The Lost Treasure of Annwn (18 page)

‘If you don't mind I'd like to watch the game.'

‘See you later then, if you need anything you know where I'll be.'

Jack went over to the trees at the other side of the pitch. From here he could see over the small hedge into the football field. He wasn't sure he could vault the hedge but he knew he could squeeze under it if he needed to.

It was hard to concentrate on the match. The only good thing was that he was in the shade. Jack hoped the frequent clapping wouldn't prevent him from hearing anything that might be happening in the back lane. There was a loud crack as the opposing team's batsman hit a six. Jack strained to listen; he thought he'd heard a scream. What should he do? A loud buzzing in his ear distracted him.

‘It's started,' shouted the Dorysk.

Jack didn't need to think, his whole body shook, not with fear but with anger. He dropped to the floor and wriggled under the hedge. He was halfway through when he heard the gang running towards him. He knew they'd see him but he didn't care. He'd face them and tell them what he thought of them for being so horrid to Elan. The boys were shouting as they reached the bottom of the field. They yelled as they scrambled over the fence. Jack couldn't believe his eyes as Max, Benbow, Danny and Techno all ran past him and vaulted over the hedge into the cricket field. They'd nothing on except their underpants. Close behind them was a swarm of bees. He watched as they fled over the pitch. The crowd stood, some shouted, others pointed but most of them were laughing. One of the police on duty began to chase after the gang. Jack was about to go and find Elan when Tank also burst over the fence. He had one very large bee chasing him. Jack had never met Veronica but he knew this had to be her. He couldn't imagine any of the fairies he'd met so far looking so angry. Tank ignored Jack and leapt over the cricket club hedge. As he ran after the gang Jack could see his back was streaked with bird droppings. Camelin swooped down to the verge.

‘Did you see that?'

‘I did but where's Elan? Is she alright?'

‘Did you see his back?'

‘I did, but never mind his back, where's Elan?'

Jack heard Elan laugh as she turned the corner of the back lane.

‘I'm here, did you see them?'

Jack frowned at them both.

‘I've been worried sick for days and you two think it's funny.'

‘Oh Jack, I told you not to worry. I was planning on teaching them a lesson. I thought I'd make sure the bucket tipped back on them instead of on me.'

‘But I thought we couldn't use magic.'

‘You can't but there's nothing to stop me from defending myself; I'm not from this world and the same rules don't apply. Anyway… I didn't have to do anything. Their own stupidity sorted them out.'

‘What do you mean?'

‘Let's go and sit under the tree in the shade and Camelin can start. He saw all of it and I'll fill in the bits I know.'

Jack and Elan squeezed under the hedge and sat in the shade of the tree.

‘Well?' said Jack. ‘Don't leave me in suspense.'

Elan laughed again as Camelin gave a couple of coughs before beginning.

‘You should have seen them. I told you they had trouble opening the tins. Well they'd managed to get syrup everywhere. It was on the grass, on the trees, on their clothes and just as Elan was about to come through the garden gate, one of them shouted ants. Then the other three shouted too and started screaming. That's when they started tearing their clothes off. They started swatting the ants on their bodies and stamping on the ones on the grass, which was a big mistake.'

‘Twink came to find me,' interrupted Elan. ‘I don't know how any of the ants survived but they did, and by then the fairies were really annoyed. The boys were mistreating the ants and weren't going to stop. They instantly transformed into bees, just like they did in the field when Max tried to squash the spider.'

‘Did you ploop on them?' Jack asked Camelin.

‘Didn't have to, got my own Flying Squad. Think they got a bit carried away though. I hope they taught Tank a lesson.'

‘He still had his clothes on when he passed me,' added Jack.

‘I think I can explain what happened there,' said the Dorysk as he flew over the hedge. ‘When the gang started shouting, Tank leapt out from the hedge with the pillowcase. When he saw Elan wasn't there he went back behind the tree. Max shouted for him to leave the feathers and help. That's when he bumped into Veronica. He flung his arms about and tried to hit her, which was enough to make her very annoyed. She'll not give up chasing him now till he gets indoors with the windows shut. It's going to take her days to calm down after this.'

Jack looked over to the pitch where play had resumed. He couldn't see any of the gang; they'd already disappeared into the next field. The police officer had given up chasing them and was on his way back to the pavilion. Jack finally laughed as he replayed the scene in his head. Elan, Camelin and the Dorysk laughed too. Jack wiped the tears from his eyes, his chest hurt and when he finally managed to calm down he lay on his back and smiled.

‘So you were never in any real danger?'

‘I told you it would be alright didn't I?'

‘They're going to be even more angry now, aren't they?'

Elan laughed.

‘But we're going to deal with it aren't we?'

‘We are,' came a chorus from a group of starlings who were perched next to Camelin in the tree.

‘Thanks everyone,' said Jack. It was good not to feel alone even though his friends weren't the usual kind.

 

 

 

THROUGH THE PORTAL

For the next few days Jack and Elan helped Grandad in the shed. The new Comet was taking shape and beginning to look more and more like a buggy. Occasionally Jack caught sight of Camelin sitting in one of the trees. He knew he wasn't happy about being left out but there wasn't anything Jack could do or say that would make him feel better about the situation. Grandad wanted to get as much of the buggy finished as possible before the Flower Show. Work would have to stop anyway when Jack went to stay at Ewell House.

Every so often Jack would have a little chuckle to himself when he thought about the gang being chased across the cricket pitch in their underpants. There'd been a report in the local paper about the incident but it didn't refer to the failed ambush. The gang were described as inconsiderate youths and their run through the match was seen as a deliberate attempt to disrupt the game. Since the incident, the Flying Squad hadn't seen much of the boys. They hadn't met together or been into town. Jack was relieved. Maybe they would leave him alone now, he certainly hoped so. Jack was trying to take Camelin's advice and think like a raven but it wasn't really helping. It only made him miss Camelin's company. They'd only been able to send brief messages to each other over the past few days.

By late Wednesday afternoon the pile of wood, wheels and metal had been transformed into something resembling a rocket. The buggy looked almost identical to the picture in the plan except that they'd decided to leave the hardboard flames off. Even without the paint it looked good. After Elan had said goodbye, and gone through the hedge at the bottom of the garden, Jack was exhausted. Grandad put two wooden crates in the doorway before going back to the house. Jack did a final tidy up and when Grandad returned with a cup of tea for them both, they sat on the crates and admired their work.

‘We've done well,' said Grandad. ‘A lick of paint, a few tweaks here and there and she'll be ready for a test run next week.'

‘Test run?'

‘We'll need to test her to see how she performs. The course goes around Monument Hill. Whoever's driving won't be allowed out of the driving seat. On the uphill stretches the one riding on the tailgate can get off and help push.'

‘Aren't we both allowed to push?'

‘Not a chance, that's what makes it even more of a challenge. That's why we need a third member for the team; their job is to help push the buggy up the steepest part at the end. The driver's on his own for the last downhill stretch. The other two have to run down the slope to the finish. The clock only stops when all the team members are across the line.'

Jack wished he'd read the rules before he'd agreed to enter the race. It had all sounded exciting when Grandad had told him about the races he'd been in but now Jack was involved he'd didn't feel quite the same. He knew he wasn't strong enough to push the buggy uphill on his own and using magic would be out of the question.

‘Will you or Elan be driving?'

‘I don't know. It's not something we've discussed.

‘We used to have a rule, whoever was the strongest pushed and the lightest would be the driver.'

‘Elan's a lot stronger than me.'

‘Really! She looks such a delicate little thing.'

Jack smiled. He'd never really thought of Elan as delicate.

‘I'll talk to her about it over the weekend.'

‘Best thing to do is for you both to have a go. Driving isn't for everyone. Those buggies pick up a lot of speed on the downhill and whoever's riding the tailgate needs to be a good runner too. We'll all go over to Monument Hill next week so you can get a feel for the route. We'll have time to make any adjustments and give her a second coat of paint before the race.'

‘Were you ever the driver?'

‘Oh yes, I was a slip of a lad like you when I was young, I didn't weigh much in those days. The lighter the driver, the easier it was for the others to push, not so much weight to get up to the top of the hill.'

Both Jack and Grandad sat in silence for a while and admired the Comet. Eventually Grandad stood up and handed Jack his mug before taking the wedge out from under one of the doors.

‘I think it's time we went in, don't you?'

 

Jack had almost finished packing when he heard a gentle tapping on the window. As he looked round he could see Orin was already at the windowpane. He could tell from the way her tail curled at the end that it was someone she was happy to see.

‘Come in Motley,' said Jack as he opened the window.

‘Don't mind if I do, don't mind if I do.'