Perfectly Reflected

by S. C. Ransom

  “Was it just the one of them?”

  “Yeah. You know,” he dropped his voice and looked around furtively, “it’s a bit freaky. I’m surprised that you didn’t chuck it back in the river as soon as you saw them. At least I knew what was coming. You must have been scared half to death, with weird cloaked people looming up behind you!”

  “It was a bit of a shock,” I agreed.

  “He didn’t seem to be very friendly, either. He didn’t say anything, just glared at me a bit. I guess I’m not his favourite person, so I’m kind of relieved that he’s stuck on the other side of the mirror.” He took another quick glance in the building’s shiny surface. “But it is creepy, thinking that he could be here, right next to me at any point. In fact, it’s bloody weird!”

  I shoved my hands deep in the pockets of my hoodie to keep them from shaking. “Is there anyone here now? Is he watching us?” My heart was leaping in my chest to think that at that very moment, Callum could be by my side.

  Rob scanned around. “No one around at the moment. You know, I’ll be glad to prove my point and get rid of this thing.”

  “So you’re wearing the amulet?”

  “Yeah,” he admitted, in a slightly embarrassed tone. “It’s a bit girly, so I had to wear long sleeves. Didn’t want to be seen wearing it really.”

  “And you didn’t have a conversation with Callum?” I asked as casually as I could manage.

  “No, I just checked out that he was there, that this wasn’t all some weird hoax. Luckily he disappeared pretty quickly, and he’s not been back. Catherine says that he should come if I call, as long as I don’t annoy them by taking the amulet off.”

  “Catherine told you that?” I struggled to hide my surprise before realising that if Callum disabled Rob somehow, she wasn’t going to get her cut of the cash. That was bound to be her motivation, not concern for Rob’s welfare.

  Rob had stopped listening to me anyway and was expanding on his clever plan. “The guys here, they’ll be able to work out who he is, when he died, everything. My idea is, we get the dead guys to talk to us in return for information about who they really are. They don’t know that, do they? We can drip-feed them information in return for their cooperation. I mean, they’re bound to want to know.”

  I saw my chance. “Why don’t you let me have a word with them first? They like me, I’m sure I can get them on board.”

  Rob’s laugh was harsh and callous. “Do you think I’m stupid? I’m not handing this over to you! You’d never give it back.” His left hand automatically circled his right wrist. Now I knew where it was, so I had one last try.

  “I didn’t expect you to do that,” I said, shrugging as if I didn’t care. “But the thing is, Rob, we could do with one of them being around when we talk to the publicist, don’t you think? It’ll be a bit embarrassing if you get the PR team excited and no one appears. If you let me see it – not wear it, obviously,” I added as he put up his hand to protest. “If you let me see it, I can tell if any of them are around; if someone is nearby. If not, you can line one of them up. How does that sound?”

  I could almost hear his brain ticking over.

  “How do you do that, then? Tell if they are around?”

  “Just practice,” I said as casually as I could manage. “It sort of blinks sometimes, in the right light, when someone is there. Haven’t you noticed?” I couldn’t believe he was buying all this. Or that he had accepted my sudden agreement to join forces with him. His greed was clouding his judgement.

  “I’ve not noticed anything like that at all.”

  “You’re probably not tuned in enough yet. Thinking about it, it took me a few days. Do you want me to check now? If someone is around we might not have to wait for too long.” I shrugged as non-committally as I could manage. How could Rob not hear my pounding heart? He needed distracting. “Never mind, I’m sure Steve and his colleagues will wait. So, did they say exactly how much money?”

  The word money galvanised him back into action. “I guess you could have a quick look, but I’m not handing it over, is that clear?”

  “Perfectly clear,” I said, as soothingly as possible. “Show me your wrist.” I leaned towards him, hands carefully in my pockets. Rob took a quick, furtive look around us, as if to check that we weren’t about to reveal ourselves to a mugger, then slowly began to unbutton his shirt cuff. I couldn’t help holding my breath.

  Slowly, slowly, he pulled back his sleeve and there, nestling on his wrist, was my amulet, perfect and whole; the deep blue and green stone flashing in the sunlight, the intricate silverwork gleaming against Rob’s pale skin. I had forgotten just how beautiful it really was, and before I realised I was going to do it I let out a sob, which I hastily changed to a cough. Yet again Callum was so close I could almost feel him.

  “Come on then,” Rob said impatiently. “Can you see anything or not?”

  I frowned as I peered at it from a distance, my hands still firmly in my pockets. “I can’t tell. Turn it this way a bit.” He did as I asked, angling the stone towards the light. “Ahh, left a bit, no, stop there, over a little. Oh, never mind! I’m sure it’ll be OK.”

  “What? Can’t you see anything? Come on, try again!”

  “It’d be much easier if I could see it more clearly. Can I come a bit closer?” I was careful not to move until he nodded, warily.

  “I’m watching you, so no funny business, right?” he said in a snide voice, with his free hand covering the amulet completely as I came within reach.

  I stepped back, hands up in the air. “It’s up to you, Rob. It’s your party.”

  It was his turn to frown. “OK, OK, calm down. Come on.” He gestured me forward again.

  “Look, why don’t you keep your hand on the band while I check it out? Then I can’t possibly do anything you don’t want me to.” I could see him trying to find the flaw in that argument, but finally he gave in, and holding on tightly to one side of the amulet, he held his wrist out towards me.

  My mind was racing, but I had to stay calm. I was just so close, so close to everything I wanted. Tears pricked my eyes and I blinked quickly to get rid of them. I examined the stone from about an arm’s length, making more non-committal noises. “It’s really not clear. Can I just move your arm slightly?” I put my hand up but made no move towards him until he nodded.

  My hand closed around his wrist just above the amulet, and I realised as I gripped him just how clammy my palms were. It was too late to do anything about it; I could only hope that he didn’t notice. I continued to move his wrist in strange directions as if searching in the hidden depths of the stone, making quiet umm-ing and err-ing noises. Then, when he too was concentrating hard I shouted, “Yes, look!”

  He jumped, instinctively jerking his arm inwards, pulling my hand down towards the amulet as he did so. I was ready, and in that swift movement I managed to wedge my finger under the silver band. “Callum! Help! It’s me – come quickly!” I was shouting loudly now, hanging on to Rob’s wrist, unable to keep the longing from my voice. “Cal—” Rob pushed me away viciously, breaking my grip on his wrist before I could finish saying his name again. My contact with the amulet was broken. I stumbled as I tried to move my legs quickly enough, and found myself sprawled on the floor.

  “What are you doing?” he hissed. “I can’t believe that you thought I would fall for that. The deal’s off!” His eyes narrowed as he flashed a cruel smile at me. “We get to keep all the money then. Don’t say I didn’t offer. Kiss goodbye to your last chance to speak to your boyfriend!” He leered at me maliciously as I sat in a heap on the pavement, then looked over my head towards the door of the building. He couldn’t help himself, automatically preening and straightening his shirt in the mirrored wall, a self-satisfied look on his face.

  And then, as I watched, his whole demeanour changed. His mouth fell open in horror, his eyes fixed on something I couldn’t see. His arrogant swagger changed almost imperceptibly into one of fear as he took a hesita
nt step backwards, his hands up in front of his chest as if he was trying to protect himself. My plan had worked: Callum had arrived and was giving Rob the fright he deserved.

  “Get back! Leave me alone! I know you can’t hurt me – GET BACK!” His voice rose to a squeal and his arms started to flail around, beating at the empty air next to him. “Don’t you dare, I won’t … I won’t … I…” His head was shaking hard, and then his hands clamped over his ears. I could see that his eyes were screwed tightly shut. “Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!” he yelled, staggering around the pavement. A small crowd of people had gathered, and I could see two of them debating whether to intervene. I could remember only too well the unbearable noise that Lucas had made in my head; I guessed that Callum was doing something similar to Rob.

  Rob was stumbling in circles now, head down, hands still wedged over his ears. “Ha! I can make you stop, you freak!” he bellowed, making the crowd take a step backwards. “You’re not so clever! Get out of my head!” With that he tore the amulet from his wrist and hurled it to the ground, sinking to his knees in relief.

  I darted across the pavement and grabbed the amulet, my euphoria growing with the thought of what I would see in the glass when I put it on. I slipped it back on to my wrist, feeling complete for the first time since it was stolen. I could feel the power of the amulet course through me; it felt as if I were clamping a living, pulsing thing around my wrist. Feeling inexplicably stronger I glanced quickly towards the windows, desperate to see Callum again. Directly in front of Rob was a tall Dirge, and I started to smile as he threw back his hood. But the smile was quickly wiped from my lips as I recognised the face behind the cruel sneer. It had all gone horribly wrong. Lucas was poised to strike; this time his plan had worked beautifully. Rob was about to lose his mind.

  “Callum!” I bellowed at the top of my voice, oblivious to all the people milling on the pavement. Rob was kneeling a couple of metres away, breathing heavily, now completely oblivious to the danger. Lucas was standing by him, his hand reaching out towards Rob’s blond head. I shouted again. “Rob! Look out!” But there was nothing he could look out for, no form of defence he could use. I remembered Callum’s words about the amulet with perfect clarity: “While you wear it, it will protect you from us, but being close and not touching it … well, we know where to find you, and you have no protection. That’s how whole minds are stolen.”

  I also knew that Rob would resist, would fight, which was the worst thing he could do. I was suddenly consumed with rage. However mean and misguided Rob was, he didn’t deserve this; he didn’t deserve to die. Somehow I had to stop it.

  The anger, frustration and general injustice were growing inside me, and I felt a strange coiling sensation as if a snake was winding itself around my wrist. The amulet knew it was home, I realised, and a wave of soothing calm settled over me: I had the amulet, I was in charge, and I was going to stop this.

  “Lucas!” I shouted, hoping that I could distract him. He turned to look at me in the mirrored windows, a humourless leer on his thin lips, his long greasy black hair emphasising the pallor of his face. “I’m warning you, don’t do this!”

  I looked at Rob. He was sitting back on his heels, eyes closed, head bent back at an uncomfortable-looking angle. His arms were straight out beside him, fingers scuffing the ground. He was twitching like an animal in a macabre experiment. There was no time to lose. I leapt in between them without thinking, forcing Lucas to take a couple of steps backwards in surprise. But it was no good; he started to advance again, to go straight through me to get to Rob. I racked my brain for something, anything, with which I could threaten him. But it was no use, I felt so helpless, and so furious that he was about to kill Rob. A wave of anger rolled over me and I stared up at Lucas’s cruel face. “Leave him alone!”

  Without thinking I thrust my amulet into his and pushed hard with my mind, willing some of the energy from my amulet into his. I had no idea what would happen, it just seemed like the right thing to do. My amulet flared briefly, like a fire had suddenly been lit underneath the stone, and Lucas howled. The noise was like a wounded animal, and he glared at me, making a vicious snarling noise. Behind me Rob fell in slow motion into a heap on the ground. I pushed again, harder this time, and the effect was electrifying. The fire in my amulet seemed to pour out over Lucas’s wrist, and suddenly his hand was outlined in a golden glitter, like a hundred tiny sparklers. The sparks started to move up his arm, accelerating as they went, and within seconds he was a mass of glittering lights. He held up his arms in front of his face in horror, the place where his mouth should have been opening and closing, and he took a couple of steps backwards. He gave a final, hideous roar, and the sparks fell to the pavement, leaving a momentary impression of where he had been.

  I leapt back in surprise as the sparks formed a strange puddle on the pavement, not wanting my feet to touch it. As I watched in the window the sparkling mass seemed to roll and move towards the nearby rainwater drain. Within seconds it had gone, lost beneath the road.

  It was suddenly eerily silent.

  I looked down at my amulet, and the remains of that strange glow were still there, but fading fast. In the mirrored window I could only see the crowd; there was no sign of Callum. But something was still there; I could see in the reflection the pile of heavy fabric next to my feet. All that was left of Lucas was his cloak. Whatever I had done, however I had done it, it hadn’t been enough: I had failed. Lucas had drained Rob of everything and gone.

  Rob was lying motionless on the ground, and the crowd of curious onlookers started to re-form. I quickly checked him for vital signs; he was breathing but unconscious. Reaching for my mobile I called for an ambulance, shouting for someone in the crowd to get some water from one of the nearby offices. He looked utterly defenceless and years younger. All I could do was put him in the recovery position and wait for the paramedics to arrive. After all that effort I hadn’t been able to save him; Lucas had won. No one had been able to copy Rob’s mind the way that Callum had done for me. Rob was about to die.

  Within minutes the ambulance arrived and the paramedics started to work on Rob, moving me gently to one side. I was completely distraught; not only was Rob as good as dead, but there was still no sign of Callum. I tried to focus on what the paramedics were saying, but all the while I was searching in reflective surfaces for the smallest glimpse of his face.

  “What happened here, miss? What caused his collapse?”

  “I … I really don’t know. We were arguing, and suddenly he clutched his head and started screaming. Then he keeled over.” It didn’t matter that I was lying; if they knew what had actually happened it wouldn’t have made any difference to their treatment of him as there was nothing that could be done. Rob’s brain was fried. Lucas had gathered everything from him despite my best efforts to stop him. I couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down my face, overwhelmed by the events of the day.

  “What’s his name? Any medical history that we should know about?” I watched as one of them put a breathing mask over Rob’s face, checking him for a pulse, looking for any sign of life. The other one was waiting for the answers to his questions.

  “Umm, Rob. Robert Underwood. I don’t know about his medical history, but he’s always seemed pretty healthy,” I mumbled.

  “And his relationship to you?”

  “I’m just a friend, that’s all. A friend.” I could barely make myself understood through the sobbing.

  “Address?” he asked gently.

  “Somewhere in Hampton. I know how to get there, but I don’t know the full address, I’m sorry.” I looked at him bleakly. “Can you help him?”

  “It’s OK, we’ll get him straight to the hospital. They’ll work out what needs to be done.”

  “Can I come with you? I don’t want to leave him.”

  “Of course. It’s always best to have someone there who knows a patient.”

  “OK, Clive, I’ve got him stabilised. Let’s get him on board,�
� called the other one. “There may be some ID on him in here, with a bit of luck.” He handed Clive the wallet from Rob’s back pocket.

  “Look,” said Clive as he moved towards the ambulance. “Why don’t you have a quick flick through this stuff as we drive, see if you can find something with his address on it?” He handed the wallet and briefcase to me, and I took them reluctantly. I was pretty sure Rob wouldn’t want me rifling through his things.

  They loaded him into the ambulance and Clive jumped into the driver’s seat. I was sitting in the back with Rob and the other guy when the sirens started, making me jump. Rob lay there, looking as if he was already dead, and I turned his wallet over in my hands. What was I going to tell his mum? The tears started streaming again, and the paramedic silently handed me a box of tissues.

  “So, got an address yet?” he asked, nodding towards the wallet as he adjusted Rob’s drip.

  “Umm, no, not yet,” I sniffed. “I’ll check now.”

  Inside the wallet were the usual bits of paper and junk, old tickets for gigs, scraps with phone numbers on, and nestled at the bottom, nice and safe, a memory card. My memory card. My eyebrows shot up in surprise, but I quickly tried to cover it up. When the paramedic wasn’t looking I slipped the card out of the wallet and into my palm. Within seconds it was securely in my back pocket. I could make sure it was destroyed before it caused any more trouble.

  I finally found something with Rob’s address and handed it to the paramedic, who noted down some of the details on a form he was filling in. Rob continued to lie there, motionless, while we sped through the streets of London. I could hear the sirens wailing as we approached junctions, but it still seemed to take forever, and I was thrown from side to side as the ambulance cornered violently around the traffic.

  Numbly, I looked at the amulet, now back securely on my wrist. How long had I been wishing for this? To get it back, safe and sound? And now I had it, but Rob was as good as dead and Callum was nowhere to be found. I couldn’t work out how it had all gone so horribly wrong. The amulet looked as harmless as ever, the blue and green of the stone occasionally flashing when the light caught the hidden red and gold flecks that were buried deep inside. I found that I was rubbing the stone compulsively, feeling again the delicate silver ropes that somehow secured the stone within its cage. But still nothing strange moved in its depths, and no tingle appeared in my wrist, and the tears ran unchecked again down my cheeks.