Radiant

by Ela Lourenco

  RADIANT

  Book 1: Ascension Series

  Ela Lourenco

  Copyright © 2016 by Ela Lourenco.

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2016913414

  ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-5245-9338-4

  Softcover 978-1-5245-9337-7

  eBook 978-1-5245-9336-0

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

  Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

  Rev. date: 08/19/2016

  Xlibris

  800-056-3182

  www.Xlibrispublishing.co.uk

  746648

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Prologue

  The Lost Prophecy

  One shall be born from the sanctity of three

  In whom all powers combined shall be

  Part Sky, part earth, and something more

  To bring a new future to the fore.

  This messenger a prophet shall be

  For the new world order this child is key

  Nothing will endure nor unchanged remain

  All shall be transformed, nevermore the same.

  When the time is come and the stars align

  The child, touched by all that is divine,

  Will awaken finally, powerful as never before

  To strip away the world right to its very core.

  Chapter One

  The lush green grass shimmered in the bright purple light of the twin moons, its fluorescence undim med by the onset of darkness. Thick clusters of gargantuan trees rustled in the night’s damp earth scented breeze. The atmosphere was heavy and humid, tiny beads of moisture seeming to cling to the air itself as though suspended by some invisible force.

  A lone cloaked figure stepped out of the gathering of trees towards a small clearing hidden deep within the forest, her steps hurried yet stealthy. She strode purposefully towards a large mound of bronze-toned rocks and paused casting a furtive glance around. Content that nothing stirred and that no one had followed her she raised a delicate hand and drew a series of glyphs into the night air. Her fingers moved in a graceful dance as light green sparks flowed out merging together into an intricate series of symbols. Once the glyphs had faded she stepped closer to the rocks and waited with impatience as the bronze mass grumbled softly and opened, revealing an entrance way into an underground cave.

  Her cloak rippled behind her as she hurried through a labyrinthine tunnel system, steps sure as she retraced the path she had walked thousands of times before until she reached a large silver stone. Placing a hand on the centre of the seemingly impenetrable rock door she pushed hard, shards of light jetting out as her magicks unsealed the wards barring her entry. Once through, she flicked her hand and the door slammed shut with a silent groan.

  A tall, handsome man rushed towards her and grabbed her. “Finally!” he whispered pushing back her hood.

  A shiver of fear coursed through the woman’s entire body, as she looked up into those familiar amber eyes, memorising each detail of the face she knew almost better than her own.

  “Are you all right?” the man asked. “I hoped you would come, although it would have been better had you stayed away. It is almost time, you should not have risked coming tonight.”

  The woman pulled back slightly from his embrace and drew off her thick cloak revealing the bundle she had hidden inside.

  The man paled, his usual copper tone skin now an eerie shade of white. “Is that? But it cannot be! You weren’t due for—”

  “Danyl, come meet your babe,” she smiled in response.

  “But how?” Danyl breathed, looking at the tiny baby in her arms with awe. “It was not yet time.”

  “I think this little one is as impatient as me,” the woman laughed, passing the child to him.

  Danyl held onto the baby with a protective grasp, a myriad of conflicting emotions flitting across his face as he touched a finger lightly to his child’s cheek. Unshed tears glistened in those amber eyes as he looked at his beloved. “Thank you, I did not think I would get the chance to ever live this moment where we could all be together as a family.”

  “A good-looking babe for sure,” an older female voice came from behind them. “But then how could it have been otherwise with the two of you as parents?”

  “You came!” The younger woman bowed her head respectfully. “I did not expect to see you here tonight.”

  “I probably should not have come,” the older one agreed. “But then neither should you, not with what is at stake.”

  The young woman winced slightly at the gentle reprimand. She was right, she had taken a huge risk, but she did not regret it. Something had told her that she had to come here even if it were the last time she ever did so.

  “He must go now child,” the older woman said, her wise blue eyes filled with compassion.

  “What if I stayed?” Danyl questioned, unable to take his eyes off of his firstborn child. “Perhaps I could wait until the next one?”

  “No, Danyl, think of the danger, not just to you but to your wife and child. Would you bring death to their door?” She patted his arm, as he looked down shaking his head. “You cannot survive here on Xanos much longer,” she continued. “Already, you have grown weaker. There is no way to know when you will next have a chance to return home. You must go through the portal back to your own realm before it collapses.”

  “I wish we could go with you!” the young woman whispered. How could she and her child survive without him?

  “You cannot, my beloved,” Danyl stroked her hair gently, as they held their child, binding proof of their love, between them. “This little one is just newly born. The journey between realms is dangerous enough for a fully grown man.”

  “Hurry now!” the older woman urged. “Already I feel the stars realigning. You must go now if you mean to return home.”

  Danyl nodded, gave one last embrace to his wife and child before walking to where a large sphere of blue light glimmered. He stopped at the mouth of the portal and turned back to gaze at his family once more for what was likely to be the last time in his existence. He nodded at the older woman. “Take care of them,” and then disappeared into the lights just as they vanished out of sight.

  “I will, young Danyl,” the woman muttered to herself, as she held a now sobbing mother and baby. “Our very survival depends on it.”

  ******

  “Come on, Sena!”
an eager voice cajoled. “We’re going to miss the show!”

  Sena sighed as she put down the book she had been reading. It wasn’t that she wasn’t excited about the performers who recently arrived in their settlement, Jya. She was actually really looking forward to seeing their acrobatics and trying to figure out which magick they were using to achieve their moves, but she was at the best part of the book she had borrowed.

  “You can read it later!” her best friend, Phia, continued, pulling her up to her feet. “If we don’t go now, we’ll be stuck at the very back!”

  Sena smiled. Phia’s exuberance was practically infectious. They had been best friends since before they could talk, more like sisters, in fact, despite the fact that they were as different as night and day. Sena was the calm, studious one who liked to think things through first; whereas Phia was, well, she was like a whirlwind and hurricane all rolled into one with her larger than life personality and constant excitement over everything. “Okay, okay, I’m coming. Just let me put these books back.”

  “I’ll help!” Phia practically bounced up and down, as she unceremoniously dumped a small pile of book into the bag hanging on the wall and dragged them towards the mistall. “Hurry up, Sena!!” she complained.

  Sena followed her to the mouth of the mistall and carefully deposited the books inside the whirling particles of magick before climbing in herself. The particles sparked against her skin, as they transported her down from the tree house, tickling her skin with their bubble-like feel before leaving her at the door of her house. “I’ll just be a minute,” she called out to her friend as she went inside.

  “I see Phia found you,” a sweet voice chuckled.

  Sena grinned up at her mother. “She always does,” she laughed as she carefully put the books back on the shelves in the main living room. “Even when I spell the mistall and put it into privacy mode.”

  “Magic is all about intent, sweetheart,” her mother reminded her. “If you truly wanted to keep Phia out, it would work. Besides, I know you wanted to go to the show anyway.”

  Sena smiled at her mother. It didn’t matter at all to her that they weren’t related by blood. Allaya had adopted her when her parents died during the terrible Phylgia outbreak fifteen years ago. Sena had been mere days old, and by some sheer miracle, had managed to avoid infection. She felt sorry for her birth parents, but had no memory of them, only of the beautiful and gentle Allaya with her kind silver grey eyes and sun-touched auburn hair.

  Allaya was also the healer in their settlement. In fact, she had been one of the most renowned healers in all of Sylios, the capital city of all Xanos, before leaving the big city behind to help battle the terrible Phylgia contagion, which had struck Jya all those years ago.

  “Xanos to Sena,” her mother teased her out of her reverie. “Phia will have a fit if you don’t join her already!”

  Sena put the last book on the shelf. “Are you coming to watch too?”

  Allaya nodded. “I will if I find the time. I have some herbs to find, we are low on some of them and I would like to restock the medicine room before the season changes.”

  “Okay,” Sena nodded. “But don’t miss the show. I can go herb hunting tomorrow for you.”

  Allaya smiled. “Okay, sweetheart, thank you. I will see you there later then.”

  Sena listened absentmindedly as Phia chatted, while they walked to the settlement’s main square. They had stopped along the way to meet with their four closest friends, Mysia, Samia, Lyria, and Larii.

  “I can’t believe the Unforeseen have finally stopped off in Jya!” Mysia squealed excitedly. “I have been dying to see them for ages!”

  “Until last week, you were only into Kaleidoscope,” Lyria teased her.

  “They are a great band, and their music is out of this world,” Mysia agreed. “But I think they are old news, their music is so, well, normal. The Unforeseen, now that’s an original band right there. Music, magical acrobatics, mystery,” she trailed off with a sigh of contentment. “And the lead singer.” She sighed dramatically. “He is so handsome, so mysterious. No one knows his true identity. He’s just perfect.”

  “Oh, gods above, she has it bad,” Samia rolled her eyes.

  “I wonder how long this phase is going to last?” Larii wondered aloud.

  “I heard that!” Mysia mock scowled at her friends. “But I refuse to let you burst my bubble of excitement. I am just going to revel in the fact that one of the biggest acts has decided to stop off in our sleepy little town.”

  “Come on!” Phia interrupted the good-natured chatter, practically dragging them towards the make shift amphitheatre that had been conjured for the concert. She nudged her way past the other girls who were excitedly milling around the stage area.

  “Phia’s on a mission!” Lyria laughed as she let herself be pulled in her friend’s wake.

  “We are getting front row seats,” Phia glared determinedly at a couple of boys who had made the grave mistake of standing in the narrow corridor blocking her way. “Move,” she waved a hand dismissively.

  Sena bit her lip, so she wouldn’t laugh as the two teens swept aside to let Phia past.

  “Only Phia can put the fear of the gods into Eerin and Ty,” Larii whispered. “They’re usually the ones making all the trouble.”

  “Let’s hear it for hurricane Phia,” Samia giggled. “No one is safe from her wrath!”

  Phia rolled her eyes and turned to Sena. “See how they defame my character? This is what I have to put up with when you’re stuck reading all those books!” She came to a stop and pointed at seats in the second row right at the centre.

  “But there are free seats in the front row?” Mysia said confused.

  Phia snorted. “Front row? Do you want to look desperate? Only wannabes sit at the very front.”

  They all jumped in their seats, as the town square suddenly went pitch black even the twin moons obscured from view.

  “I can’t see anything!” Samia squealed just before a myriad of multi-coloured beams of light erupted from the stage.

  The audience erupted out of silence, filling the air with loud cheers and whistles, as the band appeared with a bang and a flash of lights, levitating high above the stage. The lead singer, known only as “K,” hovered towards the front of the stage, blue sparks of magick trailing behind him, as he executed a perfect triple flip rounded off by a pose and wink, which sent the teenage girls in the audience into a frenzy. The cheers roared across the amphitheatre when K started singing. Sena had to admit that although she wasn’t really a fan of their music, he really did have an amazing voice. Although what interested her the most were the acrobatics and pyrotechnics. The Unforeseen band members seemed too young to have such developed skills in levitation and pyro. She really wanted to know how they did it.

  “This is awesome,” Phia said breathlessly, never taking her eyes off the stage.

  Sena smiled as she looked around at the rest of her friends who were also watching the show as though in a trance. She briefly caught sight of her mother and waved at her before turning her attention back to figuring out the band’s secrets.

  “That was amazing!” Samia declared as the band finished their last song.

  “Oh, I wish it wasn’t over yet!” Mysia sighed.

  Phia grinned. “I heard that they will be signing autographs. What say we hang around and see if we can meet the band?”

  Samia whooped gleefully and the others all nodded, eyes shining with excitement.

  “Sena?” Lyria asked over her shoulder when she noticed her friend hadn’t moved.

  “You guys go,” Sena smiled. “I’m going to head home.”

  “You sure?” Phia cajoled. “Who knows they might even tell you some of their secrets if you ask nicely.”

  “I doubt it,” Sena laughed. “People have been trying to figure out which spells they hav
e been using since they came on the scene. Go, you guys, have fun. I’ll see you tomorrow and you can tell me all about it.”

  “Okay,” Phia relented. “C’mon girls, let’s go before the queue gets longer!”

  Sena watched as a steady stream of young (and some not so young) girls gathered around the backstage door. She almost felt sorry for the band, as she made her way out of the arena. This was the most excitement Jya had ever seen, and she doubted the band would get away anytime soon.

  “Are you going home?” her mother asked, appearing next to her.

  “I really want to finish that book, so I can get it back to Auntie Zehra,” Sena replied. “Besides, I wanted to go collect your herbs early tomorrow morning.”

  “Okay, sweetheart,” Allaya smiled, tucking a loose strand of golden brown hair away from her daughter’s face. “I will be home a little later if you don’t mind, I was going to catch up with Jana and Myla.”

  “Have fun and tell them hi.”

  Her mother worked so hard, too hard in fact, she really deserved a night off. As the only healer in Jya, she was doctor, confidante, and pharmacist all in one to the whole town. Sena helped as much as she could, but between studying and magical proficiency practises, she couldn’t ease her mother’s workload as much as she would have liked to. She was lost in thought when she realised she had come to the crossroads. She paused briefly. The direct and short way home through the town’s main street, or a slight detour through the woods? Shrugging, she decided to take the scenic route. It was still early evening and the twin moons were full tonight, casting a strong purple light over the trees.

  Sena inhaled deeply as she walked through the tall grass. She loved the earthy smell of autumn. The rippling stream at the edge of the woods beckoned to her, its silver effervescent waters throwing off delicate sparks of light into the night sky. She sat on a large, bronze rock next to the stream’s edge and dipped her fingers into the still warm waters. Somewhere, a bird was singing a sweet lullaby accompanied by the orchestra of crickets preparing for winter. Time seemed to stand still for a moment, and there was nothing but Sena and the beauty around her.