The Amulet (24 page)

“Good Morning, Faedra,” Jocelyn sang as they
approached.

“Morning, Jocelyn.”

“Forgive me for saying this, but you do not
look too good this morning.”

“No forgiveness needed, I don’t feel too good
either.” She imagined how her reflection had looked in the mirror
after the first time she had been trying to use her power. She
could envision that her skin must be looking pretty pallid right
now, with dark circles framing her eyes. That was exactly how she
felt, like something was sucking the life out of her. Having a
power like hers certainly had its downside.

Faen dug around in her knapsack and held out
the rest of her food for her. “Here eat this. You will feel
better.” He dug in his knapsack, too. “Then eat this. You used more
of your energy than I realized. When we get through the portal, you
need a proper meal.” He looked concerned, so she tried giving him
her ‘I’m fine, really’ look. It didn’t work.

She ate while he tied her bedding to the back
of the saddle. Jocelyn mounted her horse, and when Faedra had
finished her food, Faen gave her a leg up onto hers. She leaned
down to adjust her foot in the stirrup, which brought her face
level with his.

“Just for the record,” he whispered, “you are
far from inadequate, in every way.”

“Thank you,” she whispered back and gave him
a sheepish smile. She was starting to feel better already. The food
was taking effect, but she knew the small amount she had eaten
wouldn’t be enough to sustain her for very long. “How far is it to
the portal?” she asked.

“About two hours east of here,” Faen
replied.

“We best get going then” she said, and
followed behind Faen as he moved his horse forward. Jocelyn fell in
behind Faedra, and she realized she was a fairy sandwich once
again.

After about an hour of riding, Faedra began
to feel decidedly weaker. Why did she have to use that much energy
last night? That was stupid when she knew there was nothing much to
eat to replace it. The truth was, she wasn’t thinking. Her power
was so new to her, and food had been so readily available; she
hadn’t thought about the consequences if she couldn’t eat anything
to replenish the energy she had expended.

“Can we slow down for minute?” she called to
Faen who was just a few feet up ahead. He turned to look at her,
and she could see the anxiety sweep across his face. He stopped his
horse and jumped off.

“It’s just that, I feel…” He caught her just
as she passed out and slid off the side of her horse.

“Faedra. Faedra!” He shook her gently, she
managed to open her eyes just a crack. “Faedra, stay with me,” he
coaxed, then looked up at his sister. “Jocelyn, we don’t have too
much further to the portal, we will have to fly from here.”

Jocelyn got down from her horse, her face was
full of concern, too.

“I shouldn’t have let her… and for so long,”
Faen chastised himself.

“Brother, you did not know what it would do
to her. Do not blame yourself.” Jocelyn attempted to sooth her
brother’s concerns “She will be alright; we will get her some
food.”

Faen scooped Faedra up in his arms and lifted
them both from the ground. He turned to the horses. “Return to the
castle,” he commanded, and they turned in the opposite direction
and sped off at a gallop. Faen and Jocelyn flew like the wind
towards the portal.

“I am sorry, Faedra,” he whispered as he
looked into her lifeless face.

“Todmus,” Jocelyn suddenly cried a few
minutes later. “Todmus will have some food.”

“Of course, he will. Sister, you are a
genius! Why didn’t I think of that? Jocelyn, you can fly faster
than me. Tell Todmus we need a glass of sugar water and any sweet
food he may have.”

She nodded and flew off ahead of her
brother.

“We are almost there, Faedra. Hang on for
just a little longer.”

When they arrived at the portal, Todmus and
Jocelyn were waiting for them with a tall glass of sugar water and
a plate of sweet pastry. Faen lowered Faedra’s limp body to the
ground and sat down next to her, leaning her up against him. He
held out his hand and Todmus stepped forward and passed him the
glass.

“Faedra,” he shook her shoulders hard, “wake
up, Faedra. You have to wake up for me, do you hear!” He was
shouting at her with just a hint of desperation in his voice.

“Faedra, wake up!” he yelled.

He heaved a sigh of relief when he heard a
weak groan.

“Drink this,” he said, as he held the glass
to her lips and tipped some of its contents into her mouth. Jocelyn
and Todmus stood over them, holding their breath.

Faedra took a few sips, and it felt like the
sugar surged through her bloodstream as soon as she swallowed it,
like an electrical current running through a piece of equipment
forcing it to come alive. It felt as if someone had plugged her in,
giving her an energy source, and she could feel her body come to
life again. The sips turned to gulps as she regained her strength,
and by the time she had finished the glass, her eyes were wide open
and their sparkle had returned. Within minutes, the color returned
to her cheeks and the dark circles around her eyes disappeared.

Todmus and Jocelyn let out the breath they
had been holding, and Todmus stepped forward to give Faedra a sweet
sugary pastry.

She gave the little man an appreciative
smile. “Thank you, Mr. Todmus.”

Todmus blushed. “Oh, please, Miss, just call
me Todmus.”

A few more moments passed and Faedra could
feel her strength was almost back to normal.

“Wow, that stuff works really well,” she said
of the sugar water as she pushed herself up off the ground to stand
up after she had finished eating the pastry. “I’m going to have to
bottle a load up and keep a supply of it in my car from now on.
Let’s go and get that book. Thanks again, Todmus,” she whispered as
she walked past him and followed Faen and Jocelyn into the
portal.

He nodded his head and smiled at her fondly.
“Any time, Miss. Come back and see us again soon.”

Then the three of them were gone from Azran
and were stepping onto the gravel path that ran behind the church.
It was still light. Faedra wasn’t quite sure what to expect when
she stepped foot in the World of Men again. She only hoped and
prayed that Faen was right, and that it was still Sunday;
otherwise, her father would be sick with worry, and she would have
some serious explaining to do. Talking of explaining, she had to
come up with an excuse to not be at home that evening. Where she
thought the book might be was several hours drive away. They would
be lucky to get there and back before the next morning.

They walked towards her car. The car park was
empty now apart from hers. “Are we in glamour?” she asked Faen as
they approached the car.

“Yes,” he answered.

“Would you two turn into your furry alter
egos and un-glamour us then?”

Faen gave her a puzzled look.

“The vicar is over there and I want to ask
him something.”

“Consider it done,” Faen said as he and
Jocelyn shimmered and blurred into their dog forms.

The vicar looked a little bemused as he
caught sight of Faedra, and he looked around himself. “Good
afternoon, Faedra, I didn’t see you approaching.”

“Hello, Vicar. Beautiful Sunday afternoon
isn’t it?” she asked covertly.

“It most certainly is, my dear. I was just
getting ready for evening service.”

Faedra inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. It
was still Sunday. Her secret was safe.

“Have you got yourself another dog?” the
vicar asked, looking down at Jocelyn who was sitting to one side of
her and Faen to the other. She had a feeling Jocelyn was going to
be spending a lot of time with her from now on and answered
accordingly.

“Yes, Vicar, I have. She’s pretty isn’t
she?”

“That she is, Faedra. Well, you have a lovely
evening.”

He wandered off towards the church, and
Faedra headed towards her car with Faen and Jocelyn hot on her
heels. She let Jocelyn in the back and Faen in the front passenger
side. She knew they would change as soon as she started to drive
away. They did.

“How far away is the book, do you think?”
Faen asked as they drove down the lane past the stables. They went
past a field. A farmer who was standing at the edge of his ruined
field of corn scratching his head, momentarily distracted
Faedra.

“Um, about five or six hours by car,” she
answered.

“So what do you intend to tell your father
about your pending absence?”

She looked over at him. “I’ll think of
something.” She was an adult now and it’s not like it was a school
night, she wasn’t at school anymore. She wiggled in her seat so she
could pry the cell phone out of her back pocket, flipped it open,
and dialed.

“Hi, Amy, it’s me. Hey, I need you to do a
favor for me,” she spoke urgently into the phone.

“Sure, Fae, whaddya need?”

“I need you to cover for me tonight.”

“Why? What are you up to?” Amy asked
suspiciously.

“Amy, if I told you, you wouldn’t believe
me,” Faedra replied with honesty.

“You’re sneaking off with Frederick, aren’t
you? He’s really hot, Fae, I wouldn’t blame you.”

Faedra almost reprimanded her friend for her
dirty mind, and then thought twice about it. Amy would gladly cover
for her if she thought she was having fun. Amy lived to have fun.
“Er, you got me, Ames. So I’m going to tell my dad that I’m coming
round yours tonight for a sleep over. If he should call, which I
doubt he would coz I have my phone, but if he does, tell him I’m in
the bathroom or something.”

“On one condition,” Amy demanded.

“What’s that?” Faedra asked cautiously.

“You tell me all about it. I want
details.”

Faedra cringed. More lying, she hated lying.
“Of course, Amy, that goes without saying.”

“Consider it done then. Have fun, Fae, and
don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She laughed, and rang off.

Faedra shook her head and smiled. She loved
her friend to death, but hated having to lie to her and her
dad.

A few minutes later they were driving down
the little dirt road that led to her home. The cottage looked
beautiful. She hadn’t realized quite how much she had missed it
until it came into view. The garden however, was a different story.
The flowers were wilting and the leaves still falling. She parked
the car and let Faen and Jocelyn, who were now back in their furry
forms, out.

“Hi, Dad,” she said cheerily as she walked
into the living room. Her dad was still fixated on the television.
“Don’t tell me you’ve been watching that all day?”

He pulled his gaze away from the screen for a
moment.

“Oh, hello, darling. Did you have a good
ride?”

“Yes, thanks,” she said. It wasn’t really a
lie; she’d had two good rides since she’d seen him last. It was
just that neither of them were on Gypsy.

He looked down and saw Jocelyn sitting beside
Faen. “Who’s this?”

“She is always hanging around the church and
she seems to get on with Faen. The vicar said she must be a stray,
so I thought I’d bring her home to see if she likes it. You don’t
mind, do you?”

He thought about it for a second. “You’re old
enough to look after them, Fae, it’s fine with me.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she wandered over to give him
a kiss on the cheek. “You’re the best.”

“You only say that because I let you have
your own way most of the time,” he said with a smirk.

Faedra ruffled his hair. “Speaking of letting
me have my own way. I’ve been invited to a sleep over at Amy’s
tonight, you don’t have a problem with that do you?”

“No, of course not, darling, you go and have
fun.”

“So has anything changed with the situation?”
she asked, looking at the TV with him. “Have they come up with any
ideas yet?”

“Nope, not a thing. All the scientists are
completely baffled.”

“Hmm,” Faedra responded, “well I’ll leave you
to it. I’m going to get ready for tonight.” She walked towards the
kitchen. Once there she rummaged in some cupboards for the supplies
she would need.

“Okay, I need bottles of water and a bag of
sugar,” she talked to herself while grabbing those things, then
proceeded to make a load of sandwiches. It was going to be a long
night, and all three of them needed to eat.

She ran up to her bedroom and grabbed her
sports bag from the closet. After dumping the bag’s contents onto
the floor, she ran back down the stairs again. The bag was the
perfect size for their supplies.

“One more thing,” she said to Faen and
Jocelyn, who were sitting on the kitchen floor watching her
industriously assemble the necessities they would need. She walked
out of the kitchen and into her father’s office. She scanned the
shelves, not there. She opened and closed drawers. “Oh, come on, I
know there’s one in here somewhere.” She looked in a couple more
drawers. “Yes,” she said as she pulled out a road map of
England.

“Okay, I think we’re ready,” she announced to
the two dogs as she walked back into the kitchen, shoved the map
into her bag and threw the bag over her shoulder. All three
wandered back through the dining room and into the living room.

“I’m off now, Dad,” she announced, and
planted another kiss on his cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you, too, darling, have fun.”

“I will,” she lied, and the three cohorts
hurried out the door and started loading up the car.

They drove for hours and it broke Faedra’s
heart to see the dying countryside flashing by them. England was
usually so green, and it made her more determined than ever to get
the book back, but, up until that point, she hadn’t given a thought
as to how they would actually go about that particular task.
Bearing in mind that she had even deciphered Kernnunos’ vision
correctly in the first place. She prayed that she wasn’t taking
them all on a wild goose chase. The book had to be there, it just
had to be.