Amber Janusson and the Battle for the Magic Lands: The Battle for the Magic Lands

By Helen Cardwell

Amber can hardly believe her luck. She has a new job, great friends, no parents and has even managed to find the time to date. Incredibly, The Magic Lands are reasonably peaceful. Or are they? With Morrigan around trouble is never far away. Why does Amber seem to be having more close calls than usual? Who is the mysterious figure in black? And why is The Protector ignoring all the signs that say trouble is brewing? It's not long before Amber realizes that by ignoring her instincts, she's not only risking her own safety but also the lives and freedom of everyone in The Magic Lands.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 16, 2004
• ISBN: 9780595777952

Helen Cardwell

Helen Cardwell was born in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, in 1979, and started writing as a child. She spent three years studying at a local college before moving to Whitby, Yorkshire. She is now back in Melton working for her former college and is concentrating on getting her writing career started.

Book preview

All Rights Reserved © 2004 by Helen Cardwell

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

iUniverse, Inc.

For information address:

iUniverse, Inc.

2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100

Lincoln, NE 68512

www.iuniverse.com

The characters in the stories are all fictitious, and any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely co-incidental.

ISBN: 0-595-33006-1

ISBN: 978-0-5957-7795-2 (e)

Contents

Foreword

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Foreword

This new book about the beguiling teenage witch Amber Janusson is a sequel to Amber Janusson: Protector of the Magic Land, where there was magic and mayhem aplenty as Amber first discovered she was in fact destined to save The Magic Lands from falling into the hands of an evil Wizard. In the first book Amber considered herself no different from any other fifteen-year-old girl in her world. Apart from being the latest in a long line of Witches and Wizards and belonging to a family who would rather she didn’t exist, there was nothing outstanding about her. But Amber hid a secret that even she didn’t know. Together with her friends Sean, Heather and Eve, and with guidance from the Head of The High Council, Ambrose Withrington, Amber set out to discover, amongst other things, just who the evil Silas Morri-gan was, why he was so interested in her, why her family members were feared and hated so much, and that you can never be truly sure of who you are or where your destiny lies.

In this new book there is once again magic and mayhem aplenty as the precocious and irresistible teenage Witch, Amber, discovers she has yet again to fulfil her destiny and take a stand against the evil that once more threatens to engulf The Magic Lands. The surprising twists in the tale will amaze, enchant and tantalize the reader!

Find out about other and forthcoming adventures of Amber Janusson at www.diadembooks.com/cardwell.htm

Chapter 1

The night was still. There was no moon to light the pitch black sky and the clouds blocked the stars from view. It was as if nature were trying to stop the innocent eyes of the worlds above from seeing what was about to happen below.

The castle of the High Council stood on its hillside, keeping watch over The Lands and the creatures that lived in them as it had done for centuries. Its many corridors were draped in darkness. Nothing moved. Residents and guests alike were asleep, lost in carefree dreams. Nothing disturbed the still autumn night.

Nothing, that is, except for the tiny flicker of candlelight that gently danced around the gloomy passages. It was barely bright enough to see by, let alone give away the presence of the cloaked figure that hurried silently through the night. But that was the idea. The figure was dressed in dark clothes, merging perfectly into their surroundings, its face covered by a hood ensuring that, in the unlikely event of being seen, no-one would know who it was that moved ever quicker through the castle towards his or her goal.

The figure slid past door after door, never once stopping to see what each room contained. It knew where it was going, what it was after. It slipped down the last staircase to the lowest level of the castle and to safety. Not many people would dare to venture down there escorted, never mind alone.

At last, reaching a line of doors, the figure stopped by a certain door that was chained and padlocked shut. Not that this was a problem to the hooded visitor. He—or she—pulled out a wand from below his (or her) cloak and pointed it at the enchanted locks. A quietly mumbled spell, a flash of green light and the chains and padlock fell silently to the floor. The huge, oak door opened with a gentle creak and revealed the contents of the room.

The shadowy figure drifted forward. It passed by the shelves of books and cabinets filled with many forbidden potions and charms. These were of no interest for now. There was only one thing that this person was after and that was contained in the large chest ahead. The figure paused again before the huge metal case that held its prize. The carvings that covered it were a clear sign of what lay within and the dangers that would befall every creature in The Lands if it were removed. Scenes of battles and death were displayed on all the panels. Morrigan’s reign of destruction would follow soon after, sweeping across The Magic Lands, swallowing up everything in its path. The images of battered, mutilated bodies would have stopped most from going any further. But this was the exact future that the twisted visitor wanted.

A smile crept over the figure’s face as it ignored all warnings and lifted the lid on the chest. There were no spells to protect the contents of this box—they should not be needed. Only a limited number of people knew the spell that would allow them past the locked door without triggering the fatal defence spells.

The lid was now opened fully and a dazzling blue light rose from the box, shattering the age-old darkness. The betrayer of The Lands lifted the glass orb that contained the powers of Silas Morrigan from its resting place and clutched it tightly. The smile turned to soft laughter as the figure hid the orb in its clothing, concealing the light from the eyes of any snoopers.

Then, the task complete, the servant of darkness closed the chest and left the room. The crime would not be discovered until it was too late. The figure replaced the chains and padlock and the oak door resumed its standing guard, as if still protecting what had once lain within. There was nothing to show that anyone had been there, nothing to indicate that anything was missing.

The black clad figure made its way back through the castle as quickly and quietly as it had done earlier. It paused briefly to check that its deception had not been witnessed. Satisfied, the thief sneaked back into their room unnoticed.

The clouds finally parted and the stars showed the intruder’s face. Even the Heavens had missed the act of evil. The castle fell back into darkness, keeping its terrible secret and, once again, the night was still.

Chapter 2

Sitting at her desk, Amber was lost in a daydream. She had become totally oblivious to everything that was going on around her. In her dream world, Michael was there, walking quickly towards her over the open moorland. The sun danced softly over his red hair and gave his face a welcoming warm glow. The tight fitting T-shirt showed off his well toned body. He was getting closer. A few more yards and Amber would be able to reach out and touch him. Just a bit further…

Am I interrupting you? The loud voice made Amberjump. Michael was rapidly whisked away and out of her sight. Back in reality, she looked up to see Ambrose Withrington staring down at her.

Er, no. Is there something I can help you with?

Withrington’s eyes sparkled happily. Can you see if anyone has heard anything about these people?

Amber took the files from the High Wizard and nodded, trying to act professional. He left her to get back to her dreaming and, eventually, her work. She dropped the files next to the three large piles she already had on the desk in front of her.

Instead of going to a college in the Mortal world as she had always planned, Amber had taken a job at the High Council offices. The unforeseen events of the past year had changed her priorities drastically.

It was hard to believe that it was not even twelve months since she had met Sean, Heather and Eve on that fateful night of the Annual Meeting of Witchcraft and Magic. It was not even a year since it was discovered that she, Amber Janusson, the only daughter of one of the most hated and feared families in the world of magic, was The Protector—the person destined to guard The Chosen Three and help save The Magic Lands from destruction.

It had been with the help of her friends that she had learnt about Silas Morrigan, a powerful Dark Wizard who had raised a group of followers and tried to take control of The Magic Lands away from Ambrose Withrington and his High Council. Despite his capture and his powers being removed, Morrigan had vowed to return. That was why she had been created. She was the first and last line of defence in the event of his returning. But even that plan was not as foolproof as it sounded.

For, having been born into a family of Dark Witches and Wizards, she also had the blood of the Dark Side in her veins. It was this darkness flowing within her that made Morrigan not only offer her a place in his Army of Darkness but also a throne so she could rule alongside him. Together, their combined powers would bring about the end of the world as it was known.

And he had almost succeeded. Amber had nearly surrendered and crossed over into Darkness. Only the strength of her friendship with Sean, Heather and Eve had saved them all. But her rejection of Morrigan had led to a violent fight between her and the Dark Wizard. Fortunately, she had won on that occasion. By won, she understood that she had escaped with her life. Now, all that was left to remind Amber of her showdown with Morri-gan was a scar down the back of her head, now hidden beneath a mass of magically grown long, red hair.

Amber sighed as she looked at the ever-growing heap of files in front of her. She had taken on one of the most difficult and ever-increasing tasks the High Council was responsible for—searching for the families who had vanished since rumours of Morrigan’s return had got out. She was beginning to think it was going to be a never-ending task. It was not possible that they had all been killed; many would simply be in hiding, not knowing who to trust, in fear for their lives upon hearing talk of the Dark Lord again.

Amber did not know why she or the rest of The Lands were so worried. As Sean had pointed out months ago, Morrigan could never be a real threat now. Withrington had taken his Powers from him. There had always been the chance that he would regain some ability and return, and so Withrington and Amber had vanquished him. What was there to worry about? But somehow Amber knew trouble was never far away—especially where she was concerned.

She opened the file in front of her and looked at the last known address of yet another missing family. Just then the window off to the side of her office began to rattle. She ignored it. The rattling grew more intense. Still she ignored it. Finally, the window flew open with a bang and a letter came hurtling through the air straight to her. She did not even look up but simply stretched out her hand and the envelope settled in her palm. The window shut itself and was still.

Mail was sent like that in her world. You simply put the name of the person the letter was intended for on the envelope and off it went. Many people lived in distant remote places or, as was the case nowadays, in hiding, making it was impossible for someone to deliver them all by hand. Amber opened the envelope. It was from Heather. Amber and her friends lived among the humans, as many magic families did, choosing wild areas so that their magic went unnoticed. Living like this also meant The Lands were not overpopulated and did not have their valuable resources