The Secret of Fire Mountain (youngsters:fairy tales, 3340 words)
Author: Ian Hobson	Added: Jun 06 2006	Views/Reads: 6634/3235	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
But suddenly there was a scream. A scream so loud and so frightening that everyone on the hilltop froze in terror… Another bedtime story from Astrantia (following on from Luzula and the Northern Lights)

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

and knelt down to take a closer look at some paw marks.  'An animal was 
here not long ago; a dog perhaps, but not a wolf.'  He turned back to 
look at the hill that he and Luzula had just descended.  'And I think 
it may have been watching us.' 

Callistephus and Luzula were on their way home after their remarkable
visit with Father Nature, and planning to find some nuts or berries to 
eat and to spend some time sleeping in the woods before continuing 
their journey. 

'What should we do?'  Luzula shivered and pulled her cloak more tightly
around herself; the air in the woods felt cold. 

'We'll follow these tracks for a while and see where they lead.' 
Callistephus moved off into the woods, keeping low and following the 
paw marks.  'Do you know any magic spells that would make us 
invisible?' 

'No,' replied the young witch.  She walked cautiously behind
Callistephus.  Talk of spells and invisibility had reminded her to 
check the contents of the satchel she carried, and so she took a quick 
look inside it.  Her precious talisman was still there, as was her pet 
Biloba, sleeping peacefully.  Although he was almost invisible, as he 
had developed the ability to change colour and merge with his 
surroundings. 

Callistephus stopped beside a tree and sniffed the air.  'I think it's a
jackal,' he said, ' and jackals mean trouble.  Perhaps we should go 
home a different way to the way we came here; we may be walking into a 
trap.' 

'Which way?'  Luzula was a long way from home and without Callistephus
would be completely lost. 

'This way.'  Callistephus turned to his left and taking Luzula's hand he
lead her deeper into the woods.  'We need to get to that higher ground 
that we saw on our journey north.' 

*** 

'If this is another of your wild goose chases, Malus, I'll skin you
alive and feed you to the vultures,' said Catan as he followed Malus 
through the woods. 

'But the children are here somewhere, I can smell them,' Malus replied. 

'Smell!' exclaimed Catan, turning up his nose.  'You can certainly do
that!' 

'If only we had Ginkgo Biloba with us,' said Malus, 'he'd be able to fly
above us and look out for them.' 

'I could swing through the trees, if you like,' offered Mimulus.  He was
already tiring and beginning to lag behind.  'What do they look like, 
anyway; children?' 

'They're not unlike you,' observed Catan as he followed after Malus,
'except they come in different colours and are at least a thousand 
times more intelligent than you are.  But then a squashed frog would be 
more intelligent that you are.' 

'Look!' said Malus.  'Another footprint.  We'll soon catch them now.' 

'That's the same one we saw earlier!' exclaimed Catan with disgust.
'We've been going round in circles!'  He took a swipe at Malus with a 
huge forepaw, and Mimulus laughed as Malus was knocked into an ants' 
nest and bitten on the nose and ears. 

'Get out of my way!' roared Catan, taking the lead.  He had invested too
much time already and was not about to give up.  But if it turned out 
that there were no children, then Malus would get more than a bite on 
the ear. 

*** 

Luzula and Callistephus were lost - but then, what kind of fairytales
would these be if at some point two children did not get lost in the 
woods?  They had been walking for almost half of the morning and as the 
vegetation had become thicker they had become more and more lost, and 
more and more tired. 

'I thought we were trying to get to higher ground,' said Luzula as she
stopped to retie one of her shoelaces. 

'We are,' replied Callistephus.  'I'm sure there's a hill at the edge of
these woods; a really high and rocky hill.  We saw it when we crossed 
the flatlands.  If we can find it, I'm sure I can find our way home.'  
Just then a beast roared and the sound echoed through the woods, but 
the beast was a long way off and Callistephus was not too worried; 
though there was something familiar about that roar, something that 
made him quicken his pace.  'Come on,' he said to Luzula, ' we can't 
stay here.' 

They continued on through the woods, soon having to skirt around some
boggy ground; but they did at least find some spring water to quench 
their thirst and a few wild cherries which they shared with Squill.  
But eventually, as they walked on, Callistephus realised that they were 
beginning to climb a little higher; and then to his relief, he saw, 
through a gap in the trees, the rocky hilltop that he was looking for.  
'Just a little further,' he said to Luzula.  And then as the gradient 
became steeper, he took Luzula's hand again and they kept on until at 
last they were above the treeline and back in full sunshine. 

'Can we rest now?'  Luzula asked, as she looked up towards the top of
the hill.  The ground here was indeed rocky, and the rocks were most 
unusual: not smooth and weatherworn but rough and somehow bubbly like 
dark brown porridge that had set solid. 

'We can rest for a moment,' replied Callistephus, 'but we'll be safer at
the top where we can see if we are being followed.' 

And so, hand in hand, they climbed steadily to the top of the hill where
they collapsed, exhausted, in the shade of a large boulder.  For a 
while they sat looking out across the treetops far below, and at the 
strange bubbly rock formations that surrounded them.  Then Callistephus 
got to his feet to examine a fissure; a crack in the ground on the 
western side of the boulder that, every so often, coughed a wisp of 
grey smoke.  But as he tried to look down into it, he was forced back 
by the intense heat that came up from its depths. 

'What is it?' Luzula asked.  She had taken off her cloak and folded it
to make a pillow. 

Callistephus returned to the shade of the boulder and sat down again.
'I'm not sure, but it's very deep and very hot.  I think we should keep 
away from it.  You get some sleep and I'll keep watch.' 

*** 

'They were here!' said Malus triumphantly, as soon as he had finished
drinking.  'I told you they were here.  Look: two sets of footprints!'  
He had taken the lead again, keeping his nose to the ground and keeping 
well out of Catan's reach, until finally he'd come upon the boggy 
ground beside the spring. 

'We can't eat footprints,' said Catan as he examined them closely.  He
pushed Malus aside and went to the spring to slake his thirst, soon 
followed by Mimulus who had taken to swinging through the trees but 
come down see why Catan and Malus had stopped. 

'There's a big hill over that way,' he said, pointing to the south.  'I
could see it from the treetops.  Funny looking hill; all kind of 
lumpy.' 

'Fire Mountain,' said Catan, looking at Malus for confirmation. 
'They're making for Fire Mountain.'  But before he had finished 
speaking, Malus was off again, heading south with his nose to the 
ground and soon beginning to climb the same sloping ground that 
Callistephus and Luzula had climbed. 

'Come on,' Catan said to Mimulus, 'but stay on the ground and keep
quiet.  Keep very quiet.' 

*** 

Both Luzula and Callistephus had fallen asleep and were unaware of the
jackal that sat watching them.  Again, Malus was tempted to attack on 
his own, but it was not in his nature to do so.  He was a pack animal, 
and although his own family had long since banished him from their 
lands, he still missed the chase and the final surrounding of the prey 
and the feast that followed.  But not today.  Today he had proved his 
worth, and he patiently waited for Catan and Mimulus to climb the 
mountain and join him. 

Of course, it was not really a mountain.  It was just a hill of volcanic
rock; the remains of an ancient volcano which, though still extremely 
hot at its core, could produce no more than a few wisps of smoke and 
the odd burst of flame if something or someone should fall into its 
fissure.  Although sometimes strange sounds would come up from its 
scorching hot depths; sounds that might repel even the most inquisitive 
of visitors. 

Callistephus had lived in the wild for several years and developed a
kind of sixth sense that warned him of danger.  So as he awoke, he kept 
very still and only half opened his eyes.  He had been dreaming, and in 
his dream it was night-time and he was a wolf, and so his first 
instinct was to leap at the jackal and chase him away.  But as he 
realised that the sun was still high in the sky and that he was just a 
boy, he kept very still and watched through his half-closed eyelids.  
But then to his horror the jackal was joined by two others: a large 
brown monkey and a creature that Callistephus immediately recognised as 
Catan; the beast he had tricked with the promise of an emerald. 

He reached out and touched Luzula on her arm, waking her.  'Don't make
any sudden moves,' he said, as he got slowly to his feet.  The jackal 
was to his right and Catan straight ahead with monkey in between.  So 
the best means of escape was towards the smoking fissure.  'Just move 
slowly, Luzula, and follow me.' 

Luzula collected her satchel and her folded cloak and clutched them to
herself as she stood up and followed Callistephus, but before they had 
moved more than four or five paces, Catan moved to intercept them. 

'I know you,' he said, looking at Callistephus.  'We have met before;
but where?  And why do I feel as though the meeting was not a good 
one?' 

'But it was a good meeting,' said Callistephus, bravely.  'I saved your
life when you were stuck in quick sand, and then you saved me.' 

'Of course!' exclaimed Catan as he at last remembered.  'The boy who
cheated me!  Cheated me out of a precious stone, as I recall.  Promised 
me an emerald and gave me nothing!' 

'Enough talk,' snarled Malus, felling very brave now that he was no
longer on his own.  'It's time we killed them and filled our bellies 
with child meat.' 

'Oh no,' Catan contradicted him.  'That would be too good for this
cheating little urchin.'  He glanced at the smoking fissure.  'I've 
always wanted to try roasted meat.  We'll hold the boy over the fire 
crack and roast him alive, and if we like the taste we'll do the same 
to the girl.' 

'I have a precious stone,' said Luzula, reaching into her satchel.  'If
you let us go, you can have it.'  She clutched her talisman, trying 
hard to remember a particular magic spell from her spell book. 

'Really?' replied Catan, playing along with what was obviously going to
be a trick and holding out a forepaw.  'And you have it with you?' 

'Yes, it's here.'  Luzula could remember only half of the spell she
needed so she did the only thing that might save them.  She held out 
her most precious possession - her shooting star talisman – and dropped 
it into Catan's paw. 

'What's this?' said Catan, laughing.  'This is just a pebble; a pretty
one, I agree, but there's nothing precious about it.'  And to Luzula's 
horror, he tossed her talisman high over his shoulder and into the 
red-hot fissure. 

'What else do you have in there?'  Mimulus ran up to Luzula and snatched
the satchel away from her and wrenched it open, but it was empty, or 
almost; there was something in there and he reached inside for it.  
'Yeeeow!' he screamed, as he withdrew his hand with Squill sinking his 
teeth into his forefinger.  'Yeeeow!'  He dropped the satchel and 
danced around shaking his hand to rid himself of the biloba until 
Squill opened his wings and took to the air, only to fly straight back 
at Mimulus's face and bite his nose before taking off again. 

Malus began to laugh.  'It's a baby Gink,' he said, ducking as Squill
flew at his head.  'A tiny Ginkgo Biloba!' 

'Stop fooling around!' growled Catan as he moved closer to the fire
crack.  'Grab the boy and bring him over here!'  Squill flew to Luzula 
and landed on her shoulder while Malus and Mimulus, holding his nose 
and sucking his wounded finger, rounded on Callistephus. 

But suddenly there was a scream.  A scream so loud and so frightening
that everyone on the hilltop froze in terror before slowly turning to 
look towards the fissure which was now spitting flames and smoking 
furiously. 

And then, out of the flames and smoke, came a terrible site: a fiery
creature, twisted and ugly and yet unmistakably female, with flaming 
yellow hair and a flaming red gown.  'Who dares to disturb my slumber!' 
she asked with fiery breath, as she towered over Catan and fixed him 
with a mesmerising stare that rooted him to the spot.  In one hand she 
held Luzula's talisman, and with the other she stabbed a flaming finger 
at Catan, singeing his fur.  'It was you!' she accused.  'You!  And you 
will pay for this.  And for your other crimes.' 

Then she looked at the stone she held in her fiery hand.  'I used to
have one just like this,' she said.  'It feels good to hold one again.' 
 But then she tossed the stone to Luzula, who caught it without 
thinking and was surprised to discover that it was still quite cold.  
'Use it wisely,' said the flaming witch.  'I have no need of such 
things.'  Then she turned back to face Catan.  'But I have a use for 
you, Catananche; your Royal Highness.  Oh, yes, I know your name, and 
your false title.  Your reputation has grown and grown, and now it is 
time for you reap the rewards of your lies and misdeeds.' 

'No, please!' Catan begged.  'Please! I promise to be good from now on.'


'Too late!' the witch replied, with breath so hot that it burned Catan's
fur.  'Too late!'  And with that, she wrapped her fiery arms around 
Catan and dragged him screaming into her pit of fire, and he was never 
seen again. 

This was all too much for Mimulus.  His finger was bleeding, his nose
was bleeding, his friend had been snatched away by a fiery devil, and 
at last he decided that he had outstayed his welcome, and so he ran off 
down the hillside towards the safety of the trees as fast as he could. 

But Malus, for once in his life, was not going to turn tail and run, and
he stood snarling at Luzula and Callistephus, making ready to leap at 
them and to tear them to pieces.  But he never did, for as Luzula 
gripped her talisman tightly she remembered the words to the magic 
spell and as she spoke them, Malus was turned to stone. 

*** 

It was late autumn and trout were still surfacing to catch flies, but
most of the red and gold leaves had fallen from the trees.  'So do you 
feel different now that you're no longer bewitched?' asked Thymus the 
cat.  He was sitting beside the river with his friend Callistephus. 

'No, not really,' Callistephus replied, 'though when I think of what it
was like to be a wolf, it's like remembering a dream.' 

'That's interesting,' said Thymus.  'I sometimes have dreams that seem
very real.  And what of Luzula; is she any different?' 

'No,' said Callistephus, keeping Luzula's secret, 'she's just the same.'


Thymus said nothing. 

*** 

I know a place called Fire Mountain...  In fact, well... can you keep a
secret? 

So can I. 


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