What on earth was the matter with him? He was concentrating on the floor, periodically shaking his head. Eventually I gave in. “Callum, are you OK? You don’tseem yourself this morning.”
“Of course I’m—” he snapped, then bit off his words. “Morning – that’s the problem. I’ve not done enough gathering this morning. I came straight here to make sure you were safe. I can’t think straight.”
I inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. He had told me before that the amulet needed filling first thing because the memories start to fade away overnight, and I had never seen him this early before. He didn’t usually need to gather too much in the morning because he wasn’t as miserable as the others, but his preference only to take unimportant memories and happy thoughts made this process much slower. I knew that most mornings he went to stations and found people on stationary trains reading their books, which kept him going until the cinemas opened. “Well, as we now know who is causing all this, I’ll be able to watch out while you go and get your breakfast.” I gave him the perkiest smile that I could manage.
He shot me a grateful look. “Maybe I will. But in the meantime, we have to be very careful who we tell about this.”
“Good point,” I agreed, thinking of the potential problems I would face if all the Dirges knew that there was a way to get their lives back. “But can we tell Matthew? Shouldn’t he know?”
“Let me think about it. In some ways it might be even crueller to know that there is a way to become real again and that they don’t have it.”
“But don’t you all deserve hope?” I asked, looking down at the amulet with the twisted silver that held the strange blue stone safe in its cage, trying to understand its bizarre but exciting power. “I mean, it just seems wrong to keep it from everyone, that’s all.”
“I have to keep you safe,” he whispered. “I can’t allowanything to happen to you. You saw what happened yesterday, and if they knew that it wasn’t oblivion that you offered them, but the chance to live again, well, the temptation may be too much…”
I swallowed hard, looking deep into his eyes. They were darker than usual, the gold flecks less obvious despite the early morning sunshine. They were filled with pain.
“Let’s not talk any more about this now; you have more important things to do. Go and get your breakfast and I’ll get mine, and then we can talk later. If one of the others happens to find me I’ll be safe with the amulet on and I won’t say a word.”
“If you’re sure,” he agreed grudgingly. “I won’t be long.” He kissed the top of my head and was suddenly gone. Sighing, I picked up the mirror and slowly made my way out of the deserted playground.
Back home I divided up the huge Sunday newspaper and took most of it up to Mum and Dad, then settled down in the kitchen with the review section and a large mug of coffee. I flicked idly through the pages, not really expecting anything to distract me from our impossible situation. There was the usual selection of political exposés, celebrity gossip and human interest stories. I skimmed them all briefly until one small story at the bottom of the page caught my eye.
Mystery Amnesia Victim Missing
Police and social services were yesterday winding down the search for the mystery woman pulled from the Thames earlier this month. Able to identify herself only as Catherine, the woman has been under observation in Guy’s Hospital since her lucky rescue from the river two weeks ago. She disappeared on Wednesday and could still be suffering from mental trauma. The authorities are urging the woman to get back in touch and complete her treatment.
I reread the article quickly before sitting back and exhaling gently. The bits of the jigsaw were slotting into place. Catherine and Callum had drowned in the waters of the River Fleet, just where it joined the Thames. It looked like the amulet took
“Of course I’m—” he snapped, then bit off his words. “Morning – that’s the problem. I’ve not done enough gathering this morning. I came straight here to make sure you were safe. I can’t think straight.”
I inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. He had told me before that the amulet needed filling first thing because the memories start to fade away overnight, and I had never seen him this early before. He didn’t usually need to gather too much in the morning because he wasn’t as miserable as the others, but his preference only to take unimportant memories and happy thoughts made this process much slower. I knew that most mornings he went to stations and found people on stationary trains reading their books, which kept him going until the cinemas opened. “Well, as we now know who is causing all this, I’ll be able to watch out while you go and get your breakfast.” I gave him the perkiest smile that I could manage.
He shot me a grateful look. “Maybe I will. But in the meantime, we have to be very careful who we tell about this.”
“Good point,” I agreed, thinking of the potential problems I would face if all the Dirges knew that there was a way to get their lives back. “But can we tell Matthew? Shouldn’t he know?”
“Let me think about it. In some ways it might be even crueller to know that there is a way to become real again and that they don’t have it.”
“But don’t you all deserve hope?” I asked, looking down at the amulet with the twisted silver that held the strange blue stone safe in its cage, trying to understand its bizarre but exciting power. “I mean, it just seems wrong to keep it from everyone, that’s all.”
“I have to keep you safe,” he whispered. “I can’t allowanything to happen to you. You saw what happened yesterday, and if they knew that it wasn’t oblivion that you offered them, but the chance to live again, well, the temptation may be too much…”
I swallowed hard, looking deep into his eyes. They were darker than usual, the gold flecks less obvious despite the early morning sunshine. They were filled with pain.
“Let’s not talk any more about this now; you have more important things to do. Go and get your breakfast and I’ll get mine, and then we can talk later. If one of the others happens to find me I’ll be safe with the amulet on and I won’t say a word.”
“If you’re sure,” he agreed grudgingly. “I won’t be long.” He kissed the top of my head and was suddenly gone. Sighing, I picked up the mirror and slowly made my way out of the deserted playground.
Back home I divided up the huge Sunday newspaper and took most of it up to Mum and Dad, then settled down in the kitchen with the review section and a large mug of coffee. I flicked idly through the pages, not really expecting anything to distract me from our impossible situation. There was the usual selection of political exposés, celebrity gossip and human interest stories. I skimmed them all briefly until one small story at the bottom of the page caught my eye.
Mystery Amnesia Victim Missing
Police and social services were yesterday winding down the search for the mystery woman pulled from the Thames earlier this month. Able to identify herself only as Catherine, the woman has been under observation in Guy’s Hospital since her lucky rescue from the river two weeks ago. She disappeared on Wednesday and could still be suffering from mental trauma. The authorities are urging the woman to get back in touch and complete her treatment.
I reread the article quickly before sitting back and exhaling gently. The bits of the jigsaw were slotting into place. Catherine and Callum had drowned in the waters of the River Fleet, just where it joined the Thames. It looked like the amulet took
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