The Face in the Forest (2 page)

Suddenly, Mr Blood stopped. They all looked ahead. In front of them was a dead tree with a large hole in it. In the hole was what looked like a huge human face, carved out of wood. Edgar looked round at the girls. Anna had turned very pale.

Edgar turned back to look at the carved head.

It blinked.

Suddenly, all four horses reared up, wild with terror. As their hooves came crashing back down, they bolted.

Everyone clung on desperately. The horses galloped deeper and deeper into the forest. By the time the horses slowed down, Mr Blood and the children were completely lost.

 

Chapter 3

Tor

The horses had stopped beside a pool. Edgar and Mary were pale and shaking and Mr Blood looked grim but Anna looked excited.

“There's nothing to be happy about,” snapped Edgar. “We're lost!”

“But this place is just so… exciting!” said Anna.

Mary giggled. She thought Anna was good fun.

The last light of the day was disappearing. They had no idea where they were or how to find the track again. Edgar couldn't see why the two girls were so cheerful.

“I suppose we'll have to spend the night here,” said Edgar. Mr Blood agreed. Edgar tied up the horses and Mr Blood began making a shelter for the night.

“Let's make a fire,” said Mary. She and Anna went to get dry wood.

Edgar walked to the edge of the pool. He stared into it and thought about the giant face they had seen back on the path. The face had been real and it had moved. The horses had seen it too.

But Anna's face had turned white
before
the face in the tree had blinked. That was strange. Edgar looked over at Anna. She was sitting by the fire laughing and talking to Mary. She didn't seem afraid.

“Food,” Mr Blood called out. Edgar walked over to the fire and sat down beside Mary. For a while they ate the bread and cheese in silence.

“We all saw it,” said Edgar at last. “What was it?”

“A forest giant,” said Mr Blood. “I've heard of them but I've never seen one before.”

“I have,” said Anna, suddenly. “I've seen this one before. He's called Tor.”

Edgar and Mary looked surprised.

“Tell us more,” said Mr Blood, looking at Anna.

“When I was little, “ said Anna, “ I used to creep out of the house and come into the forest. Tor talked to me. As I got older, I stopped going to the forest and I forgot about Tor. Or I forgot about him being real. I thought he was part of a pretend game in my head. But when I saw that face… I knew it was him.”

“Should we be afraid?” Mary asked.

“You don't need to be afraid of Tor.” Anna replied. “ He used to say he would always protect me from harm.”

“But what if he thinks
we
mean you harm…” said Edgar.

“You're right,” Mr Blood said to Edgar. “We could be in danger. Forest giants don't come looking for trouble. They stay hidden. But they are still giants . . .”

Beyond the firelight the forest was now in total darkness. The screeches and growls of the night animals filled the air. The horses snorted as they chewed the grass.

A moment later, Edgar frowned. “Listen,” he hissed.

“I can't hear anything,” said Mary.

“Yes,” Edgar said. “That's the problem.”

The forest had fallen silent.

 

Chapter 4

The Trees

For a few moments they waited. Then the horses panicked. They tore at the ropes and broke loose, and charged away into the blackness of the forest.

“What's going on?” Edgar wailed.

Suddenly, Mary screamed, “Get it off me!”

Something was slowly pulling Mary by the ankle away from the fire. Mr Blood grabbed his axe and leapt after her. He swung the axe and cut through something on the ground near Mary's foot.

“It's the trees,” he hissed, pulling Mary back to the others. “They're trying to kill us. Get in between the fire and the pool.”

Mr Blood was right. A tree root had twisted itself around Mary's ankle. Mr Blood lit a few torches and planted them in the ground.

Now, they were protected by the water on one side and the torches on the other.

“Will that keep them back?” asked Edgar.

“Trees don't like fire,” said Mr Blood. But the trees were all moving now.