The Boy with One Name

by J. R. Wallis

  ‘I know!’ shouted Ruby.

  Victor Brynn stopped and stared up at them with a smile that showed off his sharp black teeth. Jones dropped the axe and it landed on the turf with a dull thud. Ruby kicked her shoes off in the direction of the No-Thing. One of them hit him in the chest, but all he did was laugh.

  ‘It’s very hard to kill a No-Thing like me. Axes and shoes won’t work. Neither will guns,’ and he grinned at the revolver lying on the grass. It cursed loudly back at him.

  Ruby felt through her pockets for anything useful and found The Black Book of Magical Instruction in her hoodie. Complicated incantations dazzled her eyes as she rifled through the pages again. She saw strange foreign words she didn’t know how to pronounce.

  ‘Come on, there’s got to be something easy in here!’ she shouted. ‘How do I get started?’

  Suddenly, all the pages turned blank, and the book flipped to the beginning. On the first page appeared the words:

  All you needed to do was ask!

  Chapter One: Beginning to use magic

  Lesson 1

  Conjuring A Spark

  Ruby flipped onto the next page:

  Lesson 2

  Ten easy spells to practise after conjuring a spark

  Her eyes scanned the first one she came across:

  Time Flies

  A useful spell for altering the course of events

  To change what’s about to happen, say the following:

  Andweardnes áflíeheþ

  ‘What the hell is tha—’ Ruby began, only to be uninterupted by more words appearing on the page.

  All magic is spoken in Anglo-Saxon.

  Below was a page of further instructions and warnings. But Ruby didn’t bother reading them.

  ‘And-weard-ne-s ahh-f-lee-hep,’ she shouted at Victor Brynn, trying to get her tongue round the unfamiliar words. But nothing happened. She tried again in a foreign accent that sounded vaguely French. ‘Annndd-weird-nesss ahh-fff-lee-hep.’ Still nothing.

  You should really practise conjuring a spark first before attempting a spell.

  Victor Brynn had been watching her curiously as if she was a dog trying to do a trick. ‘Girls don’t do Badlander magic,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘They can’t. It’s how the world is.’ As if to make the point, Victor Brynn raised a hand and black sparks flew at Jones, forming a dark rope that looped around his waist. ‘I think I’m ready for your blood now, boy!’ he shouted and began dragging Jones down towards him, as Jones did his best to swim away in the opposite direction.

  The book started to vibrate in Ruby’s hand and she saw that further instructions had appeared on the open page.

  Tip for first-time users:

  You must specify whether this spell is aimed at yourself, a third party or an object.

  Pointing will do.

  And the pronunciation is:

  And-weard-ne-s ahh-f-lee-heth.

  Ruby raised her right hand and pointed a finger at Victor Brynn. ‘And-weard-ne-s ahh-f-lee-heth,’ she shouted.

  But still nothing happened.

  ‘Don’t you understand?’ shouted Victor Brynn. ‘You’re just a girl!’ The No-Thing yanked hard on the rope, dragging Jones down. The boy grabbed onto one of Ruby’s arms, causing her to drop the book, which tumbled out of her hands to the grass below. Victor Brynn pulled on the rope again and Jones slid down Ruby’s arm until she caught his hand in hers.

  ‘Good idea!’ shouted Victor Brynn. ‘Why don’t I have both of you at the same time?’ He flashed out another black spark from his other hand and a rope caught around Ruby’s ankles. Victor Brynn’s grin lit up something hot and angry inside Ruby as she remembered everything she’d been told about the stupid Ordnung and what girls couldn’t do.

  She pointed at the No-Thing with her free hand again. ‘Annndd-weird-nesss ahh-fff-lee-heth!’ she screamed as Victor Brynn yanked both her and Jones towards him.

  And from her hand shot a powerful white spark.

  TEN

  Ruby blinked the early morning rays of sunlight out of her eyes. She was lying on the grass beside Jones. But, far more importantly, Victor Brynn was gone, and so were the black ropes he’d conjured.

  ‘I did it,’ gasped Ruby. ‘Jones, I used magic!’ and she grinned triumphantly.

  Jones grunted. He sat up and rolled his right shoulder round in tiny circles to test it was still working. As well as the bumps and bruises from landing hard on the ground, he was aware of a slight tingle in the back of his head, rather like pins and needles.

  ‘I don’t believe it,’ shouted the gun on the grass nearby. ‘I-don’t-be-lieve-it!’

  ‘I know! I’m a magician . . . a Badlander,’ Ruby announced dreamily, beaming. Jones muttered something under his breath. Ruby wasn’t entirely sure if it was at his shoulder or at her. But she didn’t care. She felt good. In fact, she felt wonderful.

  The Black Book of Magical Instruction flew off the grass into her hands and opened, and she looked down in surprise.

  Did the spell work?

  Ruby was not sure how to answer except to nod.

  Excellent!

  What timescale did you use for the subject of your spell?

  Ruby closed the book. As far as she was concerned, she was happy just to have performed magic.

  The book flipped back open in her hands.

  Beginner tip:

  With no assigned timescale, results will be random.

  ‘Whatever,’ said Ruby under her breath and closed the book again. She wasn’t going to let a technicality spoil her first piece of magic.

  ‘So you think you’re a Badlander now?’ asked Jones, glancing round as if still unable to believe Victor Brynn was gone. Ruby shrugged and smiled. ‘Well, I don’t think so. Try the same spell on that,’ and he pointed at the axe, lying on the grass. Ruby twirled her hand with a flourish and pointed her finger.

  ‘Annndd-weird-nesss ahh-fff-lee-heth,’ she said. Nothing happened. Ruby inspected the end of her finger as though it might be faulty. She took a couple of deep breaths. ‘Annd—’

  ‘Hold it,’ muttered Jones. He slid his hand into hers and Ruby raised her eyebrows at him. ‘Try again,’ he said quietly.

  As soon as Ruby uttered the words, a white spark shot out of the end of her finger and hit the axe, making it disappear with a tiny poof. The girl heard her heart hit the bottom of her stomach with a thump.

  ‘Exactly,’ announced Jones as she looked at him. ‘Because we Commenced together . . .’ he pulled his hand out of Ruby’s grip, ‘. . . we can only use magic together, and apparently only when we’re holding hands.’ He stood up, and then grinned for the first time in what seemed like ages. ‘Which means as long as I stay away from you I can’t use magic. I can still try to be a normal boy after all.’ And with that he set off quickly across the grass back towards the cottage.

  ‘Wait!’ shouted Ruby. ‘We need to talk about this.’ She picked up the book of magic and the gun, which appeared to be in a state of shock.

  ‘I’ve never seen anything like this before,’ it was muttering. ‘Never!’

  ‘There’s nothing to talk about,’ said Jones when Ruby caught up with him. ‘I know exactly what I need to do. Stay away from you.’ And he started walking even faster.

  ‘But what about the Badlands? What about saving people?’

  ‘I already told you, I want to be a normal boy.’

  ‘What about me? What am I going to do?’

  Jones just shrugged. ‘Stay here if you want.’

  ‘But—’

  Jones stopped and stared. ‘Get it into your head. I’m not working the Badlands with you. You can’t make me. I’m getting in the van and leaving here as soon as I’m ready. I’m gonna start a new life somewhere else.’ And with that he marched on back towards the house.

  Ruby had composed herself by the time she was standing in the hallway. She didn’t know where Jones was but the VW camper van was still parked outside so she knew he hadn’t left yet
.

  When she heard the tramping of boots in the kitchen, Ruby cleared her throat. Jones came down the hallway in his overcoat, carrying a small bush freshly planted in a large pot. Ruby folded her arms as if making it clear she was going to have her say before Jones could go any further.

  ‘Say what you want,’ he said. ‘It won’t make any difference.’

  ‘The ordinary world out there isn’t everything you think it is,’ said Ruby.

  ‘It can’t be any worse than the mixed-up one I know.’

  ‘It’s boring being a kid, being told what to do all the time. Everyone I know would be desperate to be able to do the things in here,’ said Ruby, holding up The Black Book of Magical Instruction. ‘You’re not thinking straight. You tried to warn me off magic. Well, I’m trying to warn you off the normal, boring world.’ When Jones began walking down the hall again, Ruby grabbed him. ‘Where are you planning on going? You’ve got no one. Nothing.’

  ‘That’s my business.’ But Ruby kept hold of him. ‘I’m gonna be a normal boy,’ said Jones. ‘Find my parents. I’m gonna . . .’ He leant in as if about to reveal a secret. ‘BOO!’ he shouted and Ruby flinched, making Jones smirk. ‘You’ve got to be ready for anything in the Badlands. We were lucky with Victor Brynn, and last night too. And you know the thing about luck? It runs out eventually. That’s what Maitland taught me. Ain’t that right?’ he asked the gun, which was poking out of Ruby’s hoodie pocket. ‘I reckon I’m leaving at just the right time.’

  ‘Jones,’ said the gun sternly. ‘Forget about finding your parents. It’ll come to no good. No good at all.’

  But Jones just grunted and walked on towards the front door.

  ‘How about I come with you then?’ asked Ruby, catching up with him. ‘In case you need to run some spells?’

  ‘No. I already saved your life. I don’t owe you a thing.’ He stopped when something else occurred to him. ‘I’ll give you one bit of advice, though. Don’t ever tell anyone ’bout what we can do. Magic’s not for girls. It’s against the Ordnung. The Order’d punish us for what we’ve done. So it’s better we stay as far apart as possible.’

  Jones opened the front door, the sunshine on his face feeling like the start of something new. And then he noticed a blurry circle, about the size of a manhole, hovering in the air ahead of him beside the camper van. It looked like a little part of the world was just out of focus. Suddenly, Victor Brynn came hurtling out of the circle, still wrapped in the red velvet curtain, and landed on the drive, sliding over the gravel to land in front of Jones.

  The boy staggered backwards into Ruby as the No-Thing stood up slowly, looking about him, and taking a moment to work out what was happening. And then he stared at Ruby.

  ‘You . . . you used magic, on me?’ he hissed, his tongue darting out between his sharp black teeth. ‘How can that be, girl?’ Ruby opened her mouth, but was too scared to speak. Victor Brynn’s confused look softened to an ugly-looking smile as he raised the long, spindly forefinger of his right hand and started to conjure some darkish sparks. ‘You’re right. Who cares? Because here we are together agai—’

  Victor Brynn was jerked violently backwards towards the blurry hole, as if on a piece of elastic, and swallowed back through it. As soon as he disappeared, the hole vanished too, leaving Jones and Ruby staring at the camper can parked in the driveway.

  ‘Jones, what exactly just happened?’ But all Jones could do was shake his head. And then The Black Book of Magical Instruction opened in Ruby’s hands.

  Not selecting a time differential means the subject of your spell will keep appearing and disappearing randomly until commanded to stop with the correct cancelling spell.

  They both stared at the page.

  ‘Will the subject of our spell only appear if we’re together?’ asked Jones.

  I don’t understand.

  ‘We Commenced together,’ said Jones. ‘So we can only do magic together. What happens to the subject of our spell if we’re apart? Say for the rest of our lives,’ he said somewhat sarcastically.

  The book thought about that for a moment.

  Your Commencement sounds highly irregular; the only other known instance of a something similar is when Charles Instone of Brockenhurst Commenced with his rocking chair in 1564 when . . .

  ‘So you don’t know then?’ asked Jones.

  Of course I know!

  The subject of your spell will appear to both of you when together, and to each of you in turn when apart, until the correct cancelling spell is used. Since you used magic together, both of you must benefit equally from the effects of the spell cast.

  And with that the book banged shut.

  ‘Well, Jones,’ said Ruby. ‘I guess we’re sticking together until we’ve cancelled the spell. There’s no way you can be ordinary if there’s a No-Thing popping up randomly now and then. I mean something like that is going to freak normal people out. Of course, there’s the spell on the axe to fix too.’ Ruby sighed and shook her head as if she’d found out the worst possible news. ‘It’s a real shame.’

  ELEVEN

  Jones’s brain was whirring as he headed back into the house, trying to come to terms with everything that had just happened and what he was supposed to do now.

  ‘Jones! Listen, will you?’ shouted Ruby. But Jones wasn’t listening. In fact, he was trying his best to ignore Ruby altogether.

  Without realizing it, he’d walked into the kitchen as if in a daydream. Seeing a spot of grease on the window, he leant over the sink and started rubbing the glass with his shirtsleeve. He could see Ruby’s reflection as she stood behind him, arms folded, and he knew she wasn’t going to leave him alone until she’d had her say. He was beginning to realize Ruby was that kind of person. He wondered if all girls were the same.

  ‘What do you want?’ he said, checking the glass for any more greasy spots.

  ‘Jones, if we’ve got to stick together until the spells on Victor Brynn and the axe are sorted out, we need to try and get on. We don’t know how long it’s going to take.’

  ‘Fine. Stay out of my way and that’ll make it easier for me to pretend you’re not here.’

  ‘But that’s not what I meant—’

  ‘Just because we’ve got to stick together doesn’t mean we have to talk to each other.’

  ‘Jones, I’ve said I’m sorry. Haven’t you been listening?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘So I suppose you didn’t hear me asking how you’re planning on finding your parents then?’

  ‘No, I didn’t. And don’t bother asking me again, cos that ain’t none of your business.’

  ‘How about you then? It sounded like you know something about his parents. So what—’

  It took Jones just a second to realize Ruby wasn’t talking to him, and he whirled round to see her looking straight down the barrel of the gun.

  The trigger was already moving . . .

  . . . the hammer was pulling itself back . . .

  Jones grabbed Ruby’s wrist, yanking her arm to the side, as the gun fired a shot.

  Ruby’s bottom lip twitched as plaster dribbled out of the hole in the wall behind her, above the stove. Jones made her put the gun down on the table as it apologized over and over. Then he helped her sit down and gave her a glass of water and waited till she’d drunk it.

  ‘Maitland charmed the gun not to say anything about my parents. He stole me away when I was a baby.’

  ‘Stole you?’

  ‘I’ve been growing a memory bush in secret and last night I ate the berry off it. Maitland took me to be his apprentice. I wasn’t meant to be a Badlander at all: my parents wanted me.’

  Ruby studied a spot on the floor and Jones guessed what she must be thinking, knowing what she’d told him about foster families and why some children needed them.

  ‘Well, then,’ Ruby said, looking up and managing a smile. ‘This memory bush of yours sounds useful. Did you remember where your mum and dad lived?’

  ‘Not
exactly. I’ve worked out what street it was. I don’t know if they’re still living in the same house, but I’ll find them eventually. Maitland taught me how to hunt creatures so I reckon I can track my parents down too.’

  ‘Why don’t we go and find them?’ said Ruby. ‘I’ll show you how to be ordinary and fit in, just like I said I would. It’s the least I can do.’

  Jones shook his head. ‘I don’t want your help after what’s happened. Anyway, what if Victor Brynn appears out of nowhere, or the axe? No. We’ll wait here, deal with Victor Brynn when he turns up again, and then I’m leaving. You can have the house and everything in it. The gun. The books. I don’t care. But, till then, you’re here but you’re not here either, just like a tool in a toolbox I’m gonna need at some point.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘If we start talking, pretending to be friends, all you’re gonna do is try and get me to do more spells and that ain’t gonna happen.’

  ‘I promise I won’t.’

  ‘Even if you don’t want to, the magic inside you might. I’ve told you. It’s dangerous. It’s already tricked you once. We’re only gonna use magic three more times.’

  ‘Three?’

  ‘Once when we cancel the spell on the axe and once for Victor Brynn too, but then . . .’ Jones paused, ‘. . . well, I think we’ve got to do another spell on him.’

  ‘Such as?’

  ‘He told us it’s hard to kill a No-Thing, so I figure we don’t even try. What we do is cancel the first spell we’ve done on him and then do a new one. Make it so he comes back in a thousand years, after we’re long gone. That way he’ll be someone else’s problem instead. Does that sound like a good plan to you?’

  ‘Maybe,’ said Ruby, trying not to make it sound like she thought it was.

  ‘Good. Then all you need to do is figure out how to cast the spell we need with that magic book you’re so keen on and then we’ll be set, won’t we?’