HOME | DD

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

7 - Initial enquiries
Xephos and Lalna dressed and went downstairs to the smell of bacon and eggs.
   "Smells fantastic!" Lalna said.
   "Come on, you two!" Aunt Kim greeted them. "Sit yourselves down. Breakfast's about ready. I'll get you fed and then I'll have to be off to work soon."
   A few minutes later, the two friends were seated at the table, tucking into one of Aunt Kim's fry-ups. Honeydew was there, sipping milk off the end of his spoon, every now and then taking a slurp from a large mug of tea.
   "Are you OK now, Xephos?" Aunt Kim asked him. "I never heard a peep from your room until you decided to throw the duvet out of the window. You both seemed to have slept well until then."
   Xephos cast a glance at Lalna. Lalna returned the same guilty look. Honeydew stopped sipping form his spoon and stared in Xephos' direction, his grey eyes big and challenging. "Have you ever seen a slot machine with a spooky kind of sailor doll inside?" Xephos asked all at once.
   Honeydew suddenly coughed... choking on his breakfast. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and whipped his mouth.
   "Are you OK, Honeydew?" Aunt Kim asked, her voice full of concern.
   Honeydew nodded, but said nothing.
   "The laughing sailor!" Aunt Kim continued. She placed a plate of toast on the table and looked into space. "I remember them well. Most of the arcades had them." She shuddered and smiled at the same time. "They used to give me nightmares - and my friends - hideous things. It was the eyes... they seemed to follow you around. And that laugh... it sent a shiver down your spine. Thank God they've all gone now. I can't imagine why anyone would think they were amusing."
   All went silent around the table.
   Lalna looked at Xephos curiously and took up the questioning. "We bumped into some lads yesterday wearing baseball caps. They seemed like real trouble. I wondered if they were the vandals you told us about."
   Honeydew coughed again and cleared his throat. "I've seen 'em. Damn yobs. It wouldn't have 'appened in my day. They'd 'ave been straight in the army... that would 'ave sorted 'em out!"
   Aunt Kim smiled. She looked from Honeydew to Lalna and stroked her chin. "Yes. I've seen them. They're a bad lot. You're probably right, but nobody can ever catch them at it."
   Xephos looked sheepishly toward Lalna.
   "And there's a girl we've met. She wears a kilt and beret," Lalna continued. "She's called Xevphera... Xevphera Purpleblade."
   Honeydew's face turned ashen. He got up and left.
   "I wonder what rattled him," Aunt Kim said, shaking her head. She stroked her chin again. "Xevphera, you said her name was. That's real old fashioned name. It doesn't ring any bells."
   She poured the boys a cup of tea and looked curiously at them. "Anything else you want to know? Seems to me you've been reading too many mystery books."
   Xephos smiled. He didn't read much but he liked mysteries.
   "So what are your plans for today?" Aunt Kim asked, beginning to clear away the plates.
   Xephos got up to help. "I'm not sure. What do you want to do, Lal?"
   "Why don't you go down to the lifeboat station on the North landing?" Aunt Kim suggested. "It's an interesting place. You can have a look around and they wont charge you a penny. You'll see all the old photos of your Uncle Ridge."
   "And we can explore the caves in the cove," Xephos added. "What do think, Lal?"
   Lalna rubbed his hands together. "I'm up for it... it sounds a great idea."
Xephos was the first to step outside. The weather was still cold and grey, but a few patches of blue sky showed in the distance. Perhaps it would cheer up later.
   He put his hands into his pockets and pulled out the little hat. He'd forgotten all about it.
   "What's that?" Lalna asked.
   "It's that weird little sailor hat that we found among the rubbish. I know this sounds mad... but what if it's one of them dolls causing the problems - the vandalism."
   Lalna looked back at him with wide eyes. "You can't be serious?"
   "I know it sounds crazy... but it's no more crazy than the Bonebreaker business."
   Both boys allowed their minds to wonder back to the seven-foot tall Viking phantom. Lalna nodded in agreement. "That's true... this holiday is getting spookier by the minute, just like last time. Come on - we'll go through everything again on the way, and we'll check out that alleyway and the house where the window got smashed."
   They walked on and soon reached the narrow passage where Xephos had spotted the sinister small figure scurrying amongst the shadows.
   "There was definitely something moving around up there last night," Xephos said.
   Lalna walked up the alleyway and headed towards an upturned supermarket trolley. "Wow! Take a look at this!"
   Xephos joined him. They stood side by side and gawped at the familiar image daubed on the wall - a wheelie bin with a pair of sinister eyes peering out form the dark space below the lid, the word 'SCULLION' written diagonally down the side of the bin.
   "It's the same as the ones we saw at the side of the railway track," Lalna uttered in surprise. "What does it mean?"
   "I've seen that word somewhere else," Xephos remarked.
   "Where?"
   "Can't remember!"
   "Come on! Try! It might be important."
   Xephos concentrated hard... and then it came to him. "The end of the pier... the arcade with the sailor doll... it had Scullion's name painted over it."
   "Interesting," Lalna said. "Let's go and take a look at that house further down the street."
   They passed by the terraced house where the spooky little figure had jumped out of the wheelie bin. They looked across and saw the boarded-up window. The front door opened and an old women appeared on the doorstep.
   "What are you two gawping at?"
   "Nothing!" Lalna shouted back.
   The old woman glared back at them. "Someone broke my window - early this morning. Yobs and vandals - the town's full of 'em! It fair gave me a heart attack." The woman started down the path towards them, her arms folded across her chest. "Don't suppose you two know anything about it?"
   "No idea!" Lalna said, quickly walking on. "We're here on holiday."
   "Just half term," Xephos added.
   "Well see that you keep yourselves out of trouble!" the woman snapped at them. "We've got quite enough of it as it is!" She headed back into the house and slammed the door.
   "What do you reckon?" Xephos asked.
   "Well... whoever did it looked small... like..."
   "... one of those sailor dolls I saw on the pier, and in my nightmare!" Xephos finished for him.
   "So you really believe that those things are causing the trouble?"
   Xephos' mind went back to the horrific events the night before. "I don't know. Last night all seemed like a horrible dream... like it wasn't real?"
   "Well, whatever broke that window was real enough," Lalna stated sternly.
   "Let's go to the lifeboat station."
   Xephos nodded. This half-term holiday was growing crazier by the minute and it was anybody's guess what might happen next.
8 - Heroes of the sea
As they approached one of the many snack bars, Xephos reached into his pocket and took out the money Aunt Kim had given him. "Fancy an ice cream?"
   Lalna nodded enthusiastically and decided on a Taste Blaster ice-lolly, while Xephos settled for a double ripple choc-ice. They walked on contently, gazing around.
   "Look!" Lalna whispered to Xephos. "There's the arcade with the Zombie-attack... where that gang hangs out."
   As they walked past, Xephos peered in. He caught his breath as he saw the back of the red baseball cap opposite the screen.
   Lalna saw it too. "Quick! Let's move on."
   They slunk past and trod quietly. The gang didn't see them.
   Just beyond the funfair, the blue-and-orange flag of the lifeboat station blew in the breeze. "Do you think we might bump into Xevphera?" Lalna asked.
   Xephos shrugged his shoulders. "You never know. She could turn up anywhere."
   "Why do you think she wore such funny clothes?"
   "No idea... she's strange."
   Lalna nodded. He slurped the last remnants of his Taste Blaster ice-lolly and threw the stick into a waste bin.
   A minute later, the sun came out and suddenly everything seemed cheerier.
   The two boys walked on without speaking, taking in the scene - smiling faces, mouthwatering smells of hot dogs and candyfloss, waves breaking gently on the beach below... so much better than being at school. Bliss!
   As they approached the funfair, Xephos stared up at the Ferris wheel. It dwarfed the helter-skelter by its side. But it was the ghost train that attracted the attentions of the two friends the most.
   "Wow! That looks seriously scary!" Lalna said, stopping in his tracks.
   "This is new," Xephos said. "It's a lot bigger than the one that used to be on the pier."
   The two friends sauntered up and stared in awe at the spooky artwork adorning the walls of the ride - grinning skeletons, flying witches and a train driver that looked like a cross between a zombie and a vampire.
   "Shall we give it a go?" Lalna asked, rooting through his pockets. "I've got a pound coin somewhere."
   "I've still got some change from the money Aunt Kim gave me. We'll gave a go now and then move on to the lifeboat station."
   A loud siren screamed from somewhere inside the ghost train and Xephos' heart skipped a beat. A nervous feeling suddenly welled up in his stomach.
   Lalna looked at him. "Are you OK, Xephos? Your face has gone as white as a sheet."
   "I... I feel a bit weird," Xephos croaked.
   Lalna stared, his eyes wide. "What's wrong?"
   Xephos didn't reply. He had a sudden urge to look over his shoulder. He spotted the red baseball caps in the distance... moving towards them. He grabbed Lalna's arm. "Quick! Get on!"
   Lalna did as he was told and climbed into the front carriage of the ghost train. A man with greasy black hair and an even greasier bushy black beard took their money.
   "Hold on tight guys... it gets really scary in there." He grinned at them.
   As the train lunged forward and crashed through the doors, Xephos glanced back and saw the gang walking past... they hadn't seen them.    Lalna glanced back at the same time. "So that's why you were panicking - the 'Red Cap Gang'!"
   Xephos said nothing. He clung tight to the handrail and took a deep breath.
   The churning feeling in his stomach was still there.
   The train plunged into the darkness. Fluorescent phantoms barred their way... always disappearing at the last second. A spooky graveyard appeared at the side of the track. As the train glided by, a coffin opened and a vampire with blood-stained fangs sat up and stared at them.
   "Hey... this is brilliant," Lalna yelled form Xephos' side.
   Xephos didn't answer. He sensed that something awful was about to happen.
   The train careered on into the darkness. A fake thunderstorm lit up a spooky castle painted on the wall to the front of them.
   But it was something else that suddenly attracted their attention.
   Lalna screamed out first, "There's something on the track... running towards us!"
   "IT'S A SAILOR DOLL!" Xephos shrieked.
   Xephos gripped the handrail even tighter and braced himself. The dwarf-like figure charged at them, leapt over the front of the carriage and grabbed Xephos by the neck. The lights went out and Xephos screamed in pain as the doll sank its teeth into one of his ears.
   "Get it off!" Xephos shrieked.
   As the train lurched round another corner, Lalna struggled to pull the dwarfish attacker away from Xephos' body. At the same time, Xephos pushed for all he was worth, until the doll finally lost its grip and toppled back over the front of the engine. The sound of crunching splintering wood completed with a screaming siren. Clutching his ear, Xephos looked back and saw the smashed sailor doll lying lifeless across the rails. A few seconds later, the train crashed back through the doors into welcoming daylight, marking the end of the ride.
   Xephos' instincts had been right. Danger had been lurking... and it hadn't been the Red Cap Gang!
   "That was nasty!" Xephos gasped as they walked away.
   Lalna wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Somebody's definitely got it in for us."
"Xephos! Your Aunt's lodger... Look!"
   Xephos looked eagerly ahead. Lalna was right - it was Honeydew, sitting on a bench by the side of the lifeboat station. He was reading a newspaper and hadn't seen them. They crept past him and made their way through the entrance.
   The lifeboat loomed over them, taking up most of the space in the huge wooden building. It looked impressive - powerful, streamlined and as clean as a new pin. Xephos thought it looked brand new. The orange and blue colours were striking in contrast.
   All around the lifeboat, the walls of the building were covered in framed pictures. Some showed newspaper cuttings of rescues. Others displayed photographs of lifeboat crews, tracing the stations history.
   Xephos walked along the lines of photographs, studying each one carefully. Lalna didn't seem interested. He just wanted to talk about what had happened on the ghost train.
   "That thing must have been following us," Lalna pointed out, scratching his chin. "But how can a doll move like that? And why did it attack us? What's going on?"
   Xephos didn't answer. He was too absorbed with a photograph of a small boat in distress. The scene was dramatic; the boat was being tossed about in a huge sea under a heavy grey sky. He could almost sense the fear of the crew. And on the edge of the photograph, an even smaller boat... the lifeboat!
   Lalna stopped muttering and looked up at the photograph. "I'm glad I wasn't out there on that night," he said solemnly.
   Another photograph at the side showed a man with his arms folded in a pose. Xephos recognised the man's striking features immediately. A gold earing hung from one of his ears; Xephos decided it gave his uncle a film-star image.
   "Is that your uncle Ridge?" Lalna asked, straining to read the caption beneath the photo.
   Before Xephos had a chance to reply, he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and his heart turned to ice.
   "Quite the hero, your uncle!" the old man said quietly.
   Xephos turned, saw Honeydew and sighed with relief. The sight of Aunt Kim's lodger was far more welcome than one of the dreaded sailor dolls or a member of the Red Cap Gang.
   "Sorry if I startled you, lad." Honeydew said apologetically. "I was out having a stroll and I saw you and your pal walk in here. I thought I'd see what you were up to."
   The boys looked back to the picture. "Was he out there... Xephos' uncle?" Lalna asked.
   Honeydew stared at the photograph with sad, hollow eyes. "He was... and he never came back. The great storm - he gave his life for those heathens!"
   Xephos looked from the photograph to Honeydew's bitter expression. "Which heathens?"
   The old man sounded more bitter than ever. "The smugglers!"
   Lalna's eyes blazed with interest. "What smugglers?"
   "Scullion and his men," Honeydew replied in an angry voice.
   "That name again," Xephos said. "The amusement arcade... at the end of the pier."
   "And the graffiti..." Lalna added. "Who is Scullion?" he asked, looking straight into Honeydew's face.
   "You don't want to know - scum of the earth..."
   Xephos stared at Lalna. Lalna stared back.
   Honeydew sauntered towards the exit. "Don't be late for your tea. Kim's doing one of her steak and mushroom pies... six o'clock sharp, mind."
   "That name... 'Scullion'," Lalna said. "It keeps cropping up."
   Xephos dabbed his ear with his handkerchief - it was still throbbing and bleeding a little. "I know! He sounds like bad news!"
   They walked around the rest of the lifeboat station and found numerous photos of Xephos' uncle. He really had been a hero and had been awarded two medals for bravery before losing his life on that fatal night.
   "Hey, listen to this!" Lalna said. He tugged at Xephos' elbow and pulled him towards a newspaper cutting.
SCAWLSBY MAN ARRESTED AFTER SEA RESCUE
During a dramatic sea rescue by the Scawlsby Lifeboat Crew, several men lost their lives, including Ridge Slater, a much-respected member of the crew for over seventeen years. It later transpired that the rescue boat was a smugglers' boat delivering drugs from the continent.
Mr Sips Scullion, owner of the vessel, was subsequently arrested and charged along with other members of the crew. He is now in custody awaiting trial.
"So my uncle died trying to save drug smugglers!" Xephos sighed.
   Lalna nodded. "Looks like it! Come on... let's move on."
   But Xephos wanted to spend more time looking over the impressive boat and all the photos and pictures on display.
   "There's a first-aid post back up by the funfair. I think you should get that ear seen to," Lalna said in his sensible voice.
   "And what do we say happened?" Xephos answered sarcastically.
   "A dog! It jumped up and bit you," Lalna suggested.
   Xephos dabbed his ear again. "Would a dog really jump up and bite my ear?"
   "Well... it could have been a big dog!" A different voice sounded from the entrance. "It could have been a Great Dane!"
   Xephos' eyes lit up at the sight of the familiar beret crowning the smiling face. "Xevphera!" he cried out, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. He looked at Lalna and blushed.
   Lalna frowned. "She's in her mini-Scotsman outfit again!"
   Xevphera stood in the doorway; the pattern on her kilt looked striking in the sunlight. Xephos chuckled to himself.
   "Come on!" Xevphera shouted to them. "I want to take you somewhere."
   "Not to see his worst nightmare!" Lalna replied sarcastically. "We've just destroyed it."
   Xevphera smiled knowingly. She didn't look at all surprised. "No - I'm going to show you two more nightmares... Now get a move on!"
   Lalna scratched his head. "This girl is seriously loopy!"
   "But seriously interesting!" Xephos added., a nervous flutter invading his stomach again. "Let's get after her - before she disappears."
9 - Scullion's cave
The two friends followed Xevphera to the stone steps at the edge of the promenade. They leapt down the steps two at a time. When they reached the bottom, Xevphera turned to face them. She looked straight at Xephos, her big blue eyes blazing with energy. "So what did you think about that business at the end of the pier?"
   Xephos' mind swirled. There was so much he wanted to know. "Did it really happen?" he asked. "Or was it all a dream? The sailor doll that broke out of the slot machine -"
   "And the ones we saw on our way home," Lalna interrupted. "Xephos dreamt that one of them got into the house under our bed -"
   "And one's just attacked us on the ghost train," Xephos joined in again. "And that definitely no dream!" He pointed to his ear. At the same time, he fumbled in his pocket and took out the sailor cap. He held it up for Xevphera to see. "Look! We found this in the garden. Those dolls are running riot through the town, aren't they? I think it's time you told us -"
   Before they could say any more, Xevphera cut them off. "I call them Dawn Demons. I took you to the pier to show you what they look like. It was a vision, Xephos... formed from Scullion's evil power. It lurks there. I knew you would see it. It's something you're good at. That's why I picked you out."
   "Good at what?" Lalna asked on Xephos' behalf. "And what do you mean 'picked him out'?"
   Xephos stood there with his mouth open, waiting for Xevphera's reply.
   "Good at seeing things that other people can't. Visions... signs... tuning into spirits and all that! That's why I picked on him - because I need someone like Xephos to help me out."
   "What's she on about?" Lalna asked.
   "She's right!" Xephos said thoughtfully. "She means I'm like my mum was. Mum had dreams - like me. She read tealeaves and all that stuff."
   Lalna turned to face him and nodded. "Do you think that's why the Bonebreaker picked on you?" he said.
   "Well... I thought it was just because me and the Saxon boy were related, but there could be more to it," Xephos replied. "Maybe I can tune in to spirits."
   Xevphera turned and started skipping across the firm wet sand. "And maybe they can tune into you, Xephos Blue - especially the bad one! Come on! Follow me!" she said. And then she started singing:
'I'm a little mermaid
Living in the sea
Down on the bottom
Where you can't find me.'
Xephos and Lalna looked at each other in disbelief.
   She ran some distance ahead and they watched as she took off her beret and threw it into the wind. It glided across the beach like a Frisbee. It hovered over their heads and they raced to catch it. Lalna, being able to propel himself further than Xephos, managed to outstretch him and catch it cleanly in his left hand.
   Xevphera cried out from the distance, her long blonde hair blowing back in the offshore breeze. "CLEVER BOY!" She ran across the fast expanse of firm sand, beyond where the promenade ended, and into a cove.
   "Where's she taking us?" Lalna asked, placing the beret on his head.
   Xephos roared with laughter. "You look so stupid! She's taking us right where I was heading... to the caves, by the look of it."
   As Xevphera continued to wave at the distance, a young woman walked towards them with a large dog. She smiled as she passed and the dog wagged its tail. Xephos walked on and found himself looking down at the women's footprints and the dog's paw prints, fresh in the moist sand. And then he looked behind at his own footprints curving back towards the promenade, and Lalna's slightly bigger footprints, mingling with his own where they'd tried to catch Xevphera's beret.
   "HURRY UP, YOU TWO!" Xevphera cried out from the distance. "TIDE WILL BE IN SOON... AND THEN IT'LL BE TOO LATE!"
   Xephos looked towards her... looked down at the two sets of footprints again, the woman's and the dog's... and then it struck him...
   "You've gone quiet again," Lalna said, still wearing the beret.
   Xephos stopped dead in his tracks and stared forward. "She's not leaving any footprints!"
   "Who isn't?"
   "Xevphera!"
   Xephos watched as Lalna studied the sand. He looked back and glanced all around. The two boys gazed at each other. The approaching waves suddenly seemed very loud and threatening.
   "Come on!" Xephos said, snapping them back to reality. "We need to ask that girl some more questions."
   Xevphera had moved on towards three caves in the base od the chalk cliffs. Various groups of holidaymakers moved in and out of the enticing shadowy entrances, eager to explore and investigate.
   As Xephos and Lalna drew nearer, the firm wet sand gave way to limestone ridges interlaced with rock pools. They moved on towards Xevphera, passing small bands of explorers, and on towards a more distant cave in a narrow gully, which seemed to be ignored. A large notice board sticking out of the sand told them the reason why: 'BEWARE! RISING TIDES! DO NOT GO BEYOND THIS POINT!"
   Xevphera ignored it, walking on up the narrow inlet and stood at the entrance to the cave. Xephos and Lalna finally caught up.
   "Why have you brought us here?" Lalna complained. "We can't go in there!"
   The entrance to the cave was completely boarded up with a huge piece of plywood, the words 'DANGER! KEEP OUT!' painted across it in big white letters.
   Xevphera sat on a rock and looked up at them. "They're in there..."
   Lalna passed her beret back. Xephos stared at her. She wasn't smiling anymore and this made him feel uneasy. "Who are?"
   "The Dawn Demons!"
   Xephos looked towards the boarded-up entrance and a shiver rattled down his spine. His ear began to throb again... maybe he should have gone to the first-aid post after all.
   "This is Scullion's Cave." Xevphera said, standing up and staring at the entrance.
   "What do you know about Scullion?" Lalna asked.
   "He was a bad man." she answered. "Everyone in Scawlsby hated him. But nobody as much as me and Mum."
   Lalna continued the questioning. "Why did you hate him so much?"
   Xevphera picked up a stick and began to draw in a patch of wet sand trapped in between some limestone ridges. "He took all our money... all our furniture... everything!"
   Lalna knelt beside her. His tone became more sympathetic. "Why?"
   "Mum had loaned some money from him and he wanted it back... but she couldn't pay... so he took everything. At first, he took our furniture, but even that wasn't enough. So then he turned us out of our house. Mum was desperate. She had no one to turn to. She didn't know what to do. We had nowhere to go."
   Xephos looked at Xevphera's face. For the first time she looked really sad as tears began to well up in her eyes.
   "This is his cave," she said, her voice suddenly filling with bitterness. "He hid his stuff in here."
   "What stuff?" Lalna asked.
   "Cigarettes... beer and wine... that sort of stuff at first. And then they started smuggling drugs. His men landed their boats here at night and they hid it in the cave until it was safe to get rid of it."
   "Wow! Real smugglers!" Lalna exclaimed.
   Xephos was staring at the boarded-up cave entrance, fearing what might be lurking on the other side.
   "So how much do you know about the sailor dolls?" he asked.
   "They're controlled by him, by Scullion." Xevphera replied, still drawing in the sand. "He brings them to life and makes them do evil things."
   "How can anyone control dolls?" Lalna stammered.
   "Especially when they're dead!" Xephos added.
   "Dead in body, but alive in spirit." Xevphera said grimly.
   "And how many of these 'Dawn Demons' are there?" Xephos asked, hardly daring the hear the answer.
   Lalna looked down to where Xevphera had been scribbling in the sand. "Nine," he replied for her.
   Xephos stepped forward and saw the nine little men she's drawn in the sand.
   "There were ten, but you've already got rid of one on the ghost train."
   Xephos gestured towards the cave. "I suppose there are more of them are hiding in there?"
   "Yes, two. The Dawn Demons are holed up all around the town. I know their hiding places. They lie low during the day and he sends them out at dawn - the quietest time - to wreck the town."
   "But why..."
   The waves crashed even more loudly behind them.
   "No more time," Xevphera interrupted. "The tides coming in fast. We need to get in there and sort them creeps out. Are you up for it?"
   "I am if you are," Xephos said.
   Lalna didn't look so sure. He looked across at Xevphera. "Just how dangerous are they?"
   "Very dangerous! That's why I waited for you both - especially you Xephos. We need to work together - like a team."
   She stood up, scanned around and walked over to a clump of rocks. She picked up a piece of driftwood with two rusty nails stuck out of one end. "Come on then... there's not much time. Get yourselves a weapon. Let's see if we can reduce Scullion's army to seven!"
   "But bow can we get in?" Lalna asked. "It's all boarded up."
   Xevphera walked up to the plywood board and reached down to the corner. "The same way they get in... and out."
   Xephos and Lalna watched as she pulled on the board, making a gap between the wood and the limestone; it was just big enough for a child - or a sailor doll - to crawl through.
   "Blimey... I don't fancy going in there," Lalna gasped, peering through into the darkness. "How will we see?"
   Xevphera reached into the leather bag hanging from the belt of her kilt. "With these..."
   She took out two pencil torches and passes them to Xephos and Lalna.
   "What about you?" Xephos asked.
   "I don't need one."
   As the tide roared even louder behind them, Xephos and Lalna followed Xevphera's example and armed themselves with a stout piece of driftwood, each with nails sticking out from their ends.
   Taking a deep breathe, Xephos crawled through the small gap and led the way into the boarded-up entrance. And then they were in - the three of them, huddled together in the damp blackness... ready to face two more of the hideous sailor dolls.
10 - Cave dwellers
The pencil torches threw out light and it took quite a while for Xephos and Lalna to make out their surroundings.
   They crawled along a small passage, until it opened out into a huge cavernous space, like a miniature cathedral. A large rock pool at the centre took up most of the floor space. The air was freezing cold. A strong smell of seaweed hung over everything and the sound of dripping water echoed ominously around the slimy walls.
   "Can you see anything?" Lalna whispered, nudging Xephos as he crept around the edge of the rock pool.
   "Not much. Just rocks and some smaller pools... and some bits of old wood lying around."
   The three of them crept slowly on, towards the back of the 'cathedral'. Xephos shone his torch down on a piece of half-rotted wood. He was just able to make out the faded letters: 'WHISKEY'.
   "It's left over from the smuggled stuff I told you about," Xevphera said quietly, peering over his shoulder.
   Lalna took no notice. His voice began to shake. "There's... there's... something up ahead... behind those rocks."
   Xephos shone his torch forward so that his beam reinforced the light from Lalna's. The backs of the two small heads stuck out above a clump of rocks. The white sailor caps and wiry black hair left them in no doubt who the heads belonged to.
   "They're not moving... they're lifeless!" Lalna quaked.
   "They'll only move when he wants them to," Xevphera said.
   "But how does he do it?" Xephos exclaimed. "How can someone make dolls come alive?"
   "Scullion isn't just 'someone'," Xevphera replied. "He's an evil force capable of lots of things."
   "Lots of evil things I suppose!" Xephos whispered.
   This time Xevphera didn't reply. She remained very still and quiet. Xephos swung round and shone his torch into her face. Her big blue eyes stared back - but she wasn't looking at him. Her mind was else... like she was in some sort of trance.
   "Is she OK?" Lalna asked, his voice still shaking.
   "I'm fine," Xevphera replied slowly. "I can feel his presence... he's here."
   A cold draught of air appeared from nowhere. It whistled through the cave, making the hairs on Xephos' neck stand on end. "Same here," Xephos said. "I can sense it too. And worse still... I can sense that he knows we're here!"
   They all peered forward. Xephos torch lit up one of the heads as it turned slowly round and stared at them, its painted grin full of malice and its eyes cutting into them. They stood frozen as the other head did exactly the same.
   "They're going to attack!" Xevphera shrieked.
   With torches in one hand and raised lengths of driftwood in the other, Xephos and Lalna braced themselves, but the heads disappeared behind the rocks.
   "They've gone!" Lalna gasped.
   Xephos raised his weapon even higher and scanned around with his torch. "No way! They're hiding... waiting the strike."
   A wave thundered just outside the cave entrance, followed by the sound of rushing water. At the same time, a sinister scuffling sounded from the other side of the cave. It filled Xephos with terror... and then the first doll struck.
   It leapt at Xephos, but Lalna got in the way. His cry echoed around the cave, only to be replaced by the sound of hideous demonic laughter.
   "It's digging into me! Get it off!" Lalna shrieked.
   In the dark it was difficult to separate Lalna from his attacker, but Xephos managed to bring his weapon down hard, striking the top of the dolls head. He raised his weapon to deliver a second blow, but the wood was stuck... the rusty nails had buried into the wooden scalp.
   Whilst Lalna screamed, and Xephos tried to free his weapon, Xevphera delivered a second blow with her own piece of wood. Like Xephos', it stuck fast to the wooden doll and wouldn't move.
   "Pull! Pull!" Xephos shrieked, an idea forming in his mind.
   He and Xevphera pull for all they were worth and the doll came free from Lalna's waist, still attached by nails to their lumps of wood.
   "Now chuck it in the pool!" Xephos screamed.
   Xevphera understood.
   In time with each other, they heaved their wooden weapons over the limestone ridge - complete with writhing doll - straight into the big rock pool.
   A frantic splashing sounded from the other side of the rocks, and then all went quiet.
   "I think it's climbed out!" Lalna cried, his voice full of panic.
   Xephos shone his torch into the stagnant seawater. His torch lit up the grinning lifeless face. "No - it's floating..." Xephos said, his voice trembling. "I think it's finished."
   "Are you OK?" Xephos asked.
   "I'm scratched and bitten... but I'm OK."
   Another sinister scurrying noise reminded them that the battle wasn't over.
   The tide roared again, waves crashing around the entrance.
   "We're going to be trapped in here!" Xephos murmured.
   "And another Dawn Demon's going to attack," Xevphera yelled at them. "Follow me!"
   "Where to?" Xephos asked.
   "Just follow me! I know another way out and I've got a plan."
   She scrambled past them towards the back of the cave. Xephos and Lalna chased after her. All the time they could hear the second dwarf-like figure creeping up behind them.
   "This way!" Xevphera ordered, beginning to climb upwards over a huge pile of fallen rocks. A ring of light began to show above their heads.
   As they scrambled upwards, Xevphera at the front and Xephos at the rear, the circle of light grew bigger and brighter.
   "We're almost there!" Xevphera cried over her shoulder.
   Xephos stopped and shone his torch back down the rising tunnel. His blood froze as he saw the small face grinning up at him. It was moving fast... like a spider shooting a web.
   "QUICK... HE'S ALMOST GOT ME!" Xephos shouted up to his two friends.
   "We've made it!" Xevphera sighed. She climbed out into the daylight on top of the cliff. Lalna followed, but Xephos couldn't move... the creature had grabbed his foot and was climbing up his leg. He screamed in terror. Lalna reached down, grabbed Xephos' arms and pulled for all he was worth.
   "Get it off!" Xephos shrieked.
   With Lalna's help, Xephos dragged himself up the last few meters. He rolled out on to the grass, the Dawn Demon clinging like a limpet to his leg.
   "Get it off!" Xephos screamed again. "It's hurting!"
   The doll's strength seemed unbelievable - Xephos and Lalna's combined efforts couldn't budge it. They needed Xevphera's help... but she'd disappeared!
   The doll bit into his leg. Xephos shrieked. The doll laughed hideously and climbed further up his body.
   A familiar voice suddenly bellowed out, "'S' FOR 'SCULLION'... 'S' FOR 'SCUM'!"
   Xephos swung around. Lalna did the same. The doll let go of Xephos' leg and rolled on to its back as Xevphera appeared from behind a grass mound and towered over it. She held a large rock high above her head and she brought it down with all her strength.
   A sickening sound of splintering wood marked the end of the battle.
   With a look of pure hatred, Xevphera kicked the mangled body back down into the hole. She stood there with her hands on her hips and a big grin on her face, the lifeless remains cascading back down the narrow tunnel.
   She turned to Xephos and Lalna and rubbed her hands. "Three down, seven to go!"
   Xephos looked at Lalna in disbelief. And then he studied his leg where his attacker had attached itself... I was red, some teeth marks, but the skin wasn't broken!
   Lalna pulled up his jumper and shirt. A series of claw marks stood out around his waist. One of them was deeper than the rest and bleeding a little. "Those dolls are so strong." he sighed.
   "And they'll only get stronger," Xevphera said.
   Xephos remembered his ear again. He rubbed his finger over it and felt the scab that had formed. "How do you mean?"
   Xevphera sat crossed-legged on the grass by their side. "Scullion's spirit is an evil force -"
   "Nobody's arguing with that," Lalna chirped in.
   Xevphera frowned and carried on. "He shared his power equally between his army of dolls."
   "Ten of them." Lalna said, already beginning to catch on. Xephos still wasn't too sure what Xevphera was leading up to.
   "But now, thanks to us, there's only seven," Xevphera continued.
   "So the rest of the dolls will have Scullion's power divided by seven," Lalna went on.
   Xephos couldn't understand the number of it, but he began to see what Xevphera and Lalna were saying. "And when there's only one doll left... then it will have all of Scullion's power... and be stronger than ever."
   "You've got it!" Lalna said.
   Xephos climbed to his feet and dusted the grass off his trousers. "So what's next?"
   "Go home and get some rest." Xevphera said. "You're going to need it. I'll come and get you around dawn. Tomorrow morning we take on three more of them!"
   Lalna stood up and tucked his shirt in. "And where with this next battle be?" he asked, his voice trembling a little - Xephos wasn't sure whether it was from fear or excitement.
   "I'll tell you when I see you... just go home, get some rest and get stuck into your Aunt Kim's steak and mushroom pie."
   Lalna looked from Xevphera to Xephos and then back to Xevphera again. "But how did you know...? Oh forget it!"
   Xephos chuckled. Xevphera was so cool. "Why don't you come home with us? I'm sure they'll be enough for you. Aunt Kim wont mind."
   But Xevphera was already walking away. As she disappeared around the grass mound, she shouted back over her shoulder. "No thanks! I don't eat pies. In fact... I don't eat at all!"
11 - Home sweet Aunt Kim's
Xephos felt so relieved to be back at Aunt Kim's. Everything seemed so safe and real again. He sat at the table and stared at the real tablecloth, the real china plates and the real cutlery. The smell of real steak and mushroom pie drifted in from the kitchen and Xephos' mouth began to water.
   "That smells so good," Lalna said, licking his lips.
   Xephos nodded. "I wonder where Honeydew is."
   Lalna glanced at the empty chair by the side of them. His plate was set, but there was no sign of the old man. "Don't know."
   Aunt Kim appeared with a huge short crust pie in a patterned dish that matched the plates. She placed it on a mat at the centre of the table and cut into it. "I hope you two are hungry. Honeydew's not eating with us tonight. He's staying out at a friend's."
   Lalna beamed. Xephos beamed.
   "Have you had a good day?" Aunt Kim continued. "Did you get chance to look round the lifeboat station?"
   As aunt Kim served up the steaming pie and a mountain of potatoes and vegetables, Xephos told her how they'd bumped into Honeydew and seen the photos of Uncle Ridge in the station. He also told her about seeing the newspaper cutting describing the lifeboat disaster.
   "It was the worst night of my life," Aunt Kim said sadly. "That boat cost my Ridge his life. And all for the sake of those vile men . . . I can't help cursing the lot of them!"
   Xephos gave Aunt Kim a sad glance. He felt so sorry for her.
   Lalna frowned, but tried to keep the conversation going. "You mean the smugglers?" he asked. "Scullion's men?"
   Ass the two boys began eating, Aunt Kim sat at the other end of the table, opposite Honeydew's place. "There's not much gets past you two, that's for sure."
   "Honeydew mentioned Scullion to us," Xephos said.
   Aunt Kim nodded solemnly. "Honeydew couldn't stand the man. He blames him for everything that ever went wrong in this town . . . especially for the loss of that poor girl and her mother."
   "What happened to them?" Lalna asked, his mouth almost too full to speak.
   Aunt Kim's expression turned to sadness. "It happened years ago. They got into a mess and walked off the end of the pier - mother and daughter. The older folk in the town still talk about it. It doesn't bear thinking about!"
   Xephos and Lalna stopped chewing and looked at each other - and then at Aunt Kim. She changed her face and forced a smile. "Well that's enough of that . . . Get stuck in and I'll just get the salt." And saying this she got up and disappeared into the kitchen.
   "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Lalna asked, his eyes still wide.
   Xephos' mind swirled with confused thoughts: Xevphera and her mum . . . ghosts and mermaids . . . ends of piers . . . smugglers and sailor dolls . . .
   He tried desperately to string it all together, but Lalna began to do it for him.
   "It's starting to make sense," Lalna began. "First Scullion gets on the wrong side of just about everybody in Scawlsby - what with smuggling and lending out money that people cant afford to pay back. And then he drives a woman and her daughter to suicide."
   "And . . . you think Xevphera is the girl - that went off the end of the pier?" Xephos stammered.
   Lalna had just taken another mouthful of pie and almost choked on it. "No wonder she doesn't leave any footprints. She's a ghost!"
   "But if Scullion is dead, why would he come back and wreck the town with sailor dolls?" Xephos asked, suddenly losing interest in his food.
   "The missing piece of the jigsaw," Lalna replied, still tucking into his food. "And I think I know who might just have the answer," he said mysteriously.
   Xephos looked at him thoughtfully. "Who?"
   Lalna nodded at the empty chair by his side. "Honeydew!"
   Xephos clapped his hands together. Lalna was right. If anyone knew Scullion's motive, it would be Honeydew. He was an old, old man - about the right age to have been around at the time it all happened - and his eyes so hollow and full of sadness.
   If anyone knew, Honeydew did.

After an evening watching TV and doing other normal things that normal people do, Xephos suggested to Lalna that they should get an early night, as they'd have to be up at dawn again. As they got ready for bed, they sneaked some antiseptic cream out of Aunt Kim's bathroom cabinet and treated their cuts and scratches.
   Xephos drifted into a restless sleep and his mind wandered away into a watery world.
   He dreamt he was walking on the seabed again. Long trails of seaweed clung to his legs as he made his way towards the circle of dolphins. But this time the dolphins turned into sharks with long pointed snouts and razor teeth.
   The predators swam around and around and finally parted to reveal the figure sat in the centre - but not the beautiful mermaid as before. This time, a sinister skeleton in long flowing robes and wearing a crown!
    The figure stared greedily at the treasure chest in front of it. The lid of the chest was slightly open and Xephos saw bottles and cigarettes stashed inside. He drifted up to the chest and flung the lid fully open. And suddenly the chest revealed a grinning dolls face sneering up at him - a face full of hate and malice - and the doll swam out, followed by another and another.
   And then Xephos found himself surrounded by dozens of swimming sailor dolls, each bearing their teeth and preparing to attack. The seated skeleton laughed at him, jeering and mocking, the hideous laughter growing louder with every second.
   The seaweed clung tighter to Xephos' legs, and the pain became unbearable. And when Xephos finally looked down, he saw hideous dolls clinging to each of his thighs, digging their wooden fingers into his flesh and grinning up at him . . .
   And just as the nightmare reached its peak and Xephos' brain felt like it couldn't cope anymore, a soft voice called from the distant watery depths: "Xephos . . . Xephos . . . Follow me . . ."
   He looked up and saw the mermaid, hazy in the distance - the familiar blue eyes, the long blonde hair swaying in the current . . . the warm smile. And suddenly the dolls and the pain and all the nightmarish feelings were gone . . . just the soft, soothing voice beckoning him.
   "Xephos . . . Xephos . . . wake up!"
   Xephos opened his eyes and saw a shadow standing at the foot of his bed. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, unsure whether he was still dreaming.
   Xevphera seemed to read his mind. "You're not dreaming. It's me - Xevphera! I'm really here. Wake Lalna up and meet me outside. I'll wait by the gate."
   Xephos rubbed his eyes again and looked back. She was gone!
   Lalna stirred and turned towards him. "What's up? What time is it?"
   Xephos looked at the bedside clock - 3.45 am. "It's nearly dawn!"
   Lalna stirred again and looked up at him with half-closed eyes. "Go back to sleep. She's never going to find us at this time."
   Xephos pushed the duvet back and swung his legs out over the edge of the bed. "She already has," he said in a slightly shaky voice.
   Lalna sat up. "Are you ok, Xephos? You sound nervous . . . like you've seen a ghost."
   "I have!" Xephos replied. "She's waiting outside."

12 - Battle of the bin men.
The streets were cold, dark and deserted. Xevphera was waiting at the gate with a large dog beside her.
  "Blimey! Where's he come from?" Lalna asked.
  "He followed me here. He's sweet," Xevphera said, looking down at the Alsatian. Xephos walked up cautiously to the animal. It wagged its tail and panted enthusiastically. He leant down and stroked its head. "No collar!"
  "Must be a stray," Lalna suggested.
  "Whoever he is, he's friendly," Xevphera said. "He might even come in useful. Come on, boy! Let's go!"
  The three children moved off, the dog following at a close distance.
  As they turned the corner into Belper street, Xephos came straight out with the question that he and Lalna had been waiting to ask their new friend. "Xevphera . . . are you a ghost?"
  Xevphera marched on and never even looked up. "Yes, I suppose I am . . ."
  Lalna jogged a few steps to catch up with her. "So you're not real?"
  Xevphera didn't look up. "I feel real enough when i'm with you - but not so real when i'm on my own . . . I suppose!"
  Xephos and Lalna gawped at each other. "So can you walk through walls and do all that ghost stuff?" Lalna asked.
  "Yes, most of the time."
  "Wow!" Lalna gasped.
  "Brilliant!" Xephos added.
  A thousand more questions flowed through Xephos' mind, but before he or Lalna could ask anything else, she stopped and put her finger to her lips.
  The dog began to growl behind them.
    "What's wrong boy?" Xephos whispered.
  The dogs ears went back and the fur on its neck stood on end. It refused to move forward.
  "Animals can sense evil faster than humans," Xevphera said in a matter-of-fact way.
  Xephos and Lalna glanced ahead. They'd been so taken up in quizzing Xevphera that they hadn't seen the alleyway looming up. "We passed this alley on the way home from the pier," Xephos said. "I saw something moving about in the shadows."
  "And we found some interesting graffiti the next day," Lalna added.
  The dog began to whine and walk backwards.
  "i'm not surprised," Xevphera said seriously. "It's a bad place at night. We need to be very careful. Follow me."
  Xevphera edged along the wall up to the entrance to the alleyway. Xephos and Lalna followed her example. The dog stayed well back, half whining and half growling. Xevphera peered around the corner, Xephos and Lalna crouched beside her and did the same.
  The alleyway was in darkness, but it was easy to pick out the silhouettes of the three wheely bins standing among the shadows. A deathly silence hung over everything. Xephos became aware of goosebumps breaking out across his body.
    "They're in the bins," Xevphera whispered. "Waiting for him to send them out."
  "Scullion?" Lalna whispered.
  Xevphera nodded.
  "To do his dirty work!" Xephos added.
  Xevphera nodded again.
  "How do we fight them this time?" Xephos asked nervously.
  Xevphera fumbled in the pouch on the front of her kilt. She took up two small cans, each with a plastic nozzle, and a box of matches. "With these!" she whispered.
  She passed one of the cans to Xephos and the other to Lalna. And then she reached into her pouch again and took out the pencil torches. The boys shone their mini torches on to the sides of the cans and read the lettering: 'LIGHTER FUEL'.
    "Mum uses this in her cigarette lighter," Xephos said. "It's highly inflan . . . inflammm . . ."
  "Inflammable!" Lalna finished for him.
  "We need to move quick," Xevphera said impatiently. "Before he brings them to live."
  Lalna began to whisper in a high-pitched voice full of panic. "You mean we've got to go up there and open those wheely bins and . . ."
  "Exactly!" Xevphera said firmly.
  "It's too late!" Xephos gasped.
  They gazed up the alleyway and watched in horror as one of the wheely-bin lids lifted slowly and purposefully into the air. A second one quickly followed and then a third.
  "Blimey! They're coming out!" Lalna croaked.
  The dog began to growl more loudly behind them.
  "We'll have to retreat!" Xevphera said. "Across the road and behind that parked car . . . We'll hide there and decide what to do next."
  Nobody wanted to argue with that. They quickly turned on their heels and crept across the road. They gestured to the dog to follow them, and a few seconds later they were all peering from behind the parked car over to the alleyway.
  The hairs on the back of Xephos' neck stood on end as the three dwarf-like figures emerged from the dark passage and stalked away up Belper Street. The hideous sound of high-pitched chuckling trailed away into the distance as the figures disappeared.
  "Now what do we do?" Lalna whispered.
  "We set a trap for when they get back," Xevphera answered.
  "How?"
  "I don't know. Any ideas?"
  "I've got one," Xephos said. "We'll need to act fast."
  Xephos led them back across the road and up the alleyway. The three wheely bins stood with their lids open, waiting for the return of their occupants. Xephos peered into them and saw that each one was about half full of paper and rubbish - no doubt a cosy bed for their daytime occupants.
  "What's the plan?" Xevphera asked.
  "Trust me!" Xephos replied. "Pass me the lighter fuel."
  Xevphera and Lalna watched as Xephos sprayed the contents of the cans into each of the three wheely bins.
  "Ok, lets get back across the road . . ."
  Back behind the parked car, they crouched down and Xephos began taking one of his socks off.
  "What are you doing now?" Lalna asked.
  Xephos pointed behind to a rose bush sprouted over the garden wall. "See that garden cane? Pass it here . . . and see if you can find a couple more."
  Xevphera stroked the top of the dog's head and gave Xephos a strange look as he took his other sock off.
  The dog started to growl again. Xevphera looked anxiously across the road. "Watch out! They're back!" she whispered.
  The three friends kept low as the leading doll stopped under a lamppost just short of the alleyway. The other two figures watched as it climbed up the post and put its fist through the glass light. A horrible high-pitched chuckling followed.
  "Lalna, I need one of your socks . . . quick!"
  Lalna didn't argue. He kicked one of his shoes off and removed his sock.
  Xephos sat with his back to the garden wall and wrapped each of the three socks around the end of the garden cane. Then he doused each sock with some lighter fuel he'd saved in one of the cans.
  They all watched as the shadowy figures crept back up the alleyway, and Xephos guessed that they were ready to return to their hiding places.
  "Take one of these," he said, passing Xevphera and Lalna a cane each, complete with sock soaked in lighter fuel. "Now follow me!"
  They crept over the road. The dog refused to move and stayed hidden.
  Crouching by the entrance to the alleyway, they saw the distant silhouettes scrambling back into the bins.
  "Ok!" Xephos whispered. "I'm going to light our torches."
  Keeping well out of sight, he struck a match and held it to the socks. Xevphera and Lalna held their blazing torches and waited for Xephos' command.
  His voice shook with excitement. "There's no time to waste. Just dash up the alleyway, open one of the bins and drop the torch in."
  Lalna stammered and stuttered. "But . . . but . . ."
  Xevphera didn't hesitate. She charged around the corner, sprinting up to the nearest wheely bin and did exactly as Xephos said. Xephos did the same. Lalna took a deep breath and followed their example.
  The result was dramatic.
  The fuel-doused rubbish ignited and burst into flame. Within seconds, each of the bins became a blazing inferno. Xephos, Lalna and Xevphera retreated down the alleyway and turned to face the spectacle. Through the flames it was just possible to see each of the three dwarf-like figures trying desperately to escape from their hideout. Two of the figures fell back into the blazing bins. But the third doll managed to drop to the ground, still on fire. It rolled on the floor and made a hideous screeching sound until the flames were extinguished. Blackened and charred, it got to its feet and faced down the alleyway.
  "Watch out!" Xephos exclaimed. "It's going to charge!"
  The doll proved Xephos correct as it sprinted towards them at lightning speed. It struck Xephos' stomach with such force that it drove him five metres back into the middle of the road and flattened him.
    Xevphera and Lalna, who so far had remained shocked and speechless, sprang into action.
  "Get it off him!" Lalna shrieked.
  Xephos looked up, dazed and groggy, as the smoking, blackened doll reared its ugly head and stared him straight in the eye. Never had he seen such a look of hatred or malice.
  The doll grabbed Xephos' neck and shrieked and snarled. And then it leant over him and opened its thick wooden lips, baring its charred teeth . . .
  Xevphera and Lalna dashed to Xephos' aid . . . but the dog beat them to it. It charged from across the road and hit the doll with terrific force. It sank its sharp canine teeth into its neck and carried it away up the road.
  Xevphera cheered as the dog shook the doll violently. The legs still smoked as the bottom half of its body separated from its head and shoulders . . . and then it was all over - the doll was no more than a lifeless pile of wood!
    "STAY THERE . . . BLOOMING VANDALS!" A woman had appeared on the doorstep of number seventeen. She stood in dressing gown and slippers and had her arms folded across her chest.
  Several other lights came on and a siren sounded somewhere in the distance.
  "Quick . . . we need to get out of here!" Xevphera screamed.
  It was only a short sprint back to Yogcave Terrace. They charged through the gate and hid in Aunt Kim's garden. They watched as a fire engine roared past, followed closely by a police car . . . and an ambulance.
  "Someone must have dialled 999," Lalna said quietly.
  "Xephos . . . your plan was fab," Xevphera whispered.
  "A bit risky though," Lalna added.
  Xephos nodded. "Well, at least it worked, and that's three less Dawn Demons to worry about."
  Their hearts all skipped a beat as a heavy panting sounded from the other side of the privet hedge. Lalna, being the second tallest, peered over first. "Phew! It's the dog," he sighed. "And look what it's carrying."
  They all peered over and watched as the Alsatian dropped something at its feet and stared up at them.
  "It's a sailor doll - or what's left of it. Good boy!" Xephos said.
  Xevphera got up, put her hands on her hips and turned to face them. "I'll see you soon." She looked down at Xephos and smiled warmly at him. "Six down and four to go!"
  Xephos and Lalna said nothing. They scrambled to their feet and watched as Xevphera moved through the gate with the dog following after her.
  She disappeared down the street and never looked back.
  But Xephos sensed it would only be a short time before they met up again.

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

7 - Initial enquiries
Xephos and Lalna dressed and went downstairs to the smell of bacon and eggs.
   "Smells fantastic!" Lalna said.
   "Come on, you two!" Aunt Kim greeted them. "Sit yourselves down. Breakfast's about ready. I'll get you fed and then I'll have to be off to work soon."
   A few minutes later, the two friends were seated at the table, tucking into one of Aunt Kim's fry-ups. Honeydew was there, sipping milk off the end of his spoon, every now and then taking a slurp from a large mug of tea.
   "Are you OK now, Xephos?" Aunt Kim asked him. "I never heard a peep from your room until you decided to throw the duvet out of the window. You both seemed to have slept well until then."
   Xephos cast a glance at Lalna. Lalna returned the same guilty look. Honeydew stopped sipping form his spoon and stared in Xephos' direction, his grey eyes big and challenging. "Have you ever seen a slot machine with a spooky kind of sailor doll inside?" Xephos asked all at once.
   Honeydew suddenly coughed... choking on his breakfast. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and whipped his mouth.
   "Are you OK, Honeydew?" Aunt Kim asked, her voice full of concern.
   Honeydew nodded, but said nothing.
   "The laughing sailor!" Aunt Kim continued. She placed a plate of toast on the table and looked into space. "I remember them well. Most of the arcades had them." She shuddered and smiled at the same time. "They used to give me nightmares - and my friends - hideous things. It was the eyes... they seemed to follow you around. And that laugh... it sent a shiver down your spine. Thank God they've all gone now. I can't imagine why anyone would think they were amusing."
   All went silent around the table.
   Lalna looked at Xephos curiously and took up the questioning. "We bumped into some lads yesterday wearing baseball caps. They seemed like real trouble. I wondered if they were the vandals you told us about."
   Honeydew coughed again and cleared his throat. "I've seen 'em. Damn yobs. It wouldn't have 'appened in my day. They'd 'ave been straight in the army... that would 'ave sorted 'em out!"
   Aunt Kim smiled. She looked from Honeydew to Lalna and stroked her chin. "Yes. I've seen them. They're a bad lot. You're probably right, but nobody can ever catch them at it."
   Xephos looked sheepishly toward Lalna.
   "And there's a girl we've met. She wears a kilt and beret," Lalna continued. "She's called Xevphera... Xevphera Purpleblade."
   Honeydew's face turned ashen. He got up and left.
   "I wonder what rattled him," Aunt Kim said, shaking her head. She stroked her chin again. "Xevphera, you said her name was. That's real old fashioned name. It doesn't ring any bells."
   She poured the boys a cup of tea and looked curiously at them. "Anything else you want to know? Seems to me you've been reading too many mystery books."
   Xephos smiled. He didn't read much but he liked mysteries.
   "So what are your plans for today?" Aunt Kim asked, beginning to clear away the plates.
   Xephos got up to help. "I'm not sure. What do you want to do, Lal?"
   "Why don't you go down to the lifeboat station on the North landing?" Aunt Kim suggested. "It's an interesting place. You can have a look around and they wont charge you a penny. You'll see all the old photos of your Uncle Ridge."
   "And we can explore the caves in the cove," Xephos added. "What do think, Lal?"
   Lalna rubbed his hands together. "I'm up for it... it sounds a great idea."
Xephos was the first to step outside. The weather was still cold and grey, but a few patches of blue sky showed in the distance. Perhaps it would cheer up later.
   He put his hands into his pockets and pulled out the little hat. He'd forgotten all about it.
   "What's that?" Lalna asked.
   "It's that weird little sailor hat that we found among the rubbish. I know this sounds mad... but what if it's one of them dolls causing the problems - the vandalism."
   Lalna looked back at him with wide eyes. "You can't be serious?"
   "I know it sounds crazy... but it's no more crazy than the Bonebreaker business."
   Both boys allowed their minds to wonder back to the seven-foot tall Viking phantom. Lalna nodded in agreement. "That's true... this holiday is getting spookier by the minute, just like last time. Come on - we'll go through everything again on the way, and we'll check out that alleyway and the house where the window got smashed."
   They walked on and soon reached the narrow passage where Xephos had spotted the sinister small figure scurrying amongst the shadows.
   "There was definitely something moving around up there last night," Xephos said.
   Lalna walked up the alleyway and headed towards an upturned supermarket trolley. "Wow! Take a look at this!"
   Xephos joined him. They stood side by side and gawped at the familiar image daubed on the wall - a wheelie bin with a pair of sinister eyes peering out form the dark space below the lid, the word 'SCULLION' written diagonally down the side of the bin.
   "It's the same as the ones we saw at the side of the railway track," Lalna uttered in surprise. "What does it mean?"
   "I've seen that word somewhere else," Xephos remarked.
   "Where?"
   "Can't remember!"
   "Come on! Try! It might be important."
   Xephos concentrated hard... and then it came to him. "The end of the pier... the arcade with the sailor doll... it had Scullion's name painted over it."
   "Interesting," Lalna said. "Let's go and take a look at that house further down the street."
   They passed by the terraced house where the spooky little figure had jumped out of the wheelie bin. They looked across and saw the boarded-up window. The front door opened and an old women appeared on the doorstep.
   "What are you two gawping at?"
   "Nothing!" Lalna shouted back.
   The old woman glared back at them. "Someone broke my window - early this morning. Yobs and vandals - the town's full of 'em! It fair gave me a heart attack." The woman started down the path towards them, her arms folded across her chest. "Don't suppose you two know anything about it?"
   "No idea!" Lalna said, quickly walking on. "We're here on holiday."
   "Just half term," Xephos added.
   "Well see that you keep yourselves out of trouble!" the woman snapped at them. "We've got quite enough of it as it is!" She headed back into the house and slammed the door.
   "What do you reckon?" Xephos asked.
   "Well... whoever did it looked small... like..."
   "... one of those sailor dolls I saw on the pier, and in my nightmare!" Xephos finished for him.
   "So you really believe that those things are causing the trouble?"
   Xephos' mind went back to the horrific events the night before. "I don't know. Last night all seemed like a horrible dream... like it wasn't real?"
   "Well, whatever broke that window was real enough," Lalna stated sternly.
   "Let's go to the lifeboat station."
   Xephos nodded. This half-term holiday was growing crazier by the minute and it was anybody's guess what might happen next.
8 - Heroes of the sea
As they approached one of the many snack bars, Xephos reached into his pocket and took out the money Aunt Kim had given him. "Fancy an ice cream?"
   Lalna nodded enthusiastically and decided on a Taste Blaster ice-lolly, while Xephos settled for a double ripple choc-ice. They walked on contently, gazing around.
   "Look!" Lalna whispered to Xephos. "There's the arcade with the Zombie-attack... where that gang hangs out."
   As they walked past, Xephos peered in. He caught his breath as he saw the back of the red baseball cap opposite the screen.
   Lalna saw it too. "Quick! Let's move on."
   They slunk past and trod quietly. The gang didn't see them.
   Just beyond the funfair, the blue-and-orange flag of the lifeboat station blew in the breeze. "Do you think we might bump into Xevphera?" Lalna asked.
   Xephos shrugged his shoulders. "You never know. She could turn up anywhere."
   "Why do you think she wore such funny clothes?"
   "No idea... she's strange."
   Lalna nodded. He slurped the last remnants of his Taste Blaster ice-lolly and threw the stick into a waste bin.
   A minute later, the sun came out and suddenly everything seemed cheerier.
   The two boys walked on without speaking, taking in the scene - smiling faces, mouthwatering smells of hot dogs and candyfloss, waves breaking gently on the beach below... so much better than being at school. Bliss!
   As they approached the funfair, Xephos stared up at the Ferris wheel. It dwarfed the helter-skelter by its side. But it was the ghost train that attracted the attentions of the two friends the most.
   "Wow! That looks seriously scary!" Lalna said, stopping in his tracks.
   "This is new," Xephos said. "It's a lot bigger than the one that used to be on the pier."
   The two friends sauntered up and stared in awe at the spooky artwork adorning the walls of the ride - grinning skeletons, flying witches and a train driver that looked like a cross between a zombie and a vampire.
   "Shall we give it a go?" Lalna asked, rooting through his pockets. "I've got a pound coin somewhere."
   "I've still got some change from the money Aunt Kim gave me. We'll gave a go now and then move on to the lifeboat station."
   A loud siren screamed from somewhere inside the ghost train and Xephos' heart skipped a beat. A nervous feeling suddenly welled up in his stomach.
   Lalna looked at him. "Are you OK, Xephos? Your face has gone as white as a sheet."
   "I... I feel a bit weird," Xephos croaked.
   Lalna stared, his eyes wide. "What's wrong?"
   Xephos didn't reply. He had a sudden urge to look over his shoulder. He spotted the red baseball caps in the distance... moving towards them. He grabbed Lalna's arm. "Quick! Get on!"
   Lalna did as he was told and climbed into the front carriage of the ghost train. A man with greasy black hair and an even greasier bushy black beard took their money.
   "Hold on tight guys... it gets really scary in there." He grinned at them.
   As the train lunged forward and crashed through the doors, Xephos glanced back and saw the gang walking past... they hadn't seen them.    Lalna glanced back at the same time. "So that's why you were panicking - the 'Red Cap Gang'!"
   Xephos said nothing. He clung tight to the handrail and took a deep breath.
   The churning feeling in his stomach was still there.
   The train plunged into the darkness. Fluorescent phantoms barred their way... always disappearing at the last second. A spooky graveyard appeared at the side of the track. As the train glided by, a coffin opened and a vampire with blood-stained fangs sat up and stared at them.
   "Hey... this is brilliant," Lalna yelled form Xephos' side.
   Xephos didn't answer. He sensed that something awful was about to happen.
   The train careered on into the darkness. A fake thunderstorm lit up a spooky castle painted on the wall to the front of them.
   But it was something else that suddenly attracted their attention.
   Lalna screamed out first, "There's something on the track... running towards us!"
   "IT'S A SAILOR DOLL!" Xephos shrieked.
   Xephos gripped the handrail even tighter and braced himself. The dwarf-like figure charged at them, leapt over the front of the carriage and grabbed Xephos by the neck. The lights went out and Xephos screamed in pain as the doll sank its teeth into one of his ears.
   "Get it off!" Xephos shrieked.
   As the train lurched round another corner, Lalna struggled to pull the dwarfish attacker away from Xephos' body. At the same time, Xephos pushed for all he was worth, until the doll finally lost its grip and toppled back over the front of the engine. The sound of crunching splintering wood completed with a screaming siren. Clutching his ear, Xephos looked back and saw the smashed sailor doll lying lifeless across the rails. A few seconds later, the train crashed back through the doors into welcoming daylight, marking the end of the ride.
   Xephos' instincts had been right. Danger had been lurking... and it hadn't been the Red Cap Gang!
   "That was nasty!" Xephos gasped as they walked away.
   Lalna wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Somebody's definitely got it in for us."
"Xephos! Your Aunt's lodger... Look!"
   Xephos looked eagerly ahead. Lalna was right - it was Honeydew, sitting on a bench by the side of the lifeboat station. He was reading a newspaper and hadn't seen them. They crept past him and made their way through the entrance.
   The lifeboat loomed over them, taking up most of the space in the huge wooden building. It looked impressive - powerful, streamlined and as clean as a new pin. Xephos thought it looked brand new. The orange and blue colours were striking in contrast.
   All around the lifeboat, the walls of the building were covered in framed pictures. Some showed newspaper cuttings of rescues. Others displayed photographs of lifeboat crews, tracing the stations history.
   Xephos walked along the lines of photographs, studying each one carefully. Lalna didn't seem interested. He just wanted to talk about what had happened on the ghost train.
   "That thing must have been following us," Lalna pointed out, scratching his chin. "But how can a doll move like that? And why did it attack us? What's going on?"
   Xephos didn't answer. He was too absorbed with a photograph of a small boat in distress. The scene was dramatic; the boat was being tossed about in a huge sea under a heavy grey sky. He could almost sense the fear of the crew. And on the edge of the photograph, an even smaller boat... the lifeboat!
   Lalna stopped muttering and looked up at the photograph. "I'm glad I wasn't out there on that night," he said solemnly.
   Another photograph at the side showed a man with his arms folded in a pose. Xephos recognised the man's striking features immediately. A gold earing hung from one of his ears; Xephos decided it gave his uncle a film-star image.
   "Is that your uncle Ridge?" Lalna asked, straining to read the caption beneath the photo.
   Before Xephos had a chance to reply, he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and his heart turned to ice.
   "Quite the hero, your uncle!" the old man said quietly.
   Xephos turned, saw Honeydew and sighed with relief. The sight of Aunt Kim's lodger was far more welcome than one of the dreaded sailor dolls or a member of the Red Cap Gang.
   "Sorry if I startled you, lad." Honeydew said apologetically. "I was out having a stroll and I saw you and your pal walk in here. I thought I'd see what you were up to."
   The boys looked back to the picture. "Was he out there... Xephos' uncle?" Lalna asked.
   Honeydew stared at the photograph with sad, hollow eyes. "He was... and he never came back. The great storm - he gave his life for those heathens!"
   Xephos looked from the photograph to Honeydew's bitter expression. "Which heathens?"
   The old man sounded more bitter than ever. "The smugglers!"
   Lalna's eyes blazed with interest. "What smugglers?"
   "Scullion and his men," Honeydew replied in an angry voice.
   "That name again," Xephos said. "The amusement arcade... at the end of the pier."
   "And the graffiti..." Lalna added. "Who is Scullion?" he asked, looking straight into Honeydew's face.
   "You don't want to know - scum of the earth..."
   Xephos stared at Lalna. Lalna stared back.
   Honeydew sauntered towards the exit. "Don't be late for your tea. Kim's doing one of her steak and mushroom pies... six o'clock sharp, mind."
   "That name... 'Scullion'," Lalna said. "It keeps cropping up."
   Xephos dabbed his ear with his handkerchief - it was still throbbing and bleeding a little. "I know! He sounds like bad news!"
   They walked around the rest of the lifeboat station and found numerous photos of Xephos' uncle. He really had been a hero and had been awarded two medals for bravery before losing his life on that fatal night.
   "Hey, listen to this!" Lalna said. He tugged at Xephos' elbow and pulled him towards a newspaper cutting.
SCAWLSBY MAN ARRESTED AFTER SEA RESCUE
During a dramatic sea rescue by the Scawlsby Lifeboat Crew, several men lost their lives, including Ridge Slater, a much-respected member of the crew for over seventeen years. It later transpired that the rescue boat was a smugglers' boat delivering drugs from the continent.
Mr Sips Scullion, owner of the vessel, was subsequently arrested and charged along with other members of the crew. He is now in custody awaiting trial.
"So my uncle died trying to save drug smugglers!" Xephos sighed.
   Lalna nodded. "Looks like it! Come on... let's move on."
   But Xephos wanted to spend more time looking over the impressive boat and all the photos and pictures on display.
   "There's a first-aid post back up by the funfair. I think you should get that ear seen to," Lalna said in his sensible voice.
   "And what do we say happened?" Xephos answered sarcastically.
   "A dog! It jumped up and bit you," Lalna suggested.
   Xephos dabbed his ear again. "Would a dog really jump up and bite my ear?"
   "Well... it could have been a big dog!" A different voice sounded from the entrance. "It could have been a Great Dane!"
   Xephos' eyes lit up at the sight of the familiar beret crowning the smiling face. "Xevphera!" he cried out, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. He looked at Lalna and blushed.
   Lalna frowned. "She's in her mini-Scotsman outfit again!"
   Xevphera stood in the doorway; the pattern on her kilt looked striking in the sunlight. Xephos chuckled to himself.
   "Come on!" Xevphera shouted to them. "I want to take you somewhere."
   "Not to see his worst nightmare!" Lalna replied sarcastically. "We've just destroyed it."
   Xevphera smiled knowingly. She didn't look at all surprised. "No - I'm going to show you two more nightmares... Now get a move on!"
   Lalna scratched his head. "This girl is seriously loopy!"
   "But seriously interesting!" Xephos added., a nervous flutter invading his stomach again. "Let's get after her - before she disappears."
9 - Scullion's cave
The two friends followed Xevphera to the stone steps at the edge of the promenade. They leapt down the steps two at a time. When they reached the bottom, Xevphera turned to face them. She looked straight at Xephos, her big blue eyes blazing with energy. "So what did you think about that business at the end of the pier?"
   Xephos' mind swirled. There was so much he wanted to know. "Did it really happen?" he asked. "Or was it all a dream? The sailor doll that broke out of the slot machine -"
   "And the ones we saw on our way home," Lalna interrupted. "Xephos dreamt that one of them got into the house under our bed -"
   "And one's just attacked us on the ghost train," Xephos joined in again. "And that definitely no dream!" He pointed to his ear. At the same time, he fumbled in his pocket and took out the sailor cap. He held it up for Xevphera to see. "Look! We found this in the garden. Those dolls are running riot through the town, aren't they? I think it's time you told us -"
   Before they could say any more, Xevphera cut them off. "I call them Dawn Demons. I took you to the pier to show you what they look like. It was a vision, Xephos... formed from Scullion's evil power. It lurks there. I knew you would see it. It's something you're good at. That's why I picked you out."
   "Good at what?" Lalna asked on Xephos' behalf. "And what do you mean 'picked him out'?"
   Xephos stood there with his mouth open, waiting for Xevphera's reply.
   "Good at seeing things that other people can't. Visions... signs... tuning into spirits and all that! That's why I picked on him - because I need someone like Xephos to help me out."
   "What's she on about?" Lalna asked.
   "She's right!" Xephos said thoughtfully. "She means I'm like my mum was. Mum had dreams - like me. She read tealeaves and all that stuff."
   Lalna turned to face him and nodded. "Do you think that's why the Bonebreaker picked on you?" he said.
   "Well... I thought it was just because me and the Saxon boy were related, but there could be more to it," Xephos replied. "Maybe I can tune in to spirits."
   Xevphera turned and started skipping across the firm wet sand. "And maybe they can tune into you, Xephos Blue - especially the bad one! Come on! Follow me!" she said. And then she started singing:
'I'm a little mermaid
Living in the sea
Down on the bottom
Where you can't find me.'
Xephos and Lalna looked at each other in disbelief.
   She ran some distance ahead and they watched as she took off her beret and threw it into the wind. It glided across the beach like a Frisbee. It hovered over their heads and they raced to catch it. Lalna, being able to propel himself further than Xephos, managed to outstretch him and catch it cleanly in his left hand.
   Xevphera cried out from the distance, her long blonde hair blowing back in the offshore breeze. "CLEVER BOY!" She ran across the fast expanse of firm sand, beyond where the promenade ended, and into a cove.
   "Where's she taking us?" Lalna asked, placing the beret on his head.
   Xephos roared with laughter. "You look so stupid! She's taking us right where I was heading... to the caves, by the look of it."
   As Xevphera continued to wave at the distance, a young woman walked towards them with a large dog. She smiled as she passed and the dog wagged its tail. Xephos walked on and found himself looking down at the women's footprints and the dog's paw prints, fresh in the moist sand. And then he looked behind at his own footprints curving back towards the promenade, and Lalna's slightly bigger footprints, mingling with his own where they'd tried to catch Xevphera's beret.
   "HURRY UP, YOU TWO!" Xevphera cried out from the distance. "TIDE WILL BE IN SOON... AND THEN IT'LL BE TOO LATE!"
   Xephos looked towards her... looked down at the two sets of footprints again, the woman's and the dog's... and then it struck him...
   "You've gone quiet again," Lalna said, still wearing the beret.
   Xephos stopped dead in his tracks and stared forward. "She's not leaving any footprints!"
   "Who isn't?"
   "Xevphera!"
   Xephos watched as Lalna studied the sand. He looked back and glanced all around. The two boys gazed at each other. The approaching waves suddenly seemed very loud and threatening.
   "Come on!" Xephos said, snapping them back to reality. "We need to ask that girl some more questions."
   Xevphera had moved on towards three caves in the base od the chalk cliffs. Various groups of holidaymakers moved in and out of the enticing shadowy entrances, eager to explore and investigate.
   As Xephos and Lalna drew nearer, the firm wet sand gave way to limestone ridges interlaced with rock pools. They moved on towards Xevphera, passing small bands of explorers, and on towards a more distant cave in a narrow gully, which seemed to be ignored. A large notice board sticking out of the sand told them the reason why: 'BEWARE! RISING TIDES! DO NOT GO BEYOND THIS POINT!"
   Xevphera ignored it, walking on up the narrow inlet and stood at the entrance to the cave. Xephos and Lalna finally caught up.
   "Why have you brought us here?" Lalna complained. "We can't go in there!"
   The entrance to the cave was completely boarded up with a huge piece of plywood, the words 'DANGER! KEEP OUT!' painted across it in big white letters.
   Xevphera sat on a rock and looked up at them. "They're in there..."
   Lalna passed her beret back. Xephos stared at her. She wasn't smiling anymore and this made him feel uneasy. "Who are?"
   "The Dawn Demons!"
   Xephos looked towards the boarded-up entrance and a shiver rattled down his spine. His ear began to throb again... maybe he should have gone to the first-aid post after all.
   "This is Scullion's Cave." Xevphera said, standing up and staring at the entrance.
   "What do you know about Scullion?" Lalna asked.
   "He was a bad man." she answered. "Everyone in Scawlsby hated him. But nobody as much as me and Mum."
   Lalna continued the questioning. "Why did you hate him so much?"
   Xevphera picked up a stick and began to draw in a patch of wet sand trapped in between some limestone ridges. "He took all our money... all our furniture... everything!"
   Lalna knelt beside her. His tone became more sympathetic. "Why?"
   "Mum had loaned some money from him and he wanted it back... but she couldn't pay... so he took everything. At first, he took our furniture, but even that wasn't enough. So then he turned us out of our house. Mum was desperate. She had no one to turn to. She didn't know what to do. We had nowhere to go."
   Xephos looked at Xevphera's face. For the first time she looked really sad as tears began to well up in her eyes.
   "This is his cave," she said, her voice suddenly filling with bitterness. "He hid his stuff in here."
   "What stuff?" Lalna asked.
   "Cigarettes... beer and wine... that sort of stuff at first. And then they started smuggling drugs. His men landed their boats here at night and they hid it in the cave until it was safe to get rid of it."
   "Wow! Real smugglers!" Lalna exclaimed.
   Xephos was staring at the boarded-up cave entrance, fearing what might be lurking on the other side.
   "So how much do you know about the sailor dolls?" he asked.
   "They're controlled by him, by Scullion." Xevphera replied, still drawing in the sand. "He brings them to life and makes them do evil things."
   "How can anyone control dolls?" Lalna stammered.
   "Especially when they're dead!" Xephos added.
   "Dead in body, but alive in spirit." Xevphera said grimly.
   "And how many of these 'Dawn Demons' are there?" Xephos asked, hardly daring the hear the answer.
   Lalna looked down to where Xevphera had been scribbling in the sand. "Nine," he replied for her.
   Xephos stepped forward and saw the nine little men she's drawn in the sand.
   "There were ten, but you've already got rid of one on the ghost train."
   Xephos gestured towards the cave. "I suppose there are more of them are hiding in there?"
   "Yes, two. The Dawn Demons are holed up all around the town. I know their hiding places. They lie low during the day and he sends them out at dawn - the quietest time - to wreck the town."
   "But why..."
   The waves crashed even more loudly behind them.
   "No more time," Xevphera interrupted. "The tides coming in fast. We need to get in there and sort them creeps out. Are you up for it?"
   "I am if you are," Xephos said.
   Lalna didn't look so sure. He looked across at Xevphera. "Just how dangerous are they?"
   "Very dangerous! That's why I waited for you both - especially you Xephos. We need to work together - like a team."
   She stood up, scanned around and walked over to a clump of rocks. She picked up a piece of driftwood with two rusty nails stuck out of one end. "Come on then... there's not much time. Get yourselves a weapon. Let's see if we can reduce Scullion's army to seven!"
   "But bow can we get in?" Lalna asked. "It's all boarded up."
   Xevphera walked up to the plywood board and reached down to the corner. "The same way they get in... and out."
   Xephos and Lalna watched as she pulled on the board, making a gap between the wood and the limestone; it was just big enough for a child - or a sailor doll - to crawl through.
   "Blimey... I don't fancy going in there," Lalna gasped, peering through into the darkness. "How will we see?"
   Xevphera reached into the leather bag hanging from the belt of her kilt. "With these..."
   She took out two pencil torches and passes them to Xephos and Lalna.
   "What about you?" Xephos asked.
   "I don't need one."
   As the tide roared even louder behind them, Xephos and Lalna followed Xevphera's example and armed themselves with a stout piece of driftwood, each with nails sticking out from their ends.
   Taking a deep breathe, Xephos crawled through the small gap and led the way into the boarded-up entrance. And then they were in - the three of them, huddled together in the damp blackness... ready to face two more of the hideous sailor dolls.
10 - Cave dwellers
The pencil torches threw out light and it took quite a while for Xephos and Lalna to make out their surroundings.
   They crawled along a small passage, until it opened out into a huge cavernous space, like a miniature cathedral. A large rock pool at the centre took up most of the floor space. The air was freezing cold. A strong smell of seaweed hung over everything and the sound of dripping water echoed ominously around the slimy walls.
   "Can you see anything?" Lalna whispered, nudging Xephos as he crept around the edge of the rock pool.
   "Not much. Just rocks and some smaller pools... and some bits of old wood lying around."
   The three of them crept slowly on, towards the back of the 'cathedral'. Xephos shone his torch down on a piece of half-rotted wood. He was just able to make out the faded letters: 'WHISKEY'.
   "It's left over from the smuggled stuff I told you about," Xevphera said quietly, peering over his shoulder.
   Lalna took no notice. His voice began to shake. "There's... there's... something up ahead... behind those rocks."
   Xephos shone his torch forward so that his beam reinforced the light from Lalna's. The backs of the two small heads stuck out above a clump of rocks. The white sailor caps and wiry black hair left them in no doubt who the heads belonged to.
   "They're not moving... they're lifeless!" Lalna quaked.
   "They'll only move when he wants them to," Xevphera said.
   "But how does he do it?" Xephos exclaimed. "How can someone make dolls come alive?"
   "Scullion isn't just 'someone'," Xevphera replied. "He's an evil force capable of lots of things."
   "Lots of evil things I suppose!" Xephos whispered.
   This time Xevphera didn't reply. She remained very still and quiet. Xephos swung round and shone his torch into her face. Her big blue eyes stared back - but she wasn't looking at him. Her mind was else... like she was in some sort of trance.
   "Is she OK?" Lalna asked, his voice still shaking.
   "I'm fine," Xevphera replied slowly. "I can feel his presence... he's here."
   A cold draught of air appeared from nowhere. It whistled through the cave, making the hairs on Xephos' neck stand on end. "Same here," Xephos said. "I can sense it too. And worse still... I can sense that he knows we're here!"
   They all peered forward. Xephos torch lit up one of the heads as it turned slowly round and stared at them, its painted grin full of malice and its eyes cutting into them. They stood frozen as the other head did exactly the same.
   "They're going to attack!" Xevphera shrieked.
   With torches in one hand and raised lengths of driftwood in the other, Xephos and Lalna braced themselves, but the heads disappeared behind the rocks.
   "They've gone!" Lalna gasped.
   Xephos raised his weapon even higher and scanned around with his torch. "No way! They're hiding... waiting the strike."
   A wave thundered just outside the cave entrance, followed by the sound of rushing water. At the same time, a sinister scuffling sounded from the other side of the cave. It filled Xephos with terror... and then the first doll struck.
   It leapt at Xephos, but Lalna got in the way. His cry echoed around the cave, only to be replaced by the sound of hideous demonic laughter.
   "It's digging into me! Get it off!" Lalna shrieked.
   In the dark it was difficult to separate Lalna from his attacker, but Xephos managed to bring his weapon down hard, striking the top of the dolls head. He raised his weapon to deliver a second blow, but the wood was stuck... the rusty nails had buried into the wooden scalp.
   Whilst Lalna screamed, and Xephos tried to free his weapon, Xevphera delivered a second blow with her own piece of wood. Like Xephos', it stuck fast to the wooden doll and wouldn't move.
   "Pull! Pull!" Xephos shrieked, an idea forming in his mind.
   He and Xevphera pull for all they were worth and the doll came free from Lalna's waist, still attached by nails to their lumps of wood.
   "Now chuck it in the pool!" Xephos screamed.
   Xevphera understood.
   In time with each other, they heaved their wooden weapons over the limestone ridge - complete with writhing doll - straight into the big rock pool.
   A frantic splashing sounded from the other side of the rocks, and then all went quiet.
   "I think it's climbed out!" Lalna cried, his voice full of panic.
   Xephos shone his torch into the stagnant seawater. His torch lit up the grinning lifeless face. "No - it's floating..." Xephos said, his voice trembling. "I think it's finished."
   "Are you OK?" Xephos asked.
   "I'm scratched and bitten... but I'm OK."
   Another sinister scurrying noise reminded them that the battle wasn't over.
   The tide roared again, waves crashing around the entrance.
   "We're going to be trapped in here!" Xephos murmured.
   "And another Dawn Demon's going to attack," Xevphera yelled at them. "Follow me!"
   "Where to?" Xephos asked.
   "Just follow me! I know another way out and I've got a plan."
   She scrambled past them towards the back of the cave. Xephos and Lalna chased after her. All the time they could hear the second dwarf-like figure creeping up behind them.
   "This way!" Xevphera ordered, beginning to climb upwards over a huge pile of fallen rocks. A ring of light began to show above their heads.
   As they scrambled upwards, Xevphera at the front and Xephos at the rear, the circle of light grew bigger and brighter.
   "We're almost there!" Xevphera cried over her shoulder.
   Xephos stopped and shone his torch back down the rising tunnel. His blood froze as he saw the small face grinning up at him. It was moving fast... like a spider shooting a web.
   "QUICK... HE'S ALMOST GOT ME!" Xephos shouted up to his two friends.
   "We've made it!" Xevphera sighed. She climbed out into the daylight on top of the cliff. Lalna followed, but Xephos couldn't move... the creature had grabbed his foot and was climbing up his leg. He screamed in terror. Lalna reached down, grabbed Xephos' arms and pulled for all he was worth.
   "Get it off!" Xephos shrieked.
   With Lalna's help, Xephos dragged himself up the last few meters. He rolled out on to the grass, the Dawn Demon clinging like a limpet to his leg.
   "Get it off!" Xephos screamed again. "It's hurting!"
   The doll's strength seemed unbelievable - Xephos and Lalna's combined efforts couldn't budge it. They needed Xevphera's help... but she'd disappeared!
   The doll bit into his leg. Xephos shrieked. The doll laughed hideously and climbed further up his body.
   A familiar voice suddenly bellowed out, "'S' FOR 'SCULLION'... 'S' FOR 'SCUM'!"
   Xephos swung around. Lalna did the same. The doll let go of Xephos' leg and rolled on to its back as Xevphera appeared from behind a grass mound and towered over it. She held a large rock high above her head and she brought it down with all her strength.
   A sickening sound of splintering wood marked the end of the battle.
   With a look of pure hatred, Xevphera kicked the mangled body back down into the hole. She stood there with her hands on her hips and a big grin on her face, the lifeless remains cascading back down the narrow tunnel.
   She turned to Xephos and Lalna and rubbed her hands. "Three down, seven to go!"
   Xephos looked at Lalna in disbelief. And then he studied his leg where his attacker had attached itself... I was red, some teeth marks, but the skin wasn't broken!
   Lalna pulled up his jumper and shirt. A series of claw marks stood out around his waist. One of them was deeper than the rest and bleeding a little. "Those dolls are so strong." he sighed.
   "And they'll only get stronger," Xevphera said.
   Xephos remembered his ear again. He rubbed his finger over it and felt the scab that had formed. "How do you mean?"
   Xevphera sat crossed-legged on the grass by their side. "Scullion's spirit is an evil force -"
   "Nobody's arguing with that," Lalna chirped in.
   Xevphera frowned and carried on. "He shared his power equally between his army of dolls."
   "Ten of them." Lalna said, already beginning to catch on. Xephos still wasn't too sure what Xevphera was leading up to.
   "But now, thanks to us, there's only seven," Xevphera continued.
   "So the rest of the dolls will have Scullion's power divided by seven," Lalna went on.
   Xephos couldn't understand the number of it, but he began to see what Xevphera and Lalna were saying. "And when there's only one doll left... then it will have all of Scullion's power... and be stronger than ever."
   "You've got it!" Lalna said.
   Xephos climbed to his feet and dusted the grass off his trousers. "So what's next?"
   "Go home and get some rest." Xevphera said. "You're going to need it. I'll come and get you around dawn. Tomorrow morning we take on three more of them!"
   Lalna stood up and tucked his shirt in. "And where with this next battle be?" he asked, his voice trembling a little - Xephos wasn't sure whether it was from fear or excitement.
   "I'll tell you when I see you... just go home, get some rest and get stuck into your Aunt Kim's steak and mushroom pie."
   Lalna looked from Xevphera to Xephos and then back to Xevphera again. "But how did you know...? Oh forget it!"
   Xephos chuckled. Xevphera was so cool. "Why don't you come home with us? I'm sure they'll be enough for you. Aunt Kim wont mind."
   But Xevphera was already walking away. As she disappeared around the grass mound, she shouted back over her shoulder. "No thanks! I don't eat pies. In fact... I don't eat at all!"
11 - Home sweet Aunt Kim's
Xephos felt so relieved to be back at Aunt Kim's. Everything seemed so safe and real again. He sat at the table and stared at the real tablecloth, the real china plates and the real cutlery. The smell of real steak and mushroom pie drifted in from the kitchen and Xephos' mouth began to water.
   "That smells so good," Lalna said, licking his lips.
   Xephos nodded. "I wonder where Honeydew is."
   Lalna glanced at the empty chair by the side of them. His plate was set, but there was no sign of the old man. "Don't know."
   Aunt Kim appeared with a huge short crust pie in a patterned dish that matched the plates. She placed it on a mat at the centre of the table and cut into it. "I hope you two are hungry. Honeydew's not eating with us tonight. He's staying out at a friend's."
   Lalna beamed. Xephos beamed.
   "Have you had a good day?" Aunt Kim continued. "Did you get chance to look round the lifeboat station?"
   As aunt Kim served up the steaming pie and a mountain of potatoes and vegetables, Xephos told her how they'd bumped into Honeydew and seen the photos of Uncle Ridge in the station. He also told her about seeing the newspaper cutting describing the lifeboat disaster.
   "It was the worst night of my life," Aunt Kim said sadly. "That boat cost my Ridge his life. And all for the sake of those vile men . . . I can't help cursing the lot of them!"
   Xephos gave Aunt Kim a sad glance. He felt so sorry for her.
   Lalna frowned, but tried to keep the conversation going. "You mean the smugglers?" he asked. "Scullion's men?"
   Ass the two boys began eating, Aunt Kim sat at the other end of the table, opposite Honeydew's place. "There's not much gets past you two, that's for sure."
   "Honeydew mentioned Scullion to us," Xephos said.
   Aunt Kim nodded solemnly. "Honeydew couldn't stand the man. He blames him for everything that ever went wrong in this town . . . especially for the loss of that poor girl and her mother."
   "What happened to them?" Lalna asked, his mouth almost too full to speak.
   Aunt Kim's expression turned to sadness. "It happened years ago. They got into a mess and walked off the end of the pier - mother and daughter. The older folk in the town still talk about it. It doesn't bear thinking about!"
   Xephos and Lalna stopped chewing and looked at each other - and then at Aunt Kim. She changed her face and forced a smile. "Well that's enough of that . . . Get stuck in and I'll just get the salt." And saying this she got up and disappeared into the kitchen.
   "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Lalna asked, his eyes still wide.
   Xephos' mind swirled with confused thoughts: Xevphera and her mum . . . ghosts and mermaids . . . ends of piers . . . smugglers and sailor dolls . . .
   He tried desperately to string it all together, but Lalna began to do it for him.
   "It's starting to make sense," Lalna began. "First Scullion gets on the wrong side of just about everybody in Scawlsby - what with smuggling and lending out money that people cant afford to pay back. And then he drives a woman and her daughter to suicide."
   "And . . . you think Xevphera is the girl - that went off the end of the pier?" Xephos stammered.
   Lalna had just taken another mouthful of pie and almost choked on it. "No wonder she doesn't leave any footprints. She's a ghost!"
   "But if Scullion is dead, why would he come back and wreck the town with sailor dolls?" Xephos asked, suddenly losing interest in his food.
   "The missing piece of the jigsaw," Lalna replied, still tucking into his food. "And I think I know who might just have the answer," he said mysteriously.
   Xephos looked at him thoughtfully. "Who?"
   Lalna nodded at the empty chair by his side. "Honeydew!"
   Xephos clapped his hands together. Lalna was right. If anyone knew Scullion's motive, it would be Honeydew. He was an old, old man - about the right age to have been around at the time it all happened - and his eyes so hollow and full of sadness.
   If anyone knew, Honeydew did.

After an evening watching TV and doing other normal things that normal people do, Xephos suggested to Lalna that they should get an early night, as they'd have to be up at dawn again. As they got ready for bed, they sneaked some antiseptic cream out of Aunt Kim's bathroom cabinet and treated their cuts and scratches.
   Xephos drifted into a restless sleep and his mind wandered away into a watery world.
   He dreamt he was walking on the seabed again. Long trails of seaweed clung to his legs as he made his way towards the circle of dolphins. But this time the dolphins turned into sharks with long pointed snouts and razor teeth.
   The predators swam around and around and finally parted to reveal the figure sat in the centre - but not the beautiful mermaid as before. This time, a sinister skeleton in long flowing robes and wearing a crown!
    The figure stared greedily at the treasure chest in front of it. The lid of the chest was slightly open and Xephos saw bottles and cigarettes stashed inside. He drifted up to the chest and flung the lid fully open. And suddenly the chest revealed a grinning dolls face sneering up at him - a face full of hate and malice - and the doll swam out, followed by another and another.
   And then Xephos found himself surrounded by dozens of swimming sailor dolls, each bearing their teeth and preparing to attack. The seated skeleton laughed at him, jeering and mocking, the hideous laughter growing louder with every second.
   The seaweed clung tighter to Xephos' legs, and the pain became unbearable. And when Xephos finally looked down, he saw hideous dolls clinging to each of his thighs, digging their wooden fingers into his flesh and grinning up at him . . .
   And just as the nightmare reached its peak and Xephos' brain felt like it couldn't cope anymore, a soft voice called from the distant watery depths: "Xephos . . . Xephos . . . Follow me . . ."
   He looked up and saw the mermaid, hazy in the distance - the familiar blue eyes, the long blonde hair swaying in the current . . . the warm smile. And suddenly the dolls and the pain and all the nightmarish feelings were gone . . . just the soft, soothing voice beckoning him.
   "Xephos . . . Xephos . . . wake up!"
   Xephos opened his eyes and saw a shadow standing at the foot of his bed. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, unsure whether he was still dreaming.
   Xevphera seemed to read his mind. "You're not dreaming. It's me - Xevphera! I'm really here. Wake Lalna up and meet me outside. I'll wait by the gate."
   Xephos rubbed his eyes again and looked back. She was gone!
   Lalna stirred and turned towards him. "What's up? What time is it?"
   Xephos looked at the bedside clock - 3.45 am. "It's nearly dawn!"
   Lalna stirred again and looked up at him with half-closed eyes. "Go back to sleep. She's never going to find us at this time."
   Xephos pushed the duvet back and swung his legs out over the edge of the bed. "She already has," he said in a slightly shaky voice.
   Lalna sat up. "Are you ok, Xephos? You sound nervous . . . like you've seen a ghost."
   "I have!" Xephos replied. "She's waiting outside."

12 - Battle of the bin men.
The streets were cold, dark and deserted. Xevphera was waiting at the gate with a large dog beside her.
  "Blimey! Where's he come from?" Lalna asked.
  "He followed me here. He's sweet," Xevphera said, looking down at the Alsatian. Xephos walked up cautiously to the animal. It wagged its tail and panted enthusiastically. He leant down and stroked its head. "No collar!"
  "Must be a stray," Lalna suggested.
  "Whoever he is, he's friendly," Xevphera said. "He might even come in useful. Come on, boy! Let's go!"
  The three children moved off, the dog following at a close distance.
  As they turned the corner into Belper street, Xephos came straight out with the question that he and Lalna had been waiting to ask their new friend. "Xevphera . . . are you a ghost?"
  Xevphera marched on and never even looked up. "Yes, I suppose I am . . ."
  Lalna jogged a few steps to catch up with her. "So you're not real?"
  Xevphera didn't look up. "I feel real enough when i'm with you - but not so real when i'm on my own . . . I suppose!"
  Xephos and Lalna gawped at each other. "So can you walk through walls and do all that ghost stuff?" Lalna asked.
  "Yes, most of the time."
  "Wow!" Lalna gasped.
  "Brilliant!" Xephos added.
  A thousand more questions flowed through Xephos' mind, but before he or Lalna could ask anything else, she stopped and put her finger to her lips.
  The dog began to growl behind them.
    "What's wrong boy?" Xephos whispered.
  The dogs ears went back and the fur on its neck stood on end. It refused to move forward.
  "Animals can sense evil faster than humans," Xevphera said in a matter-of-fact way.
  Xephos and Lalna glanced ahead. They'd been so taken up in quizzing Xevphera that they hadn't seen the alleyway looming up. "We passed this alley on the way home from the pier," Xephos said. "I saw something moving about in the shadows."
  "And we found some interesting graffiti the next day," Lalna added.
  The dog began to whine and walk backwards.
  "i'm not surprised," Xevphera said seriously. "It's a bad place at night. We need to be very careful. Follow me."
  Xevphera edged along the wall up to the entrance to the alleyway. Xephos and Lalna followed her example. The dog stayed well back, half whining and half growling. Xevphera peered around the corner, Xephos and Lalna crouched beside her and did the same.
  The alleyway was in darkness, but it was easy to pick out the silhouettes of the three wheely bins standing among the shadows. A deathly silence hung over everything. Xephos became aware of goosebumps breaking out across his body.
    "They're in the bins," Xevphera whispered. "Waiting for him to send them out."
  "Scullion?" Lalna whispered.
  Xevphera nodded.
  "To do his dirty work!" Xephos added.
  Xevphera nodded again.
  "How do we fight them this time?" Xephos asked nervously.
  Xevphera fumbled in the pouch on the front of her kilt. She took up two small cans, each with a plastic nozzle, and a box of matches. "With these!" she whispered.
  She passed one of the cans to Xephos and the other to Lalna. And then she reached into her pouch again and took out the pencil torches. The boys shone their mini torches on to the sides of the cans and read the lettering: 'LIGHTER FUEL'.
    "Mum uses this in her cigarette lighter," Xephos said. "It's highly inflan . . . inflammm . . ."
  "Inflammable!" Lalna finished for him.
  "We need to move quick," Xevphera said impatiently. "Before he brings them to live."
  Lalna began to whisper in a high-pitched voice full of panic. "You mean we've got to go up there and open those wheely bins and . . ."
  "Exactly!" Xevphera said firmly.
  "It's too late!" Xephos gasped.
  They gazed up the alleyway and watched in horror as one of the wheely-bin lids lifted slowly and purposefully into the air. A second one quickly followed and then a third.
  "Blimey! They're coming out!" Lalna croaked.
  The dog began to growl more loudly behind them.
  "We'll have to retreat!" Xevphera said. "Across the road and behind that parked car . . . We'll hide there and decide what to do next."
  Nobody wanted to argue with that. They quickly turned on their heels and crept across the road. They gestured to the dog to follow them, and a few seconds later they were all peering from behind the parked car over to the alleyway.
  The hairs on the back of Xephos' neck stood on end as the three dwarf-like figures emerged from the dark passage and stalked away up Belper Street. The hideous sound of high-pitched chuckling trailed away into the distance as the figures disappeared.
  "Now what do we do?" Lalna whispered.
  "We set a trap for when they get back," Xevphera answered.
  "How?"
  "I don't know. Any ideas?"
  "I've got one," Xephos said. "We'll need to act fast."
  Xephos led them back across the road and up the alleyway. The three wheely bins stood with their lids open, waiting for the return of their occupants. Xephos peered into them and saw that each one was about half full of paper and rubbish - no doubt a cosy bed for their daytime occupants.
  "What's the plan?" Xevphera asked.
  "Trust me!" Xephos replied. "Pass me the lighter fuel."
  Xevphera and Lalna watched as Xephos sprayed the contents of the cans into each of the three wheely bins.
  "Ok, lets get back across the road . . ."
  Back behind the parked car, they crouched down and Xephos began taking one of his socks off.
  "What are you doing now?" Lalna asked.
  Xephos pointed behind to a rose bush sprouted over the garden wall. "See that garden cane? Pass it here . . . and see if you can find a couple more."
  Xevphera stroked the top of the dog's head and gave Xephos a strange look as he took his other sock off.
  The dog started to growl again. Xevphera looked anxiously across the road. "Watch out! They're back!" she whispered.
  The three friends kept low as the leading doll stopped under a lamppost just short of the alleyway. The other two figures watched as it climbed up the post and put its fist through the glass light. A horrible high-pitched chuckling followed.
  "Lalna, I need one of your socks . . . quick!"
  Lalna didn't argue. He kicked one of his shoes off and removed his sock.
  Xephos sat with his back to the garden wall and wrapped each of the three socks around the end of the garden cane. Then he doused each sock with some lighter fuel he'd saved in one of the cans.
  They all watched as the shadowy figures crept back up the alleyway, and Xephos guessed that they were ready to return to their hiding places.
  "Take one of these," he said, passing Xevphera and Lalna a cane each, complete with sock soaked in lighter fuel. "Now follow me!"
  They crept over the road. The dog refused to move and stayed hidden.
  Crouching by the entrance to the alleyway, they saw the distant silhouettes scrambling back into the bins.
  "Ok!" Xephos whispered. "I'm going to light our torches."
  Keeping well out of sight, he struck a match and held it to the socks. Xevphera and Lalna held their blazing torches and waited for Xephos' command.
  His voice shook with excitement. "There's no time to waste. Just dash up the alleyway, open one of the bins and drop the torch in."
  Lalna stammered and stuttered. "But . . . but . . ."
  Xevphera didn't hesitate. She charged around the corner, sprinting up to the nearest wheely bin and did exactly as Xephos said. Xephos did the same. Lalna took a deep breath and followed their example.
  The result was dramatic.
  The fuel-doused rubbish ignited and burst into flame. Within seconds, each of the bins became a blazing inferno. Xephos, Lalna and Xevphera retreated down the alleyway and turned to face the spectacle. Through the flames it was just possible to see each of the three dwarf-like figures trying desperately to escape from their hideout. Two of the figures fell back into the blazing bins. But the third doll managed to drop to the ground, still on fire. It rolled on the floor and made a hideous screeching sound until the flames were extinguished. Blackened and charred, it got to its feet and faced down the alleyway.
  "Watch out!" Xephos exclaimed. "It's going to charge!"
  The doll proved Xephos correct as it sprinted towards them at lightning speed. It struck Xephos' stomach with such force that it drove him five metres back into the middle of the road and flattened him.
    Xevphera and Lalna, who so far had remained shocked and speechless, sprang into action.
  "Get it off him!" Lalna shrieked.
  Xephos looked up, dazed and groggy, as the smoking, blackened doll reared its ugly head and stared him straight in the eye. Never had he seen such a look of hatred or malice.
  The doll grabbed Xephos' neck and shrieked and snarled. And then it leant over him and opened its thick wooden lips, baring its charred teeth . . .
  Xevphera and Lalna dashed to Xephos' aid . . . but the dog beat them to it. It charged from across the road and hit the doll with terrific force. It sank its sharp canine teeth into its neck and carried it away up the road.
  Xevphera cheered as the dog shook the doll violently. The legs still smoked as the bottom half of its body separated from its head and shoulders . . . and then it was all over - the doll was no more than a lifeless pile of wood!
    "STAY THERE . . . BLOOMING VANDALS!" A woman had appeared on the doorstep of number seventeen. She stood in dressing gown and slippers and had her arms folded across her chest.
  Several other lights came on and a siren sounded somewhere in the distance.
  "Quick . . . we need to get out of here!" Xevphera screamed.
  It was only a short sprint back to Yogcave Terrace. They charged through the gate and hid in Aunt Kim's garden. They watched as a fire engine roared past, followed closely by a police car . . . and an ambulance.
  "Someone must have dialled 999," Lalna said quietly.
  "Xephos . . . your plan was fab," Xevphera whispered.
  "A bit risky though," Lalna added.
  Xephos nodded. "Well, at least it worked, and that's three less Dawn Demons to worry about."
  Their hearts all skipped a beat as a heavy panting sounded from the other side of the privet hedge. Lalna, being the second tallest, peered over first. "Phew! It's the dog," he sighed. "And look what it's carrying."
  They all peered over and watched as the Alsatian dropped something at its feet and stared up at them.
  "It's a sailor doll - or what's left of it. Good boy!" Xephos said.
  Xevphera got up, put her hands on her hips and turned to face them. "I'll see you soon." She looked down at Xephos and smiled warmly at him. "Six down and four to go!"
  Xephos and Lalna said nothing. They scrambled to their feet and watched as Xevphera moved through the gate with the dog following after her.
  She disappeared down the street and never looked back.
  But Xephos sensed it would only be a short time before they met up again.