Free The Sapphire Quest by Gill Vickery Page A

sun was beginning to set and he wanted to roost before darkness fell.
    When Tia reached the avenue leading to the town gates, a chill ran through her. The marble beasts on either side were much, much bigger than she had imagined – three times the size of a large horse – and even more terrifying.
    The first two creatures were a wolf, on her left, and a serpent, on her right. The wolf was carved in a crouching position as if it were ready to spring, its lips drawn back to show huge fangs. The serpent reared up on a column of coils, its tongue darting out like a spear. They looked horribly real, especially in the failing light, and Tia felt her insides churn as she walked closer.

    She stepped onto the avenue meaning to keep her eyes on the ground, but a loud grinding noise startled her and she looked up. The statues’ heads had swivelled towards her. Their mouths gaped wider and their eyes lit up with a deep red glow.
    Tia’s heart pounded. Would they leap on her as she passed them? Holding her breath, she walked steadily forward. The ghastly grating noise started up again as the beasts’ heads twisted and their red eyes followed her progress down the avenue.
    A few strides more and she came to the next two beasts, a bear and a leopard. Their snarling heads twisted round too and their red eyes fixed on her. Skadi must have put a spell on the statues to make them move whenever anyone approached. It was strong magic. No wonder Loki had felt uneasy.
    Tia hurried on. She passed animals she recognised, a pine marten and a lynx, and animals she didn’t – a great cat with a collar of shaggy fur and a plumed tail, an armoured bull-like creature with a vicious horn on its nose. They were all the same size and all had moving heads and glowing eyes that followed her every step. By the time she reached the gates she was running. She shot into the town and across asquare into a higgledy-piggledy collection of thatched houses.
    Panting hard, she skidded to a stop halfway down a shadowy side street. She made sure she had a good view of the gates and then slumped underneath a window, recovering her breath.
    In the square, people stood in anxious knots, talking in low, agitated voices. Even the guards at the entrance were deep in a tense conversation. Tia realised that was why they hadn’t noticed her. She’d been lucky they had other things on their mind than a running child.
    A light came on in the window above Tia’s head and she heard talking.
    â€˜She wants five men for the quarries and seven women and children for servants,’ a man’s voice said.
    â€˜But she took nine folk last month!’ a woman replied.
    â€˜There are accidents in the quarries and you know what happens when she tires of servants.’
    The woman gave a cry of fright. ‘But she won’t take anyone now – you know she doesn’t like to use the bracelet at night. Close the shutters and bolt the doors to be on the safe side.’
    Tia heard the shutters above her being pulled to.As the man locked them down he muttered, ‘Not that bolts and bars can keep
her
out.’
    All over the town, lights were being lit and shutters closed. The guards hauled the great wooden gates shut and barred them with stout beams. As darkness fell, two new guards with flaming torches marched up and the others strode off towards the castle. The night guards each went to a hut, one on either side of the gate, fixed their torches over the top and sat inside. The whole town fell quiet and the night closed in at last.

Chapter Two

The secret cellar
    Tia leaned back against the wall and thought about the conversation she’d overheard. What did the woman mean by saying High Witch Skadi ‘took’ people?
    Malindra had used animals to keep her citizens under control, Yordis had turned herself into a bear and threatened to eat people, and Luona froze anyone who crossed her. But what could Skadi do with the sapphire