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Nothing happened after he pressed the button Arthur’s hand treain The button pressed in easily enough, but the door didn’t open Arthur kicked the door, but it wouldn’t budge As he kicked it again, a red flame ran around the door frame The same rich, deep red of Noon’s fiery sword

‘The back door, my Fetchers! Ar-tor atteh the fire alarm, the siren, and the Fetchers’ barks Arthur immediately knew that Noon had used his powers to seal the door But Arthur had his ownthat had power, even if he didn’t knohat it really was or how to use it

The Key

Arthur touched the door with the point of the minute hand and shouted, ‘Open!’ There was a flash of white light, a sudden heat upon his face, then the twin leaves of the door flung open and a new alarm joined the cacophonous wail Arthur ran out onto the fire stairs and jumped down the first two steps Then he suddenly stopped, whirled, and jumped back He had to close the doors behind him or the Fetchers would catch him for sure But he had wasted a precious second – could he do it in time?

He threw himself at the doors and slaap Arthur was thrown backwards and the doors started to open again, the Fetchers yowling and growling as they tried to grab hi, but he slashed with the Key and the Fetchers let go, screah-pitched screaain andout, ‘Shut! Lock! Close!’

Whether it was the cut or the words, the doors stayed shut, though Arthur could hear the thuds as the Fetchers threw the around Arthur knew that no doors would stop Noon

He’d only made it to the narrow hall between the library and the school refectory when there was an explosion above him He crouched down and looked back as flames jetted out in all directions, and the doors flew over his head, whistling towards the science block quarter of a mile away Noon strolled out onto the fire stairs, black s out in coils above his head, with the Fetchers crouched around his, their black suits in rags and their bowler hats lost so library

Arthur turned to run again But he had only gone a few yards when he heard the whoosh and beat of giant wings above hiht in front of hi sword had appeared in his hand once ht at Arthur’s throat

‘Give me the Key,’ instructed Noon caliven to me’

‘It was a h aat the sun and frowned ‘Hand it over, circle end first I haven’t got all day’

So about the frown and the way he said those last words sparked an idea in Arthur’sabout handing over the Key But he was actually looking at his watch It was one minute short of one o’clock

‘I don’t know,’ mumbled Arthur Desperately he looked around He could hear the Fetchers coh for hi down his face, stinging his eyes But at least he could breathe, though he was pretty certain that would stop as soon as he let go of the Key

‘Give et it!’ shouted Arthur He spun like a discus thrower and hurled the Key across the hall at the nearest door and threw hiht hi a line of intense pain fro, but the boy didn’t hear His lungs had frozen as he let go of the Key, and suddenly he didn’t have any breath at all, perhaps not even enough to last a few steps

He’d expected the Key to bounce off the door for hier straight through the paper-thin gap between the door and the wall So Arthur crashed into the door instead, and once again his expectations were confounded It should have been locked, but instead of bouncing off and back into the path of Noon’s flah it and rolled onto the floor beyond His open hand fell on the Key and his fingers closed on it as tightly as they could With the Key in his grasp he felt blessed breath come back and the burn on his arm fade into a dull ache

‘There is really no point to your ridiculous acrobatics,’ said Noon as he stepped through the doorway ‘Give me the Key and I shall allow you to craay Otherwise I shall cut off your hand and take it’

Arthur looked at his watch The second hand eeping towards the twelve It was almost one o’clock His watch was very accurate, and he had set it only a week or so ago

Slowly, he began to loosen his grip on the Key, as if he were obeying Noon’s instructions As he let go, he felt his lungs tighten again, and the burn on his aran to return

‘Hurry up!’ shouted Noon He raised his sword and the flahter, hotter life

The second hand was on eleven Arthur gulped as he realised that he was about to bet his hand – his life – on a guess A guess that Noon could only be here in Arthur’s world for the single hour between noon and one

‘No!’ shouted Arthur He snatched the Key back and recoiled, shutting his eyes The last thing he saas Noon’s eyes reflecting red and the fla doards his hand

But no pain came Arthur opened his eyes The second hand of his watch was past the twelve, the hour hand and n of Monday’s Noon, and the Fetchers were silent, though slavering, just beyond the door There was a s the floor, an inch froers He stared at it and wondered how Noon could have , and the siren still sounded its steady whoop In the distance, Arthur could hear other sirens growing louder as fire engines converged upon the school

Arthur slowly got up and looked around He was in the back of the refectory, in fact in the staff and delivery entrance for the kitchen There was no one around, though it was clear froredients, still-stea microwave platters that the kitchen staff had only just left, responding to the evacuation alarh the open door They were silent now, standing in ranks Soot their bowler hats back, and their black suits were restored Once again they looked s

One of thee canine teeth Then itnoise It took a h But what reason could this Fetcher have to laugh?