THE AMBER AMULET

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

Rhubarb

Jasper Jones

The World According to Warren

Published by Allen & Unwin in 2012
Copyright © Craig Silvey 2012

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Allen & Unwin
Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, London
83 Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia

Cataloguing-in-Publication details are available from
the National Library of Australia
www.trove.nla.gov.au

ISBN 978 1 74237 998 2

Text and jacket design by Sandy Cull, gogoGingko
Jacket and internal illustrations by Sonia Martinez
Set in 12/15 pt Granjon by Bookhouse, Sydney
Printed in China, produced through Phoenix Offset

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

THE MASKED AVENGER CAN make things happen.

Though at twelve he is considered young for a Justice Fighter, he has already proved himself highly effective in the pursuit of peace. His developing powers are so potent, so vast, that not even he can fully comprehend their extent. He has a number of astonishing abilities. For example, on certain occasions, he can summon a wall of cloud and make the sky roar. Then he’ll point upwards and say zap! and sometimes a white vein of electricity will crackle loose and stab the earth. Other times he can sweep his arms and say whoosh! and the air will swoon at his command. When his powers are unfocused, he can only manage to shuffle dead leaves, but other times he can bend the spines of trees and make citizens huddle into their own arms. Soon, when he gains full control of his faculties, he’ll be able to lash his enemies with gales and incinerate them with lightning.

The Masked Avenger derives his powers by harnessing the dormant energy that lies within objects that citizens overlook. He believes in energy. He’s convinced the world is positively and negatively charged, that it’s imbued with the properties of Good and Evil.

Energy is ubiquitous. It’s present in sunlight, gravity, electricity, heat, food, movement. It’s even inside the bodies of citizens, urgent and ready for release. But the world is also teeming with trapped energy, potential energy, buried beneath our feet and waiting to be unlocked. And nobody suspects, nobody understands its significance.

Except the Masked Avenger.

Only he knows that there’s a secret ultra-concentrated energy in certain gemstones and minerals, and that they emit specific powers according to their molecular composition. These powers, when expertly applied, can be directly transferred into the body, resulting in superhuman capabilities.

Only the Masked Avenger has learnt to access the energy inside these gems and minerals and, as long as he is in contact with them, he alone is privy to their extraordinary power.

As such, his forest-green supersuit features a vital piece of equipment: his Amazing Powerbelt. It is a leather band of perfectly balanced geological items that neatly circumnavigates his waist. It features quartz, for Balance and Reason; jasper, for Intensity and Alertness; and a single tiger’s eye, for unparalleled Speed and Agility. It also has one dollar eighty worth of coins, whose constituent nickel affords him a priceless amount of Strength and Endurance. Adhered is a small lump of granite, for Poise and Determination. And most importantly, four rough buttons of amethyst, for Truth and Honesty.

Adorning his wrist is a copper bracelet that his grandmother wore to soothe her arthritis, but he knows it is better used to amplify Empathy and Mercy. Pinned to his heart is his grandfather’s bronze service medal, for Bravery and Valour. Two clear silicon discs secured in a wire frame rest on the bridge of his nose. They give his eyes Supersight, as well as protecting them against Debris, Hypnosis and Poking.