A blinding light flashed in the room. I rose, heart thumping. Salt sat up too, ears pricked towards a golf ball–sized orb of light hovering just above the coffee table. I climbed off the couch and knelt in front of the table. As I edged closer, an excited bubble expanded in my chest, coupled with a sensation of longing, as eyes burned close to mine and lips brushed … I pushed Keraun’s kiss away. It wasn’t helpful to dwell on it. But the feelings grew as I peered at the light. There was something familiar about it. Nothing sinister, so I reached out and touched it.


It expanded, engulfing my hand. I didn’t hear anything, but I knew. I knew it was Keraun, and it was a message. He was thinking of me. No. He was communicating with me.


My heart jumped, flying around somewhere outside of my chest, leaping about the room. He was alive, and not imprisoned beyond reach.


There was more, but it was tricky. If I focussed too tightly, it slipped away. I took a breath, relaxing.


Hi? I ventured.


Hey. It wasn’t really a word, just a sense of acknowledgement. I paused for a moment, caught in the strangeness of whatever kind of intergalactic telephone call this was.


Where are you? I thought. Again, not words, just a wondering about where he was.


Cloudlight. It’s a facility closer to Abell than Earth. He was reluctant to tell me, but he didn’t seem to be able to hide it, despite being practically on the other side of the universe. He was confined to a strange room. Safe, comfortable enough, but not home. And he felt embarrassed.


Jail?


He laughed at my idea of jail. Nothing so crude as what you know as jail. But I suppose it’s the closest comparison you have. He hesitated. There’s been a complication. It’s taking them a while to figure things out.


I wondered about his embarrassment, not intending to ask about it, but he answered anyway.


My family have a long connection to the Uzrun. I’ve caused them quite a bit of trouble. And all for the love of a girl.


He definitely hadn’t wanted me to hear that. His thoughts were sticky with reluctance.


It’s the telorb. The communication orb. You have to be honest. A rueful sigh. Whatever you ask, I’ll have to answer.


Without meaning to, my months-ago realisation sprang to mind – how Keraun had met me before the lightning strike, in the school office. If he had pursued me because of the accidental lightning strike as he’d said, how had I met him before my Event even happened?


I didn’t even have to think the question aloud. Without a word, I felt as if I dissolved into some other space. It was Keraun’s mind, his memory. I sensed more strongly that he wasn’t entirely volunteering this information. I smiled to myself as he squirmed.


Keraun – I knew it was Keraun, although it didn’t really look like him, rather it was a dreamlike, featureless apparition that I simply knew was him – stepped through a silver door. He was alone, but I sensed his caution. The room was circular, and darkened, lit only by tiny spheres of silvery light that seemed to hover around the perimeter of the area like lanterns on an invisible festoon. They rippled as he ventured deeper into the room, heading for the centre.


As he approached, a pedestal appeared before him. Its blue luminescence grew as he came up and stood before it. On the pedestal was an enormous, ornate book, bound in leather with gilded pages and metalwork adorning the spine and corners of the cover. It had an embossed title, glowing in the shimmering light: MaDala Nezima Ku-hubar. Keraun didn’t bother trying to pronounce the title; he simply referred to it as the “Book of Love”. Through the memory, I rolled my eyes at his tendency to oversimplify the complexities of the universe. The pressure to turn and run pressed down on him, as if the spheres lighting the room would at any moment turn on him and devour him for his trespass. But his curiosity burned brighter than the lights. With a general lack of reverence, he reached out and flipped the book cover open.


A burningly bright light shot down from the invisible ceiling, high above. I half-expected it to set the book on fire, but it illuminated a blank page. Keraun turned it. Page after blank page he turned, for what felt like an age, until finally he turned to a page that had text on it. I couldn’t read or understand the language. But I understood Keraun Thephyeu’s comprehension. The name of the greatest love of his life was Gabrielle Adele Whitehall. Keraun’s hands felt warm, then hot, and flames started to curl around the corners of the book, bordering the forbidden knowledge on the page. Keraun slapped the volume shut and fled from the room as the book burst into fire and the spheres emitted a wailing shriek, descending on him. He slipped back through the silver door just in time, but not before glancing back at the pedestal, where the Book of Love sat, gently illuminated and unblemished.


The memory dissolved, and I found myself firmly back in my own mind. I could sense Keraun’s sheepishness at finding me by reading a book of knowledge off-limits even to his advanced race of humans.


So you’re really not an omnipresent being who knows all things, I thought to him. I mean, he’d told me he wasn’t, but he seemed to read me so well I’d never quite believed him.


Not even slightly. Except for weather. I know all things concerning your solar system’s weather. Even in thought, I could hear his droll tone.


Are you still controlling the weather here? What a random question.


More embarrassment. The Sol Group are taking care of things. But I still know what is happening. I can’t not know. It’s like how you know your heart is beating.

So you can’t fix this weird rain? I asked, trying not to reveal my cheeky trick. We were actually in the middle of an oppressive heatwave. Unfortunately for me, the honesty thing worked both ways.


He smirked. Good try.


I’d have to ask him one day how he’d even gotten to such a place as the circular room with the book. I knew, somehow, that it wasn’t anywhere on his world, or even connected to his race. There was a whole other level to this evolution thing.


What happens now?


Keraun’s demeanour shifted. I await my trial. Eftychi thinks I have a good cha—


Salt’s soft whine cut into my awareness. I had a sudden jolt of alarm, like I’d been sprung sneaking into the pantry before dinner, and the orb vanished into a fading mist of tiny glittering stars that I’d seen once before: the mysterious envelope in Dad’s jacket, before I’d gone for a walk in a thunderstorm.


Despite the abrupt ending, hope fluttered in my heart. Keraun cared enough to call me from the other side of the universe. And he had a chance. Salt curled up on his bed, quiet again.


I lay back and gazed at the stars.


***



Thank you for reading! Gabby’s story continues in Everfire …


A storm gathers over Darkhaven.


Gabby has made her choice. Now she must face the consequences. With her family in disarray and Darkhaven still reeling from the Taskforce attack, that would be hard enough, but the Netica Project is more sinister than anyone thought.


Worse, Liam isn’t recovering from the injuries he sustained in the attack. The Taskforce are still operational, Luci has vanished and with a host of new Eventers, Darkhaven’s resources are stretched thin. Luci has the answers, but can Gabby find her in time to save her friend?


Everfire continues Gabby’s story with added academy vibes, Donovan making everyone run laps and a magical circus appearing in Perth!


***


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