Dragon's Gold Read online

  Cassie picked up the basket and ran. She wasn’t going anywhere without it as it was obviously what had brought her here and she wanted to go back. She would rather have Bobby chasing her than this madman with a pitchfork.

  Cassie ran as fast as she could along a crudely fashioned road that seemed little more than grass worn away by constantly being driven over. This wasn’t Madson.

  She could hear Thomas’ heavy boots thudding after her and wondered if there was time to put the basket down and get in to send herself home. No. Thomas sounded far too close for that and he would probably think she was doing it to annoy him. Cassie could hear Thomas’ ragged breath getting closer and she ran faster. Just as she was sure that she couldn’t run much longer they came around a corner and into a small town.

  “Thomas... What are you doing chasing this young lad?”

  Cassie stopped running and turned to see several men holding onto Thomas who was struggling to get free.

  “He was sitting in my field making fun of me.” Thomas said angrily and stared hard at Cassie.

  “Jackson. You take Thomas home and I’ll see what the lad was doing there,” the taller one of the two said.

  “Sure thing Councilman. Come on Thomas, I’m sure the lad meant no harm.” And he led Thomas back in the direction of the field.

  Cassie looked around to see where she could hide while all this was going on but a crowd was gathering and staring at her so she had no chance to run off. The Councilman watched Thomas being led away and once they were out of sight he turned his attention to Cassie.

  “Who are you lad and what were you doing in Thomas’ field?” The councilman looked about six foot tall and was very thin with long skinny legs. Cassie thought with a giggle that he wouldn’t have looked out of place back at the fair with the clowns on stilts.

  “I’m Cassie....” She began but was interrupted by a woman watching.

  “She’s a girl not a lad.”

  The Councilman peered closer at her. “Why are you dressed like a lad? You don’t come from around here do you?”

  “No I don’t come from around here,” Cassie agreed wondering how she was going to explain what she thought had happened. “My family have just moved...”

  “And you got separated from them and wandered here,” the Councilman interrupted then nodded wisely and frowned. “Don’t you know how to get back to them?”

  Well it wasn’t really the truth but it was as close as she would probably get without being called crazy so she nodded.

  “I think I know the way back... but I’m not too sure,” Cassie said and looked briefly at the basket that stood on the ground next to her.

  “Your family is bound to come back and look for you when they realise that you are missing. We’ll just have to find somewhere for you to stay until they come back. We can’t have a young girl wandering around with nothing but a basket to sleep in.” The councilman was scanning the crowd obviously looking for the right person to ask to look after Cassie and one by one the crowd disappeared until there were only a couple of onlookers.

  “Have you got anything on you that might tell us where your parents have moved to?” The councilman was frowning at the lack of public spirit being shown by his townsfolk.

  Cassie emptied her pockets and found all she had was a few coins, her book of poems and the paper that the magician had given her. The Councilman took them and looked at the coins.

  “I don’t recognise these. You must be from very far away.”

  Cassie nodded while he looked at the book of poems and then she giggled. He was holding it upside down.

  “Toby. Get over here,” the Councilman ordered and a young boy of about eleven scampered up to him. He was untidily dressed in a torn shirt and dirty shorts and he had a messy head of black hair that hid most of his face. “What are these?”

  Toby took the paper and the book and spent several long minutes studying them. They could have just asked her what they were and she would have told them. Finally Toby looked up and handed them back to Cassie. His eyes were wide with amazement and he almost bowed as he stepped back from her.

  “She’s a magician and that’s a book of spells.”

  Chapter Three - The Certificate

  “Well an Apprentice Magician... that’s almost a real Magician,” Toby said to the Councilman. “It’s just as well nobody upset her or she might have turned them into a toadstool or something.”

  The crowd had grown again but they all kept their distance and looked at her with distrust and suspicion.

  Cassie frowned and looked at the now unfolded piece of paper. It had a red border of top hats, stars, rabbits and strange symbols. In the middle there was fancy writing that said.

  This is to certify that

  Cassie Morgan

  Is a qualified “Magician’s Assistant”

  Having assisted “Waldo the Great”

  at Madson County Fair

  Underneath this was a fancy signature that could be Waldo if you stared really hard at it.

  “That settles it then.” The councilman looked relieved and a little nervous. “There’s only one person that she can stay with.”

  Everyone nodded and then muttered amongst themselves as they wandered off. Cassie wondered just who she was supposed to be staying with but she didn’t really want to know as she had no intentions of staying with them anyway.

  “I can look after myself, thank you. I won’t be staying with anyone. Just give me a few minutes by myself and I’ll be off home.” Cassie still had one hand on the basket. She wasn’t letting it out of her sight.

  “We wouldn’t hear of such a thing. Toby you can carry the basket for her and follow us there.” The Councilman gave her back her coins and too a firm hold of her arm. Cassie looked back nervously at the basket and saw Toby brace himself before picking it up, expecting it to be heavy. She almost laughed when he overbalanced upon finding it much lighter than expected and ending up flat on his back in the dirt. Getting up, Toby picked up the basket and hurried after them.

  In the middle of town the street was not dirt as the road had been but was laid with rough blocks of stone that were not at all even. The houses and shops that lined the street on both sides were made out of wood and had large verandahs on the front. Cassie decided that it looked like an old gold mining town that she had seen in a book at school.

  Toby had caught up with them and was bending his back to make the basket look heavy. It was a good ten minutes walk out of town along what could only be called a rough track. By the time they got where they were going Toby had managed to look as if the basket weighed a tonne and that he was exhausted.

  “This really is the best place for you to stay. You’ll have so much in common to talk about. She doesn’t get much company,” the Councilman said as they neared a run-down cottage built right next to the face of a cliff. The councilman handed a small coin to Toby as he set down the basket with a seemingly huge sigh of relief. He certainly wasn’t dumb then, if he could get paid to carry a weightless basket.

  “What do you want?” A voice bellowed from within the house. It seemed to echo much more than it should. “I’ve told you all to leave me alone. I have a lot to do and no time to be bothered with your petty little problems.”

  This was where she was supposed to stay? The sooner she got back into the basket the better.

  “There’s a magician here to visit you.” The Councilman didn’t sound as confident as he had earlier. He took several steps backward but Cassie noticed that Toby didn’t seem bothered at all by the booming voice. The door burst open and a tiny woman in flowing black robes peered out over small glasses that perched on the end of her nose. Her hair was silver and it stuck out in every direction as if she had just had a fright. All that was missing was a pointed hat and a big nose and then Cassie would have said that she looked just like a witch.

  “A magician... Where?” The woman swept out onto the rotting wooden porch and her eyes darted around the clearing.


  Now that she was outside her voice was normal but the feeling of great power was still there.

  “Oh Moira, Great Magician of the South, we present Cassie, Magician’s Assistant from lands-far-away.” The Councilman bowed down low and so did Toby. “She has come to visit till her family return for her.”

  “A girl.” The darting eyes settled on Cassie and she squirmed under her intense stare. “Dressed like a lad. I wasn’t expecting a visitor. I have far too much to do to entertain a young girl.”

  She seemed about to go in and close the door and the Councilman looked worried.

  “She can help you in your tasks. See she comes with an excellent reference.” He almost snatched the paper out of Cassie’s hand and gave it to Toby. Then he gave Toby a shove and Toby walked calmly up to the old woman.

  Moira looked carefully at the paper and stared hard at Cassie again. She came down the grass slope and stood in front of Cassie making her feel very nervous. Moira’s lips were pressed into a thin line of concentration and it seemed like ages before she spoke.

  “I hadn’t planned on taking on an assistant but I could do with some help. I suppose if it’s only for a short time then it will be okay. But remember if you get in my way or disobey me you’ll be out faster than you can blink.” It was said sternly with a long bony finger waving and poking painfully at Cassie’s shoulder. Moira handed back the certificate which Cassie returned to her pocket. “Well then girl. What are you waiting for?”

  What was she getting into here? She couldn’t do magic. All she wanted was to get into the basket and go home. It didn’t seem like a good time to say that she couldn’t do magic or that she wanted to sit in a basket. They would think that she was mad. She decided to follow the old woman inside and as soon as she was alone she would escape back home.

  “Toby, carry the basket in for her.” The Councilman was looking relieved to have the problem sorted out.

  “I can manage,” Cassie said and picked up the basket easily. The Councilman looked sharply at Toby who held tightly onto the coin in his palm and shrugged his shoulders.

  “Well she is a magician,” he said, and with that he backed away into the bushes and disappeared. The Councilman too seemed to think it was time he left and he too walked backwards until he was out of sight. They certainly didn’t seem to trust this woman enough to turn their backs on her. Cassie wondered why but she had no time to figure it out for Moira had taken the basket from her and was heading back to her run down cottage.

  Cassie had no choice but to follow her and she hurried to catch up. She went carefully up the wooden steps trying to avoid the gaps and rotten patches. The door creaked loudly as Moira opened it and Cassie saw that the windows either side of it were covered with planks of wood. It must be very dark inside.

  Moira disappeared into the blackness beyond the door and Cassie took a deep breath before following her. How bad could it be? she asked herself and then as her eyes adjusted to the dusty gloom she stared in surprise. The inside of the house was totally empty. There was no furniture or carpets and there weren’t even any walls. It was one large, dark and dusty room. Surely nobody could live in this. Cassie sneezed and rubbed her itchy nose. There were only two things that set off her allergies. Dust and cats.

  The sneeze echoed loudly in the empty room and Cassie saw that this was why Moira’s voice had sounded louder before. Moira hadn’t stopped where Cassie did and she was now at the back of the room. The back wall of the house seemed to be made out of rock.

  “Come along. I don’t have day. Shut the door.” Moira sounded impatient and she spoke sharply. Cassie reluctantly shut the door plunging the room into almost total darkness. Shafts of sunlight crept in through the badly thatched roof that Cassie doubted would be able to keep the rain out. What were they going to do, stand here in the dark all day?

  From across the room Cassie heard the echoes of a few mumbled words and part of the back wall glowed with a white light. Now this was real magic! Cassie saw the magician step forward into it and disappear. Holding back another sneeze Cassie hurried forward to follow her into the light. She almost laughed at herself when she realised it was just an old wooden door and the light was coming from a brightly lit room beyond it.

  The room she entered was long, with a curved ceiling, and it took Cassie a few seconds to realise that it was a cave. There were several doors on the left wall and hundreds of candles lined the walls. It was the opposite of the room that they had just left as it was crammed with furniture, books and ornaments. There wasn’t a single bare space to be seen and even the comfy looking sofa was covered in open books and overstuffed cushions. Moira was at a large bookshelf quickly thumbing through the pages of a very large book. Cassie’s basket was nowhere to be seen and she stood there wondering what she was supposed to do.

  “You can sleep in there.” Moira said suddenly and Cassie jumped. “It’s my room but I don’t have time for sleep so you are welcome to it.”

  Cassie sneezed again even louder than the first time and Moira looked at her in surprise.

  “Don’t you have a spell to get rid of colds?”

  “It’s an allergy,” Cassie replied trying to avoid the question.

  “To what?” The Magician had put down her book and was staring at Cassie.

  “Dust... “ Cassie noticed that although the room was messy there didn’t seem to be a lot of dust. “....or cats.”

  Just as she finished talking she felt something brush against her legs and she looked down quickly to see what it was. If it was a mouse she was going to scream. Moira was still staring at her. Hadn’t she ever seen anyone with an allergy before? Then Cassie saw what had touched her leg. A fluffy white cat was sitting at her feet purring loudly and it got up and rubbed around her legs again.

  “Snow doesn’t like anyone.... not even me......” Moira looked surprised and hurt and then her eyes turned hard with jealousy. “I’ve got a lot to do so you can start to earn your keep. It’s getting late and I’m hungry so you can do dinner. I’ll have chicken soup followed by roast duck and a bread and butter pudding for desert.”

  Cassie could see that Moira was upset with her but it wasn’t her fault that the cat liked her. It was probably a good idea to stay on her good side so Cassie looked around the room to find where the cooking was done. There didn’t seem to be anywhere to do it as there was no stove. There was an open fireplace but it didn’t look as if it had been used in years. She didn’t want to interrupt Moira, who had turned back to her books, but she couldn’t cook without a stove.

  “Excuse me but where’s the - achoo - stove?” Cassie asked a little meekly.

  “Why would a magician need a stove?” Moira’s thin eyebrows drew together suspiciously. “Only someone who can’t do magic uses a stove. You are a Magician’s Assistant aren’t you?”

  “Yes.. But...”

  “No buts. I expect dinner in twenty minutes.”

  Chapter Four - Real Magic

  Moira had turned away again and Cassie stood there wondering just how she was going to get out of this mess. If she admitted she couldn’t do magic Moira might get angry at her for lying and turn her into a frog or something disgusting. All she wanted was her basket and she would leave. Moira was muttering to herself as she flicked through page after page and Cassie decided it would be best not to bother her again. She decided to have a look around to see if she could find her basket and just disappear. This grumpy old woman probably wouldn’t care if she was gone anyway.

  Cassie quickly scanned the room but couldn’t see it anywhere so she opened one of the doors leading off the main living room.

  Inside were rows and rows of shelves full of jars and boxes. This was obviously the storeroom. It was dark in there and Cassie took a candle in with her and shut the door to stop Snow from following her. After a good look around Cassie knew that her basket wasn’t in here and she went to leave.

  “What are you looking for?”

  The voice wasn’t loud but
it made her jump and she started to hiccup again. Her heart was beating so loudly she was sure whoever had spoken would be able to hear it. She spun around to the darkest corner of the room and slowly held her candle forward to see who had spoken. The flickering light of the candle made all the shadows jump and wriggle as if everything was alive and Cassie hiccupped again. Then the light settled on a small figure sitting crosslegged at the back of the room next to a large crack in the wall.

  “Toby?” Cassie was relieved it was him but confused about how he got there. “What are you doing here?”

  “I spend a lot of time here. There’s nothing else to do in this town. This crack opens out just behind Moira’s house.” Toby uncrossed his legs and stood up. “I like it here.”

  “Does Moira know you come here?” Cassie asked surprised that someone would like such a small dark room.

  “She’s seen me a few times but she pretends not to notice me. I think she’s lonely.” Toby opened a jar on the shelf next to him and pulled out something flat which he started to chew on. Cassie cringed and decided not to ask what it was. As for Moira being lonely well that was almost a joke, she was just a grumpy old woman.

  “What were you looking for?” Toby repeated his question.

  “My basket. I want to leave and I can’t leave without it,” Cassie said. She looked closer at the rows of jars on the shelf and wondered what was in them. Probably things like bats wings and toads legs.

  “Why do you want to leave so soon? You’ve just got here and Moira will let you stay as long as you want.” Toby looked genuinely surprised that she wanted to leave.

  “She won’t let me stay after she realises that I can’t magic her dinner for her.” Cassie said with a sigh. “She’ll probably turn me into a chicken or something.”

  “Why can’t you?”

  “What?” Cassie was seeing herself as a chicken running around eating worms and she had forgotten what they were talking about. She could almost taste the worms and she made a face.