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    Greenwitch
    Greenwitch
    Greenwitch
    Ebook167 pages2 hours

    Greenwitch

    By Susan Cooper

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    The Drew siblings must face a powerful creature from the ocean depths to reclaim the golden grail in this third installment of Susan Cooper’s epic and award-winning The Dark Is Rising Sequence, now with a brand-new look!

    The priceless golden grail that Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew worked so hard to recover has been stolen by forces of evil. Great-Uncle Merry takes the siblings back to Trewissick in Cornwall, where he expects the Dark has hidden the grail. There, they are joined by Will Stanton, a mysterious boy with astounding powers.

    But there are more forces at play than they realize, and when the village women create the disturbing ritual creature called the Greenwitch—an ancient image made of leaves and branches and cast into the sea for good luck in fishing—Jane must face the unknown without help. The Greenwitch springs to life with vengeful power and is called forth from the ocean depths by the Dark to set loose the unpredictable Wild Magic of the earth. To prevent this dreadful entity from unleashing devastating damage, Jane must convince Greenwitch to turn toward the Light. But can she ever hope to tip the balance against the Dark?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMargaret K. McElderry Books
    Release dateNov 30, 2010
    ISBN9780689849190
    Greenwitch
    Author

    Susan Cooper

    Susan Cooper is one of our foremost fantasy authors; her classic five-book fantasy sequence The Dark Is Rising has sold millions of copies worldwide. Her books’ accolades include the Newbery Medal, a Newbery Honor, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and five shortlists for the Carnegie Medal. She combines fantasy with history in Victory (a Washington Post Top Ten Books for Children pick), King of Shadows, Ghost Hawk, and her magical The Boggart and the Monster, second in a trilogy, which won the Scottish Arts Council’s Children’s Book Award. Susan Cooper lives on a saltmarsh island in Massachusetts, and you can visit her online at TheLostLand.com.

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    Reviews for Greenwitch

    4/5

    1,171 ratings39 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Greenwitch is the third book in Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising sequence. It is an odd book in some ways, and is both the shortest, and in my opinion, the weakest book in the series. The book is so short, in some ways, that it feels like it should have just been part of one of the other four books in the series. The book takes place between The Dark Is Rising and The Grey King, bringing Will Stanton and the Drew children together for the first time. The story revolves around a local folk festival in Cornwall, and the decisions made by Jane Drew.As the book focuses on Jane Drew, and a folk festival that only women can participate in, this is the only book in the series that is told primarily from the perspective of a female character. Consequently, the fact that the folk festival is so obscure, and the book is so short is somewhat disappointing. Whereas the other books in the series are full of references to the myths and legends of the British Isles and have interesting storylines, this book seems to be very thin in comparison. The central myth dealt with in the book is, when you really look at it, quite small, especially since it is surrounded by the key elements of Arthurian, English, and Welsh national mythology. Even though the story is short, it doesn't feel rushed, just short, like there just wasn't much to say, and Jane just didn't have anything more to offer as a character.Of all the books in the series, this one left me feeling the most disappointed. I felt like Cooper should have been able to give a more extensive story, but just couldn't come up anything more than a brief, linear tale to fill the gap. Though the writing is good, the plot is somewhat predictable and not really all that interesting. Fortunately, it is short, and as a bridge between the first half of the series and the second, it serves decently.
    • 4/5
      This one was better than the previous. The story seems more well written than the first two.
    • 4/5
      Not my favorite in the sequence, but notable as it focuses more on Jane, rather than Will or her brothers.
    • 5/5
      Will Stanton and the Drew children meet to continue the quest to stop the Dark from rising in the third book of the Dark is Rising Sequence. Probably my favorite of the sequence.
    • 4/5
      When the grail the Drew children found is stolen by the Dark, Simon, Jane, and Barney team up with their Uncle Merry and Will Stanton to get it back. But what is this mysterious Greenwitch ceremony and the magical creature, smelling of hawthorne and the sea, that begins to haunt Jane's dreams?This is by far my favorite book of the series so far. I'm not a huge fan of Will Stanton but I love the Drew children and in this book, the interaction between Will and the Drews made Will's character very bearable for me. I think he's a much better character when he's not the sole focus of the narrative. Cooper also did a marvelous job of making him both an Old One and a young boy. There were instances when he was just charming and fun to read about and of course, the sibling interactions between Simon, Jane and Barney are never dull. Cooper's ability to develop relationships between her characters is really astounding in these books.My only real beef with the series in general is that in so many scenes, there could have been much more description, and many could have been extended. However, one must remember that she was in fact writing this for the young adult audience and, though some may disagree with me, young teenagers and older tweens do tend to have shorter attention spans. I enjoy these books for what they are: good juvenile escapist fiction. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      And thus ends the third book in the Dark is Rising series: Greenwitch. In a way, although this is the shortest book out of the five in the series, this book is also one of the books that I enjoy the most and have always remembered the most. It smooths into the gaping space and distance the first two books had from each other and melds them simultaneously and with such naturalness that you barely even notice that it's done before you've gotten to the end of the book and are wishing--eagerly and impatiently--for more. I tell you: with each book I read of this series, I gain more and more respect for the author, Susan Cooper. The difficulty of doing what she accomplishes in this series with the naturalness of breathing is hard to take for granted when you're reading this series the second time around and have the chance to actually sit back and look over its progression in awe of how well it's all put together. Her writing, if it was to be described in a few of words, would be multilayered, intricate, and seamless. If you've even dabbled in the series' first two books so far, you'd absolutely have picked up on that before even coming to Greenwitch. Her talent, like her creativity, speaks for itself.

      To change the subject a little bit, lets move on to the characters. This time around, we've got probably one of the MOST exciting things yet! This is the first time in this series that our first two books MIX! We get not only Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew--our heroes from Over Sea, Under Stone--but we ALSO have Will Stanton from The Dark is Rising join us as well! ...all... in one... book!!! I don't know how thrilled you are with that, but I was PSYCHED!!!! I flipped out! I was so eager! AUGH! <3 The joy! The delight! THE EXCITEMENT. Getting to see all these characters that we've been introduced to separately, each playing their own big and super-enjoyable parts in this story, come together for the first time? EEEEE! It's like taking the idea of a crossover between two of your favorite stories and making it happen! Except it's better because it's EXACTLY like that without it being a crossover at all! WHAT A BRILLIANT AUTHOR WE HAVE! Susan Cooper, you are GENIUS. <333

      Continuing on though, I still find it surprising to me that each time I read more of this series, the amount that I enjoy reading things from Simon, Jane, and Barney's perspectives is probably one of the things that sticks out to me most. In the midst of all this magical element, they're the one constant that I can rely on, and I can't deny that I love each and every single one of those three. Their reactions, their efforts, their thoughts and opinions are a constant delight to me! It's not that I don't like Will. I find him a reassurance, and a constant source of insight throughout any book that he's involved in. But there's a charm that comes with normal people being involved with supernatural things that really draws me close to the other three children. Just reading their conversations and the way their minds work both together and apart is a pleasure in and of itself. Few things can beat that, in my opinion. Reading their interactions is a part of the books that I relish! I hope I'm not the only one who feels that way. *Chuckles* But if I am, that won't change a thing of how I feel about them.

      I don't have much else to say about this little bridge of a book. I am happy that it was included in the series, because it's more necessary than anyone can quite imagine at first glance. It bridges book one and book two, and it connects the first part of this epic quest with the second part that we're about to move into in the reading of The Grey King. Without this book here, everything would be in discord, and a lot of what's to happen next wouldn't be half as much fun or as exciting as it's going to get. And if the entire point is to enjoy what you read, then thank you, Susan Cooper, for this interlude!

      On a final note, Greenwitch also did a spectacular job of portraying the personalities even further of the kids that we've come to love and look forward to adventuring with. Will was seen a lot more from an outside perspective, and his eager, good-willed, but gentle and kind nature showed through in a way that we perhaps didn't get a chance to really see in the midst of all the chaos in The Dark is Rising. Likewise, we got to see another side of Simon and Barney in Greenwitch, when for the first time they have someone else introduced into their midst--not a girl, but a boy to challenge their superiority as the men in the group of kids on this quest. In addition to that, we're beginning to see the parts of importance that everyone played is also going 'round to Barney, the youngest, who played a bigger role this time around and developed or showed us gifts that we didn't think we'd be seeing in him. I think it was Jane, however, who won me over with her understanding and empathy in this book. She shows more of it later on, I believe, if I'm remembering correctly across the decade I haven't read this series. But it was her selfless and loving desires, even in the midst of strange and frightening wonders, that won my heart in a way few do. She was amazing, even though what she did might seem so very small or simple. But isn't that the greatest part? How she, just a girl, normal and magicless, was able to change the path of this quest with just her own smallest actions. That is what makes this book so magical, and perhaps why I love the Drew kids even more than I can say.

      With all these thoughts done, I think I'll wrap it up just about now, and continue on with the reading. *Smiles and waves curtly* I'll see you all in The Grey King. I'm rushing forward to it... to meet someone I've dreamed about for ten long years, and who has never quite left me... since the first time I met him. And that... is enough to sway any man.

      I hope you join me.
    • 5/5
      I found that Greenwitch targeted the female audience, but it was still a good read.
    • 4/5
      This was not long, but it was pretty good. The family from Book 1 gets to meet the boy from book 2, and we're back in the familiar coastal town.
    • 4/5
      In this, the third book of the Dark is Rising cycle, Susan Cooper merges the world of that eponymous novel and her earlier children's mystery, Over Sea, Under Stone. To a large degree, in fact, it feels as if that's the main motivation for the book. At times, it's a bit of an uncomfortable collaboration; Greenwitch has the lighter, younger reader-friendly narrative voice of Stone, with the mysticism and occasional high speech of Dark. The result comes off, at times, like a Scooby Doo mystery with occasional scenes written by Alan Garner. That's not to say it's a bad book - not at all. There's some wonderful imagery here, and the Greenwitch herself is a powerful and mysterious visual symbol. It doesn't have the startling otherworldliness of The Dark is Rising, though, and what it adds to the mythos of Cooper's reality feels as if it's designed for this book only, to be quickly disposed of once its purpose is served, instead of furthering and widening the scope of the fight between the Light and the Dark. (It's a little telling that, at the midst of a conflict between Will, his friends, and the an agent of the Dark, the new and powerful forces Cooper introduces are totally ambivalent to the ongoing struggle outside their own primal interests.) The whole work is simply more superficial than its predecessor, with a story that's only about half as long. An educated guess would suggest that Cooper is setting her pieces in place for much deeper and more complicated adventures in the final two books of the cycle. As such, Greenwitch is probably a necessary step in reconciling two earlier works of very, very different tones, but it's definitely a "middle book" and doesn't stand especially well as a standalone read.
    • 3/5
      Probably the weakest of the Dark is Rising Sequence so far. Cooper's prose remains lovely and strong, and it's nice to see some character development--and a little less focus on the boys--in Jane's storyline. However, the marriage between the Drews' story and Will's is, so far, an awkward one. The characterization of Merrimen as both lovable "Gumerry" and an Old One just feels . . . weird, and like the Drews boys, I found Will's solemn, somewhat flat presence grating, especially in contrast to the more faceted and boisterous Drews children. His strength in The Dark Is Rising was his realistic doubt and uncertainty, and here he's a cipher--frustrating! This is undoubtedly a key stepping stone in the series, but it wouldn't stand well on its own.
    • 4/5
      In the third book in the Sequence, Simon, Jane, and Barney meet up with Will, and of course the mysterious Merry in order to recover the piece that fell from the grail as well as the grail itself. The four of them must work together with the siblings not trusting Will, and the Greenwitch playing a role. In the end it is an act of Jane's that makes the difference.
    • 5/5
      Third in "The Dark is Rising" series, this book sees the meeting up of the three children from "Over Sea and Under Stone" with Will Stanton from "The Dark is Rising".The grail that the children found in a cave in Trewissick, South Cornwall, has been stolen by an agent of the Dark, and Merriman enlists the help of the Drew children once again. Only this time the children are surprised and shocked when Merriman arrives with another boy - Will Stanton. That is surely going to be a problem, they think.Susan Cooper writes this so well. The line between super human Old One and 11 year old boy is so perfectly walked. Each character develops nicely in this book, but especially Jane. I loved this book as a child. The interactions between families and friends, and the stumbling move from antipathy to friendship between the Drew children and Will Stanton all stand out, along with flashes of humour and an exciting and mysterious tale, cunningly written.As an adult reader this remains an important and enjoyable book in probably my all time favourite series. Definitely strongly recommended.
    • 3/5
      This book had more Jane, the Drew children and Will Stanton finally meet, and the Drew boys don't really like Will. All in all this was an okay read. I probably would have devoured it faster if I was 11 or 12, but I'm 21.
    • 4/5
      The third book in Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising trilogy follows from the first book, in which the three Drew children; Simon, Jane and Barney, get together on holiday with their mysterious Great-uncle Merriman, commonly called Gumerry. Out in an ancient boating village in Cornwall, an age-old custom of building an offering to the sea goddess made of twigs and rocks called the Greenwitch is followed every year, the creation of which only the local women can assist. Many strange events take place this year, as the ancient forces of light and evil battle it out. A truly fascinating series which draws on Arthurian legends and ancient myths.
    • 3/5
      This one wasn't as good as the others in the series. While the first book was an unremarkable but well-written mystery tale about the Drew child detectives, and the second was the much more enjoyable story of Will Stanton's initiation into (though a tad messy) this third instalment is closest in spirit to the first, but much more rushed. Not that it isn't enjoyable, but it isn't quite up to the standard that the second book set, in terms of overall quality and character development.Throughout Cooper is clearly itching to get on with the overarching story arc: it seems as if she is unwilling to spend much attention on the meeting of the Drew children with Will -- which begs the question why she devoted one third of her series to a development she wasn't all that interested in telling. In a welcome change from the previous books, Jane (virtually the only important female MC so far) gets more screentime, even though her contributions to the children's quest centre around sensitivity and compassion. Even so, her scenes offset some of the bossy boy parts, which makes for a more even read. In all, this book mostly serves to further the main storyline dealing with the battle between the forces of Dark and Light, which comes much more to the foreground here, and I thought that was effort well spent. I can only hope that Cooper continues this crescendo in the final two instalments, which are now on the top of my TBR pile.
    • 3/5
      First of all, this was way too short. Not enough. The Dark was inchoate, poorly formed, and the Light was hazy at best. The plot wasn't much, the Greenwitch not enough... but still, there was a lot here to like. The writing is lovely, the tensions between characters totally believable, and the ending quite satisfying. It's just that it's not The Dark Is Rising, that's all.
    • 4/5
      The third book in the sequence and the one that finally unites the main protagonists of the first two books, the Drewe siblings and the last of the old ones, Will Stanton, as they work with Merriman Lyon try to recover the Grail which has been stolen from the British Museum. The relationship between the 4 children is at the heart of the book. I love the relationship between the Drewe siblings, which feels very real, and the resentment and mistrust that Simon and Barney feel towards Will as an interloper. It's particularly lovely that Jane is the focus of the plot as she develops a bond with the Greenwitch and slowly becomes close to Will. In The Dark is Rising Will's journey was to understand and achieve his potential as an Old One and now we really get and understanding just what it means for him to be the last of the Old Ones as well as an 11 year old boy when Jane asks him 'You aren't quite like the rest of us, are you?'. Wonderful and I'm really looking forward to the next book in the sequence.
    • 5/5
      Power from the Greenwitch, lost beneath the sea!
    • 5/5
      A mystical story that focuses on Jane more than the her brothers or Will Stanton. Invokes the ancient beliefs of the Cornish Greenwitch, which is a deliciously feminist entity. This is my favourite book in the series.
    • 4/5
      I didn't like this book quite as well as its two predecessors, but I would still give it four stars. The highlight of the story, aside from its continuing to push the main quest forward, is that it introduces a third magical force separate from the Light and the Dark, and shows that there can not truly be any neutral ground between the two. This third force also draws much of the book's plot away from the main quest, however, and ends up interfering with the events of that quest in a way that is too convenient. I complained that in "Over Sea, Under Stone," it sometimes felt like the children were figuring things out too quickly, but in this book things just seem to happen without any figuring out at all; the Old Ones already know everything that's supposed to happen, and the children don't seem to have as much to do here. Their characters suddenly appear weaker when they are brought together with Will Stanton. However, there is a slight surprise at the end of the book in regards to the Dark character in this story, which lent at least some feeling that not everything in the story was completely predictable.
    • 5/5
      The third book in the Dark is Rising series. In this, the two worlds of the previous novels collide. Barney, Jane and Simon finally meet Will, and it's a funny and adorable situation. Jane continues to be a tough/strong character and I love that about Susan Cooper's writing. I liked this book because it was fast-paced, but gave us a lot of tiny bits of character development. I loved Jane's interactions with the Greenwitch and her perceptiveness when it came to Will. I like that while Simon and Barney are initially annoyed by Will's presence, they end up getting along with him. I also loved the character of the Greenwitch, she's a great fantastical character. I love this series, even as an adult.
    • 4/5
      This book brings the Drew kids and Will Stanton all together. The grail has been stolen and they need to try and get it back. This all happens at a little sea side village where they are celebrating spring and making a Greenwich to through into the sea for good luck.This is a neat set of books for young adults/Middle school kids. I read them when I was in Middle school and found them a little spooky, having reread them as an adult I found them an easy read and definitely written for younger readers. Great books to get younger readers interested in reading.
    • 4/5
      3rd book in the Dark is Rising series. Goodk, but not as good as the 2nd, the Dark is Rising.
    • 3/5
      Barney and Simon are such big babies compared to Will, though I do like Jane and the fact that she has a nice role in this book. Still, my heart belongs to Will and Merriman, as always.
    • 4/5
      The grail has been stolen. Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew, who found the grail in the first place, know it must have something to do with the Dark. Their Great Uncle Merry confirms this for them, and says that they will need to help, but he can't tell them much more like that. Meanwhile, Will Stanton's uncle visits from America and offers to take him with him to Cornwall. The three Drews are a little leery of sharing their vacation, and their great-uncle, with Will, but all four children are going to have to find a way to work together to keep the grail out of the hands of the Dark.It's been a few years since I read Over Sea, Under Stone and The Dark is Rising, but I remembered enough about the stories and the characters to follow along in this one. Greenwitch has some interesting elements, but it's a fairly straightforward story with little surprises for a well-seasoned fantasy reader. As the middle book in the series, it doesn't stand on its own well - it brings together characters from the first two books, and sets up the next one. Perhaps because I'm coming to these books for the first time as an adult, I'm simply not falling in love with it. I will continue reading - I'm especially interested in reading the Newbery Medal winner, The Grey King - but at this point, I wouldn't plan on rereading any of the titles.
    • 4/5
      One of my favorite book series!
    • 3/5
      While many of the young adult fantasy series out there (Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, etc.) are perfectly readable and enjoyable for adults, this series is probably not one of them. It tends to be a bit too simplistic with the problems too easily solved. This is the third book in "The Dark is Rising" sequence and brings together characters from the first two books. One of the characters is clearly in control of the situation, not needing to work it solving the problems at all and the other three are just stumbling around blindly, never understanding what's happening at all. The climax comes and goes before you know it--very simplistic. I wouldn't recommend this as a serious read for adults.
    • 5/5
      The Drew children, who found an inscribed golden cup they refer to as the grail in Over Sea, Under Stone, meet Will Stanton from The Dark is Rising, thanks to their mutual connection Uncle Merry. They all spend a holiday together in a cottage in Trewissick, southern, Cornwall, at the time of a special ceremony where a large female figure of branches, made during the night by the village women, is thrown into the sea the next morning by the men. Endowed with unsuspected supernatural powers, the Greenwitch is instrumental (thanks to a wish made by the Drew girl, Jane) in retrieving the parchment that was lost in the deeps in OS,US. This parchment is essential in deciphering the message on the grail, which, at the beginning of the story, was stolen from the museum where it was kept. All very adventuresome and fast-moving, like the other stories, but somewhat shorter, more mystical, pagan and at times unsettling. This edition has an introduction by the author and is sensitively illustrated with paintings that demand a lot of inspection as they contain more than meets the eye.
    • 4/5
      This short book, The 3rd entry in "The Dark Is Rising" series, features both the Drew children and Will Stanton as they endeavor to redeem the scroll that in the first book Barney threw into the sea to avoid the Dark getting it. The scroll is needed to decipher the message on the grail. Another plot twist is that the grail has been stolen from the museum that was guarding it—while it was on display. (You would think that the Old Ones could think of a safer way to keep it until they need it! –one of many plot holes in this series. If my son who gave me this set of books was unhappy with the “plot holes” he found in the Harry Potter series I think he had better avoid this series altogether.) The story was interesting but again, the Drew children sometimes detracted from the story. Also, Cooper does not seem concerned with developing the characters of the children so they seem to be more deus ex machine to move the plot along rather than real characters. However, again I found the story interesting and the Greenwitch story somewhat moving. My other son, who read the series last year, says that this book is a bridge to the last two. This is now a series I would recommend to middle school children who are good readers and interested in fantasy.
    • 4/5
      The Drew children, Simon, Jane and Barney, are united with Will Stanton in a quest to draw magic from the Greenwitch, an image of leaves and branches that for centuries has been cast into the sea for good luck. Really enjoyed this installment because the characters get to be real people who get jealous and angry at things that children get jealous and angry about, rather than being idealized and uber-clever children as happens quite often in YA of this kind. I also really liked that unassuming Jane gets to play such a huge part - girl power!

    Book preview

    Greenwitch - Susan Cooper

    CHAPTER ONE

    ONLY ONE NEWSPAPER CARRIED THE story in detail, under the headline: TREASURES STOLEN FROM MUSEUM.

    Several Celtic works of art were stolen from the British Museum yesterday, one of them worth more than £50,000. Police say that the theft appears to be the result of an intricate and so far baffling plan. No burglar alarms were set off, the showcases involved were undamaged, and no signs have been found of breaking-in.

    The missing objects include a gold chalice, three jewelled brooches and a bronze buckle. The chalice, known as the Trewissick Grail, had been acquired by the Museum only last summer, after its dramatic discovery in a Cornish cave by three children. It had been valued at £50,000, but a Museum spokesman said last night that its true value was incalculable, due to the unique inscriptions on its sides which scholars have so far been unable to decipher.

    The spokesman added that the Museum appealed to the thieves not to damage the chalice in any way, and would be offering a substantial reward for its return. The grail is an extraordinary piece of historical evidence, unprecedented in the whole field of Celtic studies, he said, and its importance to scholars far exceeds its intrinsic value.

    Lord Clare, who is a trustee of the British Museum, said last night that the chalice—

    Oh do come out of that paper, Barney, Simon said irritably. You’ve read it fifty times, and anyway it’s no help.

    You never know, said his younger brother, folding the newspaper and cramming it into his pocket. Might be a hidden clue.

    Nothing’s hidden, said Jane sadly. It’s all too obvious.

    They stood in a dejected row on the shiny floor of the museum gallery, before a central showcase taller than the rows of identical glass cases all round. It was empty, save for a black wooden plinth on which, clearly, something had once been displayed. A neat silver square on the wood was engraved with the words: Gold chalice of unknown Celtic workmanship, believed sixth century. Found in Trewissick, South Cornwall, and presented by Simon, Jane and Barnabas Drew.

    All that trouble we had, getting there first, Simon said. And now they’ve simply come and lifted it. Mind you, I always thought they might.

    Barney said, The worst part is not being able to tell anyone who did it.

    We could try, Jane said.

    Simon looked at her with his head on one side. Please sir, we can tell you who took the grail, in broad daylight without breaking any locks. It was the powers of the Dark.

    Pop off, sonny, Barney said. And take your fairy stories with you.

    I suppose you’re right, Jane said. She tugged distractedly at her pony tail. But if it was the same ones, somebody might at least have seen them. That horrible Mr. Hastings—

    Not a chance. Hastings changes, Great-Uncle Merry said. Don’t you remember? He wouldn’t have the same name, or the same face. He can be different people, at different times.

    I wonder if Great-Uncle Merry knows, Barney said. About this. He stared at the glass case, and the small, lonely black plinth inside.

    Two elderly ladies in hats came up beside him. One wore a yellow flowerpot, the other a pyramid of pink flowers. That’s where they pinched it from, the attendant said, one told the other. Fancy! The other cases were over here.

    Tut-tut-tut-tut, said the other lady with relish, and they moved on. Absently Barney watched them go, their footsteps clopping through the high gallery. They paused at a showcase over which a long-legged figure was bending. Barney stiffened. He peered at the figure.

    We’ve got to do something, Simon said. Just got to.

    Jane said, But where do we start?

    The tall figure straightened to let the be-hatted ladies approach the glass case. He bent his head courteously, and a mass of wild white hair caught the light.

    Simon said, I don’t see how Great-Uncle Merry could know—I mean he isn’t even in Britain, is he? Taking that year off from Oxford. Sab—whatsit.

    Sabbatical, Jane said. In Athens. And not even a card at Christmas.

    Barney was holding his breath. Across the gallery, as the crime-loving ladies moved on, the tall white-haired man turned towards a window; his beak-nosed, hollow-eyed profile was unmistakable. Barney let out a howl. Gumerry!

    Simon and Jane trailed blinking in his wake as he skidded across the floor.

    Great-Uncle Merry!

    Good morning, said the tall man amiably.

    But Mum said you were in Greece!

    I came back.

    Did you know someone was going to steal the grail? Jane said.

    Her great-uncle arched one white-bristling eyebrow at her, but said nothing.

    Barney said simply, What are we going to do?

    Get it back, said Great-Uncle Merry.

    I suppose it was them? Simon said diffidently. The other side? The Dark?

    Of course.

    Why did they take the other stuff, the brooches and things?

    To make it look right, said Jane.

    Great-Uncle Merry nodded. It was effective enough. They took the most valuable pieces. The police will think they were simply after the gold. He looked down at the empty showcase; then his gaze flicked up, and each of the three felt impelled to stare motionless into the deep-set dark eyes, with the light behind them like a cold fire that never went out.

    But I know that they wanted only the grail, Great-Uncle Merry said, to help them on the way to something else. I know what they intend to do, and I know that they must at all costs be stopped. And I am very much afraid that you three, as the finders, will be needed once more to give help—far sooner than I had expected.

    Shall we? said Jane slowly.

    Super, said Simon.

    Barney said, "Why should they have taken the grail now? Does it mean they’ve found the lost manuscript, the one that explains the cipher written on the sides of the grail?"

    No, said Great-Uncle Merry. Not yet.

    Then why—

    I can’t explain, Barney. He thrust his hands into his pockets and hunched his bony shoulders. This matter involves Trewissick, and it does involve that manuscript. But it is part of something very much larger as well, something which I may not explain. I can only ask you to trust me, as you all trusted me once before, in another part of the long battle between the Light and the Dark. And to help, if you are sure you feel able to give help, without perhaps ever being able fully to understand what you are about.

    Barney said calmly, pushing his tow-coloured forelock out of his eyes: That’s all right.

    Of course we want to help, Simon said eagerly.

    Jane said nothing. Her great-uncle put one finger under her chin, tilted her head up and looked at her. Jane, he said gently. There is absolutely no reason to involve any of you in this if you are not happy about it.

    Jane looked up at the strongly marked face, thinking how much it looked like one of the fierce statues they had passed on their way through the museum. You know I’m not scared, she said. Well, I mean I am a bit, but excited-scared. It’s just that if there’s going to be any danger to Barney, I feel—I mean, he’s going to scream at me, but he is younger than we are and we oughtn’t—

    Barney was scarlet. Jane!

    It’s no good yelling, she said with spirit. If anything happened to you, we’d be responsible, Simon and me.

    The Dark will not touch any of you, Great-Uncle Merry said quietly. There will be protection. Don’t worry. I promise you that. Nothing that may happen to Barney will harm him.

    They smiled at one another.

    I am not a baby! Barney stamped one foot in fury.

    Stop it, said Simon. Nobody said you were.

    Great-Uncle Merry said, When are the Easter holidays, Barney?

    There was a short pause.

    The fifteenth, I think, Barney said grumpily.

    That’s right, Jane said. Simon’s start a bit before that, but we all overlap by about a week.

    It’s a long way off, Great-Uncle Merry said.

    Too late? They looked at him anxiously.

    No, I don’t think so…. Is there anything to prevent the three of you from spending that week with me in Trewissick?

    No!

    Nothing!

    Not really. I was going to a sort of ecology conference, but I can get out of that…. Simon’s voice trailed away, as he thought of the little Cornish village where they had found the grail. Whatever adventure might now follow had begun there, deep inside a cave in the cliffs, over sea and under stone. And at the heart of things now, as he had been then, would always be Great-Uncle Merry, Professor Merriman Lyon, the most mysterious figure in their lives, who in some incomprehensible way was involved with the long struggle for control of the world between the Light and the Dark.

    I’ll speak to your parents, his great-uncle said.

    Why Trewissick again? Jane said. Will the thieves take the grail there?

    I think they may.

    Just one week, Barney said, staring pensively at the empty showcase before them. That’s not much for a quest. Will it really be enough?

    It is not very long, said Great-Uncle Merry. But it will have to do.

    Will eased a stem of grass out of its sheath and sat down on a rock near the front gate, despondently nibbling. The April sunshine glimmered on the new-green leaves of the lime trees; a thrush somewhere shouted its happy self-echoing song. Lilac and wallflowers scented the morning. Will sighed. They were all very well, these joys of a Buckinghamshire spring, but he would have appreciated them more with someone there to share the Easter holidays. Half his large family still lived at home, but his nearest brother James was away at a Scout camp for the week, and the next in line, Mary, had disappeared to some Welsh relations to recuperate from mumps. The rest were busy with boring older preoccupations. That was the trouble with being the youngest of nine; everyone else seemed to have grown up too fast.

    There was one respect in which he, Will Stanton, was far older than any of them, or than any human creature. But only he knew of the great adventure which had shown him, on his eleventh birthday, that he had been born the last of the Old Ones, guardians of the Light, bound by immutable laws to defend the world against the rising Dark. Only he knew—and because he was also an ordinary boy, he was not thinking of it now.

    Raq, one of the family dogs, pushed a damp nose into his hand. Will fondled the floppy ears. A whole week, he said to the dog. What shall we do? Go fishing?

    The ears twitched, the nose left his hand; stiff and alert, Raq turned towards the road. In a moment or two a taxi drew up outside the gate: not the familiar battered car that served as village taxi, but a shiny professional vehicle from the town three miles away. The man who emerged was small, balding and rather rumpled, wearing a raincoat and carrying a large shapeless holdall. He dismissed the taxi, and stood looking at Will.

    Puzzled, Will scrambled up and came to the gate. Good morning, he said.

    The man stood solemn for a moment, then grinned. You’re Will, he said. He had a smooth round face with round eyes, like a clever fish.

    That’s right, Will said.

    The youngest Stanton. The seventh son. That’s one up on me—I was only the sixth.

    His voice was soft and rather husky, with an odd mid-Atlantic accent; the vowels were American, but the intonation was English. Will smiled in polite incomprehension.

    Your father was the seventh in that family, the man in the raincoat said. He grinned again, his round eyes crinkling at the corners, and held out his hand. Hi. I’m your Uncle Bill.

    Well I’m blowed! said Will. He shook the hand. Uncle Bill. His namesake. His father’s favourite brother, who had gone off to America years and years ago and set up some sort of successful business—pottery, wasn’t it? Will did not remember ever having seen him before; he was sent a Christmas present each year by this unknown Uncle Bill, who was also his godfather, and he wrote a chatty letter of thanks annually as a result, but the letters had never had a reply.

    You’ve grown some, said Uncle Bill as they walked to the house. "Last time we met, you were a little

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