The Lighter That Shone Like A Star (Story of The South) (11 page)

“
Clemari,” Luc said, snapping Max back to reality (although none of this felt at all real to the boy from Hurburt). “This is the Garden of the Restless.”

Max completely forgot to tell off his companion for calling him ‘
Clemari’ as his wordless understanding of the tower transformed into an indescribable admiration of his immediate surroundings.

The Garden of the Restless was petit and indefinite. To his left, Max saw flourishing colours that he was unsure he had ever seen before: the deepest of reds, the most vibrant of purples, fluorescent greens and blinding yellows, blues that compared neither to oceans nor skies, the reddest of pinks and the pinkest of whites, all dancing amongst each other in bushes and buds.

With an unwilling determination, Max shifted his gaze to the right, finding himself amidst a colourless ink painting. The grass was black and the bushes grey; white flowers struggled to be seen against their bleak backdrop. Max’s elation from seconds ago faded with a dense feeling of foreboding. The boy felt empty aside from a heavy heart beating slowly in his chest. His vision grew distorted as tears threatened to fall.

“
Clemari,” Luc’s voice echoed from a long distance away. The word was repeated time after time, growing slightly louder but still failing to catch Max’s unfaltering attention. “CLEMARI!” Luc shouted.

Max inhaled sharply as he was pulled back to life.

“Sorry, Luc. What is it?”

“We really should get going,
Clemari, we have been here for thirty-seven minutes.” Max’s jaw dropped gormlessly.
We can’t have been here for that long, no way.

Max shook himself out of his daze and spun around, catching a final glimpse of the brighter half of the garden. He stepped back into the castle with Luc by his side.

“What
is
that place?” Max asked, dumbfounded.

“The Garden of the Restless,” replied Luc, simply.

“Yeah, but what is it? I mean, it was just… I…”

“Ah,
Clemari, you are not the first person to be speechless after visiting The Garden and you will not be the last. The Garden is different to each person who sees it. Some see only bright colours and a magnificent area in which to relax. Others see no colour at all and go to The Garden to cry – intentionally or not. Most people, though, see both a garden of colour and a garden of black and white and grey,” Luc explained, walking in his straightforward manner to their next destination.

“And what do you see?” Max asked. Luc stiffened even more, evidently uncomfortable by the question he had been asked. “You don’t have to answer, sorry.”

“No, I will answer all your questions, Clemari. I see not what I have heard described to me several times as the most beautiful, glorious, splendid, perfect garden in all the lands. I see only charcoal and chalk.”

“What does that mean though?” the younger man enquired.

“I do not know. That is to say, I cannot be sure. There are many theories surrounding The Garden of the Restless but nobody is to know which is true. Just through this door, Clemari.” Luc gestured for Max to lead the way.

The pair was met by the
Clemari’s council, the five men lined up on the left hand side and the five women standing opposite. Max walked inbetween them, greeted by low bows as he passed. At the far end of the room were two transparent glass doors leading out onto a balcony. He stopped in front of them.

“
Clemari
,
” Joz said from behind him, this time out loud. “Open the doors and greet your people.”

Max’s outstretched hand fumbled with the handle and opened the heavy glass doors. A loud cheer filled the young man’s ears.

“Enjoy this, Clemari,” a female voice advised.

Max stepped onto the balcony and was greeted by thousands of people standing below him, filling the castle’s courtyards and stretching out across all the way down the hill on which the castle stood. It was with wide eyes and a churning stomach that Max lifted his right hand into the air and waved, rather awkwardly, trying to take in the overwhelming sight in front of him whilst remaining composed.

This continued for over ten minutes, the people of Naegis clapping and whooping and cheering while Max waved back, until several bursts of a horn sounded and everyone fell suddenly silent.

I have to give a speech
, Max realised with dread. He instantaneously hated everyone behind him for not preparing him enough.

“People of Naegis,” he began, voice trembling slightly. “I am Max Myers, your New King.
Your New Clemari.” His mind went completely blank, every word he had ever learnt slipping out of his brain. But then, somewhat miraculously, he started talking, eloquently yet uncontrollably, as if he had lost all control and coordination between his mind and mouth. The voice was his, but the words came from the elderly man standing behind him.

“I come to you from Hurburt, a land not too dissimilar to yours. As you are aware, Joz
Domen’s time of rule is coming to an end, as is his life. I am his sole heir. My claim to the throne is through blood; not my family’s blood but my magical blood. Yes, the magic of Naegis flows through my veins. And so I greet you, here today, not only as your New Clemari but also as The Last Naegean.”

There was a gentle rap on her bedroom door, which meant that Russell had successfully managed to slip past the guards again. Sofia jumped up from her bed, slung her mint green satchel over her shoulder and greeted her friend. They walked silently across the landing and downstairs.

When they approached the front door, Sofia grasped hold of Russell’s hand and the pair slipped slowly and silently through a small gap. Treading delicately across the lawn, Sofia could see that the guards had not moved for two days, still as rigid and intimidating as they were when she had returned home from the hospital. Russell helped Sofia over the garden wall and they continued to walk without a word passing their lips.

As they reached their destination, they were relieved to find that no more guards were in sight. Sofia suspected that Jill had ensured that their coast was clear. Russell and Sofia entered the dark café through the back door and were greeted by a stern-faced Jill.

“Sofia, you’re looking well. You have had a speedy recovery just as I had planned.” She smiled, lighting up her wrinkled face, and answered all of Sofia’s silent questions: “Freddie is safe and at your grandparents’ house. Matthew and Anne-Alicia were taken, but we expect to reach them soon. Lornea arrived in Salmont with no further problems. And Max is in Naegis.”

“Naegis?!” Sofia cried in surprise.

“Yes, he is the king of Naegis now. Well, he always has been, really,” responded Jill.

Sofia assumed that Russell had already been told everything because he did not react at all to this startling revelation.

Jill explained everything to the bewildered girl, from using
Light on the Landing as a distraction to make the seven friends disappear, to sending Freddie to Terexe, to Max being the New King of Naegis and ruler of The South.

Russell and Sofia made sure no questions were left unanswered, no stones unturned and every detail explored, and just over an hour later they felt that they had been adequately updated with the situation.

“So, what do you want us to do?” asked Sofia.

“Keep your heads down. Stay out of trouble. Wait,” Jill replied.

“No. Nope. Sorry, but nu-huh. That’s ridiculous. I can’t just sit at home and do nothing while my brother is a thousand miles away, my boyfriend tries to protect, well,
everyone
, my best friend has gone missing, and my other friends are scattered all over the place!” Sofia’s voice grew louder as she spoke. “I can help. We both can!” She motioned to Russell, who nodded in uncertain agreement.

“How?”
Jill demanded.

“I am Terexian. I’m magic and I could be powerful. I’ll find a way for me to practise my magic so I can become stronger. I’ll be ready in case Pipton is attacked again.” Desperation and frustration flowed through Sofia’s pleading words.

“And what can Russell do?” Both women stared at an uncomfortable Russell.

“Not a lot,” the boy admitted, shyly. “But I still have the bracelet you gave me, so we can be invisible when we need to be. Sofia’s right; we can’t just sit back and not
do anything. If people want to hurt us or the people we love, we have to be able to fight back.”

Jill surveyed the two young adults standing in front of her. Eventually, she sighed. “Fine, you’re right I suppose. But you have to continue with your normal lives, for now. You can’t stay hidden for ever. Go to school, speak to friends, and prepare for your exams. The people guarding your houses are not looking for you or your parents. They are looking for Max and Freddie. Just two rules: Answer no questions and
always
stick together.”

The pair smiled and promised Jill, who nodded in return.

Sofia still felt as if she was standing by helplessly while the people she loved all seemed to be in danger, but she said no more. Maybe pretending to lead a normal life would help her forget what was happening in this mad reality.

***

The next day, Sofia returned to school. She had heard rumours on Scribbler about the buildings being burnt to the ground, but it turned out that the rumours were falsely exaggerated, as they so often are. The school hall was still slightly damaged from Freddie’s destructive exit so builders were erecting scaffolding, on strict orders to repair the hall before exams began.

Russell was waiting by the school gate and gave a deep sigh of relief when he saw his only remaining friend approaching, two minutes before the bell.

“Any trouble?” he asked Sofia.

“Not really,” she replied. “The Creeps all watched me leave the house; one followed me to the end of my road so I turned around and asked what the problem was.”

Russell admired her feistiness. “Ha, really? What did he say?”

“It was a woman this time, but she said nothing. We both stood there for a few seconds and then she turned around and stood back in her place.”

“Weird.”

“Yeah.
I don’t understand why they’re still here. Surely they know that Max has gone.”

“I dunno,” replied Russell as they reached the classroom door. “Maybe they
don’t
know. Either that or they’re expecting him to come back. They are creepy though, I’m just glad I don’t have any outside my house.”

Sofia and Russell walked into their classroom as the bell rang. Twenty heads turned in their direction. Ignoring their classmates’ murmurs and gawping expressions, Sofia and Russell walked to the nearest unoccupied table and waited for the teacher.

They pretended that nothing was different, but as they surveyed the room and saw five empty seats they realised that everything had changed.

It was impossible for Sofia and Russell to be in school and not feel alone. They had each other, and they were grateful for that, but the absence of their friends infiltrated their every thought.

Their rest-time was spent under the tree that had sort of become their territory. But they were quiet as they bathed in the sun’s heat and ate their mediocre packed lunches. Sofia missed having Max’s arm around her shoulders and Russell wished he was laughing and joking with Matthew.

Anne-Alicia was not glued to her ScribblePad, Freddie was not lying in the sun with his sleeves rolled up, and Lornea was not chatting to anybody who would listen about make-up, clothes, and
Light on the Landing
.

At the end of the week, a whole-school assembly had been arranged outside on the field, as the hall was unfit for use due to the minor fire damage that Freddie had caused in his bid to escape from the chaotic concert. Sofia and Russell had an inkling of what it would be about and they were not mistaken.

“Last week,” began Mrs. Stormonth, the headmistress, “something happened here, in our school that many of you witnessed. We were very privileged to hold the Light on the Landing concert in our hall. However, things did not go as smoothly as we had hoped.”

The pupils began to whisper to each other, either excitedly telling their friends that they had been there or murmuring rumours that they had heard, probably on Scribbler.

“Okay, okay, calm down everyone!” Mrs. Pittaway called from where the teachers were clustered together. Mrs. Stormonth waited.

“Towards the end of the concert, the band helped a boy to escape from Pipton. This boy needs to be found.
Immediately. His name is Max Myers.”

Sofia had a bad feeling in her gut. She turned to look at Russell to see that his face had become ghost-white.

“If you know where Max Myers is, or if you hear anything about his whereabouts, you must come forward. He is dangerous, and he has escaped with his accomplice, Freddie Vassallo. You will have seen that people in grey cloaks have been guarding our streets recently. These people are looking for Max and Freddie. They are effectively Pipton’s new police force.”

Sofia felt as though she was watching the scene from a great distance.
This can’t be happening!
Heads were beginning to turn in her and Russell’s direction.

“If you see or hear anything that may help us find these two dangerous boys, you must alert someone immediately. Not to do so will result in your own punishment.”

Before she could think about what she was doing, Sofia was on her feet. Russell was standing, too.

“No!” she shouted, her body trembling and her voice unsteady. “You’re lying! Max was in trouble and
Light on the Landing saved his life!”

“Sit down, Miss Vassallo,” said Mrs. Stormonth calmly.

“No, she’s right.” Russell said, confidently. “You’re lying. These new police, these Creeps, they were hunting for Max and Freddie so they could kill them. They took Matthew and Anne-Alicia, too. They’re the enemy in this, not Max! Not Freddie!”

“Both of you have detention all week. Anyone else who wishes to raise their voice at me, lie, and spread silly little rumours will join them.”

“WE’RE NOT LYING!” Sofia shouted, desperately looking around at her schoolmates, trying to make them believe her. She could see only fear in their eyes.

Suddenly, six tall, hooded figures marched into view, eyes fixed on Russell and Sofia.

“DON’T BELIEVE THEM!” Sofia screamed over the buzz of her fellow pupils. She looked over her shoulder to see three of The Creeps approaching fast. Russell looked panicked, but then Sofia saw it on his wrist. With one final scream of “LIARS!” filling the ears of everyone on the field, Sofia grabbed Russell’s wrist, twisted the clasp on his bracelet, and the pair disappeared.

They ran without looking back. Sofia fought back tears as she ran hand-in-hand with Russell away from the school and onto the yellow meadow. She knew that they did not need to run away, they could have gone anywhere unnoticed thanks to Russell’s magical gadget, but running was a welcome distraction. She did not want to cry. Not again.

Russell allowed himself to be led by Sofia until they reached the woods. He slowed down, eventually bringing himself and Sofia to a halt.

“You okay?” Russell panted. Sofia nodded, breaking away from Russell to sit down among the beautiful array of flowers. “What do we do now?” he wondered aloud.

“Well, I’m not going back. If we go back, we’ll be watched by the Creeps so closely I doubt we could ever leave our houses again. And plus we’d have a week of detentions.” Sofia said, surprising herself at how little she was bothered about not going home.

“Are you serious!?” Russell exclaimed. “We can’t just leave! We have no money, no food, no clothes… nothing!
And what about our parents?”

“Well then I’ll just have to go alone then, won’t I,” snapped Sofia, disappointed and angry.

***

Three hours later, Russell and Sofia had arrived back at the woods. They each wore a large backpack, containing some essentials that they would need to survive: a tent, small amounts of food, bottles of water, clothes, and their ScribblePads (with chargers).

Neither had said goodbye to their parents, but they had both written a letter explaining that they were in trouble, that it would be safer for their parents to remain ignorant, and that they had taken some cash from their wallets.

They entered the woods and walked. They had no idea where they were going or what they were doing, but at least they were doing
something
.