The Jack Brenin Collection

by Catherine Cooper

  ‘Where’s Camelin?’

  ‘In here,’ came a muffled reply from inside the dustbin.

  ‘What are you doing in there?’

  ‘Nora made me get in. I’m supposed to be inconspicuous, whatever that means. I can tell you what I am though. I’m very uncomfortable.’

  Nora laughed.

  ‘You won’t be in there for long. As soon as we leave Newton Gill you can come out. I’ve put a pair of Elan’s old wellingtons in the car for you Jack. I think it’s going to be a bit muddy by the spring after all the rain we had last night.’

  ‘Thanks. Will it take long to get there?’

  Elan passed a road map over to Jack.

  ‘We’re heading north west. It should take about half an hour, but we don’t know exactly which spring Myryl’s going to be in. Camelin can scout around when we get there.’

  ‘Can I come out it’s stuffy in here?’

  ‘Yes, I think it’s safe now,’ said Nora.

  In all the excitement Jack had forgotten to tell Camelin his news.

  ‘I made the choir. We start rehearsals for the end of term concert next week. I’ve been asked to sing a solo too.’

  They all congratulated him.

  Jack woke with a start. He must have fallen asleep.

  ‘You’ve been snoring,’ said Camelin.

  ‘Sorry. I didn’t sleep much last night and it’s hot in the car.’

  ‘You haven’t missed much.’

  ‘We’re almost there,’ Nora informed them. ‘You’ll need to go and have a good look around Camelin. Try the obvious places first. She’s bound to be somewhere quiet. She likes visitors, but not crowds of people.’

  Nora stopped the car by a field. She opened the door and Camelin flew off towards a small mound in the centre that was covered in trees.

  ‘This whole area used to be under water, apart from those two mounds,’ Elan told Jack as she pointed in the direction Camelin had gone. ‘They used to be joined by a raised causeway. The Cornovii lived here, part of the same people who used to live on Glasruhen. It was abandoned round about the time the Romans invaded the area.’

  Jack looked at the small hillock.

  ‘It doesn’t look anything like a hillfort. It should have been called a moundfort.’

  Nora sighed.

  ‘It used to be a magnificent sight. You could see the raised embankment and round dwellings reflected in the water. All that’s left now is one small lake. You’d never know that people once lived here.’

  ‘What’s Myrel like?’ asked Jack.

  ‘She looks like Jennet. Most water nymphs are pretty similar so it would have been easy for you to mistake the nymph you saw in Viroconium for any of them, especially in the dark. It’s a long time since I’ve seen her, but I don’t think she’ll have changed much.’

  Jack wondered if Myryl would be better tempered than Jennet.

  ‘You know I’m not sure Myryl will be able to help us,’ said Elan. ‘I’ve been thinking about it since yesterday. We’re a long way from Viroconium.’

  ‘It’s the only lead we’ve got. We’ll have to wait and see what she says… if Camelin can find her,’ replied Nora.

  Just then Camelin circled above them and croaked: ‘Let’s get started then. I know where she is.’

  They put their wellingtons on. Jack and Elan lifted the dustbin out of the car and Nora picked up the wrapped cauldron plate. Camelin flew ahead to show them the way. They had to walk carefully down a track by the side of the field; it was quite muddy after the rain. Camelin landed in a nearby tree and waited for them to catch up.

  ‘I think it would be better if you hid the dustbin behind that big tree over there, it will only distract her if she sees it straight away,’ said Nora.

  Jack and Elan made sure the dustbin couldn’t be seen, and then followed Nora to the edge of the spring. She knelt down and put her lips to the water. Jack could just make out the words through the sound of the bubbles.

  ‘Myryl, you have visitors.’

  ‘That should bring her out!’ laughed Elan.

  They didn’t have long to wait before the water began to gurgle. Steam burst from each bubble as it rose to the surface. A column of water exploded from the pool then subsided. In its place stood a smiling water nymph. As soon as Jack saw Myryl’s hair he realised his mistake. It was a lot darker than Jennet’s, more of a bottle green, and she didn’t seem to have so many stray bits of weed and twigs attached to it either. She was smaller too and not as slender, but she had the same green skin and strange slanting eyes. The biggest difference was her friendliness.

  ‘Myryl…’ Nora began but got no further before she was interrupted.

  ‘Oh how wonderful, visitors, I love visitors!’

  Myryl nodded to Nora then made an exaggerated curtsey towards Elan. She seemed genuinely pleased to see them. Nora tried again.

  ‘Do you have…?’

  ‘Well how long has it been?’ Myryl said hurriedly. ‘It must be a few hundred years since we last spoke, doesn’t time fly?’

  Nora opened her mouth again to speak but once more Myryl got there first.

  ‘Well this is an unexpected pleasure. The last people who were here started digging up my bog. Stole one of my best cauldrons they did, won’t see that again in a hurry. Never even asked, never even attempted to exchange. So rude! The first I knew about it was when I saw them making off with it across the fields. Now let me see, yes, it must have been about a hundred years ago now. Some others came too you know, they were going to build on the mound. Dropped their bells in the lake when they saw me, I frightened them off good and proper. Never came back. Lovely bells they are too, heavy, nice of them to leave them for me don’t you think? They’re not the same as cauldrons though, didn’t really make up for the loss of my best one. Did I tell you about that?’

  At last she paused for breath and Nora managed to speak.

  ‘It’s cauldrons we’ve come about, we hear you’re the expert and…’

  Myryl looked excited and without waiting to hear what Nora was about to ask she told them about all the different kinds of cauldrons she had in her possession. At the next pause Nora managed to complete her question.

  ‘We were wondering if you had anything like this in your collection?’ she said hurriedly as she unwrapped the package.

  Myryl sniffed the air and thrust her head forward to inspect the cauldron plate more closely.

  ‘That’s an old one, not worth anything at all, not if it’s not complete. I don’t bother with the bits, only the whole ones.’

  Myryl reached out and ran her long green fingers over the embossed tree. Elan put her hand on Myryl’s to gain her attention,

  ‘Maybe someone gave you three of these a couple of thousand years ago and you’ve got them somewhere in your collection?’

  ‘They wouldn’t have been any use to me. I really don’t think I’ve got any bits but I’ll go and have a look.’

  Myryl disappeared in a fountain of bubbles into the depths of her watery home.

  ‘Do you think she has them?’ asked Jack.

  ‘No,’ said Elan. ‘I think we need to ask her if she’s ever been to Viroconium before we go any further.’

  Nora agreed.

  ‘Did you recognise her?’ asked Elan.

  ‘It’s definitely not her. The one I saw wasn’t friendly. I know it was only for a moment but the nymph in the spring at Viroconium was, well, aggressive.’

  ‘And strong,’ Camelin added. ‘And obviously fond of armour. I wouldn’t be surprised if the nymph we’re looking for has quite a collection of her own. But I bet it’s not cauldrons.’

  ‘You might be right,’ replied Nora. ‘We’ll ask her when she comes back.’

  It wasn’t long before Myryl resurfaced. She had several pieces of metal in her hand, which she tossed on the grass in front of Nora’s feet. They gathered round eagerly to see what she’d brought.

  ‘These are the only bits I’ve got.’


  Most of the metal pieces had been parts of shields. They were rusted and bent. There wasn’t anything remotely like the cauldron plate Nora had in her hand. She carefully put them in a pile and Jack handed them back to Myryl who unceremoniously dropped them back into the water.

  ‘I only like complete cauldrons. Doesn’t matter what size or shape but I must say I do like the bigger ones, you can’t seem to get a good cauldron these days.’

  Before Myryl could take another breath, Elan quickly distracted her and asked about the spring at Viroconium.

  ‘Ooooh no!’ Myryl shrieked. ‘I never went anywhere near that horrible place, those Romans built a whole fortress around the spring in there you know, ruined the view, I stayed as far away from Romans as I could, they frightened all the people off from here you know, I suppose they did me a favour, it’s been nice and quiet since they all left but you just don’t get the visitors anymore, no one throws anything in the spring, my collection of cauldrons is getting worn out.’

  At last Myryl stopped for breath.

  Jack thought water nymphs must have incredible lungs to be able to say so much in one sentence.

  ‘Do you know who might have been at Viroconium?’ asked Elan before Myryl could tell them about her cauldron collection again.

  ‘Oh yes. That would be Coriss, always was one for swords and daggers.’

  It was a surprise when Myryl didn’t continue. Her silence had an air of expectancy about it. Nora smiled.

  ‘We have something for you in exchange for your valuable information.’

  Jack realised Myryl had been waiting for her gift, but unlike Jennet, she’d been too polite to ask. He went with Elan to collect the dustbin from where they’d hidden it.

  ‘Is this acceptable?’ asked Nora. ‘We’d hoped you’d have the cauldron plates but your information has been just as valuable.’

  Myryl’s smile widened, Jack could see a row of bright green teeth.

  ‘This is wonderful, so kind of you. I’ve never seen anything like it before, it must be very valuable. I don’t know anyone else who’s got anything like this.’

  Nora smiled as Myryl picked up the dustbin and hugged it.

  ‘There is just one last thing before we go; where can we find Coriss?’

  Myryl frowned in thought.

  ‘Now, I can’t say for sure. In fact, the last time I saw her must have been a few hundred years ago. She’s not on speaking terms with many of us, she likes her own company. She was very insulting last time she was here, said I talked too much. I ask you.’

  Jack and Camelin had to stop themselves from laughing.

  ‘Who do you think would know where Coriss is now?’ asked Elan.

  Myryl screwed up her face and started muttering to herself. Jack could hear a few of the names Jennet had read to them from her list. Eventually she nodded thoughtfully before replying.

  ‘Jennet might know, she sends out her Bogie friends to spy on us. She likes to know where everyone is and what they’re doing, but it’s mainly so she can check up to make sure none of us are more beautiful than she thinks she is. Always was very vain you know, thinks a lot about herself, and so bad tempered all the time.’

  Jack was inclined to agree with Myryl; her description of Jennet was very accurate.

  ‘What about Uriel?’ asked Nora.

  Myryl clutched her dustbin and shook her head vigorously.

  ‘You don’t want to go disturbing her, she’s dangerous.’

  There was a lot of head shaking but Myryl wouldn’t say any more.

  Nora carefully wrapped the cauldron plate.

  ‘We’d better be going.’

  ‘So soon,’ replied Myryl, seeming genuinely disappointed that they were leaving. ‘We’ve hardly had any time to chat, you haven’t even told me any of your news.’

  ‘Another time,’ replied Nora.

  ‘Anytime you want to visit just stop by. I’ve always got time to have a chat and it’s so nice to have visitors, especially when they bring such wonderful gifts. Don’t forget, come again soon.’

  Jack was sure she was still speaking as she disappeared with the dustbin in a surge of bubbles.

  Nora sat down on the edge of the well.

  ‘I feel quite exhausted after all that!’

  Camelin flew down and landed at Nora’s feet.

  ‘Now you know how I feel when Timmery comes calling, he talks as much as she does.’

  ‘He’s not that bad,’ laughed Elan.

  ‘He is when he starts at two o’clock in the morning.’

  ‘What’s brought all this on?’ asked Nora. ‘I thought you two had worked out your differences.’

  ‘So did I, but he came calling again this morning wanting to talk when I was trying to sleep.’

  ‘I expect he only wanted to hear all about your journey into the past again,’ said Elan kindly.

  ‘Well I told him I don’t have visitors until after breakfast.’

  ‘Why don’t you go over to the bell tower at dusk,’ suggested Nora. ‘You won’t be tired then and you can tell Timmery and Charkle all about your adventures again.’

  ‘It’s going to be dusk by the time we get back. Can I go with him?’ asked Jack.

  Nora nodded.

  ‘I’m sure they’ll be pleased to see you both. But don’t be too long, you’ve got school in the morning. Elan and I will try to work out a way to speak to Uriel. We must find Coriss soon.’

  ‘Can we fly for a while?’ Camelin asked when they were nearly home. ‘We can go straight over to see Timmery and Charkle instead of having to go back to Ewell House.’

  ‘No detours,’ Nora told him.

  ‘No, we’ll come straight back from the belfry after we’ve seen them.’

  ‘Off you go then,’ said Nora once Jack had transformed.

  It was a perfect evening for flying and a relief to be out in the open after the stuffiness of the car. As Jack soared upwards he gulped the fresh air. It was lovely to feel the breeze through his feathers. Nora’s car snaked its way along the country lanes but he lost sight of it as he followed Camelin across the fields. Jack realised how lucky he was to be able to fly. Everything that had taken place since he’d come to live with Grandad had happened so fast, he’d not really had time to enjoy the sensation of flying. But tonight was different, it felt good.

  ‘Can we do this again once we’ve got the plates back and everything’s been sorted out?’ he called to Camelin.

  ‘Course we can, anytime you like. There’s nothing like going for an evening flight, especially at this time of year.’

  The bell tower of the church where Timmery and Charkle roosted came into sight. He knew Timmery would be pleased to see them. The little bat, like Myryl, really did enjoy visitors.

  As they circled the bell tower, Camelin called to Timmery and Charkle. There was no answer. Once they’d landed Camelin called again.

  ‘Doesn’t look like they’re in. Now where do you suppose they’ve gone?’ Camelin said.

  ‘I didn’t think we’d be coming straight here. I thought you might have something else in mind!’

  ‘Me!’

  ‘Well if they’re not here we might as well go back.’

  ‘If they’re not here we might have a little chat first.’

  Jack looked at Camelin.

  ‘You knew they wouldn’t be here didn’t you?’

  Camelin tried to give Jack his innocent look.

  ‘Timmery told me this morning he was off with Charkle at dusk; he’s helping him to look for his family, so I knew we could be alone up here and not be overheard.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And how about, after you’re in your room, I come over and we go for a little night flight? It’s a great night for flying, what d’you say? No one will miss you.’

  Jack thought for a while. He didn’t like going behind Grandad’s back but he was also certain Grandad wouldn’t miss him.

  ‘Alright, but not for too long, I’ve got school in the morning
.’

  ‘It’ll just be a little night flight, a bit of fun, you’ll be back in bed before you know it. Come on, the sooner you get home, the sooner we can go out again. But let me do the talking back at Ewell House.’

  Nora and Elan were deep in conversation in the library when Jack came down from the loft.

  ‘Back so soon?’ said Nora.

  ‘They weren’t there, we’ll have to try again later,’ replied Camelin as he winked at Jack.

  ‘I’ll be going now,’ Jack called. ‘See you tomorrow.’

  Nora and Elan left the pile of books and papers and came to say goodbye.

  ‘We really are very grateful, you know, for everything you’ve done. We’d never have got this far without you,’ Nora told him.

  ‘We will get the missing plates back, won’t we?’

  ‘We will, it’s just a matter of time.’

  Elan put her hand on his shoulder.

  ‘Hopefully we’ll be luckier tomorrow. I’ll meet you in the same place after school.’

  Jack turned to Nora.

  ‘What am I going to say to Grandad?’

  ‘Don’t worry. I’ll go and see him in the morning and tell him we’re taking you to visit one of my friends. Which is true in a way, except that I haven’t spoken to her for a few hundred years. But we don’t have to tell your grandad that bit.’

  ‘Thanks. I’ll see you after school.’

  Jack waved when he reached the hedge before stepping through the gap and making his way, through the tunnel, to Grandad’s garden. It was as airless in the tunnel as it had been in the car. All Jack could think about was the fun he was going to have later, flying in the cool air, with Camelin. There might even be some supper. The Chinese take-away was always open late. After everything he’d been through he thought he deserved a bit of fun.

  NIGHT FLIGHT

  Jack kept watch from his bedroom window. As the light began to fade, a familiar black shape appeared in the sky.

  ‘He’s here,’ Jack told Orin. ‘I won’t be gone long.’

  ‘Ready?’ Camelin croaked as he hopped in through Jack’s window.

  ‘Ready. If we transform under the blanket we won’t light up the whole house.’