Copper

by Rebecca Lisle

  ‘It’s all right, clever clogs,’ whispered Ralick. ‘I was proud of you.’

  ‘I had the charm bracelet in my pocket all the time but I don’t suppose it’s much use to Granite now Amber’s down at Spindle House.’

  She pulled out the bracelet and was amazed to see that it glowed like a lantern, casting a golden sheen around the cell.

  ‘Ralick,’ she whispered, ‘it’s working again.’

  ‘Huh, now I can see what another great place you’ve brought us to,’ he said. ‘I do like the iron wrist chains on the wall. Wonder if we have to pay extra for those?’

  ‘Horrid,’ agreed Copper with a shudder. ‘But don’t worry. They can’t keep us here for ever. Granite just wants to try and scare me.’

  ‘And it’s working,’ growled Ralick.

  ‘No, no. I’m not scared.’

  ‘I am.’

  Copper held the bracelet up and looked around the room. It was a square prison cell, four small metal doors and no windows.

  ‘Let’s investigate,’ said Copper, going towards a door. ‘There must be a way out.’

  ‘Must we?’ whimpered Ralick. ‘Can’t we just stay here where it’s safe?’

  The first door that Copper tried was open. ‘That’s odd.’ She went over and tried the next. That was open too, they all were, and each led to a narrow winding corridor.

  ‘No thanks,’ said Ralick. ‘I’m not going down there. We’ll get lost.’

  ‘But we can’t just stay here. We must try one. Come on, Ralick. Eeny, meeny, miny, mo, catch a teddy by his toe …’

  She stopped suddenly: ‘Did you hear something, Ralick?’

  ‘Yes, shut the doors!’

  ‘Ssh, listen. It’s an animal, crying. Where’s it coming from?’ She moved round, listening at the four doorways. ‘Here, down here.’

  She paused beside the open door, goose pimples danced up and down her spine. ‘What shall I do?’ she wondered.

  ‘Stop squeezing me for a start,’ hissed Ralick. ‘I’m going to pop my new stitches.’

  ‘Sorry. What can it be? Shall we go and see?’

  ‘No, no, choose one of the other doors,’ cried Ralick. ‘Ignore it. Can’t you learn to ignore things, Copper Beech? Leave well alone and all that. It’ll just be trouble, Copper. COPPER!’

  But Copper was drawn towards the whimpering noise as though it was her name being called. She crept through the doorway and down the narrow tunnel towards it.

  ‘We can’t ignore it, it’s an animal in pain,’ she said.

  ‘Like me,’ groaned Ralick.

  At the end of the long passageway there was a small room cut out of the rock. Metal bars had been set into its walls to form a cage and it was from here that the noise was coming but it stopped suddenly as they drew near.

  Copper waited, took a deep breath, then holding the gleaming bracelet in front of her, lighted up the cage.

  Copper gasped. ‘It’s Silver.’

  Or it had been Silver. Now it was a shaggy-haired creature, dirty, black, smelly and crumpled. But the eyes pleading for freedom were definitely Silver’s eyes.

  ‘You poor, poor thing.’

  Copper stopped just as she was about to undo the cage. It was Silver that had lured them in here – Silver the traitor.

  It didn’t matter. Silver would die if Copper left her. Quickly she opened the door and Silver slinked out and wound herself round her legs, thrusting her nose into her hand, licking her and whining.

  ‘Poor thing. She’s so dirty and thin. What about your babies, Silver? Where are your pups?’

  In reply, the big animal caught hold of Copper’s coat in her mouth and pulled.

  ‘Where? That way? I’m coming.’

  ‘Do we have to?’ said Ralick. ‘It’s even darker down there. What if it’s another trap?’

  ‘Trust me. Trust my instincts.’

  ‘You must be kidding!’ yelped Ralick.

  Copper let Silver lead her through an archway where there were six or seven other barred cages. Things shifted uneasily inside them, whining, snorting and growling.

  ‘Don’t let go of me in here!’ said Ralick, nervously.

  ‘I won’t. I’m trying not to look … there’s sad things, horrid things.’

  Silver led Copper to the end cage, where some baby animals, just balls of scraggy fur all rolled up together, lay in a hollow of straw.

  ‘Her cubs, I think. So we were right: they stole her pups and then Silver had to do what Granite wanted … but they cheated on her and locked them all away … oh, dear, Silver …’ said Copper, peering in more closely. ‘I don’t think … they’re not moving.’

  Quickly Copper undid the bolts on the cage and put her hands out to the cubs.

  ‘They’re dead,’ said Copper. ‘They’re cold.’

  Silver threw back her head and howled. It was a terrible noise which echoed round and round the cave. Creatures trapped in the other cages whined and whimpered. But Silver wouldn’t believe the cubs were dead and thrusting her nose into the curled-up bundles of fur, she sniffed and snuffled until Copper saw a tiny movement.

  ‘Let me help,’ whispered Copper. She scooped out a furry ball which bleated weakly and struggled feebly in her hands. Silver licked it and it wriggled a bit more. ‘Alive. Thank goodness. How could Granite do this?’ hissed Copper, stroking the cub. ‘We’ll have to take it with us, Ralick, so it’ll have to come down my coat with you.’

  ‘Oi, what’s going on?’ said Ralick. ‘It’s scratchy. It’s cold. It’s trying to suck my nose.’

  ‘It’s a baby, Ralick, be nice to it,’ said Copper.

  ‘Grrr,’ said Ralick.

  ‘Well at least I’ve accomplished something,’ said Copper, patting Silver’s head. ‘Now I suppose we’d better try and go home. Home, Silver. Which way?’

  Silver trotted off down a narrow corridor, turning back to make sure Copper was following.

  Just for a second, doubt filled Copper’s thoughts as she followed Silver – surely it wasn’t a trap? But then she felt the little cub on her chest and knew it wasn’t. Silver is good and kind, she told herself. I know.

  The corridor was just a tunnel; walls and floor made of marble-like glistening damp rock. The light from the charm bracelet lit up a small globe around them. Copper was glad not to be able to see too far ahead or too clearly because every now and again, soft rubbery things squelched under her boots, tiny scampering creatures ran over her feet and things squeaked in the dark corners. On and on they walked with never a change in their surroundings.

  ‘It can’t be much further,’ whispered Copper.

  ‘Shame, I’m so enjoying this,’ wheezed Ralick. ‘I love hiking underground in the freezing cold. I adore wolflet things nibbling me. I love the dark. I …’

  ‘We’ve got to keep going, what else can we do?’

  Then in the distance she suddenly noticed wisps of green light streaking the ceiling and beginning to lighten up the tunnel ahead.

  ‘There’s light,’ she cried. ‘It’s going to be OK, Ralick.’

  The emerald vapour flowed thicker and stronger as they drew near. It streamed over Copper’s head in swathes and trickled over Silver’s silver fur, turning her into a ghostly green monster. Soon the green light filled the whole tunnel and was so bright that Copper had to shield her eyes. She walked holding one hand out in front of her.

  Suddenly her hand jarred against a metal grid. She felt it hurriedly, panic rising as she realised the grid completely covered a large circular hole in the wall.

  ‘It’s a dead end,’ she said, trying to keep the fear and disappointment from her voice. ‘No way through.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Yes. There’s like a big grid across. The room on the other side is the room with the well, you know, the one Questrid found where the green light comes from? But I’ll never be able to get this metal thing off!’

  ‘Try.’

  Squinting against the bright green light, Coppe
r laced her fingers into the grid and pulled and tugged but nothing happened. She shook it and rattled it, but the grid was firmly attached and wouldn’t budge.

  ‘I can’t bear to go back,’ said Copper, sinking onto the floor. ‘It’s too far, too dark. What shall I do? I bet Granite knew this would happen. He knew I’d go off down his horrible corridors and get lost. I bet every one of those doors in the cell leads to this place. Why did I come?’

  ‘Because you’re very brave and you want your mother,’ said Ralick. ‘Now, stop moaning and believe you can do it! Use the charm bracelet.’

  ‘Bracelet …? Why didn’t I think of that?’ She took the bracelet out of her pocket again. It was buzzing and crackling. Which charm might help her now?

  ‘Little babies? A bird? A tree?’

  ‘The bird,’ said Ralick. ‘Dang! This wolf cub is driving me mad! Try the bird, Copper.’

  Copper unhooked the gold bird from the charm bracelet carefully, but it slipped from her fingers and immediately it seemed to shatter into a thousand brilliant splinters which didn’t drop, but soared into the air. A thousand miniature gold birds, flitting around the tunnel, swooping and swerving in the green air.

  ‘Birds,’ cried Copper. ‘Beautiful, tiny birds.’

  The minute birds settled on the grid like specks of shining dust, locking their minuscule claws around the wires until every inch was covered, then in one orchestrated move, they all spread their wings and pulled.

  The grid lifted smoothly from the wall, and the birds carried it away and settled it onto the floor and then, like a swarm of bees, they rose into the air again. But this time, they flew faster, haphazardly, as if they were mad; they flew straight at each other, and as they touched, they merged and made one, like mercury forming a pool. But each new bird was no bigger than the first and in the end there was just one, tiny gold bird left and it flew onto the tip of Copper’s finger, nodded its head once, as if to say: There that’s done, then tumbled down into her palm, a solid, lifeless charm.

  ‘That was the most wonderful thing ever,’ said Copper quietly. ‘Thank you.’ She put the bird charm back onto her bracelet and went through the opening in the wall.

  The green vapour rose from the well in a cloud and billowed round the room oozing its way up into the pipes in the ceiling and through the vents in the walls.

  ‘Now we can get back,’ said Copper rushing to the far door. ‘That way leads to the lake or back up the stairs. We’re safe!’

  But the door was locked … from the outside.

  24

  The Mystery of the Green Vapour

  Copper sank onto the floor.

  ‘Stuck. Oh, I’m tired, Ralick,’ she sobbed. ‘Silver, I’m tired. I can’t go back and there’s no way on. I wish Aunt Ruby was here. I wish I’d never come. I was so stupid. Stupid to think I could do anything. They’ll all be worrying. Of course I can’t make Granite do what I want. I’m so useless!’

  For once, even Ralick had no answer, but Silver who had been trotting round and round the old well in a restless way, started whining and pawing at it. She barked excitedly.

  ‘What’s the matter?’

  Copper put out her arm to stop her, but she was too late, Silver jumped into the well and disappeared.

  ‘Silver!’ Copper rushed to the well, swiping at the thick green cloud which obscured her view. ‘Silver!’

  On the inside edge of the deep hole was a whole flight of steps spiralling down into the green.

  From way below Copper heard Silver barking and calling.

  ‘That’s the only way, Ralick, I think we’re going to have to go down too.’

  ‘Tell me you’re joking?’ squeaked Ralick. ‘We don’t know what’s at the bottom. It might be dangerous.’

  But Copper was already sitting on the rim of the well and feeling for the first step with her toes.

  ‘It’s the only way. Granite will find us soon if we don’t. If Silver says it’s OK, then it’s OK.’

  ‘You trust her?’

  ‘Yes. Absolutely. She’s a wolf.’

  ‘Did you ever read that story called Little Red Riding Hoo—’

  ‘Shush!’

  Copper began her descent, holding to the rough edges of the well with her fingertips. Once inside, the green light completely engulfed her. Although it glowed and was bright, when it surrounded her, she couldn’t see through it, so she made her way on down blindly.

  Copper counted as she went lower and lower.

  ‘One hundred and six, one hundred and seven,’ she chanted.

  The air changed: gradually it grew fresher and clearer and she guessed she was getting close to the end. At one hundred and sixteen, the walls disappeared and she was walking down steps with no sides. ‘One hundred and twenty!’ And she stepped onto the floor of a vast cave.

  The first thing she noticed was the green vapour. It was different down here, a thick band of it, moving across the cave from the corner, coiling out towards the stairs like a long fat snake. Copper took three steps towards it and stopped. The vapour was coming from a green dragon.

  ‘Oh, Ralick! A dragon, a real dragon!’

  It was the size of a baby hippopotamus, curled up asleep, with its long spiked tail wrapped around its body and under its chin. Turquoise smoke trailed from its large nostrils. Its skin shone like a fish, silver and blue and green and was scaled like a fish too. Two spiky wings were folded neatly against its sides.

  It lay on a heap of gold coins. As the dragon breathed in and out, the coins clinked softly beneath it. And now Copper realised that the green vapour didn’t come directly from the dragon as she’d first thought, but was steaming out of the coins, gathering around the dragon in a cloud, then whirling away across the room and up the well steps, as if it were a chimney.

  ‘I’ve never seen a dragon before,’ whispered Copper. ‘It’s lovely.’

  ‘Hmmm,’ said Ralick. ‘Reminds me of something … Dragons, wells, Aunt Ruby … Does it ring a bell?’

  ‘Glinty! Yes. Her brother dropped her dragon down an old well. Could this really be Glinty? If Aunt Ruby is a Rocker, it makes sense, doesn’t it? It didn’t drown because there wasn’t any water in the well. I wonder if it flies?’

  ‘I hope not. I think we should just creep past it and get out of here.’

  ‘And the gold …’ said Copper, staring at it. ‘It is that gold, isn’t it? The gold coins Great-Grandfather Ash took. The missing gold.’

  ‘Dragons do have a habit of collecting gold,’ said Ralick, as if he knew a great deal about dragons. ‘But why does this gold produce the green stuff?’

  ‘It’s like a smoke signal,’ said Copper, thoughtfully. ‘Don’t you think so?’

  ‘A signal?’

  ‘Yes … to Aunt Ruby, of course! The dragon’s been sending this smoke signal all these years to Aunt Ruby, trying to tell her where it was but Aunt Ruby wasn’t there to see it.’ Copper was so excited she had to stop herself from shouting. ‘I just know I’m right. And it’s never given up after all these years.’

  ‘Fine, but let’s go now, shall we,’ said Ralick. ‘Before it wakes up.’

  ‘First I’ve got to get a coin to take to Granite,’ said Copper. ‘Proof we’ve found it and that Great-Grandfather Ash didn’t steal it.’

  ‘There’s no proof he didn’t steal it,’ said Ralick. ‘Where is he? Or where’s his bones? And where are the wooden tools he was bringing to exchange for the gold?’

  Copper shrugged.

  Quickly and quietly she crept up to the sleeping dragon and picked out ten coins very carefully from the edge of the pile. They continued to produce a very faint green light which oozed around her.

  ‘OK, let’s go.’ She tiptoed past the still sleeping dragon towards the wide crack in the rock where the night sky showed. Silver was there, waiting for her.

  All around them it was still. The night sky was the deepest navy blue, as soft as velvet and the stars twinkled feverishly.

  ‘Phew!’
said Copper. ‘Safe!’ She took three steps forward, then … ‘OH!’

  Her foot slipped from under her and she fell: what she’d thought was shadow, was nothing – just space! She was falling. There was nothing to hold her, nothing to save her.

  ‘Help!’

  25

  The Truth About Great-Grandfather Ash

  The instant she fell, Copper felt something catch at her coat and hold her fast. Her legs dangled dangerously in black nothingness, scrabbling to find a ledge or foothold, but something had stopped her drop into the void.

  ‘Silver!’

  Copper stared up, straight into Silver’s eyes. The wolf’s great jaws were clenched tight on the hem of her coat. If she opened her mouth, Copper would fall. Very slowly and firmly, Silver took one careful step backwards, pulling Copper up just enough for her to grab onto a jutting stone and haul herself onto the snowy ledge and back towards the mouth of the cave.

  She lay panting with the snow cold against her cheek, listening to the booming of her heart. Silver pressed her wet nose against her face and she wrapped her arms round Silver’s neck and buried her face in her fur.

  ‘One inch from falling into a ravine,’ she whispered. ‘Just one inch away. Oh, Silver, I nearly fell. Thank you.’

  She couldn’t move, but lay there holding tightly to the stone, scared to let it go in case she slipped backwards. As she grew less frightened, she realised it wasn’t a stone she was clutching. Under the snow Copper could feel something thin and circular. She sat up and dusted off the snow, digging with her gloved hand. It was half an old wooden wheel with a metal rim, the sort that might have been on a cart.

  ‘Great-Grandfather Ash had a cart,’ she whispered to Ralick. ‘If he was carrying the stuff along here … Imagine, imagine wheeling a cartload of gold along this narrow path. Maybe the wheel jammed against a stone and the cart went over and he fell over too and died – how terrible.’

  ‘Dangerous,’ grumbled Ralick. ‘Ravines, narrow ledges, dragons …’

  ‘The poor man … You just can’t see where the edge is. Then Glinty must have gone down, collected all the gold coins and brought them up here. I bet the remains of the cart are down there, right at the bottom of the mountain and his remains too.’