The Jack Brenin Collection

by Catherine Cooper

  ‘I’m sorry Timmery – I don’t know what else to ask.’

  ‘Maybe it used to be called something else?’ squeaked Orin.

  Jack smiled.

  ‘You might be right. We could ask the question the other way round, not about the hill but about the dragon.’

  ‘Oh that’s wonderful, Jack. I knew you’d be able to help.’

  ‘You can thank Orin not me and we haven’t got an answer yet.’

  Jack put his hand on the cover.

  ‘Where should we look for dragons?’

  As soon as Jack removed his hand, the book flew open and the pages turned rapidly. When they eventually stopped they were looking at two blank pages. Just as Jack was beginning to think the book had made a mistake, the faint outline of a map slowly appeared. He watched in fascination as a river, trees and hills gradually took shape. It was the strangest looking map Jack had ever seen, and there was something vital missing: there wasn’t any writing. He looked sadly at Timmery.

  ‘I’m sorry, this map’s not going to be any help at all. It could be anywhere.’

  ‘Ask about the wood,’ suggested Timmery.

  Jack put the tip of his wand on the small wood in the middle of the map.

  ‘Where is this wood?’

  No writing appeared, but instead, much to Jack’s surprise, the map began to rise from the page and the pictures began to grow. A long narrow hilltop rose rapidly, its stony ridge was covered in strange rock formations. Two large wooded hills popped up out of the farmland that lay between two rivers. Colour flooded the landscape. Jack was speechless. It all looked so real. He reached over and touched the top of the larger hill but his finger went straight through the image. As he looked closer at the valley and the wider of the two rivers, he got the strangest feeling.

  ‘I think I’ve been here before.’

  ‘Can you remember where it is?’ asked Timmery excitedly.

  ‘I think it’s Westwood.’

  Jack got his magnifying glass out of his drawer and examined the landscape more closely.

  ‘Look! There’s the cave where we found Finnola Fytche. It is Westwood.’

  Timmery looked really disappointed.

  ‘But we already know Charkle’s family aren’t there any more.’

  ‘But that’s only one small part of this map. They could be anywhere, it’s a big area and we didn’t get a chance to have a good look around last time we were there.’

  ‘You’re right,’ piped Timmery. ‘What are those two hills called?’

  ‘The one behind Westwood is Silver Hill and the other one is Winberry Hill. I don’t know what the long ridge is called. I’ve only been there once. But there’s the Gelston River; Camelin and I followed it on my first long flight.’

  ‘Oooh! I’m so excited,’ Timmery squeaked as he flittered around the room. ‘I can’t wait to get started.’

  ‘There’s no guarantee we’ll find any dragons. I think we need to speak to Nora before we start getting excited.’

  A creak on the landing sent Orin scampering back to her cage. Jack doused the light from the tip of his wand and was in bed pretending to be asleep by the time his bedroom door opened a fraction. In their excitement they must have been making more noise than Jack had realised. Jack lay very still and it wasn’t long before his bedroom door closed again and Grandad went back to bed.

  ‘Timmery,’ whispered Jack, but there was no reply. He hoped the little bat wasn’t going to raise Charkle’s hopes too high.

  It was late when Jack woke. He couldn’t stop yawning as he dressed. He was about to go downstairs when his Book of Shadows began vibrating. It seemed ages since he’d had a message. Jack doubted it was from Camelin, he couldn’t see Nora letting him have his wand back so soon. He hoped it was from Elan, he was dying to hear all the news from Annwn. He grabbed his own wand and opened to the first page. The words, faint at first, began to darken as the message appeared. He was slightly disappointed when he saw that it was from Nora.

  I’ve got something important to attend to today

  and I’m not sure

  what time I’m going to be back.

  Before I go, I’ll call in and ask your grandad if

  you can spend the afternoon at Ewell House doing an

  important job for me.

  I’ll leave instructions for you on the kitchen table.

  Gerda, Medric and Camelin will need feeding too if I’m

  not back by teatime.

  He wanted to know where Nora was going but he knew it was pointless to ask. If she’d wanted him to know she’d have told him. Jack hadn’t seen much of Medric or Gerda since they’d returned from Annwn and now he’d got a good excuse to row over to the island and say hello. He wondered what job Nora wanted him to do, maybe she was just giving him an excuse to spend the afternoon with Camelin. Either way it meant he’d be able to go out. He got his wand and wrote back.

  I’ll be there.

  ‘I had a visitor this morning,’ Grandad told Jack as they ate lunch. ‘Nora came to see me.’

  Jack tried to look surprised, as Grandad spoke.

  ‘She’s had to go and see Elan and doesn’t know how long she’ll be gone.’

  At this news Jack nearly choked on his sausage.

  ‘Is Elan ill? Has she got chickenpox too?’

  ‘Nora didn’t say, she just said it was important and asked if you’d be able to do a job for her in the herborium. She said she’d leave you instructions on the kitchen table. Now, if you don’t feel up to it I can go or I’ll come with you if you don’t want to go on your own.’

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ Jack assured Grandad.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  Jack nodded.

  ‘Off you go then and get yourself ready, I’ll see to the washing up.’

  Once Jack was back in his room he checked his Book of Shadows. There were no new messages and still no reply from Elan. He wondered if Nora really had gone to see her. If she had she’d be in Annwn by now. Jack sighed. It was going to be a long wait until he was allowed to go back, October was three months away.

  Jack looked in the mirror. Although his face was still covered in scabs he didn’t feel ill any more. He wasn’t too happy about going back to school looking the way he did but he wanted to sing in the concert. If he could prove to both Nora and Grandad that he was well enough to look after things at Ewell House, he knew he’d be allowed to go to school in the morning.

  He put his Book of Shadows into his backpack but before he packed his wand he went over to Orin’s cage.

  ‘Do you want to come with me today?’

  Orin shook her head.

  ‘Everyone will be too busy to play and you’ve got jobs to do too.’

  ‘I’ll tell you everything when I get back.’

  Orin nodded and climbed sleepily into the hammock Jack had made for her and settled down for an afternoon snooze.

  ‘I’m off now Grandad,’ Jack called as he made his way downstairs.

  ‘If you have any problems come back and get me. And if Nora’s not back by teatime, can you make sure her birds are fed.’

  Jack nodded.

  ‘Just be careful with the geese they’ve got a nasty peck when they feel inclined.’

  ‘I will. I’m sure everything’s going to be fine.’

  Jack thought the only problem he might have would be making sure Camelin didn’t help himself to too much food. The rest was going to be easy.

  ‘Couldn’t you have got here sooner? I’ve been on my own for hours,’ grumbled Camelin as Jack stepped into Nora’s garden. ‘You know, you don’t look too good with all those scabby things on your face. Can’t you put that white stuff on again and cover them up?’

  ‘Nora said I didn’t need to use it once they stopped itching, they’ll drop off soon enough now.’

  ‘Well don’t go dropping them anywhere near me. They’re yucky.’

  Jack ignored this, and asked, ‘Do you know where Nora’s gone?’

&n
bsp; ‘Annwn, she said it was important and she had to see Elan.’

  ‘Aren’t you curious to know what’s going on?’

  ‘Nope, I hope she’s gone for ages so we’ll have all afternoon to do things.’

  ‘Things? You mean the jobs Nora’s left for me to do?’

  ‘Jobs! What jobs?’

  ‘Nora said she’s left me a note on the kitchen table. I think we’d better go and see what it says before we plan anything else.’

  Camelin left Jack to walk through the garden alone and flew on ahead. As Jack entered the kitchen Camelin was grumbling to himself. There was a piece of paper on the table.

  ‘What’s it say?’ asked Jack.

  ‘There’s nothing on it,’ announced Camelin.

  Jack picked it up. As soon as his hand touched the paper Nora’s small neat handwriting appeared.

  You’ll need to take all the ingredients I’ve listed on the back of this note to the herborium. I’ve left you some more instructions in there along with the key to the cupboard where my special herb extracts are kept. I’ve been making a potion but I didn’t have time to wait until it was cool and it’s at a critical stage. The recipe is half done, it needs finishing this afternoon or it will be ruined. I’ve written on the recipe where you need to start. When you’ve added all the ingredients ask your Book of Shadows to show you the spell for making Dragon’s Brew into Dragon’s Breath.

  ‘I’m afraid the things you’ve got planned will have to wait, Nora wants me to finish off a potion she’s been brewing. I’ve got to sort it out this afternoon or it’ll be ruined.’

  ‘Oh that’s great! You get to use your wand unsupervised but I don’t.’

  ‘It doesn’t say anything here about me using my wand.’

  ‘Don’t you know anything? Potions always need some kind of magic and magic means using a wand.’

  Jack ignored Camelin’s remark.

  ‘Are you going to help?’

  ‘Nope.’

  Jack turned Nora’s note over.

  ‘I’ve got a list of things to take down to the herborium. You could give me a hand.’

  Camelin didn’t reply, he tutted when Jack took his wand from his bag and grumbled to himself as Jack collected the ingredients. There was a big pile on the table by the time Jack got to the end of the list, too much to carry in one journey. He looked around for something to put them in. Nora’s picnic basket was by the stove.

  ‘Perfect,’ said Jack as he picked it up and started to pack the ingredients inside. ‘I’ll see you later then?’

  ‘Suppose so, you will try and hurry up won’t you? I’ve got important things to do too but I need some help.’

  ‘I’ll help you when I’ve finished Nora’s potion.’

  Camelin shuffled from foot to foot.

  ‘D’you mean it?’

  Jack nodded.

  ‘Aw, thanks Jack, you’re a real pal. Give me a shout when you’re done.’

  THE CUPBOARD

  Jack struggled into the herborium with the basket. A small cauldron stood on a tripod at one end of the table and Jack peeked inside as he passed. It was almost full of bright green goo, a bit like the compound Nora had put on his hands the first time they’d met. There were two pieces of paper on the table, weighted down with one of the candlesticks. As before, when Jack picked them up, Nora’s writing appeared. On one was a recipe for the potion and the other the instructions. The ingredients and quantities had been listed along with the order they should be added to the cauldron. Half way down the page, Nora had written START HERE. Jack read down to the bottom and found Camelin was right, he would have to use his wand.

  He blew out a long, slow breath. He couldn’t believe Nora trusted him enough to make a real potion. He felt his spine tingle. This was better than being cooped up in his room. He’d do his best not to let her down but he couldn’t help wondering what Nora was going to do with a whole cauldron full of Dragon’s Brew.

  Once the contents of the basket were on the table, Jack arranged them in the same order as Nora’s list. Four of the jars had fine powder inside. Some he’d heard of but others he hadn’t. The one labelled mace was a bright reddish colour, the garlic and ginger a warm yellow and the fennel dark green. One by one Jack checked off the ingredients. All but the dragon-wort leaf and dragon-wort pollen were now ready on the table. These must be the special herb extracts Nora kept locked in the cupboard. They didn’t sound like the kind of things anyone would keep in the kitchen, not even Nora. He went back to the kitchen and collected his book. All he needed now was the cupboard key. He looked around but there was nothing on the table or the dresser. On his return to the herborium he searched everywhere but the key was nowhere to be found. In desperation he took his wand and asked loudly, ‘Where is the key to the cupboard?’

  To his amazement the top drawer of the dresser began to rattle and shake violently before it finally shot open. It was full of old keys of various shapes and sizes. Some were made of brass, others were almost black and a couple looked quite rusty. This must be the drawer Fergus and Berry had been looking in for Camelin. It was only then that Jack realised he didn’t even know which cupboard he was supposed to be opening. He stared dismally at the array of keys.

  ‘I need some help,’ Jack announced to the drawer.

  Two muffled high-pitched voices came from behind the dresser. Jack couldn’t make out what was being said but he thought he might know who the voices belonged to. He bent down and peered into the drawer. Berry’s head was peeking through a hole in the back.

  ‘What are you doing behind there? I thought you weren’t helping Camelin any more?’

  ‘We’re not,’ replied Fergus as he appeared from the back of the dresser and scampered around Jack’s feet, ‘We’re hiding from him.’

  ‘We heard him say he wasn’t coming to the herborium with you so we thought it would be the safest place to be,’ explained Berry as he wriggled through the hole he’d been looking through.

  ‘I can’t find the key to Nora’s special herb cupboard. She said in her note she’d left it out for me but I can’t see it.’

  Fergus nimbly ran up the dresser and joined Berry in the drawer.

  ‘Which cupboard did you want?’

  ‘That’s the problem, I don’t know. Nora said I needed to get into the cupboard where her special herb extracts are kept. I need a whole dragon-wort leaf and some of its pollen to finish off the potion she’s been making.’

  ‘That would be the third cupboard,’ squeaked Berry excitedly as he scampered over to the other side of the room. ‘Nora has three cupboards for herbs.’

  ‘But which one is the third?’

  ‘Nora labels the keys,’ explained Fergus, ‘and there are letters on the doors, go and look.’

  Jack bent over as Berry stood on his hind legs and pointed up towards a faint letter F on the first door. The next door had a faint letter S and the last door had a T.

  ‘First, Second and Third!’ exclaimed Jack. ‘That’s brilliant but it still doesn’t help me get it open.’

  ‘You could try using your wand,’ suggested Fergus.

  Jack waited until Berry was well clear of the cupboard before pointing his wand at the third door. The tip glowed and Jack concentrated hard.

  ‘Open!’ he commanded and watched as a beam of soft green light travelled from the tip of his wand and disappeared through the keyhole.

  Fergus scurried across and tried the handle but it wouldn’t open.

  ‘Why don’t you try,’ suggested Berry. ‘You’re stronger than us.’

  Jack twisted and turned the handle but the door remained firmly shut.

  ‘You’ll just have to find Nora’s special key, it’s in the drawer somewhere. You know, it’s the one we’ve been looking for all week for Camelin,’ said Berry.

  Jack went back to the drawer. There were so many keys he’d be hours if he had to try every one in the lock.

  ‘Camelin says it opens anything,’ continued Berry. />
  Jack concentrated hard.

  ‘Which key opens any lock?’ he asked and willed as much force down his wand as he could.

  A loud jingling and clicking came from the contents of the drawer. The keys seemed to have a life of their own and began shuffling around. They formed themselves into a pyramid and only became still when one of the dullest looking keys was poking out at the top.

  ‘There’s nothing special about that one,’ said Fergus.

  ‘We’ve got nothing to lose,’ said Jack as he carefully picked out the key from the pile. There was a loud clatter as the pyramid instantly collapsed. Jack inspected the key closely. It no longer looked dull or ordinary. Tiny sparks danced across the metal making his hand tingle.

  ‘Look!’ he said as he showed Fergus and Berry.

  The rats looked at the key and then looked at each other.

  ‘Can’t you see the sparks?’ asked Jack.

  Fergus and Berry bent their heads closer to the key.

  ‘Looks dull to me,’ announced Berry, and Fergus nodded in agreement.

  Jack held the key up to the light but it no longer sparkled, it must have been a trick of the light or maybe he’d imagined it.

  ‘Oh well! I might as well try it,’ he said as he bent down in front of the cupboard.

  The end of the key looked too big for the small hole in the door but the nearer Jack got, the less dull the key became. The tingling sensation once more ran through his fingertips. Tiny sparks began to dance across the metal again. The tip shrank before his eyes, and slipped into the keyhole. It was a perfect fit and almost seemed to turn itself in the lock. Fergus and Berry cheered when the door swung open.

  ‘You did it, Jack, you did it. You’re so clever with your magic,’ squeaked Berry.

  Jack pulled the key out of the lock. It looked dull and ordinary again.

  ‘I don’t think we’ll tell Camelin about this, do you?’

  Both rats shook their heads vigorously.

  ‘I think I’ll keep this safe until Nora gets back. At least I can get on with the potion now.’