Obsidian Pebble Read Free

pushed it open and, as if on cue, it creaked magnificently. They stepped across the threshold into a large, dark space. Ruff tried the wall switch, but nothing happened. The only light came from thin beams of moonlight slanting through the windows on the eastern wall. Oz flicked on his torch and made his way to the centre of the dorm. He pushed a couple of plugs into extension leads and instantly the lamps he’d arranged lit up the dormitory. What was revealed was a room that spanned the length of the building. Yards of oak paneling lined the walls, upon which hung a variety of old paintings and photos. Long, dusty strings of cobweb wafted in the draughty corners, adding nicely to the room’s eerie air of abandonment.
    â€œTake a look at this,” Ellie called to the other two as she peered at one of the photos. The boys joined her and stared at a faded black and white print of the very room they were standing in, but lined with twenty-two beds just like an old hospital ward. “Must be what the dorm was like.”
    â€œWow,” Ruff said. “Not exactly private, was it?”
    In the centre, near the lamps, Oz had laid out three folding chairs and two foldaway tables, one bearing a flat-screen monitor and his Xbox.
    â€œThere’s a toilet block at the far end,” Oz explained. “The lights do work in there, just in case you were wondering.”
    Ruff stood surveying his surroundings, open-mouthed. “This is absolutely buzzard,” he said, grinning.
    â€œWhat films have you got?” Ellie asked.
    â€œ Fangman and Revenge of Fangman ,” Oz said.
    â€œI brought Toy Story .”
    â€œ Toy Story ?” Oz laughed.
    â€œJust in case we need cheering up,” Ellie explained. “You know how nervy Ruff gets.”
    â€œHang on, I thought you were the one that said that Halloween was a load of cobblers.” Oz grinned.
    â€œYeah, but I suppose if anything could happen on Halloween, it’d happen in a place like this, wouldn’t it?”
    â€œHey, look at the ceiling.” Ruff craned his neck upwards and Ellie followed suit.
    Richly decorated wooden beams ran from east to west, red, green and blue chevrons adorning their sides. Between, on the plaster ceiling itself, detailed paintings of birds and weird-looking buildings and symbols filled the space. The effect was striking and original.
    â€œYeah, downstairs is like that, too,” Oz explained. “It’s the sixteenth-century equivalent of wallpaper, or so my dad told me.”
    â€œIt’s so cool,” Ellie said. “And to think it’s lasted all that time.”
    Oz nodded.
    â€œI wish I had a long-lost uncle who would leave me something in his will. Wouldn’t it be great if it’s your sixteenth birthday and a crusty old lawyer bloke turns up with a crinkly yellow envelope full of stocks and bonds and stuff worth zillions?” Ruff was looking at the ceiling, but his eyes were seeing something else altogether.
    Oz didn’t really know what stocks and bonds were and neither, he suspected, did Ruff. But they sounded really impressive.
    â€œAs if that would ever happen to anyone,” Ellie tutted.
    Ruff threw her a baleful, sulky look. “It sort of happened to Oz, didn’t it? His dad, anyway.”
    â€œYeah, well, getting something like this dropped in your lap isn’t exactly like winning the lottery, you know,” Oz said, not wanting to let Ruff and Ellie argue. “It costs loads to run and takes ages to clean. And even the draughts have draughts.”
    Ellie stared at him. “You’re not thinking of leaving, are you?” she asked, horrified.
    Oz grinned. “Not if I have anything to do with it.” He’d hoped they’d like the place, but to see them both so impressed had made his day. “Come on, let’s get the food up here.”
    With the heaters on, it was quite cozy within their little den. They sprayed