5

Gran Gives Ben The Power

The next morning, after breakfast, Ben and Gran sat at the kitchen table. She looked a little bit worried and he was afraid that she might change her mind.

‘Ready, Ben? This might seem a little bit strange, but you need to listen carefully and do what I tell you without saying anything at all. If you interrupt me while I’m handing over the power to use the magic then it won’t work. I’ll write down the words and the actions for you, but I’ll keep them somewhere safe until you’re older. You have to be very sure about the person that you give the power to.’

Ben leaned across the table. ‘Yes, Gran, but I couldn’t give the power away until I’d used it all, could I?’

‘Well, that’s the thing,’ she said. ‘You could if you wanted to, but it would mean that you couldn’t use the magic again. The person you passed it on to would start with their seven straightaway.’

Ben pulled down the corners of his mouth. ‘Is that why you don’t want me to know this part then? In case I give it away too soon?’

‘That’s right,’ she told him, ‘but don’t worry about that now. We need to do this before your mum and dad finish the shopping if you want to go and see Lox this morning.’

She took Ben’s notebook and wrote in it for a few minutes. Then she tore out the page and put it in her pocket. She asked him to fetch the vinegar bottle, the salt shaker, the pepper pot, and a bowl of water. He put them on the table and then sat down again. Gran asked him to hold out his hands, and she put three shakes of salt on one hand and three shakes of pepper on the other. Then she put the vinegar bottle in front of her.

‘Ready, Ben?’ she asked. ‘Now remember, not a word until I tell you to speak. Only make the movements I tell you. It won’t take long.’

He was a little bit afraid, but excited as well. He watched as his gran held her hands just over his. She began to whisper. Then she picked up the vinegar bottle and tipped three drops onto Ben’s right hand, and three onto his left hand. With the middle finger of her left hand, she mixed the pepper and the vinegar. With the middle finger of her right hand, she mixed the salt and the vinegar. Then she took both of Ben’s hands and put them together.

‘Keep them tight. Don’t let the vinegar run away. No! Don’t say anything,’ Gran warned him, just as he was about to ask why.

She took a feather from her pocket and Ben gasped. It was so pretty, and he’d never seen one like it before. It was shiny green and blue, and had some gold shapes on it. It was long and wispy at the ends, and Gran began to wave it over his head then down his arms. She told him to put his hands out, and she brushed the feather over them. He shivered.

Gran put the feather on the table and took a small stone from her pocket. It looked like glass, but it was cloudy and it had a hole in the middle. She put the bowl of water in front of Ben and dropped the stone into it. His eyes opened wide as he watched the stone. It plopped into the water and sank to the bottom, but then began to float around the bowl as if it was made of cork. He had to bite on his lip to stop himself from speaking! Gran lifted the bowl.

‘Take three small sips,’ she told him, ‘but don’t swallow the stone.’

He sipped the water. It didn’t taste nasty, but it wasn’t the same as usual. Gran put the bowl on the table and stood behind Ben. She put her hands on his shoulders and tapped three times. She did some more whispering and then stood in front of him. She didn’t say anything for a minute, and then she put her hands over his eyes.

She said out loud, ‘Now the power is yours. Use it wisely.’

Ben felt a bit dizzy and Gran told him to wait a few minutes before talking. She took the stone from the bowl and dried it, and told him that it was called an adder stone. It had magical powers, and could protect its keeper against evil spells. She threaded a piece of string through the hole, tied a knot in it and put it around Ben’s neck. She told him to look through the hole if he ever felt that he might be in danger. She said that it had come from the wise woman on the hill. She’d found it on the shore of the magic lake, high in the mountains. Then Gran told him to go upstairs and pack his rucksack for his journey into the spider kingdom.

‘What do you think I should take?’ Ben asked. ‘I’m only going to meet the wizard so that he can tell me what I need to do.’

‘I know,’ Gran said. ‘You’d better take your torch and I think you ought to take Scoot’s whistle as well. Just in case you get into any trouble. If he starts barking near the hedge I’ll know something’s wrong.’ When Ben and Jess had been lost in the woods Scoot had found them when he heard them blowing the whistle.

Ben went to his room and found his rucksack. He packed his notebook and pencil and the things his gran had suggested. When he was back in the kitchen Gran handed him a ball of yellow wool. He looked puzzled.

‘What’s this for?’ he asked. ‘I don’t think the spiders want me to knit for them!’

‘Silly boy,’ she said. ‘Do you remember the film we watched about the Greek prince who had to go into a big maze where there was a monster? How did the prince find his way out?’

Ben thought for a moment. ‘I know! A lady had given him some magic string, and he tied it to a tree before he went into the maze. When he wanted to come out he wound it up until he was back at the beginning.’

‘Well done,’ Gran said. ‘So, use this wool in the same way.’

Ben thought this was a bit silly, because he knew that Lox would be with him all the time, but he promised his gran that he’d do as she said. He put on his coat and boots, and went down to the bottom of the garden.