You can read the story so far from the beginning here
Tom sucked his burnt fingers and swore. The heat gun was vicious, but the linoleum at the café had been glued down with malice and spite. He switched off the heat gun and set it back on its stand. He needed a break.
“Need a hand?”
Tom looked up. “I wouldn’t say I needed a hand, Uncle Magnus, but I could do with one,” he said, pushing himself to his feet. “This flooring is stubborn and the old glue isn’t shifting.”
Magnus knelt down next to Tom and tugged at a loose corner. “You’re not kidding. This stuff is murder. And how old is it?”
“Probably older than both of us put together,” Tom grumbled as he stood up. “The heat gun is running a bit hot.” He caught the expression on his uncle’s face. “You know what I mean. The last thing I need is an overheating heat gun. Let’s give it a rest. Do you want a drink?”
Magnus stood next to him. “I wouldn’t say no to a cup of tea,” he said. He looked around the dusty room. “It’s strange seeing the place like this, with all the tables and chairs missing and dust everywhere. The place has needed updating for years, but it was always clean.”
Tom stretched. “There’s less dust than I expected,” he said. “And it’s got good bones.”
“You have to get to them first,” Magnus said. He kicked at the rough edges. “You’ve got, say, a quarter of this done. It could be worse.”
“No, it couldn’t,” Tom grumbled. “I’ve been working on it for half the morning.”
“You’re not thinking right,” Magnus said. “Perhaps you should flood the place with boiling water.”
Tom looked at his uncle. “If you want to wade through boiling water, be my guest,” he said. “It’s not my first choice.”
“You know, my uncle, your Great Uncle Finlay, well, he had a job like this and got himself a brazier full of coals and set it right on the lino. He said it cleared it a treat.”
Tom stared at him. “Are you seriously suggesting that we light a fire in a bucket and move it around the floor?” he said, dumbfounded.
“Well you can’t keep scraping it off in tiny scraps,” Magnus said. “You’ll be here all day.”
“Hang on,” Tom said. “Was that the house over by Scorton Farm? I remember hearing about that.”
“Yep, that’s the one,” Magnus said. “Finlay said that the lino didn’t stand a chance.”
“That’s because he ended up burning the place down,” Tom said. “The pack had to pay out for it and Finlay nearly ended up in jail.”
“That’s Uncle Finlay for you,” Magnus said with a sigh, scuffing at the flooring. “He looked at the world in a different way.”
“He was dropped on his head too many times when he was a pup,” Tom grumbled. “Do you want some biscuits? Hilary’s been experimenting and she sent down a load of them.”
“I don’t mind if I do,” Magnus said, bending down and tugging at a ragged edge. “She won’t be as good as Annie, though, the old witch that had Rowan Cottage before her.”
“No?” Tom asked. “I don’t remember tasting her cooking.”
“Well, there was a bit of a problem between Annie and us werewolves,” Magnus said. “You see, she was always a good cook and she kept the house nice, and that’s an attractive trait in a woman around these parts.”
“I suppose so,” Tom said.
“Of course, she had a temper like a badger with toothache, but the woman could cook,” Magnus sighed. “I was only young, but I remember her flapjacks like it was yesterday.”
Tom glanced sceptically at Magnus. “You’re not that old,” he said.
“And it’s not that long ago,” Magnus said. “But it was before your time. Anyway, the trouble came about because Annie could cook and clean and your Great Uncle Finlay decided that he would try courting her, you know, asking her for a date with a view to marriage.”
“Did he break her heart?” Tom asked. “I’m surprised. I didn’t think that he was one for the ladies.”
“He never had a full tail of fur,” Magnus said. “But his heart was in the right place and he wanted to do things properly.”
“I’m not sure that I want to know,” Tom said.
“Well, a properly well brought up wolf will leave a brace of freshly caught rabbits on his beloved’s front step. It’s to prove that he’s a good hunter, a provider and that his intentions were serious.”
“He didn’t!” Tom winced.
“He did,” Magnus said. “And he was very keen on making it serious after tasting Annie’s steak and kidney pie at a harvest supper so he got a bit enthusiastic.” He shook his head sadly. The trouble was, no-one had told Annie about that tradition, so while your Great Uncle Finlay was trying to show that he wanted to get to know her better with a view to making things official, she found half a dozen dead things on her doorstep, all of them missing their heads, and she didn’t take it in the spirit that Great Uncle Finlay meant.”
“I can imagine that,” Tom said. “Didn’t he say anything?”
“Well, he told me that he was standing there in his best trousers, waiting until she got the message,” Magnus said. “And he was quite surprised when she wasn’t happy. He attempted to explain it to her, but she was trying to cave his skull in with a poker so he ran away.”
“I’m never sure that you’re telling the truth with these Uncle Finlay stories,” Tom said. “They can’t possibly be true.”
“There’s one in every pack,” Magnus said. “Hang on.”
“What is it?” Tom asked.
“These floorboards don’t feel right,” Magnus said. “They seem brittle.”
“It was probably the old glue holding them together,” Tom said glumly. “Great, I’ll have to sort out a new floor.”
“I think it’s just as well you found out now before it became a problem,” Magnus said. “I wouldn’t want to walk on this.” He leaned his weight on his arm, pushing down on the exposed planks. “Woah!”
There was an ominous creak, a crack, then Magnus lurched down as the boards gave way underneath him. Tom grabbed hold of Magnus’ leg, his werewolf reflexes lightning fast as slid forward. Then, with a violent heave, Tom dragged Magnus back to safety. There was a light pattering as fragments of floor fell down, then silence.
“Thank you,” Magnus said. “That was close.” He stood up warily, testing the floor as he stepped back towards the new hole. “Well, at least you have a new short cut to your cellar.”
“We don’t have a cellar,” Tom said. “At least, there’s no cellar on the plans and the Lesken sisters never mentioned it.”
Magnus tilted his head as he looked down into the gloom. “Now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone mention a cellar here,” he said. “I wonder what happened.”
“I should give Lord Peregrine a call,” Tom said. “He’ll need to know that we need a new floor.”
Magnus grinned at Tom. “You don’t want to do that,” he said. “We need to have a look around and see what’s there.” He spread his hands with an air of innocence. “How else are we supposed to tell him what’s going on?”
“Alright,” Tom said, equally intrigued. “If you get the ladder from the kitchen, I’ll get the lights from my car.”
“I don’t like the look of this,” Tom said as he shone his flashlight around the space. “This cellar looks massive. I bet that it stretches underneath the yard at the back.”
“I think you’re right,” Magnus said. “Why was it shut up?”
“I can’t see anything obvious,” Tom said, taking a cautious step forward.
“Can’t you smell it?” Magnus said.
“Smell what?” Tom said. “Nothing has moved in this place for years, not even a beetle.”
“Over here,” Magnus said. “I think it’s tried to hide its scent, but I’m too old for that. Look!”
Tom swallowed. “It looks like the Lesken sisters had a lodger.”
A long sack filled with straw had been pushed against a wall, with a battered cushion at one end and a thin blanket neatly folded on top. A battered shopping bag was placed at the foot of the makeshift bed next to a scratched tray holding a mug and plate and a small glass bottle containing a little water and a bright arrangement of winter pansies. Tom swung the flashlight around. “That’s where they got in,” he said.
Magnus nodded. “They did a nice job,” he said. “They knocked out the old coal chute cover and dragged a sheet of cardboard to cover it from the inside. I’m willing to bet that there’s some sort of plant or bush outside to make it harder to see.”
Tom looked down at the pansies. “This looks a little desperate,” he said.
“Don’t get fooled,” Magnus said. “If you can get past the glamour that’s covering the scent, this place stinks of pooka. And that means trouble.”
There was an echoing rumble outside, followed by a crash. A scream echoed. “Come on!” Tom yelled, racing up the ladder with Magnus close behind. “It’s the embankment!”
The road outside sloped for a few hundred metres down to the bridge over the stream, cutting between two embankments. The oak at the top of them had fallen, crashing down with the weight of its branches and sturdy trunk, together with half the soil of the embankment and it had toppled directly onto a car. “Come on!” Magnus yelled, pulling his sweater over his head and kicking off his boots. “Call Jed then join me.”
Tom forced himself to pull out the phone and call the nearest help. Jed was further up the hill, but he was guaranteed to be in the Farm Shop and able to get here quick enough. Magnus, now in wolf form, was bounding towards the car, his ears flat and his tail straight behind him. It wasn’t looking good as Tom snapped out the situation to Jed and hung up, kicking off his boots and shrugging off his jacket. This was a situation that needed strength.
The werewolves circled the car, trying to get an assessment. Magnus turned to Tom. You know this stuff better than I. he said into Tom’s mind.
Jed will bring a chainsaw. Tom replied. The tree missed the car. It’s the earth that’s the problem.
There’s a woman and two children in that car. Fear echoed through Magnus’ thoughts.
There are branches blocking the passenger side. Tom trotted closer and peered at the car. The earth hasn’t crushed the doors and the main trunk is holding back the worst of the slip. We need to dig.
It wasn’t hard going as the earth was loose from the slip, but there was a lot of it. Tom and Magnus worked together, their huge paws shifting the soil, flinging it far from the car and keeping a wary eye on what was left of the embankment.
Is it stable? Magnus asked Tom, his thoughts laced with worry.
The roots of the tree are holding a lot of it back. Tom didn’t try and hide his concern. They’ll need to get someone from the Highways division out to get it checked.
It stinks of pooka. Magnus added.
We have a problem. Tom growled as he hit a compacted clump of dirt. But that’s a problem for later.
The wolves toiled on, digging frantically at the earth, all senses alert for a further slip. We’re almost there. Magnus snarled at a tricky tree root that rebounded and sent dirt up his nose. But I don’t think that the woman is local.
She’s scared of us. Tom could feel the waves of fear rolling off her as she pulled her young children out of their car seats and clasped them to her.
I can hear Jed. Magnus looked back at Tom. Go and warn him. We’re almost finished here.
Magnus was right. With a superhuman effort, the werewolves had cleared most of the dirt away from the front driver’s side of the car. Tom could feel the burn in his paws. I’ll go and tell Jed. Tom carefully backed away. Stay safe and keep an eye out for more falls.
I’ll keep an eye out for that pooka. Magnus scrabbled up the slope, his paws slipping, and growled.
