Dedication

To Alec and Callum Purcell for listening, laughing and wanting more!

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

The Shadow Woods

Chapter 1 - Small but Deadly

Chapter 2 - A Furry Spy

Chapter 3 - Under Attack!

Chapter 4 - Icicle Imps Everywhere!

Chapter 5 - Anthony’s New Pet

Chapter 6 - Imp on the Loose!

Chapter 7 - The Village Fête

Chapter 8 - Outnumbered

Chapter 9 - Saving the Day

Chapter 10 - In the Woods. . .

The Shadow Files

What’s next in store for Sophie?

Copyright

About the Publisher

The Shadow Woods

Very few people ever enter the Shadow Woods. The crooked trees press closely together, their branches reaching out like skeletons’ arms. Strange whispers echo through the quiet air, and eyes seem to watch from the shadows. Anyone who does go in soon leaves, their skin prickling with fear. For these woods are like no others. Hidden deep within them is a gateway to the Shadow Realm – a dark and chaotic world where all the mischief-making creatures like goblins, boggles and trolls live.

Many hundreds of years ago, the Shadow Realm creatures could pass freely between our world and theirs, but they caused so much trouble that it was decided the gateway between the two worlds must be shut for good. Yet no one knew how to do this, until a locksmith with magical powers made an iron key and then slotted a gem from the Shadow Realm into its handle. The secret had been found! The locksmith forced as many shadow creatures as he could back into their own world and locked the gateway firmly behind them.

From that day on, the locksmith became the Guardian of the Gateway, watching over the precious key and stopping the few shadow creatures left in this world from causing too much trouble. As he grew old he passed his powers on to his grandson, who in turn passed the powers on to his. For hundreds of years, the Guardianship has passed down from grandparent to grandchild, and the gate has always remained safely shut.

But now for the first time, disaster looms. The shadow creatures have stolen the iron key! Luckily, there was no gem in its handle when it was taken, but there are six gems from the Shadow Realm hidden somewhere in our world. If the shadow creatures find any of them, they’ll be able to slot them into the key and open the gateway, letting hordes of villainous creatures loose to cause mayhem and trouble.

Only one girl stands in their way… and her name is Sophie Smith.

King Ug, the leader of the Ink Cap Goblins, sat on his rotting tree-stump throne, an icicle hanging from the end of his knobbly nose. His three guards, Potato Nose, Flaky Face and Big Feet stood around him. They were all looking at a small fluffy white creature in front of the throne. Standing on its hind legs, it bowed with a flourish.

“Greetings, King Ug.”

“Aw,” Potato Nose sniggered. “Isn’t it sweet?”

The Icicle Imp bounded over to him, its left hand reaching up to its chest. “Sweet?” it spat. “Shall I remind you what I can do, Goblin?”

Potato Face turned pale. “Er…”

The Icicle Imp jumped on to Potato Face’s foot. “Those who know us fear us! Do you fear me, Goblin?”

“I fear you! I fear you!” gasped Potato Face. “I’m sorry I said anything, sir!”

The Icicle Imp stared at him for a moment longer and then marched back over to King Ug who was chuckling. “So you want the Icicle Imps to help you find a shadow gem, King Ug?” it said.

King Ug nodded, pulling out an iron key that hung about his neck on a rope. “I have the key to the gateway here, but I need to put a shadow gem in the handle for it to work. The Guardian has already found four shadow gems. There are two left hidden around the town. Find me any single gem and the Icicle Imps shall be well rewarded!”

“It shall be done, King Ug!” declared the Icicle Imp. “We’ll listen to the Guardian’s conversations, we’ll follow her footsteps, track her every move. As soon as we see her with a gem, we’ll overpower her. After all, she’s just a girl.”

King Ug snorted sourly. “A girl who’s beaten not only the Ink Cap Goblins, but also the Spider Gnomes, the Swamp Boggles and the Fog Boggarts.”

“She shall not beat the Icicle Imps.” The little creature drew his lips back.

The goblins caught their breath at what they saw.

“Excellent!” Ug chortled. “This time the Guardian shall be beaten. This time we will triumph!”

The other goblins joined in with his chortling, their laughter echoing up through the dark trees.

Sophie stood in her bedroom. She was still wearing her white tae kwon do uniform, and she had her long blonde hair tied back in a high ponytail. “Hands up… push off… bring knee around… kick,” she muttered, going through one of the moves she had just been practising in class. Balancing lightly on the balls of her feet, she tried it at full speed. Bringing her knee around her body, she kicked out fast, but then she lost her balance and almost fell over.

She sighed and pushed her heavy fringe back. If there had been a shadow creature nearby she was sure she could have done the move properly. Being the Guardian of the Gateway meant that whenever Sophie was close to a shadow creature her superpowers kicked in – she became super-fast and super-strong and could do all the difficult tae kwon do moves that she could normally only just watch.

Which was a good thing, because ever since Sophie’s grandfather had told her she was the new Guardian, she’d met all sorts of horrible shadow creatures. So far, she and her best friend, Sam, had managed to always defeat them and now she had four shadow gems safely hidden in a purse belt that she wore around her waist. She and Sam were determined to find the two remaining gems before the shadow creatures did.

She readied herself in a fighting stance. “Watch out, flaky butt, here I come!” she muttered, picturing King Ug, leader of the Ink Cap Goblins.

Pushing off, she brought her leg around and kicked her foot out hard, imagining it knocking the king over. This time she did the move perfectly, landing without a single wobble, her fists up by her face.

“Yay!” she whooped, punching the air.

“You know, you are seriously weird!”

Sophie swung round. Her twin brother, Anthony was standing in the doorway. He looked like Sophie, with thick blonde hair and a tall, slim build, but his eyes were blue and cold, not green and friendly like Sophie’s. He mimicked her, putting on a high silly voice. “Yay!”

Sophie frowned. “Go away.”

Anthony rolled his eyes. “How did I end up with such a loser for a sister?”

“Get out of my room.” Sophie spoke through gritted teeth.

Anthony deliberately took a step further into her bedroom. “No.”

Sophie’s temper snapped and she leapt at him, but as she did so she felt a familiar tingling surge through her. Her Guardian powers – there must be a shadow creature nearby! She didn’t have time to stop herself. Her superstrength made her leap further than she had intended and she barrelled into Anthony. He flew backwards and crashed into the wall opposite.

Sophie scrambled to her feet. “I’m… I’m sorry, Anthony! Are you OK? Here.” She tried to help him up, but he pushed her away, his face bright red with humiliation.

“Leave me alone, you freak!” he howled. Going to his bedroom, he slammed the door.

Sophie looked all around her. There was only one reason why she could be feeling like this. There had to be a shadow creature close by. But where?

Then she caught her breath. There, peering in at her bedroom window, was the small squashed-up face of what must be a shadow creature!

Sophie raced to her window, but before she got there whatever it was had vanished. She scanned the garden below. All she could see was the neatly trimmed lawn, the shed and the Shadow Woods beyond the fence. What was that thing? It had to be a shadow creature, but it had been so small! Hardly bigger than a squirrel. She decided to go and check the garden out and hurried on to the landing. But just as she did so, Mrs Benton, the housekeeper, came to the top of the stairs.

“Sophie, what are you doing still in your uniform?” she said. “Go and get changed.”

“But, Mrs B—”

“No buts.” Mrs B shook her grey head. “I haven’t got time for extra washing this weekend. Not with the village fête tomorrow. Get changed, please, Sophie.”

Sophie felt like stamping her foot. It was hard being the Guardian of the Gateway when you were also ten years old and expected to do as you were told. But she knew there was no point arguing with Mrs B. The housekeeper did all the cooking and cleaning and helped look after Sophie and Anthony. Their parents were archaeologists and often worked abroad, and when they went away, Mrs B took care of the twins along with their grandfather.

Running back into her bedroom, Sophie felt the tingling feeling fading – the shadow creature must have gone away. She slowed down and pulled on her jeans, a t-shirt and the black fishing waistcoat her grandfather had given her when she had first taken over as Guardian. Grandpa had been the Guardian before her and now he helped and advised her. She wished he was there, but he’d just gone out for his daily run. Sophie checked the clock. At least Sam was due to come around at any moment. She could tell him about the creature she’d seen.

She pulled out an old leather journal from under her bed. Tucking it into the deepest pocket of the waistcoat, she went down to the kitchen. There was a delicious smell wafting from an array of cookies cooling on wire trays. Sophie reached out for a biscuit.

“Leave them alone,” Mrs B said, bustling around. “They’re for the fête tomorrow. Josie, Margaret, Marion and I are running the refreshments stall. You and Sam will help us, won’t you, duckie? There’ll be lots to do.”

“Of course we’ll help,” said Sophie. The village fête was always fun. There was a pet show and a best blooms competition. “Are you going to enter Nigel in the pet show, Mrs B?”

“I’ll be far too busy with the cakes.” Mrs B went to a large cage in the corner. “Though I’m sure if Nigel was to enter, he’d win.”

The grey parrot in the cage bobbed up and down on his perch. “In the bin!”

“No, I said win, not bin,” Mrs B corrected him.

“Win. Bin. Win a bin!” cackled Nigel.

Sophie giggled. Nigel was staying with them while his owner was away on holiday. Sophie hoped that he’d never have to go home again. He was ace!

Anthony came in, a hopeful look on his face. Sophie waited for him to say something sarcastic to her as usual, but instead he sidled up to the housekeeper. “Mrs B…” he began in a wheedling voice. “You know it’s the pet show tomorrow and I’ve got some money saved… well, can I buy a pet? Just a hamster or something.”

Mrs B shook her head. “I’m sorry, Anthony. No pets. That’s the rule.”

“But there’s the old hamster cage in the garage and all my friends have got pets to take in the show and I haven’t. It’s not fair! I’ve wanted a pet for ages. Why can’t I have one?”

“We’re not having pets in the house,” replied Mrs B.

“I’ll get a rabbit and keep it outside then?” said Anthony quickly.

“No. You can enter Nigel in the competition if you want though.” Mrs B went to the cage. “Come on, Nigel, say hello to Anthony.”

Nigel screeched. “Hello, Pants-a-ninny!”

“No, no,” Mrs B said hastily. “His name’s Anthony.”

“Pants-a-ninny! Pants-a-ninny!” cackled Nigel.

Sophie bit back a grin. Result! She and Sam had been teaching Nigel to say that for the last few days.

“Stupid bird!” Anthony stomped out. “I’m not entering him in the show! He’d be a total embarrassment.”

There was a knock on the front door, and Sophie went to answer it. It was Sam, standing on the doorstep, wearing a coat and scarf and rubbing his arms. “Wow, it’s freezing out here!”

Sophie stared out of the door. The puddles had ice forming on them, and there was frost on the grass. It hadn’t been that cold when she’d gone to tae kwon do.

As soon as weird things happened now, she always thought about the shadow creatures. “Sam, I think we need to talk,” she whispered uneasily. She saw Anthony watching them from the lounge. “I know it’s cold, but let’s go outside.”

She grabbed her coat. “We’re just going into the garden, Mrs B!” she called.

“What’s up?” Sam demanded when they were safely away from the house and sheltering by the garden shed.

“This cold weather’s really strange, isn’t it?” Sophie said. “And just before you got here my powers kicked in and I saw something at my bedroom window. A little white creature. Do you think the shadow creatures could be out looking for a gem again?”

Sam frowned. “Maybe. There could be a type of shadow creature who can make it cold. Let’s look in the Shadow Files.”

Sophie took the leather journal out of her pocket. Over the years, all the different Guardians of the Gateway had kept notes about the shadow creatures they’d met, to help future Guardians. There were also clues to help each Guardian find the hidden gems. Each time a new Guardian took over, the gems magically shifted their hiding places. Then the old clues would fade and new clues would form.

Sophie and Sam turned over the yellowing pages. “Here, look at these Snow Goblins,” Sam pointed out.

Sophie stared at the drawing of the squat goblin; it had spiky icy hair and big hands. She read a couple of faded words. “Brings snow wherever it goes. Hibernates in summer. Never seen between May and September. It can’t be that then,” she said, pointing at the words.

“There’s another note here. Ice in summer? See page 65,” Sam noticed.

Page 65 showed a tiny creature with big eyes, long white fur and a bushy tail. It looked a bit like a cross between a fluffy snowball and a chipmunk.

“It looks just like what I saw at my window!” hissed Sophie.

Sam read out the title. “Icicle Imps.”

There were only a few notes alongside the drawing. “An Icicle Imp will bring freezing temperatures,” read Sophie. There was an arrow pointing to its pointed ears and the words: excellent hearing. Another two arrows pointed to the imp’s mouth and large dark eyes. BEWARE! read the label.

“Well, they don’t exactly look frightening,” commented Sam. “I reckon even I could fight one of those.”

Sophie gasped as the tingling rushed through her again. “My Guardian powers!” Hearing a squeaking noise above them, she looked up and saw a white fluffy creature sitting on the shed roof! “Sam!” she exclaimed. “It’s an Icicle Imp!”

The Icicle Imp streaked across the lawn towards the fence that circled the Shadow Woods. Sophie didn’t stop to think twice. “After it!”

She and Sam charged after the ball of fluff. It dived under the fence and into the trees. Sophie could run incredibly fast with her Guardian powers, but she didn’t want to leave Sam behind. Once they’d scrambled over the fence, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along as she raced after the flash of white, ducking under tree branches, leaping over roots.

The Icicle Imp finally stopped in a clearing and faced them, standing up on its hind legs. “Ha!” it declared in a high voice. “You have fallen into our trap, Guardian!”

Sophie bit back a smile. The little creature was about as scary as a kitten. “And what trap would that be?”

“Behold!” the Icicle Imp cried dramatically, sweeping one of his little arms around.

Icicle Imps popped into view on every branch around the clearing. There must have been about a hundred of them. But even so, Sophie couldn’t feel scared. What were they going to do? Cuddle her to death? “Hey, Sam,” she whispered, nudging him. “What did the Guardian say to the Icicle Imp?”

“What?”

She grinned. “S’nice to meet you!”

Sam snickered.

The leader of the Icicle Imps narrowed its eyes. “Guardian, it is time for you to be afraid,” it squeaked. “Be very afraid.”

There was a pause.

The leader looked at Sophie expectantly.

She cleared her throat. “Um, sorry,” she said, spreading her hands. “But I’m kind of having problems with your general scariness. You’re just so… so cute!”

“Cute?” the leader spat. He drew himself up to his full height of fifteen centimetres. “I warn you, we strike terror into the hearts of those who know us, Guardian!”

Sophie suppressed a laugh. “Yeah, if you’re a dormouse, maybe!”

“Um, Soph,” Sam said uneasily, as the Icicle Imps started to jump off the branches and move in around them. “They’re getting quite close to us.”

“So?” Sophie replied. “What are they going to do? Nibble us?”

As she spoke, each of the Icicle Imps drew back their lips, and a set of pointed fangs popped out of their gums – fangs that reached down their fluffy chins and looked as sharp as carving knives!

“Oh,” said Sophie slowly.

“Attack!” squeaked the Icicle Imp leader.

“Run!” yelled Sam.

The Icicle Imps leapt at Sam and Sophie from all directions. “OW!” Sophie yelled as one bit her hand and another sank its fangs into her leg. It felt like someone had just stabbed her with two knitting needles. “Get off me!” she cried, grabbing the imp and throwing it into the trees. Ten more imps attacked her. She kicked out at them, but although her kicks sent several of the imps flying through the air, more of them jumped at her head.

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