The Black Diamond

By Giovanno G.J. Collard

Twins named Liam and Casey were born with magic powers. Liam was kidnapped by a man named Bert on the day he was born. Bert longed for a magic diamond owned by the father of the twins, Alex. Alex left his wife, Emma, for twelve years to find his lost son. But when he came back without his son, his wife was with another man, Antonio, and they had a daughter, Liamina, together.
Meanwhile, Liam thought the kidnapper was his real father. He had a misadventure that drove him to flee from the house of his kidnapper, believing that he had fled away from his real father. After some time alone, his mother found him accidentally. Hard for Liam to believe, he decided not to trust his real mother in order to avoid more suffering, despite his girlfriend, Anna, begging him to hear his mother’s version.
Luckily, Liam’s stepmother, Naomie, had also fled her husband Bert with her sons, Daniel and Jim. They also explained to him that Bert was not his real father. He then decided to help his brother and his father after the confirmation that Bert had kidnapped him. The circumstances oblige him to do worse than he had ever done to save his family without knowing that he had more than just magic powers inside him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Mar 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9781528977906

Giovanno G.J. Collard

Giovanno is a fan of fantastic films and likes to see exceptional endings in the movies. He, along with his brothers and sister, grew up with his father who had been alone since Giovanno was five years old. They lived in a small room until he was thirteen. Giovanno is passionate about sports cars but keeps his cool when he sees a nice car. All he would like to have is his own house and to be able to give a house to his father. He is currently an air-conditioning technician but, for the last four years, has also been working on his book. When Giovanno first started writing his book, he wanted to finish it ASAP, but then he thought to himself that he had a chance to give readers the pleasure of reading, so he decided to take his time to make his book better. He was amazed by his own reactions he had while rereading the manuscript, forgetting each time he reread what he had written and he hopes that the readers will have the same reaction as him.

Book preview

Appears

About the Author

Giovanno is a fan of fantastic films and likes to see exceptional endings in the movies. He, along with his brothers and sister, grew up with his father who had been alone since Giovanno was five years old. They lived in a small room until he was thirteen.

Giovanno is passionate about sports cars but keeps his cool when he sees a nice car. All he would like to have is his own house and to be able to give a house to his father. He is currently an air-conditioning technician but, for the last four years, has also been working on his book.

When Giovanno first started writing his book, he wanted to finish it ASAP, but then he thought to himself that he had a chance to give readers the pleasure of reading, so he decided to take his time to make his book better. He was amazed by his own reactions he had while rereading the manuscript, forgetting each time he reread what he had written and he hopes that the readers will have the same reaction as him.

Dedication

For my dad, who was always there for me

Copyright Information ©

Giovanno G.J. Collard (2021)

The right of Giovanno G.J. Collard to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author 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.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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

ISBN 9781528977883 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781528977906 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2021)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Chapter 1

The Great Hidden Power

A young boy named Alex, a very smart boy, has just lost his mother at the age of thirteen. He and his father James live in a small town called Plaisance on an island called Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. After the burial of his mother, Alex has gone to his room to be alone. But while lying down on his bed, he falls asleep after spending some time looking at the ceiling. While Alex sleeps, his father, James, is drinking, when he suddenly hears a weird noise in Alex’s room. James quickly goes to see what has happened, but instead of seeing Alex’s stuff broken, he sees electricity coming out from Alex’s body and Alex floating above his bed. At this moment, his father learns that his son has a great power. James returns to his activity with the intention of finding out how Alex can do all that. The next day, James sees Alex arriving to have breakfast.

James: ‘What happened to your room yesterday?’

Alex: ‘Nothing. Why?’

James: ‘Your room is not messy?’

Alex: ‘No. Why?’

James quickly goes into Alex’s room to see all the stuff that has moved but instead, he sees the room in order. James understands that Alex himself does not know what has happened, and he decides to take this power from him, no matter if he dies. Since Alex could have realised that he had powers before his mother’s death, James’s anger has led him to want to avenge his wife’s death on his son. James leaves Alex alone at home and goes to a shop that is not very appreciated with everyone in the capital city at Port-Louis, where everybody could find everything they want, like a book of black magic. When people see him entering this shop, almost all of them look at him with a wary look. But James does not want to know what others think of him. The shopkeeper of this shop, Dean, approaches James.

Dean: ‘Hello, sir! How can I help you?’

James: ‘I want a book that would help me to do something that I want more than anything.’

Dean: ‘We have all kinds of books…you could be more specific.’

James: ‘To take something powerful from someone!’

Dean looks at him with a strange look.

Dean: ‘Wait a minute, maybe my colleague can help you.’

James is scared of the way this man has watched him and decides to leave.

James: ‘I may have made a mistake. Excuse me!’

Dean, after hearing only the word powerful, does not want to let him go.

Dean: ‘But no…trust me. My friend can really help you. Wait for me here, I’ll be back quickly.’

Dean goes in the back of shop to see his colleague Clayton.

Dean: ‘We have someone who wants to take something powerful from someone else, and he needs our help.’

Clayton and Dean quickly go back to the front of the shop, but when they look for James, he has already gone. Dean takes a good look in the whole shop, but he does not see him, and James has stolen a book.

Dean: ‘I put a book on the counter, and he took it.’

Clayton looks at Dean and then closes his eyes.

James runs in the small streets of Port Louis so they do not find him but without expecting it, James finds himself back in the shop. And because he is still running, James hits a shelf and falls. He cannot understand how he has ended up here because he had already left. Clayton approaches him and looks at him, but James is very scared since he was not there a moment ago and all of a sudden, he finds himself back in the shop. James backs down on all fours, leaving the book on the floor.

James: ‘Take your book back. I do not want any problem.’

Clayton: ‘No, sir. Keep it but tell me what is that powerful thing you want to have and I will tell you if it’s the right book.’

James is suspicious of them because he cannot understand how someone does that. So, James remains quiet, gets up and slowly approaches the door to try to escape again. Dean raises his hand towards the door, and James sees the door close by itself. James grabs the knob of the door to open it. Suddenly, the knob disappears.

James: ‘How did you do that?’

Dean: ‘It’s really very easy. But if you rather told my friend what is this thing you want to have with this book you just took, he will really tell you if it’s the right book or not!’

James doesn’t think about the consequences, seeing that these two men can manipulate everything without difficulty. So, he tries to trust them for a moment; time to get the right book.

James: ‘My son has a power and he does not even know it. My wife is dead, and he did nothing to prevent that. So, I want to take his power.’

Clayton: ‘Can we first see your son to make sure he really has a power?’

James: ’He has a power. I saw my son float in the air, and electricity was coming out from his body.

Clayton: ‘It’s better if we see it from our own eyes.’

So, James takes them to see Alex, and when they get home, Alex is watching TV. Clayton approaches Alex and extends his hand to say hello, but Alex does not even look at him.

James: ‘You can at least say hello.’

Alex: ‘Who are they?’

James: ‘Some friends. They are here to help me. Shake their hands to say hello and we’ll leave you alone.’

Alex shakes their hands to say hello, but when Clayton catches his hand, Clayton begins to lose his mind and he finds himself on his knees on the ground and the hand burned. Dean is surprised by what he just saw and grabs Clayton to help him up. Alex does not understand what is going on.

Dean: ‘You are really very powerful!’

Alex: ‘What are you talking about? I did not do that.’

Dean: ‘Oh, it’s you who did this.’

Alex looks at Clayton and goes quickly to his room to hide. Frightened by what he’s seen, Alex sits in a corner of his room, looking at the door with fear.

Clayton tells James: ‘Your son really has a lot of power. I cannot even touch him.’

Dean: ‘What are we going to do? He is too powerful for us.’

James: ‘What are we going to do?’

Clayton: ‘You came to see us, and we agree to help you but on one condition.’

James: ‘What?’

Clayton: ‘This power, you cannot control it alone. You have to share it with us!’

James: ‘How can I share that?’

Dean: ‘This is our job. We are going back to the shop. Meanwhile, find a way to get your son to cooperate.’

Without expecting it, James sees them disappear without even making the slightest effort.

James looks around and says to himself: ‘I wonder if I did well.’

James goes to Alex’s room, but he does not see him on the bed. James looks everywhere and sees Alex sitting in a corner. James approaches Alex and puts a hand on his shoulder.

Alex: ‘Dad, what’s wrong with me?’

James: ‘Everything will be fine, I promise you.’

Alex: ‘Do you think it’s because of me that Mum is dead?’

James looks at Alex with anger. But soon after, he changes his mind and answers him.

James: ‘No, no. It’s not your fault. I will help you to control your power. And then we’ll make sure you cannot use this power anymore.’

Alex looks at his father with concern, and says, ‘What do you mean?’

James: ‘You saw what you did to this man. You must take away that power before you hurt me.’

Alex lowers his head and thinks that it’s possible he’s the one who killed his mother. So, Alex nods to say that he accepts.

The next day, James goes to see the two men to find out what to do. Clayton gives James a powerful book with banned magic formulas. Clayton teaches him some formulas and tries to make him believe that he is casting for him a spell to protect him, just so James can bring him the power of Alex. But in truth, he does everything for James to use a force just for one day to get Alex’s power.

Clayton: ‘This book is a very uncommon book. But you do not have to return it to me. Just come with the power of your son. I have a formula to share it in three.’

James goes home very late and makes Alex believe that he is going to help him.

Alex: ‘Dad, are you sure of yourself?’

James: ‘Before the death of your mother, how many times did I hurt you?’

Alex, with a little worry, lets himself go, but at the first opportunity, James tries to take his power. James shows the formula that will make him give up his power to Alex. But when Alex recites the formula, instead of seeing his power leave him, his power begins to take its full appearance. James does not know whether Alex has lost his power or not, so he tries a formula on Alex to make him sick. Alex begins to feel dizzy, but thanks to his power, he manages to hold on.

James: ‘How are you feeling?’

Alex: ‘I do not feel very well, I think.’

James slaps Alex and tells him with anger, ‘Could you not have died in your mother’s place?’

Alex falls, and with fear, Alex crawls back and asks his father, ‘Why did you hit me like that?’

James: ‘Your power couldn’t appear before your mother’s death?’

Alex: ‘But you told me it was not my fault.’

James: ‘Everything is your fault. You should have saved her. You did not even try to bring her back.’

Alex: ‘What are you talking about, Daddy?’

Without continuing to explain to Alex, James keeps saying magic words, and suddenly, a shadow comes out from the book and attacks Alex. When Alex sees this thing come out from the book, he doesn’t know what it can do to him. He tries to keep away but the shadow touches Alex, and he feels weaker suddenly because the shadow deprives him of his power. Without even doing it on purpose, Alex puts his other hand in front of him and a very strong light− hot and very powerful− comes out from his hand. The face of his father burns with this light and the shadow disappears. James looks for a formula to stop all this, and when he finds one, he pronounces it without waiting. James does not even pay attention to the danger it can cause. The whole house plunges into darkness and neither James nor Alex can see a centimetre in front of them. Alex tries to walk away from his father, but to be able to walk in this darkness, it is necessary for both to touch everything to advance. Bad luck for Alex, his father walks towards him. Suddenly, James feels Alex in front of him. Alex is scared of what James would do to him, so he tries to go step back as fast as he can, but he stumbles and falls, and the light comes out his hands again without even knowing how he did it or even how to control it. When Alex turns his hand in James’s direction, James thinks Alex is going to burn him again. James hides behind the couch and puts the book in the light to read another formula. Alex tries to leave the house, but he does not see any door to get out. James finds a powerful formula with a lot of warning, but he does not pay attention to the warning and pronounces the formula anyway. When James finishes pronouncing the formula, a spectre appears in front of them and begins to attack Alex, taking his left hand. The spectre looks like an old man with a very wrinkled skin, long white hair, a black dress, and he shines in the dark. Alex tries to free himself, but the spectre breaks his left hand with a simple movement and sends him hurling against the wall. When Alex collides with the wall, James approaches him and again calls the shadow he had made a little earlier.

Alex puts his hand in front of him and the hot light comes out. James is still in the direction of his hand once more and Alex holds up his hand to stop them. There, James is completely charred in two seconds by this light because it is stronger, owing to Alex’s fear.

Although James is dead, the spectre tries to kill Alex by grabbing his right arm, but Alex turns his hand with the light still glowing, but this time in the spectre’s direction. But one thing more comes out from his hand. A flash of fire comes out with the light and it touches the spectre directly in the belly. The spectrum disappears little by little and Alex still has no idea how he did all that. The shadow, without having someone to control it, throws itself on Alex. And before the spectrum disappears completely, it does everything to hold Alex’s hand, so he does not get to defend himself. But Alex gets up with strength and puts himself in a position where the spectrum finds itself between Alex and the shadow. By bad luck for Alex, the shadow continues to advance, wrapping the spectre and manages to touch Alex’s hand. Although Alex does not know any magic formulas, he tries to increase the shine of the light that emanates from his hand. Alex does not even know what he is doing and another force that he has let go by mistake is pushing him backwards and Alex loses consciousness. But by the time this force pushes Alex away, a shining stone suddenly takes shape, thanks to the black magic and the white magic of Alex mixing. This stone shines so strong that the spectre, the shadow and even the darkness in the house disappear. And when it is all gone, the stone falls and stops shining. It is a very big black diamond that absorbed some of Alex’s power and a lot of dark magic with the magic book. Without Alex knowing it, he is out of danger for the moment.

Alex wakes up the next morning with a horrible headache. He takes a second before getting up from the ground, where he had spent the entire night. When Alex gets up, he looks for his father and tries to convince himself that everything that happened last night was a nightmare. But when he sees the condition of the house, Alex understands that his own father wanted to kill him. There were still the two men to whom his father would always be indebted for their part of the power of his son. Alex knows nothing about the deal, but he knows that these two men have something to do with the story. Alex does not lose a moment and leaves to live in another city a little further to feel a little safe.

The city that Alex chooses to go is called Baie-du-Cap, but he is not always far enough from the two men. Without money or anything to eat, Alex starts working on fishing boats and then in restaurants as a waiter. Alex spends ten years in this city alone with the fear that another member of his family will do the same thing to him again. For him, no one is a trusted person until he meets a pretty girl named Emma. Emma is really rich, and she is not from Mauritius. She is really attracted to Alex because he does not want her money. Alex is afraid to talk to Emma because for him, Emma is not a girl made for a broke boy. He has nothing to offer Emma because Emma comes from a very rich family. Emma has taken the upper hand on him because she offers him to go out with her as he is a shy boy.

After two years together, Emma takes Alex home to England at Newport and they get married. Sometime later, Emma is pregnant, and she gives birth to twins. The day of the birth of the twin brothers, Liam and Casey, is an unforgettable day for their parents. Especially for Alex, who has no family and has lost all since the death of his mother. He did not think he could have a simple life before meeting Emma.

Emma is really very happy that all went well for the birth of the twins, and says to her husband, ‘Look, Alex! I’ve never seen babies as cute as them.’

Alex: ‘They are like their mother…really beautiful.’

Everything is going well until Alex notices something more with Liam that he cannot explain. When Alex approaches Liam, he feels a thrill that follows some very special things. The end of visit time comes and it’s time for Alex to leave, but he still thinks about his son Liam when he gets home.

Emma puts Casey and Liam in their cradle to sleep, but in the night, Casey wakes her up, crying. Emma gets up to give him a drink and after she sees him close his eyes, Emma rests him in his cradle. After a while, Casey starts crying again and Emma rushes to him so that he does not wake up the other babies. Then she puts Casey next to her because he is crying a lot. The next day, without even Emma noticing it, Liam is no longer there. Liam had been taken out of the cradle while Casey was drinking milk from Emma because he was still crying. Emma is so tired that she keeps Casey close to her to rest.

When Alex comes to visit them, he does not see Liam.

Alex: ‘Emma, where is the other baby?’

Emma: ‘In his cradle. Why?’

When Emma looks at the cradle, she does not see him.

Alex gets out of Emma’s room and yells out loud, ‘Does anyone know where my baby is?’

All the people in the hospital keep silent and look at him.

Two doctors come to him and tell him, ‘What is going on, sir?’

Emma: ‘I just gave birth to two babies yesterday and one of them has disappeared.’

One of the doctors asks Alex, ‘Where were you when he disappeared?’

Alex: ‘Do you mean that I kidnapped my own child?’

The doctor: ‘No it’s just a question.’

Alex: ‘So, ask the question from all the people who were here before I came, and your safety men too!’

Emma is crying and tells Alex, ‘I’m sorry, Alex. He was right there when I took Casey to give him milk because he would not stop crying!’

Alex does not even listen to what Emma says because he knows that Liam has been kidnapped, but he does not know by whom and why. Emma tries to remember everything in her mind about what she did before Liam disappeared. But she still cannot understand how it all happened because she did not see anyone coming. She wonders how that happened and why she did not notice it before her husband, and she panics completely. She is especially afraid that Alex will judge her and hate her for that.

Alex tells her, ‘Do not worry. I’ll bring him back.’

And Alex starts looking for Liam without waiting and he begins to look in all the rooms of the hospital.

Emma looks at the two doctors and then lowers her head while continuing to cry; she can’t believe what is happening. Emma is afraid that Alex will begin to hate her because Liam disappeared before her without her realising it.

Alex does not know how difficult finding a baby in a big hospital is. He comes out of the hospital to see if there is anyone who is walking with Liam. Alex begins to despair, and he knows that in a big city, it is worse than in a big hospital to be able to find a baby.

The more time Alex spends in finding Liam, the more the years pass.

Twelve years later, Alex has still not returned and Emma still worries about him and Liam. But Emma has redone her life after a long wait of ten years. She now has a daughter too, Liamina, who is two years old, with a man named Antonio and he has moved into Emma’s house.

Bert’s the man who had kidnapped Liam, does black magic and he has never let Naomie, his wife, know it. Bert does black magic and he has never let Naomie know it. Naomie and Bert were already together when he kidnapped Liam. He tells Naomie that the parents of Liam have abandoned him. For Bert, making his life with Naomie can help him hide his true personality, just to have the trust of Liam because he needs him for something important.

In this way, Liam cannot imagine that