The Golden Acorn (9 page)

Jack was still worried about Peabody going through his belongings.

‘I think he was looking for the acorn. He said he wanted gold.’

‘All Bogies want gold,’ laughed Nora. ‘He probably thought you were an easy target; he got more than he bargained for.’

‘But how did he know I had any gold?’

‘He probably didn’t, but I don’t think he’ll be bothering you again in a hurry.’

Jack hoped Nora was right.

‘Thanks for the invitation.’

‘Are you going to accept?’ Nora asked.

Jack nodded.

‘How did you get on with the list of questions I gave you?’

‘All done.’

‘That’s good because I’ve got some words for you to learn for the ritual.’

Jack took the paper and read the words aloud…

A feather from a raven’s wing,

This is the token I do bring.

As sunrise lights the darkened sky,

Transform me so that I can fly.

‘You’ll need to be word perfect,’ said Nora.

‘I will be,’ Jack assured her.

‘These sandwiches are for Camelin,’ explained Elan.

‘All of them?’ exclaimed Jack.

‘He’s very partial to cheese and Nora needs one of his wing feathers for the ritual. We’re going to try to persuade him to make the right decision.’

There was a familiar
caw
as Camelin swooped into the kitchen.

‘They smell good.’

‘They do,’ said Nora without looking up. ‘They’re for Jack.’

‘All of them?’ exclaimed Camelin.

‘He missed his breakfast,’ Nora replied.

Camelin gulped and looked longingly at the pile of sandwiches.

‘So did I, and I haven’t had any lunch either.’

Nora looked at Camelin and Jack.

‘You both realise how important this ritual is don’t you? We only have the one chance to get everything right.’

They both nodded.

‘I can’t wait to see Jack as a raven,’ chuckled Camelin without taking his eyes off the plate.

‘We’re going to need one of your feathers.’

‘A feather!’ he squawked. ‘Don’t you know how precious feathers are? I’d be naked without any feathers!’

‘We only need one,’ said Nora persuasively.

‘I don’t want to pluck out any of my feathers. It hurts and I’d feel very faint. I’d need a great deal of food to help me feel better.’

‘Maybe you could have one of Jack’s sandwiches.’

‘I’d need more than one.’

‘It would need to be a wing feather so he’ll be able to fly.’

‘A wing feather! I’d need a whole plate of sandwiches to help me recover from losing one of those!’

‘I’m sure Jack wouldn’t mind.’

Jack was trying not to laugh.

‘That’s fine,’ he managed to say in a very wobbly voice.

Camelin didn’t waste any more time in negotiations.

‘Ouch!’ he yelled as he plucked out one of his wing feathers then staggered dramatically around the table. ‘Oh! I feel so dizzy!’

Nora put the whole plate of cheese sandwiches next to him and took the feather. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I hope the sandwiches help.’

‘They will!’

Nora held the wing feather up and examined it.

‘Perfect. This will do nicely,’ she said to herself before turning to Jack and Elan. ‘We’ll leave Camelin to recover and go down to the library.’

She set off clutching the feather; they followed her down the long passage. As she opened one of the doors Jack gasped. He’d never seen a room like this before. It was full of bookshelves, each one filled with hand-made books.

‘Nora made all of these,’ whispered Elan.

Jack was speechless. He watched Nora open one of the volumes and put the feather safely inside.

‘That’s the book Nora needs for the ritual.’

‘What happened to the cauldron plates? How did they get lost?’ asked Jack.

Elan looked at Nora. Jack felt he’d said something wrong.

‘Am I allowed to know?’

‘You are, but I would rather Camelin told you. It’s his story and he’s taken responsibility for the loss but it really wasn’t his fault,’ explained Nora.

‘He blames himself for all of our problems,’ continued Elan.

‘But why, if it wasn’t his fault?’

‘Camelin will have to answer that question,’ replied Nora. ‘Once he trusts you he’ll tell you. Now, how about a bit of wand practice?’

Jack nodded. It was certainly something he needed.

‘I’ve put a bucket of sand in the garden, just to be on the safe side,’ laughed Nora.

They went through the kitchen. Camelin was nowhere to be seen. Neither were any of the cheese sandwiches.

‘He’ll be sleeping that lot off,’ said Elan. ‘He’ll not be down again until supper time.’

‘He knows you’re going to be using your wand this afternoon so he definitely won’t come down,’ chuckled Nora.

Jack saw the bucket by the bird-table once they were in the garden.

‘Watch,’ said Nora as she took her wand.

The gnarled wood became smooth. Even in the sunlight Jack could see the tip glowing.

‘When you take aim try and concentrate. Gather the sparks into a ball then send it towards the bucket… like this.’

There was a blue flash from the end of Nora’s wand. A small ball of light sped towards the bucket; as it landed in the sand it went out. Nora turned to Jack and smiled encouragingly.

‘Now you try.’

Sparks flew again around the tip of Jack’s wand but they weren’t as erratic as they had been. He stared at the crackling explosions and brought them together at the tip.

‘That’s really good. Try to project it,’ urged Elan.

There was a splutter of laughter from above. Jack knew Camelin was watching from the loft. He was determined to show him he could control the wand. He took a deep breath, aimed and fired. The ball of light sped towards the bucket. A great flash and a loud crack told Jack he’d missed his target. The bird-table rocked, then creaked before it broke in two.

‘A natural,’ croaked Camelin sarcastically.

‘I’m really sorry.’

‘It’s not a problem. I’ll mend it when you’ve finished. Camelin will be pleased; he hates the other birds feeding in the garden. Why don’t you stay and practice for a while.’

Jack’s next few attempts weren’t any better than his first. The hardest part was concentrating the sparks into just one ball of light. One spark nearly singed his hair as it escaped from the ball he was trying to make. Another shot high into the air and narrowly missed a starling’s tail. The ball of light travelled so fast the poor bird had to flap his wings frantically to escape. Jack could hear Camelin chuckling from the loft.

After half an hour Jack was able to fire a ball of sparks into the bucket… most of the time. He went back to the kitchen to say goodbye to Nora and Elan.

‘I don’t think I’ve done any more damage. I’m really sorry about the bird table.’

Nora raised her wand and pointed it in the direction of the garden. Green sparks flew out of the patio door.

‘There, that’s sorted the bird table out. We’ll see you on Friday. Learn your words and remember, you need to be perfect for the ritual.’

‘I will. I promise,’ said Jack as he waved goodbye.

Jack looked towards Camelin’s loft. He couldn’t see him but he could still hear him laughing. Learning the words wouldn’t be a problem; wanting to be a raven was. By Saturday morning if he didn’t want to transform with all his heart it wasn’t going to happen.

That night Jack lay awake worrying.

CAMELIN’S TALE

‘I’ve been waiting hours for you,’ Camelin grumbled after Jack let him into the bedroom. ‘I couldn’t get in because the window was shut.’

‘I was told to keep it closed.’

‘Where’ve you been?’

‘Shopping with Grandad; I’ve got school next week and I needed some things.’

‘I came for my lesson but I’m too hungry to think now.’

Jack laughed. He’d anticipated Camelin might need a snack the next time he appeared. He went over to the wardrobe and brought out an old biscuit tin Grandad said he could have and a bag from his rucksack. Camelin’s eyes grew wide as Jack shook the bag over the tin. A packet of biscuits, individually wrapped chocolate cakes and an assortment of chocolate bars tumbled out.

‘Help yourself.’

Jack hoped Camelin wasn’t going to be too greedy.

‘They’ve got to last. I don’t know when I’ll be able to get any more.’

‘Mmmm, they do smell good.’

Camelin stuck his beak into the tin and rummaged around. As his feathers spread out and parted Jack noticed a scar on the back of his head.

‘Help me read this one first before I eat it,’ Camelin mumbled when he eventually surfaced with one of the cakes firmly clasped in his beak.

Jack unwrapped the cake and read the writing on the label.

‘Knowing what’s inside is half the fun,’ Camelin explained. ‘That’s another reason why I’d like to learn to read.’

For the next half hour they made good progress with his letters.

‘Is that a scar on your head?’ Jack asked when they’d finished.

‘Yes, it is.’

‘I’ve got one above my eyebrow. Look!’ Jack said as he bent his head so Camelin could see the thin red line on his forehead. ‘Got it playing football last year at school. How did you get yours?’

For a while Camelin was silent and Jack wondered if he’d asked the wrong question. He was about to apologise when Camelin gave a great sigh.

‘I suppose you’re going to have to know sooner or later. You can’t go back into the past with me until you know everything, so I might as well tell you now.’

Jack was intrigued. Camelin paced up and down the window ledge a few times before he spoke again.

‘I got the scar from a Roman soldier.’

‘A Roman… but there haven’t been any Roman soldiers here for hundreds of years!’

‘That’s true, but it
was
a Roman soldier who hit me. It was in ad 61 to be precise. The Emperor wanted to be rid of the Druids. There was a fort nearby and the soldier there were ordered to burn the Sacred Groves, kill the Druids and anyone connected to them.’

‘But….’ Jack spluttered.

‘I’d been sent on an important errand by Nora when a soldier caught me.’

‘Nora!’ interrupted Jack. ‘How can you both be
that old
and why didn’t you fly away?’

‘If you keep interrupting I’m never going to finish. Nora and I
are
both
that old
and I couldn’t fly away because I wasn’t a raven; I was a boy.’

Jack was stunned. He’d not considered the possibility that Camelin could ever have been anything other than a raven. He knew Nora was old but according to Camelin they’d both been alive for hundreds of years. How could that be? Why was Camelin still a raven if Nora could perform the transformation ritual? This revelation had thrown up more questions than answers. As Jack tried to make sense of what he’d just been told, Camelin continued with his story.

‘I’d been sent to collect the last three cauldron plates, one from each of the sacred wells in Glasruhen Forest. There were thirteen plates altogether; Nora had the other ten. Lots of people, nymphs and dryads were waiting at the portal on the hillside for me to return. Once she had all the plates Nora was going to lace them together and make a large cauldron. It was a very special cauldron; too powerful to be kept in one piece unless it was being used by the Druids for their rituals. This cauldron, with the Druid’s golden acorn, could open the portal between Earth and Annwn.’

Some of this was starting to make sense to Jack.

‘So what happened to the cauldron plates after you got hit on the head?’

‘I don’t know. The soldiers left me for dead and I would have been if Nora hadn’t found me. She saw the Sacred Grove burning and knew there was a problem. The only way she could save my life was to transform me into something else, something which could support the little strength I had left. There wasn’t time for complicated rituals. She did what she could and transformed me into a raven. I’ve been like this ever since. So you see, it’s my fault the cauldron plates were lost and without them the portal has remained closed.’

Jack didn’t know what to say. Nothing could change what had happened but he wanted Camelin to know how sorry he was.

‘You know I’ll do anything I can to help,’ Jack said in a very solemn voice.

‘I know that now. I wouldn’t have told you any of this if I didn’t think you were the only one who could help us. They were bad times when the Romans started killing the Druids. Most of them fled to Mona, you know. It’s called Anglesey now. It was a big mistake; they got massacred there.’

‘Wasn’t there anything Nora could have done?’

‘Nora and Gwillam, the High Druid, had a plan. Anyone who wanted to would be sent into Annwn for safety. They could have come back to Earth once the danger was passed. When I got to the shrine Gwillam was already dead. I took the plate from the well and ran as fast as I could towards Glasruhen but that’s when the soldiers caught me. I felt the blow on the back of my head and the rest is just a blank.’

Camelin paused for breath.

‘That’s why you’re so important. We need you to go back into the past with me, find out what happened to the plates and recover them. Only then will we be able to remake the cauldron and return to Annwn. We’ve been waiting all this time to find the right person.’

‘Arrana said Nora would die soon if she doesn’t get back to Annwn.’

‘Nora can only make the elixir she needs from the leaves of the Crochan tree which grows in Annwn. It’s why she’s lived so long. The elixir extended the Druids’ lives so they could tend the trees and live as long as the Hamadryads in the forests. She gave me some of it when she transformed me.’

‘Are you going to live forever?’

‘Only if I stay as a raven. I can transform back into a boy again in Annwn. Then I’ll be just like you, but we’re all in trouble if we can’t find the cauldron plates in time.’

‘Couldn’t the trees have told Nora what happened?’

‘The Romans set fire to the groves. Fire traumatises trees and the ones that survived didn’t remember anything except the flames.’

‘Why couldn’t you go through the window in time on your own and look for the missing cauldron plates?’

‘The window is high above Glasruhen Hill. To break through the thin veil between the present and the past we must travel towards each other at the same speed. We’ll only have a split second to fly past each other at the exact place where the window opens. It’s not something I could do on my own. For this to work we had to find a boy, born in the right place, at the right time and who is the same age as I was when it happened… and that’s you.’

Jack was feeling excited and also a bit scared. Nora was right when she’d said he would see and hear some strange things. He hadn’t realised, until now, that so much depended on him.

‘If all this works and we get through the window do you know how long we’ll be gone?’

‘A fraction of a second in real time, I think!’

‘So no matter how long we spend in the past we won’t be gone long enough for Grandad to miss me?’

Camelin nodded his head. Although he’d been given a lot of information Jack still felt there was something else he hadn’t been told.

‘Is there anything else I should know?’

‘It’s about the window. It’s only going to be open for a few minutes. If we don’t get through it this time we’ll have to wait another hundred years. Nora can’t perform the ritual if it’s not in the right place and by then it will be too late. Arrana will be dead.’

An uneasy silence filled the room.

‘I’m scared I might fail.’

‘So am I,’ whispered Camelin. ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t very nice to you, only you don’t look very strong or brave and I think it’s going to be dangerous when we go back into the past. I was there. I know what Romans are like. It’s not going to be easy.’

‘I promise I’ll do my best.’

‘I know you will.’

They sat in silence. Jack thought about everything Camelin had said.

‘If we find the cauldron plates how are we going to get them back?

‘We don’t have to bring them back. We hide them somewhere safe and fly back through the window. Once we get back we tell Nora and Elan where we’ve put them and they’ll go and collect them. That’s the easy part.’

‘But where could we possibly put the plates so they’ll be safe for nearly two thousand years?’

‘In water. We find the nearest well or spring and drop them in. They’ll be very safe with the Nymphs to guard them.’

Jack couldn’t imagine anyone trying to steal anything from a water nymph, especially if they were all like Jennet.

‘How long do we have in the past before the window in time closes?’

‘Now that’s the good news. It doesn’t close from the other side. It doesn’t matter how long we’re there. We can fly back at any time.’

‘Well that’s a relief,’ laughed Jack.

Camelin bowed his head and looked thoughtful.

‘I was training to be a Druid you know. I was Gwillam’s acolyte but then everything changed. Gwillam was killed and I became a raven. I’d only been with him a few years. It took twenty-one years to train to be a Druid. Reading and writing didn’t come until near the end, and that’s why I never learnt. Anyway, I can see how useful reading could be now.’

‘Oh it is,’ agreed Jack. ‘I can find you some great books to borrow.’

Camelin pulled his face.

‘I was thinking more about the menu from the Chinese takeaway, unless you’ve got any good food books.’

Jack laughed.

‘I’ll see if I can borrow a cookery book. You’ll love the pictures.’

‘Before I forget, Nora gave me a message. She said you’ve got to remember to bring the golden acorn with you on Friday. She can’t perform the ritual without it.’

‘I wish she’d take it back. I’m frightened I might lose it.’

‘I think it’s what you’re supposed to do, you know, as
The One
. You’ve got to keep it safe, look after it to prove you’re worthy.’

‘Is there anything else you haven’t told me?’

Camelin pretended to think hard then shook his head. Just then Grandad called upstairs. Jack’s supper was ready.

‘It must be my supper time too, my stomach’s really empty.’

Camelin’s stomach always seemed to be empty. Jack wondered if he’d feel hungry all the time once he’d been transformed into a raven.

‘See you tomorrow,’ he called as Camelin took off.

Jack watched Camelin as he showed off his brilliant skills again; a backwards loop the loop followed by an amazing twisting dive. Jack sighed; it would be great to fly. He just wished he didn’t feel so afraid.

It was nearly bedtime before Jack got back to his room. He took out his wand, opened his Book of Shadows and was about to write to Elan when he heard a loud crash. It came from the greenhouse. Jack held his wand up at the window so he could see better, then hid it quickly when he saw Grandad making his way down the garden path. There was another crash, this time from the kitchen. It wasn’t Grandad; he was still outside. With his wand unlit, he cautiously made his way to the top of the stairs. Someone or something was definitely in the house. Jack carefully took one step at a time. If it was Peabody, he wanted to sneak up on him. The back door was wide open. Jack could still see Grandad’s torch shining inside the greenhouse. Another crash from the kitchen was followed by a strange chittering sound. Jack stopped. Whatever it was in there wasn’t alone. He was about to take his wand and burst into the kitchen when Motley came running through the back door. He stood on his back legs and started frantically telling Jack something.