quickly, eager to escape interrogation. Still there were creatures meandering about the labyrinth beyond the keep. Pip kept his head down. Only moments to go before they were free and making their way through the frozen trees and undergrowth. At this moment he longed for the freedom of the forest. Where before it had seemed like a foreboding place, now it smelled of freedom. If they got that far, they would feel as if they had made their escape.
    The carriage was winding upward. The return was uphill and it felt like a struggle. Pip urged the horse onward but he could see the sweat forming on her back and the steam clouding around her nostrils as she pulled ahead. The wheels were slipping in the dirt but eventually a grip was regained and they were off again.
    “Come on, old girl,” he whispered to her as they went. For a short while it leveled out and she could take a breath or two. Pip had no idea how the children were coping. It was the ones beneath the axle that were the biggest worry. If they couldn’t hold on, they would fall into the path of the carriage and be seen.
    Bodkin was still poised at the door to the keep. He had turned the lock and placed the key back on his belt. But something was bothering him a great deal. He was scratching his head and trying to work something out and no matter how he tried to reason with the problem in his head, it definitely made no sense. “No sense at all,” he said to himself.
    Again, creatures clambered around the walls as the carriage passed. Leering into the space and searching with their yellowy eyes through the portholes. Something climbed right on to the top of the roof as they went. Pip tried not to look around but Toad was pulling on his legs and whispering to him to take a look at what made the clatter. Inside the children tried to remain calm but the scraping sound of claws on the roof brought great concern. If it decided to climb inside they would have problems.
    “What is it?” whispered Frankie. “I can’t see.”
    “Dunno,” said Toad. “Tell you in a minute when it climbs on top of us.”
    “Stop it!” said Frankie. Up ahead, the tunnel ceiling came closer to the carriage roof and the thing attached itself to a wall space to clear the narrowing gap. Its claws dug into the woody roots that wormed their way down and the creature rested itself in a small hole. Pip wiped the sweat from his brow and braced himself for another climb.

    Still, Bodkin was troubled. “Erm … umm … no … hmmmmm!” He scratched his pointy head and closed one eye. He stared upward, as if perhaps the answer floated around over his head, but no, he still couldn’t see it. “Hmmmmmm … erm … no. Bodkin still muddled!”
    The Malvern girls and the Brice boy were now hanging on desperately. All the strength was being sapped from their arms as they gripped the rear axle and kept their feet hoisted on to the front. Pip had told them that as soon as they cleared the labyrinth and emerged into the woods, they could take a moment to stop and then they could climb inside the carriage. But for the moment, they