“What about Logan?” Daniel asked. Logan was Daniel’s irritating elder brother.
“He is going on a college trip,” Daniel’s father said. “He can’t go with you.”
Everyone cheered. Daniel was thrilled to evade the bullies and Logan for two weeks!
Transylvania was not only famous for Count Dracula’s legend and its enigmatic, spooky surroundings, but also as a significant place in history that saw many battles.
“I can’t wait. Only seven days to go!” exclaimed Matt.
The next five days were full of excitement in anticipation of their journey. At school, they told everyone about the upcoming trip. Some of their classmates felt happy and excited for them and some a bit jealous; Luke and Robby were the only ones who gave them looks of pure hatred.
All was going well until lunch break, when Archer came huffing and puffing. “You won’t believe what I just heard.”
“What?” Matt asked, clutching him.
“Luke, Robby and Logan have planned to attack us.”
“What?” Daniel exclaimed, aghast.
James smiled and whispered something to them as they put their heads together and bent low.
***
“Heck, where are they…” snapped Luke, checking his watch. “They should be here by now.”
Luke, Robby and Logan were hiding behind the bushes.
They waited and waited, but no one came. Logan beat his head in frustration.
“How stupid of us! They tricked us. They must have left through the back gate!”
Daniel climbed the steps to the front door of his house, knowing his brother was home. Suddenly there was a loud clang. Daniel ran to the kitchen and found his mother laughing. When he asked her, she told him about how Logan was sulking that he had been outwitted by Daniel today. Laughing, he went into his room and avoided Logan entirely.
His mother announced, “Daniel and Logan, it’s time for dinner. Come on.”
“Mom, it’s only 4 o’clock!”
“Don’t you remember the trip? We have to catch the early morning flight to Cluj in Transylvania!”
***
The children, accompanied by their parents, reached the airport around 12:30 a.m., all weary-eyed and struggling to shake off the sleep. The parents gave them a long sermon on how to behave.
Matt’s mother laughed. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We will take care of them.” Matt’s father took charge of the luggage and led them all to check in.
The children fell asleep soon after boarding the plane.
“Come on, wake up. We have reached,” said Matt’s mother. The children woke up yawning but were soon bubbling with excitement as the plane landed.
Outside, a rented car was waiting to take them to their hotel. The drive to the hotel was breath-taking with an astounding view of the Carpathian Mountains.
They settled comfortably in their room at the hotel.
Archer asked, “When are we going to See-Your-Book cave?”
“Not See-Your-Book, it’s Ciur-Izbuc cave,” corrected James.
“Oh, whatever.”
“We will leave at 6 a.m. tomorrow, so I suggest you sleep early.” Matt’s father was beaming with excitement.
The children spent their day idling, romping all over the hotel lawns, enjoying the Scandinavian food and playing games. They went to bed early that night.
***
The Scavenger could feel his excitement levels rising. In so many months, it was the first time he was feeling a strong intuition.
He stroked his chin as he watched the children playing in the garden. They didn’t look hefty and fit to fight, except for the blonde one.
But he trusted his gut feeling. He observed them a little longer and took out the images of the prophesied children Lord Arcane had given to him and…
GOSH!
The faces resembled the drawings… even the colour of their hair… it was unmistakably them.
His shoulders drooped with relief. He could feel the burden of centuries being lifted. He had at last succeeded and found the prophesied children. His excitement knew no bounds.
3
THE CHILDREN HAD NO TROUBLE WAKING up the next morning. They quickly dressed up and got into the car. On the way, they enjoyed the spectacular view of the Carpathian Crags and their foothills. They even spotted a few brown bears, wolves, chamois and lynxes. They came across many thermal and mineral water springs.
After about two hours, they reached close to the Ciur-Izbuc cave, where they hired a guide. The guide cautioned the group to remain together and not venture into forbidden areas inside the cave, which still had many mysterious and unexplored corners. The guide held a torch in one hand and showed carvings and footprints on the caves while telling them about the mysteries that surrounded them.
Matt noticed brightly coloured arrows painted on the walls at every turn. The guide explained that these arrows marked the path they had to follow; else, they could get lost.
The long talks on prehistory soon bored the children. They wanted to explore the caves deeper, and the guide was moving very slowly.
“Hey, everybody,” Archer whispered, “Come here.” They all clustered around Archer.
“Let’s do some exploring. What do you say?” Archer said, his eyes gleaming mischievously.
“I’m in!” chorused Daniel and Matt excitedly.
“I don’t know…” James said doubtfully. “I think we should just follow the guide. We don’t want to get lost.”
“Spoilsport!” Archer groaned. “The guide is moving too slow! He is plain boring. Please, just a little bit of exploring. We can always find our way back following those arrows. Matt’s parents are busy being amazed. It is a perfect opportunity. Please…”
Matt and Daniel echoed him. “Pleeeeeeeease!” “Okay, okay,” said James. “I am in…”
“Which way…?” asked Matt.
The children decided to turn right, away from the usual path. There was an empty chair lying there, probably belonging to a guard who was not around.
If only they had read the sign hung above which read:
‘DANGER! UNCHARTED AREA. DO NOT ENTER HERE.’
They turned right. Even though it was dark, the walls of the cave had a soft, eerie glow. The carvings in the caves entranced the children. They kept following them…
“Wait!” James called. “Where are we?” His voice quivered.
They all stopped.
“I don’t know,” said Archer. “There must be direction arrows here.”
But there were none.
The children panicked and ran around looking for a way out. They took many turns,
