The first instalment of the series ends with the girl and her friend disappearance. When the witches left for Sabbath, Littlegirl was supposed to spend the time with her friend, little wizard Dereq, in the safety of the College in Ezhero. However, when the witches return, they discover that both children have got lost and nobody has seen them for several weeks. What had happened?
Littlegirl and Dereq were kidnapped on the beach by pirates. They brought them before the Pirate King and, because Dereq threatens him with witches, he sets them into the damaged barge and lets them float to the open sea. The boy manages to get them ashore safely, but in the meantime, the sea currents have carried them far away and now they have to cross the desert. The children wander through the wild country, traveling much slower than they had initially expected. Forest gnomes tell them a story about a bad hag, Latvinia, who is imprisoned in the castle where they are heading. When they get there, Dereq steals a few things from Latvinia’s workshop, including mysterious yellow crystals. But he has no idea that she has been watching him all along. During the night, deep in the woods, the children stumble across a swarm of Veelas and witness how they dance two men to death. They don’t harm the children, but they put a curse on Dereq. If he does not clear himself by the following full moon, he will be lost, so the children must hurry…
READ THE SAMPLE BELOW
“And what about you? Aren’t you going?” he asked the farmer.
“I said that I’ll come right after you, just go, go.”
“I could unhitch your horses.”
“No need, I’ll take care of everything. You should ask the people in the tavern about your horse, if they saw it.”
“We won’t catch him now anyway.”
The Little Girl wanted to go to the house, when Dereq turned to her with his intense voice, which she knew very well and did not like, “Wait here and help me unhitch the horses! This is the least we can do for him, when he took us. Even if he had it hard with me.”
The farmer objected again but Dereq was as if deaf. They helped him to push the carriage under the roof and left him next to it. Then the children took the horses and led them to the stables, which stood on the right side of the inn. They walked in front of the building and from inside a welcoming light streamed out. They saw that the inn it was full of people, they were enjoying themselves, laughter rang out, the clanging of glasses and cutlery and from the back saloon sounded quiet music.
The Little Girl felt hungry again, “I hope it’s not expensive.” she muttered, ” oh, what am I talking about, we don’t even have a penny…”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” whispered Dereq just as they had led the horses from earshot, “we should leave immediately.” They opened the doors to the stable. It was empty.
“The tavern is packed but there’s no horse or cart to be seen. Even the stable is deserted. How did the people get here? What a nasty man, where did he bring us?”
“This reminds me of a story about a devil’s tavern. People dance there, music plays and if you go in you’re lost forever. You cannot leave, you have to stay there and dance for all eternity.” the Little Girl spat out.
“I don’t think there’s dancing inside. Under no circumstances we go in, we must stay outside whatever will happen.
“I wouldn’t dream to go in.”
“Come, we’ll look out and see what the farmer is doing. Let’s run away, while he thinks that we’re tying the horses.”
“And if he’s out?”
“What do I know? Let’s just wave to him that we’re coming, whatever, and when we get to those trees we start running.”
“Very ingenious.” she smirked.
Dereq moved to the door, but the Little Girl shook her head and pointed at a small covered window, in the corner of the stable.
“Great idea.” He nodded. They ran to the other side and already they climbed out. The Little Girl first and Dereq after her. They crept along the back wall. The stable was built from clay bricks; the wall was moist and was covered in mould and slime from the ground up above their heads. Even on the soil and rocks, right next to the stable, were covered by a slimy layer, and the Little Girl slipped and slid and she had nothing to hold on to. She was finally on the corner, when she ran right into the farmer’s hands. She recognized that it was him only because of his voice. His skin had darkened and dried out, and his face was almost black.
“Tonight you’re my guests!” The man’s hand reached for Dereq, but in the moment when he touched him, he twisted as if something had stung him.
So he just grabbed the Little Girl and dragged her towards the inn. The shocking panic seized her. She felt that the farmer’s fingers had turned into claws…