Jack Shian and the King's Chalice (16 page)

“Ye made me lose my temper, young man,” she said in a calm voice. “In times past ye might niver have walked again. But times are changin’, and some o’ the old ways are goin’. Dae ye forgive me?”

Jack and his grandfather were almost as stunned as Petros had been. For an enchantress to carry out a punishment and then ask for forgiveness was unheard of. Petros’s mouth opened and shut, but no words came out. Grandpa Sandy rescued the situation.

“Tamlina, this is most charitable. Petros should have held his tongue. To ask his forgiveness astonishes us. Might I ask why this change has come about?”

Tamlina looked at him intently. “Sandy o’ the Stone, I think ye ken the answer tae that. The manuscripts ye hae seen talk o’ Gosol, do they not?” Grandpa Sandy inclined his head. “And ye ken that Gosol binds together all o’ creation.”

The quizzical looks of Grandpa and the others prompted her to continue.

“In the heavens, and on the earth, and under the earth, all o’ creation meets. My Raglan telt me that. And Shian and human can mix. But be warned: it’s a blessin’, and a curse.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” blurted Jack.

“But Gosol resolves all such. Look again at all the papers under the castle. If ye seek, ye will fin’ the Cup; that may lead ye tae the Sphere. In the fullness o’ time ye may discern creation’s mystery.”

Seeing that Jack was clearly bursting to speak, Grandpa looked hard at him and shook his head slowly, but Jack stepped forward and raised his hand. His blue eye burned fiercely, and he looked Tamlina directly in the face. She stared back, her mouth half smiling.

“Yer eyes are distinctive, young man. I believe we have met before?”

“I–I have been here before,” stammered Jack, “to find out about my father, Phineas of Rangie. But can I ask one question?”

Tamlina nodded assent.

“Your ring: what does it mean?”

Tamlina paused, and looked down at the large ring.

“Good things come in threes,” she said, then paused. Then, in a sing-song voice she chanted:

Tamlina paused again, then mumbled, “I tire. Soon ye may fin’ the Cup. But be warned, for ithers seek it. Young Jack, perhaps ye ha’e already met Konan o’ the Brashat? Saddux like him will fight ye. And ye will never fin’ them forgivin’. Tak’ ye this ram’s horn. One night it may help ye tae summon allies in yer quest.”

She handed Jack a polished ram’s horn, with a small mouth-piece at one end.

“Tak’ care. The winnin’ o’ the Chalice will demand brave hearts.”

With that Tamlina faded from their eyes.

“That hurt,” Petros grumbled, rubbing his chest.

“What was that about Konan the Brashat? I’ve never met him.” Jack’s mind raced. “And what kind of allies will a ram’s horn bring? She was so different this time. I mean, I know she zapped Petros, but then she apologised. Why would she do that, Grandpa?”

“Times are changing,” frowned Grandpa. “And we may not have much time to find out what we need. If the Brashat are after the Cup, then we must hurry.”

He set off briskly back the way they had come.

“She talked of the Raglan again, Grandpa,” said Jack, panting slightly as he tried to keep up.

“It’ll be a charm stone – we told you before.”

“What did she mean, ‘the Saddux’?” asked Petros, following on.

“It is an old word signifying those who believe that death is the end,” replied Grandpa. “It refers to Shian and humans. It seems we are more bound up than ever before.”

“Aunt Katie said the Brashat think death is the end,” said Jack. “So I guess they want the Cup because they think that means they’ll never die.”

“Grandpa, can’t we slow down a bit?” said Petros. “I’m out of breath.”

“Then perhaps it would be best to save your questions for later. I need time to think about what Tamlina has told us. Look after that horn she gave you, Jack. Tamlina will always have a reason for doing things.”

As they reached the house they saw people standing at the doorway, talking and laughing; the sound of music came from inside. As they entered, they found the house packed. Hart and Dorcas were in the kitchen, singing together while a young fiddler played along. People were listening with rapt attention. The atmosphere resonated with goodwill.

“What was the problem?” asked Grandpa of Hart when his song finished.

Hart looked blank for a moment. “Oh, that. Those two,” he indicated Rana and Lizzie in the doorway, “were playing truant. As soon as we’d left, they just disappeared. Dorcas was worried sick.”

Jack looked across to where his cousins were scoffing cakes. Rana saw him looking and waved, laughing.

“And where were they?” asked Jack.

“They won’t say, except it was ‘in the woods playing’. They had Dorcas and Katie going for a while. But no harm done.”

“There are things we should discuss,” said Grandpa to Hart. “Where are Ossian and Doonya?”

“They sent a grig to say they’d be late. But it’s the party now. We can talk in the morning.”

Jack and Petros made a beeline for the food. It had been a good day: they had been to see an enchantress, apart from the zap (secretly Petros was quite proud of this) she had treated them well, times were changing and they felt part of it, important.

When the sun had gone down and twilight was just upon them, people started to move outside for the moment when day and night would meet on equal terms. In the western sky, a meteor shower heralded the moment when the year turned into a new quarter. All raised their goblets to the sky and chorused, “Equinox!”

Jack half-awoke at dawn and could hear his grandfather and uncles talking downstairs, but he was too tired to get up. When he came down for breakfast two hours later and pressed them for information, Doonya seemed irritable.

“Not now, Jack. We’ve got to get back to the castle. We must consult the manuscripts, and you’ll be late if we don’t get a move on.”

“He’s right,” Grandpa concurred.

Jack ate in silence. They had all shared in yesterday’s adventure, surely they should all discuss what they knew? But the adults were not for changing their minds, and after a hurried breakfast, they set out for the low road. Striding ahead, Doonya got to the mound first.

“Come on,” he announced sharply. “You have your apprenticeships to go to, and we have much to do.”

As Rana and Lizzie caught up, taking as long as they dared, Grandpa ushered them towards their parents on the low road entrance.

“Come along, girls,” he said quickly. “You need to get going too.”

Doonya put his arms around their shoulders.

“Wind-flock castle!”

Within seconds, Jack and Petros were also flying back to the castle with Grandpa. By the time they reached the Shian square, Rana and Lizzie had run ahead to the house, eager to check that Nuxie was all right. Jack and Petros had time only to pick up their satchels and make off for their morning’s work.

When Jack reached Gilmore’s workshop, the only other person there was Freya.

“Hiya, Jack,” she called. “Did you have a good time at Keldy last night? We heard your aunt and uncle were having a party.”

“It was great. We went into the woods again to see …” Jack’s voice trailed off. Should he be telling others what they had done?

“It’s all right, you don’t have to say.” Freya saved him the embarrassment of trying to back down. “I’ll hear anyway; your cousins can’t keep a secret.”

“If you mean Rana and Lizzie, they didn’t come with us,” said Jack curtly, and was surprised when Freya just smiled back.

“Gilmore’s not going to be in ’til later, and Doxer’s sick today. D’you want to see some special cloth?”

Jack looked around. It was certainly quieter than usual.

“Where’s Fenrig?”

“Dunno. He suits himself most of the time. I don’t think he’s been sent home, though. Come here. I’ll show you what I’m working on.”

Jack examined the dark green shiny bonnet Freya was sewing. The cloth almost glowed.

“It’s a shifter,” explained Freya. “When you put it on, you move sideways or backwards ten or fifteen yards. It’s for getting you out of a tight spot. You have to be quick, though, and keep moving. Whoever’s after you won’t wait around.”

“Can I try it?”

“It’s not finished yet. I might let you try it in a few days. But don’t say anything to Gilmore. You know how strict he is.”

Gilmore, when he finally arrived, was flustered, and not inclined to speak. When Jack asked what he should do next, Gilmore snapped back irritably that Jack was old enough to find things to do for himself.

Jack’s day was not improved by Murkle’s lesson. Once again the great storyteller launched into a lengthy tale about a brave Shian prince, and once again his room became a sleepy retreat from the outside world for several young apprentices. Most had stopped listening after a few minutes and were trying to find something – anything – to hold their attention. Jack sat and thought about Tamlina’s chant.

“
A thief’s brief reward
.” So someone had stolen the Cup. Well, that didn’t help much. Who? And where was it now? “
Its future determined by fire and by sword
.” Jack resolved to ask Grandpa about this as soon as the lesson ended. And what about the ram’s horn? If it was that important, he would have to keep it with him at all times. He must have been thinking hard about the visit to Keldy, because mercifully the time slipped by quickly. However, when he got home, his aunt informed him that Grandpa was not likely to be back until much later.

“He’s got things to see to, dear,” she explained. “And I’m not sure you young ones should be getting mixed up in all this.”

Rana and Lizzie were playing noisily in the front room. Jack went in to see what they were up to.

“We know something you don’t,” teased Lizzie.

“Heard it,” said Jack, refusing to rise to the bait.

“Did you enjoy your trip to see you-know-who yesterday?” asked Rana innocently.

“What d’you mean? Who’re you talking about?”

“Oh, nothing,” replied Rana airily. “We just thought maybe you wanted to tell us some of your stories.” She eyed him playfully. “She did keep you waiting an awful long time, though.”

“It
was
you, wasn’t it?” shouted Jack. “One time I was sure I’d heard you. How’d you manage it?”

“Manage what?” said Lizzie, her eyes wide open in fake surprise.

“You know what I mean,” said Jack, recovering his poise. “You followed us, didn’t you? And Tamlina nearly discovered you too. She sensed five of us there.”

“You mean you went to see that old hag?” asked Rana in a mock serious voice, but, unable to keep a straight face, she promptly burst out laughing, and was joined by her sister.

Realising he would get nowhere with them on his own, Jack resolved to wait for Petros. But his cousin was late that day, only turning up when Uncle Doonya and Grandpa returned at suppertime. As they all sat around the table, Rana and Lizzie kept giggling and whispering to each other. Catching the flow of Jack’s increasing exasperation, Grandpa forestalled any shouting.

“Jack, we’ll have a chat after supper about yesterday. I’m sorry, but there really wasn’t time this morning.”

After supper, Grandpa ushered Jack, Petros and Doonya into the front room.

“Jack,” he began, stroking his beard, “we have some news for you. Your uncle and Ossian went to the History Pool, as you know. And Doonya has something to tell you.”

“Word had got around, and there were many creatures by the Pool. But it knows who’s watching, somehow. When it was our turn we looked in, and …” He took a deep breath. “We saw your father, Jack. Going through the woods of Keldy all those years ago with Konan the Brashat. And it’s like Tamlina told you. They were trying to trick each other.”

Jack’s felt his heart jump up his throat. For years he had wanted to find out about his father; now he dreaded hearing more.

“Your father and Konan started arguing, then fighting, then the Grey arrived.”

Jack gasped.

“She quickly suspended the two of them. We saw them hanging, frozen, in the dark. Then the waters became murky again. When they cleared, it was just your father there.”

“Jack,” Grandpa’s voice was soothing. “It tells us he didn’t betray us. And although the Grey’s curse is strong, there may be ways to break it.”

“What … what did he look like?” Jack knew it was an odd question, but his brain was having trouble processing this new information.

“Jack, he was suspended,” said Doonya softly. “It’s like the body is frozen – it looks lifeless.”

“But you get suspended for committing serious crimes.”

“It’s the Grey we’re dealing with, Jack. She makes her own rules.”

“What can break the curse?” whispered Jack.

“Until we find him, that’s impossible to say,” said Grandpa gently. “It depends what the Grey has done to him. He looked suspended. There may be more. But her power is not absolute, she
can
be beaten.”

“How did Konan escape, then?” asked Petros. “Maybe the Brashat did a deal with the Grey.”

“The Grey doesn’t ‘do’ deals. She’s an agent of despair and death,” said Doonya. “Being a Brashat won’t protect you from that.”

“But the Brashat do live longer than us, don’t they?” pointed out Petros. “That might mean they have some influence with death.”

“They
want
influence with death – that’s why I’m sure they’d like to get the Cup. They’ll think it’ll let them live forever. But they don’t have it yet. And the Grey cursed both of them. We don’t know how Konan got away.”

“Tamlina said I might have met Konan,” said Jack softly. “But I would know if I had, wouldn’t I?”

“Tamlina speaks in riddles sometimes – who knows what she meant? There are many things we still have to figure out, including where the Cup is. She was specific about asking Daid’s advice, though. He was away for Equinox, but he’ll be back tomorrow.”