Gabriel and the Phantom Sleepers. Jenny Nimmo

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      ‘No . . . no,’ croaked Gabriel.

      ‘Aiee!’ cried the hooded man. ‘Stop them, or ‘twill be the worse for thee.’

      ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ said Gabriel, almost tearfully.

      The hooded man growled, showing long cabbage-coloured teeth, but all at once a sharp voice said, ‘Leave the boy alone,’ and the woman in the red coat strode past Gabriel. She prodded the stranger in the chest, saying, ‘Go away. Leave him alone.’

      A dreadful sound came from the man. A long, gasping intake of breath, followed by a snarl. ‘I will not harm thee this time, Keeper’s friend,’ he grunted, ‘but beware, I can do worse.’ He waved a hand of gnarled, fleshless fingers before the woman’s face, then his eyes rolled back into his head, and he vanished.

      Gabriel’s hands began to shake. The woman in the red coat seemed unable to move. She stared at the space the hooded figure had occupied, her hand still locked on to her cup of tea. Her mouth had dropped open and her eyes were wide and fixed.

      ‘Was . . .? I mean . . . are you?’ Gabriel stuttered.

      The woman remained in a sort of frozen state, unable to respond in any way, almost as though Gabriel wasn’t there.

      Gabriel felt he should give her a nudge, or pat her hand, anything to shake her out of her trance, or whatever it was, but he was afraid of spilling Albert’s tea. So he just stood beside the woman, who, after all, had saved him from something definitely nasty. ‘Er . . . are you?’ he said hesitantly. ‘No, that’s silly, you’re definitely not all right, are you?’

      ‘Oh!’ The woman gave a long sigh and turned to Gabriel. ‘Whatever happened?’

      ‘There was a horrible-looking thing here,’ said Gabriel. ‘It waved its hand and then it kind of vanished.’

      ‘Of course. How could I forget? You go back to your seat, Gabriel. I’m quite all right now.’

      ‘Are you sure?’ Gabriel wondered how she knew his name.

      ‘Yes, yes. But I’m new to the job, and I’d rather you didn’t mention my little – er – moment of weakness.’ The woman had a warm, friendly smile.

      ‘Who would I mention it to?’ asked Gabriel.

      ‘Oh, never mind.’ She was quite young, Gabriel reckoned. He thought he’d seen her before somewhere.

      ‘Better get back to your seat,’ she said firmly.

      Albert appeared to be asleep when Gabriel reached him. Gabriel set the tray in front of the big man, muttering that he was sorry he had taken so long.

      Albert opened one eye. ‘Muffins,’ he said. ‘Good choice.’

      Gabriel handed over the change and slid into his seat. He thought he should probably mention the hooded stranger, but he waited until Albert had munched his way through his muffin before describing the man who had accosted him.

      Albert frowned and placed his cup on the table. ‘You should have alerted me before,’ he said.

      ‘Sorry. I thought you’d like to finish your tea first,’ said Gabriel. ‘I hope it’s not a bad sign.’

      ‘Who knows?’ Albert looked at his watch. ‘Ah. Time for my medication,’ he said, and he pulled a small travelling bag from under his seat. ‘I’ll just pop to the toilet, Gabriel. Won’t be a tic.’

      Gabriel wondered why Albert had to take his bag to the toilet. Perhaps he needed his towel and toothbrush.

      Albert was in the toilet for a long time. The train stopped briefly at a station, then rolled on again. Albert still hadn’t returned.

      Gabriel leaned back in his seat and the train continued into the night. It was now quite dark outside. Gabriel yawned and closed his eyes. Perhaps he fell asleep, he couldn’t be sure, but all at once he was aware of the nauseous smell of decay drifting under his nose; the air was thick with it. Gabriel sat up and coughed violently.

      There was a faint hoot from the engine and the train began to slow down. Slower and slower. Seconds later it stopped altogether. It was very quiet in the carriage. Gabriel peered through the window. Flurries of snow came floating out of the darkness.

      ‘Snow,’ he murmured.

      ‘Fool,’ croaked a voice behind him. ‘Now it begins.’

CHAPTER TWO

       The Sorceress

      Earlier that same day, when the sky was still the deep grey of a winter dawn, someone rang Jack Silk’s doorbell. Sadie, suddenly wide awake, threw on her dressing gown and ran downstairs, her long pigtail swinging behind her. Gabriel was not expected until the evening, and trains didn’t usually arrive this early.

      When Sadie opened the front door and found Cecily Fork on the step, she was too stunned to speak. Cecily’s son, Septimus, glowered beside her, and the dog, Carver, sat mute on the path. A large shiny car was parked in the road behind them.

      Sadie clung to the door to steady herself. The shock took her breath away. ‘Oh no,’ she mumbled.

      ‘Not very welcoming.’ Sadie’s ex-stepmother had a voice like a rusty nail scraping the bottom of a saucepan. ‘I thought I’d beaten the rudeness out of you.’

      ‘It came back when you left,’ said Sadie, feeling more courageous.

      Cecily’s pale eyes narrowed, Carver snarled and Septimus squawked, ‘Stupid girl.’

      ‘What d’you want,’ demanded Sadie, still clinging to the door.

      The sorceress thrust her aside and strode into the house.

      ‘Dad!’ called Sadie.

      But he was already standing in the passage, in his dressing gown, his face white with horror.

      A breeze smelling of burnt metal followed Cecily into the house. Sadie could feel it pressing about her, numbing her thoughts, muffling sounds. The sorceress, her son and the dog pushed their way into the kitchen, while Sadie and her father followed, helplessly.

      Cecily wore a leopard-skin coat, its wide collar cradling her steel grey hair like a bag of knives. ‘You don’t look pleased to see me,’ she grated, staring at Jack.

      He didn’t reply.

      Sadie could see the pain in her father’s eyes. It made her want to shout at the sorceress.

      Cecily shrugged her shoulders and sat down. ‘Do we care if you’re pleased?’

      ‘No, we do not,’ said Septimus. In his close-fitting grey suit, white shirt and СКАЧАТЬ