Eight Days of Luke

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Title Eight Days of Luke

Author	Diana Wynne Jones
Country	Great Britain
Language	English
Genre(s)	Fantasy, Children's Literature
Publisher	Various
Released	1975
Media type	Print

Eight Days of Luke is a 1975 children's novel by Diana Wynne Jones.

[edit] Plot

David Allard, an orphan, returns to his hometown of Ashbury from boarding school to discover that his relatives-cum-guardians have nothing arranged for his summer. Forced to spend his holidays in their company, he puts up with their mistreatment of him until one night, walking in the garden, in a fit of frustration he makes up words to use as a curse. David's words seem to cause the garden wall to crumble, and to release a boy a year or so older than himself with flame-red hair, who identifies himself as Luke. Happy to have made a new friend, David isn't quite sure what to make of Luke, who makes odd references to "[his] chains" and "bowls of venom". Luke also tells David that simply kindling a flame will summon him.

This turns out to be the case. Luke is certainly odd, though, in other ways. His touch seems to kill living plants--as he notes, he can't bring the dead back to life. And when David and his young cousin-by-marriage, Astrid (who seems the best of the awful relatives) are on a shopping expedition on the next day, Monday, Luke duly appears, ingratiates himself with Astrid, and when a bored David suggests it would be great if the building across from them caught on fire, the building suddenly does. People are trapped. It is only when David reminds Luke of his statement that he can't bring the dead back to life and tells Luke that he wants the fire out, now, that the fire dies down. David is troubled by the incident.

That evening, David escapes punishment for the first time because his uncle is upset that his new gardener has found another job over at Thunderly Hill (the place names in this book are almost all significant) And David notices more odd things about Luke. He can entertain his friend with fiery doodles. When asleep, he seems ageless. He heals uncommonly quickly.

But the next day, Tuesday, another gardener, Mr. Chew, turns up. He is very interested in David, and in the place where Luke's release took place. Luke seems afraid of him. David helps Luke, who has slept over, escape from the house without Chew noticing. Luke castigates himself for carelessness in doing things that Chew and unspecified others would be bound to notice. David takes Luke to play cricket (David's obsession) and they meet a new friend, Alan.

David is unable to escape the house in the afternoon, due to Chew's vigilance. David is sent again to his room without supper--though Astrid helps him out--but David sees Chew talking to a well-dressed man from his window.

The next morning, Wednesday, the well-dressed man (Mr. Wedding) arrives and persuades David's relations to let him take David out for lunch, in a chauffeur-driven car driven by a beautiful lady. He soon gains David's trust, to some extent, and David gladly tells him all the things about school he could not tell his relatives. Oddly, through the car windows, the view is now of a place like Norway, with pine trees, and they soon arrive at a green island, linked to the mainland by a long arching bridge which has almost a rainbow effect. There, David is served a wonderful lunch at what seems to be an inn. But soon, Mr. Wedding gets down to business--he wants to know about Luke. David refuses to help, but admits to releasing Luke while trying to curse. He notices odd things about Mr. Wedding--he talks to ravens, and when David really looks at him, he sees Mr. Wedding is missing an eye and isn't as ordinary as David initially took him for. He tells David that Luke was shut up for good reason, for doing something terrible. He tries frightening David, threatening to keep him captive, promising him a bribe, even shaming him. None of this is successful--David will not help--and at length, Mr. Wedding returns David home, seeming to admire David for his stubbornness. But first he makes a deal with David--if David can keep Luke free until Sunday, then Luke is safe for good.

While Mr. Wedding sets a talking raven to watch David, the boy is able to evade the bird and summon Luke. He tells Luke about the deal. Luke is confident that they will win against Mr. Wedding. While Mr. Wedding had said that Luke took a revenge from prison, Luke denies this--saying he needed both hands to stop poison dripping on him.

The next day, Thursday, David has trouble leaving the house--it seems there are two ravens watching him. But he gets the ravens involved in eating a joint of meat while he drives off with Astrid. Luke appears when David strikes a match for Astrid's cigarette--but is suddenly caught by a fair, strong ginger-haired individual. Luke doesn't seem to mind that much, and after Luke is questioned by the fellow, he is released. It seems the individual, who seems very nice, has lost something. Luke denies any knowledge. David and Luke agree that the best course is for Luke to simply vanish until Monday.

But the next day, Friday, a couple from down the street, the Frys, show up. It quickly seems that they are associated with the other odd characters who have sought Luke--Mr. Chew and Mr Wedding soon show up, and when a confused Astrid needs a cigarette lit, the inevitable happens--Luke appears and is caught. David and Astrid manage to keep up with the others who are shouting demands at Luke, even though it seems they aren't at the house anymore and many others are going at Luke. Luke denies everything, and David defends him. David reveals to them that Luke told him that he did do something, but not as a revenge--for someone who is dead now. Luke admits that he did help out someone who asked how to hide something so it might never be found. Against their better inclinations, the crowd is convinced that this might be true, and Mr. Wedding strikes a new deal with David, since David has no idea what he is looking for, he can possibly find it, according to the rules of the charm Luke laid down. Luke is to remain free until Sunday; if David restores what was lost to the ginger-haired fellow, Luke will remain free--otherwise it is back to prison.

Astrid has figured out the puzzle by now, but Luke warns her not to tell David. David prevails on one of the ravens to help--it leads the three to a house on Wednesday Hill, where David should be able to find the "three Knowing Ones under the tree." It is Alan's house, and through a secret door, David and Alan (the others remain behind) find a huge tree, with three blind ladies, sharing an eye among them, washing, spinning, and cutting wool at a well. They won't say anything to David until David captures the eye--then they tell David to go to the place (Wallsey) where Mr. Wedding took him and ask the man with the dragon about him where to look.

The next day, Astrid drives David, Alan, and her husband, Cousin Ronald, there. The place seems very different from when David saw it with Mr. Wedding. The hall where they must go seems filled with strong young men cheating fruit machines, to David's eyes. He finds the man with the dragon--tattooed on him. By the rules, the three must run a gauntlet for the man to answer any questions. This occurs, with the boys doing it courageously and Ronald in a most cowardly fashion. The dragon man admits to taking it, and tells the boys (and Mr. Wedding, who suddenly appears) that he took it at a woman's suggestion. It seems the woman blamed Mr. Wedding for something that happened, and felt that the dragon man should help her get revenge. The woman can be found on Thunderly Hill, where a hospital is now built, and where the dragon man had originally found her.

David, Luke, Astrid, Ronald, and the ginger-haired fellow all proceed to Thunderly Hill, on the excuse that Ronald's minor injuries should be seen to. David and Luke proceed to "Firestone Ward", and when they steps inside, finds themselves on a grassy hillside, with the grass filled with fire that never consumes the grass. Luke admits that he set the fire, long ago, which will burn at least until the end of time. David braves the flames, with Luke doing his best to hold them down for him. He finds himelf by a cairn, on which an individual in armor lies, not quite dead, but breathing. It is a lady, and a hauntingly beautiful one--David will never forget her face. But there is somethng there that doesn't fit--a stone implement with a too-short handle. David realizes it is a hammer and suddenly everything falls into place and he realizes who everyone is--including Luke. He returns to Luke, and is told that an entire day has passed--David has been outside time. He restores the hammer to the ginger-haired fellow, who is of course Thor. Mr. Wedding is Woden, chief of the gods. The dragon man is Siegfried, and the lady Brunhilda.

Astrid reveals that (no doubt with divine interference) David's other relatives have been exposed as financial frauds, and have fled. Astrid will now be David's guardian from now on. Luke will be around--but at the final battle yet to come, he and Mr. Wedding will be on opposite sides . . .

An afterword gives a full explanation of the Norse references. Luke is of course, Loki, the other gods show up on the day they give their names to in the week, and David has encountered the Norns and Valhalla in his journey.

Books by Diana Wynne Jones

Chrestomanci series: The Lives of Christopher Chant • Conrad's Fate • Charmed Life • The Magicians of Caprona • The Pinhoe Egg • Mixed Magics • Witch Week Dalemark Quartet: Cart and Cwidder • Drowned Ammet • The Spellcoats • The Crown of Dalemark Castle series: Howl's Moving Castle • Castle in the Air Derkholm series: Dark Lord of Derkholm • Year of the Griffin Magids series: Deep Secret • The Merlin Conspiracy Other: Archer's Goon • Dogsbody • Eight Days of Luke • Fire and Hemlock • Hexwood • The Homeward Bounders • Power of Three • A Tale of Time City • The Time of the Ghost • More...