The Black Amulet

by J. R. Wallis

  Ed reached into his limitless pockets with both hands and rummaged around, remembering what was in them. He brought out his catapult in one hand and a silver ball bearing from the other and rolled it in his fingers. And then he looked up and grinned.

  TWENTY

  When Jones pulled off the tarp from the VW camper van in the outhouse, his heart lifted. It was like meeting an old trusted friend again. All sorts of memories came flooding back as he opened the door, not only with the familiar click of the handle but with the smell of the van’s interior too.

  The cupboards were still as well stocked as when he and Maitland had been using the vehicle. He whipped off the dust sheets from the table and seats as well as the cooker and the worktops. Everything was spick and span underneath.

  When he tried the key in the ignition, the engine turned over and over and he was wary of flooding it, so he stopped and waited and tried again. It started the next time and the van spluttered into life. The petrol gauge was low, but there was still a full jerrycan left from the last trip. He checked the others and was pleased to find one of the other cans was about half full as he knocked the side of it.

  He poured in everything he could find and the petrol gauge went up to about halfway, which he figured would be enough. He wasn’t too concerned because he knew he could get away with filling up jerrycans at the petrol station with nobody asking questions. Not only did he have his own debit card now because he had been old enough to open a bank account, just, but he knew how to use a card at the pump by typing in the number. Only a couple of weeks ago, his father had sent him to get fuel for the lawnmower at the local garage after it had coughed and died with their garden only half mown.

  After Jones had checked the oil, as well as the tyre pressure and the lights and indicators, he was satisfied the trip could start. He sat with Ruby in the kitchen, drinking tea and talking, as the last of the daylight dwindled, waiting for Thomas Gabriel to arrive after the boy had gone home to collect his things for the trip. Jones had suggested driving to Old Windsor that night because, with less traffic on the roads, the journey would be quicker than during the day. If all went well, they would be able to explore Lion Island before daybreak and hopefully find the next golden box.

  Thomas Gabriel was ready to leave his house in Hampstead to meet the others, a bottle of Slap Dust in his hand and a duffel bag over his shoulder, when the air in front of him started to fizz.

  A moment later, an official-looking white envelope was hovering in front of him, his name written on the front in black ink. Thomas Gabriel knew, of course, that it was a charmed message designed to appear to the recipient wherever they might be. But he had no idea who such a message might be from. Intrigued, Thomas Gabriel opened the envelope. Inside was a card bearing a short message in neat black handwriting:

  I request a meeting immediately

  R. Givens

  Thomas Gabriel read it again. And again. His heart started to thump in his ears. Now the envelope had been opened, Givens would have had a receipt of delivery, telling him the message had been received. An official request for a meeting from one’s mentor was not supposed to be refused, especially when it was with someone as important as Randall Givens. Thomas Gabriel knew that doing so would be another black mark against his name and he had a few of those already.

  The boy found a pen in his pocket and scribbled the word ‘Accepted’ and tapped the card three times. It vanished.

  He set down his duffel bag and his mind turned to the amulet. Under no circumstances could he allow Givens to see that. He would have to take it off.

  But knowing he had to was very different to actually doing it. His fingers hovered nervously over the amulet. It felt like a part of him now. He stood for a few moments, trying to sum up the courage to remove it. Finally, he took a deep breath. But, at his touch, the amulet tightened round his wrist as if knowing what he was about to do and not wanting to be parted from him. The little snakes’ heads bared their teeth as he pulled harder and a place somewhere inside his chest started to hurt. One of the heads bit down on his hand, making him gasp, and not letting go.

  ‘It won’t be for long,’ he whispered. The green eyes of the serpents stared at him and he looked as deep as he could into them. ‘I will never give you up,’ he promised. ‘Never.’

  The snake’s mouth released him and the amulet loosened. As the puncture wounds vanished, Thomas Gabriel took off the amulet and put it in his pocket. His wrist looked bare without it. A piece of his heart seemed to be missing too. And then he set about wiping the sweat from his brow and smoothing down his hair, trying to make himself presentable for Givens, waiting for another message telling him where to go.

  It didn’t take long to arrive.

  Good.

  According to delivery receipt of previous message, you’re at home.

  Arriving in a jiffy.

  I take Earl Grey tea. Wilfried does too.

  Thomas Gabriel’s heart sagged. A mentor could expect to be entertained by his student if he so wished, according to the Ordnung.

  Givens and Wilfried arrived a few moments later with a flourish.

  Givens beamed. ‘Thought we’d come to you as we’re still on the road. A few bits of admin have come up that we need to attend to. But, first of all, Wilfried wanted to say thank you. Didn’t you?’

  When he slapped a hand on Wilfried’s shoulder, his apprentice sparked into life and smiled too.

  ‘You were really great the other night, helping us out.’

  Thomas Gabriel shook Wilfried’s little hand and smiled back as best he could, resisting the urge to squeeze as hard as possible. The anger and resentment inside him at being forced to take off the amulet were spinning round and round and it felt like they needed somewhere to go. But he did his best not to make a scene, although his smile was so pained it came out more like a grimace.

  ‘So,’ said Thomas Gabriel. ‘What was it that needed attending to, sir?’

  Givens smiled. ‘Let’s have that tea while we talk, shall we?’

  Thomas Gabriel gave them tea in the kitchen rather the drawing room, which would have been more fitting for someone of Givens’s importance. But, rather than waste time getting out the best china and setting up places around the table, he poured the tea into mugs and put out a plate of biscuits. He wanted Givens and Wilfried gone quickly because he knew Jones and Ruby were waiting for him to join them for their night drive to Old Windsor. It was already early evening and getting dark outside.

  He could not stop thinking about the amulet either. He wanted it back on his wrist. His mind felt cloudy and tired without it.

  When he splashed the milk everywhere, he cursed.

  ‘All right?’ asked Givens.

  ‘Just tired.’

  ‘Must be hard work running an æhteland like this one on your own, and at your age too. I’m sure old Simeon would be very proud.’

  As Thomas Gabriel poured the tea and sat down, Givens smiled and took a big slurp. He picked up a biscuit and took a bite. And then he suddenly stopped chewing and burped. It smelt like rotten apples.

  ‘Sorry,’ said Givens. ‘Still suffering after those Burrowing Trolls the other night.’

  ‘The after-effects of being exposed to the breath of Burrowing Trolls can last up to a week,’ agreed Wilfried.

  ‘Quite right, Wilfried. How about you, Thomas Gabriel, no problems?’

  ‘Everything seems okay,’ replied the boy, the words barely slipping out between his clenched teeth.

  ‘And what about your magic?’

  ‘What do you mean, sir?’

  ‘Well, I’ll let you into a secret. We were looking for an important object at the abbey, a magical item that I suspected to have been hidden there a long time ago. I was convinced it was there, but we didn’t find it, worst luck.’ Givens tapped a finger on his lips. ‘However, I’ve been thinking. I was so struck by the improvement in your use of magic that perhaps the object is there and we just didn’t look hard enough
for it.’

  He leant forward. ‘Are you sure you felt the same as usual the other night? Did you have the sense of being able to do anything? That your magical power was enhanced?’

  Thomas Gabriel could see an excited spark in the man’s eyes.

  ‘Do you remember touching anything? Picking anything up? Try and think back, boy – it could be very important.’

  Thomas Gabriel shook his head. ‘Not that I remember, sir. Nothing felt out of the ordinary,’ he said. ‘I think it’s just that I’ve been practising hard at using my magic.’

  Givens sat back in his chair. Folded his arms. ‘Of course.’ He looked at the boy and frowned.

  ‘Sorry I can’t help.’

  Givens nodded. ‘Then, as head of the High Council, I have no option but to bring its annual meeting forward to the day after tomorrow in fact.’

  Thomas Gabriel grabbed at his chair to stop himself falling off it. ‘Wh-aa . . . What?’ he stammered.

  Givens took a small diary out of his pocket and started leafing through it. ‘The Order has been looking for this magical object for decades. It seems we are destined never to find it,’ he sighed. ‘The High Council must be informed of the results of my most recent search as soon as possible, once I’ve completed all the necessary paperwork and written up my findings and recommendations about what to do next. There are some extremely pressing decisions to be made now about what to do with the person who hid this object.’

  Givens brightened. ‘But that’s no concern of yours, of course. What is your concern, though, is that your magical test is now going to be the day after tomorrow.’

  Thomas Gabriel’s heart started beating harder and harder. ‘But—’

  Givens raised his hand. ‘If you’ll just let me adjust the meeting date, please.’ He fired a white spark at the diary page he had found and smiled. ‘There. Done. As head of the Council, I can change the date of the meeting if it’s deemed necessary for any very important reason.’ He flashed a big smile, apparently extremely pleased about this fact.

  Thomas Gabriel felt a buzz in his coat pocket and he knew his invitation was readjusting to the new date.

  ‘But I can—’

  ‘Now, now,’ said Givens. ‘It’s nothing to worry about. You seem to have the measure of magic, judging by the other night. But there is still room for improvement. So I think we should have a final practice. Get you ready for the big day. Other members of the Order might want you to fail, but I don’t. As your mentor, any failure would reflect badly on me. Wilfried can watch and learn a few things as we go.’

  Thomas Gabriel wiped his sweaty brow. Givens’s smile was like a bright light getting in his eyes.

  ‘We’ll do it under exam conditions, just as you’ll be examined at the meeting.’ Givens reached into a pocket and brought out a glass jar. He popped off the lid and a One Eye came fluttering out. Thomas Gabriel’s heart sank down into his stomach as he watched the tiny creature land on Givens’s shoulder. It was a bit bigger than the one he’d owned. This creature had a red stripe across its face, running below its eyes and over the bridge of its nose.

  ‘At your official examination, there’ll be a One Eye present to ensure you’re not using unfair magical means. And so it should be for our dress rehearsal too. So rather than use your One Eye we’ll use mine. Where is yours, by the way?’ asked Givens, looking around.

  Thomas Gabriel swallowed hard. His brain was so full of thinking it was ready to burst like an overripe fruit.

  ‘I . . . I lost it,’ replied Thomas Gabriel.

  ‘Oops.’ Givens tutted. Shook his head. ‘Well, mine just needs to check you over, before we can proceed.’

  He clicked his fingers and the One Eye took off, fluttering towards Thomas Gabriel. For a couple of seconds, all the boy could hear was the drumming of his heart. And then the One Eye was hovering in front of his face, staring him in the eyes.

  ‘Come on!’ said Givens. ‘We don’t have all night,’ he said, gesturing to the fact it was getting dark outside the kitchen window.

  The One Eye darted down into a limitless pocket of Thomas Gabriel’s coat. He could feel it rummaging around. When it fluttered out and flew to the other pocket where the Black Amulet was hidden, Thomas Gabriel’s heart hammered louder and louder in his chest. It felt like the whole kitchen was pounding around him. As the One Eye grabbed hold of the pocket with its tiny fingers, and peered inside, it gave a squeak of surprise and looked up at Thomas Gabriel.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Givens.

  Something snapped inside Thomas Gabriel. He flashed out a hand and flicked at the One Eye, sending it somersaulting through the air. It stopped short of hitting the wall as its wings fizzed and slowed it down. And then it growled and flew towards the boy again, baring its set of big teeth.

  ‘Stop!’ shouted Givens, putting up his hand, and the One Eye braked in mid-air.

  Thomas Gabriel couldn’t stand it any longer. He reached into his pocket for the amulet and slipped it on. He seemed to breathe more deeply, right into the pit of his diaphragm. His thinking became sharper. Energy surged through his body.

  Givens gasped and leant forward when he saw what the boy was wearing. Words seemed to have escaped him.

  ‘You’re not having it,’ hissed Thomas Gabriel. ‘It’s mine.’

  Givens stood up from his chair with a quick movement, sending it toppling backwards. He flashed a fistful of white sparks at the boy that stretched into a pointed bolt of light. But Thomas Gabriel was just as quick and spoke a spell that sent a shower of white sparks billowing round him like a tiny galaxy of stars. They formed a protective shield that absorbed the bolt from Givens, blunting and dissolving it. Thomas Gabriel fired his own magic back, a blue wave of sparks that flew from his hands, through the glittering shield and crashed into the man. Caught by surprise, Givens was sent reeling backwards with enough force to hit the wall. He collapsed in a heap of arms and legs, and didn’t move.

  The One Eye hurtled into the protective screen around Thomas Gabriel, its teeth bared, but was pinged away with such force that it hit the wall with a nasty crack that meant something was broken inside and dropped to the floor.

  The end of a golden rope licked itself round Thomas Gabriel’s chest and he felt it tighten, pulling his arms close to his body. He looked across at Wilfried, who was holding the other end of the rope with both hands. But Thomas Gabriel was stronger than the other boy and yanked the rope, pulling him to the floor. As he raised a hand and conjured more white sparks, the younger boy raised his hands, like a criminal giving himself up, his eyes darting towards Givens who was still out cold.

  Thomas Gabriel’s anger was all gone. Now the amulet was back on his wrist, he was feeling a lot calmer.

  ‘I’m not going to hurt you,’ he told Wilfried. ‘But you have to promise to help me. I’m not a bad person.’

  ‘Then why did you do that?’

  ‘Because even though he wants this,’ said Thomas Gabriel, pointing to the amulet, ‘I can’t give it to him. I need it.’

  ‘He told me that amulet was dangerous. That it can’t be trusted.’

  ‘Only if you don’t take precautions. The person who owned it before me told me how to handle it. I’m safe.’

  ‘No one’s safe,’ said Wilfried. ‘It’s evil. It uses áglæccræft.’

  Thomas Gabriel ignored him. There were other more important things to worry about. A big egg-shaped bump had appeared on Givens’s forehead. But the man was breathing and clearly alive.

  ‘I won’t help you,’ said Wilfried.

  Thomas Gabriel chewed the inside of his mouth as he stared at the boy. Thoughts flashed through his head and he nodded.

  ‘Yes, you will.’

  When Givens came round, he touched his head immediately and groaned. The chair creaked as he leant back and looked up at the ceiling to get his bearings.

  ‘What happened?’ he asked in a weak voice, his pale face all shiny.

  Wilfried looked down at the
floor for a split second and Thomas Gabriel watched him, in case the other boy lost his nerve and blurted out the truth. Although the amulet was hidden beneath Thomas Gabriel’s shirtsleeve, Wilfried knew it was there and what Thomas Gabriel could do with it.

  ‘It was the One Eye, sir,’ said Wilfried. ‘Don’t you remember?’

  Givens shook his head, which was clearly a painful thing to do. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. ‘What do you mean? What happened?’

  ‘Your apprentice is right, I’m afraid, sir. Your One Eye was sick. It turned on you.’

  ‘Impossible.’

  ‘I’m afraid not. We both witnessed it.’ Thomas Gabriel looked over at Wilfried, who nodded.

  ‘He’s right, sir.’

  Givens looked at his apprentice and frowned as he tried to recall what they were saying.

  ‘Your apprentice saved you, sir. He was remarkable, keeping cool under pressure like that. He’s got great skill with that golden rope of his. You’ve taught him very well.’

  ‘When you fell off the chair,’ continued Wilfried, ‘and bumped your head, sir, you knocked yourself out. I just had time to lasso the One Eye before it took a bite out of you, and Thomas Gabriel despatched it.’

  Wilfried pointed to the One Eye lying dead on the kitchen table. The red stripe across its face had faded now and its folded wings had stiffened. It was about the size of a dead sparrow. ‘It could have taken half your face off with one bite,’ he said.

  Thomas Gabriel had relaxed now Wilfried was playing along. He could sense the boy was warming to the story. A lie was easier to get used to if you believed it, that’s what he’d told him. And perhaps Wilfried was realizing now how easy it might be to curry favour for saving his Master. Thomas Gabriel had told him it would be. He pointed to the book on the table beside the dead One Eye. It was a copy of the Pocket Book Bestiary.

  ‘We think it was down to the Burrowing Trolls the other night. The fumes can linger in the threads of clothes and cause madness. It’s recommended you burn them to be absolutely safe and I’m afraid I did not. When you sent the One Eye over to me and it climbed into my pocket, all its digging around must have roused the fumes in the threads of my coat. It flew out, disoriented, and attacked the first thing it saw. You.’