Lumen (25 page)

Daniel’s head went light as he severed the connection. He laid back down and blinked, each time his eyes stayed closed for a longer. He opened his eyes, and smoke had started to fog his vision. He jumped up at the thought that he was being gassed out, waving his hands in front of his eyes, but he couldn’t see them.

“Help!” he said, from the croak in his voice.

A giggle caught his ear and he turned, catching a glimpse of a girl running behind a light orange clay wall. He spun around, taking in the new scenery, definitely not his bedroom anymore, but it reminded him of something Karsar would’ve done, if he was into the lighter and brighter colours.

He started to lose himself in the new scene as he rushed off behind the wall to find the girl. Following the trail of faint giggles and hums, he kept catching up to her and her giggling became louder. And then she stopped, and stood right in front of him. Her face, he knew her face, she was the one who had almost cost him his life.

“Hey, hold up!” he said, as she rushed off.

The sun beamed heavily from the sky. Daniel glanced up to it, and it left dark spots freckling his sight. He rushed after the girl, trailing her fingers on the orange walls. The tips of his fingers started to tingle, and as he stopped to take a look at them, he noticed thick red welts on the tips.

She continued to giggle and run her hands along the wall, smoothing over all the lumpy orange clay like a professional.

“Please, just stop!” he gasped for air, clutching his chest and bending over. He tried to reach out for her.

She tripped up in front of him and he rushed over to her. She looked up at him and gave him a slight smile. He leant over her to get a full view of her face, and then she gripped him by his t-shirt and shoved her hand over his mouth. She replaced it with a single finger and then shushed him.

“I’m sorry. I’m not allowed to be here, but everyone seems to be playing dirty. Nobody but those key to your power can tell you, so get away. Get out of it!” she shouted from behind her gritted teeth.

“Who are you?”

“Ary—Aryna. But I can’t say any more… when you know, you know, and I’ll come and find you.”

“You live outside the island, and you haven’t you been killed.”

“I’m sorry, Daniel, I’m sorry, I can’t answer your questions, but when you’re free of your ties, and you will learn to break free of them, then I will answer your questions. Don’t worry, I 
will 
find you, but I’m not promising you that we can meet back here. If they find me here, or even know that we’ve talked, there will be some 
filthy
 war,” she said, curling her top lip.

“But… you said I was 
him
… who?”

“I’ve said too much already, I can’t intervene.” She looked into Daniel’s eyes. “It wasn’t a coincidence we met in the coffee shop, I just needed to know.”

“You’re confusing me, please, just, I need to know.”

She grinned and then turned. Daniel reached out to grab her hand and it became dust in his fingers. She was gone, and the reality around him saturated his body in the dust and sand.

Chapter Thirty

Daniel woke to a snapping sound and the faint mumble of his name. He groaned and waved a hand in the direction of the alarm clock. The snapping got louder, and his name became clearer.

“Daniel get up!” Jac said, sitting at Daniel’s side.

Daniel shot up and slapped a hand against his forehead. “I’m in bed,” he said, smiling. “Why didn’t you just wake me?”

“I didn’t want to shake you in case you attacked me or something.”

“Oh,” he said, scooching up against the wall. “How long have you been here?”

“Not long, a couple of minutes. I climbed through the window,” he said, nodding at it, “though I unlatched it this time.”

Daniel yawned and then smiled. “Did you climb?”

“Yeah, but it was easy. Anyway, I needed to tell you something yesterday, but I was told to tell you in person. And I saw your dad.”

“What? My dad?”

“Yeah, he was worried about you being hurt in the school fight. All of the Lowerlands know about it. It was you right?”

Daniel scoffed. “So, where’s my dad at now?”

“He’s at home, he had to work, although he wanted to come up and visit you. I told him I was coming up, and you know, I think he was reassured.”

“Ah, that’s all I would have needed was him getting into an argument with Reuben. He worries about me too much.”

“Yeah. Well he needs to.”

Daniel climbed out of bed and got dressed while Jac sat on the edge of his bed, lost in thought. Daniel looked in the mirror above the sink and turned to see the side of his head where Jasper had hit him. There was nothing there now, unlike the first time Jasper had punched him.

“I think I’m healing a lot faster now,” Daniel said, combing a hand through his hair and ruffling it up. “How long does it normally take you to heal?”

“Quick. Although I do get those days when it’s really slow,” Jac said, rubbing at his arm. “I could have broken my arm, like, forever, and ever. But because my the process has sped up, a lot, I’ve been healing pretty quickly. Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering, I always thought that over time you just healed faster and faster.”

“You should know, this school is fancy as shit. But no, it’s in the blood, in fact, there are a lot of things that determine who we are, and it’s to do with our blood.”

“Oh, god. You’ve been talking to my dad, haven’t you?”

“Yes, no. Why?”

Daniel raised an eyebrow at Jac. “Because I know he’s told you the story.”

“So you know then?”

“I don’t believe it. He’s been telling me that story since I was little.”

Jac nodded. “You did end up here though.”

“Yeah, but he said I’d do great things with 
power
, and I haven’t done anything great yet, except take a beating and not retaliate. Or maybe one of the great things I do is beat Jasper up.”

“Well then do it and see if that is one of the great things your dad was talking about. But I still think he means greater things.” Jac smiled.

Daniel shrugged. “My dad reads a lot, so, you shouldn’t really believe anything that he says. And anyway, I can’t pick a fight with him, because if I hurt him he’s got Mark, Reuben, and all the classes.”

“So you’re thinking of the repercussions now.” Jac grinned. “Well, you only have to ask, because I’ll happily kick the shit out of him for you.”

Daniel shook his head. “No you can’t. Reuben would probably 
kill
 you, and Jasper hasn’t even attacked you for nothing yet.”

“Well the last time we met, I gave him something to remember me by, so he probably has it out for me,” Jac said. “You know you don’t have to stay here, we can find our own adventure, like we said we would.”

“No, you’re not beating him up, he’s a jerk, yeah. But you’d probably be 
killed
, and I don’t want that. And no, I can’t leave, I’m learning so much here.”

“Please.”

“No.” Daniel glared into Jac’s eyes. “I’m staying here.”

“What? Where everyone seems to hate you?”

Daniel bowed his head and hummed. “I do miss home.”

Jac sighed. “See, you have it rough here.”

“Oh, and that reminds me, I’m having horrible lucid dreams, where people just keep popping into my head, in fact, they’re making me tired so that I’ll fall to sleep.”

“It’s a scandal,” Jac said without paying attention.

“Seriously though, Jac. Last night a girl, I forgot her name, she started to ramble on about knowing something and not being able to tell me. It felt so real. And I’ve seen her before, and that didn’t start until I came here. I want to know what it’s all about. And I wouldn’t have met Mia if I never came here.”

“Wait. What are you talking about? What happened?”

Daniel explained to Jac about his dreams, and they talked again about blood. Jac usually humoured his abilities, he’d always been strong with his will, but something about knowing Reuben had a vial of Daniel’s blood made him nauseous.

“Daniel, I think those stories were true. Daniel, I think you’re a—” before Jac could finished, Daniel disappeared.

Daniel found himself standing in Reuben’s office, standing in front of all the teachers who stood behind Reuben’s desk. Reuben sat in his chair, his fingers interlocked and laid on his desk while the other teachers had their hands clasped against their chests, ready to start their prayers. Daniel scanned their faces; each teacher had the same look, the same teary red eyes, and inane grins and clenched teeth.

“We knew it!” Reuben bellowed and all the teachers gasped in shock. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

Daniel took a step back. “I’m sorry,” he managed, after opening and closing his mouth several times. He glared up at them and a stream of light poked him in his eye, he took another step back and wobbled on the balls of his feet.

“
No!
” Jac shouted. Daniel winced and clenched his jaw.

“Is everything okay?” Reuben said, “take a seat, Daniel.”

“You know?” Daniel asked. His heart lodged itself in his throat, and his face started to burn red.

“
I need to tell you something!
” Jac shouted again, “
you must hear it from me! Damn it, Daniel, I thought you said you knew!
”

“I know part of the Luminary codes states you shouldn’t give yourself away to none-luminary folk like us,” Reuben said.

A drill of white noise touched Daniel’s core, and reverberated through each of his bones. “Myself?”

“You’re a luminary,” Reuben said. “Right?”

The white noise had a voice, Jac’s voice, and from it bled every curse word under the sun. It continued to pierce Daniel. His nose bled. He put a hand to his face and wiped away the blood, then stared out at the people behind Reuben’s desk, they were clapping but no sound came from the action.

“We shouldn’t have confronted him.” Enek said.

“Nonsense, he’s come to see 
his
 people, and we found out his secret,” Reuben chuckled.

Everything went over Daniel’s head, but inside he could hear the synapses spark and pop, just as his pupils grew and shrunk, and his mouth dried and then gushed with saliva. He pressed his hand against his mouth, as hard as he could. “I need—I need to go.”

“Of course, anything for a Luminary,” Reuben replied. “Be back soon.”

He wanted to protest and as he stood from the settee to waver at the comment he disappeared and fell face flat on his bed.

“How could they!” Jac said, grinding his teeth and flailing his hands in the air.

Daniel sat up, he could barely open his eyes and when he opened his mouth a trickle of saliva dripped down his chin. “Jac,” he said, trying to stand but falling backward on his bed.

“It incapacitates you, that is what it does. It’s in your genes, it’s in each of your little—” he acted his hands like pincers, “just snapping away and it hit a nerve. You should recover though, but I was supposed to tell you.” Jac sighed as he sat on the edge of Daniel’s bed, besides him.

“I don’t know. I’m not what they said. They poisoned me. They lied.” Daniel said, sucking in deep breaths and clenching his jaw after speaking.

“You need sleep, Dan. Please don’t forget,” Jac said, looking down at Daniel’s lifeless body. There was something red soaking the white t-shirt from his chest. Jac shook his head and bit his lip. “You won’t forget. Daniel, you are a luminary.”

“Take me home,” Daniel said, trying to keep from sobbing but tears fell from his eyes, and his t-shirt was now almost pitied with his blood.

“Go to sleep.” Jac placed his hands over Daniel’s eyes and within seconds he could feel their bond, and so he tugged at Daniel and pushed him into a deep sleep.

Jac slowly lifted the damp cloth from Daniel’s chest, and as he did Daniel let out a huge moan. The cloth had reopened the wound and little streams of blood started to flow down the sides of his chest.

“I’m sorry,” Jac said, glancing at the weird ‘h’ across Daniel’s chest, it was similar to the one that he’d got on his wrist.

“Where am I?” Daniel asked, lifting his head and then wincing at the pain.

“We’re still at school. When you can get up we’ll go home.”

“No!” he frowned. “I need to see Reuben first. And what is that pain!”

“It’s a scar on your chest. I’m really sorry you had to found out like this.”

Daniel tried to open his eyes wider but it was still dark and the lamplight was dim. He pushed back on his neck to see it, but all he could feel was the pain of the skin stretching as he moved.

“I guess it all really happened then, didn’t it? It’s all true, isn’t it?” Daniel said.

“Yes, it’s true, you’re a Luminary, and you’re not meant to be on the island.”

“I’m not—” Daniel said, trying to protest as hot prickles rose up the sides of his neck and poked him in his cheeks.

“Don’t fight it, it will hurt you more. I know things about your family, that I didn’t know last week, I’m not from a bloodline like you are, I’m from something greater, I was chosen to be your guardian.”

“Shush.” Daniel slowly pushed himself to sit up and then he pushed his back against the cold brick which he hissed at.

Jac stood from his kneeling position beside Daniel’s bed. “Can you see it now?”

Daniel glared at his chest for several moments, staring blankly as the open cuts started to bleed out again and roll down his abdomen and his sides.

“Did they cut me?”

“No, it’s your heritage, it’s your emblem.”

“So, so, who did this?” Daniel threw a hand to his chest and clenched his skin between his fingers, letting the blood pour harder.

Jac closed his eyes and shook his head. “It means that you’re one of 
them
.”

“No! You don’t know this.”

Jac set a finger on Daniel’s forehead. “I know because the guardian’s before me knew. I am your guide, but this isn’t how it was supposed to start, nobody was supposed to start on this island.”

Daniel choked on a breath as Jac removed his finger. He shook his head slowly and then turned to face Jac. “Okay, I know it’s true. It’s too right to be wrong.”