The Lighter That Shone Like A Star (Story of The South) (9 page)

Russell waited until he was as sure as he could be that Matthew had reached the other side of the barrier before climbing over himself. When he landed in front of the stage, a hand was clasped over his mouth and an arm gripped his waist.

He struggled to break free, kicking backwards but to no avail. His captor dragged him forcefully and threw him to the ground.

A deep, gravelly voice asked him, “Where is Max?”

Russell was shaking with fear. He opened his mouth but he had lost his words.

“Where is Max?” The man repeated.

“I – I don’t know who Max is,” Russell replied, his instincts warning him that he needed to lie. He regretted it as a hard boot crashed into his chest, pinning him against the wall.

“You lie. Where is he?” The man sounded more aggressive, booming over Russell’s cry of pain.

“He – I don’t know! I lost him,” Russell shouted back.

“You lie. You are with him. I see you help him.” The pressure of the boot against Russell’s chest increased, making it difficult for him to breathe.

“I’m not… lying. I don’t know… where… he is.” A fist flew at Russell’s jaw causing another shriek of agony to erupt from the trapped boy.

“You lie!” The man shouted angrily, retracting his foot only to crash it once more into Russell’s throbbing torso. But before he could cause the boy any more pain, the stage was lit up by a bright white burst of light. Just as quickly as the light disappeared, so did Russell’s interrogator.

He knew he had to run but he was in too much pain. He struggled to his hands and knees and crawled towards the barriers. Russell clambered onto his feet and leant against the railings; his chest and jaw throbbed and his entire body trembled.

The young Hurburtan shouted out for Matthew but there was no reply.
What if he’s on the stage? What if I led him to danger?
He began to cry, completely overwhelmed with panic.

He wasn’t aware of the hands that had closed around his biceps.

“Russell, let go of the barrier,” a familiar female voice whispered in his ear. He blindly obeyed and released the steel railings. He looked up and could make out a face. Slowly, he could feel himself rising up into the air, guided by a girl he thought he knew.

“Lornea?”

Anne-Alicia tried to flee as soon as she heard the blood-curdling scream that followed the flash of light, but Sofia had grasped her hand tightly. She yanked her arm away from her friend’s grasp with force and began to weave between the hundreds of people that had begun to rush towards the door at the side of the room with only one aim: to escape.

A short distance ahead, another girl screamed as she was hit by a stream of white light. Anne-Alicia changed course, hoping to avoid bumping into whatever had caused that cry of pain, and aimed instead for the exit on the back wall.

Her hands remained outstretched, ready to push away anyone who threatened to block her path. Someone accidentally barged into her, knocking her sideways. She swore loudly and carried on moving forward blindly, her eyes still not adapted to the darkness.

Trying to guess her exact location in the hall was impossible; she was completely disorientated. Faster and faster she moved, her search for the exit becoming more frantic. She turned around, trying to see what was happening.

Another bright flash seemed to appear on the stage and the girl was momentarily filled with relief that she was far away. She turned and tripped over an object on the floor, struggling to stay on her feet.

A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back, preventing her from crashing into the ground. Relief washed over her for the second time but it was short-lived. Her body was still being dragged backwards with a strength against which she could not resist.

“Let go of me!” she shouted angrily but her plea went ignored. She felt a heavy hand on her shoulder and plummeted on the floor with a thud. As soon as her body landed on the hard wooden floor, she was blinded by a burst of white light.

Lornea knew that she would be safe as long as she stayed with her boyfriend. As soon as the hall was plunged into darkness, Freddie went into protective mode. He shouted to everyone, telling them to stay close to each other, but a loud, shrill scream meant that nobody except for Lornea heard his command.

Before she could work out what was happening, all of Lornea’s friends seemed to have disappeared and Freddie was guiding his girlfriend not towards an exit, but towards the nearest wall.

They came to a stop and Freddie told Lornea to be as quiet as possible. He didn’t explain his logic, but Lornea could see what his plan was: to stay hidden. Everyone else would be trying to escape and would therefore be left waiting in an open space, surrounded by other people but still extremely vulnerable.

Freddie, still holding his girlfriend’s hand, began to move silently towards the ground until they were both in a sitting position.

“We have to stay low, remain invisible. They might be able to see through the darkness,” Freddie whispered. Lornea squeezed his hand in agreement, scared of even breathing too loudly and being seen.

Suddenly, Freddie’s whole body went rigid. Lornea felt him tense and looked over at him. In the pitch black, two small fierce red lights had appeared. Although they weren’t really lights, they were Freddie’s eyes.

“Stay here, Sofia’s in trouble.” He launched himself off the ground and then he was gone.

Lornea was completely alone. The hall was buzzing with fear, bursts of light and deafening screams punctuating the shouts of people trying to escape. There was another flash but Lornea was disoriented. She thought it had come from the stage but she couldn’t be sure.

What if it’s Max? What if it’s one of the band?

She started to worry even more, panicking that someone she knew could have been attacked by the mysterious forces that had penetrated the school. She stood up, without planning what she would do. She breathed slowly and deeply, building herself up to run to the stage and try somehow to help whoever had been attacked.

She counted in her head,
three… two… one!

As her left foot left the ground, her entire body followed. She floated up and up into the air, towards the ceiling. Lornea was stunned. How was this happening? She was flying. It was impossible and yet it was happening. That was all that mattered, she could figure out the rest later.

Filled with a sudden sense of power, she began to look over the hall but in vain. Everything was still covered in a black blanket of blindness. Lornea began to control herself in the air, focussing on one point and allowing her body to fly in that direction.

It was by chance that she found a friend. She heard a dull clang of the railings signalling that someone must be below her. She swooped down to investigate and, after making sure that the figure was not an enemy, she grabbed their arms and spoke.

The person responded with her name, confirming to Lornea that she had found Russell.

“Hi Russell,” she muttered back. Her friend seemed to be weightless in her arms as she lifted him with ease until they were floating nearer to the ceiling. “Just keep hold of my hand, yeah?”

“Yeah, this is mental!” he exclaimed.

“I know. We’ve lost everyone, we have to try and find them!”

“It’s impossible,” sighed Russell. “It’s too dark.”

“What do you think is going on?” she wondered aloud, not expecting a real answer. Russell shocked her with his reply.

“They’re after Max.”

Freddie sprinted towards where he thought his twin might be. He had heard her scream, albeit faintly from across the room, but he had heard it.

Freddie had not intentionally used his magic but his heightened sense of fear appeared to have triggered it. He did not even know that he had the ability to see through darkness, but he could clearly see the chaos as he reached the mass of people trying to escape.

Everyone was barging into each other, stepping on
each others’ feet and thinking only about their own safety.

“MOVE!” he shouted, but his voice was lost among all the other shouts and screams. He began to push people aside. He was certain that Sofia was in trouble, he simply knew it. As he pushed past a boy he vaguely recognised from school, he could make out a patch of red on the floor a few metres away, amidst a dense group of people.

“MOVE OUT THE WAY!” Freddie screamed again, barging shoulder first into the crowd, but to no avail. He continued to push and shout and scream, getting more and more frustrated. He didn’t know what to do.

There was no way around. He was completely blocked in the centre of hundreds of other people desperately searching for the doors. His fear and anger grew as his sense of hope was gradually diminishing. He could feel a ball of rage building up in his gut.

Suddenly, and without warning, Freddie flung his arms out powerfully, roared loudly and erupted in flames. His entire body, from head to toe, was covered in fire.

People screamed and jumped away from the flaming man as he rushed forward, finding his sister lying in a heap on the floor. He knelt down and slid his still burning arms underneath her, knowing that his magical flames wouldn’t harm his twin.

Gingerly he lifted her limp body and cradled his sister in his arms, walking forwards towards the exit. Everyone stepped aside in fear, not knowing if this flaming boy was an enemy or ally.

As he approached the heavy wooden doors that nobody had yet managed to break through, he expulsed a huge flaming ball and watched as the wooden barriers burst open, leaving a gaping hole in the wall.

He carried Sofia outside into the fresh air, placing her bruised body gently on the soft earth. His flames flickered out as he fell to his knees next to his unconscious sister. He placed his ear close to Sofia’s mouth.

A breath. A sign of life. A sigh of relief.

As the hall was plunged into darkness, Max had only one thought: to find Sofia.

But before he could move, the five boys with him on stage had surrounded him in a circle of security. Jimmie whispered in his ear to stay calm and trust them and Max did, allowing himself to be shuffled off stage by the musicians. Light on the Landing led the younger boy to the music room where they stopped and waited. For what, Max did not know.

Haze’s deep voice filled the dark room, “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. Should we wait here?” There was a hint of panic in Jayke’s voice.

“We’ll wait for a minute and see if she comes,” asserted Jimmie.

Screams from the auditorium echoed through the otherwise silent music room. Max could only hope that none of them belonged to Sofia or his friends. He was beginning to regret making the decision to blindly trust the musicians he did not truly know. Although he was not completely sure he
had
made that decision.

Every instinct in his body was screaming at him to find Sofia and the others, yet he had allowed himself to leave the hall with a group of boys with whom he had spent no longer than an hour. Now he was standing in a pitch black room with these celebrities doing absolutely nothing.
Waiting.

Waiting for what?

“Why are we in here? What are we waiting for?” Max demanded. But before any of the others could answer, a dim light appeared in the far corner of the room.

The light gradually seeped through the empty space, eventually reaching the six bewildered men. A dark figure stood, barely visible, at the opposite end of the room from where the light had originated.

All six of the anxious boys fixed their gaze on the silhouette as it floated smoothly towards them, stopping in front of Haze. Max could see that the mystery person was wearing a dark green robe with a large hood, shadowing their face. He couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman who stood in front of the group until a raspy, female voice broke the silence.

“Thank you,
Light on the Landing. I will take it from here,” she said, before whispering one more word. “Run.”

And they did.

“Max Myers, come with me. We must hurry.” The lady in green started towards the door but noticed that Max was not following. “Come,” she said, softly. Max obeyed.

The young man followed the mystery woman out of the school gates, around the building, onto the yellow meadow, past the park and over the bridge crossing to the field of flowers. The lady stopped abruptly and turned around. Max mimicked her and, as he did, saw a flash of bright white light appear in the near distance.

“They are coming, run!” the stranger urged Max, grabbing his wrist and pulling him further across the field of flowers.

“What’s going on?” Max demanded, running as fast as he could to keep up with his guide. She did not answer. “Where are we going?” No reply. “Where are my friends?” He was met by more silence. “ANSWER ME!” he yelled, stopping in his tracks. The woman turned back on herself and approached Max.

“I will answer you, just not here. Not now. Please, come. You are not safe.” Max thought he recognised her voice but before he could work out who it belonged to, the lady had begun to pull him forcefully by his forearm until he was running again.

Eventually, the woman came to a halt. She was standing in front of an immense rock that Max realised was part of the Stone Circle.

“What are we doing here?” he asked.

“Max,” the lady replied, “Here are some answers. You first question was what’s going on? Quite simply, I’m saving your life. Next, you asked, where are we going? Well, we have reached our destination, although your journey will continue. Finally – your friends. They are in the school still, I think.”

“You think?” Frustration, fear and panic filled his voice.

The lady sighed regretfully. “They were meant to be coming with us but…” A burst of light caught both of their attention from the corner of their eyes. “There is no time. Just know this, Max. I have watched you grow up. I have been preparing for this moment for sixteen years. And now it is here, I am sorry. You were never meant to be leaving alone but now it appears as though there is no alternative. I promise you that you will not be on your own for long. Your friends will reach you; I will make sure of it.”

Max noted the sadness in this stranger’s voice, although he was unsure if she was truly a stranger. He could not place the woman’s voice in his mind; all he knew was that he had heard it before.

“Who are -” he began to wonder aloud, but the woman cut him off.

“Max, listen to me. Make the right decisions. Never lose sight of who you are. And, most importantly, stay strong. If you ever need me, just scribble.”

The woman retrieved Max’s ScribblePad from inside her cloak and handed it to him.

“How will I know who to scribble to?” he asked. The woman slowly removed her hood, revealing her identity.

“Jill!”

He was astonished to see the café owner standing in front of him.

“Take care, Max. I will see you again. Soon, hopefully. Although not too soon.”

Max reached out and took hold of Jill’s hand. He looked into her sorrowful eyes. “Please, Jill. Please explain.”

A yell filled the air. “There they are!” The deep, angry voice sounded too close for comfort. Max peered into the darkness but could not see where the voice had come from.

“Max, look at me.” Max met Jill’s penetrative gaze. “I wish I could explain, but you will know very soon. Go, now. This is the beginning.”

Before he could ask any more questions, Jill grabbed Max by his waist and threw him effortlessly into the centre of the circle. He did not hit the ground, however. A green mist appeared over the Stone Circle and Max felt his body float upwards until he was engulfed in the fog. A bright green light surrounded him forcing him to shut his eyes. When he opened them, he was lying face down on a blanket of grass.

Max rose slowly to his feet, blinking in the dazzling sunlight. He looked around to see that he was standing in the midst of hundreds of trees, all stretching high into the cloudless blue sky. His ScribblePad lay a few feet away in the light shadows of a towering wall.

Max knew where he was but his mind refused to believe it, even as his frightened fingers gently caressed the wall about which he had read so much. Engraved in the great wooden barrier were markings; words that he did not understand. The young man bent down and picked up his ScribblePad only to find that it was not working.

He was well and truly lost. Lost in an immense wood and lost in his situation. All he could do was walk. In which direction exactly, he was not sure. So, he turned his back to the looming wall and began to make his way forward through the seemingly never-ending forest in the hope that he would soon reach the open air.

But as the forest became more and more dense and the sunlight struggled to burst through the bed of branches and leaves overhead, the silence around him began to break. The trees creaked, twigs snapped, and leaves rustled. The noise grew and Max’s vision blurred. Trees blocked his path and closed in around him. Roots tore through the ground. Max stumbled and tripped to his hands and knees as he attempted to force his way forward through the powerful obstacles blocking his way.

The tree roots began to snake around his ankles and wrists, pinning his writhing body to the floor. Max tried to struggle free but he was immensely overpowered. He was too weak to fight back. Frustration built up inside him, from the tips of his toes to the ends of his feathery blond hair.

There was nowhere for him to go. No room for him to wriggle free. He could feel pressure build on his neck and the small of his back, pushing him deeper and deeper into the forest floor. The more he resisted, the more pressure seemed to be exerted on his body. Breathing became difficult. Air struggled to fill Max’s lungs.

He gave up. His body went limp. His eyes closed.

Suddenly the forest was filled with a blinding violet light. The trees that ensnared Max began to move, releasing his body. Oxygen filled Max’s lungs and his eyes flew open. An old face was looking over the boy. It belonged to a man with dark grey hair, a round nose, the brightest green eyes, and a wide grin.

He was not alone. Another man, who looked a lot like his elder only younger and with jet black hair, was by his side. He offered Max a hand, helping the Hurburtan to his feet.

“Okay,” Max began. “Somebody needs to tell me what’s going on. Right now.” He was surprised by the authority in his voice but he was confused, upset, angry, and tired.

The blonde haired teenager looked at the two men standing before him. They dropped to one knee, heads bowed.

“Max,” said the older man, lifting his head to address the young man. “My name is Joz Domen. This is my son, Luc. We have come to welcome you home.”

“Home?” asked Max, stunned.

“Yes. Welcome to Naegis, my King.”

“Welcome to… Naegis..? K…
King?” Max stammered.

Am I dreaming?

“You’re not dreaming,” Joz replied to Max’s thoughts. “Let us explain.”

“Okay, but can’t you stand up first? It’s making me feel uncomfortable, you kneeling on the ground like that.”

“Ah, of course, my King.”

“And don’t call me that. I’m not a king,” Max retorted, realising he sounded like a confused child.

“No,” Luc said, his voice soft and timid. “You are a Clemari.”

“A what?”

“
Clemari
. It is Naegean for ‘king’.”

“Okay, right. Joz and Luc, right?” The two men nodded. Max reeled off questions without pausing for breath, “Start from the beginning. Why am I here? Where am I really? Who are you? What’s going on?
Wh -”

Joz interrupted. “Okay, you want to know everything from the beginning?”

“Yes. Please,” Max sighed exasperated.

“Fine.
You have read the Naegean fairytales. You know that the final story written explained the way in which the New King created a wall, separating the East from the West. You know that the New King then divided magical powers unto the other lands. Well, the New King, the New Clemari, was me.”

“But, that happened centuries ago!” Max exclaimed.

“Yes, almost three hundred years ago. I am three hundred and seventy six years old. At that time, I made a decision that not many people agreed with. It caused even more fights and a second war threatened to break out. I did what I knew was right. I went ahead with my decision and, to prevent the war, I exiled those who were against me to the West. The wall was created to keep the peace.”

Max looked towards Luc, who appeared to be shaking his head ever so slightly. Joz continued, “Everything was going so well. We rebuilt the East of Naegis. We rebuilt The South. Each land was given equal power.
Even Naegis. You see, the reason people were so against my decision was that it meant taking power away from our people.

“We had to sacrifice our magic in order to make The South a better place.
A world of equality. And it worked. Until recently. Over the last few decades, the West has become restless. Their leader, Eimaj, has heard similar prophecies about you and she is fast becoming restless. And now, the East’s Clemari is dying.”

Joz paused and Luc looked solemnly at his father. Max suddenly understood.

“But that means
you’re
dying! And…
I’m
the New Clemari?” Max wondered aloud.

“Yes, Max. You are here to take my throne. When I took away magic from Naegis, it remained only within me and my wife. I thought we would pass on our power to our son, but we did not.” Luc was staring at the ground. He didn’t look bitter or resentful, but more ashamed or disappointed. Max couldn’t tell which.

“For centuries I remained the only man able to sit on the throne of Naegis. But then sixteen years ago you were born. Prophecies had been made about you but nobody dared believe them. My wife went to Pipton when similar prophecies began to come true. She became a well-loved member of the community. She learnt how to be a true Hurburtan. And then Kerry Myers fell pregnant, marking the beginning of a new era.”

“But my parents are from Hurburt. So were their parents, and their parents’ parents!”

“Yes, they were. But blood does not seem to matter where magic is concerned.” He glanced at Luc, as if exemplifying his point. “Something happened. We do not know what, but it was special. Magical. You were born and it soon became clear that you were our New King. Our New Clemari. You are Naegean, Max.”

Max stood in a stunned silence. Not a word was spoken. The only sound that could be heard was a gentle summer breeze rustling leaves on trees. He could not believe it. It was ridiculous. It was ludicrous. It was impossible.

“So what now?” Max asked, nervous to hear the answer.

Luc replied, his father now struggling to remain standing, supporting himself on his dark mahogany walking stick. “Now, we are in trouble. The West wanted you, and they made a good attempt to capture you, but we found you first. They will not let this happen so easily.