The Moon Stealers and The Children of the Light Read online

  The Moon Stealers

  Book 4

  The Children of the Light

  By Tim Flanagan

  Available from Tim Flanagan:

  The Moon Stealers and the Quest for the Silver Bough (Book 1)

  The Moon Stealers and the Queen of the Underworld (Book 2)

  The Moon Stealers and The Everlasting Night (Book 3)

  The Moon Stealers and The Children of the Light (Book 4)

  The Curious Disappearance of Professor Brown

  Lawrence Pinkley's Casebook. Vol. 1

  Copyright Tim Flanagan 2013

  Tim Flanagan has asserted his moral right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  Notes to accompany Book 4

  In Book 1, The Moon Stealers and the Quest for the Silver Bough, we met Steven Knight, an MI6 operative, who is sent from London to investigate a meteorite landing site in Yorkshire. At the core of the meteorite was a bacteria that was unique and had never been seen before on Earth. Before leaving, Steven met Coldred, an American scientist who experimented on the bacteria and discovered that it was deadly to humans. Aided by Georgia Brown, an MI6 field assistant, Steven's investigations uncovered evidence that showed the bacteria was evolving into living creatures that were rapidly becoming a threat to civilisation. Meanwhile Sir Edgar, a Knight from King Arthur’s time, and three children: Joe, Max, and Scarlet, journey across Edinburgh, trying to find the Silver Bough, a magical flute that opens portals to the Underworld where they believe their friend Peter Crisp went to escape the creatures.

  The creatures coordinate an attack on Parsley Bottom forcing Steven and Georgia to escape with Tracker, a gamekeeper, to the nearby English country home of Butterwick Hall where they remained unharmed until the morning. As Sir Edgar and the children open the portal and jump into the Underworld they are attacked by the Moon Stealers and Edgar accidentally becomes infected with the alien bacteria.

  In Book 2, The Queen of the Underworld, Sir Edgar and the children journey across a foreign land but quickly become wrapped up in a war against the Faerie Queen, who also holds Peter captive. Edgar's illness slowly gets worse, whilst Scarlet learns how to telepathically communicate with plants and animals. Separated from the group, Max joins forces with the Green Huntsmen and leads them into battle upon the back of a unicorn. Once Peter has been rescued, they find the nearest portal and jump back to their own world together with Lady Flora, the mother of nature, who vowed to help them in their quest to rid their world of the Moon Stealers. Unknown to them, a grey hooded figure follows them through the portal.

  The Everlasting Night, Book 3, picks up the story of Steven, Georgia and Tracker who are locked safely in the servant’s kitchen at Butterwick Hall. They hear a voice on the radio calling for survivors to make their way to London and join a group that was establishing itself inside the American Embassy. On their journey to London, they rescue a young girl, Annie, whose parents had been taken by the creatures. Upon arriving in London, they meet Coldred once again, and discover that Tracker is a relative of the British monarch. In his effort to control his community, Coldred does not distribute his store of antibiotics amongst the group, concentrating only on those that support him and can help him in his quest for ultimate power and control. He is not pleased to see Steven again. After a close encounter with the creatures that leaves Georgia wounded, they move to Fort Halstead in Kent and begin to lay the foundations for a new community there. Meanwhile, Coldred has moved his community to the Isle of Wight, together with Annie and others who are held captive like slaves. Steven, Georgia and Tracker set off for the island hoping to rescue Annie.

  Book 4, The Children of the Light, takes place immediately after Sir Edgar and the children jump through the portal from the Underworld.

  Table of Contents

  Notes to accompany Book 4

  1. Ingleton Forest

  2. The Light of the White Knight

  3. The Grey Man

  4. Invasion Plans

  5. The Mind of a Moon Stealer

  6. Following the Path of Water

  7. On the Edge of the Solent

  8. The Italian Restaurant

  9. The Pendle Hill Witches

  10. Watching the world from a distance

  11. Beach Landing

  12. A Frosty Visitor

  13. The Forest of Dean

  14. A Close Encounter

  15. The Wailing Wall

  16. Life after Death

  17. Destiny Beckons

  18. Across the Island

  19. Obedient Migration

  20. Community Integration

  21. The Checkpoint

  22. Andromeda's Sacrifice

  23. The Trail of Blood

  24. Rallying the Troops

  25. The Road to Avalon

  26. Across Tryfan

  27. Slaves to the Community

  28. Return to Osborne House

  29. A World within a World

  30. A Choice for the Greater Good

  31. The Uprising

  32. Completing the Family

  33. The Druid's Oak

  34. The Final Showdown

  35. The Building blocks of Life

  About the Author

  1. Ingleton Forest

  The shadows of the thick forest elm trees that bordered the town of Ingleton would normally provide perfect cover for a young wild deer to nuzzle through the decayed leaf mulch in search of food. But, this was no longer a safe forest to live in. An uninvited guest that was deadly and relentless had moved in.

  The carpet of leaf and soil was soft beneath the deer’s feet allowing it to tread discreetly from one shaft of darkness to another. Even with its nose down, ploughing a trough through the mulch on its search for fresh roots, grass and stray berries, its large glassy eyes remained alert, watching warily for any movement. The deer’s ears twitched and jerked as it listened to the sounds of the forest.

  If it was to survive, the deer would have to use all of its senses to protect it from the night.

  The last time the deer had foraged in the forest was the night it had first seen the strange black animal. It had been alerted by the unhappy hoot of an owl that had been disturbed from its perch. The deer had watched a black shadow glide above the gaps in the canopy. Although every primal instinct told the deer that it should run, curiosity made it pause and continue to watch. The bat-like shape silently cut through the air, moving effortlessly from one tree canopy to another, only betraying its presence when it landed on a branch that bowed and creaked beneath its weight. The wave of curiosity quickly disappeared as it picked up the raw stench of fear that drifted across the forest floor like a heavy winter fog, chilling everything in a blanket of despair. The deer’s hooves had felt like they were glued to the ground, fear preventing it from moving.

  Then the unknown creatures had landed on the forest floor. She remembered they had lurched across the ground, snapping at each other with every step. They had taken advantage of the forest animal’s confusion, attacking every thing they saw.

  And they were quick.

  Quick to leap onto an unsuspecting rabbit, quick to launch into the sky to snatch a bird as it desperately tried to fly away. And quick to survey the forest and identify prey.

  Eventually instinct, mixed with the metallic tang of blood, had spurred the deer into action. It pulled its heavy legs from the forest floor and began to run. And it ran, faster than it ever knew it was capable. It sprang amongst the hawthorn and ivy, dodged the tree trunks, slid through narrow gaps, then dived into an area of undergrowth that scratched and tore
at its fur.

  But, even then it didn’t stop.

  Behind it came the cries of animals that were being unceremoniously slaughtered, mixed together with the excited screams of these strange creatures. But then the sound of a deep horn reverberated through the forest.

  The deer stopped running and listened.

  It had heard the call from a stag it recognised. The calling sound of the dominant male of their herd. The deep vibrating sound ended in fragmented breaths and was replaced by an excited chirping noise and a high pitched scream.

  The male was down. The young deer was alone.

  Over the last week the deer had grown hungrier every day. Fear kept it hidden amongst the bracken in the deepest part of the forest, but hunger had now begun to make it desperate and reckless. Other animals had retreated to the same part of the forest, gathered into one area that reduced their hunting ground and made food all the more scarce. It would only be a matter of time before the shadowy creatures explored the forest and found them.

  One by one desperation had caused the forest animals to venture out of the undergrowth in search of food. But, the deer had stayed. It waited to see if other deer came, or even the humans, but nothing happened except that the other animals never returned. As the days passed, the need for food grew desperate. One occasion the deer had left the undergrowth along with some of the other forest animals but the competition for insects and tender young leaves was too great and fights quickly broke out. Being a young and immature animal, she withdrew back amongst the undergrowth.

  Tonight it had ventured out into the forest on its own, the deer’s hunger finally forcing it out of its hiding place. The deer had not seen a black shadow since that first night, but all around it could smell the unfamiliar scent mixed with the harsh smell of blood and decay. As it pushed its velvety nose forward once more it uncovered the half eaten remains of a fox. It jumped nervously back, muscles tensed and ready to retreat back to its hiding place. But the fox wasn’t going to hurt the young deer. The fox couldn’t hurt anything, half the soft flesh from its underbelly was missing, scooped out by a mouth whose teeth had clawed at the flesh and torn it into thin fibres. The deer continued, nuzzling a path around the fox carcass, picking up any stray berries it came across.

  The night was silent. The lighter parts of the forest where the quantity of trees thinned were the areas the deer avoided the most, preferring to stay close to the trees and the shadows they cast.

  It came across a small clutch of fallen berries that had dropped from a mountain ash tree and quickly began to gather them in its mouth. Unknown to the deer, its progress through the forest had been watched. In the tree above, a black shadow weightlessly dropped from a high branch, its leathery wings tucked back, making it more streamlined so that it increased its speed as it fell. The ivory coloured hooks that protruded from its feet began to open out ready to plunge it into the soft flesh of the deer’s neck.

  In a small clearing to the right of the deer a small silvery light had begun to emerge. Metallic coloured ripples or water began circling in mid-air, expanding outward as if a large droplet of mercury had landed vertically in the air and disturbed an invisible pool. Once the ripples reached the edge of the pool more would follow until there was a complete disc of silver hanging weightlessly in the air.

  The creature turned to this new light, its descent interrupted.

  The forest was no longer silent. The air was filled with a sucking sound followed by a hiss as several humans stumbled through the centre of the disc and landed on the forest floor. The deer had already sprung back into a safer part of the forest, disturbed by the light and noise. The black shadow pulled out of its descent. It skimmed across the forest floor, whipping up loose surface leaves that got caught in the downdraft created by the creature's wings. It then skilfully turned and glided in the direction of the new arrivals. Four small humans and two adults were brushing dead leaves from their clothes, unaware of the imminent attack.

  The creature released a guttural rasp as it opened its mouth ready to attack. It darted between the thick birch trees towards the nearest human whose back was exposed and unprotected.

  Scarlet Baxley bent down to brush the leaf mould from her trousers.

  ‘Where are we?’ she asked the other humans.

  ‘Stay down!’ shouted an elderly man that stood beside to her, squinting at a black shadow that seemed to be moving towards them through the darkness.

  Instinctively, Scarlet dropped her body to the ground. Sir Edgar, King Arthur’s immortal knight, swung a white sword gracefully into the air where Scarlet’s head had been moments before. The sword cut through the air, but failed to contact anything. Scarlet twisted on the floor, catching sight of a black shadow that swept up towards the higher branches of a tree to land weightlessly on a branch. The forest was then filled with a high pitched shrill that made them all clutch at their ears.

  ‘Come on,’ said Sir Edgar. ‘We need to find shelter.’ He grabbed Scarlet by her coat and lifted her back onto her feet, whilst cautiously watching the shadow in the branches above.

  ‘Is it one of those creatures?’ she asked nervously.

  ‘Yes, and I think it’s calling for assistance.’

  The other children: Peter Crisp, Max Scott and Joe Allen, had jumped through the portal and back to their own world, but hadn’t expected to come under attack straight away. Their world had changed since they had left, and not for the better.

  ‘There is so much death and so much silence here. The animals hide in fear, the trees are violated and dirty,’ said a lady dressed in a mossy green gown. Lady Flora, the Mother of Nature from the Underworld, rested one of her hands gently against a tree trunk, connecting her mind to the soul of the forest.

  ‘We should move somewhere safer,’ instructed Sir Edgar, eager to move on.

  ‘Wait,’ replied Lady Flora. ‘I feel something else. Movement. There is life.’ She turned to Sir Edgar with a hopeful smile on her face, but that smile quickly faded. ‘We run,’ she added gravely. ‘A swarm of fear and death is heading this way.’

  Edgar needed no further instruction. Behind them the silver disc was receding, but before it disappeared another figure suddenly jumped through and landed heavily on the ground at the human’s feet. In a suck of air the disc vanished and darkness filled the forest once again. The white light that pulsated from Edgar’s sword illuminated the forest in a ghostly glow.

  Instinctively, Sir Edgar swung his sword towards the intruder, not knowing if it was a deadly Donestre that had followed them from the Underworld. But the figure was smaller and cloaked in a tatty grey fabric. In a swift move, the grey figure lifted a huge sword from beneath his robes and blocked Edgar. The sword was well used, tarnished and chipped with a hook at the end. Edgar recognised it as the weapon of a Donestre and instinctively began pulling his sword back ready to attack their pursuer from the Underworld again.

  ‘I am a friend, sir,’ the cloaked man said quickly. Edgar kept his sword raised, ready to attack if needed.

  ‘I mean you no harm,’ continued the cloaked man. ‘I just wanted to get back to my own world.’ The man pulled the hood off his face. The man’s skin looked old and weathered, his eyes tired.

  ‘I recognise you,’ said Max. ‘I was in the prisoner’s carriage that was travelling the

  Shadow Road with you. You managed to escape when the Rangers freed us.’

  ‘The Grey Man,’ muttered Lady Flora. ‘I thought the stories were just village rumours and hearsay.’

  ‘This world is my home. I have waited a long time to find a way back,’ replied the cloaked figure.

  Sir Edgar lowered his sword, allowing the Grey Man to stand up.

  As if to remind them of the danger that was approaching, the creature in the tree canopy released another scream that ripped painfully through the night air.

  ‘The swarm is getting closer,’ warned Lady Flora. Around them the forest was beginning to erupt in a sound that began as a gentle di
stant hiss of leaves being disturbed, but quickly grew into a torrent of breaking branches mixed with excited chirping and throaty rasps as row upon row of creatures approached at speed, and in overwhelmingly large numbers.

  Together the humans ran.

  It didn’t matter which direction they went, as long as it was away from the approaching storm of creatures eager for food.

  2. The Light of the White Knight

  The black swarm of creatures burst through the trees, splintering branches and pulling them to the ground as they leapt and flew towards their prey. The sound of breaking wood would have been deafening by itself, but it was easily overwhelmed by the throaty scream that erupted from the creature’s mouths. If the humans had time to look around at the hoard of hungry shadows that desperately wanted to feed, they would have seen black leathery skinned creatures that primarily looked the same, but with subtle differences. Some leapt from branch to branch, using the trees to propel themselves forward. They appeared to be longer in body than their brothers that had adapted a stumpy joint in the middle of their wings to use as a crutch to creep along the ground. These walking creatures were wider at the shoulders with more muscle where the skeletal wings joined the body. Other creatures swept gracefully between the narrow gaps of the tree trunks; a leaner more agile version of the same creature that flew quickly towards the prey. Mouths of various sizes and shapes had evolved on the different creatures in the short time they had lived within the forest, each adapted to best suit its hunting technique and the prey it fed on.

  The small group of humans ran.

  They ran as fast as their legs would take them. Burning hot breath panted from their tight and tired lungs, forming a white fog in front of their faces as soon as it hit the cold night air.

  The flying creatures took it in turns to swoop down towards the prey, testing what defences they had and working out which of the humans were the most vulnerable. At the back of the group the shrouded figure of the Grey Man could hear a gust of wind approaching from behind as a creature dived down to attack. In a single agile movement, he leapt off the ground, twisting in mid air until he was momentarily facing the wrong direction. The hooked Donestre sword swung round in a wide arc slicing the creature that had been about to attack cleanly in two. The momentum of his swing continued to twist the Grey Man round until he faced the direction in which he had originally been moving. He landed in a crouched position then leapt forward and continued to run. Ahead of him he could see the silhouette of Edgar and Lady Flora trying desperately to hurry the children on, despite their legs beginning to tire.