The Guardian's Protector: The Chamber of Souls (19 page)

‘O…kay!’ Amy said, wide eyed.

‘Mad-Doris has recently discovered Tourette Syndrome,’ Mark scowled, indicating it was more of a self-inflicted syndrome, but he looked amused. ‘Come in.’

Mark opened the door to reveal a magnificent hallway. A perfect square, it had a gleaming white marble floor, which underlined a massive rich oak staircase. Open-mouthed, she took in the rest. At the top of the staircase, a balcony ran off to either side of the second floor. On this floor were two more staircases, which ran off left and right, leading to the third floor. A giant widow in the ceiling allowed light to highlight the intricate detail carved into the colonial spindles of each staircase.

To the left and right of the hallway were large, matching archways that led into wide, open rooms. Underneath the balcony, which would be the back of the house, were two closed doors, leaving the inside as stunningly symmetrical as the outside.

‘Are yer sure you wanna risk it?’ Mad-Doris said from behind, making Amy jump. ‘We’re all a bit mad in ‘ere!’

‘Hey!’ boomed a man’s voice to her right. Amy turned to see a middle-aged gentleman at a table in the alcove beside the entrance doors. Under his trilby’s shadow was a well lived-in face and a prudent smile. ‘You’re the only mad one around ‘ere woman.’

‘Oh, that’s righ’, I aaam!’ she said. Her bulging eyes happy that he’d pointed that out, she ran through the left archway that led into a huge kitchen with a rectangular red oak table.

‘This is Harold,’ Mark announced. ‘Harold, this is Amy.’

‘How do?’ Harold said, lifting his trilby to give Amy a friendly nod.

‘Come through,’ Mark instructed. Grabbing her hand, he led Amy past Harold, who was shuffling a deck of cards, and under the right hand archway, which led into the largest living room she’d ever seen.

Although everything in the room was old, it had three televisions with seated areas, a pool table and a dartboard. It had the huge main window at the front, three medium-sized windows along the side looking out to the wonderful landscape, and one at the back that led out to an even brighter patch of land full of trees and tropical flowers. As Amy sat, she could see Mad-Doris across the hall who now sat at the kitchen table.

‘Where’s Lucy?’ she asked naturally, like the place wasn’t overwhelming. ‘If that’s actually her name.’

‘It is. I’ve sent her upstairs with Justine. I’ve given her a key to a room she can have until we sort her out.’ Amy craned her neck to look at the staircases and wondered which floor she was on. She also wondered where the two closed doors behind the stairs led.

‘How many bedrooms has this place got?’ Amy asked, wondering if he was
the
Mark Smith Alicia had spoken about.

‘Twenty,’ he answered. ‘Ten on the second floor and ten on the third.’

‘Oh,’ Amy said, clearly astonished. ‘The sign outside says it’s an orphanage?’

‘It was. It was my home for a while after my parents died. They were going to demolish it after it closed so I bought it and renovated it. I’d never spent any of the money they left me until buying this. I never wanted to spend their money unless it could help others and, after the Garden of Need was created, it has.’ He smiled but she could see his parents’ death still weighed heavy.

‘Wow,’ Amy said. As her heart went out to him for his loss, she knew she was in love with him. ‘How do you manage to keep the place clean?’ she asked, trying to lighten the conversation.

‘I have a cleaner that I couldn’t live without. The place is quite empty at the moment, though. Living here permanently are Mad-Doris,’ he said, smiling, ‘Harold, George—even though he eats at the kitchen as well—and Mary, who’s about somewhere.’ He stretched his neck across the hall. ‘None permanent are Justine, Charlie, Robert and Stan, who are moving out next week. They’ve been able to get a place of their own now they all have jobs.’

‘That’s wonderful,’ Amy said, feeling smaller by the minute.

She couldn’t believe it: Mark had to be the person Alicia had spoken about. He must have loads of money to be able to employ people, and yet, even though he’d given up a life of luxury to help others in need, he’d never once, in all the time she knew him, mentioned it. As Amy looked into his kind eyes and listened to his soft, velvety voice, she wondered how a man could be so noble and selfless. Like seeing him properly for the first time, she gaped at him in awe.

Her instincts had always told her there was something about him. She knew he was something special but as her feelings for him increased by the second, she thought about what Alicia had said: that someone like him wouldn’t be interested in her. As she looked into his caring eyes, however, she didn’t believe that for one moment. He may not be in love with her, but he looked at her like she was a precious gift and he treated her like he respected her feelings. ‘Who’s got Tom?’ Mark asked.

She stood in alarm. ‘I left him with Joyce!’

‘He’ll be fine,’ he assured, standing. ‘I’ll walk you back.’

‘No,’ she countered. He looked dubious. ‘Honest! I’ll run. You take care of Lucy.’

‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Will you ask Joyce to lock up for me?’ He handed Amy a set of keys, making her realise what else he owned. ‘I’ll let you know what we’re going to do with Lucy, but if she doesn’t want to go home, I’ll foster her.’

‘What?’ Amy stammered, again shocked.

‘I’m a foster parent as well. I registered because, sadly, we get quite a few children nowadays. This is like a halfway house. They stay until we can get them back to their own parents or, in Lucy’s case, because she doesn’t want to go home, foster families.’ Mark looked to be saddened for her.

Amy was struck dumb. She’d never known of anyone doing so much for others. She gazed at his scar and wondered how anyone could have done such a thing to such a wonderful man.

‘Bye for now, then,’ he murmured, patting her shoulder, reminding her she was about to leave.

‘Oh yeah,’ Amy said, lost in his eyes. Amy moved towards him to give him a friendly peck on the cheek but as she did Mark froze. Looking both nervous and awkward at the same time, he didn’t know how to react. His smile turning into a goofy young lad’s; he acted like he’d never been kissed.

He bent down to her but turned his cheek, making her only just catch him. It was a hit and miss kind of kiss, smudging her lip gloss across his face. She didn’t know what happened in that moment but, as he stood back, he couldn’t meet her eyes as fully as he’d done before. He could well have blushed. Amy knew he was a gentleman but he looked a little ashamed of himself. Shaking off the confusion, Amy just smiled awkwardly at him.

‘
Moooney grabber
!’ Mad-Doris sang, her eyes peering over the fingers she had clutched around the wooden architrave surrounding the kitchen alcove. Mark shot her a look and her head disappeared.

‘See you then,’ Amy whispered.

‘Bye,’ he said, his strange expression holding something mysterious she couldn’t read. ‘You’re welcome any time,’ he added.

‘Thank you,’ she said, holding his gaze for a moment. There was something behind his eyes she needed to figure out. If he weren’t so honest she’d think he was hiding something. She knew he liked her—no doubt entered her mind about that—but it was now clear to see that he was
deliberately
holding back from taking it any further.

CHAPTER 13

THE DREAM

Social services let Lucy stay with Mark until they found her a suitable foster home, which meant she came with him on some occasions to help out at the kitchen. She didn’t speak much but, now clean and well fed, she looked much happier.

Amy and Tom enjoyed working at the soup kitchen so much that they even volunteered to work Christmas day. Even though she never tried to give Mark a friendly, but obviously inappropriate, kiss again, she’d never felt so alive. After only a few months, she felt like she’d been working there for years. Alongside helping the needy, Amy loved the opportunity to spend time with Mark, whose relationship with her continued to grow. As they catered to the homeless, Mark and Amy engaged in many afternoon conversations, some of which lasted hours. She enjoyed his company, and though he seemingly felt the same, he never attempted to progress their friendship into a romantic relationship.

With Mark continuing to bring Tom book after book, she knew he wouldn’t miss out on not going to nursery. All he did in his spare time was study. Months of bliss went by until one morning in April, during their holidays from the café, Tom woke up in a sweat and walked into Amy’s room, his face horrifyingly pale.

‘I had a bad dream.’ Tears glistened in his eyes.

‘Come here,’ Amy said, pulling her bed covers back for him to climb in. He cleared the floor in two strides and, no sooner had he climbed into her bed, he threw himself into her arms, where she could feel him shaking. ‘What’s wrong?’ Amy asked, stroking his head.

‘I dreamt of fire,’ he said.

‘Fire?’

‘Black fire. Fire that’s created on purpose.’

Amy sat up. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Ethan’s fire.’

His words shot through her like a bullet. ‘Ethan?’ she asked, trying to sound like she didn’t know who he was talking about. Amy hadn’t settled for over two years since they last saw him, but she’d hoped he’d disappeared.

‘Surely you remember him? He tried to kill me,’ Tom stated, sitting up and waiting for her reaction. His face was so beautiful, innocent and kind that to see it filled with worry caused her heart to feel like it was being ripped in two.

‘Of course…but…how do
you
remember?’ she asked, peering into his wondrous eyes.

‘I remember everything,’ he said matter-of-factly. ‘I think he’s going to set me on fire. Why does he want to kill me?’

Amy looked at him in astonishment. She wanted to reassure him, but this wasn’t a child who could be comforted by telling them they’d just had a bad dream. This dream could actually mean something.

‘Is it because I’m nice? Bad people don’t like nice people, do they? Nice people don’t like bad people either, but I think I’m different to normal people. I mean, why have I got the power to heal?’ he asked, looking at his hands.

Amy gulped. ‘Because you’re special.’

‘Why has he got the power to hurt and what does that make him?’ he asked.

‘Your…
opposite?
’ Amy offered.

‘Well, there
are
opposites in the world.’ He smiled as if remembering something he’d learnt in one of his books. ‘You may be right, but I still don’t know
why
we have powers. There’s always a reason for things. I’m sure
you’re
meant to tell me, Mum,’ he said, his eyes begging her to clarify his thoughts, to make the sums in his mind add up.

Amy stared at him tragically. There was no way she was about to tell him why. He’d be horrified by what she knew. ‘You have good in you and he has bad in him. It’s as simple as that.’ She squeezed his hand, her eyes begging him to leave it.

He studied her for a moment and then sighed. ‘I’ll try and ask the nice people who talk to me in my sleep then,’ he mumbled, leaving Amy baffled.

‘Why don’t we talk about what you want for your fourth birthday!’ Amy offered, acting overenthusiastic.

‘For Ethan not to burn anyone,’ he murmured.

‘Not what we
don’t
want. What we
do
want.’

‘I want no one to be hurt.’

‘How about we go and look at some toy shops in town and see what we can find,’ she said, pulling him out of bed, an awkward smile on her face. ‘Come on. Get dressed.’

‘You want to take me shopping?’ Tom asked, looking confused.

‘Yes.’

Tom stared blankly for a few seconds then turned and headed back to his room to get dressed.

Amy sighed with relief but her heart raced. She felt for the crystal around her neck, trying to gain some comfort. As she walked to the bathroom, she smiled at Tom who sat on his bed, pulling up a pair of trousers, looking dubious.

‘I bet we’ll find something great!’ Amy shouted, her hands shaking as she squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush. She looked in the mirror and could see the fear behind her own smile. With Tom being as intuitive as he was, she wondered who she was trying to kid.

As if the house was an ill omen, they set off immediately to the fancy diner Tom loved near the Arndale Centre. Tom normally paid the bus driver but today he walked on and didn’t wait for her to hand him the money. He found a seat and, with a sterile expression, slumped into it.

When they arrived at the diner, which had windows from top to bottom and tables and chairs under a canopy outside, she looked down for his reaction. It was still the same: not even the corner of his mouth moved to show any form of delight.

Amy smiled for him and walked to the huge counter that displayed all sorts of cakes and ice cream. She ordered two lots of toasted teacakes, a cup of tea and the ice cream milkshake with sprinkles on top for Tom. As they sat and waited, Tom looked at her, his big, beautiful eyes serious.