The Giant's Quest

Chapter 3

The Giant's Quest

For a few wild minutes, nobody could speak.

The children were pressed against the windows as Mussenden Temple flew through the sky.

It did not feel like being in an aeroplane.

There were no engines.

No seatbelts.

No pilot.

Only the deep rumble of stone, the roar of wind, and the strange blue light glowing from the floor.

Far below, the North Coast rushed past in a blur of green fields, black rocks and crashing waves.

"There's Dunluce Castle!" Rory shouted, pointing through the glass.

The ruined castle flashed beneath them.

Then everything began to change.

The roads disappeared.

The houses vanished.

The lights from the towns blinked out, one by one, as if someone had switched off the future.

The sky turned a smoky purple.

The clouds twisted above them.

Liam clutched the wooden kite reel to his chest.

"Noah," he whispered, "I don't think we're going home."

Before Noah could answer, the floor began to crackle.

Blue and gold light sparked between the stone lines beneath their feet.

The Temple tilted sharply.

Áine slid across the floor and crashed into Rory.

"Ow!"

"That was my elbow!"

"That was my head!"

"Hold on to something!" Noah shouted.

He grabbed Liam with one arm and hooked his other hand around the edge of a stone pillar.

Chloe caught Áine.

Rory grabbed Chloe.

The Temple dropped.

Everyone screamed.

Outside the window, the sea rushed up towards them.

But it was not the calm grey sea they knew from Downhill.

This sea was darker.

Wilder.

Angrier.

Huge waves smashed against black rocks that stuck out of the water like dragon teeth.

Then came the crash.

CRUNCH.

The whole Temple slammed down so hard that the children bounced off the floor.

The blue light flashed once.

The hidden machine beneath them gave a final groan.

Then everything went still.

For a long moment, nobody moved.

Dust floated through the room.

Noah sat up first.

"Is everyone alive?"

"I think so," Chloe groaned.

"My knees are in the wrong place," Rory said, rubbing his legs.

Liam blinked up from the floor.

"Can we not do that again?"

Then the great wooden doors creaked.

Slowly, they opened.

Warm air rushed in.

It smelled of salt, smoke and wet stone.

Noah stood and pulled Liam behind him.

"Stay close," he said.

The five children edged towards the doorway.

When they looked outside, their mouths fell open.

They were no longer at Mussenden Temple.

At least, not their Mussenden Temple.

The building had landed on a wide path of black stone columns. Thousands of them stretched out in every direction, packed tightly together like giant stepping stones.

The stones were all the same strange shape.

Six sides.

Flat tops.

Dark edges.

They marched straight into the crashing sea.

"The Giant's Causeway," Rory whispered.

But it was not the Giant's Causeway they knew.

There were no tourists.

No paths.

No fences.

No visitor centre.

The cliffs were covered in wild green plants. Smoke drifted through the air. Birds circled above the rocks, crying out over the waves.

Áine stepped out first.

Her trainers landed on one of the dark stone columns.

"It's real," she whispered.

Then the ground shook.

Once.

Twice.

A shadow fell over them.

Noah looked up.

A giant was sitting on a ridge of black rock just a few steps away.

He was so huge that, for a second, Noah forgot how to breathe.

The giant stood.

He rose like a hill waking up.

He was taller than a house. Taller than two houses. His boots were planted on the basalt stones, and his cloak blew behind him like a dark green sail.

His hair was wild and grey, like storm clouds. His beard was thick. His face looked weathered by wind, rain and sea spray.

Liam made a tiny squeaking sound.

Noah shoved him behind his back.

Rory stepped backwards.

Chloe grabbed Áine's sleeve.

For one long second, nobody moved.

Then Áine gasped.

All the fear vanished from her face.

Her eyes went wide.

Then she grinned.

"No way," she whispered.

The giant bent slightly, looking down at them.

Áine stepped forward.

Noah grabbed for her, but missed.

"Áine!" he hissed. "Get back!"

But Áine was already staring up at the giant with shining eyes.

"I know who you are," she said.

The giant's eyebrows rose.

"Do you now?"

Áine pointed at the black columns beneath his feet.

"The stones. The stories. Granny told us."

Then she shouted, loud enough for the waves to hear.

"You're Finn McCool!"

Noah stared at her.

"You cannot just shout at a giant!"

But the giant laughed.

It was not a cruel laugh.

It was warm and huge and deep, like thunder rolling far out at sea.

"A sharp mind and a loud voice," the giant said. "A useful pair of gifts."

He knelt down slowly, so his great face came closer to their level.

"Aye," he said. "I am Finn. Finn McCool."

Liam peeped out from behind Noah's jumper.

"You're very big," he said.

Finn smiled.

"And you are very small."

Liam frowned. "I know."

Finn laughed again, and even Noah felt a tiny bit less afraid.

Áine could barely stand still.

"I knew the stories were true," she said. "I knew it."

"You believed them?" Finn asked.

"Of course," said Áine. "Granny wouldn't make up something that good."

Finn's smile softened.

"Then your granny has done well."

Noah finally found his voice.

"Did you bring us here?"

Finn looked towards the blue kite, which was hovering above Liam's shoulder.

"I sent the sky-sign into the winds," he said. "It found you."

"You mean the kite?" Rory asked.

Finn nodded.

"The old magic needed young hands to wake it. Brave hands. Quick hands. Hands that still believe in impossible things."

Rory frowned. "That sounds very unsafe."

"It was a little unsafe," Finn admitted.

Noah folded his arms.

"A little?"

The corner of Finn's mouth twitched.

"Maybe more than a little."

Chloe looked out at the wild sea.

"Why did you bring us here?"

At that, Finn's smile faded.

The air seemed to grow colder.

He stood and pointed across the waves.

Far out beyond the white spray, a dark shape sat on the sea.

An island.

Rathlin.

"Something has been stolen," Finn said.

The children followed his gaze across the dark, restless sea.

"Something old," Finn continued. "Something powerful. A blue stone that belongs inside the cliff machine."

"The machine under Mussenden Temple?" Rory asked.

"Aye," said Finn. "The blue stone keeps the old magic safe."

Liam hugged the kite reel a little tighter.

"What happens without it?"

Finn looked down at him, and his face became serious.

"Secret doorways are starting to open," he said. "Doors under the cliffs. Doors beneath the waves. Doors into places that should stay sleeping."

Chloe moved closer to Áine.

"That sounds bad," she whispered.

"It is," said Finn. "If the stone is not returned, the sea will rise in the wrong places, the old paths will break, and things that have been hidden for hundreds of years may find their way out."

Nobody spoke.

The waves crashed hard against the columns.

Áine swallowed.

"Who stole it?"

Finn's eyes turned towards Rathlin Island.

"The Merfolk."

Rory blinked.

"Merfolk? As in... mermaids?"

"Some call them that," Finn said. "But do not think of pretty songs and sparkly tails. The Merfolk of Rathlin are older than that. Wilder. Trickier. They live below the waves and guard secrets that even giants do not understand."

Chloe moved closer to Áine.

"So why don't you go and get the stone back?"

Finn's face darkened.

"I cannot."

"But you're Finn McCool," Áine said. "You can do anything."

Finn shook his great head.

"Not everything."

He pointed to the stormy water between the Causeway and Rathlin.

"The Merfolk have placed old magic around the island. If a giant steps into those waters, the sea turns to ice. Sharp ice. Hungry ice."

Noah stared out at the waves.

"So you brought children?"

"I brought children because you can go where I cannot," Finn said. "Small feet can cross paths that giants break. Small voices can ask questions giants cannot ask."

"That is not comforting," said Rory.

Noah shook his head.

"We can't get to Rathlin. It's miles away. We don't have a boat."

Finn's eyes suddenly sparkled.

"A boat?"

He sounded almost offended.

Noah looked suspicious.

"Yes. A boat. That thing people use to cross water."

Finn stood to his full height.

"You won't need one."

He lifted two fingers to his mouth and whistled.

The sound shot across the bay.

It bounced off the cliffs.

It rolled over the waves.

Then everything went quiet.

Even the sea seemed to pause.

From behind the high rocks came a sound.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Rory went pale.

"Please tell me that's not another giant."

A huge shadow moved behind the ridge.

Then something leapt onto the basalt stones.

The children stumbled backwards.

It was a dog.

But not like any dog they had ever seen.

It was bigger than a bus.

Its fur was dark as storm clouds, with streaks of silver along its back. Its paws landed on the columns as lightly as feathers, even though each one was bigger than a kitchen table.

Its eyes glowed warm amber.

Its tail swept through the air, sending a blast of wind over the children and blowing Rory's hair straight up.

The dog bounded towards Finn and stopped beside him.

Then it lowered its enormous head.

Its nose was almost as big as Liam.

Liam stared.

The giant hound sniffed him.

Liam's fringe flew backwards.

Then the dog gave a soft, happy huff.

"Meet Bran," Finn said proudly.

Bran wagged her tail.

The wind nearly knocked Rory over.

"She knows the secret roads of the sea," Finn said. "Roads hidden beneath the waves. Roads no boat can follow."

Noah stared at the enormous hound.

Then he stared at the wild sea.

Then he stared back at Finn.

"No," he said.

Áine's eyes were shining.

"Yes."

"No," said Noah again, more firmly.

Liam slowly turned to look at him.

His face was glowing with joy.

"Noah," he whispered, "we get to ride the big dog."

Bran lowered herself onto the stones.

Finn smiled.

The blue kite flashed gold above Liam's head.

And far across the sea, Rathlin Island waited.