The Black Amulet by J. R. Wallis

Author:J. R. Wallis [Wallis, J. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781471176661
Goodreads: 38927449
Publisher: Simon Schuster Audio UK
Published: 2018-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

It was almost dawn as Thomas Gabriel returned to Pindlebury’s rooms in St Crosse College, creeping across the quad and then walking up the winding staircase. Although he was tired, he felt a bounce in his steps that hadn’t been there for a long time. He was happy. The amulet had given him hope. Not only could he do magic, but there was a glow inside him. It was the same sensation he’d had after his Commencement. He played with the amulet as he walked, rubbing the smooth surface, and the heads of the serpents at either end. Their green eyes flashed as they caught the lights mounted on the staircase and made them look alive.

When he opened the door, Pindlebury was still asleep, having had the full dose of Hurdy Gurdy, and snoring gently. Thomas Gabriel replaced the Moon Globe into the two boxes that sat one inside the other, clicking them shut, and then glanced about to check that nothing looked odd or out of place. Satisfied, he took a Memory Leech out of his pocket and whispered gently to it.

He held the tip of the small, wriggly creature up to Pindlebury’s ear and watched the creature squirm closer. He allowed it to get a grip and then he fed the Leech into the man’s ear. It stretched itself thinner than a pencil to slide in and then it was gone with a schlurp, the tail disappearing in a circular flicking motion.

As Thomas Gabriel waited for the Memory Leech to take away any memories Pindlebury had of their earlier meeting, he looked at the collection of rare books on the shelves. One book piqued his interest. In gold embossed lettering was the title Some Great Badlanders and their Stories by Geoffrey Phillips. Thomas Gabriel flicked through the dense pages of prose, imagining how he might be listed in such a book in the future, if he passed his test in front of the High Council. But what struck him the most was that Geoffrey Phillips had used an intriguing way of gathering the research about the Badlanders discussed in his book. Phillips hadn’t just read other people’s accounts: he had gathered his research by going back to the past, and observing the various Badlanders first-hand.

According to the foreword in the book, Philips had been such a gifted scryer that he had used the skill to go back in time to watch his subjects.

Thomas Gabriel heard a slipping and sucking sound and saw the Memory Leech presenting itself from Pindlebury’s ear. It fell onto the sleeping man’s shoulder, noticeably fatter than before.

The boy slapped the book shut, stashing it quickly in his pocket, then moved the others on the shelf across to make the gap seem less obvious.

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