The Lost Treasure of Annwn (36 page)

‘And what will I see when I look through the hole in the stone the other way?' asked Jack.

‘What you are supposed to see. According to Elan, it will point towards another stone, one that will lead you to the place where a part of the King's torc was placed for safekeeping.'

Cory parted the bushes and then closed them again once they were inside the clearing.

‘We went to your old home the other night,' said Camelin as they made their way to the stone circle.

‘Oh my beautiful tree, I loved that tree but alas, all that's left is dead wood now.'

‘Jack made it live again with his magic.'

Cory stopped and stared wide-eyed at Jack.

‘You made my hazel tree live again?'

‘Only for a short while, it was when we were in Elidon. I needed to eat some hazelnuts and drink from the well.'

‘Ah! The tree of knowledge it was called; many sought that tree but very few ever found it or ate the nuts. I'm sorry, forgive me; we have more important things to do. Those days are gone.'

Jack had trouble keeping his balance in the muddy field. Camelin took off and landed on top of the King's stone. Cory didn't seem to be having a problem. Her feet hardly touched the ground as she made her way gracefully towards the circle. As soon as Jack joined the others he knew he'd got a problem.

‘I'm too small, I can't see through the hole and I haven't brought my wand.'

‘Use your crystal,' said Camelin.

‘It doesn't work like that.'

‘Summon it; tell it you need to see through the hole. It's supposed to help you isn't it? There's no point in knowing everything about crystal magic if you're not going to use it.'

Jack thought Camelin might have a point. There were no stones around to stand on and even if there were, he'd need a very large one, and without his wand he wouldn't be able to move it. Jack closed his eyes, took a deep breath, held out his hand and willed the crystal to appear.

‘That's it Jack, you did it, tell it what you want.'

Jack transferred his thoughts into the crystal. He suddenly felt lighter and when he opened his eyes he could see both his feet had left the ground. He rose slowly in the air until his face was level with the hole in the stone. He was propelled forwards until he could see through it.

‘No! That can't be right,' he wailed.

‘What's wrong?' asked Cory.

‘I'm looking at Monument Hill, there's no room to move my head so I can't see anything else. There's no stone like this on top, there's only the Monument we saw when we did the trials. The stone's gone.'

Jack lost his concentration and with a sudden rush of air he landed hard at the base of the King's stone.

‘You should have told your crystal you wanted a soft landing,' said Camelin.

‘I didn't have much choice, it just happened.'

‘Are there any other standing stones in that direction?' Jack asked Cory.

‘I wouldn't know. You need to ask a Bogie or a Water Nymph for that kind of information.'

Jack sighed.

‘We were doing so well. We're going to have to go Cory; I need to get back to Ewell House. Nora might know the answer.'

‘I'm sorry Jack, but I don't know what else I can do to help.'

‘Nothing I'm afraid, but thank you for everything you've done already.'

Camelin yawned loudly.

‘Shall we go?'

Jack and Camelin hurried to the bottom of the meadow. Elan was already there and with her was Peabody.

‘A Bogie!' cried Jack. ‘You're just what we need.'

‘I don't think this Bogie is going to be able to help,' replied Elan. ‘He's coming home with us until all this has been sorted out.'

‘Why would you want to invite a Bogie to stay at Ewell House?' asked Camelin.

‘Nora asked me to fetch him. The Dorysk told her he'd been traumatised.'

‘By what?' asked Jack.

‘We think it's Velindur, he won't leave him alone, he's reaching out from the Land of Shadow and the only way we can help Peabody is to bring him back to Ewell House. Velindur will not tread the earth where a Druid lives.'

‘You'll have to bring him yourself,' grumbled Camelin. ‘I'll see you back at the house.'

‘Nora says to go straight home,' Elan called after him.

‘You didn't see the stone did you?' said Elan.

‘Only the Monument.'

‘Nora and I suspected as much. There used to be a stone circle on the top of Monument Hill but that was a long time ago. None of us knew how important it was. Many circles have been destroyed over the years. There wouldn't have been anything we could have done to stop the stones being removed. If Arrana was with us she might have known where you needed to look. That's why I went to see Jennet but she doesn't know the whereabouts of the stone either.'

‘Couldn't we ask Peabody?'

‘I'm afraid not, he's in no fit state to talk at all.'

‘What am I going to do? How am I ever going to find out what the inscription said? Without it I'll never find the other piece of torc. I can't fail now.'

‘When you return to Elidon you'll have to go back and see Sabrina, she might know something about the other stone.'

‘Camelin won't be pleased.'

‘Go to Sabrina first and then when you've got the information you can let Camelin have some fun. Her island might be the safest place for you in Elidon.'

‘Thanks Elan, that's a great idea. We'd better get Peabody back. You don't think Velindur is watching us now do you?'

‘Nora's not happy about any of us straying too far from Ewell House at the moment. He can't escape from Elidon but she's worried about what he's planning. We all need to take extra care. Gwillam says he's a very vindictive man and he doesn't like any of us, not after what happened at the trial in Annwn.'

They walked back to Ewell House in silence.

 

The next few days seemed endless. The buggy looked great after its final coat of paint. Grandad and Techno had made some last minute adjustments then agreed there was nothing more to be done. They were ready for the race.

When Saturday finally arrived Jack knew he should have been excited but he felt apprehensive. If Sabrina couldn't help him his quest would be over. Grandad had arranged to pick up Nora and Elan so they could all go over to Lillerton Fair together. It was wet and dull when they set off. The day dragged. Normally Jack loved the sights, smells and sounds of the fairground, but it wasn't anything like the one he'd been to in Annwn. There weren't many stalls and every time the drizzle became a heavy downpour they had to run to find some shelter. Grandad thought the bad weather had probably put a lot of people off. One of the stalls had programmes for the buggy race. Grandad collected one for each of them. In the middle was the map of the route around the bridleway. Grandad eagerly looked at the map and pronounced there'd been no last-minute changes. After they'd eaten, they'd decided to go home.

Grandad had been worried that if the rain continued for another week the race might be cancelled, but he'd spoken to one of the other organisers and they'd said the forecast was alright and the race would almost certainly go ahead.

 

Grandad chatted happily all through supper about the races he'd been in when he was a lad, and how the new
Comet
was the best buggy he'd ever seen. Jack hoped for Grandad's sake that they won but he doubted they would, especially since Max and Tank's buggy had been made for them by mechanics.

It was a relief when Jack finally got to bed. It wouldn't be long before he was back in Elidon. He'd carefully rehearsed what he wanted to say so he could ask Sabrina the right questions. Before closing his eyes he reached over to his bedside table and picked up his small silver dolphin, the one he used to have on a key ring. This time he wasn't going unprepared. He thought the dolphin would be something Sabrina might like. He knew she'd told him he needn't bring a gift but he thought it would be rude not to give her something in exchange for the information he so desperately needed.