The Jack Brenin Collection

by Catherine Cooper

  Jack quickly spooned some of the blackberry jelly onto Camelin’s plate.

  Breakfast didn’t take long. Jack and Nora had just finished clearing the table when Elan stepped through the open door.

  ‘Are you two coming to help?’

  ‘Of course,’ replied Jack.

  ‘You don’t even know what you’re volunteering for, you should always ask why or what for before you say yes,’ interrupted Camelin.

  Both Elan and Nora frowned at Camelin.

  ‘We need to use the equipment we bought in Newton Gill,’ replied Elan and winked at Jack.

  ‘What kind of equipment?’ asked Camelin.

  ‘Oh, just a few scrubbing brushes, dusters and some varnish,’ said Elan.

  ‘Well you can count me out. I’ve got important things to do today.’

  ‘You’re welcome to help,’ said Jack.

  ‘Naw, cleaning’s not for ravens, see you later.’

  ‘He’ll be back,’ said Nora. ‘He won’t be far away and his curiosity will get the better of him.’

  ‘Shall we go and groom Ember?’ Elan asked Jack.

  ‘I can’t wait. Where is she?’

  ‘She’s meeting us by the lake.’

  ‘Are you coming too?’ Jack asked Nora.

  ‘Not just yet. Unlike Camelin, I really do have important things to do!’

  It was only a short distance from the Druid’s village to the lake. They’d almost reached the water’s edge when Elan stopped. She fished in her pocket and pulled out a small silver whistle. Jack saw her blow it but he didn’t hear a sound.

  ‘Ember won’t be long,’ she explained, ‘she has incredible hearing and if I need her I use this.’

  Elan passed Jack the whistle. It was beautiful. As he turned it around he could see the likeness of Ember had been etched into the silver.

  ‘Lloyd made it for me,’ she said.

  The sound of beating wings made Jack turn. Ember in flight was a magnificent sight. As she got nearer she roared and circled around the lake before landing. The draught from her wings nearly knocked Jack and Elan off their feet. They clung onto the signpost until Ember had folded her wings.

  ‘Come and say hello properly.’

  Elan went over and stroked Ember’s lowered head.

  ‘We’re going to make you look really magnificent for tonight,’ she explained. ‘We’ll scrub and polish you and then varnish your nails silver.’

  Ember nodded and bent her head towards Jack so he could stroke it too.

  ‘We’ll need you to get into the lake first so we can scrub your nails and scales.’

  Jack watched as Ember stood by the water’s edge. She put one foot in the water but quickly brought it out again. Without warning the great dragon opened her mouth and breathed a huge flame directly into the water. Ember closed her heavy jaws and tested the water again before plunging into the lake. A great wave of water erupted and drenched Jack and Elan.

  ‘We might as well get in too,’ laughed Elan.

  The water was lovely and warm and for the next half hour, Jack and Elan scrubbed Ember’s scales.

  ‘We’ll paint your nails on the shore when you’re dry,’ Elan shouted.

  Ember nodded and moved her tail towards them.

  ‘Climb on,’ she said.

  When both Jack and Elan were ready, Ember set off at speed around the lake. It was difficult holding onto her spines but it was such a thrill to skim the water on her tail. They both whooped and squealed as Ember circled the lake. A crowd had gathered by the oak trees where the stalls were being erected in readiness for the feast. Each time they passed the crowd cheered and waved. Jack could see Camelin watching from the battlements of the Glass Palace. He couldn’t complain about being left out this time since he’d been invited. When Jack didn’t think he could laugh any more Ember finally slowed and landed near the signpost. They basked for a while in the sunshine until they’d all got their breath back.

  It was a long hard job polishing Ember but it was worth it. When they’d finished with the beeswax her red scales glinted in the sunlight.

  ‘We’ll paint your nails now,’ Elan shouted. ‘Don’t touch anything until they’re dry.’

  Ember nodded and moved her right foot towards them. There was just enough silver nail varnish in each bottle to paint one of Ember’s claws. By the time they’d finished the last one, Jack felt a bit giddy from the pungent smell of the varnish. He lay back on the shore and looked up.

  ‘Shouldn’t we polish her horn too?’ he asked.

  ‘I’ve got that covered,’ replied Elan as she turned and waved both arms towards the Palace.

  Jack smiled as Winver and Hesta glided down towards them. They took the cloth Elan offered them and flew onto Ember’s snout. They each held one end of the cloth in their claws and began to pull it back and forth around Ember’s horn. Winver flew down and Elan put polish onto another cloth. When the two white ravens had finished, Ember’s horn shone. They dropped the cloths at Elan’s feet and flew into a nearby tree.

  ‘You really do look magnificent,’ Jack told her.

  Ember stood and walked down to the water’s edge. She peered at her reflection in the water.

  ‘Thank you, I feel magnificent.’

  ‘I’ll call you when it’s time for you to light the barbecue,’ said Elan.

  Ember turned and ran a short distance away from them. She opened her wings and began to beat them. Jack knew he’d never tire of watching Ember fly and now she’d been scrubbed and polished, she looked even more impressive than she had before. Winver and Hesta flew over to them and landed on Elan’s shoulders.

  ‘Have you seen Camelin?’ asked Elan.

  ‘He said he wouldn’t help,’ said Winver. ‘He wouldn’t even stop to talk to us.’

  Jack looked up at the battlements. Camelin was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘Do you know where’s he gone?’

  ‘He said he was off to find Gwillam in the library,’ answered Hesta.

  ‘He will be able to sit with us at the feast, won’t he?’ Winver asked.

  ‘I think he should sit between the two of you, don’t you?’ replied Elan.

  Both ravens giggled and tittered before flying back to the palace.

  ‘Time to go,’ said Elan as she gathered up the empty nail varnish bottles. ‘Could you take these back to Gwillam’s house for me, I really should be getting back to the palace. There’s a lot to do before tonight’s feast and I shouldn’t leave it all to Cora and Gwen.’

  ‘That’s fine, I’ll see you later.’

  Jack didn’t go back to the Druid’s village straight away; instead he lay on his back in a patch of tall grass and watched the clouds. This really was the most wonderful place to be; especially now Velindur was gone. Jack sat up abruptly. He hadn’t intended to let any bad thoughts spoil his day, but like Max and his gang, Velindur was ever present. He knew deep down he’d have to face them all sooner or later. It was time he got back. He wondered if Camelin was still in the library or whether he’d only used that as an excuse to get away from Winver and Hesta. Jack picked everything up and made his way back to Gwillam’s house.

  ‘Psst, Jack,’ came a hoarse whisper as Jack entered Gwillam’s kitchen, ‘follow me.’

  He followed Camelin to the top of a flight of steps. A row of unlit candles lay on a shelf. Jack lit one before following Camelin down the steps. The air felt cool as they descended.

  ‘Where are we?’ asked Jack.

  ‘In Gwillam’s cellar, we can’t be overheard here and there are no trees to snitch on us.’

  Jack could see from Camelin’s expression that he had something important to tell him, something he didn’t want Nora to know about.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Lots.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘Like they aren’t going to tell you.’

  ‘Tell me what?’

  ‘About a lost treasure!’

  ‘What kind of treasure?’
>
  ‘If you stop asking questions I’ll tell you. I went to the library. Winver and Hesta were pestering me and trying to get me to come down to the lake and help, so I said I had to go find Gwillam. I was really going to go for a nap. You know how quiet it is in a library.’

  ‘So what did you hear?’

  ‘I’m coming to that. I found myself a secluded little alcove and was just nodding off when I heard Gwillam talking to the librarian. I couldn’t hear what they were saying at first but they got closer and eventually sat down together near where I was perched. Gwillam sounded concerned and so did the librarian. They were talking about a missing book but the librarian assured Gwillam no one had taken any books from the library.’

  Jack thought back to Falconrock, they obviously had the same rule in Annwn as on Earth.

  ‘I don’t think anyone’s allowed to take any books out of a Druid’s library,’ said Jack.

  ‘They’re not, but Gwillam thought one might have been taken without permission… sort of stolen rather than lost.’

  ‘Velindur was holding a book in my dream and in the Stone of Destiny.’

  ‘Stone of Destiny?’

  ‘Last night, when I’d shown the Blessed Council my destiny I saw Velindur in the stone. I showed it to Gwillam and he saw him too.’

  ‘No wonder Gwillam was worried.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because the stone can only show what is to be.’

  ‘So Velindur has a book. It could be any book, it could be one that belongs to him.’

  ‘Not a chance. Gwillam says it was definitely from Annwn. He just needs to know which book it is and where he got it from.’

  ‘Could it be one from the throne room?’

  ‘The librarian asked Gwillam that too, but he said he’d checked there first. None of those books are missing. Gwillam’s really concerned; he won’t rest until he finds out. He told the librarian he’d rather there had been a book missing from the library. He said, What if Velindur has got hold of one of the treasures?’

  ‘But none of the four treasures are books.’

  ‘I know, it doesn’t make sense. I wondered if you might know something.’

  ‘Not a thing. I could ask my Book of Shadows.’

  ‘Someone might hear and they’d see us if we went to get it. Can’t you just ask?’

  Jack remembered the crystal from Falconrock. Grannus had told him its magic would work for him if he were in need. If he needed to know something about Velindur, maybe he could summon the crystal and it would somehow tell them what they wanted to know. Jack opened his hand, stared at his palm, and concentrated hard.

  ‘Tell me about the treasures of Annwn,’ he said in the most commanding voice he could muster.

  When nothing happened he repeated the question. A blinding flash filled the small cellar. For a few moments Jack was unable to see. As his vision returned he could see the crystal suspended above his palm. It was spinning slowly.

  ‘Tell me about the treasures of Annwn,’ Jack said again.

  The crystal slowed to a halt. Jack thought it was about to disappear as the light from most of its facets dimmed and then without warning four beams shone brightly onto the cellar walls. The image of the Stone of Destiny was to Jack’s left, ahead was the spear, to his right was the cauldron and as he turned his head he could see the sword on the wall behind him.

  ‘Aw Jack, you’re just incredible. Ask if there are any more treasures.’

  Before Jack could speak the images changed, then rapidly changed again.

  ‘Did you see them all?’ asked Jack.

  ‘No, did you?’

  ‘There was Coragwenelan’s blue cape, her staff, and a helmet.’

  ‘I saw the helmet, an old chest, and a two-wheeled chariot, but the rest went too quickly; ask it again only say to go a bit slower this time.’

  Jack looked at the dimly glowing crystal and was about to repeat his question when it faded and disappeared. Jack shook his hand, held his palm flat and tried again but the crystal would not reappear.

  ‘That’s it I’m afraid; Grannus did say it had a mind of its own.’

  ‘Did you see a book?’

  ‘No. Did you?’

  Camelin shook his head.

  ‘The only thing we do know is that there are more than four treasures and Gwillam seems to think one of them is a book.’

  ‘Maybe we’ll find out more tonight. I’m going to be given my quest before the feast.’

  ‘Oh no! Not a quest. That means you’ll be off on your own again.’

  ‘I don’t see why.’

  ‘It’s that worthy thing again… you’ll have to go and find something and prove you’re the rightful king and I bet you have to do it on your own.’

  Jack didn’t answer. He’d had an awful thought. What if he had to find the book Velindur had in his hand? Jack remembered the look on Gwillam’s face when he’d shown him the stone. If it only showed what was to be, even if Velindur didn’t have the book yet, he would have it at some point and it must be important if Gwillam was worried.

  ‘We’d better be getting back or they’ll start wondering where we are.’

  ‘I’ll go first, so we’re not seen together.’

  Jack held the candle up so Camelin could see the stairs. He slowly counted to sixty and then made his way out of the cellar.

  A great crowd had gathered around the Monolith. A platform had been raised in front of it and as Jack and Gwillam approached, the outer ring of people parted to let them through. A great cheer went up. Jack saw the four animal headed horns above the heads of the people. As they reached the steps an ear-splitting sound from the instruments drowned the cheers and cries of the crowd. Jack followed Gwillam onto the platform. He watched as Coragwenelan and the other twelve members of the Blessed Council mounted the steps at the back. When they were all on the platform Coragwenelan raised her arms. The sound stopped and the people bowed their heads.

  ‘People of Annwn, we are gathered here tonight to give our thanks to the one who stands before you. Without him you would no longer have a Queen. Without him, death would have invaded our land. He saved the lives of Eleanor, Seanchai, Keeper of Secrets and Ancient Rituals, Guardian of the Sacred Grove, Healer, Shape Shifter and Wise Woman. He breathed Arrana’s life force into the acorns from the Mother Oak and ensured there will always be Hamadryads to watch over the forests of Earth. He is known to you as Jack Brenin, Raven Boy, and Friend to All. He has been granted the freedom of our land. He may enter and leave as he chooses and none may hinder his passage.’

  Coragwenelan waited until the cheers from the crowd subsided.

  ‘Is there any here who dispute this title?’

  No one made a sound. Jack felt awkward. He wasn’t used to having so many people looking at him. Coragwenelan stepped to one side and Gwillam went and stood next to Jack. He banged his staff on the platform three times before speaking.

  ‘The Druids of Annwn wish to thank Jack Brenin for his help.’

  Another great cheer rose from the crowd. Gwillam banged his staff again.

  ‘The Queen and Blessed Council are pleased to inform you all that Jack Brenin, the one who stands before you, is the true heir to the throne of Annwn. He is hereby charged with the quest to find the lost treasure of Annwn and return it to us at Samhain.’

  Another roar from the crowd gave Jack chance to look for Camelin. He was on Nora’s shoulder. They exchanged a look. Jack felt apprehensive as Gwillam spoke again.

  ‘He must locate the three parts of the King’s torc, for without it there will be no coronation. Should he fail, he will only ever be crowned King of the Festival, as was his ancestor before him, until the day he can recover the torc.’

  Gwillam reached into his pouch and produced a curved and twisted piece of gold. He turned and held it aloft for the crowd to see. Jack expected the crowd to cheer again but a hush fell.

  ‘Your quest, Jack Brenin, is to find the other two pieces of this torc. Only he who i
s worthy to be King will be able to find and remake the lost treasure. This is the first piece, the second can be found in Elidon, the Land of Shadow, and the third is on Earth, hidden in the Land of the Living.’

  Jack swallowed hard. He didn’t know if he was supposed to say anything. Gwillam passed him the piece of gold. As soon as it was in his trembling hand the horns blared and the crowd began cheering again. Gwillam patted Jack on the shoulder and Coragwenelan shook his hand. One by one the members of the Blessed Council filed past him and each smiled before bowing their head. Jack hoped someone was going to tell him where to begin.

  Coragwenelan stepped forward and raised her arms.

  ‘Let us make our way to the amphitheatre, it is time for the Feast to begin.’

  Jack watched as the Queen blew into a small silver whistle. The two of them looked towards the mountains. Jack strained his eyes until he saw Ember’s silhouette appear in the sky. It wouldn’t be long before the crowd saw how truly magnificent she looked. Every face turned upwards as she flew over. Jack smiled when he saw her land on top of the middle hillside where the amphitheatre was. She stretched out her wings, lowered her head, breathed a great flame, and lit the barbecue. Jack bowed to the Queen as she left the platform. He remained to watch the procession as it moved from the Monolith towards the amphitheatre.

  ‘Come on,’ Camelin called from the bottom of the platform, ‘if we don’t get a move on we’ll miss the start of the festival.’

  Jack reluctantly climbed down the stairs. When he reached the bottom Nora gave him a hug.

  ‘I know it’s a lot to take in but you’ll be fine. Camelin is right, it’s time to go.’

  Jack nodded. He knew it was useless to try to speak. He blinked back the tears that were welling up in his eyes. In his heart he knew Camelin was right about something else too, he knew he’d be expected to complete his quest alone.

  SABOTAGE

  The First Fruits Feast itself was almost the same as the one Jack had attended at Midsummer. There was plenty of food, entertainers and storytellers, but this time Jack’s thoughts were elsewhere and he wasn’t able to enjoy himself. He wished the Blessed Council had given him his quest after the feast and not before. The enormity of the task that lay ahead had overwhelmed him. Doubt, concern and worry filled his mind. Camelin was oblivious to Jack’s problem; he’d eaten his fill, laughed at the jugglers and listened intently to the stories. As it grew late Camelin hopped over to Jack.