Death of Light

by Nick Cook

  Chloe snorted. ‘Maybe that’s exactly what this is. I just wish you’d let me come with you so I can watch your back.’

  ‘No, you’re needed here, Chloe.’

  ‘I still think you should take someone with you,’ Dad said.

  ‘We’ve been over this a hundred times, Dad. I’m not prepared to risk anyone else’s life. This has to be just me.’

  He sighed. ‘I understand, but I don’t be have to happy about it.’

  I smiled at him. ‘I know…’

  At least I’d be able to operate the L1 solo thanks to the wireless wristband that Martin developed.I adjusted the nylon band round my wrist. The device was so light I barely noticed it, with fine copper wires woven into its fabric and a small battery attached to its surface like a watch face.

  Kelly crossed her arms. ‘A solo Atlantic crossing – you certainly don’t do things by halves, do you?’

  ‘Hey, that’s the new me. And if this all goes as planned, Gem and I will be back here one day.’

  ‘I’m going to hold you to that,’ Dad said.

  I hugged him. ‘I’ll do everything I can to make sure that happens.’

  ‘Good.’ He gazed at me, his eyes softening. ‘You be careful out there, son.’

  ‘Always.’

  Claire held out her arms and I embraced her too.

  ‘Do your best to keep Dad out of trouble,’ I said.

  ‘I’m not sure anyone is capable of doing that, but I’ll try.’

  Dad tugged his ear and grinned at her.

  Chloe glanced away, tears in here eyes as her shoulders rose and fell as she took deep breaths.

  ‘Chloe, I…’

  She turned and pressed a finger to my lips. ‘Yeah, I love you too, Jake. But now you go and be with the woman that you are destined for. You two are literally made for each other.’ She leant forward and kissed me. When she pulled away, her eyes were glistening.

  I climbed back onto Moon Dancer, gazing at my family and friends, soaking up the love in their eyes. These people meant everything to me. Then I slipped the rope from its mooring and fired up the small engine. Moon Dancer began to glide away from the quayside.

  ‘Bon voyage!’ Chloe said, waving frantically and blowing me kisses as she hung on to Domino who was barking his head off.

  I watched them for as long as I could until they disappeared round the corner of the harbour.

  A small flotilla of boats was already out on the Thames waiting for me. It seemed that word of what I was doing had spread quickly around London and there were a lot of people here to wish me luck and I waved to them to acknowledge their support. It meant a lot.

  With the other boats following me, I began to head along the river that would eventually lead me to the English Channel and from there I’d sail across the Atlantic to North America.

  Overhead, the golden dome of the Waverider field shone and sparkled, but beyond it the dark vapours of the Shadowlands swirled. Despite it, I could just about see the faint pinpricks of distant stars in the gaps between the darkness, including the Pleiades. Out there the universe was still doing OK and maybe one day our planet might be too.

  With a silver glint of light, the Thames Barrier loomed into view, bringing back the memory of the first time I’d seen it – when we’d entered the city to protect it from a previous Shade attack.

  With a wail of sirens, the other boats started to fall away as I steered Moon Dancer through the open channel. The barrier had been ordered to be lowered especially for my departure by Prime Minister Carter. Once clear, I could see where the edge of the Waverider dome met the horizon ahead of me and beyond that the flowing darkness of the Shadowlands.

  I pressed the green button on the cockpit and heard my own miniature L1 Waverider inside the cabin hum into life. A golden dome a hundred metres wide appeared over my yacht.

  I steered Moon Dancer towards the edge of London’s L3 Waverider and slipped past it into the eternal icy night of the Shadowlands to begin a journey that would lead me to the woman I loved.

  Afterword

  So, after many years of work and countless versions of a story that evolved slowly in the back of my brain, Death of Light finally concludes the Fractured Light trilogy. A moment like this is always something of a mixed blessing for me; although it feels wonderful to have finished it, I’m also going to miss these characters. Through our journey together over so many pages, my characters have taken on lives of their own within me.

  Jake’s story arc in some ways mirrors my own teenage years, with the notable exception of a satellite crashing on my head and my DNA being genetically modified to turn me into a psychic soldier! That aside, I was a shy, introverted child who didn’t have the easiest childhood – not that you would know that today if you met me, at least I hope not. I tapped into some of these experiences as I created Jake and the more I did, the more I understood him. His journey twisted and turned and I frequently felt guilty for putting him through hell, so I hope you can forgive me for what I did to Jake! Of course, it’s exactly those challenges and conflicts that bring a character to life on the page.

  I definitely have a thing for sassy, strong female lead characters, something I think my wife Karen would strongly agree with, since she absolutely embodies these traits. Because of this, Chloe was a sheer joy to write. She’s the one who has the attitude to get the job done and to give Jake a nudge when he needs it. Ethan is also very real in my mind. One of my favourite Ethan scenes is just after Jake first meets him in Fading Light and Ethan introduces Jake to ‘hidden London’. I loved the way that Ethan and Jake seemed to spark off each other as characters and Ethan’s lines almost formed by themselves and felt effortless to write. My one regret is that Gem doesn’t have more page time in Death of Light. The problem is, when you have such an epic story to tell, it’s hard to give every major character a key role. I bet Tolkien sweated buckets over this with his vast cast list!

  In Death of Light, I at last reveal a lot more about the Light Web – although I haven’t given a definitive answer. Jake and others offer up explanations as to what it might be, but there is still a sense of mystery about it…just as it should be. My favourite stories have always left a few question marks in my mind. As to what exactly attacked Archios at the end of the battle outside the Millennium Dome, I’ll leave it to your imagination to fill in the answers.

  Having finished Death of Light, you will no doubt be wondering what comes next – I mean, I’ve just left the Earth plunged into the Shadowlands and all that! There’s always been a plan for a final trilogy to follow this, and I’ll write it one day. However, Fractured Light itself is part of a bigger story arc that first started with the Cloud Riders trilogy. This was followed by The Signal, my novella that bridges events between the Cloud Riders and Fractured Light trilogies. The Signal introduces the character of Lauren and, after much amazing feedback, she is about to return in the Earth Song series, where she’ll be the lead character pursuing the conspiracy of silence around UFO sightings on Earth. To say that I’m itching to write this series would be a serious understatement!

  As always I must thank my ever patient wife, Karen, who understands and tolerates the madness of me being an author – a large ask sometimes, I can tell you. Also, a big thank-you as always to Catherine Coe for her superb editing skills and for pushing me that little bit further to make my books the best they can be. And a final huge thanks to my fantastic proofreader, Jennie Roman, for doing such a brilliant job weeding out all the errors that other eyes have missed.

  But most of all, dear reader, thank you for letting me take you on this journey of the imagination. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. I’d be eternally grateful if you could write a review for Death of Light, as it’s one of the best ways of spreading the word about a book.

  Until the next time…when I’ll be back with Earth Song, a story filled with ancient alien artefacts and an international conspiracy to hide the truth. I love my job!

&nbs
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  Nick Cook, July 2018

  About the Author

  Somewhere back in the mists of time, Nick was born in the great sprawling metropolis of London. He grew up in a family where art was always a huge influence. Tapping into this, Nick finished college with a fine art degree tucked into his back pocket. Faced with the prospect of actually trying to make a living from his talents, he plunged into the emerging video game industry back in the eighties. It was the start of a long career in which he produced graphics for many of the top-selling games on the early home computers, including Aliens and Enduro Racer. Those pioneering games may look crude now, but back then they were considered to be cutting edge. As the industry exploded into the one we know today, Nick’s career went supernova. He worked on titles such as X-Com, and set up two studios that produced Warzone 2100 and the Conflict: Desert Storm series. He has around forty published titles to his name.

  As great as the video game industry is, a little voice kept nagging inside his head, and at the end of 2006 he was finally ready to pursue his other passion as a full-time career: writing. Many years later, he completed his first trilogy, Cloud Riders. And the rest, as they say, is history.

  Nick has many interests, from space exploration and astronomy to travelling the world. He has flown light aircraft and microlights, experiences he used as research for Cloud Riders. He’s always loved to cook, but then you’d expect it with his surname. His writing in many ways reflects his own curiosity about the world around him. He loves to let his imagination run riot to pose the question: What if?