Chapter Two
"Are you sure this is such a good idea, Gran?"
"Oh! Don't worry, Thomas! I have had plenty of practice over the last few days."
"...and if this experiment does go according to plan, then does that mean the Nekross will no longer be able to fly their ship through our atmosphere or will they just not be able to attack us?"
"I'm not exactly certain. That is why I asked for your help."
Tom positioned a scale model of the Zarantulus on one of the rustic seats found within the Chamber, making sure it was steady, before running for cover under one of the tables.
"Do stop worrying!" insisted Ursula, "Everything will be fine. If I accidentally transform myself into a banshee, Moon will feed me a few berries and turn me back in an instant. I suppose that would actually would be quite nice really...flying around the room without a care..."
"This will be no joking matter, great Mistress!" interrupted Moon, "If you will be a-turning yourself into a wailing demon, Randal Moon will be a-clearing up the shambles!"
"Hush, Moon! You know I wouldn't leave you to struggle. If you perform both spells, there will be nothing to worry about."
The hobgoblin raised his arms. "Toads' tongues and badgers' claws, the Mistress Crowe will be protected by a barrier of enchantment." A glittering force field materialised around Granny. "By the fiery wings of Griffindawn the great, Randal Moon will be a-levitating this sky ship toward the Mistress Crowe."
Tom's spaceship flew gently upward, picking up speed, before hurtling in the direction of Ursula. The model struck the barrier at top speed, smashing into hundreds of pieces.
"Oh...dear," said Granny disappointedly, "That wasn't quite what I was expecting." She stuck her hand through the force field to deactivate it and bent down to pick up what was left of the little Zarantulus. "I'm glad we did not attempt this upon the Nekross spaceship. They may be cold-blooded monsters, but I most certainly don't want their cold blood on my hands." She dropped the shattered remains back on the floor. "Pass me a bucket, Moon."
Tom clambered out from underneath the bench, horrified to see his creation had been completely annihilated. He'd been hoping that once the operation was over, he could get out his old action figures and engage them in a daring battle against his snake-headed foes. Doctor Who and Luke Skywalker were probably breathing sighs of relief that Gran's spell had defeated them already!
As Ursula scooped up the pieces into the container, Tom caught sight of a series of words in stonescript forming on the scrying mirror.
"Er...Gran? Is it meant to do that...?"
Granny's head swivelled. "It's a message," she replied, moving toward the mirror.
"This will be no frivolous matter!" cried Moon, "If a wizard will be contacting the bloodline Crowe in stonescript, that will be because they are unable to speak in the presence of danger. This will be serious - very serious!"
"You mean...sort of like a magical telegram?" interpreted Tom.
"Precisely," responded Mrs Crowe, "And from the looks of what this message says, it appears we might again end up meeting those ghastly spine-headed monsters."
Tom looked carefully at the writing. "Help. Nekross. Natural History Museum, Washington D.C."
Gran dashed out of the Chamber to grab her coat and gloves. "It will be very late at night in America," she explained to her grandson, who was loitering in the toilet's doorway, "It's best that we wrap up warm."
"Going anywhere, Ursula?" asked Michael, strolling in the landing.
"We've received a message from an unknown wizard who says the Nekross are in the Natural History Museum."
"What are they in the Natural History Museum for!?" Already his mind was starting to form some interesting ideas.
"I don't know, Michael. That's what we're going to find out."
She rushed back into the Chamber, Mr Clarke close behind. When the three of them had arrived back in the main cavern, Moon was already brewing a passing charm.
"Hurry, Moon!" pushed Granny, "There's no time to waste!" She threw Tom his jacket.
"Hold on a minute," butted in Dad, "Are you certain this isn't a trick? I may not know a lot about magic, but I have noticed the Nekross have already contacted you through the scrying mirror. Who's to say they haven't forged that...wizardy writing to trick you into going off on some fool's errand and landing straight in their clutches?"
"It's a risk I'm willing to take." She wriggled into her coat.
Moon raised his arms and was about to begin the spell when Michael gestured for him to pause.
"I'm not going to let you and Tom go alone," he said to Ursula, stepping beside her.
"Randal Moon will be wishing you the luck of the leprechauns!" encouraged Moon, before chanting the incantation.
...
For a moment, nobody knew where they were.
"Are you sure you've taken us to the right place, Ursula?" asked Dad, venturing forth and walking straight into a cabinet. "OUCH!"
The amber on Granny's cane promptly lit up and everyone could see that they were in some kind of museum exhibit. "Are you all right, Michael?"
Mr Clarke groaned and rubbed his throbbing arm. "Fine, Ursula."
Tom observed a nearby display case. Inside was a selection of deceased insects pinned onto a board.
"This must be the animal section," he concluded, noticing the silhouettes of a variety of creatures in the background. However, there was no sign of any tall, scaly tourists. "What do you think the Nekross are after, anyway?"
"I dread to think," responded Gran, "A museum as large and prestigious as this contains artefacts from all over the world - including the magical world."
"You mean there's stuff here from the Netherside?"
"Perhaps so. Since unenchanteds won't have any idea of the power such items hold, there could easily be dangerous magic lurking somewhere deep in the heart of this museum. We must stop the Nekross from taking it at whatever the cost!"
Meanwhile, a camera closed in on the three visitors...
...
"I don't understand this!" fretted Morecambe, "In all my twenty years as a security guard, I have never - and I mean never - seen a thief get an entire police squadron to surrender. There is something not right going on here."
The chief was about to reply when they were interrupted by another surveillance man. "There are intruders in the animal wing, sir!"
Hadn't there been enough excitement for one night? The chief bent over to the other screen and caught sight of three rather unlikely trespassers. One was a boy in his late teens, the other was a man old enough to be his father and the third was a woman dressed in a dark pink coat, carrying an unusual staff with a glowing jewel on the top. None of them appeared to be wearing any masks or disguises.
The chief pulled out his walkie talkie. "Come in, Sergeant Winston."
"What is it, sir?"
"There are intruders in the animal area."
"Understood, sir."
The chief turned to Morecambe. "As for those snake-headed lizard people, I will deal with them myself."
He marched out the room, guards at his side.
...
"I'm beginning to worry about this, Ursula," said Dad cautiously after they'd been exploring for about a minute,
"If this museum is as large and prestigious as you said, surely that means there'll be guards left, right and centre. We've walked through the entire animal section, and so far we haven't seen any."
A shiver ran down Tom's spine. "I don't like the look of this..."
Everyone halted. The museum seemed even more silent than usual.
"I think I should try an invisibility spell," suggested Granny, "Just to be on the safe side."
"FREEZE!"
Suddenly, half a dozen security officers leapt through the nearby doors.
"I think it might be a bit late for that," confessed Michael, raising his arms.
...
"What do you think you're doing?!" bellowed the chief, advancing into the jewellery section.
Everything he'd seen on camera was completely true - the unconventional visitors had brought every one of his men present down to their knees.
"Superintendent Blackman!" exclaimed Rogers, spinning round, "Boy oh boy, am I glad to see you!"
"Silence, human!" ordered Varg, eying his weapon as if to place emphasis on the fact it was still there.
"I don't know what game you think you're playing at!" snapped Blackman, "Drop your ray gun NOW, or my men will be forced to take action."
The guards behind him loaded their guns.
Varg only chuckled. "Your threat is futile. You will surrender as well, or this human will be instantly obliterated."
Rogers felt his stomach lurch.
"Now look who's talking!" hollered the chief, "I happen to be the security chief of this entire museum, and I command you to LET THIS MAN GO!"
It was then his walkie talkie went off. "We've captured the intruders, sir," reported Sgt. Winston.
"Good work, Winston. It's been one crazy night!"
"Hey, wait! What the-"
The line went dead.
"Come in, Sergeant Winston." There was no reply.
"Ursula..." groaned an unknown man all of a sudden. Blackman swivelled to see three strangers standing a few metres away from him.
"It was the only thing I could think of!" defended a familiar woman in a dark pink coat.
Tom caught sight of Jeremy. "Did you send us the message?"
"I sure did, Tom Clarke. I overheard these two going on about ya and decided it was time to fight fire with fire."
"What?!" spat the chief, eying Tom's family, "How did you get...?" He broke off.
"You are too late to stop us, wizards!" Varg barked.
"Wizards?" piped up Rogers, "What sorta garbage are you givin' us now? There ain't no such thing as magic!"
"You may soon be obliged to change your mind," interrupted Lyzera, who was now wearing the necklace containing the priceless Hope Diamond alongside her own enchanted jewellery, "This gemstone will unlock a portal from beyond which the Nekross shall feast on a boundless source of magic."
"I beg you to stop!" pleaded Mrs Crowe, "If you attempt to open the gateway, there is no telling what dangers it could hold, both to you and everyone on this planet!"
Lyzera smirked. "Try to stop us, hag!"
"I don't care who put you up to this but this isn't funny in the least!" shouted Blackman, "There is no way any of us are going to be fooled by this wizardry trash. All of you are going to be spending the night in a prison cell...I only hope it's a big one!"
Lyzera whispered something to her husband. Rogers was thrust forward violently and Varg pointed his gun at Tom Clarke. The king regent turned to Ursula.
"You will open the portal, hag, or the wizard half-form will be instantly obliterated."
"No, Gran!" cried poor Tom, but the Mistress stepped forward anyway.
"Pass me the stone," she requested.
Lyzera reluctantly undid the necklace and handed it over.
"Thank you," replied Granny sweetly, before smiling mischievously, "See you later." She sped through an incantation and banged her cane on the floor. Every human in the room vanished.