They walked for about five minutes before all the lights died out again and another light shone through from a door Reuben had opened at the end.
“You need to mind your heads and watch your steps, some drops are larger than others, also remember that you’re going around in a circle,” Reuben called out along the line, he headed down first.
There was a natural glow from the rock, and the smell of damp was already sticking to the fabric of their clothes. Daniel let his hand ride the smooth rock column as he walked down and around it. He admired how clean it had been kept and how there were little green moss patches in places.
“Now that you’re all here, you can ‘port here for lesson, and only then,” Reuben said, as everyone reached the opening at the bottom of the stairs.
“What if you can’t teleport?” a boy asked from the front of the crowd.
“It’s a shame, Ven, but you’re talented in other ways. It’s your earthly affinity which got you in this group, so don’t let the fact that you’re less than mobile get in the way,” Reuben said.
Ven nodded, it was still a compliment to be in the group.
“
Are you listening to me?
” Jac asked.
“Sorry, what?” Daniel blurted, louder than expected.
“Oh, nothing for you, Daniel,” Reuben said.
“
I think you should call the Divides now. I think that you should do something to stop him from calling a Luminary, for all you know it could take all your energy away from you and then what? No, Mia. Ever again!
”
Jac pleaded.
Daniel glanced around the room, he didn’t have a clue of what Jac was going on about, and he clocked eyes with Ven and felt sorry for him, not being able to teleport. Daniel butted his lips and kept quiet, making note of how lived in the room felt; crates stacked up on the floor and folded rags beside them, with a bunch of candles sat around in different spots.
“Gather round,” Reuben called, whacking his staff on the stone floor.
Everyone fell silent and came to a regimented circle. Daniel stood beside Mark, and across from Carlie and Jasper. He turned to look at Mark’s face, grinning like a child, looking over at Jasper who was also grinning. Teeth nipped at the nape of Daniel’s neck, sharp prongs pulled on the sleeve of his energy store. Jasper started giggling and Daniel shook his head, trying to pull away from the pain. But it was Mark, his hands at his side, strumming the air, Daniel glanced down to see the faint glow on Mark’s fingertips. Daniel gripped Mark’s hand and his fingers cracked.
“Ow!” Mark shouted and then barged out of the circle to stand beside Jasper.
“Is everything alright?” Reuben asked. Daniel bit his bottom lip, expecting a comeback, but Mark shook his head. “Good.”
“
Yeah, do it again, rile Reuben and he might not do the lesson,
”
Jac said in a panic-stricken breathe, “
you can’t let him go through with this!
”
Daniel coughed into his hands; he didn’t have any words to say but the cough sounded like he wanted to make some silence to speak.
“Sir, aren’t the Luminary sacred?” a girl asked. Daniel smiled at her, perhaps Jac had got to her as well.
“Very. And we all pray to them, or we should, and this is just like a prayer that we know they’re going to get,” Reuben replied, slipping a hand into his jacket pocket. “I have a special stone. This stone can call upon
any
Luminary, and they will appear, albeit not physically, but they will be here, and confined until we will them away.”
“
Ask him who he’s willing through, ask him!
” Jac’s voice rung rings inside Daniel’s ears.
Daniel coughed again, this time louder. “Who will come through?”
“The one with the power, the one at the head of the bloodline, but if you wanted to call for the ancestor you’d need another stone,” Reuben said, playing with the stone inside the red velvet pouch.
“Oh. Why are we calling a Luminary?”
“Because of what Leigh said, Luminary are the seven most sacred people in existence, who would be of more value than someone to whom we prayer to?” Reuben asked, raising his eye at Daniel.
“Won’t it anger them?”
“Do
you
think it will anger them, Daniel?” Everyone turned to Daniel as he flushed red and smirks formed on everyone’s faces.
Daniel shook his head.
“Good. We don’t need weak links here.”
“
Yes, Daniel. Yes, it will anger them,
” Jac said quietly, like he’d given up.
“I don’t think any of you are weak, if I did you wouldn’t be here. This has never been done before, but this stone, this has been in creation for hundreds of years,” Reuben said, holding the stone up, still inside the red velvet pouch. “You are the most gifted bunch at the Academy, and I believe that we have the power to summon a Luminary.”
“I thought we were going to be learning about energy stones and the healing qualities. Revolutionary things, being able to heal all those sick in the Lowerlands and letting the earth be your teacher. That sort of stuff,” Leigh butted in.
“Oh, this is revolutionary, and the first of many classes, may I add. Besides, you’ll go down in history as one of the people to summon a star, a planetary being, think of the demands, think of how we can control the wellbeing of all those sick, all of those people who have to die, just at the flick of a Luminary,” Reuben chuckled. “Leigh, if you object to any of this, then you know where the exit is.”
“No, I’ll stay,” Leigh said, with a grin on her face. Daniel finally placed her face, he’d seen her with Carlie, she was probably Mark’s girlfriend or something, she certainly belonged to
that
crowd.
“
You do realise that this is not what
you
want,
” Jac said, “
you want peace with these people. You need peace with them, if you go around acting all hostile then they’ll never trust you again.
”
“Never trust me again?” Daniel said under his breath.
“Don’t do this, you can’t do this.”
He didn’t know what Jac was talking about, but the Luminary were people who founded the power which he embodies, and from what he’d heard they were ruthless beings that enslaved an island with its natives.
Reuben finally picked the stone from the pouch; it was a dark polished yellow. “It was created with an acidic poison inside the core, and that makes escape impossible, well without first harming themselves. So to all of you who thought that their wrath would come crashing on you the minute they came, you’re wrong.” A hand rose to question him and he shooed it down. Reuben broke through the circle and placed the stone in the centre of it. “Focus all of your energy into that stone, and I’ll say a few words to summon Mercury, a popular choice, I do believe.”
The word,
Mercury
, started to ring inside Daniel’s ears like the word had a layer of negative intent. His throat constricted and his skin pimpled, he closed his eyes, he couldn’t put any energy into that rock. It was dangerous, and everyone in that room knew it.
“You need to
push
and
flex
your energy into the stone. Do not try moving it or calling out to the Divides to heat it or take it back into the stony breadth of the earth. Just let the flow of energy pass,” he continued.
Daniel opened his eye as his fingers started to tingle by his side, and the tips had started to spin beating veins of gold that weaved through the air, aiming for the stone. He made fists of his hands, but the faint yellow glows of purity were now wrapped snug around the stone. The more the stone tugged, the more lax his fists became and the faster the stone could reel his energy in.
“Taking from this energy, I call out. I call out to Mercury. Mercury, show yourself, or may your blood turn black and the poisons of the stone forever dwell inside you,” an enthralled Reuben let go of his walking aide and hailed his hands high above his head, “I call out to Mercury!”
The stone started to vibrate and clatter against the rock floor. A small tremor escaped and shook everyone. Daniel tripped over his feet and whacked his head against the wall. Nobody noticed. Daniel rubbed the back of his head and tried to focus his eyes, staring at the stone, it seemed to have split open and something was pouring out of it. There was a huge gasp as a figure appeared hissing and scratching at his neck. It was Mercury, but the half-conscious Daniel knew him as Karsar.
“What? Why am I here? And who the hell are you!?” Karsar snapped, the cuts on his neck started to heal as he stood straight.
Daniel scooted his back against the wall, trying to keep from Karsar’s view. He’d thought he’d finally gotten some peace, but this wasn’t peaceful at all.
“It’s a neat trick,” Reuben said.
“But you can’t keep me here,” Karsar said with a smirk.
“I think
we
can.” Reuben turned around to face the rest of the class, and they all broke out into excitable laughter. “So who wants to see what else we can do? Who wants to command Mercury, tell him what you want, make him will it!” Nobody spoke up. Nobody wanted to be in the wrath of the Luminary. “How about you, Ven, we all know that you can’t teleport, well he’s the guy. Ask him, go on. Tell him. He can’t say no.”
Ven glanced from Reuben to Karsar; Karsar’s eyes were black, like Daniel had remembered them to be. Ven shook his head and butted his lips shut, he didn’t hate the Luminary at all, the truth is, he prayed to them in his first year when he couldn’t teleport and that’s when his flare developed and he grasped a section of the Divides far greater than anyone that’s been before him at The Croft Academy.
“Ha. You called me to make his
wish
come true?” Karsar asked.
“No. I’m surprised you’re even co-operating and not trying to communicate with the other Luminary. You’ve probably only just come into your power, have you?” Reuben asked.
“I’ve had it long enough to know my way out of a summoning stone,” Karsar laughed.
“How often are you summoned?” Reuben lifted his eyebrows.
Karsar glanced from the floor and then to Reuben. “I’m never been summoned, people fear the thought, let alone go through with the act.”
“Oh, but you do realise that this stone is infused with a delicate balance of poisons at the core, and you heard the little
threat
when you were summoned, right?” he asked.
Daniel sputtered, sat at the back of the room, he continued to cough, shaking his bone structure out of the phase of lucidity. Everyone moved out of the way so that Reuben could see the person who seemed to interrupt. Daniel climbed to his feet, rubbing the back of his head and feeling a clump of his hair stuck together. He brought his fingers to his face. It was definitely blood on them. He felt again, but there was no cut.
“Something you’d like to say, Daniel?” Reuben asked. Daniel glanced up, realising that everyone was looking at him, even Karsar.
That was the first thing he noticed, Karsar, glancing at him, looking at him like he’d grew horns and was about to charge right through him. He sucked in a deep breath and his sight moved and met Reuben’s. “No sir, I fell.”
“Why don’t you ask Mercury for something,” Reuben said, “hmm.”
“Umm.” Daniel gulped. He wiped the blood on the back of his pants and looked up at Karsar, it was definitely him.
“No?” Reuben asked. “Anyone? Ven, guess we’re coming back to you then.”
Daniel could see a bright glowing fluid saturating the floor around the stone and Karsar’s feet. It was notably the colour of pure energy, but it might as well have been blood, he knew it was his, and it was being wasted. Daniel glanced up at Karsar, his jaw was clenched and he held himself with both arms, there was still that black look in his eyes, but too glossy for it to have been fear. He was trying not to cry.
“
He’s a Luminary. You’re looking in the eyes of a Luminary,
”
Jac’s faint voice, seemingly sharing the same body as Daniel for the moment as he partially left it.
All Daniel could think of was how people prayed to him, people prayed to Karsar, the guy who’d almost convinced Daniel that he was going crazy. He glanced down to the glowing pool of energy, and it was growing, enveloping the feet of everyone in the room. Nobody else could see it, and it didn’t touch Daniel, it wrapped a ring around him where it wouldn’t touch him.
“
You have a bad feeling about this. I told you they’d be furious. Will him away. Do something!
” Jac pushed.
“What like?” Daniel cupped a hand around his mouth and whispered. He glanced up at Karsar and shook his head, while he nodded back and smirked.
Daniel gritted his teeth and sighed, while the wicks in all the candles burst and the crevices of light died out. The room became locked in darkness. Daniel trudged his feet into the pool of pure energy. “I will you away, Karsar,” he whispered as everyone fumbled around in the dark.
“You did that! Mercury!” Reuben roared as the room returned to normal, and Karsar was gone.
Most of the group had vanished, teleported out, but Daniel, Jasper, Carlie and Ven stayed. Daniel stayed and played the part of equally shocked; he was, he didn’t know if it was going to work.
“Where’s he gone?” Reuben asked.
“Maybe the poison wasn’t strong enough,” Jasper said.
“Maybe you should just go home! That poison was the strongest toxin, and that clause, that
threat
, that was binding!” Reuben shouted. He closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose. “All of you, out, now!”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Daniel teleported to the path outside his dorm room block, although it left him feeling a little dazed and the spot where he’d hit the back of his head was still throbbing. He rubbed at it, and the lump was slowly swallowed back to normalcy. He sighed and embraced the gentle sunlight.
He reached the hall where his dorm room was. There were brash and heavy footsteps, a few curse words, and then something smashed. Daniel froze, it had to be his room, and it had to be Karsar coming for him. He teleported in and threw a bolt of air in every direction. His new mirror smashed and the duvet threw itself across the room. The intruder had been Jac.