1 AT THE DOOR AND INTO THE HOUSE A STRAY GUST OF wind howled down the chimney sending a spray of last fall’s leaves out of the hearth and scuttling across the living room floor Timothy James Maxwell jumped up with a start from the book he had been trying to read It wasn’t a windy night Leaves had never blown down the chimney before He went to the fireplace and peered cautiously up the chimney but all he could see was the blackness of the flue A puff of air blew directly in his face and he pulled out his head smacking the back of it on the bricks Ouch Fortunately neither the leaves nor his cry awakened Mrs Clapper who had fallen asleep in the recliner at least half an hour ago She slept soundly with her legs thick as tree tr unks sprawled in front of her head thrown back mouth gaping like a trap Her nose whistled with each deep breath and her full lower lip quivered She wasn’t really too bad as babysitters went Timothy thought but the fact that she was a babysitter was a problem At eleven and three quarters he was quite sure he no longer needed a babysitter Unfortunately his parents
didn’t agree And even though they tried to pass her off as a companion companion he wasn’t fooled So when they had taken his older sister Sarah to a ballet audition in the city Timothy was left alone with the Clapper We’ll be home Sunday night as soon as we can promise his mother had explained Timothy looked down at the carpet and drew his eyebrows eyebrows together Buck up son Clapper’s a good sort and she’ll probably play Scrabble with you to your heart’s content Timothy considered this to be nothing nothing more than bribery because his father knew how much he loved Scrabble the smooth wooden tiles the random surprise of letters and of course the fact that he usually won I don’t think I need a babysitter anymore now that I’m almost twelve Timothy replied with dignity I can take care of myself just fine What could happen Nothing ever happens here If you really don’t want me left alone then one of you should stay It doesn’t take two people to see an audition He knew he was being unreasonable but he couldn’t stop the words We know that you’re very capable his mother had replied bending close so that he caught the minty fragrance of her soft brown hair and a faint whiff of turpentine We just want you to have some company and Mrs Clapper has already agreed Do be kind to her Timothy At that point Timothy had known the battle was lost He thought of the word conquer
A handy word to use in Scrabble but a miserable word when it was directed at him Over the years Mrs Clapper had stayed a number of times but always always when he and Sarah were home together He didn’t like the idea of having Mrs Clapper to himself He’d always counted on Sarah to divert most of the babysitter’s attention And he was still haunted by some of the strange stories she had told them stories about people who shape shifted into animals about changeling children or creatures creatures that came in from the dark if you left a door or window open The evening hadn’t passed as slowly as he had feared They had played Scrabble and he’d won every game but one and she’d let him play WarGames on the computer for an hour But even this couldn’t make up for tolerating a babysitter Then Mrs Clapper had made a batch of ginger cookies and begun one of her stories It was about a stone that had been missing for many years a stone that cried out loud when the right person put a foot on it How can a stone cry out Timothy popped a warm cookie into his mouth This one has a voice but it’s not a human voice A cry rings out when a just leader places a foot on it Of course there are those who’d rather the stone was silent Why Because they’re not interested in justice
Are you sure there isn’t a sword in this stone Timothy asked thinking thinking of the story of King Arthur No there is no sword in this stone But there is a missing sword in the story and a missing spear and cauldron as well She handed Timothy a dish towel and the wet mixing bowl Like Arthur’s stone one specific specific person is intended to find it Timothy considered A good story should have battles Oh there are battles fearsome battles and if the Dark wins them the Dark grows stronger The Dark Of course the Dark The Dark wants the stone and is willing to do all kinds of terrible things to prevent anyone else finding it That must never happen Just as the Light longs for everything to be free the Dark longs to control everything The story was definitely getting interesting Timothy thought A chill passed up his arms What kinds of things He set the bowl aside and bit into another of Mrs Clapper’s ginger cookies Crumbs cascaded to the floor Things that are better left unspoken They’d give you worse nightmares nightmares than the wolves you’re afraid of
