by Sharon Sant
Jacob looked up at Ellen. ‘He didn’t know about it… that’s why he didn’t tell me. He didn’t know she had given it to me. It must have been just before…’
Ellen touched his hand.
‘I know. You don’t have to tell me, I saw it - remember?’
Jacob nodded. ‘But he still watched me leave for another world without knowing I would be safe. That he wasn’t aware of this amulet only makes things worse. He sent me off without any protection.’
‘I suppose he did. I don’t think he had a lot of choice, though. Do you know what else I think?’ Ellen asked.
‘What?’
‘I think that Makash has twisted all that your mother and father did to confuse you and turn you against them. I think that they did what they thought was best, even if now it doesn’t seem right.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘Perhaps Dae did abandon you here. Perhaps he did lie to you. But only because he thought doing these things would keep you safe.’
‘And I believed him because I wanted to trust him, even though deep down I knew he was tricking me. Do you think he was lying about me having to go back?’
‘I don’t know about that. But I do know that if I had a kid like you who lived far away and I wanted him to be safe, I’d tell lies to get him home too, even if it hurt his feelings for a while.’
Jacob rubbed his nose pensively. ‘Now I’m even more confused. Does that mean I have to go or not?’
‘You have to do what you feel is right, just like your mother and father did. It’s all you can do.’
Twenty: Rise of the Watcher
Jacob stuffed clothes into his rucksack while Ellen sat on the end of his bed chewing her nails. It seemed odd to Jacob to be packing ordinary things like clothes, but at the same time, frightening to walk away with nothing except what he stood in; it somehow gave the impression that he was walking to his doom, that there was no use for belongings, and he didn’t like that feeling. So he packed.
‘I’ll have to sneak out. Mum will never let me go, and Dad will side with her this time, I can see she has that scary face where no one dares argue.’
‘You can’t do that. What if you don’t come back for years? Or what if you don’t ever come back?’
‘I will. I don’t know when but I will. I have put things straight first.’ Jacob snapped the plastic fasten on the bag. ‘I’m ready.’
‘Maybe you could leave them a note?’
‘And say what?’
‘I dunno. Tell them not to worry.’
‘They’ll do that anyway.’ Jacob slumped onto the bed beside her. ‘Whatever explanation I leave, it won’t make it any easier on them. But I will come back. I must, and I have to hold on to that hope.’ He bowed his head and held it in his hands. ‘God, this is hard.’
‘I know,’ Ellen laid a hand on his shoulder. ‘Leave them a note… at least it’s some hope for them to cling to. Better than disappearing without a word.’
Better than disappearing without a word… Jacob suddenly recalled a conversation he had once had with Dae. There was no need to wipe himself from their lives completely.
‘I could do it painlessly!’ He sprung up and began to pace, new ideas forming rapidly. ‘How about I modify their memories? Think... what’s my story? I know: I’m staying with a second cousin in New Zealand for a while? That could work.’
Ellen’s stared incredulously. ‘That’s terrible! How could you lie to them like that, tamper with their brains and make them lie to everyone else?’
He stopped pacing. ‘Don’t you see? I’m protecting them! This way, they won’t feel any pain, they won’t worry about me… it’s just the same as Dae lying to me. It’s for their own good.’
‘Won’t they expect phone calls, postcards? Won’t there be school and visas and things that they will expect to have to sort? You haven’t thought it through properly.’
‘I can fix all that. I can make them believe that they have sorted everything and that they are getting phone calls, I can make them happy, make them not miss me… that’s all easy,’ Jacob’s words were tumbling out, tripping over each other.
‘What if something happens to you? What if you’re not able to control the pretend any more? What if you never come back?’
‘Not going to happen.’
‘How do you know?’ Ellen almost shouted in her exasperation.
But Jacob had already sat down and closed his eyes. A hand crept under his T-shirt and he held on to the amulet, as if for comfort and guidance. Ellen felt the energy radiate from him, invading the periphery of her own mind as he drew on it. She screwed up her eyes to shut the feeling out; she wanted no part this time.
‘It’s done.’ Jacob opened his eyes and stood up. He grabbed his rucksack.
Ellen regarded him coldly as she rose from the bed. ‘I can’t believe you just did that without a bit of guilt. You’re not even going to check they’re ok, you’re just going?’
‘That’s the best way. I never said I liked it.’
‘What have you got in store for me and Luca?’
‘Nothing. Why would I?’
‘Because you are capable of things that I never thought you were, and I don’t just mean messing with people’s heads. You used to be nice, Jacob, you were my best friend and I could trust you with anything, but right now… I feel as though I don’t really know you at all.’
‘Ellen…’ Jacob rested his hands on her shoulders, holding her gaze. ‘You’re wrong about this. Don’t you think I feel bad? You have to see the bigger picture. This is a tiny detail in the scheme of all things. You’ve seen what I have to do… don’t make it harder for me than it already is.’
Ellen sighed. ‘I’ll phone Luca… he’ll want to come.’
‘What are we doing tonight, Spock?’ Luca grinned at Jacob.
‘Apparently, he’s going to New Zealand,’ Ellen replied with heavy sarcasm.
‘New Zealand?’
‘It’s code for Outer Space.’
‘Come on, we’ll go somewhere quiet and I’ll tell you,’ Jacob said, shooting an impatient glance at Ellen.
The three walked in silence until they came to their own grassy spot by the lake, the place where they always went together to hang out. Jacob was suddenly bombarded with memories, flashbacks of a time that had happened for no one but him, when he had kissed Ellen in this place and it had felt so wrong.
‘Do you mind if we sit somewhere else tonight?’
‘Where d’you want to go?’ Luca asked, giving him a questioning look.
‘Further over, maybe, the other side of the lake?’ Without waiting for a reply, Jacob started off in the direction of the old wooden jetty where a creaking boatshed stood and the others followed him in silence. The shed was largely disused, being at the opposite side of the lake from the brand new boathouse, which had its own modern mooring and better facilities. At some point the regeneration money had obviously run out, so the defunct structure continued to stand. By now the old place had almost been reclaimed by nature, embraced by rambling weeds and moss and inhabited by myriad species of local wildlife. It looked like an ancient monument, as if it had always belonged to the landscape. In the approaching dusk, a spring mist had fallen over the still water, the scene vaguely reminiscent of an illustration from some book of Arthurian legend. It was not hard to imagine a pale, female arm holding aloft a sword from the depths of the lake.
‘Let’s sit here,’ Jacob said as they arrived at a secluded section on the bank at the far edge of the shed. Luca nodded agreement and they dropped to the ground, leaning against the timber walls.
‘The grass is wet.’ Ellen pulled her face as she fidgeted about.
‘Hang on.’ Luca took his jacket off. ‘Sit on this, I’m not cold.’ He glanced across at Jacob self-consciously, but Jacob took no notice.
Ellen settled on the jacket. ‘Thanks, Luca. By the way, where’s Melissa tonight?’
‘Home, I suppose.’
‘You suppose?’ Ellen raised an eyebrow. ‘I thought you two were joined at the hip these days?’
Luca grinned awkwardly. ‘To tell the truth, she’s getting on my nerves a bit. I might knock it on the head with her…’ He glanced sideways at Ellen, more than a little hopefully; she merely shrugged. ‘Anyway, I can’t stay late,’ he said changing tack, ‘Mum isn’t very happy that I disappeared out of school today.’ He looked across meaningfully at Jacob. ‘She only let me come because I said Jacob wanted me to and she feels sorry for him. Good job I didn’t tell her that Jake was the reason I was bunking off.’ He chuckled. ‘If only she knew… she’s always going on about how hard it is being a foreigner, she’d have a job keeping up with you, Jake!’
Jacob smiled absently but kept his gaze on the lake, carefully, expectantly, almost as if he was watching for something or someone.
Luca became more serious. ‘Is it all real, though?’
Jacob didn’t reply. He stared hard at a spot on the shore for a moment and then smiled slowly.
Luca followed his gaze and saw in the dim light the shape of a man appear, as if from the air. Luca’s mouth dropped open.
‘I knew he would come,’ Jacob murmured.
He stood and started to walk with a slow, deliberate step, out to greet the man. Ellen and Luca got up to follow him. Jacob held up his hand behind him in a warning. ‘Stay out of sight,’ he hissed.
Luca stopped mid-stride. ‘Aw, Jake, don’t start getting weird again…’
Ellen placed a hand on Luca’s arm, ‘I think he’s right. We should get out of the way.’
‘But - ’
‘Luca! Just come on.’
Luca, still complaining, dropped back into the shadows with Ellen but they kept Jacob in view.
‘Who is it?’ Luca whispered to Ellen.
‘Bad news,’ she whimpered back. ‘I just hope that thing around his neck is working.’
This time Jacob was smiling and Makash was not as they faced each other. Jacob’s actions were calm and measured, he felt confident, assured, invincible. He could see uncertainty in Makash’s features, could sense his confusion.
‘Want to know why I look so happy?’ Jacob asked almost playfully. He gave Makash no time to reply before continuing. ‘Because I know you can’t read me now. You have no idea what I’m thinking, what I’m planning… not a clue, and it worries you.’
Makash hesitated before regaining his usual cool manner. ‘It matters not. I will do the job that I started properly this time, and this time I will see to your friends into the bargain.’
Jacob shook his head. ‘I don’t think so.’ He stood very still and waited for the attack he knew was coming.
Makash stared at Jacob, his eyes full of questions. He steadied himself and lifted an outstretched hand in Jacob’s direction. Then Makash was suddenly thrown into the air backwards. He landed with a hard thud on the grassy bank and gaped at Jacob, clutching at his own chest in confusion. He scrambled to his feet and raised his hand to try again. For a second time he was deflected.
‘How stupid are you? Surely you don’t think you can still take me like that?’ Jacob looked serene, utterly unmoved, ‘I have come into full power. You must have known.’ He couldn’t help a cocky smile.
Makash realised that, somehow, his assault had rebounded; he screamed in frustration, an unnatural high-pitched sound. He lifted his arms into a whirling motion, as if stirring the air, and an almighty, furious, cyclical gust of wind swirled around the boatshed, slamming the loose wooden slats of the construction against each other in deafening cacophony and threatening to suck it clean away from its foundations. Ellen jumped back from the building in alarm, Luca grabbing her arm to run without seeing anywhere to run to. They stood uncertainly, arms shielding their faces from the fury of the building tempest. Jacob raised his left hand, just slightly, his right hand gripping the warm shape beneath his shirt, and with the tiniest motion, stilled the air.
Luca and Ellen, without a second thought, ducked back from the building, heading towards the dark shadows of the spreading trees that lined the paths. But as they ran, Ellen stopped, without any idea why, and turned. Caught in the orange glow of the lamps that circled the park she came into full view. Makash looked straight at her and she was frozen, cold with a terror that she could feel invade her innermost mind. Luca turned and pulled at her sleeve and she stumbled back into his arms. Locked together they stared at Makash who coldly stared back, until his attention was drawn once again to Jacob. Luca and Ellen now stood, listening in amazement at the way Jacob spoke; even though they didn’t know the language, the tone was unmistakable. This was not their friend at all but someone new, someone altogether more dangerous.
‘You can lose your temper, but it won’t make any difference. Didn’t you hear what I just said? I have come to full power. I am the Watcher.’ Jacob’s voice swelled with confidence. Pulling through his mind were messages of love and encouragement, wrapping him in a protective cocoon, feeding him, making him strong. He was the Watcher; he felt it.
Makash grasped at air with his hands. There was a sound like waves in a storm and the black abyss of the lake started to boil. Makash continued, his graceful arms dancing as if conducting an invisible orchestra, willing the water to his bidding. He drew a growing wall across from the centre and towards the bank where Jacob stood, cool and unmoved.
‘God, Ellen, run for it!’ Luca pulled her roughly by the arm. She looked back and her legs buckled in terror at what she saw. She fell to the ground, Luca desperately trying to haul her to her away from the approaching tsunami. ‘Ellen, you have to get up!’
Ellen scrambled clumsily to her feet, but then stopped, suddenly aware of silence. The lake was still again. Jacob stood with his back to them and his hands clasped to his chest.
‘It’s working,’ Ellen whispered.
‘Come on, let’s get out of here.’ Luca pulled at her sleeve.
‘No way.’
‘It’s not safe. We’ll get help.’
‘Who?’
Luca stared at Ellen blankly. Who was he going to get? Who would believe them, and if they did, what could anyone do?
‘Well,’ he answered helplessly, ‘at least get back out of sight.’
‘No,’ Ellen hissed. ‘Stay close in case he needs us.’
‘In case he needs us?’ Luca’s voice raised an octave with incredulity. He saw the dark traces of the frown on Ellen’s face and exhaled. ‘Alright.’
They dropped back again into the shadows of the old boatshed, peering round as far as they dared to see what was happening to Jacob.
Makash fixed Jacob with a shrewd expression. There was momentary silence as neither made a move.
‘You have something,’ Makash finally said. It was a statement, not a query.
Jacob lifted the amulet from beneath his top and it glinted dully in the half-light.
Makash’s face contorted into a look of frustration and rage. ‘Where did you get that?’
‘A little gift.’
‘Dae.’
‘It doesn’t matter where it came from. You might as well give up. There’s nothing left for you.’
‘Perhaps you are right. I cannot touch you…’
Makash raised his arm, palm extended in the direction of Luca and Ellen, who were still standing in the shadows of the old shed, watching.
Luca saw what was about to happen and Ellen let out a little squeal as he grabbed at her arm, dragging her round to the back panel of the shed where they hid, waiting for something unknown and horrible. They stood close together, Ellen clinging onto Luca’s neck, eyes shut tight. But nothing happened. All they could hear was Jacob talking calmly in the strange language they did not recognise.
‘What’s he doing?’ Ellen opened her eyes, but still had her face buried in Luca’s shoulder.
‘Stay here,’ Luca whispered, gently moving her arms from around his neck.
‘No way, I’m coming with you.’ Ellen grabbed his hand and
, together, they edged round the shed, taking care to stay out of sight.
Makash was lying on the ground once again.
‘Uncle, that’s no way to treat your nephew’s friends.’ Jacob was beginning to enjoy the feeling of power. Makash couldn’t touch him, he couldn’t touch Luca and Ellen or Maggie or Phil. ‘You can’t hurt them now.’
Makash’s stare was hard and cruel. But then it relaxed into a look of cunning. It was his turn to smile as he pulled himself to stand. ‘If I can’t gain power through you, there is another who may still hand it to me.’
Jacob’s expression immediately became troubled. Makash’s words struck something in the back of his mind; something that he had tried to overlook because it didn’t fit into his plans, but it was like an annoying itch that just wouldn’t go away. There was the complication that Jacob had chosen to ignore but Makash would not let him forget.
‘Did you think you were unique, Ioh? It seems it became quite fashionable for a time to breed more than one Successor. After your father and I, another pair was born; you were one of them… you can guess the rest.’
‘I don’t believe you. Why don’t I know about him?’ The words sounded unconvincing, even to Jacob. In his heart, he knew Makash was telling the truth.
‘Are you really arrogant enough to think that you can know everything? If you could be hidden away, then why not another?’
Jacob’s confidence faltered, his recent triumph even now a memory. How could he have been so misguided, so badly let down by his instincts?
‘Even if there is another, you don’t know where they are any more than I do,’ he reasoned, probing, trying to get Makash to give him more information. ‘Why else would you come all this way to hunt me down, going to all that trouble to persuade me to join you?’
‘Very shrewd. And quite true. However, you leave me no alternative, as you so obstinately refuse to die.’ Makash gave a small, wry smile. It was almost a smile of humour.
Jacob fingered his amulet nervously, expecting another onslaught.
Makash simply looked him up and down with an imperious air, then bowed a deep, mocking bow and faded, dissolving into atoms that drifted away on the night air.
