The Golden Acorn - Catherine Cooper [69]
‘We’ve looked in all the caves around the bottom of the Ridgeway and Elan’s looked in all the crags and caves on top. There’s no trace of anyone living there. She said to tell you she won’t be back until later. She’s going to carry on for a while.’
‘What can we do to help?’ Jack asked. ‘It seems a waste of time for us to sit around doing nothing.’
‘You’re right,’ said Nora. ‘There’s a lot we’ve got to do before the solstice and at least you two can be putting in some practice.’
‘I meant looking for Pycroft and the golden acorn.’
‘I know you did, but there’s something Camelin has to teach you before the ritual. If you don’t get it right, you won’t be able to break through the thin veil that separates the window in time from the here and now. You might as well make a start.’
Jack looked at Camelin who puffed his chest feathers out importantly and eagerly began to explain.
‘You know how everything has to be equal?’
Jack nodded.
‘Well, we’ll have to go to the top of Glasruhen Hill to where the old hill fort used to be. It was built around the summit. Then we’ve got to start off flying towards each other from either end of the old gateways at exactly the same speed. When we pass each other in the middle, at exactly the same time, we’ll break through the window into the past.’
‘It’s the only way the window in time can be opened,’ continued Nora.
‘But I thought you were going to perform a ritual to do that!’ exclaimed Jack.
‘The ritual is to make sure we send you back to the right time and place. It’s bad enough you’ve got to return to such troubled times. You don’t want to be there any longer than you need be.’
Jack realised it wasn’t going to be easy flying at the same speed as Camelin. He was a far stronger flyer, with years of experience.
‘You’re going to have to be very careful, both of you, when you go back into the past, especially you Jack,’ continued Nora. ‘Once you’ve transformed into a boy you’re going to have to keep out of sight and avoid being caught.’
‘But… I thought I’d be staying as a raven.’
‘You will until you locate the plates. Once you find them you’ll need to get them into the nearest well or spring and you won’t be able to do that as a raven. The plates will be too big and heavy to lift in your beak. Camelin can’t transform into a boy anymore so you’ll have to move the cauldron plates on your own.’
Jack hoped they’d be able to find the missing plates quickly. He’d been reading about the Roman occupation of Britain and if he was caught with a Druid’s cauldron plates he’d be in real danger. He might never make it home again.
For the rest of the day Jack and Camelin practiced flying towards each other. As Jack predicted, it wasn’t easy. When Elan returned she took a pole with a large hoop attached to the top down to the bottom meadow. She paced out the length they’d each need to fly and pushed the pole into the soft ground exactly in the middle.
‘If you use this it will make it easier for you to practice,’ she told them. ‘It needs to be perfect. You’ll only get the one chance when we perform the ritual. And, don’t forget, with the sun going down the light will be fading.’
Even after hours of practice it wasn’t any easier. Jack felt frustrated and cross because he couldn’t get it right. Camelin tried to compensate for Jack’s lack of speed, but even that didn’t help.
‘We’ve got the next two weeks to practice,’ Camelin said cheerfully. ‘We’ll get it right eventually.’
The next few days passed quickly. Jack made his way to Ewell House on his own each night after school. Elan was busy searching the countryside with Charkle and Timmery for signs of the Bogie. He continued to do his homework in Nora’s library as quickly as he could, then he transformed and practised with Camelin until it was time to go home.
It became a nightly routine for them to take off from opposite ends of the meadow