Silver Hill

by Catherine Cooper

  I’ve got something important to attend to today

  and I’m not sure

  what time I’m going to be back.

  Before I go, I’ll call in and ask your grandad if

  you can spend the afternoon at Ewell House doing an

  important job for me.

  I’ll leave instructions for you on the kitchen table.

  Gerda, Medric and Camelin will need feeding too if I’m

  not back by teatime.

  He wanted to know where Nora was going but he knew it was pointless to ask. If she’d wanted him to know she’d have told him. Jack hadn’t seen much of Medric or Gerda since they’d returned from Annwn and now he’d got a good excuse to row over to the island and say hello. He wondered what job Nora wanted him to do, maybe she was just giving him an excuse to spend the afternoon with Camelin. Either way it meant he’d be able to go out. He got his wand and wrote back.

  I’ll be there.

  ‘I had a visitor this morning,’ Grandad told Jack as they ate lunch. ‘Nora came to see me.’

  Jack tried to look surprised, as Grandad spoke.

  ‘She’s had to go and see Elan and doesn’t know how long she’ll be gone.’

  At this news Jack nearly choked on his sausage.

  ‘Is Elan ill? Has she got chickenpox too?’

  ‘Nora didn’t say, she just said it was important and asked if you’d be able to do a job for her in the herborium. She said she’d leave you instructions on the kitchen table. Now, if you don’t feel up to it I can go or I’ll come with you if you don’t want to go on your own.’

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ Jack assured Grandad.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  Jack nodded.

  ‘Off you go then and get yourself ready, I’ll see to the washing up.’

  Once Jack was back in his room he checked his Book of Shadows. There were no new messages and still no reply from Elan. He wondered if Nora really had gone to see her. If she had she’d be in Annwn by now. Jack sighed. It was going to be a long wait until he was allowed to go back, October was three months away.

  Jack looked in the mirror. Although his face was still covered in scabs he didn’t feel ill any more. He wasn’t too happy about going back to school looking the way he did but he wanted to sing in the concert. If he could prove to both Nora and Grandad that he was well enough to look after things at Ewell House, he knew he’d be allowed to go to school in the morning.

  He put his Book of Shadows into his backpack but before he packed his wand he went over to Orin’s cage.

  ‘Do you want to come with me today?’

  Orin shook her head.

  ‘Everyone will be too busy to play and you’ve got jobs to do too.’

  ‘I’ll tell you everything when I get back.’

  Orin nodded and climbed sleepily into the hammock Jack had made for her and settled down for an afternoon snooze.

  ‘I’m off now Grandad,’ Jack called as he made his way downstairs.

  ‘If you have any problems come back and get me. And if Nora’s not back by teatime, can you make sure her birds are fed.’

  Jack nodded.

  ‘Just be careful with the geese they’ve got a nasty peck when they feel inclined.’

  ‘I will. I’m sure everything’s going to be fine.’

  Jack thought the only problem he might have would be making sure Camelin didn’t help himself to too much food. The rest was going to be easy.

  ‘Couldn’t you have got here sooner? I’ve been on my own for hours,’ grumbled Camelin as Jack stepped into Nora’s garden. ‘You know, you don’t look too good with all those scabby things on your face. Can’t you put that white stuff on again and cover them up?’

  ‘Nora said I didn’t need to use it once they stopped itching, they’ll drop off soon enough now.’

  ‘Well don’t go dropping them anywhere near me. They’re yucky.’

  Jack ignored this, and asked, ‘Do you know where Nora’s gone?’

  ‘Annwn, she said it was important and she had to see Elan.’

  ‘Aren’t you curious to know what’s going on?’

  ‘Nope, I hope she’s gone for ages so we’ll have all afternoon to do things.’

  ‘Things? You mean the jobs Nora’s left for me to do?’

  ‘Jobs! What jobs?’

  ‘Nora said she’s left me a note on the kitchen table. I think we’d better go and see what it says before we plan anything else.’

  Camelin left Jack to walk through the garden alone and flew on ahead. As Jack entered the kitchen Camelin was grumbling to himself. There was a piece of paper on the table.

  ‘What’s it say?’ asked Jack.

  ‘There’s nothing on it,’ announced Camelin.

  Jack picked it up. As soon as his hand touched the paper Nora’s small neat handwriting appeared.

  You’ll need to take all the ingredients I’ve listed on the back of this note to the herborium. I’ve left you some more instructions in there along with the key to the cupboard where my special herb extracts are kept. I’ve been making a potion but I didn’t have time to wait until it was cool and it’s at a critical stage. The recipe is half done, it needs finishing this afternoon or it will be ruined. I’ve written on the recipe where you need to start. When you’ve added all the ingredients ask your Book of Shadows to show you the spell for making Dragon’s Brew into Dragon’s Breath.

  ‘I’m afraid the things you’ve got planned will have to wait, Nora wants me to finish off a potion she’s been brewing. I’ve got to sort it out this afternoon or it’ll be ruined.’

  ‘Oh that’s great! You get to use your wand unsupervised but I don’t.’

  ‘It doesn’t say anything here about me using my wand.’

  ‘Don’t you know anything? Potions always need some kind of magic and magic means using a wand.’

  Jack ignored Camelin’s remark.

  ‘Are you going to help?’

  ‘Nope.’

  Jack turned Nora’s note over.

  ‘I’ve got a list of things to take down to the herborium. You could give me a hand.’

  Camelin didn’t reply, he tutted when Jack took his wand from his bag and grumbled to himself as Jack collected the ingredients. There was a big pile on the table by the time Jack got to the end of the list, too much to carry in one journey. He looked around for something to put them in. Nora’s picnic basket was by the stove.

  ‘Perfect,’ said Jack as he picked it up and started to pack the ingredients inside. ‘I’ll see you later then?’

  ‘Suppose so, you will try and hurry up won’t you? I’ve got important things to do too but I need some help.’

  ‘I’ll help you when I’ve finished Nora’s potion.’

  Camelin shuffled from foot to foot.

  ‘D’you mean it?’

  Jack nodded.

  ‘Aw, thanks Jack, you’re a real pal. Give me a shout when you’re done.’

  THE CUPBOARD

  Jack struggled into the herborium with the basket. A small cauldron stood on a tripod at one end of the table and Jack peeked inside as he passed. It was almost full of bright green goo, a bit like the compound Nora had put on his hands the first time they’d met. There were two pieces of paper on the table, weighted down with one of the candlesticks. As before, when Jack picked them up, Nora’s writing appeared. On one was a recipe for the potion and the other the instructions. The ingredients and quantities had been listed along with the order they should be added to the cauldron. Half way down the page, Nora had written START HERE. Jack read down to the bottom and found Camelin was right, he would have to use his wand.

  He blew out a long, slow breath. He couldn’t believe Nora trusted him enough to make a real potion. He felt his spine tingle. This was better than being cooped up in his room. He’d do his best not to let her down but he couldn’t help wondering what Nora was going to do with a whole cauldron full of Dragon’s Brew.

  Once the contents of the basket
were on the table, Jack arranged them in the same order as Nora’s list. Four of the jars had fine powder inside. Some he’d heard of but others he hadn’t. The one labelled mace was a bright reddish colour, the garlic and ginger a warm yellow and the fennel dark green. One by one Jack checked off the ingredients. All but the dragon-wort leaf and dragon-wort pollen were now ready on the table. These must be the special herb extracts Nora kept locked in the cupboard. They didn’t sound like the kind of things anyone would keep in the kitchen, not even Nora. He went back to the kitchen and collected his book. All he needed now was the cupboard key. He looked around but there was nothing on the table or the dresser. On his return to the herborium he searched everywhere but the key was nowhere to be found. In desperation he took his wand and asked loudly, ‘Where is the key to the cupboard?’

  To his amazement the top drawer of the dresser began to rattle and shake violently before it finally shot open. It was full of old keys of various shapes and sizes. Some were made of brass, others were almost black and a couple looked quite rusty. This must be the drawer Fergus and Berry had been looking in for Camelin. It was only then that Jack realised he didn’t even know which cupboard he was supposed to be opening. He stared dismally at the array of keys.

  ‘I need some help,’ Jack announced to the drawer.

  Two muffled high-pitched voices came from behind the dresser. Jack couldn’t make out what was being said but he thought he might know who the voices belonged to. He bent down and peered into the drawer. Berry’s head was peeking through a hole in the back.

  ‘What are you doing behind there? I thought you weren’t helping Camelin any more?’

  ‘We’re not,’ replied Fergus as he appeared from the back of the dresser and scampered around Jack’s feet, ‘We’re hiding from him.’

  ‘We heard him say he wasn’t coming to the herborium with you so we thought it would be the safest place to be,’ explained Berry as he wriggled through the hole he’d been looking through.

  ‘I can’t find the key to Nora’s special herb cupboard. She said in her note she’d left it out for me but I can’t see it.’

  Fergus nimbly ran up the dresser and joined Berry in the drawer.

  ‘Which cupboard did you want?’

  ‘That’s the problem, I don’t know. Nora said I needed to get into the cupboard where her special herb extracts are kept. I need a whole dragon-wort leaf and some of its pollen to finish off the potion she’s been making.’

  ‘That would be the third cupboard,’ squeaked Berry excitedly as he scampered over to the other side of the room. ‘Nora has three cupboards for herbs.’

  ‘But which one is the third?’

  ‘Nora labels the keys,’ explained Fergus, ‘and there are letters on the doors, go and look.’

  Jack bent over as Berry stood on his hind legs and pointed up towards a faint letter F on the first door. The next door had a faint letter S and the last door had a T.

  ‘First, Second and Third!’ exclaimed Jack. ‘That’s brilliant but it still doesn’t help me get it open.’

  ‘You could try using your wand,’ suggested Fergus.

  Jack waited until Berry was well clear of the cupboard before pointing his wand at the third door. The tip glowed and Jack concentrated hard.

  ‘Open!’ he commanded and watched as a beam of soft green light travelled from the tip of his wand and disappeared through the keyhole.

  Fergus scurried across and tried the handle but it wouldn’t open.

  ‘Why don’t you try,’ suggested Berry. ‘You’re stronger than us.’

  Jack twisted and turned the handle but the door remained firmly shut.

  ‘You’ll just have to find Nora’s special key, it’s in the drawer somewhere. You know, it’s the one we’ve been looking for all week for Camelin,’ said Berry.

  Jack went back to the drawer. There were so many keys he’d be hours if he had to try every one in the lock.

  ‘Camelin says it opens anything,’ continued Berry.

  Jack concentrated hard.

  ‘Which key opens any lock?’ he asked and willed as much force down his wand as he could.

  A loud jingling and clicking came from the contents of the drawer. The keys seemed to have a life of their own and began shuffling around. They formed themselves into a pyramid and only became still when one of the dullest looking keys was poking out at the top.

  ‘There’s nothing special about that one,’ said Fergus.

  ‘We’ve got nothing to lose,’ said Jack as he carefully picked out the key from the pile. There was a loud clatter as the pyramid instantly collapsed. Jack inspected the key closely. It no longer looked dull or ordinary. Tiny sparks danced across the metal making his hand tingle.

  ‘Look!’ he said as he showed Fergus and Berry.

  The rats looked at the key and then looked at each other.

  ‘Can’t you see the sparks?’ asked Jack.

  Fergus and Berry bent their heads closer to the key.

  ‘Looks dull to me,’ announced Berry, and Fergus nodded in agreement.

  Jack held the key up to the light but it no longer sparkled, it must have been a trick of the light or maybe he’d imagined it.

  ‘Oh well! I might as well try it,’ he said as he bent down in front of the cupboard.

  The end of the key looked too big for the small hole in the door but the nearer Jack got, the less dull the key became. The tingling sensation once more ran through his fingertips. Tiny sparks began to dance across the metal again. The tip shrank before his eyes, and slipped into the keyhole. It was a perfect fit and almost seemed to turn itself in the lock. Fergus and Berry cheered when the door swung open.

  ‘You did it, Jack, you did it. You’re so clever with your magic,’ squeaked Berry.

  Jack pulled the key out of the lock. It looked dull and ordinary again.

  ‘I don’t think we’ll tell Camelin about this, do you?’

  Both rats shook their heads vigorously.

  ‘I think I’ll keep this safe until Nora gets back. At least I can get on with the potion now.’

  Jack slipped the key into his pocket and looked through the neatly labelled bottles and jars inside the cupboard.

  ‘Here it is: dragon-wort pollen and these must be the leaves.’

  Jack took out a small green bottle with a glass stopper and a long brown paper package that had been neatly tied up with string.

  ‘We’ll help,’ Fergus offered. ‘We’re good at counting seeds and berries.

  Jack took the stoppers out of the various bottles and jars before grating the zest from the lemons. The air in the herborium began to smell wonderful and as the rats breathed in each new aroma their little noses twitched excitedly. He was grateful Fergus and Berry were able to crack the hazelnuts with their sharp teeth. After half an hour, all the ingredients from Nora’s kitchen had been added to the mixture in the cauldron. The goo wasn’t so green any more. Jack looked around for the hawthorn stick Nora had left, so he could stir the liquid. He pulled a face as he stirred, something didn’t smell too good. He wondered if he’d done something wrong until he remembered to check Nora’s instruction page.

  ‘It’s the stick that smells,’ he explained to Fergus and Berry, who’d gone to the other end of the table. ‘It says here it smells of rotting flesh.’

  ‘What do you think Nora’s going to use it for?’ asked Berry.

  ‘I’ve no idea, she just asked me to make it. I hope I’m doing it right.’

  ‘It might be better when the dragon-wort’s gone in,’ suggested Fergus.

  ‘Well here goes,’ announced Jack. ‘The last two ingredients, I’d better do this bit.’

  As he pulled the stopper from the bottle the whole room filled with the smell of rotten eggs. He quickly put the stopper back.

  ‘Ugh!’ cried Berry as he leapt off the table and scurried out of the open door. Fergus and Jack weren’t far behind him. ‘What is that stuff? I didn’t know pollen could smell like that!’


  ‘We’ll stay out here till you’ve finished,’ said Berry.

  Jack took a deep breath before entering the herborium again. He opened the bottle, held it over the cauldron and carefully tapped the side three times as the instructions said to do. The tiny grains of orange pollen spread rapidly over the surface but didn’t sink. By the time Jack got the stopper back in, his eyes were watering. He took the bottle over to the cupboard and replaced it before taking a few gulps of fresh air by the open door.

  ‘Nearly done,’ he spluttered to Berry and Fergus.

  The leaf didn’t smell too good either, but not as bad as the pollen. Even though it was dried and wrinkled it was a flame red colour. Jack turned it over and found the back was covered in small green spots. After reading Nora’s notes again, he crushed the leaf between his hands and rubbed it into a fine powder. He sprinkled it evenly into the cauldron and watched to see what would happen. It filled the gaps between the pollen and also floated on top of the mixture. All he had left to do now was to find the spell and turn the Dragon’s Brew into Dragon’s Breath. The bad smell had almost gone so Jack decided to clear away before asking his Book of Shadows for the spell. He repacked the picnic basket first and put it outside the door. Fergus and Berry weren’t anywhere to be seen.

  ‘Not much more to do,’ Jack called.

  He wrapped the dragon-wort leaves up in the paper and retied the string before returning the package to the cupboard. He took the key out of his pocket and examined it closely. It was still the same size as the small keyhole. It tingled in his hand again as he turned it in the lock. Once the key was safely back in his pocket he went over to the table and put his hand on the front of his book and asked for the spell.

  ‘How do I make this brew into Dragon’s Breath?’

  The book jolted into action, the pages flew open and turned rapidly until the spell he’d asked for appeared. Above and below the spell were instructions, written in red ink.