

Dark Light

Nicola Fulford

Copyright Nicola Fulford 2010

Smashwords Edition

'Love can be murder...'
Preface

Amber took a steadying breath. She knew she didn't have much time left, and what little time she had seemed to be filled with fear and hatred. And she could blame no one but herself, because it was she who had chosen this. Nothing could save her now, not even him, whose body lay pale and twisted on the ground beside her. But she was glad that it was nearly over; this world, this new, magical, terrifying world, was not one she wanted to be a part of.
Chapter 1

As the blue Toyota Yaris drove slowly away from 31 Staneld Drive, Amber didn't look back. She had already said her goodbyes. Not that there was much to say goodbye to; no friends to watch drift away out of the rear window, no memories to relive, and certainly no trees to carve names into. No one had come to see her off, and why should they? The Wells family had long since given up on socialising, because wherever they went, whispers followed them. It wasn't her fault, or really the fault of anyone around her. Her father had died, a month or so ago, under what the coroner had ruled 'suspicious circumstances', and ever since the small village of Polegate in Sussex had found it to be one of the most interesting topics of discussion since the day the vicar's daughter was arrested for shoplifting.

And that was why, first thing on a dewy October morning, Amber's mother had packed up all their possessions into boxes, loaded up the car, and driven off with Amber, not so comfortably wedged between an old television set and a box of Christmas decorations, on the back seat. She wondered, as they drove away, how many of her old neighbours were watching from behind the safety of their net curtains, putting a motive behind this sudden move away from the town.

She looked out the car window, watching the rows of houses merge into fields, and then back into houses again as they encroached upon the city. Her mother hadn't told her where they were going because she said she wanted it to be a 'surprise.' Amber didn't much like surprises.

They drove for hours and hours, until the sun started to set behind the blurs of houses, barns, and fields they passed whilst the theme tune from the superman movie-just one of many on Amber's top 30 movie theme songs album-blared out of the speakers.

Finally, after hours of sitting in one seat, trying to avoid getting motion sickness, whilst hearing the occasional tingling of jingle bells from the Christmas box wedged against her ear, Amber's mother pulled up beside a small, red-brick, terraced-house, with small, white-painted windows and a red and green stained glass pane in the front door.

"Well," her mum said. "What do you think?"

Amber surveyed the house by the dim light of the street lamps. It was smaller than their last house, but it also seemed to be closer to town, and there was a decent sized garden separating it from the road. There was a path leading up the front door, which was painted a mossy green colour. All in all, the house seemed pleasant enough from the outside.

"It looks pretty good," Amber said. "But where are we?"

"I picked a place at random off the map," her mum replied. "This is just a couple of minutes drive from York city centre, and there's a bus stop down the road so you can use that to get to school."

"So, we're in...York?" Amber asked.

"Yes."

"And where is that?"

As Amber was later to learn, York, was a fairly large city in the north or England, in the county of, not-so-surprisingly, Yorkshire.

They walked up the path together, carrying a couple of items from all the luggage packed into the car. Her mother pulled out a small brass key and inserted it into the lock. It clicked and the door swung open, revealing the inside of the house to Amber for the first time.

The hall was the first room through the door, and it was floored with a light carpet that flowed through into a living room on the right hand side. In front of them was a staircase with a wooden banister, again carpeted in the same light colour as the rest of the house. She walked through into what she presumed was the kitchen, which was tiled with deep reds and greens, like the stain glass window. The only other room downstairs was the bathroom, which was just a tiny room with a toilet, a sink and a light switch.

"There are two bedrooms and another bathroom upstairs," Amber's mum said. "The furniture deliverers should have put your bed and stuff in your room by now, if you want to take a look."

Amber was tired from the journey, and there was no food in the new house, and no TV or computer, so all she had to do for the moment was go to bed, which didn't sound so bad to her right at that moment anyway.

"I'm going to go to the supermarket first thing tomorrow and get some groceries," her mum said as Amber went up the staircase. "I might be out when you wake up. Night-night."

"Night," Amber called from the midpoint on the stairway. The carpet was really rather soft on her feet.

She carried on up the stairs and into the first room on her left, which turned out to be the second toilet, so she went back out and into the room opposite, which had all her furniture from the old house in it.

Her bed was pushed up against a small window, and her chest of drawers was next to the door. The walls were painted in a neutral shade of blue, matching the carpet, which was the same as the one downstairs.

Amber lay down on top of her bed fully clothed, and looked up at the ceiling. It was a something she'd done since before she could remember, because looking at the plain white ceiling helped her relax and think. It was calming.

And that was how Amber fell asleep on her first night in York, with her coat still on, her feet hanging off the end of the bed, and the light shining brightly around the room.

The next morning when she woke up, Amber mum's car was gone, and there was still no food. On the other hand, her mum had set up the television set in the living room, so Amber spent the first ten minutes of her morning flicking through the channels until she found her favourite American sitcom on the screen. When the doorbell rang the first time, she thought it was on the television, but then it rung a second time, and she was forced off the sofa to see who it was. She thought it was most likely that her mum had forgotten her keys. Again.

But when Amber opened the door, it was not her mother that stood on the step. Instead, a tall, good-looking boy, with short but wavy hair, leaned casually against the wall, looking so comfortable, and striking, that he might as well have been a permanent fixture to the garden.

"Hi," he smiled. "I'm Will. I live down the road. My mum saw you moving in yesterday and I thought I'd come and introduce myself."

"Hi," she said. "I'm Amber."

"Nice to meet you Amber." Will shook her hand coolly and leaned again on the wall.

"Sorry," Amber said. "I'd invite you in for a cup of coffee but I don't think we have any coffee. Or cups," she added.

The boy named Will laughed.

"There's a coffee shop down the road, it's actually quite popular around here, all the locals go. I could show you if you like?"

"Yeah, that'd be great, thanks," Amber smiled.

So, thinking of the phrase 'when in Rome', she grabbed her coat off the peg by the door and joined Will on the path to the apparently renowned coffee shop.

"So where did you move from?" he asked as they walked along the leaf-strewn footpath.

"It's a little place called Polegate, in Sussex. We lived there all my life."

"So what made you move?" Will asked.

Amber swallowed. She didn't like this question; she didn't want anyone to know what had happened to her father; she'd learnt from past experience that once that slipped out, people never acted the same around her again. Thankfully, though probably not so great for Will, a dog that was being lead past them by a short, stumpy woman, turned around and started growling and barking, and baring its teeth at him. Both Will and Amber jumped back in shock, but then after the first second or so, Will stared the loud bull-terrier down until it whimpered away with it's bewildered master following close behind.

"What happened there?" asked Amber.

"Yeah...it was." Will looked back over his shoulder at the diminishing figure of the dog and its owner. It seemed perfectly happy now, wagging its tail and jumping around. Will on the other hand, looked not only angry, but also thoughtful.

The next minute they reached the coffee house, which was actually a tiny triangular room with two tables and a counter.

"What'll it be?" Will asked.

"Oh, I'll get this," she said.

"No, no, no, you're my guest," he insisted. "Consider it your welcome to York present."

"Ok then, I'll have a coke."

"One coke coming up."

Amber went to choose a seat; it wasn't like there were many to choose from. Out of the two tables, one was occupied by a mother and her two children, and the other was cramped and pushed into the corner, but as it was the only one there was, Amber couldn't be picky.

"Here we go," Will put two cokes down on the table and took a seat.

"So what about you?" Amber asked.

"What about me?"

"What's your life story?"

"Born here what feels like centuries ago, go to school down the road, and that's about all you need to know."

Amber took a sip of coke.

"What's it like here?" she asked.

"It's alright," said Will. "It rains a lot, and it's cold, but the people are friendly enough."

Will spent the next hour explaining the ins and outs of the city, and telling her about other people living in the neighbourhood. It felt good to Amber to be able to talk about someone else for once, and with someone who felt like a friend. Will was just one of those people that within the first five minutes of talking to, it felt like they had been your best friend forever.

His watch beeped.

"Oh, I've got to go," he said suddenly, he hadn't even finished his drink. "It was nice meeting you, I'll see you around sometime." Will virtually jumped out of his seat and did a sort of awkward indoor run to the door.

Amber got up too; she didn't like sitting on her own.

The rest of the day, and the one after that, was spent unpacking everything from the car. It was not fun work, and Amber found she did most of it in front of the television screen, as she seemed to do many things recently.

Then, before she knew it, it was Monday morning, and she was getting ready for her first day of school. She didn't know whether she was looking forward to or dreading it, but as she got off at the bus stop opposite the school, she supposed she felt a bit of both. As well as a whole lot of fear. Amber had combed her wavy brown hair into a thick ponytail, and had packed her old school bag with a notepad and a pencil case, which was pretty much all she had ever needed for school. She never took books; books were old, pointless (especially if there was a movie version of said book), and heavy.

She stood and watched as students flocked in through the tall, wrought iron school gates.

"Hi," said a girl who had got off the bus behind her. She had straight, brown hair tied up in a bun. "I'm Hannah, you're new here?"

"Um, yeah," she said. "I'm Amber."

"So, did you just move here Amber?"

"Yeah, we got here on Friday night."

"Wow, so you've not had much time to get set up then?" asked Hannah.

"No, I guess it's been a bit of a rush." She smiled awkwardly. Amber was always a little bit awkward around knew people, unfortunately unlike Will, she found it difficult to be friendly with people who weren't actually her friends.

"Well, I've been going to school here for years now, so allow me to be your official guide."

"Oh, um, thanks," she said. The day would be easier with someone to show her around, Amber supposed.

"Just follow me," Hannah led her across the road and through the school gates, which revealed a series of buildings, each with students walking in and out of. "So where have you moved from?" she asked.

"It's a small town called Polegate, near Sussex."

"Is Sussex that place up North?" Hannah asked.

"No," Amber said. "That's Essex. Sussex is down South more." She wondered how much attention Hannah paid in Geography lessons.

"So, first of all, you'll have to go to the school office to make sure you're all signed up and get your timetable, and then they should point you in the general direction of where you need to go. Chances are we'll be in the same class so I'll see you soon."

"Oh, Ok," said Amber. "Thanks."

She headed over in the direction Hannah had pointed to a large redbrick building towards the left-hand side of the school grounds. Not many students were going into this building, but Amber could see some teachers through the window, marking papers and drinking coffee.

"Hello," said a tall woman with short, blonde hair. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm new here, I'm Amber Wells?"

The woman clicked about on her computer for a moment, and nodded. She moved from behind the desk-it was at this point that Amber realised that a large pair of stiletto heels made up the woman's vast height-and fetched a pile of papers from an in tray on the other side of the office.

"Ok, if you could just sign here," she pointed to a dotted line. "And I have your timetable for you. Your first class will be French, it's in the language block, across and the third staircase to the right down the hall," she gestured with her hands. "Room fourteen." The woman handed Amber the papers. "Have a nice day."

"Thank you," said Amber, taking the papers and walking off down the hall, not entirely certain where she was going, but certainly not wanting to pick out the map she'd been given and walk around with her nose in it. That would definitely not make a good first impression/

But when she got further down the corridor, she couldn't for the life of her remember if it was the staircase on the right or on the left. She rifled through the papers to see where the map was amongst them. She was ashamedly now planning to be the new girl who spends her day with her face in a sheet of paper. Except there was no map, and as a result of her rummaging, she had dropped all those papers on the floor.

"Oh here, let me get those for you," said a pair of feet. Well the feet didn't say them, but from crouching on the ground that was the only part of this person Amber could see. When she looked up, there was a body, a guy's body, with a head and everything. Weirdly though, when he saw her face, the boy turned around and walked off in the opposite direction, jaw set.

Amber shook her head and gathered up the rest of the papers herself, not quite sure what kind of people were at this school.

She took the left-hand staircase, but that took her to the Science block, so she tried to retrace her steps and ended up in History, then when she opened a door to ask for directions, she saw Hannah sat at the back, and realised that the walls were covered with French posters.

"Sorry I'm late," she whispered, because the teacher was talking to the class. She nodded at Amber, who took a seat near Hannah at the back.

Most of the class were looking at her, including Hannah, who smiled friendlily. Regrettably for Amber, the French teacher also noticed the interruption that this new girl's arrival was making, and somehow-Amber could not think how-thought it would help settle the class down if she made her come up to the front and introduce herself. Now, bare in mind, this is not a small class, there were about thirty pairs of eyes staring at Amber as she walked, head down, to the front where the whiteboard was. When she had set the class to work, the teacher came over to Amber's place.

"Hello," she said. "I'm Madame Bothe. Mrs Kelly said you were on your way up quite a while ago, did you have trouble finding the class?"

"Yes," Amber smiled guiltily.

"I know it can be a bit confusing sometimes, I remember on my first day..."

Madame Bothe rambled into a story of her first day at work as a young teaching assistant. Amber found herself staring around the room at the many posters and magazines.

"Amber?"

She jumped back into awareness.

"Yes?" she asked.

"What would the answer be."

"Pres la piscine." Her mouth said the words without her thinking them; it was the strangest sensation, like they literally appeared on her tongue without even touching and part of her brain. She didn't even realise she was speaking until she heard her own voice saying the words.

"Well done," said Madame Bothe.

Amber smiled and nodded. She wasn't entirely sure what had just happened.

All throughout the lesson, Amber was aware of prying eyes watching her. The only good thing about being at the back was that if she looked up quickly enough, she could catch people mid-stare and make them turn around embarrassedly. That usually stopped most of them from staring again. It was a trick she'd picked up in her old school, after her father had been taken away.

As soon as the bell rang Amber jumped out of her seat and started packing up her things. She didn't want everybody stopping to introduce themselves, when she would never remember who they were, and would then be forced to look like an idiot a couple of hours later when they tried to talk to her again. Thankfully, Hannah was first to reach her, and therefore others were prevented from being able to stop Amber to start up a conversation.

"So, what'd you think?" she asked.

"It was alright," Amber said. "I'm just glad I got the answer to that question right."

"Yeah, for a minute there it looked like you weren't going to get it."

"Just lucky, I guess," Amber said. They walked through a door into what looked like the lunch hall, where it looked like most of the school were gathered. Walking down the side of the crowd, Amber brushed against another body, and felt a slight shock, like when someone rubs their feet on the carpet and prods you with their finger. She turned around to see who it was, and saw a pair of deep, blue eyes staring back. Above those eyes was a mess of black hair. It was the guy from the hall.

"Hannah," she leant over and whispered in the shorter girl's ear. "Who's that?"

"Who's who?" Hannah whispered back.

"The guy behind us," said Amber.

Hannah turned around inconspicuously.

"What guy?" she asked, looking back to Amber.

"What do you mean what guy, he's right-" Amber turned around, but the boy with the black hair and blue eyes was gone. "Maybe he went to his next class," she said.

When she turned back, it was to almost walk into another girl who had clearly stopped to talk to her. She was tall with flowing blonde hair arranged fussily on her head. Amber pictured her as the kind of girl that checked her reflection every time she walked past a shop window.

"Hi," the girl with the blonde hair said. "You're Amber?"

"Yeah," Amber said.

"Well, I'm Eva. I was in French earlier. You're new here," Eva stated.

"Yes, I moved here from-"

"Sussex, I know. Anyway, I have to go and pick something up from reception, but I'll talk to you later? Bye."

Amber turned with raise eyebrows to Hannah.

"I didn't tell her, I swear," was the first thing the smaller girl said. "She just always knows what's going on. That was actually pretty impressive though."

Amber sighed.

"What class is next?" she asked.

"English," said Hannah. This cheered Amber up a little; she had always liked English.

By the time she reached the halfway point of the lesson however, Amber had got to the point in the written work where she was bored enough to start looking around at the other people in the class.

She had been set in partners with Eva, who she actually got on really well with. Eva seemed to be really smart as well; she was just one of those people who had everything: good looks, brains, kindness. Eva had invited her to go shopping with her at the weekend, and Amber had said she would ask her mum, but that she could probably come. It would be the first time she had met friends out of school for months; since the court hearing, in fact, when all her old friends had started to separate themselves from her.

Looking around the classroom was actually quite a good boredom buster though; it was entertaining watching the other partners working together, with one person desperately trying to explain why they had the right answer to the other, or people openly debating the answer in fairly loud voices. Occasionally, her eyes met with other people's who were looking round the classroom like she was; some for general inspiration, while others were just plain bored like her. One of the pairs of eyes she met were a deep, sapphire blue, beneath a head of jet black hair, and they weren't looking around the room. They were looking at her.

"That would be Matthew Pryer," Eva said, catching Amber's line of sight.

"He's.... strange," said Amber.

"He can be, but he's absolutely gorgeous." Amber thought Eva's intelligence was spoiled slightly by her shallow worldview.

The rest of English was a blow, and then it was History, which Amber had never liked that much anyway. Then it was lunch, something that she hadn't been looking forward to, because she knew she wouldn't be able to avoid people coming up to introduce themselves. She didn't like being the centre of attention. Thankfully, it was Eva who led her back to the lunch hall, and as she seemed to rather like attention, she managed to attract most of it away from Amber. But not all of it.

"Hi," said a tall boy with short, blonde hair. "It's Amber, isn't it?"

Amber nodded.

"I'm Kyle, nice to meet you."

"Hi," Amber said.

"You're new here?"

"Yes, I just moved to the city."

That was the general flow of most of the conversations over her table at lunch. Hannah came and sat across from her, but didn't look very comfortable. Nonetheless, she smiled when Amber met her eye. She got the idea that Hannah and Eva didn't really talk to each other on a regular basis.

"So what do you think of your day so far?" asked the blonde boy, Kyle.

"It's not as bad as I thought," she replied.

"The lunches aren't great though," said Eva. Amber looked at Eva's meal, which consisted of some wilted looking lettuce with a few slices of tomato and a glass of water. Amber wouldn't even call that 'lunch'; she had gotten a hamburger with fries.

"Where did you say you moved from?" asked a girl with sleek brown hair a few spaces down from Amber, who was getting a little sick of the question. She didn't want anyone to find out about her past.

"I lived near Sussex."

"So it must have been quite sunny then?" asked the same girl.

"Yeah, it was nice and warm," said Amber.

"Quite a difference from up here," a boy with spiky black hair and tanned skin said, taking a sip from a bottle of coke.

"It is but, I think I'm going to like it here," she said thoughtfully.

After the bell rang to signify end of break, Amber was supposed to be going to PE, which she actually quite like as a lesson because she got to go outside. She'd been playing sports for years now-when she was little her dad would take her to the village green to practise- and as a result, she was pretty good at it. She enjoyed doing things she was good at. The PE lessons were separated, with the boys doing football while the girls did hockey. It was cold outside, but Amber put her best into the game. The good thing about hockey was that she could take out all her anger on the ball, which actually improved her playing as she could hit it further. All in all, the lesson was quite a success for Amber, whose teammates were impressed by her ability to forcefully get the ball off the opposing team.

After trudging back inside and getting changed back into school uniform, the girls headed up to the art block, which was on the other side of the school grounds. The boys came into the lesson late because they'd been help back by Coach Redfearn, trying to sign them up for the upcoming match.

Mrs Rutt the art teacher ushered everyone into their seats as she shuffled to the large drawing board that filled the whole left-hand wall.

"Ok," she said. "Good afternoon, we'll have to get started quickly today because of you getting here late, so you'll all have to be really quiet so we get all the work done. You wouldn't want to stay behind would you?"

She set them to work sketching the person next to them, who for Amber was Eva. Amber started first, sketching the girl with the flowing blonde hair as best as she could, baring in mind she had no artistic skill whatsoever. It didn't make it any easier that Eva kept criticising what she was doing every few minutes.

"You're making my head look big," she whined.

"I think it looks lifelike," said a tall boy with brown hair who was walking past their table.

"Who's that?" Amber whispered when he was a little out of earshot.

"That's Darren," Eva said, then loudly enough so he would hear, "He thinks he's funny."

"I don't think I'm funny," he called over his shoulder. "I think I'm hilarious!"

After Darren's comment, Eva didn't complain about the drawing so much, and they then switched, so that it was Eva sketching Amber, who had a good time criticising the other girl as a punishment. Darren kept on walking past and putting in his own sarcastic spin on things, and although he had come across quite pompous at first, he actually was pretty funny.

At the end of the lesson, the girls packed up their bags and were heading out the door. Amber tried to catch Hannah, but she left the room really quickly, and all Amber could see was her and Darren held them back talking to them.

On the way out the door, Amber was too busy talking to Eva and Darren to be looking where she was going. She looked forwards for what couldn't have been more than a second, and ended up head butting the door. Or the door head butted her, it was hard to tell; it had all happened so fast. Her nose made a solid, painful clonk as it made contact with the wooden surface.

Amber straightened back up, clutching her now bleeding nose, and found her eyes locked in a pair of oak-leaf green ones, which were staring at her through the little window in the door which had just hit her. They were the boy's eyes, Matthew Pryer, Eva had said his name was. He looked at her for another second or so, and then tuned on his heel and walked down the steps, leaving Amber on the other side of the door, still with Eva, who was making a big deal over the blood dripping from Amber's nose.

"What the hell did he think he was playing at?" Eva said angrily.

"What do you mean?" Amber asked.

"Didn't you see?"

"See what?" Amber was getting confused and annoyed, in about equal measures, which was not a good mixture of emotions.

"He like swung the door in you face," said Darren.

"Who, Matt Pryer?" she asked.

"Did you hit your head as well or something? Yes Matthew Pryer, who else?" Darren knocked on her head with his knuckles.

"Do you want to go and get something from the nurse for your nose?" Eva asked as they walked down the steps outside.

"No," she said. "It's the end of the day, there's no point. I'll just go home-I don't have to get the bus today because my mum's picking me up."

"You sure?"

"Yeah it'll be fine, thanks though."

"It's fine, I'll see you tomorrow," said Eva.

"Bye."

"Bye," Darren added.

Amber stomped out to the car. She had been hiding any anger because she didn't want to look like psycho-girl on her first day, but she was really annoyed that someone would just slam a door in her face. Who does that? she thought. And this Matthew Pryer guy had been acting weird with her all day, and he had no reason to. He'd never seen her before in his life.

Her nose was still bloody when she slammed the car door a few minutes later.

"What did you do to your nose?" was the first thing her mum said to her.

"Hello to you too," was Amber's reply.

"You don't need to be snappy. How was your day?"

"Fine."

"Ask me what I did today."

"What did you do today," Amber mumbled unenthusiastically.

"I got a job!" said her mum, unperturbed by her daughter's nonchalance. "Isn't that great?"

"Yeah, great," said Amber.

"I'm working in an office, and it's not much, but it's enough for now," she continued happily. Amber's mum had never had to get a job before, because her dad had always been there to pay the bills. Now he was gone, she was sole provider for the household. "So how was your day?"

Amber thought for a moment, before coming up with the best, most positive word she could think of, which was: 'Eventful'.
Chapter 2

Thursday morning brought with it thunder and rain. It was the kind of weather that seemed to make everything and everyone dull and gloomy, and concentration on schoolwork so much harder and more boring.

For Amber, the day started with her alarm clock failing to go off, and her having to rush to get ready so she didn't miss the bus. Then, when she got outside, because she was running, she caught her toe on a crack in the garden path, and ended up spiralling into the air. Thankfully, she somehow managed to turn to that she landed on the rain-softened grass instead of the cold hard pavement. But, because it had been raining, the grass was very wet and muddy, so when she jumped onto the departing bus, it looked very much like she had wet herself.

"What happened to you?" asked Hannah when she threw herself down on the seat beside her.

"It was raining."

"I can see that," Hannah said, looking at Amber's hair, which had been darkened to an auburn colour by the wet. Amber looked at Hannah, who also looked rather rain-soaked and cold.

When they got to the form room, Eva was sitting in the corner with two other girls, who were also blonde.

"How come you're dry?" Amber asked indignantly when she caught sight of her.

"It's called an umbrella," Eva replied, looking her up and down sardonically. The two girls sitting with her laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" Amber asked one of them. "You're wet too." She turned around and went back to sit with Hannah. It is true that rainy weather makes people less tolerant, Amber, apparently, included.

The whole day was a bore, with the lessons seeming to take forever to end, and the teachers' voices seeming to drone on longer than ever. Amber found she had very little tolerance for Eva or Darren, whose jokes were becoming less and less funny by the day. He thought he was amazing, but Amber hated how all he did was make fun of people until they felt really bad about themselves, and she thought, he had no right to make fun of people. He wasn't exactly a male model himself, and she doubted he managed to get much over a 'C' on his report card.

At lunch, Amber found herself tuning out to what he was saying, and just letting her eyes wander around the hall. She froze when she locked onto a pair of sapphire-blue eyes, underneath a mess of midnight-black hair.

"Why are you staring at Matthew Pryer?" Hannah murmured so that no one else could hear.

"I'm not staring at him. He's staring at me."

"Whatever you say," she said unbelievingly.

Amber turned to give her friend a dirty look, and when she turned back, Matthew Pryer was gone. Not gone as in, he had turned back to his friends and was in deep conversation, but was actually out of site, and could not be seen anywhere else in the room. She raised her head slightly above those around her so she could get a better view of the room, but nowhere could she see the boy with the black hair. It wasn't possible- no one could move that quickly-but he must have left.

The worst part of the day was English, which was the last lesson of the day. The last lessons always seemed long anyway, but on a day like this, it actually felt like time was standing still. In Amber's mind, outside the classroom were cyclists frozen mid-pedal and kids playing jump rope floating in midair.

Mrs Dole walked into the room quickly and picked up one of the pens and started writing on the board at the front of the class: Romeo and Juliet, it read, Act 3, Scene 2.

"Ok class," said Mrs Dole, whose short black hair whipped around as she turned from the board t face them. "So today we're doing Act three, Scene two of Romeo and Juliet, can anyone tell me what key event happens in this scene?"

The class looked at each other helplessly.

"No one? That's very disa-"

"Romeo kills Tybalt," said a boy's voice from the back of the class. Amber twisted in her seat and saw that everyone else was looking at Matthew Pryer. As she looked at him, he suddenly turned his head to look straight at her, his blue eyes boring into hers. She felt colour rising in her cheeks and quickly turned back to face the front.

"Well done Matthew," said Mrs Dole. "Seen as you seem to know the scene so well, you can be partnered up with Amber. I'm sure you know she's new and hasn't studied Romeo and Juliet before."

Amber turned back to Matthew, whose eyes were wide and expression was unimpressed. She gave him and disliking look, but didn't think he caught it.

"So the rest of you can get yourself into pairs. Mr Pryer at the front here please."

Matthew Pryer stood up lazily, swung his rucksack over one shoulder and trudged down to the empty seat, which had been vacated by Hannah when she went to sit with Darren.

"Hi," she said.

Matthew nodded slightly. It might have been a nod, or maybe he just moved his head, it was hard to tell. He didn't show any sign of recognition.

"What page did Mrs Dole say it was?" asked Amber, picking up the book.

He didn't respond at all this time.

"Sorry, do you know what page we're meant to be looking at?" she said again.

Once more, he did not respond. He looked down into his lap, so Amber couldn't see his liquid blue eyes. Before she could get too annoyed at Matthew's rudeness, however, Mrs Dole called the class back to attention.

"So," she said. "Today's going to be a fun lesson. I thought we could do some drama, so you'll all be acting out this scene with the fight between Romeo and Tybalt."

There was a general whisper of excitement around the class at not having to do a proper lesson. Of course, Amber did not join in this whisper, because if she tried to talk to Matthew Pryer, he would pretend she didn't exist.

"I'll give you about fifty minutes to rehearse, and then we'll perform them after that. Off you go."

There was an instant surge of noise as each partner turned to the other to plan out their performance. Amber and Matthew, of course, were the exception. It wasn't that she didn't try, it was just that he would not talk to her no matter what she did.

"What page is it?" she asked one more time, and when he didn't answer, she had to turn to the girl behind them, whose name she couldn't even remember, to ask for the page number.

Amber opened both books to Act three, Scene two and handed one to Matthew, who took the book without giving her a sideways glance.

"So you seem to know a lot about this, what do you think we should do?"

Again, he said nothing.

"Are you going to talk to me, or are you just going to sit there like the idiot you are?" she snapped.

It was the final straw when he still didn't acknowledge her.

"What did I do to you? I have been perfectly civil and you've been acting all weird. I haven't done anything to you and you're just being horrible. If we fail because of you, I swear, I'm not taking any of the blame. This is all on you."

Matthew Pryer nodded.

"You still aren't talking, what the-" she started, but Matthew raised his head and looked deep into her eyes. For that moment, she was lost in a deep pool of bottomless blue. Then he looked away again and she snapped back to being herself. Amber refused to try to talk to Matthew Pryer any more, deciding that if he wasn't going to talk to her, she sure as hell wasn't going to waste her breath trying to talk to him. She'd get more out of a goldfish.

It was an awkward and bitter fifty minutes, sitting, twiddling thumbs and fiddling with bits of paper, in total silence while the rest of the room buzzed with voices.

When the fifty minutes was up and Mrs Dole called the class back to their seats, no progress had been made at all with Matthew Pryer. Unfortunately, as she thought they would be best prepared, it was them that were picked on by Mrs Dole to go first.

Amber opened her mouth to say that they hadn't done anything because Matthew wouldn't speak a word to her, but he cut in with his own version of events.

"Mrs Dole," he said. "I was bringing Amber up to date with the story so far, so we didn't get to do any of the lines."

"So you've done none of the work I set you?" the woman asked sharply.

"No, no," said Matthew, sensing danger. "We have the actual fight, we just don't know the lines well enough to perform them."

"Well can we see your fight then please," Mrs Dole said.

"Yeah, sure."

Matthew threw Amber a 'You're welcome' look. She returned her own 'You're welcome' look; he should be grateful she hadn't told Mrs Dole what he'd really been doing all lesson.

And so Amber and Matthew walked to the front of the room, mimed drawing swords, and began to improvise a fight scene.

Amber found it strangely fun, pretending to injure Matthew. She thought she was meant to be playing Romeo, and he was meant to be Tybalt, because he seemed to be pretending to get hit most, and when she had read over the scene herself, it was Tybalt who had been killed.

It was actually working out pretty well. Matthew seemed to move perfectly with her, like he knew every movement she was going to make, which meant he could choose when to pretend to block it and when to pretend to be hit. Maybe because it was going so well, they let their guards down for a minute, because one moment they were fake fighting and entertaining the class, and the next, Amber's clenched fist was sailing past Matthew's blocking arm towards his face, and her reactions weren't quick enough to stop herself. Before she knew it, her hand had made contact with Matthew Pryer's nose with a sickening crunch. The whole class was silent.

"Oh my God," she gushed quickly. "I'm so sorry."

If Matthew Pryer hadn't been talking to her earlier, he definitely wasn't going to be talking to her now. He just looked at her with wide eyes. From his nose came a few drops of ruby blood. He leant back his head and pinched it in the centre to try to stop the bleeding.

"Mrs Dole, shall I take him do get something to wipe up his nose?" Amber asked. But when she turned back to Matthew, all she saw was his disappearing back as he walked out the door. The whole classroom was looking at her; she wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Mrs Dole looked at her questioningly for a moment, before saying, "Next."

Amber went back to her seat, which unfortunately was at the front of the room, so it was easy for people to stair at her. It wasn't her fault she'd punched him, she thought, maybe if he'd spoken to her during the lesson it wouldn't have happened. In some place deep down, Amber almost felt a glint of satisfaction; she knew she shouldn't, but it was there.

"You punched Matthew Pryer?" asked Darren when he caught up with her and Hannah after the lesson. Darren had gone to the bathroom, and missed the whole thing. He must have thought it was quite strange when he walked back into the room and the whole class was completely silent.

"It wasn't deliberate," said Amber. "It all happened before I realised what was going on."

"Are you sure it was an accident?" asked Darren.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amber said with a hint of anger.

"Well, he did give you a bloody nose that day in art, and the two of you didn't seem to be getting on too well when we were meant to be practising-"

"I told you, he wouldn't talk to me," said Amber through gritted teeth. It was things like this that made her dislike Darren so much.

"I can not believe I missed that," he said longingly.

"Look, I have to go to the library to return a book from English, so I'll see you later," said Amber longingly. Hannah gave her an understanding look-she'd been on the receiving end of Darren as well-and with that, she turned on her heel and walked up the steps towards the library.

She hadn't really planned on going to the library; there was no book to return, but she thought it would be wise in case Darren was waiting for her in the car park to continue the conversation. When she got through the doors, she saw the library was completely empty. She went to the window overlooking the car par and sure enough, there was Darren sitting on the wall, talking to a boy in the year above.

Amber sighed and took a seat in one of the red cushioned chairs. She didn't like libraries, she didn't like books; a big collection in one room made her itch.

Then, as she sat in the chair, out of the corner of her eye she saw movement. She twisted around and saw a head of jet-black hair walking back out the door.

"Hey," she said loudly. She hoped she was right in thinking this was Matthew Pryer, otherwise she was going to look really stupid.

The person kept walking.

"Hey, you," Amber, said, louder again. She followed him out the door and into the hallway a bit.

The figure continued with his quick pace.

"Matthew Pryer!"

The boy stopped, dropped his shoulders, and turned around slowly.

"Yes?" he sighed.

"What is your problem?" Amber started. "I have tried and tried to talk to you and work with you, why are you treating me like I don't exist? Does it make you feel cool to ignore people, because all it really does is make you a rude, ignorant idiot." Amber stopped and took deep, calming breaths.

"You done?" asked Matthew.

"For now."

"I'm sorry I was rude to you, please forgive me."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"No," he said. He looked deep into Amber's own dark eyes. "I don't think we should be friends. I don't even think you should try to talk to me again, and it would be unwise if we were to work together in class."

For some reason, Amber felt this compulsion not to speak, like what Matthew Pryer was saying was absolutely correct and true, but she couldn't understand why she felt like this. The other part of her brain, the part that controlled the logic of her mind, was telling her that he was being an idiot as usual, and she ought to give him another bloody nose.

"If that's your way of asking me to leave you alone, believe me, I won't find it hard," she said coolly.

"That's probably best," he replied.

"Yes, because my life will be so much better when I don't have to deal with you on a daily basis, so go, leave me alone."

"That sounds like a good idea."

With that, Matthew Pryer turned around and walked down the stairs, while Amber stood there unable to explain what had just happened.

Amber barely made it to the bus. Hannah had had to ask the bus driver to wait because she hadn't arrived yet, which she knew must have been a pretty awkward conversation.

"So, he basically told you he didn't want to speak to you ever again?" she asked when Amber had explained the entire conversation.

"Yup."

"Why? What did you do to him?"

"I don't know. I'm actually glad anyway, because he seems like the kind of person who is unbearable unless you end up giving them an 'accidental' punch regularly."

"So, you're just going to ignore him?" Hannah asked with raised eyebrows.

"Why do you say that like you don't think I can?"

"Come on Amber, I've seen you looking at him. Every time in the lunch hall you're just staring at his table."

"I'm trying to get him to stop looking at me. Believe me, this is a completely do-able task."

"Well, we'll see about that," said Hannah, and before she could elaborate any further, they were at Amber's stop.

"See you tomorrow," she said grumpily.

"Aw, are you upset because you won't get to talk to Matty anymore?" Hannah said teasingly.

"No actually," Amber came back with. "I'm upset my friend thinks I'm unable to do something I think is important."

Amber turned and walked out of the bus, leaving Hannah with a guilty expression on her face. She did feel guilty, but Hannah would get over it and in some ways she deserved it.

"Hello," said a voice from behind her as she walked up the street to her house.

Amber jumped half a mile while hundreds of visions of murderers and ghosts ran through her head. As it turned out, it was only Will.

"Oh hi Will," she said. "How're you?"

"Good. How's school going?"

"It's ok," Amber lied.

"Ok, now tell me how it's really going," said Will.

"It sucks, there's this guy called Mathew Pryer, and he's an absolute pain and he just acts like an idiot. We were meant to be working together in English today-he wouldn't even speak to me! And then I tried to talk to him in the library and he was all like 'I don't think we should be friends,'" she put on a poor imitation of Matthew's voice. "And I just said 'Well, don't worry, because I won't find it hard to not be friends with you." Amber stopped her rant and took more calming breaths.

"So-"

"Oh, and I gave him a bloody nose.

"You gave him a bloody nose?" said Will with raised eyebrows.

"It was an accident and he gave me one first!"

"So you actually spoke to this guy?" asked Will.

"Yeah, why?"

"You're sure you spoke to him?" Amber thought it was a little weird that Will was putting such stress on whether she had spoken to Matthew Pryer. She could see some form of deep thought behind his emerald green eyes.

"I think I would know who I've spoken to and whom I haven't, why?" she asked.

"No reason," Will said, and dropped the subject. "Do you want to go and get a drink?"

"Sorry, I can't," she said sincerely. "I have so much homework, it's ridiculous."

"I could come and give you a hand," Will offered.

"That would be great, but I don't want to force all my work onto you."

"Honestly, it's no problem," he said, looking into Amber's eyes, which were so dark they were almost black.

"Well, I suppose it would be good to have some help," she consented thoughtfully. "But only if you're sure it's not a problem."

"It's not, really."

And so Amber continued up the street with Will at her side. She was glad that he was going to help her with her work, but she knew that there were going to be a lot of times that she was going to look really stupid; she barely understood any of it.

"The living room is through there, make yourself at home, do you want anything to drink?" she asked when they got into her little house.

"A cup of tea would be good," said Will.

"You drink tea?" asked Amber

"Yeah, why?"

"I don't know, I just didn't have you pegged as a tea kind of guy."

"I think you'll find there are a lot of things about me you would never be able to guess," he said mysteriously.

Amber smiled and shook her head as she walked into the kitchen. This is how she thought friends should behave: a joking, fun relationship, but at the end of the day where that person will help you with any problems you have, and make them seem better than they really are.

Amber poured some hot water into a mug with a teabag and added some milk. She took the teabag back out and put it in the bin, then took the mug into Will, who was sitting on the floor flicking through Amber's books. She could just see his blonde head protruding from her Maths book.

"Making yourself at home I see," she said, and handed Will the mug of tea.

"You're handwriting is awful," he said thoughtfully, moving the book closer to his face as though trying to interpret a letter or number.

"Gee, thanks," Amber replied sarcastically.

"Honestly, didn't you ever do that thing at school where they give you those books with the different coloured lines for big letters and small letters?"

"You're really weird sometimes, you know that?" she said.

"Part of my charm," Will gave her a cheeky wink and picked up her English book. "So what is this work I'm meant to be helping you with?"

"I have all my homework, and stuff to catch up on from before I arrived."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"How well do you know Shakespeare?" Amber asked.

Thankfully, Will had studied Shakespeare before, which meant he was a big help on her Romeo and Juliet essay, which was meant to be in the next day. He also helped her with her Science, which was about environmental changes as a result of acidic substances in the atmosphere. Amber had been dreading that one.

After hours of work, during which they devoured many packets of biscuits and crisps, between the two of them they had completed all of the work Amber had been set, including the additional stuff that wasn't in until after the weekend.

"Thank you so, so much," she said. "I promise I'll make it up to you someday."

"How about Saturday?" Will asked.

"Excuse me?"

"You and me, Saturday afternoon, going for a drink and a sandwich at the café. You can consider it your way of paying me back."

"Fair enough," Amber agreed. "But I'll still be there to help you if you ever get overloaded with work like I just did, I promise."

"Well thank you," said Will.

"Do you want to stay and watch some television or something?" she offered.

"I can't, I'm sorry," he said. "I really would like to, but I've got to get back, I've got work to do too you know."

"Oh God, sorry, I didn't think, you'd better be getting home. I don't want to be getting you in trouble."

"Alright, so I'll see you Saturday?"

"Absolutely," said Amber.

She walked Will to the door and waved him off as he walked down the path and back down the street. She got the feeling her life here was going to be much better than her life before.
Chapter 3

Amber was looking forward to Saturday very much, and the whole of Friday seemed to be dragging on forever. In the morning, she caught the bus with Hannah as usual, and greeted Darren and Eva in the classroom. The weather was better today, and Amber had gotten a good night's sleep, so she found she could deal with their messing about better. She noticed Matthew Pryer walk into the form room at about half-past-eight, and obstinately kept her back turned to him, throwing herself further into conversation with Eva.

"So what are you doing this weekend?" she asked Amber. "Do you want to go shopping tomorrow?"

"I can't, sorry, I'm meeting up with a friend." While she did want to go shopping, Amber wanted to see Will more. He was the first real friend she'd made in York, and he was nice to her. If she went shopping with Eva, she got the feeling she'd have to have the whole 'does my bum look big in this' conversation. Though she was nice, to Amber, Eva came across as slightly vain.

"Who are you meeting up with?" she asked.

"Just a boy from my street," said Amber.

"What does he look like?"

"Does it matter?" Amber asked.

"Yes, obviously," she said.

"Um...blonde hair, green eyes, pretty tall."

"I approve," said Eva.

"Um...thank you?"

"You're welcome, I hope you have a nice time."

Eva got up and went to sit with the other two girls who accompanied her everywhere, Sarah and April. Amber was still monitoring Matthew Pryer out of the corner of her eye, which she knew she shouldn't be, but she couldn't help it.

"Are you ready for English?" Darren asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Have you done the essay yet? It's so hard!"

"Oh, I did it last night," Amber felt slightly smug saying, but then added to give him credit, "My friend Will helped me with it; he'd already done Romeo and Juliet."

"Alright for some," Darren muttered.

Someone coughed behind Amber, who turned around to meet a pair of sapphire blue eyes.

"Can I help you?" she asked coolly, folding her arms. Normally, she would be perfectly nice to people, and even now being mean to someone who seemed to hate her caused her pain.

"Not if you're going to be like that," said Matthew Pryer, narrowing his eyes.

"Well then, you may as well go back to your friends."

"Yes, I may as well," he said coldly. Matthew turned around and went back to where his friends were sitting, and Amber turned back to Darren.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Nothing, I just can't be bothered to even try to be nice to him any more."

"What did he do?" Darren asked.

"It's a long story," she said. "I'll tell you later." She couldn't help but notice that a lot of the people surrounding her had gone quiet to hear what she was saying. Amber felt embarrassed thinking that they had watched her encounter with Matthew Pryer. He really was making her life difficult.

After registration, Amber walked with Eva, and her entourage, across to the English block. Amber was pleased when she got to tell Mrs Dole that not only had she done all the catch-up work she'd been set, but also the two page essay on Romeo and Juliet. She wasn't s please when Mrs Dole smiled and handed her another pile of books to study over the weekend. At this rate, Amber was going to have no social life whatsoever.

After English, it was break, and then PE, and before she knew it Amber was sitting at the lunch tale eating a tuna sandwich. Maybe the day wouldn't drag so much after all.

It was.

The morning may have gone quickly, but in the evening it was as though time slowed twice as much to make up for it. Amber found herself checking the clock every few minutes, and being disappointed when she saw how little time had passed.

But, eventually, the bell rang and all the students started to pour out of the school gates, Amber included. But, just before she was free of the horde of people, someone tapped her on the back of her shoulder.

She turned around.

"Hi," said Matthew Pryer. He looked at the friendliest Amber had seen him in all her time at the school.

"Hi?" she said uncertainly. She wasn't sure why he was stopping her in the middle of the street, with people shoving past them constantly, when he had refused to talk to her for the whole week. It was almost annoying, which is why Amber's voice may have come across a little bit hostile when she asked, "What's up?"

"I wanted to...apologise for my behaviour," said Matthew. Amber wasn't quite sure what she was hearing.

"You're sorry?" she repeated.

"I acted like an idiot, and I was rude to you when I had no reason, so I'm sorry."

"Oh, um...you're forgiven?" she said timidly.

"So, truce?" asked Matthew. He looked at her with those sky blue eyes, beneath that mess of midnight black hair, and Amber was suddenly reminded of night meeting day.

"Um yeah...truce," she agreed.

"Great, I'll see you on Monday."

"Yeah...bye."

Amber was still slightly unsure of what had just happened, and whether it really did happen, or if she'd just imagined it. Maybe she ate too much sugar at lunch or something.

"What was that all about?" Hannah asked when Amber got onto the bus. For the second time, she had only just made at the closing of the doors.

"Matthew Pryer just called a truce with me," said Amber, whose voice was a lot higher than usual.

"Matthew Pryer, as in the Matthew Pryer you've hated since your first day, has called a truce with you?" said Hannah.

"Yeah."

"Next thing pigs will be flying," she said sarcastically. Amber got the feeling that Hannah thought the whole thing with Matthew Pryer was a bit over the top, and Amber understood why she would think that, because only she knew the extent of their argument.

"So who's this guy you're going out with tomorrow?" asked Hannah.

"Oh, like I said, he's just a boy from my street. He's really nice, he's called Will."

"Nice name."

"Yeah, well he was the first person I really met here and he's been so good, it was him who helped me with all my work that I had to get done."

"And you're just friends?" Hannah asked suspiciously.

"I think so," Amber said.

"The question is, what does he think?"

"I don't know. I don't mind what he thinks, if he's a friend, he's a great friends if he's more, he's a nice guy."

"Amber likes Will," Hannah chanted.

Amber ignored her and sat facing forwards, gradually growing redder, and praying no one within earshot knew Will.

When Saturday morning came, Amber was up at sunrise, and found herself unable get back to sleep. So, when she had gotten dressed, washed and eaten breakfast, Amber had about six hours to wait until she me up with Will. Her mum had gone out to her new job, and she was all alone in the house. It was moments like this that Amber found herself very please to own a large DVD collection.

She plucked out a film at random and put it in the player. It turned out to be one of her all time favourites, so she sat for two hours and watched the movie. After that, she switched on the television and started flicking through channels. You know you spend too much time watching the TV when you know the starting times of all the decent programs.

After lunch-which consisted of a ham sandwich and a packet of crisps-Amber thought she should probably do something constructive, so she got out all her books so she could make a start on the work Mrs Dole had set her. She almost wanted to ask Will to help her with the work again, but that wouldn't be fair on him. Amber really did need some help with all the work though.

When she was halfway through her analysis of Acts one to five of Romeo and Juliet, the doorbell rang. Amber jumped up. Her auburn hair was all over her face from where she had been leaning over the paper on the floor, and she thought she probably looked tired from waking up so early and working so hard on all her English and Geography.

It was Will, who was exactly on time. The clock struck three as Amber opened the door, his timing was so good. As usual, when she opened the door, Will was leaning casually against the wall. He looked like the most relaxed person in the world, then a few moments after the door was opened, he straightened up at smiled at Amber.

"Hi," he said.

"Hey," she replied. "Thanks for helping me with that work again."

"Like I said, it was really no problem. I'd done it before anyway. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah," said Amber. She hopped through the door and locked it behind her, then walked down towards the café beside Will.

"So how's things with Matthew Pryer?" he asked.

"Oh, actually it's all a bit weird," said Amber. "I mean, we were arguing on Thursday, and then yesterday morning he tried to talk to me, but I told him to leave me alone, and then last afternoon he caught up to me as I was on my way to the bus and apologised for the whole thing."

"So what, you're...friends now?"

"I really don't know. We might be at the minute, but by next weekend things will probably be twice as bad," she said grimly.

"Well, I hope things turn out well. An old friend used to say to me that everything happens for a reason."

They were just turning down the road towards the café.

"And as my cousin once said to me, I have had a perfectly wonderful conversation, but this wasn't it," Amber came back with.

"Well, as a teacher who had a vendetta against me once said, I need what only you can provide: your absence."

"Below the belt," said Amber.

"Come on, you asked for it," Will playfully punched her on the shoulder. "So what will it be?" he asked as they walked through the little red door to the counter.

"No, I'll get this, I'm supposed to be paying you back for helping me with my homework," said Amber.

"No, go and sit down."

"Will," she said stubbornly.

"I invited you to come with me. Now sit please," he said. Amber thought she would try to slip some money into his coat pocket to pay him back.

Will sat down with two cokes and some crisps.

"How did you know what I wanted?" Amber asked, surprised.

"You ordered it last time," said Will. "I happen to have a very good memory, otherwise I would never have know enough to help you with that Shakespeare thing."

"Yeah, about that," Amber said, leaning forwards. "How much do you know about the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets?"

Will laughed.

Amber was actually awed by Will's vast amount of knowledge. It was like he knew everything, but he didn't look like one of those kind of guys, what with his smooth blonde hair and lounging personality. He was so chatty, and the conversations Amber had with him were actually interesting, rather than the time-filling stuff you got with other people sometimes.

"So it's just a long-time feud?" she asked. She wished she could be the kind of person who could pick up something when it had been explained only once, but Amber had to know every detail and tiny piece of information before her brain could take in the whole thing. Will had been incredibly patient with her so far, but she thought even he must have some sort of breaking point.

"I think I have an idea of how to make you understand the whole play pretty quickly," he said suddenly. "I'll meet you back at your house."

He jumped up and before Amber could stop him was out the door and jogging quickly down the street. She finished off her food and put her coat on too. It was the second time Will had run off from her mysteriously.

Amber had no idea what to expect when she got back to her house. Will had said he would meet her back here, but she had no idea what he was planning. The doorbell rang.

"What do you think of Leonardo de Caprio?" Will asked. He was holding up the film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet in his hand.

In the next few hours, Amber cried, laughed and cried again. She could not believe that with all the films and TV shows she'd watched in her life that she had never sat down to watch this. It was one of the best movies she had ever seen.

"So do you understand the plot now?" Will asked as the credits rolled across the screen.

"It's so sad," she said with watery eyes.

"You think it's sad?"

"Don't you?" She stood up and picked up the two empty glasses.

"Well yeah, but they kind of brought it on themselves. Romeo killed himself and his love out of sheer stupidity. It really makes me wonder how he managed to become one of the classic heart-throb kind of people."

"Because it's romantic."

"No," said Will. "Romantic is when the guy stands up," he stood up. "Takes the girl by the shoulders," he put a hand on each of Amber's shoulders. "Looks deep into her eyes," he looked down into her dark eyes with his own, oak leaf green. "And kisses her," he whispered.

Will bent down slowly and kissed Amber lightly.

He straightened back up and she opened her eyes.

"Ok, that was romantic," she said.

"I have my moments."

"Apparently so."

"Still think Romeo's the ultimate heart-throb?" he asked.

"For now," said Amber.

"I guess I'll just have to try harder next time."

"Next time?"

"Next time."

"Like maybe Tuesday?" asked Amber.

"Like maybe Tuesday," he said.

Amber smiled.

Will smiled back and looked around the room. He caught sight of the CD player in the corner.

"Who's your favourite band?" he asked.

"I don't have one," said Amber.

"Come one, everyone has a favourite band."

"Not me," she said. "I like pretty much everything."

"But how do you choose what music to buy?" he asked.

"The charts. I like pop music."

"Pop music is what people who can't sing make for people who are unable to tell the difference between real music and the trash that claims to be so."

"I like pop music, it's catchy," said Amber simply.

"Yeah, so's the flu."

"Ha-ha," she said sarcastically. "Go on then, who do you like?"

"Other than you?" Will looked at her.

Amber raised an eyebrow.

"Too cheesy?" he asked. "I'm still working towards beating Romeo."

"I'm sure you'll get there," said Amber. "Eventually."

Will laughed.

"Favourite food?" he asked.

The conversation went on like that for a while, with Amber answering simple questions with simple answers, and then Will criticising what she said occasionally because it was either cliché or obvious. In all fairness, at least he knew what she was talking about, whenever he answered a question, it seemed to be with a name of something that sounded like a terrible illness. It was when he finally answered what music he liked listening to with what sounded like the name of a complicated French dish that she drew the line.

"You made that up," she said. "There is not a band called-" Amber tried to repeat the name.

"I will prove it to you. I'll bring you their CD on Tuesday."

"Fine," said Amber. "But if I'm right you have to make the tea," she said.

"You're on," said Will.

Amber smiled.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked.

"Because now you have a reason to come back," she said.

"I think I already have one," he smiled too. "But now, to ruin the moment-I have to go."

"Again? You always go," Amber complained.

"I'll see you on Tuesday," he smiled.

"Bye," she hugged the tall boy briefly and followed him to the door.

"See you later," he said.

Amber shut the door, turned around and slid down the back of it to sit on the floor.

Today had been a good day. She knew things with Matthew Pryer were getting better, she finally understood what she needed to know for her Shakespeare homework, and Will had just left with the promise to see her on Tuesday.

She would see him on Tuesday.

That was just three days away. Three days-it would fly by and then he'd be explaining the inner workings of sixteenth century England for her next essay. She could last that long.

Amber went back into the living room and pulled the pile of books, which she had pushed to one side earlier, towards her. She reread what she'd written so far for the character analysis. It was rubbish. There wasn't even one salvageable part. She sighed; she was going to have to rewrite the whole thing, and it was due in on Monday. On the up side, Mrs Dole had said that because of the understanding she showed in her synopsis essay, this would be the last piece of catch up work she would have to do. Maybe then Amber could finally get a social life.

She heard a key turning in the door.

"Hi mum," she said as she heard footsteps heading towards her on the soft carpet floor. "How was work?"

She tilted her head backwards from where she sat on the floor, so she got an upside down view of everything in the room. Her mother was standing there, blonde hair pulled into a sleek bun, her slim figure clothed in a grey skirt-suit. She'd never seen her mother in a suit in her life.

"I never want to see another cup of coffee in my life," she said grimly.

"Tea?" Amber asked. Her mum didn't pick up on the joke.

"If I'd wanted to make drinks all the time, I'd have gotten a job in a coffee house. I thought I'd be writing up notes and organising meetings, but no. Do you know what the most exciting part of my day was?" she asked, then continued without giving Amber time to answer. "Sharpening a pencil. A pencil!"

"How come you weren't doing any proper stuff?" Amber asked, whilst at the same time picking up her pen and beginning to rewrite her analysis of the Capulet family in for Mrs Dole.

"There's another girl there, Angela. She thinks she owns the place just because she's been there for a few years." Her mother pointed a hairpin at Amber violently as she undid the bun. "She was all like 'Remember to put two sugars in Mr Rawshift's coffee'." Amber found it quite amusing to watch her mother acting so childish.

"Why don't I make you a cup of tea?" she offered.

"No, it's fine," said her mum. "I'll make it, it'll be a nice change from coffee." She turned around and walked back into the hallway.

"Two sugars for me," Amber called after her sarcastically.

She heard her mum mutter something about respecting elders.

"A biscuit wouldn't be bad either," Amber shouted and returned to her homework.

Before she'd finished the last paragraph, however, the phone rang.

"Hi Amber," said a girl's voice. "It's Eva, I was wondering if you wanted to meet up tomorrow at around lunchtime?"

"Um, sure," said Amber. "Where?"

Somehow, even though Hannah had started off inviting Amber over to her house, the exact opposite result occurred, and it was now planned the Eva was coming over to hers the next day. Amber was having a very busy weekend.

"Ok, what happened?" Eva asked the next morning.

"I don't know what you mean," said Amber elusively.

"Yes you do now tell," she said without even trying to sound tactful.

"Nothing," Amber said.

"Nothing?" Eva repeated.

"Nothing." For some reason, Amber didn't want the other girl to know what had happened with her Will. She didn't even know why, but she listened to the part of her brain that told her to keep quiet for now. She could always update Eva on Monday, which was fast approaching. Her whole Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"I'm bored," she announced. "This weekends gone too fast, let's do something."

"Ok, like what?" asked Eva, whose light blonde hair bounced as she jumped to her feet.

"Why don't we go shopping?"

"Shopping? Sure, sounds like a plan."

"I'll just go ask my mum," said Amber. "Mum," she called. "Mum!"

She checked in the kitchen and poked her head out the back door.

"Mum," she shouted again.

Amber jogged upstairs and walked into her mum's bedroom. There she was, her mother, watching television with a bowl of ice cream.

"You still feeling sorry for yourself?" she asked. "I'd go easy on the ice cream."

"What's wrong?" her mum asked. She put down the tub on the bedside table. Amber felt sorry for her; she'd clearly had a bad day, and now she was going to feel guilty leaving her.

"I was wondering if it was alright for me to go into town with Eva on the bus."

"Now?" asked her mum.

"Yeah," she said. "I mean, it's fine if you want me here-"

"No, you should go," her mum smiled. "It's nice to see you making friends."

"Ok, well do you need anything?" Amber asked.

"No, off you go. Have fun."

"Bye, love you."

Amber discreetly swiped the ice cream off the table on her way out. She thought it would probably be better if her mum pity-ate on fruit or gum. Amber had always been the health nut of the family.

"Are we going?" Eva asked.

"Yeah, we'll go now. Do I need to check the bus timetables?"

"No, there should be one every ten minutes," said the smaller girl.

"Ok then, let's go."

Amber grabbed her coat off the peg by the door. Though it was late autumn, there was a mid-winter's chill in the air, and Amber didn't want to be cold around town. As she and Eva walked up to the bus stop, she could see each of their breath making little clouds in the air. Amber liked the winter, because it made everything look sparkly and glossy with frost and ice-however, it also made everything slippery and treacherous-but she thought that it seemed to be coming very prematurely this year. Maybe that meant there would be a better summer.

Both girls must have sat at the bus stop for half an hour in the cold with no bus arriving.

"I thought you said it was every ten minutes," Amber said. She was very cold-perhaps she didn't like winter so much after all.

"Maybe it's every thirty minutes," said Eva sketchily. "I could have sworn it was every ten."

"Right, that's it, I'm going in to check the bus timetable," Amber sighed and stood up. Literally at the same moment, the bus pulled round the corner.

"I guess it was every half hour," Eva smiled guiltily.

Amber gave her a sombre look.

On the up side, they were on the bus now, and therefore only about five minutes away from town.

"Where do you want to go first?" Eva asked.

"I don't know," Amber said. "I've never been into the city centre before."

"Never?" she asked. "I'll have to give you a tour."

"I think I'll be alright without one," Amber said as kindly as possible. "Thanks anyway though."

There really wasn't much time for the conversation to move on any further before the bus was pulling up to their stop in the town. From what Amber could see, it wasn't that busy; the cold weather must have made people decide to stay at home.

"I'll take you to where most of the clothes shops are," said Eva. "My favourite shop's round the corner from there, you will love it Amber."

Amber had never really been able to go shopping, not properly. She'd always wanted to, but no one ever really took her, after what had happened with her dad, and then none of her friends would talk to her, let alone be seen out with her.

"Heads up," Eva muttered.

"Huh?" Amber looked up. There, straight across from her, standing in the doorway of a men's clothing store and looking right at her was none other than Matthew Pryer. He seemed to be waiting for one of his friends, who must be still inside the shop. Matthew smiled when he caught her eye. She half-smiled back; Amber wasn't sure how much of this so-called truce she really believed.

"Come on," she said. "You can show me this shop you like."

Eva steered Amber away from where Matthew Pryer stood and down a street paved with wide grey flagstones and into a new shop. It was painted black on the outside, and a deep red on the inside, though most of the walls were covered with varnished wood shelves. The clothes were all laid out beautifully on tables and hangers, and posters of bands and cities were plastered on every other wall. Heavy music was playing loudly out of the overhead speakers.

The shop sold boy's clothes on one side, and girls on the other. Amber was just musing over a top when the door opened again. She turned around briefly, a reflex reaction, and saw the black-haired head of Matthew Pryer walking around in the men's section with a few other guys Amber recognised from school.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked Eva.

"I was just going to try this top on."

"I don't really like it," Amber said quickly.

"Why not?" Eva sounded slightly offended.

"I just don't think it does you justice," she said more slowly ad with a smile.

"Oh, alright then," said the blonde girl. "We can go."

Amber followed Eva out of the shop and into the one next door, which was painted white like a beach hut. They didn't spend long in there long; the shop assistant kept looking at them like they were going to steal something.

Eva led the way back to where they had started to get some food and a drink. They went into a cheap pizza place that was already fairly full, and were seated by a waitress with fiery red hair.

No more than a minute after they had picked up a menu, Matthew Pryer walked in with his friends. There were four of them in total, and they were all laughing and joking. Matthew Pryer didn't look once in Amber's direction, but she got the feeling he knew she was there.

"What can I get you?" asked the waitress.

"Actually, you know I think we're going to go someplace else," she said.

"Wait, Amber what?" said Eva.

"Sorry, I just don't fancy pizza any more," she shrugged.

"Ok then," Eva said. Amber saw her roll her eyes at the waitress.

They picked up their coats of the stand by the door and left. In the end, Amber bought a sandwich for each of them from a tiny deli on a corner.

"Oh, can we go to the pharmacy please," said Eva. "I need to get a new toothbrush."

"Yeah, sure. Where is it?"

Eva laughed, "Follow me."

The 'pharmacy' was one of those big chain stores that also sold makeup and perfumes and nappies and food and loads of other stuff. Amber couldn't understand why it was called a pharmacy, when it was really more like a supermarket.

She was just looking through one of the aisles of makeup when she was a head of jet-black hair moving across the other side of the store. Matthew Pryer. At least, she thought it was Matthew Pryer, it would certainly be a first if it wasn't, considering that he seemed to be in every shop she went into. Amber moved closer quickly to the aisle next to his. It was Matthew Pryer.

"Are you following me?" she asked.

"Excuse me?" he turned around. "Am I following you?"

"Are you?"

"What the-no," he said.

"Then why are you in every shop I go into?" Amber asked.

"I don't know, why are you in every shop I go into?"

He had her there.

"I think you have it the wrong way round," she said. "I came into this shop with Eva so she could buy a toothbrush, and I was just looking at the makeup when I saw you."

"If you were looking at makeup, then why are you in the men's aisle?" Matthew asked.

Amber looked around. She was in the men's aisle. She hadn't noticed when she'd walked up because she'd been focusing on Will.

"I'm...getting some shaving foam for my brother," she said.

"I didn't know you had a brother," said Matthew. Amber could see he thought she was lying-which of course she was. "What's his name?"

"Antopher," she said at random. She was going to say Andrew but then Christopher came into her head out of nowhere, and the two seemed to merge together. She blamed Matthew for this.

"Antopher?" Matthew repeated. "Original name."

"Yes, it's a cross between my father's and my grandfather's," said Amber. Other than her mistake with the name, she thought she was doing quite well so far. "So yeah, he just wanted a can of shaving foam." She picked up one of the cans in front of her.

"Amber, that's deodorant," said Matthew. He looked at her like it was a feat that she was able to talk.

"Oh, well yeah he wanted that too," she said, nodding. She wasn't sure why she was nodding, but nodding seemed like convincing thing to do.

"Sure he did."

Matthew turned around and carried on down the shop, leaving Amber feeling very stupid holding a can of deodorant, which she quickly put back on the shelf.

That wasn't the last time that day she saw Matthew Pryer walking around town, but she didn't have the nerve to go up to him and argue again. Somehow, he had managed to outwit her when she knew she was the one who was right, and Amber didn't like being outwitted. Especially by Matthew Pryer. She would redeem herself on Monday with a clever remark, if she felt like it.
Chapter 4

The rest of the month flew by, and it was soon mid-October, by which time Amber had managed to hit Matthew Pryer with plenty of sarcastic comments and remarks. It was becoming a war of wit, and Amber had to admit that she was losing. Her brain just didn't seem to think fast enough to come up with a retort on time. She did think of something to say, but it tended to be about ten minutes after she needed it.

September had been chilly, but this month the cold was really starting to show. Amber had started wearing a black waterproof to school because it was raining so much. The trees were becoming rapidly bare as the leaves turned orange and fell to the ground.

"Do you want to come round to mine for a sleepover on Friday night?" Eva asked one particularly damp day in History. "My parents have to go to a friend's party and they said I could have someone over."

"Who else is going?" Amber asked as she drew little stars on her notepad.

"Just Josh."

"Josh?" she said.

"Yeah, Josh Samuels, we've been going out for like two months I'm surprised you haven't heard of him."

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend," said Amber. Actually, she had always thought Eva and Darren were kind of an item, but apparently that was wrong.

"What time do you want me over?" Amber asked.

"We can walk back to mine after school on Friday, it's only round the corner."

"Alright then, I'll ask my mum."

As Amber's mum was keen on Amber making friends after what had happened at Polegate, she consented to allow her to sleep over at Eva's.

So, on Friday afternoon once school had finished, she and Eva caught the bus to Eva's street, stopping at the shop on the way to buy popcorn and snacks. Amber had bought some horror movies from her collection for them to watch. Eva had said she wanted to be really scared for once, so she had picked out one that she knew to be exceptionally terrifying. Amber loved horror movies.

Eva's house was huge, and old too. Eva said it had been built in the eighteenth century, and the inside was done up grandly with lots of creams and reds. Eva's room was upstairs and to the back of the house, facing west, so the almost set sun cast a grey glow around the room and made finger-like shadows on the cream-painted walls.

"Josh doesn't arrive for another half an hour; his school gets out after ours, so make yourself at home. Have a look at what's on TV," she said. "Or you can put on one of your films now?"

Amber picked out one of the movies and put it in the player, which was underneath Eva's large television set. She wished her house were like Eva's.

"I think I'm quite good with horror movies," said Eva, eating a thick strawberry lace. "I just don't tend to find them that scary."

After just over an hour of watching horror films with the girl, Amber decided she had been wrong. Eva spent most of the time behind a pillow, or screaming. A lot of times Josh, who showed up quarter-way through the movie, had to try to calm her down because she looked so scared. Amber was very glad she had started on something more lightweight.

"Why would you call out 'who's there'?" said Josh, who himself was not scared so easily. "It's blatantly obvious that there is someone there, and she just let them know where she's hiding."

"I know, and you wouldn't just stand there, you'd call for help. These are meant to be teenagers, yet when they realise their main phone line has been cut, they don't think to pull out their mobile, which goes with them everywhere," said Amber. Between the two of them, they managed to scrutinise almost every scene of the film, until the end credits rolled, at which point Eva jumped up and flicked the light switch, and turned the television back onto normal channels.

"Why don't we play a game?" she said.

"What kind of game?" asked Josh. He seemed fairly agreeable, and Amber thought he looked as if he was a generally nice guy.

"I think we should play a dare game," she said.

"Alright then," said Eva. Amber could tell she was trying to act unfazed, but noticed every now and again how Eva would quickly look behind her to make sure there was no man in a hockey mask coming to get her.

"Ok, I'll go first then shall I?" said Josh. "Go on, challenge me."

"I dare you...to go downstairs and put the popcorn on the cooker," said Eva.

"That's not a dare," he said.

"No, but I'm hungry-why don't you go Amber?" she asked.

"Um, yeah sure," said Amber. She could tell from Eva's look that she hadn't liked her talking with Josh while she sat cowering behind a pillow in silence. She got up off the floor and walked downstairs to the kitchen.

It was the type of popcorn that cooked on the stove rather than the microwave, and Amber took it out of the wrapper and set it down on the heat. Now, she could act all she wanted that she wasn't scared of the bad guy in movies, but when she was alone in an unknown, dark area, at night time, she did start to get just a little bit afraid of what could be out there. Then when she started thinking like that, she got that tingling sensation you get on your back when you're scared, which made it even worse. So, instead of waiting for the popcorn to cook and taking it back up with her, she ran back upstairs empty handed.

"Is it my turn for a dare?" she asked when she walked back into the room, and pretended she hadn't seen Eva and Josh kissing.

"Yeah, alright then," said Josh. He narrowed his eyes as though he was thinking of something particularly evil. "I dare you to run to the graveyard next door, touch the marble tomb, and run back."

"Challenge accepted," said Amber. She wasn't scared any more, and she was ready for a good dare.

Next door to Eva's house was an old graveyard, in which was apparently a tomb made of marble. Amber wasn't exactly sure where this tomb was, so she knew it might take her a while to find.

"Do you have a torch?" she asked Eva.

"Yes, in my desk drawer," she pointed to a cream table on which sat perfume bottles and hairbrushes. It was more of a dressing table than a desk, Amber thought.

She picked up the heavy torch and braced herself for the dark cemetery. She knew there was nothing to be afraid of; there was no such thing as the supernatural and ghosts that would come to snatch her. The world just wasn't that interesting.

As she passed the kitchen door, Amber glanced in and saw that the popcorn on the stove was swelling in the bag.

"Eva, the popcorn's done," she shouted up the stairs.

Amber carried on down the hall and out the front door, and jogged along the pavement to the cast-iron gate that marked the entrance to the graveyard. It didn't creak, as it would have done in a horror movie, when Amber opened it.

She scanned around with the torch for this marble tomb she was meant to be looking for. Of course, she didn't have to really find it; she could just pretend she had, but that just wasn't what Amber was like. If she was set a challenge, she was going to complete it, whether it made sense or not.

With the preliminary scan, she couldn't see any tomb made of marble, which meant it must be behind the church, out of sight. She walked quickly to the back of the old building, but another quick swipe with the torch didn't reveal anything. She gave it a second look over, more carefully now, but again saw no tomb of marble. She couldn't see one at the front of the church either when she checked the second time.

Just as she was thinking that there was no marble tomb, the light from the torch began to flicker. She whacked it hard with the palm of her hand, which seemed to do more harm than good as after that the light went out altogether, which was very bad, as she had no other way of seeing and it was pitch-black.

Thankfully, and slightly strangely as she didn't remember leaving the light on, a glow from behind the curtains in Eva's kitchen shone towards the graveyard and fought back the darkness just enough so Amber could make it back onto the street.

She wasn't very happy with Josh for sending her on a wild goose chase, but she thought she would probably find a way of getting him back later on.

Amber was puzzled by the light coming from the hall, because she knew it was definitely off when she left, and she could see from the high window above the front door that it was more orange than the light from a normal light bulb, and it seemed to flicker every now and then, like lots of little moths were fluttering in front of it.

She opened the front door.

It took Amber a moment to register what she saw, because it wasn't what anyone should expect to see when they opened a door to a house.

From the left-hand side of the stairs, where the kitchen was, smoke was floating out sinisterly and into the hall. Even though she was about twenty feet away from the room, she could feel the heat coming towards her in waves-it was like standing next to a bonfire.

"Eva!" she shouted in panic. "Josh! Eva!"

No one replied.

Amber very much doubted that they were hurt at that moment, because the fire, though obviously large, seemed to be contained in the kitchen. Eva either couldn't hear her or couldn't be bothered to call back. Amber hoped it was the second one, because she would hate to have to throttle Eva after attempting to save her life.

Amber coughed; the smoke was making her lungs feel dry and prickly. Somehow, her body seemed to have separated itself from her mind and wasn't registering her surroundings properly. The smoke had crept closer without her realising, and Amber was getting hotter and hotter as time went on. The fire was getting more and more threatening by the second.

"Eva!" she called up the stairs again. Her voice cracked in desperation. "Eva, please! There's a fire! I'm not kidding, seriously Eva!"

Still Eva did not respond.

Amber was becoming more fearful; Eva's bedroom was above the kitchen, which meant smoke might have drifted up through the floorboards. She wasn't sure how safe her friends were.

But she didn't want to go any further into the house. From just at the front door, Amber could feel the heat, hear the crackling of the flames, smell the smoke, and see the chaos. If she went into that house, there was a chance she might not come out.

Her mind clicked back into sync with her body. She took one last survey of the scene-the fire was still only in the kitchen, she had time.

She put her hand over her mouth and ran up the stairs coughing.

"Eva," she said as loudly as she could whilst being choked by fumes. "Josh, Eva?"

Amber found it a struggle to remember the way back to her friend's bedroom through her alarm, but after opening a few doors in a panicked daze, she managed to find them.

"Eva," she said. "Why the hell didn't you answer me?"

"Amber, what's wrong with you?" said Eva. Up here, everything was normal; there was no smoke, no fire, just the pale walls of Eva's bright bedroom. If she could have gotten the burning out of her lungs, Amber would have thought none of what she had seen was real.

"I was shouting you Eva, we have to get out of here, now," she said urgently, and grabbed the blonde girl's wrist strongly.

"What-Amber what's going on?" said Josh, who had been watching the scene unfold before him from where he sat on the carpet.

"There's a fire!" Amber shouted. She knew she didn't need to raise her voice, the others were no more than a few feet from her, but part of the shouting was to release her panic, and the other part was to try and snap Josh and Eva into realisation of just what was going on "If we don't get the hell out of here right now, it'll be barbequed Eva and Amber with a side of fire-grilled Josh." She was surprised to see she was able to make an attempt at comedy at this point in time. "Now come on, go!"

Amber didn't think either of the two of them believed her as she chased them out of the room, but by the time they got through the bedroom door, no one had a doubt in their mind that what she had said was true. More smoke had drifted up and was filling the hallway. Amber coughed violently and pulled the sleeve of her jumper over her mouth. Eva froze where she stood at the top of the stairs.

"Eva, come on why are you stopping, lets go!" said Amber loudly and quickly. It was like she was hyper on adrenaline or something, and even her voice was leaping ahead of her.

"I can't," said Eva.

"What do you mean you can't?" Amber asked. Her lungs felt like they were about the collapse.

"There's fire," said Josh quietly and matter-of-factly.

"Yes Josh, that's right, which is why we have to run now," Amber said more slowly. She seemed to be the only one whose brain still hadn't reached panic mode.

"Come on," she said, and grabbed both of their hands. She ran down the staircase, dragging the other two behind her, moving as fast as she possibly could. And then she stopped.

The bottom of the staircase was blocked by flames and billowing thick, black smoke. There was no way they could get through that. Amber turned around and wordlessly led them back up the stairs, and into Eva's bedroom, which was still relatively smoke-free.

The first thing she did was run to the window and thrust it open. It felt like part of the fire downstairs was actually burning in her chest. She gulped down the night's air and looked out into the street. It was lifeless. She could see the shadows the fire downstairs was casting on the surrounding garden and parts of the pavement. Still, there was a part of Amber's brain that wasn't registering any of this as real. It was like another film on the television, or the near-death dreams you have when you aren't really in tune with what's happening. But this was real. It wasn't a dream she could wake up from.

"Help!" Amber shouted at the top of her voice. "Help!"

Josh realised what she was doing and joined her at the window, and shouted with her.

"Help! Help us!"

Eva was rocking back and forth on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees, and tears rolling down her cheek. For a less than a second, Amber was reminded of how she had looked whilst they were watching the horror movie, and remembered what she said about how any teenager would pick up their mobile phone and call someone. She did just that.

"Hello?" she said down the receiver. "We need the fire brigade-quickly." Amber didn't know why she added quickly onto the end; they were the fire brigade, of course they would get there quickly.

"What's your location?" said the lady down the phone.

"What's your address?" Amber mouthed to Eva.

"Forty-one, Baker Street," said Josh, who was recovering from his initial shock and was beginning to be helpful. He leaned back out of the window and began shouting again.

"Someone will be with you shortly," the woman said.

"Okay, um, thank you," Amber panted down the phone. All the talking had made her already smoke-dried throat sore.

She put an arm around the still-rocking Eva to try to comfort her, still aware of Josh shouting out the window at the top of his voice. Amber sighed.

"There's no point, no one's going to-"

"Hey, I see someone," he said. "Help us! Help, there's a fire!" He turned back to Amber and Eva. "They're coming," he wheezed.

Moments later, because of her adrenaline high, Amber heard running footsteps over the flames and shouting and sobbing.

"How many of you are up there?" a man's voice called. Amber thought she recognised it, but her locked brain wouldn't let her figure out who it was.

"There are three of us," she heard Josh shout back. "We can't get out, the staircase is blocked with fire!"

"I'll come and get you," said whoever was out there. Amber could hear the conviction in his voice, and for a second, she knew she would be safe. And then she remembered she was in the middle of a house fire and was about to let some poor stranger risk their lives to attempt of save her.

"No don't!" she yelled out to the figure in the garden. "It's too dangerous, the whole ground floor is probably in flames by now."

Whoever the person was, he was either very brave or very stupid, because he didn't listen to Amber's warning, and dove straight in through the still open front door.

Only a few seconds later, she saw the same figure emerging through the bedroom door, dusted with smoke.

"Come on," he said strongly. "You have to go."

"We can't, the only way out is the window and it's-"

"I'll get you out," said the man. "Come on, now."

The next thing Amber knew, she was being lifted of the ground, and when she opened her eyes, was outside lying on the grass. Looking around, she saw Eva and Josh to her sides, also on the ground looking bewildered.

"How did you...?" she asked confusedly.

"I carried you out," said the boy. Now they were outside, Amber could see their saviour more clearly by the light of the flames, which were devouring their way through Eva's home.

But she knew this figure, even though it was definitely strange that he should be here, it was-

"Matthew Pryer? What are you doing here?"

"You mean, besides saving your life?" he asked shortly.

Out in the distance, Amber could hear blaring sirens coming closer and closer.

"How did you know we needed help?" she said.

"Well, I saw that guy," he pointed at Josh, "With his head sticking out of a second story window yelling into the night, so I thought there was probably some bad stuff going down, and here I am."

"How did you get us out so fast?" Amber asked.

"I didn't."

"Yeah, you did. It was like one second we were in the bedroom and the next moment we were out here."

"You fainted Amber," said Matthew.

"No, I didn't," she said awkwardly. Amber had passed out before, and she knew it resulted in her feeling nauseous and having a headache.

"Yes you did, I took one step towards you and you started to keel over, it's lucky I managed to catch you before you hit your head," Matthew said quietly. It was almost as though he didn't want Eva or Josh to hear, but Amber thought she must be mistaken in thinking that, because it was senseless.

She sat and looked at the flames for a while, which were somehow calming after what had just happened, like it almost satisfied her that they had failed in trying to kill her and her friends. The flickering orange lights in the darkness were sort of hypnotic.

"I don't think I fainted," she said suddenly.

"You fainted, and when you woke up, I'd already managed to get you out here," said Matthew, and looked deep into Amber's eyes with his own startlingly blue ones. For some reason, she story sounded more believable after he said it, like hearing the words made it click somewhere in the back of her brain. She fainted, she woke up, Matthew Pryer had saved her. It was simple.

All this time, Amber had been gazing into those sapphire blue eyes aimlessly. She realised what she was doing and quickly looked back at the flames, which were growing less calming. All the adrenaline in her system was filtering away, leaving Amber back in her normal mind-a mind that was very much afraid of what had just happened, which was stupid, she told herself, because she wasn't in any danger any more.

She could hear the sirens now, no more than a street away, any second now a great big fire truck would be pulling up beside them, trying to extinguish the now vast, roaring flames.

She sat on the wet ground, hugging her knees. No one spoke. Amber could feel herself shaking, but she couldn't stop it, no matter how hard she tried. Her brain kept on flashing back to images of the fire, which she didn't even realise she'd had time to process in her panic-stricken state.

Someone sat down beside her and laid a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"Amber," said Matthew. "I have to go, but I want you to do me a favour."

"Huh?" she said. She was very tired; it was hard to concentrate on what he was saying to her. The whole thing seemed so complicated to her right now.

"When you get home, I want you to go to the cupboard, Amber listen to me," he said, for Amber had started to waver on the spot. "I want you to go to the cupboard and find the most sugary food you can-marshmallows, chocolate, whatever-and eat it. Eat lots of it. Don't be all girly and go thinking about getting fat, it's for medicinal purposes. Promise me you'll do that?"

Amber nodded. She could feel herself drifting out of consciousness, and apparently it was fairly obvious how she was feeling because Matthew laid her head back on something soft on the ground. The last thing she was aware of was him saying to one of the others with her that they needed to look after her. Then he was gone, and mentally so was she.

The next thing Amber was aware of, was waking up in the own bedroom, wrapped in duvets, with a glass of water next to her on the bedside table. She had some recollection of a traumatic dream, but she didn't try to remember it; it if was traumatic, why should she want to know what it was?

She sat up and lifted the water. She was very thirsty. Upon taking a sip though, she realised that she didn't want this water; it tasted awful, like someone had put sugar in it. It seemed like a strange thing to do, putting sugar into a glass of water.

Sugar. There had been something about sugar in her dream; someone had told her she needed to have lots of it. That was a strange coincidence, she thought.

She looked around the pale blue walls of her room. They were like soft, flowing water. Amber remembered water...

She remembered.

It hadn't been a dream. There was a fire, Eva's house had been on fire. Someone else was there too...John...no, that didn't sound right. Josh. Josh had been there. And Matthew Pryer. He had saved them.

But then he had left. Amber distinctly remembered him leaving, as clearly as every single other moment of the previous night, which was too define for her liking. It was like watching television reruns in her head, but she'd lost the remote and couldn't change the channel, so she had to watch the same thing over and over again, one image.

The fire.

Amber could remember feeling almost ok when it was happening, because her mind didn't seem to have processed what was going on. But now that the event was over, her whole head was free to play back everything that had happened, which it was doing repetitively.

Amber still felt slightly sick, and Matthew had said to eat lots of sugary food to make her feel better. She didn't see how eating sickening foods was going to make her less sick, but he did save her life, so maybe his advice was worth trying.

Amber slowly swung her feet onto the floor and walked downstairs to the kitchen, where she found her mother in the middle of a phone conversation.

"Yes, they say they were very lucky to have gotten out...yes I'm just so glad everyone was safe...oh, Amber, you're awake," she said when she saw her daughter standing there. "Can I call you back?" she said to the person on the phone. "How are you feeling sweetheart?"

"Bad," said Amber quietly.

"I'm just so glad that you're all right, you could have been really hurt, are you sure you're okay?" she surveyed her daughter over the kitchen counter, on which Amber was leaning heavily to keep her standing.

"I'm fine mum, honestly," she said. "Do we have any chocolate?"

"Chocolate? You can't be eating chocolate, after what you've been through you need some proper food, I'll make you a cooked breakfast if you like."

"No, really I'm supposed to have something sugary," Amber insisted.

"Said who?" her mum asked.

"Matthew Pryer told me," she said.

"Who?"

"Matthew Pryer, you know, the boy who got us out of the house?" Amber said.

"Amber honey, no one helped you out of the house, when the fire brigade arrived they found the three of you on the grass outside. You had fainted and the other two were in shock. There was no one else there."

"Mum, Matthew Pryer was there, trust me," she said. She was feeling too sick to argue; it would really make her life easier if her mum would just give up and hand over the chocolate for once.

"If this Matthew person saved you, why wasn't he there when the fire brigade showed up?" her mum asked stubbornly.

"He said he had to go," Amber muttered. "He only left a few seconds before the fire engines arrived." She really needed some food now, so started shuffling towards the cupboard herself.

"Why don't you go and sit down, I'll get you some sugary food," her mum said. "I think we need to talk about what happened last night. The doctor's going to come round later to make sure you're okay."

Amber had the impression that her mother though she had imagined seeing Matthew Pryer in the garden, which she knew she hadn't, because she could clearly remember every single thing that had happened last night, and that included everyone that had been there, and exactly who had come to save them. She doubted anyone would want to keep quiet about saving the lives of three people, so Matthew would probably come out with it himself later, and then she would prove to her mother that she had been right.

Amber ate liberal amounts of chocolate and biscuits that morning, as well as several glasses of lemonade and an ice bun from the bakers that her mum bought her for 'being so brave'. Amber didn't feel brave; Matthew Pryer had been the brave one, walking into a burning building to save them. She would have to thank him next time she saw him.

Eating all the sweet stuff did help stop Amber feeling sick, but then as she continued eating it feeling better peaked and she started to feel sick again. It was at the point when she finished her second bar of chocolate that she resigned to the sofa guiltily. She would usually have done some exercise, or at least gone for a walk, but today he figured she had a good excuse to sit around and do nothing.

Her mum, who had taken the day off work to be with Amber, sat down on the sofa and together they watched film after film after film.

"Right," said her mum when the fourth lot of credits started rolling across the screen. "I'm not letting you mope around the house all day, so come on, up you get."

"I don't want to," said Amber. "I don't want to go anywhere."

"Yes, you do, you just don't know it yet. Come on, up." Her mum lifted the blankets of Amber, and opened the curtains to let in as much light as possible.

Amber groaned.

"Go and get dressed, and I'll take you out for a drink and some food, okay."

Amber groaned again.

"I know you don't like the sound of it now, but trust me, the walk will do you good."

With a lot of moaning and grumbling under her breath, Amber reluctantly stood up and trudged out of the room and up to her bedroom.

The first thing she did was make her bed; to anyone else, making their beds would be quite low down on the list of priorities after being in a house fire, but Amber was nothing if not neat, and having a messy bedroom would stop her from being able to think clearly.

Next, she went to her small wooden wardrobe in the corner of the room and opened the double doors. Amber liked clothes, which was probably why she had so many of them. She picked out a pair of jeans and a grey jumper with a pair of boots. It was cold outside, and Amber had noticed she was more sensitive to the temperature than she had been before, so she also thought to put on a cool green hat with what she was wearing.

She then went into the bathroom so she could have a look at her reflection for the first time since the fire. Her hair looked blackened in places and white in others, and she could see near her hairline where someone had tried to clean her face of all the soot, but had left a thin black rim around her face where the clothe had not reached. Her entire appearance looked generally awful. Her skin itself seemed to have taken on some of the grey of the smoke, and even her expression was hopeless. She decided she was going to have to take a shower before she went anywhere.

Hot water helps. It's true. As the soothing droplets soaked her body and hair, Amber tried to look to the future instead of remembering the past. She thought about how her and Matthew Pryer may end up being friends after all that had happened, and she thought about meeting up with Will, whom she had gotten much closer to since he had first kissed her. He was like her best friends, but he was romantic as well, and at the same time he was always cracking jokes or explaining to Amber everything she needed to know for her next homework assignment. She remembered with a shock that she was meant to be meeting up with him today, but she'd forgotten in the rush of everything that had been going on. When she got out of the shower, she thought, she would have to ring him and apologise.

So Amber climbed out of the jet of steaming water, got redressed and picked up the phone that was on the table by her bed. She keyed in Will's number and pressed the dial button.

The phone didn't even ring; just went straight to answer machine. Amber hoped he wasn't annoyed that she'd stood him up. She knew he would understand once she explained, in fact, he'd probably end up insisting on taking her to the park and forcing her onto the swings to cheer her up, which though she would pretend it didn't, would actually have her laughing happily after a couple of minutes.

She tried to ring him once more, but it went through to answer phone again, so she left a message saying that she was really sorry and that she would explain everything another time, and that he should come over to see her tomorrow. Will always came to her; she'd never even seen his house. Actually, she wasn't exactly sure which one it was, which wasn't very reassuring.

"Come on Amber," her mum shouted up the stairs. "The café will be closed soon."

Though Amber highly doubted the café would be closed (it was only just pat lunchtime) she jogged lightly down the stairs into the hall.

"You look better," her mum said.

"Thank you," Amber replied. "If you're making me go out now, does that mean I can do nothing once we get back?"

"Not necessarily."

"Well tough, because I'm telling you now, once we get back I'm going to lie down on the sofa and watch Romeo and Juliet.|

"Romeo and Juliet?" her mother repeated. "I didn't think you were that cultured."

"Charming," said Amber. "I'll have you know it is now one of my favourite films."

"Well that's great," said her mum, putting her arm around her shoulder. "I'm just impressed you can understand it; I always thought Shakespeare was like a foreign language."

Amber left the house with her spirits lifted the highest they had been all day, but the further they walked, the more the dropped again.

"Everyone's staring," she muttered.

"They can't be," her mum replied. "No one's going to know about what happened, it was only last night."

"They're looking at me, mum," said Amber. If there was anything she hated, that made her feel insecure and angry and upset, it was people staring at her. She had learnt to tell a lot from a look since her dad had been arrested. Some quick glances are just to acknowledge that there's somebody there, and then there are stares that are admiring, or pitiful, but most people just looked at Amber judgingly, which was worse than anything else. Having people staring at her just reminded her of being back at Polegate, being the daughter of the murderer that nobody wanted to sit next to at lunch. She couldn't bare it.

"Can we go home?" she asked.

"Come on Amber, we've come so far," said her mum. "It's just round the corner, and then you'll be inside and no one will be able to see you. Besides, I doubt they're staring at you because of the fire, I mean, I don't even know how anyone could know about that yet, it only happened a few hours ago. Maybe you're just noticing people looking at you more than usual because you're expecting it."

"I'm no paranoid," she said. "I've had plenty of experience of people staring at me, thanks to dad."

"Please can we not talk about your father," said her mum, who felt the same way towards Amber's father as Amber felt herself. "Today's bad enough without bringing him into the conversation."

It had become almost a rule to avoid mentioning Amber's father since he had been taken away. Amber didn't miss him; she couldn't after what he did.

So they didn't talk about him, and instead moved onto movie reviews and news stories and pointless things that didn't matter, because it kept the conversation flowing, and away from the 'D' word.

"So tell me more about Will," said her mum as they took a seat at one of the two tables in the tiny café.

"There's nothing much to tell," Amber said. She didn't like talking about boys with her parents; she liked her private life private.

"Do I get to meet him?"

"No."

"What about this Matthew Pryer who you were talking about earlier?"

"Oh, so you believe me now do you?" Amber asked and folded her arms.

"It wasn't that I didn't believe you, I just don't think it's possible that anyone else was at the house Amber," her mum explained.

"He was there! I'll ask Eva, and she'll remember, then will you believe me?"

"I told you, I do believe you, but you went through a lot last night, and you always hear stories about shock causing people to see things."

"I'll prove it to you," Amber promised.

But she couldn't. On Monday, when she went back to school, and asked Eva about that night, Eva denied seeing anyone else apart from the three of them.

"I don't remember anyone being there," she said. "Especially Matthew Pryer. Don't you think it's unlikely that he would be on my street in the middle of the night and just happened to be the only person to see us and come to help?"

So what do you think happened?" Amber asked.

"I think you must have gotten us out somehow, but the shock of it all stopped you remembering."

"Well, I think you're wrong."

"I spoke to Josh yesterday, and he didn't say anything either. Honestly Amber, I just think you don't realise what a hero you are."

Amber didn't believe it, because she knew, she knew that it was Matthew Pryer who had saved them, and she was going to prove it. She'd talk to him herself.

It took Amber fifty-seven minutes to track down Matthew Pryer, which she thought was ridiculous; the school really wasn't that big. However, she did find him, outside the maths block on his way down to PE.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi."

"I just wanted to say thank you."

"Thank you?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah, you know...for saving my life?" Amber was really hoping that she was right, because there was not a flicker of recognition on Matthew's face.

"Oh, that," he said.

"You did, I knew it," Amber couldn't help saying aloud, then continued when Matthew gave her a puzzled look. "Eva couldn't remember you, and my mum didn't believe me."

"Oh, alright."

"Why do you think that is?" she asked.

"Why what is?"

"It's just, and I don't mean this in an offensive way, but weird stuff just seems to happen around you...sorry, that sounded offensive, didn't it?"

"Yes," he said. "And seen as no one's ever made that observation before, maybe it's you that has weird things happening around them," he turned around to go.

"Then how come Eva and Josh can't remember you saving them?" she shouted.

"I don't know," he sighed, and Amber thought he sounded unreasonably exasperated. "It could be anything, shock probably, so can I go now?"

"Yes, sorry," she said. "And thank you again.

Matthew turned his back and walked quickly away, leaving Amber alone in the middle of the pavement.

As she drifted to sleep that night, thinking of how annoying Matthew Pryer was, a boy with hair the colour of midnight and sapphire blue eyes was running for his life from a monster beyond any dream Amber's mind could conjure up.
Chapter 5

Amber woke up early the next morning with the significant feeling that she had had a nightmare, but didn't have a clue what it was about. She supposed it must have been one of those dreams that disappear the moment you open your eyes, and disregarded it to get ready for school.

She was washed, dressed and had eaten breakfast in no time, and it was only when she went to put her empty bowl in the kitchen sink that she saw the clock. It was only seven-thirty, she was usually only waking up right now, and she wouldn't normally leave the house for at least another forty-five minutes.

Still, Amber was ready to go, and as the buses ran every fifteen minutes from her house, she thought she'd get in early and get a head start on her History revision, of which she'd done, well, none.

It was a whole new world at seven-thirty. The streets were quieter, the pavements were cleaner, and the only noise seemed to be the clicking of the paperboy's bicycle wheels and the tweeting of the occasional bird. The sun gave off a different light at this time, like it wanted to welcome all those who were out and about early. Amber was only one of three on her bus, and after picking the best seat, she sat with her feet up and her head against the window for the entire journey. IT was the best start to a day she'd had in a long time.

When she got off the bus, Amber headed straight to school, and the school library. She had never liked libraries; all those books under one roof, it just didn't seem natural. And they smelt funny, like musty paper. But, she figured that the library would probably be the best place to fit in some Darren-free revision. Of all the people Amber had ever met, Darren was the most distracting, and annoying.

Amber soon found that even if you think you're in a place where you can't possibly get distracted, something will come along and prove you wrong. For Amber, it was many things, like the birds that kept flying annoyingly loudly past the window, or the students stomping along on the plush carpet.

She just couldn't focus, and it didn't help that her brain was fogged up with all her worries about what people were going to be saying this morning while she walked down the corridors, pretending to ignore them. She had heard them whispering yesterday, about the fire. From what she could tell, people were suspicious about how it had started. Hannah had mentioned something about a year eleven taking bets that it was Josh, and that he was even giving outside odds on it being Eva herself. Amber hadn't asked what the odds were that she had started it. She knew the truth, or at least thought she did. She had put the popcorn on, told Eva to take it off the pan as she left the house, advice which Eva then ignored, and when Amber had gotten back, she'd found all the fire and smoke. Her eyes glazed over for a moment as she remembered walking in on that scene.

If one thing was true now though, she could no longer hate Matthew Pryer. Even though he was rude and abrupt a lot of the time for no reason, she owed him her life, and was duty bound to repay him by being as nice as possible whenever she saw him, and not get angry if he acted like he always did and tried to get away as soon as possible.

Amber sighed and got up. There was no point even trying to study, because all she was doing was sitting there thinking over her life. It may have been reflecting and poetic, but she had better stuff to do and, thanks to her wondering mind, less time to do it in.

She walked quickly back out of the library and towards the big concrete staircase that took her to the main corridor. Just as Amber put her foot on the first step, her phone started vibrating. She pulled it out and saw a text from Will, asking her what was wrong, and telling her that he'd meet up with her after school to talk. She started keying in a reply, but she wasn't watching where she was going, and before she knew it her foot was slipping off the step and her body was flying through the air.

In that second, Amber knew how much it was going to hurt when her body crashed onto the sharp edge of the concrete, and a second later, she realised that the fall was delayed, she should have hit the staircase by now, and a second later, she realised the staircase was gone, replaced by green mossy grass. Maybe she was dreaming, because only in dreams did scenery change so quickly and seamlessly that you don't realise until you look down and see a different seen streaming beneath you.

And then Amber stopped moving.

Her surroundings were familiar, though not the perspective, which was looking up from the ground though some branches of shrubbery. It was the school pitch, on the other side of the school grounds. Amber had gotten to the other side of the school grounds in a couple of seconds, and she didn't even know how. She'd seen in movies that people could gain super-human abilities, but she didn't think that covered it.

A twig snapped behind her.

She spun around, and saw the familiar figure of Matthew Pryer. Actually, it was Matthew Pryer's back, which was also becoming quite familiar, as she watched him walking away.

"What...happened?" she asked.

Matthew stopped and turned around.

"You fell," he said.

"No," Amber breathed.

"No you didn't fall?" he asked.

"Well yes, I did fall, but not here, I fell by the library, that's at the other end of school."

Matthew looked at her for a moment with judging, calculating eyes.

"You fell here," he said.

"No, I didn't."

"Yes you did Amber, I was just getting into school and I saw you swaying, and then you fell. It was lucky I managed to catch you, you could have done some serious damage to yourself."

"But, I remember-"

"I think you had low blood sugar," he went on. "I told you to stock up on the chocolate."

"Matthew, I know I didn't pass out here, I was in the library, and I was just heading back to the form room when I slipped and I fell down the stairs, and then the next thing I knew I was here, and you're telling me all these lies about feinting and I know they aren't true, so why are you lying?" Amber said very quietly and very quickly, without even taking a breath. She would have been impressed if Matthew managed to follow it all.

"I have to go Amber," he said. "I have to get to class, but I think you should go to the nurse and get yourself checked up, there's obviously something wrong. Maybe you hit your head when you got out of the fire the other day."

He walked past her and off towards the Art block, leaving Amber to pick herself up and brush the dirt off her skirt, which had now got a tear at the bottom of it.

That was twice Matthew Pryer had saved her now, even though he wouldn't admit to what really happened. A tiny part of Amber's mind, the part at the back that nagged away at her, was afraid that what he was saying was true, and that she had something wrong with her and was seeing things that weren't really there. Thankfully, this was the part if her brain Amber never listened to. The other part was telling her to find a way to prove to herself, and to Matthew if he continued to be so stubborn, that she was right and he was wrong, and she would do it.

Amber was late for art class, but she managed to sneak in while Mr Grady's back was turned into a seat beside Hannah, so she avoided a detention.

"Hi," Hannah whispered. "How are you?"

"I'm...better," Amber murmured back. "Things are getting better."

"What happened to your skirt?"

Amber sighed.

She told Hannah that she had fallen, which was true even if Matthew Pryer's version of events was correct. She left out any mention of him. Even if she did say about Matthew being there, she didn't know what she could say. If she told what she thought was the truth, Hannah would think she had some sort of mental illness, and if she told her Matthew's version of events, Hannah would think she had some sort of mental illness. It was what Will would call a lose-lose situation.

Mr Grady set them all off to work, but as it didn't take much concentration to draw an apple, the whole class was able to talk freely. Darren came up to their desk under the pretence of getting a pencil.

"Hey, Amber?" he asked.

"Hmmm?" was Amber's response. She made a note that if Matthew Pryer ever started saying she had some strange mental illness, she would have to start talking with real words.

"Well, I wanted to ask...I was just..." he started. "I'm going into town tomorrow and I was wondering if you wanted-"

"Hi," Matthew swept in. Though he probably didn't realise it, that was the third time he'd saved Amber. He was becoming quite useful actually.

Darren tried to lean around him to speak to her, but every movement he made was mirrored so perfectly that there might as well have been a wall between them. Eventually Darren gave up and went to stand by one of his other friends, who Amber thought was called Jake.

"Thanks for that," she said sourly to Matthew. Though she knew she owed him, she couldn't help but be a little annoyed, and in all fairness, he had called her senile. And he had swanned off without her earlier, again.

"Come on, relax," he stretched and leant against the desk with one hand.

"If you think you're coming over here for the good conversation, you're wrong because I'm not planning on talking to you," said Amber.

"Ok firstly, you just did," Matthew stated. "And secondly, I saved your life-you're welcome by the way."

"So you admit it," said Amber quickly, sweeping in on the gap she saw.

"Admit what?"

"That you did something this morning when I fell down the library stairs."

"Actually, I was referring to the fire, and event that actually happened-"

"Me falling down the staircase happened!" she cut in loudly. A few people nearby looked at her strangely. She was becoming paranoid that a rumour questioning her sanity would be all too believable.

"Amber, I told you, it didn't," he said in a convincingly worried voice.

"Why are you lying?" Amber asked frankly.

"I'm not."

"You are."

"Why would I lie?" he asked.

"I don't know, you tell me seeing as it's you who's doing it."

"Amber, just drop it," he said and went back to his own desk. And for once, because of the tone in his voice as he had said it, Amber did as she was told.

Next thing anyone knew, the bell was ringing and it was lunchtime, with another two lessons blown away in what seemed like no time.

Amber picked up a sandwich and a bottle of water, and went to join Eva at her table. Eva had seemed distant since the fire, and Amber thought it had affected her more than it had affected herself, but she still always sat with Eva at lunch, as did lots people, though most only did it because they thought it would make them more popular.

"Aren't you hungry?" asked a girl called Katy as Amber picked at her sandwich. She hadn't really talked to this girl much, but everyone else seemed to like her. She wore a velvet green ribbon in her long black hair; the shade of the ribbon matched her sparkling oblique eyes.

"Not really," Amber told her. She hadn't had much of an appetite all day since her run in with Matthew Pryer. The worst part was that Matthew's version of the story made so much more sense than what she saw, or what she thought she saw.

The people around the table sat and chatted about homework, and an English essay she'd already completed. Amber sat quietly and drank her water.

Sports was next. Amber liked sports, she did, but she was terrible at it, and because she was so bad at it, it meant that she spent the whole hour feeling self-conscious that whatever she was doing she was doing wrong, or that she was about to give the ball away stupidly, or that the PE teacher was watching everything she was doing. She dragged her feet half-heartedly towards the changing rooms. It was raining again.

"Good afternoon everyone," called Coach Fisher, a rather ferocious looking woman with a wide forehead thin lips, once the class had gathered.

"Good afternoon, Coach Fisher," echoes the class. They sounded about as enthusiastic as Amber felt.

"Ok, so today girls have hockey out on the pitch with me. The boys are in the sports hall for basketball." Amber had never been in a separated sports class before; in her old school, there hadn't been enough people to make up two classes for anything. To her it didn't really make sense to split up the lesson based on gender, seen as people were always complaining about equality among the sexes and everything.

"Let's go!" Coach Fisher shouted.

Amber lifted a hockey stick and headed onto the pitch with Eva, who was little miss sporty with her hair tied up in a ponytail, all ready to go.

When they got out on the pitch, Coach Fisher decided it would be a good idea to put Amber as team captain, seen as she'd never seen her play before. Amber did not like this idea, and seemingly neither did Eva, who had gotten used to being team captain.

Amber was forced to take the first centre pass, which was one of the few things she was actually capable of, because she only had to hit the ball about a meter to Eva, who was waiting, stick held ready. The moment Coach Fisher blew the whistle, Amber slapped the ball with her hockey stick, and ran backwards to the side of the pitch, where she wouldn't have to be passed to, and wouldn't have to defend against anyone. She wouldn't usually have minded attempting to join in the game, but people at this school seemed to be so much more competitive than she was used to.

"Get the ball Amber!" Coach Fisher shouted from across the field. Coach Fisher was the kind of woman who you did not want to object to, for fear of your own life, so Amber jogged downfield towards a larger crowd of players.

Spits of rain was starting for fall on the game, and Amber's boots squelched in the mud as she moved about, trying to look like she was watching for the ball. Somewhere out in the distance, a peal of thunder echoed.

That was when Amber stopped. It wasn't because the thunder scared her, or because she was too tired and muddy to move any further; at the edge of the pitch, half hidden by the large thick-leafed shrubbery, was a girl Amber did not recognise. Her face was ghostly pale, white like snow, but it did not shine in the way snow did. She couldn't be much older than Amber, and was definitely no taller. Her most defining feature was her black hair, which was so dark it seemed to absorb the light around it, and caused this girl's face to appear even paler. It was strange, usually she would have given this figure a glance and moved on with the game, but this girl held her stare, and Amber found herself incapable of breaking away. Anything could be happening in the game, and she wouldn't even be aware of it.

And even though Amber definitely did not know this girl, this girl seemed to know Amber, with the gut-wrenching stares she was giving her, that made Amber feel like a small, very powerless child. Not once in all this time had the girl moved, not even to blink her midnight eyes, or twitch her pale hand. She just stood there, motionless, staring at Amber. But there was something about this girl, something recognisable, something that reminded Amber very much of-

"Amber, LOOK OUT!"

Thud.

The next thing she was aware of was the fuzzy vision of half a dozen pairs of eyes staring down at her, and a voice that sounded very distant shouting, "Make way, let me through-move Casey."

Things went very dark again.

Amber woke up little over an hour later in the dingy nurse's office feeling like a small elephant was standing on her head, and every movement Amber made appeared to cause that Amber to take several, crashing footsteps that resounded around her brain.

When she saw her trying to sit up, the silver-haired Nurse Genete came bustling over with a large glass of water and a box of pink tablets.

"Take on of these," she said, hand Amber the tablets and the water. "It should help any pain you may have."

"Thanks," Amber said. It sounded as though she was speaking through a megaphone, underwater, wearing a snorkel. The elephant in Amber's head pounded harder.

"What...happened?" she asked confusedly.

The whole day was fuzzy; Amber couldn't even remember what she'd had for breakfast.

"You were hit in the head by a hockey ball," said the nurse. "I don't know what they teach you these days, when I was at school, we all had good reactions-if a hockey ball came flying at our heads, we ducked. Be sure to drink the water, dear."

Amber took one large sip of the icy water. "Also, you're going to be getting a bad headache for a while, so when you get home take some painkillers, or you're going to be hurting a lot."

"When can I go home?" Amber asked, looking at the big clock above the door. It was only fifteen minutes until final bell.

"Well, how do you feel?" asked the nurse. She had a kind, smiling face. Amber assessed the thumping in her head, and tried to tilt it from side to side, which gave her brief spells of dizziness. She disregarded it; she didn't want to spend all afternoon in the nurse's office.

"I'm fine," she lied, hoping to get out of school early so she could avoid the rushing crowds when the bell rang.

"Well, as long as you feel alright I'll let you go when you finish off your water. Just be absolutely certain to take some aspirin before you go to bed."

Nurse Genete stood up and walked to her desk, from which she picked up a crisp piece of paper, which she handed to Amber.

"I need you to ask your mother to sign this, it's just to let her know what happened, and that you should be taken to hospital if you show any signs of concussion."

"Concussion?" Amber echoed.

"Don't worry, it's only a precaution, you'll be fine," said the woman, helping Amber up off the sinking bed.

"Thank you," Amber said, using the table as a support to stand up, stumbled towards a white door.

"Oh, dear, that's thee store cupboard," said the nurse.

"Oh, right," Amber said, and turned back around to the correct door, which was actually painted blue. She thought she should have noticed the colour change.

Despite the ten-minute head start she got on everyone else, Amber still scarcely made it to the bus before it pulled off. She had lost about eight minutes staggering around in the corridors and pausing to take breathes. Everything seemed to take longer when she couldn't walk in a straight line.

"Hi," she said to Hannah, who jumped at her friend's sudden appearance.

"Hi," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm-" Amber, who had been sidestepping into her place, came over dizzy and fell onto the seat.

"Woah," Hannah said. "That ball must have hit you really hard."

"Whoever hit it must be really strong," Amber muttered, clutching her head, which was pounding yet again.

"Well actually...it was me who hit it," Hannah admitted awkwardly. "I didn't mean to," she gushed. "I was aiming for the goal, and I thought it was going to go in but then it was just like it turned around and headed for you, and you didn't look like you were paying attention, and everyone was shouting but you must not have heard because you didn't turn around, and it smacked into the side of your head. If you had been paying attention, it wouldn't have hit you-sorry, that came out wrong. What were you looking at?"

"I...don't remember," Amber said. "Something in the bush, a cat maybe? Or a rabbit?"

"An animal?" Hannah asked loudly. The old woman opposite them looked around. "Sorry," Hannah whispered to her, and continued. "You let the ball hit you because you were too busy looking at an animal?"

"I said it could have been an animal, I don't know what I was doing. It's too late now anyway, the damage is done," Amber said, just as the bus turned up her street. "Anyway, I'll see you later."

"Bye," said Hannah as the other girl climbed precariously out of her seat and walked unsteadily to the doors.

The wind was really starting to blow outside, and Amber thought it looked like there was going to be a thunderstorm tonight. Just as the words crossed her mind, it started to spit with rain. She sighed and unzipped her schoolbag to extract her black raincoat. It wasn't easy to get it out from the mess of books, at the same time as holding her bag so it didn't get muddy on the ground. She finally managed to get the coat clear out, but her grip on it wasn't very tight. Big mistake. A sudden gust of wind howled down the street and ripped the coat from her hand. So now Amber had a saw head, damaged pride, and no coat. And it was raining buckets.

She hunched her shoulders and ran as quickly as she cold without causing herself more pain in the direction of her house.

Before Amber could cross the road far enough to see her front door however, a familiar face smiled to her from the pavement and beckoned her over. It was Will.

"What's wrong with you?" was the first thing he said.

"A hockey ball hit me in the head," Amber mumbled. "It hurt."

For a split second, she thought she saw a tint of anger in Will's eyes, but then he smiled sympathetically and said, "Yeah, it probably would have been a good idea to duck when you saw a great heavy ball sailing towards you."

"I didn't see it. I wasn't watching."

"Valuable life lesson," he said cheerfully. "Never turn your back on your opponent."

"Well aren't you insightful," Amber said sardonically.

"Well, I didn't let a hockey ball give me a concussion, so I think I have a right to be insightful."

"Oh, I forgot to apologise for standing you up the other day, I have a really good reason, I promise-"

"You were recovering from being in a house fire, which you seem to have done very well by the way."

"How did you know?" she asked.

"Well, I would say something cute like we're just so in tune I can tell what you're thinking, but actually I think everyone in a ten mile radius knows about you surviving that fire to be honest. So you're forgiven."

"Thank you," said Amber.

"So, I was going to ask you if you wanted to go and get something to eat, but you look like you might pass out, so why don't we just go and get you an ice pack for your head instead?" he asked, and took Amber's school bag for her.

"That sounds like a very good idea," she said, and continued to stagger down the street with the support of Will's shoulder.

"So you and Matthew are friends now?" he asked about an hour later, after Amber had explained the days going on.

"No," she said after thinking about it for a minute.

"I would have thought you owed him; he did kind of save your life."

"Yes, but then he implied that I was ever so slightly losing my mind, so we aren't friends any more," she said stubbornly.

"I'm sure you'll forgive him," Will said, with the manner of explaining something very simple to a very problematic child.

"Only if he says sorry first."

"And you really think you fell down the stairs?"

"Yes Will," she said. "I got your text and then I was sending a reply and I slipped. Then, I don't know, Matthew Pryer must have caught me. I don't know how I ended up at the other end of school, but I know that I did. You do believe me, don't you?"

Will looked at her with his kind eyes for a moment.

"Yes, I believe you," he sighed. "You're day must have really sucked."

"Well, I've fallen down a big flight of stairs, got a concussion from a hockey ball, and now I've got no coat. They say bad things happen in threes, so I'm hoping I'll be alright now."
Chapter 6

The lead up to Christmas had always been Amber's favourite time of year. Cheesy movies played on the TV, beautiful displays filled shop windows, snowball fights broke out at regular intervals, and people were generally happier.

The first snowfall came on November 29th, and Amber had to lock herself in the bathrooms to avoid being ambushed by Darren and his group of snowballers. He had tried to persuade Hannah to go in and drop a snowball on Amber's head, but she wouldn't be convinced and Darren couldn't reach her in the girl's bathroom. Amber had thought she had been quite clever for hiding in there.

By December 2nd, the school was filled with gold streamers and bells of mistletoe and holly. Darren had tried to corner Amber one afternoon under the mistletoe, and she had only just escaped by saying that she had an assignment to hand in. Darren was certainly improving Amber's ability to think under pressure.

"What are you wearing to the Christmas dance?" asked Eva on the way to lunch one day.

"What Christmas dance?" asked Amber, while her mind chanted, please, please, please no. Dances had never been Amber's scene; she did not enjoy throwing herself around the room, trying not to look like an absolute idiot as she 'danced' while half a dozen people, several of which would be in heels, stood on her feet. She strongly disliked dances.

"The one that's being advertised all over school," Eva said in the manner that some one might explain that vegetables are good for you to a two-year-old.

"Ugh!" Amber moaned, "I suppose that there's nothing I can say that will stop you dragging me to it," she sighed.

"You would be correct," Eva beamed.

"Ugh," she said again.

"And you're also coming shopping with us tomorrow."

"But-"

"You need a dress for the dance," Eva cut in fiercely. Amber decided it would be pointless to argue when she was bound to lose.

So, Wednesday afternoon saw her catching the bus with Hannah and Eva into the centre of town. Hannah hadn't really been sure about coming, but Amber had talked her into it, and now all three of them were going back to her house afterwards. Amber had always enjoyed shopping, if she had the right company. Tonight, Eva droning on and on about the dance, was not the right company.

"What's the plan?" she asked dejectedly as the three of the hopped off the bus.

"I thought we could shop and then get some food," said Eva, taking charge. Amber was beginning to wish Eva was slightly less over-confident again. She wasn't even sure how much she liked the girl now; she'd never liked people who ordered everyone around.

However, Amber listened to her, and they headed off to the first of a long list of shops that Eva had planned out for them. She realised as they journeyed around the big main streets and tiny alleyways of the city, passing boutique after boutique, that it was going to be a long night.

"So who are you going to the dance with?" Hannah asked discreetly whilst Eva tried on a pair of high, green shoes.

"We're meant to have a date?" Amber whispered incredulously.

"Well yeah, it is a dance. If you haven't asked anyone yet then I'm sure Darren would go with you." The only thing that could make the dance worse than it was already going to be would be going with Darren. Amber couldn't understand why he wouldn't just move on already. She would rather go alone, which was, she realised, the most likely possibility seen as she couldn't think of anyone else who would be willing to go with her. Unless-

"Are we allowed to bring people from other schools?"

"Not really, no. Something to do with health and safety and risk assessments. They don't let anyone who's not from the school into the building"

Amber sighed. She had thought she would be able to go with Will, though of course he didn't go to the school, and so would not be allowed in.

"Who are you going with?" she asked, trying to turn the subject away from Darren.

"I don't know." It sounded like she was upset about something. "I don't really like anyone to be honest, and I don't care if I go on my own. I think that's probably what I'm going to do actually."

"Are you going on about what a lone wolf you are again?" Eva interrupted harshly. Amber looked between the two of them, hoping that they weren't going to start fighting, but Hannah wasn't the type to argue. No one really tended to argue with Eva anyway. "Just ask someone, for crying out loud! What's the worst that could happen?"

"I could end up with a total idiot, who I then have to spend my night with. If that happens, I'd rather stay at home."

"Who are you going with?" Amber asked Eva dubiously.

"I haven't decided yet. Sam asked me first, but Dylan's nicer. And I'll feel bad if I don't go with George after all the help-"

"Wait. You've got three dates? How the hell have you managed that?" Hannah asked.

"Four," she corrected smugly. "Alan asked me this morning."

Four?

"What do you think of this?" Hannah asked, holding up a strawberry-red knee-length dress.

"It won't suit you," said Eva, snatching the dress out of Hannah's hands and replacing it on the rail. Amber was really starting to get annoyed with Eva.

"Do you think these shoes go?" she asked after allot of um-ing and err-ing.

Amber wanted to say something to get back for all the mean things she'd said to Hannah, but thought better of it and just nodded quietly.

Finally, after hours of trying on dress after dress they headed for the café they where were going to have dinner, which Eva, of course, had chosen.

"Why don't you go to the dance with Matthew?" Hannah asked once they were sitting at a table and Eva had gone to the toilet. Amber was glad the other girl was out of earshot. She would have pushed her into answering all sorts of hideous questions. Hannah was just curious.

"I highly doubt that he would want to go with me," Amber said.

"Why don't you just ask him? You never know."

"I don't want to go with him Hannah," she said. "He's rude and obnoxious and he's been a real pain in the butt since the day I met him. So no, I'm not going with him."

"Ok, only asking," said Hannah, who clearly thought Amber had gotten far too worked up about the suggestion. Amber thought she had too, but she blamed Matthew Pryer for annoying her all the time; that must have been why she got so worked up at the sound of his name.

Eva trotted back to the table.

"Are we ready to go?" she asked, though it sounded more like she meant we're leaving.

Amber stuck the last piece of my jacket potato in her mouth and pulled out her purse. The waitress came bustling over at once.

"Was everything okay?"

"Yes thanks," Eva replied, putting on a warm, friendly visage frighteningly quickly. "Can we just pay please?"

"Of course."

Throwing her share of the bill down on the table, Amber got up and pulled on her jacket.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Aren't you going to the shoe shop with us?" Hannah asked, clearly not wanting to be left alone with Eva.

"I'm good," Amber said, holding up the heavy carrier bag that contained her outfit.

"Okay," Hannah mumbled reluctantly, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," Eva called, pushing Hannah out into the street.

Amber felt bad leaving Hannah with Eva, especially after she had been so nice to her, but she couldn't take any more shopping, or any more time with Eva.

It started raining as Amber headed to the bus stop, making her wish that she still had a rain coat. She was glad when she reached the bus shelter. Though it was only six-thirty, it was a dark outside, with the only light filtering through the windows of the rowdy bars that lined the high street. It still made Amber nervous to be alone on a night like this, and she wondered if she would ever get completely over what had happened at Eva's house that night.

It was so dark that she almost didn't notice the silhouette of something flapping in the wind beside her. Looking closer, she realised that it was a black raincoat just like the one that had blown away, pinned to the side of the bus shelter. Amber didn't make a habit of wearing anonymous clothes from the bus shelter, but she was freezing cold and soaking wet, and ever so slightly curious as to why a random raincoat happened to be pinned up on the corner of a bus shelter. She yanked it down from where it fluttered in the wind and inspected it. It really did look a lot like the coat she'd lost.

As she felt around the material, Amber came across a flat, rectangular shape protruding from one of the closed pockets. Reaching down, she pulled out a piece of crisp white paper, untouched by the rain, and unfolded it. Five words were written on it: Thought you might want this.

Before the words could take effect on Amber, the bus pulled around the corner and stopped in front of her, opening the doors for her to climb in. Without thinking about it, she brought along the raincoat; she could always bin it when she got home. The bus was completely deserted apart from an old lady with a tiny brown dog on her lap, a heavily built man with a shaved head, and at the back...Matthew Pryer.

He motioned for Amber to join him, and she moved without consciously realising to sit next to him on the back seat.

"What a coincidence, fancy seeing you here," he smiled, and Amber thought it looked as though he were referring to some kind of inside joke. If she was meant to understand it, she didn't.

"Yes, fancy that," Amber smiled back.

"Shopping?" he guessed.

Amber nodded. She was always so incoherent when she was with Matthew Pryer. Which was odd, because most of the time when she thought about him, it was with annoyance or even a tinge of anger.

"What about you?" she practically whispered; Amber was afraid that if she spoke any louder her voice would break.

"I had to pick up a few last minute things. For the dance, you know."

"You're going?" she gasped before she could stop herself.

Matthew laughed, "Is that alright with you?"

Amber nodded again silently. She thought it must seem she was incapable of stringing together a full sentence.

"So what did you get?" he asked curiously.

He was a good actor; for a moment Amber actually thought he was bothered about her trivial day-to-day information. But that was the wrong assumption, she told herself mentally, if he cared he might have bothered talking to her in the last few weeks.

"Stuff for the dance, like you," she said coolly, biting back some sort of comment as to why he always seemed to treat her with some kind of bi-polar state.

"Do I get to see?"

"Do you actually care?" Amber burst out angrily. "Or are you going to go back to ignoring me the second we get off this bus? Or maybe you'll just do a vanishing act and I won't see you for days."

So maybe she didn't quite manage to bite back her comment that time.

"Whoa!" he held up his hands in defence, "Vanishing act? Who do you think I am, Houdini? Why would I vanish?"

"It wouldn't be the first time," she murmured furiously.

Matthew placed a calming hand on her shoulder, and then quickly withdrew it again. Amber's skin tingled where his hand had been.

"I swear," he said, holding up his hand like people do when they pledge allegiance to the flag. "Not to vanish or ignore you again...if I can help it."

"Hmph," was the only response Amber could come up with. She couldn't help but notice the very large loophole that was 'if he could help it'.

"Now do I get to see what you got?" Matthew leaned forward expectantly.

"No," she said.

"Why not?"

"Because you wouldn't admit to me the truth about what happened that day I fell down the stairs."

"I told you, you-"

"Fainted, yes you did tell me. That doesn't make it true."

"Well, it is. Can you please just let sleeping dogs lie and leave what happened alone?"

"Can you please just tell me?"

"No."

"Fine then," said Amber, and she crossed her arms and sat firmly in silence, staring straight ahead of her.

"So what did you buy?" Matthew asked again.

Amber sighed and picked up the carrier bag, extracting from it the ocean blue satin dress that she had bought just a few hours previously.

"I'm sure you'll look beautiful," Matthew murmured thoughtfully. "Now can I show you what I bought?" He reached under his seat and pulled out a large cardboard box with a fancy Italian name inscribed on it in big curly letters. Lifting the lid, Matthew revealed a beautiful black suit that was just a few shades lighter than his own hair.

"Wow," was all Amber could muster.

"You like it?"

"No," she said. If Matthew still wasn't going to admit he had been lying about her fainting, she was not going to be friendly to him. She shouldn't have even shown him her dress; she wasn't even sure why she was still talking to him.

"You said wow," he smiled. "That's a good thing, you can't take it back."

"Well I am."

Matthew sighed.

"I'll do you a deal," he said. "I'll admit that I lied about you fainting that day, but I won't tell you what really happened, and you aren't allowed to ask."

"I'm not allowed?" Amber asked sharply. She couldn't help but be annoyed with the way Matthew worded this.

"Deal?"

She sat in silence for a couple of minutes, before sighing and nodding.

Matthew Pryer smiled.

"Are you looking forward to the dance?" he asked.

"Not at all," she said.

"But I thought all girls liked dances?" He sounded confused. Amber wanted to look at his face so that she could read his expression, but she could never have a proper conversation when she was looking into those blue eyes, so she continued to look straight ahead. Also, she was still slightly angry, and didn't want to let it show.

"I don't dance," she said.

"Never?"

"Never."

Amber allowed herself a glance in Matt's direction. He was staring at her like she was some complicated maths problem he was trying to solve.

"That's a very strange coincidence," he said. "I don't dance either," he sat silently for a moment. "If you like, we could...not dance together?"

"Matthew Pryer, are you asking me to the dance?" said Amber, half-smiling as she still looked down the aisle of the bus.

"I think so," he said; he looked slightly puzzled himself. "And you can call me Matt, by the way."

"Well Matt, I'm not sure if I'm going to the dance yet-"

"You've got the dress," he reminded her.

"Indeed I do," she said. "But I have to admit, that's more to please Eva than anything else."

"If you don't want to go you shouldn't go, and certainly not to please Eva. But if you do, I wouldn't mine going with you."

The bus pulled smoothly onto Amber's street.

"This is my stop," she said.

"Why don't you get back to me later?" Matt said. "Think about it."

"I will," she promised. "And remember, you're not allowed to ignore me anymore."

She walked off towards her house oddly happy. She had not been expecting to see Matthew Pryer-Matt- and she had certainly not expected him to ask her to the dance. But now he had, which she supposed meant they definitely weren't enemies any more. However, Amber didn't particularly love the idea of going with Matt. Firstly, there was the fact that every five minutes his attitude seemed to have changed, and that on the day of the dance he might have decided he wasn't talking to her again, and secondly there was the problem that she didn't really like Matt; she liked Will, who wasn't allowed to come to the dance. Amber had actually been planning on staying in with him that night or to go bowling or something. But the good thing about having your best friend as your boyfriend was that you could really talk to them.

"I don't know," he said over the phone. "This is the Matthew Pryer who you've hated for months, and he's presumably felt the same way towards you, are you sure you can trust him?"

"I think we're friends now," Amber said. "He seems nice."

"It's up to you. I trust you, it's only one night, and if you really want to go to this dance, you should go," said Will.

"I still don't know."

"Oh, I have to go," he said. "My mum's calling me. Like I said, it's all up to you. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye," Amber said quietly, and listened for the long beep that followed after the caller had hung up.

It was the day before the dance, and Amber still didn't have anyone to go with. Technically, she thought, she still had Matt's offer. But, truthfully, Amber didn't want to go, at all. She preferred her original plan of staying in with a rented film. All she had to do was talk Eva out of forcing her into going.

"I don't even have anyone to go with," she moaned to Eva on the way to class, "Are you still making me go?"

"Firstly, you promised you would go. Secondly, I think that your problem will be solved by lunchtime." She smiled to herself. Amber felt her stomach drop.

"What-"

"See you in Maths," Eva called over her shoulder as she walked away.

Amber headed for Biology, trying to figure out what Eva had meant by 'your problem will be solved by lunchtime'. Surely Eva couldn't know about Matt's offer. She was trying so hard to puzzle it out during the lesson that she almost set fire to her sleeve using a Bunsen burner.

Amber was relieved when the bell finally rung, planning on finding Eva and getting some answers. She was walking towards the lockers to look for her, when she heard voices behind her. She glanced around and saw Darren talking to one of his friends about the dance.

"Who are you going with?" asked the squat blonde boy who was with him.

"Amber Wells," Darren said confidently. Amber ground her teeth angrily, suppressing the urge to turn around and tell him just where he could stick his chances of going to the dance with her, then something clicked in her mind your problem will be solved-was this what Eva had meant?

Amber doubled her pace; Darren hadn't noticed her walking just a few yards in front of him, and Amber figured if he couldn't ask her then he couldn't go to the dance with her. She had almost cleared the corner when Darren caught sight of her.

"Hey Amber!" he shouted.

Amber pretended not to hear him.

"Amber!" Darren started jogging to catch up with her.

She sped up so that she was practically running, heading outside where it would be easier to hide. As she ran, she also pulled out her earphones from her bag, and jammed them into her ears, so that if Darren found her, he would at least think she was listening to music, and hopefully go away.

She opened one of the last doors on her route and ran flat out into Darren, who was doubled over gulping in air. He must have run the outside way to beat her there.

"Will you go to the dance with me?" he gasped before she could turn in the other direction.

Amber pretended not to hear him; for all he knew, she was deep into some Britney lyrics right now. She actually started bopping her head to make it look more realistic. It didn't really work, because the end of the earphones that usually plugs into the player was dangling down near the ground, and Darren spotted it pretty quickly, and held it up in the air.

"Are you alright?" he asked, watching Amber slowing the head bobbing down as though she was having some kind of seizure.

"Yeah, I was just feeling a bit sick," she said.

"But you're better now?"

"Yes," said Amber. "It comes and goes."

"Well, as long as you're feeling better, I have a question to ask you." Darren took a deep breath to ready himself, and Amber held her breath as she tried to come up with an excuse. "Will you go to the dance with me?"

"Um..." she said. "Someone already asked me...and I said yes." What am I saying, she thought. She could have said something like I'm not going to the dance, I'm busy that night. But no, she had to say the first stupid thing to come into her head. Amber felt like kicking herself.

"Who?" Darren asked suspiciously.

"Matthew Pryer." What? Shut up, shut up, shut up! Amber's brain yelled abuse at her, but it was too late, the damage had been done.

"Oh." Darren sounded surprised. Not as surprised as Amber was.

"Well, see you."

"Yeah...um...bye." Darren had a look of deep concentration on his face, but Amber didn't have room in her head to worry about what he was thinking. Matthew Pryer?

Well, she supposed that settled things. Matt had offered, and now she would have to take him up on that offer. She could curse Darren.

She avoided Darren after that, not wanting to be questioned any more. Amber took the longest possible route to classes, arriving at the last minute and sitting on the opposite side of the room when they had a lesson together.

People kept looking at her strangely in the corridors. Amber could have sworn that she heard them whispering. Or maybe she was just paranoid or going crazy and hearing voices. Or both.

"Is it true that you're going to the dance with Matthew Pryer?" Eva asked, taking her aside at lunch that day.

"What?" Amber decided acting dumb was probably her best bet.

"You heard me. Is it true?"

"Yes," Amber sighed. "At least, I think so. He asked me a while ago, and I haven't said yes yet, he might have asked someone else."

"As much as I'm glad that you've got a date to this dance, can I ask why Matthew Pryer? I mean, he's good looking, but don't you just think there's something about him that's a bit...weird?"

"I think he's a nice person," Hannah said. "And I don't think you should be saying anything bad about him to his date." She winked at Amber jokingly. Eva squirmed without her friend's back up, and let the subject of Matthew Pryer drop, for which Amber was very grateful.

"I still don't understand why you didn't accept Darren's offer," Eva muttered.

"Because I-wait, how do you know about that?" Amber asked.

"No reason."

"You set it up, didn't you?"

"No."

"Yes you did," she said. "Thanks a lot."

"Well I was trying to get you a date for the dance, seeing as you never seem to be bothered about getting one yourself."

"Because I don't care," Amber said.

"Well I do, and Darren was perfect."

"He was annoying and embarrassing, and I can't believe you did that to me. I don't need your help, believe it or not."

Amber didn't talk to Eva for the whole of Physics, still annoyed that she set her up with Darren. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice when Mr Sackson set the class to work and she was the only one left in her seat.

Amber headed to French knowing-but not entirely dreading-that she would be seeing Matt there. Amber knew every single lesson she shared with him: French, Art, and History. For some reason, this knowledge cheered her up a little, making her less angry. It was wrong that Matthew's presence could change how she felt so drastically, but there was no point in pretending that it did not effect her. It was the same way with Will.

Amber sat at the back of the room as usual, staring out the window at the slowly setting sun. She didn't take in any of Madame Bothe's lecture on irregular verbs and their meanings. She had been fighting a losing battle attempting French anyway.

Amber was still zoned out as she packed up her bag at the end of the lesson, and so didn't notice the tall figure standing beside her until she almost walked into him.

"Hi Matthew," she said.

"Hey."

"Sticking to your promise, I see." Amber tried to speak casually whilst staring at the floor.

"Naturally."

"So...can I help you with something?" she asked, puzzled about why Matthew would want to talk to her. He wouldn't need help with his French homework; Amber was bottom of the class in the subject, perhaps because she spent the entire lessons staring out the window.

"Yeah, I was just wondering if you'd thought any more about my proposal?"

"The dance?" Amber asked. "Actually, I have, and..." she thought for a moment. "I would love to go with you."

"Great. Well I'll see you outside the hall then," and with that he walked off.

Amber was glad that she had someone to go with to the dance, and that she definitely wouldn't have to go with Darren. And she was glad that she was going with Matt. Yet, at the back of her mind she was disappointed that she couldn't take Will, especially because she knew he would want to go. And she knew it must feel bad that he knew she was going with someone else.

"Eva told me to tell you that she talked to Darren and he says he'll still go to the dance with you if you really want," said Hannah when she saw Amber by the lockers.

"Tell her no thanks," Amber snapped.

"No thanks? Aren't you going any more?"

"I'm going," she said.

"Alone?"

"No."

"Then who with?" Hannah asked curiously.

"Matthew Pryer."

"Matthew Pryer?"

"Yes, I told Eva he'd asked me. Didn't she tell you?"

"No, she didn't," said Hannah quietly. "Are you pleased?"

"Yes, I suppose. I just wish Will could have come. I feel really bad for leaving him alone while I go off to a dance. I wouldn't have gone if Eva hadn't forced me into it."

"It's only for one night," said Hannah. "You'll enjoy it, honest."

"I just wish you could have met Will."

"You can introduce us some other time-you're going to the dance with Matthew Pryer. You probably don't understand how big this is, he never goes to the dances. Ever."

"What did I miss?" Eva said, running up behind them.

"Amber is going to the dance with Matthew Pryer." Hannah said out before Amber could answer

"Oh, that's nice," Eva said. Amber could see there was a tinge of something in the girls expression that she just wasn't quite able to mask. But she smiled anyway.

"You won't tell anyone though will you? I'm sick of everyone talking about me behind my back."

"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone, will we Eva?" said Hannah, looking seriously at the girl with the long blonde hair.

"No," she sighed and looked at the floor.

Eva didn't look too pleased at being forced to keep such a juicy secret under wraps, but agreed after Hannah threatened her with a secret of her own. Amber wasn't quite sure what this secret was.

"So when are you planning on letting people find out?"

"As late as possible." If she was lucky, no one would find out about this until the moment Amber walked onto the dance floor.

"Are you ready?" Matt asked the next night, linking his arm around Amber's own.

"As I'll ever be," she returned.

The hall was bedecked with garlands of holly and mistletoe, as well as strips of crate paper and inflatable Santas. A fast song blasted out of the sound system and the dance floor filled with people jumping up and down to the beat.

Matt pulled Amber around to the centre of the dance floor, from where she could see Eva dancing with her date, one of the members of the school football team, and Hannah talking at a table with a tall blonde boy with spiky hair.

They danced the length of several songs, each of a different pace or beat, before Matt pulled her over to the drinks table.

"Take your pick. There's orange and strawberry or lemon and lime," he said, holding up two different coloured glasses.

"I think I'll have the orange please," Amber said politely. She was pleased with herself so far; she hadn't fumbled with her words once and was finding it a lot easier to be around Matt than she used to. For some reason though, she couldn't stop herself being overly polite.

Eva came trotting over from a bunch of laughing girls.

"Hi Amber," she greeted the girl warmly.

"Hi."

Eva raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, um...Matt, this is Eva."

"You're in my English class," he said, and smiled friendlily.

"Yes, I am. You're the one Amber punched in the nose."

Matt's smile faltered for a moment, but he pulled it back and said, "Yeah, happy memories."

"Yes, so...I'll just...be off now." Eva looked slightly confused as she walked back to the group of friends.

"She doesn't like me, does she?" he asked.

"Actually, I think she doesn't like me," Amber corrected him slowly, thoughtfully.

"And you don't like her?"

"I used to," she said. Matt let the subject drop; the song changed to another more upbeat tune, and the hall was filled with cheers. Amber bounced up and down on the spot feeling like an idiot while her mass of copper hair swung around her face, blocking all vision.

Amber felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked around.

"Darren what are you-?"

"Can I talk to you for a second please?" His tone surprised her; it shook like he was trying to keep strong anger at bay.

"Erm...sure." Amber turned around to tell Matthew where she was going, but he was nowhere to be seen. "Have you seen Matthew anywhere?"

"No," Darren sounded distracted. Amber wasn't even sure if he'd really heard her question.

As they headed away from the hall, the music got quieter until it was only background noise. Darren opened a door and stepped outside into the cold night air. Amber followed him. Suddenly, he spun around so quickly that she almost fell backwards just avoiding his swinging arms.

"I can't believe you came with him." Darren made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat.

"He has a name Darren."

"Whatever," Darren dismissed her.

"Is that all you wanted-to criticise my choice in dates? I guess I'll just go back in then." Amber turned to leave, but Darren grabbed her arm harshly. In all the time she'd known him, though admittedly that wasn't long, Amber had never seen Darren like this. She'd never seen anyone like this. His whole expression was blank, and it was like the words he was saying weren't his own.

"Ow. Darren, let go, you're hurting me." she tried to shake off his arm, but it wouldn't budge. "Darren, let go!"

Smack.

Amber jumped back from the sudden noise, unsure of what had just happened, and tripped on her own feet, landing in a heap on the wet ground. She couldn't see where Darren had gone.

"Stay away from her!" yelled a smooth voice, contorted in rage. She could see a tall figure, standing over Darren-who was clutching a bleeding lip. She thought at first that it was Matt, but this person was taller, and his hair was light against the glow from the hall.

"What the hell, who are you?." Darren squared his shoulders and drew himself to his full height, which was about five foot nine.

"The names Will, and I'm you're worst nightmare."

Smack. Of course it was Will, Amber thought. She wondered how long he'd been saving the 'worst nightmare' line.

Amber didn't dare look to see who had been hurt. She covered her eyes with her hands just as Darren made to punch Will.

Crack. Someone yelled out, a pain-filled stretch of every swear word under the sky. The noise made Amber feel nauseated. She didn't want to watch these people fight, and she didn't want to see Will get hurt.

"What did you do to my hand you little-" Darren called Will a long list of things that Amber didn't care to repeat, holding his limp, now misshapen hand, but Will ignored them, squaring up to hit Darren again if he didn't back away.

"I was about to say that I wasn't going to fight you. I don't think I'll need to now though. You'd have to be really thick to carry on trying to fight me after that, and you don't strike me as the thick-" Will paused. "Sorry, I was going to say you don't strike me as the thick type, but I've made a promise that I wont tell any more lies." He turned around to Amber, and smiled cheekily "Surprise."

Darren lunged, taking advantage of the fact that Will's back was to him. Will took a tiny step to his left at the last moment, and Darren hit the concrete pavement with yet another resounding smack.

"Are you okay?" Will asked, concern flooding his voice.

"I think so," Amber said, still lost at how the massive Darren had ended up as a heap on the ground with apparently very little effort on Will's part. She tried to pick herself up out of the pile of leaves she had landed in, but Will pushed her down by the shoulders.

"You're not going anywhere until I'm sure you're okay," he said, his voice full of authority.

"But my dress-"

"Is already ruined, I'm afraid."

Amber sighed and slumped back onto the ground. She suddenly started shivering, aware of how cold it was outside for the first time.

"Here." Will took off his coat and quickly wrapped it around Amber's shoulders. "I would have thought you'd have a running supply of jackets by now."

"Thanks," Amber murmured gratefully. The coat was warmer than standing next to a hot stove.

Will crouched down beside her, his oak leaf eyes boring into Amber's obsidian.

"So what are you doing here?" Amber asked.

"Well, I heard there was a dance, and then I contemplated sitting in all night watching the sports channel, but about an hour in the channel shut down because of technical difficulties, so I thought I'd come and see what my girlfriend was up to."

"Just as well you did."

"It is isn't it?" Will smiled despite the situation, then, looking Amber up and down, he stood up and hauled her to her feet. She winced slightly and realised that she had sprained her ankle. Amber's dainty shoes squelched under the mud and water that had saturated them when she fell.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"Well you look great. As for your dress..."

"Well, I guess that's the party over for me," she said

"Do you want me to call you a taxi?" Will offered. Amber wished that she could tell him how grateful she was to him for coming to her rescue, but the words wouldn't come.

"That would be great, thanks," she said.

Amber half walked, half hobbled back towards the nearest bathroom so that she could attempt to clean herself up. She almost tripped again on her bad ankle, but Will slipped his arm around her waist before she could do any more damage.

"Do you think that you can last five minutes without injuring or endangering yourself?" Will asked when they reached the door of the girls' bathroom.

"I think I'll be okay," Amber said, a little indignant at Will's assumption. She absolutely refused to think that she was clumsy in any way.

"I'll go and call a taxi then." He spun on his heel and headed off in the opposite direction, pulling a black mobile phone out of his back pocket as he went.

Amber pushed open the door of the bathroom and groaned at her appearance. The dress had turned from the pale shell colour to a mud-brown, with leaves making an appearance at regular intervals. Her hair was glued together with water and mud from the ground, and filled with so many twigs that it could easily have been mistaken for a bird's nest.

Turning the on the hot tap, she soaked a paper towel with soapy water and attempted to clean herself up a little. Mum is going to kill me when she sees this, Amber thought

Tap tap tap.

"You ready?" Will's voice came muffled behind the door.

Amber sighed yet again and switched off the tap, resigning all hope of trying to make herself presentable. She opened the door and walked straight into Will, who she hadn't realised was standing so close. He caught her again before she could fall over for the second time in one night.

"You really do find it a challenge to put one foot in front of the other without messing up, don't you?" he muttered. Amber wasn't sure if Will had meant for her to hear, but she countered him anyway.

"I can walk perfectly fine, thank you very much! It's not my fault you can't stop getting in my way!"

"You've got quite a temper on you, too."

Her mum had always said that Amber should watch her temper; she didn't want her to end up like her father. Of course, that was when her father's name was still mentioned.

"You're saying I've got a temper? After you just brought a five-foot-nine teenager to the ground?"

"I was provoked," he muttered.

"I thought you threw he first punch?"

"Yes, but that was to get him away from you."

"How did you find me anyway?"

"I...heard you shouting."

"I wasn't shouting."

Will didn't seem to be able to come up with a response to that. He opened and closed his mouth a few times like he had a comment to make, but then thought better of it and kept quiet.

"We should probably head out to the taxi," he said, heading over to the door and gesturing for Amber to follow.

She wanted to know where Matt had gotten to. Amber knew she ought to tell him she was leaving, but she didn't want to leave Will alone in a school he didn't know. She satisfied herself by telling herself that Matt had wandered off before Darren had shown up, so he probably wouldn't miss her that much.

A taxi arrived and Will opened the door for Amber and climbed in after her. The excess material of Amber's dress occupied most of the backseat, making it hard to sit comfortably. It was only now Amber realised that Will was wearing a grey striped shirt that was now covered in mud after he had tried to support her. The taxi drove away without the driver asking for an address; Will must have told them on the phone.

"So, before it ended so abruptly, how was your night?" he asked.

"It was good. I had a really great time, thank you." Amber was again mad at Darren for ruining the party for her.

"I would say we should do it again some time, but parties don't seem like somewhere you should be spending a lot of time, judging by what I've seen tonight."

"I've been to parties before and nothing bad has happened," said Amber

"And tonight?"

"I'm mad at Darren, but I wasn't in any danger."

"If you say so." Will didn't sound happy.

The taxi pulled up in front of Amber's house before she could ask Will what was wrong. It had only taken the driver ten minutes to make a half-an-hour journey, and Amber felt slightly resentful for it.

She reached into her purse to get the money her mum had given her before she left, but Will had already paid by the time she found it.

"Thank you, again." Now that she was home, Amber was looking forward to a hot shower and clean clothes. Will walked her up the path, hands ready to catch her if she caught her toe on one of the many cracks in the concrete.

"I'll see you tomorrow, I guess," he said once they reached the front door. It was so dark outside that Amber could barely see his pale face.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Amber fumbled inside her bag for the door key, forgetting that her mum would probably be in the house already. When she eventually unlocked the door, Amber opened it and allowed light from the hall to flood the front step.

"Thanks again for saving me," she said to Will. "Do you want to meet up at the weekend?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," he replied.

Amber reached up and pecked him on the cheek, before smiling to herself and walking into the house, shutting the door behind her.

Amber said 'hi' to her mum, who was shocked at the state of the dress, before heading upstairs to take a long shower.

While in the shower, Amber marvelled at how Will had saved her tonight. He had come out of nowhere and dodged any attempt Darren made to hurt him. She also wondered what had happened to Matt. It was only now that Amber realised she had been thinking of Matt as kind of her own personal saviour. He'd always been there when she'd been in trouble, like at the fire or when she'd fallen down those stairs that time, which he never had explained.

But it was Will who had saved her tonight.

The memories overcame Amber, and she was surprised when all the hot water ran out and she began shaking in the cold. She climbed out of the shower mindlessly; still focused on how many odd occurrences Matt had saved her somehow since she'd arrived here. Amber lay in bed motionless, recalling every memory that she could and seeing new meanings behind them.

It was hard to distinguish where reality ended and the dream began, because at first it was just a swirling mass of memory and time. But then it began to become more defined, each memory highlighting as Amber focused on it. A doorway billowing with smoke and flames, a steep staircase of concrete steps, every stumble, every fall, repeated in her head over and over and over, each time sharpening in detail until it was like she was still there. Then it all changed, suddenly Amber was watching Matt on the ground by a pair of feet. The feet belonged to the most glorious and yet most terrifying creature she had ever seen. It was the height of a man, with locks of fair blonde hair piled on top of the most beautiful face she had ever seen. Its crimson eyes were full of malice as it stared down at the twisted figure that was Matthew Pryer, it's sculpted mouth parted in a terrifying sneer. Long robes of smoky black flowed down around its perfect body, giving the effect that the creature was floating in the air. Amber should have been able to call it a monster, given that it was now smiling to itself as it stared down at Matt's broken body, but it was so magnificent in it's beauty; nothing that perfect could ever be called a monster. It lowered itself down to the ground until it's glorious face was level with Matthew's, deadly intent glinting in it's eyes. The creature stooped lower over the body, and Matt cried out in pain.

Far away, a figure with midnight hair and sky blue eyes fought hard to do the duty he was assigned, to protect the girl that had become so important. It was an uneven battle, but the defender would gladly die to protect the girl, because she was his life now, and without her he did not want to live.
Chapter 7

Amber yawned as Mrs Dole called the class to attention. She hadn't gotten much sleep, and what little sleep she had managed to get had been haunted by the face of the creature. She felt annoyed at herself for not going back to sleep that morning when she had woken up before sunrise, but she had been so afraid that the nightmare might pick up where it had left off. And she had definitely not liked where it had left off.

It was the day after the dance-the last day of term before the Christmas break began. The school was filled with an excited buzz as people boasted about where they were spending their holidays, or shared their views on the dance. Amber tried to avoid these conversations, not wanting to be asked how she'd found the dance, or why she'd disappeared so early. Unfortunately these conversations did not avoid her, and she was only half way through her first lesson when Eva brought up the subject.

"So what happened to you last night?" she asked whilst Mrs Dole wrote across the board in the scrawling writing.

"Family crisis. I went home early." That was the excuse Amber had decided on last night, although a large part of her had wanted to tell the whole school about Darren, but she was worried Will would get in trouble. After all, he wasn't meant to be there at all, and then, though it wasn't really his fault, he'd ended up fighting with Darren. The family crisis card was the safest bet, and if anyone asked what the crisis was, she would say she didn't want to talk about it. It was perfect-sometimes Amber was impressed with her own genius. Of course, Eva didn't ask what the crisis was, because she cared more about herself than other people.

"What happened to Matt after I left?" Amber asked. She felt guilty about leaving him without any explanation, and she was worried after her nightmare from the night before. Matt hadn't shown up to English.

"I thought he left with you," said Eva, leaning forwards conspiratorially.

"No, I...called a taxi to take me home." Well, thought Amber, someone called for the taxi that took me home.

"Well, I didn't see him after I came over to say hello," Eva said.

"I wonder where he got to?"

"You really think I'm going to buy-"

"Do you have something that you would like to tell the class?" Mrs Dole interrupted the whispered discussion, her black hair quivering dangerously.

"No Mrs Dole," both girls muttered, looking at the floor.

"Well then, I suggest that you pay a little more attention to the lesson, and a little less to each other," Mrs Dole huffed as she ambled back to the front of the classroom. "Now, Romeo is an influential character because..."

Amber zoned out again.

She didn't see Matt around school, nor in registration or the French class. Amber was starting to get worried. No one seemed to have seen him since the dance, and her dream kept nagging at the back of her mind. But that was stupid-no creature like that existed on earth, or everyone would know about it.

Darren hadn't shown up to school either, though Amber suspected that was more down to an injured ego than any other reason. She didn't care whether Darren showed up or not any more. He wasn't a friend, and she didn't have time to keep enemies.

Amber found that she missed Matt. She hadn't realised what a big part of her day-to-day life he had become. She had had no partner in English. On the other hand, Amber could now safely say that she was not a clumsy person, and that it was Matt's fault that she fell over so much, as she had stayed on her feet all day, without the need of anyone to catch her. Which was just as well, because Hannah was rather dainty and Amber doubted she could hold her weight.

But it was with a hopeful heart that Amber followed the back of a black-haired head all the way from the Geography block to Science. She was very disappointed when she found out the head belonged to a tall year ten, whose hair wasn't quite the midnight black of Matt's.

Amber traipsed up to the library, hoping to escape the general buzz of pre-holiday activity that was going on everywhere she turned. The last day of term was usually one of the best school days of the year, and Amber could sense the excited buzz in the atmosphere around her, but wasn't affected by it. She felt alone as she watched everyone else running around together and planning their holidays.

The library was completely empty apart from Amber; every piece of last-minute homework done, no more tests to revise for.

She sat for a while just feeling sorry for herself, doodling on the back of her history file. Then she saw the tall figure with jet-black hair walking gracefully through the snow, his head bowed against the bitter cold wind. Amber virtually heard her head go click.

"I want answers," she said fifteen minutes later after finally managing to corner Matt at the bottom of the red-banistered stairs to the Geography room.

"Answers to what exactly?" he sounded bemused, but there was an edge to his voice that Amber couldn't quite distinguish.

"How you always know when I'm in trouble. How you always save me."

"Firstly, this is you we are talking about." Matthew sounded almost angry and he gritted his teeth as he spoke. "There always seems to be something wrong with your life. Secondly, I didn't save you last night so I've only saved you twice."

"How did you know about last night?" Amber asked suspiciously. "You disappeared half way through the dance."

"I...was busy."

"Busy?"

"I had a family crisis."

"A family crisis?" Amber doubted that Matt had really had a 'family crisis' although she did think it was a bit of a coincidence. "Also, unless you like to use the girls' bathroom a lot, I don't see how it could be a accident that you happened to walk in when I was in trouble." Amber wasn't going to let him shake her off with excuses like he had so many times before. He still hadn't even explained how he knew what had happened to her at the dance. Even Eva hadn't found that out, and she knew pretty much everything that went on in the school.

"Jamie asked me to see if Carla was in the bathroom, and at that moment it was you who was in there."

"And I suppose that he couldn't have asked one of the many girls that were crowded around him to do that job?" Amber knew Matt was lying, and she knew that he knew she knew. The only reason they were playing this game was that Amber didn't know why he was lying.

"He's a ladies man, he sent me to do the dirty work."

It was a good explanation, one that could easily be true, but there was just some nagging feeling at the back of Amber's mind telling her not to believe it.

"Why aren't you telling the truth?" she accused. Of course, if Matt really was telling the truth then she was going to look really stupid.

"Amber," Matthew looked her straight in the eye, and she was lost for a moment in a sea of blue. "I am telling you the truth." He spoke each word clearly and surely, and Amber's head began to spin. She suddenly remembered to breathe.

"Oh," was all she could manage when she finally got her breath back.

Matt turned away, satisfied now that he thought Amber believed him, allowing her to think free from the pressure of his gaze. Another point of her argument came back to Amber.

"What about that time I fell down the stairs?" she called as Matthew was about to step out of the door. This memory was the most unclear of all. Amber wasn't sure what parts she'd imagined and what parts had really happened due to the hockey ball that had hit her on the head a few hours later. She hoped Matt wouldn't catch her out and accuse her of being delusional.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said through his teeth.

"Why are you lying?" Amber was mad now. Did he really think that he could dissuade her from the truth?

He didn't respond, instead he turned and walked up the concrete staircase.

"Hey!" Amber yelled, running after him. "Don't just walk away from me." She grabbed Matt's arm to stop him walking away any further. She suddenly flashed back to the day a few months previously when they had made their fateful truce.

Matt exhaled loudly.

"All I want is some answers."

"You want answers now," Matthew breathed, bringing his face right up to hers. "But if I told you everything-"

"That's all I'm asking."

"I can't tell you." Matthew looked like he was fighting some intense internal battle. "I should go." He strode away quickly, and Amber's head cleared enough for her to remember the point of their discussion.

"You haven't told me anything yet!" she called.

Matt froze mid-stride.

"You don't want to know," he murmured.

"Yes I do! I'm tired of the riddles and feeling like I only understand half of the conversation. I want to know everything. Do you know how much it sucks to not have a clue what you're on about all the time?"

"Fine!" he half-groaned half-snapped. "I'll tell you, but you're not going to like it." Matt grabbed Amber's arm and pulled her down the hall into an empty classroom, pushing her down gently into a chair and then beginning to pace angrily.

"I shouldn't tell her," he mumbled to himself. "But I don't see what other choices I have any more."

The pacing stopped and he came to stand directly in front of Amber.

"I never thought I'd be telling you this-I never even thought I'd have to speak to you. I should have thought, should have foreseen....I'm dangerous, Amber. That's the most important thing that you should know about me. Every moment you spend with me puts you in danger, and if I tell you my story you'll be in even more."

"I don't care-"

"Well you should! Just by saying that you don't care shows how little you understand. Being with me could get you hurt, but knowing about me could get you killed. I don't know what else I can do now, though. You deserve to know what you're getting yourself into."

"What are you-?"

"I suppose you've heard of a guardian angel." He had gone crazy, or this was some complex prank he was playing on her. Either way, Amber was freaked out.

"Yes, I've heard of them," she said dryly.

"You wanted the truth. I'm not saying I'm an angel, but it's the closest thing to explain it with. I'm here because of you, assigned to protect you, but you were never supposed to find out. I take it you're not familiar with the term Daemon?"

"No," Amber said, her voice cracking. He was so intense; it was like he truly believed what he was saying. But it couldn't be true, could it? Matt had always been cool and collected, and all of a sudden now he was acting all chaotic. Amber was scared.

"A Daemon is like a mythological version of a guardian angel, existing only to protect. But the one they protect must never acknowledge them, should never know who or what they truly are. I guess that ship has sailed for us now. They have powers, weapons I suppose you could call them, to help them to protect their...assignment."

"What do you mean powers?" Amber couldn't help asking, though the whole thing was ridiculous to her.

"They're strong, think like superman kind of strong. And they can run faster than the eye can see, and they can sort of turn invisible."

"What do you mean sort of?" Another question slipped out before Amber could stop it. If she was taking this news seriously, she would probably have passed out by now, but in Amber's mind this was all a joke. She supposed she would humour Matt and play along.

"It's not invisibility as such, it's hard to explain.... It's like the world comprises of different planes, and life as we know it is on one of those planes, but others are empty. If a Daemon wishes to be unseen, if I wish to be unseen, I can shift my existence to another plane. But it's hard for us to do, because it means we loose connection with the one we protect-that would be you. It's a very uncomfortable experience, and not one that I would do if I had any other option."

"You say that like you've felt it yourself," Amber said sceptically.

Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Oh please, you don't really expect me to believe that you're one of these-these things!" She knew what Matt was getting at, and it was completely ridiculous, even if it did explain a lot of the weird things that had been going on recently.

"Think about it Amber! How do you think I always know when you need me? It's like a sixth sense!"

"If what you're saying is true, then prove it," she challenged.

Amber was surprised when Matt pressed both palms down on one of the wooden desks.

"What are you doing?" she asked, bewildered.

"You wanted me to show you."

He leant forwards gently, and Amber watched wide-eyed as the wooden legs splintered under the pressure.

"How did you-?"

"I told you, I'm not human. Not anymore."

Slowly but surely, what he was saying started to sink in. How Matt always knew when to save her, how he had gotten through the fire when no one else could, the rushing sensation of flying when she had fallen down the stairs-it wasn't flying, it was just moving at an incredible speed. Understanding crashed over and over Amber again, like tidal waves.

"What do you mean 'not any more'?" she asked, her brain buzzing with all the sudden information that had been piled onto her.

"What?"

"When you said about not being human, and you said 'not any more'."

Matt sighed and came to sit beside her at a desk, less tense now. He wrapped a comforting arm around Amber's shoulders and quickly withdrew it again, as if the contact might scare her off. She wasn't going anywhere.

"I used to be like you, utterly clueless and unaware of how big the world around me really was. But then one night it all changed. I owed the wrong people money, and when I couldn't pay it back they came after me. I can still remember lying there, waiting to die-I assure you it wasn't pleasant. But it's one of the few human memories I have left now." Amber tried to move past the way Matt made it sound like he wasn't human himself. "And then he spoke to me, the voice of authority." Matt made a sneering laugh. "He told me he would let me live, but that there were conditions. I was a selfish person, so I agreed, anything to save myself."

"But it's good that you're here." Amber had known him for only a few months, and they been on speaking terms for even less time, but it was still impossible for her to imagine a world without Matthew Pryer in it. Strangely, she thought he had become her best friend.

"I used to tell myself that. I thought I was doing good, protecting you-you of all people need protecting, the way danger seems to be attracted to you. But now you know...you would have been safer if you'd never met me." He looked lost in his own pool of sorrow, and Amber wanted to do something, anything, to help him. She stood up. There were two reasons for her doing this. Firstly, she wanted to comfort Matt, and secondly, she wanted a chance to discreetly push down on the desk to make sure the splintering thing he'd done wasn't just a trick; if this turned out to be some sick joke, she wanted to make sure she backed out now before she made more of a fool of herself. She leant forwards on the desk as hard as she could, but it held. Amber's stomach sunk as she thought more and more that all Matt was saying was true.

"I would be dead if it wasn't for you," she stated. She knew it was the truth, and that if Matt hadn't come the night of the fire or that time she had fallen down the stairs, she would be long gone.

"You could still die, and it would be all my fault." Matt buried his head in his hands, and grabbed his jet-black hair in his pale hands. Amber tried to prise them away, but he was unwilling to move, and his strength was inhuman. Amber almost laughed as she thought that last part.

Neither of them talked, and the barrier of silence between them built up. The only noise in the room was the quiet buzzing of the electric lights above their heads.

"What about this 'voice of authority' you were talking about? What's that?" Amber was amazed at how calm her voice sounded when she was screaming inside. There was still a part of her brain that was battling to tell her that this was all a lie-

"It's not," said Matt.

"Not what?"

"Not a lie."

"How did you...?"

"Our minds share a link, that's how I know when you're in trouble," said Matt. "You're thinking rather loudly at the moment.

"Oh, sorry," said Amber. The part of her brain that had been denying the truth was now silenced. There was no way to deny what he was. She had often thought Matthew was perfect, maybe too perfect to be real. Now Amber knew he was just too perfect to be human.

"So who is this voice of authority guy, then?" she asked, perching on the table.

Matt sighed

"The voice of authority is the controller, the overseer of everything I ever do. It gives me commands, and I have to follow them or this half-life it granted me will end."

"What does it look like?" Amber asked, picturing the evil angel from her dreams, towering over the cowering Matthew. She didn't like to think of him being hurt that way. Now that he had confided in her his secret, Amber felt like Matt was the brother she had never had.

"He looks like the darkness, and the cold." The pain in his voice scared her, and she started shaking violently, so much so that Matt said, "Amber, calm down. It's going to be okay. That whole darkness and cold thing made it sound worse than it is. He's everywhere, and I'm not really sure what it looks like. Every time I meet him, it's cold, and it's dark. It scares me sometimes, but look at me, I'm fine."

Amber wasn't sure why she was sobbing into the sleeve of her jumper, and she wasn't sure why she couldn't stop. The boiling tears just kept forcing there way to the surface.

"Shh," Matt murmured, wrapping his arm around her shoulder again. "I promise, nothing's going to happen to you."

"It's not me I'm worried about," she blubbered.

"Amber, don't worry. Nothing's going to happen."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I won't let it happen." The determination in Matt's voice was overpowering.

The bell rang. It was an oddly anticlimatical sound, and Amber only realised as she heard it, chiming as though from far away, how wrapped up in her own little world she was.

"You should go," Matt murmured, pulling Amber to her feet. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Are you going to be okay?" she challenged, sounding surprisingly blasé having just recovered from a crying fit. Matt laughed.

"I think I can survive by myself."

"I'll see you later then." Amber was reluctant to leave, but she knew somehow that Matt wanted to be alone.

"Yeah, later."

As Amber walked back towards her class all alone, the whole conversation from the deserted classroom began to sink in. It seemed foolish that she had never considered that Matt might be more than human, given how perfect he was and how strangely he acted. Now Amber was alone, the fears and doubts that had been kept at bay by Matt's presence began to spread through her like wildfire, poisoning every thought she had until she felt sick and unsteady. Tears started flowing again before she could stop them, and Amber had to dash into the nearest bathroom to stop herself breaking down in the middle of the hallway.

The bathroom was mercifully deserted, and Amber hurried into the first cubicle, locking the door behind her. Her hands shook as she tore a wad of toilet role out of the dispenser to wipe her eyes with. Amber felt like she could have thrown up, or screamed, or passed out, but she clung to the cliff of sanity with her bare fingertips, still comprehending all that she had seen and been told. As much as Amber wanted a friend in that second, as much as she needed someone to be there to tell her that everything was alright, she was glad she was alone, because she knew anyone would freak out if they saw her cracking up like this. She knew what was wrong with her; she had seen films about it. Amber was going into shock, and if she had any sense she would have gone to the nurse. But she wasn't thinking sensibly, and so she sat there all alone trying to reason with herself and failing miserably.

Amber heard another bell ring and ignored it, she held her breath when a first year entered the cubicle next to hers, and she didn't flinch when a spider spun down in front of her on a thin piece of thread-she knew now there were worse creatures in the world than a tiny little spider. The only thing that kept Amber from surrendering to the pain and tears was the knowledge that she was still sorting through in her head. Everything came down to seven simple-or as simple as things could be at a time like this-facts: Matthew was strong, he was fast, he could become- Amber stuttered mentally on the word-invisible, he was watched constantly by the 'voice of authority', and he had been 'assigned' to protect her. And then there was the small fact that he wasn't human, which didn't seem to bother Amber as much as it should have. She realised as she came to terms with these things that the more she thought it through, the more the hysteria seemed to calm down, and soon Amber was able to unlock the door and face the world again.
Chapter 8

On the first day of he holidays, Will called round to Amber's house to take her out for what he called a date. This mostly involved a trip to the café down the road, but Amber didn't mind where they went. She was happy to spend time with someone who was still clueless to the many mysteries of the world. They talked about pointless things, like movies and food and television. Amber told Will about how Darren had been missing on the last day of school, which Will thought highly entertaining.

"So let me get this right," he said, "You didn't tell anyone about what Darren did at the dance the other night? Why?"

"Because I didn't want to get you into trouble," answered Amber.

"Oh please," he scoffed. "What are they going to do, throw me in the stocks for helping a defenceless girl in trouble."

"Defenceless?"

"I'm afraid so," said Will with a very solemn, sarcastic expression.

"I am not defenceless."

"So you're telling me that you had that situation entirely under control before I came along?" he asked.

"Absolutely."

"Oh really?" A

"Yes," Amber said resolutely whilst lying through her teeth.

"What was your escape plan?" Will asked as a wide, overconfident grin spread across his face.

"I would...kick mud in his eyes and scream."

"Scream?" Will was really smiling now, but not in a taunting way. Amber crossed her arms and stared at Will silently. The waitress came over with the bill, which Will got his wallet out to pay.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" asked Amber. "You paid last time."

"Oh, didn't I tell you? My friends bet me I couldn't go out with a beautiful girl I see this weekend. I thought the least I could do for your part was buy you a drink."

Amber had to laugh at Will's attempt at a pick up line.

She was still smiling a few minutes later while Will walked her back up the street to her house.

"So, this was fun," he said.

"Yeah, it was," said Amber. "Thanks again for the drink, and for saving me the other night."

"It was really nothing."

They had reached Amber's doorstep by now, and Amber stood with her back to the door, watching Will, who was looking cool and relaxed as always.

"So..." she said.

"I'll call you later?" Will asked with real uncertainty.

"Yes, or I'll call you," said Amber.

"Ok then," he said.

"Well...bye."

Will leant in and kissed Amber lightly on the cheek. She blushed and turned into the house to hide her face. Will walked back down the path and out of sight.

The rest of the holiday passed slowly for Amber, each day dragging on and on until it was finally late enough that she could escape into the world of dreams. But even in her dreams Amber was haunted by the image of the deadly angel, like she had been on that first night before she found out everything. Maybe she only dreamt of it so often because she couldn't stop her mind wandering in that direction every waking moment, maybe if she could learn to control her thoughts she would be able to find refuge for a few hours each day.

The dreams had become more realistic, more defined, since Amber had found out about Matt. She knew the angel was a He now, from the way it set its face, and the way it carried itself whilst floating just a few inches off the ground. Amber hadn't noticed that before, just like she hadn't noticed how truly perfect the lonely angel was: his face lit with unearthly beauty, his eyes glinting like cold diamonds whilst they watched over the terrible scene before them.

That's when it would turn from a dream into a nightmare. Amber would unstoppably follow the angel's line of vision and see Matthew trembling, broken, and alone. She'd try to run forwards but find herself, as you sometimes are in a dream, unable to move, glued to the spot whilst watching Matt lying hurt on the ground. He screams. And then Amber wakes up, gasping and afraid like she had been the very first time she'd had the dream. But Amber had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach every time she thought about this dream. She had a nagging feeling that it was a warning; that danger was coming.

It might have helped if she'd heard from Matt in the past few days, but it was like he'd vanished off the face of the earth, leaving no trace of where he might have gone. No one had seen him, or heard from him. Amber had thought about calling him, but she realised she didn't have his number; she tried e-mailing but he didn't reply. It made her anxious not knowing if he was okay. It was illogical really, given how little she knew Matt, but Amber felt strange when she was away from him. Like a part of her was missing. She would have to ask him if that was part of the whole 'Daemon' thing.

And when she wasn't thinking about Matt, Amber was thinking about Will, and what he was doing or where he was. Recently, Amber had been getting the feeling he was keeping something from her. She daren't ask what it was though; she didn't think she could take any more secrets. Overall, her head was buzzing with overloaded trains of thoughts chasing each other around a very crowded track.

"Any plans for today?" her mum asked, like she had every morning since school had broken up for the holidays.

"Nope," Amber replied through a mouthful of burnt toast.

"You should be doing something, Amber. You have holidays for a reason."

"Yes, and that reason is to rest," Amber replied simply.

The truth was that she didn't want to do anything other than sit around watching reruns of old movies in her pyjamas. If she went out, Amber knew she would be constantly scanning her surroundings for a sign of Matt or Will, and when she found no trace of either of them, she would feel even worse.

"Well, I should get going," said her mum, finishing the last of her breakfast and standing up. "Some of us have to work."

Amber hated it when her mum said things like that. Another one was 'kids don't work hard enough these days' or 'in my day...' Amber knew her mum wouldn't last a day in her shoes, especially if she'd had all the impossibilities Amber had come across in the last few days weighing down on her shoulders.

Amber slouched into the living room, collapsing onto the old sinking sofa and flicking on the TV. She turned the title music to the morning news up as loud as it would go and, like she had for the past six days, used the sound to block out any thoughts that were running through her mind. It didn't often work. The newsreader was barely past reading the headlines when there was a knock on the door.

"You should really remember your keys by now Mum," Amber said, opening the newly polished oak door.

"Hi Amber."

"Oh, hi Eva." Amber was surprised to see Eva's tall blonde figure standing in her doorway. "What's up?"

"Nothing, I just thought I call in to see you. I haven't heard from you for a while." This was true; Amber hadn't left the house since the holidays had begun a week ago other than to see Will. "I've never seen your house before."

"Do you want to come in?" she offered awkwardly, stepping aside to allow room for Eva to walk past her.

"Huh? Oh, sure." Eva seemed oddly vague, like her mind was elsewhere.

"Are you alright?" Amber asked as she guided Eva through the hall and into the living room.

"Yeah," Eva sighed. Amber wasn't even sure if she'd heard what she'd said.

"Are you sure? You look...preoccupied?" Amber raised her tone at the end like a question.

"I'm fine," she insisted.

A void of uncomfortable silence spread between them.

"Do you think Dylan likes me?" Eva burst out abruptly, and Amber could tell from the way she suddenly sat up straight and looked at her expectantly that this was what Eva had been wanting to say. She'd heard of Dylan-mostly from Eva going on about him-he was in their year and shared Eva's Art class on Mondays.

"Um...I...don't really know." She could tell by Eva's reaction that this wasn't the answer she had been looking for. "I mean," Amber rectified quickly, "I'm sure he does, but I haven't seen him around much."  
"But you have seen him. Do you like him?"

"I suppose so," Amber said. Of course, she wasn't going to pass any real opinion on some boy she barely knew, but if she did it would be that she much preferred Will.

"His hair is so nice and blonde, but not too blonde, you know?" Amber really didn't know. "And he does this thing when he talks to you like..."

She let Eva's voice drain into the background like she had with the newsreader.

Amber felt sorry for the girl, even though she had never liked her much in the past. She had come to Amber to talk about Dylan instead of any of her other friends, and when she'd let her guard down, Eva had looked so upset. Of course Amber knew how she felt. She knew what it was like to be dying to share a secret and not being able to.  
"What do you think Amber?" Amber jolted at the sound of her name.

"Huh?" she asked sheepishly, feeling a little guilty for not paying attention, but Eva seemed unfazed.

"I'll ask Dylan out if you ask Matthew."

Amber raised an eyebrow sarcastically at this suggestion. Eva didn't know about Will, she realised.

"I don't really see Matt that way," she began.

"You always hang around with him-"

"Yes but-"

"He talks to you more than he talks to anyone else-"

"Yes but-"

"So what's the problem?" Eva asked.

"I like someone else."

"Who?" asked Eva.

"He's from my village, his name is Will."

"It's settled then. I'll call you later to organize a meeting place." She got to her feet, looking significantly happier than she had when she arrived. "See you later."

Eva let herself out, leaving Amber sitting alone in the living room once again, puzzling over how she was going to ask Will to commit to this slow torture and accompany her.

Amber turned the television back on so that the house wouldn't be so eerily quiet. She had that unsettling feeling you sometimes get in the pit of your stomach that she was being watched, though of course that was impossible. She flicked through the channels quickly and nervously, trying to banish the sense that she was not alone. Amber blamed Matt for this newfound sense of paranoia; she'd been perfectly comfortable alone in the house before he told her all of his freaky secrets and rules.

Out of the corner of her eye, Amber saw a dark figure moving quickly: running. Amber spun her head around in an instant but there was nothing there apart her coat hanging over an old chair. She laughed at herself for feeling so tense, but it did not dispel the feeling that someone was in the room with her, standing in a dark corner just out of sight. The room felt very cold and close even for winter, and the light seemed to have turned a strange faded grey. The hairs stood up on the back of Amber's neck, adrenaline pumping through her veins, telling her she was in danger. But there was nothing here. There couldn't be.

The temperature dropped another few degrees and Amber shivered.

She felt something moving right above her head, like a drifting shadow or non-existent breeze.

"Amber."

She froze as she heard the whisper, as quiet as a breath and yet too clear to have been a trick of her imagination. Run, Amber's head screamed at her, Get out of here. She wanted to obey, to get as far away from this place as possible, but her whole body was frozen-apart from her teeth, which were chattering with the sudden cold temperature and fear.

"Amber," the voice called again, louder this time. It had taken on a commanding timbre-commanding her to stay. Half of her felt she would be happy never to move again if it meant she could stay with this mystifyingly beautiful voice, but the other half was still shrieking at her to run, like it was afraid of what might happen if she didn't.

Amber could feel the adrenaline pulsing through her veins, enhancing every one of her senses, so that she could hear every movement in the room, feel every miniscule waft of air.

"Amber." This time the voice was closer, and Amber felt the icy breath on the back of her neck sending shocks of terror down her spine. Her eyes widened in dread as she realized she was still frozen. The internal battle between her two halves raged on as Amber felt the level of danger rise in the room and the temperature drop further still.  
Amber heard the front door open in the same moment that she felt a firm hand grasping her around the shoulders, pulling her to her feet and bringing her to her senses. Amber knew instinctually that she was no longer in danger, but the hairs were still standing up on the back of her neck, a remnant of the breath that had crossed there not a second previously.

The adrenaline was still coursing in her veins, so she was almost able to distinguish her surroundings as Matt ran at an inhuman speed with her in his arms. Amber's extra weight load didn't seem to bother him any more than if he'd been carrying a feather pillow, and she finally realized the full capability of his impossible powers. Matt's breathing stayed paced and level as he moved across fields and through small forests. She was very aware that they had made a half-an-hour journey out of the city in just a few minutes without a car.

They got further and further into the countryside, passing tiny villages and hamlets until eventually there were just open fields. Finally Matt stopped under an outcropping of trees and set Amber down on a large rock that was conveniently placed right in the centre of the mini-forest. She slumped down to the ground and listened to her pulse racing after the sudden movement and general shock.

"Are you alright?" Matt asked quietly after a while. He'd been silent from the moment he started running, pacing the ground just slightly quicker than a normal human would once he'd put Amber down.  
"I think so." Apart from some seriously windswept hair that would take hours to fix, there was no real damage done. "How did it find me?"

"He can track you through your mind. Your thoughts really aren't as private as you might think they are."

"What do you mean?"

"Think of your mind as a computer," he said quickly. "If you know how, you can hack in and get any information you want."

"And now he can just get to me wherever I am? I'll never be safe?" Amber asked hysterically.

"As long as I'm around, he'll never get near you," said Matt determinedly through gritted teeth.

"But he did! He found me today!" She was getting even more panicky. She thought that they should keep running, that the voice couldn't be far behind them, but she couldn't bring herself to move.

"I was following him. I thought I had him, but it was a false trail. I shouldn't have let him get so close." Matt whispered. "It was unforgivable." The pain in his voice vanquished Amber feelings of hysteria, replacing them with sadness at Matt's anguish.  
"Relax," she said, getting to her feet and standing in front of him so he would stop pacing. "I'm fine."

"Do you realise how close you were to-" The rest of his sentence was choked off. "You could have been killed. If I'd been a second later-"

"But you weren't and I wasn't, so what's to worry about. We're safe now, that's what's important." Amber tried to sound nonchalant and indifferent as she relived the moments of cold and terror from just minutes ago.

"Yeah, you're right. You're safe, that's the main thing." Amber noticed Matt had changed We're safe to You're safe. He sighed and sat down on the rock nearest to him.

"Shouldn't we keep moving, I mean, what if he comes back?"

"We'll be okay for a while. I think it must drain him to be in his physical form because he only ever stays that way for a few hours at a time."

Amber sighed, knowing that this would always be how it would be with Matt: never quite safe, always running from the monsters in the shadows.

"So, where are we?" she looked around at the canopy of green overhead

and the carpet of dirt under her trainers.

"I have absolutely no idea," Matt said blankly, staring around like she

was. "I just ran as fast and as far as I could."

"It's really beautiful here." The tiny patch of trees provided ideal shelter from the all wind, snow and rain of winter and was perfectly secluded from the rest of the world. The only noises were the occasional rustling of animals in the bushes and up in the trees above them.

"Maybe we should come here more often."

"Our own special spot." Amber smiled at the idea of something they could share together as equals. The trees would also provide great shade in summer from the heat and there were lots more large rocks plotted around that would be handy to sit on. Matt walked, slowly for him, to where Amber sat, and crouched down in front of her.

"Close your eyes," he murmured as softly as a breeze.

She obeyed without thinking about it, as though it were a second nature to do as he said.

"Do you hear it?"

"What?" she asked, confused at the direction the conversation had taken.

"Everything. Listen to everything," Matthew said simply, making Amber even more confused.

"How am I supposed to-"

"Branch your ears out. Find every sound."

Amber still had no idea what Matt was asking of her, but she concentrated on all the sounds around her, taking in every breeze that filtered through the trees, every rustle of wings made by passing birds. She finally began to understand what Matt had been talking about. The sounds, those tiny insignificant sounds that would normally go unnoticed, collected together like layers of music playing in a complex and indecipherable melody.

"Now do you-" Matt began.

"Ssshh!" Amber held up her hand to silence him, still enjoying the beauty of the unwritten music. Matt smiled at her response. She stayed perfectly still, not making a single sound, not ever breathing. Amber had a feeling that it would be the only peace she would get for a long while. She sighed.

"Done?" Matthew asked when she opened her eyes.

"It's..." Amber searched for a word that could sum up the unreal perfection. "Amazing," was the best she could come up with.

Matt's smile widened in amusement at her surprised enjoyment.

"Can I ask you something?" Amber asked abruptly.

"Anything," Matt promised.

"Who were you? Before you were...changed, I mean."

"I was Matthew Lawson, general loner and nobody." Amber felt like she knew the name from somewhere, a character in a book, maybe?

"But, you must have had someone to miss you when you went. Parents or a brother or sister."

"My Mum and Dad died in a car crash when I was a baby. I had no other family so they sent me to an orphanage. No girlfriend-ever. No one to miss me." Matt didn't seem too upset about his life story, or maybe he was just good at acting; after all, he had the whole world-other than Amber-fooled into thinking he was just a plain old human.

"I'm sorry about your parents...and I'm sorry about you," Amber whispered, wishing she'd never asked the question in the first place.

"Don't be, it was a long time ago. I never even knew my parents, and isn't it better that I became what I am than dying alone in a dark ally?"

Amber wondered what horrors Matthew must have experienced in his life to be able to wave off the thought of death so easily.

"What happens if he catches you?" Amber asked. It had been hours since they had arrived in the miniature forest. Matt had rolled a fallen tree into the centre of the outcropping and they both sat on it side by side. The question had been bothering her for some time, but she had been afraid to hear the answer and so had only just plucked up the courage to ask.

"That's not something for you to worry about," Matthew muttered in response.

"But don't you see? I will worry about it, and it would be a lot easier if I knew what I should be worrying about." Amber didn't even understand what had come out of her own mouth, so she was surprised that Matt did. Maybe he was using that weird sixth sense thing of his to work out what she was thinking.

"If he gets to me-which he won't" Matt added, seeing the dread spreading across her face in anticipation of the answer. "He'll... end me."

"End you?" Amber didn't understand his choice of words. "You mean he'll..." she hesitated as the words sunk in, "He'll kill you?"

"Amber, I've been dead for a long time already. He can't kill me when I'm not alive."

"But you are alive." So many things about Matt's world confused Amber, but this was definitely not one of them. "If can see you, if can touch you," she gently punched his shoulder to prove her point. "You're alive!"

"Not fully." Matt's voice was blank and emotionless. Amber tried to read his face but it was like a cold mask covered it; his eyes were dark and detached, his mouth set in a flat line.

"What do you mean not fully?" Amber stood up, annoyed at Matt's vagueness.

"I should probably get you back home." He stood up as well.

"Don't change the subject."

"I'm not changing the-" Amber didn't stick around to listen to the rest. Turning quickly, she stormed off in the direction she thought was home. Of course, it only took Matthew a blink of an eye to catch up with her.

"Wait," he pleaded, speeding up behind her. She carried on walking. "What is with you?" He put a hand on Amber's shoulder and spun her around to face him.

"What's with me?" she burst out angrily. "What's with me? You tell me that you're some superhuman thing, and I accept it. But then, you go off missing for over a week, without a word to me about where you've been-"

"I told you, I was following The Voice."

"And now," Amber carried on as though she had not heard him. "You tell me that you're a dead man walking, that's what's with me."

"Look," Matt sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't think it would offend you."

"I'm not offended. I'm upset."

"I told you, you shouldn't be."

"You think that makes a difference? I'm going to go home today, not knowing if I'll ever see you again. And then, before now I hadn't heard from you for weeks. Do you have any idea what was going through my head? I mean-"

Matt watched bemusedly as Amber ranted on and on, barely pausing to take a breath.

"Are you finished?" he asked when she stopped to calm herself down momentarily.

"Nowhere near."

"Well, you really should be heading home. Do you think you can bottle it for another day?"

"I think I'll manage," Amber said sourly.

Matthew half-laughed half-sighed as he loaded Amber onto his back like a rucksack.

"Can we go a little slower this time please?" she asked. "The thought of travelling at the speed of light makes me feel slightly nauseous."

"Wimp."

"Hey!" She hit Matt on the back head.

And then off they flew; travelling so fast she almost fell off in the sudden burst of movement. Amber couldn't distinguish her surroundings from the green-blue blur that marked the ground and the sky. The only sure thing in the world for that time was her arms wrapped in a stranglehold around Matt's neck. She could feel the blood pumping through his veins under her palm, but his pulse did not seem elevated by running so fast.

Matt halted so abruptly that Amber's head slammed into the back of his.

"Ow," she complained. "You need to work on your stops."

Matt laughed in response.

"It's not funny." She hit the back of his head lightly again as she detached herself from his back, nearly tripping over as she landed with a dull thud on the pavement outside her house. No one had noticed their sudden appearance.

"Do you want to come in?" Amber offered, heading up the weed-ridden path to the front door.

"Sure," Matthew accepted, following behind her.

Amber fumbled with her keys ineptly and ended up dropping them on the ground, but by the time she had reached down to get them Matt had already picked them up, unlocked the door, and was standing with his hands behind his back smugly.

"You think you're so cool when you do stuff like that, don't you." It was a statement, not a question. Amber could tell by the self-satisfied expression on his face that he just loved showing off his skills. She couldn't blame him; she was the only human ever to know about his special talents, it must suck to have to pretend to be bad at stuff.

"I am cool," he said.

Amber stuck her tongue out childishly.

"Do I get a tour?" Matt asked sarcastically as he walked into the hall ahead of her.

"Living room-bathroom-stairs-kitchen," Amber said quickly, pointing to each room from where she stood. "Can I get you anything?" she offered, heading for the kitchen. "Cup of tea? Sandwich. Oh hey, wait," she stopped, a sudden thought occurring to her. "You do eat, right?"

"Yes, I eat" Matt laughed. "I am essentially human, it's the best form of disguise one could wish for."

"Disguise?"

"Well, if I walked around with green skin and wings it would be kind of hard to blend in." Matt gave Amber a look that made her feel like she was being very slow.

"But you don't have any of that do you? Like wings and stuff?"

"No, Amber. I am exactly as you see me."

She sighed in relief, not prepared to see some creepy alien figure materialize in front of her.

"Cup of tea then." Amber set the kettle to boil. Matt was practically bouncing up and down on the spot. "What's with the edginess?" she asked, puzzled.

"Just please be very careful with the boiling water-Please," he added.

"Okay, sure. Whatever." Amber rolled her eyes at Matt's overly anxious persona. It was worse than having an overcautious parent.

The kettle light flashed to show it was boiled and she reached out to grab the handle, only to find Matt's hand restraining her's.

"Maybe I should just do it," he said. Amber sighed and stepped back, annoyed at being treated like a five-year-old. "Sorry," Matt apologized, setting down the now empty kettle. "It's just not easy to watch someone like you handling boiling water."

"What do you mean someone like me?"

Matt's eyes widened as he realized he'd put his foot in it. "Well...um...you know, because you're...um..."

"Yes?"

"You're just a bit clumsy, that's all," he mumbled, staring down at his shoes as though he were trying to read a very interesting book.

"I am not clumsy. Other people around me are clumsy, and that makes me clumsy, and one day I will prove it."

"Sure."

Amber walked with exaggerated caution to the fridge and extracted the milk from the top shelf slowly, muttering to herself about how annoying certain people could be-she knew Matt would hear her. It didn't help prove him wrong when she tripped over his foot on the way back to the counter and had to be caught one-handed by Matt while he caught the milk carton in the other.

"Am I allowed to carry such a hot beverage all by myself?" Amber asked acidly when Matt handed her a mug of tea.

"Only because I know what a pain you'd be if I tried to take it for you," Matt retorted.

"Is that why you got assigned to me?" Amber used Matt's favoured word for the job of protecting her.

"You mean because you seem to lack centre of gravity?"

"Something like that," she muttered sourly.

"It's a possibility. Your guess is as good as mine."

"What's your guess?"

"That you're a good person and the world's repaying you for it," Matt said without hesitation. It was almost too quick, like well-read lines delivered by a good actor.

"Mother Teresa was a good person, and I don't think she had anyone quite like you to look after her."

"True," Matt allowed. Amber still felt like he knew something she didn't.

She slumped down on the sofa in the living room, pulling her knees up to her chest like she always did.

"Is this your house or a DVD rental shop?" he asked sarcastically, inspecting the shelf of old films in the corner of the room and all the baskets of DVD's that were set by the television.

"Movie night every Friday since before I can remember," Amber explained. She loved movies. They offered an easy escape from the world that fit whatever mood you were in, and it only took a couple of hours to watch them.

"What's your favourite?"

"Hmmm..." She considered her answer for a minute. "I would have to say The Mummy."

"Seriously?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with The Mummy?" Amber asked defensively.

"Don't you think it's just a bit unrealistic: unlucky adventurers open magic-" he voice dripped sarcasm as he said the word-"book that just happens to bring a guy who was buried alive back to life. Because that would really happen in real life."

Amber stared at him with wide eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"Three words," I said slowly and clearly. "Pot. Kettle. Black."

"Well it would be farfetched it you applied reasoning from the way a normal person views the world."

"Yes, but you're not normal, and what's wrong with fantasy?" Amber stubbornly tried to persuade Matt around to her point of view.

"I've got enough of the supernatural in my own life without adding the fake kind, thank you very much."

"But don't you see? That's the beauty of fantasy: it lets you escape into a different world for a while, a world where your problems don't exist."

"Are you honestly telling me that you want more horror in your life?"

"Not horror...magic." Amber held onto her point persistently.

Matt just shook his head like he couldn't understand her, even with his special gifts as an advantage.

"Favourite book?" he moved on.

"I don't like books," said Amber, shaking her head.

"You don't like books," Matt repeated, because he clearly couldn't understand it.

"No. They take ages to read, and then you can get half way through and find out the storylines rubbish, that's if your friend doesn't give away the ending, and you have to make time to sit down and make an effort to read them."

"But they're so much better than movies," Matt said. "You can't get lost in a film the way you can with a book."

"I can."

"Whatever you say."

"Next question," Amber said.

"What happened to your father?"

Amber froze, leaving her face in the exact same way so as not to betray any alarm at the subject. She thought she'd gotten away from any damage the thought of her father could cause, but it followed her unshakably, like a bad dream.

"Amber, are you okay?" Matt asked uncertainly, probably alarmed by the tension he could sense rolling off of her. Even she could feel it mounting in the room, making the air stuffy and hard to breathe.

"I'm fine." Amber shook her head, shook off the bad memories, and faced Matt, who had moved to her side on the sofa without her noticing. "You wanted to know about my father."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Matt looked her straight in the eyes, examining her face for some sign of what was going through her head. He had become the brother she had never had in the past few weeks, she could trust Matt with her secret, seen as he had trusted he with his.

"My Dad is in Brighton prison." The words began to flow out without Amber fully acknowledging what she was saying, like opening gates and allowing the flood. "He was accused of murdering a boy, not much older than I was, a few years ago. The evidence was conclusive: fingerprints, a sample of hair, and he didn't have an alibi, so he was found guilty. After that my mum and me couldn't stay in Polegate, what with all the whispering and dirty looks, we might as well have committed the crime ourselves."

"Amber, I'm so sorry." Matt wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"You know the weird part is that he never confessed. No matter what evidence they showed he still protested that he was innocent. He always was a filthy liar." Amber gritted her teeth at the end of her story and Matthew tightened his arm around her shoulder.

"Favourite CD?" he asked, making her feel better by changing the subject entirely inconspicuously.

"Riot-Paramore," she muttered.

"Interesting." Amber laughed as he rubbed his chin in mock deep-thought.

"How old are you?" she asked suddenly as she remembered the many films she had seen where the hero was centuries old and didn't look a day over twenty.

"I'm sixteen."

"Real age?"

Matt nodded.

"So you aren't some old guy in a teenager's body?"

"And that would be the problem with fantasy stories," he said, shaking his head in mild disbelief. "I am a normal sixteen year old, not some strange vampire dude with a quiff."

"And you age like a normal person?"

This time it was Matt who froze.

"You do age right?" Amber asked again.

"Not exactly." Matt's voice was stiff with tension, probably expecting Amber to overload one of these days with all the freaky supernatural stuff that surrounded her.

"Not aging, that's...wow," she managed.

Matt seemed glad that she hadn't gone into meltdown mode.

"I know, it's a bit Superman."

"Anything else I should be looking out for next time I see a comic book?"

"Well you know about the basic stuff like my strength, speed, and ability to turn invisible-"

"Oh yeah," Amber interrupted sarcastically, "All part of the basic package."

"As far as I know, that's all there is. Of course, it took time for those powers to manifest so it if possible that there is more to come. Only time will tell."

He slouched back on the sofa and picked up one of Amber's books that had been lying on the coffee table.

"I still haven't seen you go invisible," said Amber.

"How would you know?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well if I was invisible, you wouldn't have seen me."

"Oh ha ha," she said sarcastically. "Oh, I have another question, will you ever get any more powers?"

"I'm not sure," said Matt thoughtfully. "Maybe. I'll have to wait and see."

"How can you not be excited-or worried-about new powers?" Amber asked, surprised that the prospect of being even more like a superhero didn't seem to faze Matt.

"I don't look forward to becoming even more inhuman, Amber." He said it as casually as if he were commenting on the weather. "And besides, when you live like me you learn that patience really is a virtue." Matt fanned through a book quickly. "Good beginning, disappointing ending," he muttered to himself like he was making notes.

"I'm sorry what?" Amber asked, confused as to why Matt was talking to himself.

"This book," he waved the cover-side at her, "It's not so great. It would have been better if the lead character hadn't been killed off."

"Did you just read that whole book?" Amber realised her mouth was open like a fish and hurried to close it.

"Yeah," he smiled smugly at showing off his special talents-or as Amber liked to call them, super powers. She felt an odd mixture of impression and shock at his ability to make everyday things seem so extraordinary-they were extraordinary.

He picked up the remote and began flicking through the channels at a hundred miles-an-hour until he settled on an old black-and-white movie with a generic plotline. Amber stared at him with wide eyes.

"What?" Matt asked, focusing his startlingly blue eyes on her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Hmmm," Amber pretended to think for a moment, "Maybe because you act like it's normal to do things that are impossible to the other six billion people on this planet."

"It is normal-for me at least."

"Well lucky you, you have powers. Thanks a lot for ruining the end of the book for me by the way," she muttered.

"I thought you didn't like books? And besides, I like that I can be myself around you. You're the only person in the world who knows what I really am."

"Apart from The Voice, of course," she said.

"Yeah, and you know he just doesn't seem like the TV-watching type to me."

They both laughed.

The hours passed like seconds while they sat watching the film and before Amber knew it the end credits were running along the screen in waves.

"I should get going," Matt said, standing up and stretching.

"Will it be safe tonight?" asked Amber, beginning to feel worried at the memory of earlier that day.

"You should be okay. I'll be looking out for you." He had misunderstood; it was him she was worried about, and knowing that he was what stood between her and The Voice-and that Matt would die if it saved her-didn't make Amber feel any better.

"I'll see you later," she said, keeping a cool head.

"Oh, and while I remember," he pulled a small red velvet box out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. Opening it, Amber found a tiny gold locket in the shape of a heart hanging on a thin chain. It was beautiful: dazzling and yet discreet enough that she could wear it without anyone really noticing it.

"What's this for?" she asked, eyes transfixed on the locket.

"It's nothing special," Matt waved off, "But it will protect you. It emits a low level shield that protects only you're subconscious. It will stop that thing from finding you again."

"So as long as I wear this it can't hurt me?" Amber felt a small ray of hope at the thought of being saved from the voice.

"No," Matt replied. The ray disappeared Of course it couldn't be so simple, otherwise Matt would have given her a locket before now, and they would be able to live peaceful lives. "It only protects your mind. If it finds some other way of tracking you then it can still get to you. The shield isn't physical. But it will stop any repeats of this morning-if only you'd had it then."

Amber wrapped the chain around her neck. The moment the catch was secured she felt a strange sensation, like a head rush after standing up to quickly that vanished after a few seconds.

"I have to go." Matt turned again to walk away.

"Wait," Amber said, grabbing hold of his arm. "Do you promise that I'll hear from you again soon."

He smiled. "I promise."

Matt shut the front door behind him and Amber was just about to settle down to another movie when there was a knock on the door.
Chapter 9

"Hi."

Will stood on the doorstep in front of her, looking cool and casual as always in jeans and a black shirt.

"Will," Amber surprised herself by stepping forward and hugging him. It had been a week since she'd last seen Will, and she'd found she felt quite lonely in his absence.

"Woah!" Will laughed, but something sounded off in his voice. Amber stepped back and looked at him. He looked wrong.

"Will, what's happened?" she asked.

"Nothing," answered Will quickly. Too quickly, Amber thought.

"Something's happened," she stated. She also folded her arms to show that she was going to continue questioning Will unwaveringly until she got an answer.

"It's nothing," Will said again more slowly.

"Tell me."

Will sighed. "I didn't come over here to be questioned, so if your just going to act like this I'll go home."

He turned to leave, but Amber grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait," she said. "I'm sorry. I'm your friend, and I don't like to see you looking upset-"

"I'm not upset."

"Ok then," Amber racked her head for something to say. "What did you come over for?"

"I hadn't seen you around, and I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Yes, I'm fine thank you, so you can leave now," Amber said shortly whilst turning to shut the door.

"Wait," Will held out his hand to stop her slamming the door in his face. "I'm sorry. I'm not entirely sure what I'm sorry for, but I'm sorry for whatever I did to annoy you."

"So you should be," Amber said, but stepped aside to allow Will through the door. "So are you sure you're alright?" she asked again.

"Yes," Will said, but without that same tone of impatience that had been in his voice the last time. "I wouldn't mind a cup of coffee though."

"Cup of coffee coming right up," Amber said.

"So, how are things with this Matthew Pryer?" asked Will while Amber poured milk into two mugs.

"Matt? Yeah, we're good."

"Matt?" Will picked up on the more informal name.

"It's nothing," said Amber.

"Really?"

"You know," Amber said. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous."

"Would you blame me?" asked Will.

"Yes," Amber answered. "But I think I'd forgive you."

Will took the milk bottle out of Amber's hand and set it on the counter. He bent down over her and pushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes. And then he kissed her.

Amber was happier than she had been in years as she stood there in the kitchen, wrapped in Will's arms. He had been her best friend, and now he was something more. She could almost feel their minds merging together, and she thought she felt some sort of undertone in Will's thoughts, like whatever it was that had been disturbing him was there nudging at Amber's mind now. But then it was gone, and Will was still kissing her.

When Will pulled away, the coffee was ready and Amber was dizzy. Her legs were shaking and she was glad to have a warm cup of coffee to sober her up.

"So..." Will said after a minute. He looked unsure of what Amber's reaction was going to be.

"So..." she said.

"Matt, eh?"

Amber had to laugh. She felt elated and shocked and, for no apparent reason, afraid.

"So did you ask him?" Eva asked. She had phoned first thing on Thursday morning to let Amber know that Dylan had said yes and to find out where she wanted to meet them.

"I haven't seen him," Amber lied. She had of course seen Will, twice since Eva had told her about her plan, but Amber had been hoping that she would be able to fake an illness or something to get out of this double date thing Eva had organized. She was beginning to think she preferred Hannah. Hannah would never have forced her into this.

"Well you'd better find him because if you let me down on this-"

"Relax," Amber cut Eva off before her voice could get any higher in her ear.

"If you can't ask this Will guy out, then bring Matt instead. Or Darren-"

"Not Darren!"

"I don't care who, just bring someone."

"I'll try, okay?"

"Try harder." Eva hung up the phone.

Yeah, Amber definitely preferred Hannah.

She put the phone back on the wall and went back to the film she had been watching. Amber had barely sat down when there was a knock on the door. Mumbling to herself about how annoying it was when you couldn't have more than five minutes to yourself, she headed into the hall to see who it was.

"Hi," Matt smiled when Amber opened the door. "I just thought I'd give you the all clear. The necklace seems to be doing the trick."

"So I'm good to go out?" she asked. Matt had placed her under house arrest the last time he'd seen her, saying that it was the easiest way to test the shield.

"You should be okay, but I'll be staying close by. Just in case."

"Alright," Amber nodded.

"Something you want to ask me?" he smirked.

"Were you listening to my conversation?" she said, not feeling embarrassed, but certainly annoyed with Matt for invading her privacy.

"I thought it might have been something important in tracking down The Voice." He widened his sky blue eyes innocently.

"Yeah, because the voice can materialize anywhere at anytime looking like anyone, to kill you-but it's when he phones you you're really in trouble." Amber raised her eyebrows.

"Go on then," Matt said.

"Go on what?"

"Ask me." He straightened up and tried to keep himself from grinning.

"Even if I did know what on earth you're on about, what makes you think I would invite you?"

"Ouch. Below the belt."

"Sorry."

"Sorry enough that we'll go?" Matt had made a remarkable recovery from Amber's 'below the belt' hit.

"Not going to happen." Amber turned and walked back into the house, leaving the door open behind her for Matt to follow.

"If you won't then I will," he continued.

Amber ignored him.

"Alright then." He used his super-speed to zoom in front of Amber and block her passage. "Amber Wells, will you accompany me to dinner with Eva?"

"I'll think about it."

Although it would be fun to watch Eva's jaw drop when Amber showed up with Matt by her side, Amber had been looking forward to introducing Will to her friends, and if she could she would still like to go with him. Amber wouldn't make any promises to Matt, and then she wouldn't be able to break them.

"So where are you planning on going today?" Matt asked, following Amber into the kitchen. All the cupboards were painted blue with cream handles and the floor was a pale Beachwood.

"I was just going to go shopping," Amber tried not to scowl at the prospect. She had thought she liked shopping, but York was always so busy and there were so many shops to choose from that she just couldn't find it an enjoyable experience.

"I was under the impression that all girls like shopping" Matt said, picking up on Amber's line of thought.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I guess it's always so crowded and loud-it gives me a headache." Having grown up in a town where the only shop was a post office a half-an-hour drive away, Amber had never been used to the bustling fast-lane city lifestyle. She wouldn't go in today if it weren't for the fact that her trainers had so many holes you could barely tell she was wearing more than socks.

"What if I came with you?" Matt offered.

It was Amber's turn to laugh now.

"What?" Matt asked, looking at her in a bewildered sense.

"Sorry." Amber straightened her face. "It's just...you're a guy."

"Feeling observant today, are we?"

"I mean, guys play football and mow lawns, they don't go shopping."

"Alright, if you don't want me." Matt sighed and took a bite of toast.

"Of course I want you to come. I just didn't think it would be your kind of thing."

"Amber," he looked up. "When are you going to learn? It doesn't matter what I want. I'm on this earth to help you with what you want."

"No," Amber shook her head stubbornly. "You're here to make sure I don't get killed or hurt myself through my own stupidity."

"Yeah well, this falls under a sub-category."

Amber had given up on trying to even make sense of the strange things Matt came out with. She decided they probably made sense in his head, compared with all the other mad stuff in there.

"Let's go then," Amber said, finishing off the last of her toast and grabbing her coat off the hook by the door. She turned the key in the lock and then started walking down the cracked and newly snow-covered path towards the road with Matt behind her-this was the arranged formation by now as it was the easiest place for him to grab Amber if she fell, which was not very likely in Amber's views, but it made Matt nervous if he didn't. She was concentrating so hard on keeping her balance on the newly laid ice that she didn't notice the shiny black taxi waiting by the front gate until she walked straight into it, banging her head on the side of the door and fogging up the window with her cold breath.

"How did you-" Amber began, before smiling and adding, "I don't even want to know."

She climbed happily into the warm backseat and clicked the seatbelt into the holder.

"Sorry about your head," Matt said as he got in behind her. "Should have seen that one coming."

"Don't worry about it, I'm used to it by now."

Matt laughed.

"I still say I wasn't this clumsy back in Polegate." She could honestly swear that she walked into things a maximum of once a week back then; she had a theory that someone had put a hex on her-if Matt could be a supernatural Daemon thing, she could be a hex victim.

"I find that hard to believe," he said.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

The car pulled off without the need for either of them to give a destination, speeding through the empty streets and pulling up in the city centre in no time.

"Madam." Matt did a little fake bow as he opened the door for Amber. "Where to first?"

"First? I'm only planning on going to one shop, and then we can go straight home." Amber made very vivid and violent hand gestures.

"Don't you want to look around?"

"That would just mean I was exposed to the crowd for longer. I swear, it's like being part of a mob shopping here," Amber sighed and headed off in the direction of the nearest shoe shop, a newly built building with blue windows and a matching door. The bell rang as she entered into the vast interior that contained rows of shoes, all lined up neatly on their own shelves. She picked up the first pair that her hands came into contact with-trainers with orange and green stripes-and headed to the till.

"They're men's shoes," Matt whispered in her ear.

"Oh." Amber put the stripy pair down and allowed Matt to lead her to the women's section.

She took more care with the next pair she picked up, making sure that they were the right size and gender before going back to the till without bothering to try them on.

"Eighteen ninety-nine," the tall, blonde shop assistant said.

Amber reached into the well-used handbag she'd gotten three Christmases ago and fumbled around for her purse. It wasn't there. She opened the bag wider and peered in-she couldn't see it.

Someone coughed loudly behind her, and Amber turned to find Matt holding out her purse with a 'what did you expect?' look on his face.

"You're welcome," he mouthed very conspicuously.

She took the purse and faced the shop assistant again, feeling slightly embarrassed at her own stupidity, and handed her the money.

"I honestly don't know how you survived this long without me," Matt said when they were clear of the shop.

"I didn't think buying shoes was a life threatening task," Amber snapped. She was always irritable when she felt embarrassed.

"Anywhere else?"

"No. I only needed shoes."

Matthew whistled loudly, loud enough to make Amber jump, and a taxi pulled around the corner and up the street towards where they stood.

Amber jumped in quickly; glad to get out of her bustling surroundings. Matt hopped agilely in after her and shut the door at the same moment as the car took off at top speed.

Amber was happier when they pulled up beside her house; even after the visit from The Voice, it felt like a kind of sanctuary, a shelter from the rest of the terrifying world. The brakes screeched and they came to a sudden halt that lined the car door up perfectly with the garden gate.

"Thank you," she called to the unknown driver as she got out of the car.

"Amber," Matt said, once he too was stood out on the pavement. "I'm going to have to go and do another check just to be sure the house is safe."

"How long will it take?"

"You probably won't see me for the rest of the day. I'll stay out and make sure he doesn't show up."

"You still think that that voice thing is going to come back?"

"I'm almost sure of it. Now get inside, it's cold and you're making me anxious."

"Alright, I'll see you later," said Amber.

"Bye," Matt said.

Amber blinked and he was gone.

"Good morning," Amber's mum called when she walked into the kitchen. "Where did you disappear off to so early?"

"Shopping." Amber held up the bag with the shoes in it.

"Did you have fun?"

"It was shopping, so not here, no."

"I know you may not like how busy it is here," her mum sighed. "But you've got to prefer it to being back in Polegate?"

"Yeah, I do. I have friends here-actually I was going to go out tonight, if it's okay with you," she said.

"What time will you be back?"

"Um, around ten-ish."

"Who are you going with?"

"Just some people from school." Amber didn't want to lie, and Eva did go to her school. It was just Will who didn't.

"Do you need me to give you a lift into town?"

"No, I'll take the bus thanks. I think I'll go and get ready."

"Amber, it's only five."

"Oh, right."

She hovered awkwardly in the kitchen for a moment before walked out into the hall and, instead of going upstairs like she'd planned, went to the phone and dialled Will's number. The phone beeped a few times-

"Hello?"

"Hi Will, it's Amber."

"Oh, hey Amber. What's up?"

"Nothing much. I was just going to ask you if you-" Amber froze momentarily. What would happen if she asked him out tonight? Would he reject her? Then Amber decided she'd rather be rejected than risk being murdered by Eva if she showed up alone. "If you wanted to go out with me and a couple of friends from school?"

"Tonight?"

"Yeah, at around eight o'clock at La Petit Délicieux"

"Like a...date?"

Amber was silent.

"Amber, are you still there?" asked Will.

"Yes, I'm here."

"Look, it sounds great, I'll meet you there."

"Great, see you later."

"Bye."

Amber set the phone down and went into the living room and picked a movie at random off the shelf. She put the disk in the player and collapsed onto the sofa.

"Amber, shouldn't you be getting ready?" asked her mum half way through the third movie.

"I've got plenty of time," Amber muttered, no fully paying attention to what she was saying.

"I thought you were leaving at half seven?"

"Mm-hmm," she nodded.

"It's quarter-past now."

"What?" Amber jumped up and ran up to her room, taking the stairs three at a time.

She reached her bedroom out of breath from sprinting up the flight of stairs. She had no idea what she was going to wear, and the sparse state of her wardrobe didn't help matters. Amber felt like tearing her hair out as she flicked through the few outfits she owned, each looking more undesirable than the other. In the end she settled on a leaf-green sleeveless satin dress and black shoes.

"Bye Mum," she called as she dashed out the door and slammed it behind her.

Amber hurried down the path, nearly falling on the black pumps she's stolen off her mum. Sure enough, when Amber got to the end of the path, a shiny black sedan was sitting waiting to take her to the restaurant. Matt obviously didn't trust her to take the bus on her own. He was worse than her mother.

"Where to?" the driver asked from the front seat. It was the first time Amber had heard him speak.

"La Petit Délicieux," Amber said. She took it as a sign that she was getting used to city life that this name didn't seem too unusual to her; she would never have heard of such a name for a restaurant back in Polegate.

Amber watched out of the window as they drove through the city at high speed, squeezing through the tiniest gaps between cars to get ahead of the traffic, all the Christmas lights and decorations blurring together until all that she could see were orbs of illumination dotted around like ink spots on a page.

"Here you go mam," the driver spoke again. Amber wasn't used to being called 'miss' and 'mam' so it took her a moment to realise what the unfamiliar voice was saying.

"Thank you." She opened the door with a heavy klunk and got out onto the pavement, walking around to the driver's window. "How much do I owe you?"

"No fee. It's all pre-paid by Mr Pryer."

Amber pulled a little face at Matt paying for her again and hurried out of the cold into the well-lit restaurant. She felt guilty for turning Matt down after all the trouble he was going to.

"Amber," Eva waved her over to the table where she was sitting with Dylan the moment Amber got through the door.

"Hey," she smiled, taking a seat beside her friend.

"Where's your date?"

"Errm....he should be here soon, I think."

"Cool." It felt a little anticlimactic when she turned back to Dylan to resume a conversation from before Amber had come in.

Someone coughed behind Amber.

She turned and there stood, his blonde hair shining in the lights of the restaurant, Will dressed in a dark shirt and jeans, looking like he owned the place.

"Hi," he smiled at Amber, then turned to Dylan and Eva, who for what was possibly the first time in her life, was speechless.

"Your late," said Amber.

"I heard it was fashionable," he murmured back lower than Eva could hear. "Have you ordered yet?"

"No," Eva put in, obviously keen to get talking to the tall, handsome stranger. No sooner had the words left her mouth than a waitress with long, flowing black hair quickstepped over to the table with a notepad. Will and Dylan both ordered burgers, and Amber ordered chicken satay. Eva ordered a salad and a glass of water.

An hour later, the bill was paid, Eva was still looking hungry, and Dylan was exchanging mobile numbers with Will so they could meet up to play football some time later in the week. Apparently, Will loved football. Amber had never understood what it was with boys and football-what was the fun in kicking a ball around a field?

"Because," said Dylan when she posed this question, "It's fun. It relieves stress."

"Ok, so maybe I can get why you play it. But what is the point in watching it on the television?"

"It's interesting. I guess it's more of a guy thing," said Will.

"Well," Eva intruded, "I suppose I'd better be going."

"Night," said Amber, Will, and Dylan in unison.

"Dylan, don't you want to walk me to the bus stop?" Eva asked.

"Oh right, yeah," Dylan said and followed her through the door with friendly wave back at Will. Dylan seemed nice enough, Amber thought. Eva didn't look too pleased with him.

"So," said Will. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Yes, I suppose so," she said.

"Are you taking the bus?"

"I think there's going to be a taxi to take me back."

"Fancy," Will raised his eyebrows as they left the restaurant.

But there was no shiny black taxi waiting to pick Amber up when she reached the pavement. Will walked with her to the bus stop, and they talked about stupid things like movies and games. Will even tried to explain the off side rule, but gave up when Amber just couldn't register how it didn't apply if you were on you own side if you were on your own side.

The wind was gale force while they sat at the bus stop. Amber's hair kept blowing into her eyes and her dress billowed out behind her, offering next to no protection from the cold. Will took of his heavy coat without a word and handed it to her. It was too big a fit, and her hands didn't reach the ends of the sleeves, but it was warm and smelt of expensive aftershave.

When the bus did arrive, Will looked rather cold and his hair was ruffled from the wind, yet it was a look he seemed to pull of flawlessly. They sat near the back of the bus; Amber wondered why Matt had only sent a taxi one-way. She hoped he wasn't upset that she'd invited Will instead of him.

"So what did you think of Eva?" she asked while the bus pulled off.

"She seemed nice enough."

"What did you really think?"

"She seemed nice. A little quiet though," said Will.

"She was acting really strangely. I don't know what had gotten into her."

"Maybe she was just in awe at my presence," Will smiled easily.

"Yeah," Amber said sardonically. "I don't think that's it."

There wasn't time to say much more to Will before the bus reached Amber's stop. She pecked him on the cheek and walked down the aisle to the door.

The house felt like less of a sanctuary than it had when Amber had left, and she had the strange sensation that she was being watched as she walked up the garden path: hair standing up on the back of her neck, light shudders running down her back, which she told herself were caused by the cold. She glanced over her shoulder at regular intervals as though she was being paranoid. Which she knew she was.

Amber could hear the television blaring in the living room when she got through the door and headed in there hoping that she wouldn't feel quite so frightened if she had some company. The room was empty; her mum must have decided to go to bed early and forgotten to turn the television off.

Amber switched the plug off at the socket and went upstairs to her room, deliberately looking at her feet all the way, afraid of what shapes her eyes might make in the dark of the night. The house was silent apart from Amber's footsteps creaking on the stairs, so her mum must have been asleep. She tried to be as quiet as she could as she lay on top of the bed fully dressed and kicked her shoes off onto the floor.

She couldn't get to sleep. She tried turning over, but it wasn't comfortable, she thumped down the pillow, but her jean button was digging in. She got out of bed, moving sluggishly because of her tiredness, and walked slowly across the hall to the bathroom. Amber twisted the tap on full and splashed cold water over her face in an attempt to clear her head. She examined herself in the mirror over the sink and-there he was.

Not Matt, not the person who she knew kept her safe, but the one Amber feared the most. She knew instantly whom the tall figure in the white cloak with the calculating smile was; he was so similar to her dreams it was impossible. Of course, he was more stunningly beautiful in reality-her subconscious would not have been able to conjure up an image as perfect as this one. And yet Amber felt not security in the familiarity, but even more terror.

Her auburn hair whipped as Amber spun around away from the mirror lighting fast to face what should have been the tall pale figure. But all she saw was darkness. She turned back to the mirror feeling like the girl in the horror movie who gets chased down the street in her pyjamas by the monster. The girl who eventually gets killed off.

The figure was still there, a reflection of nothingness staring though a void of impossibility. Amber scrunched her eyes shut He's not real, he's not real, she chanted mentally. She opened her eyes feeling that such a solution could never work, but there were no red eyes glaring out of the nothingness this time when Amber looked in the mirror. So why did she feel like this was only the beginning?

She ran to the other side of the room and flicked on the light switch. It flashed on immediately, the new bulbs stinging Amber's eyes in their brightness, but the room was empty. She knew she wasn't going mad, she knew what she'd seen, and Amber knew that she would be in serious danger if she didn't find Matthew soon. Providing that he was still alive if this figure hadn't gotten to him first.

She knew instinctually that she had to get out of the house, that she was exposing her mother to the danger too if she stayed. Amber didn't know where she planned on going, so she just ran. She was much slower moving at a human pace than when Matt was there, but if he were there, she supposed she wouldn't have been sprinting at full pelt into the dark night.

She must have been subconsciously aware of the direction she was heading in, knowing with all the entirety of her being the only person who could save her in that moment, it seems only natural that she went for the place she associated more than anywhere with him.

The moment Amber cleared the steep hill and looked down upon the small gathering of trees, barely visible in the moonlight, she felt all her worry and horror disappear like the sudden calm after a storm. She knew that Matt was down there just waiting to save her. And then her instant of peace vanished like bursting a bubble as Amber took in the long distance that she would have to cover before she was truly safe.

Amber ran again.

The snow was still sticking heavily to the ground, causing Amber to fall several times on the ice. She was so tired that she thought she was going to pass out, and yet Amber knew the night was long from over.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, she closed in on the outcropping, mere meters from safety. She was running flat out.

And then everything went dark.

"Amber!" a voice called from a distance. Waves rolled in her head, making rushing noises and blocking out any sound other than the mist. "Amber!" the voice called again. It was a male voice, comforting, familiar. "Amber," it called again, pulling her back to reality.

Amber was suddenly aware of a thumping pain in the very centre of her forehead.

"Ouch," she murmured.

"Amber," the voice half-sighed half-laughed. Matthew.

Amber suddenly felt an unexplained feeling of anxiety but couldn't place its cause. "What happened?" she asked, still with her eyes shut and not entirely aware of what was going on around her.

"You ran into a tree." This time Matt definitely laughed.

"Tree?" she muttered confusedly.

"Something only you could manage at a time like this." This time he definitely laughed.

Amber abruptly remembered what she had been doing before she ended up on the cold wet floor with a pounding headache

"Matt, The Voice, he's here-"

"Sshh," he whispered. "You need to relax, I think you have a concussion. The voice is long gone."

"Oh." Amber made to sit up but Matt pushed her back down to the ground.

"I'm here to protect you, remember? That means stopping you from getting brain damage."

"Oh please." Amber stood up. "I'm not going to get-" she was overcome with dizziness and fell back down. Matt caught her before she could hit her head again on the ground. He took off his jacket and placed it between Amber and the snow.

"I tried to warn you. On the upside, all this snow is like a giant icepack for your head."

"Yay," Amber veined enthusiasm through her tiredness.

"I'll take you home."

She felt Matt lift her up and the air whooshing past as he carried her home at his supernatural pace. She felt her eyelids drooping before the miniature forest was out of view.

Amber woke up lying on her familiar little bed with bright sunlight shining through the window. She groaned and pulled the pillow over her head to block it out, but that made the air stuffy and hard to breathe. Amber sighed and made to get up, rolling over, intending to reach the edge of the bed, but instead falling straight onto the floor. The thud made as she landed was muffled by the thick carpet.

Amber groaned again and crawled to her feet. The sudden movement made her head thump, and she felt a large lump protruding out of her forehead when she brought her hand tothe source of the pain. Amber couldn't quite remember how she had injured herself, although the answer was on the tip of her tongue, like a forgotten dream, just out of reach. She slouched into the bathroom to inspect herself in the mirror. Each footfall on the carpet sounded like the pounding of a drum inside her head.

The bump looked even bigger than it felt, like a tennis ball sticking out in the very centre of Amber's forehead. As she stared at her reflection, flickers of how she had sustained the injury flickered in front of her eyes: running through a grassy area, some sort of field maybe, with a few trees nearby and then...blackness. It was irritating to be so close to an answer and yet to not know it. Amber returned to her room to get dressed, trying to walk as softly as possible so as not to aggravate the drumming in her head.

It was difficult trying to put on a jumper without hurting the lump on her head any further, each brush of the sleek material against the bruise hurt like a fresh wound. She eventually managed the task and then walked carefully downstairs, making sure that each foot was firmly on the step before continuing, and leaning a large proportion of her weight on the banister. The house was completely silent apart from the creaking protests of Amber's weight on the staircase, which meant her mum must have already gone to work. She wondered if her mum had actually noticed the new addition to Amber's face. The clock in the hall said it was half-past one, and Amber groaned for the third time this morning-or afternoon-at how much of the day she had already lost. She got herself a bowl of cereal from the kitchen and took it into the living room, setting it down on the coffee table beside the sofa. Amber flicked through the channels quickly but there was nothing on that interested her, so she grabbed a DVD off the shelf without paying attention to the title and crammed it into the player. It wasn't a film that she particularly liked, an adventure movie, but Amber sat and ate breakfast whilst the opening credits flashed across the screen to an upbeat soundtrack.

She gave up on the film before it had gotten half way through though, pulling herself up gently from the sofa and lifting the empty bowl from the cereal with her. The water falling from the tap as Amber rinsed the bowl out sounded like thunder in her head, quickly forcing her to give up on cleaning. Instead, she went back into the hall and picked up the phone, intending to call Matt and ask where he was. Amber had the phone halfway to her ear when she remembered that she had no number for him; she didn't even know if Matt owned a phone.

Amber was just about to call Will instead when a strange idea popped into her head without her having any knowledge of where it had come from. She contemplated for a moment before curiosity got the better of her and she decided she might as well give it a try, seeing as she had no other grand plans for getting Matt there.

"Matthew," she whispered. Nothing. "Matthew?" Amber said a little louder. Still nothing. It felt ridiculous, standing all-alone in an empty house talking to herself, and she was glad that no one was around to hear her. Still, Amber couldn't stop herself giving it just one more try. She concentrated with the entirety of her mind on Matt, and then she shouted his name as her one last attempt.

"Matthew Pryer!"

"You called," the familiar voice said, sounding bemused.

"It worked?" Amber's voice came out higher than usual.

"Apparently so. Where did you get an idea like that from?"

"Why can't I have come up with it by myself?" she asked, slightly affronted.

"Book or film?"

"Television," she muttered.

Matt smirked.

"Next time, could you not shout quite so loud, it was like a fog horn going off in my head."

"Sorry, but maybe if you gave me your number I wouldn't have to resort to copying from rubbish television shows."

"I don't have a phone, so no number I'm afraid."

"You should really get one."

"If you need me, apparently you know how to call me," Matt said, almost sounding slightly annoyed.

"I wasn't talking about that," Amber shook her head. "This is the twenty-first century, how do you expect to blend in as a normal teenager when you don't have a phone."

"You're right, I'll buy one tomorrow," he sighed.

"Great. Now do you want to give me some answers?" Amber asked, and ignored Matt's edgy attitude.

"About?"

Amber pointed to her head.

"You don't remember?" Matt asked. His deep blue eyes looked worried as he examined the large lump that was now a temporary feature on Amber's face. "Think trees and voices."

Everything suddenly clicked and she could recall everything that had happened on the previous night. She mustn't have fallen asleep until well after midnight, that was why she was up so late, and the bump on her head had been from where she'd run into the tree because she had been running from her biggest fear. She gasped.

"Matthew," Amber said urgently. "We need to leave."

"Why?" he sounded puzzled.

"He found me, the voice found me here! If he can find me here then he can find me anywhere! We need to leave!" Amber couldn't understand why Matt didn't look at all phased by the fact that nowhere was safe for either of them any more. "We have to go," Amber repeated. It would hurt her to leave her mum and her friends and Will, but she knew it was the only was to keep them safe.

"He's not going to find you," Matt said calmly.

"You can't know that."

"Amber, look at me." Matt lifted Amber's chin up so that she was looking into his face and said very slowly, "You are safe. He won't get to you while I'm here."

Amber took a deep breath.

"Better?" he asked.

"Not really." Her head was still pounding.

"You should take an aspirin. I'll go get you one."

"But-" he was gone before Amber could finish her sentence.

"Here you go," Matt said, returning with a small pot of pills. He had been gone for less than a second.

"Thanks." She cracked open the lid and dropped one tablet onto the palm of her hand, giving the pot back to Matthew. The pill was dry in Amber's mouth and hard to swallow. She made a little face.

"Water?" Matt guessed.

She nodded.

Matt disappeared for another split second, returning with a large glass filled right to the brim with fresh water. Amber took the glass off him and glugged the water down thirstily, stopping only to take a breath when the glass was empty.

"More?" Matt asked.

"Yes please," she said, her throat even dryer than it had been before she'd drunk the water.

Amber didn't even notice his disappearance this time he was so fast, returning with the glass refilled. She drank down the second glass quickly, and then another after that.

"Why am I so thirsty?" Amber asked as she drained the fourth consecutive glass.

"It's probably a result of all the stress your body has been through in the last twenty-four hours," said Matt in an off-handed manner.

"Oh." She supposed it made sense.

"When was the last time you ate?" Matt asked.

"About two hours ago."

"Are you hungry now?"

"I suppose so." Now that she thought about it, Amber was hungry, starving in fact.

Matt grabbed her hand and pulled her into the kitchen like she was a rag doll.

"Sit," he said.

"I am not a dog," Amber retorted, but took a seat on the stool by the counter anyway.

Within seconds Matt had a sizzling pan of chicken on one ring of the hob, one of potatoes on the other and a pot of beans in the microwave. He leaned opposite Amber on the counter whilst the delicious aroma of the food filled the room.

"While I remember," he said, paying apparently no attention to what was cooking behind him and extracting from his pocket a small box that was identical to the one that had held Amber's locket only smaller. "Happy Christmas."

"It's five days until Christmas," she reminded him, picking up and examining the box nonetheless.

"Well, if you don't want it," Matt reached out to take the box off her, but he pulled it out of his reach.

"I didn't say that. I just meant, does this mean I won't see you."

"Not at all, I just thought that after last night it might cheer you up. Also, it's a replacement for the locket."

Amber automatically reached up to touch the golden heart dangling around her neck.

"What's wrong with my locket?" she asked.

"Nothing, it's just that what's in the box is more powerful. Go on, open it."

She snapped open the tiny red box to find a ring resting inside. It was made of three separate lengths of gold all wound together like a plait. At the centre of the ring there were two stones: one a sapphire, the exact shade of Matthew's eyes, the other black. Both of the stones shone in the sunlight, both equally beautiful, though Amber preferred the sapphire.

"What's this black one?" she asked.

"That is obsidian. An unrecognised gem, just like you."

"Book or film?" Amber quoted Matt from their earlier conversation.

"Film," he muttered.

They both laughed.

"Thank you, I love it."

"I just hope it does a better job than the last one did."

She flashed back to the previous night, the creature from her dreams, the monster in the mirror.

"Food's done," Matt said, bringing her back to the present and a large plate of chicken.

Amber set the box with the ring down and picked up a knife and fork, gulping down the hot food and burning her tongue in the process.

"What?" she asked, as politely as possible through a mouthful of potatoes. She could see Matt wincing with every bite she took.

"It's not easy for me to watch you burning yourself-and with something that I gave you."

"Sorry," Amber said, blowing on the forkful of beans she was about to eat to cool them down. "Better?"

"Thanks."

"You know you can relax, you don't have to get all worked up about a burnt tongue."

"I know, but when it hurts you, it hurts me twice as much."

"You never told me that before," she frowned.

"That's the curse of the Daemon. Kind of clever really, if I fail to save you then I end up in more pain then you are."

"That's horrible."

"It's not so bad," he shrugged. "Lets me know I'm doing my job right."

Amber set the fork down.

"You should eat that," Matt said.

"I'll wait for it to stop burning."

They both laughed again.
Chapter 10

Amber was happier than she had been for a long time, which was strange because her life couldn't have been more complicated. It was still the holidays, which meant that she got to spend a lot of the day with Will, to whom she was growing closer and closer every day. Matt was usually within a close proximity, though he always remained unseen. Amber had asked him hundreds of times to come into the house and meet Will, but he persisted that it would keep her safer if as few people as possible knew about him being there.

Will was round at Amber's house almost every day. They would go to the café down the road or watch one of the many films Amber had collected over the years.

"What do you want for Christmas?" asked Will one snowy Tuesday lunchtime. Tuesdays were meant to be a day for going down to the café, but Amber refused to walk down the street in the knee-deep snow just to buy a drink and a sandwich, so instead they were staying inside with a hot mug of tea.

"Well, my mum hasn't got much money left after the big house move so-"

"I meant from me silly," Will said.

"Oh," Amber stopped short. "You don't have to get me anything."

"You're right, I don't have to. But I want to."

Amber started laughing.

"What?" asked Will.

"I'm sorry," she choked out. "That line was just a bit cheesier than I expected it to be."

"I might not get you anything after all," he said.

"I'm sorry," Amber said again. She reached up and kissed him lightly.

"Apology accepted." Will bent down and kissed her again, and then again.

It was easy being around Will. He could be funny or serious, and he never said a bad word about anyone, accept for Darren who he still hated after the incident at the dance.

He stood helping Amber make sandwiches in the cramped, blue-cabinet kitchen. It was already a cold winter, but Amber noticed the icy bite most in the little room, which lacked any form of heating. Even then, she thought the house seemed colder that usual.

"So you never told me what you wanted for Christmas," Will said.

"I told you, I don't want anything."

"If you don't tell me I'll just end up buy something you don't want."

"I don't want you to get me anything, because then I wouldn't know what to get for you," Amber said.

"I don't want anything from you."

Amber rolled her eyes.

"It's true," Will said. "I don't need anything but you being there."

He bent down slowly and kissed her again. Amber closed her eyes and leant into him.

"Now will you tell me what you want?" Will murmured.

"This. I just want this," she replied simply.

They stood there in the kitchen for a long time, with Amber cradled in Will's strong arms. Eventually though, she began to shiver with the cold and Will insisted that they went into the living room and put a rug over her.

"So what film do you want to watch?" he asked once he was satisfied that Amber had warmed up to a healthy core temperature.

"I don't really care, any one," she replied.

Will crossed over to the other side of the room to the shelf that held Amber's vast movie collection.

It all happened very fast then.

Amber's ears burst as a deafening, screeching scream rang through the house. Whether because of the instant rush of adrenaline that rushed through her, or through sheer instinct itself, Amber found herself standing next to the shabby old sofa, the rug discarded on the floor at her feet. She quickly registered Will, whose reactions must have been slower than her own, just beginning to turn away from looking at the shelf, his blonde hair ruffled at the speed he was moving. At that same moment, Amber registered that Will was not the only person in the room with her.

Crouching sinisterly in the corner of the room, barely hidden by the open door, was a beautiful, terrifying figure. It was a figure Amber recognized, though she was not sure where from. She was female, with long, flame red hair blowing around her head as though caught up in a strong wind. She looked only a couple of years older than Amber, if that, though her face was as pale as though it had been void of life for many more years. Behind her, protruding from her back like great sculptures, were two magnificent, bright black-if there could be such a colour-wings. They were the sort of wings Amber imagined belonging to an angel, only the black of death instead of the white of life.

The demon girl turned her head to look at Amber, who was instantly taken in by a pair of wide, black eyes, like those of a crow, or a snake, squaring up its opponent before making the deadly attack. Amber tried to make herself look big and threatening, like you were meant to in a bear attack, but the expression on the demon girl's face said it all. She was here for Amber, and she was not going to let Amber escape alive.

Her head shouted instructions to call for help, to plead, to run, but they got lost somewhere in the connection between brain and limbs. Amber prayed that Matt was on his way, that he would come and save if not herself, then at least Will, who she doubted would be allowed to live after witnessing what was about to be done.

And still those black eyes bore into Amber's. She felt like they being was looking right down into her soul, and that scared her more than anything that had happened yet. Those eyes were not like Amber's; though dark, her eyes were a charming obsidian, like a sparkling gemstone, full of life. The demon girl's eyes reminded Amber of a star that had just flickered out of existence.

Then the demon girl smiled, her blood red lips spreading into a horrific snarl. Her body tensed, ready to pounce, and Amber's entire being called out for Matt. But he was not there, and he would not be able to save her.

As she watched the hunter propel herself towards her like a lioness to its prey, Amber was once again caught in those round, black eyes, unable to move. When the demon girl was less than a foot from her, Amber was strangely reminded of the snake off Jungle Book, who always hypnotized its prey to feel calm before killing it. Amber felt calm now. Perhaps that was why she reacted too slowly to stop him.

Will had had plenty of time to catch up, and for adrenaline to start coursing its way around his veins. He had watched as Amber had noticed the terrifying figure, as she had taken in her appearance, and had been drawn in to those eyes. He had watched as Amber stood motionless, not even trying to escape or cry out. And he had felt anger towards this girl with the fiery hair, who had come to take Amber from him. He couldn't let her.

Amber watched helpless as Will sprang from the other side of the room, towards the demon girl who was now inches from reaching her. He flew through the air like a well-trained acrobat, and collided with the girl moments before she would have gotten to Amber.

There was a brilliant white flash and when Amber opened her eyes, she realized the demon girl was gone. And so was Will.

In the second it took for Amber to register this, Matt had arrived in the room looking worried and tense.

"What happened?" he asked.

Amber collapsed in a heap on the ground and started weeping violently. Matt ran over and wrapped her up in his arms, which shook with the force of her sobs.

"There was a girl," she said between gasps. "But she wasn't really a girl. And then she was heading for me, but then she was gone and so was....and so was..." she resolved into sobs again.

"Amber, I'm so sorry," Matt said. "It's all my fault, I let her get past me. She must have put up some sort of defense because I couldn't reach you, even though I knew you were in trouble."

"It should-have been-me!" Amber wailed. She hated crying; it made her feel weak and helpless. But Will was gone, she hadn't stopped him, and if now wasn't a time to feel helpless she didn't know what was.

"What do you mean it should have been you?"

"She wanted me! The girl wanted me, and she took Will instead!" Amber screamed, clutching her hands to her head in anguish.

"Amber breath. Who is Will?"

"He's Will. He was my best friend and then my boyfriend and now he's gone!" Amber rocked back and forth and started murmuring to herself, "He's gone. She took him. He's gone."

"Amber, please." Matt looked like he was in intense pain having to watch Amber suffer like this. "We'll get him back. I promise, we'll get him back."

"How?" Amber looked up at Matt from where she sat curled up. In that moment she felt like the world was no entirely over.

Matt took a deep breath.

"After I told you what I was, I knew it wouldn't be long until The Voice came for you. I had to do something but I didn't know what would protect you against something like him. Then I heard about this girl called Lyana. I was told she deals with magic."

"She's a witch?" Amber asked, wiping her eyes with a tissue Matt had handed to her. She didn't like the sound of this; witches were mean old women with long warty noses who cackled; the thought of meeting one terrified her almost as much as the thought of meeting The Voice. But she would do it if it got Will back.

"She doesn't like the term witch. She calls herself a sorceress."

"A sorceress? Do you realise how many horror movies you just put into my head?" asked Amber hysterically.

"She's not like that. She wants to help people, that's how I got her to help us."

"What do you mean?" Amber asked. Matt was trying to pull her up, but she was making it difficult for him. She didn't want to leave her spot on the floor unless it was to go and save Will.

"Your locket and your ring. I asked her to imbibe them with a spell that would stop The Voice from tracing you."

"She can't be a very good witch then."

"She is, it's just The Voice is stronger," Matt succeeded this time in getting Amber to her feet. "Now will you please come with me to see her. We won't be able to save your friend without Lyana's help."

"He was more than my friend Matt," Amber said thickly.

"Fine, she'll help us save you boyfriend," said Matt, and Amber noticed a strange look in his eyes that she didn't recognise. "I'll go and call a taxi, and then we'll go straight there ok?"

Amber nodded slowly.

"You don't need to worry, I'm not going to let anything get to you."

Where have I heard that before, Amber thought.

It couldn't have been more than five minutes after Matt called the taxi company that a shiny black car showed up outside the door, and Amber was being helped into a seat by a very cautious Matt. She hated that he was treating her like a three-year-old. She knew what had happened and, though she didn't want to, she accepted that Will was gone. The only thing she could do now was try to get him back.

Amber's mum had been out of the house all day doing the grocery run, which to her usually included quite a few clothes shops too. Amber was incredibly grateful that her mother had been gone while the girl had appeared, as she knew she couldn't bare it if she lost her as well.

Within moments the car was speeding through the heart of York, past the theatre and the station, then down some tiny alleyways until it the surroundings became darker and more run-down looking.

The brakes squealed as the car came to a sudden halt at the entrance to a dark alleyway, with high fences running along the length of the street they were parked on. They must have travelled to the other side of town in under ten minutes-Amber would never get used to the speed of that taxi service. Matt got out of the car and walked around to Amber's side to open the door for her. He then began walking on ahead of her into the alley, but turned around when he noticed she hadn't moved.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Don't be scared, she's a nice person. You'll like her. We shouldn't keep her waiting, though." Matt walked back to Amber and took her hand. "Trust me," he said.

Amber sighed and pushed all her fears to the back of her mind, stepping forward away from the light and into the darkness.

At times Matt's powers were an annoyance to Amber. This was not one of those times. Using his incredible eyesight he picked out the door to Lyana's place through the darkness and knocked twice before entering.

The house was the complete opposite of what Amber had been imagining. In her head she'd seen dungeon-like rooms with bloodstained walls and candles for light. Instead she stood in an open hallway full of light from a glass ceiling above her head, the floor was a light wood and the walls were painted with complementing tones of white and yellow. A bunch of tiny pink flowers sat in a glass vase on an oak side table. Amber thought she recognised them but she couldn't put a name to them.

"Matthew," A tall girl with dark hair appeared from around the corner and hugged Matt as a greeting. "I see you finally made it."

"Hi Lyana," Matt smiled.

The girl called Lyana was the absolute opposite of the person Amber had been picturing in her head. Stunningly beautiful, with her long, smooth black ringlets and cherry red lips that contrasted perfectly with her creamy skin, she returned Matthew's smile, revealing a row of dazzlingly white, straight teeth.

Amber coughed loudly, irritated by the lack of notice she was being given. Lyana spun around with the grace of a figure skater to look at her.

"You must be Amber," her voice had a musical quality to it. "I'm Lyana, Matthew might have told you about me."

"Yeah," Amber said, feigning niceness to this girl she so irrationally disliked. "He did. Hi."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Thank you," Amber replied. "You have a beautiful home. What are these flowers here? I feel like I should recognise them."

"Oh, they're daisies," Lyana smiled again.

Amber looked again at the pink flowers. "I didn't realise you could get them in pink."

"You can't," she said mysteriously.

"Wait, so you?"

"It's my favourite colour," she smiled.

Matt looked at Amber to make sure she was okay with this new level of magic. She felt fine; she had gotten used to impossible things over the past few months, and Will's abduction was stopping her from being able to really take anything in.

"Why don't you come through to the kitchen, I've just taken a batch of muffins out of the oven."

"Great," Matt started towards the kitchen ahead of Lyana, "I'm starving."

"He's always so hungry," Lyana sighed, showing Amber the way through to the kitchen.

The kitchen was even brighter than the hall, with a sunny yellow paint covering the walls and the handles of the cream cabinets. The smell of delicious food saturated every particle of air, making Amber's mouth water. Matt was already sitting in a fluffy pink armchair and eating a large blueberry muffin. Amber thought he looked rather out of place, munching away on blueberries whilst surrounded by so many pink, cuddly objects.

"These are great Lyana," he said through a mouthful of blueberries. "Even better than the last lot."

"Glad you like them," Lyana carried the plate of muffins over to him so he could grab another one.

"Amber, try one of these, they're amazing," Matt said, holding out the plate.

"I'm not hungry," she murmured.

"But you haven't eaten since breakfast," he insisted.

"I said I'm not hungry."

"If you don't like muffins I can make you something else," Lyana offered.

"I'm fine," Amber said a little more sharply than intended.

"A drink maybe?" Lyana asked.

"No thanks." Amber didn't feel right, sitting here in this bright open space, while Will was God knows where.

"Lyana, can I have a word?" Matt asked.

They left the room for five minutes and when they came back, Lyana's beautiful face was strained into a sombre expression. She walked over to Amber and gave her a hug. Amber felt quite awkward standing in an stranger's kitchen while that same stranger was hugging her like they'd been friends for years.

"I'm so sorry about your friend," Lyana said.

"Oh, yeah...well I was hoping you could help me to help him."

"I will. I know what it's like to lose someone you loved," said Lyana bleakly.

During this conversation, Matt had been standing in the doorway, shifting his weight from one foot to the other while he watched the girls handle their problems in their own girly ways.

"So, what's going to happen here?" he asked. "If Will's still alive then I doubt he's got much time left."

Amber took in a deep breath. She had already known this of course, but it made it somehow worse to hear it from someone else's mouth.

"Matt," Lyana gave him a dirty look for his lack of tact.

"Sorry," he said, then crossed the room and put his arm around Amber's shoulders.

"I'll try to help you," said Lyana.

"Trying is something," Matt said. "Who knows how many creatures like that thing that took Will are out there."

"You don't think that thing at my house was The Voice?" asked Amber.

"I think if it was The Voice, you wouldn't have lived to tell me what happened."

An awkward silence settled in between the three of them.

"How much do you know about The Voice?" Amber asked Lyana.

"I know a little," she replied. "Enough to be able to throw him off your scent for a while, but I'm not powerful enough to hold him off for good, and that would be if I even had the spells for it."

"You actually cast spells," Amber was taken aback enough to lose her train of thought, "I thought that was just myth."

"Of course I have spells. Do you want to see the book?"

Her face lit up with excitement that would have been echoed in Amber's own expression, had her best friend not just been captured by an omnipotent monster.

Lyana led Amber upstairs and around to a closet door, with Matt following closely on their tail. The door opened to reveal another staircase, the top of which was barely visible through the lack of light. Lyana gestured for Amber to go in front of her up the stairs. Amber was a little uncertain of having her back to a witch; she still wasn't sure how she felt towards her, but Amber knew that if Matt trusted her, then she could too.

She stumbled up the dark stairway blindly, the banister her only guide in the darkness, and almost fell through an old oak door at the top. The room she found herself in looked entirely out of place with Lyana's contemporary style. The floor and walls were panelled with the same dark wood the door had been made out of, with shelves full of jars and odd instruments protruding at regular intervals. There were only two windows at opposite ends of the room from each other; both of them were made with blood red stained glass, causing the sunlight to take on a ruby colour as it filtered through to the floor. In the centre of the room stood a podium, highlighted by a pillar of light that originated from an old chandelier, the candles on which lit as Amber looked at them. On the podium, there lay a book that looked like it belonged in a museum or buried with some ancient king. Its pages were crumpled and torn, with stains splattered across the deep emerald cover.

"What do you think?" Lyana suddenly appeared behind Amber. She wasn't sure what to say; the room surrounding her looked like a scene from a Halloween movie or a Shakespearian play. It just didn't belong in this clean, modern house. Lyana laughed, "I guess it's a lot to take in."

"Yeah," Amber agreed.

"Let me show you," she grabbed her hand, and Amber saw Matt tensing for her reaction as she spun her around the room. "This is where I make potions," Lyana waved her hand and a sheet flew up in the air, revealing a large cauldron. "And this is where I keep the ingredients," she took Amber over to a shelf packed with jars containing various plants and creatures. "And this," Lyana pulled her into the centre of the room to stand beside the lectern. "This is the book containing every spell I know."

Amber stared at the worn out book again, realising the power that was held within it's battered pages.

"Any questions?" Lyana asked.

"No wands?" said Amber.

Lyana laughed, "Wands are just a toy to keep kids entertained, no who would have thought anyone would take them seriously."

Amber almost laughed too. Matt seemed to relax at her non-panicky, if depressed, line of thought, and came to join them at the edge of the light pillar.

"So, there's something in that book that might help us?" Amber asked.

"This book has been passed down through generations of my family. If this Voice is as old as you think he is, we have to hope that someone has run into him before."

"And if they haven't?"

Lyana paused for an almost unnoticeable moment of hesitation, "Then I'll try to come up with something."

Amber couldn't understand why Lyana was so willing to help, especially when helping them could easily get her killed. She didn't see any reason for her to risk so much for people who, according to Matt, she had only known for a few weeks.

"Can I have your ring for a moment please?" Lyana asked abruptly.

Amber looked at Matt, who nodded reassuringly. She reluctantly handed over the twisted gold ring; it was the first time it had left Amber's finger since Matt had given it to her, and Amber experienced an unpleasant sensation that made her feel naked as it left her hand. Lyana muttered some words in a strange tonggue whilst waving her hand over the ring in complicated motions, and Amber watched in amazement as a golden glow emanated from the tips of her fingers and spread like a stream around the ring in her palm. When she was done she tipped the ring back into Amber's open hand, and she noticed how it sparkled even brighter than when it had been new.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"The cloaking charm I put on it needed renewing," Lyana said simply, like what she had just done was no more extraordinary than washing dishes or laying a table.

"Thank you," Matt said sincerely. Amber could tell he trusted Lyana completely, and wondered how she had earned that trust. "Is there anything I can do to help while I'm here?"

"Actually yes, there is. I'm running low on Kongamato teeth and you know what it's like for me at the market. It's just not safe any more."

"You want me to pick some up?" Matt offered.

"If you could."

"Sure, I'll go now. Is it okay if Amber stays here? It's a lot safer than her house at the moment."

"Yeah, no problem," she smiled warmly.

Matt took Amber to one side quickly. "I'm going to go and pick up this potion ingredient for Lyana, and then I'll be straight back," he promised.

"But she said it wasn't safe," Amber protested.

"She meant for her, the magical world still has a very chauvinistic view towards women. I'll be perfectly safe, don't worry."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Now promise me you won't do anything stupid," Matt said.

"I promise," Amber sighed and he was gone, leaving a slight breeze behind him. She perched on an old stool and watched as Lyana busied herself with the spell book.

"So, you don't need to use a wand then?" Amber asked to fill the silence.

"No. It's like, you know the way you give a baby a rattle? Well, a wand is kind of like a rattle for children of magic."

"So you were born like this?" asked Amber.

"Yes, I was born with my powers," Lyana said.

"So where are your parents?"

"They died."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry," said Amber.

"No, it's fine," Lyana smiled. "They've been gone a long time, I'm used to it."

"When did they die?"

"My dad died when I was fifteen. He was human."

"Oh, so your mum was-"

"A sorceress, yes," Lyana said. "I never knew her, she left when I was three. She might still be out there, but I've never tried looking for her."

"Why not?" asked Amber.

"I figured, if she wanted to talk to me, she would have gotten in touch years ago. Or she would never have left."

"But, if you never knew your mother, how did you learn all this magic?" Amber asked.

"I found this book under the bed in my dad's room one day. I read from it, as a joke, you know-nearly ended up setting the house on fire. When I confronted my father, he told me about what my mother had been. I found that, after a few failed attempts, I was able to do some of the spells in the book. The rest came with time."

"Is that why you chose to help people, because all your family is gone?"

"No," Lyana said. "That wasn't the reason."

"Then what was?" asked Amber. Lyana had been very open with her answers, until now when she dodged the question persistently, which of course made Amber want to know the answer even more.

"What got you into helping people?" she asked again.

Lyana sighed. "I fell in love. And I ended up getting my heart broken."

Oh, I'm sorry Lyana, I didn't-"

"It's fine," she turned her back to Amber and walked over to a shelf full of books. "Besides, it was decades ago," she said.

"Decades?" asked Amber. "How old are you?" Her question came out much more bluntly than had been intended. "Sorry, I just meant...well you don't look like you could be more than twenty years old."

"You flatter me, Amber. Didn't Matthew tell you?" Lyana asked.

Amber shook her head.

"Oh, well maybe we should wait until he gets back to answer that question."

"Lyana, when were you born?" Amber asked.

The tall, elegant girl sighed again.

"I was born on November sixth, seventeen fifty-three."

"Seventeen fifty-three? So you're like-" Amber did some quick mental maths- "Two-hundred-and-fifty years old?"

"As a rough ball park, yes," said Lyana. She smiled, but looked sad at the same time.

"Wow," said Amber. "That's just...wow."

"Are you ok? You're not freaked out?" Lyana asked.

"I'm freaked out, sure, but I'm getting quite good at dealing with freaky things that would have freaked me before."

"Yes, you do seem to be handling things rather well," Lyana noted.

"It was hard at first, but I'm handling it now," said Amber. "I just wish there were more I could do to help."

"Like what?" asked Lyana.

"Well, look at you, you have all these magic powers, and Matt is all super strong and fast and all, and I'm just...human."

"Being human's not a bad thing Amber."

"Yeah, right."

"Yes," said Lyana. "I am right. Maybe some day I'll show you how it feels to not be quite so human."

"How?" asked Amber.

"I'm a witch, I'm pretty sure I can find a way."

"So, can you just invent spells for anything?" Amber asked.

"It's complicated," said Lyana.

"And that means?"

"Firstly, it depends on what you want the spell to do. If it's something simple, like turning tea into coffee or changing the colour of some flowers-" Amber remembered the bunch of pink daisies in the hallway- "then I can usually do it just by picturing in my head what I want to happen. If it's something complicated, like dealing with a monster with unknown capabilities, then I could use as much guidance as possible-hence the book."

"So, do you...have a broomstick?"

"A broomstick?" Lyana turned around and gave Amber a look that made her feel like a complete idiot. "I like to travel in style...that's why I tend to go for a carpet instead."

"A carpet?"

"Yeah you know, like a magic carpet," said Lyana casually, still flicking through the old crispy pages.

"A magic carpet?" Amber asked incredulously.

"Absolutely, they're like the sports car of the whole flying household furniture genre," Lyana spun around and Amber could see that she was trying not to laugh.

"You're not serious, are you?"

"Not in the slightest," she burst out in tinkling laughter, like tiny forks on crystal glasses. "Sorceresses don't fly Amber. If we did, there wouldn't be a shiny yellow Elise parked in the garage downstairs.

"Oh," Amber smiled.

Lyana went back to flipping through her book but stopped almost immediately, resting her palms on either side of the lectern.

"I've found it," she muttered, already beginning to read the ancient symbols. "This is bad," she murmured, "this is very bad. You need to get Matthew, now."

"How?" Amber asked, panicked by Lyana's sudden transition from joking to panic.

"He told me you can summon him, you just have to think of him and he'll come."

Amber focused on Matt and pictured his face in her head, Matthew, she thought, Matthew get back here now. For a split second, she wasn't sure if it had worked, but then she felt the gust of air as Matt whooshed past her into the room.

"What is it?" he asked, immediately picking up on the tense atmosphere around him.

"I found him," Lyana said morosely, "Turns out one of my ancestors did run into this voice, around the twelfth century-"

"Twelfth century?" Matt echoed dryly, sitting down as the impact of what they were up against hit him. Even though most of Lyana's words flew straight over Amber's head, she felt how Matt worried, as though spending so much time together had attuned her to the same wavelength as him.

"There's not much here; it looks like someone's torn out some of the pages..."

"But you will be able to come up with a solution for this, right?" Matt asked forcefully.

"I don't know, it's not much to go on."

"What do you mean not much?" Matt was shouting, and Amber could feel his anger at Lyana's vagueness pulsing through her, barely controllable.

"Don't yell at me like that!" Lyana raised her voice in defence, "I could have turned my back when you came to me asking for help, but I listened to what you had to stay and I did what I could." Lyana's beautiful features contorted with rage, and her liquid blue eyes turned to ice.

"Well, when I came to you I thought you might be able to help me," Matthew yelled back. Amber felt every word he said as it left his mouth, feeling the anger burning her deep in the pit of her stomach.

"I have helped you Matthew," Lyana seethed through her teeth, "and don't you forget it." Lyana stepped up to Matthew and wind began howling around the room; the candles in the chandelier went out, plunging the room into darkness

"Wait," Amber stepped in between them. Though she was sure Matt could hold his own in a fight against Lyana, she didn't think it was a good idea to test her theory. "You shouldn't be fighting each other; you should be fighting that...thing."

"You're right," said Matt, sighing and going to sit in an armchair in the corner of the room.

Lyana exhaled noisily, clearly offended by Matthew's doubt of her power. Amber felt secretly pleased with herself-her, the human with nothing extraordinary about her, acting as peacekeeper between a Daemon and a Sorceress. Maybe being human wasn't so bad after all.

Matt threw himself onto an old, patched up armchair and beckoned Amber over beside him.

"So what now?" he asked.

Lyana forgave Matthew quickly, and they got into animated discussions about magical things Amber didn't understand. At first it was interesting to hear about all the creatures and spells Lyana had in mind, but as the hours wore on and the day turned to night, she began to bore of listening to conversations she couldn't understand. She hadn't gotten much sleep over the past week for fear of The Voice, or worry of what Matt was up to, and with nothing to keep her awake now, Amber felt her eyelids droop and her head lean to one side as all those sleepless nights caught up on her.

Next thing she knew, Amber was lying in her own bed in her own room, with the covers wrapped around her, still in her jeans and t-shirt. It took her a moment to take in her surroundings: it was still dark outside, and the moon shone through the open window. Someone coughed quietly, and Amber rolled over to see Matt, smiling at her bewildered expression from the other side of the room.

"What time is it?" she croaked.

"Two-thirty," Matt replied without needing to look at the clock on the desk.

"Did you carry me home?" Amber asked.

"I thought you'd prefer it to sleeping at Lyana's, plus I thought your mother would wonder where you were if she woke up and you were missing."

Amber felt sick with herself-how could she have fallen asleep when Will was probably being tortured by The Voice or one of his followers. And she had been lying, warm and cosy in her bed.

"We have to get back out there," she said. "Will could be hurt-"

"You're not going anywhere until you get some rest." Matt put a firm hand down on her shoulder and pushed her back down onto the pillows.

"But-"

"I'm supposed to be protecting you Amber, what good would I be doing if I let you run off now to fight some creature that even I couldn't beat?"

"Will sacrificed himself so that I-"

"So that you could what?" asked Matt. "Get yourself killed performing some martyrdonic task?"

"Would you let me finish a sentence?" Amber yelled, then remembered her sleeping mum and continued in violent whispers. "I can't just let him die Matt, I love him!"

Matt's expression froze like a mask.

"If that's the way you feel, then I will of course help you. But only if you go back to sleep," he said stiffly.

Amber nodded, not because she was tired, or felt resigned, but because of the tone voice Matt had spoken in.

Somewhere far, far away, at that same moment, a flame-haired, black-eyed girl screamed in agony as she was punished for the mistake she had made.

At the same time, Will called out one name...
Chapter 11

"Amber."

It was well into the night when Amber woke up thinking she'd heard someone calling her name. The night was cold and windy, with icy branches blowing into the windows. Amber opened her eyes and looked around in the semi-darkness. Matt was gone. The room was empty.

Normally, she would have rolled over and gone back to sleep, deciding it must have been the wind she had heard. But not tonight. Whether because she was getting so used to the supernatural that she was developing a sixth sense for it, or simply because she was becoming paranoid, Amber was almost certain that there was something else out there. Something dangerous.

She pulled the covers off her and was met by a wave of ice-cold air. Stopping for a moment to curse inwardly the British weather, Amber crept stealthily across the room to the door, and then stood very still.

It was silent, eerily so. The only noise she could hear was her own breathing. She wondered where Matt had gotten too, and it was that thought that made her hand tighten on the doorknob and gave her the strength to step out towards the unknown.

Matthew Pryer was in love. He had tried to tell himself he was wrong, that it wasn't possible, but he had been lying to himself. And now the girl he loved, was in love with someone else.

Matt wasn't sure what had made him fall for this girl; whether it was the way her copper hair fell perfectly down her back, or how her dark eyes lit up when she remembered something funny, or how she had never run when she found out what he really was.

It was this girl that he had spent all of his day with, planning ways to save the boy she loved. The boy Matt couldn't help but hate.

And now he'd gone and promised that he would risk his life trying to save this boy, because she had asked him to, and Matt would do anything to make this girl happy.

He had left her a few hours ago. It had hurt to do it, but she would be safe now Lyana had given her the charmed necklace, and if she wanted her friend-or boyfriend, as she had corrected Matt earlier-to be saved, then he would have to leave her, for now at least.

So, when she was fast asleep, Matt had left Amber's house to return to the sorceress', Lyana's.

"You took your time," she said when he knocked on the door.

"She was upset, she really loves this Will guy."

"You are incredibly transparent," said Lyana while she opened the closet-like door that led to the staircase to the attic.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Matt asked.

"Seriously?" Lyana's silky black hair whipped around as she turned halfway up the staircase to look at Matt, who arranged his features into an expression of mild interest. "Fine, pretend you don't know what I'm talking about." Lyana turned her back to Matt and continued to walk up towards the attic.

"See the thing is Lyana, I don't know what you're talking about."

Matt said this just as Lyana reached the top step and walked through the door, which she had opened magically a few moments earlier. She turned to look at him as he followed her into the attic-room that was the hiding place for all of her magical implements and spell books. Matt went straight over to an old armchair and sat down. Lyana sat opposite him.

"Ok, this whole ignorance is bliss thing was cute at first, but now it's just annoying me, so you can stop your little act and just come clean," she said.

"About what?" Matt put on a bewildered smile that would have pleased a professional actor.

"Enough of the games Matt. Either tell me, or I'll slip a truth potion into your next batch of blueberry muffins."

"Fine," he sighed. "I love her."

"Mm-hmm," Lyana said, satisfied. "I just have one question."

"Shoot," he said.

"When were you planning on telling me?"

"Ly, I only just realized myself," said Matt.

"Ouch, sorry thought you'd have cottoned on a bit sooner than that. Guess that's what you get when you give people like yourself credit."

"People like myself?" he asked.

"Yeah, you know-the newbies," said Lyana.

"Newbies? Yeah, sorry I know it must be so hard to hang around those of us who weren't around at the turn of the century."

"How dare you," she said. "It was the century before that." Lyana laughed her girlish laugh, and Matt realized he felt better now that he had someone to talk to about Amber.

"So Ly, you've been in love before, how did you get over it when it went wrong?"

"Love sucks," Lyana said, "No matter what you do, someone always gets hurt. At least if you put yourself out there, you know you did everything you could to stop that person being you."

"That was deep Ly," said Matt.

"Of course it was deep, it was me-ah!" Lyana screamed, one long piercing, bloodcurdling scream that filled the room and seemed to suck all the air out of it. She fell to her knees on the ground, clutching her hands to her head. She was still screaming.

"Lyana!" Matt jumped off the seat to kneel next to her. "Lyana, what is it?"

She just shook her head, tears falling off her long, black eyelashes.

"Lyana, you have to tell me! If you tell me I might be able to help," Matt tried to calm the wailing girl as she rocked back and forth on the ground, hands covering ears, and screaming the whole time.

"Lyana, what is it?" Matt held her by her shoulders to stop her rocking. Her long-fingered hands were clenched tightly into her hair, and her face was hidden in her knees. She had stopped screaming, but now Lyana was sobbing, short dry sobs, as though there was not enough air in her lungs to shriek out again.

"Lyana, please," Matt's voice broke as he tried to help the tortured girl.

"The Voice!" she wailed. "It's in my head! It's going for Amber!"

That was when Matthew's world froze.

Amber had stepped from her bedroom to the hall, she knew she had. So where was the hallway? Why, instead of yellow wallpaper and wooden banisters, was there just a blank whiteness before her?

Maybe I'm still asleep and this is just a dream, she thought. But no, she realized, because you never think about dreaming when you're actually in a dream.

So where was she? The more time she spent here, the more time Amber felt like she'd been here before, but that was impossible; she would certainly remember a place like this, had she been to it.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something. She spun around; terrified at what could be sharing this place she was in with her. There was nothing there but white-a blank canvas. Amber sighed to herself, deciding it was probably just a lock of hair that had caught the light in a strange way.

Amber took a few steps forward warily; she knew this would be just the sort of trap The Voice would use, and she did not want to be in an unknown dimension with this creature she both feared and detested.

There it was again-the thing in the corner of her eye. She spun lightening-fast to catch the culprit, but there was nothing and no one to catch. Amber shook herself mentally, told herself it was her hair again, and also made a note that she would get a haircut if she ever got out of here.

She took another step forwards.

"Amber," a voice whispered. The same voice that had called her here in the first place.

"Who's there?" she called, spinning round continuously, unable to shake the thought that someone was standing, right behind her, just out of sight.

"Amber," the voice called again. It was louder, closer.

"Who's there?" Amber called once more, stronger than the first time.

"You know me Amber," the voice laughed is it spoke. "Over here," it whispered. "Here," from the other direction. "Over here." The words were spoken from behind Amber, and when she spun this time she did not encounter only blankness.

For just a split second, Amber saw a dark, towering figure, like that of a man. But Amber knew this was no man. Then it vanished

"Amber," the bodiless voice called again.

She turned around, and this time the figure was closer, perhaps a few meters away, and Amber could see it in more detail. He-it was a he-was tall and muscular, wearing a black cloak that seemed to be made of the very particles of air around him. His face looked like a human's would be after being caught in a house fire: red, blistering, disfigured. Amber noticed he creature had curly blonde hair, just like Will's; it made her feel nauseated.

Then the figure was gone.

She looked from side to side, chest heaving, for where it would reappear. Again, she saw nothing.

"Over here," the voice echoed around the empty space.

Amber turned towards the sound-

"No, here."

She span again, and nothing.

"Behind you."

Amber froze as the cool breath of the creature fell against the back of her neck. She turned, slowly this time for she was fearful of what she would encounter. She was very conscious of her heart pumping hard and heavy in her chest, each beat like that of a death drum sounding in her ear.

And there it was, the thing she dreaded most. Matt had been right-the girl who had taken Will had not been The Voice; this thing that stood mere inches from Amber, this was The Voice.

He stood there for an immeasurable length of time, sizing her up, head tilting slowly from side to side, black, pit-like eyes locking in on Amber's own dark obsidian.

His eyes were that of a predator, and strangely Amber found herself thinking of an old adventure movie she'd watched a while ago. The two main characters came up against a bear, and they escaped by making themselves look big and threatening. Amber drew herself up and tried to look threatening, instead of just threatened.

The creature laughed, a harsh, hollow laugh that filled the expanse of blank space.

And then he crouched, a crouch like that of a lion seeking its prey, and Amber knew there was nowhere to run, that it was all about to end. She closed her eyes and thought of Will.

Matthew Pryer was running faster than he had ever run before. Lyana had once told him he was like a cheetah on steroids, and he knew he was going at least double any speed he'd gone before.

He just hoped that it would be enough.

The attack on Lyana had stopped as quickly as it had started. She had been screaming, pulling at her long black hair, crying out to Matt-at one point she had asked him to kill her, just to make the pain go away. And then she was still. As soon as he had made sure she was alright, Matt had left. He felt ashamed of himself for leaving Lyana alone in such a state, after what was clearly a traumatic experience for her, but his whole being had felt like it was being pulled towards Amber the moment she had told him she was in trouble.

"Go," Lyana had choked out the moment she could speak. She had been busy fiddling with some sort of crystal and a map, trying to track down Amber, Matt presumed.

So Matt had run out the door, and hadn't stopped running since. His muscles were aching, and it felt as though fifty-ton weights were attached to his feet, the amount of effort he had to use to lift them. But he made it to Amber's street, and then to her front door, to the foot of her staircase. He pushed himself up the stairs, zooming with the force of a tornado, up to the top, to where Amber was.

Amber opened her eyes. The blow she had been waiting for had not come. The creature was nowhere to be seen. But another person had joined her in the white expanse.

Will.

He looked pale and drained, and that was after just one day of captivity. His blonde hair looked deadened on his head, and his leaf green eyes had lost their sparkle.

But he was alive!

Amber had spent the whole day plotting with Lyana and Matt, trying to figure out how they could save him, and all that time she had been trying to stifle the thoughts that said there was nothing there to save.

But here he stood, in front of her eyes, a sight Amber thought she might never see again.

And all she could do was stare. Will watched her watching him, and smiled.

That was all it took to break silence.

Amber half-laughed, half-sobbed and ran over to him. They kissed again and again, and then Will just held her in his arms.

"How do I know you're real?" Amber asked.

"I could say the same to you," he replied.

"No but seriously," Amber took a step back, "How do I know you aren't just another trick that Voice thing is playing on me?"

Will sighed and smiled his usual, warm friendly smile.

"You are Amber Chloe Wells, from Polegate, Luton. You are fifteen years old and love jam sandwiches. You get annoyed when people say things to deliberately hurt someone, and when people tell needless lies. Your favorite feature is your auburn hair because it looks bronze in the sun, and your least favorite feature are your black eyes because you think they're so dark that they look shallow or scary, although I think they're beautiful as they remind me of a starry night sky."

"Ok, you are Will," Amber said. "And seen as you're here," Amber inhaled a deep breath and then said without pausing, "Why the hell did you jump in front of that demon thing? I opened my eyes and saw you sailing towards me, and then there was a bright flash and then you were gone! And it was all my fault because she was after me! Do you know how I felt?"

Will tried to answer but Amber held up a hand to silence him.

"Don't reply, it's meant to be a rhetorical question," she said, then continued shouting. "I cried my eyes out because of you! Why couldn't you have just stood there like a normal person and let her take me and kept yourself safe? Because you're an idiot that's why! From now on you are forbidden from saving me if it in any was endangers your life or the life of someone else's-understand?" Amber glared at Will, who looked slightly lost and bewildered.

"I couldn't let her take you," he said. "I stood up and there she was, flying towards you, and all I could think was no. And it seemed like there was nothing I could do, and then I realised there was, and I did it. I'm sorry that you were upset, I truly am, but at the end of the day I'd much rather it was me in here than you...because I love you Amber Wells," Will finished his speech slowly, and looked at Amber, who stared back. Will had never told her he loved her, though Amber had cried out how she felt about him after he was taken by the demon girl.

"I love you too," she said. "Nothing will ever change that."

"Do you mean that?" Will asked.

"I do."

Amber reached up and kissed him again, and though she was trapped with what seemed like no hope of escape, though she knew she should feel like her world was ending right now, she felt it was only just beginning.

Matt shouted out in frustration. He could sense Amber; he knew he should be standing right in front of him. But she isn't here, he thought angrily. He was so close to her now, and yet it was like there was some sort of barrier between them, separating them.

Amber, he called out mentally, Amber Wells. It's Matt, where are you? I know you're here, talk to me Amber.

Whatever answer he received had been distorted like static on a television screen. He could only sense that the general feeling of the thought had been panic and desperation, but in some ways that was good; they were strong emotions, which meant it would make it easier for Matt to use them to get to Amber. To save her-he had to save her.

He caught another panicked thought.

Amber's moment of happiness had ended.

She had been standing, wrapped in Will's arms, content, then she heard someone calling from behind her, quietly at first, but then louder, more urgently.

She had stepped away from Will, just for a moment, to look around; she had thought it was The Voice returning to taunt her further. But there had been nothing there but he empty whiteness.

"Did you hear voices a second ago?" she had asked.

When she didn't hear a reply she had turned around to see what Will was doing, and had found he was-gone.

She span around in circles, trying to find him, hoping maybe she'd missed him, that he was standing just behind her.

"Will," she cried. "Will!"

No response.

Amber felt as though her world was ending-she had lost him once, she couldn't lose him again. It wasn't fair.

She ran one way and another, hoping...hoping for something.

But it was no good. She was alone again.

The she heard the whispering again.

It would have-should have-scared her, hearing this bodiless voice calling to her, but some part of her brain told her she didn't have to be afraid. She listened hard, and somehow managed to decipher part of what was being said through the haze of blank noise. Matt, where...I know...talk...Amber, was all she could make out, but she guessed that Matt was here to save her. But she didn't care, because he couldn't save Will.

"Will," she whispered to herself.

"Amber."

Amber's heart skipped a beat. Not because Will had been returned to her, or because Matt had come to her rescue. Her heart had faltered because of the low, rasping voice that had wrapped itself around her name.

She was not alone any more, though now she wished she were.

Matt had been pacing back and forth in the hall for the past minute. He was actually surprised he hadn't woken Amber's mother up with all his shouting and cursing-he supposed Lyana must have thought to put a sleep easy spell on her. But now he froze.

Before he had sensed that there was someone with Amber, but that presence seemed to have changed somehow, and now he could sense waves of terror coming from her, so strong that it was actually painful for Matt.

Alright, he thought to himself. Think Matt, we presume that it is The Voice that is with Amber now because of the strength of the barricade against us For some reason he was thinking to himself in plural. We know that Amber is terrified, which means that I should be able to get to her, but it seems like The Voice has stopped me from reaching her that way either. There must be some way of helping her...

And then suddenly, there he was, at Amber's side-standing opposite the entity that he assumed was what they had been calling The Voice.

Matt didn't scare easy, but this creature was unlike any he had ever seen. With its hollow eyes and pale, chalky complexion, he seemed to come from the very air around him. The creature turned to face him.

"Hello Matthew."

"You know my name," Matt said, standing protectively in front of Amber, who looked about ready to pass out.

"I think it's only fair, seen as I created you," the creature hissed.

"If we're talking about fairness, then how about you tell me your name?" Matt asked boldly, keeping his stance by Amber.

"What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," the creature rasped.

"Yeah well," said Matt. "I don't know if anyone's ever told you, but you don't look much like a rose."

"Tut, tut now Matt, don't be rude. If a fight is what you want, then a fight you shall get."

Matt doubled up on his defensive stance and glared defiantly at the man-like demon, but that was about all he could do; he had expended all his energy trying to reach Amber, and now there was none left to fight for her. They were both going to die.

All this time Amber had stayed silent. She had barely taken in what was being said; she thought her brain was so overloaded already that she would collapse if she took in anything else. But now she was stretched to breaking point. Will was gone, Matt was about to die for her, and then she would die also. A single, hot tear ran down her cheek and fell to the ground.

The next moment, the whiteness around her dissolved into a blinding bright light, like the one after the demon girl had stolen Will. Then, next thing she knew, Matt was grabbing hold of her hand as the world span around them. She just caught sight of the creature's black eyes, full of fury, before the whole world faded away, and she found herself being catapulted towards the hard ground of her hallway. She slammed down, face first, with a heavy thud, and heard the adjoining thud that meant Matt had landed beside her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice muffled by the carpet.

"Yes thanks," Amber said. She was so relieved to be alive that she wanted to jump up in the air, but her grief for Will kept her down on the ground, lying on the carpet.

It was, however, Amber who was first to get to her feet, which was odd because Matt was always quicker than her because of his swift reflexes and fast movements. But now as Amber stood over him, Matt continued to lie unmoving on the floor.

"Okay Matt, you can get up now," Amber said. "We should probably go and check on Lyana, or at least catch her up on the news. Oh, you didn't know did you? I saw Will, he's still alive! So I think we should definitely go to Lyana, I mean The Voice took the Will away, but if we escaped that place, maybe there's a way to get him out?" She finished and looked down at Matt, who still hadn't moved. "Come on lazy bones, up you get."

She nudged him with her foot, but he didn't move. It was when she bent down to offer him a hand that Amber noticed Matt was barely breathing, and that he was extremely pale.

"Matt?" she said. "Matt, talk to me."

He didn't reply.

"Matt you need to wake up," she repeated, shaking him slightly this time.

Still, he lay still.

Amber didn't know much about mythical creatures, but from all the medical dramas she'd watched over the years, she thought Matt might be going into a coma, if it was possible for a Daemon to loose consciousness like that.

Luckily, Lyana had given Amber her phone number, so that if she ever needed to reach her she could. She ran to the bedside table and picked up her mobile.

Lyana Boleyn had been sitting at the table in her large, darkened attic-room for what seemed like hours. Matthew had left to save Amber, and she hadn't heard from either of them since. She had been trying to track them down, but wasn't having any luck; for some reason she didn't seem to be able to trace Matt, and didn't dare try to trace Amber incase The Voice noticed what she was doing and launched another one of his physic attacks-that would no be good.

And so Lyana had been forced to wait. In almost three hundred years, she had not learnt how to be patient; it just wasn't a skill she had. And being forced to be patient wasn't helping her to obtain that skill.

She had been sitting with the phone in her hand, her thumb on the answer button, just waiting for a call. When it finally did ring, it took a split second for her to get the phone to her ear and start talking.

"Hello?" she said.

"Lyana?" Amber's voice came through the microphone. "Lyana, it's me, Amber. I'm fine, we're both out but Matt..."

"What is it?" Lyana asked.

"I don't really know. One minute we were standing in this weird place with The Voice-I think he must have taken up to another dimension! But we were there, and then the next second everything was spinning and then we were back home, but Matt hasn't moved since and he's really pale and he's barely breathing and I can't loose him, not as well as Will. Oh, and I saw Will, he was-"

"Wait," Lyana cut her off. "What do you mean you saw Will?"

"He was there, in the place The Voice took me to! And then he disappeared just as Matt showed up."

"Did Matt look ill when he got to you?" asked Lyana.

"I don't know, I didn't see. Lyana, is it possible that he could go into a coma?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he still hasn't moved, and it's like he's in a really deep sleep that I can't get him to wake up from. Is it possible for someone like him to black out?"

"I don't know," said Lyana. "I've never heard of anything like it. Do you think you could get him to my house? I would come to you but I need all the stuff in the attic."

"I don't know Lyana, how am I meant to get there?"

"I'll send a taxi," she said.

"But how will I get him into the taxi. I don't even know where you live. Is it even safe to leave the house with The Voice out there?" Amber bombarded Lyana with questions.

"Okay Amber," she said. "Breathe. If I concentrate I should be able to put a feather-light charm on him so you can lift him easily and get him to the taxi. I live on Horseman Avenue; you'll recognize the house once you get there. I really don't think you will be in danger if you leave the house because I don't think The Voice will have enough strength left to do anything tonight, and I wouldn't say that unless I was one hundred percent sure. So I'm going to go and call you a taxi, and you can get Matthew to the front door, is that alright with you?"

"Yes," Amber replied. "Thank you."

"It's alright, I'll see you in half an hour."

"Bye," said Amber.

Lyana snapped the phone shut and sighed a deep sigh of relief. Matt was alive, for now at least, and Amber was fit and healthy. Something about their conversation nagged on Lyana's mind, but she was too happy to bother pinpointing it. She supposed she would figure it out later.

Amber was having a really bad day. First, her boyfriend had been kidnapped by some scary demon girl, then she had spent the rest of her day sitting in a stranger's house, and then when she went home, she had been tricked into entering some other dimension, where her nerves had been stretched to the max firstly, as Will had been literally torn away from her just after telling her he loved her, and then thinking she was going to die, which is never a good thing. And now she was hauling the unconscious body down a flight of stairs whilst trying to avoid banging into the walls or making any form of noise that would wake her mother. Either Lyana's 'feather-light charm' hadn't worked, or she hadn't gotten round to it yet, because Matt was definitely as heavy as ever.

It took a lot of will power not to just let him slide down the last few steps, but Amber made it to the front door with Matt just about in one piece. She had thought she would get to rest then, but it was literally the moment that Amber leant her arm on the wall that the taxi pulled up outside, and she was moving again.

Amber wasn't quite sure what the taxi driver would make of her, hauling an unconscious boy down the path towards the car. But the driver didn't say a word as she lifted Matt into the seat and buckled his seatbelt-this of course was for show; if the car crashed, Matt would do more damage to whatever he banged into than it would do to him.

Amber hadn't even had time to think of Will properly, she had been so busy concentrating on sorting out Matt, who was looking paler still and who's chest was barely rising with his breathing. Then, as the taxi drove away, Amber found herself with a good twenty minutes of free time, during which she could think of Will all she liked.

Thinking about him made her sad, but it was a good sad, because every tear she shed reminded Amber that there was still hope, and that all was not lost. The fact that The Voice had kept Will alive for the whole day was comforting as it was, and knowing that she had seen him today, and that he had seen her, was all it took to keep her fighting to save him.

When the taxi reached Horseman Avenue, Amber had to give directions on how to reach Lyana's house. She felt safer now than when they had set out; going a whole journey, exposed to whatever creature might be out there and experiencing nothing was comforting. It made her feel normal.

She got out of the taxi and paid the driver, who grunted thanks. Amber then returned to Matt, who was still in the back of the cab, his head lolling to one side. Seeing him like this, it was hard for Amber to remember that he was supposed to be the powerful one in their friendship.

Lyana ran out of the flaking front door to help Amber carry him. Now Lyana put the feather-light charm on Matt, which decreased their workload significantly, though they still had to pretend to be carrying a fairly heavy load for the benefit of the driver. As soon as they shut the front door of Lyana's light-filled house however, they dropped the pretence and Amber allowed Lyana to float the lifeless Matt up the stairs to her attic-room. Amber never ceased to be amazed by all the wonderful things in this new world she was entering. She figured watching a one hundred and forty pound teenage boy floating up a staircase on a list of top ten things to see in your life was probably about equal with meeting Bugs Bunny at your local supermarket.

"It looks like exhaustion," Lyana said as they neared the top of the stairs.

"I didn't know people like him could get exhausted," said Amber.

"It's not like when a human gets exhausted and they can just sleep it off. If a Daemon gets exhaustion it's because they're so low on power that their whole system shuts down. It's like when a computer goes into sleep mode. Matt's body has completely shut down, and we're going to have to wake it up. Okay," she said, dropping Matt down on one of the larger chairs in her attic. It was the chair that Matt had said was his favourite just a few hours ago. Amber felt terrible; first Will had sacrificed himself for her, and now it looked like Matt might die too. If Amber had any tears left to cry, she would be sobbing now.

"What can I do to help?" she asked.

"Well," Lyana said. "I guess you could read out what I need to do from the book."

"What book?" asked Amber.

A thick green volume flew off the shelf by the window and came sailing towards Amber, who caught it one-handed.

"Page?"

Lyana waved her hand and the book fell open on a page with old-fashioned writing and an illustration of what looked like a man, contorted in pain.

"Lyana," Amber said. "What exactly are you planning on doing to him?"

"Well, I'm hoping, save him," she said simply.

"But, this looks like it's going to hurt."

"Yeah, well the world isn't all sunshine and daisies, and if he's going to survive, it's going to hurt."

"You know Lyana, you're very different to what you were like when I first met you," Amber said.

Lyana took a deep breath.

"You're right," she said, her voice taking back its usual tone of kindness and sincerity. "I'm sorry, it's my way of dealing with stress. I really don't mean to take it out on you. I don't like watching people get hurt you know-especially if I'm the one doing the hurting. But we have to do this, so are you with me?" the girl with the long flowing black hair and big blue eyes finished sombrely.

"Of course I am. It's for Matt."

Lyana nodded and set to work, searching her many shelves and cupboards for the ingredients Amber read out from the book.

"The scale of an Amphisbaena, two spikes of a Chupacabra, a feather from the wing of a Pegasus and..." Amber trailed off as she read the last ingredient.

"Yes?" Lyana asked.

"And one drop of blood from the charge-that's me, right?"

"Yes."

"Well then," Amber picked up a silver dagger from Lyana's desk and held it over the tip of her thumb.

"Woah woah woah," Lyana said, grabbing the wrist of the hand that was holding the dagger. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm helping Matt," Amber said simply.

Lyana sighed.

"I keep forgetting how new you are to magic," she said. "You don't realize what a powerful bond you're making by giving your blood-"

"Lyana, I don't care," Amber cut in.

"But-"

"No. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to lose someone else today." Amber looked pleadingly at the sorceress. "Please, we don't have much time."

Lyana released Amber's wrist. Amber pricked her finger lightly with the dagger and watched a small drop of blood pool on her fingertip.

"Is that enough?" she asked.

"It's fine," Lyana said. She looked like she was fighting her better judgment by allowing Amber to do this, but Amber carried on over to the cauldron in the corner and allowed that small, live giving drop fall into the bubbling purple liquid. It hissed and turned a pleasant toffee-colour.

"What next?" she asked.

"Next, we try to get him to drink it," Lyana said grimly, and Amber remembered the illustration of the twisted man.

Lyana spooned a ladle of the potion into a pewter cup, and handed it to Amber. She could feel the heat of the boiling liquid through the sides of the beaker.

"If I hold his mouth open, do you think you could..." Lyana left the sentence open ended, but Amber understood the meaning. She was to deliver the dose.

Amber carefully carried the potion over to where Matt sat, paler than ever. Lyana, in the most graceful way possible, opened his mouth wide enough that Amber would be able to pour it in.

"He needs to drink the whole glass, or it won't have a good enough effect," Lyana said.

Both girls looked at each other for a moment, then Lyana nodded and Amber started pouring the liquid slowly into Matt's mouth.

At first there was no reaction, and Amber was beginning to think that Lyana had messed up with the ingredients. But then Matt groaned, a low groan, like that of someone being woken from a deep sleep.

"Matt?" Amber asked. "Can you hear me?"

Matt's eyelids fluttered open. His brilliant blue eyes were hazy and unfocused as he looked in the direction of Amber's voice.

"Amber?" he muttered.

"Yes, I'm here," she said.

"Amber, my love..." Matt's eyes closed again suddenly, his head slumping back on the cushioned back of the chair.

Amber looked at Lyana for instruction.

"Keep feeding him the potion," she said.

Lyana stood by her side as Amber continued to pour the liquid into Matt's mouth, drop by drop.

A few tense minutes later, his eyes opened again and he lifted his head back up. Matt was acting differently this second time he woke up, staring round the attic-room edgily.

"Matt?" asked Amber again.

He tilted his head in her direction quickly.

"Amber," he said urgently when he saw her, grasping the wrist of the hand holding the almost empty cup of potion. "I have to tell you something." Matt kept looking from side to side; making sure no one else was there. He didn't even seem to see Lyana. "It's about Will, he's-"

Matt didn't get to finish his sentence. His entire body went rigid, his mouth opening in what looked like a silent scream. His back arched on the chair, and his eyes opened in what Amber saw as an expression of absolute pain. He released Amber's wrist, which she knew was because he was afraid of hurting her while distracted by this clearly unbearable pain.

And though she had known that this was coming, Amber found she could not bare to watch anyone go through what Matt was going through now. She had to get out.

"Where're you going?" Lyana asked when Amber turned her back to the nightmarish scene and headed for the door. It was clear she wanted to leave as much as Amber did, but Lyana had had centuries to gain the strength to stand there and help her friend. Amber couldn't; she was weak.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I can't. I just can't."

She opened the heavy oak door and took one look back at Matt, who was pounding on the chair with such force that the stuffing was coming out. She gave on last pleading look at Lyana, who nodded understandingly, and stepped out into the darkened hallway.

Amber's heart was thumping, her eyes were stinging with tears, and her head was heavy with all that she had just witnessed.

Back in that room, her brain had been unable to comprehend anything that was going on, and she had had to rely on reflex and adrenaline to get her through. But now, out in the barely illuminated hall, Amber found she could remember pretty much everything in fairly decent detail.

First of all, Matt had said something so her about love. She couldn't quite remember that part, however she figured he had only been half conscious then anyway; he wouldn't have known what he was talking about.

Then secondly, and most importantly, he had said something about Will. But he hadn't finished his sentence. He had started to say something, and then was taken over by the unbearable pain that had forced Amber to leave the wood-panelled room. Matt had made it sound like it was something really urgent too, like it was a matter of life or death.

Oh god, thought Amber, Will can't be...

She refused to even think the word, afraid that even the thought might cause him bad luck.

Amber sat on the top step of the staircase, her head in her hands and cried. The amount of times she had cried in the past few months amazed her; perhaps this life of danger wasn't the one best suited to her. But even she knew that these past few months had been the best of her life, no matter what pain had come as the price.

There was no sound coming from the door behind her. Amber didn't know if that was because Lyana had sound proofed the door, or because Matt was unconscious again, or because he was in so much pain he wasn't even able to cry out.

What seemed like hours later, the door behind Amber opened, and Lyana stood in the doorway smiling.

"He's awake," she said.

"Properly this time?" asked Amber.

"Yes. He'll have to rest for a week or two, but it looks like he's going to be all right. He wants to see you."

Amber jumped up from her seat on the stairs. Now that she knew Matt was going to live, her first priority was to find out what he knew about Will.

As she walked through into the room that Lyana used for all her magic, Amber realized that there was sun streaming through the ruby-red windows. It must have been about six in the morning, and neither of them had slept all night. But Amber had a sense of purpose, and for now that fuelled her body enough to keep her awake. She also thought Lyana's coffee would probable taste pretty good. Especially if it came with a fresh load of blueberry muffins.

"Good morning," Matt said. He was lying across four large, cushioned chairs, arranged to look somewhat like a bed. He looked pale and exhausted, and had the general look of someone who had been through hell, but he smiled for Amber.

"How're you feeling?" she asked.

"Well," said Matt. "I'm alive."

"Not so good then?"

"Not really, but hey, I'll survive."

"I think that was the idea," said Lyana, who stood behind Amber. "I was just thinking of going to make some coffee to wake us all up, what do you think?"

"Sounds good," said Amber.

"Okay. And yes Matt, I will bring up some food," Lyana smiled her perfect, sparkling smile.

"Thanks Ly," he said appreciatively. "For everything."

"You are very welcome."

Lyana shut the door behind her, leaving Amber alone with Matt in the wooden room. She knelt down beside the improvised bed.

"I have to ask you something," she said.

Matt sat up slightly against the cushions to show he was paying attention.

"You said something about Will before." Amber's heart was pounding again with fear of the answer to what she was about to ask. She told herself she would not care what Matt said to her, so long as Will was alive. "You got...distracted, right before you could finish. What was it you were going to say?"

"About Will?" Matt's face was blank, unreadable. "I'm sorry Amber, I don't remember. I don't remember anything from leaving this place to go and find you, until waking up back in this room again."

"That's alright," Amber said.

"No, it's not. I can see this is important to you. I should be able to remember."

"Matt, it's fine. Just try to take it easy. I'm sure it'll come back to you."

Matt leaned back on he cushions again, just as Lyana came through the door with a tray of coffee, muffins, bacon, eggs, and toast. Amber's stomach growled at the sight of it.
Chapter 12

Amber left the house an hour later with Lyana, who had been instructed by Matt to take her home. They had debated that Lyana should remain with him, to look after him and make sure The Voice didn't come back, but Matt got so stressed out at the thought of sending Amber home alone with The Voice on the loose, that they decided it was probably healthier for him if Lyana drove her back to her house. Amber enjoyed watching the neighbours' expressions as they drove past in the beautiful, glossy yellow car.

After that, she continued to journey back and forth to Lyana's house frequently. They told Matt that Lyana was driving her, though most of the time she just took a taxi; he was being too overprotective.

The clock on the high shelf was ticking. It annoyed Matt. He had heard it ticking constantly for five days now without pause. Tick, tick, tick, tick, over and over again. If he were able to get out of bed, he would go and shut it off, but after he had wandered downstairs one morning in search of food, Lyana had enchanted a blanket so that it wouldn't let him leave the bed without her instructing it to.

He was sick of the same room. Every morning, he woke up with the sun shining in one window, and every evening he watched it set in the other.

And worst of all, he only got to see Amber for a couple of hours a day. It was strange, but being without her had made him miss her even more, and no matter what Lyana tried to do to entertain him, the only real smile that crossed his face came when he saw Amber walk through that door each morning.

"I'm going to tell her I love her," he said to Lyana one day.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," she said.

"You were ready to force me into it a few days ago."

"I know," she said. "But I've really gotten to know her in the past few days, and she really seems to love this Will guy. I think if you tell her how you feel now, you'll just make things awkward between you."

"Well, I think you're wrong," said Matt stubbornly.

"I know you think you know her, but I've been around for centuries, and I've seen things like this over and over again. Trust me Matt, it wouldn't do any good."

"How wouldn't it? What's bad about finding out someone loves you? It's flattering, it's charming, it's generally nice to know. What's not to like?"

"Please Matt," Lyana said. "Don't do this now. You're like a brother to me and I love you-"

"See," he said. "You just said you loved me, and I didn't get offended."

"Matt." Lyana took his hand. "She doesn't feel the same way, at least not now. Don't do this to yourself."

"You're such a hypocrite!" Matt snatched his hand away from Lyana's. "One minute you're telling me to go for it, and the next you're holding me back! I don't think you know what you're talking about," he shouted.

"I don't know what I'm talking about? That's rich! Remind me, how many years have you been on this earth?" Lyana yelled back.

They were both being so noisy that they didn't hear the front door open downstairs as Amber arrived at the house.

"Here we go, play the age card why don't you," Matt said loudly. "You know most people your age have no hair or teeth, right?"

"What's wrong with you?" asked Lyana. "All I'm trying to do is protect you, and you're being an idiot-as usual!"

"Well sorry little miss I-know-everything."

Matt was so busy ranting that he didn't sense Amber walking up the oak staircase.

"Matt, all I'm saying is, don't say anything until you find out more about Will. I mean, it must be pretty serious if he was willing to give his life for her-"

"I was willing to give my life for her!" Matt shouted, blocking the sound of the doorknob twisting. "I love her! I love Amber!"

"Excuse me?"

Amber stood in the doorway, staring wide-eyed at Matt, who was looking for help at Lyana, who just kept staring from one to the other, her ruby red lips in a perfect 'O'.

"Did I just hear you right?" Amber asked Matt.

"That depends on what you thought you heard."

"I think I'll go and see what food I have left in the fridge," said Lyana conspicuously. She quick-stepped from one end of the room to the other, and was out the door in one fluid motion.

"Matt?" Amber moved to sit down on the edge of the bed. "Tell me what you said."

Matt sighed. It wasn't quite how he had imagined this moment, but he figured it was too late now to go back anyway. His expression was half-joyful half-terrified as he looked up into Amber's kind face.

"I said that I loved you, because I do," he said.

Amber sighed. She knew she should be happy; it was a good thing to be loved. But her life was complicated enough, and she simply couldn't love Matt, because right now the boy she loved was being held captive by an evil creature of the night after he had sacrificed himself for her. She physically could not make herself love Matt.

"I'm sorry," she said. "But I can't-"

"Wait a second," Matt said. "Hear me out. I know you still love this Will guy, but that could change. You might think you love him now, but people change. I will always be here for you. For as long as I live. No one can take me away. I can protect you from all the terrible things that want to hurt you; I've already proved that. You need me as much as I need you now. We've been through a lot and I know you feel something for me, even if you don't know it yourself."

"Matt," Amber sighed. "I love you too, but not like that. You're my best friend, and yes we've been through a lot together, and I can't imagine life without you, but I love Will. I know it hurts you to hear, but you have to accept it. I can't love anyone else right now; he sacrificed his life for me-"

"He's not dead," Matt reminded her.

"Yet," she said. "The fact is, I loved him first, and I'll always love him, because that's what love means Matt. And I am truly, sincerely sorry, but that is the truth."

"I understand how you feel Amber, but don't you think you should just give us a chance? I know I can be the right guy for you, if you let me."

"But I can't let you Matt," she said unhappily. "Maybe if I hadn't known Will, I might have said yes. In fact, I probably would have. But I do know Will, and I wouldn't be alive now without him, that's a fact. I can't love anyone else while there's even the slightest possibility that Will might get hurt because of what he did for me. It's not right."

"So, if I save him, you'll consider me?" Matt asked. Amber could see he was trying to work out a loophole in what she had said. He would be disappointed.

"I'm not saying that," she said. "I'm saying that if Will...dies, because of me, I'll never forgive myself. And I don't think I'll ever be able to love anyone ever again."

"All right," said Matt nodding. "Objective one: save Will."

"Thank you." Amber squeezed his hand as she got up to get off the bed, but Matt grabbed her hand.

"I won't give up," he said. "I'll tell you every day if I have to, but sooner or later you're going to realise that I love you more than he does, and that you love me too."

"If you say so," Amber replied. She stood up and headed to the door. She would go and find Lyana and tell her that the awkward atmosphere was sort of gone and the she could come back into the room. But then, the moment she thought this, in walked Lyana with a tray of toast and jam.

"So," she said as she set the tray on the desk by Matt. "What do you think of this weather we're having?"

Both Amber and Will looked at Lyana with blank expressions. You would have thought, that in two hundred years of life, she might have learned firstly, how to act, and secondly, a more subtle way of changing the subject.

"What?" she asked, wide innocent eyes opening up. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Amber raised an eyebrow.

"I just wondered what you thought of the weather. Personally, I think it's a lovely day, but a bit cold. It's due to snow tomorrow, you know."

Lyana then continued to inform both Matt and Amber of the week's weather forecast for the subsequent ten minutes.

"Okay," said Amber when she had finished. "Now that we're done with that, do you think we could get down to doing some real work and figure out, firstly how we're going to get Will back and secondly, how we're going to get rid of The Voice once and for all."

"I've been reading up on that actually. Or trying to at least," said Lyana. "It would be a whole lot easier if we knew what this thing actually is."

"Well, we know that he turned Matt into a Daemon, so he can create new life, or half-life or something like that. He must be pretty powerful. There can't be that many creatures out there with that much power," said Amber.

"It's a big world. You would not believe the amount of things that go on that most people just never find out about," Lyana said grimly. "But then there's the fact that what you said is right, this Voice person clearly has a lot of power, and has probably been around for thousands of years. He has centuries of knowledge and countless followers on his side, and we have Matt, a fairly young version of what he is, and me, who really wouldn't be that much use in a crisis anyway."

"We don't have a choice," said Amber. "There's nothing else we can do-"

"If I could just get a word in edgeways," Matt said from over in his little corner. "I think we could definitely take this guy if we tried. And we discussed ways of getting more powers on our side," Matt looked meaningfully at Lyana.

"No," she said. "That was not a discussion. That was you talking and me refusing your ideas because they were too dangerous."

"What was it?" Amber asked. "Does Matt know a way of getting more people to join us?"

Both of them ignored her, and Lyana gave Matt a silencing look with her wide blue eyes.

"I think I know her limitations a bit better than you do Ly," he said.

"Tell me," Amber stepped in between them.

Lyana sighed. "He wants me to give you some powers," she said.

"What?" Amber looked wide-eyed from one of them to the other. "I could have proper powers?"

"It's not like it sounds," Lyana said. "No matter what enchantment or potion I use on you, you will always be human. You weren't meant to have powers; your body wasn't designed to cope with it."

"But it'll only be for an hour or two," Matt said. "She's proved how strong she is."

"I want to help," Amber looked at the sorceress pleadingly.

"See, now look what you've started," said Lyana to Matt. "No. I refuse to do it."

"What sort of powers are they?" asked Amber, turning to Matt, who smiled. This would count to him as proving that he was the right guy for her; he knew what she wanted.

"It varies with the individual. Some people can read minds; some can wipe them. I've heard of one case where the boy could shoot lasers from his eyes."

"Wow. Wait a minute," said Amber. "You're making this up aren't you?"

"Only the last part, but there are some really cool powers," he smiled widely.

"Why don't you tell her about the deaths too?" Lyana asked as she flicked through her spell book on the lectern.

"Deaths?" Amber repeated the word.

"Okay, so some people die, but it's only like one in a hundred million," Matt said.

Lyana snapped the book shut.

"I do not believe you," she stormed. "You're supposed to be protecting her and here you are trying to convince her to risk her life so she can have powers like you. What is it, you think that you'll have more in common then so she might actually want to go out with you?"

Amber thought this was a very below the belt shot. Matt looked hurt and also ashamed. Still, though Amber wasn't planning on getting herself killed, she committed that fact that she had the ability to have powers to her memory.

The room was silent. Lyana didn't apologise, but went back to flicking through her book, breathing sharply.

"So, about Will..." said Amber.

"Yes," Lyana said. "I was thinking that, seen as both you and Matt have seen Will since he was-"

"Actually, I don't think Matt saw him, did you?" Amber turned back to Matt.

He looked unhappily at Lyana before answering. "Nope."

"Well, you were both in the same sort of realm as The Voice was, and that was where I presume he was keeping Will, so I'm hoping that I can run some tests on you and that might help us figure a few things out."

"You can do that?" Amber asked. "I thought you were a witch-"

"Sorceress," Lyana corrected flatly.

"Yes sorry, sorceress, so can't you just say a few magic words and bring him back or something?"

"Again, it doesn't work like that. It's a lot to explain, and I think we've done enough explaining for one day," she looked to Matt. "And Matt still needs to drink his daily dose of potion."

"I hate it when you say it like that, it makes me sound like I'm incapable of doing anything unless I drink some liquid made of bird beaks and all that other-" he employed a choicy swear word. Amber had never heard Matt swear before.

"Firstly," said Lyana. "Please refrain from swearing while you're in my house; it's not very gentlemanly. Secondly, seeing as you would be dead without this potion, yes I think you would be fairly incapable of doing anything."

"Oh ha-ha," said Matt sarcastically.

"Matt, please," Amber said. She looked at him imploringly.

"Okay," he sighed. "I'm sorry Lyana, I know you only want what's best. I'll get the flask-"

"I'll get the flask, thank you," Lyana said.

The day after she had revived Matt, Lyana had made a cauldron-full of some sort of sustaining liquid that would help Matt gather up his strength again. She had filled several small copper flasks with the potion and was storing them in a cupboard under the shelf. Matt had to drink a full flask everyday to keep healthy, and apparently the drink tasted absolutely vile.

Amber watched as Lyana, who had refused to allow Matt to leave the bed, poured a thick, gloopy grey liquid from a flask into a tiny cup that looked a little like a shot glass.

Matt took the glass, thanked Lyana, then pinched his nose and threw back the glass in one mouthful. Amber saw him trying not to retch, and noticed his eyes watering slightly, like they do when you eat something that makes you feel physically sick.

"How many more of these things have I got to have?" Matt asked.

"Well, there are three more flasks in the cupboard, and that glass you had just now was only about a quarter of a flask-"

Matt groaned loudly.

"Are you sure I really need them? I feel fine, really," he added when he saw Lyana looking at him shrewdly. "I'm at least well enough to get out of bed, for crying out loud."

"Alright," Lyana said slowly. Even Amber had to admit it was time Matt was allowed to go for a walk, he must have been dying with boredom. "I'll lift the enchantment and let you out if you promise not to go running off. I know you think you feel fine Matt, but I still think that if you use your powers now you could end up hurting yourself permanently."

"Okay Ly, I promise."

Lyana closed her eyes, muttered some words, and when she opened them again, Matt was standing in front of her smiling.

"Thank you," he said, and gave the sorceress a quick hug.

Then he walked over to Amber, who smiled nervously. "Want to go for a walk?" he asked.

"Yeah, alright," she nodded.

"But-"

"Don't worry Lyana, we won't go further than the front door," Amber said. It was her duty now to make sure Matt kept his word and didn't go wandering off to find The Voice on his own.

Of course, this was not as easy as it sounded.

In the moment it took Amber to turn around and shut the door on Lyana, Matt had disappeared.

"Matt?" she whispered. If Lyana heard she would have her skin for a coat. "Matt, this isn't funny, get back here now or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" Matt asked. He had appeared in front of her, just a few inches away. Too close. Amber stepped back.

"I'll tell Lyana to put you under house arrest for the rest of the month."

Matt groaned; he knew she wasn't joking.

"But it's not fair," he said. "Can you imagine what it's like not being able to move for over a week?"

"Well, it was either that or die, so..."

"Please Amber," he said. "I've been cooped up for ages, just let me have a run around for a few minutes. I promise I won't leave the house."

"Lyana said you shouldn't be using your powers, you could get hurt."

"I'm fine, I know I'm fine. I'm not going to get hurt. Five minutes? Please?"

"Okay," Amber sighed. "But if Lyana finds out then I'm blaming you."

"Thank you," he smiled widely and brilliantly, and then Matthew was gone.

"Five minutes," Amber whispered to the air. "Any more than that and you'll be in serious trouble."

She heard Matt laugh somewhere downstairs.

So Amber had a free five minutes to kill, and she wasn't planning on standing outside the attic door; that wouldn't look good if Lyana came out. She knew she shouldn't, but she decided to go for a wander around the house.

Amber had never really been in any of the other rooms in Lyana's house, not that there weren't plenty to choose from. She wasn't sure whether the sorceress had put some sort of enchantment on the house that made it bigger on the inside than the outside, but this place really was massive compared with how it looked from the street.

Door after door Amber opened. First, a room painted neutral cream with a pale blue bedspread, and then a room furnished with beautiful beach-wood furniture. Each room seemed bigger than the last. It was when she reached what she counted as the seventh bedroom that Amber encountered what she presumed was Lyana's room.

The room itself was large and light, with another sunlight in the ceiling like the one down in the kitchen. The furniture was fairly modern and simplistic, which seemed to be Lyana's style. The bed was carved beautifully out of pinewood, and covered with light pink pillows. Lyana had said her favourite colour was pink. In the corner was a bookshelf, with old books that contrasted with the modern set of the room, and under the window was a white woven wicker seat, on which slept a snowy white cat. Amber wasn't sure if the cat was real or a toy; it lay perfectly still on the cushion, almost blending in with the light background. All in all, the room would look at home in a design catalogue, but there were just a few hints that this bedroom belonged to someone not entirely human. On the chest of drawers opposite the door, for example, was a small silver object. Granted, it is not so abnormal to see silver objects in the room of a regular girl, but this silver object floated just a few inches from the surface of the chest. Amber couldn't quite make out what it was; the object was barely bigger than the palm of her hand, and the expansive room left the chest of drawers a good distance away.

She wanted to go and have a look around the room, she really did, but she knew that would be wrong. She was also afraid of what Lyana would do to her if she caught her. Amber didn't like the prospect of spending her teenage years as a toad.

But just one look around couldn't hurt, could it?

She was over the threshold before she could answer that question. Amber was in Lyana's bedroom.

Alright, she would just look at the silver thing, and then she would go. Amber walked over to the object, in which she saw her own eye reflected. So it was a mirror. The commode was quite tall, which meant that as the mirror hung in midair, it was just the right height for someone to look into. Lyana must have bought it for exactly that reason.

Okay, so she had seen the mirror now, Amber could go. But then, as she left, another object caught her eye. On the bookshelf, which was only a foot or so away, was a book whose title Amber found interesting: The Arte of Magike it read, then as a subtitle: Learning it, teaching it, creating it. It was the creating part that she had found appealing. Did this book hold the secrets of how Amber could get magic of her own, just like Matt and Lyana?

She pulled it gently of the shelf and flicked through the thick pages. There was nothing about giving someone else powers. The book actually held some pretty dark spells, and some very nasty diagrams to accompany them.

She replaced the book back on the shelf.

It had been more than five minutes, Matt should be returning by now, and Amber should be heading back towards the attic-room to find him.

But this was a once in a lifetime chance, when was she ever going to get to look at spell books again?

She plucked another one off the shelf...

Amber was halfway through reading up on how to turn a pumpkin into a carriage when the clock on the wall chimed midday. She cursed under her breath. She had been gone for almost an hour.

Carefully replacing the book on the shelf, she got up from where she had been sitting on the floor (the cat, which turned out to be real, had refused to vacate the seat) and walked quietly to the door and back into the hallway.

"Matt?" she whispered. "Matt, where are you? We need to go back."

"Hi."

Matt appeared behind her, and Amber jumped so much she practically fell into him.

"Sorry," he said.

Matt looked paler than when Amber had left him, and the circles under his eyes were darker, but he was smiling.

"Did you have a nice time?" Amber asked.

"Yes thank you," he said.

"And you didn't leave the house?"

"Well..." Matt shrugged.

"Matt!" said Amber, crossly but quietly in case Lyana heard. "You promised you wouldn't go outside. It's not safe."

"Oh please," Matt waved a hand. "You sound like my mother."

"Well, I won't be letting you out again. I'll go tell Lyana now that she should keep you in that room because you clearly aren't well enough to go walk-a-bout."

Amber turned in the direction of the stairs, but Matt caught her hand.

"No, please don't. It's horrible up there. I hate being cooped up all day, Lyana's treating me like Anne Frank."

"Well, I'm not going to let you run off on your own without us knowing Matt, The Voice could be out there, and you're still weak."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" said Matt loudly. "I'm not weak, I know how to look after myself!"

"I know Matt," said Amber. She put her hand on his shoulder calmingly. "I'm not saying you can't, but you had us really worried for a while back then, and I don't want to go through that again...so, do you think you could stay in the house for now, for me?"

Amber looked Matt full on in the eyes. She knew she was being unfair; firstly, it was now built into Matt's nature not to do anything that may hurt Amber, and now he loved her, he would do anything to make her happy. She felt quite guilty about it actually, but it would keep Matt safe, and that was what mattered.

"Okay," Matt broke the eye contact and sighed. "I won't leave the house until I'm fully recuperated."

"Thank you," Amber said. "Now I think we should probably get back to Lyana, because I think she'll find it quite hard to believe that we spent all this time walking around the house, and it won't help adding more time onto that."

"You're right," said Matt, and before Amber could stop him, he had pulled her over his back in a fireman's lift, and was zooming off towards the attic room. Before Amber had lost the churning sensation in her gut, they were at the door.

Matt set Amber on the ground and allowed her a second to get her breath back before opening the door.

"You took your time," said Lyana.

"Yeah sorry, we got talking." Matt lounged over to where Lyana stood, over a bubbling brass pot. "What'cha doing?" he asked over her shoulder.

"Making a potion," said Lyana.

"No, really? And there I was thinking it was stew for my dinner," Matt said sarcastically.

"Oh ha-ha," Lyana turned briefly from her work to give Matt a sardonic look, before returning to the steaming liquid.

"So...you going to tell us what kind of potion, or do we have to guess?" Matt leaned over and looked into the small pot.

"If you must know," said Lyana. "It's an Armacaisse potion."

Matt froze for a moment and looked more intently into the depths of the clear potion. To Amber, it looked just like water.

"It's not water," Matt said when he heard this thought-line. "Arma is Latin for power, and caisse is French for giving."

"So it's a potion that gives people powers?" asked Amber.

"No," Lyana cut in. Matt looked at her questioningly, but the look she gave him kept him from making any queries. "It helps people get better after they've been ill, like Matt has." Amber saw Matt's jaw clench when Lyana said about him being 'ill'

"It was invented by a Roman, but a Frenchman improved it in the eighteen-hundreds. Before that it was just a couple of herbs in a lot of alcohol. Which surprises me, because I would have thought a French person would quite like the sound of the original."

"So it doesn't give people powers?" Amber asked dejectedly.

"No," Lyana said. "I thought you would know by now that I am not going to help you in that pursuit; it's too dangerous."

"But it's what I want Lyana," said Amber.

"You don't understand, and why would you, you're only human-" Amber's jaw clenched at the words 'only human' like Matt's had done at the word 'ill'- "Your body wasn't designed to have powers."

"But you have powers and look human, so does Matt," Amber said.

"Only on the outside. Inside we're nothing alike."

"Well, Matt said it wasn't that dangerous, and he's meant to be looking after me, so it must be safe."

"Amber, please don't argue with me on this," Lyana said. "I know you don't believe me, but playing with your humanity like that just isn't right."

"Please Lyana," said Amber.

"No." Lyana's tone of voice was definite and final, but Amber didn't give up; she would leave it for a while and bring the subject back up when she wasn't expecting it. She couldn't say no forever.

"So, shall I order a pizza for dinner or what?" asked Lyana, probably because Matt looked like he was about to start arguing with her again.

"I can't stay," said Amber "I promised my mum I'd be home before dark, she doesn't like me being out on my own with no one to look after me."

"What about me?" Matt asked.

"Or me," said Lyana.

"Yes," Amber said. "But I didn't think she would be so keen on me hanging out with a witch-"

"Sorceress," interrupted Lyana.

"-Or a strange mythical creature thing," Amber finished.

"Glad to be of service," Matt said.

"I guess I had better be getting back now then," she said. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye," said Lyana.

"Love you," Matt said loudly.

Amber carried on out the door without responding; she knew she hadn't heard the last of the whole 'love' situation.
Chapter 13

It was a Saturday night. Matt and Amber had been back at school for five days, and it was their first weekend off. Matt was now fully recovered and twice as annoying. Every time he greeted or said goodbye to Amber, it started with, 'So my love,' or 'Love you'. It didn't bother Amber so much, because she knew Matt knew she couldn't do anything until they saved Will, because she at least owed him a chance.

Amber tossed in her sleep. The night was dark and silent, but Amber's mind was buzzing with information and fears and hopes and dreams that were not silenced even in sleep. Every night she dreamt the same dream. Will came back to her, but then The Voice came and took him away, and then she was forced to wander around her dream world in search of him.

Amber didn't see any of her other friends any more. The first day back, everyone had been talking about what they had been doing in the holidays and who they had met up with, but Amber had been in the corner with Matt, quietly running over the latest news from Lyana. Every free moment Amber had was dedicated to finding Will and The Voice, and every spare moment was therefore leading Amber further and further away from normality. She knew it should be bad, but this new world was exiting and mysterious, and she wanted to spend as much time in it as possible.

The next Sunday, they had spent the day in Lyana's attic, making notes and reading through thick volumes such as Mystic Creatures: a Guide, and Demon Spotter, Watch the Signs. There were only odd bits of information, and even then it was vague and didn't really point to The Voice, like a paragraph in Witches United about an all-knowing being that could control and create beings like him.

"This is pointless," said Amber, throwing down Magic through the Ages and causing the snowy white cat-which Lyana said was called Merlin-to jump into the air hissing. "We're never going to find Will like this."

"We don't have another option," Lyana sang in a high voice. If it were possible to find Lyana annoying, Amber would be annoyed now.

"I can think of one," Amber said. "Give me powers. We'll have three against one and we'll walk up to him, kill him, and get Will back, no problem."

"I wonder what Will would think about being saved by two girls and his competition," Matt said thoughtfully. He had never tried to hide his dislike of Will, which Amber knew stemmed entirely from jealousy.

"I've said it once and I'll say it a hundred times," said Lyana. "No powers."

"We don't have any other choice," Amber said through gritted teeth.

"It's not worth risking your life for Amber," Lyana span in a large captain's chair to look at her through her thick, black lashes. "If Will sacrificed himself like you said he did, then he clearly wants you to be safe. You should respect that."

"And you should respect that it's my decision," Amber said.

"Well it's mine too, and I refuse to give you powers." Lyana turned back to her book, while Merlin jumped up and curled onto her lap.

Amber sighed and turned another battered page of her own book, Flash Bang Wallop, why sparks and sounds make good spells.

"Can I speak with you outside for a moment please?" Matt asked.

Amber looked up. He was looking at her.

"Ok...?" She stood up and started towards the door, closely followed by Matt. Amber hoped he was going to hell her how she could get some powers without Lyana's help. She liked the idea of not being so defenceless for once.

Matt closed the door behind them.

"Okay," he said. "I think I know how we can get you powers without Lyana."

"Really?" Amber asked loudly in the high voice she used when she got excited. This what exactly what she had hoped Matt wanted to say to her, and it was some of the best news she'd had in a long time.

"She isn't the only sorceress out there. I've been to markets to pick up ingredients for her before, but they also sell ready made potions. I'm sure someone would sell me a potion to give humans powers."

"So I could be like you?" Amber asked.

"Like I said, no one can really tell what the powers will be until they've appeared, but anything must be an advantage, right?"

"Thank you Matt, thank you!" Amber jumped up and put her arms around his neck, and pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome," he murmured back.

Amber released Matt from her embrace, but they were still just a few inches apart in the tiny hallway. He looked into her eyes and bent slowly down, his lips parting slightly.

"No," Amber twisted round to avoid him. "Matt, I've told you before, I won't."

"Why?" Matt asked. "You know I love you."

"But I love Will!" she said. "You know I love him! We've been over this and over this, and you just make me feel like the bad guy every time."

"You won't even give me a chance!" Matt shouted. "That's all I'm asking for, just one chance. Please."

Amber looked at Matt's pleading face, and was suddenly overcome by anger.

"You're doing it again!" she yelled.

"Doing what?"

"Making me into the bad guy because I have to hurt you. It's not fair Matt. I've told you, I have to save Will, and I have to give him a chance."

"So you'll give him a chance and not me?" Matt said sharply.

"He was there first. I love him, and I can't even think about what's going to happen next until he's safe-that's if he's even alive!"

"So if he was safe, you would give me a shot?" asked Matt. He had a crazy look in his eye, like he was so focused on Amber that he couldn't see anything else.

"If Will was safe I would have a lot less things on my mind," Amber dodged the question. She hated to admit it to herself, but she was manipulating Matt slightly, and he didn't deserve it, because he was good and kind, but so was Will, and for now it seemed like the only way she was going to save him. She could apologize to Matt later.

But Matt was gone.

Matthew Pryer was running. Not running anywhere in particular, just running away. He knew he had to get into a big, open space before he called on The Voice, because he wanted to keep the girl he loved safe. The girl he loved, incidentally, happened to love someone else, and that someone else happened to be the guy Matt was trying to save. You just couldn't make this stuff up, he thought to himself as he ran.

The roads were opening up into the countryside. Matt was trying to pace himself; he couldn't use all his energy before completing the task at hand, or else he would be facing another fortnight of bed rest at the care of Lyana, providing he survived to live that fortnight.

Matt's feet were leading him without his consciousness taking note of where he was going. But then, out of the darkness, Matt realized where he was. It was the clearing, his and Amber's clearing.

He stopped for a minute. His feet weren't sore, and his chest wasn't heaving for breath; it was like he had been on a light stroll around the garden. He looked around. This place would be perfect to summon The Voice to; distant, isolated, concealed, but he couldn't bring himself to taint this special place with something so evil. His lips just couldn't form the words that would do it.

He continued running.

It didn't take long to reach a place that was far enough from any people that could get hurt or used as hostages. Matt wasn't taking any chances.

The grass was wet with frost, and he could feel the cool damp soaking through his trainers as he stood in the pitch black woodland, where the only light was from the moon, filtered down by the trees. He could still see clearly with his new mass of energy after being cooped up, on top of his usual powers; he could feel the pulse of power pumping through his veins, charged like a livewire, and ready to strike.

He wasn't really sure how this was going to go; it wasn't like he did this kind of thing every day. He was almost surprised at himself, that he'd become one of those boys whose world revolved around one girl. He never expected him, of all people, to become one of those boys. It was Amber who Matt thought of as he called out to the night.

"Voice," he said aloud. The echo sounded around the clearing.

Nothing happened.

Thinking of Amber, Matt decided to do what she would do in this situation, which would be to do the same as they did on the TV. He laughed as he thought of it.

"Voice," he said again. "I summon you."

Matt held his breath, and the whole clearing was silent, not a branch broke nor a leaf rustled. Out in the distance, a single owl hooted.

Then all hell broke loose.

Birds started throwing themselves out of their trees and sailing off into the night; wind howled around the clearing, twisting trees and bushes; even the light itself seemed to fade from the surroundings.

Silence fell like a cloak over the clearing.

"Hello Matthew."

Matt froze.

"It's very polite of you to be afraid," said The Voice. "It shows you might actually have some intelligence-I'll admit it, I've had my doubts."

Matt turned around to face the figure. He looked different from the last time Matt had seen him; his appearance was entirely human now, with not a hint of abnormality about him.

"You changed," Matt said, looking at the blonde-haired, green-eyed boy.

"Very many times," he said. "But yes, I do look different from the last time you saw me. I was bored with my last appearance, and besides," the boy smiled a wide, mad smile. "This one's so much more fun!"

"Who are you?" Matt asked.

"Don't you know?" the boy asked. "I'm sure Amber has told you all about me. She's...amusing." The figures mouth twisted into a sickening smile.

"I said," Matt said through gritted teeth. "Who are you?"

The boy turned to him.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Will."

"What do you mean he's gone?" asked Lyana when Amber re-entered the room.

"I don't know!" said Amber. "I just turned around and he was gone."

"Did The Voice take him?"

"No-at least, I don't think so."

"No," said Lyana. "If The Voice had been here, he wouldn't have left us alive."

"So he just...walked out?" Amber asked.

"Why?" said Lyana. "Why would he do that? What were you talking about beforehand?"

Amber thought back.

"We were talking about saving Will," she said. She thought it best to leave out the subject of Matt trying to help her get powers. "And then he tried to kiss me....and I said I couldn't because I was too worried about Will and it wasn't right after he'd risked his life for me." Amber flushed.

"What did you say exactly?" Lyana asked.

"I don't know!" said Amber exasperatedly.

"Amber, it's important. Think."

"He said...something about if he saved Will, would I give him a shot and I said that it would...make me feel better if I wasn't so worried all the time."

"That's it?" asked Lyana.

"Yeah. I turned around and he was gone."

"And he didn't say where he was going?"

"No, he didn't say anything," said Amber.

Lyana sighed.

"Do you know where he is?" asked Amber.

"Well, at a guess, he's gone to find Will."

"But he can't! Lyana, he'll be killed."

"You don't think I know that?" Lyana shouted. Her wide, blue eyes were alive with worry and anger. Whether she was angry with Amber, Matt or The Voice, Amber wasn't sure.

"Can you find him?" Amber asked quietly.

"Even if I could, what would I do? I'm powerless with The Voice, he take me down in a second. I'm useless," said Lyana.

"No," said Amber. "You're not-there's another solution to this and it all depends on you."

"I'm not going to give you powers Amber," Lyana looked at her, but for the first time, Amber saw a trace of uncertainty in those blue eyes.

"Lyana, it's Matt. He's going to die if we don't help."

"I can't, it's too dangerous-you could die."

"I don't care!" Amber shouted. "If you wont help me, then I'll just have to waste my time looking for someone who will, and then who knows how reliable they'll be."

Amber looked Lyana in the eye.

Lyana sighed; Amber knew she was never going to let her go wandering off in the night searching for witches and warlocks.

"Here." Lyana plucked a tiny bottle off the shelf. If was filled with a deep, purple liquid, with about the quantity of two teaspoons.

Amber reached out a hand.

"One promise," said Lyana. "You have to be responsible. These powers are dangerous; you have to be careful. Once you drink the potion, it'll last for one hour."

"One hour?" asked Amber.

"Yes, after that it'll ware off, and you need to get somewhere safe because you're going to crash like a kid coming down after a Christmas party."

"Got it, one hour and I'm done."

Amber took the bottle, broke the seal and tipped the contents into her mouth.

"Oh, don't stand there so speechless," said the boy who claimed to be Will. "Where's the fun if you aren't pleading for mercy or telling me I'm lying?"

"You're sick, do you realize that?" Matt shouted. "Sick!"

"Yes actually, I have been told that before," said the boy. He spoke like a madman, thought Matt.

"I suppose you've killed Will then," he said sullenly.

"Why would I do a thing like that? When I am him and he is me, then what would be the point in killing someone who is me; it's only fun if the person isn't me."

"I'm sorry?" said Matt, who hadn't managed to follow the boy's ramblings.

"Yes you should be, why have you called me here?"

"I came to get Will, but he's dead-"

"Didn't you listen to what I said?" asked the boy. His green eyes glowed with irritation. "I am him and he is me, and I am very much alive."

"So...you're Will?"

"Finally, I see a spark of intelligence in you. I have to say, you're rather more dumb than you look, and that is saying something."

"Does Amber know what you are?" Matt asked.

"Does Amber know what you are?" the boy, Will, put on a poor imitation of Matt's voice. "Of course not. I'm not as stupid as you are; I was hardly going to tell her that I was the bad guy all along now, was I?"

"She'll find out," said Matt.

Will looked at Matt with pure menace.

"Oh," he said. "I don't think she will."

"Well?" Lyana asked. "How do you feel?"

"I feel...normal," said Amber. "Is that-normal?"

"It might take a while for the potion to take effect," said Lyana uncertainly. "I'll make sure you're okay before you go running off though, could you pass me that bottle?"

Amber looked at the bottle, and then at Lyana, then back at the bottle. She took a step towards it when suddenly, the bottle glowed a blue-ish colour, and with a tiny pop, vanished from the oak table. Amber turned back to Lyana, who, she realized, was now holding the glass bottle. Lyana looked at her.

"Wow," said Amber. "That was awesome."

"Do you feel alright?" asked Lyana.

"Alright? I feel amazing!"

"Not dizzy or nauseous?"

"No-why?"

"Just, checking," said Lyana. She set the bottle down. "Try it with something else."

Amber looked at the bookshelf; one book in particular, a large, red leather-bound one with age marks on the side. She imagined it in her hand, and then, with a pop there it was.

She laughed.

"This is so cool!" she said to Lyana.

"And you're sure you feel fine?"

"Yes," said Amber.

"Well then, let's go and save Matt."

"Do you know, the night I made you what you are, I was bored," said Will. "I decided I needed a new hobby, and then along you came. I saw the men who were going to meet you; they weren't going to kill you, but I find I can be very persuasive when I want to be, and they weren't much of a challenge."

"You killed me?" asked Matt angrily.

"No, I think you'll find they did that for me-keep up. I'm not really supposed to harm humans; that wasn't why my powers were bestowed upon me."

"Why me?" asked Matt.

"No reason in particular," Will leaned lazily on an old oak tree. "I was bored, you were there. Had I known how much trouble you were going to cause me, I would have chosen someone else. Still, thanks to you, I now have Amber-she is a little treasure isn't she? I'm sure we'll have lots of fun, before I kill her that is."

"Is that all you care about, killing people?" asked Matt disgustedly. Now he knew there was no reason for him to be here, and that he had to warn Amber, and that if he didn't get away soon he would die, he was trying to come up with some sort of escape plan. Nothing was coming to mind.

"Please don't try to preach to me about the value of life, believe me you're wasting your breath, and I'd try to save it if I were you; it's not like you have many left."

Will, The Voice, turned towards the oak tree, from which he ripped of a long, sharp chunk of wood.

"I have to say, you chose a nice setting Matthew," he said. "It's very...what's the word....poetic."

Matt backed away. He still had no idea of how to escape, other than to fight, and he knew it was a fight he could never win. His only option was to keep him talking; he knew The Voice wasn't able to stay on Earth for too long without being weakened.

"Who was the girl you sent to kidnap you, Will?" he asked.

"What girl?" Will stopped momentarily in his advance; he was now only a few meters away from Matt, who was backing up towards the trees behind him.

"Amber said when what she thought was Will was taken, it was by a girl, with red hair."

"Oh, you mean Aliya? Yes, I had thought she would be useful, but the girls besotted with me-not that I blame her for that, I am of course a bit of a catch. She was jealous I was spending so much time with Amber, so she tried to kidnap her. Admittedly, it did mess my plan up a bit, but Amber is just so loyal, she stuck by me when I wasn't even there," he laughed. "It really has made my life easier."

He continued towards Matt, the wooden stake-like object held in front of him.

"Anything you want me to tell Amber before I kill you?" Will asked.

"Yeah, said Matt. "Tell her this."

In one quick movement he had reached behind him, snapped a huge branch off the tree, and pushed it with the force of a jackhammer.

But Will was quicker, in less than the time it took to blink, he had grabbed the piece of wood, thrown it over his shoulder with such power that it splintered when it hit the ground, and was holding Matt a foot off the ground in a stranglehold.

"I take it that was your attempt to defeat me, in which case, don't bother. You can't." He dropped Matt, who thought he was about to pass out, on the damp grass. Matt watched at the blonde-haired boy took the sharp, dagger-like piece of wood, lifted his arm slightly so he could gain more force, and brought it down towards the ground, where Matt lay, too slow to move before the spike drove into his body, just below his rib-cage. Matt shouted out a stream of curses.

"That," said Will, taking the piece of wood back out. "Was for trying to attack me. "And this," he drove the stake into Matt's stomach. "Was for making that too easy." He lifted the stake again and stood over Matt's blood-covered body.

He had never been in so much pain. He could feel the burning in his stomach where the stake had been driven in, like hot acid had been allowed to seep through his skin. Matt's breaths were short and shallow, like those of someone who had just finished a hundred meter sprint. He could feel the blood on his fingertips as he tried to stop the bleeding. He knew he was going to die.

Matt blamed himself; he had been an idiot, running off without telling Lyana or Amber where he was going, and not asking them for their help. Now Will would go back to Amber, make up some story about a miraculous mistake, and when she thought she was safe, he would kill her. Because he was a killer.

He knew he couldn't let that happen.

Matt watched as Will walked around the clearing. He was very glad he had had the precognition to choose somewhere far away from any human inhabitants; there should be no more death tonight.

The stake lay a foot or two out of Matt's reach. He hoped he could reach it quietly enough that Will wouldn't notice. If he could just land one good shot. He inched his fingers closer and closer. His arm brushed against a leaf, one tiny, dewy leaf, but Will heard it. He spun around.

"Doesn't this thing go any faster?" asked Amber.

"Does it look like an off-roader to you?" said Lyana impatiently. "How was I supposed to know he would have chosen a place in the middle of a forest? What an idiot."

They were driving through a very bumpy, tree-filled area in Lyana's shiny yellow Elise. Of all the things a sports car was good for, this was not one of them.

She had to admit that it seemed pretty stupid of Matt to choose somewhere so out of the way; he could have chosen somewhere in the middle of town where there were plenty of witnesses to any impossible, superhuman activity that would expose The Voice for what he was.

"How far away are we?" asked Amber.

"Pretty far," said Lyana.

"Stop the car."

"What?" the beautiful girl looked at her like she was mad.

"You heard me," said Amber. "Stop the car."

Looking at Amber questioningly the whole time, Lyana put her foot down on the brake pedal and the car stopped.

"I'm going on foot," said Amber.

"Okay, I guess that would be quicker," Lyana started to get out of the car.

"No, you need to bring the car round."

"Amber, don't be stupid-"

"If Matt's hurt, we'll need it to transport him in. I don't think I could carry him again,"

"I'm not letting you go off on your own."

"Then you're sentencing Matt to his death," said Amber harshly.

"You'll be killed!"

"And so will he if he doesn't get help soon. Please Lyana, just point me in the right direction." Amber looked up into Lyana's large, blue eyes beseechingly. The taller girl sighed.

"Go straight ahead. I think it's about four hundred meters."

Amber nodded.

"Good luck," she said.

"You too."

Both girls shared an understanding look before Lyana accelerated off and Amber sprinted at full speed in the direction she had been indicated.

If Matt had thought he had been in pain before, he was wrong. This pain was numbing, so bad that his body seemed to be shutting down all feeling to avoid it.

Will had caught him trying to reach the stake, and as a punishment had pounded every part of Matt's body until he had begged for mercy.

"Why don't you kill me?" Matt asked.

"What would be the point?" asked Will.

"So you don't plan on killing me?"

"I do, just not yet. What would be the fun in that?"

The tiny part of Matt's brain that was not taken up by the pain was disgusted with the way Will only seemed to be in this for the fun of it. He knew it probably didn't matter whether Will turned round and killed him now anyway; he could feel what little strength he had left leaving him, and soon he knew he would be unable to move or cry out for help. Even if he did, no help would come. Perhaps he had chosen his spot too well.

"Get up," said Will suddenly.

Matt could barely move his fingers, let alone gather the strength to lift his whole body.

"I said," Will raised his hand in the air. "Up."

Matt felt his entire body rise painfully off the ground into a standing position.

"Fight," said Will.

"I can't." Matt's speech was slurred because of a thick lip he had got in the beating.

"Then you will die," Will said matter-of-factly. There was no pity in those cold green eyes.

He rushed towards Matt with the speed of a cheetah. Matt was barely able to step aside fast enough to dodge the heavy blow that would have hit him.

Will squared himself up again. This time Matt noticed he seemed to have acquired another sharp wooden weapon. The Voice ran straight at him again, and Matt dodged again, like a bull and a matador. The dance went on.

Matt's steps were sluggish, and each one seemed to be just a nudge away from tripping him up or pushing him into the blade itself.

This last time Matt saw the unmasked glow of hatred and carelessness in Will's eyes. Will didn't rush him; he watched, and then with the speed and strength of a lion, had Matt on the ground.

"Do you give up?" he asked.

"Do I have a choice?" Matt replied tiredly, he didn't want to fight a losing battle anymore.

Will lifted the stake into the air one last time.

"This was fun," he said. "We should do it again some time." He plunged it down into Matt's chest. "Oh wait-you can't."

It was an injury that even with his accelerated healing, Matt would not be ale to recover from. He couldn't move any more; he couldn't fight.

Amber's lungs were burning, her sides were about to split open, and her throat was frozen from breathing in icy air. She knew she was getting close-she didn't know how she knew, but she knew, and even through the worry for Matt, the searing pain in her side and the mental pain that had been building up over the last month or so with everything she had had to live with, there was still that spark of excitement at the thought she might get to see Will again.

Somewhere close by she thought she heard voices, at least one voice, and it was one she would recognize anywhere.

It was Will.

Amber's heart skipped a beat, and her legs suddenly found that they could move faster. But it didn't sound like Will, though the voice definitely belonged to him, there was something new there, and it frightened her. She wasn't sure she wanted to see what she was about to, but her feet had carried her around the trees, through some bushes and into the clearing, all stealth and advantage of surprise forgotten.

What she saw at first didn't really seem to register. There was Matt, lying on the floor, not moving, surrounded by blood. Standing over him was a figure she knew, a figure she recognised, but it couldn't be-

"Will?" she said.

"Amber," the boy turned to her, he looked terrified. "The Voice-he was here. Matt tried to fight him but, he just wasn't a match. He's killed him Amber. He's dead!"

"No. He can't be."

"I tried to help, but what could I have done. I'm only human, and these guys are like super-charged or something."

"Will, I'll explain it later, but right now we have to help Matt," Amber said.

She ran over to his body, which lay a few meters into the clearing, with a tree branch sticking out of it. She tried to pull it out, but her hands were shaking too much, and she was in so much shock she could barely make her hands work.

"Branch," she said, holding out her hand. A second later a sharp, wooden stake was grasped in her hand. Matt groaned.

"Amber?" he said. It took him a second to register that it was really her, and then he grasped her hand tightly and spoke urgently. "Amber run. Will is The Voice. Run. Get out of here. Now."

Behind her, Will clapped slow, sarcastic, booming claps that echoed eerily around the clearing.

"Well done Amber," he said. "I take it that little witch gave you those powers?"

Amber looked at him wide eyed. This wasn't possible. It just was not possible. That tiny part of her world that remained was being pulled from under her feet, and when it was gone she would have nothing left to support her.

"Wow," Will said. "I must be a better actor than I thought. I really did have you fooled. You're little friend down there paid the price for your stupidity"

"Why?" Amber asked.

"Why? Because it was fun!"

"You're sick." Amber took Matt's arm and started dragging him out of the clearing.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Will said.

Amber ignored him.

"Fine," he said. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

He raised a hand and Matt's limp body rose into the air. His mouth fell open in a silent scream, and suddenly his eyes had flown open and were releasing tears down on his cheek. Matt swung back and forth in the air, like some sick kind of grandfather clock.

"Stop!" Amber shouted. "Stop!"

"Are you going to behave?" asked Will.

Amber nodded. Tears were running down her cheek, and she still had Matt's blood-soaked hand in hers.

"Good," Will said. "Oh, and your little witch friend can come out now."

A bush rustled behind Amber, and out climbed Lyana, leaves woven into her silky black hair and mud smeared across her pale face.

"I'm sorry Amber," she mouthed.

Amber nodded understandingly. They had failed.

"Now," Will began. "I have a proposition for you Amber. Hand over your friends and join me, and I will spare you."

"Like she'd ever unite with a little scum-" Lyana started.

"Silence!" Will's voice echoed around the clearing. "Speak to me like that again, and I'll show you what we do to little witches like you," he said maliciously.

Amber looked down to Matt, who had fallen to the ground at her feet unconcious, then over to Lyana who held her gaze and mouthed 'One hour'. Amber's time was nearly up, and she'd barely used her powers. If they were going to act, it would have to be now. Lyana nodded.

She raised her hand and a great wind filled the clearing. As it spun, Amber thought it sounded like dogs snarling and howling behind her. The wind got stronger and stronger, and suddenly a tree fell to the ground; it missed Will by only an inch or two.

He looked up at Lyana dangerously, and the next moment had her screaming out in pain, shrinking slowly onto the cold ground. Her head hit the grass and she lay unmoving.

Amber ran forwards.

"Relax," said Will. "She's not dead. Yet."

"Let them go," Amber said. "Take me and let them go."

Will ignored her. He had picked up the sharp piece of wood again and was heading in the direction of Lyana's unconscious body. Amber acted without thinking.

"Stake," she said. The wood was gone from Will's hand and the next moment was in hers.

"Oh, I forgot she gave you powers," he said. "Now I can do this."

Amber's brain was on fire. It was like every possible space in her head was burning in acidic, blistering flames, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. The pain was so bad she couldn't remember who she was, where she was, why she was there. And then it was gone, and Amber was back in the clearing, gasping for breath.

It was no use fighting any more. She was all alone. Matt was barely breathing, and she wasn't going to get him the help he needed soon enough. He was dying. If she gave up now, maybe Lyana would survive.

If she had ever loved Will, she couldn't understand why. There was nothing she wanted more in the world now than to never see him again. She just wanted to save Matt.

Amber's watch beeped. Her hour was up; her power was leaving her.

Will had reclaimed the wooden stake. He walked over to where Amber lay by Matt, who was taking great wheezing breaths, like the air wasn't reaching his lungs. He caught Amber's gaze and held it.

"Well, this has been fun," said Will, standing over the two of them. "It was nice knowing you Matthew. Goodbye."

As Amber watched Will lower his hand, it was like the whole seen played out in slow motion around her. The trees rustling, the point of the piece of wood inching closer and closer to Matt's chest, Will's malevolent, merciless expression as he stood towering over them. Suddenly, Amber felt a huge surge of emotion. Love, hate anger, terror, torment, horror, betrayal, all seemed to blur into one thing: power. Without her even meaning to, a great scream escaped from her.

Will looked at her, and for a moment she thought, just maybe, she saw a hint of fear in his expression. The next moment he was gone.

The battle was won. Amber's powers had left her at a moment that had coincided with every imaginable emotion, and the result had been a huge burst of energy. It had been enough to get rid of Will, for now at least.

Matt took in a great, gasping breath. Amber knelt down beside him quickly. Tears were steadily seeping down her cheek; she had been too late. The last blow may not have hit him, but he had been put through too much, lost too much blood, too much energy.

Matt tried to lift his head and talk.

"Shh," Amber said. She felt like her heart was being ripped from her. "Don't try to speak. Lyana's safe, she's over there."

"I-I-" Matt couldn't get more than one letter out.

"I'm sorry Matt. I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner. I'm sorry I sent you here in the first place."

He squeezed her hand and took in another wheezing breath. Amber knew he didn't have long left. She looked deep into those liquid-blue eyes that were so panicked now by what was to come.

"I love you," she said.

Matt looked back at her and barely managed to speak two words before closing his eyes: "I know."

