Kate
and Phil Reynolds think they belong to an
ordinary family. That is until a larger-than-life old lady turns up
on a classic Harley-Davidson motorbike
with her golden retriever
Fearless in the sidecar, and introduces
herself as their Great Aunt Elizabeth.
And that is until they discover not only that their own cat Barking
can talk but also that their family legacy is ownership of some unique
stones with very special powers that come with a whole heap of responsibility.
And finally they find out that they are pitted against Lorabeth
Lampton, an evil villainess of Cruella De Vil proportions,
who is hot on their trail and causing natural disasters on a worldwide
scale in her quest for eternal youth. The heart-stopping Race
For The Lost Keystone begins and Kate and Phil Reynolds' lives
will never be ordinary again...
Original artwork by Annie
Graham
Extract...
Phil's daydreaming took a more sinister turn. He had a horrible hollow
feeling in his tummy which wouldn't go away. Then, one morning just before
the end of term, a notion appeared in his mind which alarmed him both
by its suddenness and the accompanying tidal wave of nausea which hit
his stomach. Kate was wrong, - Mum and Dad weren't keeping some terrible
secret about her at all.
The whispered discussions whenever they thought he was out of the way,
the anxiety every time the phone rang. It all added up, Phil realized
at last, to his parents' deliberating about whether or not to send him
to boarding school. The truth, having come to him in a flash now played
itself out effortlessly in his mind.
Each
year they waited for this fabulously strict and stern Headmaster (called
something like Dr. Theodore Sprake) to phone and offer them a place for
Phil at his remote boarding school. As if he were in a darkened cinema watching
a film, the world around Phil became lost to him and a vivid scene unfolded
in his head.A broad gravel drive disappeared between two vast wrought iron gates, above which, swinging in the wind, hung a sign: Murkygore Towers. Centre of academic excellence, where home comforts, along with visits from parents, are not allowed.
Recoiling from this dark and gloomy image a new scene began to play out in Phil's mind.
It is a grim winter day and an icy rain sweeps across London. Hurrying home to his loving family Michael Reynolds hears a most peculiar sound; a combination of screams and gurgles. He turns and follows the sound to some steps beside the pavement which lead down to the canal. There, thrashing about in the oily water, his thin, beaked nose pointing skyward is the drowning Dr. Theodore Sprake. Without the slightest hesitation and with utter disregard for his own safety, Michael Reynolds dives to the aid of the previously doomed man.
Duly rescued, Dr. Sprake expresses his eternal gratitude to Michael Reynolds with an annual telephone call offering his son, 'Master Philip' a free place at Murkygore Towers. Michael Reynolds promises that one day, when the time is right, he will accept this kind offer. After all, he has a duty to educate his son to the highest possible standards. And of course, the telephone call would come at the end of the summer term so that everything would be settled in time to pack Phil off the following September.
The canal scene, as vivid as an action replay, returned to Phil's mind. There was the struggling man and there was his father dashing down the steps, racing to the water's edge. The clarity of the image startled Philip and he cried out suddenly.
" Dad! Leave him, leave him - push him under, Dad!"
Hot-faced and shaken, Phil sat down on his bed. He looked around at the posters of premier league players, his books and his miniature pool table. He reached a hand across his bed and found the squashed and tatty bear that had been new when he was a week old. He saw the papier-mache puppet he had made in Year Two and the incomplete and dusty cut-out-and-make cardboard model of a Roman Amphitheatre he had been given for Christmas. He felt homesick in his own bedroom.
Extract...Want more? Click book link above.
© Copyright 2008 Val Rutt. All rights reserved.
Original illustration 'Murkygore Towers' by Annie Graham
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