and I appreciate the company.”
The Professor’s eyes were the colour of a pinstripe suit. Rosemary shivered. “No. W-we should be going.”
“You’ve hardly rested,” said the Professor. “You haven’t even sat down. I haven’t fetched new shoes. Come, have some lemonade. I made it myself.”
“No, thanks,” said Rosemary, backing away. “We really need to go, now.”
“I worry you, don’t I, Miss Watson?” said the Professor. “You think that I’ll lead you into the path of the crocodiles as you attempt to rescue your brother.”
“Well, wouldn’t you?” said Peter. “Of course,” said the Professor. “But it would be for your own good. The truth is, you need me. You both need me.”
Rosemary stopped. “I don’t need you!”
“Certainly you do. Where would you be without me?”
“A lot happier!” said Peter.
“Are you sure about that? Are you really sure? Imagine, for a moment, a world without villains. Would you remember Robin Hood without the Sheriff? Superman in a perfect world? Behind every great hero is a great villain. Holmes had Moriarty. King Arthur had Morgaine. These legends would be nothing without their enemies.”
“We’re not talking about a book,” said Rosemary. “We’re talking about real life; we’re talking about my brother!”
“Then let us consider real life,” said the Professor. “Where would you be if not here, Miss Watson? Hiding in your study cubicle, I’d wager, reading your encyclopedias, running away from your books.”
“Stop it!” Peter pulled Rosemary behind him. “We’re leaving. You are not going to keep us here any longer.”
Professor Em straightened up. His tongue, forked like a snake’s, flicked out and tasted the air. “You’re right, my boy. I’ve kept you here long enough.”
There was a whine of engines, and out of the valley, three Zeppelins rose into view, taking their places in the sky. Their grapples dipped and weaved like dangling cobras.
“You tricked us!” Rosemary shouted.
The Professor shrugged. “My dear child, whatever did you expect?”
Rosemary could see the girl with the horn-rimmed glasses in the cockpit of one of the Zeppelins. The girl sneered at her.
“Ah, yes, there She is right now,” said Professor Em. “This was Her idea. She is very new to the villain game, playing against type, in fact, but She has adapted. People do when they’re angry.”
The grapples lunged.
“Both of you, flee! I shall hold them off!” Puck picked up a stone the size of a soccer ball. He took three running steps and hurled it over his head. It sailed high and punched through the skin of the nearest Zeppelin. A hissing noise filled the air, and the Zeppelin sank out of view, its engines struggling and the cabin dropping ballast. Seconds later, there was a thump, and a fireball erupted skyward.
The other Zeppelins’ engines surged, and they floated higher. The grapples descended, jaws open, and struck at Puck, who dodged.
Peter and Rosemary ran for the road, but the Professor flung his arms wide. They turned into tentacles and wrapped around Rosemary’s and Peter’s bodies. He hauled them back, their feet dangling in the air.
“What was it you read off the idea tree?” he said, his tongue flicking across Rosemary’s cheek. “What if we could fly?”
“What if rugs could fly!” Rosemary cried, feet flailing. “Rugs!”
“Pity you don’t have rugs, then. Bye-bye!” Peter and Rosemary screamed as he tossed them over the edge.
The girl with the horn-rimmed glasses came sliding down one of the grapple cables. She jumped to the ground and joined Professor Em at the cliff edge.
“Hey, you were supposed to capture them,” she said. “Why did you throw them off the edge?”
“All the better to crunch their bones to make my bread. Have you ever tried to put unbroken bones through a grinder? Dear, dear, it is a bother!”
Rosemary fell. The tumbling air deafened her, carrying her screams away. Her hair whipped her face, and the long fringe of her dress lashed her arms and legs. Peter fell beside her, grey and unreadable as a shadow.
Suddenly she saw something plummet towards her, huge as a shark. It swooped past and swung beneath her, spreading tremendous wings.
Rosemary struck the eagle’s back. It knocked the wind out of her. In her whirling vision, she saw Peter hit, and slide. She saw his pale hands pull out huge feathers. Then he fell again. “Puck!” she screamed.
“Hold fast!” the eagle cried. It folded its wings and dove after the falling boy. They passed Peter and swept under him. Rosemary dug her knees into Puck’s back and caught hold of Peter’s collar as he thudded and slid past. Peter grabbed desperately, plucking more feathers before steadying himself. He lay gasping. Rosemary held him.
His knuckles white, Peter looked back. “They’re following us!”
“What do they want?” shouted Rosemary.
“To bring things to a head,” said Puck. “They want to attack before you are ready. They are no longer interested in the story, only its climax.”
“What do we do?” yelled Rosemary. “Enough of challenges,” said Puck. “I shall take you to the centre of the Land of Fiction, quick as I can.”
He swooped close to the cliff face, turning a corner in the valley. The pursuing Zeppelin banked. “Where’s the other one?” shouted Rosemary.
Then they turned another corner and found the second Zeppelin waiting for them.
It hovered at the rim of the valley, its sides almost touching either wall. It towered over them, eclipsing the sun. The grapple struck towards them.
“Hold on!” Puck screeched. He swerved down and right. Rosemary yelled. The wall of the valley swept towards them. The grapple was just feet behind. They were in the middle of a gap between grapple and cliff, and the gap was narrowing by the second.
The grapple swung in. Puck put on a burst of speed. The grapple hit the cliff face, raising a spray of rock and dust.
Then Puck’s wing smashed against the cliff with a sickening crunch. Puck cried out and fell.
Rosemary and Peter clung for dear life against his back. The wind whistled in their ears. The ground rushed up to meet them.
“Look,” Peter yelled, pointing. “The tracks!”
Rosemary looked ahead. Before them, the train tracks ran along a narrow ledge before crossing the valley on a high bridge, plunging into a tunnel.
Behind them, the second Zeppelin rose above the rim of the valley and began a ponderous
