The Golden Acorn - Catherine Cooper [40]
Orin had already snuggled down on Jack’s pillow. He was glad he wasn’t alone; it was going to be a long night. He must have finally dropped off to sleep because the next thing he felt was something hard prodding him awake. It was an effort to wake up but he managed to open his eyes before an extremely hard beak poked him again.
‘It’s time,’ Camelin croaked. ‘This is going to be fun!’
It probably would be for Camelin. He didn’t have to walk all the way to the summit of Glasruhen Hill. Jack hadn’t told Nora or Elan he wasn’t very good at getting up in the mornings. This morning was worse. His stomach churned. Camelin must have heard it.
‘We can’t eat until Nora’s done the transformation so the sooner we get on with it the better.’
‘I’m fine,’ Jack assured him. ‘I’m not hungry, just a bit nervous.’
The morning air was fresh and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. As they made their way down to the end of the garden Jack could feel the dew from the grass seeping through his trainers. He’d left his wand in the bedroom but the golden acorn was in his jacket pocket. Nora stood before the Yews and raised her arms. As they parted Camelin flew off towards the hill.
‘See you at the top,’ he croaked.
The climb through the woods wasn’t as strenuous as Jack had imagined. Nora started to explain what would happen, or what she thought was going to happen.
‘I’ve never had to perform a transformation involving anyone changing back again before.’
‘I feel a bit shaky. Are you sure this isn’t going to hurt?’
‘Not exactly. Everyone’s different and it’s a long time since I’ve transformed anyone. If you’d been born a shape shifter you’d be able to transform from one form to another without even thinking about it.’
Born a shape shifter... Jack remembered reading the same words in his Book of Shadows. He realised he hadn’t fully understood what they’d meant.
Nora continued explaining.
‘Some people have the ability to change into something else without having to perform complicated rituals.’
Jack wasn’t looking forward to his body being scrunched down to the size of a raven but he’d promised to help. He knew he’d have to go through with the ritual. Although he was nervous, his excitement was greater than his fear and now he longed to be able to fly like Camelin.
‘I expect for the first few times it’s going to take some getting used to,’ continued Nora. ‘But by the end of the weekend you should be fine.’
Jack hoped so.
It wasn’t long before they left the gentle incline that led from the bottom of Nora’s garden to the slopes of the hill. Here the path grew steeper and every so often Jack had to stop to catch his breath. As they neared the summit Camelin reappeared and reported that the whole area was clear. Not one person had ventured out to watch the sun rise.
‘Everyone used to come up here. There’d be feasting and singing but that was such a long time ago now,’ said Nora sadly.
‘It’s too far for most people to be bothered walking up to the top,’ croaked Camelin. ‘But when you can fly we can come up here all the time.’
Jack thought he’d rather fly to the summit than walk any day. He was out of breath and feeling very hot.
‘We’re here,’ Nora announced as she pointed to an outcrop of rock. ‘We’d better get ready. It can’t be long now until the sun rises.’
Jack gave the golden acorn to Nora. She gave the wing feather to Camelin and her cloak to Jack. He followed Camelin to a hollow at the base of the rocks. Nora had been right. He wasn’t going to be visible from the main path but he was glad he’d got the cloak. He quickly undressed and put his clothes safely in the crevice. It was difficult to