Bob eventually led them right to the end of the room where a huge shelving unit stood – this was more interesting than the rest of the room put together. The unit was filled with all matter of objects from jars of seeds and pods to strange half formed things that were unrecognisable floating in vats of liquid. There were jars that were steaming, containers covered in condensation, a few pulsing or glowing vessels; there was even one contained in a block of ice.
‘What’re these?’ Jack asked.
‘Oh all sorts of things and I know what they all are so you can take them down to have a closer look if you like,’ Bob said sounding excited. Cali, who still had her arms folded, did not look like she was about to touch anything. Jack picked up the jar closest to him. It contained tiny golden-yellow seeds that were emitting their own softly glowing light. Bob’s eyes sparkled.
‘I’m glad you picked those. They’re Treelibre. Rare, valuable. New to this department. The staff at Control of Endangered Flora and Fauna have been drafted into Relationship Preservation, so all their projects have come to me,’ he took the jar from Jack and tilted it gently. The seeds pulsated. They reminded Jack of tiny heartbeats.
‘What are they for?’ he asked. Bob looked around the room as if checking to make sure they were alone.
‘These are how we hide Five Oaks. They’re planted at the root of the tree. As they are absorbed the tree becomes more than a tree,’ Bob spoke in a low reverent voice. He placed the jar lovingly back on the shelf.
‘More than a tree?’ Jack asked. Bob nodded but didn’t say anything else.
‘What’s this?’ Cali asked pointing at a black container that was steaming. She quickly re-folded her arms. Bob’s face, which had softened and become positively healthy looking when he had spoken of the Treelibre, drained of colour and became a pasty grey again.
‘That?’ Bob said. He walked up to the jar stopped just short of it staring, eyes wide and fearful.‘It contains the egg of a Griffin,’ he whispered.
‘A…a Griffin?’ Cali said staring at the dark container.
‘It’s safe. For now,’ Bob said.
‘Safe?’ Cali’s eyes flicked between the container and Bob.
‘A Griffin must hatch before its nature is determined,’ Bob said as if this explained everything.
‘What do you mean?’ Jack said.
‘Griffin’s are controlled by Fire. They’re mutable. Their nature, the essence of their soul, is only determined when they’re born. Few have ever been hatched in captivity.’
‘Why is their nature so important?’ Jack asked, thinking back to all the stories he had heard of mythological creatures when he was younger. He could remember nothing of the Griffin except that it had the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. Bob looked around at Jack.
‘The Griffin’s nature is two-fold. At birth the one that is dominant will control the beast’s behaviour for its entire lifetime,’ Bob said. He paused. Jack didn’t know if this was for effect or if it was because the gnome was screwing up the courage to carry on.
‘Surely you could influence their behaviour…’ Cali began. Bob shook his head.
‘The Griffin is a creature of purity. It will be either evil or good. There is no other kind.’
‘So why not hatch it?’ Jack asked ‘you could destroy it if it’s evil, couldn’t you?’ Bob shook his head once more and looked away.
‘There has never been a Griffin bred in captivity that was not evil,’ Bob said.
‘So if it’s evil you could destroy it,’ Jack said.
‘No, no, no. Once a Griffin has hatched it is at full strength. It would be extremely difficult and dangerous to try to kill it. And we cannot just destroy the egg, it is nigh on indestructible.’ All three of them stared with a fearful awe at the steaming black vessel.
‘And no one knows anything about how their nature is determined? Jack said.
‘No one knows for sure, although there are countless theories. Personally, I’m inclined to think it has something to do with the solar cycle,’ Bob said. There was another long silence as Jack pondered this astonishing statement.
‘Where did it come from then?’ Jack asked. Bob hesitated.
‘It was taken by an agent deep under cover. It’s from someone’s private hatchery,’ Bob looked scared.
‘So someone’s breeding them?’ Cali asked. Bob nodded wordlessly.
‘Who?’ Jack asked. Bob knew something but he was too scared to say. Instead he changed the subject completely.
‘Well, is there anything else on here that you fancy finding out about?’
‘Oh, but…’ Cali began but Jack caught her eye and gave her a tiny shake of his head. Her mouth closed with an audible snap.
‘These pods look interesting,’ Jack said, picking up a random phial from the shelf and passing it to Bob. The gnome’s skin regained some colour as he started telling Jack and Cali about the healing properties of the pods (‘excellent for minor wounds and abrasions. Never seen anything like it’) and the rest of the visit passed happily.
‘Are you going to tell us what you actually do or not?’ Jack asked when Bob had run out of things to show them.
‘Like I said we do lots of things. Some people focus on the lighter side of the department though,’ Bob said his grey-green skin flushing.
‘The lighter side?’ Jack asked.
‘As Miscellany we deal with a lot of oddities that happen every now and then,’ Bob said evasively.
‘Go on,’ Cali said. She was just as interested as Jack.
‘OK, but you can’t laugh,’ Bob said.
‘Just tell us,’ Jack said.
‘Most of the work we do concerns the smaller branches of gnome lore. Like, well like the Verruca Gnome’s if you must know. And the Sock Goblin’s.’ There was a shocked silence.
‘Verruca Gnome’s?’ Cali asked weakly.
‘Go on, laugh. I know you want to,’ Bob said.Silence.‘You’re not laughing.’
‘Of course not,’ Jack said.
‘Yo-you’re not laughing!’ Bob repeated. He appeared to be so stunned that Jack and Cali were not laughing that he had temporarily lost the thread of the conversation.
‘I told you we wouldn’t,’ Cali said
‘It sounds interesting,’ Jack backed her up and smiled encouragingly at Bob.
‘That’s exactly what I tell people but no one listens,’ Bob said with a long-suffering sigh, but he was positively glowing again.
‘I always suspected we had a Sock Goblin at Steele Manor,’ Jack said.
‘Most human homes do,’ Bob said, misty eyed ‘we train them here, make sure they know what they can and can’t do that sort of thing.’ He sounded very proud.
‘Wow,’ Jack said. He was lost for words.
They didn’t stay long after that. Bob had things to do (he wouldn’t tell them what no matter how hard they pressed) but he made them promise to visit again.
‘Of course we’ll come again,’ Jack said ‘you’re the only person who’ll speak to us!’ This made Bob’s eyes mist up again and this time Jack and Cali had to look away for a moment while he dabbed at his face with a scruffy hanky.
‘Ahem. Yes. Well. I take lunch at twelve so if you want to come and visit please do,’ Bob said formally as he tucked the wet handkerchief back up his shirtsleeve.
Jack and Cali said goodbye in the long no-door corridor and didn’t speak or even look at each other until they were back in the central atrium.
‘Well. That was interesting,’ Cali said, voice strained.
‘Wasn’t it?’ Jack replied. Their eyes met they began to laugh.
‘S-s-sock goblins? At S-Steele Manor?’ Cali stuttered.
‘It’s b-better than having V-Verruca gnomes…’ Jack said laughing so hard his ribs began to ache.
‘I wonder if they have, like, Bunion B-b-brownies?’ Cali said, tears starting to stream down her face.
‘Or Dust Bunny Demons!’ Jack snorted.
‘We shoul
dn’t make fun,’ Cali said, though she couldn’t stop herself from letting out the occasional burst of giggles.
They visited Bob every day. He was always pleased to see them and often had something new to show them - either an incident involving the breach of some minor Elemental Law (one day it had involved a Bunion Brownie and Jack had to fight hard not to laugh) or else a new type of creature or substance that another department could no longer take care of.
Despite all his discoveries, Jack was often torn between wonder at his new surroundings – Five Oakes, the gnomes like Bob and the no-door corridor - and frustration at not doing anything useful to find Sophie. He hated knowing that his sister was out there somewhere and he was here doing nothing.
When they weren’t out exploring the wonders of Five Oaks or visiting Bob, Jack and Cali spent a lot of time in Aloysius’s office. It was not practical – they were frequently expelled by members of the council as it was the most protected of all areas of the headquarters – but it was filled with such interesting books it was hard to stay away.
The headquarters had been built with only one public entrance; a carved oak door, similar to the one if Aloysius’ office but larger, much larger. The door reached many times Jack’s height but only twice his width. Centuries ago, when the headquarters had first been created the doors were made to protect the gnomes from human attack. When peace came the doors became a curiosity. Now, once again, they protected the headquarters. Not from humans this time but from other Elementals.
Other measures were in force to protect the gnomes, Jack had been assured, but they were top secret. In fact, Jack already knew of one.
‘Please do not tell others of the portal in my office,’ Aloysius said to Jack and Cali on their return from the Keeper’s glade.
‘Why not?’ Jack said.
‘There is only one known entrance to the headquarters. If it is found that there is another…’ Aloysius trailed off.
‘I won’t say anything,’ Jack promised. Cali nodded too. The truth was, even if someone found out about the secret exit and somehow knew that Jack used it, Jack would be unable to tell them its location. Both times he used it he was so surprised that he took little notice of where the door appeared, only that both times it was approximately opposite the desk in Aloysius’s office. Since the desk moved frequently to accommodate the needs of the tree from which it was grown that information was not of much use.
Cali spent a lot of her time in the evenings reading books of Elemental lore, which she took from the shelves in Aloysius’ office to read in her room. Jack asked Cali often if she had come across anything regarding the fifth element, but she always shook her head. She did find out something about the Keeper that she shared with him though. He caught up with her in Aloysius’s office and as usual she was buried to her eyeballs in a book. This time it was huge and golden.
‘What’re you doing?’ Jack asked, running his finger over one of the shelves and recalling the first time he had seen the room. Cali looked up at him. Her green eyes were glowing and her cheeks were pink with excitement.
‘I’ve been reading about the Keeper - well not just the Keeper all Sphinxes I suppose – they aren’t fixed in time!’ Cali said.
‘Erm, yeah, what does that mean though?’ he asked. Her hair was wild as if she’d been running her hands through it.
‘It means,’ Cali said looking back down at the huge golden book ‘that the Keeper can exist at all points of time at the same moment.’
‘Yeah?’ Jack said. Her face had a light sheen – she must have been working for hours but she still looked really… pretty.
Jack! She knows everything that’s ever happened and anything that will happen!’ Cali said. Then she scowled. ‘What are you staring at? Am I a mess?’
‘No. No not at all,’ Jack flushed.
It’s incredible...! I just can’t believe it…’ Cali exclaimed her attention once more focused entirely on the book.
Jack hurried away, closely followed by the Keeper. He was halfway back to his room when something clicked. He wasn’t sure why it had taken him so long to make the connection. Excitement welled up inside him.
‘If you’re not fixed,’ Jack began. He paused for a long time, still walking. He had almost reached his room before he started talking again. ‘And you can experience any point of time at all,’ Jack paused again; his eyes were slightly glazed and his skin had paled. He felt cold and warm at the same time and could feel goose bumps creeping their way up his back as he finally realised what had been scratching around at the back of his brain since Cali had told him that stuff about time. He stopped suddenly as if he had walked into a wall.
‘You must know if I find my sister,’ Jack said. He turned to look at the Keeper who smiled at him.
‘Would you like to hear my riddle?’ she said.
‘No,’ Jack said and it took all of his will power to walk into his room, close the door behind him and throw himself onto his bed. His mind was working at a hundred miles an hour. This changed everything. If he could hear the riddle and answer it then he would find out if there was any hope of finding Sophie.
Jack decided that the following day he was going to have a look at the book Cali had been reading to try to find out more about the Keeper. With that thought burning in his mind it took a very long time before Jack drifted to sleep; a sleep filled with flickering light, misshapen figures and glimpses, such tantalising glimpses, of long golden hair.
When Jack woke he knew it was early. There were no windows in Five Oaks but the tree emitted natural light into every room and it was still pitch black. He quietly got out of bed, threw on his t-shirt and jeans and ran down the deserted corridors to Aloysius’ office. The only sound he heard was the whisper of the Keepers soft padded feet behind him.
It didn’t take long to find the book – Cali had left it open on the desk. Jack looked at the front cover. The book – The Mystery of the Sphinx – was massive and something else about the cover caught his eye too. The author was Aloysius Winstanley. Jack looked at the name for a long time before he turned to the contents page. He ran his finger quickly down the contents page but found nothing of immediate interest. He slumped back into the chair and sighed heavily.
‘What shall I do?’ he asked the Keeper. He did not have to look – he knew she was there.
‘Would you like to hear my riddle?’ she replied.
‘No.’ Jack turned back to the book and began reading. Hours passed.
‘I can’t find anything! I can’t find a single useful thing! What’s the point,’ Jack shouted eventually. He slammed the book closed.
‘Would you like to hear my riddle?’ the Keeper asked.
The room was fully light; Jack had spent hours reading that massive book and discovered absolutely nothing. He was frustrated. Why not, he thought.
‘Yes,’ he said.
‘Jack!’ he swung round and saw Cali standing in the doorway. Before either of them could say anything else the Keeper began.
‘You know the rules. Listen:
My first is in secret and also in truth
Though never in elders, always in youth
My next is in Nature and also in Earth
Locate it in difference and twice in rebirth
My third is in Other and also the same
My fourth is my third; now tell me my name.’
‘What are you thinking?’ Cali squeaked when the Keeper had finished. ‘Aloysius told us not to do anything until he spoke to us again!’
‘He can’t expect me to sit around and do nothing while he gets wrapped up in red tape and rules!’ Jack said.
‘I know you want to find your sister…’
‘Did you hear?’ Jack interrupted.
‘Yes,’ she whispered.
‘Can you solve it?’ Jack asked. Cali nodded. ‘Will you?’ Cali sighed.
‘Of course. In charade riddles there’s a clue to a syllable or letter in each line. It will be simple to work out now I have a
pencil and paper. This won’t take long,’ she said to Jack confidently and began muttering to herself. Jack kept quiet. ‘Right it’s in secret, truth and youth but not elders. Well it can’t be a syllable because ‘truth’ and ‘youth’ only have one and they’re not the same. It must be a letter. Hang on… It must be ‘t’. That’s the first letter. Now, Nature, Earth, difference, rebirth. Well twice in ‘rebirth’ – the only letter twice in ‘rebirth’ is ‘r’ so that’s the second letter. What’s in ‘Other’ and ‘same’? Not ‘o’, not ‘t’, not ‘h’… it’s ‘e’! The fourth is the third so that’s ‘e’ too. Let’s see ‘t’, ‘r’, ‘e’, ‘e’. The answer is ‘tree’!’ Cali said. The Sphinx didn’t reply.
‘I think it has to come from you,’ Cali whispered. Jack was staring at Cali in astonishment.
‘Is the answer tree?’ Jack asked still gawking at Cali. The Keeper bowed her head.
‘What is your question?’ she asked. Jack tore his eyes from Cali.
‘Will I find my sister?’ Jack asked.
‘Yes,’ the Keeper said in her golden voice. Jack grinned and he felt his heart swell.
‘I knew it. I…’ Jack began.
‘And no,’ the Sphinx continued.
‘What do you mean?’ Jack whispered
‘Would you like to hear my riddle?’ the Keeper asked her voice the same as ever, low, pleasant. Only now Jack could hear ageless indifference and coldness.
Jack dropped into the chair behind him, head thrown back, big blue eyes denying the world.
‘No,’ he said his voice almost as low as the Keepers.
‘Jack,’ Cali said. He shook his head.
‘I don’t want to talk.’
‘Jack, it’s not your fault,’ Cali said.
Jack turned to look at her. She looked desperately sorry for him.
‘Will you still help me find her?’ he asked.
‘Of course I will. I’m here to the end.’
* * * * * * *
Later Jack and Cali were on the way to the no-door corridor to see Bob when a stranger approached them. This was so unusual that Jack and Cali stopped in their tracks and stared.
The gnome used glamour to change most of her body into human form, perhaps to make Jack and Cali feel more comfortable. Sadly, her face and hair remained unchanged and were remarkably similar to Gordy’s in colour as well as size. This meant that while her body was proportioned well for a human, her head was about three sizes too small.
Elemental: Steele Stolen: Part 1 and 2 Page 5