by Jenny Nimmo
‘You told me that your cloak was made of a spider’s web, that much is true,’ said Eri, ‘but when I dreamed of your cloak, I saw a sheet of silver, sparkling with a thousand colours. I saw a being, small with dark wings, splashing the web with water from a pool. It was fed by tears that spilled from the eyes of creatures that knelt beside it. Beautiful creatures; their eyes were large and golden, their ears soft and pointed, their tails ringed in blues and purples. I knew we should never see their like again.’
Timoken heard a quiet sniff and glanced at Sila. She rubbed her eyes and smiled at him.
‘And then I saw the winged being run across the forest floor,’ Eri went on. ‘It held the web like a banner floating behind it, brushing the dewy petals of flowers that would never bloom again. While it ran, the winged being sang a spell, and that was the worst of it, Timoken.’
Timoken shrank under the fierce grey eyes. ‘Why?’ he whispered.
‘It had a slight, sweet voice,’ said Eri. ‘Very beguiling. It said that a newborn child wrapped in the web would live forever, would be a marvellous magician and,’ – the wizard stared at Timoken – ‘and would have only one foot in the real world. The other would remain in the realm of enchantments. What have you to say about that, Timoken, eh? You were that newborn child.’
Timoken clutched the web even tighter. ‘What’s so wrong?’ he said.
‘Aaah!’ Eri stamped his foot. ‘It means they’ll be after you, and us. They’ll follow their noses, sniff out the web – and you. Because you’re still a part of their world.’
‘Who?’ asked Sila.
‘Beings from the realm of enchantment, girl,’ the wizard answered gruffly.
‘Surely some are friendly,’ Sila said boldly.
Eri spat on the grass. ‘Silly girl. It’s the greedy ones we have to fear. The demons. They’ll want that cloak, and they’ll kill to get it. They’re here already. Did you know that?’ The wizard scowled. ‘I heard them, felt them, down in the forest. I had to make this wand to protect myself.’
‘I’m more scared of the conquerors,’ said Karli. ‘Could I have a wand, too?’
Eri turned and walked away from them, muttering under his breath. Timoken watched the wizard marching through the bracken. He swung his staff over his head, as though warding off a swarm of invisible bees.
‘Are you afraid of the wizard?’ Karli asked Timoken.
‘A little,’ Timoken admitted.
‘Shall we build a house here,’ asked Sila, ‘to keep us safe?’
Timoken grinned. ‘No. We shall build a castle, down there in the forest.’
Sila’s ringed eyes grew round with amazement. ‘In spite of the demons?’
‘We shall . . .’ Timoken was interrupted by a loud cry overhead. Looking up, he saw a flying creature, its vast wings spread against the light. It cried again, a low, melancholy sound, ending in a cough. And then it was falling, rather too fast, towards them.
It landed with a crackle and a bang, right on top of the fire. Karli screamed and Gabar let out a powerful snort of alarm. Sila and Timoken stared at the newcomer, too surprised to utter a sound.
Chapter Nine
A Dragon
The creature was the size of a large hound, a very overfed and heavy hound. Its belly was so large it covered the fire entirely, smothering the flames.
In all his travels, Timoken had never seen anything like this beast. It was covered in rounded pewter-coloured scales, and the wings sprouting from its shoulders were like those of a large bat. A line of diamond-shaped platelets ran from the top of its head, along its spine, and down to the very tip of its long, thick tail. In some respects its snout resembled a hound’s, but if Timoken was not mistaken, a wreath of smoke curled gently from each of its nostrils.
The creature turned its long neck and looked round at its audience with bewildered golden eyes. It drew back its lips in what looked like a hopeful smile. Timoken stepped away from it. Those sharp teeth gave its smile a dangerous edge. It turned its gaze on the camel, who snorted, ‘What is it, Family?’
‘What is it?’ asked Sila and Karli in whispers.
Timoken shrugged. ‘What are you?’ he ventured, giving the creature a tentative grin. He didn’t yet know its language.
It seemed delighted to be spoken to, however, and, standing on its hind legs, rushed up to Timoken, waving its tail.
‘Whoa!’ cried Timoken, putting up his hand.
Gabar gave a protective bellow and the creature stopped in its tracks. It let out a husky sort of whine, giving Timoken a sense of its language.
‘What are you?’ he asked, in a similar whining voice.
‘Master knows,’ it said.
Timoken frowned. Where was its master? Again, he asked, ‘What are you?’
The strange creature seemed disappointed. It dropped on to its forelegs and gazed wistfully at Timoken. He noticed the scaly feet planted squarely in front of the creature’s round body. Each toe ended in a long, sharp claw.
‘What shall we do with it?’ asked Sila.
Its head swivelled in her direction and she took a step back.
‘I think we should feed it,’ said Karli. ‘In case it’s hungry, and . . .’ He rolled his eyes and grimaced.
Timoken scratched his head. ‘We can’t do anything with it,’ he said. ‘We’ll just have to wait for it to make up its mind.’
‘About what?’ asked Sila.
‘Whether it wants to stay or go.’
Karli stepped a little closer to the creature. ‘If we go, d’you think it’ll follow?’
‘Let’s see.’ Timoken swung round and walked to the edge of the trees. He had only taken a few steps when he heard the heavy creature thumping behind him.
‘It’s following,’ said Sila.
Timoken stopped. He smiled to himself. ‘It wants to be family.’
‘Family!’ Sila said doubtfully.
But the creature didn’t wait behind Timoken. It ran straight past him, its thick tail sweeping aside the bracken.
A voice carried through the air. ‘There you are!’ Eri came striding up the hill, and with joyful squeals the creature ran into the wizard’s outstretched arms. He hugged it fiercely, until all that could be seen of the creature was its spiky head, peeping through the folds of the wizard’s tattered robe.
After a lot of tender murmuring from the wizard, and grunts of pleasure from the creature, Eri looked up at the three children gathered at the edge of the trees.
‘You’ve met her, then?’ called the wizard, his bad temper apparently forgotten.
‘Her?’ said Timoken.
‘My friend, Enid.’ The wizard ambled towards them with his friend bouncing beside him.
‘I hope you don’t think I’m ignorant, Eri,’ said Timoken when the wizard reached them, ‘but what is she?’ He glanced at the creature that was now happily sniffing the old man’s shoes.
‘What d’you think she is?’ said Eri indignantly.
‘I don’t know,’ Timoken admitted.
‘I think I do,’ said Karli. ‘I’ve seen her face, or something like it, on the church at Innswood, before it was burnt down, of course.’
‘No,’ Sila told him. ‘That was a carving of something mythical.’
Timoken thought he had seen so much more of the world than Karli and Sila. How was it that he had never seen a creature like Enid?
‘Enid is no myth, girl.’ Eri gave a gleeful chuckle. ‘But I have to keep her secret, or she would be killed for sport. She hides herself so well these days, sometimes I cannot find her for a whole season. This time I thought I’d lost her forever.’ He ran his fingers down Enid’s scaly neck. ‘But now that you’ve seen her, there’s no need for secrecy.’
‘And she can stay with us forever,’ said Karli, clapping his hands. Then, suddenly serious, he asked, ‘She doesn’t eat people, does she?’
The wizard’s thin lips framed a slanting sort of smile. ‘She won’t eat you, now that she knows you,’ he s
aid. ‘But I can’t guarantee that she won’t eat anyone.’
‘So what is she?’ begged Timoken.
The wizard stared at him in disbelief. ‘For goodness’ sake, boy. Are you so ignorant? Enid is a dragon.’
‘A dragon!’ Timoken’s mouth fell open. ‘I’ve heard of dragons, of course. I have seen their likenesses on churches in France and Spain, but they were very different from Enid.’
‘She’s overweight,’ Eri admitted. ‘When she’s lonely, she eats a great deal and takes very little exercise.’
‘So what does she eat mostly?’ asked Karli.
‘Fish,’ Eri replied. ‘She’s a great swimmer, when she can he bothered. And birds. She’s very fond of seagulls.’ He glanced at the children and added, ‘It’s the salt, you see. She loves salt.’
None of them had noticed the approach of dark clouds, and they were taken by surprise when heavy raindrops began to beat down on their heads.
‘Into the forest,’ said the wizard. ‘We’ll keep dry there.’
Had Eri forgotten the forest demons? Timoken wondered. Or did the dragon make him feel safer?
They trooped across the field of bracken, Eri taking long strides while Enid leapt beside him. Sila and Karli bounded over the bracken behind him. Timoken and Gabar brought up the rear. The camel hated rain, but he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get out of it.
Lowering his big head close to Timoken’s ear, Gabar confided, ‘I don’t like the look of those claws.’
Timoken knew what his camel meant. ‘I’m sure the wizard wouldn’t let his dragon do anything dangerous,’ he said quietly.
‘Or those teeth,’ added Gabar, ignoring Timoken’s reassurance.
‘We’ll be safe,’ said Timoken, patting his camel’s neck.
When they reached the forest, they followed Eri to a huge oak tree, still in leaf. Its great branches were wide enough to cover them all and, as the rain pattered harmlessly all about him, Timoken couldn’t believe there was any evil in the forest. He felt as safe and untroubled as he had all those years ago in his secret African kingdom. He had no doubts at all that this ancient forest was the place for him to make a home. If only his sister were here; his sister and the five loyal companions who had travelled with him through so many dangers.
One thought led to another, and soon Timoken was wondering about the wizard’s mysterious dream, the signs he had seen, and the hare at the high window. What could it all mean?
‘The rain has stopped.’ Eri’s voice cut through Timoken’s thoughts. ‘It’s time for work.’
Sila and Karli knew what to do. They were already running to collect bracken and dead grass from the field.
‘We need a shelter.’ The wizard gave Timoken a sly look. ‘No doubt you have ways of finding timber for a frame.’
‘I do,’ Timoken agreed. He was about to walk further into the forest when the dragon suddenly shook out her wings.
Gabar gave an anxious bellow and stamped the ground.
‘I’ll take my camel,’ said Timoken, glancing at the dragon.
‘She won’t hurt him,’ chuckled Eri. ‘She’s off to do some fishing.’
No sooner had he said this than Enid rose, surprisingly fast for a fat dragon, up through the trees and into the sky.
‘I need Gabar to carry the timber,’ said Timoken, glad of an excuse to keep his camel close.
‘Naturally,’ Eri grinned. ‘See that you return before the light begins to fail.’
‘I will.’ Timoken grunted to his camel and they set off into the forest. They hadn’t gone far when Gabar began to grumble, as Timoken knew he would.
‘Trees! Trees! Trees!’ snorted the camel. ‘Why do we always have to make our home beneath the trees? Why can’t we live beside the sand?’
Timoken sighed. ‘Here we are hidden. Out on the coast, people would see us.’
‘There are no people,’ argued the camel.
‘I’m sure there will be,’ said Timoken. ‘The conquerors don’t like prisoners escaping, especially if one of them is a wizard. As for me, well, I might have killed someone, Gabar.’
To the camel, this didn’t sound very serious. Men were always killing one another; so were animals. ‘I have stepped on a lizard,’ he muttered, ‘more than once, for all I know. But no one put me in prison for it.’
Timoken laughed so loudly a flock of jackdaws rose from the treetops and whirled away in a chattering cloud.
‘Gabar, you are very wise,’ said Timoken. ‘I’m so glad that you are my family.’
They wandered further into the trees, but now Gabar would continually stop to chew the undergrowth, and Timoken was so afraid of losing him that he reluctantly slowed down. But he was impatient to find a fallen branch, a good straight one that he could multiply.
Gabar was drinking from a stream when Timoken saw the branch he wanted. It was bobbing gently in the water on the other side of the stream. Timoken took off his boots and paddled across. He pulled the branch up on to the bank and sat there, preparing himself. Multiplying shells and coins and hares’ skins was a fairly simple task, but branches were bigger and heavier. First he must get it into shape.
Timoken ran his hands along the bark. His fingers touched the dead twigs sprouting from the wood, the rough knobs and patches of fungi. After a while, a smooth post began to emerge from the branch. It was as long as Eri and as wide as one of Timoken’s legs. He sat back, pleased with himself, and began to chant in the language of his homeland.
The camel looked up and watched as a long post took shape beside the first. Then came another, and another.
Timoken found that his cloak was getting in the way. He took it off and hung it on a low branch. Soon he had six identical posts. How many would the wizard want? he wondered. He started to make another.
A thin mist began to drift through the trees. Gabar heard something, or rather he sensed it. He crossed the stream and stood behind Timoken. ‘Family, there is something here,’ he grunted. ‘Not good.’
Timoken noticed nothing. He was too intent on his work.
All at once the camel bellowed and stamped the earth. Timoken stopped chanting. He jumped up, and was just in time to see his cloak disappearing into the shadows.
‘Nooooo!’ cried Timoken, giving chase.
‘I told you! I told you!’ the camel bleated, as he crashed through the undergrowth after Timoken.
‘Who took it?’ yelled Timoken. ‘Who took my cloak?’
‘They did,’ snorted the camel. ‘I told you it was them.’
‘Who? Who?’
‘Things. Pale things.’ Gabar didn’t know how else to describe what he had seen.
Timoken ran on, blindly leaping fallen trees, tumbling through thickets and briars, until he stopped, breathless and aching. The cloak had vanished utterly. He didn’t know which way to go. He sat on a moss-covered rock and shouted his fury, kicking the ground in frustration.
A moment later, Sila and Karli appeared, followed by the wizard.
‘What’s all this noise?’ grumbled Eri. ‘You’ll wake the spirits with that racket.’
‘My cloak has gone,’ Timoken said miserably.
‘Ah,’ the wizard sighed. ‘I can’t say I’m surprised.’
There was a sudden deep roar, then another, and another.
‘Are there monsters in this forest?’ Karli asked, his eyes searching the shadows.
‘Without a doubt,’ said Eri.
Chapter Ten
Outnumbered by Animals
Timoken recognised those savage roars. Without a word, he was off, bounding through the forest like a wild deer. His heart leapt, his spirits soared.
‘Sun Cat! Flame Chin! Star!’ he cried.
Sila grabbed Eri’s sleeve. ‘Has Timoken gone mad?’
Eri patted her hand. ‘I think not.’
‘He’ll be eaten,’ Karli said fearfully.
‘Unlikely,’ said Eri. ‘Let’s find out.’
They followed the sound of Timoken’s
voice, stepping over dry twigs and rustling scrub as cautiously and quietly as they could.
Timoken had already reached the source of those deep roars. In a sunlit clearing three leopards stood shoulder to shoulder, their coats dappled by shadows. They varied in colour from dark copper to pale yellow; one had a splash of orange beneath its chin. Timoken’s red cloak was spread at their feet.
‘Sun Cat!’ Timoken stroked the head of the copper-coloured leopard. ‘Flame Chin!’ He fondled the ears of the leopard with a splash like a flame beneath his chin.
When he came to the third and palest leopard, Timoken wrapped his arms around his neck and murmured, ‘Star!’
There was a gasp behind him and he turned to see Eri and the two children, peering at him through the thin stems of a hazel bush.
‘They saved it!’ Timoken lifted his cloak and fixed it round his shoulders. ‘Whoever stole it won’t try again.’
His three friends didn’t move, didn’t utter a sound.
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce you,’ Timoken said with a reassuring grin. ‘Sun Cat, Flame Chin and Star.’ He pointed at the leopards in turn.
But still his friends didn’t move or speak.
The group behind the hazel bush remained where they were while the leopards surrounded Timoken, rubbing their heads against his body and filling the glade with purrs as loud as drumbeats.
It was Karli who stepped out first. ‘Are they lions?’ he said, almost in a whisper.
‘No, they’re leopards,’ said Timoken. He turned to the three big cats. ‘Friend,’ he grunted, taking Karli’s hand.
‘Friend,’ growled the leopards.
Karli gave a little start.
‘They won’t hurt you,’ Timoken assured him. ‘I’ve told them you’re a friend.’
Tentatively, Karli touched Sun Cat’s head. He was rewarded with a purr.
Eri stepped round the hazel, followed by Sila.
‘Friends!’ Timoken told the leopards.
‘Friends!’ they grunted.
‘Are you speaking their language, Timoken?’ The wizard frowned, partly in disbelief, partly in disapproval.