by M J Sherlock
'This calls for a celebration. We have a grade A French student in the making.’ Dad gave me a half hug. 'Life was dull without you.' Dad let go and disappeared off to organise a delivery of Chinese food.
‘We missed you.’ Mum beamed at me even as her eyes shone with tears. 'I’m so proud of you. Don’t be too quick to grow up.'
My earlier hurt faded as I tucked into my favourite foods. Chicken and pineapple, fried rice and chips with some noodles on the side. We watched a movie together and relaxed in each other’s company. The takeaway soothed me. I was the one keeping life-threatening secrets and shutting them out of the most important part of my life. I hoped Detective Pierce didn’t come knocking or worse the Venator, but if they did, I was more prepared than I had been before my trip to France.
What about my parents though? Even if I could survive a Venator attack, could they as they walked about innocent, naive and unknowing? Was not warning them increasing the likelihood of them walking into a trap? I scrubbed a hand over my face. These were unanswerable questions. All I knew for sure was I had school the next day. That night, I lay on my bed and slept as thoughts of normal life and potential Venator inflicted horrors chased through my dreams.
The school term began next day with an Assembly. The Principal droned on while hard grey plastic chairs numbed our behinds. 'Today is the first day of the rest of your life.'
How original I thought and tuned out. Dust motes twinkled and spun in shafts of light. Clashing scents of perfume and after-shave fought so hard for attention it made me sneeze. I stared at a new boy - Niall - according to Katherine. My type, he had spiky, blond hair and a slim, tall figure. Esme sat three spots down from him. At fourteen, she had an effortless blonde elegance that made me want to splatter her with something to dim the perfection.
My mind flicked back to the Principal. ‘Choose your friends wisely...’
I played with my hair, plaiting its strands, longing for the assembly to be over. Niall stared at me. I checked over my shoulder to see if I had missed something. Nothing. Blushing, I rocketed through a whole series of wild imaginings. Does he realise I fancy him or is my skirt tucked in my knickers? Niall caught my eye and winked. I gulped; things were hotting up. Sounds of scraping chairs and chatting students penetrated my brain. Boring lecture over. Freedom.
Katherine joined me in the scrum to get out of the hall. 'Hey, what was that? You and Niall staring into each other’s eyes.'
My face burned. ‘No idea.'
'You have to admit he is gorgeous,’ said Maisie catching up with us.
I kept my mouth shut but my grin gave me away.
When I arrived for Form period, Niall stood with our Tutor. 'Settle down, Class. Niall Campbell moved up here from Cheshire when his dad changed jobs. Ellie-Grace you remember what that’s like. Show him the ropes.’
My luck improved. Niall chose many of the same options as I had. I fixated on him in History without Maisie and Katherine seeing, as well as in Art where they teased me. At lunchtime, I introduced him to Dan and Oliver. They went off to play football with a group of other lads.
In Maths, the teacher split up the boys from the girls. I sat towards the middle, flanked by my two best friends. Niall was seated front and centre where the teacher could keep his eye on him. Towards the end of the lesson, Niall twisted around and slipped me his phone number. How I did not go beetroot red I will never know. I slipped the note into an inside pocket of my purple blazer.
After school, Katherine, Maisie and I slipped off to our favourite café, Crossed Forks to discuss all the latest gossip. The owners decorated their café like an art gallery displaying sculpture. Gigantic, crossed forks bent over in the middle formed table struts. Chair legs were shaped like upside down knives where their ‘feet’ met the floor.
'I have a confession.' Katherine paused her dissection of an enormous piece of chocolate cake.
'Spill,' said Maisie. Her cake fork clattered on the glass-topped table.
'Oliver and I are going out. We have been for almost a week.' Katherine’s grin stretched from ear to ear.
'So that’s why you were oblivious to Niall.' Maisie propped her chin on her hands. ‘Tell us everything.’
'Why didn’t you tell us sooner?' I slurped my hot chocolate, careful to avoid a whipped cream moustache.
'Barely seen you.' Katherine quirked an eyebrow.
Ouch, that was telling me. I deserved it for disappearing for the whole of the summer. Not even catching up on social media for weeks. ‘I’m sorry…’
'We forgive you,’ said Maisie, ‘do better next time.' She finished her lemon cake as Katherine caught us up on her news.
We separated to get tea and do our homework. For once, my parents were home early and asked about my day. I shared the latest gossip but avoided telling them about Niall. That evening, Mum played a dance game with me.
'Everything alright, Mum?'
'It’s your first day back, we want to support you. It’s an important couple of years.’
Not interested in me then, only my performance. Soon after, I decamped upstairs and updated my journal. Details about Niall filled several pages before I switched off my crystal lamp to go to sleep. My dreams were full of Cloaken, Venator, Guardians and Niall. Impossible to know if it was a message or normal teenage dreaming.
Chapter 15: Guardians
Days shortened, as if even the light wanted a duvet day. All seemed calm, yet I felt a humming sense of danger, growing like vibrations before a tsunami. The trees put on their annual show. Leaves softened to rusty orange, crimson and yellow ochre. The wind rose and whipped stray leaves into the air where they twirled on an invisible helter skelter. When they landed, they huddled together as if far from home.
Taine and I built on the skills we learned over the summer. We extended our portal range to two miles as we practiced after dark. Occasionally we fell out, usually after I criticised his family’s abandonment of him. We soon made up. Regular jogging, racing, wrestling, weight training and the usual staples of pizza, Chinese takeaways and movie marathons all strengthened our bond.
Taine turned sixteen and received the one present he wanted – the all too brief return of family. By the time I reached his flat, he had opened his other presents: a phone upgrade, clothes and Xbox games. Walking in, I smelt garlic bread and pepperoni pizza. The flat felt alive, transformed by texture, sound and colour. Foil banners and balloons announced Taine’s birthday. Movie tunes played and laughter rang out. I passed him my gift, a slogan t-shirt of Schrodinger’s cat. He unwrapped it and flashed me a grin.
India introduced herself and enveloped me in a hug. 'Great to finally meet.' Even in jeans and a t-shirt, she resembled a model, racehorse thin and legs up to her armpits.
'Same.'
Next came Alex, his face all angles and sea-green, intelligent eyes. I felt intimidated as he offered me an awkward handshake. All he needed was glasses for me to be convinced of his genius. Half a year it had taken us to meet. How being reunited felt to India and Taine, I was unsure. Imal popped home occasionally but failed to notice India was never there. What kind of father was he?
A deep voice sounded behind me. ‘What can I get you?’
I turned and there he was. Imal repeated his question.
‘Cola please.’
He was nothing like I imagined. Not some monster, just a man with haunted eyes, dressed in a shiny grey suit and a red shirt. A sense of loss came off him in waves. Imal was still mourning thirteen years on. What kind of love was that?
India dug out a karaoke game and we tortured each other with our singing. Taine was amazing but me, not so much. His voice harmonised with India as if they sang together often. My heart bled for him. I had only known him during Imal and India’s extended absence. I would hate it if I were in his shoes. With a flurry of goodbyes at the end of the party, I was sorrier to leave than I had expected.
***
Cloisters End
I kept putting off emptying Aunt S
tella’s safety deposit box. A rich person’s bank. Cloisters End sounded morbid rather than exclusive. It took the Étoile flashing and a message from Annie to get us moving. ‘Empty the box this morning or all will be lost.’ She disconnected without giving me a chance to speak.
Picturing Taine’s face, I held the Étoile in my hands. I repeated Annie’s message and asked him to bring his passport. India and Alex offered to come as invisible back up using their cloaks. We agreed to meet at Bond Street Station in an hour.
In danger of being late, I upended one of my drawers. I rifled through to grab my passport together with Stella’s key and letter of authorisation to access the safety deposit box. Taine waited for me at the Bond Street turnstile.
I asked, ‘Are they with you?’
Taine nodded. Knowing we had backup, some of the tension left my body. I wished they had been with us in France. It would have made the experience more enjoyable. We ought to have invited them. Why hadn’t we? Too late now. After zigzagging along several narrow streets, we came to an imposing glass and steel door leading into Cloisters End.
A woman in a navy and cerise uniform bustled over and greeted us.
I did my best to look confident. ‘We need to access a safety deposit box please.’
‘If Madam would like to come this way.’ She led us to a couple of seats in front of a wide man, dressed in a navy three-piece suit. His waistcoat buttons stretched taut like runners at the starting blocks.
‘Mr Smallwood.’ He shook our hands. ‘How may I be of service?’
‘We wish to empty my Aunt’s safety deposit box.’ I handed him our letter of authorisation and passports.
‘All appears to be in order. Hold onto the key while I scan these.’ He disappeared through a side door. The door seemed to bounce a moment before closing.
‘Why did Annie say it was so urgent?’ whispered Taine.
‘No idea. You got your cloak on you?’
He pulled the strap of his bag. ‘Never go anywhere without it anymore.’
The door clicked open as Mr Smallwood returned. ‘If you’ll follow me, you may check your box in private.’ He led us to the far corner and put his thumb on the scanner. The door turned green and opened automatically. After descending several flights of stairs, we came to a windowless door labelled, ‘Viewing Room.’ Above the door was a lit, green vacant sign. Mr Smallwood let us in and then left the room to collect our box. We grabbed a bottle of water out of a mini-fridge before sitting on leather swivel seats at a smudge-free glass table.
I opened my bottle and drank. ‘Never imagined being in a place like this.’
‘Me either, Stella must be seriously loaded.’
A buzzing sound signalled Mr Smallwood’s return with a large metal box. ‘Press the bell by the door when you’re finished. I will return and escort you upstairs.’ He inclined his head as he backed out the room. The door locked with a click behind him.
Inside the box were papers and a jewelled globe. The globe was similar in size to the Étoile. Jewels winked in the artificial light. Now I knew why Stella had stored it here. Any collector would want it. I felt I was committing sacrilege when I wrapped it in a woollen cloth and placed it in my backpack. Taine grabbed the papers and stuffed them in next to it. There were too many to sort through.
From outside came the squeak of heavy boots. My heartbeat sped up. Trapped, locked in, unable to escape without the manager’s fingerprint. I fought feelings of claustrophobia that tightened like metal bands of pressure across my brain. Fear froze me.
‘Let’s put our cloaks on,’ said Taine, ‘we may have to portal out.’
Glad one of us was on form. ‘Steps first, then Bond Street.’
We whipped our cloaks out of our bags and left as the door began to open. As we reappeared outside, we almost ran into five or six more Venator. We gripped each other’s hands and shouted, ‘Now,’ before coming out at Bond Street station. Lightning flickered overhead. We scanned the area but saw no sign of the Venator.
‘What do we do now? Portal or tube?’ I asked.
‘Which safe house can you picture best?’
‘Wellington Arch. If we do short hops, we should be okay.’
The air felt muggy. Thunder rumbled. I counted the seconds. The storm was close.
Taine swayed. ‘Let’s go there first and eat. I feel faint already.’
We arrived at Wellington Arch and a downpour caught us. Water ran down my neck while wind whipped my long hair into my face, stinging my eyes. It was a relief to see the shimmery doorway and go inside.
‘Best switch these off so we’re not tracked.’ I tossed my phone and Étoile to him. ‘This was the first safe house I found.’
Taine switched off the gadgets and wrapped the Étoile in a woollen cloth before returning them to my bag. I made hot chocolate in red poppy mugs and dug out a pack of biscuits from the pine cupboards. We huddled together on the edge of the bed.
‘Any better?’ I asked biting into a chocolate biscuit. Crumbs fell to the floor as I brushed them off my damp clothes.
‘Much thanks.’ Taine shoved a biscuit whole in his mouth.
‘You look like a wide-mouthed frog. How far apart are the other safe houses?’
‘More than two miles. Let’s eat more biscuits and then aim for the one at Battersea Park. It has two bedrooms.’
‘You think we’ll get stuck overnight?’
‘Hope not. Plenty of food there though.’
A scuffling noise came from outside. Taine and I grabbed our cloaks and bags.
‘Battersea Park.’ Taine squeezed my hand.
‘The Three Standing Figures.’ I felt dizzy.
‘Wait,’ yelled India. She stuck her head around the door. Rain pelted behind her.
Alex followed her in and they shook themselves to clear the excess water.
‘What took you so long?’ Taine gripped his backpack.
‘The Venator took the bank apart. They missed you in the Viewing Room. The guys outside saw you arrive and disappear when your cloaks slipped.’ India left a trail of tiny puddles on the floor behind her as she moved towards us.
‘And?’ Taine adjusted his cloak and backpack.
‘They took the box and held the fat man at gunpoint. Was it empty?’ India squeezed out her hair.
Taine’s knuckles whitened on his cloak. ‘Now yes but-’
‘-The bank manager scanned our passports and Stella’s details. They will be able to track us...’ My heart sank. None of my family would be safe.
‘I deleted that,’ said Alex.
‘How?’ My chest felt tight as my heart raced and I struggled not to hyperventilate.
‘The cloaks. We followed the bank manager invisibly when he disappeared off to make the copies. I watched him input his password and got into their system after he left.’
‘Won’t there be a back-up?’ Taine released his grip on his bag and it slid to the floor.
‘Of Stella’s records yes, of yours no. It needs to be on the system overnight or as a minimum several hours before a back-up is created.’ Alex perched on the bed.
‘No need to go into hiding?’ I released my grip on my bag.
‘Not for you. Maybe Stella should.’ Alex pulled a thin laptop out of his rucksack and flipped it open.
‘Can you delete the link to her record permanently?’ I needed to know if I should warn her.
‘Give me a minute, that’s what I’m going to do next.’ Alex hacked into the system, helped by the password he stole earlier.
India disappeared to the bathroom where she dried her hair and plaited it. She looked younger without make-up. Alex’s fingers whipped over the keyboard, deleting the link from Stella’s account to the deposit box. His skills were a game changer. Taine rinsed our mugs, leaving them on the draining board.
‘Have you each got your Étoile?’ Alex rummaged in his pocket to get his before holding a hand out for each of ours.
We passed them to him. He joined them like magne
ts before tapping out a rhythm. Who had taught him? The ozone smell came first before a multi-coloured whirlpool appeared with its outer rim of flashing blue. We stepped through the gel-like substance together and were soon in the shadows of my back garden. Alex had skills, without him, we would have been lost.
I made my way into the house and prepared a frozen ready meal. The microwave clock read 14:01. It felt surreal like it should have been much later. I whacked my music on, grabbed a quick shower and then crashed on the bed asleep. Later I woke to the slam of the front door and voices below. My parents were home.
I toddled downstairs, wiping sleep from my eyes. ‘What’s for tea?’
‘How about Spaghetti Bolognese?’ Mum set me to work chopping vegetables while she fried the mince and put the pasta on to cook.
After tea, I returned to my room, pulling out the papers we rescued from the bank. They bore the royal crest and dealt with affairs of state. I put them to one side, focusing on the globe. It coloured my white shaker furniture and blue walls with a rainbow. The Étoile had lit up my kitchen in the same way when I first received it.
Despite the hum of danger beforehand, I had been shocked when the Venator turned up at Cloisters End. How long could we stay ahead of them? Today we escaped thanks to Taine and Alex. Annie was reckless with her cryptic clue, sending us into danger. Something else to note in my journal. If I ever met Annie, I would put her in the hot seat. She had some explaining to do.
Chapter 16: Looking Glass Pond
On the Monday of the half term holidays, I headed for Crossed Forks. I ordered a frothy cappuccino and coffee cake and then began to sketch the patrons. Two teenage girls sat in a bay window. Their faces were close together and their gaze darted around as if whispering gossip. I drew a bug hovering next to them with its own listening device held out like a satellite dish in front of it.
Next, I sketched a mother and daughter, besieged by shopping bags. I drew castle walls surrounding them as the bags leaned in ready to attack.