Jenny Nimmo - Gabriel and the Phantom Sleepers

First published in paperback in Great Britain 2018

by Egmont UK Limited

The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN

Text copyright © 2018 Jenny Nimmo

Cover illustration by George Ermos

The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted

First e-book edition 2018

ISBN 978 1 4052 8088 4

Ebook ISBN 978 1 7803 1741 0

www.egmont.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet.

Egmont takes its responsibility to the planet and its inhabitants very seriously. We aim to use papers from well-managed forests run by responsible suppliers.

For Rhiannon and Seren, with love.

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright First published in paperback in Great Britain 2018 by Egmont UK Limited The Yellow Building, 1 Nicholas Road, London W11 4AN Text copyright © 2018 Jenny Nimmo Cover illustration by George Ermos The moral rights of the author and illustrator have been asserted First e-book edition 2018 ISBN 978 1 4052 8088 4 Ebook ISBN 978 1 7803 1741 0 www.egmont.co.uk A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Stay safe online. Any website addresses listed in this book are correct at the time of going to print. However, Egmont is not responsible for content hosted by third parties. Please be aware that online content can be subject to change and websites can contain content that is unsuitable for children. We advise that all children are supervised when using the internet. Egmont takes its responsibility to the planet and its inhabitants very seriously. We aim to use papers from well-managed forests run by responsible suppliers.

Dedication For Rhiannon and Seren, with love.

Prologue PROLOGUE At the age of three Cecily Fork cast her first spell. She turned a kitten into a toad. Her horrified parents decided to keep quiet about it. They persuaded Cecily never to cast her spells in public and she agreed. After all, keeping her sorcery a secret was much more fun. No one ever guessed who had turned the neighbourhood dogs into monkeys, or caused popular girls to grow carrot noses, and Cecily pretended to be as surprised as anyone when pencils turned into slugs and books became white rats. When Cecily was eighteen she left her nice, ordinary parents and went to live with more exciting Fork relatives. They were treacherous villains with large ears and dreadful habits. They adored Cecily and would do anything for her, however cruel or unlawful. In her twenties Cecily enchanted two rich men into marrying her – one by one, of course. The marriages didn’t work out, but by then Cecily had two sons, one from each marriage; Carver and Septimus. When Carver was eight and Septimus was six, Cecily heard about a certain magical cloak. The cloak was a thousand years old and had once belonged to an African magician, the so-called Red King. It was made by a forest jinni from the web of the last moon spider, and it could protect the wearer from any curse, weapon or spell. The king turned the web into a cloak, the deep red colour of the setting sun. He left his fabulous garment in the care of the Silk family, and the oldest member of every Silk generation inherited the duties of keeping the cloak secret and safe. Oh, how Cecily longed for that cloak; it would strengthen her power and make her invincible. Once again Cecily used a spell to captivate a husband. This time it was Jack Silk, who was expected to inherit the cloak from his elderly father. The wicked Forks carried out a plan to get rid of Jack’s first wife, and then Cecily and the unfortunate, enchanted Jack were married. Cecily waited, biding her time until the cloak fell into her hands. But Jack’s twin brother, Alan, became Keeper of the Cloak instead, and Cecily could hardly contain her fury. Punishing Jack with a spell that imprisoned him in his house forever, she departed, leaving Jack utterly mystified and his daughter, Sadie, elated. Cecily had been a cruel stepmother. No one knew why Cecily had married Jack. The Silk family never guessed that Cecily had heard about the cloak and yearned for it. Perhaps no one would ever have found out, if Gabriel Silk hadn’t become Keeper of the Cloak for one exceedingly dangerous week.

1. The Hooded Stranger

2. The Sorceress

3. The Woman in the Red Coat

4. Into the Hat

5. A Sinister Message

6. The Power Booster

7. Sadie Alone

8. The Green Phantom

9. The Silent Sisters

10. False Albert’s Coat

11. A Visit from the Weasel

12. The Alchemist

13. A Party Turns Bad

14. A Castle in Flames

15. Following the Snow

16. Elissa

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PROLOGUE

At the age of three Cecily Fork cast her first spell. She turned a kitten into a toad. Her horrified parents decided to keep quiet about it. They persuaded Cecily never to cast her spells in public and she agreed. After all, keeping her sorcery a secret was much more fun. No one ever guessed who had turned the neighbourhood dogs into monkeys, or caused popular girls to grow carrot noses, and Cecily pretended to be as surprised as anyone when pencils turned into slugs and books became white rats.

When Cecily was eighteen she left her nice, ordinary parents and went to live with more exciting Fork relatives. They were treacherous villains with large ears and dreadful habits. They adored Cecily and would do anything for her, however cruel or unlawful.

In her twenties Cecily enchanted two rich men into marrying her – one by one, of course. The marriages didn’t work out, but by then Cecily had two sons, one from each marriage; Carver and Septimus. When Carver was eight and Septimus was six, Cecily heard about a certain magical cloak. The cloak was a thousand years old and had once belonged to an African magician, the so-called Red King. It was made by a forest jinni from the web of the last moon spider, and it could protect the wearer from any curse, weapon or spell.

The king turned the web into a cloak, the deep red colour of the setting sun. He left his fabulous garment in the care of the Silk family, and the oldest member of every Silk generation inherited the duties of keeping the cloak secret and safe. Oh, how Cecily longed for that cloak; it would strengthen her power and make her invincible.

Once again Cecily used a spell to captivate a husband. This time it was Jack Silk, who was expected to inherit the cloak from his elderly father. The wicked Forks carried out a plan to get rid of Jack’s first wife, and then Cecily and the unfortunate, enchanted Jack were married. Cecily waited, biding her time until the cloak fell into her hands. But Jack’s twin brother, Alan, became Keeper of the Cloak instead, and Cecily could hardly contain her fury. Punishing Jack with a spell that imprisoned him in his house forever, she departed, leaving Jack utterly mystified and his daughter, Sadie, elated. Cecily had been a cruel stepmother.