The Jack Brenin Collection

by Catherine Cooper

  Timmery and Charkle said goodnight when they reached Grandad’s house.

  ‘Let us know when you’re off out again, we’d like to come with you,’ piped Timmery.

  ‘Maybe you could come and help us search for my brothers,’ added Charkle.

  ‘Once the cauldron is remade and everything’s been sorted out we’ll come and help you, won’t we Camelin?’ said Jack.

  Camelin grumbled to himself.

  ‘We will,’ Jack assured Charkle. ‘I’ve got to go now or I’ll never get up in the morning.’

  ‘See you after school then,’ said Camelin once Jack had transformed and was in his pyjamas.

  Jack yawned, but before he could answer, Camelin was gone. Once Jack was in bed Orin came and lay down next to him on the pillow. She said something, but Jack was too sleepy to go and find his wand.

  ‘It’s been quite a night,’ he told her. ‘I don’t think I’ll be going on any more night flights but at least we know where Coriss is now. I’ll tell you all about it in the morning.’

  Jack closed his eyes. He couldn’t keep them open any longer.

  THE MERE POOL

  Jack could hear Grandad calling him from downstairs. He forced his eyes open but they promptly closed again. Orin nudged his ear with her nose, but even though he knew she was hungry, and wanted her breakfast, he couldn’t get out of bed.

  The knock on his bedroom door meant he must have fallen asleep again.

  ‘Jack, are you up? If you don’t get a move on you’ll be late.’

  ‘Won’t be long,’ Jack replied as he swung his feet out of bed.

  The next half hour was frantic as Jack washed, dressed, fed Orin and bolted his breakfast. By the time he got to school he felt exhausted. He didn’t remember much about any of the morning lessons, he’d dozed through most of them. Luckily, nobody seemed to notice.

  At lunchtime, Jack got permission to use the library. He found a quiet corner and got out his Book of Shadows. He hoped there’d be a message waiting for him and wasn’t disappointed. He waited eagerly for the words to appear:

  dont tell Nora or Elan you no abowt the

  dont for get it’s a see kret

  Jack laughed when he’d read Camelin’s message. He wondered if he could magic a spell checker into Camelin’s book for him. He was about to write back when another message appeared:

  We know where Coriss is.

  Camelin caught a Dorysk last night and found out for us.

  Nora and I have thought of a special gift for her,

  one she won’t be able to resist.

  Jack looked around to see if anyone was watching before he took his wand and answered both messages. To Camelin he wrote:

  I won’t forget.

  And to Elan:

  What’s a Dorysk?

  He wondered if he might learn any more from her, but she told him to look in his Book of Shadows and said Camelin would tell him all about it on the way to the Mere Pool later.

  The afternoon went quickly. Jack felt fine by the time he met Elan, and they were soon on their way to see Coriss. Jack looked over the seat into the back of the car. The picnic basket was there, along with the wrapped cauldron plate and another package about the same shape and size as the base plate of the cauldron.

  ‘Has Camelin flown on ahead?’

  ‘In here,’ came a muffled reply from the picnic basket.

  ‘He’s been very quiet in there,’ said Nora. ‘I think he’s crumb hunting!’

  ‘So where are we going?’

  ‘Camelin will tell you all about his meeting with the Dorysk. He was really lucky to find one, they’re masters of disguise and very hard to catch,’ explained Elan.

  ‘It wasn’t easy. I was out for hours scouring the countryside.’

  ‘You’ll never believe what happened. He tricked the Dorysk into telling him where to find Coriss,’ added Elan.

  ‘I’m telling Jack, not you. Can I come out now?’

  Camelin lifted one of the flaps and poked his head out. Jack held it open so he could hop out.

  ‘Are we going far?’

  ‘Naw, it’s just the other side of Beconbury. We’ll be there in no time.’

  Camelin was right. It wasn’t long before Nora turned off the main road into a small country lane and then into a car park. Instead of parking near the other cars, Nora drove towards the opposite end before switching the engine off. They were next to a low stile. A damaged signpost indicated the way to the Mere Pool. Not far away, Jack could see small boats bobbing around on a lake. Several sailing dinghies with brightly coloured sails sped through the water.

  ‘Ready?’ asked Nora as she picked up the cauldron plate and passed the other package to Jack.

  ‘Ready,’ they replied.

  ‘I presume we’re going somewhere a bit quieter,’ said Jack.

  ‘We are,’ agreed Nora. ‘Camelin will show us the way.’

  The Mere Pool was secluded and overgrown. It was surrounded by tall slender trees whose leaves quivered in the gentle breeze. The water in the pool was still, apart from an occasional ripple moving across the surface. It looked deep and forbidding, Jack was glad he wasn’t alone.

  Nora stopped by the water’s edge. Instead of kneeling down and putting her lips to the water she took a heavy coin from her pocket and flipped it into the pool.

  ‘That should bring her up,’ she laughed. ‘I doubt anyone’s thrown a Roman coin in there for a while.’

  Nothing happened. Jack began to wonder if the Dorysk had played his own trick on them and given them the wrong information. Maybe the coin Nora had thrown in wasn’t acceptable, it was quite dull.

  ‘I thought nymphs liked shiny things?’

  ‘They do but we need to tempt her out. She’ll want to know who’s throwing dirty coins in her pool. She’ll be up soon,’ explained Nora.

  ‘She’s got a worse temper than Jennet,’ added Elan. ‘If she thinks we’re desperate for something she won’t let us have it. It’s really going to depend on how much she likes the gift we’ve brought. I’m hoping she’ll think it’s so special that she’ll let us have the cauldron plates without too much bother.’

  Jack was worried. If this was the same nymph he’d seen in the spring at Viroconium she wasn’t going to want to chat like Myryl. He hoped she liked the gift. After all, he was the one who had to offer it to her.

  ‘What if she doesn’t like it or she’s got one already? She must have thousands of shiny things down there after all these years.’

  ‘She will have,’ agreed Nora. ‘But I’m sure what we’ve brought will be the best gift she’s ever had.’

  Jack got a shock when Coriss finally decided to surface. He’d only seen nymphs rising from small springs or wells before. This time was different. Surrounded by a mass of bubbles, Coriss used the whole pool. The water began to swirl and spiral downwards, and a black hole appeared in the centre, out of which, a sword began to rise. The last time Jack had seen that sword, the Camp Prefect of Viroconium had been holding it in his hand. Now, pale green fingers gripped the hilt tightly. A faded red plume came into view – a little the worse for wear and with quite a lot of weed attached to it.

  ‘It’s her!’ Jack gasped.

  He was amazed to see she was wearing the fish scaled armour he’d also seen on the Prefect. It looked strange to see her pale green skin underneath it instead of a red tunic. There was no doubt in his mind. They’d found the nymph he’d mistaken for Jennet at Viroconium.

  ‘AVE!’ Coriss shouted as she made a fist with her free hand and beat it on her armour. ‘Who comes here disturbing my peace?’

  She pulled something out of the plume of her helmet and flipped it towards Nora.

  ‘I don’t take kindly to people throwing worthless things into my pool. If you’ve come for something, speak out, and it had better be worth my while.’

  The coin rolled to a stop at Nora’s feet. Instead of picking it up Nora smiled before slightly bowing her head.

&nbs
p; ‘What marvellous armour and such amazing weaponry. Very impressive!’

  Coriss straightened and thrust her shoulders back before bowing back.

  ‘It’s a matching set. The most magnificent gift I’ve ever had. Never had another gift like it, don’t expect I ever will.’

  ‘Is it Roman?’ asked Nora.

  ‘And why would you want to know that?’

  ‘We’ve been searching the land for the nymph who once lived in the spring at Viroconium. Many years ago she was given some armour as a gift.’

  ‘And why would anyone be wanting such a nymph?’

  ‘We have sworn to search until we find her. We have something belonging to that nymph, and she has something which belongs to us. We would like to undertake an exchange.’

  Coriss looked thoughtful. Nora stood to one side so Jack could step forward.

  ‘Do you remember this boy?’

  Coriss sniffed the air and looked intently at Jack.

  Nora patted him encouragingly on the back.

  ‘I gave you three cauldron plates the night you acquired your armour, could I have them back please?’

  ‘In exchange for what? I don’t give things back unless I’m offered something much better in return. And even then it depends. I might not want to exchange.’

  Nora signalled to Jack to unwrap the circular package.

  Coriss thrust her head forward, sniffed the air, then reached for the gift, but Nora took it from Jack and held it high so the sunlight glinted on its surface. Jack could see it was a hubcap from a car. In the centre were the letters VW.

  ‘A shield,’ shrieked Coriss. ‘Oh how magnificent! But what do the letters mean?’

  ‘They have a very important meaning. They stand for Viroconium Warrior. Only the most noble and distinguished may bear this shield.’

  ‘I’ll be back,’ said Coriss as she promptly disappeared beneath the water.

  ‘That’s amazing,’ said Jack. ‘How did you know she’d want the shield?’

  ‘We didn’t,’ Elan replied. ‘But even if she’d got one we knew it wouldn’t have VW on it.’

  ‘Do you think she has the plates?’

  ‘Oh yes,’ replied Nora. ‘She understood exactly what you’d asked her for. She’ll turn out every cupboard she has until she finds them.’

  They didn’t have to wait long for Coriss to reappear. This time there wasn’t any whirlpool, or grand entrance, she came straight to the edge of the pool and spoke to Jack.

  ‘Is this what you seek?’

  Jack’s heart skipped a beat. In her hand were the missing plates. He was too frightened to speak so he nodded vigorously. As she handed them to Jack, Nora gave her the shield. She slipped her hand through a strap, which had been fastened to the back, drew her sword and swaggered to the middle of

  the pool.

  ‘VIROCONIUM WARRIOR!’ she cried before a great surge of bubbles engulfed her. The whole pool began to swirl once more as Coriss slowly disappeared into the black hole in the centre. The last thing they saw was the tip of her sword.

  ‘Show off,’ grumbled Camelin.

  ‘It doesn’t matter. We got what we came for,’ said Nora. ‘Now we can remake the cauldron.’

  ‘As soon as we get back?’ asked Jack as he and Elan wrapped the cloth around the wet plates.

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Nora. ‘As soon as we get back.’

  ‘What about supper?’ asked Camelin.

  ‘Not until the cauldron’s remade, then we’ll celebrate,’ Nora told him.

  ‘I can’t wait to see what it looks like,’ replied Jack.

  Camelin had already flown off towards home. Jack presumed he’d be taking in a food stop on the way; he obviously didn’t want to have to wait for his supper.

  ‘She really liked the shield,’ he said as they walked back across the field.

  ‘She must be really proud of her armour. Did you notice how well she’d looked after it,’ replied Elan.

  ‘It looks better on her than it did on the Camp Prefect,’ chuckled Jack.

  ‘We’ve got something important to discuss before you go home tonight but Camelin will need to be there too,’ said Nora.

  Jack felt excited; it wouldn’t be long before they could go into Annwn.

  When they arrived back at Ewell House, Camelin was waiting for them on the picnic table. Jack was sure he could see some cheese stuck to his beak. Nora went straight into the herborium. Jack followed her and watched as she put the last three plates into position. She ran her hands over each one of them in turn.

  ‘At last! This is wonderful, after all the years of waiting. And it’s all down to you Jack.’

  ‘And Camelin, I couldn’t have done it without his help.’

  ‘And Camelin,’ agreed Nora. ‘Would you go and fetch him, then we can make a start?’

  As he left the herborium Jack searched his pockets for a tissue.

  ‘Nora wants you, but you can’t go in with a blob of cheese on your beak. Hold still while I wipe it off.’

  ‘Pizza cheese is so sticky, it gets everywhere. I’ve been trying to get it off.’

  Jack cleaned Camelin’s beak.

  ‘Thanks, I’d have been in trouble if Nora had seen it.’

  ‘Come on. Nora’s waiting to lace the plates together.’

  ‘I can’t wait to go into Annwn. You can eat as much as you want there and it’s all free, you don’t have to pay for anything. Gwillam used to tell me about the pies, he said they melted in your mouth. And the sausages were the best he’d ever tasted. They have a fair at festival time and a big market with lots of stalls. Gwillam said there are story tellers, jugglers, games, races and singing at night round the home fires. There will be so much to see and do when we get there. I hope we can stay for a while.’

  ‘It sounds great.’

  ‘Oh it is. The Citadel’s on an island. I want to go across the river to see the Glass Palace. Gwillam told me there are white ravens in the Queen’s garden. What do you think Jack? Was he joking or do you think there really are white ravens?’

  ‘I don’t see why not. It all sounds amazing, I can’t wait to see it for myself.’

  ‘Come on you two,’ Elan called from the herborium. ‘We’re ready to begin.’

  ‘I’m afraid we need to ask you to help again Jack,’ Nora began. ‘My powers are fading fast. I don’t want to waste them on things I know you can do.’

  ‘But I don’t have the same kind of power as you.’

  ‘When you know all there is to know you will, I assure you. But for now I need you to find the pages we need from my Book of Shadows.’

  ‘What about me?’ asked Camelin. ‘Will I have a lot of power too?’

  ‘You are a Druid’s acolyte. When you’ve finished your training you’ll have magic too.’

  ‘But that’ll take years,’ grumbled Camelin.

  ‘What do you want me to do?’ asked Jack.

  ‘We need the instructions for binding the cauldron. I probably remember them correctly, but it’s been so long since I’ve done it, I’d rather make sure we get it right. Here’s your wand, I need you to help me remake it.’

  Elan got Nora’s Book of Shadows from the bookshelf and put it in front of Jack. His wand immediately turned smooth once it was in his right hand. He concentrated hard and let all his thoughts travel to the tip of his wand before tapping the book. It opened with a bang as the covers hit the table.

  ‘You’re a natural Jack,’ said Elan as she picked up the book and read the instructions for Nora:

  To Bind the Cauldron of Life

  Lay the plates around the yew,

  First the pine then holly too,

  Next the willow and hawthorn take,

  Birch, ash, elm, oak are the first eight.

  Beech and apple follow then,

  Now the plates will number ten.

  Hazel and rowan last not least,

  Now lace the Cauldron for the feast.

  When Nora had finished lacing the plates
together she stood back to admire her work. The cauldron was bigger than Jack had expected.

  ‘Now for the rim and handles.’

  Elan brought out a solid ring of metal, which had two loops hanging opposite each other. Nora placed it on top of the cauldron then turned to Jack.

  ‘We need the instructions for opening the portal into Annwn.’

  ‘What do I ask?’

  ‘The Western Portal lies hidden in the forest. Say its name and the book will open.’

  ‘But what name should I say?’

  ‘Glasruhen Gate,’ replied Elan.

  Jack didn’t know what the gate looked like but he knew the forest. He concentrated hard and put his wand on the book.

  ‘Glasruhen Gate,’ he commanded.

  The pages flipped until the book found what Jack had asked for. At the top of the page in ancient writing were the words:

  Glasruhen Gate

  The Western Portal of Annwn

  ‘What else does it say?’ asked Camelin.

  Jack handed the book to Elan:

  The sacred wells you must locate,

  From each collect a cauldron plate.

  When they’re found and brought together,

  Bind them up with thongs of leather.

  ‘We’ve done that now,’ said Camelin. ‘Even though it took a long time.’

  ‘What’s next?’ asked Nora.

  Elan continued reading:

  Tap three times on the cauldron’s rim,

  Then ready you’ll be to begin.

  With oak, beech, willow, birch and pine,

  And acorn from the Sacred Shrine,

  At sunset on the ritual date,

  Lay them before Glasruhen Gate.

  ‘Are you ready Jack?’ asked Nora, ‘you need to tap the rim three times.’

  As Jack tapped, a green light began to radiate from inside. It spread through the plates until the whole cauldron glowed. The leather thongs seemed to melt into the metal and the rim shone brightly until the plates fused together. Jack stood with his mouth open, his heart pounding in his chest.

  ‘You did it. You’ve remade the cauldron Jack,’ Camelin croaked as he hopped around the table. ‘We’ll be in Annwn in no time now.’