Shine Light

  About the Book

  They smelled of her first days on Ixion; the strangeness, the exotic temptation. Would she ever have come had she known Ixion’s bitter secrets?

  Ixion. The island of ever-night.

  If she had a choice, Naif wouldn’t go back. But her friends will die if she doesn’t find a cure for the badges that are slowly killing them, and her brother is there, fighting against the Ripers who hold everyone in thrall. And Naif has knowledge that might save them all.

  First she must solve the mystery of Ixion’s eternal night. Then she must convince everyone – rebels and revellers alike – to join her cause. And all the while, she must fight the urge to go to Lenoir – her greatest love, her mortal enemy.

  The secrets of Ixion must be revealed. The evils must be stopped. A new dawn will come.

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title

  Dedication

  Chapter 01

  Chapter 02

  Chapter 03

  Chapter 04

  Chapter 05

  Chapter 06

  Chapter 07

  Chapter 08

  Chapter 09

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  About the Author

  Acknowledgements

  Praise for the Night Creatures Trilogy

  Copyright Notice

  More at Random House Australia

  For every young person who has battled with the ‘growing up’ demon.

  And for Ivan, Marcus and Jules, who made being a mother so much fun.

  Ruzalia’s airship swayed and shuddered through the night towards Ixion. In the main cabin, the pirate traced impatient laps; head down, wild red hair loose at her shoulders. Her breeches were crumpled and her white shirt marked by a stain of old blood. Mesree’s blood.

  Had she slept in the few days since she’d dropped Naif and Markes on Grave? It doesn’t seem so, Naif thought. Ruzalia’s eyes were swollen with fatigue and her smooth white brow was creased with fury and frustration. And grief. She’d lost Mesree and her island, Sanctus, to a coup. All the young people she’d risked her life to save from Ixion had rebelled against her, frightened by the knowledge that they had only a short time left to live.

  Naif exchanged concerned glances with Charlonge. Her friend had stayed behind with the pirate and had been the first to greet Naif and her allies when they were winched back into the body of the airship.

  Though Char appeared less ravaged than Ruzalia, it seemed that even in a few days, her cheekbones had become more prominent in her face. They’d all suffered; too little food, too much worry.

  ‘Tell me what you know!’ Ruzalia demanded.

  The pirate had allowed them a meagre meal, some bitter-tasting beer and a few hours of sleep before commanding them to come to the main cabin. Now they sat around the table: Markes, Emilia, Char, Jarrold, Liam and Naif.

  ‘We hid in the rafters above the Grave Elders’ meeting. They spoke of many things,’ Naif began.

  ‘I will know every single piece of it!’

  Naif glanced at Jarrold and Liam, the two who had also listened in on the Elders on Grave. Neither knew Ruzalia, other than by reputation. Their nervousness now they were aboard the feared pirate’s ship was plain. Naif knew that neither would speak unless they had to. But while Jarrold couldn’t hide his curiosity, Liam stared at the floor, attempting to keep his disfigured arm from sight. So it fell to Naif to tell what had happened. Ruzalia wouldn’t wait any longer for their story. And Naif didn’t blame her. Too much hung on what they’d learned.

  She kept her recount spare, asking Markes for his opinion once or twice. He was next to Emilia, who sat stiffly, terrified yet trying not to show it.

  ‘When the Ripers drain us on Ixion, they don’t just do it to help them evolve the Night Creatures. Part of our lifeblood is used to make a youth elixir for the Elders. The Elders and the Ripers have a pact and have been working together for a long time. The Elders want young people to go to Ixion so that they can steal their youth.’

  ‘Barbaric!’ said Ruzalia, pounding the table. ‘Sinful!’ She stared at Naif, eyes narrowed. ‘I had wondered if they’d sought to shed themselves of the young dissidents in your city – those who may cause trouble – by letting them run away, but this is . . . this is even worse.’ She slapped her hand against her forehead. ‘And what of the other places from which the young come to Ixion? Lidol-Push? Are they part of this?’

  ‘No!’ said Charlonge hotly. ‘Our leaders would not do such a thing.’

  ‘How can you know?’ said Ruzalia.

  ‘I did not hear of any other places mentioned, but we should be careful. Who knows how far the Ripers have reached. Returning to any of them might be dangerous,’ said Naif. She glanced from her friend back to the pirate. ‘They seek to undermine you, Ruzalia. The beads the young ones on Sanctus possessed were given to Jud by your merchant at Port of Patience. The Chief Elder paid him to do it.’

  ‘Faranzo sold them to Jud?’

  ‘If that is your chief merchant’s name, then yes.’

  ‘You have done well to learn this. Better than I expected,’ said Ruzalia.

  Despite her meal and her nap, Naif felt weary enough to die. Their flight though Grave, and the discovery that the people who governed her world were no more than cannibals feeding off their young, was too horrible to believe; the ugliest of truths, which had left her drained. ‘Any news from Sanctus and Ixion?’

  ‘They continue to run riot on my island. And there is worse on Ixion.’

  ‘Worse?’ This came from Markes. ‘How can there be worse?’

  ‘It seems Lenoir has killed another of his own on Ixion and hides from Brand in the caves. And Dark Eve and Clash are collecting more followers.’

  Naif felt a warm rush of relief to hear that her brother was still alive. Though he’d shunned her and not listened to her when first she’d found him on Ixion, he’d also risked his life to save the Peaks – those who had become too old for the island. Joel – Clash, as he was now known – was brave and determined and she loved him for it.

  But what did Ruzalia mean that Dark Eve was collecting followers? Did the young ones on Ixion know what the Ripers were doing? Were they rebelling?

  And Lenoir? Naif had tried to cut her connection with him in those last hours on Grave. What terrible things had happened to him in the silence?

  ‘Who has Lenoir killed?’ Naif asked quietly, trying not to appear worried.

  ‘Not Brand or Modai. Another,’ said Ruzalia.

  ‘But why?’

  ‘Why is unclear, but we do know one certain thing.’

  ‘What’s that?’ asked Jarrold, speaking for the first time. His ruddy face was still smudged with dirt but his eyes were bright and focused. Of all of them, Naif thought him the most resilient in mind and body.

  Ruzalia pinned him with her glare. ‘Remind me of your name.’

  ‘Jarrold. Emilia’s brother.’

  ‘Aaaah, yes. Naif’s telling has shown you to be brave, Jarrold, Emilia’s brother. But are you brave enough for what comes next?’

  ‘What comes next?’ he asked.

  ‘It is hard to predict, but nothing on Ixion is ever as it seems. Whatever happens, you are not likely to be prepared for it.’

  The young boy’s eyes began to gleam with excitement. ‘I can’t wait to get there.’

  Ruzalia gave a dry laugh. ‘Brave and an adventurer, no less.’

  ‘A reckless one at times,’ said Markes, cuffing Jarrold lightly. ‘Ruzalia’s right, we shouldn’t u
nderestimate the Ripers. I imagine they can do things we’ve not even seen.’

  ‘You imbue them with magical power!’ snorted the pirate.

  ‘Not magical,’ Naif said in support of Markes. ‘But not of this world.’

  Ruzalia sat down abruptly at the head of the table and reached for her wooden cup. After a long swallow, she looked at each of them in turn, finally resting back on Naif. ‘What is it you suggest we do, then?’

  ‘One other thing we heard involves the uthers. The Ripers are holding their queen hostage –’

  ‘The uthers have a queen?’

  ‘Yes. We know that the uthers supply all the things the Ripers need. The clothes, the food, the cleaning. But they’re being blackmailed to do so. If we could free their queen, they may side with us against the Ripers. I believe they are slaves.’

  Ruzalia’s eyes glimmered with new hope. ‘You have the kernel of a sound idea there, Naif. But where are they keeping the queen?’

  ‘I never heard it mentioned. But we must go back there to search.’

  ‘What about your connection with Lenoir? Can you use that to find out?’ asked Markes.

  Naif shook her head and looked at the table. ‘Our bond is not strong currently and he would never give me such . . . dangerous information.’

  ‘Dark Eve and Clash may have heard whispers,’ said Charlonge.

  ‘Perhaps,’ Naif agreed, ‘though surely they would have mentioned it?’

  ‘You’ve been gone from Ixion some weeks. Who knows what they’ve learned in that time. We should start with them,’ said Ruzalia.

  ‘There’s still one thing we didn’t do,’ said Markes. Everyone looked at him. ‘The badges. We didn’t find out how to reverse them.’

  Naif nodded. ‘You’re right. But I believe the uthers will know. They make everything for the Ripers; that must include the badges.’

  ‘I hope so,’ said Markes solemnly.

  She sent him a questioning look.

  He slowly lifted his hand from his lap and rotated his wrist so they could all see his palm. His Ixion badge was glowing like coal and little bits of it had begun to peel away.

  ‘Markes,’ whispered Naif. Her breath choked in her throat. Not him.

  Emilia saw the seriousness of their faces and spoke up. ‘What? What’s wrong?’

  No one answered.

  Markes closed his hand to make a fist and with the other picked up his cup and took a sip of water. Somehow he managed not to tremble. ‘Everyone who arrives on Ixion is fitted with a badge. It glows when you need to rest.’

  ‘You need more rest then?’

  ‘No. My time for rest – they call it petite nuit – is gone. My badge is expiring. You see, Em, Ruzalia rescued many young people like us and took them to Sanctus before they were withdrawn.’

  ‘Withdrawn?’ Emilia’s brow creased. ‘Isn’t that when the Ripers drain the young people?’

  ‘Yes – although I’m not sure how many of them know about that.’

  Naif swallowed and cleared her throat. ‘Joel promised he would spread word of it. Many more will have heard by now.’

  ‘What do you mean your badge is expiring, then?’ asked Emilia.

  ‘Even after Ruzalia got us to Sanctus, the badges kept working for a while. But then they began to fail, as if we’d been withdrawn. Those people . . . died.’

  Emilia stared open-mouthed at Ruzalia.

  The pirate’s face creased with frustration. ‘I’ve tried to find a way to revoke the badges. They’re made by a science far greater than any I know.’

  Silence fell around the table again.

  Naif watched as Emilia took Markes’s hands in her own and held them tenderly against her breast. ‘How long do you have?’ she whispered.

  Markes shrugged, awkward with her gesture. ‘I’m not sure.’

  ‘No!’ Emilia’s shout pierced through Naif, echoing how she felt inside.

  The girl let go of Markes’s hands and stood, turning to Naif, her face full of anger and demand. ‘You must stop this happening! You must!’

  There was malice in the approaching darkness. Naif could feel it as they sailed closer to Ixion. The loss of light was a gradual thing, the sun on one horizon swimming in orange while the dark seeped into their skin from the other direction.

  No one spoke much as the cabin lamps switched on and the sunset was lost in their wake. Ruzalia handed out masks and dull red beads and instructed them all to place the beads under their tongues.

  ‘I’ve discovered it dampens the hyper-reaction,’ she said as she sank into her seat.

  The bead tasted bitter but Naif let it dissolve slowly in her mouth as she toyed with the mask in her hands. She remembered the trip to Ixion on the barge; how she’d felt turned inside out as they crossed into the Golden Spiral. And how Rollo had fallen in her lap and buried his face in her breasts.

  She glanced at the others. They sat rigid, their expressions hidden by their masks. At the end of the table Markes had an arm clamped around Emilia, locking her into her seat.

  Naif swivelled away from them all to avoid any embarrassing contact and slipped her mask into place. A heavy, thick blackness fell on her. She plummeted down the ferocious curve of its wave, unable to breathe or move. It crashed over her, pushing her deep beneath it. Unable to hold air in her lungs any longer, she gasped, open-mouthed. The darkness rushed inside her, flooding through her body like a cool sting.

  ‘Naif ? Naif !’

  Charlonge called to her from somewhere but the dark suffocated her answer.

  ‘Naif!’ She heard a much more strident voice this time, accompanied by a slap that made her blink repeatedly. Suddenly her mask was reefed away and she was back on the deck of Ruzalia’s ship, looking up at Charlonge and the pirate.

  She wet her lips. ‘I don’t think the bead worked,’ she whispered.

  Ruzalia shrugged. ‘We passed into the spiral hours ago. Get up. We have things to plan.’

  Shaking off the fogginess that clung to her mind, she righted herself and faced the others, who congregated around the table sipping hot sugar drinks under the glow of the interior lamps. Other than Naif, Emilia had fared the worst with the transition, her face pale with shock, hands trembling uncontrollably. Jarrold and Markes sat close on either side of her, keeping her upright.

  To Naif’s surprise, Charlonge spoke first.

  ‘There are books in Vank that tell of the beginnings of Ixion. If I can get to them, they may help us find a way to revoke the badges and to fight the Ripers.’

  Ruzalia nodded her approval. The pirate’s ease with the idea suggested they had discussed this already while Markes and Naif had been on Grave.

  ‘How would you get in there? You would be recognised. And so would Markes and I,’ said Naif.

  ‘I could help her,’ said Jarrold. Other than an unusual flush to his cheeks, the transition didn’t seem to have affected him much.

  ‘His face would be fresh to the Ripers and hence invisible,’ said Ruzalia.

  ‘You told me once that you came to Ixion for the books,’ Naif said to Charlonge.

  She nodded. ‘On Lidol-Push I read the story of a monk who travelled many places. He spoke of the charts and history books that he’d seen on an island – books about the world and the Tri-Suns. I used his reckoning figures and worked out that they had to be here.’

  ‘The books were hidden?’ asked Jarrold with a tinge of excitement in his voice.

  ‘Yes. I searched in all the churches when I arrived but they had only stories like the ones I’d read at home. I thought, perhaps, that I’d come to Ixion for no reason. Then one day Brand came to Vank and locked herself in the gallery. She visited several more times, many days apart, always locking the door. When she left the first time, I scoured every nook of the gallery until I found them. Someone, perhaps one of the monks, had hidden Ixion’s history in the walls.’

  ‘Maybe they thought to preserve it?’

  She looked thoughtful. ‘I expect w
hen the Ripers came they had to flee. Perhaps they couldn’t take their books with them.’

  ‘I could get them for you. But I have no badge,’ said Jarrold. ‘What if they want to see it?’

  Ruzalia stood. ‘They’re not watching the churches as much. The split between Lenoir and Brand means they’re disorganised. If you’re careful, you’ll be able to avoid them.’

  ‘Liam and I will find Clash and Eve,’ said Naif, ‘to see if they know about the uther queen. You can bring the books to us there.’

  ‘They will be heavy. I doubt we can carry them far alone.’

  ‘The Grotto is close to Vank. Let’s meet there. We’ll bring help.’

  Ruzalia spoke next. ‘And I will travel to Port of Patience to visit my merchant. We have much to talk about, he and I. When I return we must act, one way or another.’

  The coldness in her voice made Naif flinch. She did not envy the merchant. The trip to Port of Patience would take a full day and night, which meant Ruzalia would be gone for two days at least. Naif hoped that would be enough time to find out what they needed.

  The pirate added, ‘I’ll set you down on the Lesser Paths near Vank. There is less chance the Ripers will see the ship there.’

  Naif, Markes and Charlonge nodded. They all knew the area she meant.

  ‘Are you ready?’ asked the pirate.

  Silent nods were the reply.

  Ruzalia left the window and spoke into the narrow voice tube to one of her crew below. ‘Cut the engine and employ the draculins.’

  For long moments the ship dipped and bobbed with the change in speed. Then slowly they regained stability. Naif heard the whip of long wings slicing through the air. The draculins were towing them.

  ‘The gantry awaits,’ announced Ruzalia. She led them all down the narrow steps to the under-cabin of the ship. From there they would be lowered to the ground.