aren’t vicious. They’re only dangerous because of their size. All they want is space to move around the mountains .”
“Well, they’re succeeding. People are having to leave their homes, you know. It’s no joke! The Highlands are being emptied.”
It was only when he looked closely at the positions of the landslides on the map, however, that the MacArthur’s face altered and he gave a hiss of alarm. Jaikie and Hamish looked puzzled until the MacArthur drew his finger towards Aberdeen.
“Morven,” Jaikie said in alarm. “You don’t think …”
“If the Cri’achan are heading for Morven then things could get out of hand,” the MacArthur said grimly, slapping his knee, “as if we didn’t have enough on our minds already!”
Sir James’s eyes flew from face to face as hesensed their concern. Things were obviously far more serious than he’d thought. “Something else has happened, hasn’t it?” he ventured.
Looking at Sir James’s worried face, the MacArthur nodded, wondering if it was fair to burden him with another, more serious, problem. He sighed and began his tale. By the time he had told him of Morven, the existence of Firestar and the dreadful attack that had almost killed them all, Sir James was sitting bolt upright. Now he knew why the MacArthur looked a couple of hundred years older than usual.
“When did all this happen?” he asked.
“About a month ago.”
“And you say the Rumblewhatsit, the hobgoblin, saw a man on the monitor?”
The MacArthur nodded. “What really worries us is that there could be another attack at any time. That’s why we’re wearing firestones. The danger is that if it lasts for longer, we … well, we just mightn’t be so lucky. It came out of the blue, you know. No warning at all!”
Arthur, with an eye on Archie, blew a very small cloud of smoke in agreement.
“And this ball of energy that you call Firestar? I mean … is it all right now?”
The MacArthur nodded. “Yes,” he answered. “The hobgoblins were worried about it at first but they can sense its moods and thoughts and they’d know if it had been injured. We’d all know,” he added frankly, “for Firestar is reflected in all of us.”
“What about the Sultan?” Sir James asked. “Washe affected? And Lord Rothlan? Prince Casimir? And your daughter, Lady Ellan?”
“They all felt it,” the MacArthur said gravely.
“Have you talked about it with them?”
“We had a meeting in Morven with the Lords of the North,” the MacArthur said gravely. “A few decided not to come — Lord Jezail declined and quite frankly he wasn’t missed.
“Lord Jezail?” queried Sir James. “I don’t think I’ve heard you mention him before?”
The MacArthur pursed his lips disapprovingly. “To tell you the truth,” he said frankly, “very few people like the man. He lives in Ashgar.”
“Ashgar? Where on earth’s that?”
The MacArthur raised his eyebrows. “Haven’t you heard of it? It’s one of those small principalities tucked away in Central Europe …”
Sir James shook his head. “My geography of Central Europe isn’t all that brilliant,” he confessed .
“It’s on the fringes of Asia and quite close to Turkey. I’ve never been there but Prince Casimir and Prince Kalman used to stop over in Ashgar on their way to Turkey to buy magic carpets.”
“In the days before the Sultan’s crown was stolen ,” Archie added.
“Ah, yes! The Sultan! Did he come?”
“He came by magic mirror,” the MacArthur nodded, “and ended up chairing the meeting. He’s a forceful character and … well, the Lords of the North are very old and a bit dithery nowadays. They were quite happy to hand the meeting over to him. Lord Rothlan and Prince Casimir werethere, of course and we talked for hours but in the end, nothing was resolved. We couldn’t find out what the force was but we think it may have come from the sky — like a bolt of lightning or something . The only thing we know
“Well, they’re succeeding. People are having to leave their homes, you know. It’s no joke! The Highlands are being emptied.”
It was only when he looked closely at the positions of the landslides on the map, however, that the MacArthur’s face altered and he gave a hiss of alarm. Jaikie and Hamish looked puzzled until the MacArthur drew his finger towards Aberdeen.
“Morven,” Jaikie said in alarm. “You don’t think …”
“If the Cri’achan are heading for Morven then things could get out of hand,” the MacArthur said grimly, slapping his knee, “as if we didn’t have enough on our minds already!”
Sir James’s eyes flew from face to face as hesensed their concern. Things were obviously far more serious than he’d thought. “Something else has happened, hasn’t it?” he ventured.
Looking at Sir James’s worried face, the MacArthur nodded, wondering if it was fair to burden him with another, more serious, problem. He sighed and began his tale. By the time he had told him of Morven, the existence of Firestar and the dreadful attack that had almost killed them all, Sir James was sitting bolt upright. Now he knew why the MacArthur looked a couple of hundred years older than usual.
“When did all this happen?” he asked.
“About a month ago.”
“And you say the Rumblewhatsit, the hobgoblin, saw a man on the monitor?”
The MacArthur nodded. “What really worries us is that there could be another attack at any time. That’s why we’re wearing firestones. The danger is that if it lasts for longer, we … well, we just mightn’t be so lucky. It came out of the blue, you know. No warning at all!”
Arthur, with an eye on Archie, blew a very small cloud of smoke in agreement.
“And this ball of energy that you call Firestar? I mean … is it all right now?”
The MacArthur nodded. “Yes,” he answered. “The hobgoblins were worried about it at first but they can sense its moods and thoughts and they’d know if it had been injured. We’d all know,” he added frankly, “for Firestar is reflected in all of us.”
“What about the Sultan?” Sir James asked. “Washe affected? And Lord Rothlan? Prince Casimir? And your daughter, Lady Ellan?”
“They all felt it,” the MacArthur said gravely.
“Have you talked about it with them?”
“We had a meeting in Morven with the Lords of the North,” the MacArthur said gravely. “A few decided not to come — Lord Jezail declined and quite frankly he wasn’t missed.
“Lord Jezail?” queried Sir James. “I don’t think I’ve heard you mention him before?”
The MacArthur pursed his lips disapprovingly. “To tell you the truth,” he said frankly, “very few people like the man. He lives in Ashgar.”
“Ashgar? Where on earth’s that?”
The MacArthur raised his eyebrows. “Haven’t you heard of it? It’s one of those small principalities tucked away in Central Europe …”
Sir James shook his head. “My geography of Central Europe isn’t all that brilliant,” he confessed .
“It’s on the fringes of Asia and quite close to Turkey. I’ve never been there but Prince Casimir and Prince Kalman used to stop over in Ashgar on their way to Turkey to buy magic carpets.”
“In the days before the Sultan’s crown was stolen ,” Archie added.
“Ah, yes! The Sultan! Did he come?”
“He came by magic mirror,” the MacArthur nodded, “and ended up chairing the meeting. He’s a forceful character and … well, the Lords of the North are very old and a bit dithery nowadays. They were quite happy to hand the meeting over to him. Lord Rothlan and Prince Casimir werethere, of course and we talked for hours but in the end, nothing was resolved. We couldn’t find out what the force was but we think it may have come from the sky — like a bolt of lightning or something . The only thing we know
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