The house of the Amulet

by Hilton, Margery

  Morning light did not bring the answers, only a fresh wave of uncertainties.

  Melissa gave up attempts to finish her breakfast and wondered if the message constituted an invitation. Avril said to join her. But where? How far away? And with whom? She drank some coffee and checked the

  time, still caught out every so often by the lack of her wristwatch, and returned to her room. The hotel was hardly astir at this early hour and the only other occupants of the dining room had been a couple who were leaving that morning.

  Trying to assure herself that in a very short time she would be seeing Avril and the mystery would be cleared up, she put on a fine film of makeup, collected her sunglasses and a light jacket in case she needed it, and went down to wander restlessly around the hotel foyer.

  At exactly one minute to eight a middle-aged man in immaculate European dress entered the lobby and crossed to the desk. The clerk leaned forward, then indicated Melissa and the man came across the black and white mosaic with curiously soundless footsteps. In very good English he said : 'Miss Melissa Blair?' and when she nodded, said courteously, 'The car is waiting, mademoiselle, when you are ready.'

  She hesitated. 'But isn't she—isn't Avril here? I thought ...' Unease was back in full force now and she stared at the man, searching the rather full, fleshy features and dark eyes for an indication of character she could trust. He didn't look in the least sinister, if anything he looked rather tired and worried. He returned her scrutiny quite calmly, and she said : 'What's your name?'

  `Mahmoud,' he said quietly. am to drive you to join your sister, mademoiselle.'

  'Yes, but ... I thought she would be coming to

  meet me herself.' Melissa bit her lip. 'Is Avril all

  right? She's not ill, or anything?' she asked anxiously.

  'Please do not be alarmed, mademoiselle. Your sis

  ter is in excellent health and looking forward to being reunited with you.'

  'But couldn't she come herself?' A feeling of desperation made Melissa look round helplessly. 'Why didn't she let me know sooner?'

  Mahmoud began to betray the first signs of impatience. can't tell you, mademoiselle. I am merely acting on instructions. That I was to bring the car here and drive you to the house where your sister is a guest of Miss Amorel Vayle.'

  Still Melissa hesitated, torn by suspicion and indecision. The name didn't mean a thing to her, but then why should it? Oh, if only she could be sure she wasn't walking into a trap. But why should it be a trap? Avril had left her job of her own free will. She hadn't suddenly been spirited away. She had written quite calmly to say she had found something new and lucrative. And who else but Avril could have been responsible for the message and the arrival of Mahmoud? Then she saw Mahmoud take a pace back.

  He said, 'Mademoiselle does not wish to comply.' With a brief salutation he turned briskly away.

  She saw the doors swing behind him and his portly form cross the lobby and disappear from sight, Melissa came to life and rushed across the foyer. She emerged outside into the fresh sweetness of the young day in time to see Mahmoud getting into a light blue saloon with an open sunshine roof. She shouted, and he leaned across to open the passenger door.

  He smiled at her. 'Mademoiselle has decided not to disappoint her sister, after all. Would you prefer to sit in the rear?'

  No, this will do.' Vaguely noting that the car was

  quite empty apart from Mahmoud and wondering why she had expected anyone else, she climbed in and sank back breathlessly.

  He must have started the engine immediately he got in, for the car slid forward the moment she closed the door. So obviously he had no intention of kidnapping her, she thought wildly, when he was prepared to depart without her.

  After a moment or so he said : 'There are cigarettes under the dash, if Mademoiselle wishes to smoke.'

  No, I don't at the moment, thank you,' then, 'Is it very far away?'

  'Quite a long way, mademoiselle, which is why we travel early.'

  'Before it gets so hot.' Remembering Philippe giving the same reason she could understand that. She would have to let him know later on, he wouldn't be at the office yet .. . The morning bustle was beginning in the business quarter and she sensed an impatience in Mahmoud to be free of the city's confines and knew she had not been mistaken when they reached the outskirts and the car responded to increased pressure on the throttle.

  She looked at the highway stretching ahead and noticed another kilometre stone marker flash by with its sign saying P7. Wasn't that the Marrakech road?

  Presently she said : 'Are we heading for Marrakech?'

  'Mademoiselle is observant.' Mahmoud's concentration did not slacken for an instant. 'Yes, we should be there before lunch.'

  'It's farther away than I expected,' she said uneasily.

  'Is it?' he said cahnly. 'I'm afraid we have to go a little farther beyond Marrakech, mademoiselle.'

  He lapsed back into silence and Melissa tried to quell her unease and watch the passing scene. At least she was seeing something of the countryside ! The drive yesterday with Philippe, and now Marrakech . . .

  After a while Mahmoud asked if she was quite comfortable and if she would like to stop for coffee. She shook her head, telling him she would prefer to reach journey's end and her sister as quickly as possible. Mahmoud nodded and the car increased speed, then he added : 'There is a hamper with flasks of wine and coffee on the seat behind you, mademoiselle, if you should feel thirsty. It is perhaps hotter than you are used to.'

  He seemed solicitous enough for her comfort, she thought, relaxing slightly, and really, she had gone off perfectly happily with Philippe yesterday and she knew little more of him than this new stranger who had entered the scheme of things.

  They stopped for lunch at a small, fort like hotel some fifteen kilometres south of Marrakech. Again she sensed Mahmoud's impatience to be back on the road, even though he insisted that she refresh herself and walk round the cool ryad where the fountains played and time seemed to reach back to an ageless peace. But the brief sense of peace fled when she finally realised where they were bound.

  All across the great plain they had traversed the mountains had dominated the horizon; the blue misted peaks of the High Atlas.

  Dismay numbed Melissa and blinded her to the cool green slopes and the wild beautiful valley up

  which the road zigzagged into a vista of Alpine grandeur. A fast running stream sparkled blue among the rock crevices and was lost as another bend revealed a glimpse of the panorama left behind before it curved and was lost to view. The purple shadows were beginning to lengthen and panic seized Melissa. She turned fiercely to Mahmoud.

  'Why didn't you tell me it was all this way? Where are we going? I—I don't believe you're taking me to Avril! But why? Why?'

  'But you would never have consented to accompany me if I had told you of this long journey,' he said in expressionless tones. 'And I assure you, at the end of this wearisome journey you will be reunited with your sister.'

  don't believe you,' she cried. `Oh, how am I going to get back? We must have come hundreds of miles. Why?' she whispered despairingly.

  'You will learn why very soon, mademoiselle,' he said, his expression unmoved by the distress of her plea. 'Until then, please do not distress yourself. I assure you, you will come to no harm.'

  'How do I know that?' She huddled down, small and cold and frightened.

  He made no response, concentrating all his attention on negotiating the pass at the maximum speed possible, and she wondered bitterly why she had been so utterly foolish. She was in a strange country where she knew neither the people nor the customs, her knowledge of the language was nil, even if she succeeded in evading Mahmoud and asking someone for help, and where could she run now that night was so near?

  Already the sun was turning crimson, bathing the landscape in fire and painting a fantastic sunset of rose and gold flames across the sky. Was there no end to these miles into the unknown? Frightened, defea
ted, and aching with weariness after the long hours cramped in the car, Melissa huddled deeper into her jacket as the stars came out across the blue velvet heavens and the car continued to rush through the darkness.

  Whether she had passed from the numb apathy of despair into sleep she did not know, but suddenly she was wide awake and aware that engine throb and motion no longer vibrated through her body. Someone touched her shoulder and Mahmoud's voice said : We are here at last, mademoiselle. Permit me to take your arm lest you stumble in the darkness.'

  Her limbs trembling and unsteady, Melissa acquiesced, allowing him to guide her towards the dim blur of a doorway. The faint scents of blossoms drifted to her nostrils and a spark of an idea in her tired brain suddenly told her that the amulet would be above her head as she entered into a dimly lit entrance hall. There were several doors leading from it, and a woman came forward, a plump woman, almost as buxom as Mahmoud, with strands of grey in her dark hair. She wore the dark djellaba but no veil, and she motioned Melissa to enter the room from which she had emerged.

  Melissa stopped. 'My sister .. .' was all she could manage, and the woman nodded. 'She is waiting for you, mademoiselle. But I will bring you refreshment. You will be weary after your long journey.'

  Slowly Melissa approached the entrance, passed

  into a shadowy room filled with the soft glow of lamps on crimson and blue and gold silks, inlaid mother of pearl and the gleam of burnished bronze. There was a girl standing in the centre of the room. She was young and fair and slender and she was wearing a sundress very like Melissa's own. She held out her hands and came forward, and smiled. 'Hello, sister mine. Welcome to Kadir.'

  Sister mine!

  Melissa jolted to a standstill, shock darkening her eyes and a chill hand seizing her heart. No! She stared at the pale oval face with the flush of pink in the cheeks, the silky com gold hair, the beautiful contrast of dark liquid brown eyes, and the smile that frankly challenged, and horror struggled with disbelief.

  She put out her hand as though toward away this fresh shock and stammered: `But you're not—you're not Avril! You're not—'

  'Melissa! Don't you know me? Don't you—?'

  'No! I don't! ' Melissa fell back, colour draining from her face, trying to fight out of this nightmare. Her voice rose. 'You're not Avril. I—I've never seen you before in my life! '

  'Of course you haven't! '

  The deep voice came from behind and Melissa turned wildly. The room seemed to sway and blur as she met the dark gaze of the man who had spoken. Her hand fluttered to her throat and she stared at him as though she couldn't believe her eyes.

  'Y our she whispered soundlessly. 'You! '

  The stranger from Casablanca moved like lightning and caught her before she crumpled to the floor.

  CHAIYITR III

  `DRINK this—you will soon be all right.'

  The jadegreen glass misted and receded before her eyes, and the frightening loss of power made 'the raising of her hand inordinately difficult. She couldn't reach that slender green glass goblet; her hand trembled too much to hold it if she .. . The coolness touched her lips and the voice said : 'Drink, slowly . .

  She took a sip of the ice cold fluid, trying to fight off the strange detachment and the terrifying weakness pervading her limbs. She had never fainted before in her life, not thought faintness was like this. She had always imagined a complete blacking out, then coming round, but not this dreadful helplessness, and being able to remember falling, and then someone carrying her a long, long way, commands being called into the nebulous haze in which she floated .

  The glass was being held insistently against her mouth and the pressure behind her head became that of an arm, urging her head forward. She said wealdy : 'It's water ..

  'Of course it is water. You do not need a stimulant You need rest.'

  The glass was moved away, and the voice said incisively : 'Take a deep breath, as deep as you can, and another one, and try not to be so alarmed. You are perfectly safe.'

  Safe! A more lucid awareness began to return at

  last and the assurance in the statement had a completely opposite effect. She blinked and tried to sit up, her frightened gaze roving round the big shadowy room which was utterly strange. A row of three high latticed windows shaped like minarets, a cool scented darkness wafting from them, as though it would enwrap her in its velvety softness, dim shapes of a carved chest betraying pearly gleams hidden amid its panels and an oval mirror above a dressingtable, a rich thick rug stretching beyond the ambience of the lamp nearby, a large amber and bronze lamp spilling a soft glow over the primrose silk cover of the divan on which she was lying, and throwing into the shadowy relief the strong planes of the face of the man looking down on her, in. the crook of whose arm she rested. Fear came back to haunt her eyes as she stared up fearfully at the stranger from Casa.

  'Where am I?' she whispered. 'Why did you bring me here? She isn't Avril. Why did she say ? Oh, I don't understand! It's a nightmare!' Melissa trembled and buried her face in her hands. 'Why?' she repeated despairingly.

  'For many reasons. Too many to begin explaining now.' The stranger stood up and turned towards the door, making a gesture to the woman who had entered silently and stood there before Melissa was even aware of her presence.

  The woman came forward and set down a tray on the carved chest, then took the folded garments she had carried over her arm and put them on the end of the divan before she went from the room as silently as she had entered.

  The stranger said, 'You have had a very long and

  wearisome journey, it is to be expected that you should feel exhausted. It is also unlikely that you will feel inclined to eat, but you must eat a little of this and drink all the milk—it is perfectly safe, from our own herd, I assure you—and then you must rest.'

  'How can I rest?' she asked bitterly. 'You tricked me into coming here, telling me that Avril was here, and all the time it was

  `Avril is here.' He swung round and his features hardened into the arrogant lines she remembered. 'You will see for yourself in a moment, when you pull yourself together and calm down.'

  'Calm down!' Some of Melissa's fighting spirit returned. 'You expect me to calm down and believe the most arrant tissue of lies I've ever

  'All right.' He raised one hand and the hard tanned face softened slightly. He came back towards her and looked down into her stormy eyes. know this has all been distressing for you, Miss Blair, but believe me, the shock you received when you arrived was no part of my plan. Far from it,' his mouth tightened, 'and I shall certainly have something to say to the culprits about that unpleasant little episode.'

  Melissa sighed, the brief flare spent and exhaustion taking its toll again. She said wearily, still don't understand. What do you want of me? What is this plan?'

  'You will learn of it—at a more appropriate time. For the moment I must insist that you rest. A car journey of some sixteen or seventeen hours across Morocco does not leave one feeling exactly on top of the world. I know you don't believe me, and I have an accurate idea of the thoughts chasing round under

  that rebellious expression of yours, but you will have to wait until morning for some of the answers. Now,' he gestured towards the tray, 'when you have eaten that, and not before, I shall send Avril in to see you.'

  She looked at the daintily set tray and then at the tall imperious man, and her expression was still bitter with disbelief. `I—I'm not hungry,' she said.

  'Probably not,' he said coolly, 'nevertheless, I shall stay here until you do eat.'

  He looked quite capable of enacting the calm statement and reluctantly she picked up the glass of creamy looking milk She tasted it and some of her misconception vanished; the goat's milk was unexpectedly delicious, not over rich or strong, or unappetising as she had feared. The two small rolls spread with a savoury cheesy mixture were light and easily assimilated and so were the two crisp little cakes that tasted of almond and honey.

  'You see, it was qui
te easy after all.' His brows went up and his unsmiling mouth was infuriatingly assured. 'Would you like anymore?'

  `No, thank you.' She looked away, suddenly wishing she'd refused to eat, wishing she could .. . if only she wasn't so damned weary, as though she wanted to close her eyes and tell the whole world to go to the devil. If only she could summon the strength to defy and challenge and fight this arrogant man who had literally kidnapped her. It amounted to that, the way he'd got her here by false pretences, telling her ...

  `Avril will arrange for you to have anything else you need for the night. Goodnight, Miss Blair, and I trust you will be comfortable here.'

  Without giving her time to formulate any reply he

  went from the room.

  Melissa put her hand to her brow and stared at the closing door. So much had happened she didn't know what to think and her brain was too dazed to chase any longer round the frightening maze of questions that didn't make sense. Only one thing stood out clearly : she wouldn't see Avril. She might as well face the fact. Avril wasn't here and there was some appalling mix up somewhere. There had to be, unless ... Melissa's nerve failed her and she began to tremble. That strange girl calling her by name, expecting recognition, expecting her to accept as her sister someone she'd never seen before in her life. Oh God, is this how it starts? she moaned softly. Is this how madness begins ...?

  The sound of the door opening startled her into panic stricken immobility, almost afraid to look at the slender ash blonde girl standing on the threshold, pausing and smiling for a moment before she threw up her hands with a gesture Melissa had seen thousands of times. Was it really Avril grinning there, or was it a mirage?

  'So you got here at last, Lissa. God, it's a hell of a run from Casa, isn't it? How's everyone and how's ...? Lissa! Have you lost your voice? Looking at me as though I'm a ghost. What's the ...?'