by Angela Fish
‘All right,’ Jess called back to him, ‘but be careful. Don’t go on if the tunnel’s too small. Just keep calling Scoot. He’ll come back when he knows you’re so close.’
Ben thought that Jess didn’t know Scoot very well. His dog could be quite naughty sometimes, especially if he found something that was more interesting than doing what he was told!
6
The Lake
Ben squeezed through the tunnel. He thought about using the magic rhyme to make himself small. Then he remembered that he could only ever do that two more times, so he decided to keep trying to squeeze through the tunnel at his normal size. It was very dark and he kept the torch beam shining ahead of him all the way. It wasn’t quite as wet or bumpy as the cave, though, so Ben could move more quickly. Scoot’s barking was becoming louder and louder. Ben called but the dog didn’t come.
The tunnel curved around to the left and became a lot steeper. Ben noticed that it didn’t seem so dark any more, and he could feel fresh air on his face. There was another big rock ahead of him and he could see daylight at the side of it! He walked around it until he found a way through to the outside. This is where Scoot must have come.
When he stood up he could hardly believe what he saw. In front of him was water. Lots and lots of water. Ben opened his eyes wide, and his mouth too. He knew right away that this was the lake. This really was Spider Lake! Scoot was standing on a big stone next to a path that went almost all the way around the lake. He was barking at something in the grass. Ben ran towards him and caught hold of his collar.
‘You’re a naughty boy, Scoot,’ he told the dog. ‘Why did you run off like that? What have you found? Be quiet and let me see.’
Ben leaned over to look and then jumped back quickly, because lying in the grass was a white bird. Ben knew it was an owl because there was one who came to sit in the big tree in his garden sometimes, but he’d never seen a white one. It wasn’t moving and Ben was afraid that it was really hurt.
He pulled Scoot back. ‘Oh Scoot. What have you done?’
Scoot looked up at Ben and wagged his tail. Then he tried to go back to the grass but Ben held onto his collar and pulled him back towards the tunnel. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t think there was enough room in the tunnel to keep hold of Scoot, but he knew if he let him go that the dog would go back to the owl.
Ben made Scoot sit and told him, ‘Stay!’ Scoot wagged his tail.
Ben needed Jess’s help, so he wriggled back through the tunnel and into the cave.
‘Jess, where are you?’ Ben called out. ‘Oh, I can see you. My eyes have gone funny in the dark.’ He told her about the tunnel, and the lake and the owl, and asked her to go back with him to see if they could help the bird and bring Scoot back.
‘If we put him in the middle of us, then he can’t escape,’ Ben told her. ‘Will you come, Jess? Please? It’s not too bad in there. I have my torch, and you’re smaller than me so it should be easier for you.’
Jess didn’t know what to do. It was the same as last year when Ben had asked her to go out into the lane to look for the last piece of the spider gate. They’d become lost in the Dark Woods and she’d promised her mother that she’d never do anything like that again. Ben had promised as well, but he seemed to have forgotten that now. She started to shake her head but then they could hear Scoot barking again and Ben knew that the dog must have gone back to the owl.
‘I’ve got to go, Jess,’ he said. ‘If you don’t want to come, that’s all right, but can you look around for something that I can use as a lead for Scoot? I’ll have to pull him through if he won’t come on his own.’ He started to go back into the cave.
‘Wait for me, Ben!’ Jess shouted to him. ‘I’m coming too. I want to see the lake and the owl.’
Ben grinned and did a little dance around the cave. Jess laughed at him and told herself that nothing bad was going to happen. After all, Ben had been through the tunnel and back, and he was fine.
When they came out, Jess stopped to look around. The lake was huge! It looked different from the postcard because the picture had been taken from the air. She looked over to where Scoot was still barking, and hurried down the slope to Ben.
‘Look, Jess,’ Ben pointed to the grass. ‘There’s the owl. He’s still not moving.’
Jess knelt down beside the bird and stroked its feathers very gently. ‘It’s still breathing,’ she told Ben. ‘Look, you can just about see it. What are we going to do with it?’
‘I think it’s the white owl that the lady in the shop talked about. If it is, then it probably belongs to the Wise Woman. She must be around here somewhere. I’m afraid that she’ll think Scoot hurt it.’
‘Is that what you think, too?’ Jess asked.
‘Not really,’ Ben answered, ‘but I can’t be sure. There aren’t any feathers around and I can’t see any marks on the owl. You know what Scoot’s like if he has something to play with, he shakes it and throws it around. It doesn’t look as if that’s happened to the owl.’
Jess stood up and looked across the lake. The sun was in her eyes so she put her hand up to shade them. For a moment she thought she saw something moving, and then it was gone. She was just about to sit down with the owl, when she saw it again.
‘Ben! There’s someone over there. Look, on the other side of the lake.’ She pointed and Ben stood up and looked.
She was right, there was someone there, but Ben couldn’t see clearly because it was so far away. ‘I think it’s the Wise Woman. Listen, Jess, I’m going to take the owl over to her. We can’t do anything for it here. Will you stay with Scoot? Just hold his collar and he’ll settle down. Keep watching me, and if you’re worried at all, go and fetch Gran. You’ll have to let Scoot go but that won’t matter then.’
Jess held onto Scoot’s collar and Ben picked up the owl very carefully. He walked quickly along the path. When he came to the streams that flowed into the lake he had to look for some stepping stones to cross them. He could see the Wise Woman more clearly now and he knew that she was watching him. He didn’t feel too afraid, but the owl still wasn’t moving and Ben’s heart began to go thump, thump, thump.
‘Hello Ben,’ the woman said.
Ben looked surprised. ‘How do you know my name?’
‘I know lots of things,’ the Wise Woman told him. ‘I am called Amara. I see you’ve found my little friend.’
Ben shrugged his shoulders. ‘My dog, Scoot, found him but I don’t think he hurt him.’ His eyes filled with tears. ‘I’m sure it wasn’t him.’
‘It’s all right, Ben. I know it wasn’t your dog that hurt him. There are some boys in the village who come looking for him all the time. When Hiboo flew over the valley they threw stones at him and one hit him on the head. He managed to fly back to the lake but he couldn’t make it all the way here. Scoot reached him before I did, so I just waited to see what would happen next.’
‘Oh,’ Ben was happy that it wasn’t Scoot’s fault, ‘but why was Hiboo out in the day time? I thought owls only went out at night.’
The Wise Woman smiled at him. ‘Mostly they do, but some like to feel the sun on their wings and Hiboo is one of those. Please bring him to me.’
Ben walked over to Amara and handed Hiboo to her. She put the owl on the ground and picked a flower from a bush next to the stream. Ben had never seen anything like it before. It was purple with silvery stripes, and there were silvery stars on the leaves. The Wise Woman rubbed the flower between the palms of her hands and then stroked the bird three times. Ben rubbed his eyes. For a moment, the bird had looked purple! Then Hiboo shook his head, fluttered his wings and opened his eyes.
‘There now, my little friend,’ Amara said. ‘Are you feeling better?’
Hiboo flew onto her shoulder and it looked as though he was talking into her ear. Ben thought that he must be dreaming
. Things like this didn’t really happen, did they?
Amara looked at him and said, ‘I can see that you have your friend with you. Why has she stayed over there?’ She pointed to the other side of the lake.
Ben looked towards Jess and Scoot. ‘We didn’t have Scoot’s lead and we thought it was better for him to stay where he was.’
‘Were you afraid that I might hurt you?’ The Wise Woman looked sad.
‘Not really,’ Ben said, ‘but I was afraid that you’d think Scoot was to blame.’
Amara rubbed the owl’s head. ‘Not at all. In fact, Scoot was very clever to find Hiboo so quickly. Go and fetch your friend. I’d like to thank you both for your help.’
Ben started to go back, but then he said, ‘But what about Scoot? We need a lead for him.’
Amara pulled a long hair from her head and waved it in front of her face three times. Ben watched it grow thicker and thicker until it was just like a piece of string. ‘Here,’ she said, ‘maybe this will help.’
7
Ben’s Reward
Ben ran as fast as he could back to Jess and Scoot. He told Jess what had happened, and that the Wise Woman wanted to meet her as well.
‘She’s called Amara and she’s really nice.’ Ben was hopping around and waving his arms about. ‘Come on, Jess, let’s put this lead on Scoot and go.’
Jess wasn’t so sure. ‘What’s she like? Is she really, really old?’
Ben stopped hopping. ‘Errr, well, no. I don’t think so. She has long silver hair but she doesn’t look as old as Gran. If it’s the same Wise Woman as before, though, she must be very old. Anyway, you can see her herself if you hurry.’
Ben, Jess and Scoot went back to where the Wise Woman was still standing with Hiboo. Amara thanked Jess for helping with the bird’s rescue and asked Ben and Jess if they’d like to look around the rest of the lake and the cave where she lived.
Jess said, ‘We ought to go back. What if Gran goes looking for us? We frightened her a lot last year when we went off to the woods.’
‘That’s all right,’ Amara told them. ‘Your gran won’t even notice that you’ve left.’
Ben was just about to ask how she knew that, when Jess nudged him with her elbow. ‘No more questions, Ben. Let’s just go with her now, and then we’ll soon be back at the cottage.’
The Wise Woman walked along the path and Ben, Jess and Scoot followed. Scoot had calmed down and was behaving himself. Amara stroked his head and said that he was a very brave and clever little dog. He licked her hand and she laughed.
They crossed another stream and walked a little further, then Amara stopped and pointed to something in the distance.
Jess saw it first. ‘Oh, look, Ben!’ she said. ‘Over there, next to the tree. It’s a peacock!’
Ben looked and he could see the bird as well. It had spread out its tail like a giant fan and the sun was shining on its feathers. Ben had never seen anything like it. It was much better than the drawing he had tried to do. The Wise Woman made a funny cooing noise and the bird walked slowly towards them. Ben could see that Scoot was trembling, but he wasn’t barking, thank goodness.
Amara stretched out her hand and the peacock pressed its head against it. She called to Jess to do the same. Jess shivered as she touched the bird’s head. It was so beautiful, and the feathers felt soft and smooth. Ben did the same. He couldn’t believe that this was really happening. Then Amara called again and three more birds came forward. They were shyer than the first one, and Amara said that they wouldn’t come close to strangers. Then she walked behind the tree. Ben told Jess that the tree was a rowan tree, like the ones near his house, but this one was much bigger. Amara told them that it was also known as the wizard’s tree.
‘Look,’ the Wise Woman said, ‘this is my home.’ She pointed to a small opening in the side of the mountain. Jess looked at Ben and screwed up her nose, but didn’t say anything. For once, Ben was quiet as well. They followed Amara through the opening and along a corridor in the rock. Ben thought it was strange that it wasn’t dark, like it had been in the tunnel. They walked for a minute or two and then went up some steps. At the top there was door – a real door! Amara pushed it open. ‘Come in,’ she said.
Ben and Jess stood in the doorway with their mouths wide open. Even Scoot looked surprised. Inside the door was a huge room, which looked just like the inside of the castle in Ben’s computer game. There was a big fireplace, a table and chairs, rugs on the floor, and lots and lots of books on shelves. This really was magic!
Ben and Jess went into the room and Amara showed them around the rest of her home. All of it was almost exactly like the computer game, except that there was a modern kitchen and even a bathroom. Jess was trying hard to believe what she was seeing.
Much later, after Ben had asked lots of questions and the Wise Woman had given them all something to eat and drink, Jess said they really ought to go back to Gran. Amara took them outside, and as they reached the lake, Ben tripped and fell over but he wasn’t hurt. When he stood up, he saw that the adder stone’s string had broken and that the stone was on the ground.
‘Oh no,’ Ben said, ‘I’ll have to fix this before we go. Gran said I have to wear it all the time for protection.’ He tried to tie the string together but he couldn’t do it. ‘Can you help, Jess?’
Before Jess could answer, Amara took the string and the stone from Ben and looked at them very carefully. She threaded the stone back on to the string and then tied the ends together before putting it back over Ben’s head.
‘So, young Ben,’ Amara looked at him, ‘your grandmother has already passed on the secret? I didn’t think she would have done that so soon.’
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I needed to be able to use the power so that I could help Lox and the Spider Wizard.’ Then he told Amara all about the Spider Kingdom under the hedge at the bottom of his garden. He told her how he’d used the adder stone to see the trap that Spindra had tried to catch him in. Spindra was the Spider Queen’s wicked sister, and she was really scary! Amara asked Ben how many times he had used the magic rhyme. He told her that he had used it five times and explained how that had happened.
‘So that means you only have two more times to use it,’ Amara said.
‘Yes.’ Ben nodded his head. ‘Gran says I have to be careful now not to waste the power.’
The Wise Woman thought for a moment, then she said, ‘Well, Ben, I was going to give you a gift for helping me with Hiboo but I think the best thing I can do is this.’
She went down to the stream and put her hands under the water for a while and she seemed to be singing, but Ben couldn’t hear clearly because the peacocks were all calling as well. Jess put her hands over her ears. Amara took her hands out of the water and put them on Ben’s face. He shivered.
‘There,’ Amara said, ‘now the power has been restored and you can use the rhyme seven times again. After that, like your gran told you, you must pass it on. If you ever need my help, turn towards the mountains, put the adder stone against your lips and whisper my name three times. Then say the calling rhyme that I’ll teach you now. The mountain wind will carry your call to the wizard’s tree and it will catch your voice and send it to me. I’ll send Hiboo to you wherever you are. Don’t be afraid of him. Let him sit on your shoulder and he’ll talk in your ear. Just tell him what you need.’
Ben was surprised, but he thanked her and said he’d never forget about her. Then Amara told him to write down the rhyme and to keep it safe.
The Wise Woman knelt down in front of Jess. ‘You’ve been a very good friend to Ben. Even though you’ve been afraid sometimes, you’ve still helped him. I’d like you to have this.’ She held out her hand, and there was the prettiest bracelet Jess had ever seen. It looked exactly like the flowers she’d seen at the rock castle.
Amara told her they were called spi
der orchids, and Ben laughed. The Wise Woman fastened it around Jess’s wrist and told her that the flowers would never die as long as Jess believed in the magic of the lake. Jess thanked her and said she’d always believe.
‘And what about Scoot?’ Amara asked. ‘I think he deserves a gift as well.’ She put her hand into her pocket and pulled out something that looked like a small stick, but she told Ben that it was a reed. They grew along the river’s edge and they were hollow. She showed Ben where she’d made three holes in the reed and told him to use it like a whistle. Ben blew hard and the reed made a noise like the peacocks’ call. Scoot’s ears went up and he came straight to Ben’s side and sat down.
‘Only you and Scoot can hear that,’ she told Ben. If you use it, he will always obey you, even if there is something else he wants to do! Now, it’s time you went back.’
Jess looked nervous. She was thinking about the tunnel and the scary cave. The Wise Woman smiled and said there might be a better way. She told Ben to hold onto Scoot’s lead very tightly, and to hold onto Jess with the other hand. Then she told them to close their eyes and not to open them until she told them. They closed their eyes and Amara began to sing again. Ben could feel the wind against his back and the ground felt as if it was shaking.
‘You can open your eyes now,’ Amara told them. ‘Don’t move around too quickly at first, you might feel a little bit dizzy. Goodbye.’
Ben and Jess opened their eyes slowly. They were dizzy, but they were also shocked. They were back in the rock castle!
Ben felt Scoot pulling at his lead and he looked down. Yes, it was still the piece of string that Amara had made from her own hair.
Jess looked at her wrist. The yellow bracelet was still there. ‘So, it was real,’ she said.
