Into the Light

By Clarissa Clarke

The Light has upset the balance of power in the Universe. Face to face with the battle to be free, Alec must decide if it's time to stand and fight, or time to flee.
In this book: an octopus honks, Aleena blows bubbles, Alec may, or may not, be able to Smell things. The starie is waterproof, tails are burnproof, there are magic rings. Reetbe refuses to swim in the sea, the Dioniks attack, the Merpeople sing. And the Light—it changes everything.
Oh ... and Verity wants a plesiosaur. (It's a long story).
It's a deep-diving, sky-soaring adventure to find a pendant piece!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clarissa Clarke
• Release date: May 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9780991653485

Book preview

Chapter 1: Muck

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Alec looked at Verity, a unique mix of frustration, anguish, and fear shining in his eyes.

Kick harder. You almost got it. She tried to see over the edge of the portal—where the bottom half of Alec was dangling.

If you asked Verity, Suti’s portal had deposited them in the bathroom, as requested. If you asked Alec, hanging five feet above the floor did not count. This was not the smooth, clean return home he’d envisioned.

Three weeks living in a cave, on a foreign planet, with giant scorpions, added up to a lot of muck. Muck that was flying off of him with every attempt he made to reach the bathtub.

You have to swing. Verity inched forward, causing more of Alec to disappear over the edge. Now fully dangling out of the portal, Alec began to swing, and Verity began to realize that he was too heavy for her to hold.

One solid thump later, they found Alec sprawled on the bathroom floor, staring up at them.

Let’s try it again, Aleena suggested. Only this time, maybe fly into the tub when she lets go.

Chapter 2: Like a Chicken

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Before leaving the Dionik planet, the plan had been to have the portal deposit them directly into the bathtub: the most easily sanitized, person-sized place in the house. Alec would have been able to dump his clothes, take a shower, and wash away the evidence without his mother ever needing to freak out. It had been a tidy plan.

Instead, he was sitting in the bathtub contemplating the puddle on the floor, the almost artistic spatter on the door, the bit of sludge on the sink, and an odd spot on the ceiling.

Kick harder, he grumbled to himself. The girls had offered to help him clean, but he had given them a tired wave, and they scooted for home.

Aleena’s reminder that he could fly had embarrassed him. But the comment had also sparked an idea, a flicker of thought at the edge of his mind. He studied the muck-spattered bathroom, bit his lower lip, and deliberated.

He could move things with his mind. Rocks, pencils, dishes … himself. Mucky-yuck-mud was a rock. Or used to be. Right? According to his watch he waited seven minutes—spent seven minutes staring at the highest speck of yuck on the door—before he decided it wouldn’t hurt to try.

For that reason, it took seven minutes longer than necessary to get the bathroom clean. He was a cleaning machine! Even his clothes, which he’d spent four days planning how to throw away without his mother knowing, looked passable (considering). And they smelled almost normal after a run through the washer.

Personally, it was forty minutes before he felt clean. He washed his hair three times: scrubbed so hard with water so hot that he was lobster red against the shiny white tile in the bathroom.

He lectured himself about water conservation. He argued with himself that he hadn’t used running water in three weeks. He counter-argued that they’d returned home just minutes after leaving, so it wasn’t really three weeks. Then he forced himself to stop thinking because he was driving himself crazy.

He stepped out of the bathroom with a deep appreciation of indoor plumbing, plentiful water, and all the comforts of home. When he saw his mother’s emergency order for more decorations, he remembered the Fall Festival and proceeded to groan.

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It’ll be over soon, Ralph promised as they pulled out of the driveway. Got your tennis shoes?

Alec nodded and peered at his feet. He wasn’t looking forward to playing football. He kinda wished he could just rest. It had been a rough few days. Or weeks. His thoughts drifted, and it wasn’t until his father nudged him that he realized he’d fallen asleep.

Ralph was out of the car by the time Alec understood where they were. As his father reached for the decorations, Alec said, I’ll take them in. I know where they go.

Ralph handed over the bags, and Alec sprinted for the church. Don’t leave me alone too long.

Alec laughed and looked back over his shoulder. For a second he thought his dad was going to wait outside until he came back. Instead, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and headed for the main entrance.

I’ll meet you in the gym, Alec yelled.

Ralph’s nod told him that he had heard.

He was sticking a string of foam balls to the punch table when his mother marched in. She double checked his work and gave the smallest satisfied nod.

Now go to the gym. They are waiting for you.

His sigh was more mental than physical. He wasn’t worried about the game. He knew what he could do, and he had cloaked himself so the Dioniks wouldn’t notice him. It was the fact that so many people were whispering about him that made him drag his feet. Knowing anything he did would reflect on his mom made him nervous. That she never asked what he wanted to do made him frustrated.

Ralph, on the other hand, met him at the door with a question. Wanna play basketball instead?

Alec looked in amazement at the basketball tucked under his father’s arm. He saw the court lit up outside.

They’ve got too many for football. He slapped his son on the shoulder and nodded in the direction of the football game. Plus, I might’ve mentioned that you were a little shy. Seemed like you weren’t too excited to play.

Alec watched the floor as they walked. Won’t she be upset?

So it doesn’t matter what you want? We should worry about her?

I just thought I could play a little so she’d be happy.

She’ll be happy. We’re playin’ basketball with Bob. Mr. Hebowe. For some reason he thinks he’s being fair by letting us take him on. Wait’ll he sees you jump.

Alec relaxed then, focusing on the walk outside and the brisk air filling his lungs.

Mr. Hebowe may have been sixty-something, but he knew basketball. Alec welcomed his guidance and was soon dribbling one hundred percent better. There was no pressure to perform. It was just the three of them having fun. He actually looked forward to their next game.

Of course, Mr. Hebowe told Mrs. Hebowe (who passed it through the church) that Alec was better at basketball than he was at football. Not only that, but she got to boast that he was using her driveway to practice in. His mother remained a celebrity and didn’t even grumble when she finally got home. In his eyes, it looked like she might have grown.

Puffed up like a chicken, isn’t she? Ralph muttered across the kitchen table.

Alec looked up from his grapes in confusion. Ralph made sure Helen was out of the room before mimicking her. Then he had to swat Alec on the back as laughter tried to bounce a grape down his windpipe.

When the tears had stopped trickling, Ralph said, Sometimes you gotta tell people what you want. They aren’t always gonna ask.

Alec processed his dad’s comment for a full day before telling him that he wanted to go to Verity’s birthday party. Ralph’s laughter shook the house.

Not exactly what I was talking about, he said with a grin, but it’s a start.

Getting his mother to agree was unexpectedly easy. Every year she and Mrs. Hebowe strove to outdo each other with their holiday decorations. When Helen learned that Verity’s birthday fell in the beginning of December, she only hesitated for three seconds. She would use the time to decorate the house.

Chapter 3: Hard Truths

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They were going after the Merpeople piece.

About bloody time, Alec thought as he stretched out on his bed. He stared at the ceiling, looking for spiders, appreciating how his life had changed.

Besides the very cool superpower stuff, he had found true friends in Verity and Aleena. Their no-nonsense approach to life inevitably led to them sharing hard truths, which he eventually admitted he needed to hear.

It had been months since they’d returned from Zambos. Months since he’d learned of alien races, negative spirits, and the infinite, positive energy that was his to wield.

Like a freaking superhero.

He covered his face with his arms and sighed. Light versus Dark. There really was a battle raging in the Universe. There was also the battle that was his alone.

It had been overwhelming: learning that he had mental abilities, like telepathy and telekinesis; understanding that he could See. Sporadically.

With that bit of self-criticism came a memory of their last day on Zambos, the day Nimzala told them about the pendant. A pendent he was no longer interested in finding. An experience he kept trying to avoid.

Of course, that was the memory his traitorous self chose to roll through his mind.

As a young ape, the Nalesh of which I speak began receiving the image of a great weapon. This weapon