Deep Amber by C.J. Busby

more seconds of ear-splitting beeps, the alarm subsided.
    Cat had finally worked out the last lot of symbols, “It’s the rune for fire inside air, and the other symbol says it has to be projected, so I think that means a fiery wind. We can use my hairdryer on the hot setting…”
    They had decided to try and open the box immediately, and the kitchen table had seemed the safest place for experimenting.
    Simon and Cat looked at the wooden box, lying in the centre of a baking tray on the kitchen table. It seemed untouched. The ceiling, meanwhile, had several sooty scorch marks.
    â€œI said a splash,” said Cat. “Not half the bottle.”
    Simon made an apologetic face. “I thought it had to be surrounded. I didn’t realise the flames would go that high. Just as well Mum’s not here.”
    â€œRight,” said Cat, who was still wearing her dressing gown. “Ice inside earth next.”
    Simon reached out for the plastic box full of ice cubes that they’d decanted from the freezer, and poured them on top of the box so that they covered it completely, then plonked a pileof garden soil on top and patted it down.
    â€œHow long do you think we wait?” he said.
    Cat glanced at the clock. “Let’s give it five minutes, “she suggested. “It should cool it down enough to do whatever it’s supposed to do.” She leaned close to the box. “I wonder if we’ll hear a click or something.”
    Simon looked sceptical. He was certain this was nothing to do with heating or cooling the lock. They were trying to do something much more complicated, something more sideways and possibly even magical.
    After five minutes, they dug the box out of the ice and soil. It looked exactly the same, apart from a few muddy smears. Cat picked up her hair dryer and turning it to full blast on maximum heat, pointed it right at the box.
    Simon wasn’t sure what he had expected to happen. The lid to fly open, perhaps? Some startling change of colour, or sparks?
    But the box stayed exactly the same. When Simon reached out to try the lid, it was just as firmly locked as it was to start with. He looked at Cat, who shrugged.
    And then, at that precise moment, he hearda querulous voice saying quite distinctly, “Oh do get on with it. You are quite hopeless!”
    â€œDid you hear that?’ he asked Cat, who had turned quite white.
    â€œYes,” she said, shakily. “It… it sounded like it was coming from the box.”
    Simon thought so too. But what was even stranger was that the voice had sounded extraordinarily like Great-Aunt Irene.

Chapter Nine
    The Druid had been having a trying couple of days. He’d spent the morning of Dora and Jem’s departure battling a fire at the mill which had turned out to be the work of a rather troublesome dragon, and required quite a quantity of magic to defeat it. It didn’t help that he’d mislaid his sword somewhere, and had been forced to borrow Sir Roderick’s, which didn’t have anything like as good a balance. Then, when he’d finally returned to the castle, he had been greeted by the sight of all the squires’ undergarments fluttering in the breeze from the top of the battlements. Somehow, Jem had managed to continue his feud with the castle squires without even being there. Sir Mortimer was furious, and the squires were demanding that Jem be banishedwithout trial. All of which took some time and energy to smooth over.
    So it wasn’t until the day after Dora and Jem had set out for the city that the Druid heard from Sir Mortimer about the third strange object.
    â€œA third? Another? Are you sure?”
    â€œAh… erm… yes. Sorry. I did mean to tell you on the day, but what with one thing and another… It was a little red box – Jem found it. Was it important?”
    The Druid sighed. “Well, yes. If there are three, it means it’s almost certainly the