Astrantian Secrets

© 2006 Ian G. Hobson

Luzula and the Biloba Tree

It was a lovely autumn day, though still quite hot for the time of year. The leaves on the trees had just begun to turn to red and gold. And in the river, big fat trout were breaking the surface to catch flies and then, with a flash of silvery scales, returning to the deep.

‘I like your parasol,’ said the sleek black cat, ‘it’s a lovely shade of green.’ The cat’s name was Thymus and he was sitting beside the water with his friends Luzula and Callistephus.

Ah yes, Callistephus. The boy who, at the age of nine, was bewitched by Asperula and thus unable to grow any older and forever condemned to be a wolf from dusk till dawn. A lot of water has flowed down the river since I told that story.

'Thank you,' replied Luzula as she lifted the parasol and gave it a twirl. She was a little over nine years old herself now and looked very pretty sitting on the grass in the simple pink dress that her mother had made for her. 'I found it not far from here, just lying beside the river.'

But the parasol was not all that Luzula had found that summer, though she had kept the other things secret.

She pushed a stray lock of her long dark hair back behind her ear and then frowned. 'My mother keeps saying it's too big for me and that I should return it to its owner. But it keeps me cool on the hottest of days.'

'Perhaps you should return it,' said Callistephus. He was a very honest boy. Sitting beside Luzula, in his faded and patched leather clothing, he studied the parasol, thinking that there was something very strange about it; it was such a bright green, the same colour as bracken when it was still young and fresh.

'But I don't know who it belongs to,' Luzula replied, sounding almost angry; which surprised Callistephus. Though recently he had noticed a change had come over his friend, as though something was troubling her. Perhaps it was just that she was growing up.

This thought saddened Callistephus, as he knew that one day Luzula would be a grownup and he would still be just a little boy. And that, in turn, made him think of the witch who had enchanted him. 'It might be Asperula's?' he suggested. 'Her cottage is not far from here.'

'No,' said Thymus, taking Luzula's side in what he thought was about to turn into an argument, 'Asperula's favourite colour is black.' He was a clever and intuitive cat, and he too had noticed a change in Luzula and was beginning to suspect what the change might be. 'No, your parasol would be far too bright a green for Asperula. And anyway, she's gone.'

'Gone?' said Callistephus and Luzula, both speaking at the same time. 'Gone where?'

'Who knows?' Thymus yawned and then stood and stretched. 'The last time I saw her she was not in a very good mood and I've not seen her since. And when I passed by her cottage the other day, that talking doorknocker of hers told me that she had packed her bag and her broomstick and left without saying a word.' Thymus yawned again. 'Well,' he said, 'it's time I was going home for my afternoon nap. See you soon I hope; and take care of that parasol Luzula; it really is an enchanting shade of green.'

Luzula and Callistephus said goodbye to Thymus and then sat for a while without speaking; just watching the river flow silently past, both of them busy with their own thoughts. But then Luzula folded her parasol and lay it on the grass and broke her silence. 'I found something the other day,' she said.

'What did you find?' asked Callistephus, absentmindedly. He was still thinking of Asperula. The last time he had seen her she had promised to find a way to undo the magic spells she had cast upon him. But now she was gone.

'You know the old hollow tree at the bottom of my garden?' said Luzula. 'The one I told you about?' Callistephus nodded. 'Well, I used to play inside it when I was smaller, and I can still just squeeze through the hole and into the hollow. But the other day I found a nest inside it, just a nest of dead leaves, but inside the nest I found an egg.'

'A bird's nest?' Callistephus looked interested, though he didn't think that finding a bird's nest was at all unusual. He found them all the time; though if there were eggs inside he never touched them because he knew how angry the mother birds could get.

'No, I don't think it's a bird's nest,' replied Luzula, 'because it's inside the tree and not in the branches. And that's not all; the egg is shaped like this.' Luzula drew a shape in the air with her finger, rather like a heart shape but without a point. 'And it's very big. Even bigger than a hen's egg; and I think that soon it's going to hatch.'

Now Callistephus really was interested. 'What kind of tree is it?' he asked as something in his memory stirred. 'Is it a Biloba tree with fan-shaped leaves and seeds as big as plums?'

'Yes.' Luzula nodded. 'How did you know?'

'Because, I think I remember my friend Athyrium telling me a story about that kind of tree.' Callistephus tried hard to think what the story was but at first he couldn't remember because Athyrium had told him so many stories.

'Athyrium the owl?' asked Luzula. 'The one who lives at the edge of the woods?'

'Yes, that's her. I took you to meet her once. She tells such good stories; but what was the one she told me about a Biloba tree?' Callistephus began to run his fingers through his mop of blond hair but then stopped as he suddenly remembered: the tree in the story was also hollow, and every so often something strange would happen; the tree, instead of producing seeds would lay a bright yellow egg. But out of the egg would come something quite horrible. 'I think you should destroy the egg!' he exclaimed. 'Before it hatches!'

'Destroy it?' Now Luzula really did sound angry, and indeed she was. She had nurtured the egg for days; keeping it covered with leaves and straw and struggling to place a big stone against the hollow so that hedgehogs and other animals could not find it. And here was Callistephus telling her to destroy it! 'I thought you were my friend, Little Sparrow!' she said, using her pet name for Callistephus but making it sound like an insult. 'In future I won't tell you anything!' And with that, she got to her feet and stormed off without even saying goodbye.

As Callistephus watched Luzula hurry away towards the village where she lived, he was very close to tears. For Luzula was his best friend and he didn't know what he would do if she deserted him. Then he noticed that Luzula had left her parasol behind and he reached for it, meaning to run after her. But to his surprise, as he touched the parasol it turned from green to brown and shrunk in size until it was nothing but a dead bracken stalk.

'I knew there was something odd about that parasol,' he said aloud. 'But now Luzula will never forgive me.' And, feeling very downhearted, he got to his feet and set off along the riverside, back towards the cave on the hill where, unhappily, he had to live; for he was never allowed near the village because the villagers were afraid that he might turn into a wolf and attack them.

'If only Asperula would undo the spells as she promised,' he said to himself, 'and then I could be just an ordinary boy again.' But in his heart of hearts he knew the truth: Asperula could not undo the spells because she could not remember what spells she had cast.

Poor Callistephus. There really was no hope for him, was there? Though, he did live in Astrantia, didn't he? The place where anything can happen.

***

Thymus was dreaming. He had been thinking about Luzula for most of the way home, but as soon as he had returned to his master's house and curled up in front of the fireplace, he had fallen fast asleep. Now, as you now, all cats have nine lives, and Thymus was no different. In fact he was already into his seventh life, and so, in the way of all sleeping cats, his paws would twitch as he dreamt of his past lives.

In one such life, Thymus was called Tritoma and he lived in a cottage in a village with an old man called Ranunculus. And one day the man came hurrying home carrying a basket and placed it at his wife's feet. 'Look what I've found!' he said. 'The answer to our prayers.' For the man and his wife had never been blessed with children, and inside the basket was a tiny baby wrapped in a black shawl.

'But where has it come from?' the man's wife asked, as she shooed her inquisitive kitten away from the basket and lifted the baby out. 'Have you stolen it?'

'Of course not!' said the man. 'I went to fetch water and I found the baby in the basket by the well.' The baby was a boy and soon began to cry and so the woman rocked him gently while the man looked into the basket. 'What's this?' he said as he lifted an old book from inside and leafed through the pages. 'Does it tell us where the baby came from?'

'Let me see,' said the woman. She handed the baby to her husband and she took the book, for she knew that her husband could not read. But to her surprise, she could not read a word of it either.

And so the mystery remained. But as no one came to claim the boy they kept him for their own, and as he grew, Ranunculus, who had been a soldier, taught the boy to fight with sword and spear, and his wife, who's name was Luzula, taught him to read and write.

Thymus woke for a while before returning to his dream, and again his paws twitched as, in the dream, a little raven-haired boy chased him around a huge old tree that stood in a field behind the cottage. 'Surrender!' shouted the boy, waving his wooden sword at his four-legged playmate. 'Surrender or forfeit your life!'

***

The villagers smiled and waved at Luzula as she passed through the village, but she didn't seem to notice them, and some thought this odd because normally she was such a friendly little girl. But Luzula had a lot on her mind and was in a hurry to get home.

She lived with her mother in cottage that was quite old and quite small, but that was plenty big enough for the two of them. And the cottage had one of the nicest gardens in the village, with flowerbeds and a small ornamental pond to the front, and a lovely big vegetable garden to the rear. But near the bottom of the garden stood a Biloba tree; almost as ancient as the hills and almost as wide as it was tall, and with a trunk so gnarled and knobbly and huge branches that hung so low that, when it was bare, it looked like three very old giants standing back to back in a circle and reaching down towards the ground with long spindly fingers.

Luzula had always loved the Biloba tree; it was so good for games of hide-and-seek or for just sitting under in the shade. And when she was younger, she would race around it singing songs her mother had taught her, including her favourite one: The Soldier.

There was a fearsome soldier
Who fought in foreign lands
His sword was made of iron, and
His spears were tipped with bronze

He fought for truth and freedom
He fought with all his might
And his enemies, they feared him
For he slew them left and right

But the soldier, he was wounded
And so, sailed back across the sea
He sailed home to his mother
And she sat him on her knee

For the soldier, he was just a boy
And his wound was just a graze
But no tears stained this solder's cheeks
For he was very brave

Luzula hurried down the garden path to the Biloba tree and ducked under its tangled branches, and she pushed the stone away and looked into the hollow. And there amongst the leaves and straw was the egg, so big and so beautiful; and as she reached out to touch it she felt something stir inside it.

'How could I destroy you when you are almost ready to hatch?' she said to the egg as she caressed it. 'I don't know how Callistephus could think of such a thing. I thought he liked birds and animals or whatever it is you are going to be.'

But the Biloba egg was not the only unusual thing that Luzula had found that summer, and the other thing, the most precious of all of her recent finds, was calling to her, willing her to come and hold it in her hand once more. So she covered the egg with straw and rolled the stone back into place and then ran back up the garden path and into the cottage.

In the kitchen Luzula's mother was busy baking bread and she didn't notice Luzula come in because she slipped in quietly without saying a word and went straight to her tiny bedroom.

The room was simply furnished with a bed and a small chest of drawers, and on the windowsill were Luzula's dolls - though they were looking rather neglected – and on a shelf by her bed was a row of storybooks. The books had always meant a lot to Luzula as they had belonged to her father. Her mother had told her that he was a soldier and that he had been killed in a battle in a far off land, and that that had happened soon after Luzula was born which was why she could not remember him.

But her mother had read the storybooks to her, and as Luzula got older she was able to read them to herself and almost knew each off them by heart. All except for one book. A book that even Luzula's mother had never been able to read. It looked very old, and the writing on the cover and inside the pages looked very odd indeed, as the words all seemed to be upside-down or back to front, and some of them seemed to be falling over as though they had each been drinking too much wine.

At least, that was the way things had been before she found the precious stone, just lying beside the footpath near the village green. Most little girls would not have given it a second glance and most little boys would have only picked it up to see how far they could throw it. But when Luzula found the stone she knew at once that it was something very special. At a glance it looked like an ordinary pebble, except that it was jet-black in colour and almost perfectly spherical. Just like the one that the witch, Asperula, carried on a pendant around her neck, except that this one was almost twice as big.

Luzula reached under her mattress to where she had hidden the stone, and then she climbed onto her bed with it, feeling its weight and its smoothness. And its power. A power that seemed to travel from the palm of her hand, and up her arm, and straight to her heart. For this was the heart of a shooting star: this was her talisman. And with trembling fingers and her heart thumping, she took down the previously indecipherable book from the shelf and, as the words fell obediently into place, again she read the fascinating title; the title that spelled out her destiny:

'The Basics of Witchcraft - by Incarvillea Delavayi'.

Then Luzula opened the book and turned the pages to chapter three:

'How To Undo Magic Spells'.

***

Much later, after the sun had set and the sky was filled with stars and the ancient Biloba tree sat regally basking in the glow of Hesperis, Astrantia's pale pink moon, inside the hollow, the Biloba egg began to hatch. Now Biloba eggs are rare indeed and always have a double yoke. And as always happens with Biloba eggs, first one tiny creature breaks out of the shell and then, after a while, so does the other one.

But the first Biloba to break out is always the biggest and strongest of the two, and this one was no different. It pushed the pieces of shell aside and slithered through the dead leaves and straw and opened the tiny wings on its back and, twisting its lizard-like body, it licked them dry with its long forked tongue. And then it waited. It waited for its twin to break out of the other half of the shell and then pounced, and ate it alive.

***

So Luzula is a witch! I wonder if she will be able to help Callistephus. And what is this tiny Biloba creature? Perhaps we'll find answers to these questions in the next story. But one thing's for sure: the next time I come across a hollow tree, I'll think twice before looking inside it.

Luzula and the Northern Lights

The doorknocker had been really bored. Now that might seem a very odd thing, but if you think about it; doorknockers do have about the most boring job that it's possible to have; just waiting around all day for someone to come to the door. And this is especially true for magic doorknockers like the one on Asperula's cottage door because, well, they are blessed with a lot more intelligence than your average doorknocker, and often have to find things to do to amuse themselves between visitors: like trying to guess when the next visitor will arrive, or counting the cracks in the garden path or the leaves on the nearest tree.

They even play eye-spy with themselves, spying something beginning with A and then something beginning with B until they have gone through the whole alphabet. And then they have to recall all of the things they've spied, which is not so difficult as it might sound, because with so little else to do, they do tend to develop very good memories.

Now as you may recall from earlier stories, Asperula was a witch, and her magic doorknocker was fashioned in the shape of a monkey's head, and as visitors approached he would shout out 'Visitor!' making it completely unnecessary for them to grab hold of him and knock; which was just as well because if anyone did do that it would give him a terrible headache. Though even a headache would have relieved the boredom he'd suffered because, you see, Asperula had been away for almost half of the summer and well into the autumn. And as word had got around that she wasn't at home, less and less people had called to see her, and so there had been less and less for the doorknocker to do.

But at last his mistress had returned, and people had begun to call again. Not that Asperula liked visitors that much; especially children. Which was why when a young girl arrived at the cottage one morning, the doorknocker didn't shout out straight away, but just whispered, 'Hello, it's Luzula, isn't it? I've not seen you since the time your mother was ill. How is she now?'

'She's very well,' replied Luzula. She was carrying a small leather satchel and wearing leather shoes and a lovely emerald-green dress and a cloak of a darker green; and with her long and lustrous dark hair falling about her shoulders, she looked, for a nine-year-old girl, really quite stunning. 'I've heard that Asperula is back,' she said. 'Is she in?'

But before the doorknocker could reply, the door was opened from the inside, and there stood Asperula wearing a long black dress and a grubby apron. 'Come in,' she said, 'I've been expecting you.'

The doorknocker was quite surprised at this, though not as surprised as Luzula. Her confidence had grown in recent days as she had discovered that she could do things that were really quite amazing; but still, she had never been invited to enter Asperula's cottage before and she found this, and the fact that she was expected, just a little scary.

'Thank you,' she said as she stepped over the threshold and into Asperula's kitchen. Though kitchen was perhaps not quite the right word for the room because, as well as the usual pots and pans that might be found in almost any kitchen, the walls were hung with dried herbs and wild flowers and old bones; most of them covered with cobwebs. And on the shelves were all manner of bottles and jars filled with all manner of things, like pickled toads and rat's eyeballs and crow's feet and some things that seemed so disgusting that Luzula thought it best not to look too closely at them. But something that did catch her eye was a stack of dusty old books, the top one of which looked very much like a book that she herself owned.

'Sit down,' said Asperula as she pulled a rickety old chair out from under her circular kitchen table and sat down herself; all the while observing Luzula and noticing how much she had changed since she had last seen her.

Luzula sat opposite, looking with interest at Asperula's blackened steel cauldron standing in the corner. But then she turned her attention back to Asperula, finding it hard to read her expression; she was not smiling and yet, somehow, behind her old and wrinkled face, she seemed to be pleased about something.

'Did you say you were expecting me?' Luzula asked.

'Oh, yes,' Asperula replied. 'I knew you'd arrive at my door one day soon. How is Caltha?'

'My mother?' said Luzula, surprised at Asperula's civil conversation. 'She's very well, and away at the moment, visiting my aunt over in Passiflora.'

'Passiflora? The village by the sea where your mother used to live.' Now Asperula seemed surprised. 'You mean she's left you at home on your own?'

'She didn't want to but...' Luzula looked a little embarrassed.

'But you gave her a little encouragement.' Asperula finished the sentence for her. 'My my, you really have become the competent little witch, haven't you? Made yourself some new clothes too, I see. It's surprising what a young girl can do with a scrap of cloth and a few magic spells.'

'But how did you know that I'm a witch?' Luzula's embarrassment had turned to shock.

'I'm a witch too, aren't I?' replied Asperula. 'It takes one to know one. And anyway, I've been to a wake.'

'A wake?' said Luzula. 'You mean that someone has died?'

'Oh yes. A distant relative of ours.' Asperula's expression changed to one of sadness, but only briefly. 'Yes, very distant; which is why I've been away for so long.' She cackled at her own joke.

'Did you say ours?' Luzula asked. 'A relative of... ours?'

'Of course,' replied Asperula hastily. 'We are sisters now, aren't we? Sisters in witchcraft? And the one who died, Eremurus her name was, she was a very great witch indeed. And as with so many things in life, plants for example: when one flower dies another one blooms. And you have certainly done that. Though with a little help, I suspect.

Asperula turned her attention to the satchel that still hung from Luzula's shoulder. 'Do you have it with you?' she asked, suddenly impatient and beckoning with her hand, inviting Luzula to place the satchel on the table. 'Your talisman? The heart of a shooting star, perhaps?'

No longer surprised at Asperula's insight, Luzula nodded and lifted the satchel onto the table. But the talisman was not all she carried in the satchel. 'No, wait!' she warned as Asperula reached into it.

But the warning came too late, and Asperula cried out in pain as she quickly withdrew her hand and then stood up, knocking over her chair. 'Wherever did you find that?' she exclaimed, pointing with her bitten finger at the tiny lizard-like creature that was crawling out of the satchel. 'It's a Biloba!'

When Luzula's pet Biloba had hatched out from its egg beneath the Biloba tree in her garden, it was no longer than a man's middle finger. But during the days since its birth it had almost doubled in size. Though, as yet, it could only flutter its tiny wings; not fly. 'That's naughty, Squill!' said Luzula. This was the name that she had given her pet. 'I've told you not to bite.'

'Bite?' said Asperula. 'When that thing grows to full size it'll eat you whole!' She reached for the Biloba and it squeaked and squirmed as she picked it up by its tail and examined it at arm's length. 'Hard to tell at this stage, but probably a male,' she said. 'Females are very rare indeed. I ought to stamp on him.'

'No!' cried Luzula, ‘he's my pet. Come here, Squill.' She took the Biloba back from Asperula and let him run up her arm and onto her shoulder where he nuzzled against her neck. 'See; he's perfectly tame. He was just a bit frightened, that's all. But I'm sorry he bit you.'

'Never mind,' said Asperula, righting her chair and sitting down again.' I've been bitten by worse things.' She reached into the satchel once more; this time finding Luzula's talisman and gazing at it in wonder. Then she reached beneath the neckline of her dress for her own talisman that was suspended there on a gold chain and she compared the two. They were both shiny, jet-black stones and each had come from the canter of a shooting star, but Asperula's was little more than half the size of Luzula's.

Asperula continued to gaze at the larger stone with what can only be described as a look of envy, then she put it back into the satchel. 'You have a powerful talisman,' she said. 'Keep it safe. Now, let's go for a walk. You can help me restock my herb collection and tell me the reason you came to see me; as if I didn't know already.'

***

'So you really are a witch?' Callistephus asked. It was late afternoon and he and Luzula were sitting outside the cave where he lived.

'Yes,' Luzula replied, 'everything I have told you is true. Though you must keep it secret. Stop it, Squill, that tickles!' Her pet Biloba was sitting on her shoulder again and fluttering his wings against her cheek. She took a grape from her satchel and offered it to Squill, and he gobbled it down seed and all, and then squeaked for more. 'There's no more, Squill; don't be greedy.'

Callistephus was watching the baby Biloba. He'd heard that Bilobas were horrible creatures, but this one seemed harmless; for the moment. 'If you're a witch,' he said, still watching the Biloba, 'and you can do magic spells, do you think you might be able to undo the magic spells that Asperula cast upon me, so that I can just be an ordinary boy again and not turn into a wolf every night?'

'I don't know.' Squill was fluttering his wings again so Luzula lifted him from her shoulder and popped him back into her satchel. 'I went to ask Asperula just that, and to ask her why she can't undo the spells herself. She told me that she'd like to undo them but that she can't remember all the spells she cast. I've got a book about magic spells and it says that to undo a spell you first have to know what the spell was, and if more than one was cast and you don't undo them in the right order, things might go terribly wrong.'

'Oh, I see,' said Callistephus, looking very disappointed. 'I thought it must be something like that.'

'But there might be a way,' said Luzula. She reached out to Callistephus and placed her hand on his. 'A way for me to find out what spells Asperula cast. Have you heard of Father Nature?'

'Don't you mean Mother Nature?' replied Callistephus, feeling the warmth of Luzula's hand as well as feeling very glad he had Luzula for a friend.

'No, not Mother Nature; Father Nature: the one who sees and hears all and forgets nothing. Asperula told me about him.'

'Where does he live?' asked Callistephus.

'He doesn't live anywhere,' Luzula replied. 'But just like Mother Nature, he is everywhere and nowhere; but Asperula says that sometimes he can be seen in the night sky and that this is the best time of year to look for him. I have to travel into the north and find something called the Aurora. They are lights in the sky; and Asperula says that they contain the face of Father Nature, and that if I ask him politely he might help me.'

'So that's what those strange lights in the sky are,' said Callistephus. 'I've seen them when I've travelled north sometimes.'

'You have?' said Luzula excitedly. 'How far did you have to travel?

'Not far,' replied Callistephus, 'At least, not far for a wolf; about three nights' journey, I think. Would you like me to take you? We could go as soon as the sun sets if you like; if you're not frightened to travel with a wolf.'

***

'It is very beautiful,' said Luzula. It was night-time and she and Callistephus, in wolf guise, were standing on the crest of a hill, looking at the strange lights that filled the northern skies. They had travelled for almost three whole nights, sleeping, and foraging for food, during the day, and then as the sun set and Callistephus turned into a wolf once more, continuing their journey. Anyone watching would have found the sight of them quite fascinating: a wolf racing across the countryside in the moonlight, with a young girl riding on his back.

'But I can't see a face yet,' said Callistephus as he studied the sky through a wolf's eyes. The aurora, or the Northern Lights, as some people called them, looked rather like clouds but brighter and constantly swirling, like a lot of horses' tails. Callistephus yawned, showing off his set of sharp white teeth. 'Perhaps Asperula is mistaken.’

'No, I don't think so, Callistephus.' Luzula was carefully studying the sky as well. 'Asperula did seem to be very sure about him.'

'But if she's so sure,' Callistephus asked, 'why did she not come to see him herself?' He sat down and rested his head on his paws.

'Yes, I asked her that,' replied Luzula. 'But she said it would be no good her coming to see Father Nature because when she was younger she had offended him; both him and Mother Nature... Oh, look!' Luzula pointed to the sky where some of the swirling lights ware taking on the shape of a face. 'Look, in the sky: it's a face! The face of an old man! And he's looking down at us!'

'Who are you calling an old man?' said a deep and rumbling voice that seemed to come, not just from the sky, but from the earth as well. 'Firstly, I'm not a man, I'm Father Nature, and secondly... well... I suppose I am quite old.' Suddenly the ground began to vibrate as Father Nature began to laugh. 'But not as old as Mother Nature; she's been around for donkey's year's.'

'I'm very sorry,' said Luzula. 'I didn't mean to be rude. I hope I didn't offend you.'

'Offend me?' said Father Nature. 'Why of course you didn't offend me, Luzula. After all, you and your friend, Callistephus, have come a long way just to see me. So why should I be offended?'

'But how did you know we'd come to see you? And how do you know our names?' asked Callistephus. He was on all fours again and tilting his head from side to side as he looked up at the face in the sky.

'Because I see and hear everything,' replied Father Nature, shaking the earth with his deep rumbling laughter once more. 'Or, at least, my spies do. For instance: I know that the two of you had nuts and blackberries for breakfast.'

'Spies?' Callistephus was puzzled by this word. 'What are spies?'

'Oh just, anyone or anything who is willing to help really. Trees and very good; they see and hear lots of things. And rocks, of course... and walls.'

'Walls?' Now Luzula was puzzled as well.

'Oh yes. Walls are very good. Walls have ears. Have you never heard that expression?'

'Yes, I think so,' replied Luzula, beginning to understand. 'But is it also true that you forget nothing?'

'Ah,' said Father Nature, 'now that's where occasionally there has been some exaggeration. Even I can't be expected to remember everything, can I? But I do remember all the important things.' The look on the face in the sky turned thoughtful. 'Though I can't quite recall why you have come all this way to see me... Oh, yes, I remember now, the trees whispered it to me: it involves Asperula, doesn't it.' Now the face in the sky took on a look of distaste. 'I shan't forget her in a hurry.' But then Father Nature began to laugh again.

'Why do you laugh?' asked Luzula.

'Oh, sorry,' said Father Nature, still chuckling to himself. 'It's just that I've been talking to another of my spies; trying to find a way to help you. It turns out you needn't have come all this way to see me after all. In fact all you had to do was go to Asperula's door to ask what magic spells were cast on your wolf friend here.'

'But I did,' said Luzula. 'I asked Asperula.'

Again the earth shook with Father Nature's laughter. 'Oh this is so funny,' he said. 'It's not Asperula you have to ask; it's her doorknocker. He never forgets a thing. He's one of my best sources of information. Yes, you really could have saved yourselves a long journey... But it's been very nice to meet you. Perhaps we'll meet again some day.' The face in the sky began to dissolve but then briefly it came back again. 'You'll not tell anyone will you? About trees and walls and doorknockers and such?' The face watched as Luzula and Callistephus nodded their agreement. 'Good. It's just that it's meant to be a secret, you see. So... goodbye and good luck, both of you. I have to go now. I'm late for an appointment with the man in Hesperis.' And with that, the face in the sky was gone.

And so was the night, because just then the sun peeped over the eastern horizon and Callistephus turned back into a boy again. 'So all we have to do is go back home and ask Asperula's doorknocker what the magic spells were?' he asked. 'And he'll tell us?'

'Yes!' replied Luzula, excitedly grasping Callistephus by each hand and beginning to dance him around in a circle. 'And then she or I can undo the spells, and then you will never have to be a wolf again!'

***

Concealed by the trees, the jackal watched his prey as they ran towards him down the hill. The jackal's name was Malus and he had been watching the children since the first light of dawn. For a moment he considered whether he dare attack and eat them, but he was a coward at heart and preferred to let others take risks for him; so he turned away and ran off to find his friend Catan.

***

I've never seen the Northern Lights; have you? Perhaps, one day, I'll see them.

But you're probably wondering if Luzula and Callistephus get home safely. I'm sure they will, in the next story perhaps.

The Secret of Fire Mountain

Catananche was in two minds. Odd expression that, isn't it: in two minds. But we all know exactly what it means, don't we? It means not being able to decide between one choice and another. And of course, Catananche, or Catan as he was more often called, was frequently in two minds because he was, after all, half leopard and half bear. And as always happened at a certain time of year, Catan was in two minds about whether to fatten himself up for the coming winter and then to hibernate - which is what bears do - or to simply go south to where the winters are warmer – which is what the leopard half of him always wanted to do.

Now the previous winter Catan had opted for going south, so this time he was thinking that maybe he should be lazy and find a nice comfortable cave in which to spend the winter. 'Yes, that's what I'll do,' he said to himself as he lay comfortably in his favourite sleeping tree. 'Yes, and I'll have some peace and quiet for a change; away from these imbeciles who seem to think that they are my friends, especially that Mimulus.’

Mimulus was a large, but very agile, young monkey, and a new friend of Catan's. Though friend was not quite the right word; he was more of a hanger-on really; like a guest at a party that drinks too much of the wine and eats too much of the food and thoroughly outstays his welcome. Catan had met him when he'd journeyed south the previous winter and foolishly invited him to come and visit. Which was another reason Catan didn't want to travel south again, because the increasingly irritating Mimulus would be sure to tag along. Catan closed his eyes, deciding to try and get a little more sleep; he had been woken far too early by two noisy crows having an argument over a worm. But almost as soon as he had closed his eyes there was another noisy commotion as Malus the jackal arrived at the base of the tree.

'Catan!' he called, in his high-pitched voice. 'Catan, wake up, wakeup!'

Catan groaned and looked down at Malus. But before he could enquire what all the fuss was about, Mimulus, who had been sleeping several branches higher, came lumbering down the tree, swinging from branch to branch, and shaking the tree so much that Catan almost fell out of it.

'You fool!' roared Catan, clinging to his sleeping branch for dear life. 'Are you trying to kill me?' He regained his balance and then threatened Mimulus with a paw full of sharp claws. 'If you do that one more time, I'll rip the fur from your back and make a fire-side rug out of you!'

'Oh, sorry, Catan. I didn't see you there.' Mimulus had come to rest on the branch above Catan and from there he fell slowly backwards until he hung upside-down by his tail. 'What's a fire-side rug, anyway?'

'I don't know,' replied Catan, glaring at Mimulus's upside down head, 'but it's sure to be something horrible because a witch once threatened to make me into one.'

'Catan!' Malus was still trying to get Catan's attention. 'Catan, there are two children crossing our territory. I saw them on Snapdragon Hill at dawn. There's not much meat on them but they should make enough of a meal for the two of us.'

'You mean my territory!' said Catan, angrily, as he slid down the tree trunk. 'Why do you always forget that I have royal blood, and that these lands belong to me? And as for making a meal; if there's anything left after I've finished eating, then maybe, and only maybe, you will eat too.'

'And me,' said Mimulus. 'Don't forget me... What are children, anyway?'

***

'Wait a moment,' said Callistephus as he stopped just inside the woods and knelt down to take a closer look at some paw marks. 'An animal was here not long ago; a dog perhaps, but not a wolf.' He turned back to look at the hill that he and Luzula had just descended. 'And I think it may have been watching us.'

Callistephus and Luzula were on their way home after their remarkable visit with Father Nature, and planning to find some nuts or berries to eat and to spend some time sleeping in the woods before continuing their journey.

'What should we do?' Luzula shivered and pulled her cloak more tightly around herself; the air in the woods felt cold.

'We'll follow these tracks for a while and see where they lead.' Callistephus moved off into the woods, keeping low and following the paw marks. 'Do you know any magic spells that would make us invisible?'

'No,' replied the young witch. She walked cautiously behind Callistephus. Talk of spells and invisibility had reminded her to check the contents of the satchel she carried, and so she took a quick look inside it. Her precious talisman was still there, as was her pet Biloba, sleeping peacefully. Although he was almost invisible, as he had developed the ability to change colour and merge with his surroundings.

Callistephus stopped beside a tree and sniffed the air. 'I think it's a jackal,' he said, ' and jackals mean trouble. Perhaps we should go home a different way to the way we came, we may be walking into a trap.'

'Which way?' Luzula was a long way from home and without Callistephus would be completely lost.

'This way.' Callistephus turned to his left and taking Luzula's hand he lead her deeper into the woods. 'We need to get to that higher ground that we saw on our journey north.'

***

'If this is another of your wild goose chases, Malus, I'll skin you alive and feed you to the vultures,' said Catan as he followed Malus through the woods.

'But the children are here somewhere, I can smell them,' Malus replied.

'Smell!' exclaimed Catan, turning up his nose. 'You can certainly do that!'

'If only we had Ginkgo Biloba with us,' said Malus, 'he'd be able to fly above us and look out for them.'

'I could swing through the trees, if you like,' offered Mimulus. He was already tiring and beginning to lag behind. 'What do they look like, anyway; children?'

'They're not unlike you,' observed Catan as he followed after Malus, 'except they come in different colours and are at least a thousand times more intelligent than you are. But then a squashed frog would be more intelligent that you are.'

'Look!' said Malus. 'Another footprint. We'll soon catch them now.'

'That's the same one we saw earlier!' exclaimed Catan with disgust. 'We've been going round in circles!' He took a swipe at Malus with a huge forepaw, and Mimulus laughed as Malus was knocked into an ants' nest and bitten on the nose and ears.

'Get out of my way!' roared Catan, taking the lead. He had invested too much time already and was not about to give up. But if it turned out that there were no children, then Malus would get more than a bite on the ear.

***

Luzula and Callistephus were lost - but then, what kind of fairytales would these be if at some point two children did not get lost in the woods? They had been walking for almost half of the morning and as the vegetation had become thicker they had become more and more lost, and more and more tired.

'I thought we were trying to get to higher ground,' said Luzula as she stopped to retie one of her shoelaces.

'We are,' replied Callistephus. 'I'm sure there's a hill at the edge of these woods; a really high and rocky hill. We saw it when we crossed the flatlands. If we can find it, I'm sure I can find our way home.' Just then a beast roared and the sound echoed through the woods, but the beast was a long way off and Callistephus was not too worried; though there was something familiar about that roar, something that made him quicken his pace. 'Come on,' he said to Luzula, 'we can't stay here.'

They continued on through the woods, soon having to skirt around some boggy ground; but they did at least find some spring water to quench their thirst and a few wild cherries which they shared with Squill. But eventually, as they walked on, Callistephus realised that they were beginning to climb a little higher; and then to his relief, he saw, through a gap in the trees, the rocky hilltop that he was looking for. 'Just a little further,' he said to Luzula. And then as the gradient became steeper, he took Luzula's hand again and they kept on until at last they were above the treeline and back in full sunshine.

'Can we rest now?' Luzula asked, as she looked up towards the top of the hill. The ground here was indeed rocky, and the rocks were most unusual: not smooth and weatherworn but rough and somehow bubbly like dark brown porridge that had set solid.

'We can rest for a moment,' replied Callistephus, 'but we'll be safer at the top where we can see if we are being followed.'

And so, hand in hand, they climbed steadily to the top of the hill where they collapsed, exhausted, in the shade of a large boulder. For a while they sat looking out across the treetops far below, and at the strange bubbly rock formations that surrounded them. Then Callistephus got to his feet to examine a fissure; a crack in the ground on the western side of the boulder that, every so often, coughed a wisp of grey smoke. But as he tried to look down into it, he was forced back by the intense heat that came up from its depths.

'What is it?' Luzula asked. She had taken off her cloak and folded it to make a pillow.

Callistephus returned to the shade of the boulder and sat down again. 'I'm not sure, but it's very deep and very hot. I think we should keep away from it. You get some sleep and I'll keep watch.'

***

'They were here!' said Malus triumphantly, as soon as he had finished drinking. 'I told you they were here. Look: two sets of footprints!' He had taken the lead again, keeping his nose to the ground and keeping well out of Catan's reach, until finally he'd come upon the boggy ground beside the spring.

'We can't eat footprints,' said Catan as he examined them closely. He pushed Malus aside and went to the spring to slake his thirst, soon followed by Mimulus who had taken to swinging through the trees but come down see why Catan and Malus had stopped.

'There's a big hill over that way,' he said, pointing to the south. 'I could see it from the treetops. Funny looking hill; all kind of lumpy.'

'Fire Mountain,' said Catan, looking at Malus for confirmation. 'They're making for Fire Mountain.' But before he had finished speaking, Malus was off again, heading south with his nose to the ground and soon beginning to climb the same sloping ground that Callistephus and Luzula had climbed.

'Come on,' Catan said to Mimulus, 'but stay on the ground and keep quiet. Keep very quiet.'

***

Both Luzula and Callistephus had fallen asleep and were unaware of the jackal that sat watching them. Again Malus was tempted to attack on his own, but it was not in his nature to do so. He was a pack animal, and although his own family had long since banished him from their lands, he still missed the chase and the final surrounding of the prey and the feast that followed. But not today. Today he had proved his worth, and he patiently waited for Catan and Mimulus to climb the mountain and join him.

Of course, it was not really a mountain. It was just a hill of volcanic rock; the remains of an ancient volcano which, though still extremely hot at its core, could produce no more than a few wisps of smoke and the odd burst of flame if something or someone should fall into its fissure. Although sometimes strange sounds would come up from its scorching depths; sounds that might repel even the most inquisitive of visitors.

Callistephus had lived in the wild for several years and developed a kind of sixth sense that warned him of danger. So as he awoke, he kept very still and only half opened his eyes. He had been dreaming, and in his dream it was night-time and he was a wolf, and so his first instinct was to leap at the jackal and chase him away. But as he realised that the sun was still high in the sky and that he was just a boy, he kept very still and watched through his half-closed eyelids. But then to his horror the jackal was joined by two others: a large brown monkey and a creature that Callistephus immediately recognised as Catan; the beast he had tricked with the promise of an emerald.

He reached out and touched Luzula on her arm, waking her. 'Don't make any sudden moves,' he said, as he got slowly to his feet. The jackal was to his right and Catan straight ahead with monkey in between. So the best means of escape was towards the smoking fissure. 'Just move slowly, Luzula, and follow me.'

Luzula collected her satchel and her folded cloak and clutched them to herself as she stood up and followed Callistephus, but before they had moved more than four or five paces, Catan moved to intercept them.

'I know you,' he said, looking at Callistephus. 'We have met before; but where? And why do I feel as though the meeting was not a good one?'

'But it was a good meeting,' said Callistephus, bravely. 'I saved your life when you were stuck in quick sand, and then you saved mine.'

'Of course!' exclaimed Catan as he at last remembered. 'The boy who cheated me! Cheated me out of a precious stone, as I recall. Promised me an emerald and gave me nothing!'

'Enough talk,' snarled Malus, felling very brave now that he was no longer on his own. 'It's time we killed them and filled our bellies with child meat.'

'Oh no,' Catan contradicted him. 'That would be too good for this cheating little urchin.' He glanced at the smoking fissure. 'I've always wanted to try roasted meat. We'll hold the boy over the fire crack and roast him alive, and if we like the taste we'll do the same to the girl.'

'I have a precious stone,' said Luzula, reaching into her satchel. 'If you let us go, you can have it.' She clutched her talisman, trying hard to remember a particular magic spell from her spell book.

'Really?' replied Catan, playing along with what was obviously going to be a trick and holding out a forepaw. 'And you have it with you?'

'Yes, it's here.' Luzula could remember only half of the spell she needed so she did the only thing that might save them. She held out her most precious possession - her shooting star talisman – and dropped it into Catan's paw.

'What's this?' said Catan, laughing. 'This is just a pebble; a pretty one, I agree, but there's nothing precious about it.' And to Luzula's horror, he tossed her talisman high over his shoulder and into the red-hot fissure.

'What else do you have in there?' Mimulus ran up to Luzula and snatched the satchel away from her and wrenched it open, but it was empty, or almost; there was something in there and he reached inside for it. 'Yeeeow!' he screamed, as he withdrew his hand with Squill sinking his teeth into his forefinger. 'Yeeeow!' He dropped the satchel and danced around shaking his hand to rid himself of the biloba until Squill opened his wings and took to the air, only to fly straight back at Mimulus's face and bite his nose before taking off again.

Malus began to laugh. 'It's a baby Gink,' he said, ducking as Squill flew at his head. 'A tiny Ginkgo Biloba!'

'Stop fooling around!' growled Catan as he moved closer to the fire crack. 'Grab the boy and bring him over here!' Squill flew to Luzula and landed on her shoulder while Malus and Mimulus, holding his nose and sucking his wounded finger, rounded on Callistephus.

But suddenly there was a scream. A scream so loud and so frightening that everyone on the hilltop froze in terror before slowly turning to look towards the fissure which was now spitting flames and smoking furiously.

And then, out of the flames and smoke, came a terrible sight: a fiery creature, twisted and ugly and yet unmistakably female, with flaming yellow hair and a flaming red gown. 'Who dares to disturb my slumber!' she asked with fiery breath, as she towered over Catan and fixed him with a mesmerising stare that rooted him to the spot. In one hand she held Luzula's talisman, and with the other she stabbed a flaming finger at Catan, singeing his fur. 'It was you!' she accused. 'You! And you will pay for this. And for your other crimes.'

Then she looked at the stone she held in her fiery hand. 'I used to have one just like this,' she said. 'It feels good to hold one again.' But then she tossed the stone to Luzula, who caught it without thinking and was surprised to discover that it was still quite cold. 'Use it wisely,' said the flaming witch. 'I have no need of such things.' Then she turned back to face Catan. 'But I have a use for you, Catananche; your Royal Highness. Oh, yes, I know your name, and your false title. Your reputation has grown and grown, and now it is time for you reap the rewards of your lies and misdeeds.'

'No, please!' Catan begged. 'Please! I promise to be good from now on.'

'Too late!' the witch replied, with breath so hot that it burned Catan's fur. 'Too late!' And with that, she wrapped her fiery arms around Catan and dragged him screaming into her pit of fire, and he was never seen again.

This was all too much for Mimulus. His finger was bleeding, his nose was bleeding, his friend had been snatched away by a fiery devil, and at last he decided that he had outstayed his welcome, and so he ran off down the hillside, towards the safety of the trees, as fast as he could.

But Malus, for once in his life, was not going to turn tail and run, and he stood snarling at Luzula and Callistephus, making ready to leap at them and to tear them to pieces. But he never did, for as Luzula gripped her talisman tightly she remembered the words to the magic spell and as she spoke them, Malus was turned to stone.

***

It was late autumn and trout were still surfacing to catch flies, but most of the red and gold leaves had fallen from the trees. 'So do you feel different now that you're no longer bewitched?' asked Thymus the cat. He was sitting beside the river with his friend Callistephus.

'No, not really,' Callistephus replied, 'though when I think of what it was like to be a wolf, it's like remembering a dream.'

'That's interesting,' said Thymus. 'I sometimes have dreams that seem very real. And what of Luzula; is she any different?'

'No,' said Callistephus, keeping Luzula's secret, 'she's just the same.'

Thymus said nothing.

***

I know a place called Fire Mountain... In fact, well... can you keep a secret?

So can I.

***

THE END
(For now)
For the next in the series click:
http://www.abctales.com/story/ian-hobson/astrantian-dreams