Jack had no idea how they had entered the room – the wall behind Cali, from where he thought they had arrived (though he could not be sure), looked exactly like the others composed only of book-lined shelves.
‘How…’ he said, looking bewilderedly over Cali’s shoulder at the wall. He couldn’t find the words to finish the sentence and simply left it hanging in the air.
‘I’ve got to find Aloysius,’ Gordy said as he reached the door ‘He said he’d be here when we got back.’
‘Hold on a minute!’ Jack said ‘I ...’
‘It’s extremely important that no one else knows you’re here, at least for the next few days,’ Gordy interrupted as he disappeared through the massive door. Jack opened his mouth angrily to call Gordy back but before he got the chance Gordy poked his head back around.
‘Don’t move from this room!’ he told them severely and then he was gone. Again.
For a few minutes’ no one said anything.
‘Not very friendly is he?’ Jack said to Cali, looking at her from the corner of his eye while pretending to look at the book he had in his hands. He saw her shrug, but she didn't answer.
‘Sorry about what I said earlier,’ Jack said, flicking another look at her. There was no response at all this time.
‘It’s just been a bad time for me and I could have done with having someone around,’ Jack said his eyes glued to the book now not looking at her at all.
Cali still didn’t speak. Jack looked back at her from under his lashes and saw that she too was now examining the hundreds of books that lined the room and somehow she was doing it pointedly.
‘By the way, thanks for coming to save me, you know, back in the clearing…’ his voice trailed off. Jack stopped pretending that he was examining the book he was holding and instead looked straight at Cali.
‘Listen, I really am sorry,’ he said, not really knowing what he as apologising for. Maybe it was what he had said in the clearing, maybe it was for not speaking to her the night his sister disappeared, maybe it was for somehow unintentionally dragging her into whatever it was that he had managed to drag himself into. Whatever the reason was he meant it. He was sorry for all those things.
‘No problem, any time, let’s do it again,’ Cali said. ‘And by the way, who is that, that, Gordy and what are we doing here and how did we get here and how are we going to get home?’ Her voice had risen higher and higher as she spoke and tears began to stream from her eyes. By the time she had finished Jack could barely understand a word she was saying. He had no idea what to do. He rushed over to her, muttering ‘it’s OK, it’ll be fine’ over and over, while not entirely believing it himself. He put his arm over her shoulders awkwardly, trying to make comforting noises.
‘What are we going to do?’ she sobbed into his shoulder eventually saying something Jack understood.
‘I don’t know. I don’t know!’ Jack said panicking more now than he had when Gordy had told him that he was a gnome. Crying girls were a mystery to him. She howled even louder.
‘We’ll just have to wait and see what this Whiskers person has to say,’ he tried again, wincing as he spoke. He sounded just like Gordy. ‘I don’t know much myself, but Gordy said Whiskers knows something about Sophie...’
The howling stopped and was replaced with low hitches and hiccups.
‘It’s not Whiskers, its Aloysius. Al-oh-wish-us,’ Cali pronounced the name slowly. Then she hiccupped again. She pulled away from Jack and started mumbling to herself. Jack could only just hear what she was saying.
‘It’s a dream, that’s what it is, just a silly little dream that I’m having, really, I’m just curled up at home asleep. I’m bound to wake up any minute. Or Grandad will come and wake me up for breakfast. Must be nearly time I’m starving…’ she began to laugh. Jack thought it sounded forced.
‘Erm… Cali?’ Jack said. She stopped talking and looked at him matter-of-factly, her eyebrows raised. She had stopped crying but Jack wasn’t sure she had calmed down.
‘Are you OK?’ he asked not wanting to start her crying again.
‘Of course I am,’ Cali said, flicking her hair. It had grown considerably longer in the two years since he had last seen her, but was still the same shade of chestnut brown.
‘Are you sure?’ Jack said not convinced at all.
‘Yes. I’ve figured the whole thing out. I’m having a dream.’
Now it was Cali who wandered around the room, casually poking at the books every now and then; Jack assumed she was checking to see if anything dream-like would happen to them. Maybe she expected them to turn into bats.
‘I wonder what this place is,’ he said quietly. Cali carried on examining the books and didn’t reply. He walked over to the desk and looked at the mark his finger had made. His eyes travelled up to the shimmering bowl.
‘So, what have you been up to?’ Jack asked vaguely edging closer to the bowl and trying to peer over the rim.
‘Oh, you know, this and that,’ she said. ‘Have you seen this?’ she asked grinning broadly. Jack tore his attention from the bowl to look at what she was holding. It was an enormous book entitled Shepherding Fungi by Roland Redcap. On the cover stood a little man wearing a red beret style hat with white polka dots. He was leaning against an enclosure that contained hundreds of mushrooms.
‘Isn’t it amazing the things your subconscious can come up with,’ Jack said. He turned to look back at the bowl. He leant over the desk for a closer look. The misty surface of the liquid began to clear. Jack could see what looked like clouds but he was looking at them from above. He was about to reach out and touch the surface when Gordy ran back into the room, breathless, as if he had been up and down several flights of stairs. Jack jumped back from the desk.
‘He’s just … finishing up … with one … of the delegations,’ Gordy panted. Somehow even out of breath he sounded irritated.
‘What delegations?’ Jack asked. Reluctantly he moved further from the desk and the shimmering bowl. He picked a book off the nearest shelf and glanced at the cover. It looked like the lion headed statue from Egypt – the Sphinx he thought.
‘You’ll have to wait for Aloysius to tell you himself,’ Gordy replied rather unhelpfully.
‘You know, he really isn’t very nice is he?’ Cali said to Jack. ‘I wonder where he came from?’
‘She thinks she’s dreaming,’ Jack said.
Gordy’s cheeks flushed and his luminescent eyes flared. Before he had a chance to say anything (and Jack was sure that it was going to be rude) the door opened and Aloysius Winstanley strode through it.
Chapter 5: The Keeper
Jack felt a shock of recognition and the book he was holding dropped to the floor. He stooped down to retrieve it and when he looked back he saw that Aloysius was not the stranger he had seen his sister speaking to when they had first visited Steele Manor. It was strange that he had not remembered the incident until now – unsettling. Surely it would have been important to the investigation of her disappearance but … nothing. Until now.
It was the day they had gone to visit Lord Earnest Steele, their uncle. Sophie and Jack were playing hide and seek (they always played hide and seek). Jack had to count to a hundred instead of to ten because the estate was so big.
'Ninety-nine.... a hundred! Ready or not here I come!' It didn't take long to find Sophie. She was standing halfway down the winding driveway talking to a dark figure. Jack trotted over as the man strode away, glancing over his shoulder as he did. Jack froze. His eyes! They were a bright, flickering orange from corner to corner. Jack forced himself to move.
‘Are you OK?’ Jack panted as he reached Sophie.
‘Yes. You didn’t count to a hundred,’ Sophie said.
‘Who was that?’ Jack asked.
‘Just someone,’ Sophie said. ‘You definitely didn’t count to a hundred though. Definitely. It would have taken you much longer than that.’
‘I did,’ Jack said ‘I counted to three thousand and two.’
Sophie giggled.
‘You did not,’ she said her blue eyes sparkling.
And Jack thought nothing more of it. He forgot about the stranger on the driveway. It didn’t seem important.
Aloysius was identical to the stranger except his eyes. They were not orange, they were green and they didn’t flicker but glowed from within like the walls of the room. Jack stared until he realised that everyone in the room was looking at him.
‘Sorry,’ Jack said 'Clumsy.' He replaced the book on the shelf. Cali stopped staring at him and turned to Aloysius.
‘Why are you in my dream?’ Cali asked politely. Aloysius blinked.
‘What's going on?’ Jack said. 'Gordy hasn't told us anything.'
‘I already know of your conversations. Gordy was following instructions. To the letter. After all some of us break the rules, some of us bend them and some of us … well.’
Aloysius walked to his desk and began rummaging through its drawers. Jack, who had not noticed any drawers in the desk when he examined it earlier, watched Aloysius open and shut several of them but he could not trace exactly where the drawers were located after they were closed. It was as if they appeared only when they were needed.
‘Aha, here we are,’ Aloysius said withdrawing an object from a tiny drawer. He laid it on his desk and signalled Jack and Cali to take a closer look.
Jack was disappointed when he saw what it was. A small square pendant. In each corner there was a stone – green, red, blue, white. The centre of the pendant had a divot, as if a stone belonged there but had been lost.
Gordy was behind them. When he saw the pendant he made a funny gurgling noise. Jack and Cali swung around to look at him. His eyes were wide, glowing more brightly than ever.
‘Is that? It can’t be! We all thought … it had gone…’ he collapsed onto one of the chairs opposite Aloysius.
‘Fortunately my friend it has not,’ Aloysius said.
‘The others know?’ Gordy asked.
‘Some.’
‘What is it?’ Jack asked.
‘This is the Amulet,’ Aloysius said.
‘What is it for?’ Jack asked looking at it again.
'It is a symbol of unity.'
'Why did he think it was lost?' Jack nodded at Gordy.
‘Most thought it had been taken. The Council decided it wise to neither confirm nor deny these rumours and against my better judgement we remained silent.’
On closer inspection, Jack could kind of see its charm. It might be small but it was beautiful. The stones were very clear.
Aloysius was scrutinising Jack. ‘Gordy told you about the four elements. We have always worked very well together. As with any race, there have been arguments, battles, even wars but for the most part we live together in harmony, particularly since we were ostracised from human civilisation. There have been no great wars at all since then.
‘Earth Elementals and water Elementals have always had the best relationship being very connected to Nature. Air Elementals are a subtle people, difficult to get to know, hard to connect with … for the most part.
‘The Fire Elementals are not subtle. They are the most ambitious and the least sympathetic to other races. Particularly humans.’ He looked at Jack. ‘We believe that Auldred, the self-named Black Prince of the Elementals, has your sister.’
Aloysius stopped speaking, his hands pressed together he looked at Jack over his fingertips.
‘But why? I don’t understand what she has to do with this!’ Jack said, fire flaring at the mention of his sister.
‘To understand you must go deep into ancient history and there is no time for that,’ Aloysius said.
‘What can I do then?’ Jack asked.
‘You must go to the Keeper,’ Aloysius said.
‘Who is the Keeper?’
‘She is an ally. I think,’ Aloysius said.
‘Why do I have to go to the Keeper if Auldred has Sophie?’
‘The Keeper is the only way.’
‘Fine. What do I do?’ Jack asked.
‘We must go immediately.’
‘If you can go what are we doing here?’ Jack asked.
‘I should have thought that was obvious Jack,’ Gordy said haughtily.
‘Well it’s not,’ Jack said flushing.
‘None of us knew Sophie, therefore our motives are not pure,’ Aloysius said.
‘I don’t understand.’
‘You want to find her for her,’ Aloysius said bluntly but with kindness in his eyes.
Jack turned to look at Cali. She gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. ‘Lead on,’ Jack said.
Aloysius turned to the wall. Aloysius muttered something under his breath – Jack didn’t hear anything – and a door opened in the wall.
The door grew as it had in the forest but this time Jack was ready for it. Cali, who had been remarkably quiet, chose that moment to speak.
‘This isn’t a dream is it?’ she said as they looked out of the doorway and into a light wooded area. The trees were normal sized and the sun was shining brightly - it certainly was not the dark wood they had been in earlier.
‘This way,’ Aloysius said, walking forwards and veering to the left. Gordy followed, then Cali. Jack brought up the rear, turning to watch the door disappear. He turned back and was surprised to see that they were now almost beyond his sight. Jack could hear twigs and leaves crackling beneath his feet as he hurried after them; the air was crisp and clear and there was a wintry sharpness to it.
‘She will not reveal herself if Gordy and I are here,’ Aloysius said when Jack caught up with them. ‘We will have to go back and wait by the port.’
‘What? Why?’ Cali asked, she sounded frightened.
‘I’m sorry Cali. Although the Keeper knows me she will not reveal herself to any of the Elementals, not before her riddle has been correctly answered,’ he looked sombre.
Jack looked away with a tiny shake of his head. Some part of Jack had guessed it would come to this. Since Sophie had gone he had done everything by himself - why had he imagined that anything would change now?
‘Can you tell us anything that might help?’ Cali asked quietly.
‘You’re not coming,’ Jack said, his voice flat.
‘I don’t think you can stop me,’ Cali said.
‘Yes I can,’ Jack said his voice calm though panic reared in the pit of his stomach. He turned to Aloysius for back up.
‘She should go with you,’ he said.
‘She can’t,’ Jack said, his teeth gritted.
‘Jack, neither Gordy nor I can join you. I do not want you to go alone,’ Aloysius said.
‘Gordy?’ Jack implored. Gordy shrugged. For the first time since Jack had met the gnome he looked unsure.
‘I agree with Aloysius,’ he said although he flushed as he spoke.
‘You’re outvoted Jack,’ Cali said.
‘We are agreed. Cali is to go with you?’ Aloysius asked.
‘Yeah, OK,’ Jack said, defeated.
‘The most important thing, and I cannot stress this enough, keep your temper,’ Aloysius said, looking at Jack particularly.‘The Keeper has been asking riddles since before man or gnome can recall.’
‘Why would I need to keep my temper?’ Jack asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
‘It is said that she was here before the Earth. She is old beyond measure and time is of no consequence to her at all. She is the Keeper of Time,’ Aloysius replied.
‘So why will we get frustrated?’ Jack asked, bewildered.
‘She is old and wise. She has had millennia to ponder all things,’ Aloysius said.
‘We won’t get frustrated,’ Cali said. Jack nodded.
‘She will only do as she has promised and no more. Think before you speak,’ Aloysius said.
Jack and Cali both nodded. Instead of panic, a raw edged fear had begun to creep up on him, more controllable than panic, less embarrassing.
'If you answer incorrectly you cannot gain audience
with her again.'
'So this is our only chance?' Cali asked. Aloysius nodded.
‘Is that all?’ Cali said, her voice still high but with an extra note of anxiety.
‘I’m going in,’ Jack said. ‘Cali - are you still coming?’
‘Of course I’m coming. You’ll need someone who’s good with riddles. I used to solve them all the time with Grandad,’ she said.
‘Here,’ Aloysius said, handing anornate silver pipe to Jack. ‘Simply blow into it three times and she will come. May the earth ground you. May the trees elevate you. May the rocks strengthen you.’ Jack listened as Aloysius and Gordy walked back to the port. It would be easy enough to chase after them, hand back the beautiful silver pipe and go home. He thought of his sister, taken for being born a certain way, taken where she knew nothing and no one, taken from a life where she was loved and cherished. He couldn't leave her now.
Jack turned to face Cali.
‘Whatever happens, I just wanted to say thanks,’ he said. She nodded and they turned together to walk into the clearing. There was nothing to see except a large cluster of rocks that sat very close to the middle of the glade. The floor was not grassy but covered in the debris from the forest – brown crispy leaves, twigs, dirt, moss.
Jack looked at the delicate pipe, turning it over and over in his hands before he lifted it to his lips, marvelling at its weight. He blew softly into the ornate mouthpiece. The note it made was on the very edge of hearing. High and unbelievably pure. Jack blew for a second time.
Jack drew breath to blow a third time.
‘Wait!’ an unfamiliar voice called.
Surprised, Jack lowered the pipe and saw a dark haired boy leaning against a tree at the opposite end of the clearing.
‘Who are you?’ Jack asked.
‘And what are you doing here?’ Cali looked suspicious. She edged closer to Jack.
‘I’m a friend,’ the boy said. ‘Talking of friends, you should be more discriminating. Everyone wants to be on the winning side don’t they?’ he pushed away from the tree and started across the glade towards Jack and Cali.
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Jack asked.
‘All I’m saying,’ said the boy sauntering closer ‘Is that when you only speak to one side, you only get one story.’
Elemental: Steele Stolen: Part 1 and 2 Page 3
