The Bat Sprites

Dedication

To all the team at HarperCollins for bringing Sophie so wonderfully to life. In particular, thank you to Ann-Janine Murtagh for being so keen on a heroine like Sophie in the first place, to Elorine Grant for the wonderful design of the books, Katie Woods for her fantastic illustrations and to our brilliant editors, Harriet Wilson and Rose Harrow for all their great thoughts and ideas.

Thank you!

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

The Shadow Woods

Chapter 1 - Sophie

Chapter 2 - The Clue

Chapter 3 - An Uninvited Guest

Chapter 4 - Hiding Places

Chapter 5 - Bat-astrophe!

Chapter 6 - Shadow Magic

Chapter 7 - Ambushed!

Chapter 8 - Unlocking the Gateway

Chapter 9 - Expect the Unexpected

And deep in the woods…

The Shadow Files

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.

“Hi-YA!” Sophie jumped in the air and kicked out, her blonde ponytail swinging. Left foot. Right foot. Her grandfather, dressed all in black as always, blocked the blows with a pillow as Sophie spun round. She kicked again, feet lashing – and got Grandpa square in the stomach.

“Ooof!” He staggered backwards, dropping the pillow.

Sophie stopped in alarm. “Grandpa! Are you OK?”

Her grandfather rested his hands on his knees, drawing in a deep breath. “I’m fine. You just caught me by surprise. Good – very good, child.”

Sophie pushed her fringe back. “I’m getting better at fighting, aren’t I?”

“Much better,” Grandpa agreed. “However, you must continue to hone your fighting skills…”

As he talked, Sophie caught sight of herself in his bedroom mirror and admired her new green t-shirt with a picture of an electric guitar on it. Her mum and dad had sent it to her and it had arrived that morning.

“You must focus, concentrate and…” Grandpa’s voice turned stern. “Sophie, are you listening to me?”

Sophie jumped guiltily. “Of course! I must practise, focus and concentrate. I must work night and day like you did when you were a young guardian. Oh, and I must always expect the unexpected,” she said, ticking the points off on her fingers. It was easy to guess what Grandpa had been saying; he always said the same things.

Grandpa gave a slight frown. “Yes, exactly. You mustn’t underestimate King Ug. He’s cunning and dangerous, and now he has the key, he’ll stop at nothing to open the gateway. There’s no telling what creatures he’ll send next!”

Sophie knew her grandpa was right. So far, King Ug had sent Swamp Boggles, Spider Gnomes, Fog Boggarts and Icicle Imps to help him find the gems he needed. Nervousness fluttered through her, but she pushed it away.

“Maybe it’ll be fairy rabbits next,” she suggested. “That’d be good.”

“Sophie!” Grandpa snapped. “Please take this more seriously or you could get hurt. Now, let’s get on with the practising.”

“Grandpa…” Sophie paused as a thought struck her. “If I did get hurt – I mean really hurt, like being-dead-hurt… who would be the Guardian next?”

“Well, as you know, the Guardianship usually passes down from grandparent to grandchild,” Grandpa replied. “But when there’s no grandchild, the Guardian’s closest blood relative becomes the next Guardian. There must always be a Guardian in our world, so if a Guardian dies, a new one will always be created. However,” he fixed her with a look, “you are not going to die.”

“Is that an order?” Sophie spoke lightly, though inside she felt her stomach clench.

“Yes,” Grandpa replied softly. “It is.” Their eyes met and Grandpa sighed. “Sophie, we both know I wasn’t over the moon when you became the first girl Guardian, but you’ve proved me wrong. No Guardian could be braver and I’m very proud of you.”

Surprise and pleasure warmed Sophie. She’d never have believed that she’d hear Grandpa say that, not in a million years!

“You’re also my granddaughter and I’m determined that nothing bad is going happen to you,” he went on. “Which is why,” he held up his pillow, “we’re going to practise some more!”

As Sophie and Grandpa practised, neither of them looked out the window. If they had, they might have noticed a figure that stood near the woods, staring towards the house.

It was holding a key that glowed…

Later that evening, deep in the heart of the Shadow Woods, King Ug, the leader of the Ink Cap Goblins, paced around his toadstool clearing. His white, crumbly skin was covered with black blotches that oozed poisonous goo.

He looked up with a scowl as a goblin with a nose like a potato came scrambling through the trees.

“Well?” King Ug demanded. “Did you find one?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” cried Potato Nose, triumphantly pulling something from his pocket.

King Ug stared at the small black creature that Potato Nose was holding. “Potato Nose – that is a bat.”

“Yes, King Ug!” Potato Nose said eagerly.

“Did I or did I not ask for a Bat Sprite?”

“You did, King Ug!”

“So, Potato Nose, where is the sprite bit of that bat?”

“Um, it’s… um… well… OW!” Potato Nose yelled as King Ug thwacked him.

“Fungus brain!” King Ug thundered as the bat flew away.

“King Ug! We’ve got one, we’ve got a sprite!” yelled two more goblins as they galloped into the clearing. One had a very flaky face and one had very large feet. Big Feet brandished something at the king. It looked like a small frog except that it had fangs and fingers and toes instead of webbed feet.

“Ribbit!” it croaked as it glared at King Ug.

“Oh, give me strength!” King Ug groaned. “That’s not a Bat Sprite, it’s a Frog Sprite! You lot have brains the size of peas! Tell me, what do you have?”

“Brains the size of peas,” muttered the goblins, staring at the ground. The Frog Sprite hopped huffily away, pausing to kick Big Feet’s ankle before it left.

“Don’t you understand how important this is?” shouted King Ug. “There’s just one more gem left to find! One last chance of opening the gateway! I need shadow creatures who are vicious and strong. I need large, evil, foul-smelling sprites…”

A bat flew into the clearing. As it swooped down, a ripple ran through it, and it changed into a figure slightly smaller than King Ug. “Like a Bat Sprite, you mean?” it screeched as it landed.

“Erp!” King Ug squawked.

The Bat Sprite had a thin body covered with grey fur, with large bony hands, red eyes and wide black wings. “My family and I are the most vicious, evil and foul-smelling shadow creatures in this whole wood!” The Bat Sprite’s voice squealed like a wet finger sliding down glass.

“So, King Ug, I hear you want our help opening the gateway?”

Trying not to make a face at the smell, King Ug cleared his throat and puffed out his chest. “Yes… er… yes, I do. The key glows whenever it’s near a gem, and I’ve noticed it glowing near the Guardian’s house. I believe the final gem is in there. Find it and bring it to me – then I’ll open the gateway and we shadow creatures shall once more rule the world!”

The Bat Sprite nodded. “We shall do it!”

King Ug looked suddenly wary. “The Guardian is strong, you know. She’ll try to stop you.”

The Bat Sprite gave a shrieking laugh and showed its pointed fangs. “Then I promise you, she will be very sorry indeed!”

Back at Keeper’s Cottage, Sophie had just come to the end of her training session. “We must try to find the last hidden gem,” Grandpa said, as he put the pillow back on his bed. “Have you got the other gems safe, Sophie?”

Sophie patted the purse belt she always wore under her clothes. The five shadow gems that she and Sam had found so far clinked together inside the leather pouch. “Yes, they’re here,” she said.

“Good. There must be a clue to the whereabouts of the sixth gem in the Shadow Files somewhere. Keep searching for it.” The turquoise gem was the only gem they hadn’t yet found, and they knew that King Ug would do everything in his power to find it before they did.

“Already on to it.” Sophie went to the door. “Book Boy!” she shouted.

Sam’s red head popped out of her bedroom further down the landing. “Yep?”

Sam was Sophie’s best friend. He was the only person in the world apart from Grandpa who knew that Sophie was the Guardian, and he’d helped her in every one of her adventures so far. Grandpa hadn’t been keen on him knowing at first, but Sam had proved to be very helpful. He loved reading and researching and was just as brave as Sophie.

“Any luck finding the final clue?” Sophie asked.

Shaking his head, Sam came to Grandpa’s room, bringing an old leather-bound notebook with him – the Shadow Files. Over the years, all the previous Guardians had written notes in it about the creatures they’d faced. The Shadow Files also had clues to the hiding places of the six shadow gems. When each new Guardian took over, the gems magically moved to new hiding places and new clues would then appear in the book.

“No sign of the last clue yet,” said Sam, flipping through the pages.

“We have to find it,” said Grandpa. “It’s absolutely essential! Once we get the final gem then we can hide them all somewhere safe, and try to get the key back. We must not fail! You’re staying here tonight, aren’t you, Sam?”

Sam nodded.

“We can talk more later then,” said Grandpa. “I’m going out for a run.”

“Should we go down to the kitchen?” Sophie said to Sam after Grandpa had gone. “I’ve been trying to teach Nigel to fetch. Come and see.”

“Cool,” said Sam.

Sophie grabbed her black fishing waistcoat from the bed and they headed downstairs.

Ten minutes later, Sophie pointed to the spoon she’d put on the table. “Go on. Fetch!” She tempted the parrot with a nut. “Then you can have this.”

Nigel the parrot swooped to the table, picked up the spoon and flew back. He dropped it on the worktop beside Sophie, then landed on her shoulder and clicked his beak hopefully.

Sophie was delighted. “Good boy! You did it!” She stroked his feathers. “What a clever parrot.”

“Gimme a carrot!” Nigel said, bobbing his head. He was very good at talking, though he often got the words wrong.

Sophie grinned. “I haven’t got any carrots, but you can have a nut.”

“Big butt!” Nigel replied, affectionately nuzzling her cheek.

Sophie giggled and glanced at Sam who was sitting at the table. He had started reading the Shadow Files again. “Did you see Nigel? He fetched the spoon!”

“YAY!” Sam leapt to his feet.

Sophie blinked. “Well, OK, I know it’s good, but…”

“I’ve found the clue! Soph, look!” Sam’s blue eyes shone as he jabbed his finger at the Shadow Files.

Sophie ran over. On a page about King Cobra Goblins, four tiny lines were written near the bottom in slanting, curly writing:

Hidden near where the Guardian sleeps

Search for a board that doth creak

Lift it up and you shall see

A gem shining beautifully.

Sophie gasped. “It is the clue! Oh, wow! We can start trying to find the gem right now.”

“And it sounds like it might be easy. Look at the first line,” said Sam. “Hidden near where the Guardian sleeps. That must mean the turquoise gem is in this house!”

“I wonder what that bit about a board doth creak means?” said Sophie, puzzled.

“A floorboard, I bet. Have you got any creaky ones?” asked Sam.

“Not that I know of. Hang on – look! What’s that?” Sophie pointed to a few other faint lines of text at the other side of the page. “Is that more of the clue?”

She read it out:

“If the goblin king joins gem and key

And opens the door then soon you’ll see

There’s no point fighting, it’s too late

One Guardian will never close the gate.”

Sophie and Sam stared uneasily at each other. “I don’t like the sound of that!” said Sam. “If you can’t shut the gateway once it’s opened, then we’d better make sure that it’s never, ever opened!”

“We’d really better find that sixth gem before the shadow creatures do!” agreed Sophie, jumping to her feet.

There was the sound of a key in the front door.

“Mrs B and Anthony!” hissed Sophie. “Quick! Give me the Shadow Files!”

Sam passed the book to her and she slipped it into the big inside pocket of her waistcoat.

“We’re back!” called Mrs Benton. Mrs B did all the cooking and cleaning at Keeper’s Cottage, and when Sophie and Anthony’s parents were away for work, she helped Grandpa look after the twins.

“PHWEEEEEEEEE!” There was the sound of a football whistle blowing as Anthony, Sophie’s twin brother, followed Mrs B in.

Mrs B came through to the kitchen. “Hello, duckies.”

Anthony was right behind Mrs B. He had thick blond hair like Sophie and the same sporty, athletic build. “Oh, great!” he groaned loudly, as he looked at Sam. “You’re here!”

“If you don’t like it then you could just go away again,” Sophie suggested. “For good.”

“Ha ha.” Anthony pulled a face at her. “There really should be a law about being as unfunny as you!”

“And there should be a law about being as dumb as you!” retorted Sophie.

“PHWEEEEEEEEE!” Anthony blew his whistle at her.

“Fetch it, Nigel!” Sophie pointed to Anthony. With a squawk Nigel flew off her shoulder and plucked the whistle out of Anthony’s hand.

“Hey!” Anthony spluttered, as Nigel gave it to Sophie.

She twirled it round in her fingers. “Oops, looks like you lost your whistle!”

“Give it back!” said Anthony, angrily.

Sophie folded her arms. “Gonna make me?”

“Now, now, twins,” said Mrs B. She plucked the whistle out of Sophie’s fingers and gave it back to Anthony, who put it in his jeans pocket. “That will do. No more blowing that whistle in the house though,” she warned him. “Now go and take your football boots off and then move your night things into Sophie’s room. You’ll be sleeping in there for the next few nights.”

“WHAT?” Sophie and Anthony both gave her looks of complete horror.

Mrs B nodded. “The decorator who’s painting your room didn’t have time to finish everything today, Anthony. He’ll be back on Monday and will finish then.”

Anthony gaped. “I can’t share with Sophie!”

“No way!” Sophie said, agreeing with Anthony for about the first time in her life. “And anyway, Sam’s staying over tonight, Mrs B!”

“So, you can all share together.” Mrs B beamed at them all. “It’ll be fun!”

Fun! Sophie blinked. Sharing a bedroom with Anthony would be about as much fun as sharing with a Swamp Boggle!

“Oh, come on, Mrs B,” Anthony pleaded. “What about the spare room? Can’t I sleep in there?”

“No, I’m sorry, Anthony-duckie, but I’m storing some things for my niece up there. There are boxes all over the bed.”

“So, I’ll move them or… or sleep on the floor!” Anthony said. “Anything would be better than sharing with those two weirdos.”

“Don’t say things like that, Anthony. I’m afraid you just can’t stay in the spare room,” Mrs B said, patiently. “There’s valuable china in those boxes. In fact, I don’t want any of you going up there at all.” She glanced down at them all. “You’ll have a lovely time tonight, just think of it like being at a party!”

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