‘Can I have first choice of story to tell everyone when we get back?’
‘You can tell them all, I’m not sure I’d remember any of them well enough.’
‘That’s great! I can’t wait to tell the dragonettes the one about the Hag cave. My favourite was the Case of the Missing Broomstick, I bet the Dorysk will love it too. Which one did you like best?’
Jack began to answer but was interrupted by loud clapping coming from a group to their left. Jack couldn’t see what they were looking at until two brightly coloured hummingbirds darted towards their table. The crowd seemed to think some more entertainment was about to begin but Jack wasn’t so sure, he thought he recognised the two tiny birds.
‘Timmery? Charkle?’
‘Oh Jack, something awful’s happened,’ squeaked Timmery as he hovered in front of Jack’s face. ‘We had to come and find you. None of us knows what to do.’
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Nora.
‘There’s been a break-in at Brenin House,’ replied Charkle. ‘Motley and the rest of the Night Guard are keeping watch but there’s no one to help. Jack’s grandad hasn’t come home yet.’
‘Is the house in a mess?’ asked Nora.
‘It’s not the house, it’s the shed,’ said Timmery, as he darted back and forth. ‘It’s terrible. Your buggy’s been smashed to pieces and there’s paint everywhere. Twink knows what happened, she was there. She’s really upset. The Dorysk heard crying and went to investigate. When he saw the mess he thought we’d better come and tell you.’
‘Is Twink alright?’ asked Jack.
‘The Dorysk and Rhoda are with her, they’ve gone back to the fairy mound,’ answered Charkle. ‘Norris and Snook are guarding the meadow.’
Nora signalled to Gwillam and Coragwenelan to join them.
‘We’ve got a problem; I’m afraid Jack and I are going to have to get back to Glasruhen as soon as possible. Charkle and Timmery will explain. Jack and I need to be there when his grandad gets home. Maybe Elan and Camelin can come back as soon as the feast is over.’
The Queen nodded Gwillam stood and signalled for Charkle and Timmery to follow him.
‘I’d rather come back with you now,’ said Camelin, looking meaningfully at Winver and Hesta.
They quickly said their goodbyes and set off at speed for the Western Portal.
‘This wasn’t quite how I expected our visit to end,’ said Nora as they reached the two sentinel oaks, ‘I’m sorry if it’s spoilt your fun but I really think we should be there for when your grandad gets back.’
‘It’s fine,’ both Jack and Camelin replied.
Jack was worried about lots of things but leaving Annwn wasn’t one of them. He felt the pouch Gwillam had given him. Inside was the first piece of the torc. He checked his wand; it was safely in the loops. His golden acorn and silver key hung safely around his neck. At least he’d got everything with him, well almost everything.
‘My clothes! They’re at Gwillam’s house,’ cried Jack.
Camelin sniggered.
‘Can you remember what you were wearing?’ asked Nora.
Jack nodded.
‘If you visualise your clothes I’ll transform them when they appear, they’ll be as real as the others; just remember to wear them when we come back again. As soon as you step into Annwn they’ll instantly revert back to these robes and shoes.’
Jack concentrated hard. His soft shoes transformed into his trainers. He could see the robes changing shape until he stood in the clothes he’d worn the day before, when they’d entered Annwn. Nora took her wand and closed her eyes.
‘Muto,’ she commanded.
Jack felt his clothes get heavier as they transformed, they felt solid. Unlike the clothes he’d visualised, these were just like his real ones. Nora nodded her approval.
‘Now, I think we’d better get back.’
When they arrived at Ewell House, Nora sent Camelin to find Motley to let him know they were on their way before she went to the herborium to put her cauldron away. Jack went up to his bedroom to get his house key.
‘What are we going to say to Grandad?’ Jack asked Nora as they walked through the tunnel to the garden of Brenin House.
‘I think we’re going to have to tell him we heard a commotion and came to investigate, otherwise, it’s going to be difficult to explain how we knew about the break-in.’
As they approached the shed, Motley bounded over to meet them. His whiskers twitched rapidly and he looked very upset.
‘Terrible mess inside, terrible, the police need to be informed. Those boys need arresting for what they’ve done.’
Jack’s heart sank. He thought he knew who those boys might be. Nora held up her wand and shone the lighted tip towards the shed. The door had been left open. When they peeped inside Jack saw that Motley had not exaggerated. There was a terrible mess inside. The buggy had been smashed and lay in bits. The wheels were bent, the wood was broken and all of the metal parts were missing. There was paint all over the floor and the remains of the buggy. A trail of blue footprints led away from the shed towards the back lane.
‘Two sets of prints, child size, don’t you know,’ said Motley. ‘Fergus and Berry tracked them as far as they could but they fade away to nothing halfway across the field. Do you want me to send for Twink? She was here and saw what happened, knows who’s responsible for this… too upset to be questioned earlier.’
‘It would be helpful if she’s feeling up to coming over, but if not we’ll see her later. Do you know where Sam Brenin is?’
‘Having supper at the Fox and Duck in Newton Gill with some of his friends from the Gardening Club. Lester and Podge are keeping watch. Camelin’s gone to let them know you’re back. As soon as Sam Brenin’s on his way home, Lester has orders to take the short cut and report to me. Lester is the swiftest runner we have and always knows the best route to take, he’ll be back well before Sam Brenin.’
Jack had listened to Motley but he’d not been able to take his eyes away from the mess. Why would anyone be so mean as to wreck their buggy? It had to be Max, and probably Tank. This must be their way of getting their own back.
Nora put her arm around his shoulders.
‘Try not to worry. We could clear it all up in a couple of minutes but I don’t think we ought to use magic. Your grandad needs to know about it and I think Motley’s right, we need to inform P.C. Stone. We mustn’t touch anything. Do you want to wait in the house?’
‘No I’d rather wait out here in case Twink comes over. You don’t think they’ve damaged Grandad’s garden, do you?’
‘Flowers, fruit and vegetables all undisturbed,’ said Motley. ‘Morris and Midge had a good look round. They couldn’t get into the greenhouse but nothing seems to have been touched. It looks as if the intruders were only interested in the shed.’
A loud buzzing noise stopped the conversation. They turned and watched as a swarm of bees approached the shed. At the head was a different insect. It looked like an overgrown wasp. As it got nearer Jack could see it was wearing a pair of glasses. On its back sat Twink. The swarm circled around the top of the shed and the Dorysk landed next to Motley. As Twink stepped onto the grass Jack could see she had been crying. He bent down and offered her his hand to climb onto.
‘Thank you, I’m so sorry I couldn’t do anything to stop them.’
Jack held his hand higher so Nora could see her.
‘Are you hurt?’
Twink shook her head.
‘She’s had a shock,’ said the Dorysk as he transformed into his usual prickly form. ‘Too upset to fly. We’ve got more than enough help now in case there’s any trouble, the rest of the fairies from the mound are so cross it’ll take them all night to calm down. If the lads come back they’ll find a swarm of very angry bees waiting for them.’
‘I don’t think they’ll be back,’ said Nora, ‘they’ve done what they came to do.’
‘Did you see who did this?’ Jack asked Twink.
&nb
sp; ‘There were two of them, nasty boys. I was on my way to see Rhoda when I heard them climb over the fence. They were arguing. I heard their names, the one with the long blond hair was called Max and he called the big one Tank.’
Jack nodded, Twink had confirmed his suspicions but they’d never be able to prove it. P.C. Stone would think they were mad if they told him a fairy had witnessed the whole event.
‘Can you tell us exactly what happened,’ asked Nora.
‘The one called Max said he knew there wasn’t anyone in and no one would hear them. When they got to the shed they kicked the door, pulled it open and shone a torch around. Max told Tank to smash the buggy up good and proper. He tried jumping on it and kicking it but nothing happened, then they found your grandad’s big hammer. The one he uses when he puts the posts in. That worked. They laughed as they took it in turns to smash the buggy. Tank had a bag and he bent over and started putting all the metal bits in it. As he stood up his head hit the shelf. A tin of paint bounced off and spilt. It went all over the blond one’s head and all over the floor.’
‘We still can’t prove it was them,’ said Nora. ‘They could say they’d got paint on their clothes from anywhere.’
‘No fingerprints,’ interrupted Motley, ‘must have worn gloves.’
‘The blond one used some very bad language and pushed the bigger boy. He was furious he was covered in paint.’
‘Serves him right,’ said Nora. ‘He’ll have a hard job explaining that one away at home.’
Jack could imagine how cross Max would have been. He seemed very proud of his hair.
‘Thanks Twink, I’m sorry they upset you,’ Jack said as he lowered her to the ground.
‘Make way, make way,’ shouted Motley as a brown rat, with a distinctive black splodge on his back, bounded into the garden.
They all waited expectantly as Lester tried to speak. Jack could see his chest heaving as he fought to get his breath back.
‘Sam Brenin, on his way,’ he eventually managed to blurt out.
‘Good job, estimated time of arrival?’
‘Ten minutes,’ panted Lester.
‘Back to the mound,’ the Dorysk called to the swarm of bees that were still buzzing madly around the shed. ‘Give me a second Twink and you can hop on.’
There was a loud popping sound as the Dorysk shape-shifted back into a very large wasp. Twink climbed onto his back and away they flew.
‘Great member of the Night Guard, invaluable in a tight spot, could come in handy if he knows how to use that sting too. Hornets are feared by most. We’ll see how that big boy reacts. If he’s afraid of bees he’s not going to like an overgrown wasp.’
‘You’d better get back to Ewell House before Sam arrives,’ Nora told Motley.
There was a long low whistle followed by rustling and the sound of small feet making their way through the undergrowth. When Jack turned round to thank Motley and Lester, they’d already gone.
‘Shall we go and meet your grandad by the gate? We can explain what’s happened before he sees it.’
Jack nodded. He knew Grandad would be very upset. He’d been so excited when they were making the buggy.
When Jack’s grandad saw them he waved and quickened his pace.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘I’m afraid the shed’s been broken into and there’s rather a mess,’ said Nora.
‘Who could have done such a thing?’
‘I think it might have been two of those boys who don’t like me,’ explained Jack.
‘Have they done any damage? Is the buggy alright?’
Jack swallowed hard and tried to speak but the words just wouldn’t come out. As he looked up at his grandad, tears streamed down his face.
‘There, there, nothing to cry about, come here.’
Grandad opened his arms and Jack let himself be hugged. He buried his head deep into Grandad’s chest. He sobbed and sobbed, for himself, for Grandad’s disappointment and for his mum. He didn’t care who saw him or what they thought.
When the tears eventually stopped he closed his eyes. He felt safe in his grandad’s strong arms. No one had spoken and when he felt able to open his eyes again he was alone with Grandad.
‘Let’s get you inside, Nora’s gone to the police station. What do you say to a nice cup of cocoa? It’ll make you feel a lot better, and while you have your drink and settle yourself down I’ll go and have a look at the damage.’
‘They’ve ruined the buggy, it’s all smashed up.’
‘We’ll start again. We’re not going to let a little thing like this upset us, are we?’
Jack tried to smile but his lips started to tremble again. Grandad took him by the hand and led him inside.
‘Up you pop, you can sleep in your own bed tonight, I’ll bring you a drink up in a few minutes, and don’t you worry, we’ll sort it out.’
It wasn’t long before Jack heard his grandad climbing the stairs. He came into Jack’s room with two mugs of steaming cocoa and put them down on Jack’s bedside table. Jack climbed into bed and shuffled over a bit so Grandad could sit on the edge.
‘Feeling a bit better?’
‘A bit.’
‘Nora’s suggested we rebuild the buggy in her shed. What do you say? Shall we give it another go?’
Jack nodded.
‘That’s the right attitude. We’re not going to let a small setback like this stop us, are we?’
While they sipped their cocoa Grandad chatted about the Flower Show but Jack wasn’t really listening. There were lots of thoughts going round in his head. He wondered how he was going to fit everything in. The buggy was going to take up a lot of his time and he had to start looking for the torc. His life had unexpectedly become quite complicated.
‘Have you finished?’ asked Grandad as he stood up and held his hand out for Jack’s mug.
Jack drained the last of the now lukewarm cocoa.
‘That’s a good lad, now you sleep tight, and in the morning you can make a start on the new buggy with Elan.’
Grandad closed Jack’s bedroom door and went back downstairs. When the back door opened, Jack went over to the window and peeped from behind the curtain. He watched Grandad walk across the grass with his big flashlight. He went and joined Nora and a tall policeman by the shed. He could see them peering inside but no one went through the doors. They were too far away for him to hear what they were saying. He looked over to Ewell House; it was in darkness, which probably meant Elan wasn’t back yet. He knew she’d want to rebuild the buggy; she wasn’t afraid of any of the gang. He resolved to be stronger and not let them bother him. Maybe then they’d leave him alone.
He got back into bed and lay on his back. He wondered when he’d be able to look for the missing pieces of the torc. In all the confusion, he’d not been able to ask anyone about Elidon, and he didn’t have his Book of Shadows to consult. He yawned deeply. He was too drowsy to think any more, it was all going to have to wait until the morning. He let his head sink deeper into his pillow and his eyelids close over his tired eyes.
AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR
Jack struggled to open his eyes. He could hear Grandad talking to someone in the kitchen but he’d no idea who it was. He tried to make out what was being said but couldn’t. When the voices stopped he could feel himself drifting back to sleep. The sudden memory of the night before jolted him awake. He swung his legs out of bed, pushed his feet into his slippers and made his way to the kitchen in his pyjamas. He put his ear to the kitchen door. The only sound he could hear was Grandad setting the table. He opened the door a fraction and hesitated.
‘Grandad…’
‘Come on in, P.C. Stone’s gone. Nothing’s been taken except a few bits of metal from the framework, but I’m afraid we’re not going to be able to salvage much. They did a pretty good job of smashing it up. P.C. Stone’s got a good idea who’s responsible and he’s going to be paying them a visit this morning.’
Jack groaned inwardly. He didn’t th
ink a visit from the police would stop Max wanting to get his own back, if anything it would probably make things worse.
‘Will we have time to rebuild the buggy?’
‘It’ll be tight, and unfortunately the plans are covered in paint. Finding wheels might be our biggest problem but we’ll give it our best shot, won’t we?’
Jack nodded.
‘Get yourself ready and we’ll have breakfast. I’ve got to be in the judge’s tent soon but you and Elan can make a start by taking anything we can reuse to Nora’s and I’ll see you all later this afternoon at the show.’
As Jack stood up there was a knock on the front door.
‘Who could that be at this time in the morning?’ said Grandad as he went to investigate.
Jack raced upstairs and quickly got dressed; whoever it was he didn’t want to be seen in his pyjamas. He raced back downstairs when Grandad called him. He’d half expected to see Nora or Elan in the kitchen so it was a complete surprise to find the smallest member of Max’s gang talking to Grandad.
‘I’ve come to apologise,’ said Techno, before Jack could say anything.
‘For what?’ asked Jack.
‘For your racer being trashed.’
Grandad patted Techno on the shoulder.
‘He heard about what happened to the buggy.’
‘It wasn’t me… I didn’t have anything to do with it and I don’t want to have anything to do with Max or his gang any more either.’
‘So it was Max and Tank?’ asked Jack.
Techno bit his lip.
‘What’s done is done,’ said Grandad. ‘We mustn’t let a couple of ruffians stop us. I think you need to listen to what this young man has to say. It took a lot of courage for him to come here this morning.’
Jack smiled weakly at Techno. They were about the same size but unlike Jack, everything about Techno was neat and sleek, including his jet-black hair. Techno took off his glasses and polished them on the bottom of his shirt before replacing them and speaking again.
The Jack Brenin Collection Page 75
