Linda Chapman & Lee Weatherly

Sophie

AND THE

Shadow Woods

The Goblin King

To Amany Lily Chapman

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Chapter 1 - Hidden In the Shadows

Chapter 2 - Anthony the Annoying

Chapter 3 - The Shadow Files

Chapter 4 - The Key to the Gateway

Chapter 5 - Captured

Chapter 6 - A Secret Mission

Chapter 7 - Danger!

Chapter 8 - Saving the Day

The Shadow Files

Turn the page for a sneak peek…

Copyright

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

Hidden in the Shadows

Sophie Smith crouched on the roof of the garden shed. Pushing her thick, blonde fringe from her eyes, she thought through the obstacle course she was about to do. “Down the drainpipe, over the flowerbed, across the monkey bars, over the fence and then back to the shed,” she muttered. Easy!

Her best friend, Sam, was standing on the grass below with a stopwatch. “So, the winner is the quickest one to get back here with the key?” he checked. The wind ruffled his spiky red hair.

Sophie grinned. “You mean the magic key that Dracula’s stolen,” she corrected him.

She and Sam had found a wooden box in her grandpa’s wardrobe when they’d been playing hide-and-seek a few hours earlier. Inside the box was a large iron key, carved with strange and beautiful patterns with a hole in the centre. Sophie had never seen it before, but it looked so interesting that she and Sam had immediately invented a game with it. She planned to put it back before Grandpa got home. For the rest of that morning, she and Sam had pretended it was a magic key that they had to rescue from Dracula’s castle. It had been great fun and, after lunch, the game had turned into a timed obstacle course in the garden.

While some of the girls in her class at school liked to play games about fairies and others liked to giggle about boys, Sophie’s favourite things to do were having races, playing on her skateboard and going to tae kwon do classes. She lived in jeans and t-shirts, and though she had long, blonde hair down to her waist, she never put ribbons or bows in it. When she grew up she wanted to be a stuntwoman in films.

Now she looked across the garden, her green eyes narrowing as she got ready. She was determined to be the fastest! “Are you going to time me then, Sam?”

“Yep!” Sam poised his finger above the stopwatch. “On your marks... get set... GO!”

Sophie jumped on to the drainpipe and slid down it as fast as she could. The second her trainers touched the ground, she was off. She sprinted across the grass, her blonde ponytail bouncing up and down.

Leaping over the flowerbed, she ran to the climbing frame. As she reached the top, she flung herself on to the monkey bars and wriggled her way across, swinging her body from side to side. On the platform on the other side she hesitated, but decided not to bother with the ladder. Instead she jumped, feeling a moment of scary weightlessness before she landed. She bounced to her feet and was off again. Excitement buzzed through her as she charged to the end of the garden and scrambled over the fence.

There was a wood on the other side – a thick, deep forest called Shadow Woods with tall trees that shut out the light. No one ever went in there, and at school people whispered stories of strange things that had been seen moving through the gloom. Sophie didn’t really believe them, but even so she rarely played in the woods, and only that morning her grandpa had warned her again not to go into them. She remembered that now.

We’re not really going into the woods, she told herself as she ran to the first oak tree. The key was nestling in its roots. Sophie grabbed it, but as she straightened up, something pale and human-sized seemed to move in the trees. Startled, she stopped and stared. What was that? But the shadows were dark and still again.

Pants! She’d wasted time! Turning round, Sophie climbed back over the fence and raced to the shed, clutching the key. “Home!” she gasped triumphantly as she hit the shed door with her hand. Sam clicked the stop button.

“So how long did it take me to rescue the magic key?” Sophie demanded.

“One minute, seven point zero four seconds!”

Not bad, Sophie thought. If she hadn’t hesitated by the tree then she’d have been even faster. She glanced back at the woods. She’d been sure she’d seen something move there. But no, she couldn’t have.

“My turn!” Sam chucked her the stopwatch and started to climb nimbly on to the shed roof. Meanwhile, Sophie jogged back to replace the key by the oak tree. As she climbed over the fence, the woods felt strangely still – there wasn’t even a single bird singing. Goosebumps prickled over her bare arms.

You’re being silly, she told herself firmly. There’s nothing here.

Placing the key down in the roots of the tree, she headed back to the shed. Sam was waiting on the roof, his blue eyes determined. She lifted the stopwatch. “OK, on your marks… get set… GO!”

“Geronimo!” Sam yelled as he slid down the drainpipe. He was useless at anything that involved a bat or a ball, but he was a fast runner as well as a good climber. He sprinted across the lawn, jumping over the flowerbed. However, he was more cautious then Sophie when it came to finishing the monkey bars. He didn’t jump at the end, but climbed down the ladder.

He’s slower than me! Sophie thought triumphantly. I’m going to win!

Sam reached the oak tree. He rummaged about in the roots. Then he rummaged some more. Finally, he stood up and turned to her. “Where is it?” he shouted indignantly.

Sophie frowned. “What do you mean?”

“It isn’t here. Where did you put it?”

Sophie put her hands on her hips. “It is there. I put it in the roots.”

“Well, I can’t see it.”

Sophie ran towards him, scrambling over the fence. “I left it just there.” She pointed, but to her surprise the space between the tree roots was empty. She stared. Was Sam playing a trick on her? Sophie checked his face. “You really haven’t got it?”

“I swear I haven’t.”

They both began to hunt around, but there was no sign of the key anywhere. Sophie bit her lip, her eyes wide. “It’s gone!”

Sam’s face paled. “What’s your grandpa going to say?”

Sophie felt sick. Grandpa Bob was not the kindly type of smiley grandpa lots of her friends had – he was grumpy with sharp blue eyes and a grey, grizzled beard. He usually ignored Sophie unless he was telling her off. He much preferred Anthony, Sophie’s twin brother. Sophie gulped. She had no idea what Grandpa was going to say – but she had a feeling it wasn’t going to be good!

“It can’t have just gone,” she said desperately. “Let’s look again!”

Getting down on their hands and knees, Sophie and Sam began to search.

Deep in the heart of Shadow Woods, Ug the Goblin hurried through the trees. His head was toadstool-shaped and brown rags covered his knobbly body. His snowy-white skin was flaking and tinged black at the edges. He chortled, hardly believing his luck. He’d done it! He’d got the key! After all these years of watching and waiting! And he hadn’t even had to go near the house. Those two stupid children had practically given the key to him – leaving it sitting right where he could take it.

“Dimwits, numskulls, worm brains the lot of them!” he crowed. “But not me. I knew it was the right time to try to steal it. Ug’s not King of the Ink Cap Goblins for nothing. Ug’s the cleverest and craftiest goblin in the world!” He puffed his chest out. “Ug got the key to the gate. Oh, yes, he did!” His coal-black eyes shone gleefully. Now the shadow creatures’ fun could really begin!

Chapter 2

Anthony the Annoying

Sophie stared out of her bedroom window. It was getting late and beyond the garden fence the woods were very dark. She hadn’t told Grandpa yet about the key being lost. He had been out all day with Anthony, and she was still hoping the key would turn up before he discovered it had gone.

Maybe I’ll find it tomorrow, she thought hopefully.

Tomorrow. Sophie felt a rush of excitement. Tomorrow was her tenth birthday. Being ten sounded so much older than being nine. What presents would she get? She’d love a new skateboard! And a football, and some games for her DS...

Her bedroom door opened and Anthony strolled in. He looked quite similar to Sophie, with thick, blonde hair and a slim, athletic build, but his eyes weren’t green and friendly like hers. They were pale blue and smug.

Sophie frowned. “Hey! Don’t just come in without knocking!” She went to the door and pointed to the notice she had stuck there. “Private. Keep out. Or you’ll be sorry!” she read.

“Ooh, I’m so scared.” Anthony rolled his eyes mockingly. He started examining the things on her desk. “I thought you might want to know about my day with Grandpa,” he said, flicking through the pages of a tae kwon do book.

“Well, I don’t,” answered Sophie.

“Really? ’Cos we had a brilliant time,” gloated Anthony.

Sophie and Anthony were being looked after by their grandfather for a couple of months. Their parents were archaeologists and often had to go away to work. When that happened, Grandpa moved in. He often took Anthony out to do ‘boy-stuff’, leaving Sophie at home with the housekeeper, Mrs Benton. Most of the time, Sophie didn’t mind. She loved Mrs Benton and she had much more fun playing with Sam than she would have had being with Anthony and Grandpa.

“You’d have loved it,” Anthony went on. “We went climbing on the rocks in the Outwoods and went on the rope swing there. Then after that we had burgers and ice-cream sodas for lunch.”

It did sound fun, but there was no way Sophie was going to admit it. “Big deal,” she said airily.

But her brother wasn’t finished yet. “Before we came home we went to this big outdoor shop. Grandpa bought me a backpack and penknife, a torch and some rope—”

“What?” Sophie burst out, unable to stop herself. She loved stuff like that – and Anthony knew it. “Did Grandpa get me anything too?”

“No.” Anthony laughed. “But I guess that’s ’cos you’re just a girl.”

Sophie clenched her fists angrily.

Anthony grinned. “I reckon Grandpa’s planning on taking me camping. You’ll get to stay here and have a lovely time doing lots of girly things with Mrs Benton,” he sniggered. “You could play tea parties together or bath some ickle-wickle baby dolls…”

Sophie gave an enraged yell and leapt at him.

Anthony scrambled over the bed, grabbing a football card from her bedside table as he did so. “Hey, thanks, I need this one!”

“Give it back!”

But Anthony just darted round the bed, past her and through the door.

Sophie glared after him. She wanted to go to his bedroom and snatch the card back, but she’d be bound to be the one who got into trouble. Anthony was very good at making it seem as if she started any row between them.

There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and then Mrs Benton came in with a tray. On it was a glass of apple juice and a peanut butter sandwich. “I thought you might like a bedtime snack, Sophie-duckie. You didn’t eat much at teatime. You’re not missing your parents, are you?” the housekeeper asked anxiously.

“Thanks, Mrs B. I’m OK,” Sophie replied. The reason she hadn’t eaten much was she had been worrying over Grandpa finding out about his missing key. She wished she could tell Mrs Benton about it, but she knew Mrs B would make her tell Grandpa. Sophie felt sick at the thought.

“Maybe it’s just excitement about your birthday then.” Mrs Benton smiled fondly at her. She had round, pink cheeks, and had been cooking and cleaning for the Smith family since the twins were babies. “I can’t believe you’ll be ten tomorrow, Sophie. You won’t be too big for a cuddle, will you?” She opened her arms.

Sophie grinned and hugged her. “I’ll never be too big for that, Mrs B.”

When the housekeeper had gone, Sophie shut her door and got into bed with the sandwich and a book. When she finally got sleepy, she brushed her teeth, turned off her light and snuggled down under the covers.

For a moment, the missing key popped into her head. She forced the thought away and concentrated instead on her birthday.

I hope I do get a new skateboard, she thought. Her parents knew it was the only thing she really wanted. Shutting her eyes and imagining herself doing loads of awesome skating tricks, she fell fast asleep.

When Sophie woke in the morning, she felt cold and shivery. As she got out of bed, a wave of dizziness swept over her. “Oh, no,” she groaned. She didn’t want to be ill on her birthday!

Putting on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, she went downstairs. When she reached the kitchen, she saw Anthony unwrapping a present. Grandpa was sitting beside him watching, and Mrs Benton was bustling around cooking breakfast.

“Happy birthday, poppet!” Mrs Benton exclaimed, sweeping over.

“Happy birthday, Sophie,” Grandpa greeted her, his blue eyes sharp above his grey moustache and short beard. As usual, he didn’t look very much like a grandfather. He was slim and fit and dressed all in black, apart from the grey fishing waistcoat with lots of pockets he usually wore.

Anthony held up a digital watch for Sophie to see. “Look what Grandpa’s got me! It’s got GPS. That means it can tell you where you are and how to get places. Isn’t it cool?”

Sophie looked enviously at it. She hoped she’d get one too, but she was sure she wouldn’t.

“And this is for you, Sophie,” Grandpa said, handing her a present wrapped in pink ballerina paper. Sophie’s heart sank. From the paper she could tell that Grandpa had given Mrs B some money to buy something for her. It felt like clothes. She sat down with the present, still feeling a bit faint.

Grandpa turned back to Anthony. “So, are you feeling OK this morning, Anthony?”

“Yeah, I feel great,” Anthony replied.

Sophie blinked, shaking her head. She seemed to have stars dancing in front of her eyes.

“You’re quite sure?” she heard Grandpa question Anthony. “You don’t feel shivery, faint or light-headed?”

“No.”

At that moment, a wave of real dizziness hit Sophie. “I-I do!” she burst out. And with that she fainted.

The next thing Sophie knew, she was being picked up in Grandpa’s arms.

“Oh, dear. The poor duckie,” Mrs Benton fussed around them. “She must be coming down with something. Anthony, don’t open the rest of your presents until Sophie’s back downstairs.”

“But that’s not fair!” Anthony protested. “Just ’cos Sophie’s ill, why can’t I open my presents?”

“It’s all right, Mrs B,” Grandpa said quickly. “He can open them. I’ll just take Sophie upstairs and keep an eye on her.”

Despite feeling ill, Sophie was astonished. “It’s OK, Grandpa,” she mumbled. She knew Grandpa would far rather be with Anthony, watching him open his presents. “No, I’m going to look after you,” Grandpa’s voice was firm.

As he carried her up the stairs, he stared at her intently. It was almost as though he was seeing her properly for the first time. “So, it’s you,” he muttered.

“What?” She wondered if she’d heard him right.

Grandpa reached her bedroom and placed her on her bed. “Have you got a tingling in your arms and legs?” he asked.

She nodded.

“And you’re feeling shivery? Dizzy? Seeing stars?”

Sophie stared. How did Grandpa know all that? “Y-yes,” she stammered.

Grandpa frowned and shut the door. “Sophie, I’ve got something very important to tell you.” He sat down beside her. “Do you believe in goblins and boggles and trolls – creatures like that?”

She blinked. “What?”

“Do you believe in goblins, boggles and trolls?” Grandpa’s face was deadly serious. “Imps, sprites, gnomes and hobgoblins?”

Sophie shook her head. “Of course not! Things like that don’t ex—” She’d been about to say exist, but Grandpa cut her off.

“They do exist. They’re real.”

“Real?” She sat up, gaping at him.

“Yes.”

“But they–they can’t be!” Sophie stammered.

“They are,” Grandpa said.

Sophie stared at him, her head still swimming. Maybe I’m dreaming this, she thought dazedly. Grandpa was behaving so oddly. Creatures like goblins couldn’t be real – they were just in books and fairy tales. She hadn’t believed in them since she was about five!

She frowned in confusion. “You’re joking, Grandpa—”

“Do I ever joke, Sophie?” he interrupted.

Sophie slowly shook her head. Grandpa was definitely not the joking type.

“Believe me, child. All those creatures live in a dark, frightening place called the Shadow Realm, which lies within the Shadow Woods. Someone has to protect our world against them. That person is known as the Guardian of the Gateway.” Grandpa took a deep breath. “And Sophie…”

“Yes?” she said faintly.

Grandpa’s blue eyes bored into hers. “From today, that person is you!”

Chapter 3

The Shadow Files

Sophie stared at Grandpa.

Had he really just said that she was supposed to protect the world against goblins and trolls? “This–this isn’t real,” she stammered.

“It is.” Grandpa looked very serious. “I know it feels impossible to believe, Sophie, but in the woods deep behind this house there is a magic gateway that leads into the Shadow Realm. The person who is Guardian must stop that gate from ever being opened – because if it is ever opened, then the shadow creatures will invade our world.”

Sophie swallowed. Grandpa’s face was so earnest that she almost found herself believing him. “What would happen then?”

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