Bagsy Beetlehorn and the Corvid Trials (The Bagsy Chronicles 2)

The Glints

'Call your gargoyle off,' Tod said, his voice wavering, Bagsy herself doing nothing but tremble all over. The man, who looked like an ordinary man who'd been painted white and stretched too thin, stood up to his full height. Bagsy saw he also had pointed ears.

The man's voice was slow and cold. 'Who are you?'

'I'm Tod Alden, this is Bagsy... uh...'

'B-Beetlehorn,' Bagsy finished for him.

The man frowned, an unpleasant frown appearing on his face. 'Oh.'

'Call off your gargoyle,' Tod repeated, his voice still frail, his wand remaining pointed at the stone creature pacing menacingly towards them.

The man waved his hand. 'Leave us be, Spot,' he said tiredly. Spot, the menacing gargoyle, snarled and flapped his chipped, stone wings, disappearing back to his post. 'So, you've come to bother my daughter, I presume?'

Bagsy gaped. She couldn't imagine this man being Mezrielda's father. He seemed far too odd.

'Bother her?' Tod said curiously.

'Yes. You.' The man pointed a long-nailed finger at Bagsy. 'You brought her to danger.' Bagsy blinked in astonishment, her fear washing away with her confusion. In her opinion, Mezrielda had been more the cause of the danger than her. 'Leave us be. Mezrielda is studying, as she should be. She has far too many important things to deal with that you can't possibly understand. Hogwarts is no longer an appropriate place for her to receive an education.'

Bagsy recognized the way this man spoke and realised with a start that the later letters Mezrielda had been sending her sounded a lot like him. She had a sneaking suspicion he'd been monitoring and editing their correspondence, and tried to hide the glare that settled on her face.

'I don't want to speak to Mezrielda,' Tod explained calmly, smiling pleasantly at the man. 'Actually, I wanted to speak to the rest of your family. Would it be possible to gather them in... I presume you have a living room of sorts?'

'Of course, we have a living room,' the man scoffed, disappearing into the shadows of the dark manor. Bagsy looked at Tod fearfully, who followed with uncertain steps. With an inward groan, Bagsy followed after him, staying as close as she could. The door shut behind them and the howling wind outside became a muted, distant whisper.

'I suppose you'll be wanting light,' the man said. The next thing she knew, a candelabra above their heads burst into life and she could see all around her. A double staircase lead onto a walkway above them, the stairs half collapsed, some parts of the walk way were missing entirely, and doorways with half broken or missing doors led into other rooms. 'I'm Dantura Glint, by the way,' Dantura introduced himself before clicking his fingers loudly. He stood, silent, and Bagsy heard footsteps approaching. A white woman, as tall, pale and gaunt as Dantura, poked her head out of a side room and busied over to them. 'This is Palid Glint, my wife.'

Palid smiled at them, not saying a word.

'Mum? Dad? Who's that?'

Bagsy's heart soared. She knew that voice.

A girl with dark brown eyes and long, sleek black hair that reached down her back and caught the light like a shoal of fish, stopped at the top of the decimated stair case. 'Bagsy,' Mezrielda breathed in disbelief.

'Mezrielda!' Bagsy smiled happily up at her friend.

Mezrielda rushed down the stairs, easily jumping over the caved in parts, and stopped dead in front of Bagsy, her face flushed. 'What are you doing here?' Mezrielda was looking Bagsy up and down, as if she couldn't believe she was there.