The Circle of Magic

Magic, the art of a true Gentleman, its secrets lost in the mists of time. An evil man, cast from this world to the world of the dead for using the magic of life to kill another Human. A true Earth Wand, born on All Hallows Eve, and cut during the chimes of midnight.
Mr Slive finally has one of the great, lost Earth Wands, and has returned to destroy those who stood against him, and take all the world’s power for himself. Only a circle of magic has any chance of stopping him, and only two teenagers and a cat now stand between him and domination of Mankind.
For Holly, Alec and Charlie, it is a race, between worlds to the secret caves of a lost civilisation, and through time to ancient, haunted forests and a strange land lost between sea and cliffs. From dragons, ghosts and deadly Shadow Creatures, to magic tunnels that can trap a person within them forever. It can only end in a confrontation between one of the most powerful magicians who ever lived, and two children and a cat who know they must not fail!

Chapter Three

Alec’s House

        The light from Holly’s bedroom had faintly lit the area just inside the mirror, but as they walked away it grew dark very quickly and Holly struggled to make out the shape of the cat as she hurried after him. They were heading for the pinprick of light that Holly had seen from her bedroom, though it seemed to be a long way off.

        After a while she turned to look back, the light from her bedroom was little more than a prick of light either now, the darkness pushing down on her from all around. Luckily the ground seemed smooth with nothing to trip her up as she stepped blindly on.

        Holly stretched her arms out around her – but there was nothing to feel at all. She moved sideways with her arm out but still there was nothing solid to feel anywhere. Holly noticed that the speck of light in front of her didn’t move, no matter how much she deviated from the line that she had been walking. She turned sharply to the right and to her astonishment the light moved with her – it was as if it was the only route possible to take.

        “Charlie, how does this all work?” she called.

         There was no answer and Holly suddenly realised that she couldn’t see the cat any more.

        “Charlie?” she called louder, beginning to panic a little. Still silence. Holly hurried forward, unwilling to hang about in this strange dark corridor on her own.

         Finally Holly felt that she must be over halfway to the light. It was bigger now, though clearly some way off, but there was still no sign of Charlie. Around her she began to hear mutterings and scraping sounds. They were dulled though, as if in separate passageways to the one in which she was travelling. Holly kept as quiet as possible, not wanting to be heard. She listened intently however, trying to hear what it might be, and at one point was sure she heard the words ‘The spirits will be ours on All Hallows Eve’. Then there was a much louder slithering sound and a roar of some strange beast. Forgetting thoughts of silence, Holly ran as fast as she could.

         The light ahead grew much bigger and began to take on the rectangular shape of what was almost certainly another mirror. With the roaring and slithering seemingly closer and closer, Holly launched herself at the oblong of light and found herself crashing out onto a double bed. She looked back in fear, and found that she had exited through two thin mirrors that were fixed to the double doors of a wardrobe. As with her own mirror they did not reflect the room, but instead showed darkness. Suddenly two fiery red eyes loomed out of the dark and Holly screamed and scrambled across to the far side of the bed. As a clawed hand reached out of the glass the bedroom light glowed and made a buzzing sound. Instantly the darkness vanished and Holly found herself staring at her own pale, frightened reflection in a pair of normal mirrored doors. She lay back, panting hard.