Sophie and the Shadow Woods
The Spider Gnomes
Linda Chapman & Lee Weatherly
Illustrated by Katie Wood
To Georgia Purcell, Lucy Jones and Jessica Jones whose names were almost in it!
Contents
Dedication
The Shadow Woods
Chapter 1 - The New Clue
Chapter 2 - Spider Invasion
Chapter 3 - A Curtain of Cobwebs
Chapter 4 - Escape!
Chapter 5 - Sam Behaving Strangely
Chapter 6 - A Nasty Bug
Chapter 7 - Cobwebs for Supper
Chapter 8 - The Spider Gnomes
Chapter 9 - A Cobwebby Encounter
Chapter 10 - Run For Your Lives!
Chapter 11 - In the Woods…
What’s next in store for Sophie
Copyright
Very few people ever enter the Shadow Woods. The crooked trees press closely together, their branches reaching out like skeletons’ arms. Strange whispers echo through the quiet air, and eyes seem to watch from the shadows. Anyone who does go in soon leaves, their skin prickling with fear. For these woods are like no others. Hidden deep within them is a gateway to the Shadow Realm – a dark and chaotic world where all the mischief-making creatures like goblins, boggles and trolls live.
Many hundreds of years ago, the Shadow Realm creatures could pass freely between our world and theirs, but they caused so much trouble that it was decided the gateway between the two worlds must be shut for good. Yet no one knew how to do this, until a locksmith with magical powers made an iron key and then slotted a gem from the Shadow Realm into its handle. The secret had been found! The locksmith forced as many shadow creatures as he could back into their own world and locked the gateway firmly behind them.
From that day on, the locksmith became the Guardian of the Gateway, watching over the precious key and stopping the few shadow creatures left in this world from causing too much trouble. As he grew old he passed his powers on to his grandson, who in turn passed the powers on to his. For hundreds of years, the Guardianship has passed down from grandparent to grandchild, and the gate has always remained safely shut.
But now for the first time, disaster looms. The shadow creatures have stolen the iron key! Luckily, there was no gem in its handle when it was taken, but there are six gems from the Shadow Realm hidden somewhere in our world. If the shadow creatures find any of them, they’ll be able to slot them into the key and open the gateway, letting hordes of villainous creatures loose to cause mayhem and trouble.
Only one girl stands in their way… and her name is Sophie Smith.
I’m a Swamp Boggle and I’m coming to get you!”
Sophie peered cautiously round the tree trunk as the voice grew closer. There he was! She jerked back again, hoping he hadn’t seen her. Wait, she told herself. Let him get nearer…
She counted to ten. Her fingers tightened on the trigger. Now!
Darting out from behind the tree, she lifted her bright orange mega-soaker and fired a jet of water straight at Sam, her best friend. “Got you, you stinky Swamp Boggle!” she yelled.
Sam counter attacked, shooting water back at her. Sophie dodged away, diving to the ground and rolling over before leaping to her feet again.
“Hi-YA!” Dropping her mega-soaker, she jumped into the air, kicking out with her right foot in a tae kwon do move. She timed it closely because she didn’t want to hurt Sam really. He staggered backwards in surprise as her foot missed him by just a few centimetres.
“Whoa!” He tripped and landed on the grass.
“Ha!” said Sophie, dusting her hands down.
“Don’t mess with me, Swamp Boggle!”
She didn’t get to gloat for long. Sam pulled the trigger on his mega-soaker, drenching her legs with water. “Gotcha!”
Sophie squealed. Leaping up again, Sam chased her round his garden until their water pistols finally ran out and they both flopped on to the patio. Sophie’s blonde ponytail was dripping and Sam’s red hair was flattened against his head.
“I’m wet through!” Sam panted.
“Me too, but it was fun!” Sophie’s green eyes shone. “Isn’t it nice just to do something normal for a change.”
Sam grinned. “You mean fighting Ink Cap Goblins and Swamp Boggles isn’t normal?”
“I suppose it is normal for us now,” said Sophie. A week ago, on her tenth birthday, she’d discovered that she was the Guardian of a magical gateway hidden deep in the woods behind her house. Her grandfather, the previous Guardian, had explained she had to stop the shadow creatures from ever opening it. Sam was the only person apart from her grandpa who knew the secret. Sophie was very glad he was helping her.
Sam stretched his legs out. “What do you think Ug will do next to try to find the gems?” Ug, the King of the Ink Cap Goblins, had stolen the key to the gateway and was trying to find one of the six hidden shadow gems. The key wouldn’t work without one of them.
“Whatever it is, I bet it’s something horrible,” answered Sophie. She touched the pouch under her jeans, where she carried the two gems she and Sam had found so far. There were still four others hidden around the town of Upper Gately, where they lived – and they had to find them before Ug did! But who knew what plan he’d come up with next? After she and Sam had defeated him, he’d sent the scary Swamp Boggles to try to find one of the gems.
Sophie shivered, remembering how they had just barely got away from the slimy creatures. She hoped they wouldn’t have to deal with any more shadow creatures… but she had a feeling that they would!
She reached for the leather notebook that was lying on the patio behind her. The Shadow Files was written in fading gold letters on the front. It contained notes made by the past Guardians on all the different shadow creatures they’d encountered.
“If Ug sends another creature after the gems, it could be any of these,” she said, flicking through its pages. Slime Imps, Fire Goblins, Wolf Trolls – each looked worse than the last! “Let’s read the clue for the red