Silver Hill (12 page)

Jack hadn’t realised Camelin’s plan was for Charkle but he really was very tired.

‘Can’t we go another night?’

‘Nope, I want to show Nora that I can do something really good and then she’ll let me have my wand back.’

‘So you’ve got an ulterior motive?’

Camelin didn’t answer straight away. He busied himself crumb hunting again around Jack’s bed.

‘You will come won’t you? I’d rather know what’s on the other side of the door before we go through it.’

Jack agreed that it made sense to send the Dorysk in for a look. Whatever was behind the door wouldn’t notice a tiny creature. The more information they had before Nora came back the better.

‘I’ll tell you what,’ said Jack slowly as he pretended to think, ‘if I find a Dorysk first you can go over to Silver Hill and I’ll go to bed and if you find one first I’ll come with you, agreed?’

Camelin chuckled to himself.

‘Agreed, but you know you’ve lost don’t you? I’m the best Dorysk hunter there is.’

‘I won’t be able to go far from the house. Is it alright if I just look down the back lane?’

‘That’s fine but how will you know when I’ve found one?’

Jack tried not to laugh.

‘You can make the sound of the raven owl and if I find one first I’ll do the same. We can meet back here.’

‘Better get ready for a long flight,’ chuckled Camelin. ‘See you soon.’

Jack watched as he flew off in the direction of the cricket ground, then he began to worry. He knew where to go and look but catching the Dorysk might not be as easy as he’d hoped. Even if he could capture one, he’d no idea how he was going to persuade him to fly over to Silver Hill with Camelin.

THE PIN MILLIONAIRE

As soon as Camelin was out of sight Jack consulted his Book of Shadows for a
materialisation spell
. He intended to create something very special, something he could use to tempt the Dorysk out of the fairy mound. Jack didn’t know much about collecting things. He didn’t know if anyone who already had over a million pins would really want any more. He tried to imagine something unusual, something the Dorysk could boast about. Most pins looked much the same. Then Jack remembered the notice board at the Cricket Club. All the posters had been held in place with drawing pins. A thousand drawing pins in a clear pot might interest the Dorysk. It would certainly be very unusual. The Dorysk could put it on his mantelpiece and show it off, it would be a talking point for anyone who visited.

Jack closed his eyes and imagined the pot of pins. He raised his wand slowly until it was above his head then drew a large circle.

‘
Exsisto
,’ he commanded and pointed his wand forcefully at the floor.

A sudden thump and rattling made Jack open his eyes. There at his feet was a small transparent pot crammed full of bright shiny drawing pins.

‘Brilliant!’ exclaimed Jack as picked up the pot and examined it before putting it in his pocket. ‘I’m off now Orin, won’t be long. I’ve got a Dorysk to catch.’

Jack peeped through the crack in the living room door. Grandad was asleep in his chair. He usually slept for a couple of hours after dinner every night. He didn’t think Grandad would wake up but just in case he wrote a note to say where he’d gone and put it on the kitchen table.

‘
Tego texi tectum,
’ he whispered as he touched the paper with his wand.

The writing disappeared. It would only reappear if Grandad picked the paper up. It was a clever spell, one he’d looked up after he’d found Nora’s note. Jack had remembered it easily because he liked the sound of the words. He was fascinated by all the information he found in his Book of Shadows and didn’t seem to have any problem remembering anything he’d read. Jack stood and listened before going out of the back door. Grandad was snoring loudly and with any luck he’d be back before he woke.

As soon as Jack was through the gate he ran to the end of the back lane. It came to an abrupt end. Jack stood in front of a small hedge. A signpost pointed across a field towards the road, which led to Newton Gill. There was a well-made stile next to it that Jack climbed over. To his right was a small wood. The information Raggs had given him was correct. Inside the field were three old trees, a tall ash, a stout oak and an overgrown thorn. Jack looked around for the fairy mound. The grass was tall and a mass of poppies covered the whole area. As they swayed gently in the breeze, Jack thought he could see the top of a small grassy hummock in the middle. This had to be the fairy mound. He ran over and stood in front of a badly made tunnel that disappeared into the earth. Anyone who happened to stumble across it would immediately think it was an old badger sett. Jack looked to see if anyone was around. When he was sure he was alone he took out his wand and made the tip glow brightly. The light was invisible in the daylight but once he pointed his wand into the tunnel the whole inside lit up. Jack knew straight away that this was the right place. He could see a small green door with an arched top. Two large black hinges held the door in place and a large silver doorknob glinted in the light from his wand. Jack didn’t know whether to knock and ask for the Dorysk in person or tap on the door and hide until the Dorysk answered. He reached inside then hesitated, he was sure he could see a face in the doorknob. Maybe it was his reflection? As he leant further in, the doorknob quivered. For a moment the silver looked molten. Jack jumped when two pointed ears popped out of the side, a tuft of hair, a small nose and a wide mouth followed. The head stared at Jack and then smiled. When the head spoke Jack nearly dropped his wand.

‘You’ve missed the last feast and the next one isn’t ’til full moon. Goodbye.’

‘No wait,’ cried Jack, ‘I’m looking for the Dorysk, is he in?’

‘You’ve come to the wrong door. Goodbye.’

‘Please, don’t go, it’s important.’

‘I’m the one who decides what’s important and like I told you, no feast, no entry, no Dorysk. Goodbye.’

‘Won’t you tell me where to find the Dorysk before you go? I really do need to talk to him. I was told he lived here.’

‘Not here he doesn’t, lives next door, but he won’t come out if he knows you’re there, he’s always worried about being caught. You’re going to have to be very clever to catch him.’

Jack looked around to see if there was another fairy mound close by.

‘Could you tell me which direction I need to go and how far it might be?’

The head’s mouth opened wide and it began laughing so hard it gasped for breath.

‘It’s next door, right next door, in the next tunnel. That’s a good one – how far!’

‘Thank you,’ said Jack once the head had composed itself. ‘Do you know if he’s in?’

‘No idea, you’ll have to go and find out. Now I really have to go. Goodbye.’

Jack knew their conversation was over when the ears, nose and mouth disappeared and the head once more became a doorknob. He put out the light from his wand and carried on around the mound. On the opposite side he found another tunnel. The door was well hidden under ivy and brambles. Jack decided to try to tempt the Dorysk out and then pounce. He took the pot of drawing pins and rattled it several times before placing it in front of the entrance. He went and lay on top of the hummock and waited. He hoped the Dorysk was at home and would soon come to investigate the noise. Jack heard a scraping and a scuffling from inside the mound followed by a sniffing sound. The Dorysk scurried out of the tunnel and bumped straight into the pot of pins. As he fell backwards Jack pounced.

‘Got you!’

‘Oh please, please don’t hurt me. I haven’t told anyone, please don’t hurt me.’

Jack held the Dorysk up so he could see him better. The Dorysk peered back but Jack doubted he could see much because he wasn’t wearing his glasses.

‘I’m not going to hurt you,’ said Jack as reassuringly as he could.

‘What are you?’

‘It’s me, Jack Brenin, I met you in the woods with Camelin.’

‘You’re not Jack Brenin, you’re an impostor. The Jack Brenin I met had feathers. You’re a spy, I know you are. You’ve come to test me. The nasty Bogie sent you didn’t he?’

‘I haven’t spoken to Peabody for a while.’

‘No, not Peabody, Pyecroft. Oh me, oh my! I don’t know what came over me! I’m really not myself. Dorysk’s don’t give information out to strangers.’

‘I am Jack Brenin, I’m a raven boy, like Camelin.’

‘How do I know you’re telling me the truth? I can’t even see what you look like.’

‘Where are your glasses?’

‘No, no! Ask me anything but that question, you’ve only got one question but please don’t ask me that.’

Jack could see that the Dorysk was upset.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘No, no! I can’t answer that question either. Oh me, oh my. What to do? What to do?’

‘I can magic you a pair of glasses if it would help.’

‘You can? Glasses that won’t break?’

‘Yes, I think I can do that.’

‘Oh, I’d be most grateful if you could.’

Jack put the Dorysk on the ground, trying to remember what his other glasses had looked like and waved his wand. There was a loud crackling sound, which made the Dorysk jump. His little paws shot up to his face.

‘You did it! Oh how wonderful! I can see again.’

‘Try breaking them, let’s see if it worked.’

The Dorysk took the glasses off and put them on the grass. He quickly picked them up again.

‘No, no, I can’t, what if they break?’

‘I’ll mend them.’

‘You do it. I couldn’t bear to break my own glasses.’

Jack put his foot on the small pair of round-rimmed spectacles. He felt them scrunch under his trainer but when he lifted his foot again, the glass instantly rearranged itself into frames that had already straightened. Jack bent over, picked up the pair of glasses and handed them back to the Dorysk.

‘Oh thank you, a thousand times thank you, I’ve not been able to see much at all without them. How can I ever repay you?’

The Dorysk took a step back so he could bow to Jack and hit his heel on the pot of pins.

‘Oh my, what have we here?’ the Dorysk said excitedly.

‘A thousand flat headed pins.’

‘And what would someone have to do to own a pot of pins like this?’

Jack took a deep breath and was about to explain the problem but he remembered he still hadn’t had his own question answered.

‘Why did the Bogie take your glasses?’

The Dorysk looked cautiously around.

‘Bend down so I can whisper,’ he told Jack.

Jack lay on the hummock. The Dorysk again looked around.

‘I found out some top-secret information and to stop me telling anyone the nasty Bogie came and stole my glasses. He said if I told anyone he’d break them and I’d never be able to see again.’

‘Don’t you worry, I know a
sticking spell.
If Pyecroft comes back and tries to take this pair he won’t be able to get them off your head.’

‘Really?’

‘Really.’

Jack waved his wand and used the same spell Nora had used on the cauldron when they’d been in Annwn.

‘There you are. No one will ever be able to take or break your glasses again.’

‘You are so kind. Can I do anything in return for you?’

‘Well,’ began Jack, ‘we have a little problem and we could do with your help. We need you to use your incredible shrinking powers to go through a keyhole and do a bit of finding out for us.’

‘
Us
?’

‘Well there’s me and Camelin and I suppose Charkle and Timmery, but they don’t know what we’re planning. We need to know what’s behind a small door on Silver Hill before we open it.’

‘Information gathering’s what we Dorysks do best but it’s a long way to Silver Hill.’

‘I can get you a lift. Camelin will fly you over there.’

‘It’s a deal then. And what information would you like for the pot of pins?’

Jack didn’t like to ask the Dorysk for the secret he’d found out, it just didn’t seem fair, even though he was dying to know.

‘Perhaps I can save my question for another time, would that be alright?’

‘Oh fine, fine, just let me know. You can ask me what you want whenever you want, Jack Brenin, in return for these wonderful pins. But please don’t tell anyone where you found me, I like to keep my whereabouts a secret. I don’t want everyone knowing where I live.’