The Jack Brenin Collection

by Catherine Cooper

  ‘Please, tell me, what do I need to do?’

  ‘Just ask me. Once I have agreed to your request I will be able to take on the mantle of the Oak Lord.’

  Jack thought carefully. This was a solemn moment. He needed to find the right words. How did you ask someone lying in a tomb to become the guardian and protector of the woods and forests of Glasruhen? If Alindyne agreed, would he appear before Jack in the tomb? He suddenly remembered his ancestor could read his thoughts. He took a deep breath and bowed low. When he stood up again, he’d decided what he must say.

  ‘Alindyne Brenin, King of the Festival, Worthy Mortal, Uncrowned King of Annwn, I would like to invest you with the mantle of the Oak Lord. Would you do me the honour of accepting my request?’

  Jack started to bow again, he heard Alindyne say his name and then the room began to spin. The tomb and the stone vanished in a spiralling greyness. Jack shut his eyes and spread out his arms to steady himself. He felt the softness of his blanket under his hands and the bed beneath his back. He felt something soft and warm nudging his cheek and a soft high-pitched squeaky voice calling to him.

  ‘Jack, Jack, what’s wrong?’

  ‘Orin?’

  ‘I’ve been trying to wake you. Didn’t you hear me calling?’

  Jack squeezed his eyes shut. He tried as hard as he could to see the inside of the Mound and to hear Alindyne’s reply. What would his ancestor think when he found himself alone? How could he let him know he’d been dragged back to his bed unwillingly? The only sound Jack could hear was Orin pleading with him.

  ‘Jack, Jack, don’t go to sleep, Camelin’s outside and wants to come in. You did tell me to wake you. I can’t open the window on my own. Please, Jack, wake up.’

  Jack groaned. Maybe when Camelin had gone he’d be able to return to the Mound. He swung his legs out of bed, parted the curtain, then leant over and opened the window.

  ‘You took your time. It’s freezing out there.’

  Jack flopped back heavily onto the bed.

  ‘Wake up, Jack! I’ve got things to tell you.’

  ‘I’m not asleep.’

  Jack immediately felt guilty for being so grumpy. It wasn’t Orin or Camelin’s fault that he’d been transported to the Mound. He sat up and opened his eyes.

  ‘Try to keep the noise down, I don’t want you to wake Grandad.’

  Camelin hopped onto the bed and leant over to Jack.

  ‘Do you know what time it is?’

  Jack tried to focus on his clock and gave up. He shook his head.

  ‘It’s time I was in bed. It’s time I was asleep. I should have had at least five hours’ shut-eye by now. Since you didn’t have anything else to do, you could at least have kept watch with Orin and waited for me to come back. I thought you’d want to know all about the evacuation.’

  ‘I’m sorry. Of course I want to know. Did it go all right, is everyone safe?’

  ‘With me in charge, how could it not be all right?’

  Jack wondered what Motley would have to say if he heard Camelin taking all the credit. As if to make his point, Camelin thrust out his chest and strutted around Jack. The softness of his bed made Camelin’s victory dance look really comical. Jack tried not to laugh as he wobbled unsteadily from side to side. He waited until Camelin had finished before he spoke again.

  ‘I’m awake now, so you can tell me all about it.’

  ‘It’ll have to be tomorrow now, since you took so long to wake up. I need to get to my raven-bed and get some sleep. Come and let me out. I’ll see you both tomorrow afternoon.’

  Once Jack had the window open, Camelin took off without even saying goodnight. Jack picked Orin up and stroked her back.

  ‘Well, we’re just going to have to wait to hear all the details but at least we know everyone’s safe. Thank you for keeping watch… it’s time you got some sleep too.’

  Jack carried Orin back to her cage and brought her favourite cushion back from the windowsill. He waited until she’d curled up before going back to bed.

  He closed his eyes and concentrated hard but, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t transport himself back into Alindyne’s tomb.

  RECOVERY

  ‘Would you like some help with those?’ Grandad asked as Jack struggled into the kitchen with his two heavy bags. ‘Looks like you packed enough for a month and not just a few days.’

  ‘I’ve got an extra bag for my costume.’

  ‘You take yourself off with your backpack and I’ll drop your big bags round at Ewell House later this afternoon. I’ve got to go into town, so I’ll be getting the car out. I’ll bring those vegetables round too, save you the bother of getting yourself all dirty. I’ve given them a good shake but there’s still a lot of soil on them. What about Orin?’

  ‘She’s in my pocket.’

  ‘Go on, off with you, then. I’ll see you later.’

  Jack gave his grandad a big hug.

  ‘Thanks. Have you got a costume for when we go trick-or-treating?’

  Grandad closed one eye, regarded Jack with the other and tapped the side of his nose with his finger. Jack knew it was useless to try to find out any more. He picked up his backpack, made sure Orin was all right and then opened the kitchen door.

  ‘I’ll see you later, then.’

  ‘Have a good time.’

  ‘I will.’

  As soon as Jack reached the gap in the hedge at the bottom of the garden he carefully took Orin out of his pocket.

  ‘I can’t let you go on ahead. I think we should stick together until Nora tells us it’s safe. If you hold on tight you can sit on my shoulder. You’ll feel the breeze in your fur if I run through the tunnel.’

  Orin squeaked with glee as Jack raced off towards Ewell House. He could feel the tips of her needle-like claws as she gripped his jacket. When they entered Nora’s garden, he bent over and let her scamper down his outstretched arm onto the path.

  ‘Off you go…’ Jack panted, ‘…you’ll be safe now.’

  He watched Orin race down the path while he got his breath back. He half expected Camelin to be waiting for him, but the garden seemed strangely quiet. It was early afternoon but the heavy dark clouds and the overhanging trees made the garden seem gloomy. He could see the kitchen was in darkness. The only light was a soft glow coming from underneath the Herborium door. Jack knocked and listened. He could hear muffled whispers but no one spoke.

  ‘It’s Jack. Can I come in?’

  Two furry faces peeped up at him from under the door.

  ‘Password?’ said Berry.

  Jack had no idea what the password could be.

  ‘I’m looking for Elan, Nora or Camelin. Are they inside?’

  ‘If that’s Jack Brenin standing outside the door, he doesn’t need a password,’ boomed Motley, ‘tell him to come in.’

  Fergus gave an embarrassed cough.

  ‘Sorry, Jack, we were told not to let anyone in.’

  ‘Anyone you didn’t know,’ corrected Motley.

  ‘Come in,’ said Berry, ‘but you’ll have to open the door yourself, the latch is too heavy for us.’

  Jack let himself in. As he closed the door, several candles on the table flickered. Shadows leapt around the room until the flames settled again. Jack could see some of the Night Guard had gathered around the hammock. Orin, who had obviously found her own way into the Herborium, was with them. Jack hoped Raggs was all right and hadn’t been hurt in the evacuation.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.

  ‘Got ourselves a Wood Elf here. We missed her in the evacuation. Not sure how that happened. She’s hurt. Elan brought her back a couple of hours ago. We’ve been keeping watch.’

  Jack knelt down and took a closer look at the hammock. Inside was what looked like a tiny Fairy. She was dressed all in brown with a tall hat that curled to a point at the tip.

  ‘She looks like Twink,’ said Jack.

  ‘Most of the Fair Folk look alike, don’t you know. The Dryads are th
e tallest; Elves and Fairies the smallest but, unlike the Fairies, the Elves can’t transform to fly. They usually hitch a ride on something that does though. Often seen Wood Elves on the backs of beetles. In the summer they have bug races, quite something watching them speed around the forest. Quite a skill bareback bug racing, don’t you know. Nearly forgot… Nora said they’d be back soon. Gone to check Newton Gill one last time, just to make no one else has been injured or left behind.’

  ‘Has Camelin gone with them?’

  ‘No, the grumpy one’s asleep in the kitchen.’

  No one spoke. Jack pulled up one of the stools. He sat down and watched over the little elf with the others. Occasionally she turned and groaned softly. Jack knew she must be in some kind of pain.

  ‘Did Nora say what’s wrong with her?’

  ‘No,’ replied Motley. ‘We were asked to watch over her and if she wakes we’re to reassure her she’s safe.’

  Jack could see the little elf ’s eyelids flicker. In an instant she sat bolt upright, both her eyes wide open. She looked terrified. Raggs leant over and gently put his paw on her hand.

  ‘Don’t worry, you are with friends.’

  The elf began speaking so quickly Jack wasn’t able to catch what she said. He would normally have been able to understand the Elvish words, but her head shook so violently from side to side that it made all her words sound wobbly. He thought it best to introduce himself and the others.

  ‘I’m Jack,’ he said softly, ‘these are my friends and you’re safe in the Herborium at Ewell House. Are you hurt?’

  Instead of answering, the little elf pulled the coverlet over her head. Jack could see she was shaking. He looked at Motley, then Raggs, but they both shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads.

  ‘If Twink were here,’ he told Motley, ‘she’d know what to do.’

  The shaking from underneath the blanket stopped. A small face peeped over the edge.

  ‘Twink! You know Twink?’

  ‘We do,’ Jack assured her, ‘she’s our friend.’

  The little elf let out a great sob and began to cry. For such a small creature, it was a very loud noise. Jack looked at the rats.

  ‘What did I say?’

  They each shook their heads. Orin tried patting her hand and making soothing sounds. The noise of the door latch made them turn towards the door, all except the elf, who wailed even more loudly.

  ‘Hmmm!’ said Elan, as she pointed her wand at the hammock. ‘I think I’d better put an end to that before it gets any worse.’

  A spiral of sparkling light twisted and turned across the room until it arrived above the hammock. It hovered for a moment about the Wood Elf ’s head before it cascaded over her like silver rain. The little elf immediately stopped crying and turned towards the door. Elan smiled and walked over to where Jack sat. He stood and offered her the stool.

  ‘That’s better,’ she said to the little elf. ‘Now, would you tell us who you are and exactly what happened?’

  ‘I’m Arin. My friend Twink asked me to keep an eye on Peabody’s house while he was gone, which I did. That’s why I was still in the forest. None of the other Wood Elves stayed, they all went off to our winter mound.

  ‘Every so often Twink would come and visit me and see if there was any news about Peabody. About a month ago, Twink stopped coming, I have no idea why, and I was worried about her. Then butterflies, moths and ladybirds all began to disappear. There was great unrest in the forest as the numbers of flyers declined. The beetles were afraid to take wing and stayed close to the forest floor.

  ‘Two days ago, I found my beetle friend and begged him to fly me out of the forest. I knew I had to get to the Meadow Mound and warn the Fairies not to go into Newton Gill. We were almost at the edge of the forest when a great hand appeared from nowhere and snatched at us. My beetle mount was fast, he was a four-time winner of the annual beetle races, but the hand was faster. It grabbed us. I was thrown to the ground and landed heavily on the forest floor. When I tried to stand, I found I couldn’t. Both my ankles were hurt. On the ground, next to me, were the remains of my beetle. He’d been crushed. The hand had shown him no mercy. I lay there, unable to move, watching as the hand grabbed at anything that flew past it. That’s the last thing I remember until I woke up here.’

  Jack felt so sorry for Arin and the creatures of the wood.

  ‘This has to be Velindur’s doing.’

  ‘It is,’ agreed Elan. ‘Nora and I are in no doubt that he now holds every Fairy captive.’

  ‘What can we do to help Arin?’

  Elan went over to one of Nora’s drawers. She took out bandages, a pair of scissors and then reached up and brought down a tall brown jar from the shelf.

  ‘Some witch hazel on her ankles will take the swelling down, but she’s going to need something to calm her. Now what would Nora choose?’

  ‘Lavender and linden blossom,’ said Raggs.

  Both Jack and Elan looked at him.

  ‘Nora’s been teaching me the uses of all the herbs. I know they will help. She brewed some for me when my leg was injured.’

  Elan nodded.

  ‘Would you make them into a herbal tea, Jack? Make enough for everyone. I think we could all do with a soothing brew. I’ll sort out the bandages for Arin’s ankles.’

  Raggs hobbled up the steps Nora had made for him. He made his way along the shelves until he came to a set of drawers.

  ‘Over here, Jack, this is where everything’s stored.’

  Jack read the neat writing on the labels and collected what he needed. He put the herbs into one of Nora’s small cauldrons. Once he’d added the water he swung it over the fire. While he waited for the water to boil, he watched Elan. She tipped the witch hazel from the bottle onto two pieces of lint and then cut the bandages. When she was satisfied everything was ready she picked up her wand.

  ‘Lunio,’ she commanded.

  The bandages began to shrink. When they were the size of a thin ribbon Elan put down her wand. She nodded to Fergus and Berry, who each picked up a bandage and waited by the hammock for Orin to turn down the coverlet. Elan spoke to Arin and reassured her as the two young rats worked as carefully as they could. It wasn’t long before Arin’s ankles were strapped.

  ‘That should help,’ Elan told her.

  ‘Thank you, all of you,’ said Arin, ‘you’re very kind.’

  Jack poured the tea into thimbles for the rats, cups for himself and Elan and then looked around for something to put Arin’s tea in.

  ‘Use another cup,’ said Elan, ‘we’ll just reduce it for her like we did with the bandages.’

  It wasn’t long before they were all sitting around the hammock sipping the soothing lavender and linden blossom tea. The door opened and Nora entered.

  ‘I think I could do with a cup of tea too, after the day we’ve had.’

  Jack poured and passed Nora her tea. When she’d had a few sips she brought a small bag out of her pocket. She gently tipped out the contents onto the table. Jack felt tears well up in his eyes, for on the table were dozens of wings from a variety of insects.

  ‘All gone, I’m afraid,’ said Nora. ‘No one else has been left behind, but I’m afraid there have been many fatalities. I can only think of one person who would wreak such needless destruction.’

  No one spoke. Nora sighed deeply before putting the wings carefully back into the bag.

  ‘I’m sorry, I’m forgetting myself. How is our visitor?’

  ‘Awake, bandaged and feeling the effects of some calming tea,’ said Elan.

  ‘That’s good,’ replied Nora, as she went over to Arin. ‘You are welcome to stay here for as long as you like. When you feel better, Timmery can fly you to our safe haven in Steaple Lacy Wood, but I’m afraid until we resolve the problem of Velindur, you won’t be able to return to Newton Gill Forest.’

  Arin nodded and sipped her tea.

  ‘Thank you,’ she whispered. ‘I think I’d like to stay here for a while.
’

  Raggs looked wistfully at his hammock. Nora smiled.

  ‘Not to worry, Raggs, that’s soon sorted.’

  She took her wand and twizzled it around before drawing a couple of squiggles in the air. A small bed materialised and floated gracefully down to the floor. It came to rest next to the hammock.

  ‘A comfortable place for you to rest,’ said Nora, as she carefully lifted Arin out of the hammock and put her gently onto the soft mattress.

  Elan waved her wand over Arin. A tiny blanket materialised in mid-air and floated down onto the bed. Nora nodded her approval.

  ‘If you want anything, just ask Raggs, he’s in charge of my Herborium.’

  Arin smiled weakly, then yawned deeply.

  ‘I think we’ll leave you to sleep,’ said Nora. ‘The rest of us can go into the kitchen. I’m sure Orin will stay with you and keep you company.’

  Motley stood to attention. The rest of the Night Guard did the same. Elan opened the door and they marched after her to the house. Nora was the last to leave the Herborium. Jack heard the latch drop. At least the little Wood Elf would be safe now. He hoped the rest of the Fairies were still alive. The pile of wings Nora had put on the table had upset and worried him.

  Jack was surprised to see both his bags in the kitchen. He looked at Nora.

  ‘I got held up having a chat with your grandad. You can take them upstairs later. We have important things to discuss first.’

  ‘What important things?’ asked Camelin.

  Jack could see he’d been sleeping by the range. When Camelin saw Nora looking at the cushion he’d obviously been sitting on, he shrugged his shoulders.

  ‘The floor was cold. I wouldn’t have needed it if you’d not been gone so long.’

  Nora raised her eyes and shook her head, but she didn’t chide him.

  ‘We need a plan. Thankfully, it’s not as bad as I feared. I wondered if the Wood Elves had been taken too but fortunately, Arin was the only one left in Newton Gill. Has anyone got any ideas?’

  Jack sighed deeply. He felt wretched that his friends were being held against their will. He didn’t see how they would ever be able to persuade Velindur to release them all. A sudden thought struck him.