Heart of the Hill Read online

  BOOK THREE

  THE SUMMER OF MAGIC QUARTET

  HEART OF

  THE HILL

  ANDREA SPALDING

  ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS

  Text copyright © 2005 Brandywine Enterprises BC Ltd.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data

  Spalding, Andrea

  Heart of the hill / Andrea Spalding.

  (The summer of magic quartet ; 3)

  Electronic Monograph

  Issued also in print format.

  ISBN 9781551436081(pdf) -- ISBN 9781554694778 (epub)

  I. Title. II. Series: Spalding, Andrea Summer of magic quartet ; 3.

  PS8587.P213H42 2005 jC813’.54 C2005-903270-7

  First published in the United States, 2005

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2005927693

  Summary: Book Three of the Summer of Magic Quartet, in which Adam must recover Myrddin’s staff from the heart of Glastonbury Tor.

  Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP), the Canada Council for the Arts, and the British Columbia Arts Council.

  Cover image: Martin Springett

  Orca Book Publishers

  PO Box 5626, Station B

  Victoria, BC Canada

  V8R 6s4

  Orca Book Publishers

  PO Box 468

  Custer, WA USA

  98240-0468

  www.orcabook.com

  09 08 07 06 05 • 6 5 4 3 2 1

  For David,

  who always believed it would happen.

  Come by the hills, to the land

  where legend remains;

  Where stories of old stir the heart,

  and may yet come again;

  Where the past has been lost,

  and the future is still to be won.

  And the cares of tomorrow must wait

  till this day is done.

  —Traditional folk song

  NOTE: Myrddin is pronounced “merthin” and is the Celtic form of Merlin. “Traa dy liooar” is Manx, the Celtic language of the Isle of Man. It means “time enough” and is pronounced “trae de lure.”

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE Come by the Hill

  CHAPTER TWO The Cares of Tomorrow

  CHAPTER THREE Wait Till This Day is Done

  CHAPTER FOUR The Remaining Legends

  CHAPTER FIVE Stories of Old

  CHAPTER SIX Stirrings of Magic

  CHAPTER SEVEN Stirrings in Dreams

  CHAPTER EIGHT Lost in the Past

  CHAPTER NINE Winning the Future

  CHAPTER TEN Is This Day Done?

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Acknowledgements

  CHAPTER ONE

  COME BY THE HILL

  A midsummer moon rose over dark hills and flooded the sleeping valley with light — a brittle light, a white light, a light full of magic. The light slid into hidden places, and night prowling creatures retreated in confusion.

  The moonlight washed like crystal water over the valley’s fields. It flooded the small town that huddled around the base of the tower-topped hill that rose from the valley’s heart. The moonlight concentrated its magic on the hill, known by the local people as the Tor.

  Such clarity of light had rarely been seen in the heart of England. Only one set of eyes witnessed it now.

  The watcher gazed down in awe as the Tor soaked up the magic.

  The moon rose higher and higher, so bright and full that the watcher on the tower shielded her eyes.

  Moonbeam by moonbeam the Tor drank in the magic, until its crystal heart beat strong, and the forgotten edges of the ancient labyrinth that climbed its slopes glowed.

  Still the moonlight poured down. The Tor drank till it could drink no more. Three large, white, oval stones on its flanks shone with an inner radiance. Two stones marked the entrance to the forgotten spiral path. The third gleamed like an eye, high on the Tor’s flank at the path’s goal.

  After centuries of slumber, the Spiral Labyrinth was awake.

  From the tower top, the watcher lifted her arms to the moon and felt her own long-dormant powers course again through her veins. She quickly wove the moonlight into protective armor, for who knew what other beings the magic light had roused?

  The moon reached its zenith, and its brittle light reflected and danced over the valley’s rain-sodden fields.

  The Tor loomed like an island from the sea of light.

  The watcher gasped, performed an ancient ritual and gave voice to the long forgotten prophecy.

  “When the Tor an island be,

  A child shall wind around the key

  And waken me.”

  She turned her face to the sky and laughed as clouds once again obscured the magical moon and raindrops fell upon her cheeks.

  Her time had come.

  Many miles distant, a child lay dreaming.

  Adam knew he was dreaming, but he was scared. At first the dream had seemed only odd, but now he wanted desperately to wake. He could not. He was powerless to do anything but dream.

  He’d fallen eagerly into bed, hoping his dreams would show him Myrddin, the magical being he’d promised to help. Instead, his dream had taken him to a strange place.

  He was standing beside a moonlit lake, staring across its water toward an island formed by a tower-topped hill.

  Tendrils of magic flowed from the tower. They curled and tugged at Adam’s dream self, trying to draw him across the water. He twisted and turned to avoid the magic. He didn’t want to approach the island. It frightened him.

  A voice from the tower spoke to him.

  Come to the Tor. The words slipped through the dream and fixed themselves in his mind. Come to Glastonbury Tor.

  Adam understood that was the name for the strange hill.

  Reflected in the lake below, the Tor’s steep sides were etched by a spiral path. The magic pulled at Adam’s feet. He was supposed to walk the path.

  Tread the Spiral Labyrinth. The whisper floated into his mind.

  Adam’s eyes traced the spiral path up toward the tower. He shivered. He was never going to climb up there. The power oozing from the place terrified him.

  In his sleep, Adam burrowed under his duvet. In his dream, cold fear persisted.

  Again, the black tower drew him. The archway that pierced the tower held Adam’s eyes. He gazed through to the sky on the other side.

  Come, child! Enter the Portal between worlds and you shall wield undreamed-of power, urged the whisper in Adam’s head.

  A helmeted knight strode through the archway and stared across the lake toward Adam.

  The knight was a small distant figure, but in the clarity of the dream Adam could see every detail. He shrank back from piercing eyes and hung his head.

  The knight placed the tip of his sword squarely on the ground in front of him and rested his hands on the hilt. The jewel-encrusted scabbard flashed and sparkled in the sunlight. Adam averted his eyes.

  You cannot ignore me forever, for you are a Magic Child. My mind-probe has reached you and I can enter your dreams at will, said the voice. Adam heard the hint of a threat in its whisper. The pull of the magic grew stronger.

  Adam fought against it, but the magic forced him to lift his eyes and look across the water at the knight.<
br />
  The knight raised an arm and removed his helmet.

  Adam gasped.

  A tumble of golden hair fell around the armored shoulders. The knight was a beautiful young woman.

  She threw back her head and laughed.

  Vivienne. The name slid into Adam’s mind.

  Adam fumed. He didn’t like being tricked, and he didn’t like beings invading his mind and making him do things. “Stop it, whoever you are. Leave my dreams alone!” he yelled.

  Jewels flashed as Vivienne raised her sword in salute.

  So! You do hear me.

  “Of course I hear you. You’re whispering in my head!”

  Adam yelled across the lake. “Quit it.”

  “I have summoned you,” answered Vivienne. This time her voice traveled clearly over the water. “Come.”

  Adam shuddered. “No! You can’t make me!” He forced his feet to turn and run from the lake, away from the woman warrior, back through his dream and into reality.

  “Adam … Adam … what’s up?”

  Adam woke to find his cousin Owen shaking his shoulder.

  “Are you all right?” Owen’s voice was anxious. “You were thrashing around and yelling.”

  Befuddled, Adam gazed around the moonlit bedroom. He wasn’t in his Canadian bedroom …Where was he? Ah yes, he was staying with his cousins, in England.

  He struggled to make his mind work. “The lake,” he muttered. “I was running from Vivienne and the lake.”

  “You’re dreaming. You’ve had another nightmare, the third this week,” said Owen. “Dream of something else. Something quieter.”

  Adam grinned groggily. “Sorry I woke you.” He turned over and found a comfortable spot on the pillow. “I’ll think of Myrddin. He will protect me.” Adam conjured up the image of his favorite Wise One, the bearded man with the magical cloak. Keeping the image firmly in his mind, he drifted off to sleep.

  Within the Portal below the dark tower on Glastonbury Tor, Vivienne sparkled with excitement. It had been well over a thousand years since her mind had connected with a human mind. Over two thousand years since she had been bound, against her will, as the Portal Keeper. Thousands of boring years, watching her power fade as humans forgot not only her, but Old Magic, and the ancient role of the Tor.

  Vivienne cut a glittering swath through the darkness with her sword. “At last someone hears me. ’Tis only a child, but he is a Magic Child. Old Magic is stirring again!” She paused. “I wonder why the power is growing.” She laughed and swung her sword again.

  “No matter. I have reached a human mind. The child will become more responsive with each probe.” She dropped the tip of her sword to the ground and stood, feet apart, hands folded on the jeweled hilt, and sent her mind toward the boy once again.

  The probe rushed forth, but Adam’s sleep was guarded.

  Vivienne shouted with frustration. She knew the image in the child’s head. “The boy has met Myrddin. The Wise Ones have returned! That is why Old Magic stirs again.” She pondered for a moment. Then she chuckled. “No matter. Old Magic is almost gone from Gaia. Myrddin is no more than a half-forgotten fairy tale. His fire burns low, and few believers follow the old ways. His staff is hidden, its power dormant.

  Without it, he is nothing.” She laughed again. “My time has come. My new power makes me his equal! I will send him a sign. I will show Myrddin that in this new age, I am a force to be reckoned with.”

  Once more Vivienne concentrated. Her sword glittered with energy.

  In response, the probe darted upward and swirled among the clouds above the child’s house. The clouds thickened and became a storm. Torrential rains battered the small village of Uffington. As the wind strengthened, the probe surged back and forth under the cover of the darkness, leaving Vivienne’s mark on the lawn. Then, its task completed, it darted back to the Tor.

  The storm raged on.

  Adam, Owen and Holly woke early. Only Chantel slept in. Adam banged on the bedroom door. “Wake up, Chantel! Everyone’s eaten breakfast.”

  Chantel tugged on a sweater. She yawned. “I’m awake,” she called. “Come in if you like.”

  Adam opened the door. “Seen the weather? It’s gross. I don’t think much of summer in England.”

  Chantel pulled the curtains back. Together she and Adam stared at the rain pouring from the thatched roof of the old farmhouse and thought about the endless golden days of a Canadian prairie summer.

  Thunder rumbled.

  Chantel shivered. “Ugh. I’m staying in today. It was a storm like this that made Snowflake throw me.” She rubbed the cast on her broken leg.

  Adam raised his eyebrows. “So? You wish it hadn’t happened? That we’d never met the Wise Ones?”

  Chantel gave a tiny chuckle. “Of course not. It’s been amazing, hasn’t it?” She wrinkled her nose. “But I wish the Wise Ones would hurry up and come back, like they said they would. Hasn’t Myrddin visited your dreams yet? Equus talks to me in dreams.”

  Adam frowned. “No,” he said shortly.

  Chantel moved away, sensing one of her brother’s snubs, but to her surprise he turned toward her.

  “I am having spooky dreams, Chantel…nightmares. It’s not Myrddin who’s talking to me.” Adam shrugged helplessly. “It’s a warrior woman called Vivienne. She wants me to climb a hill somewhere, but I’m scared. What if she’s one of the Dark Being’s supporters, not the Wise Ones’?”

  Before Chantel could answer, the bedroom door shook under another pounding.

  “Hey, Chantel, you slept through a heck of a storm.

  The road to Uffington is flooded, and part of our paddock is underwater,” bellowed her cousin Owen. “Can we come in?”

  Adam opened the door.

  “Want to go boating?” continued Owen. “There’s a tin horse trough in the horse barn. I bet it will float.”

  Crack!

  Chantel clapped her hands over her ears against the thunder. Her face blanched.

  “It’s okay, Chantel. Owen’s being an idiot,” soothed Holly, entering behind her brother.

  Owen opened his mouth to protest, but Holly poked his back. “Don’t be stupid, Owen. You know what happened last time Chantel was out in a storm.”

  Owen glanced guiltily at the cast on Chantel’s leg.

  “Sorry! I forgot.”

  “It’s okay,” murmured Chantel. She moved clumsily from the window and sat on her bed. “My cast is coming off tomorrow. I’ll be able to keep up with you soon.”

  She gave a lopsided grin.

  Lightning flashed and the almost instant thunder made her smile fade. She pulled the duvet around her head and shoulders.

  “That was close!” Adam peered outside again. He could just make out patches of garden between rain gusts. It was wrecked. Tall blue delphinium spikes sprawled across the path instead of standing upright in the flower border. He looked more closely. The lawn seemed to be flattened in a circular pattern. “Er, guys … have you seen the lawn?” he said slowly.

  Holly joined Adam at the window. She wiped the glass with her sleeve and peered out. “Good grief, look at the grass— we’ve got a crop circle.” Holly rushed out of the room. The others heard her running down the stairs.

  Adam and Owen followed.

  Chantel sighed and limped along behind.

  “What’s a crop circle?” Adam asked as they pulled on rubber boots.

  “Haven’t you heard of them in Canada?” said Owen.

  “They’re gigantic circular patterns found in grain fields. They were first discovered around here. They are really spectacular. Some people think they are made by aliens.”

  Light dawned on Adam’s face. “I’ve seen a program about them on TV,” he said. “On ‘Ripley’s Believe it or Not.’ I didn’t know they were from England. They’re amazing.” He took a deep breath. “So flying saucers land here. Wow!”

  His cousins burst out laughing.

  “Mom says it’s the young farmers keeping busy,�
�� said Holly.

  Adam looked puzzled. “You mean chasing flying saucers?”

  “Nope, making the crop circles. It’s field art —kind of like graffiti in a cornfield. Then tourists pay to photograph them,” said Holly.

  “Two locals were caught and prosecuted last year,” added Owen. He paused and frowned. “But why would anyone bother to make one on our lawn?”

  “The ones on TV weren’t made by people,” Adam said. “They were too big, and the designs were too complicated. It’s not possible.”

  “Do you honestly think aliens make them?” Holly asked as she led the way into the garden.

  Adam pointed to the lawn. “Something weird sure made that.”

  The grass was neatly flattened and swirled into a complicated circular pattern — a spiral that looped back and forth.

  “Freaky,” said Chantel. “Did one of you make it? As a joke?” She looked round the group, but everyone shook their heads.

  “It’s a spiral labyrinth,” Adam said slowly.

  Everyone stared at him.

  “How do you know that?” demanded Holly.

  Adam shrugged. “Dunno. I just do. I’ve had weird dreams where a voice in my head tells me to go to a hill and walk a spiral labyrinth … and… and … I just know that’s the name for this pattern.”

  “Then it’s Myrddin in your dreams,” said Owen firmly. “That’s how Ava contacted me. This must be a sign from him.”

  Adam shook his head. “It isn’t. I haven’t heard from Myrddin since you found Ava’s circlet.” He hunched his shoulders “This doesn’t feel right. I bet the woman in my dreams made it. She’s called Vivienne, and last night she whispered to me. She’s trying to make me walk the ‘Spiral Labyrinth.’” Adam shuddered. “I don’t trust her. What if she’s evil, like the dragon in our first adventure? What if she’s from the Dark Being?”

  Chantel moved closer to her brother. “We better be careful. The Wise Ones said a dark cloud was coming.”

  She looked up at the glowering sky. “Do you think this is it?”