Joshua Bane and the Five Watchtowers

By Jonathan A. Cerruto

A thrilling story in which dark and light are in constant battle; a roller-coaster of emotions between the protagonist, Joshua, and his twin sister, Ashley. Their memories are wiped after they are separated and they both struggle to find each other and themselves. Joshua discovers he possesses great power and discovers he’s inherited the power of the Keeper. These magical skills will help him to fight back Her army and find his twin sister Ashley... Will he? It's a race between dark and light, calm and chaos, disappearances and murders. Suspense and thrills will be a daily routine for Joshua, who will find himself in amazing places and parallel dimensions. A journey of self-discovery and acceptance that won’t be easy to achieve.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Sep 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781398409095

Jonathan A. Cerruto

Jonathan Andy Cerruto was born in Canada, in a cold night of October, it was a winter in 1981. He moved to Italy at the age of four with his family and it was at a very early age that he discovered his passion for arts, fashion, design and storytelling and that fire drove him to start his first novel in 2005. He graduated in Milan as a fashion designer. However, written words and storytelling was his biggest passion and only in 2012, when he moved to London, he found the right motivation and inspiration to speak his truth and express himself. After several jobs, he finally found the courage and the strength to finalise his first novel.

Book preview

About the Author

Jonathan Andy Cerruto was born in Canada, in a cold night of October, it was a winter in 1981.

He moved to Italy at the age of four with his family and it was at a very early age that he discovered his passion for arts, fashion, design and storytelling and that fire drove him to start his first novel in 2005.

He graduated in Milan as a fashion designer. However, written words and storytelling was his biggest passion and only in 2012, when he moved to London, he found the right motivation and inspiration to speak his truth and express himself.

After several jobs, he finally found the courage and the strength to finalise his first novel.

Copyright Information ©

Jonathan A. Cerruto (2021)

The right of Jonathan A. Cerruto 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 9781398409071 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398409095 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2021)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Acknowledgement

I want to thank, Diego Cesar, love of my life.

Thank you for the support and believing in me and in my dreams, especially on those days when I, myself, didn’t believe in them.

Debora, for always being there.

Jonathan, thank you for not giving up.

With all my love.

Hey, Josh…

Hey, Ash…

I wake up once again during a panic attack and am drenched in sweat.

My panic attacks are manifesting more than often lately; I wake up every night, screaming and wet from head to toe…always after the same dream, the weirdest dream I have ever had and it is chasing me for months now. I am breathless…

I was hoping that these new pills at least were working…such a pity, I said.

I exhale deeply. I am sitting at the edge of the bed holding my head with literally my wet hands; tilting my head slightly to the left I can still see the marks on the sheets of my sweat.

I stand up from the bed and open the door from the balcony…I try to inhale as much as possible and slowly open my eyes…I exhale.

London is striking at night with all its colours and the helicopters in the sky. Though there are no stars in the dark blue sky, I can catch the little lights that are floating around.

It is too bright, I said.

The black cabs are running on the streets with their little yellow lights on…they cross each other and there are people on the street running; some of those are clearly drunk and people are everywhere, even if it’s 3:39 a.m. They never stop…I never stopped either since I moved to London. I hear a little meow in the corner; Iago woke up and after a good stretch he walks towards me.

Hey…why are you limping? I asked him. Yesterday you were fine!

He keeps rubbing his moustache on me to show his affection.

We need to go to the vet, I told him.

I am a very active person, I get bored easily especially if I stay still without doing nothing, I don’t have many friends, I am not into ‘relationships’ especially if those relationships demand too much attention and most of the times drama.

I am a very solitary person. However, the only relationship that I could keep, maintain and still have, is with him…my lovely cat. His name is Iago. He is a beautiful Ragdoll and we met each other one night while I was coming back to my flat. I was returning from a club in Mayfair having been tortured by Nicky all night.

It was my third night here in London and it was so cold that night that I was almost freezing. It was one of the coldest nights in London where I could not stand on my feet and I was planning to stay in my comfortable flat. In the end, I ended up super drunk, had a rough day that day and everything was going wrong. I had to forget that horrible day besides the drunkenness and I remember I found him in a spot on the corner of my street, right in front of the door of the building. I was walking towards my flat and he was meowing desperately; when I got closer to him, I could see his gorgeous blue eyes watering, my heart melted and it was really weird considering that I am not a cat person.

Well…that is what I thought. My knowledge in the cat department wasn’t that vast and I always thought that cats were evil; that they don’t know how to express their feelings…if they have any at all. The Internet has been always very helpful to me and I have learnt that cats are and can be adorable! He keeps me company since I moved into the city ten years ago after a very important job offer. When I found him, his conditions were terrible; he was malnourished, his left leg was battered and his health wasn’t very good. But now he is spoiled, huge and fluffy. His eyes give me peace somehow. They are blue like the sky in summer time, bright and within time I could see some resemblance…we are more alike; discreet, shy, independent and we have a lot of love to give to each other.

I am a photographer and I work with the most prestigious magazines. I had found this job thanks to Dennis’s connections and my hard work. I always have had a passion for photography. I live in a penthouse in Bank; after moving from one flat to another, I bought this one after a very generous customer made me an offer for this penthouse. My furniture is very minimal, fewer things to clean and I am the only one that takes care of the apartment. I don’t like strangers around my house and I have my own way to clean and put things away…my obsessive way…the view of the city from up here is ‘the thing’…simply spectacular.

I like to start my day with a nice and hot shower. I have some sleeping issues so I can even stay for hours under the shower even in the middle of the night. I feel like it washes away the bad dreams and the bad feelings that sometimes I am unable to shake off from my skin.

Straight after my shower, I have my mug of coffee and a nice breakfast.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Mon Petit! That is what Nonna Betty always said.

It is my habit to find myself in the same cafeteria every morning on Lombard Street. ‘The Sign of the Gem’ is the name of the place; in my opinion the best English breakfast in the city. With my cigarette on the right hand and the coffee on my left waiting for it to cool down a bit, I see people that run all over the place. They look like hundreds of ants in their busy lives. I spot a random girl running towards me and she stops at the traffic light. I am anxious.

I slept little last night, I think to myself as I give a sip at my coffee; it is still super-hot and I burn my lips.

Shi…shoes…shoes. No negativity todayyyyyy… I talked to myself. I need to book an appointment with Doc Shrivas.

She looks at me straight in the eyes, the green light shows up, she runs again and I can see some other men walking down the street coming towards to the cafeteria. I can see Cesar in the crowd coming towards me.

You are the only person in the entire world that smokes outside, no matter what…whether it rains or snows, those things one day, they will kill you! said Cesar, pointing with his index finger at the cigarette.

You are the only person in the entire world that runs every day…whether it rains or snows!

I look at him ironically.

It relaxes me, I said, smiling.

You are not serious!

Cesar inhales deeply.

OK…a nice day at the spa relaxes, a glass of red wine relaxes…this…

I cough.

Not my business…you are right! said Cesar, lifting his arms. Have a nice day, Joshua! Cesar said bye with his hand.

Cesar is a brilliant, talented and a very successful lawyer. He works in the offices of Brent and Brents, a very prestigious office in the capital. He is nice and somehow, he can always make me smile. I see him running every single day at 7 a.m. sharp and always doing the same track.

He speaks too much!

That is what comes to my mind if I have to describe him, however he is really smart and I like him as he looks at me while he is entering the cafeteria. I still have my cigarette in my hand. I look at it…look at him and after carefully making sure that the cigarette isn’t lit, I bin it, wave my hand to him to say goodbye and I walk to the nearby tube station.

I can feel my cell phone buzzing from my front right pocket; I check the screen, notice one message, unlock the screen and open it.

No plans…no plans… I said.

I do care, but I don’t feel ready for any commitment.

The light; it is perfect, I told myself.

I am walking through the location for the new shooting. My client wants to launch a new campaign of luxurious sofas and my idea is to mix the Gothic atmosphere of ‘Temple Church’ with the luxurious sofa.

Temple Church at first looks like a small and irrelevant church. I find it fascinating; it’s hidden in the middle of the big and chaotic city, a little gem in the middle of the chaos and I really like the atmosphere here.

It is chilly in here, I said. Nicky, can you please check the temperature of the room? I inform Nicky while I am cleaning a lens of my camera, my favourite, a Canon EOS 5D Mark Three.

Nicky…she is my assistant, a graduate of the London University of Contemporary Art and is very talented but she needs to learn how to catch the right moment, the right picture, the picture has to tell a story…you need to feel it…you need to find a connection between you and the picture. That is what I always say to her. I can’t stop taking pictures. The sofa is stunning white and has some golden seams and filaments all over from the bottom to the top. I feel inspired. I can feel the air vibrate around me, a strange feeling…a breath of wind underneath my left ear sent an icy shiver down my spine. Suddenly, I hear a voice in my head like a little girl in the distance who calls me.

Joshua…

I turn around and no one is there apart from me and Nicky.

I keep taking pictures and suddenly again I hear the same voice echoing inside a little church.

Joshua…please…

I have goose bumps on the base of my neck. I turn back again and no one is there. I untie the bun of my hair and after looking around I put the hair back in place. I exhale and after scrolling my head I keep taking pictures.

Not in Love by Robert Smith is playing on my bluetooth speaker. I like to check my pictures at the location. I am outside of the church and I found a lovely spot behind the church. Nicky is with me and she is putting something away while I am scrolling the pages; something strange draws my attention…one picture in particular…

What the hell is that? I asked loudly because of the loud music playing.

I put back the cigarette on the little ashtray that I always have in my pocket.

Are you all right, Joshua?

Yeah…yeah I am fine…just…I am noticing a shadow on…one of the pictu…uhmmm, Nicky…can I ask you a favour?

Sure! Nicky said as I put my hand in the front right pocket and pull out my bank card.

Coffee…please? I am begging her on my knees, smiling.

I want to cut off some of the tension that for one moment was becoming kind of awkward, so I give her my card and she leaves to the location. She knows my codes; I trust her…she is the only one left. I quickly sit down and scroll through the pages. I am carefully checking every single picture and I finally find it.

What the… I am checking the picture. I zoom the image from my iMac and again the same feeling; a shiver down my spine, a deafening whistle, a…whisper…ringing in my ears like a child’s song.

I print the photograph and it takes a couple of minutes. I lit the cigarette and I get the picture from the portable printer.

I can hear the finishing of the print but I am too anxious as I pull it out. A shadow…a shade in the sofa’s corner. I look more carefully and closely. I can almost see what looks like a human figure. I try to concentrate more and I get lost underneath the black shadow.

Is that a cloak? I said.

Joshua, who are you talking to?

Nicky was standing with two cups of coffee. Very quickly I get the photograph and I put it inside my right front pocket.

Yes, absolutely…my coffee, thank you very much.

I am smiling at her but inside me I feel weird, almost scared…

a notification from my phone.

Oh, right…almost forgot…Nicky, can you…I need to go!

Sure…send me a selfie!!! she said to me, smiling and waving.

Technology? My saviour. I’m lost without it; for the better or for the worse I am, like most of the world, a victim of the social media. I think it is the future and I think it is very helpful especially working for the media. I am wearing my earphones and the music is loud in my ears. Whoever lives in the big cities knows how important it is to wear a pair of earphones.

I am walking down the street; Ink by Coldplay is playing and all these ‘ants’ are running. All these people around me, some recognise me, while others don’t even look in front of them. They are stuck with their phones on their faces. I feel like I am walking in slow motion and they are running in front of me to get a train or a bus. A man has a backpack in front of his chest, he is holding it tight like it contains something very important and a girl has her phone in front of her face; she smiles and an old lady falls asleep on the seat. She looks tired, has a scar on her face, wakes up, looks at me and kindly smiles. I do the same. A guy is looking at my hair. I discreetly check him from the mirror of the couch. He is looking at me straight in the eyes so I grab my phone that is in my pocket, open my messages and I reply to Peter.

I look back and the guy that was looking at me gets off the train; he is still looking at me, I smile at him and I fix my long hair.

I am near the tattoo studio. I am excited and it has been a while that I want to do these new tattoos.

I have many passions; a good book, a nice Italian meal…however, my biggest are tattoos and antique bracelets. I started collecting them since my first trip to India and purchased my first one in a little market near the Red River. It is made of silver and it’s all intertwined. I loved it and since then I have a nice collection that I keep in my drawer.

I dreamt of these tattoos many times and I have these dreams. The last that I had was horrible, I remember it very clearly, but every time I have the same feeling, the feeling of emptiness and almost pain every time I wake up. I dreamt these symbols, very often lately, look like Egyptian but I am not sure. I did a few researches on the web but I couldn’t find anything interesting and I even spoke about it with my therapist Doc Shrivas.