The Enchantments: Book 2 - The Key of Gandar

Chapter 5: The Watcher

"Melissa and Matthew we've assigned you the first piece of the urn as Professor Tweedle mentions in the letter. The two of you will be headed to northeastern England. There you will stay in the small town of Westland Castle. Now the castle lies just off the river and is now unoccupied. According to Professor Tweedle's notes, the villager's stay away from it as they say its haunted. The first piece is situated somewhere inside Westland castle. You will pose as guests of Professor Gable a teacher at the local university. He is a solitary man who uses his cottage in Westland as a summer retreat. We've been given permission to use the house, as he will be vacationing in the south of France this year. Your flight leaves tomorrow morning at eight. Fin and I will be joining you in a week to help with the search, do what you can 'till then and good luck."

Day 7- The North of England

Melissa Tate woke up that bright morning feeling rather exhausted. It had taken the entire week to get used to the time change and with the large amount of investigative work they were doing their sleeping patterns had been crazy.

She slipped out of the small comfortable bed pulling the drapes back to reveal the beautiful day that awaited them. Today was the day Simeneon and Fin were to arrive for a progress report. She had much to tell them, thank the maker she had written it all down in a logbook she had kept hidden under a loose floorboard under her bed. She wasn't taking any chances lately as the people in town were starting to get a little suspicious of the constant questions the two of them were asking.

Over the last few nights, both she and Matthew had been noticing strange shadows outside the cottage at night. At one point the window had rattled sending both of them scurrying under the beds for added protection.

'It'll be good to have someone else around soon, this place is starting to get weird.' She said to herself staring out the window across the fields towards the cobblestone wall and the Westland Castle just beyond.

Something silver caught her eye making her squint in the blinding sunlight to catch a glimpse of anything in the distance. She stared at the place she thought she had seen the flash and after a few seconds saw an old tired looking man staring back at her.

She closed the drapes quickly holding herself as she waited for the wave of shivers to pass. When she thought she was under control she moved away from the window and shuffled towards the bedroom to wake her brother. 'This was going to be a long day' She thought as she crossed the threshold into the bedrooms.

If ever there was a picturesque cottage view, this was it. Situated just off the river the small dwelling lay nestled in the trees surrounded on three sides by thick lush leaves. The front faced the gravel road and just in the distance, Westland Castle stood majestically above the green hills.

Melissa and Matthew Tate stepped out into the bright sunshine covering their eyes as they let them adjust to the light. They peered around the grounds then cautiously walked out down the path towards the road.

"I wonder if that creepy man is anywhere about," Melissa asked facing her brother with concern.

"Don't know, but if I had my way I'd have a nice quiet day for a change, this last week had been very uncomfortable, to say the least." He returned.

She nodded her agreement then changed the subject. "Where are we supposed to meet them?"

"In the center of the village, then we can return them back to the house." He was peering around over his shoulder at a small movement in the bushes. "Don't look now but we're being watched."