The Nowhere Emporium

by Ross Mackenzie

  Daniel raised a finger in correction. “You’re in the Nowhere Emporium, Mr Sharpe. Nothing’s impossible.” He held up the book. “You lose. The book stays here, where it belongs.”

  Sharpe stared at Daniel, wild fury in his eyes.

  “But … there was no way out. How did you escape?”

  Daniel patted the doorway.

  “I know things you don’t,” he said, ignoring Sharpe when he scoffed. “I know that you and Mr Silver had a challenge of your own. I know that challenge never ended. Don’t you see? We’re a part of it, Ellie and me. Players in the same game. This was a challenge within a challenge. We were fighting for Mr Silver.

  “So here’s how it is: everything we agreed stands. You have to go, and never come back. But everything you agreed with Mr Silver all those years ago also stands. You have to stop stealing life from innocent people, stealing their time, their tomorrows. You have to grow old. And one day you have to die.”

  Sharpe spat on the stage floor. His face flushed brilliant red. “Where is he hiding?”

  Daniel smiled. He held up the Book of Wonders. “In the book. He told you once that the book was part of him, part of his soul. You had the book in your hands, Sharpe. You had Silver in your hands, and you never knew. If you hadn’t been so arrogant—”

  Sharpe moved so quickly, a blur in the shadows.

  Ellie screamed. Sharpe was behind her, holding her tight, a knife to her throat.

  Behind Daniel, the crowd gasped.

  “You have taken something from me today, Daniel Holmes. And nobody takes anything from me. So I intend to take something from you. The girl is my blood. She will come with me. Step aside or I slit her throat.”

  Daniel shook his head. “You don’t understand, do you? The Emporium wants you to leave. I’d listen to it, if I were you.”

  Out in the theatre audience, the many versions of Michelle Sharpe left their seats and began to lumber towards the stage. They climbed the steps, the slow walk of the dead, and formed a ring around Sharpe.

  “Stop this!” he yelled. “Stop it. I’ll kill her!”

  Cold hands wrapped around his wrist, prized the dagger from his grip. Ellie aimed a kick at his shins, squirmed free and wriggled through the crowd to Daniel.

  “You took your time,” she said. “Can we finish this now?”

  Then they turned back to Sharpe, who was fighting through the crowd towards the door.

  “I may have lost,” he yelled, batting away one of the many Michelles, “but nowhere in our agreement did it state that I had to leave you in one piece.”

  He reached into his coat, and his blades gleamed in the stage lights. The first two daggers missed their target, plunging deep into the wall beside the door, level with Daniel’s head. But Sharpe’s third throw was true, and the knife spun through the dark theatre towards Daniel’s heart.

  A flash of silver, a chattering call, and the magpie swooped down in front of him, wings spread wide. The dagger hit the bird in the chest, and the magpie exploded in a cloud of rubies, raining to the ground with a sound like falling stars.

  Sharpe let out a roar of anger. He ran towards Daniel, knocking many versions of his dead daughter out of his path, his teeth clenched, veins popping in his forehead and neck.

  Daniel opened the book. He tried to stay calm as he found the correct page, and ripped it out. At once, the floor of the theatre began to break, to crumble and fall to infinite darkness.

  The fury in Sharpe’s face had been replaced by cold fear. He quickened his pace, leaping as sections of the floor disappeared beneath him. The Emporium’s glittering bricks closed in around the door, suffocating the doorway. One final roar, and he leapt for the exit. But he fell short, and tumbled into the abyss as the door disappeared, sealing him in a nightmare forever.

  The Emporium was silent. And then the staff roared, and Daniel and Ellie were surrounded by cheering people wanting to hug them, to lift them and carry them on their shoulders.

  “Give them space!” cried Caleb. “They haven’t finished yet!”

  Daniel scrunched the page up. He handed it to Ellie, took the matches from his pocket, and lit one of them. Ellie held the page to the orange flame. They watched it burn together, until all that remained was a small pile of ash.

  CHAPTER 37

  PAGES IN THE WIND

  The front of shop was still and silent. Everything about the place, from the teetering columns of books to the wondrous array of shimmering treasures and the warmth of the fire, remained unchanged from the very first time Daniel had stumbled through the doors.

  He placed the Book of Wonders on Silver’s desk, beside Sharpe’s empty whisky bottle.

  The air in the Emporium seemed to become heavy, like the air before a storm. The Book of Wonders trembled. The cover cracked open, slamming on the wooden desk. Pages flipped and fanned. A whistle sounded – the high-pitched shriek of a boiling kettle – and the book leapt high into the air.

  Slap! It landed on the desk and lay still, open at the scorched pages.

  Words began to form on the burned paper, tiny, black ink letters scrawling across the page. And then the words broke free of the page and floated upwards. They banded together, loops and flourishes of ink forming feathered tendrils that shifted and twined in the air like smoke. Details formed. The flash of a hand. What might be an eye. Slowly, surely, the words took the shape of a man. A man wearing a dusty grey suit. A man with thundercloud eyes, and a head full of wild, tangled brown hair: a living, breathing, solid person.

  Mr Silver blinked. He rubbed a hand across his forehead and shook the cobwebs from his brain. He looked much older than Daniel remembered.

  “Well,” he said, “that stung more than I imagined.”

  Ellie leapt on him, knocking a cloud of dust from his suit.

  “Papa! Oh Papa, Papa!”

  Silver held her tightly. He placed his hands upon his daughter’s face, wiped away her tears with his thumbs, and looked into her eyes, a mirror of his own.

  “I am so very sorry that I left you. I promise there was no other way.” He glanced at Daniel and said, “But you know that, don’t you? You know everything.”

  Daniel said, “Sharpe told me that after such a long time, the Emporium was becoming too much for you.”

  Mr Silver smiled, and his eyes were sad. “It began five or six years ago. At first, I barely noticed. But as time dragged on, I began to feel the strain, to feel my grip on the Emporium loosening. I knew that my powers were fading. And each time we moved on, I felt Vindictus Sharpe edge closer. There were a few very close calls. He almost caught up with us in Barcelona.”

  “And that’s why you needed the unicorn blood, isn’t it?” said Daniel.

  “Initially, I intended to use it to prolong my life just enough to find a suitable replacement. But things moved too quickly. I was forced to act.”

  Daniel said, “I invited Sharpe into the Emporium, Mr Silver. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t. I’m sorry.”

  Silver held up a hand.

  “You, my boy, have nothing to be sorry about. Sharpe would have found a way in eventually. He had been watching us; he tricked his way into Ellie’s birthday ball. And that’s when I made the decision to go into hiding. Sharpe had remained strong by stealing other people’s futures. In my weakened state I would have been no match for him; he would have taken the book, and the Emporium would have been lost. I used the unicorn blood and almost every drop of my remaining magical strength to place myself in the book. But I did not abandon you, despite how it might have seemed. I retained a link to the outside world – something small, something that wouldn’t take too much effort to sustain. The magpies.”

  “You were the magpies?” Daniel said.

  “Always,” said Silver. “They were my eyes and ears. I realised as things unfolded that I would have to lead you to the truth about Sharpe – a terrible truth, a truth I would rather remained buried.” Mr Silver looked at the floor then, and he seemed
to Daniel to become a small boy, waiting to be scolded.

  Ellie said, “It’s true we saw everything. We saw what happened on the night you went to get the book back from Sharpe. But it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t kill her.”

  Silver looked up, and there were tears in his grey eyes. “For over one hundred years, I have been running from the past,” he said. “It’s a relief that you finally know the truth. I wish I could go back, Ellie, and change what happened.”

  “You can!” said Ellie. “You can do anything! Go back and stop Sharpe before he throws the knife! Kill him before he kills you!”

  Silver looked almost tortured then.

  “I’m not a monster, Ellie. And you know that’s not how it works. If I change the past I change the present. We’ll all be different people, shaped by different experiences. We won’t exist as we do now. And I do not wish to lose the you that I know.”

  Ellie dabbed at her eyes with a knuckle. “Michelle was really my mum? And she just left me on the doorstep like a bag of rubbish?”

  “Your mother was not a bad woman,” said Silver with a shake of the head. “She was manipulated by a master. But she knew when you were born that she had to give you up. She didn’t wish you to be treated as she had been, or worse, for you to be taken away from her and raised by Sharpe. So she brought you here.

  “It was quite a surprise to find you on the doorstep. And Sharpe has always been the reason that I have insisted you cannot leave. It’s not because I’m lonely. It’s not because I don’t love you. I love you most of all, Ellie, more than you can imagine. You are the one thing in this world that I have got right. As long as you remained inside the Emporium, I could ensure that Sharpe couldn’t harm you, couldn’t even see you. You have always been safe.”

  “Not if the Emporium falls apart around me,” said Ellie.

  Silver scratched his head.

  “I would never have put you in danger like that! It was all in my note…” He stopped. “Ah. Yes. The note. Didn’t quite work out as I’d hoped.”

  Ellie reached into her pocket.

  “Oh. You mean this note?” She waved the scrap of paper. “The note that tells us absolutely nothing?”

  Silver stared at it.

  “Yee-ees,” he said, plucking the note from Ellie’s hand and sniffing the burned edges. “Got scorched along with the book. Bit of a mistake … My plan was quite similar to Daniel’s, as it turns out, and part of the note said that you are now free to leave the Emporium any time you wish.” He smiled, and nodded towards the door. “There’s nothing to hide from now. The world is yours.”

  Ellie’s eyes bugged open. She looked at the door.

  A familiar rumble came from behind the curtain. The shop shivered, and the flames in the fire dulled and hiccupped. Mr Silver staggered backwards, and then regained his footing and charged to his desk, picking up the book.

  “We don’t have much time. If the Emporium is to be saved, then it must be passed to someone else. Someone who is up to the challenge.” He patted the battered cover. “When I first began my search for a successor, I never imagined that the book would choose someone so young.” His hand rested on Daniel’s shoulder. “What do you say, Daniel Holmes?”

  The question was too huge to fit entirely into Daniel’s head. It took him a long time to answer.

  “Me? Take over the Emporium? I’m just a boy! I don’t know how!”

  “You were old enough and wise enough to defeat an ancient and dangerous man. And you will not be alone.”

  Another rumble. Silver folded into his seat, clutching at his chest.

  “If I say no,” said Daniel, “the Emporium will die. It’s not a fair thing to ask someone.”

  Mr Silver said, “Everything has its season, Daniel. If today is the day that the Emporium passes into history, then it will certainly not be your fault. The blame for all of this lies with me.”

  Daniel’s mind was bursting with questions, with ideas and fears and excitement.

  “I … I don’t think I could do what you’ve done … live like you’ve lived,” he said. “I don’t want to steal anybody’s imagination.”

  Mr Silver held up his hands. “You won’t need to. If anyone has the imagination to power the Emporium, it is you. My dear boy, I would never demand that you live with the mistakes I have made – and I have made many. It will be a clean slate. A blank page. Your Emporium. Your rules. Your life.”

  “I could be normal?” said Daniel. “I could grow up, and grow old, and pass the Emporium on to someone else when I think it’s time?”

  Silver smiled.

  “Aye. I think that would be a very wise way to live.”

  Daniel’s gaze found Ellie. He wondered what was going on in her head, how she felt about her father passing the torch to someone other than herself. And then, as though reading his thoughts, she gave him a smile, showing the gap between her front teeth, and a nod.

  Mr Silver offered a hand.

  “Do we have a bargain?”

  “Will the staff be OK? Caleb and Anja and the others?”

  “The ones who survived will stay with you,” said Silver. He rubbed at his eyes. “But I’m afraid to say there is no bringing back those who perished. They came from my mind, my imagination. You will have to write some new staff.”

  Daniel thought about the vastness of the Emporium. The shop was many things. It was a magical place. A place where anything was possible. A place with the power to bring happiness to the hearts of those who visited, those who believed. But to Daniel, most of all, it was home. The Emporium was where he belonged, at last.

  He shook Silver’s hand.

  As their fingers touched, Daniel felt a shiver run up his spine. Something seemed to wrap around him, like an invisible blanket, and then it was gone, and their hands came apart. The air between them crackled. Mr Silver handed Daniel the Book of Wonders, and as Daniel held it, the cracked and worn cover began to repair, until the leather was smooth and shining. The golden letters shone clear once more, only this time, the name on the cover was not Mr Silver’s. Daniel stared at the inscription:

  The Wonders of Daniel Holmes

  “It’s done,” said Mr Silver.

  Daniel felt it. He felt it in the same way you feel that someone is watching you, or that a storm is coming. He felt the Emporium in his chest and his head and his blood. It was a part of him, and he was a part of it.

  Silver beamed at him, though there was sadness in his eyes. He held out a hand to Ellie.

  “Would you like to take a walk together?” Silver asked, pointing to the exit.

  Ellie stared at the door, and then at her father. She nodded. Silver took her hand.

  “Are you coming back?” Daniel asked.

  Silver did not have to utter a word to answer the question; his eyes told Daniel everything.

  “We … we’re not coming back?” said Ellie.

  Silver kissed his daughter’s hand. “You may return, if you wish,” he said. “You have a life to live, a canvas to paint. What you do is up to you. Grow old, Ellie. Fall in love and out of love and travel the world. You stand at the beginning of your path. But this will be my last walk.”

  Ellie pulled away from him. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m tired, Ellie. More exhausted than you can imagine. The very last of my energy is about to run dry. When I walk out of the Emporium, away from the magic, I will not be able to hold myself together any longer. Nothing can stop it now.”

  “You can’t go away!” said Ellie, her voice trembling. “I’ve only just begun to get to know you properly.”

  Mr Silver placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Ellie, I would very much like to take one walk in the fresh air with my daughter before my time is up. Please.”

  Ellie said, “Will it hurt? When you go?”

  “I don’t believe so. I like to imagine that it will be as pleasant as stepping from cold shadow into warm sunshine.” He smiled, and winked an eye the colour of thunder. “A
re you ready?”

  “No. But I’ll walk with you.”

  “And Daniel,” said Mr Silver, “you will find help in the Book of Wonders. I have left an echo of my knowledge within the pages. It will guide you when you need it.”

  Daniel gave a nod. “Thanks,” he said, and he meant it more than he had ever meant anything. “Thank you for everything.”

  Silver took his hat from the stand by the door, placed it on his head, and tipped the brim towards Daniel.

  “Thank you, Daniel Holmes. I wish you the adventure of a lifetime.”

  The bell sang as Silver opened the door to the perfect autumn day, a golden sun high in the powder-blue sky. Daniel watched as they walked through the door, and found himself smiling as Ellie took her first steps in the outside world.

  They walked, father and daughter, hand in hand, up the street to the corner of the block, where the sunlight shone brightest upon the sidewalk.

  Time seemed to slow in the bustling Manhattan street as Silver kissed Ellie on the forehead. He said something, and she nodded, and they hugged.

  Then a breeze whispered between the buildings, and in the time it took to blink, Mr Silver was gone, leaving hundreds of blank book pages in his place, twirling and soaring around Ellie in the wind, flashing in the light of the autumn sun.

  She watched the pages for the longest time, dabbing at her eyes, until the last of them had become nothing more than a speck in the sky. Then she turned and walked slowly back to the Emporium, where Daniel held open the door. She collapsed into her father’s chair.

  “Are you all right?” Daniel wished he had something better to say. A lot had changed, but crying girls still left him stumped.

  She peeked at him from behind her hands.

  “No. I’m not.”

  A pause.

  “I saw my dad,” said Daniel. “During the duel with Sharpe. He helped me. I know it wasn’t him … not the real him anyway … the shop created an echo from my memories. I always thought I didn’t remember anything about him. Turns out he’s been with me all along. He always will be. I don’t think I’ll have nightmares any more.”

  Ellie gave him a smile. She wiped her eyes, and stood up. She made her way around the shop to the device that steered the Emporium, the one with the many rings and numbers.