reclined against the side of the bed and shook out his arms and legs to dispel any nervous energy. He followed the crystal as it swung. Whenever the small disc reached the mid-point of its arc, it caught the light and flashed.
Swing. Flash . Swing. Flash .
Nicholas felt both heavy and light, like he was suspended in water. That familiar prickling sensation stirred deep in the pit of his stomach.
Swing. Flash .
Flash . Swing.
Nicholas’s eyes began to droop.
“ The girl ,” he commanded in his head. “ Show me the girl. ”
Flash . Swing. Flash . Swing.
His stomach knotted. The light in the room softened, darkened, until all he saw was the flash of the little purple disc.
Flash. Flash. Flash.
Fire. People running, screaming. A man with a cane stalks the streets. Something monstrous screeches inhumanly and tumbles from the night sky.
Nicholas heard himself panting. He tried to slow the images down, but they wouldn’t be curbed. They poured into his mind like lava and he felt himself drowning.
A red triangle sizzles. Three large objects like pods simmer in a nest of embers. Elvis Presley grins. A woman sits in a classroom and something wet slithers out of her. A silver raven pendant glimmers. Moonlight edges over the lip of a well. Malika emerges from a pool drenched in blood...
“Nicholas!”
He retched into the carpet. His mouth and nose were full of something tangy. Blood. He was only vaguely aware of somebody pawing at him.
“Deep breaths,” a voice said. “Deep breaths.”
He tried to breathe and slowly the room came back into focus. The seeing stone was still. The books seemed to crane up from the floor to see what all the fuss was about.
“There you go. Are you well?” Isabel rested her paws on his knee.
Nicholas wasn’t embarrassed anymore.
“Malika,” he choked in horror. “She was... there was blood everywhere...”
CHAPTER SEVEN
At School
A S THE SUN ROSE OVER BURY St Edmunds, a peach-coloured sky provided an optimistic backdrop for the neat rows of peaked roofs. The shadows slid back and dissolved and the sun’s rays trickled into widening puddles that warmed every cobble and tile. Nosily, it pushed in at windows. One high window confounded it, though. Curtains were drawn to block out the world, and the sun was forced to peek through at the edges.
The birds woke Nicholas early. He slept deeply for a few hours, exhausted by what had happened at Snelling’s house, not to mention his troubling encounter with the seeing glass. When the unfamiliar squawking roused him, though, his mind quickly began whirring again. Who had Sam seen at Snelling’s house? Who had attacked them? What did the school massacre have to do with it all, if anything?
Breakfast consisted of eggs and bacon. Sam attempted to help Aileen at the hob, but she quickly established her authority over all things food-related.
Nicholas smiled weakly as, defeated, the old man seated himself at the kitchen table. He ached from yesterday’s training and he felt sick to his stomach. The image of the dead woman in the classroom burned in his mind. Was she one of the teachers from the school massacre? And then there was Malika slithering out of a vat of blood...
“You’re going to think a hole through the table-top any second now.”
Nicholas realised Sam was speaking to him.
“How you feeling? After yesterday?” the old man asked.
“Fine,” Nicholas said. “Bit achey.” He told Sam about the vision from the seeing glass, watching the elderly man’s face cloud with concern.
“Lad, if it’s too much–”
Nicholas wasn’t having any of it. “I need to do this.” He thought back to the conversation he’d had with Reynolds – Snelling – in the back of his shop. Reynolds wanted to know what motivated Nicholas to fight. Nicholas’s answer remained the same – he had to. It was what his parents would have wanted. Now that he knew about the dark forces in the world, he couldn’t just ignore them. He
Swing. Flash . Swing. Flash .
Nicholas felt both heavy and light, like he was suspended in water. That familiar prickling sensation stirred deep in the pit of his stomach.
Swing. Flash .
Flash . Swing.
Nicholas’s eyes began to droop.
“ The girl ,” he commanded in his head. “ Show me the girl. ”
Flash . Swing. Flash . Swing.
His stomach knotted. The light in the room softened, darkened, until all he saw was the flash of the little purple disc.
Flash. Flash. Flash.
Fire. People running, screaming. A man with a cane stalks the streets. Something monstrous screeches inhumanly and tumbles from the night sky.
Nicholas heard himself panting. He tried to slow the images down, but they wouldn’t be curbed. They poured into his mind like lava and he felt himself drowning.
A red triangle sizzles. Three large objects like pods simmer in a nest of embers. Elvis Presley grins. A woman sits in a classroom and something wet slithers out of her. A silver raven pendant glimmers. Moonlight edges over the lip of a well. Malika emerges from a pool drenched in blood...
“Nicholas!”
He retched into the carpet. His mouth and nose were full of something tangy. Blood. He was only vaguely aware of somebody pawing at him.
“Deep breaths,” a voice said. “Deep breaths.”
He tried to breathe and slowly the room came back into focus. The seeing stone was still. The books seemed to crane up from the floor to see what all the fuss was about.
“There you go. Are you well?” Isabel rested her paws on his knee.
Nicholas wasn’t embarrassed anymore.
“Malika,” he choked in horror. “She was... there was blood everywhere...”
CHAPTER SEVEN
At School
A S THE SUN ROSE OVER BURY St Edmunds, a peach-coloured sky provided an optimistic backdrop for the neat rows of peaked roofs. The shadows slid back and dissolved and the sun’s rays trickled into widening puddles that warmed every cobble and tile. Nosily, it pushed in at windows. One high window confounded it, though. Curtains were drawn to block out the world, and the sun was forced to peek through at the edges.
The birds woke Nicholas early. He slept deeply for a few hours, exhausted by what had happened at Snelling’s house, not to mention his troubling encounter with the seeing glass. When the unfamiliar squawking roused him, though, his mind quickly began whirring again. Who had Sam seen at Snelling’s house? Who had attacked them? What did the school massacre have to do with it all, if anything?
Breakfast consisted of eggs and bacon. Sam attempted to help Aileen at the hob, but she quickly established her authority over all things food-related.
Nicholas smiled weakly as, defeated, the old man seated himself at the kitchen table. He ached from yesterday’s training and he felt sick to his stomach. The image of the dead woman in the classroom burned in his mind. Was she one of the teachers from the school massacre? And then there was Malika slithering out of a vat of blood...
“You’re going to think a hole through the table-top any second now.”
Nicholas realised Sam was speaking to him.
“How you feeling? After yesterday?” the old man asked.
“Fine,” Nicholas said. “Bit achey.” He told Sam about the vision from the seeing glass, watching the elderly man’s face cloud with concern.
“Lad, if it’s too much–”
Nicholas wasn’t having any of it. “I need to do this.” He thought back to the conversation he’d had with Reynolds – Snelling – in the back of his shop. Reynolds wanted to know what motivated Nicholas to fight. Nicholas’s answer remained the same – he had to. It was what his parents would have wanted. Now that he knew about the dark forces in the world, he couldn’t just ignore them. He
Similar Books
