The Lost Treasure of Annwn (35 page)

 

 

THE KING'S STONE

The buggy was ready to be painted. Grandad thought there'd be time to give the new
Comet
two coats of paint. At least it meant Jack would be able to help, painting was something he was good at. They'd looked at the route around the bridleway together but the only part of the race Jack was involved in was at the end. He had to be at the bottom of Monument Hill for when Elan and Techno arrived there. They needed him to help Elan push the buggy up to the top. The race ended when all the team members had crossed the finish line. The buggies went down the lane while the other two team members ran down the grassy hillside. Jack knew he and Elan were fast runners and the downhill sprint didn't worry him in the least. He'd felt a lot better about the race since he'd known he wasn't going to have to drive the buggy.

Jack looked across to Ewell House. He searched the sky in the hope of seeing Camelin but there wasn't a bird to be seen. He was about to lie on his bed and look through his Book of Shadows when he saw Elan come through the hedge at the bottom of the garden. She made her way to the greenhouse, where Grandad was potting up seedlings. Jack raced downstairs and arrived in time to hear part of the conversation.

‘That's fine,' said Grandad.

‘What is?' asked Jack.

‘Nora wondered if you'd like to come and see the goslings. She'll be going over to the island soon and thought you might like to see how much they've grown.'

‘I'd love to, thanks.'

‘See you later then,' said Grandad. ‘Don't be too late, we've got an early start in the morning; we need to get the first coat of paint on the buggy as soon as we can.'

‘Nora's expecting you early,' Elan told Grandad. ‘See you tomorrow.'

When they were out of earshot Jack was able to ask Elan about Camelin.

‘Is he alright? I've not heard from him since we came back from Elidon.'

‘He's been in the library.'

‘The library!'

‘He asked Nora if he could look at the map of the whole area.'

‘Did he say why?'

‘Something about finding somewhere to go to have some fun.'

Jack groaned.

‘I promised him that if we found the second piece of torc we'd go back and have some fun in Elidon on our final visit. He doesn't get the chance to be a boy any more.'

‘You'd be safe if you stayed in the meadow near the fairy mound. You'll not come to any harm in there.'

‘I'm not sure that would be Camelin's idea of a fun place to go.'

‘You might want to mention it to Nora.'

Jack nodded. He wondered why Camelin was taking so long to decide where to go, and what kind of fun he was expecting to have.

‘Come on, race you to the lake,' said Elan, ‘we can get some running practice in.'

He didn't even wait for Elan to say
go
. He set off at speed and didn't stop until he reached the edge of the lake. Elan was a fraction of a second behind him.

‘You cheated, you started before me,' she panted.

Jack was too out of breath to speak.

‘Breathe though your nose,' advised Nora as she joined them. ‘When you can, hop into the boat and I'll row us across the lake.'

They were nearly at the island when Jack saw Camelin flying towards them. He landed gracefully next to Jack.

‘Mission accomplished,' he announced before giving Jack a slow nod and a nudge.

Jack didn't answer; he knew Camelin wouldn't say any more while Nora was there.

As soon as the boat reached the island, Medric came hurrying towards them.

‘All present and correct, Gerda's just got the youngsters ready for inspection, they're all inside.'

Camelin bustled ahead and poked his head in the doorway. Medric wasn't far behind and pushed him out of the way with his outstretched wing.

‘Guests first, in you go Jack.'

Camelin frowned but he didn't argue with Medric. Jack was amazed by how big the goslings were. He could see how proud both Gerda and Medric were.

‘Have they been given names yet?'

‘They have,' said Nora. ‘When they come over to the garden they'll introduce themselves.'

‘They didn't like my suggestions,' grumbled Camelin.

Nora gave him her disapproving look.

‘We'd better be getting back; this was just a quick visit. After lunch tomorrow your grandad has to go over to Beconbury. Once the buggy's had a coat of paint there won't be anything else you can do until it dries. I suggested you might like to stay. It will give you chance to go and see Cory. What do you say?'

‘Thanks! That would be great. Can Camelin come too?'

‘I don't see why not.'

Camelin looked pleased. It would also give them plenty of time to chat about their return visit to Elidon. As Nora rowed back across the lake, Jack's thoughts wandered. He still didn't know the area well enough to choose a safe place to go. It was going to be a hard task to persuade Camelin to stay in the meadow.

 

The following morning Jack woke early. He wondered what was different, until he realised sunlight was streaming in through his curtains. He quickly drew them back. The blue sky confirmed it was going to be a lovely morning. He felt excited. This afternoon he was going to look through the King's stone and see the place where the final part of the torc had been hidden.

Jack had already laid the table for breakfast by the time Grandad entered the kitchen.

‘You're up bright and early. Exciting isn't it?'

Jack could feel the colour rise in his cheeks. Did Grandad know where he was going later?

‘Nothing like the first coat of paint, it'll transform what we've built into a something like a racer.'

Jack grinned and nodded. He was relieved Grandad had been talking about the buggy.

 

By the time Techno arrived at Nora's everything was ready. Between them they'd finished painting by lunchtime. As they stood back and admired their morning's work. Nora joined them.

‘You must all be really pleased. The buggy looks brilliant.'

‘It's going to be really fast too,' said Techno.

Grandad didn't say anything. He had a faraway look in his eyes and a huge grin.

‘You'd better go and get cleaned up,' said Nora. ‘There are towels and plenty of hot water in the bathroom.'

Elan raced Jack and Techno to the house. It didn't take long for them to get cleaned up and soon three loud knocks on the door announced the arrival of Techno's dad.

‘I'll be off too,' said Grandad, ‘see you later.'

As soon as the front door closed, Jack heard Camelin calling from the kitchen.

‘Are you ready?'

‘We are,' Elan shouted back as she winked at Jack.

There was silence. When they entered the kitchen Camelin was perched on the windowsill with a very grumpy look on his face.

‘What's wrong?' asked Jack.

‘You didn't tell me Elan was coming too.'

‘I'm only going as far as the meadow. I need to visit Jennet.'

‘Well that's different. Are you ready?'

‘What's the rush?' asked Nora.

Camelin didn't answer but Jack wondered if it might have something to do with food.

‘I'll walk with you to the edge of the meadow,' said Elan, ‘and meet you there later so we can walk back together.'

‘I'll fly on ahead and meet you there,' Camelin croaked once he was airborne.

When Jack and Elan reached the bottom of the garden they both raised their arms at the same time to open the hedge. They broke into a fit of giggles as the trees parted for them. As they strolled through the tunnel they chatted happily about anything and everything except the buggy race. Jack was happy his world was beginning to return to normal. When they reached the edge of the meadow, Jack was expecting Camelin to greet them with his usual grumble, but instead he shuffled over to them without a word.

‘See you in a bit,' Jack said to Elan as she set off through the meadow. When he turned back to Camelin he realised why he hadn't spoken.

‘You're eating aren't you?'

Camelin tried to give Jack his most innocent look as he swallowed hard.

‘Just a snack. If they'd let you fly, you could have had one too. You won't tell Nora will you?'

‘I won't. Come on, we'd better find Cory.'

‘She's waiting for us by the bushes, can't you see her?'

Jack couldn't see the nymph. He looked for her pale green face and long chestnut hair but she blended in perfectly with her surroundings. Jack only saw her when they got closer and she waved.

‘The field is very muddy after all the rain, be careful not to slip,' Cory told Jack.

He looked down at his trainers; they were already caked in mud, so a bit more wouldn't hurt.

‘Do you know anything about the Lost Treasure,' Jack asked her.

‘Only what I've been told, but I do know about the King's stone. If you look through the hole at the top towards Glasruhen Hill it shows you the way to a burial mound. It's where the people who wanted to go into Annwn at Samhain would have gone. The mound was one of the portals open to anyone for that one night of the year. The passage leads into the King's tomb inside the mound in Annwn. The fair folk used fairy mounds, and the Druids would have opened their gateways, but ordinary folk had their own doorways too.'