Lightning Girl

by Alesha Dixon

  The three of them nodded together and then they wandered over to us.

  “Aurora,” Mum began, “can we have a word?”

  I got to my feet a little shakily, as that tingling feeling continued to buzz under my skin, and, under the curious eyes of the superhero club and my siblings, I followed Mum, Dad and Aunt Lucinda to a quieter part of the gallery, away from all the police and guests still being questioned.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Your Aunt Lucinda and I had a lot of time to talk when we were shut in that vault together. And, well, something came to our attention.” Mum hesitated. “Your palm… ”

  “I don’t know why it’s still glowing,” I said, clutching my fist tightly to stop it being so obvious.

  “We think we know why.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked, scanning their faces for any giveaways.

  “The incident on the school trip, when you couldn’t control your powers. Well, it turns out, I feel a bit weird here in the museum too. And Lucinda does as well.”

  “I can’t believe I didn’t notice this whole time,” Dad said, shaking his head in bafflement.

  “Notice what?”

  Mum nodded at him and he held out the box, carefully lifting the lid to show the stones sitting comfortably in a silk setting.

  “Did you get a good look at the precious stones?” Dad asked me carefully.

  “Are you serious?” I sighed. “After everything that’s happened, you want to quiz me about the exhibition? No offence, Dad, I’m sure the ancient stones are very nice but we have a lot more to discuss.”

  “He’s not quizzing you on them,” Mum said gently. “Look closely at this one.”

  I peered down at the smooth stone she was pointing to, the one in the middle of the box. It was one of the bigger stones in the collection, just smaller than my palm, and you could slightly make out a swirled pattern in its middle.

  “That’s…” I snapped my head up so that my eyes locked with Mum’s. “That’s the same pattern as my scar!”

  I held out my palm and the glowing intensified. Dad shut the lid of the box with a sigh.

  “I’ve studied these precious stones for months; I’ve written papers on them; I organized an entire exhibition all about them. And I failed to notice that one of them had the same swirl as the scar on my daughter’s palm.”

  “How were you to know that they were linked?” Mum said, stroking his arm comfortingly. “It’s not that uncommon a pattern or a particularly obvious symbol.”

  “Wait a second, my palm is glowing because of … that pebble?”

  “Precious stone,” Dad corrected, looking pained.

  “I tried to tell you the day we stole that diamond together—” Aunt Lucinda began nonchalantly.

  “You mean the day you stole that diamond. I was tricked. And you said nothing about a pebble.”

  “Precious stones.”

  “Sorry, Dad. Precious stones.”

  “I tried to explain the part of the legend that your mother neglected to tell you,” said Aunt Lucinda sniffily.

  “I did try to tell her,” Mum insisted. “When we first found out she had powers, I wanted to tell her the full story, but Henry wouldn’t let me because he didn’t want to overwhelm her.”

  “Well, now hang on,” Dad said defensively, “you never told me it was factual. You told me that it was just legend, passed on generation to generation. In fact, I distinctly remember you saying to me years ago that you thought that part of the story was laughable. So, it didn’t seem necessary to tell her.”

  “Tell me WHAT?” I asked in exasperation.

  Mum took a deep breath. “In the story about how our family were first given powers, Dawn went to the aurora borealis to restore light to the world. Well, I never told you how exactly she got that power.”

  “The Light of the World,” Aunt Lucinda said, gesturing to the box in my Dad’s hands. “That stone. According to the myth, she discovered the stone and as she took it in her hand, light was restored to the world.”

  “That stone? That exact stone?” I blinked at Mum. “Are you sure?”

  “It makes sense as to why all of our powers were suddenly heightened around it when we were in the museum; why you lost control being near it last time; why your powers showed themselves so early when it was discovered and brought to this country; and how you managed such an extraordinary light today.” Mum smiled warmly. “I hear it was magnificent.”

  “If it is that specific stone, then its discovery has made us particularly vulnerable,” Aunt Lucinda huffed. “If it gets into the wrong hands… ”

  “What? What would happen?”

  “Technically, if it is what we think it is, then it’s the source of all our power,” Mum explained gently. “If it was destroyed, we’d most certainly lose the superpowers we have.”

  “Which is why it should be in my possession, safe and sound,” Aunt Lucinda insisted. “Honestly, Kiyana, you have enough on your plate.”

  “There is no chance you are walking away with that stone, Lucinda,” Mum said firmly, “so you might as well give up trying to persuade me otherwise.”

  Aunt Lucinda inhaled deeply. “Just because you’re a few minutes older than me, doesn’t mean you know best.”

  “Actually, that’s exactly what it means.”

  “All right, no more squabbling,” Dad said. “Until we work out what we’re going to do, the stone will be kept safe.”

  “You should at least tell me where you’re going to put it; I have a right to know.” Aunt Lucinda grumbled.

  “Is that why Mr Mercury was trying to steal it? He knew about this?”

  Mum shook her head. “From what I gather, he’s insisting he was working for someone else. Apparently, someone approached him and offered him the chance to get back at me for putting him in jail all those years ago and told him that he’d get some precious stones out of it. According to his statement, if he pulled off this job then he could take all of them bar one.”

  “And you can guess which one that was,” Dad added.

  “Mr Mercury was just a puppet in all this? There’s someone else who planned it?”

  “Something like that.” Mum sighed. “But he’s refusing to say on whose orders he was acting.”

  “The police will get it out of him,” Dad said reassuringly. “He’s hardly one to show loyalty.”

  “So, someone out there knows the value of that stone, you think?” I asked.

  Mum and Dad shared a look.

  “We’re not sure. But I’m going to find out,” Mum answered determinedly.

  “Well, darlings, it’s been a blast, but I’m afraid I’m done with this particular episode,” Aunt Lucinda announced, clapping her hands for Alfred to come over from the sofa on which he was reclined, using his beak to flick through one of the museum’s exhibition brochures. “If you’ll just hand over my diamond, then I’ll get going.”

  “What diamond?”

  “Don’t joke with me, Kiyana, I simply don’t have time for any more nonsense. I’m already late for my flight to Bora Bora and you know how Alfred hates to rush through duty free.”

  “The Dream Diamond is going back to the auction house you stole it from all those years ago. I already contacted them to let them know it had been safely found.”

  Aunt Lucinda pursed her lips. “You do know how to annoy me, Kiyana.”

  “What are sisters for?”

  A smile crept across Aunt Lucinda’s face.

  “Well, then, I’ll simply have to start making new plans to steal it back. I do love a challenge. Aurora,” she put a hand on my shoulder, “I’ll be keeping an eye on you from afar. Those powers are too strong to be wasted on ‘the greater good’.”

  She pinched my cheek and then swept away through the museum towards the exit, with Alfred trotting happily next to her.

  “Toodleloo, darlings!” she said, disappearing through the door without looking back.

  “I have a terrible
feeling that we might be seeing them both sooner than we hope,” Dad said, making Mum laugh. She threw her arm around my shoulders and led me back towards my friends.

  “I’m so proud of you, Aurora. You were amazing, a real superhero.” She kissed me on the head.

  “No way, the others did most of the work.”

  “There’s something special about you, Aurora, and I can’t put my finger on it. You have a warmth in your powers, something unique. I think that might be your extra perk, you know,” she said quietly before we reached the rest of the group. She stopped me and turned to face me straight on. “And your scar is the pattern on that stone. That means something.”

  I traced the raised swirl on my palm. “Do you think that’s a bad thing?”

  “I’m not sure. But whatever it means, we’ll work it out. Together.”

  “Thanks, Mum. And I’m sorry that everyone knows about the superpowers now. Everyone here saw it. They think I’m an alien.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” she chuckled. “For now, I reckon we all deserve the rest of the night off.”

  “I agree,” Dad said, raising his voice as we came to stand next to the others who were still sitting cross-legged in their circle. “How about everyone comes to ours for a hot chocolate?”

  “Sounds good!” Kizzy grinned, standing up. “I’m in.”

  “Us too,” Georgie added, with Suzie and Fred nodding in agreement.

  “And … Mum too?” Clara said hopefully, coming over to take her hand.

  Mum lifted her eyes to meet Dad’s, waiting for his answer. He beamed down at her.

  “Mum too,” he said softly.

  Clara threw her arms round Mum’s waist, while I helped Alexis to his feet. I think he was still thrown by the whole superpower thing because I kept catching him giving me these strange looks, as though he was trying to work it all out in his head.

  “I’m still just me, you know,” I said, nudging him with my elbow as the others made their way to the exit.

  “I guess,” he said, before adding, “maybe a little cooler. And, hey, if you superheroes ever need to hack into any computer systems to save the day, you know where to come.”

  He even let me give him a hug for at least two seconds before batting me away and walking ahead to catch up with Mum, Dad and Clara. I fell into step with my friends.

  “Excellent aim with the hairspray, Georgie,” Fred was saying. “He didn’t know what hit him.”

  “Thanks for throwing it to me, that was good thinking. You shoving all those ants down his trousers was brilliant.”

  “Yes,” Suzie said, as we walked out into the cold air and flashing blue lights of all the police cars, “I agree. Literally ants in his pants. Inspired.”

  “What about your backflip? BOOF! Right in his chest, knocked him clean to the floor! Your aim was perfect.”

  “And Kizzy, working this all out in the first place.” Georgie smiled, making Kizzy blush. “If you hadn’t discovered what Mr Mercury was up to, he would have got away with everything.”

  “I’ve been thinking about a name for the superhero club and I think I’ve got a good one,” Fred announced, prompting a collective groan. “Hey! You haven’t even heard it yet!”

  “Go on then,” I said.

  “It’s inspired by you, Aurora, having just witnessed you doing your thing in there,” he replied. “What do you guys think of … the Bright Sparks.”

  Suzie and Georgie looked pleasantly surprised and Kizzy began slowly nodding.

  “The Bright Sparks,” she repeated. “I like it.”

  “Bright Sparks it is,” Georgie said, punching Fred playfully on the arm. “Not bad, Fred.”

  “Defeating bad guys, coming up with awesome names, it’s all in a day’s work,” he boasted, grinning.

  When we got home, the others hurried into the warmth of the house, greeted by an ecstatic Kimmy.

  I stood back for a moment in the hallway, watching them all head into the kitchen, chatting and laughing loudly. Kizzy was talking animatedly to Clara about a book they’d both read; Fred was teasing Suzie, trying to encourage Kimmy to jump up on her; and Dad was filling Georgie in on the knack to making the perfect hot chocolate, while Alexis rolled his eyes and made faces behind Dad’s back, making Georgie giggle.

  “Are you all right, Aurora?” Mum asked, hanging back with me.

  “I was just thinking about all of the crazy things that happened today, and everything that’s gone on in the past few weeks and, I don’t know –” I shrugged “– I’m just … really happy.”

  “What did I tell you? Superpowers are pretty great.”

  “Maybe.” I grinned, leaning into her as we both watched Dad waltz around the kitchen with Kimmy, making everyone burst into laughter. “But I wasn’t talking about the superpowers.”

  Acknowledgements

  A heartfelt and huge thank you to everyone at Scholastic, it has been a dream! Lauren Fortune, Aimee Stewart, Rachel Phillipps, Roisin O’Shea, Penelope Daukes, Andrew Biscomb and the whole team.

  To Katy Birchall, thank you for making this creative process super easy and so much fun, you are amazing.

  To Lauren Gardner, you are more than an agent - thank you for your brilliant ideas and enthusiasm for Aurora and for making this happen! I owe you one :)

  To James Lancett, thank you so much for bringing all of my characters to life with your art. You did an incredible job and I am over the moon.

  A special thank you to Team Alesha: Malcolm Blair & Bernadette Francis.

  To my love Azuka, thank you for your endless love and always believing in me.

  To my mum, Beverley, thank you for teaching me about love, light, healing & precious stones.

  And last but not least, to all the readers of this book, may you always carry love and compassion in your heart, believe in a higher power greater than yourself and never forget that you are the light and that you have all the super powers you will ever need inside yourself already!

  Happy reading :)

  The Bright Sparks Code of Conduct

  1. Keep Aurora’s powers TOP SECRET.

  2. No secrets between members of The Bright Sparks.

  3. Never trust a science teacher.

  4. Follow Georgie’s fashion advice.

  5. Keep Aurora’s powers TOP SECRET!!

  Photo by John Wright

  Alesha Dixon first found fame as part of Brit-nominated and Mobo Award-winning group Mis-teeq, which achieved 2 platinum albums and 7 top ten hits, before going on to become a platinum selling solo artist in her own right. Alesha’s appearance on Strictly Come Dancing in 2007 led to her winning the series and becoming a judge for three seasons.

  Since then she has presented and hosted many TV shows including CBBC dance show Alesha’s Street Dance Stars, Children In Need, Sport Relief, Your Face Sounds Familiar and ITV’s Dance, Dance, Dance. She is a hugely popular judge on Britain’s Got Talent.

  “ My inspiration to create a superhero called Lightning Girl began with wanting my young daughter to feel empowered. It’s been a dream to create a strong role model that any child can look up to - I want my readers to see themselves in Aurora, who is dealing with trouble at home and trouble at school alongside her new powers.

  I also have a love of precious stones and their healing properties; I have always been fascinated with their spectacular colours and the positive energy that they bring. As human beings we are always searching for something greater within ourselves and a deeper meaning to life and it’s my belief that we all have a light within us that can affect change and bring good to the world... we just have to harness it! :)

  Enter Aurora Beam! ”

  Photo by Ian Arnold

  Katy Birchall is the author of the side-splittingly funny The It Girl: Superstar Geek, The It Girl: Team Awkward, The It Girl: Don’t Tell the Bridesmaid and Secrets of a Teenage Heiress.

  Katy won the 24/7 Theatre Festival Award for Most Promising New Comedy Writer with her very serious
play about a ninja monkey at a dinner party.

  Her pet Labradors are the loves of her life, she is mildly obsessed with Jane Austen and one day she hopes to wake up as an elf in The Lord of the Rings.

  Scholastic Children’s Books

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  SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  First published in the UK by Scholastic Ltd, 2018

  This electronic edition published by Scholastic Ltd, 2018

  Text copyright © Alesha Dixon, 2018

  Cover artwork by Steve Simpson © Scholastic, 2018

  Cover artwork and inside illustrations by James Lancett represented by the Bright Agency © Scholastic, 2018

  The right of Alesha Dixon to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her.

  eISBN 978 1407 18646 7

  A CIP catalogue record for this work is available from the British Library.

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