The Swamp Boggles by Linda Chapman

T ake that, you ugly goblin!” Sophie spun round, her blonde ponytail flying, her right leg kicking upwards. She missed the target and huffed out a breath, cross with herself. Then her green eyes gleamed with determination and she ran forward again, thistime spinning closer and lashing out faster. “Hi-ya!” she yelled.
    THUNK! Her foot connected with the large white pillow that her grandfather was holding up.

    â€œBetter, but still not good enough!” he said sharply. “Do it again, child. Harder, faster!”
    Sophie sighed. Since she had become the new Guardian of the Gateway three days ago on her tenth birthday, her grandpa had been insisting that she practise her fighting skills whenever she could. Sophie went to tae kwon do classes three times a week in the town hall, and loved any type of sport. In fact, she really wanted to be a stuntwoman one day, but even she was finding the practising hard going. Grandpa just never seemed pleased with anything she did.
    It didn’t seem quite fair. Sophie knew that if she was fighting a real shadow creature, the Guardian magic would make her extra strong and fast. But, without a shadow creature around, she was just her usual ten-year-old self, fighting her very fit grandfather! Sophie’sgrandpa wasn’t like most of her friend’s grandfathers. He always dressed in black, went swimming and running for miles every day and never let her win a fight if he could help it.
    â€œCan we stop soon?” Sophie asked hopefully. She and Grandpa had been training for over an hour now, and she was getting hungry.
    â€œStop?” Grandpa Bob looked as if she had just asked if she could fly to the moon. “You’re the Guardian, Sophie! You must train. When I was first chosen to be the Guardian, I trained for hours every day. You must prepare, or else you’ll never get the key back from the Ink Cap Goblins.”
    Sophie shifted uncomfortably under his piercing blue gaze. She didn’t need reminding of the mistake she’d made. The day before she’dbecome the Guardian, she’d accidentally let a goblin steal the magic key that unlocked the gateway to the Shadow Realm. Now the goblins were trying to find a shadow gem to fit into its handle, so that the key would work again. Sophie was determined that she’d find all the hidden gems before they did. She’d found one already, so at least she was off to a good start – even if her grandfather didn’t seem to think so!
    â€œAnd again!” Grandpa said, holding up the pillow.
    Squinting her eyes, Sophie imagined that the pillow was Ug, the leader of the Ink Cap Goblins. She pictured his knobbly face, his white flaking skin, his dark scheming eyes… She ran forward, this time spinning and aiming a backwards kick.
    â€œTake that, you stinky… Whoa!” She staggeredas her grandfather grabbed her foot, pulling her off balance and making her fall over.
    â€œOw!” She sat up indignantly. “Grandpa! What did you do that for?”
    â€œIf I could do it, so could a shadow creature.” Grandpa Bob pursed his lips. “You must never show weakness or let them get the upper hand. Always expect the—”
    â€œ Unexpected ,” Sophie finished the sentence for him. He said the same thing every training session! She grinned suddenly. “Does that mean I can expect school to be cancelled for the rest of term, or Anthony to be less annoying? They’d both be cool.”
    Grandpa fixed her with a gimlet stare. “This is no laughing matter, Sophie.” Reaching into the pocket of his waistcoat, he pulled out a black belt with a purse sewn into it. “Now, thisis for you. It’s to keep the gems in when you find them. I think it’s too risky to leave them hidden around the house. The goblins could get in and get to them. If you keep them in this purse belt, then you’ll always know they’re safe.”
    â€œUnless the