Atlas Cloud And The Amulet of Thieves by L.M.J. Rayner Page B

closed my eyes concentrating on my breathing. My heart beat slowed, the urge to explode was lessening. The thought of waking up sweaty on the sofa was a pleasant thought. But this wasn't something I could wake up from. I was stuck in this nightmare. And it was going to kill me.
     
     
     
    After pouring more of the yellow liquid into my chest I made my way back to the room. I could hear voices coming from downstairs, it was late everyone was asleep. I wandered down onto the staircase, taking little and silent steps to make sure that I couldn't be heard. I wanted to look over the bannister to see who was talking but the last time I did, all I saw was my dad packing his bag, on a journey he wouldn't come back from. The candle light in the room was casting shadows on the walls. I crouched outside, pressing my ear up against the wall.
     
    “Gillian caught one of the enemy spies; he is looking for the Amulet.” A voice said.
     
    “What?” Farro said taken off guard by the comment.
     
    “The Amulet is just a story, a fable. People have been looking for it for two hundred years, nobody knows where it is.” Another voice uttered.
     
    “We have to strike now, while he doesn't suspect us.” A voice said. By the tone of the voice it sounded like Alistair.
     
    “No, that's exactly what he wants; we will be falling into a trap.” Farro said slamming his fist onto the table.
     
                  “What Amulet?” I said as I stepped inside the room. The room’s attention focused on me, Farro, Alistair and another person who I have not been introduced to yet face me.
     
    “What are you still doing up?” Alistair said
     
    “You guys are making such a god damn racket, I'm surprised the whole gang isn't down here.” Alistair looked at Farro, asking him with his eyes if it was alright for me to stay. Farro nodded. Alistair walked over to me.
     
    “I haven't really introduced you to myself or my brother.” He said. My name is Alistair Underhill, leader of the Apostles and this is my brother Jacob.”
     
    “You can call me Jake” He said
     
    “We are all Apostles, keepers of the gateways.” Alistair said.
     
    “What does that mean?”
     
    “The gateways are the portals, like the one you travelled through to get here. We keep them hidden and safe. I'm sure you've heard of Cain, Atlas.” He said almost with a quiver in his lips.
     
    “Yes.” I replied “He's the bad guy right?”
     
    “No!” He shouted. “He is much more than that; he is the combination of hate and cunning. He is the most powerful foe you will ever come across and if he ever crosses the borders between our worlds then we will all perish.” The room was filled with silence, death was on the air. I decided that it wasn't time to make jokes.
     
    “You see, Cain cannot cross the mirrors, like you or I. It is said that the Elders themselves branded him with the Elder Mark. A branding that stops him crossing the windows using normal means.” Farro said, talking to me in a much calmer voice than Alistair.
     
    “He has spent millennia trying to cross. Generations and generations have fought him and kept him at bay.” He said.
     
    “But we are getting weaker. Day by day men and women die by his hand or by a hand he controls, turning them, changing them.” Alistair added. I paused for a moment, trying to soak up all the information that was just spat at me.
     
    “Why will it be the end of all things if he crosses?” I said “Surely the army or someone could defeat him?” Farro smiled and closed the gap between us, Alistair gathered with his brother behind the table. They were looking over maps and other parchments.
     
    “Cain is magical by nature. Which means that he cannot be slain by those wielding swords or axes.” Farro said, he swallowed hard before he carried on, just talking about him sent shivers up his spine. “He is an old creature. Some say that he was one of the first who roamed these lands. He is filled