To Break a Curse

Chapter 19

'Oh, crikey,' Merlin said. 'That wasn't meant to happen!'

'What did you do?' asked Will, horrified.

'The time-door-portal must be stronger than I thought...' Merlin looked guiltily into the cauldron, trying to see what was happening now.

Will looked at the wooden door that had appeared in the middle of the room, 'can I go through it to get them?'

'I can't see them,' Torrent looked at the wreckage of the collapsed barn through the potion.

'Right, that does it,' Will strode to the door.

'Be careful,' said Merlin. 'And be as quick as you can!'

Will barely heard him as he wrenched open the door and disappeared through it.

***

Rose coughed, 'Oliver?' it came out as a croak so she tried again. 'Oliver?'

Dust was settling around her and she could feel something heavy pinning her to the floor.

'What-?' She heard Oliver swearing over the noise of the roof finishing crashing down.

'The roof collapsed!' Rose shouted back. 'Where are you?' She tried to wriggle free but couldn't move.

'Here! You?' Oliver called.

'I'm stuck!' Rose pushed away some planks of wood that had fallen on her but was still trapped underneath something heavy.

'I'm coming!'

Rose heard crashing as Oliver started to clear the way towards her voice.

'Keep talking so I can hear where you are,' he said. He could hardly see anything with the combination of fallen roof and night. He heard Rose call out again and he saw her white face a few meters away.

'It's alright,' Oliver knelt down beside her and saw that a pile of planks had fallen on top of her. He began to heave them off one by one. After a moment, Rose was able to push off the rest and get to her feet.

'Thanks,' she brushed herself off. 'You alright?'

'Yeah,' Oliver scanned the floor for the loaves of bread he had dropped when the barn had fallen down but couldn't see them.

'That's tea gone, then,' he said regretfully.

'Never mind,' said Rose, picking her way out of the barn.

She was waiting for Oliver to climb over what was left of the wall after her when she felt a pair of arms grab her tightly from behind.

She shrieked and jabbed her elbow backwards into the person's stomach. Whoever it was let go of her and doubled over, winded.

'Rose!' Oliver vaulted over the wall and pulled her back.

'Flippin' heck, Rosie!' cried the doubled-over figure.

'Will?!' Stunned, Rose tried to see the person's face in the darkness.

'How did you get here?' demanded Oliver.

'Magic door... Mer-Merlin did the tracking spell,' Will gasped, still winded.

'Took you long enough!' exclaimed Rose, giving him a quick hug.

Will regained some of his breath, 'We need to go now, Merlin's got the time-door open but he's not sure how long it will stay open for.'

He pulled them around the side of the barn to where a wooden door stood in the middle of the field.