Alfie blinked in the direction of the voice. The glare eased and he could make out a broad, bearded man sitting nearby, lighting a fire under a pot of water. He was wearing a coarse hempen shirt and trousers, and a shaggy brown waistcoat.
“Powerful stuff, that is,” he said proudly. “Got the recipe from a good friend of mine. You’ll heal up nicely.”
Alfie thanked the strange man as he looked around groggily. He was sitting on a makeshift bed of bundles of wood and fleeces in a homely cave that opened out on to the forest. Robin was sitting beside him, knees drawn up to his chin as he hugged his legs.
“What happened?” he groaned. “Did you find Maddie?”
“No.” Robin stared at his feet gloomily. “You’ve been in and out of consciousness for about half an hour. We should go to hospital but … I don’t think they have them here. Not yet, anyway.”
“What?” Alfie clambered to his feet and staggered to the cave mouth to gaze down at a familiar but different view of Hexbridge valley. Despite the splotches of colour that danced across his vision, he could see just how different the landscape looked. The familiar patchwork of fields that surrounded Hexbridge were now shrouded in thick forest that stretched out across the valley, as far as he could see. Robin’s words finally sank in as Alfie realized what this meant. It had happened again, like on the last day of term. He had slipped back through time, but this time he had brought Robin with him.
“Everything went foggy when you passed out,” said Robin twisting the bottom of his jumper. “When it cleared we were still in the caves but Murkle and Snitch had gone. I couldn’t move you so I went to get help. I met Bryn here; this is his cave. He carried you out of the tunnels and bandaged your head.”
Bryn smiled as Alfie thanked him and politely admired his cave. “I use it for storage and to catch a bit of thinking time. You’re lucky I was here today – the wife sent me to fetch some of the firewood you’re sitting on.”
“I wanted to go back and look for Maddie,” said Robin, “but when I realized what had happened I knew it would be pointless.” He looked down at the ground and said quietly, “she won’t be there, will she?”
“I’m so sorry, Robin. I didn’t mean to bring us here. It’s just like the last time. I can’t control it.”
“If it hadn’t happened they would have caught us,” said Robin. “I don’t know what they were going to do, but they weren’t going to let us go. You saved us both, but I just wish I knew Madeleine was safe.”
Alfie was grateful that Robin didn’t blame him, but couldn’t help being angry at himself. If he hadn’t dragged them back through time maybe they would have found Madeleine by now, or at least have a search party looking for her.
“Alfie, can you get us back home?” asked Robin.
“I’m not sure. Last time everything just faded and I was back. I didn’t need to do anything. Maybe we’re still here because I was unconscious so long?”
“Sounds as though you two need a bit of advice,” said Bryn. “Just as well I sent word to a friend who always knows what to do. In fact, here he comes.” He waved down the hill at a cloaked figure making his way up the trail. “Ho, Orin!” The figure below called out a distant greeting as he waved back.
“I don’t believe it. That’s Orin? Orin Hopcraft?” shouted Alfie, jumping back up despite the throbbing in his head. “Of course! We’re in his time now. He’ll know how to get us home!”
“Just like he got you and your kin home the night you were born,” said Bryn.
Alfie turned to him in surprise. “You know about that?”
“Know about it? I was at the castle when your parents came through the mist. My wife helped deliver you. Orin said you’d be back one of these days. I can’t say I expected you to turn up in my cave though.”
“Nor did I!” laughed Orin Hopcraft, his grey eyes twinkling as he swept into the cave. His warm presence seemed to fill the entire space as he unclasped his long brown cloak and let it drop to the floor, revealing a dark green tunic over a loose long-sleeved shirt. The druid clapped his hands to Alfie’s shoulders. “Alfie, my dear boy! How wonderful it is to see you again.”
“Orin,” Alfie stammered, struggling to think of something else to say as he took in the druid’s neatly plaited beard and loosely tied, grey-streaked brown hair – just as his dad had described it. “Er, pleased to meet you. This is my cousin Robin.”
“Cousin Robin, a pleasure indeed!” said Orin. Robin stared up at the druid in awe as he shook his hand.
Orin sat down on his cloak and untied a small pouch from his leather belt. “Bryn, could you make us some chamomile-and-valerian tea?” He handed over the pouch and Bryn tipped the herbs it contained into the pot of water he had been boiling. Alfie breathed in the soothing scent that started to fill the cave. “Now, much as we have to talk about,” said Orin, his voice soft and serious, “I would like to hear about the circumstances that brought you here.”
Bryn poured four cups of the tea as Alfie recounted what had happened. Robin seemed very much in awe of Orin as Alfie told the druid all about Murkle and Snitch and the chase through the tunnels. Orin looked very worried by the fact that they’d had the talisman for several weeks, and he looked astounded to hear that they seemed to know of the seal in the cellars. When Alfie told him about the dragon they had seen and Murkle and Snitch’s plan to use the talisman to wake the rest, Orin gripped his wooden cup so tightly his knuckles turned white.
“This dragon,” said the druid, his voice dark. “Tell me, does it have two heads?”
“Yes!” said Alfie. “How did you know?”
“I have seen it myself,” said Orin gravely. “When Agrodonn came to force me to hand over the magic you now harbour.”
“The allies he brought with him,” cried Alfie, as he remembered Orin’s letter, “the ones that torched the villagers’ fields and slaughtered their livestock, they were dragons, weren’t they?”
Orin nodded slowly.
“I don’t believe this. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I think my letter contained enough information that would be hard for you to take in. I didn’t want to add dragons to the list, not when I thought that this one had suffered the same fate as its brother.”
“Then tell me now,” said Alfie, wincing at a fresh stab of pain in his temple. “Murkle and Snitch said there’s a dragon’s nest under the castle. That’s what they’re after. Is it true?”
The druid nodded to Bryn to pour some more tea. He took a deep draught from his cup and sighed. “It is true. The age of dragons is long gone, and now they sleep in forgotten places deep within the earth. Hexbridge is above the last gateway to these places. Agrodonn knew this. He travelled down into the earth for many days until he found two small dragons. He used a control magic to bend them to his will, and when I refused to hand over my creation magic, he ordered them to burn the fields. As they snatched up and devoured cows and sheep he told me that the people would be next. That is why I had no choice but to use the magic I gave you against him. When it fed on his power, he could no longer control the dragons and they swooped away over the hills.
“When I used my freshly fed magic to create the castle, I chose to do so over the gateway Agrodonn had opened, creating a great seal over it that only the talisman can open. I didn’t need to hunt down the dragons that he had awoken – a knight in Lambton killed one soon after, and I had heard that your dragon had suffered a similar fate. But I was wrong.”
Orin looked at Alfie, his soft grey eyes betraying the great concern he felt.
Alfie gazed back, his excitement at meeting the druid melting against a little flame that flickered inside him. “So they aren’t totally crazy then. As well as being your hiding place for a magic that I didn’t even have a choice in taking, the castle, my home, is the only thing between the world and a load of sleeping dragons?”
Alf
ie stared at the druid, wondering if the castle was really worth all of that. He thought about asking Orin to take back the magic along with the castle and the talisman, if that was even possible – but would it make him a coward? He hadn’t asked for any of this, and now Madeleine was lost and alone while he was sitting in the past drinking tea.
“I was wrong to keep it from you,” said Orin. “I knew you would be quite safe as long as the seal remained intact. I hadn’t counted on anyone in your day and age knowing of its existence.” He leant forward earnestly and placed his hand on Alfie’s shoulder. “I made a mistake. Can you forgive me?”
Alfie shrugged one of his shoulders as he stared at the floor. The castle had helped him escape his old life and had brought him closer to his dad, but he was starting to wonder what the true cost of that would be. Finally, he nodded.
“Thank you, Alfie.” Orin smiled.
“But you can’t keep anything that big from me ever again – and I need your help. What can I do to stop them?”
“I don’t know what kind of villains these teachers of yours are,” said Orin, “but it takes a strong will to control a dragon. At least they don’t seem to be aware of the magic you hold. I will send a note to Caspian to provide you with some extra protection until he can do something about the creature.”
“You know Caspian?” asked Alfie, surprised to hear the name on the druid’s lips. “Can he time travel too?”
“He has his own ways of conducting business,” said Orin. “But that one is old – older than you would ever imagine. Now, until the dragon has been dealt with, don’t provoke these teachers of yours, and never let them catch you on your own.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Robin piped up angrily. “They’ll be locked up as soon as we tell our parents what happened.”
“Perhaps,” said Orin “but the slipperiest eels are the most difficult to catch. I may have something that will help you. Alfie, I will prepare what you need and send instructions through Caspian. It will help you to alert others as to what these sisters are up to. Now come, we’ll help you down the hill before you travel home.”
Robin started to protest, but Orin placed his hands on his shoulders and said softly, “I know you need to find your sister, but you should not look for her alone. You need to get help before going back into the caves.”
“Well can you send us back to before they chased us?” asked Robin. Then we can send ourselves help.”
“I’m sorry. The clock keeps ticking wherever you are – when you return home the time you have spent here will have elapsed there too.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” Robin rushed impatiently ahead down the narrow forest trail as Alfie stumbled along behind, supported by Bryn and Orin.
“Tell me, Alfie,” said Orin. “Were you in peril at any time when you weren’t wearing the talisman?”
Alfie started to shake his head but Robin had bounced back to speed them along and piped up. “Of course you were. What about the fire in the school hall? You and Jimmy could have been burnt to a crisp!”
“And during this fire, did anything unusual happen at the height of danger?”
Alfie told the druid about the pain and jolts he had felt as he tried to rescue his friend.
“Because you have lived with the magic since you were a baby, you can control it better than anyone else ever could,” said Orin. “It is ancient and powerful and will protect its bearer in order to protect itself. However, as you are untrained in magic, it could seriously hurt you even when trying to defend you.
“For now, the talisman helps control and focus the raw energy – it stops it from shining like a beacon to anyone searching for it. You must wear it always and keep it hidden. As you get older the magic will become more active. You must learn to control the part of it that wants to be free to feed and create. I will teach you this when your training begins. You are more than its guardian – you are its prison.”
They walked in silence for the rest of the journey. Alfie knew now that the castle had come at a great price after all. He could see in the druid’s eyes the terrible guilt he felt for burdening him with the magic and all that it entailed.
The trees thinned out towards the bottom of the hill. Bryn’s expression was a mixture of pride and embarrassment as the boys thanked him for his help.
“Always happy to help friends of Orin. Make sure you come and see me the next time you visit. The wife would love to see you again. She’ll feed you till you’re fed up.” Alfie smiled weakly as Bryn slapped him on the back and strode off whistling loudly, his bale of firewood under one arm.
As they crossed a narrow dirt track, Robin spotted a milestone and let out a yell. “I know this stone! It’s right near the entrance to our farm … it’s still there in—” Robin never finished his sentence as he disappeared with an almost audible pop.
Alfie stared at the empty space where Robin had stood a second before as he half toppled, half sat down on the grass.
“It looks as though your cousin has found his own way home,” smiled Orin as he crouched down next to Alfie. “This will be a little harder for you. Both times are equally your home.”
“Will I be able to visit you again?” asked Alfie, his aching head reeling with all of the many questions he wanted to ask the druid.
“Eventually,” said Orin. “I hope that one day you will learn to master travelling between our two times. When that happens, your training will begin.”
“Training?” said Alfie. “You said something about that in your letter. You mean I could become a druid, like you?”
“I can teach you as little or as much as you like to know of our ways and earth magics,” said Orin. “But only if you wish it.”
Alfie thought of all that he might learn from Orin – knowledge that was likely long lost in his own time. “I’d like that very much.”
Orin smiled. “Well then, until we meet again. Now, to help you join young Robin. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply as you relax and think about your own time.”
Alfie closed his eyes and followed the druid’s instructions, concentrating his mind on modern-day Hexbridge.
“Tell me, do you feel a pulling sensation in the centre of your chest?”
Alfie gradually became aware of the feeling the druid described. “Yes. It’s very faint … it feels like something is dragging me towards it.”
“Focus on your home and the universe will try to pull you back there. All you have to do is let it.”
Alfie focused on the feeling of belonging he felt in Hexbridge. He tried to let all other thoughts drift away. The sensation began to spread through his body.
“Good, good,” said Orin’s voice, fainter now. “Keep letting yourself be pulled out of time.”
The pain in Alfie’s head was making it difficult to maintain concentration. He was about to tell Orin when the words were whisked from his mouth as he was dragged across six hundred years in a second. Opening his eyes, he found himself sitting in the lane that led up to the Merryweather farm. He could see Robin in the distance. “Robin!” he called, reeling as he staggered to his feet. His cousin raced back down the lane and hooked his arm under Alfie’s shoulder.
“Come on, Alfie, we’ve got to tell everyone what happened.” Alfie was surprised at his cousin’s strength; he felt like the slow lumbering partner in a three-legged race as they stumbled towards the farm.
As they came in sight of the farmhouse, he spotted Uncle Herb, Aunt Grace and Granny getting into the truck. A sad little face was looking out of one of the back windows, chin resting forlornly on the sill.
“Maddie!” shouted Robin practically dropping Alfie as he dashed towards the truck. Alfie hurried after him as everyone leapt out and ran towards them. Madeleine reached them first. She hugged them both tightly and Alfie saw that her dirty face was streaked with tears. Her knees were grazed and her jumper w
as torn from running down the hill and through the briars.
“I was so scared,” she sobbed. “I waited for you for ages. I thought they’d taken you down into the caves and we’d never find you.”
“Maddie, what happened to you?” asked Alfie.
“You shouldn’t have run ahead,” said Robin before she could answer. “I told you not to. You just panicked and ran off. You could have been lost for ever!”
“I thought I was lost!” said Madeleine excitedly, forgetting her tears. “But then a fox appeared – it kept stopping and barking – it wanted me to follow it, I could tell. Can you believe it? A fox! It ran back into the caves after leading me out. Did you see it? I’m sure it was the one we sometimes see in the village.”
“Well if it’s the same one that took two chickens last week, then it’s welcome to them,” said Uncle Herb.
Alfie’s head was starting to throb again when he saw his dad’s car bouncing down the lane.
“Alfie, what happened?” his dad called, scrambling out of the car and hugging him tightly. “Maddie said you’d been kidnapped.”
“Murkle and Snitch,” gulped Alfie, blinking hard as everything began to look a little blurry. “They stole my talisman. They caught us when we took it back and tried to drag us off into the caves.”
“Slow down,” said his dad. “What do you mean they tried to drag you into the caves? Look at your head! Did they do this to you?”
“It happened while they were chasing us.” Alfie felt sick with effort as he tried to focus on his dad. “I know this sounds crazy, but the missing animals – they’re being taken by a dragon! Murkle and Snitch are controlling it and they want to wake the rest.”
“He’s telling the truth!” said Robin as everyone stared at Alfie in astonishment. “We’ve all seen it. It incinerated Mrs Emmett.”
“Murkle and Snitch are totally crazy,” added Madeleine. “We’ve got to do something!”
“And we will,” said Granny firmly, recovering her composure before everyone else. “I want to hear all about this, but, first things first.” She lifted Alfie’s chin and stared into his eyes as she pushed up one of his eyelids with her thumb. “You, my dear, are going to hospital.”
Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of Hexbridge Castle Page 16
