Blackwood Chronicles: Inock Tehan and the Forbidden Clan

By A. A. Wise

Inock Tehan is a 14-year-old boy living in a magical world inhabited by enchanted creatures. In fact, he is a demon himself, with very special powers! He sets on an epic adventure to unravel the ancient mystery surrounding a forbidden clan of witches, fighting their dark magic, in order to exonerate an exiled witch.

Blackwood Chronicles: Inock Tehan and the Forbidden Clan is a mythical story, full of surprises, that takes the reader on a thrilling adventure into a completely new world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: May 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9781528962124

A. A. Wise

Born in East Africa, Uganda, A. A. Wise moved to England, UK, when he was very young. He has been interested in fantasy books from a young age. Beyond reading and writing, his hobbies include travelling, keeping up with current events, watching movies and playing video games.

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Dentas

About the Author

Born in East Africa, Uganda, Wise moved to England, UK, when he was very young. He has been interested in fantasy books since a young age. Beyond reading and writing, Wise’s hobbies include travelling, keeping up with current events, watching movies and playing video games.

About the Book

Inock Tehan is a 14-year-old boy living in a magical world inhabited by enchanted creatures. In fact, he is a demon himself, with very special powers! He sets on an epic adventure to unravel the ancient mystery surrounding a forbidden clan of witches, fighting their dark magic, in order to exonerate an exiled witch.

Blackwood Chronicles: Inock Tehan and the Forbidden Clan is a mythical story, full of surprises, that takes the reader on a thrilling adventure into a completely new world.

Dedication

To Mayble, thank you for the support.

Copyright Information

Copyright © A. A. Wise (2019)

The right of A. A. Wise to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

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

ISBN 9781528917957 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781528962124 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2019)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Character Names and Descriptions

Inock Tehan:

Inock is a fourteen-year-old boy living in a magical world filled with witches and demons. He is the main character of the story. He is also a demon himself with very special powers. He gets involved in an ancient mystery that leads him into danger.

Lalita:

Lalita is a very clever fourteen-year-old girl who is a good friend of Inock’s. She is also a demon with special powers and is a young witch learning magic.

Andre:

Andre is a fourteen-year-old boy who is also a demon with supernatural powers; he can transform himself into any animal he pleases. Andre lives with Inock and his family. He likes to tell the truth and he respects his elders.

Rozanthia:

Rozanthia is a girl ghost who died when she was twelve and so never grew up. She has been the same age since she died many, many years ago. She is Inock’s secret friend since not many people know about her. She can remain invisible for as long as she likes. In this way, she can follow Inock around without anyone knowing she is there.

Tehan Tehan:

Tehan is Inock’s father. He is a demon with supernatural powers. He is also a famous power-trainer who teaches other demons how to use their powers properly. He owns a power-training school.

Esttia:

Esttia is Inock’s mother. She works at Tehan’s Power-Training School as a receptionist and she also mixes magical potions.

Torend:

Torend is Inock’s big brother. He is also a demon with special powers. He too is a power-trainer who teaches other demons how to use their powers to full effect at Tehan’s Power-Training School.

Laden:

Laden is Lalita’s big brother. He is a demon with special powers, and he is a troublemaker.

Mabiyah:

Mabiyah is an Oracle who sends Inock and his friends on many dangerous missions. A demon with special powers, enabling her to see the future, she is also an unnaturally old witch. She is very clever and helps a lot of people in Inock’s world because of her powers.

Samuel Blackwood:

Samuel Blackwood is a mysterious seventeen-year-old demon boy with whom Inock is fascinated.

Tharah:

Tharah is a beautiful seventeen-year-old girl who lives in Inock’s world. She is a demon with the power to speak with animals.

Esmatilda:

Esmatilda is a good witch in exile. She hides in the Haunted Valley ruins and is a good friend of Inock’s. She needs Inock’s help to be set free.

Musota:

Musota is an eighteen-year-old treasure seeker. He befriends Inock and his friends, and leads Inock into dangerous situations.

Villad:

Villad is a young demon with the power to make himself and others invisible. He is a friend of Musota’s and goes on treasure seeking missions with Musota and Inock.

Rukia:

Rukia is a young woman in her twenties who works in a potions shop in Kasama Market. She sells Inock a secret potion.

James:

James is a friend of the Oracle’s. He is a male witch with a dark past.

Barnarbo:

Barnarbo is a male witch who co-owns and works on a farm that Inock, Andre and Lalita often visit.

Dentas:

Dentas is a dark witch who used to live in the Haunted Valley ruins many years ago, before it fell into ruins.

Chapter One

Inock’s Monthly Potion

It all started with an argument in the Tehan household on a Monday morning, sometime in early September.

‘Drink it!’

‘No!’

‘Drink it now, Inock!’

‘No way! I want my powers!’

Inock was arguing with his big brother Torend. They were in the sitting room – an expensive-looking room that was a fusion of red and black, with a large, black leather sofa and two matching armchairs. There were two tall, black glass cabinets on either side of the sofa, and there were tall, stylish glass lamps in all the corners of the room. At the centre was a long, black glass coffee table. Large windows (not of black glass) flooded the room with sunlight. There was a painting of a forest on the wall opposite the room’s entrance. The painting took up most of the wall, but this was no ordinary painting. In fact, it was no painting at all. It was a 3D television.

Torend had brought Inock a potion to drink. But Inock was refusing to drink it.

You see, once every month, Inock’s parents forced him to drink a power-suppressing potion. They always claimed that Inock wasn’t ready for his special abilities, so they made him drink the potion to stop his powers. It was awful tasting, green and slimy. Inock had been watching the television when his big brother had brought the potion to him.

Inock was often called little Inock because he was a bit small for his age, even though he was now fourteen years old. He had a bowl haircut, with several strands of hair sticking up at the crown. It looked like he was wearing a black dish on his head, but it was his hair.

In brown shorts and a white vest, Inock’s brother Torend looked about twenty-one years old. He had cropped black hair and was tall with broad shoulders. Torend looked paler than his little brother because he spent a lot of time indoors teaching. He was a teacher, you know; he taught people how to use their special powers.

You see, the reason Inock’s family made him drink a power-stunting potion every month was because he was a demon with special powers – just like his brother and father. Inock had the ability to use other demons’ powers when they were close by, but when those demons went away again, Inock could no longer use their powers. However, he had to know exactly what their powers were and how to use them in order to do it right. His brother Torend and his father Tehan Tehan had the same ability. Torend and Tehan both taught other demons how to use their powers in their family power-training school; they were really good at it because they both knew a lot about other demons’ powers. Inock’s, Torend’s and Tehan’s power was a rare, special and complicated power. And I should also mention that Inock did not live in our world. He lived in a magical world where the sky was green and the moon was orbited by great rocks that spun around it and glowed at night.

In Inock’s world, there are many people who have special powers, people who can do remarkable things. These people are called powerfuls.

Now, there are three types of powerfuls. Firstly, there are demons. These are people who are born with all kinds of powers; each demon has a set power which they can nurture and manipulate in different ways. Secondly, there are witches – these are people who are not born with powers, but learn to use magic and witchcraft during their lifetime. They use spells, magical staffs, wands and magic words to make wonderful things happen. (Just so you know, in Inock’s world, male witches are also called witches, not wizards.) And finally, the third kind of powerful is a natural witch who does not necessarily need powerful words or spells; these are witches who can affect the world around them merely by willing special things to happen. They can do many different things.

But back to the story:

‘You’re not allowed to use your powers yet, Inock!’ Torend snapped. ‘Drink your potion!’

‘I won’t drink that stupid potion!’ Inock replied with a voice that always sounded like it was breaking, though it never did. ‘Andre gets to use his powers! And Father even trains him!’

I should tell you, Andre was Inock’s adopted brother. Inock’s father Tehan had adopted Andre just months ago and had brought him to live with them. Andre was a red-haired black boy of about Inock’s age and he too was a demon. He could transform into any animal he wanted. I should clarify; he could transform into any animal he’d seen – and I mean any animal, big or small. That was his power! In fact, Andre, wearing black shorts and a black vest, was right there in the room, sitting on the sofa watching the monthly argument. (Most men and boys in Kasama wore shorts and T-shirts or vests.)

‘What’s the trouble in here?’ came a deep voice from the sitting room door.

Inock, Torend and Andre all looked towards their father, Tehan, who was entering the room. Tehan was a very, very tall man. He had long white hair, which was loosely tied back, broad shoulders and was dressed in loose cream trousers and a grey shirt with no collar, and sandals. He looked a lot like Torend. Tehan and Torend both had powerful-looking faces, except that Tehan looked about three times Torend’s age, and was taller.

‘Inock’s refusing to drink his potion, Father,’ Torend said. ‘Again!’

‘Why is that, Inock?’ Tehan asked sombrely.

‘Because I want to use my powers, Father.’ Inock was a bit scared of his father, partly because Tehan was so tall and Inock was so small. So he tried to keep his voice as polite as he could.

‘Inock, you know very well you should not use your powers. It’s too dangerous! You are too young,’ Tehan said, looking down at Inock. ‘Please drink your potion.’

‘But Andre gets to use his powers, and he’s my age!’

‘Inock, you know that when Father adopted Andre, he was already using his powers!’ Torend argued.

‘What’s the commotion?’ came a woman’s voice from the sitting room entrance.

They all turned to see Esttia, Inock’s mother, who was looking cross.

Esttia looked a little like an old school teacher. She had thin lips, greying hair tied loosely in a bun, and wore thin-rimmed spectacles. But she was no schoolteacher; she was actually a receptionist at the family’s power-training school. She did all the paperwork and organised everything; she decided which students were taught and when; she even made magical potions for the students to drink when they were practising their powers. The school would fall apart without her.

‘Inock is refusing to drink his potion – again,’ Torend sighed.

‘Drink your potion, boy! Now!’ Esttia said. She was strict with Inock, and Inock usually did everything she told him without question.

‘Yes, Mother…’

Grumpily, Inock snatched the glass from Torend and downed the greenish potion in two gulps. It was bitter and disgusting.

On the sofa, Andre smothered a giggle. He was used to Inock refusing to drink his potion and found it funny that Inock always gave way and drank the potion in the end.

‘Come on, Andre, let’s get ready for school,’ Inock said, then left the room. Andre followed.

The inside of Inock’s house was painted a reddish colour. You see, Inock’s mother had a thing about the colours red and black. The downstairs hallway had a red and black tiled floor. There was also a set of polished, black wooden stairs leading to the floor above, which Inock and Andre ran up after leaving the sitting room. The downstairs hallway ended at a veiled doorway leading into the kitchen, and just to the right of the sitting room entrance was the front door.

Now on the upstairs landing, Inock and Andre faced their parents’ bedroom; to the left-hand side of that was the spare bedroom, then Torend’s room, and opposite Torend’s room was Inock’s and Andre’s room and the bathroom.

Inock and Andre went along the hallway and entered their bedroom. Their room was a comfortable size; not too big, not too small. Their bunk bed was in the corner. Next to it was a chest of drawers. There were two toy boxes at the foot of the bed, and a double wardrobe and desk next to that. There was a mirror above the desk.

Inock and Andre’s favourite television programme was Power Trials, a show where many witches and demons competed in a series of challenges and the best demon won a prize at the end of it. Inock’s favourite Power Trials contestant was Dijhon the Nut-smasher, who could conjure energy balls and energy ropes out of thin air. So naturally, the room was decorated with Dijhon the Nut-smasher posters. Dijhon was big, bald and had bulky muscles.

On the other hand, Andre’s favourite Power Trials contestant was Dhalesimo the Great; he was a demon who could teleport himself anywhere in the world any time he wanted. Andre’s duvet cover had a picture of Dhalesimo the Great on it, and he owned Dhalesimo the Great pyjamas. Dhalesimo was tall but not as wide as Dijhon the Nut-smasher.

The two boys gathered their school bags, put on their shoes and left the house, heading for the school next door. That’s right, their school was right next door to where they lived, which was very convenient for them indeed. Inock wore dark, knee-length shorts and a stripy, blue T-shirt. Andre was dressed similarly but in a red T-shirt.

I should tell you now that Inock and his family actually lived in a market. But it wasn’t like any other market you have ever seen.

Kasama Market was as big as a town, or even a city. The whole market was enclosed within towering, white stone walls, and had four main entrances. Each entrance was a huge black gate, big enough to fit a great giant underneath.

It was called Kasama Market because that was the name of the city it was in: Kasama. But people didn’t necessarily call them cities in Inock’s world; they called them districts. And there were many districts within a country. And the market didn’t have normal, removable stalls either, but something better; it had huge, grey concrete stalls that were permanent. Each stall was actually a small segment of a ring of stalls. And there were many rings making up the entire market.

The market had two bricked roads that dissected it into four equal quarters, and ran on to the four entrances. The roads were called The Divider. Funnily enough, it was called The Divider because it divided the market up. If you were high up in the sky inside a plane and looked down at the market, you would see it looked like a big circle with a cross running through it, or like a pie split into four equal pieces.

And one more thing: Inock’s and Andre’s home was at the very centre of the market. But it didn’t look like an ordinary house.

At the very centre of the market was a tall tower. The tower was made of white stone, and it had three huge spheres along it. Inock was always mesmerised by the tower with its three spheres. At the bottom of the tower, a ring of flats was built around it. Inock’s and Andre’s home was one of these flats.

From the outside of Inock’s and Andre’s house, you could see all the way along The Divider to the great black gate far in the distance because their home was located directly opposite the southern market gate.

It was early in the morning, but the market was already busy with shoppers and many amazing creatures that could only be found in Inock’s world.

Inock and Andre moved along The Divider and went over to the school next door.

The school had wide, glass sliding doors, which had been opened previously by their teacher Ms Strict, a witch.

A wooden sign hung above the entrance; it read:

Tehan Tehan

If you’ve got it, I’ve got it.

The school was named after Inock’s father, Tehan Tehan. (It wasn’t unheard of in Inock’s world for people to have identical first and second names.) The school’s motto was "If you’ve got it, I’ve got it" because of Tehan’s power to temporarily copy other demons’ powers: if they had that power, so did he – until they left him of course. The power-training school was well known throughout the world.

But the not-so-fun thing you need to know is that at the school, Inock and Andre were taught not how to use their powers (at least in Inock’s case), but ordinary subjects (ordinary for that world) which all the young boys and girls were taught.

Inock and Andre went up the white steps and entered the school reception.

The reception area was small and it looked more like a corridor than a school reception. To the right was a row of ten chairs, lined up along the wall, which would later be filled with boys and girls waiting to see the power-trainers.

And to the left was the receptionist’s desk where Esttia, Inock’s mother, normally sat, facing the chairs. Beyond the row of chairs, the reception narrowed into a corridor and ended just a few paces further on.

Inock and Andre moved through the reception area and