The Anvil Amulet

"Please, that is not important now. Just take my hand and come with me."

"I can't do that. I don't know who or what you are and unless you explain yourself I'm afraid I'll be going nowhere, least of all with you. Has Jarek sent you perhaps?"

"No, but I can't explain! There isn't time - please, just come with me now," the creature pleaded, letting the cape fall slowly from its head.

Jonathan gasped. "What happened to you?"

"That is of no concern to you now, Jonathan. We must leave straight away!" The hairless skull and withered face were covered with blemishes and pus-filled sores. Yet in spite of its hideous appearance, Jonathan could see that the face seemed to belong to an ageing woman with pallid blue eyes. He could only wonder at the plague or affliction that had befallen her.

"My God! What did this to you?"

"I cannot speak of such things now, I--"

"Then I cannot come with you. You have spoken my name yet I do not recognize you at all. I'm sorry, but I cannot go anywhere with you," he said kindly.

"Jonathan, you must! Please, before--," she stopped, looked over her shoulder again, then was gone, leaving a bewildered Jonathan staring once more at the reflective surface of the rain-washed marble stone.

Part One - Something Old, Something New

1 - Soul Thief

Death was no longer the harsh mistress Billy Robinson had feared it would be. He had survived his incarceration with Mandor and completed his task in Erebus. Although disappointed to be dead, Billy soon discovered that Mandor had kept his promises, sending him out of Erebus, with his glass and dark magic, into a new, stolen body.

He could only marvel at the strange forces that empowered Mandor's mirror and permitted his possession of unsuspecting mortals. The feeling was at first, uncomfortable and yet strangely satisfying as well, until selecting a new identity became second nature. Now, all he had to do was wish for a new incarnation whilst holding the ancient glass, and in an instant, the selected mortal would appear before his eyes. So easy was it that Billy soon lost count of the identities he had stolen and shared.

One of his early incarnations had allowed him to access his deposit box in the Cayman Islands where, he was relieved to discover, his forged passport and banking documents were still intact. After pondering the dilemma of changing his passport photo to suit, Billy soon discovered that Mandor's magic took care of this also. Holding the passport before his reflection instantly changed the image to his reflected self. It had been a quick and simple matter accessing his accounts, and the millions of dollars that they contained.

To allay any possible suspicion or detection from his previous employer, he decided to set up a legitimate auction house for rare antiquities. Appointing a trustee to manage the business on his behalf, while Billy supplemented an impressive catalogue of items, most of them stolen, as he ventured through various times and identities.

On a recent visit to his business, the aptly named, Tempus Antiquities, Billy learned of a mysterious collector who had been paying handsomely for some of his rarer items. These included an ancient Egyptian talisman that had achieved the highest bid so far, an impressive $3,000,000 - much to the delight of his zealous trustee! While money was no longer a concern or requisite for Billy, his greed remained and in an instant his thoughts turned to Mandor's amulet and the high price that such an item would bring; deciding immediately to search for its current location.

Using the magic of the ancient mirror, the dark gods soon replayed for him the events that led up to Mandor's downfall at the Genesis Glass. The power of the small piece of rock had shocked him and he was a little saddened to witness Mandor's immolation. However, a few moments later, the glass showed him all he needed to know and left him smiling at the irony of it all. Of course Jonathan had it - he should have guessed that for himself.