by Dan Cash
Except for two. Sofia and Freddie Vassallo. They were the anomaly – the only two people in The South who had not forgotten their magic. They still believed, because they had not seen the magic of their land fade into near non-existence.
That was when Joz decided that Sofia must fall in love with Max Myers. And fall in love they did.
Manipulation was how Joz controlled The South. And Bernard could not watch any longer. He confronted the Clemari, told him that was he was doing was immoral and unethical. And that’s when Bernard realised that he too had been manipulated.
He had done exactly what Joz had requested, no questions asked, and as soon as he doubted his past actions he was thrown into a cell. By trying to prevent Eimaj from becoming omnipotent, Joz himself had gained complete power over everyone and everything. He was not quite as bad as the enemy. He was the better of two evils.
Several weeks of living, or surviving, in a small concrete prison had driven Bernard mad. If he ever escaped, which he knew he would not, he would stop Joz. He would kill him if he must. Joz Domen was more of a threat to The South than he was a protector and all Bernard could do was hope that Max would do better.
Then one day, a young girl arrived in his cell clutching a bracelet, making him a promise that together they would escape. She was working for Eimaj. Or so she had told Max.
The truth was that the girl, Anne-Alicia, was trying to help her friends. Her problem: she was being constantly watched by Eimaj. And the only place Eimaj would not be able to see her was in these cells, so protected by Naegean magic that the only way to see inside was to be inside. Eimaj’s mind-magic was useless now.
Cleverness had saved Anne-Alicia’s life and now she planned to use her wisdom to save her friends, too. Matthew had been killed, but that was not her fault. Had Eimaj chosen the clever girl first both Hurburtans would have lived.
She broke Eimaj’s orders only once, when she told Max that Matthew was still alive. Hopefully, to Eimaj it would seem that Anne-Alicia was giving Max false hope in an attempt to break him further. In reality, Anne-Alicia gave Max false hope because hope is a much more effective weapon than revenge.
Acting on Eimaj’s orders, she helped Max bring his friends together by bringing up ScribblePads. Only, Eimaj had not considered that her plan was foolish. To fight Max alone would have been an easy task, but to fight Max, Freddie, Sofia, and Luc was a one-way road to defeat. She would be outnumbered and the bond she had with her army was laughable compared to the relationships between those four people who would stand side-by-side in battle.
And now Anne-Alicia was doing her final task – bringing Bernard to Eimaj. Unwittingly, Eimaj had put her trust in the wrong person. But as she could not see Anne-Alicia and Bernard’s meeting, she would not know that she was being disobeyed.
Anne-Alicia’s proposal was very simple, in the end. Work with Eimaj, learn her strategy and help her fight. They may have to commit crimes or do things against their will, but it was imperative that Eimaj trust them both. That way, when the time was right, they could use their inside information and aid Max in bringing her down.
Together, they might be able to help their friends and rescue The South. There was a real chance to do something great, to make up for all the horrible things that Bernard had watched Joz do.
Maybe, just maybe, Anne-Alicia would be reunited with Sofia and the others, and Bernard would see his wife and daughter one more time.
END
Acknowledgements
I’m one of those people who love to read the extra stuff at the back of books, so I thought I’d probably enjoy writing it too. Right, here goes – my attempt at the ‘Acknowledgements’.
I’ll try to keep it short and simple.
All of these people have my eternal gratitude because without them, I would never have accomplished this:
*Mum, for simply being the best mother a man could hope to have.*
*My awesome big sister, Jess, who read drafts and edits and got excited with me about a story that I couldn’t wait to share.*
*Nich Angell, the super-talented artist who created the book cover.*
*Maria, Arianne & Sheryl.*
*Kim & Tom, for their patience.*
*Mrs Pittaway, whose name I stole shamelessly to fulfil a role in fiction that reflects reality.*
*All my family and friends for having more confidence in me than I could ever have in myself.*
*LT, who was there throughout my LotL research and helped to define my 5 stars and their Lighters.*
*Every single fangirl and fanboy. The people who have lost the ability to even and whose autocorrect recognises ‘asdfghjkl’ as a word. Those who, like me, find it impossible to just like something, but instead become compulsively obsessed with every aspect. The boys and girls who dedicate so much of their time to musicians or movies or books, because they have found idols and heroes, inspiration and reason, happiness and life… Because I had a brief insight into your wonderfully impossible world and born from it were some of the chapters I enjoyed writing more than any other.*
*But ultimately, my appreciation goes to my grandparents, Mum & Lee, Dad & Sally, Jess, Daisy, and Josie.*
*And you.*
Table of Contents
The South
PART ONE
Max
Freddie
Haze
Sofia
Max
Jimmie
Max
Freddie
Haze
PART TWO
Sofia
Matthew
Russell
Anne-Alicia
Lornea
Freddie
Max
Freddie
Max
Sofia
Jimmie
Freddie
Lornea
Max
Freddie
PART THREE
Prisoner 001
Russell
Max
Haze
Max
Sofia
Prisoner 001
Max
Joz
Anne-Alicia
Freddie
Prisoner 001
Jimmie
Russell
Max
Luc
Max
Freddie
Russell
Max
Max and Sofia
Haze
Bernard Harding
Acknowledgements
