The Oak Lord

by Catherine Cooper

  Nora clasped her hands together and squeezed them tight. She hesitated before she spoke.

  ‘There is need for haste and by nightfall we would dearly like to speak with Kerne. We will be by the edge of Newton Gill Forest just beyond the oak, ash and thorn that surround the Meadow Mound.’

  Sabrina smiled and took the gift. She gathered up a handful of her hair and pinned it with the comb.

  ‘Thank you, I will treasure this and ensure that I find Judd and give him your message. I’m sure Kerne will grant you an audience.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Elan.

  ‘Yes, thank you,’ added Nora. ‘We have a safe haven prepared in Steaple Lacy Wood for all those being held captive.’

  Jack and Camelin bowed their heads. When Jack looked up, Sabrina had gone. Nora sighed deeply.

  ‘You have done well, for I feared we wouldn’t find Sabrina before Samhain. You’ve seen a rare sight today, Jack, for very few mortals will ever see Sabrina as both nymph and fish. Now, I suggest we all go back to Ewell House, have some breakfast and work out exactly what we’re going to say to Kerne tonight.’

  Camelin was already airborne.

  ‘Race you!’ he croaked loudly.

  Jack waited until Nora and Elan transformed back into falcons. By the time they were above the river, Camelin had disappeared from sight. Jack looked down as they flew over the place where they’d seen the fishermen. The coracles had been propped up against the trees; the two men were standing by their open basket looking far from pleased. Jack could see the handkerchief and the rest of the contents had been strewn over the grass. He presumed the sandwiches they’d abandoned were missing.

  THE FOREST’S EDGE

  Jack knew it was going to be a long wait until the day drew to a close. It would be late afternoon by the time they’d be able to make their way back to the Meadow Mound. He didn’t know how long they’d have to wait for Kerne to arrive or if he’d come to the forest’s edge at all. After the breakfast things had been cleared, Elan put on her coat.

  ‘I’m going to have to return to Annwn. I’ve got things to prepare with Cora and Gwen for the coronation.’

  Nora handed her a basket.

  ‘Can you take this to Gwillam? I promised him some jam, but we’re going to have enough to carry tomorrow night.’

  Elan took the basket from Nora and peeped inside.

  ‘Mmm! Four jars, he’ll be pleased. I’ll take Gerda and Medric through the portal with me too. They need to know what they’ve got to do at the coronation.’

  Camelin sighed dramatically.

  ‘Everyone gets to go into Annwn except me. I should have an important job to do, I’m Jack’s best friend. Can I come too?’

  Elan smiled.

  ‘All you need to do at the coronation is to enjoy yourself. You’re going to be the guest of honour, it’s the least we can do to say thank you for everything you’ve done.’

  Camelin puffed out his chest feathers and gave Jack a smug look. Nora patted him on the head as she went over to the range.

  ‘We’ve all got important things to do today. I’m going to be gone for a while, so I’ve written out a list of jobs that need doing while I’m gone.’

  ‘What kind of jobs?’ asked Camelin.

  ‘Well… goslingsitting is the first one on the list. Whilst Gerda and Medric are away, the goslings will need watching.’

  ‘Goslingsitting! Ugh! I’m not sitting on any goslings.’

  ‘You know you don’t have to do that. We just need you to keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t get up to any mischief. Gerda and Medric will bring them over and leave them on the grass. It won’t be that hard, there’s only ten of them.’

  Camelin grumbled to himself and looked over at Jack.

  ‘What are you smiling at? They’re noisy, they don’t listen and some of them are girls.’

  ‘We could play beakball.’

  ‘That’s a really good idea, Jack,’ said Nora.

  She crossed over to the dresser and pulled open one of the drawers. She gave Camelin one of her looks before handing Jack two ping-pong balls.

  ‘You’d better have more than one, just in case anyone cheats, and when Gerda and Medric are back you can start working your way through these.’

  Jack took the piece of paper that Nora offered him. He smiled as he looked at the things they had to do. He knew Camelin wouldn’t mind these jobs too much. They were to make a list of their favourite foods for the feast in Annwn and decorate Ewell House for Hallowe’en.

  ‘Are we ready?’ Nora asked.

  ‘Ready,’ Jack and Elan replied.

  ‘Let’s get started, then.’

  Gerda and Medric were gone longer than Jack had anticipated. It was midday by the time they returned. Jack had hoped Gerda would give them some information about the coronation, but she just thanked them for looking after the goslings and quickly set off in the direction of the lake. The ten goslings followed, one after the other. It was useless to ask Medric anything. He had his head in the air and a very superior look on his face. He joined the end of the line without uttering a word. When they’d all disappeared from sight, Jack followed Camelin into the kitchen through the raven flap. Once he’d transformed, he flopped down in a chair.

  ‘I’m exhausted. I didn’t realise how tiring playing beakball would be.’

  ‘And you lost!’

  ‘Yes, I know, but I lost one of my team when Freda seemed to think it was a good idea to have a sit down for half an hour.’

  ‘You should have explained the rules to her a bit better. The two girls on my side didn’t have a rest.’

  ‘It doesn’t matter, it’s only a game. Now they’re back with Gerda and Medric we can have a bit of a rest.’

  ‘Rest! What about lunch? Nora won’t be back for ages, we can feed ourselves. It’s hungry work entertaining goslings.’

  Jack didn’t protest; he was famished. Camelin picked up his wand.

  ‘What do you fancy?’

  ‘You’re not really going to magic our dinner, are you?’

  ‘I’ve been practising.’

  Jack was too tired to argue. He watched as Camelin made a sweeping spiralling flourish while mumbling some words he’d obviously learned by heart. As the wand touched the table there was a blinding flash, followed by a puff of smoke, which filled the kitchen. Jack’s eyes watered. He coughed and spluttered until the air cleared. When he could see the table, much to his amazement, it was covered in food. There were sweet and savoury pies, pastries and cakes. Camelin flourished his wand again and a plate of sandwiches appeared. Jack was impressed.

  ‘Does it all taste as good as it looks?’

  ‘Well it does if you close your eyes. I haven’t quite managed to match the right taste to the right food yet.’

  ‘Well it looks good enough to eat.’

  ‘You can sit there and admire it if you like, but I’m getting started.’

  Jack quickly filled his plate before Camelin had the chance to put his beak into everything. Before he started to eat, he found a pen and started writing on the piece of paper Nora had given him.

  ‘What you doin’?’ Camelin managed to ask through a mouthful of pie.

  ‘We’ve got to make a list of our favourite foods for the feast in Annwn and you seem to have thought of just about everything. I thought I’d write them down now.’

  ‘Put on barbecued kebabs, and pizza, and don’t forget about the marzipan under the icing on the cake. They will make you a cake, won’t they?’

  ‘I don’t know, but I’ll write it down just in case.’

  Jack picked up a sausage on a stick. It looked all right, but when he bit into it the taste of lemon cheesecake filled his mouth.

  ‘Hmmm! I see what you mean! Quite a shock to the taste buds.’

  ‘Aw! You get used to it.’

  Jack grimaced when his chocolate éclair tasted of pickled onion.

  ‘At least you won’t be asked to help prepare the party food
.’

  ‘You mustn’t say anything to Nora, she doesn’t know I’ve been practising on my own.’

  ‘What are we going to say when she asks what we had for dinner? If she checks the pantry there won’t be anything missing.’

  Camelin shuffled and began examining a cupcake. Jack knew he was hiding something.

  ‘You’ve been in the pantry already, haven’t you?’

  ‘I might have got a bit carried away earlier, but Nora won’t ask us what we’ve had, she’ll see we’ve eaten.’

  ‘We’ve eaten! You mean, you have!’

  ‘Aw, Jack! Come on, this was meant as a surprise, an early birthday present from me to you. This can be our special party, since I’m not invited to the one tomorrow afternoon.’

  Jack shook his head. There was nothing he could say that would make it any better. The party hadn’t been his idea. Although he was really excited about it he did feel guilty that Camelin wouldn’t be able to join in. Having a raven as your best friend wasn’t always easy. He just hoped Nora didn’t ask any awkward questions when she got back. Jack had eaten his fill, but Camelin still had some food left.

  ‘We’d better clear this away soon. Have you nearly finished?’

  Instead of answering, Camelin opened his beak wide and scooped up what was left on his plate. Jack took out his wand, but Camelin barged into him and knocked it out of his hand.

  ‘Don’t you remember? I know a tidy spell, I’ll have this lot cleared away in a flash.’

  A flash was exactly what happened when Camelin thrust his wand into the air but Jack had to admit, it was very effective. In the blink of an eye, the table was clear and not a crumb was left in sight.

  ‘That’s very impressive. You really have been practising.’

  Camelin chuckled.

  ‘It comes in very handy when I get given jobs to do… so… what we got to do next?’

  ‘Decorate the house for Hallowe’en.’

  ‘Can I do the ghosties?’

  ‘Of course you can, and I’ll draw some witches.’

  ‘Draw!’

  ‘You know, draw… with a pen.’

  ‘Huh! That’s ordinary boy stuff. What’s the point of having magic if you don’t use it?’

  ‘But we’re not supposed to misuse magic, it’s for help and protection, not decorating the house.’

  ‘How long do you think it would take us to do it ourselves? Your party’s tomorrow afternoon and Nora said there are still a lot of important things to do. This would be helping. Anyway, Nora would use her wand if she were here. How do you think she’s going to have time to do all the food… it’ll be magicked.’

  Jack knew Camelin was right.

  ‘I’ll sort some witches out, then.’

  ‘Naw, don’t do witches, everyone has witches, do Hags instead.’

  Jack lifted his wand and concentrated hard. He remembered everything he could about Finnola Fytche and Devorah Dytch. A line of dancing hags appeared. Jack used his wand to suspend them from one end of the kitchen to the other. He went over to examine them; they looked very lifelike. As he touched a replica of Devorah, it released a green cloud. Jack gagged and pulled a face.

  ‘Ugh!’

  Camelin chuckled.

  ‘That’s brilliant. They not only look like Hags but smell like them too. I’ll have a go at making the ghosties wail.’

  It wasn’t long before the whole ground floor of Ewell House had been decorated. Jack put down his wand and admired their work.

  ‘Pretty good, don’t you think?’

  ‘I do,’ said Nora as she entered the kitchen, ‘but you’re not quite finished.’

  Jack could see a sack by the door.

  ‘Pumpkins,’ said Nora, ‘they need to be made into lanterns… by hand and beak too. We’ll do this bit properly while we wait for sundown.’

  Jack enjoyed preparing the pumpkins, but he could see Camelin wasn’t too keen on removing the orange flesh with his beak.

  ‘It tastes revolting raw. Can’t I do something else? You don’t really need me to do this.’

  Nora got up and brought a large dish over to the table.

  ‘You can tidy up, that will be a great help.’

  Jack saw Camelin look wistfully at his wand before he began to put the discarded pumpkin into the bowl. By the time the light began to fade, the lanterns were ready. Nora put a tea light in each and lit them. Nine gruesome faces grinned back at them.

  ‘Wasn’t that fun?’

  ‘It was,’ replied Jack.

  Camelin shuffled over to the biggest pumpkin.

  ‘Can I blow them all out?’

  ‘Of course you can.’

  Before long, the kitchen was in darkness.

  ‘Time to go to the meadow,’ said Nora.

  Camelin flew onto Jack’s shoulder. No one spoke as they left the house and made their way to the garden gate. It was pitch black as they walked along the back lane. When they reached the stile, Camelin took off and headed for the trees.

  ‘Do you think he’ll come?’ Jack asked Nora.

  ‘I hope so.’

  When they reached the forest’s edge they stood in silence. Jack peered into the darkness in the hope of seeing Kerne. After a while, his eyes began to ache. Nothing moved in the forest and the only sound was an occasional creaking from the bare twisted branches. The forest looked desolate. Jack thought about the Gnarles. Since this trouble had begun they were now totally isolated. Every living thing had either been captured or escorted to Steaple Lacy. He hoped they were sleeping soundly and unaware of Velindur’s presence.

  Jack looked up to where Camelin sat hunched on a high branch. He turned to Nora but her eyes were closed. Jack knew she was lost in thought. The faint crack of a dry twig made Jack hold his breath. Was it Kerne? He couldn’t see the shape of a man or stag. Maybe he’d imagined it. He jumped and nearly cried out when Nora touched his shoulder. When he turned, he could see she was pointing towards a dense tangle of undergrowth. Jack quickly looked up and saw that Camelin was also watching the movement below. Jack gasped when a black shape suddenly rose from the ground. It was huge, but Jack knew it had to be Permeris when he saw the shape of two distinctive curled horns on either side of his head. Only the snake’s silhouette could be seen but the familiar hissing voice confirmed, without a doubt, that it was Kerne’s trusted companion.

  ‘So, it is true what Judd told me. He said you’d be waiting here at nightfall. I believe you have requested to speak with my master?’

  ‘We have,’ Nora replied.

  ‘It is not usual for Kerne to leave the heart of his realm and venture to the veil between the two worlds. Your request will not be granted for a trivial matter, so I trust this is of the utmost importance.’

  ‘It is,’ Jack almost shouted. ‘There is one, banished to Elidon, who we believe has taken some of the Fair Folk from Glasruhen and is holding them against their will.’

  Nora put her hand on Jack’s shoulder and continued to explain. It seemed to take forever for Nora to relate all that had happened. When she’d finished, Permeris bowed his head.

  ‘I will relay your concerns to Kerne. If he feels there is a case to answer, he will meet you here at midnight.’

  Jack wanted to say more. He wanted to tell Permeris how worried he was and to make him understand the urgency of their request. A voice whispered softly inside Jack’s head. He’d forgotten Permeris could hear his thoughts.

  ‘Do not worry, Jack Brenin. Crimes of any kind, against any creature, are not tolerated in Kerne’s realm. Justice will be done tonight. The Lord of Elidon will be informed and if any are being held against their will, before the morrow they’ll be returned to you.’

  Jack knew Permeris would hear his silent thanks. He trusted the snake and knew he would plead their case to Kerne. At last he felt that something was being done to help Twink and the others. Jack looked up at Camelin and then back at Permeris, but the snake had already disappeared from sight.

  Nora
called up to Camelin.

  ‘Fly over to Steaple Lacy and let everyone know what’s happened. I feel confident all this will be sorted out before morning. On your way back, find Timmery and ask him to join us.’

  ‘Do this, do that,’ grumbled Camelin.

  ‘Don’t you worry,’ replied Nora, ‘Jack and I are going to be busy too. We have some decorations that need to be checked.’

  Camelin didn’t reply. Jack had to smile as he watched him fly off in a huff, but he did wonder how Nora knew their imaginative creations had added sounds and smells.

  Once they were back inside Ewell House, Nora began her inspection. After prodding one of the Hags, she quickly dispersed the smell and waved her wand over the rest of them. She left Jack to fold napkins and position the smaller pumpkins while she checked the other rooms. When she came back into the kitchen, Jack asked her about the decorations.

  ‘How did you know the hags would smell?’

  ‘They were too realistic. Did you make the ghosts?’

  ‘No, Camelin did them.’

  ‘You know they wail, don’t you?’

  Jack nodded. He was surprised when Nora burst out laughing.

  ‘I’ve left the sound effects; they’re really good. It will add to the atmosphere if any of your guests bump into them. If we put one of the big pumpkins outside the front door and one on the patio, that’ll be everything ready.’

  Jack helped Nora position the two heavy pumpkins. They stood together on the patio and gazed at the night sky. Jack always felt small and insignificant when he looked at the stars. Since coming to Glasruhen his life had changed, and now it was about to change again. If everything went to plan, tomorrow night he’d be crowned as King of Annwn. He’d have new responsibilities and duties to perform. He desperately needed to know what Velindur was planning. He had no doubt that trouble was brewing. There was tension in the air and the ominous threat of danger. Jack had a sudden desire to speak with Gwillam, but he knew that wasn’t going to be possible. He looked up at the sky again; it must be getting late.

  ‘Here they come,’ said Nora, as she nodded towards the garden.

  A familiar black shape was flying towards the house, with a tiny bat following. Camelin swooped down onto the patio and Timmery landed on Nora’s shoulder.