by M E. Holley
‘Ye-es,’ he said slowly. ‘Except—’
She sat up. ‘Except what? Go on.’
‘Except it looked – well, before you say anything, I’m sure it wasn’t a German Shepherd or anything like that. It was bigger, wilder looking, and it just didn’t look like a Shepherd,’ he finished lamely. He reddened, feeling embarrassed. ‘I mean, if I didn’t know wolves are extinct in Britain, I’d have thought that’s what I saw. A really big wolf.’
For a moment they stared at each other. Erin’s mouth dropped open. ‘But you do think that’s what it is, don’t you? That’s incredible!’ She shook her head. ‘Look, Jonah, it’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just – well, I’d have to see it again myself, closer up.’
‘What would you do if we did see it?’
‘Why? Is it there again? Where?’ She was staring apprehensively at the woods.
‘No, sorry, I didn’t mean that. It’s just that I wondered what we would do, if we did see it again.’
Erin was still gazing down at the woods. ‘Let’s just hope we don’t,’ she said slowly. Then she shook her head, as if to clear her mind, and gave Jonah a sideways glance. ‘If we did see it, we could put a spell on it!’
‘Oh, yeah? Like you know one!’
‘I do, as a matter of fact. Better show some respect, boyo, or I might put a spell on you!’
Jonah chuckled. ‘Like what?’ He thought for a moment and then, grinning, chanted: ‘Abracadabra, Jonah Drake, begone from here. Go jump in the lake.’
Erin rounded on him. ‘You can put that grin on the other side of your face, Master Jonah Clever Clogs Drake, because I do know a real spell. See the little church down there?’ She pointed to where Jonah could just see a small square tower poking above trees. ‘That’s St Michael’s, and there’s an Abracadabra spell on the wall inside.’
‘Really? In a church?’ Jonah could hardly believe it. ‘Do you know the spell?’
Erin nodded.
‘Say it then. Go on.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Honestly, Jonah, it’s a real spell. I can’t go saying it out loud. It’s supposed to be very powerful. Mam says not to mess with things you don’t understand. You don’t know what might happen. But I do know the spell was used to free a girl from possession by demons. Her name was Elizabeth Lloyd.’
‘Wow! When?’
‘Well, a long time ago. About 1700, I think. But that doesn’t matter. You know it’s a proper spell that really works, if people had it put inside the church!’
‘Can we go down and see it?’
Erin shook her head. ‘Not today we can’t. The church will be locked. It’s only open once a month for the Sunday afternoon service. We could go then, if you like.’
‘They only have a service once a month?’
Erin spread her arms wide and whirled around, her dark curls flying. ‘Look around you. See the size of the congregation?’
Jonah laughed and gazed down at the valley, where he could see a couple of rooftops near the church and just two or three houses tucked amongst the woods and meadows.
‘Yes, I see what you mean. Not exactly a big village, is it? I’d still like to go down to the church, though.’
‘OK.’ Erin was off, leaping down the hillside and Jonah breathlessly scrambled after her. She stopped suddenly so that Jonah, who could not stop his legs in time, ran into her, and they had to grab each other so that they didn’t fall over. Hanging on to Jonah’s arm to steady herself, Erin pointed beyond the church.
‘Look, can you see that?’
‘What?’ Jonah, frowning, stared towards the church, but could not see anything out of the ordinary. ‘I can’t see anything.’
‘Yes, look.’ Erin turned Jonah’s shoulders so that he could look along her outstretched arm. ‘Look over to the left of the churchyard.’
Above the dark line of the trees, a thin plume of smoke was rising, not steadily like smoke drifting upwards from a bonfire, but in spurts, as if someone was using a bellows.
Jonah nodded. ‘I see it now. Why is it doing that? Coming up in little puffs, I mean.’
Erin was biting her lip as she stared at the smoke. ‘I don’t know. I can’t think what it could be. If it’s coming from the woods, it wouldn’t be a farmer burning rubbish, would it? I don’t like this, Jonah. It might be a forest fire.’
‘Come on.’ Jonah was excited. The wolf dog slipped from his mind. ‘I think we ought to find out what it is.’
CHAPTER 4
SMOKE IN THE FOREST
They slithered on down the hillside towards the lane as fast as they could, sometimes sliding down where it was steep, and then running as they neared the bottom, where the hill dropped gently towards the road. Erin dropped onto the grass, laughing, while Jonah, panting, was bending over with his hands on his knees.
‘Do you think some idiot has dropped a cigarette end and the grass has caught?’ he gasped.
Erin grew serious again. ‘Well, that’s what I’m scared of. When it’s dry like this, the bushes can go up like tinder. It’s odd, though, the way the smoke is coming up, bit by bit.’
‘Quick, then. Let’s go and see,’ Jonah said.
They hurried up the steep lane between the two stone cottages that lay on either side of the road by the church gate. At the end of the churchyard wall, there was a metal farm gate opening into a small hilly field, running steeply down to thick woodland. Now they could see the puffs of pale grey smoke again, rising high in the air.
‘It doesn’t smell bad,’ said Erin, stopping to sniff the air, ‘so they aren’t burning old tyres or anything.’
‘And it’s not spreading,’ Jonah said. ‘The smoke is just going straight up in a thin stream, look. Come on, let’s get a move on.’
They ran along the top of the sloping field until they were level with the plume of smoke and then Jonah saw that there was a brook at the bottom of the hill, dividing the meadow from the woods.
‘How do we get across? Where’s the bridge?’
‘Oh, who’s a little townie, then? We don’t have bridges out here.’ Erin grinned as she sat down to pull off her sandals. ‘Come on. Take your trainers off. It’s not deep. We can wade across.’
She ran down the slope, sat on the bank and slid carefully into the eddying water. ‘Ooh, it’s cold,’ she called, giggling. Jonah rolled his jeans as high as he could and lowered one foot into the stream.
‘Wow. It’s freezing,’ he gasped, stepping down into the swirling current and feeling for a foothold on the slippery mud at the bottom.
‘Don’t leave your shoes. You won’t be able to walk through the undergrowth without them.’
They crossed the brook carefully, up to their knees in water, trying not to lose their footing on the sharp pebbles and mud.
‘It’s not going to be easy walking through here,’ Erin said. They wiped their feet as well as they could on the grass and put their shoes back on. ‘And we won’t be able to see much; we’ll just have to follow the smell of burning.’
The larches and pines closed around them as they plunged into the woods. Twigs crunched beneath their feet and sunlight occasionally flashed through the leaves, as the children ducked under branches and followed the smoky smell.
‘Here it is!’ cried Jonah, holding a prickly branch aside for Erin. ‘I can see it now.’
They moved out from the dappled light under the trees into a clearing. Thick smoke was eddying upwards through winking shafts of sunlight. They both stopped and stared, coughing as the smoke caught at their throats. Instead of the bonfire they expected, there was an enormous fissure in the ground, running through the forest, as if the earth was cracking apart. Several trees were leaning over with their roots high in the air, as if a giant had come through and pushed them clumsily aside. Out of the cleft came puffs of smoke, and sometimes a tongue of flame leaped into the air.
‘What is it?’ Jonah asked.
Erin was wrinkling her forehead. ‘Haven’t a clue,’ she s
aid.
‘But there’s something terribly wrong.’ She turned to Jonah, clutching his sleeve. ‘Oh, you don’t think it could be the beginning of – well, a volcano, do you?’
He shook his head, frowning ‘We haven’t got volcanoes in Britain.’
‘But that doesn’t mean we never will. What about those plates in the Earth’s surface that move and form mountains? We’ve just done those in Geography. Do you think that could be what’s happening?’ asked Erin, wide-eyed.
‘I dunno. It’s weird.’
Jonah picked his way over the uneven ground towards the giant fissure and craned his neck to peer down into the smoke billowing from the crack.
‘Jonah, don’t! If you slip, you could get killed.’ Erin was panicking.
‘It’s OK. I’m being careful.’
‘But if you can’t see properly because of this smoke—’ She broke off, coughing.
The smoke made Jonah’s eyes water. ‘All right. I’m coming back now.’ As he moved away, he felt something suddenly catch his leg. He tried to pull away but a creeper, or something like it, tightened round his ankle. He yelled in alarm as his foot was jerked from under him and he felt himself being pulled over the rough ground towards the smoking pit. Erin screamed and then threw herself flat on the ground, crawling towards him.
Jonah scrabbled at the earth to try to get a hold on something. He kicked out in terror with his free foot, as he felt himself slipping towards the edge of the chasm. The intense heat began to sear his skin. He grabbed at a tree root protruding from the hard earth and hung on. He felt Erin beside him and then her hands were round his arm. She hung on fiercely, her fingers digging into his flesh; Jonah felt as if he was being ripped in two. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, his foot was free, and he was able to scramble backwards. He fell against Erin and they both lay on the bare earth, trembling. After a moment or two, they shakily got to their feet.
Erin was leaning with one hand against a tree trunk, coughing in the smoke and struggling to get her breath. Jonah patted her shoulder.
‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘If it hadn’t been for you—’ He faltered and felt a lump grow in his throat. I might have been killed, he thought. He took a deep breath, which made him start coughing, and went on. ‘What happened? I just couldn’t get my foot free. It felt like something grabbing me. Did I get caught up in some ivy?’
Erin was staring at him. She looked afraid. ‘No,’ she said in a wobbly voice. ‘But – you won’t believe me.’ She was gazing at him, almost pleadingly.
‘I will,’ he said.
‘Promise you won’t say I’m mad.’
‘I won’t. Really. Cross my heart and all that.’
‘Jonah,’ her voice dropped to a frightened whisper, ‘I think it was a hand. I do! Honestly.’
He stared at her. A cold prickling feeling crept up his spine.
‘I saw fingers,’ she said. ‘All long and greyish, with horrible horny fingernails. I swear I did. I know people would say you got your foot tangled in brambles or something. But you didn’t. You were being pulled along! Oh, please say you believe me.’ She looked anxious. ‘Please don’t think I’m a freak!’
Jonah shook his head. ‘I don’t,’ he said. ‘To be honest, it didn’t feel much like ivy. What I felt round my leg – well – it actually could have been fingers!’
They gazed at each other in horror and then, yelling, ‘Let’s get out of here!’ they plunged through the undergrowth towards the little stream.
CHAPTER 5
MEETING MR GOLDING
They scrambled up the bank into the meadow. There were bleeding scratches on their arms and necks, where twigs had scraped them as they ran. Erin’s shirt had ripped on a thorn and Jonah had smears of red-brown earth all down his back. Panting and exhausted, they looked at each other and then Jonah began to grin. ‘Do you think we might get A for Imagination?’
Erin took a deep breath and looked around the sunny, perfectly normal meadow. She smiled ruefully. ‘Perhaps B plus.’
Jonah gave her a sideways grin. ‘Oh! Oh! The Ivy-man cometh with his horrible horny hands. Waaah!’
Erin started to giggle. Jonah, waggling his fingers, made a grab for her and chased her across the slope. She gave up, out of breath, and they flung themselves down on the grass, laughing. But another column of smoke shot upwards, making them feel anxious again, and they started up the hill towards the lane.
‘Do you think we ought to go and get your father? Or shall we go to one of the cottages to tell someone about the fire? That would be quicker,’ Jonah was saying, when Erin exclaimed, ‘Look, there is someone coming already.’
At the far edge of the meadow, a man had just come through the gate by the church and was coming down the grassy slope towards them. He was tall and young-looking, wearing khaki chinos and a dark green polo shirt, and the sun lit his blond, curly hair. He gave them a wave as he came nearer.
‘Who’s that?’ Jonah whispered.
‘I don’t know,’ Erin replied, puzzled. ‘He’s not from round here.’
The man smiled as he came down the slope towards them.
‘Hello,’ he said. ‘I thought I saw movement in the woods. Did you see the smoke?’
Jonah nodded. ‘Yes, we were up on the hill behind the church,’ he began, but Erin cut in.
‘Excuse me,’ she said, looking at the stranger with a slight frown. ‘Are you on holiday here?’
The man shook his head. ‘No, I’m working.’
‘Working? Oh. Who do you work for?’ Erin was blunt to the point of rudeness. ‘I’ve not seen you round here before.’
Jonah stared at the ground in embarrassment, but the stranger smiled at them and did not seem to mind. Close to, he did not look so young. His pale skin was lined around the eyes. ‘No,’ he said. ‘You wouldn’t know me. I’m not local. I’m here to...do some research in the area. I hope I didn’t alarm you, appearing in the field like that.’
Jonah smiled back. ‘No, of course not.’
He waited for Erin to speak, but she was still looking doubtfully at the man. Then she asked abruptly, ‘Is the fire something to do with you?’
‘Well, in a way. Not that I started it,’ he said easily, as Erin frowned and opened her mouth to interrupt. ‘But I am here to try to make sure the fissure doesn’t get any bigger.’
‘Are you with the Forestry Commission, then?’ Erin demanded.
‘No,’ the man replied calmly. ‘I work for another company. We have interests in this part of Radnorshire. My name is Mike Golding, by the way.’
Erin’s mistrust was making Jonah feel awkward. He wanted to change the subject before she said anything else. ‘I’m Jonah Drake and this is Erin Morgan,’ he said. ‘Do you know what is causing the smoke?’
The man ran a hand through his mop of fair hair and sighed. ‘I’m afraid I might do,’ he said slowly.
‘But what is it?’ Jonah persisted. Looking at Mr Golding, he began to suspect that something was very wrong. The stranger looked strained and Jonah felt that he was far more concerned about the fire than he was willing to say.
Erin eyed the man sternly. ‘Look, if you know something, you ought to tell us. My father and Jonah’s uncle farm over there. If there’s a forest fire, they’ve got to be warned.’
Mr Golding spoke gently. ‘You’re right. And people will be told, if and when it’s necessary. But if I’m wrong it would be irresponsible to alarm everybody, wouldn’t it? We may find that this is just a slight volcanic incident, which will soon die down.’
The children stared at each other. ‘There!’ cried Erin. ‘I told you! Oh, this is really awful!’
‘Hey, I said it might – only might – be a slight volcanic occurrence. Please don’t go spreading alarm,’ Mr Golding said. ‘We don’t want a lot of people trampling round in the wood to investigate.’
Erin flashed a warning look at Jonah. She didn’t want him to say that he had nearly got pulled into the crack in the ground. That would rea
lly stir up trouble. He nodded very slightly to show that he understood.
Mr Golding looked at them gravely. ‘You know, if you both go home and blurt this out, you could create pandemonium in the area, and all for no reason. You can see the flames aren’t spreading to the trees. They are low down in the chasm. Will you keep this quiet for just a few hours? Please.’
Jonah nodded but Erin frowned.
‘What do you mean by a few hours?’
‘Till, say, ten o’clock tomorrow morning?’
‘No! That’s ages,’ Erin cried. ‘Tomorrow morning will be much too late. The whole forest could be alight by then!’
Mr Golding shook his head. ‘No, it won’t be. Honestly. If you want to meet me then – by the churchyard, say – I should know for sure what is causing it. Then you could help with the names of the farmers I might need to contact.’ He held up a placatory hand, as Erin began to protest. ‘This isn’t an ordinary forest fire. The flames are deep down, like I said. There’s very little danger of the trees or anything above ground catching fire.’
‘But how can you be sure? And you still haven’t said why – erm – a volcanic incident might be happening.’ Erin was not going to be put off.
The forester looked at her steadily. ‘No, and I’m not going to. Not till I know whether I am right and not till I am sure that I can trust you!’
Erin blushed scarlet. ‘I’m sorry,’ she mumbled. ‘It’s just that – well, it’s not very often we see new people just walking about in this valley unless they’re obviously hikers. And the smoke is, like, worrying. You know.’
‘Yes, I do, so don’t feel uncomfortable,’ Mr Golding said, beginning to smile. He turned round suddenly. ‘Oh, idiot! I’ve left my jacket in the porch. I’ll walk back up to the church with you. If it’s OK with you, that is?’
The children nodded and he fell into step beside them.
‘So, are you both from farming families?’
‘I am. Jonah isn’t, though.’