Shine Light Read online

  She waved back. ‘I’m coming. Make sure Markes and Suki are first.’

  He hoisted his thumb in the air and spun on his heel.

  Naif allowed a trickle of jubilation to steal into her body, starting at her toes and spreading through every part of her. She turned back to Lenoir, a smile blossoming on her face.

  But the Riper’s bed was empty. Lenoir had gone.

  Marianne de Pierres is the author of the multi-award-nominated Parrish Plessis and Sentients of Orion series. The Parrish Plessis series has been translated into eight languages and adapted into a role-playing game. She is also the Davitt award-winning author of the Tara Sharp humorous crime series, written under the pseudonym Marianne Delacourt. Her first series for young adults, the Night Creatures trilogy, is receiving rave reviews.

  Read more about the series at www.burnbright.com.au

  A special thank you to Zoe Walton for championing this series and to Kimberley Bennett for taking over the editing duties and making me work hard. These are your books as well as mine.

  And to Tara, who manages all my wild ideas with good humour.

  ‘To enter the endless night of Ixion is to enter a darkly glamorous world in which danger and pleasure dance to an intoxicating beat – as irresistible to us as it is to Retra.’

  —Isobelle Carmody, bestselling author of The Obernewtyn Chronicles on Burn Bright

  ‘In Ixion, Marianne de Pierres has constructed the perfect metaphor for teenage anxiety: a foreign world loosed from all past certainties, inhabited by symbolically costumed cliques engaged in complex hostilities. Your worst fears lurk just off the poorly lit paths, and the only relief comes from the brief sleep of the petite nuit, or in surrendering yourself to the music that throbs through the clubs. Read Burn Bright and feel a shiver of recognition, even as Ixion’s strangeness casts its spell.’

  —Margo Lanagan, author of Tender Morsels

  ‘The world created by de Pierres is fascinating, strange, and dangerous. It is a riveting read.’

  —Rebecca Kemble, Reading Time on Burn Bright

  ‘An intense, unpredictable and addictive page turner . . . a one-of-a-kind experience. Marianne de Pierres is an amazing and ingenious writer.’

  —girlaboutbooks.blogspot.com on Burn Bright

  ‘If Isobelle Carmody and Melissa Marr had a book baby together, Burn Bright would be the finished product! Adventurous, edgy, provocative, dangerous . . . and kind of thrilling with each and every page you turn.’

  —talesoftheinnerbookfanatic.blogspot.com

  ‘In a YA market fast becoming saturated in dystopias Burn Bright shines out in the crowd. It’s ominous and daring and spectacular.’

  —inkcrush.blogspot.com

  ‘Burn Bright introduces one of the most exciting worlds I’ve encountered since Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series, or Isobelle Carmody’s Obernewtyn, and it will surely appeal to fans of both.’

  —Holly Harper, Readings Books

  ‘The sequel to Burn Bright firmly cements Marianne de Pierres’ reputation as one of the finest writers of young adult speculative fiction . . . Breathtaking, with wonderfully drawn scenes and dialogue, Angel Arias is a terrific sequel examining faith, friendship, exploitation and the abuse of hegemony in subtle and thought-provoking ways . . . This tale leaves you wanting more.’

  —Karen Brooks, author of the Curse of the Bond Riders series

  ‘A truly magnificent sequel . . . With action and heart-pounding suspense around every corner you’ll be simply captivated by Naif’s story.’

  —sassybooklovers.blogspot.com on Angel Arias

  ‘A chilling tale of a world fallen into almost unimaginable decay and strong characters working to pick it back up again. Atmospheric and intoxicating, I recommend it for fans of darker paranormals and dystopias.’

  —inthegoodbooks.blogspot.com on Angel Arias

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  Version 1.0

  Shine Light

  9781742753249

  Copyright © Marianne de Pierres 2012

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  A Random House Australia book

  Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd

  Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060

  www.randomhouse.com.au

  Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at www.randomhouse.com.au/offices

  First published by Random House Australia in 2012

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

  Author: de Pierres, Marianne

  Title: Shine light [electronic resource] / Marianne de Pierres

  ISBN: 978 1 74275 324 9 (ebook)

  Series: de Pierres, Marianne. Night creatures; 3

  Target audience: For young adults

  Subjects: Fantasy fiction

  Dewey number: A823.4

  Cover illustration by Jarosław Kubicki, www.kubicki.info

  Cover and internal design by Astred Hicks, www.designcherry.com

  Typesetting and eBook production by Midland Typesetters, Australia

  There’s so much more at

  randomhouse.com.au

  Table of 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