‘This is Questrid,’ said Copper. ‘He’s a mixture of Rock and Wood too. Like me.’
‘Questrid’s a funny name.’
‘It means hunter,’ said Questrid.
‘Ruby is his mother.’
‘Ruby?’ For a second Amy couldn’t remember who Ruby was. She got hotter and hotter. Copper and Questrid kept on staring at her. Suddenly the name clicked into place. ‘Oh, Ruby! Yes, she arranged for me to come and stay, didn’t she?’
‘And here’s my mother. Amber,’ said Copper.
Amber. Granite’s great love who could knit gold out of rock.
Amy got a shock. Amber did not fit the image she’d invented for her. She was younger and more attractive. She wasn’t at all fat and greedy looking. Her thick hair was the colour of a gleaming, freshly-opened conker. She had friendly, happy eyes.
‘I’m so pleased you’re here,’ Amber said. ‘Copper has so few friends in the mountains. You must stay as long as you wish and treat this as your home – if you can.’
‘I’m Cedar, Copper’s father,’ said the man who had opened the door. ‘Ah, and this is Greenwood,’ he added.
Amy blinked and had to take a second look at the identical man who had entered the room. The twin brothers were so alike it was as if there was a mirror in the room somewhere, playing tricks on her.
Greenwood nodded at her. He collected a pile of drawings from a shelf. ‘Glad to meet you,’ he said, then he went out again.
Copper grinned. ‘Don’t mind him, he’s very kind, really. Come on, Amethyst, I’ll show you your room. I hope you like it. It’s not very big because the branches of the Spindle Tree are a little on the thin side.’
Amy felt as if something horrible – a splinter of wood perhaps – was lodged in her stomach. There was a real pain there. All this tree! This terrible wood. She knew she had a frozen smile on her face. She heard her voice and it sounded strained and awkward. There was absolutely nothing she could do about it. If I’d known what it felt to be a traitor and a spy I don’t think I’d have agreed to this, she thought. Why can’t they be the way I thought they’d be? Stiff, ugly, mean …
Amy followed Copper up the creaking spiral staircase to the next floor.
‘It’s all quite new for me, too,’ Copper told her. ‘I was living down in the South with my Aunt Ruby. I didn’t even know about the Woods or the Rocks until I came here – about five months ago. The mountains are fantastic, aren’t they? I just feel so at home here. Before I came, I felt as if I was in the wrong place all the time, trying to do the right thing and never managing. But I didn’t know why.’
‘Yes,’ agreed Amy. ‘I understand.’
‘Oh, do you? I’m so glad. I knew we’d have lots in common.’
Amy had spoken without thinking, but it was true. What Copper described was exactly how she had felt. But how could a girl with Wood blood and a pure Rocker like Amethyst ever share feelings?
The wooden staircase was so different from the cold, hard one which spiralled up the centre of Malachite Mountain. This was like walking on jelly.
‘Is everything made of wood?’ Amy stared up at the beams on the ceiling. Her fingertips fluttered on the wooden bannister. It felt warm and smooth and strangely alive: like touching a snake.
Copper laughed. ‘I expect it’s really peculiar for you, but for me it’s glorious. Absolutely everything is wood. Spindle House is special. It moves, you know? It can tell things about people. I think it listens and watches and feels …’
‘Really?’ Amy’s smile felt as if it was set in concrete. The girl is mad, she thought. As if wood could do that! It can’t listen to me!
At the top of the spiral staircase was a circular landing. The main tree branches forked off it. This made all the rooms oddly shaped, with curved ceilings and curved walls. The floor slanted and some rooms had four or five steps going up or down in them, to incorporate the steep climb of the branches.
‘Here’s yours,’ Copper said, opening a tiny door. ‘Mind your head.’
Amy felt Copper beaming happily at her. Why was the wretched girl so merry? ‘It’s pretty,’ Amy managed to say. ‘I shall love it here.’
The room was round, with a small arched window set deep into the thickness of the tree trunk wall. The wooden floor and walls gleamed like golden honey. Awful, Amy thought as a wave of nausea swept over her. I’ll get claustrophobia. Or woodphobia. I’ll be sick. And if Copper keeps grinning and smiling and being so maddeningly nice, I’ll die!
Copper pointed to the bed. ‘We cut off the legs and replaced them with stone pillars,’ she said proudly. ‘And there’s an iron headboard. Questrid helped make it. He said you wouldn’t want to sleep on wood, it might give you a headache. It does to him – or it used to.’
‘He’s right,’ Amy said. ‘Even being in here …’ She stopped. ‘Well, I’ll see how I get on. Which is your room?’
‘Just here.’ Copper opened the next door along the corridor and stood back to let Amy into her room.
‘Oh, and this,’ she added, waving towards the bed, ‘is Ralick.’
9
Ralick
Amy stopped dead. She stared at the scruffy ball of fur on the bed.
‘A stuffed toy?’
‘My wolf cub.’
Wolf cub! She’d forgotten all about it. The wolf cub she had to steal. The reason she was here. How could she forget?
The little cub uncurled itself. Its fur was darker than Silver’s, a soft gold, with white-blond patches round its eyes. A dark streak ran down its forehead and from each eye, joining to make a dark line down the bridge of its nose. It had golden eyes.
‘What did you say it was?’ she gulped.
‘He’s a wolf cub,’ said Copper. ‘He’s four months old. He’s still got his baby fur, but later he’ll be more silvery-coloured. Isn’t he gorgeous?’
‘Er, yes.’
Then Amy saw a strange thing. She saw Copper and the wolf cub exchange a very particular look. It wasn’t just that their eyes met, nothing so simple, no, she was sure. They looked at each other as equals, as friends. As intelligent beings.
Granite was right, she thought. This cub is special.
Ralick yawned and stretched. He rolled over so his little pink tummy showed. His out-sized paws hung limply as Copper rubbed his underneath and stroked his head. She fondled his thickly-furred ears and cooed at him.
‘I don’t know why he’s up here. He slipped away when you knocked at the door. I expect he didn’t like all the commotion. He’s my very closest friend, Amy. I hope you two will get on.’
The way they gazed at each other was sickening. Amy felt herself growing tight and angry. As if some internal spring was being wound up, and was getting shorter and springier and about to burst.
‘How sweet.’
‘Thank you. He is. Ralick and Questrid are special. And now you, Amethyst. I’m so glad Ruby arranged for you to come and stay.’
Amy smiled weakly. There she goes again, she thought, gushing like a waterfall, and nice. So NICE.
‘I’ll go and unpack my things,’ Amy told Copper.
‘Do you want me to help?’
‘No, no,’ said Amy. ‘Thanks.’
She scuttled into her bedroom and closed the door.
She snatched her hand away from the door as she shut it: Yuk! Even the handle was made of wood. It was shaped into an acorn, and so realistic that if it hadn’t been so big, a squirrel would have been fooled. She stood very still so the floorboards wouldn’t creak, closed her eyes and tried not to breathe the wood smell in too deeply.
It was all so weird. That horrible wolf cub thing, she thought. I hate it. And I hate Copper. Why do they look at each other like that? Secrets. They’ve got secrets but I’m not jealous. How could I be jealous of a wolf and a Wood girl?
But she was …
All her life her uncle and aunt had drummed into her how plain she was. How stupid. The only thing they’d praised her for was for spoiling thing
s. They’d told her stories about the weak and wishy-washy Wood Clan and the superiority of the Rocks. Now here she was, surrounded by wooden things and Wood People – and it wasn’t the way they’d described it at all.
Copper truly seemed to like her. Nobody had ever liked her before. Because how could anyone like her? A spoiler? But Copper didn’t know about her spoiling skills …
Amy went over to the window. She needed more air. She felt weak. The effect of Copper liking her was actually making her feel wobbly, as if bits of her were leaking out.
Or was it just being surrounded by all this wood?
She pushed open the window and sucked in the cold, fresh mountain air. She felt better immediately. I must be strong, she told herself. And cold. Like stone.
Amy’s room was at the back of the house, overlooking a small courtyard. Two very large horses leaned over their stable doors on the far side of the yard. In the roof above the stable were three windows. Copper had told her Qestrid had that room.
As Amy turned back to the room, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror above the chest. She stopped.
She looked different! She stood very still. The rockgoyle’s words came back to her. Sharp, agonising, like a dagger stabbing, the words cut her.
Spoiling! Spoiling! You’ll spoil yourself!
She leaned closer and studied her face, scanning every inch of it in the mirror. Her nose was bulbous! Her eyelashes were shorter, they definitely were and there were bumps around her chin like warts!
Amy’s heart pounded and throbbed painfully. She closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. She wiped the mirror over, bent even closer …
There. Nothing. It was rubbish! She was fine! Just her imagination. Silly. The rockgoyle had been trying to scare her, that’s all …
Someone knocked on the door. Amy jumped and spun round.
‘Sorry!’ Copper burst in. ‘I thought maybe I should help you get sorted because the sooner it’s done, the sooner we can go out and I can show you everything – before it’s dark. Did you see the horses?’ She squeezed in beside Amy, next to the window. ‘Thunder and Lightning. Aren’t they fantastic? They pull the big sledge. Questrid’s in charge of them.’
Amy had to fight to speak normally.
‘Is he?’ she said. She took a big breath. ‘Really. Why doesn’t Questrid live in here?’
‘Because he likes it out there,’ said Copper, leaning against the wall beside her. ‘Sometimes Questrid thinks he’ll go back to the Rock and live with Ruby, but he doesn’t like the Rock – it’s ever so stony and gloomy. Oh, sorry again. That sounds rude! Of course it won’t seem gloomy to you. Or stony! He likes bits of both worlds. Here, let me get this stuff packed away,’ she added. She began tossing Amy’s clothes into the drawers.
‘I suppose the Rock’s not what he’s used to,’ she went on. ‘You do have a lot of clothes, Amy… Questrid didn’t know who his parents were. He didn’t want to believe he was a Rocker, poor thing, but he carves stone beautifully which is such a giveaway. But now Questrid accepts he’s a bit of both. It turns out his father was a Wood. You seem perfectly happy being who you are. I like that.’
Amy swallowed uncomfortably.
‘This is going to be such fun!’ cried Copper. ‘You’ve no idea how much I’ve been looking forward to you coming. I’ve never really had a proper friend before—’
‘Not even in the South?’ asked Amy.
‘No. I felt so different. What about you?’
Amy was caught off guard.
‘Oh, lots. Lots and lots of friends,’ she lied. ‘Yes. I really like my school. I’m in the top set for everything.’
‘Wow!’ said Copper. ‘Well done.’
Amy stared at the carved wooden chest without seeing it. ‘My friends must miss me,’ she added lamely.
‘Oh, don’t worry, we’ll get letters. Bird o’gram. It’s very reliable but of course sometimes the letters are a bit pecked …’
‘Yes?’ What an idiot I am, Amy told herself. I don’t need to make this up. I don’t have to. ‘My best friend’s called Izzy,’ she heard herself rattle on. ‘She’s very pretty, blonde. Really good at netball.’
‘Really? You lucky thing!’ said Copper. She sat on the bed. ‘At my school everyone laughed at me for knitting.’
‘I didn’t know you knitted.’
‘I did. All the time. Aunt Ruby never minded about me knitting. It’s the only thing I miss here. I used to knit when I was unhappy or feeling unravelled and loose. I knitted when I was happy too. I just had to knit. But now …’
‘Yes?’
‘Well, Amber, she’s—’
‘What?’
‘She’s hidden my knitting needles. Every single one she could find. And my crochet hooks. She doesn’t want me to do it any more.’ Copper turned her green eyes on Amy. ‘Why do you think she did that?’
‘I don’t know.’ Amy leaned forward, hoping Copper would tell her about Amber knitting gold. Did she still do it? Where did she do it? Were they rich?
But Copper only giggled.
‘I’ve no idea why she did it either,’ she said. ‘She used to like knitting too. Actually, I do still have one little pair that Aunt Ruby gave me years ago.’ She grinned. ‘I’m keeping them hidden. Just in case Mum gets her hands on them. Have to knit, you know.’
They heard the patter of claws on the floorboards outside and Ralick came in. He sat down at Copper’s feet. She stroked his head.
‘I don’t mean to say anything against your people,’ Copper said. ‘But Granite kept my mother a prisoner once. And Silver, too. Her babies died, all except Ralick. I’ll never forgive him for any of that. He locked me up. He’s mad.’
‘Oh, yes, well …’ Amy wondered what she could say. ‘Granite’s old-fashioned. He’d like to keep the Rockers and the Woods separate, wouldn’t he? He doesn’t like mixing.’
‘That’s right. He lived in the Rock up there.’ Copper pointed vaguely out towards the mountains. ‘He’s gone now. Some people say he killed Old Lord Lazulite to take over his domain. I wouldn’t be surprised … Now Granite reckons he’s the new Lord of all the Rock People. That’s what I’ve heard.’
The cub was staring at Amy. His brow was wrinkled as if he understood what they were saying. It was really very unnerving.
10
Amy’s First Meal at Spindle House
Copper showed Amy all over the house, then all round the snow-covered garden. Amy felt brighter outside in the cold air.
Ralick followed them.
‘The lake’s frozen. Cedar says the ice is a metre thick,’ said Copper. She squatted down beside the ice and wiped away the dusting of snow. The water had turned a clotted, hazy grey. ‘We can go skating if you want. And we can go sledging later. Questrid’s been working on making a sledge for you ever since he knew you were coming.’
‘Has he? Why?’
‘To make you feel at home of course.’ Copper stared at her. ‘What a funny question!’ Copper picked up Ralick and snuggled him under her chin, kissing the flat top of his head. ‘But you can’t come, Ralick. You’ll have to stay behind.’
Skating. There might be a chance for me to grab Ralick then, Amy thought. While Copper’s busy … But it was only a fleeting thought. Stealing the cub seemed rather unimportant now. She let the idea slip back into the deeper corners of her mind.
When Amy was alone in her room she missed Copper. Copper’s working some Wood magic on me, she told herself. How could I like her? This is madness. Granite needs my help. He is the Lord of the Rockers. He’s the one that counts, not these Woods. I must hold out against the Woods and all their charms.
She needed to feel something Rocky. She took the stone carving she had begun on the train from her bag. She clasped the cold rock between her pale hands. The face she’d chiselled was only a blur, just a suspicion of a nose, mouth and eyes, it wasn’t revolting – yet.
I could make it nice, for once, she thought. There’s no Uncle John or Aunt
Agnes to make me spoil it.
What if this stone was me? I’d want to be beautiful, wouldn’t I? But still hard and strong?
A corner of her sculpture crumbled to dust and fell into her lap.
At seven o’clock, Copper called Amy to come downstairs for supper.
The kitchen was bright and too warm. Cedar and Amber were there. A small woman with a long striped skirt was stirring a pot on the cooker.
‘This is Oriole,’ said Copper. She led Amy towards her. Oriole spun round and fixed Amy with her bright, beady eyes.
Amy noticed immediately the way Oriole put her head to one side to look at her and how she hop-walked like a sparrow. ‘You aren’t a Wood!’
Oriole laughed. ‘No, my dear, I’m from the Bird Clan of course and this is Robin, my husband.’
Robin was also short, with long hair tied in a ponytail. He stood with his arms tucked behind his back like folded wings. Alarge, startlingly white seagull sat on his shoulder. It snapped its curved beak. Its shiny yellow eyes were like tiny wet berries. They glared at Amy.
‘This is Casimir. He’s a snow seagull. Don’t mind him,’ said Robin, cocking his head on one side, just like the bird. ‘All show he is.’
Amy tried not to mind him. She tried not to mind any of it: the wood, the warmth, the animals – enormous Silver and little Ralick, tucked up in Copper’s arms. Bravely she admired the green and white pots arranged neatly on the dressers. She cooed over a nest of thrushes she spotted tucked in behind a teapot. She tried to ignore the constant traffic of birds swooping around the room and singing all the time.
‘I look after the birds,’ Robin told her. ‘If you’re good to them, they’ll look out for you. Ask Copper.’
‘It’s true,’ Copper said.
Amy smiled. Inside her head alarm bells rang. Granite hadn’t told her everything. Yes, he’d said there were birds, but these seemed different from ordinary birds. Specially the snow seagull. It looked really smart. Any one of them might see me if I – when I try to steal Ralick – and they’ll easily follow me. I’ll have to be very careful.
Amethyst Page 4