The second half of the talk concentrated on the man’s personal story. He had grown up in Paris. He talked of German searches and people disappearing. He showed slides of people being loaded onto barges outside Notre Dame. Then he told an amazing story of three heroes who had captured a barge and sailed away up the River Seine to freedom. He had made it to England with his mother and had lived here ever since. He then put up a photo of the rescuers. On the twenty foot square screen behind him was a grainy photograph of Trevor, Emile, Felix and Tom all with big cheesy grins on their boot polished faces. Nearly every student and teacher turned to look at Felix and Tom. They both shrugged and laughed, realising that this man was Mr Dupont, Emile’s younger brother. The man finished with an emotional story of how his brother had stayed to help the resistance fight the Germans but had unfortunately been killed whilst trying to blow up a bridge with Trevor. Instead of being killed by the Nazis or Brethren, he had been killed fighting for freedom. His big brother Emile was his hero. Emile had died ten days after the rescue. Tom looked at Felix and winked. Felix was relieved in a strange way that Emile had enjoyed his last days. It also explained how the book had been passed on to The Sheriff. He had been there when Emile had died.
There were tears everywhere and tissues were being distributed by the teachers who were also weeping.
34
Weeks flew by with no incident and the boys worked hard towards their end of year exams. There had been no sign of the Brethren, and Felix and Tom were closer than ever. Both took fencing lessons and their skills grew every week. They practised religiously every day in Tom’s garage where he had rigged up swinging bags and sticks for them to fight against.
The exams were taken during normal lesson slots and were hard work. They had gone well until today. Both were dreading the History test. They loved History but they had difficulty remembering facts and dates as well as the names. This could prove problematic in a History test.
They chatted on the way to school, going through the list of Kings and Queens. They talked through the chapters of world history they had studied, but their memories were hazy. They filed into Mr Taylor’s classroom. Felix and Tom always giggled as they entered his lessons, knowing how much of a coward this hulk of a man had been in the face of the Brethren. The expectant students all politely said thank you as they received their test papers. They waited for those immortal words, “You have one hour. You may begin.”
Tom turned over the first page and looked straight at Felix. The look of panic on his face reflected his own feelings. “Do you know any of this?” he mouthed to his friend.
“No, none of it!” whispered Felix.
“What are we going to do?” said a fraught Felix.
“I have one idea.” Tom took The Book of Words from Felix’s bag.
“No!” laughed Felix as he realised what Tom was planning, “We can’t...”
With a look of mischief on his face, Felix stood up on the desk and drew his sword from his guitar case, much to the amusement of his classmates and the horror of Mr Taylor. Tom drew his own sword and joined Felix on the desk. Felix bent down and opened the booklet to a large picture, and the pair linked arms and jumped onto the exam paper.
Felix and Tom were gone.
Join Felix on his next adventure…
Felix Jones and The Honour of the Keeper
A Felix Jones Adventure
Felix Jones is The Keeper of The Book of Words. The Brethren’s search for The Book brings danger and adventure to Felix and his best friend Tom. Determined to end The Keeper’s age old enemies’ quest for power, the boys travel back to the Dark Ages in search of the first Keeper, hoping he can provide the answers they seek. The Book and Merlin teach them important lessons of the responsibility Felix now has if he is to fulfil his role as The Keeper.
Felix Jones And The Book Of Words (A Felix Jones Adventure 1) Page 10