Amy was struck dumb. She’d never known of anyone doing so much for others. She gazed at his scar and wondered how anyone could have done such a thing to such a wonderful man.
‘Bye for now, then,’ he murmured, patting her shoulder, reminding her she was about to leave.
‘Oh yeah,’ Amy said, lost in his eyes. Amy moved towards him to give him a friendly peck on the cheek but as she did Mark froze. Looking both nervous and awkward at the same time, he didn’t know how to react. His smile turning into a goofy young lad’s; he acted like he’d never been kissed.
He bent down to her but turned his cheek, making her only just catch him. It was a hit and miss kind of kiss, smudging her lip gloss across his face. She didn’t know what happened in that moment but, as he stood back, he couldn’t meet her eyes as fully as he’d done before. He could well have blushed. Amy knew he was a gentleman but he looked a little ashamed of himself. Shaking off the confusion, Amy just smiled awkwardly at him.
‘Moooney grabber!’ Mad-Doris sang, her eyes peering over the fingers she had clutched around the wooden architrave surrounding the kitchen alcove. Mark shot her a look and her head disappeared.
‘See you then,’ Amy whispered.
‘Bye,’ he said, his strange expression holding something mysterious she couldn’t read. ‘You’re welcome any time,’ he added.
‘Thank you,’ she said, holding his gaze for a moment. There was something behind his eyes she needed to figure out. If he weren’t so honest she’d think he was hiding something. She knew he liked her—no doubt entered her mind about that—but it was now clear to see that he was deliberately holding back from taking it any further.
CHAPTER 13
THE DREAM
Social services let Lucy stay with Mark until they found her a suitable foster home, which meant she came with him on some occasions to help out at the kitchen. She didn’t speak much but, now clean and well fed, she looked much happier.
Amy and Tom enjoyed working at the soup kitchen so much that they even volunteered to work Christmas day. Even though she never tried to give Mark a friendly, but obviously inappropriate, kiss again, she’d never felt so alive. After only a few months, she felt like she’d been working there for years. Alongside helping the needy, Amy loved the opportunity to spend time with Mark, whose relationship with her continued to grow. As they catered to the homeless, Mark and Amy engaged in many afternoon conversations, some of which lasted hours. She enjoyed his company, and though he seemingly felt the same, he never attempted to progress their friendship into a romantic relationship.
With Mark continuing to bring Tom book after book, she knew he wouldn’t miss out on not going to nursery. All he did in his spare time was study. Months of bliss went by until one morning in April, during their holidays from the café, Tom woke up in a sweat and walked into Amy’s room, his face horrifyingly pale.
‘I had a bad dream.’ Tears glistened in his eyes.
‘Come here,’ Amy said, pulling her bed covers back for him to climb in. He cleared the floor in two strides and, no sooner had he climbed into her bed, he threw himself into her arms, where she could feel him shaking. ‘What’s wrong?’ Amy asked, stroking his head.
‘I dreamt of fire,’ he said.
‘Fire?’
‘Black fire. Fire that’s created on purpose.’
Amy sat up. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Ethan’s fire.’
His words shot through her like a bullet. ‘Ethan?’ she asked, trying to sound like she didn’t know who he was talking about. Amy hadn’t settled for over two years since they last saw him, but she’d hoped he’d disappeared.
‘Surely you remember him? He tried to kill me,’ Tom stated, sitting up and waiting for her reaction. His face was so beautiful, innocent and kind that to see it filled with worry caused her heart to feel like it was being ripped in two.
‘Of course…but…how do you remember?’ she asked, peering into his wondrous eyes.
‘I remember everything,’ he said matter-of-factly. ‘I think he’s going to set me on fire. Why does he want to kill me?’
Amy looked at him in astonishment. She wanted to reassure him, but this wasn’t a child who could be comforted by telling them they’d just had a bad dream. This dream could actually mean something.
‘Is it because I’m nice? Bad people don’t like nice people, do they? Nice people don’t like bad people either, but I think I’m different to normal people. I mean, why have I got the power to heal?’ he asked, looking at his hands.
Amy gulped. ‘Because you’re special.’
‘Why has he got the power to hurt and what does that make him?’ he asked.
‘Your…opposite?’ Amy offered.
‘Well, there are opposites in the world.’ He smiled as if remembering something he’d learnt in one of his books. ‘You may be right, but I still don’t know why we have powers. There’s always a reason for things. I’m sure you’re meant to tell me, Mum,’ he said, his eyes begging her to clarify his thoughts, to make the sums in his mind add up.
Amy stared at him tragically. There was no way she was about to tell him why. He’d be horrified by what she knew. ‘You have good in you and he has bad in him. It’s as simple as that.’ She squeezed his hand, her eyes begging him to leave it.
He studied her for a moment and then sighed. ‘I’ll try and ask the nice people who talk to me in my sleep then,’ he mumbled, leaving Amy baffled.
‘Why don’t we talk about what you want for your fourth birthday!’ Amy offered, acting overenthusiastic.
‘For Ethan not to burn anyone,’ he murmured.
‘Not what we don’t want. What we do want.’
‘I want no one to be hurt.’
‘How about we go and look at some toy shops in town and see what we can find,’ she said, pulling him out of bed, an awkward smile on her face. ‘Come on. Get dressed.’
‘You want to take me shopping?’ Tom asked, looking confused.
‘Yes.’
Tom stared blankly for a few seconds then turned and headed back to his room to get dressed.
Amy sighed with relief but her heart raced. She felt for the crystal around her neck, trying to gain some comfort. As she walked to the bathroom, she smiled at Tom who sat on his bed, pulling up a pair of trousers, looking dubious.
‘I bet we’ll find something great!’ Amy shouted, her hands shaking as she squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush. She looked in the mirror and could see the fear behind her own smile. With Tom being as intuitive as he was, she wondered who she was trying to kid.
As if the house was an ill omen, they set off immediately to the fancy diner Tom loved near the Arndale Centre. Tom normally paid the bus driver but today he walked on and didn’t wait for her to hand him the money. He found a seat and, with a sterile expression, slumped into it.
When they arrived at the diner, which had windows from top to bottom and tables and chairs under a canopy outside, she looked down for his reaction. It was still the same: not even the corner of his mouth moved to show any form of delight.
Amy smiled for him and walked to the huge counter that displayed all sorts of cakes and ice cream. She ordered two lots of toasted teacakes, a cup of tea and the ice cream milkshake with sprinkles on top for Tom. As they sat and waited, Tom looked at her, his big, beautiful eyes serious.
‘I don’t think we’ve got long,’ he announced. ‘I’ve been having the dream for a while and this morning was different. It’s near. I don’t know exactly when, but it’s soon.’
Amy could have cried right there in the café. Her heart raced like never before.
‘We’ll be okay,’ she asserted, not at all convincing. ‘I’ll protect you.’
‘I’ll have to protect you!’ He leant back as a young waitress placed the teacakes on the table.
Amy thanked her.
‘You’re welcome,’ the girl said then turned to Tom and nudged him. ‘Cheer up! It might never happen!’
‘Okay, Tom, it will happen…but it’s not happening right now, is it?’
‘Well no but…’
‘Well then can we just enjoy our time here please?’
‘Yes,’ he said obediently.
‘And for the rest of the day, while nothing bad is happening, we’ll enjoy ourselves, okay?’ Her eyebrows were raised waiting for an answer.
‘While nothing bad is happening, I will try to enjoy myself for you, but I will still be worried.’
‘You know ninety-nine percent of all worries never come true, don’t you?’
‘But you know this isn’t just a worry. You know this is an actuality, don’t you?’ He looked stern, his eyes expressing he wouldn’t do as she said unless she accepted this fact.
‘Okay, fine.’
Seeming satisfied she’d taken him seriously, his expression softened.
After breakfast, they headed into what seemed like every toy shop in town but they all seemed babyish for him. Now studying physics and biology, the educational shop couldn’t help either. Knowing how much he appreciated music, she went into the big music shop on Market Street to see if Ladysmith Black Mambazo had any new releases, but he owned every CD they produced. After a full day, Tom turned to her with a tired smile.
‘Why don’t you buy yourself something for my birthday? That would make me happy.’
‘You make me happy every day, do you know that? That’s why I want to get you a gift.’
Tom smiled at her, a heap of love behind his gaze, then, as if he’d been stabbed from behind, his expression changed to shock. As his knees buckled, Amy caught him.
‘What is it?’ Amy cried as the talisman became cold around her neck.
‘He’s near,’ Tom whispered.
Amy’s head spun from side to side in panic while passers-by, taking no notice, carried on in all directions. Rooted to the spot, gripping Tom, Amy stared at the crowd like they could attack her at any moment. She knew if anyone had slowed down enough to take notice, they’d think she was deranged.
Then the crowd began to part. Before Amy could register what the people were avoiding, Ethan strolled through, a hideous smile on his crooked face that told of his joy to be scaring the public, the mundane, the powerless. Directly behind him, and only a foot taller in height, was a ghastly looking Kate.
As Ethan’s eyes locked with Amy’s, his expression changed. He seemed alert and surprised to see them. With no side street to turn down, no shop to quickly run into, Amy pulled Tom to his feet and through the crowd in the opposite direction. She heard a roar from Ethan in the crowd behind her but didn’t stop. After another ear piercing scream, the crowd broke out into panic. Amy and Tom were pushed to the side and squashed against a shop wall.
Amy crouched down and held Tom close, frightened by the panic on peoples’ faces. The next second, the crowd opened up in front of her and there stood Ethan, his face riddled with evil intent.
If she shouted Adaizi she’d have to invoke the light. There was no way, after all this time, she was about to do that. The roots of her stubbornness sown so deep inside, she still believed she could find another way out. Amy stood and forced Tom behind her. The crowd continued to move behind him.
Ethan hunched his shoulders and glared, his top lip rising, baring his teeth as if ready to bite. His black pupils spread into the whites of his eyes and a dark entity rippled under the surface of his wafer thin, sallow skin.
Forcing her gaze from his to Kate’s, who stood with vague recognition in her eyes, Amy shouted, ‘Kate!’
Kate’s cheek twitched but Ethan held up his hand and, with a macabre flare in his dark, oily eyes, Kate’s mouth closed. He turned to Amy and she became paralysed to the spot. She tried to fight but her body hardened as if turning to stone.
Ethan stepped closer but before he got near, a flash of light shot from her necklace, releasing her from his hold. Seeing her body relax, Ethan growled manically.
Amy moved her arm to force Tom behind her but as she did, Ethan shot it a look and it set alight. The flames tore through her skin immediately. Full of dread, Amy patted her arm but Ethan raised his hand and she froze.
Tom’s eyes fixed on Ethan’s as an immense glow of light formed in his hands. He took Amy’s arm and the light, turning into some kind of white liquid, travelled up the length of her arm, quelling the flames, easing the pain and releasing her from Ethan’s bind.
The hatred in Ethan’s eyes now mighty, he stared once again at Amy’s arm and this time, his face in agony as he used his power, Amy couldn’t move her arm in any direction. Her talisman shot out waves of light but a paralysing stabbing pain ran up her arm and straight through her body, tightening it again as if she were turning into stone.
Desperately looking from Kate, who stood, rooted to the spot, her expression null, Amy tried to speak, tried to make eye contact with anyone else near who turned to look on their way past so they could help, but, with Manchester being notorious for the strange being normal, and everyone in a hurry to reach their destinations, no one seemed to notice.
Tom stood before Ethan, lifted his charged hands and a shock wave of energy struck Ethan in the chest. Ethan screamed in anger and pain, the sound piercing Amy’s eardrums, the frustration in his face immense. His eyes wide with terror, his skin warped as the dark entity struggled underneath.
Amy, once again released from his spell, grabbed Tom to protect him but Ethan stopped writhing and, with a sideways click to his head, was ready for action again. Ethan glared at Tom with a mixture of hatred and intrigue. His dark, liquid eyes burned with fury as he studied him but as Ethan held up his hand, Tom forced both of his palms out in front of him. An intense blast shot out at Ethan, and he flew backwards into the crowd. After landing hard on the floor, he lay sprawled on the ground, his body jerking as though electrocuted.
A man bent down to help Ethan to his feet but, receiving a shock, released him. The man turned to Tom with a quizzical look, but the rest of the people who had stopped were staring at Ethan in shock, one teenage lad shouting, ‘Look, it’s Elephant Man!’
As if all the energy had drained from his body, Tom lolled to one side like a baby who couldn’t support himself, blood pouring from his nose. As Amy caught him, his eyes lost focus.
Amy grabbed Tom’s hand, pulled him straight up and, while more people gathered around Ethan like he was one of the street performers, dragged him up the high street. As they reached an alleyway, Amy stopped. ‘Tom can you stop the bleeding?’ she asked. Tom just stood, shocked and weak, staring in wonder at the power in his hands, which still sparked. ‘Tom!’ Amy shouted, knowing it wouldn’t stop without his assistance.
‘I don’t know what happened,’ he said with a pale voice, dazedly placing his hands on his nose. ‘I was just determined he wasn’t going to hurt us and I think that’s what sent him backwards. It was like he bounced off the good I forced out of me.’
‘Come on,’ Amy pushed, after checking his nose had stopped bleeding. ‘We’d better go.’
They ran for the bus and, as they stepped on, the passengers stared at them in shock.
‘He had a nosebleed,’ Amy explained, which worked well for the state of Tom but not her burnt sleeve.
‘I need Jack,’ Amy said as she sat.
‘He’s at the café.’
They stopped the bus outside the café and as they walked in, Jack let out a yelp.
‘Oh god,’ Jack cried, running to her and helping her into a chair. ‘What happened?’ The customers stopped what they were doing and turned to look.
‘We ran into Ethan and Kate and he tried to hurt Tom again.’
‘What happened to your arm?’ he said, lifting her burnt sleeve and turning her arm to check for burns.
‘Err,’ Amy said, remembering Adaizi’s claim to take his memory if she told him too much.
‘Etha
n set it on fire,’ Tom offered.
‘What? Does that drugged up wreck of a mother of his let that psycho carry matches?’ he asked. Tom looked at him in shock. ‘I’m sorry. I know he’s deformed or special, if that’s the politically correct name you give to someone as freaky looking as him, but that…that thing is horrid and vicious to the core. His behaviour, his nature, his manner and everything about him just isn’t right!’ Jack shook his head. ‘Are you burnt?’ he added, still turning her arm.
‘Not anymore,’ Tom said.
‘I’m okay,’ Amy offered.
Winston approached with a cup of tea and a glass of milk for Tom. ‘You okay?’ he asked, his voice business-like.
‘Yes,’ she answered, taking a sip of tea. ‘Thanks.’
‘I’ll cancel my tournament,’ Jack said, placing his martial arts bag on the ground.
‘No!’ Amy retorted. It was his most important one yet, she remembered, especially after him just being nominated the next up-and-coming kickboxing champion. The top martial arts magazines were taking his picture for the front cover if he won today. ‘I forgot all about that. You have to go! Go. Go! And good luck.’ She batted her hand.
‘I’ll come to yours as soon as I’m done, then!’ Jack gave Amy a quick kiss on the cheek then rubbed Tom’s hair. ‘Look after your mum, mate.’
‘I will,’ Tom promised. As Jack made his way out the back, Tom took a sip of his milk and sat back. ‘In my head,’ he said contemplatively, ‘there’s a feeling of love. I’m sure I’m not meant to hurt another, so why have I got power that can?’ Amy’s expression told him that once again, she wouldn’t answer. ‘I think my light can heal everyone else, but it hurts people that are dark,’ he concluded, as though he’d settled the matter.
Amy looked up at Winston, who smiled for a moment but then, as his eyes shot to the door, his expression turned grave. Amy turned to see Kate entering. As Ethan followed in behind, silence fell.
The Guardian's Protector: The Chamber of Souls Page 15