Tancred's storm swept around the troll, sending broken kettles flying to the back of the shop. Not content, the storm boy stepped up the force of his tempest until the troll became the only thing that he could see between the curtains of his hair, caught in the wind that howled around them. And in this narrow frame the stone figure began to change. His breastplate took on the look of dull metal, his pants a straw color, his face an unhealthy sepia, and his eyes a gleaming steel gray. As Tancred fought to keep his gaze on this terrifying transformation, the image of a helmet appeared on the troll's bald head, and the hand, with a huge deformed thumb, reached for the knife wedged into his belt.181Tancred filled the wind with bolts of ice, and the hand stopped where it was.
Seconds passed. The boy and the troll were now locked in an invisible battle. When Tancred felt the troll's strength weakening, he seized his chance and aimed a rod of energy, hard as iron, straight at the troll's heart.
The troll rocked, its gray eyes flashed, and it fell to the floor. For a moment, nothing moved. The storm died to a light breeze and a curious silence filled the kettle shop. After the uproar, it was almost painful. Tancred moved cautiously toward the fallen troll. It appeared to be lifeless, drained of color.
"Tancred!" Charlie peered through the doorway. "You've finished him off!"
"Can't be sure." Tancred stepped over the broken kettles. And then he saw Mrs. Kettle, lying in the shadows. "Oh, no! Is she dead?"
"No, I can hear her breathing," Charlie said quickly.
As Tancred reached the doorway, a sound made him turn. Charlie, following his gaze, saw the troll182rock back onto its feet and shoot straight through the window. It was only then that they became aware of the small boy creeping along beside the wall.
"Hey!" shouted Tancred.
Eric Shellhorn darted him a look of smug satisfaction, reached for the door, and ran out.
"He'll go to the Stone Shop," said Charlie.
"Better wait for reinforcements before we go there," muttered Tancred. He went and knelt beside Mrs. Kettle. "I'll phone for an ambulance."
"Mrs. Kettle was afraid that something would happen to her," said Charlie. "It made me think of the stone troll. But I never saw Eric come in."
Tancred pulled out his newest cell phone. It was sleek and silver with a turquoise keyboard. He was just beginning to dial a number when his hand was caught in an iron grip and his phone snatched away.
"NO!" commanded the blacksmith.
"Mrs. Kettle! You're... you're ..." Charlie dropped to his knees beside her.183"Conscious," she said. "Barely."
"I'm sorry. I seem to have made a horrible mess." Tancred looked at the wreckage surrounding them. "I was trying to blast that awful thing out of existence."
"You saved the day, Tancred Torsson." Mrs. Kettle patted his hand. "It could have been a lot worse."
"You need to see a doctor." Tancred reached for his phone. "Please, Mrs. Kettle, let me call someone."
"No." She clutched the phone to her chest and sat up.
"That troll gave you an awful bash," Charlie remarked, staring at the purple lump on her forehead.
Mrs. Kettle tapped it with her fist. "Ouch! I'll live. But look, no ambulance, no police."
"But... ," Charlie began.
"No arguments. How would I explain? A stone troll banged me on the head and wrecked my store.184The police couldn't deal with that sort of information, could they?"
Mrs. Kettle had a point. But her shop was destroyed, her window was broken, and when she rose, unsteadily, to her feet, Charlie noticed that she had to support herself against a table. They couldn't possibly leave her in this state.
"We'll sort out the kettles for you; they're not all broken." Charlie lifted a big iron kettle onto its stand.
"Don't you worry, Charlie. I'm not without friends. They'll be here soon, if I'm not mistaken." She tapped some numbers into Tancred's phone and handed it back to him.
"Put that away, storm boy, and let's have no more talk of doctors and police. Now then."
She bent over, with a small grunt, and looked under the table. "You can come out now, Billy Raven. It's all over."
Billy crawled out with Rembrandt's head peeking above his collar. "I wanted to make sure it had gone." He stood up and, pulling his rat out of his sweater,185began to pet his head. "Rembrandt was more scared than me," he said. "Did you finish it off, Tanc? That stone thing?"
""Fraid not. It's on the loose somewhere, and Eric Shellhorn's not far behind it. Together they're lethal."
Mrs. Kettle insisted that the boys leave her and her friends to put the shop back in order.
"My friends will be here soon," she said, "but I'd like to know where that troll has gone.
Don't put yourselves in danger, my dears. Make sure Eric's not with it. Just let me know what you find out."
"I'll update you tonight, Mrs. K.!" Tancred waved his phone. "What's your number?"
"I don't have one of those flashy things. Just come by." Mrs. Kettle ushered them out and closed the door.
"The fish shop next," Tancred announced, as they walked down the street.
"What d'you want to go there for?" asked Billy. "I wish we could get out of this street."186"I was coming to the fish shop when I heard the ruckus at Mrs. Kettle's place,"
said Tancred. "I've decided to give Dagbert his sea urchin."
"Swap it for Claerwen? Thanks, Tancred! But are you sure?" asked Charlie. "What made you change your mind?"
Tancred shrugged. "You need that moth, Charlie. And the sea urchin, well, we'll have to rely on our own talents to get the better of Dagbert."
When they reached the fish shop, Tancred tried the door. It was locked, as usual. He pressed a rusty doorbell, and they heard a long, mournful ring echo through the building.
Tancred pressed again. Nothing. The bell appeared to have given its last ring.
"Dagbert!" Charlie called up to the window. "Are you there?"
No reply.
They waited another five minutes before moving on. They passed a candle shop and a picture framer's, and then they were standing outside the Stone Shop.187Charlie's instinct was to run. Billy did. He ran until he was at the end of the road, and there he waited, one hand resting on the rat in his pocket, the other nervously twisting his hair.
"What d'you think?" said Tancred, looking into the dark store.
"What d'you mean, what do I think?" asked Charlie.
"I mean, should we go in?"
"You're joking!" Charlie realized he sounded hysterical. He tried to calm down. "I don't think it's a good idea right now, Tanc. If Eric's in there, he could set the whole place off."
Tancred stood away from the window. "You're right. Hmmm. We'll have to think this through."
But where could they go to think things through? Their usual meeting place was closed, Grandma Bone would be on the prowl at number nine, and Tancred lived miles away in the hills.
"My judgment's a bit off," Tancred murmured. "I feel weird after all that stuff with the troll."188"Sorry, Tanc!" Charlie fell into step beside Tancred as he walked down the street. "How did you get here today?"
"Gabriel's mom. She dropped me off on High Street. She and Gabriel have gone to see Mrs. Onimous."
"Hey, let's go to the Pets' Cafe, anyway," Charlie suggested. "Even if it's closed to customers, they might let us in. We're friends."
Fifteen minutes later they were standing on Frog Street and looking into the Pets' Cafe.
Chairs were piled onto tables, a white sheet covered the counter, and not one light showed in the lamps that made the cafe such a colorful and cozy place. It looked absolutely and utterly closed. Even the tails, whiskers, wings, and claws that decorated the sign above the door didn't look as bouncy as they had before. In fact, the whole place seemed to be receding back into the huge ancient wall behind it.