Taz, Brendan and Emily

By Sally Startup

Can Taz do anything to help Brendan, or even Emily the kitten? What would Taz gain from being friends with Brendan anyway? Another thoughtful story in the Halloween Amulet series for 8-12 year-olds.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bees Nest Books
• Release date: Oct 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311123473

Sally Startup

Sally Startup lives in Hampshire, England. She writes books for children and young adults and has a PhD in writing for children from the University of Winchester, UK. She used to work as a medical herbalist and is interested in plants, nature and green issues.

Book preview

Sally Startup

Taz, Brendan and Emily

The Halloween Amulet

Book Three

Bees’ Nest Books

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events in this story are fictitious, and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.

Smashwords edition published 2015 by Bees’ Nest Books

Copyright 2012 Sally Startup

The right of Sally Startup to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Cover picture copyright Sally Startup 2015

Smashwords edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share the book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The Halloween Amulet stories were originally created as part of an academic thesis. Throughout that process I received kind support and advice from many people.

With thanks to all.

CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

About the Author

TAZ, BRENDAN AND EMILY

ONE

Taz punched his fist into the pink blossoms of a weeping cherry tree. He hated pink. On the first sunny Sunday of spring, he was strolling along Doone Road with his three best friends, who happened to be two girls and a boy.

D’you want to go in the graveyard? he asked them.

It won’t be the same, though, will it? Juliette sighed. Not like it was on Halloween.

Juliette liked fairies and ghosts and all kinds of supernatural stuff. Taz sometimes wondered if she was trying to dress like a fairy with all the floaty skirts and silver jewellery she liked to wear. She was almost the complete opposite of Wally, the other girl. Wally always wore straightforward plain clothes, mostly sports kit.

We could go to the park, suggested Winter, whose white-blonde hair fluffed out in the breeze. Everyone called him Winter because his hair was snow-coloured, but today Taz thought it looked more like a head of dandelion seeds.

OK, agreed Wally. Not the graveyard, Taz. It still gives me the shivers. Let’s go to the park.

As they walked quickly past the gate of the graveyard, Taz couldn’t help thinking about the amulet. At the moment, it was his turn to look after it, so he kept it in the pocket of his jeans. The amulet was a bit of old jewellery like a brooch, or a pendant without a chain. It had come from the Doone Road chapel graveyard on Halloween night.

To get to the park, the four friends had to go past a large old house in an overgrown garden. All the local school kids called it ‘the spooky house’. Some said there was a bottomless well in the garden. Since the end of last summer, the spooky house had been the home of Brendan Black and his family.

Taz glared at the house as they approached it. You know what happened at Halloween in the graveyard when we got the amulet? he said, I reckon that was all Brendan’s fault. I don’t reckon all that spooky stuff that happened was anything to do with us. It was because Brendan was there as well and he’s so weird.

He realised that Winter wasn’t listening. In fact, Winter had stopped some way back and seemed to be looking at a tree that leaned out over the pavement from a nearby garden.

Juliette and Wally didn’t share Taz’s dislike of Brendan Black.

I wish you wouldn’t be so rude about Brendan, Juliette said. It’s not kind, Taz.

Is it that you’re jealous? asked Wally.

Of course I’m not jealous!

The girls began to giggle.

Winter soon caught up with them again. What’s the joke? he asked.

Nothing, Wally told him. Were you talking to that tree?

That reminds me, said Winter, without answering Wally’s question, Taz, hasn’t the amulet done anything, yet? You’ve had it for ages.

The amulet was supposed to be able to do supernatural things. Winter claimed it had made some animals talk to him when he had been looking after it, but Taz wasn’t sure he believed him. Taz had been carrying it with him everywhere for the past two months and so far, nothing unusual had happened at all. He shook his head.

Oh well, never mind, Winter continued. You were quite a hero at Halloween. Maybe you don’t need any more supernatural adventures.

One of the amulet’s stones turned green when Winter looked after it, Juliette pointed out, but all the others stayed too dirty for anyone to see what colour they are. Maybe nothing can happen until another one gets clean.

It’s just a bit of old jewellery, Taz insisted, crossly. I don’t reckon it does anything. I’ve tried to clean it, just like Winter did, but it’s no use. It’s still filthy.

He decided he was fed up of looking after the amulet. If it wasn’t going to bring something exciting and supernatural after all, then there was no point in keeping it. The whole idea of it was creepy, anyway. He pulled it from his pocket and held it out to Wally. They had agreed it should be her turn after him.

Here you are, Wal, he said. Go on. You can have your turn now. It doesn’t seem interested in me.

Wally seemed to be looking at the amulet strangely.

"I thought you