The Kite at Mussenden Temple

The wind at Mussenden Temple never seemed to blow in only one direction.

It rushed up from the Atlantic Ocean, curled around the cliffs, and howled against the round stone walls of the lonely Temple, as if it knew a secret and was trying very hard not to tell anyone.

But further inland, behind the huge, broken walls of the old Downhill ruins, the air was much quieter.

Noah checked his watch for the third time.

They had exactly fifteen minutes before Granny expected them back for tea, and the sky above the roofless ruins was turning a dark, bruised purple.

"Five minutes!" Noah shouted into the empty stone courtyard. "Rory, find them now or we're leaving!"

A few yards away, Rory crept through a broken archway with his hands around his eyes like binoculars. He was doing his very serious detective walk.

Áine and Chloe were hidden somewhere in the shadows of the old walls, giggling so loudly that Rory really should have found them already.

Noah didn't care much about the game.

He was nine, and he cared about keeping everyone on time.

"Caught you!" Rory yelled, jumping forward and grabbing the edge of Áine's jacket near a broken stone pillar.

"No, you didn't!" Áine cried, bursting out into the grass with her dark pigtails bouncing. "You caught my sleeve. Sleeves don't count."

"They absolutely do," said Rory, out of breath.

"They absolutely don't," said Áine, folding her arms.

Chloe was about to say something when she suddenly stopped.

The smile dropped from her face.

A cold shiver ran over her arms. She turned away from the ruins and stared across the long grass toward the cliff edge.

"Noah," Chloe whispered, pointing. "Look at Liam. That's not right."

Noah spun around.

His heart jumped.

Liam had wandered away from the ruins into a patch of long, tangled grass. He must have been looking for somewhere to hide, but instead he had tripped over something buried in the dirt.

Now he was not hiding.

He was being dragged.

His small hands were wrapped around a huge wooden handle, and a thick string was pulling him backwards across the grass. High above him, a kite had shot into the sky.

But it was no ordinary kite.

It was a deep, strange blue, the colour of the sea just before a storm. In the middle of the fabric, a golden Celtic symbol flashed and pulsed like a warning.

"Noah!" Liam screamed, his trainers slipping on the wet grass. "It's pulling me!"

Noah ran.

He threw his arms around Liam's waist and dug his boots into the ground. The kite string snapped tight, as straight and sharp as wire.

Noah stared in disbelief.

The wind was blowing in from the sea, pushing towards the fields. But the kite was pulling the wrong way. It was dragging them across the grass towards the cliff edge, where Mussenden Temple stood high against the sky.

"Help them!" Áine shouted.

Rory, Áine and Chloe raced across the lawn and grabbed Noah's jacket. Together, the five children were pulled over the grass, closer and closer to the cliffs.

Then, just before they reached the edge, the kite suddenly changed direction.

It dragged them up the stone steps of Mussenden Temple and stopped in front of the great wooden doors.

The kite hovered there, shaking in the air.

Then came a deep, echoing THUMP.

The doors unlocked.

Slowly, they swung open.

Every child froze.

They had played around the ruins for years. They had eaten picnics nearby. They had peered through dusty keyholes and wondered what was inside.

But the doors of Mussenden Temple were always locked.

Everyone knew that.

You could look at the outside.

The inside belonged to the past.

Now the doorway was wide open.

Before anyone could speak, the blue kite shot inside.

Noah and Liam stumbled after it, still holding the handle. Rory, Áine and Chloe followed, stepping out of the wild wind and into the dark, round room.

The moment all five of them crossed the doorway, the heavy doors slammed shut behind them.

BOOM.

The wind vanished.

Silence filled the Temple.

Inside, the round chamber was tall, cold and dim. Pale grey light came through the windows, making the dust sparkle in the air. The rest of the room was full of shadows.

"We're trapped," Áine whispered.

The blue kite did not stop.

It swooped low, just above the stone floor, and began to circle the room. The golden symbol on the fabric glowed brighter and brighter.

Then the light struck the floor.

Something answered.

In the very centre of the room, a huge round stone shape was built into the floor. It had been hidden under dust for years, but now thin lines of blue and gold light raced across it.

The lines twisted into the same Celtic symbol that was on the kite.

The stone began to shake.

The children backed up against the curved wall.

"What is it doing?" Rory shouted.

"It looks like three old paths meeting," Noah said, trying to understand the glowing lines.

"No," said Rory. "It looks like a knot."

"It looks like three secret doors," Áine whispered.

Chloe held tightly onto Áine's arm. "It looks like waves in a storm."

Click.

The sound was heavy and deep.

It came from under the floor.

The whole Temple trembled.

Then the stones in the centre cracked.

With a grinding roar, the round stone floor broke apart and dropped down into darkness.

Dust flew everywhere.

The children coughed and covered their faces.

When the dust cleared, the middle of the floor had disappeared.

In its place was a stone spiral staircase, twisting down into a soft blue light far below.

Outside, the gulls went silent.

The sound of the sea disappeared.

Then, from deep under Mussenden Temple, came a low rumble.

It was not thunder.

It was not the wind.

It sounded like a giant dog growling in its sleep.

Liam blinked.

Rory forgot to breathe.

Noah stepped in front of the others and held out his arm, keeping them behind him.

Far below, in the blue light, something moved.

Beneath the floor of Mussenden Temple, something ancient had just opened its eyes.