Lumen

by Joseph Eastwood

  Daniel had been to Faber once, a quaint town in the Upperlands, also where his father worked as a librarian. Not only that, but meat bought anywhere in the Upperlands was expensive, probably at least a few days’ pay. He knew he was going to have to stomach some food now. Sighing he exerted a little energy to close the bedroom door.

  “I suppose school could be fun. Playing with power every day,” he said to himself. But they’ll have more of it.

  He wore a pair of light blue jeans, as much as he loved being from the Centrelands he didn't want to tell people, so wearing jeans was a smart move. He stood in front of his mirror and rolled his shoulders, they cracked, he rolled his head on his neck, that cracked, and then crunched his fists together, and they cracked.

  “Breakfast is ready,” his mother called from the bottom of the stairs.

  Daniel grabbed his suitcase from the floor and carried it down the steps, letting it bump joyously on the stone slabs. His mother stood in the doorway of the kitchen with a smile plastered to her face, her cheeks blushing and his eyes puffed.

  “We’ve got some cooked piggy bits,” she said and inhaled deeply, “and some other four-legged animal said to live in the Trident Mountains,” she continued, stopping as she bit down on her lip, her eyes welled as she stared at Daniel.

  It wasn’t long after breakfast when there was another shockwave, followed by a loud bang at the door. They all knew who it was, and for moments they all stared at each other as the air turned thick and sickly.

  “I love you,” his mother said as Daniel picked his suitcase up by the handle and headed for the front door.

  He turned to look at his parents. “Love you too, mum,” he said softly.

  “Do us proud, son,” his father said and nodded.

  Two tall dark tan men stood at the door. They were the same; bald heads, muscle bulked bodies, only wearing three-quarter pants and they had bright eyes, like torches. He took a step back upon seeing them, and then looked passed them at the gilded carriage.

  “Daniel Satoria?” the man to Daniel’s right asked, his voice was deep and gruff.

  “Yeah, that’s me,” he said, still looking at the carriage and two flaccid reigns at the front. He glanced back at them. Surely they weren’t going to pull it, he repressed a smile.

  “Okay, we’ll take your suitcase. It’s gonna take two hours to reach the Academy, and we’ll be picking up a few other people along the way,” the man to Daniel’s left said as Daniel handed him his suitcase.

  Daniel’s mother rushed to the front door before he could leave and handed him a box. “Something to eat, if you get hungry,” she said and then kissed him on his forehead.

  The men led Daniel to the carriage and opened a door, three steps sprung out for him and he climbed in. His parents watched from the front door, waving him off, his mother’s eyes still puffy as she nestled her body into her husband’s arms.

  “Are you afraid of heights?” one of the men asked, securing the carriage door shut.

  Daniel grinned. “No, I love heights.”

  “Great. Li, he loves heights,” he told the other man who was tying Daniel’s suitcase to the roof.

  Daniel waved to his parents from the window of his carriage and when he looked at them his mother buried her head in his father’s arms. He couldn’t hear her crying, and was quite glad because that might have set him off.

  Daniel pressed his head against the window to get a better look at what the men were doing. They had tied the reigns around their waists and over their shoulders, leaving some of the elastic slack.

  “They’re not gonna try to fly like this,” Daniel said to himself.

  He tried not to look back at his parents, instead he kept his eyes on the men. They were now on their knees, shifting. Hunched over as their spines elongated, and their skin became thick and matted, sprouting an array of golden feathers. Two large spanning wings flicked up from their backs leaving Daniel blinking in awe. Their feet and hands shrunk and where toes and fingers had been talons took their place. Their heads shrunk and their faces started to mould. Two amber eyes on either side of their head and the rest had turned into hooked beaks.

  They both raised their heads and squawked into the sky, raising their wings high and then beating them down, leaping into the air. The carriage jolted and Daniel gripped a hold of his seat as the force pushed him back. He gripped a hold of the safety harness inside, and grinned to himself; that’s what it was for. He looked out of the window, looking down at his parents getting further and further away, until they disappeared.

  There were three tiers to the Centrelands, and Daniel had lived on the first tier which meant he was closer to the Lowerlands than he had been to the Upperlands. The only reason Daniel’s parents had moved to the middle of the island was because they wanted a better life for him, and it would’ve been impossible to get him into a good school if they’d have continued to live in Bellari, the small town where they’d lived surrounded by slums and forestry.

  The carriage dropped through vast amounts of sky. Daniel felt his lungs push up against his heart. He stared out of the window and noticed a small village of wooden houses. It seemed unreal; he’d only ever seen houses carved from the hollows of stone or planks of wood, not real timber. The carriage hit the ground with a thud and Daniel could only think that his heart was trying to make an escape out of his mouth and the throbbing from his temples.

  They’d landed outside a large black stone and wood house surrounded by forestry and an attached barn. The front door whirled open and a boy rushed out slamming the door, Daniel swore he saw a pane of glass smashing as he left. He had two large suitcases collecting mud and grass as they jittered along the ground behind him.

  “Get them,” he said running towards the carriage.

  The doors of the carriage burst open. Daniel watched as he used an excess of power. The boy snarled and then climbed in, he sat opposite Daniel, grinning to himself.

  “Was my third year applying, got in this year,” he said.

  “Oh, I only just got my power a week ago.”

  His face dropped to a snarl. “Bet she bribed ‘im didn’t she?” he sniggered.

  “We wouldn’t have that kind of money.”

  “Oh, must ‘av some talent then, eh.”

  Daniel nodded. The carriage jolted harder this time, whether they did it on purpose he wasn’t sure, but he supposed as much considering the way the guy had acted.

  The only sound now was that of the air whooshing past, and it was getting unbearable to listen to. “Won’t your parents miss you?” Daniel asked.

  “Na, they work all the time. I’ve been looking forward to this day for three years. I wonder what we’ll be taught.”

  Daniel shrugged.

  “I bet your mum did bribe ‘im, if not with money, then with what,” he said winking.

  “No. Why, would your mum do that?”

  “If she was ever around,” he chortled.

  Daniel butted his lips and nodded, not wanting to pick up conversation again he pulled the hood of his jacket up.

  Each time the carriage jerked to lower or higher itself, it felt sharper and more painful than the last. They carriage was eventually full, each of them acting the same way the last person had—demanding and stubborn. Daniel kept out of their small talks and petty arguments.

  He stared out of the window, seeing mountains and huts, he almost fell to sleep, but then they’d say “hey you” and try bring him into conversation. He hoped his pretend sleep act worked, boring himself by thinking about Jac’s comment of how these people wouldn’t like him if he’d told them where he was from.

  The carriage slammed against the ground again and Daniel tsked in pain. He listened to the blatant disregard for the men shifting at the reins. Daniel was imagining them burst out in their own fit of laughter after the ride they’d just given.

  “Great job, twins. Now, let them out,” a familiar voice said. Daniel peered out of the window to see Reuben walking besi
de the carriage with his staff in hand and a limp.

  Both of the carriage doors swung open and they all barged out at once, scowling and snarling at the men. The two men jumped on top of the carriage, untying the luggage and kicking them off. Daniel saw the boxes flying off the roof and climbed out of the carriage to stare up at them. One of the men jumped down with Daniel’s suitcase and handed him it. Daniel thanked the man and took the suitcase.

  Reuben approached Daniel with wide eyes and a grin on his face. “They’re not usually that nice. In fact they’ve been known to get into fights for their disrespect.”

  “Really?” Daniel asked.

  “Yeah, maybe because they’re like you. I found them in the slums years ago, but they still hold a grudge to people like me,” Reuben said.

  Daniel stared at the two men standing on the roof of the carriage looking proud, and staring with a little disdain at the people picking up the things that had fallen out of their suitcases, shouting and cussing at the men.

  “The tour will start when you’ve all stopped faffing about,” Reuben said his voice boomed into a growl.

  Chapter Five

  Slabs of grey stone marked the pathways. The main path was full of people as they rushed ahead, dragging their suitcases with them to the huge building at the end. Daniel stared as people barged passed him, cussing and then rushing along.

  The main building so it seemed was three floors at least and four white marble pillars that looked as though they were keeping the building in place. Daniel continued to gape, fascinated by the shimmer catching his eyes as the sun passed the windows.

  “Hey, move!” a boy said, pushing Daniel into a hedge running along the path.

  Daniel jumped back to his feet as people passing by sniggered. He dusted himself off and picked the handle of his suitcase, switching hands at the strain of his wrist. He continued to follow the path, staring at the building—it was after all the tallest building he’d ever seen. He smiled to himself, as he saw the carving above the entrance doors, it read, The Croft Academy for Templar Island’s most prestigious children.

  “Prestigious,” he repeated to himself in a mumble.

  Reuben limped passed Daniel and climbed the steps to the front door. He stood and stared down. “You see the vast land?” Reuben said signalling out to everything behind Daniel.

  Daniel turned to see twelve or so people grouped behind him, listing to Reuben.

  “Well my grandfather sculpted it with his bare hands, every seed, every brick, each piece of marble fussed together. He did it. So if I see a soul step foot on the grass or touch the hedges, I will think of it as disrespect. Don’t do it,” he said, and then turned to a tall boy. “I’ll guide this tour.” The boy nodded and headed back inside.

  Reuben then led the group inside. Everything was alive with action; parlour maids and butlers crossed paths but never uttered a word and never made eye contact. Students hurried around, some carrying things, some leading tours, but everyone was doing something. Everyone had a purpose here.

  “The people here are very well-trained, and no, my maids and butlers are not here for you, not like they have been at your manor houses. This is a school, and they serve me. The only thing that they do here for you, is washing clothes, and that’s only if your clothes are deposited at the correct times,” Reuben explained, his eyes sunk into his face as he scanned the crowd of worried faces. “Manuals are in your rooms.” He smiled and turned to his right. “This room is the assembly room, where you’ll be every Monday morning for the weekly briefing.”

  “He’s a jerk,” the boy who’d been sat opposite Daniel in the carriage whispered to him.

  There was a moment of a silence while Reuben glanced at the boy who’d insulted him, but only Daniel had seemed to notice.

  “And the room to your left,” Reuben said, heading to the open door at the opposite side of the grand foyer. “This is the dining hall, here you’ll have three meals per day, ready for you at set times. That too will be in your manuals,” he said, “now, if you’d like to leave you luggage. We shall go upstairs to see where classes will be taken.”

  They all dropped of their suitcases, and followed Reuben up the staircase. As they climbed the black-silvery stone staircase, their shoes clacked and the slightest whisper echoed louder. On the second floor there were five closed doors, each a dark mahogany with a brass handle and a silver plaque at the top with a name etched into each.

  Reuben went through the names of each teacher and what they did, but Daniel couldn’t focus. He remembered a few of the classes; life energy where he’d learn the basics, and offensive and defensive energy, he only remembered that because he was thinking that he’d need to prove himself there.

  Before they left the second floor to the ground floor, a boy spoke up. At first he’d held his hand high, and then he fought his way to the front of the crowd. It was the boy who sat across from Daniel on the way to the school.

  “Third floor?” he asked.

  Reuben grinned; the lines in his face had depth; they carved a sinister shade. “Well, it’s not a good thing if you’re sent to the third floor, because that is my floor, with my chambers and my office. I suggest you think wisely before acting out in class towards a member of staff or student.” The boy gulped and rolled down his sleeves. “Now, if you’d go downstairs, you’ll find your room passes.”

  They all rushed away and Daniel followed, his head cocking sharply to get every angle of the building. Reuben grabbed a hold of Daniel’s shoulder before he took a step.

  “Come. I need to speak with you,” Reuben said, starting for the stairs of the third floor.

  Daniel hurried after him, trying to keep up with Reuben’s strides and whacks at the steps with his staff. He kept quiet, even though his heart was now lodged in his throat and aching at his forming Adam’s apple.

  Reuben stood in front of a door; it was a large black wooden door with his name scrawled in brass letters. “Don’t worry.” He grinned as Daniel forced himself to smile. Reuben pushed the door open to his office.

  An icy draft came rolling out of the dark room. Daniel turned to look at Reuben whose hands were mid-motion, flicking at his wrists. Several snapping sounds collected from all over the room. Thick pieces of rope tied the drapes back and light flooded it, revealing a large dark pine desk with a black leather chair and two leather settees in front of the desk. The walls were white-washed and the floor was black stone, Daniel could feel how cool it was on his feet from beneath his worn down shoes.

  “It’s a nice office, when I’m being nice,” Reuben said grinning. He had a waddle as though he was trying not to put pressure on his other leg.

  “You can take a seat if you like,” Reuben said swivelling his chair and falling back into it, oohing and aahing.

  Daniel shook his head. “I’m okay.”

  Reuben raised an eyebrow and then shrugged. “I have some things for you, because you’re less fortune in the finance are, and with all those competitive kids downstairs.”

  Daniel grinned as if ‘competitive’ was emphasised to mean arrogant. “Well, they’ll mature into power though. Won’t they?”

  “Of course, just like you’ll mature further. That’s why I brought you here, because there’s something about you that has promise. That, and you won’t take this school for granted or treat it like a summer vacation,” Reuben said opening one of his desk drawers. “I have a top of the range mobile phone and a laptop computer.”

  Daniel’s brow creased in confusion.

  “Technology,” Reuben continued, “it’s all fine, they are easy to use, and they are already set up to the server, and in your phone I’ve listed all the staff, but once you make friends your contact list will build itself,” he explained. “But not literally.” He chimed a short laugh.

  “Oh,” Daniel replied.

  “You’ll get used to it. So here.” Reuben held them out as Daniel squeezed between the two soft leather settees.

  “Thanks,” he s
aid, taking them, almost dropping them like dead weight immediately. “They weigh a lot,” he said smiling.

  “That’s technology for you, and you’re welcome. I’m sure I don’t have to say this, but don’t make friend with the wrong sort. Off you go, your room key will be downstairs.”

  As soon as Daniel got his key he didn’t know what to do next. He found a small map in a frame against the wall in the foyer. There were three buildings hand drawn on the map, also the routes which you had to take to get there. Two of the buildings were dorm rooms, one for boys and the other for girls.

  Daniel set off on the path to the boys’ dorm rooms, and found a path which he didn’t quite recall seeing on the map. He turned, clutching the laptop and phone anxiously against his chest. He set off to see where it led, getting a few steps before a large barn was in view.

  “You lost?” a familiar voice asked.

  Daniel clenched a tighter hold and turned to see the boy from the carriage standing steps away from him. “Which way are the dorms?” he asked casually.

  “Big buildin’, back there?” he replied signalling with his thumb over his shoulder.

  “Oh,” he said, realising just how obvious it had been.

  “That’s a nice laptop,” the boy said, his eyes gleaming.

  “Thanks.” Daniel started walking off to the dorm rooms.

  “My name’s Taner by the way,” he said walking after Daniel.

  “I’m Daniel.”

  “Yeah, I think you said. So, what room number do you have?” he asked.

  Daniel started to rush. “Not sure, it’s in my pocket, but it’s on the third floor.”

  “I’m on the third floor as well! So, how come you didn’t say your family comes from money?” Taner asked trying to keep up.

  Daniel started to stutter. “Didn’t know I had to,” he said in defence.

  “Well, you must have some serious money, like I said, this is my third try, and Reuben said I was lucky to get in.”

  Daniel stopped frozen outside the dorm building. Two large life-size panthers carved out of white marble with life-like polished turquoise gems for eyes. Daniel knew one thing about panthers, how they really looked; he knew that all too well after being attacked by one.