The Blue Seal of Trinity Cove Read Free

her hair being blown backwards. The happy and victorious look on the Oracle had disappeared to be replaced with a look so dark and menacing that it sent shivers up Bobby’s spine.
    â€œOh, I think I do actually,” Bobby declared, standing her ground. The tentacle around Bobby’s neck tightened, squeezing the air from her throat. The professor sprang forward to try and detach it from her, but with no luck.
    â€œCome, come, silly red-haired girl,” said the Workhouse Oracle. “You’re going to have the life squeezed out of you before things even get started. Now where would the fun be in that? Come along now and just tell me what I want to know and then we can all get on with our miserable little lives.” The tentacle around Bobby’s neck squeezed even harder so that she felt that every last bit of oxygen was being taken from her; she couldn’t answer even if she wanted to. Feeling as though her face was about to burst, all she could do was make spluttering sounds.
    The tentacle loosened its grip for a second so that she could spurt out a reply to the Oracle: “Even though I can’t imagine what it is you want from me, I stick by what I said before. You can kill me if you want to but you won’t achieve anything that way, will you?” Bobby could only speak in a rasping voice. The Oracle looked as though she would explode with rage. Out from under her skirt, where her tentacles were kept coiled up, came one of the sharp orb-like objects that they had seen before. It whizzed all around the hut and then stopped right in front of Bobby’s face. It span about very fast and Bobby could see that it had a very sharp edge, as sharp as a razor. The tentacle held her in place and the orb touched her skin under her right eye. Had it been left to go ahead and wound her, she would have received a cut reaching from her eye all the way down to her mouth. However, it only nicked her skin so that a tiny trickle of blood ran down to her chin.
    â€œWe’ll tell you anything you want to know, please,” begged the professor. “Just tell me what you want to know and we’ll give you the answer but please, I implore you, take that thing away from her face now and release her. It’s not her that you want but me.”
    â€œAh yes, I thought you’d start to see things my way. Good, very good,” hissed the Oracle, sounding very pleased with herself. “It’s quite simple really. You tell me where you keep the ball and I’ll let her go, and also stop tormenting this old Crone.” She waved a hand over her massive stomach as if indicating that the island Crone had indeed been a tasty treat. Bobby found this so revolting that she flailed her arms about in an attempt to hit the Oracle on the face, her fury getting the better of her, but of course there was no chance of making contact.
    â€œDon’t tell her anything, Professor. Don’t give her what she wants. She means to ruin us all somehow … argghh.” The tentacle tightened even more until Bobby’s face went crimson red and her eyes bulged until they looked as though they would pop right out of their sockets.
    â€œI don’t need you; you stupid fool of a girl. It would give me great pleasure to kill you right here.” Then Bobby’s face went a shade of blue and she felt as though she would pass out. She was still being held up; her arms dangled at her sides, lifelessly. The professor had been standing by helplessly but now launched an attack on the tentacle. He used his fingers to try and pry it loose but the more he jabbed at it the tighter it became. The tentacle was too strong even for him.
    â€œWhat do you want? I’ll give you the crystal ball. You can have it,” the professor pleaded with the Oracle. By now Bobby had fainted. The tentacle uncoiled her and carelessly threw Bobby to the other side of the hut so that she lay like a limp rag doll on the floor. The