Free The Curse of Deadman's Forest by Victoria Laurie

many of Barnaby’s diaries. In fact, she even has the one recovered from the fire, which he wrote in the very night he died.” The professor then stared meaningfully around the group. But Ian had no clue why the old man considered that significant, and he could tell that no one else in the room did either. He was about to ask when Carl beat him to it.
    “Pardon me, sir,” said Carl timidly. “But I don’t understand what that’s got to do with anything going on here.”
    The professor looked surprised. “Why, my young Master Lawrence!” he said. “It’s got
everything
to do with what’s happened here! You see, Barnaby kept a journal to record the events and discoveries he’d found on each of his archeological digs.
    “And the reason this particular journal is so important is because right before Barnaby died, he uncovered a lengthy scroll hidden underneath the marble flooring of Laodamia’s villa. That scroll was thought lost, completely destroyed by the fire in Barnaby’s tent, you see, but his sister has revealed to me that my good friend actually managed to copy down much of the scroll in his last diary before he was taken from us!”
    “But I still don’t understand what that’s got to do with Magus, Caphiera, and Atroposa showing up again,” Carl admitted, scratching his head.
    The professor’s eyes were bright as he looked at Carl and replied, “Laodamia’s scroll was hidden in such a fashion that I believe she must have been certain it would never be found. It was not with the other scrolls, nor was it tucked away in one of her silver boxes for Ian and Theo to find. Whatever prophecy she recorded on that particular piece of parchment must have been too important to allow anyone else to see, yet also too important to destroy. It is my firm belief that the only thing Laodamia could hold so vital would have to do with all of this. At the very least, we must embark to Spain and discover the truth of it. And, might I add, if we were able to do so in secret, we might remove Theo from the threats that surround her at this time.”
    Ian felt goose pimples line his arms. Deep in his bones he had a feeling that the contents of that scroll could change everything. They had to get to Barnaby’s diary.
    “The professor is right,” Theo said, and Ian saw immediately that she was fiddling with her crystal and held a faraway look in her eyes. “The content of the scroll is important to us. It reveals something … something I feel we must know.”
    The professor’s chest puffed out in a way that suggested he was rather proud of himself. “You see?” he said, pointing at her. “Even our own little Oracle agrees.”
    But one glance at the schoolmasters and the headmistresses told Ian they at least still held some doubt. He knew that the decision would rest with the earl. When allheads turned to him, the earl surprised them by asking the professor a question. “Professor Nutley,” he began, “am I correct in saying that there is a fourth offspring of Demogorgon that was not accounted for by today’s events?”
    “Yes, my lord. Lachestia the Wicked, sorceress of earth, has not appeared to have contributed to the chaos of earlier. But that could be because the last legend that supports her existence suggests that she vanished over three thousand years ago, and she is presumed to have perished within a cursed forest.”
    “Wish the rest of that mingy lot would all vanish in a cursed forest,” Carl muttered. Ian smiled. He couldn’t agree more.
    The earl sighed heavily and a deep frown settled onto his face. “Perhaps you are right, then, Professor. The keep does not appear to be the safest location for our four special children. Perhaps a sojourn in Spain would allow them some respite from all this trouble.”
    But Madam Dimbleby protested. “Professor Nutley, with all due respect, the newspapers still report pockets of trouble in Spain. Don’t you think it’s a dangerous environment for