Silver Hill

by Catherine Cooper

  ‘Are we all alright?’ asked Jack when the monster had gone.

  ‘Still here,’ replied the Dorysk.

  ‘Timmery, are you OK?’

  There was no answer from the little bat.

  ‘So much for being brave,’ grumbled Camelin. ‘He’s flown off and left us.’

  ‘Timmery,’ Jack called a bit louder.

  ‘Here, I’m here, I went to see what the monster looked like. It’s not a monster at all, it’s a train and it’s full of Hags.’

  ‘Hags!’ said Jack and Camelin together.

  ‘Yes and it looks like it’s not going to stop till it gets to the bottom.’

  Jack wondered what the Spriggans needed a train for, especially one full of Hags. He turned to Timmery.

  ‘That was a very brave thing to do but we really need to get going.’

  ‘Follow me,’ called Timmery as he flitted off down the tunnel.

  ‘Follow me,’ grumbled Camelin. ‘I can’t even see him, someone put the light out.’

  Jack opened his fist and the soft glowing light lit the tunnel. Jack looked closely at the small object in his hand; it was crystal shaped and warm to the touch. He’d no idea how to reattach it to the wall or where the light came from. He decided to hold on to it for now.

  They hurried across the open junction as fast as they could and started up the next tunnel. It wasn’t as easy going up and Jack began to feel out of breath. He was just about to give everyone a brief rest when a shriek echoed through the tunnels. Jack couldn’t hear what the Spriggans were saying but he thought he could guess.

  ‘I think it’s time to put Plan B into action. It sounds as if Norris and Snook have been missed. We’ll get as far as we can before we have to transform, agreed?’

  ‘Agreed,’ everyone replied.

  Timmery led the way. Jack ran as fast as he could after the little bat.

  ‘You do realise they’ve got really good sniffers don’t you?’ wheezed Camelin as he tried to keep up with Jack. ‘All they’ll have to do is follow the smell of the marinade.’

  ‘Faster,’ called Jack.

  ‘Plan B,’ shouted the Dorysk. ‘They’re not far behind now.’

  ‘Ready,’ said Jack as he pushed his wand and the crystal into Snook’s sack.

  ‘Ready,’ replied Camelin.

  Within seconds Jack had transformed. He picked up Snook’s sack in his beak and Camelin took the other with Norris inside. Timmery flitted impatiently above them. Jack turned to see the Dorysk flying back down the tunnel having taken the form of a dragonette.

  ‘Let’s hope Plan B works or we might all end up in the marinade,’ thought Jack.

  They shuffled along after Timmery as fast as they could. Jack heard a loud chittering. He hoped the Spriggans had seen the Dorysk and gone in the opposite direction instead of following their noses but it wasn’t long before he could hear footsteps. He knew the Spriggans were right behind them when he heard a high-pitched voice screeching: ‘STOP yous two! STOP!’

  That was the last thing Jack wanted to do. They’d have to try to outrun them as there wasn’t room for the two ravens to fly in the tunnel. Jack didn’t need to look back to know the Spriggans were gaining on them. He could hear them sniffing the air. Timmery fluttered around Jack’s head.

  ‘Follow me,’ he whispered.

  Instead of continuing upwards Timmery took the next lefthand tunnel and then the right. They all followed. Suddenly Jack had to stop. He realised he couldn’t see Timmery any more. In fact, he couldn’t see anything. The tunnel Timmery had directed them into didn’t have any crystals on the walls.

  ‘Don’t move,’ said Timmery. ‘I’ll go and see what’s happening, they won’t come down here, they’re afraid of the dark.’

  Jack was thankful to the little bat. He could hear footsteps but instead of turning off the main tunnel they carried on past. Neither he nor Camelin spoke, he didn’t even know where Camelin was, the darkness was total. It felt like a heavy blanket and Jack could understand now why the Spriggans didn’t like it. All they could do was wait.

  Jack had no idea how long they’d been in the dark. He thought he’d get used to it but after a while he began to feel uncomfortable. Just when he thought he couldn’t stay there a moment longer he heard a fluttering of wings.

  ‘It’s all clear,’ announced Timmery. ‘The Dorysk has led them back down the tunnels. We can go now, but don’t make a sound, just take two steps forwards.’

  Jack was amazed as he shuffled towards Timmery’s voice. After a few steps he was able to see again. Jack heard a low mumbling coming from Camelin as he followed but even he must have realised the danger they were in and didn’t say anything out loud. They moved swiftly and were soon back in the main tunnel and heading upwards towards the door. Jack wondered what Pyecroft would say when he found his coat lying in one of the tunnels. He’d probably blame one of the Spriggans.

  ‘We’re nearly there,’ piped Timmery as a small moth joined them.

  ‘Are we safe,’ Jack asked the Dorysk.

  ‘Those two won’t be coming this way, they’re both off chasing a non-existent dragonette into the dark tunnels below the kitchen. And they won’t raise the alarm yet either – they’re desperate to catch them before anyone important finds out they’re missing.’

  Even though Jack felt relieved he didn’t slow his pace. They still had to get the two dragonettes safely back to Glasruhen.

  INSIDE INFORMATION

  They moved as quickly as they could through the last tunnel. Jack couldn’t hear anything except the fluttering of wings and the shuffling of his and Camelin’s feet. He felt very relieved when he saw the doorway up ahead. Once they were airborne they’d be safer than in the tunnels. Jack was just contemplating how to open and shut the door when the Dorysk landed on the floor and took on his usual prickly form.

  ‘Allow me,’ he said as he turned the doorknob.

  When everyone was safely through the Dorysk closed the door. Camelin dropped his sack on the ledge, launched himself off the edge and circled back. His great strong claws grabbed the sack as he swooped past.

  ‘Be easier to fly home like this,’ he called to Jack before he flew off into the darkness.

  Jack waited until the Dorysk had transformed into a tiny bat and attached himself securely onto his back. He knew grabbing the sack wouldn’t be easy and he didn’t want to drop Snook. Jack hesitated before taking off. He circled once and as he neared the ledge, stretched his feet out and opened his claws. It wasn’t quite as he’d planned but he managed to grab the sack firmly in one foot. As he flew after Camelin he closed his other claw securely around the top. He hoped the flight home wasn’t going to be too difficult.

  By the time they flew over the ruins of Salchester, Jack was tiring. He’d tried to keep up with Camelin but the distance between them grew longer with each minute that passed. It was a twenty-minute flight back to Ewell House from here. If he couldn’t keep up, at least he knew his way home; the landscape below was very familiar now. He was unbelievably tired and he was worried – he needed to be at his best for tomorrow’s dress rehearsal. Each beat of his wings got harder and harder. His head jerked. For a brief second he’d fallen asleep. He felt the sack slipping and tightened his claws. It was no use, he was going to have to stop and rest. He scanned below to find somewhere to land. A familiar voice made him jump and for the second time he nearly lost his grip on the sack.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ called Camelin. ‘I thought you were right behind me.’

  ‘I’m so tired, I couldn’t keep up,’ Jack managed to call back.

  It was then Jack realised that Camelin didn’t have his sack. He was suddenly very wide awake.

  ‘Where’s Norris?’

  ‘Safe at Ewell House. I thought I’d better come find you. See that haystack down there? Drop your sack on the top. I’ll take it from here and meet you back in your room. I bet I can beat you back.’

  Jack didn’t doubt Camelin would be there
first. He’d no energy left to even contemplate racing. He followed Camelin and flew low over the haystack. When he was directly over it he gently dropped his sack on the top. Moments later Camelin was flying back towards Ewell House with Snook’s sack securely in his claws. Jack found it much easier flying without the sack. He felt lighter and was able to fly faster. The welcome sight of Grandad’s house and his bedroom window were soon before him. As they approached the end of the forest the Dorysk detached himself from Jack’s back.

  ‘I’ll be off now, but remember, if I can be of service you only have to ask.’

  ‘I will. Thank you for everything you’ve done tonight.’

  Jack yawned deeply and nearly misjudged his landing.

  ‘What took you so long?’ said Camelin as Jack skidded to a halt on the windowsill.

  Jack was too tired to reply. Once they’d transformed Jack could feel every muscle in his body aching. He struggled into his pyjamas and fell into bed.

  Jack heard his name being called, from what seemed like a long way away. He wasn’t awake enough to work out what was being said. When it stopped he could feel himself drifting back to sleep. A loud knock on his door made him sit up with a jolt.‘Come on Jack or you’ll be late. I’ve been calling you for ages, are you up?’

  Jack swung his feet out of bed.

  ‘Sorry, I won’t be long.’

  Jack felt awful. He could hardly focus and he knew that if he closed his eyes, even for a second, he’d fall asleep again. Maybe he could find a Staying Awake spell in his Book of Shadows. He reached for his wand but it wasn’t there. He looked under the bed, on the table and behind the curtain. Then he remembered – he’d dropped it into the sack. Was that why Camelin had been so helpful last night? He wasn’t going to be able to find out until after school. It was going to be a long day.

  ‘How was the rehearsal?’ asked Grandad when Jack got home.

  ‘Awful. I think it was the worst I’ve ever sung.’

  ‘Not to worry, I’m sure it’ll be perfect for tomorrow afternoon’s performance.’

  ‘But what if I don’t sing well tomorrow either?’

  ‘Nonsense you’ll be fine, you’ll see.’

  Jack was grateful his Grandad had faith in his singing. Maybe after a good night’s sleep he’d be fine. He could hardly tell Grandad why he hadn’t been able to do his best.

  ‘Can I go to Ewell House and leave a note for Nora? She’s going to be back later tonight.’

  ‘That’s fine, there’s no need to feed the birds, I did it earlier. Dinner’s at six.’

  Jack didn’t even bother to change out of his school clothes. He went straight down to the bottom of the garden and made his way through the tunnel to Nora’s. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say to Camelin but he needed to get his wand back. There was hardly a sound from the garden. He couldn’t hear Gerda or Medric and Camelin wasn’t anywhere to be seen. When he peeped into the cave behind the rockery there was no sign of Saige either. It was only as he neared the open patio doors that he heard squeaky voices. Without his wand he’d no idea what was being said. He wondered if Nora was already home.

  ‘Anyone there?’ he called.

  The voices stopped and Motley came scurrying onto the patio and began squeaking at him.

  ‘Hold on a minute, I’ve got to find Camelin and get my wand.’

  ‘We’re in here, come on in, your wand’s on the table,’ Camelin called from inside the kitchen.

  Motley followed him in and scurried onto the table where the rest of the Night Guard sat.

  Jack picked up his wand and looked Camelin in the eye.

  ‘You tried it didn’t you?’

  ‘Oh that’s nice after I cleaned it for you, it was covered in marinade. You don’t have to worry. It only works for you so you won’t have to go telling Nora anything.’

  Jack smiled. He wondered if Camelin had spent most of the day trying to get his wand to work. He looked over at Motley who didn’t look at all happy.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Oh Jack, we’ve been waiting for you to arrive, such terrible, terrible news and we don’t know what to do.’

  ‘What kind of news?’

  ‘Not good,’ said Camelin.

  Jack sat down at the kitchen table. In the middle were the two lanterns each with a dragonette still inside. They looked almost identical to Charkle with their purple wings and green shiny scales. The only difference Jack had noticed the night before was that the tip of Snook’s tail had a sharper point but now they were clean he could see Norris was a paler shade of green. They both bowed to Jack. Norris began speaking before Motley could continue.

  ‘How can we ever thank you enough?’

  ‘They’d have eaten us for sure,’ added Snook.

  Jack looked at the two little dragons. He wished Nora was here, she’d have had them out of their prisons in no time.

  ‘Are you both alright? I thought you might still be covered in marinade.’

  Camelin coughed.

  ‘I helped to get them clean.’

  Jack gave him a disapproving look.

  ‘Before you say anything, I took the lanterns down to the lake and they had a wash. Waste of a good marinade if you ask me but there was no other way to get it off.’

  ‘Everyone’s been so kind,’ said Snook. ‘And Camelin told us how he rescued Charkle, it was so brave of him.’

  Norris nodded.

  ‘It’ll be wonderful to see him again. Camelin says he’s a bat now so he can fly around without anyone knowing he’s a dragonette. Do you think Nora will let us stay? Maybe she could turn us into bats too.’

  ‘Of course she’ll let you stay,’ said Jack, ‘and I know Charkle will be overjoyed to see you both. As soon as they’re back you’ll be able to have your freedom.’

  Motley coughed loudly.

  ‘Aren’t you forgetting something Jack? We’ve had some most distressing news, most distressing. Needs immediate attention, don’t you know.’

  ‘I’m sorry, what’s wrong?’

  Motley walked over to the lanterns.

  ‘These two here have valuable inside information but it’s not good news, not good at all.’

  Jack looked at the dragonettes then back at Motley and then at the rest of the Night Guard. No one spoke.

  ‘Will someone explain?’

  ‘Too upsetting for any of us to say,’ replied Motley and promptly went over to the rest of the rats and sat down next to Raggs.

  Jack looked at the dragonettes.

  ‘Camelin asked us about the monster, you know, the train,’ began Snook. ‘It runs from the top of Stonytop to the bottom of Silver Hill but it doesn’t have an engine, it rolls down its own tunnels until it comes to a stop at the terminus.’

  ‘How does it get back up without any power?’

  ‘Bright boy, bright boy,’ interrupted Motley.

  Norris sighed before continuing.

  ‘The last carriage is a cage and it’s full of what the Spriggans call pullers. Once all the passengers are off they harness them to the back of the last carriage and they pull the train all the way back to the top of the other hillside.’

  Jack tried to visualise the distance between Silver Hill and the crags.

  ‘That’s a long way to haul a train. How big are the pullers?’

  Snook looked at Motley before answering Jack.

  ‘The pullers are rats, the strong ones. All the small or weak ones go for eaters.’

  Fergus and Berry gasped and the rest of the Night Guard winced.

  ‘That’s awful!’ said Jack. ‘We’ve got to do something to help them.’

  ‘We’re not going back to Silver Hill again tonight are we?’ groaned Camelin.

  ‘No, not tonight, but I’m sure when Nora gets back she’ll think of a way we can rescue them. As you say Motley, Norris and Snook will have lots of valuable inside information. I’m sure between us we’ll be able to help them.’

  ‘Wait till you hear why the t
rain was full of Hags,’ chuckled Camelin.

  Jack gave him a look. It didn’t seem right to be having a laugh when the rats were so upset. Jack looked at the two dragonettes.

  ‘I’d forgotten about the Hags,’ said Timmery. ‘There were lots in the train we saw.’

  ‘Hags have been coming into Silver Hill over the last two days,’ explained Norris. ‘The train’s been going up and down every hour. There are two passenger carriages and the last one’s where the r…’

  ‘Yes, yes, yes, we know what the last carriage is full of,’ interrupted Motley.

  ‘So how many come down from the crags at a time?’ asked Jack.

  ‘Eight,’ croaked Saige as she hopped out from behind Nora’s umbrella stand.

  ‘I wish she wouldn’t do that,’ complained Camelin. ‘You never know where or when she’s going to turn up.’

  Jack did a quick calculation.

  ‘That’s a lot of Hags. I didn’t think they liked each other’s company. Why would they be visiting the Spriggans?’

  ‘It’s for the banquet, for the Candleless Feast, the one they were going to roast us at,’ explained Norris. ‘They’re celebrating because they don’t need candles any more.’

  Snook picked something up from the bottom of his lantern and tossed it through the bars towards Jack.

  ‘All the main tunnels have these. It’s because of the new lights that we aren’t needed any more, they never go out, not like the candles used to.’

  Jack picked up the crystal. It looked familiar but he couldn’t think where he’d have seen anything like it before, apart from the tunnels inside Silver Hill.

  ‘And the Hags?’

  ‘They’re the choir,’ said Norris. ‘They’re going to sing at the banquet. We’ve heard them. They make a dreadful noise.’

  Jack wondered what the little dragonettes would say if they heard Camelin sing but now wasn’t the time to mention it, his own singing hadn’t been too good either today.