The Golden Acorn Read Online Free Page B

anything about the talking raven. He should have told Grandad. If he had, he wouldn’t be in this mess.
    ‘Shall we go?’ Nora asked, and without waiting for anyone to reply she strode off towards the bottom of the garden. Jack walked with Elan a few steps behind.
    ‘Some of us don’t need to walk through bushes,’ croaked Camelin loudly. He flapped his wings noisily before taking off towards the forest.
    ‘Just ignore him,’ said Elan. ‘He’s always grumpy.’
    When they reached the hedge Jack wondered how they were going to get through. There was no sign of a gate or gap in the thick prickly Blackthorn. Nora stood very still. She brought her hands together then raised them in a circular motion. There was a faint rustling, then a louder scrunching kind of noise. To Jack’s amazement the hedge parted, creating a dense tunnel as far as the eye could see. Jack’s knees began to wobble; his heart pounded wildly in his chest. He felt very sick. He could hear the raven above the trees; he knew it was laughing at him.
    ‘It’s OK,’ whispered Elan as she gave Jack’s hand a squeeze.
    It was anything but OK, only Jack couldn’t find his voice to protest. He obediently followed Nora onto the path. He heard the rustling and scrunching as the gap in the hedge sealed again behind them. He was trapped in the tunnel and had no other choice but to follow Nora into the depths of Glasruhen.

GLASRUHEN FOREST
    The tunnel felt airless and gloomy. No one spoke as they made their way along the path. Even though there wasn’t any breeze each tree they passed swayed and rustled its leaves. The next tree did the same, then the next.
    ‘They’re sending a message to Arrana,’ explained Elan. ‘She’ll know we’re on our way soon.’
    Jack watched the message being passed from tree to tree. It quickly disappeared deep into the forest. Once it was gone the trees became still.
    ‘Can they hear what we say?’ whispered Jack.
    ‘Oh yes, trees see and hear everything, which is why Nora is so well informed. Poor Camelin can’t do anything without her knowing.’
    Jack wanted to ask Elan if Nora was a witch but didn’t want to appear rude. He hadn’t realised she could speak to trees as well as birds.
    ‘Nora’s a Seanchai,’ explained Elan, lowering her voice.
    Jack had never heard of a Shawna-key before. He plucked up courage to ask Elan the question that had been bothering him.
    ‘Is that a kind of a witch?’
    ‘Oh no!’ she laughed. ‘Nora’s a Druid. She’s the guardian of the sacred grove, the keeper of secrets, and she knows the history of every tree in the forest. It’s too complicated to try and explain everything now. Wait until you’ve spoken to Arrana.’
    Jack was relieved Nora wasn’t a witch, but was being a Druid any better? Elan didn’t seem to mind. He began to worry again. He hadn’t realised he was expected to speak to Arrana. What would he say? How could he even be contemplating talking to a tree? It was ridiculous but then, until today, he’d never met a talking raven before either. He must be having a bad dream. He’d wake up soon and find himself in bed at Grandad’s.
    ‘Not far to go now,’ announced Nora.
    For the last ten minutes they’d been walking uphill and the end of the tunnel was in sight. It stopped abruptly at the edge of a dense forest of massive oak trees. Their branches were laden with leaves; their trunks gnarled and twisted. Jack felt as though he was being watched by hundreds of eyes. Trees appeared to be swaying of their own accord and he thought he could see faces peering down at him through the leaves. He could definitely hear whispering. It grew louder as they began to snake their way through the gaps in the trees.
    Nora came to a sudden halt and everything went quiet. Jack looked ahead. There in the centre of a circular clearing was the largest oak tree he had ever seen. Its canopy spread out to touch each of the other trees that surrounded it. The tree was