Magic Parcel Read Online Free PDF Page B

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    â€œTarna! My old friend! But ... I ...” Tommy stuttered. “How ...?”
    â€œDo not forget,” the newcomer answered, a great grin splitting his dusky face, “that in Omni, whatever you wish is, and that whatever you want to be, can become reality. It is a long time since you were last here,” he continued, casting a reproving eye towards his companion. “Had you forgotten your old friends?”
    â€œWell, er, no really,” Tommy answered uncomfortably, for really he had forgotten about the excitement of the other world. In fact, he had begun to think it was all just a little - dare he admit it - babyish for him now that he was thirteen. Tarna’s eyes twinkled, an almost imperceptible smile creasing the corners of his mouth. He understood, although he and others like him didn’t share such other-world feelings. He determined to himself from then on that he would reintroduce Tommy to the excitements they once shared, the adventure of the country, and would help him to rediscover their old haunts.
    Suddenly, as they were talking, the red sun went out and a chill shadow spread over them, destroying the caressing, welcoming warmth with an uninvitingly cold shudder. The smile drained slowly from Tarna’s mouth as he raised his face towards the offending intruder.
    He screwed up his eyes, and pulled his collar around his chin as his mouth began to move, uttering silent and bodiless words. The cloud disappeared as suddenly as it had formed; dispersed, it seemed, by some unfelt and unheard wind. As the sun poured over his face again, Tarna opened his eyes, but his smile remained hidden behind a disturbed and troubled look.
    â€œWhy do you look so worried?” asked Tommy, puzzled.
    â€œSarni, the eclipsing cloud,” Tarna went on, “appears only at times of great hardship, disaster or unrest, and for it to disappear so soon can only mean ...”
    He was interrupted by a long piercing, drawn-out wail the like of which Tommy had never experienced before, sending shivers of fear down his back.
    â€œWhat in heaven’s name was that?” Tommy asked, as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle and the goose pimples on his bare flesh begin to march up his arm.
    â€œWe cannot stop here to speak,” Tarna answered. “We must away to my village. That is an evil omen indeed. The Senti are abroad again.”
    â€œSenti?” puzzled Tommy. “What are they?”
    â€œSorry, yes,” Tarna said in a low voice. “They weren’t here when you started coming. They are the Sesqui-senti, servants of the evil Lord Seth. Their white, eyeless forms are sent by their master to do his bidding. That they are abroad searching for food is bad news and ...”
    â€œYes,” Tommy replied a little impatiently, “but what are they, and who is Seth?”
    â€œWhether bred or made, I know not,” Tarna went on, “but they home onto warm-blooded creatures as if by magic. As for Seth, he is a wicked, evil magician who is able to make his castle disappear and reappear anywhere at will. He and his evil brood haven’t been seen for a very long time, since before your time, when he swore he would conquer the world and become its master. So far, fortunately, he hasn’t been able to fulfil that aim.”
    â€œWell,” Tommy interrupted, “if he’s so powerful and so clever, how come he hasn’t taken over before now?”
    â€œThere is a power in the land,” Tarna said, “older and far greater than Seth. The Keeper of that power - or he may even be the power itself, we do not know - is a great magician, whose strength still has the measure of Seth’s wizardry; for the time being. His name to us is Algan, the Binder. He is rarely seen save in time of great need, but without his presence, Omni would soon be overcome by darkness. He lives somewhere out there ...” He paused to wave an indecisive arm