The Pearl Quest
Authors: Gill Vickery
To Elizabeth, my DragonDaughter.
With many thanks to David Wheeler, the Swan Herd of
Abbotsbury Swannery, for his invaluable help and advice.
Any swan-related errors are entirely the author's own.
Chapter Two: The Swans of Holmurholt
Chapter Six: Mending and Unmending
Chapter Seven: The Book of Shadows
Chapter Nine: Healing and Mending
Chapter Ten: The Trickery of the High Witches
Chapter Eleven: All the Jewels of Power
Chapter Twelve: Return to Drakelow
The six High Witch sisters of Tulay stole the DragonQueen's jewels of power. In revenge, a dragon kidnapped the youngest witch's child, a girl called Tia. Raised by the dragons and tormented for being a witch-brat, Tia set out to steal back the jewels to prove herself a true DragonChild. She is helped in the quest by her DragonBrother, Finn, who has the gift of being able to blend invisibly into any background, and a jackdaw called Loki.
Tia has recovered five jewels: the emerald, which grants the power to talk to animals, the opal, which lets its owner change shape, the topaz, which controls the weather, the sapphire which can transport the holder anywhere in the blink of an eye and the ruby which stops time. Finn safeguards the jewels, except for the emerald which Tia keeps with her so that she can talk to Loki.
Now there is just one jewel left to steal: the pearl which heals and mends. But this gem is in the power of Tia's own mother, the High Witch Ondine, who knows that the thief is coming for her pearl. Tia is in greater danger than at any time in her quest.
The Shadow Snake
T
he spell against dragons wrapped itself like a great shadowy snake round the lands of Holmurholt. It whipped along the hills encircling the plain and the rivers below. The ghostly serpent's head darted restlessly here and there, its eyes flickering, its tongue dabbing in and out. Tia shivered.
Her DragonBrother, Finn, was looking down on Tulay's five sparkling rivers flowing into a huge blue lake set in the middle of the plain. Dozens of small islands, crowded with buildings, dotted the water.
âI'd love a swim,' the little dragon said wistfully.
Tia rounded fiercely on her DragonBrother. âYou mustn't even think of trying.' Finn couldn't see the spell and had no idea how powerful it was.
âI could disguise myself. I've been in all the other lands and towns and never come to any harm.'
âThis is different,' Tia insisted. âThe High Witch must know that all the other jewels have been stolen and she'll be protecting the pearl with her most powerful magic. The spell against dragons will be even stronger than the one that caught me in Stoplar when I changed into a dragon.'
Loki the jackdaw was perching on the dragon's shoulder. âDoes Finn want to go into Holmurholt?' he asked Tia.
She nodded. âBut I'm sure the High Witch has made the spell stronger than ever.'
Loki hopped onto the grass. âI'll try and keep him from going into Holmurholt, though it's hard when I can't speak to him.'
Tia told Finn what the jackdaw had said to her. The little dragon puffed out a cloud of hot smoke over both of them. Loki squawked in protest and flew up into a tree.
âI think you should give me the emerald to look after,' Finn said to Tia.
âWhy?' Tia said, surprised. âI know the other jewels are too strong for me to use but the emerald is safe.'
âHigh Witch Hyldi almost snatched it from you when you were fighting her in Askarlend. This High Witch might do the same. She'd find a way to use it to work evil magic.'
That was true. All the same, Tia didn't want to surrender the emerald. âHow will I talk to Loki?'
âYou won't be able to.' Finn said. This time he blew sweet-smelling smoke gently over Tia. âYou'll have to give up the emerald soon anyway and give it back to the DragonQueen.'
Tia knew Finn was right. She unfastened the chain round her neck and slipped off the emerald ring she'd kept for so long. It lay in her palm, glinting in dozens of shades from the deep green of the ocean depths to the pale jade of a newly unfurled leaf.
Reluctantly she thrust the ring at Finn. Now her chain only carried the locket with pictures of her lost parents in it.
Finn delicately unpicked the emerald's gold setting with his claws and freed the jewel. He tossed the ring away. âPut the emerald in the pouch.'
Tia opened the pouch Finn wore round his neck and dropped the emerald inside where it lay with the opal, the topaz, the sapphire and the ruby.
âYou'd better leave your locket as well,' Finn said. âSheâ¦you know, the High Witchâ¦' He meant Tia's mother. âShe might recognise it. She'd want to know how you got hold of it.'
Tia opened the locket. She'd covered the picture of her mother but she took a last look at the portrait
of her beloved father before she snapped it shut. She dropped the chain and locket into the pouch. âIt feels strange without them.'
Finn butted her shoulder gently with his nose. âWill you be all right when you see her?'
âYes. She stole the pearl and I'm going to get it back. I don't care about anything else.'
Tia hugged Finn's muzzle, picked up her bag and walked down the hill towards Holmurholt.
Tia made good progress down the grassy hillsides and past clumps of beech trees until she came to the snake spell. Even though it only attacked dragons Tia paused when she saw its ugly head and huge fangs close to.
She waited for the head to slither past as the spell snake hurtled on its way around the border of Holmurholt.
âNow!' Tia told herself and plunged into the spell. It was hard to see inside the shadowy snake, and she stumbled and fell. Before she could scramble to her feet the snake was back, its gaping mouth heading straight for her. Tia closed her eyes as the gigantic jaws engulfed her.
It can't hurt me
, she thought and threw herself down the hill. She rolled over, faster and faster, until she crashed into a tree and all the breath was knocked out of her in a whoosh.
She lay for a while getting her breath back, then opened her eyes. The blue sky of early summer arced over her and beech leaves rustled in a breeze. She sat up. Above her the snake spell squirmed along the hilltops.
âI'm glad that's over,' she said.
She got to her feet and walked on towards the plain.
The Swans of Holmurholt
Swathes of reeds, lush green fields and groves of trees grew between the five rivers. Boats, large and small, plied up and down. When they reached the central lake they passed under bridges linking the small islands. Tall, stately buildings crowded the centre of each island, leaving a fringe of grass and reeds at their edges.
Tia crossed from island to island, weaving through bustling streets, past houses, inns, workplaces and shops. She stopped and peered curiously into a shop selling feather goods. Plumes like cascades of white water sprang from hats and helmets. Snowy feathers trimmed the edges of garments. There was even a cloak made entirely of black and white plumage.
There were smaller things too: long feathery scarves, fans and quill pens.
Tia walked on until she was close to the centre of the lake where the largest island was. To her surprise, the palace there wasn't as spectacular as those of the other High Witches. It was more like an imposing and elegant house. The small clusters of dwellings around it were also modest. They were built of wood with thatched or grass roofs. Most had pens with goats or pigs, and hens.
But what surprised Tia most were the hundreds of swans floating on the broad stretch of lake that surrounded the island, cutting it off from the others. Even more swans were grazing on the grassy margins of the large island and the ones nearest to it. Others were foraging in rivulets and pools or sitting on reedy nests. It was late spring. The swans' eggs would soon hatch.
âHelp!'
Tia swung round. A nesting swan was puffing herself up and beating her wings at a fox. It darted to one side. The swan hissed, neck snaking out in attack. Tia saw another fox hanging onto the bird's tail.
She ran to help. Her boots sank into the boggy ground and she struggled to pull her feet free.
âHelp me!' the swan called again. The fox in front of her caught her neck and bit down. The swan flung it off but the other fox dragged harder at her tail.
Tia pulled her sling and two pebbles from her pocket. She quickly hurled one after the other. Both found their mark and the foxes leaped into the air.
âLeave that bird alone!' Tia shouted. With a heave she tore her feet free and squelched towards the foxes, her sling humming.
âI warned you!' She let fly and both foxes ran, the stone bouncing after them.