Read Online Magic Parcel by Frank English - Free Book Online

curiously deadened sound. “Will we ever get out? You see, Mum doesn’t know about Isaac, my gerbil, yet, and before long he’ll need feeding, and besides ...” His voice faltered even though he was bravely trying to sound unworried, “... I’m hungry.”
    â€œWell, I...” Tommy started, but was drowned by the grating clunk of several bolts on the outside of the door being slid open. The ensuing creak of protesting hinges fixed their unblinking eyes on the gradually increasing outline of light around the doorframe. Not knowing what to expect, they were frozen as the door slowly opened; like the jaws of some preying beast.
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Chapter Six
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    â€œOh my head, my head!” Dominic groaned as he cradled his face in his cupped hands, still sitting on the floor.
    The darkness in the garden had cleared almost, leaving one or two pockets of grey mist still stubbornly refusing to disperse. The sun’s rays finally, after a long battle, had managed to thrust their way through the murk to re-warm and reawaken the land.
    â€œFear not, Dominic,” a familiar voice cut through the uncanny silence. “The danger is past.”
    The young boy’s head jerked up, a look of surprise dancing in his eyes.
    â€œTarna!” he finally blurted out. “How did you get here? You were out in the Settlement last I heard of you.”
    â€œThe Chieftain saw troubles coming from afar. We came through as quickly as we could,” Tarna answered briefly. “You we were able to save, but we came too late for the Otherworldlings. The Senti have them in their foul clutches, and by now they’ll be in Seth’s ‘gentle’ care. Their prisoners and their purpose were obviously known to them for they were taken with the least fuss. You they didn’t want, but you would have lost your head had we not cut through them in time.”
    Dominic, forgetting his troubles and pain and glad to be able still to feel the luxury of a headache, gave out an involuntary shudder of horror and revulsion as his brother led him inside.
    â€œBut what about the Brothers?” Dominic asked as soon as they were settled in to his quarters. “Is there nothing we can do?”
    â€œNothing,” was the quiet but definite answer from the older boy. “Once in Seth’s hands, there is no escape. They are, I’m afraid, on their own. Any help they get must come from within, and Seth’s power is ... well, look what happened to Father.” His voice tailed off, leaving a deep silence in the room, which was usually bright and airy and full of the smells and sounds of nature filtering in from the garden close by.
    The effects of a Seth presence were a long time wearing away, leaving the very fabric of a place steeped in his evilness.
    â€œThere is perhaps ... no, it’s not possible,” Tarna continued in a half-aside, talking quietly, almost to himself, with a distant look on his face.
    â€œGo on!” said Dominic eagerly, wanting above all to help the two brothers whose friendship he courted for a fleeting moment. “You said ‘perhaps’. Is there some way...?”
    â€œWell, yes, there may be,” Tarna replied hesitantly. “It’s just possible - only just possible mind you - that the Old Man of the Mountains might be able to help.”
    â€œBut ... he’s ...” Dominic stammered, eyes narrowing in disbelief and a little fearful at his brother’s suggestion. The Old Man had lived only in legends - a figment to frighten small boys who wouldn’t behave; a shadow which sat at the back of the mind or around behind the door in a dark room.
    â€œYes, I know,” answered Tarna. “He’s been told of only in stories for hundreds of years, but there are ways of summoning the help of this spirit; yes, don’t be startled, his spirit lives! If it is dealt with in the right way, it can be turned to good. It is not the