Updates.

Samuel has taken changes into his own hands. He’s replaced the front, back and study doors with those ones with the five bolts. He’s given me the only key to the study.

A burglar alarm has been fitted, including a special circuit on the study door, so it sounds every time someone goes in there. I asked him why it was worth it. If there’s no more magic anymore then aren’t all the contents of the study junk?

Samuel says it is now, but no one knows what happened to the magic, and a lot of people are working hard at bringing it back. If that ever happens then the study becomes priceless again.

If that’s the case, I should be glad the burglar didn’t get away with anything more than the tree root, and he probably only picked that up to hit me over the head. Samuel doesn’t think magic’s coming back now anyway – he says it’s worked its way out of the world. For centuries man has gradually reduced the need for magic, which existed only as an imbalance in nature, and now the world has corrected itself. The phrase he used was the world has perfected itself.

This got Angela talking to him again, for the first time since he questioned her. Apparently on Sunday night he spent a couple of hours each with her and Norman, like he’s the CIA. Norman says he’ll still cook him food with everyone else – but if anything gets dropped he knows what plate it’s going on. Angela’s sticking with the anti-fascist stance.

“That’s a very select view of magic.” She said. “Treating it like a quirk in nature that needs to be ironed out. Very Aryan.’
“Not really. Just a theory,” Samuel smiled. “Quite a well subscribed theory,” he added, to me.
“Yeah.” Snorted Angela. “In Vatican city.”
“And what’s your theory?” He asked her.
“Magic is the power beneath the universe.”
“Was. And now? What’s your theory for this?”
“I’d assumed it was personal. A series of attacks on-”
“It’s everybody. From highest to lowest. It’s everything.”
“Then it’s a dampening spell of some kind. Somebody, or maybe a collective, they’ve figured out a way to amplify a dampening spell, made it cover the whole world.”
“And who would do that? They’d be crippling themselves.”
“Well the church no longer believes in magic,” said Angela, “and for once it’s the rest of the world that’s caught up with them. 1349?”

Samuel looked impressed. I don’t know what 1349 refers to – I’m guessing it’s a code for a thingum in magical circles.
“Not that I believe in 1349,” she added, and Samuel laughed, agreeing.
“The main theory out there,” he said, “is that someone created a vacuum, in a genie lamp or a sacred stone, doesn’t matter what in. They figure somebody’s sucked all the magic into one place – to try and own it all. Doesn’t make sense though. That much power can’t do anything but destroy you.” He turned to me. “Even your father couldn’t control that.”
“Was my father powerful?”
Samuel didn’t give an answer.

Norman comes down to cook us food, but he spends most of his time up in the attic. Samuel’s in my room, and he’s given Norman the TV out of there, since he never watches it; he says it hurts his eyes. Angela says that serves him right. Norman worries a lot about who will take over from Des Lynam on Countdown. He likes Deal Or No Deal.

Samuel has given me two sets of keys for the front and back locks. One of each is for me, and the others are to be loaned out only as required. He’s given me strict instructions on looking after the study. It’s like I’m being employed as my own baby sitter.

I’ve not been into the study since just after the theft, but Samuel wants me to do a full and proper inventory – not the scrapbook stuff I did before. He says I need to know what I own now, but I don’t need him to tell me how to look after my father's possessions.