The Bother with the Bonkillyknock Beast E-Book

Karen Foxlee

• Herausgeber: Pushkin Children's Books
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 197

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

There are those who hunt monsters to harm them and there are those who hunt monsters to help them. Which one are you? Mary-Kate and her granny are going to stay at a very quiet castle near a very quiet loch in the Scottish village of Bonkillyknock. The perfect destination for reading beside fireplaces and drinking cups of tea with Granny's friends. However, this is no ordinary holiday - it's the 93rd World Society of Monster Hunters' Conference! So, when an ear-shattering howl interrupts the convention, Mary-Kate isn't too anxious. After all, the experts are on hand to investigate. But when the castle kitchen is destroyed and everyone suspects the usually peaceful Loch Morgavie monster, Mary-Kate isn't sure the clues add up. Could there be some other beastly problem bothering Bonkillyknock Castle? It's up to Mary-Kate to find out... PRAISE FOR THE MISS MARY-KATE MARTIN'S GUIDE TO MONSTERS SERIES: 'The storyline is witty, fast-paced and thrilling and the brilliant black and white illustrations dotted throughout the book make this an even more engaging and thoroughly absorbing read. Five stars from us!' Mini Travellers 'Full of humour, fantasy and magical realism... the ideal story for early readers' Better Reading 'So much fun and very addictive' Kid's Book Review

Leseprobe

i

iii

For April Maria Foxlee. KF

For Harriet, Maggie B and Hamish. FC

Contents

Title PageDedicationMap of Bonkillyknock CastleThe Bother with the Bonkillyknock BeastAcknowledgementsDiscover More Monstrous Adventures From Karen FoxleeCopyright

iv

v

vi

1

The Bother with the Bonkillyknock Beast

I was midnight when the monster finally returned.

The moon hung high above the castle and painted a glittering trail of light across the loch.

Its harsh panting breaths were loud in the silence. It stank of mud and mildew and its matted mouldy fur shone a faint luminescent green. Its wet nose sniffed the air slowly, deliberately, carefully.

This was the place.

This was the place it belonged.

Its eyes glowed amber in the night.

Drool oozed from its filthy muzzle.

It bared its rotten teeth, raised its dripping head and howled.

2

A monster hunter should carefully choose the items that are packed for an expedition. Personal belongings should never weigh a monster hunter down.

Sir Reginald WavellTheBestAdviceforaBeginnerpamphlet, W.S.M.H. XCIII Conference Material

3

Mary-Kate placed the black tam-o’-shanter on her head and tried to smile. It was a good hat and it perfectly matched her black skirt with its shiny brass buttons. She couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed though that the pompom wasn’t red and sequinned. That would have matched her sparkly red shoes and her sparkly red backpack. She would have been so matching that nothing at all terrible could possibly happen.

Not that anything terrible was going to happen.

It couldn’t.

It wasn’t going to be like the last two trips she’d taken with her mother, Professor Martin. She’d met a fire-breathing wyrm and a two-headed sea monster on those occasions. This trip was with her granny, who liked reading romance novels and watching the shopping channel while eating spicy takeaway. Granny 4went on bus tours with her four-wheel zebra print suitcase and took terribly blurry photos of landmarks that she explained at length to Mary-Kate. Not once had she recounted anything mysterious or dangerous.

Still, Mary-Kate thought she couldn’t be toocareful. She stood before her lucky items collection and decided on a lucky spool of green tartan ribbon. It was still neatly wrapped in cellophane. The tartan seemed fitting; they were going to Scotland, after all. She paused to see if the destination made her feel anxious. Scotland was far, far away, a long way on the train, over great rivers and probably across towering mountain passes. There could be floods or avalanches, for instance. Mary-Kate was pleased to find there was only a small tremor of worry. She placed the tartan ribbon into her backpack.

It’sGranny, she reminded herself. And Granny had said they were staying at a very quiet castle. The quiet castle was near a very quiet loch. It was a perfect destination for reading beside fireplaces or going for long walks in galoshes. And also there was a last-minute special reunion happening there with some of 5Granny’s old friends. That was bound to be boring.

Still, Mary-Kate took the lucky silver packet of chewing gum that contained the last five pieces of gum her father left behind before he disappeared on Mount Shishapangma when she was five. She put it in her skirt pocket. Then she placed her international coin collection that held thirty-two coins, and her lucky stress ball that was a miniature world globe, into her backpack. This was followed by a tiny glass bottle with a cork stopper containing, Mary-Kate was sure, lucky air and then her lucky ziggurat-shaped pencil sharpener. She added her brand-new strawberry-scented notebook, her glitter pens and her mobile phone.

Finally, she picked up her prized lucky possession: a bronze star-shaped medal on a short, striped ribbon. The colours were blue, green and magenta. Three words were engraved on the front. Her mother had told her they meant courage, knowledge and kindness. On the back there were four letters: W.S.M.H.

Mary-Kate knew what these letters meant, too. 6WorldSocietyofMonsterHunters. The good kind. She was one of them. She shivered as she put the medal in her pocket and her heart fluttered. Surely there couldn’t be monsters on a trip with Granny?

Prof was examining relics in the deepest Congo rainforest. Prof was what Mary-Kate called her mother. It wasn’t likely she’d be able to make phone contact for days, so Granny checked on Mary-Kate’s packing. She never told Mary-Kate to pack anything sensible.

‘Are you nearly ready, Mary-Kate?’ Granny said at the bedroom door, her ancient cat Mr Tom in her arms. Granny had purple-tinged hair and always wore pink lipstick. She was wearing bright green trousers and a large purple and white plaid coat. A yellow felt hat was perched jauntily on her head. Not one part of Granny’s outfit matched. Mary-Kate quickly grabbed her lucky electric candle from the shelf to make herself feel better.

‘I do like your hat. Imagine if the pompom was sequinned? Then it would match perfectly,’ said Granny.

‘That’s exactly what I thought,’ said Mary-Kate.

‘Well, luckily, I ordered the right thing on the 7shopping channel then,’ beamed Granny, putting down Mr Tom and reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a tam-o’-shanter with a sequinned pompom in Mary-Kate’s favourite colour: red.

8‘Granny!’ cried Mary-Kate, rushing to embrace her. Mr Tom meowed his approval.

‘Quick-sticks with your packing,’ smiled Granny. ‘Mr Tom’s pet sitter will be here any minute.’

Mary-Kate replaced the hat on her head and observed her reflection in the mirror. Perfect. She was almost one hundred per cent certain that this would be a most uneventful, monster-free trip to Scotland.

Being almostone hundred per cent certain made Mary-Kate worry. She wished she knew the exact figure. Was it ninety-eight point five per cent certain that nothing outrageously dangerous involving monsters would happen, or ninety-five per cent? Or 9even seventy-five per cent? There was a big difference.

The not knowing made her feel fidgety on the train. She unzipped her backpack and touched her blank strawberry-scented notebook and her new glitter pens in their unopened case. That made her feel better. Unused notebooks and glitter pens pristine in their packaging comforted Mary-Kate in the same way that an even number of shiny brass buttons did, or plain cheese sandwiches cut into perfect triangles, or thirty-minute infomercials on first-aid kits.

‘So, this castle is very quiet?’ she asked Granny, who was crunching on spicy chilli crisps and watching the green fields whizz by.

‘Bonkillyknock Castle is very remote,’ said Granny, ‘far from anywhere. A fabulous old place. I’ve brought a book on castles for you to look at if you like; there might be something interesting in it. Bonkillyknock Castle was once home to many rare and wonderful plants, too, including fairy tresses. Utterly delightful, although very hard to find now, I believe. Oh, and I’m told the castle is very close to Loch Morgavie 10where the secretive Loch Morgavie Monster lives.’

A monster!

Mary-Kate’s mouth opened. No useful words emerged.

Granny took a particularly large crisp and crunched on it with a smile. ‘There’s something I have to tell you, Mary-Kate,’ she said.

Mary-Kate had a familiar sinking feeling in her belly. A change was about to happen. A very large and sudden change. She could sense it.

Many things made Mary-Kate feel anxious:

* Brown colouring-in pencils

* Beginnings and endings

* Facing backwards on trains

* Saying the wrong thing during small talk

* And sudden changes.

Definitely sudden changes.

She took a deep belly breath and placed a hand over her skirt pocket, feeling the comforting weight of the medal and lucky chewing gum.

‘What is it, Granny?’ Mary-Kate tried to say as calmly as possible.11

Her grandmother leaned forwards and lowered her voice. ‘Remember your last adventure?’ she whispered. ‘And how you found out the meaning of the words on your medal?’

‘WorldSocietyofMonsterHunters?’ whispered Mary-Kate.

‘Indeed. And how you learned you are a monster hunter? The good type, of course.’

‘Yes,’ said Mary-Kate, breathlessly. ‘And Prof is one and so was Father … Granny, are you saying …’

Granny grinned. She leaned back and placed another crisp in her mouth and crunched, nodding. ‘I’ve been a monster hunter since I was your age. You have much to learn, Mary-Kate, and that’s why we are going to Bonkillyknock Castle.’

‘To help the Loch Morgavie M-Monster?’ stammered Mary-Kate.

‘Oh, no, dear. The monster needs no help. We’ll be lucky if we even catch a glimpse of it,’ said Granny. Mary-Kate’s shoulders relaxed. She let out a whoosh of air. She hadn’t known she’d been holding her breath. 12

‘No, no. It’s the World Society of Monster Hunters’ Conference, the ninety-third to be exact,’ said Granny, cheerfully. ‘There’s been a last-minute change of venue and now it’s at Bonkillyknock Castle, which is most exciting. Also, I happen to know there will be a few other novice monster hunters for you to meet.’

Mary-Kate tensed. A conference? She’d never been to a conference. Also, Granny had said one of her least favourite words: meet. Meetmeant smalltalk. And small talk was one of Mary-Kate’s least favourite things.

London to Bonkillyknock Castle was an endless blur of fields and fleeting towns and winding rivers and rolling hills. There were three train changes but Mary-Kate didn’t open her notebook or her glitter pens. She didn’t write down the words LochMorgavieMonster, even though her fingers itched to do so. She extracted her stress ball from her backpack and squeezed it slowly. She tried to imagine her granny as a monster hunter because, if she were to tell the truth, that was what was mostly on her mind.13

Her granny. A monster hunter?

Mary-Kate pretended to read the book on Celtic castles that Granny had given to her. Its pages were filled with definitions of words like baileyand barbicanor battlementsand buttressesand she read them listlessly. She glanced at Granny as she stood up and performed some tai chi moves to stretch her back. It seemed utterly impossible. She just couldn’t imagine it. Not Granny, who loved nothing more than putting on her fluffy green dressing gown and reading one of her romance novels.

La-la-la, she said to herself so she’d stop thinking about her granny being a monster hunter.

‘It’s getting misty now,’ said Granny, nodding at the window. Outside, the scenery had changed yet again. The sun was setting and fog was winding its tendrils across the highlands. Strangely shaped mountains rose through the clouds in the distance. Mystical, misty, mythical.

A place where there could definitely be monsters.

14

A destination is always more than a place.

ProfessorLaviniaLightfootTheBestAdviceforaBeginnerpamphlet, W.S.M.H. XCIII Conference Material

15

When Mary-Kate awoke it was night. The train had stopped and the seats were empty. Outside was a tiny train station. A lone flickering light illuminated the words LochMorgavieStation.

‘Quickly now,’ said Granny, ‘put your coat on. It’ll be cold out. Lady MacMerry is collecting us. She’s the last remaining MacMerry, you know. Her family have owned the castle for centuries and we shouldn’t keep Scottish nobility waiting.’

Mary-Kate was glad she had the stress ball in her hand. She squeezed it twice for the two rather large worries she had. One: the words LochMorgavieStationmade her worry that Loch Morgavie was nearby and if that meant the Loch Morgavie Monster was close, too. And two: would she have to curtsy to Lady MacMerry? She wasn’t sure how.16

Granny, sensing her worries, gave her a gentle hug before she passed Mary-Kate her suitcase from the overhead locker and adjusted the tam-o’-shanter over her ears. They made their way down the aisle and onto the platform, which was eerily deserted.

‘Are you sure Lady MacMerry is here?’ Mary-Kate whispered.

The place was spooky. She couldn’t see beyond the station. There were no house lights, no streetlights, no traffic lights. She definitely couldn’t see the loch, which could be right beside them for all she knew.

‘They need more lights,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t think she’s here, Granny.’

‘Oh, she won’t be far away,’ said Granny, cheerfully. ‘In fact, I think I spot her.’

At the end of the deserted platform a tall, willowy figure stepped from the gloom, a clump of growling shadows at her feet. Mary-Kate let out a small, involuntary shriek.

‘Hello!’ shouted Granny. ‘Are you Lady MacMerry? Very pleased to meet you.’17

‘Indeed,’ said Lady MacMerry, rather sternly Mary-Kate thought. ‘Stop your growling,’ she said to the dark hounds, several of them, that twisted and turned around her long, flowing skirt. They were huge dogs, ferocious-looking. It wasn’t that Mary-Kate didn’t like dogs, only that she preferred them small and fluffy, with names like Taffy or Popcorn. These dogs would have names like Fang or Thunder, she was sure.

18‘No sudden movements,’ demanded Lady MacMerry, fixing Mary-Kate with a steely stare. ‘And don’t be afraid of them. They’ll sense it and—’

‘Well, isn’t it lovely to be here,’ interjected Granny. ‘I’ve wanted to visit for such a long time!’

Mary-Kate noticed several things about Lady MacMerry. Firstly, she wore a long, dark skirt and a deep green cloak buttoned with a large clasp. Secondly, she held an unlit lantern. Mary-Kate wished the lantern was lit because the shadows were making her feel worried. Thirdly, there was nothing merry about Lady MacMerry. She had a solemn face, with grey eyes that looked both sad and angry at the same time.

Lady MacMerry turned away from them and disappeared down the small set of stairs at the end of the platform, her hounds following like a dark cloud at her feet. To Mary-Kate’s surprise, none of this seemed to dint Granny’s enthusiasm. She kept talking at Lady MacMerry’s back as they carried their suitcases down the stairs after her.

‘What a beautiful night, Lady MacMerry! I hope 19all the other guests have arrived safely?’

Lady MacMerry said nothing.

‘And this is my granddaughter, Mary-Kate,’ continued Granny.

Lady MacMerry did not even glance at Mary-Kate.

They rounded the side of the small station and stepped into a car park. There were no cars and, to add to Mary-Kate’s surprise, a carriage and enormous dark horse waited instead. Lady MacMerry’s lantern blazed suddenly as if by magic. She opened the carriage door and the hounds jumped in, all three of them. Granny followed, smiling widely.

‘Well, this is fun,’ Granny said, excitedly. ‘Hurry up, Mary-Kate. Hop in.’

Lady MacMerry took Mary-Kate’s suitcase.

Mary-Kate reluctantly climbed into the carriage behind her granny. The hounds sat on the old velvet seat opposite them, snarling quietly. Their very pointy sharp teeth were clearly visible now that Lady MacMerry’s lantern was lit.

The carriage took off. Mary-Kate was thrown back 20against the seat while Granny chuckled with laughter, as though all this, the carriage and the hounds, was perfectly normal. The carriage rattled and wobbled so loudly and violently that Mary-Kate thought at any moment it would fall apart. She gasped as the road dipped and the carriage careened across small streams before hurtling out the other side.

‘Granny,’ she cried. ‘Should we be going so fast?’

‘I’m sure Lady MacMerry knows the roads, dear,’ said Granny, confidently, as the night swept past the carriage window, which was growing foggier and foggier with the breath of the hounds. Mary-Kate glimpsed a full moon riding high above, peeking through the clouds.

‘And from what I’m told it’s only a short trip from the station. Ah … look, Mary-Kate.’

The carriage took the bend and there, lights blazing, it sat. Bonkillyknock Castle.

21Mary-Kate gasped at the sight of the great stone buildings. It really wasa castle. A great big castle! Wisps of mist threaded through the four towers that stood at each corner of the huge building. She noticed one of the furthest towers was crumbling, but she refused to let that lessen her wonder. There were an impossible number of windows and the golden light spilling from them was reflected in an expanse of water nearby.

A real castle! And she was staying in it!

The carriage came to a halt. Lady MacMerry opened their door and the hounds bounded to her feet. As Mary-Kate clambered down, she noticed that the clasp on the stern lady’s cloak looked like a coiled black snake, studded all over with glittering stones.

‘Welcome to Bonkillyknock Castle and Conference Centre,’ said Lady MacMerry, unsmiling, as she plonked their bags unceremoniously beside them. ‘Ancestral home of the MacMerry Family and the Loch Morgavie Monster.’

She pointed to a huge iron-studded wooden door and the coat of arms above it. One side featured 22the same creature as Lady MacMerry’s clasp, a monstrous black writhing serpent. On the other side a black hound was depicted.

The wooden door creaked open and a tiny elegant woman emerged. She wore dark colours and had a yellow glittery scarf draped fashionably. This was accessorised by a yellow handbag on her shoulder. Mary-Kate was pleased to see that she was perfectly, wonderfully, matching and she was smiling. She walked briskly towards them with the aid of a polished cane.

‘Pearl! How wonderful,’ the woman said, embracing Granny fondly. She had glasses perched on her nose and a silvery locket on a chain sparkled at her throat. ‘What a pity that Professor Martin couldn’t make it.’ She didn’t embrace Mary-Kate, but rather held out her hand. ‘And this must be Mary-Kate. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Professor Lavinia Lightfoot. Pleased to meet you. Welcome to the ninety-third annual World Society of Monster Hunters’ Conference.’

‘P-pleased to meet you,’ stammered Mary-Kate.

‘Come along, everyone has waited up. You are 23the last to arrive as usual, Pearl,’ said Professor Lightfoot, laughing.

Mary-Kate gazed up, trying to take in as much of the castle as she could. Light poured from the windows above, and it was as if the place was aglow, as though it wasmagical. Mary-Kate felt nervous but dizzy with excitement too. She turned to thank Mrs MacMerry but she was gone, her hounds as well. She seemed to have slipped away into the shadows again.

They entered a room sparkling with light. A fire roared in the hearth. There were many people. Some seated in armchairs, others standing, all of them holding raised glasses.

‘Welcome!’ they cheered.

Granny made a loud noise. A type of yodel, Mary-Kate thought, high-pitchedandwarbling. She’d never heard her granny make such a noise before, and her cheeks burned with embarrassment. The gathered crowd seemed ecstatic to hear the noise though and they cheered even louder. Mary-Kate wished she could vanish into the richly carpeted floor. 24

‘Welcome, Mary-Kate!’ the assembly shouted next, which made it even worse. Every eye in that dazzling room was on her. Mary-Kate wished she could slink away into a shadow like Lady MacMerry. She summoned all her courage to wave her hand and smile as best she could. This seemed to make everyone cheer even more.

Professor Lightfoot guided them to a sofa beneath a large, green satin banner. The W.S.M.H. initials were embroidered in gold thread and gold tassels hung at each corner. Mary-Kate stared at the banner, awestruck at first and then proud. She patted her medal and the chewing gum in her pocket. She belonged to the World Society of Monster Hunters, the good type, and now she was here at a conference in a castle and she wondered if she should pinch herself to see if it was really true.

Shiny name tags were pinned onto everyone’s coats. The crowd gathered, faces bright under the chandelier light, and soon Mary-Kate noticed a queue had begun to form. A queue to talk to Granny! Many of 25those waiting were holding books. And Granny was signing them! Mary-Kate tried to peer at the title of the book. It appeared Granny was famous!

‘Drink, Mary-Kate,’ said Professor Lightfoot, kindly, sitting beside her and placing a mug in her hands. She opened her yellow handbag, which was perched on her knees, and offered a digestive biscuit. ‘The delegates are always keen to meet your grandmother. Her reference books are very important.’

Referencebooks, thought Mary-Kate, head still spinning. She took a sip from the mug and it tasted like honey. It warmed her mouth and then her stomach until she felt as though she was glowing 26inside. Mary-Kate relaxed back into the sofa, her eyes growing heavy.

She was glad. No one seemed interested in her and she didn’t have to make small talk. She glanced around the room. The walls were covered in standards and banners, and everywhere Mary-Kate saw that the image of the black serpent-like creature was repeated. TheLochMorgavieMonster.

She noticed a girl sitting beside the fireplace with a book in her hand. A girl, just like her! She had a tangle of black curls, and her dark eyes shone by the flickering light of the flames. She was running her finger along a line of words, her mouth moving.

Granny patted her gently on the shoulder.

‘I think it’s high time you were in bed, Mary-Kate,’ she said. ‘I’m sure Professor Lightfoot will show us to our rooms now.’

‘Of course,’ said Professor Lightfoot, ushering them briskly towards a stone staircase, right past the girl, who was still reading intently. Mary-Kate wished she’d look up.27

‘There are over a hundred rooms in Bonkillyknock Castle,’ said Professor Lightfoot as they began to climb the steps. ‘You are staying in the Fairy Tress Suite, Mary-Kate, which is in the south-east tower.’

They trudged upwards, moving between shadows and the light cast by lanterns fixed to the walls. They reached a landing where the walls were covered in gloomy portraits, people in tartan cloaks, staring down, unsmiling. Many of them had the same long face and sorrowful eyes of Lady MacMerry.

Mary-Kate stopped still in front of one painting. It was a portrait of a young boy and girl holding hands. They were dressed in the MacMerry tartan and a black dog rested at their feet. The boy looked older, Mary-Kate thought, by a year or two. The girl had wispy pale hair and pink cheeks. They both gazed out from that painting so sadly that Mary-Kate shivered.

‘Keep up, Mary-Kate, we don’t want to you to get lost,’ Professor Lightfoot said, her stick tapping loudly on the stone floor. She and Granny had already started on the next staircase. Mary-Kate took 28one last glance at the painting and raced after them.

‘You will find a map in your suite so that you can make your way to the breakfast room in the morning. And never fear, your granny is staying right beside you,’ Professor Lightfoot continued, laughing. ‘She’s in the Wild Bramble Suite, which I think is entirely fitting.’

They took another set of steps, corkscrewing upwards for so long that Mary-Kate’s legs began to ache. They passed several suits of armour standing silently in a way that made Mary-Kate’s skin prickle. Finally, Professor Lightfoot opened the door to a room.

‘The Fairy Tress Suite,’ she said, motioning Mary-Kate inside. ‘You’ll find everything you need, Mary-Kate. I hope you both have a very good night’s sleep.’

‘Remember, I’m right next door,’ said Granny, kissing her on the forehead. ‘Or would you rather I settled you in?’

‘I’m fine,’ said Mary-Kate, trying to sound brave.

Inside, with the door closed, she took a deep breath.

‘The Fairy Tress Suite,’ she whispered. It was the second time that day she’d heard that name. What 29