Free Cauldron Spells by C. J. Busby Page A

right?” asked Olivia, again. She was frantic with worry about Adolphus and would have given her newly acquired Squire of the Week certificate ten times over just for news that he was safe.
    Max was trying not to show it, but he was equally worried. Adolphus and Ferocious should have been back ages ago. Most of the castle had retired to their chambers, and they had seen Snotty return hours before. As he took his turn at the window, Max fingered the swift, still in his belt pouch, and wondered if he should have sent it off when they first heard of Morgana’s plans. He had wanted to have more to tell, to have learnt the whole plot, to have earned Merlin’s admiration and gratitude. And now Adolphus and Ferocious were in trouble, and it was all his fault. He nearly groaned – and then he suddenly sat up straight, widened his eyes and shouted in glee.
    “They’re back! Olivia – they’re back! There they are!”
    Adolphus came swooping in over the battlements straight towards the window, and Max only just got out of the way before he hurtled in through it and came to a skittering halt in the middle of the floor, panting.
    “Is it gone? Is it gone? Did we get away?”
    Ferocious dropped off his neck and said soothingly, “It’s okay, Adolphus, you managed to leave the nasty scary owl behind ages ago! We’re safe.”
    Adolphus breathed a mighty sigh of relief and flopped down sideways with his eyes rolled up into his head and his tongue stuck out. Olivia threw herself at him and hauled him onto her lap, stroking his scaly back and tickling him under his chin.
    “Adolphus, I’m so glad you’re back. We were really worried!”
    Ferocious had leapt up onto Max’s shoulder and was nibbling his ear affectionately.
    “Well, yes, you should have been. He was very nearly put in a pie. If it hadn’t been for Caradoc, he would have been.”
    “Caradoc?” said Olivia with distaste. “That traitor?”
    “Yes. He might be working for Morgana, but he’s still a friend of dragons,” said Ferocious. “We followed Snotty and Caradoc to Great-Aunt Wilhelmina’s cavern, but then we got caught. Snotty was all for chopping Adolphus into little bite-sized morsels but Caradoc wouldn’t hear of it. Bad luck to eat dragons, he said. So they just left us in the cave and rolled a stone across the entrance.”
    “Then how did you get out?” asked Max.
    “Well, that’s the thing,” said Ferocious, puzzled. “About an hour ago, someone came and rolled the stone away again. We heard them shift it, but when we got up there, we couldn’t see a thing. So we just headed back to the castle. And here we are. And we’ve discovered something.”
    Ferocious paused for effect as Olivia and Max both looked at him, expectantly.
    “It’s a cauldron,” he said, at last, meaningfully.
    “What?”
    “The Treasure of Annwn,” said the rat, looking round at them all. “It’s part of Great-Aunt Wilhelmina’s hoard. It’s a cauldron.”
    There was silence as they all digested this. Then Olivia looked up at Max, open-mouthed.
    “But Max…”
    “Yes,” said Ferocious. “I think it’s definitely possible.” 
    Max shook his head. “ My cauldron? The one she gave me? But she wouldn’t have given me a really precious one! Anyway, it doesn’t look like anything special. It’s really old and dull.”
    “But it’s very magical,” observed Ferocious. “Or were you just thinking it was you, Max? Getting so much better at this spell business?”
    Max frowned. It was true his spells had been spectacularly better since he’d got the new cauldron – but then the old one had been so totally ruined by Adolphus that it could just have been having a decent, working cauldron that had done it. He shook his head.
    “No, I’m sure it’s just ordinary. Maybe a bit better than your average apprentice’s cauldron – but I’m sure it can’t be the one they’re looking for.”
    “But Max,” said Olivia, “you’ve got lessons with