Read Online Jack Gregson & the Forgotten Portal by Peter Wilson - Free Book Online Page A

as he read further
down the page. “This is bad.” Looking up at Jack he asked, “Do you
know what this says?”
    “That we are calling in your debt, we need
to recover something that was stolen from us,” replied Jack.
“Apparently you’re skilled at this sort of thing.” He kept his
response vague, not knowing what his Grandmother had written and
not yet trusting Anthrow.
    “Yes, but do you know who would have
organised the theft of that emerald?”
    “Theorden?” David guessed.
    “Ha! You say the name so casually. Yes
Theorden!” said Anthrow as he started to pace. “What was Marion
thinking, sending children on a task like this. Theorden!”
    “I was also supposed to give you this,” Jack
said, ignoring what he had said as he pulled the red stone necklace
from his pouch and threw it to him. “The person who stole the
emerald tried to hide the theft with that enchanted necklace. It’s
a clue. Grandma said few could have crafted a stone such as this.
If you can find out who made it, we’ll be able to track the
thief.”
    Anthrow caught the stone and ran his fingers
over it. He then closed his eyes and whispered something Jack
couldn’t hear as if trying to determine the stones power.
    After a minute he opened his eyes and said,
“She’s right, there are only a few people with the skills required
to craft something like this. Okay! I will help you track down the
origin of this stone, but that is all. Now, I have some
conditions.”
    “Conditions?” asked Jack.
    “Yes conditions. Firstly, please put away
that orb. If you accidently drop that…Just put it away. Secondly my
debt is repaid in full. Full! I get that infernal cube back and I
can finally stop worrying about a Gregson pulling me back into
their crazy shenanigans. You know your family is quite nuts. Even
the nice ones.”
    “Anything else?” Jack asked still holding
the orb, not ready to trust Anthrow.
    “No that’s it, we best get started. I’d let
to get back home as soon as possible. I did actually have plans
this evening you know.”
    Yes! Thought Jack. The second he’d arrived
here he knew he wanted to stay and explore. Maybe they could spend
a bit more time here with Anthrow and help find answers about the
emerald.
    “We can’t.” said Rosie. “We have strict
instructions to return as soon as we’ve delivered you the
message.”
    “Why do you want us to come anyway?” Asked
David suspiciously, still pointing the knife. “You want to turn us
in for a reward? Is that it? You attacked us.”
    Jack watched Anthrow thinking on how to
respond. All of a sudden he smiled before turning into a blur
before their eyes, charging towards Jack and then David before
zooming back to where he’d stood not moments ago.
    In one hand he held the orb, the other his
knife.
    Jack looked on in shock as he noted an
immediate change in Anthrow. Somehow in the second it had taken to
steal the orb and knife, he had also put on his jacket.
    While still looking skinny, he now stood
tall, legs straight and shoulders back. The manic personality was
gone, replaced with a calm and collected stare that told Jack that
this person was and always had been in control of the
situation.
    “The Universe is a big place,” said Anthrow.
“And you never truly know who you’re dealing with. There are those
who would steal from you or even kill you before you even had time
to say hi.
    You three look harmless enough, but I would
be a fool to rely on looks alone. So when we met, I took the
offensive to see what your reaction would be. As it turns out,
you’re a force to be reckoned with, and I’m glad we’re on the same
side.”
    “A force to be reckoned with? You just took
our weapons from us before we had time to think!” replied Jack.
    Anthrow shrugged, as he started to slouch
again, his unusual mannerisms returning.
    “Well I was impressed. Seriously, you pulled
out a Chaos Pixie! I wasn’t expecting that.”
    He walked over to Jack and held out the