Bang Goes a Troll (4 page)

“Let's get out of here,” Tiana said, flying past the candle. “This is creepy.”

“Wait a minute,” Ulf said. He could hear something rattling in the backpack. The strap on its side pocket came undone and a small red box floated out.

Ulf took hold of the box. Its lid opened and inside it he saw bullets.

He gasped.

“Put that down, Ulf!” Tiana cried.

Ulf dropped the box and it landed with a clatter, the bullets spilling out across the floor.

“Let's go now,” Tiana told him. “Bullets are dangerous.”

But as Ulf began edging away, he felt the icy chill of the Professor's ghost sweep through him. The hairs on Ulf's neck stood on end. He looked down. The bullets were moving on the floor, rolling out from under tables and behind crates. They were sliding back into the box. The box lid closed and it floated back up into his hand.

“Put that down, Ulf,” Tiana pleaded.

“But I can't, Tiana. He won't let me.”

The box of bullets was being pressed into Ulf's palm. On its side he saw the words:
TITANIUM-TIPPED BEAST BULLETS
.

The candle lickered and went out.

U
LF RAN OUT OF THE
R
OOM OF
C
URIOSITIES AND
along the Gallery of Science. As he passed a picture on the wall, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the glass. He stopped, seeing the rope around his shoulder and the headlamp strapped to his head. He stared at the box of bullets in his hand.

“You should give those to Dr. Fielding,” Tiana said, hovering in front of him.

“But what was the Professor doing, Tiana?”

The fairy tugged on Ulf's ear. “He was just being spooky,” she said, flying to the staircase. “Come
on.”

Ulf followed the fairy downstairs and into the yard. He saw Dr. Fielding and Orson by the kit room, getting ready for their expedition to Honeycomb Mountain. The sun was starting to go down and dark clouds were blowing in from the sea.

“The storm's coming,” Tiana said, hovering in front of Ulf.

Ulf hardly noticed her. He was still thinking about what the Professor had shown him.

“Go on, give Dr. Fielding those bullets,” Tiana said.

A cold gust of wind blew the fairy head over heels and she grabbed Ulf's T-shirt to steady herself. “I'm going back to the forest.”

Tiana started flying across the yard, weaving in the wind. “I'll see you in the morning,” she called, then she disappeared over the big beast barn.

Ulf ran to Dr. Fielding, clutching the box of bullets.

“Where have you been, Ulf?” Dr. Fielding asked, seeing him dressed like an explorer.

“In the Room of Curiosities,” Ulf told her.

Orson bent down to look at the rope around Ulf's shoulder and the headlamp on his head. “Been rummaging through the Professor's things, have you?”

The giant tapped the metal headlamp with his finger. “They don't make them like that anymore.”

“I found these,” Ulf said, showing Dr. Fielding the box of bullets.

Dr. Fielding took the box from him. “Ulf, what are you doing with bullets?” she asked.

“They were with the Professor's things,” Ulf explained.

She took a bullet from the box and inspected it closely. “This is live ammunition, Ulf. It's extremely dangerous.”

The bullet was shiny and its tip was sharpened to
a point.

“Why would the Professor have bullets?” Ulf asked her.

Dr. Fielding furrowed her brow. “I think he probably confiscated these from a beast hunt. They're beast-hunting bullets, Ulf.”

Orson knelt down to take a look. “Nasty things,” he said. “Only humans could invent something so horrible.”

“Humans?” Ulf asked.

“They used to hunt beasts for sport, Ulf,” the giant said. “They used to—”

“Orson, that's enough,” Dr. Fielding interrupted. She turned to Ulf. “There are no beast hunts any more, Ulf. Professor Farraway helped pass a law many years ago making them illegal. It was a major victory for beast protection.”

Ulf watched as Dr. Fielding put the box of bullets in her pocket. “I shall destroy these at
once,” she told him. “And if you ever find anything like these again, don't touch them, just come and tell me.”

Dr. Fielding gave Ulf a stern look, then headed back across the yard to the house.

Ulf saw Druce the gargoyle leering from the roof of Farraway Hall. The gargoyle stared down at Dr. Fielding and pointed his fingers like a gun. “Bang!” he called. “Bang! Bang!”

Dr. Fielding looked up and saw Druce giggling. “That's not funny, Druce,” she said.

The gargoyle pulled an ugly face, then turned to stone as Dr. Fielding opened the side door of Farraway Hall. She glanced back at Orson. “We'll leave at dawn,” she called. “You'll need your flying cable.” The giant gave a thumbs-up and Dr. Fielding headed inside.

“I think she's upset with me,” Ulf said.

“No she's not, Ulf. She just worries about you,” Orson told him.

The giant opened the kit room door and reached in, gathering the kit for the expedition.

“Those bullets were with the Professor's things from Honeycomb Mountain,” Ulf said.

“I expect they got put up there by accident,” Orson replied. “The Room of Curiosities is packed with old stuff from all over the place.”

Orson pulled out his flying cable. He was too big to fit in the helicopter so he flew beneath it, suspended on a long steel cable with a footstrap at its end. He reached in again and pulled out a huge vest made from woven metal.

“What's that?” Ulf asked, staring at it.

“It's my chainmail vest,” Orson replied. “In case of trolls.” He held it up for Ulf to see. The metal was worn and dented. “Dr. Fielding says there are longtusk trolls at Honeycomb Mountain. They're the biggest trolls of all, Ulf. Their tusks can go right through you.”

Orson folded the vest, then reached in for Dr. Fielding's backpack and caving boots.

“Do you think something bad has happened at Honeycomb Mountain?” Ulf asked.

The giant stood up, holding the kit in his arms. “Don't pay too much attention to what a goblin says, Ulf. They're always causing trouble. The last time I saw one, it was stealing my kettle.” He gave Ulf a wink, then strode off across the yard toward the helicopter. As he reached the forecourt he turned. “Don't worry about a thing, Ulf,” he called. “We'll be back before you know it.”

Ulf looked up at the evening sky.

Stormclouds were gathering overhead.

A
S THE SKY DARKENED,
U
LF HEADED DOWN THE
side of the big beast barn toward a stone hut with bars on its window. This was his den. He stepped inside, taking the rope from his shoulder, then pulled off the headlamp and took the map and compass from his pockets. The message from Gumball the spotter fell out in the straw and he sat down looking at it: HELP! he read.

Ulf was wondering what had happened to the goblin. No one seemed to like goblins very much. No one except Professor Farraway, anyway. He reached to the back of his den and from his secret
hiding place took out a small black book. It was Professor Farraway's old notebook:
The Book of Beasts
. He began flicking through the pages, past jottings on tracking pixies and a step-by-step guide to demon dentistry. He saw a sketch of the boola monster, a diagram of a minotaur's skull and tips on how to bottle a poltergeist. He found a section on underground beasts and stopped at an entry headed
GOBLINS
. Ulf read:

Goblins are expert thieves. They watch from the shadows, waiting to steal a scrap of meat or a shiny jewel to brighten their caves. Nothing goes on underground that a goblin doesn't see. Considered dirty and untrustworthy, they are seldom liked, but be nice to a goblin and it will help you, for a goblin will never forget a friend.

Ulf felt the wind blowing through the bars of his window. It was dark outside and starting to rain. He
gathered the Professor's things around him, and tucked his knees into his chest. He imagined the Professor long ago on his expedition to Honeycomb Mountain, exploring the tunnels and caves underground. Then he thought about the bullets in the backpack. Why had the Professor given them to him?

Ulf heard a gurgling sound and the patter of feet scurrying across the roof of his den. The sky flashed with lightning, and he saw Druce's face appear upside-down at the door.

The gargoyle pointed his fingers at Ulf. “Bang!”

Ulf jumped. “What are you doing here, Druce?”

The gargoyle dropped down and scurried around the side of Ulf's den. “Drucey goes a-hunting. Hunting little beasties,” Ulf heard him gurgle.

The gargoyle popped up at the window, grinning. He pointed his fingers through the bars. “Bang! Bang!”

“Cut it out, Druce,” Ulf said.

Druce blew the end of his fingers like a gun. He leaned in further, screwing up his ugly face. “
Marrrrackai
hunted beasts.”

“What are you talking about, Druce?” Ulf asked. Hearing the name Marackai sent a chill down Ulf's spine.

“Bad Marackai,” Druce said.

The gargoyle put his little finger into his mouth and bit it. “I bited him,” he said. “I bited his finger off.”

The gargoyle giggled, then ran off, bounding through the rain back to Farraway Hall. Ulf could see him scampering up to the dark rooftop. The gargoyle was singing: “He comes in the night with his gun and his knife. Run away, Fur Face, run for your life!”

Ulf lay down in the darkness, thinking about Marackai. Marackai was Professor Farraway's son and had once lived at Farraway Hall. He hated beasts, and had been vicious and cruel to them. He'd
been sent away, but twice he'd tried to take Farraway Hall back for himself. Twice Ulf had defeated him.

Ulf tried to sleep, but he couldn't. He had a creepy feeling that something bad was happening at Honeycomb Mountain. He stayed awake all night listening to the storm, thinking about the message and the bullets. As the storm blew itself out and the first rays of dawn appeared in the sky, Ulf knew what he had to do. He had to go on the expedition. He had to find out what was wrong.

Ulf picked up the headlamp from the straw and put it on. He stuffed the map and compass into his pockets and slung the rope over his shoulder, then he crept out of his den.

The rain had stopped and the clouds were clearing. In the half-light, he saw Orson's lantern glowing from across the beast park. The giant was on his way back from giving the beasts their early-morning feed. Ulf ran through the yard to the
corner of the house and saw Dr. Fielding loading her medical backpack into the back of the helicopter.

He looked up at Druce asleep on the rooftop. “Psst,” he said.

The gargoyle turned from stone to flesh as he woke up.

“Keep an eye on things here for me, Druce,” Ulf whispered.