The Oak Lord

by Catherine Cooper

  ‘Fare you well also,’ said Nora.

  Jack watched as the visibility between the two worlds faded. He was relieved and happy they’d been able to secure the release of all the captives, but he also felt troubled as they walked back to Ewell House. He knew that Velindur would stop at nothing in order to be crowned King of Annwn.

  INSIDE INFORMATION

  Nora stopped in front of the Herborium.

  ‘I think we’ll take these poor creatures in here where it’ll be quiet. I hope that when they’ve rested, some of the Fairies might be able to shed some light on why they were captured.’

  Camelin swooped down and was heading towards the patio when Nora called to him.

  ‘I need you to take a message to Timmery. Tell him to fly as quickly as he can through Glasruhen Gate and take the good news to Elan. He’ll need to stay in Annwn and await our arrival tomorrow night.’

  ‘Why can’t I go instead? There’s no reason why I can’t go now. It’s not as if I’m going to be needed. I can’t go to the party and I’m not allowed to go trickor-treating. What am I supposed to do until you’ve all finished enjoying yourselves?’

  Jack wondered what Nora would say. In a way, Camelin was right and it didn’t seem fair that he’d have to stay hidden until the party had finished. He thought Nora would agree, but she didn’t reply straight away.

  ‘Can I go?’ pleaded Camelin.

  ‘No. At least not right now. You can go through the portal later, after you’ve wished Jack a happy birthday. I’m sure they’ll be pleased to have some extra help. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to take my message to Timmery. If he’s in Annwn tonight he’ll be able to practise the performance he’s doing with the Dragonettes. It will be their last chance before the coronation feast.’

  Jack could hear Camelin mumbling to himself as he flew off, but he felt sure he’d be a lot happier once he was in Annwn, even if he might be given some jobs to do. Once the hat was safely on the table, Jack peeped inside.

  ‘I thought some of the Fairies would have transformed into angry bees once they’d been released, especially Veronica.’

  ‘Sadness isn’t the same as anger. You can see most of these poor creatures are upset and probably very frightened. It’s going to take them a while to get over this. They’re going to need a lot of reassurance before we can take them to Steaple Lacy.’

  ‘Can I help?’ asked Arin, who was watching them from her bed.

  Nora smiled at her.

  ‘You will be a welcome sight to those who know you. Please assure them they have nothing to fear. As soon as they feel better we’ll get them to the safe haven.’

  Jack helped Nora to tip the hat gently on its side. While Nora went over to Arin, he found a wooden spoon and positioned it under the brim of the hat to steady it. Nora carefully lowered Arin onto the table.

  ‘You’ll be able to get into the hat if you want to go in and talk to them, or you can keep watch until they venture out.’

  ‘I’ll wait a while and then go inside,’ said Arin.

  Before they left the Herborium, Nora turned to Arin.

  ‘If anyone wants to speak to me, or if you have any news, please send Raggs to find me. I am anxious for anything they might be able to tell us.’

  Nora closed the door as quietly as she could and turned to Jack.

  ‘You’ve got a very important day ahead of you. Back to bed, you need some more sleep.’

  As they entered the warm kitchen, Jack suddenly felt very tired. It had been an eventful night, but at least all the creatures from Newton Gill Forest were now safe.

  Jack found it an effort to climb the stairs to his room. His whole body felt heavy and it was a struggle to keep his eyelids open. As he opened the door, the sound of loud rasping snores reached his ears. He smiled when he saw Camelin asleep with his feet in the air. Jack managed to get undressed and into bed without disturbing him.

  Something woke Jack. He’d no idea how long he’d slept or what time it was and was too sleepy to look at his clock. He was just drifting back to sleep when he heard a whispering sound from inside his room. He managed to force his eyelids open a fraction. He opened them fully when he saw the Night Guard, along with Raggs and Orin, gathered at the end of his bed. Camelin hopped off the bedstead and joined them.

  ‘SURPRISE!’ they all shouted.

  Motley stepped forward and gave a small cough before speaking.

  ‘We’re gathered here this morning for a very important reason, don’t you know.’

  Nora tapped on the door and peeped in.

  ‘Are we ready?’

  ‘Ready,’ the rats and Camelin replied.

  ‘One, two, three,’ Motley counted.

  Everyone started singing ‘Happy Birthday’. Most of the rats had good voices, but Camelin’s enthusiastic croaking drowned them out. Halfway through the song, Nora brought in a cake. It was thick and square. As she lowered it, he could see it had been decorated like a book of spells, with a wand across the top. Twelve flickering candles had been spaced around its edge. When the singing stopped, Jack took a deep breath and blew them all out. It was the most unusual birthday morning he’d ever had.

  ‘Thanks everyone, what a lovely surprise.’

  ‘We’ve got more,’ said Camelin, as he nodded to the corner of Jack’s room. A pile of presents had been stacked, one on top of the other, from a large box on the bottom to a tiny box on the top. A tall thin package had been propped against the pile.

  ‘Open mine first,’ said Camelin.

  Nora brought the presents over to the bed. Fergus and Berry picked up a small box, Lester and Midge another, Podge and Morris found theirs and, lastly, Raggs, Motley and Orin pushed one of the larger parcels in Jack’s direction.

  ‘This is so kind of you all, I don’t know whose to open first.’

  ‘It should be mine,’ Camelin grumbled. ‘I asked first.’

  Nora picked up the long thin parcel and placed it on the bed. Camelin rolled it towards Jack.

  ‘Happy birthday, I know you’ll like it.’

  Jack smiled when he picked up the present. It didn’t take long to unwrap.

  ‘It’s a brilliant umbrella, thanks.’

  ‘Well I knew you hadn’t got one and you never know when it might come in handy.’

  ‘All our presents go together,’ said Motley, as he pushed Fergus and Berry forward. ‘The Night Guard have been collecting them since the beginning of autumn.’

  Jack opened the box carefully. Inside it were lots of hazelnuts. Podge and Morris had collected walnuts and the larger box from Lester and Midge was full of sweet chestnuts.

  ‘Thank you, I love nuts. I’ll enjoy eating them.’

  Orin stood on her hind legs and helped Motley and Raggs push the largest box closer to Jack. He was curious to know if it held nuts too, and quickly unwrapped it.

  ‘It’s a wooden bowl for the nuts,’ explained Raggs. ‘We old ship’s rats all know how to carve wood, kept the teeth sharp and short too. Motley chose the wood, I carved it and Orin polished it… what do you think?’

  ‘Exquisite,’ said Jack. ‘It’s really beautiful, thanks.’

  Nora picked up the two remaining presents. One had been the largest in the pile and the other was small and thin. She passed them to Jack.

  ‘You might have need of these after your coronation. They’re from Elan too, but she couldn’t be here. She’ll see you later.’

  Jack had no idea what the presents could be. The largest parcel was heavy. When he finally got the wrapping off he saw a blue leather book. His name had been embossed in gold letters on the cover.

  Nora smiled.

  ‘It’s bound in the softest Dragonor skin and the letters are real gold. Elan and I had Lloyd the Goldsmith inscribe it. You’ll be able to chronicle your life.’

  Jack swallowed hard. Did Nora know how long he was going to live? He wondered if this was the right time to tell her about the Crochan leaves. Alindyne had said he was immortal a
nd, if this were true, he didn’t think the book was going to be big enough.

  ‘Do you like it?’ she asked.

  ‘It’s amazing, thank you.’

  ‘This last present goes with the book.’

  Jack felt the package. Whatever was inside was hard and thin.

  ‘Come on, Jack,’ said Camelin, ‘open it up.’

  When the wrapping paper had gone Jack was left with an ordinary looking pencil in his hand.

  ‘It’s an everlasting pencil,’ explained Nora. ‘It will never break and never go blunt. You’ll have a lifetime of writing out of that pencil.’

  ‘That’s brilliant, thanks.’

  ‘You’ve not had any sweets,’ said Camelin.

  Nora frowned.

  ‘This is a very important birthday for Jack. He can have sweets another time.’

  Camelin shrugged his shoulders. Nora passed Jack a big envelope.

  ‘Everyone else sends their birthday wishes. This is from all of us.’

  It was a huge card from Nora and Elan. When he opened it up he saw lots of paw prints and squiggles. Nora had printed the names of everyone who’d signed it above their marks. At the bottom was one very important name.

  ‘Thank you, this is great.’

  ‘I hope you noticed I’m the only one who can sign my name properly. The others had to have theirs written for them.’

  ‘It’s very good writing too,’ said Jack as he closed the card. Nora nodded towards Jack’s dressing table. Propped up against the mirror was an envelope. He thought he recognised the writing and the stamp looked foreign. It was addressed to Jack, with the Brenin House address under his name.

  ‘Is it from Dad?’ he asked Nora, as she passed it over to him.

  ‘Why don’t you open it and see?’

  Jack tore open the flap and pulled out a card. On the front, in bubble writing, it said… ‘Happy Birthday Son’, it was from his dad. When he opened the card a letter fell out. Jack picked it up, unfolded it and read what his dad had written. He looked at Nora.

  ‘Do you know what it says?’

  She shook her head. Jack didn’t think he could tell Nora without choking up, so he passed her the letter. When she’d read it she beamed at him.

  ‘Will someone tell me what’s going on?’ asked Camelin, as he strained to see the letter.

  ‘Well,’ began Jack, ‘there’s some bad news and some good news.’

  Camelin peered over Jack’s shoulder.

  ‘What’s the bad news? I always think it’s best to get the worst bit over with first.’

  ‘Dad’s not going to be here for my party this afternoon.’

  ‘Well that’s hardly a surprise. It’s a long way to come from Greece for a party.’

  ‘In his last letter he said he’d got a surprise for my birthday.’

  ‘And you thought he’d be coming home.’

  Jack nodded. It had been a stupid thought. He knew his dad had a job to do but all the same, he missed him. He’d hoped he would have been home for his birthday.

  ‘It’s a good job he’s not going to be here. You’d have a hard time explaining about your coronation tonight… So… what’s the good news?’

  Jack bounced up and down on the bed in his excitement. Rats were thrown everywhere and Camelin had to hop onto the bedside table to stop himself from being bounced off the bed.

  ‘Dad will be home for Christmas… for good! He’s starting a new job in January at the archives in Beconbury.’

  ‘That really is wonderful news,’ said Nora, as she started to move Jack’s presents onto his dressing table. ‘I’m afraid it’s time to get up, we’ve got a party to prepare for.’

  ‘That’s my cue to leave,’ laughed Camelin. ‘You said I could go to Annwn once I’d wished Jack a happy birthday.’

  ‘I did, and you can.’

  Camelin gave Jack his best beaky grin. Jack grinned back.

  ‘Have a great time. I’ll see you later.’

  Camelin pirouetted on the table.

  ‘Don’t be late.’

  ‘For my own coronation? That would be awful!’

  Nora shooed all the rats and Camelin out of Jack’s room.

  ‘I’ll be in the kitchen when you’re washed and dressed.’

  As Jack made his way to the kitchen he could hear Nora talking to Raggs. Jack burst into the room.

  ‘Is there any news from the Fairies? Are they all right? I forgot to ask you earlier in all the excitement.’

  ‘Slow down,’ said Nora, ‘Raggs has only just got here.’

  Raggs nodded and sat on the upturned beaker Nora had placed on the table. Both Nora and Jack sat down too and looked at him expectantly.

  ‘You were right about everything. The Fairies were snatched because they have the ability to see into Elidon. Velindur didn’t want to risk anyone knowing he was in the company of a Bogie. Twink is very upset. She liked Peabody and had believed him when he’d told her he was frightened of the voice and hand.’

  Jack sighed deeply.

  ‘Does that mean Camelin was right too? Did he worm his way into Ewell House to spy on us all?’

  ‘It’s worse than that,’ said Raggs, ‘he’s been trying to find the torc for Velindur. Peabody was aware that Nora had transformed it into something in order to keep it safe. He obviously didn’t know what, because it seems he’s been taking things from Ewell House into Elidon.’

  The theft of Camelin’s dustbin suddenly made sense to Jack.

  ‘But how would Velindur know if the Bogie had brought the right object?’ he asked Nora.

  She sighed deeply before answering.

  ‘I’m afraid we all underestimated Velindur. He must have heard that in Elidon everything appears as it really is and nothing can be concealed. Don’t you remember, Jack? When Camelin broke through the veil between the two lands, he became a boy again. Velindur must have thought the torc would reveal itself once it entered the Land of Shadows. He was wrong, my spell is too strong for that. Besides, that rule only applies to people, not objects. However, if Camelin’s dustbin had been the torc, Velindur would have been able to feel its presence just by holding it. As soon as he touched the dustbin he’d have known it wasn’t from Annwn. I can assure you that the torc is safe. It will transform later tonight when it is taken into the tomb of your ancestor.’

  Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

  ‘Did the Fairies say anything about Camelin’s dustbin?’

  Raggs nodded.

  ‘Apparently, when Velindur picked up the dustbin he roared with anger and kicked it out of the door.’

  ‘Well, that explains how it got dented,’ said Nora. ‘It’s a good job Camelin isn’t here or he’d have something to say about that.’

  There was a loud humph from the pantry. The door opened slowly and Camelin shuffled out.

  ‘You’re right… I’ve got plenty to say. What did I tell you? What have I been saying all along?’

  ‘And what were you doing in the pantry?’ asked Nora.

  Camelin hung his head.

  ‘I didn’t know if I’d get any breakfast in Annwn, so I thought I’d have a little snack before I set off.’

  ‘No matter,’ said Nora, as she frowned at Camelin. ‘We’ve far more important things to do today. Since you’re still here you can help with the transportation of the crawlers and flyers we rescued from Elidon.’

  ‘I’ll help, but I’m not transporting creepy-crawlies. The Flying Squad can take them.’

  ‘That’s fine. You can oversee the distribution of the small creatures as they arrive.’

  Camelin puffed out his chest feathers.

  ‘You mean I’m going to be in charge?’

  ‘Yes, you’ll be in charge.’

  ‘And you’ll tell the Flying Squad?’

  ‘I will. Now, if you go and fetch them from your loft and meet us in the Herborium, we can begin.’

  Nora turned to Raggs.

  ‘You did well to find out so much. I was hoping th
e Fairies would be able to shed some light on what happened in Elidon. Shall we go?’

  Jack picked up Raggs and followed Nora out into the garden. He shivered as he left the warmth of the kitchen and made his way to the Herborium. He was totally unprepared for the sight that greeted them when Nora opened the door. Swarms of insects filled the entire room. The largest was an angry bee that buzzed loudly as it darted around their heads.

  ‘That’s good,’ said Nora, ‘they’re obviously not upset any more. Veronica looks particularly annoyed.’

  Jack looked over at Judd’s hat. He doubted any creature could be left inside. Nora clapped her hands, raised them in the air and then brought them down slowly. The noise subsided and the creatures seemed to be frozen in mid-air. When the room was still, Nora addressed them.

  ‘I’m sure Arin has already told you of the safe haven we have prepared for you in Steaple Lacy Wood. We have willing wings to fly you there and, until the present danger has passed, I advise you not to stray from its boundaries. None can reach through the veil there and none can harm you. The flyers will ensure you have a safe journey as they each have protectors. I’d like the Fairies to stay here as you’ve all been invited to Jack’s coronation tonight. I will make sure you get safe passage to your Mound. From there, you’ll be able to enter Annwn at the appointed hour. If Arin would like to go along with you, she will be most welcome to join us at the coronation.’

  Once Nora had finished speaking, the swarm of insects began flying erratically about again. She opened one of the small windows, then shut the door behind them as they left the room. Camelin swooped past them, followed closely by the Flying Squad. The three leaders of the squadrons landed on the Herborium roof, while the rest pushed and shoved each other as they jostled for a place on the picnic table. When Nora raised her hand the squabbling stopped.

  ‘This might take a while, but you need to transport all the creatures inside the Herborium to Steaple Lacy Wood. Once you get there, Camelin will direct everyone to their new homes. Are you ready?’

  ‘Ready,’ all the starlings squawked back.

  Jack could see Camelin strutting up and down. Nora turned and spoke to them all.

  ‘Jack’s grandad will be arriving soon and we’ve got visitors this afternoon, so please don’t come into the house. I’m sure everything will be fine. We’ll see you later tonight before we go through the portal.’