"That"s Lawse Mountain." He nodded towards a great hill that rose above the loch. "And over there"s the Dameve village. We mostly keep away from them."
""Dameve village"?" asked Jack.
Ossian looked at him closely. "It means "human", but don"t say it near Dad. Come on, I"ll show you somethin"."
They were near the far side of the loch now. Ossian shipped the oars inside the boat, which bobbed up and down gently. Taking a small bottle out of his pocket, he dribbled the contents over the side. After a minute or so, he called out softly, "Hicka, hicka, yakooshk."
Jack and Petros watched in wonder as the water around the boat started to tremble. Suddenly, a horse"s head broke the surface of the water.
"It"s a kelpie!" yelped Petros.
"Shh!" urged Ossian. "He doesn"t know you yet."
Ossian muttered soothing sounds were they words? that neither Jack nor Petros understood. The kelpie seemed rea.s.sured, for it remained with its face above the surface. Then, to Jack and Petros"s astonishment, it appeared to be talking back.
Jack whispered to Petros, "I"ve never seen a kelpie before. Is it safe?"
"It"s a water horse," answered Petros out of the corner of his mouth, clearly not wanting to upset the creature. "They"re dangerous to Dameves, but they"re usually fine with Shian."
You"re a quarter Dameve yourself, if it comes to that, thought Jack, but said nothing. Ossian and the kelpie carried on their strange conversation.
"I"ve told him you"re my cousins," Ossian said sternly. "He"s heard about you, Jack."
Jack"s eyes nearly popped out of his head. "How can he have heard of me?!"
"He"s heard about your father. He says there are creatures nearby who know what happened."
Ossian avoided looking at Jack, who sensed this was not the whole story. Jack was caught in a dilemma. Did he want to know the truth, whatever it was? Quickly he made his mind up.
"Who? If there"s anyone here who knows more, I want to meet them."
"It"s no" that simple," replied Ossian evasively. "The creatures he talked about bide in the woods; some o" them don"t like visitors."
"I still want to see them," stated Jack emphatically. "If they know what happened to my father then I"m ent.i.tled to know."
"Do we have to go?" asked Petros. "Maybe we should get Dad or Uncle Hart to come with us."
"We don"t need any of the adults," Jack insisted. "You know your way around the woods, don"t you, Ossian?"
Ossian"s pride was at stake. "All right. But you have to do what I say. No" everyone in there welcomes visitors."
He began rowing over to the other side of the loch. Reaching the water"s edge, the boys clambered out, and Ossian silently led the way up into the woods. Jack couldn"t resist shuffling the dead leaves on the ground, but Ossian turned round and glared at him to stop. After fifteen minutes or so, he paused and held up his hand. Jack and Petros halted abruptly, neither making any sound. Turning round, Ossian motioned to them to remain still. He then edged slowly towards a large oak. Standing erect, he called out in what he hoped was an authoritative voice, "I am Ossian. I crave the wisdom o" the spirit o" this great tree."
After a minute or two, the leaves of the tree began to shake, and a soft rumbling came up from the ground.
"I am Ossian, son o" Hart. I wish to consult the spirit."
The rumbling faded. Then, from somewhere deep inside the trunk, a booming voice came. "Speak, Ossian, son o" Hart. But tell me, who are these strangers ye"ve broucht?"
"Spirit, these are my cousins from Rangie. The great kelpie told me that you know what happened to Jack"s father, Phineas o" Rangie."
"The kelpie had nae business tae be tellin" ye this, Ossian, son o" Hart. And ye"re very bold tae come this way yersel"."
"But can you tell him anythin"?" Ossian persisted.
There was silence. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Jack noticed a tree root emerge slowly from the ground and edge towards Ossian"s feet. He stared in disbelief then suddenly darted forward, pulling his cousin back.
"Look out, Ossian!"
Ossian saw the root and instinctively leapt back, but instead of retreating with him, Jack stood there defiantly. Petros took half a pace forward, his arm out to restrain Jack, then stepped back.
"I am Jack Shian from Rangie," Jack called. "We have come for information. If you can tell me where my father is, I shall be grateful."
For a moment there was silence. Jack"s initial courage began to waver. Then the spirit spoke again.
"Ye"re also bold, Jack Shian. Would ye tak" the punishment that should have gone tae yer cousin?"
"I would," replied Jack, his boldness returning. "But I seek information. Do you have the information I ask for?"
Another pause.
"Yer bravery does ye credit," the tree spirit said at last. "But the water horse exaggerated. Aye, the Oakshee hear mony things, and Phineas from Rangie was travelling north wi" Konan the Brashat some years ago. They made camp near here, but mair than that I canna say. There are ithers who may ken mair than I. Seek ye Tamlina."
After a pause, the voice came again. "Now go. Jack o" Rangie, yer courage will tak" ye far. As for ye, Ossian, son o" Hart, tak" care. There are ways o" consultin" the Oakshee. This time, ye may leave in peace."
As the tree root disappeared, Jack turned to face the others.
"Let"s get out of here."
Petros watched Jack sullenly as they walked along. While he admired his bravery, he resented Jack"s having taken the limelight. Unsure of what to say to Jack, Petros turned on Ossian instead as they untied the boat.
"What did you do to upset it, Ossian? I thought you knew your way around these woods."
"I do. But we should"ve sent someone ahead to let the Oakshee know we were comin". Like I said, they don"t always like visitors." As he rowed, Ossian kept his eyes fixed firmly on his own feet.
Who was Tamlina? Jack had heard the name before, but where? His grandfather? And how could she know about his father? It grated that others knew more than he did.
As the boat approached the bridge, Ossian looked up at Jack. He gulped once or twice before muttering, "Thanks."
"No more "Rabbit", then. OK?"
Ossian nodded.
10.
Tamlina
The next few days pa.s.sed in a haze of sunshine, rowing on the loch and playing on the outskirts of the woods. But all too soon the final day came, and after lunch Jack and the others went upstairs to pack. As Jack and Petros came downstairs, Ossian appeared at the front door.
"I"ve a surprise for you. Come on, it"ll take a while to get there."
Rana and Lizzie bounded down the stairs, each trying to reach the bottom first.
"Where are you going?" called out Rana.
"Shhh!" hissed Ossian, glancing nervously towards the kitchen. His face registered dismay as his mother appeared.
"Where are you off to? Mind that they"re leaving before suppertime."
"I"m just goin" to show them the waterfall again," said Ossian. "We"ll be back soon."
"Well, don"t be long. Jack and Petros start work tomorrow, they mustn"t be late."
The boys made their way outside, but were inevitably followed by Rana and Lizzie.
"Where are we going?" asked Lizzie.
"What d"you mean, "we"?" said Ossian. "This is boys" stuff. You can go and play by yourselves."
"If you don"t let us come along, we"ll tell Aunt Dorcas," said Rana simply.
Seeing that he had been out-manoeuvred, Ossian motioned to the girls to follow. Although his pace was fast for them, they knew that complaining was not an option. A good fifteen minutes later Ossian stopped and turned round.
"We"re goin" to see someone," he stated simply. "And you"ve to swear not to tell Dad. He"ll go spare if he finds out, so you"ll all be in trouble too. Got that?" The others indicated a.s.sent.
"Jack," continued Ossian, "d"you remember the Oakshee mentionin" Tamlina? Well, I"ve found out where she is today."
"What were the Oakshee like?" asked Rana, wide-eyed. "Dad says they can be dangerous."
"Never heed them now," said Ossian irritably. "I"ve sent a grig ahead to let her know we"re comin". We don"t want a repeat o" last time."
"Who is Tamlina?" asked Jack. "I"m sure I"ve heard the name before somewhere."
"She"s the Enchantress," explained Ossian. "And today she"s comin" to collect plants near here. A Ghillie-Doo told me last night."
"A what?" said Petros.
"Ghillie-Doo. They"re tree guardians, they hear all sorts o" things. One o" them told me last night that Tamlina"s goin" to be near here today."
"D"you talk to trees a lot, then?" laughed Rana.
Ossian"s eyes narrowed.
"Just because you"ve no" met different Shian in your cosseted wee life doesn"t mean they"re no" important. This one knows a lot more than you, for a start."
Rana blushed, and averted her gaze.
"Which plants is she collecting?" asked Lizzie, breaking the awkward silence.
"There"s hawthorn here, but she does all sorts could be almost anythin"."
Reaching a small clearing, Ossian stopped. "We"ll wait here. The grig"ll find us."
"A grig"s like a pixie, right?" said Lizzie. "Mum told me. They"re friendly."
"It"s not "pixie", it"s "pisgie"," snorted Rana. "Only humans call them pixies."
Ossian withdrew a small pot of heather honey from his pocket. "We"ll have to pay her; they like this."
They all sat down in the clearing and waited. Small insects buzzed in the sunlight, and Jack started to feel sweat trickle down the back of his neck. He swiped irritably at the midges.
"Have you met Tamlina?" he asked Ossian. "What"s she like?"
"I"ve seen her once. She doesn"t go out o" her way to meet people, but if we"re lucky she"ll maybe tell us somethin"."
After what seemed like an eternity, Jack heard a faint whirring sound. There weren"t any grigs in Rangie, and he wasn"t quite sure what to expect.
A tiny winged creature flew towards them, no bigger than Jack"s hand. It flew straight to Ossian, and hovered in front of him, performing a bee-like dance. Ossian nodded.
"She"s nearby. She knew we were comin", but at least she doesn"t think we"re tryin" to sneak up on her. n.o.body"s to speak unless she asks a direct question, and be careful about lookin" her in the eye."
They made their way cautiously across the clearing and carried on along a barely discernible path. Little sunlight filtered down this far. They had walked only a couple of minutes when a young sapling fell across their path.
"That"s far enough!" commanded a voice.
Jack looked, but couldn"t see who was speaking. His heart started to beat more quickly, and the sweat now ran down his back.
"Yer grig telt me ye were comin", Ossian, son o" Hart. Ye dinna usually venture intae the woods this far. Whit brings ye here?"
Ossian looked vainly to see where the voice was coming from. As had happened when the Oakshee had tried to grab his ankles, Ossian didn"t or couldn"t speak. On impulse, Jack stepped forward, his blue eye flashing in the gloomy light.
"I am Jack Shian from Rangie," he announced. "The Oakshee told us you might know what has happened to my father, Phineas of Rangie."
He paused, unsure if he was facing in quite the right direction. Gradually, an old woman appeared in front of him. She wore a black full-length cloak, but her head was uncovered. Her eyes were set deep in her worn, creased face, and her hair was matted and dirty, its true colour unknowable. Jack guessed that she was old, but he had no idea how old.
"Ye"re a bold creature tae walk this far intae the woods," she said, staring at Jack.