Silver Hill (6 page)

‘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.

Jack read everything twice before he picked up his wand. He put his left hand over his nose in case the smell was as bad as it had been before and then repeated the words. He tried to make sure he kept a steady glow from the tip of his wand as he pointed it at the mixture inside the cauldron. A bright yellow plume came out of the pot. It rose to the ceiling then spread around the room. The smell was dreadful. As the mixture swirled around, the pollen and crushed leaf disappeared. Once the last speck of orange had gone the contents of the cauldron started to bubble. Jack was finding it hard to breathe. He had to use the hand protecting his nose to wipe his streaming eyes. He began to cough which made his wand wobble. The mixture rose to the top of the cauldron and began to bubble over the sides. Jack needed both hands to steady his wand. His nostrils filled with the pungent smell and his eyes streamed making it hard to see if he’d got the potion under control again. Just when he thought he wasn’t going to be able to stay inside the herborium a moment longer the mixture stopped bubbling and the air suddenly cleared. Jack dashed to the open door and breathed in great gulps of fresh air. When his eyes had stopped streaming he looked back inside the herborium. There was a green mess on the table where some of the potion had run down the side of the cauldron but everything else seemed to be alright. The yellow cloud was gone. Fergus and Berry joined him at the doorway.

‘I think it’s safe to go in now,’ said Jack as he wiped his eyes again.

Fergus and Berry leapt onto the table and sniffed the spilt potion. Jack hesitated before looking into the cauldron.

‘I wonder what it’s for?’

‘What what’s for?’ croaked a familiar voice as Camelin flew in through the open door and landed on the table. He immediately started to cough and choke.

‘What’s that smell?’

‘That’s nothing. You should have been here five minutes ago.’

‘But where’s it come from?’

‘It’s the important job Nora wanted me to do.’

Camelin took a look inside the cauldron.

‘Ugh! Are you sure you’ve done it right? It doesn’t look too good to me, not something I’d want to drink!’

‘I don’t think it’s for drinking, at least I hope not!’

Camelin shuffled to the other end of the table.

‘Are you ready to help me now?’

‘I was going to give you a shout as soon as I’d put all these things away in the kitchen.’

‘Aw, leave them ’til later, I need you to help me in here.’

Jack smiled, he thought he knew what Camelin was about to say next, and maybe Fergus and Berry thought the same since they were nowhere to be seen. It came as a surprise when Camelin pushed a small key towards him.

‘Nora left this so it must be alright for you to use it. You can get my wand out now. It’s the key, look, it says THE Cupboard on the label.’

Jack looked at the key carefully. He put his hand in his pocket and felt the shape of the key inside. They were identical. He tried not to let Camelin see his smile.

‘That’s OK, I’ll open the cupboard for you,’ said Jack as he picked up the key.

‘You will! Aw Jack, that’s great, you’re a real pal.’

Jack started walking towards the three small cupboards.

‘Where are you going? It’s this way,’ croaked Camelin.

‘I think you’ll find your key opens this door,’ said Jack as he bent down and unlocked the cupboard with the faint letter T on the front.

‘But it says THE Cupboard, and Nora left it out.’

‘Nora left it for me, and I think you’ll find
THE
is Nora’s abbreviation for
Third Herb Extract
cupboard.’

Camelin humphed loudly.

‘You mean it’s not my key?’

‘No, it’s not.’

‘But what about my wand?’

‘Only Nora can decide when you’re ready to have it back.’

‘It’s all right for you, you’ve got yours. Can you try and magic it open?’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘You’re no fun any more. That wand’s gone to your head.’

Before Jack could reply Camelin took off, swerved past him and disappeared through the open door.

‘Oh dear!’ said Jack, as Fergus and Berry came out from behind the dresser. ‘I didn’t mean to upset him.’

‘He’s been like that all week,’ explained Berry.

‘He’ll be fine when it’s teatime,’ squeaked Fergus.

Jack laughed. He knew the little rat was right. He wondered how long Nora was going to be. He didn’t want to feed Camelin too early but there was no reason why he couldn’t take Medric and Gerda’s food to them now.

‘I’m going over to the island. Do you two want to come?’

Both rats shook their heads.

‘Things to do,’ said Fergus, as he stood to attention. ‘Things to do.’

Jack smiled. He knew Fergus was mimicking Motley.

‘We’ve been left a list of jobs too, so we’d better get on with them, or we’ll be in trouble again if they’re not done by the time Motley and the others get back,’ explained Berry.

‘See you later,’ said Jack, but there was no reply, the two little rats had already gone.

The bucket of grain was heavier than Jack had imagined it would be. He struggled with it to the edge of the lake and eventually managed to get it into the boat without spilling too much. He sat down under the willow tree for a few moments to get his breath back. He’d never rowed a boat before and it looked a long way to the island.

Jack tried to push the boat into the water, he heaved and shoved but the boat wouldn’t move. Maybe he ought to go and get Grandad but he didn’t want to admit defeat so easily. He held up his wand and then hesitated. He’d been told to use it wisely and he didn’t know if transporting a bucket of grain across the lake would count as a good use of magic. Maybe he could just use his wand to help him get the boat into the water and start rowing once he was afloat. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, stepped into the boat and pointed his wand towards the front. He focused his thoughts into a request, ‘I need help to get the boat to the island.’

The boat began to rock violently from side to side. Jack wished he’d sat down before he’d spoken. He staggered to gain his balance and ended up banging his knee on the bucket. There was a sudden jolt as the boat left the shore and hit the water. Jack didn’t have time to pick up the oars, he just managed to grab the seat and steady himself before the little boat began speeding towards the middle of the lake.