The Void

By C. Warner-Thompson

After giving up everything to be by Jake's side, Abbii has finally reached him, but the ache inside of her heart remains. It pulses uncertainty and confusion through her body, making her question the path that she has chosen. Blinded by her own selfishness, Abbii has failed to realise the danger her friends have fallen into.
Nate is dieing and Max has tried all he can to keep the students safe, but the realm of Light has faded. The Darkness is growing in Abbii's absence and the spirits of the dead are being refused their rest.
Can the group reunite through the realms to restore all that has been lost? Or will the trapped spirits be forced to empower the Darkness for all time?
Only one thing can restore the balance.
A heart strong enough to rise above all others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C. Warner-Thompson
• Release date: Jan 31, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311079053

C. Warner-Thompson

I started writing when I was thirteen and have never looked back. I love fantasy: magic, mythology and anything angelic. All my books are self-published, with the dream of having some of them available to buy inside a real shop one day!!I have two trilogies completed so far. My first, The Sacred Prophecies, was my first adventure. It is made up of Purest Light, Darkest Regrets and New Beginnings- all of which are in need of rewrite and re-imagination now my writing style has matured.My second trilogy known only as The Star series is also YA fantasy fiction, which I thoroughly enjoyed writing. The first book is named The Star, with its sequels being The Mirage and The Void.Since then I have worked on my newest project which has delved into the world of angels and demons. From within the Light is the truest reflection of my vision as an author, it was such an enjoyable and thrilling tale to write. So much so that I am now in the process of writing its sequel Even in the Darkest of Times.

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The Void

Book Three of ‘The Star’ Series

By C. Warner-Thompson

The Void: Book Three of ‘The Star’ Series

First printed in the UK 2014 © C. Warner-Thompson

Altered Edition 2022 © C. Warner-Thompson

Front cover designed by Brad Covey

Original cover interpretation by Ida Jannson

First printed in the United Kingdom 2014

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

without the express written permission of the author.

It is said that light cannot shine without shadow,

That there is no night without day,

No moon or stars if the sun is gone.

Some would be right in thinking so,

Others may not quite believe in such.

The light of one’s soul can surpass all,

But Darkness is the drive which lingers on.

Your core will beat with belief,

One’s heart is all you need.

Angels by Day, or Demons by night,

Whether Shadows may form

From Darkness or Light.

The Void

By C. Warner-Thompson

One

So much had happened in the past several weeks.

Abbii had left the Everglades College to search for answers about why the Shadows were hunting her, and she had learnt exactly why they had been chasing her for four years. She was known as The Star- a child blessed with two Elder parents, granting unbelievable strength and magical ability to her senses. She had learnt that the rarest of all abilities, known as Resurrection, had been the aspect that had made her different to all others with magic.

A member of the Elder hierarchy, Maria, had turned to the Darkness many years beforehand. She had commanded the Shadows and the Forgotten to hunt for Abbii so she could gain the ability of Resurrection—the ability that Maria had originally owned.

Maria had been the first Star, but had turned to the Darkness. She hadn’t always been evil, and had only turned to the Dark for comfort after three mortal men had attacked her. The event twisted her thoughts and caused her to stray. She killed them, burning them alive with heated magic, and her parents, as well as the other members of the magical constitution, bared witness to her actions. They sentenced her to death, unknowingly causing Darkness to fully consume her soul.

When she was killed, the hatred against Men and the Elders caused Maria to revive herself, feeding on the Darkness within her. She murdered anyone she came across in revenge for what had happened, but eventually even she grew old and weak. She hunted Abbii down to restore her ability of Resurrection, in a hope that she could undo the years of torment and the ravage that time had taken on her skin. Things weren’t as they appeared though.

Maria hadn’t realised that Abbii had unknowingly used her unique ability, and it had faded. Such a gift could only be used once, and Abbii had given her ability to save someone, without realising that something else had happened entirely.

Both Jake and Nate had come to be because of Abbii’s powers. She had passed her skill onto Jake to try and save him from the Shadows, but as it had failed to keep him alive, he had died, and in turn Abbii’s powers had created a Mirage.

Nate.

Though because of the magical skill that Jake already possessed, the addition of Abbii’s ability revived him and he was taken into Darkness willingly. From that point on everything had gone wrong in Abbii’s life- the Everglades had been attacked; the town of Pennyworth had been destroyed; even the realm of Light, Luminum, had fallen victim to the Dark. Abbii blamed herself.

Every place and person that had taken her in had been hurt in one way or another. The students had suffered incredibly. Some of them had lost their lives to the Shadows; others had undoubtedly become Shadows themselves, turned into Darkness by the Forgotten.

Thankfully, many of the students had developed strong magical potential and they had fought by Abbii’s side. Max, Alice and Susan had become close friends. Vee and Aeron were also part of the team. Abbii always smiled when thinking of them. Without their help, she would have fallen long ago—though she had fallen someway, even with them fighting by her side.

On her visit to Luminum, the Realm of Light, Abbii had lost her powers. Evelyn, who had been an Elder all along, had removed her powers so that she would no longer be hunted by the Shadows; she also believed that Abbii was slowly falling into Darkness due to her chaotic emotions, and Evelyn had had to prevent the powers of The Star falling victim to the Dark at all costs.

Part of Abbii had wanted to return to mortality—she had wanted to be normal—but now that her powers were no longer in her grasp, she regretted losing them. She realised that she couldn’t help anyone whilst she was mortal. She was only a hindrance.

Luckily, her friends had survived the battle of Luminum. They had helped her reach the outer realm and they had fought by her side, aiding the Elders as much as possible. Abbii had done everything she could, but even the Elders hadn’t been able to withstand the constant onslaught from the Darkness. Even Abbii’s mother, Celine, had fallen victim to the Shadows.

Celine had faded in the end, along with Fury and Elaine. Evelyn, their leader, had been fatally wounded. On her death, the Elders had decided to create a seal out of their powerful souls, in a hope that they could give Abbii and her friends more time to stop the Forgotten—after all, the Realm of Light was the only thing that now prevented the Darkfields from opening.

Only Shadows could pass permanently from the Dark realm into Pennyworth; the Forgotten could only materialise briefly when not in the Dark realm. They wanted to be free. They wanted to make the people suffer. They wanted to kill all mortals. The problem that arose with stopping them however, was the fact that Jake had become their new leader.

No matter how much she tried to resent him or hate what he had done, Abbii had longed more and more to be by his side. She felt as if their time together had been cut short, too short. She hadn’t been ready to let him go when the Shadows had taken him. In the end, returning to his side had been the one thing that she had wanted, even when her friends had been clearly set against it. Nate would probably never forgive her, but at last she was in Jake’s arms.

She didn’t know what made her feel happiest the most—knowing that her friends were safe and that they had all gathered together, or whether she was with Jake after a week of searching for him. Her mind was so filled with varying emotions and memories that she found it hard to distinguish one thought at a time. When her eyes closed, it was like her head had permission to take control of everything. Her dreams, her thoughts, even the way she felt was all pulled into unordered chaos.

Even when she was standing in Jake’s arms, knowing that he was finally by her side, after so long fighting and stumbling through the events that had passed, Abbii still couldn’t believe it. She could feel his arms brushing against her back, tightening their embrace after only a few seconds. She could hear his heart beating, drumming through his chest. It was music to her ears, a sound so beautiful that she could never compare it to anything else. Not once had she ever been so close to Jake, but it felt so natural. She felt safe, wanted.

*

The cool breeze around her made her even more reluctant to let go. She wrapped her arms around his body, pushing her ear tighter against his chest. The heat from his body was pulsing outwards, warming her through to her core.

Her heart finally stopped aching. There was no longer a constant ache inside of her, reminding her that something had been ripped from her life, because she had found it; she had found the piece that she was missing and she wasn’t letting go of it again.

Shuffling her feet ever so slightly, Abbii felt Jake adjust his grip on her, stroking his one hand on the side of her face. It felt as if a spark of electricity was shooting through his fingertips. She breathed in, absorbing his aftershave and thought of the last time they had seen each other. It had been her birthday.

Abbii inhaled a quick breath as Jake seemed to move all of a sudden. He turned to face a member of the Forgotten, releasing his hold on Abbii. She came soaring back to reality, only now realising that they had company. After all, she was in the Darkfields- the Realm of Darkness.

I told you to leave us, Jake worded sternly.

Abbii watched as the Forgotten—a young woman with long blonde hair—fidgeted in her place. I’m sorry but it’s drawing close to night. We have to go.

Raising her gaze to the sky above, Abbii could see that it was lighter than she had expected. There was a spattering of cloud every so often. She had thought the sky would have always been black, set into night, but it was the opposite—though she could see that the horizon was growing darker than the rest.

Jake sighed. Make sure everyone’s inside.

The Forgotten nodded her head and then turned, meeting Abbii’s gaze briefly. It was strange. Abbii had spent so long running from the Forgotten and the Shadows, that she had expected a confrontation when the figure had approached, but she hadn’t attacked. She had simply said what needed to be said and then turned to leave. It would take some time to get used to, but Abbii already liked it. She wondered if it was due to her powers being taken that the Forgotten weren’t challenging her, or whether it was to do with Jake.

Her name is Mia.

Pulled from her thoughts, Abbii looked up to meet Jake’s gaze. That, too, would take some getting used to, but Abbii was definitely willing to try. His dark eyes seemed to draw her in, making her smile.

She and her sister arrived here not much longer after I did.

Abbii watched as his face seemed to sadden. She wanted to ask if he was ok but he looked at her, allowing his face to lift as she spoke. She seems… nice. The truth was that Abbii felt as if she knew Mia from somewhere; she felt a familiarity of some kind that she couldn’t place.

You won’t like them all, Jake smirked.

Her stomach dropped, remembering there were going to be more Forgotten around. How many are there? she asked.

A few, he replied, taking hold of her hand.

She watched as his fingers entwined with hers, his thumb stroking against her knuckles. A surge of warmth spiralled through her and her cheeks reddened. She giggled childishly as Jake looked at her. Abbii had spent so long searching for him and now that he was so close, it was almost a shock to her body.

Come on. He pulled her along gently and they started to walk, giving Abbii an opportunity to look around her.

The Darkfields was half what she expected, half not. Its land was flat and empty, with no buildings or signs of civilisation, but trees and plant life had grown in certain areas. Abbii was glad to see that some life had managed to grow in such a long stretch of wasteland. She could see that it had rained recently due to the small puddles around her. Guessing by the colouring of the ground, she would say it often rained, but then again it could have been the natural state of the Darkfields. She didn’t know.

As she continued to walk, being guided by Jake’s hand, she could see that high mountains disrupted the horizon far to the east. A darkened aura seemed to emit from them, allowing a gathering of mist to seep outwards. A gust of cold air caused her to shiver, and she moved her to gaze to something else. She could see a bird flying overhead, spreading its wings to their limit. An owl called out from the dusk. Abbii was surprised to see how much life had developed in the Darkfields.

Did you really think that no life would be here? Jake questioned, glancing back to meet her gaze.

She guessed that he was reading her mind which made her uncomfortable. Jake had never been able to do that before—well, she had never known if he had.

Looking out to the left, Abbii could see something moving in the dusk that was approaching. She narrowed her eyes to focus, noticing that a second shape then emerged from the dark. Her heart started to drum, but she swallowed her panic and picked up her pace. She didn’t want to tell Jake, though something inside of her told her that he already knew.

Are they Shadows? Her voice wavered slightly.

Yes, he replied, without turning. When it gets dark, they hunt for power.

But… Abbii had never seen Jake so tense before. She inhaled a shallow breath. I thought that the Forgotten controlled the Shadows?

Jake huffed. We don’t control them all.

His response made Abbii realise that she was speaking as if Jake wasn’t one of them, but he was. He was their leader. She looked back towards the Shadows, as well as the dark cloud which seemed to follow their hasty movement.

Jake glanced over. Damn it, they’re gaining on us. Come on.

He started to run, pulling Abbii to increase her speed. As they started to move faster, Jake released her hand so that they could both push themselves. He glanced back to her regularly though, always making sure she was following.

She gasped for a breath, feeling nauseous all of a sudden. It had been a long time since she had rested, and pushing her body to run when it didn’t necessarily have the strength or energy needed, wasn’t going to help. Jumping over a strange tree root which had seemed to entwine around several others, Abbii felt a branch scratch at her arm. She ignored it and continued to follow Jake, looking back to see that the Shadows’ eyes were glowing. They wanted blood but most of all, they wanted power.

As they started to race up a steep embankment, Abbii could see the rooftop of a large building drawing near. She focused onto it to keep herself falling. It reminded her of a dream that she had seen once where a woman had been sitting in a dark courtyard, with only a small light at her side. At the time, she hadn’t realised who it was but now she did. It had been Maria and she had been in the Darkfields, waiting.

Abbii really was in the Dark realm. Though when she reached the top of the hill, seeing that the ground levelled out, she could see that the building was bigger than she had thought, like a hall, like a College.

Her thoughts were taken by her friends, by everything that she had left behind. She imagined Vee and Aeron playing in the courtyard outside; Max trying to catch Alice’s attention with her purposefully ignoring him, even though it was obvious that they shared a type of attraction. Abbii lost her breath, falling to her knees. Her foot twisted as she landed on sharp rock. She started to panic, losing control of her breath.

Jake!

She tried to stand but her leg gave way. It caused a surge of pain to pierce her body. Abbii watched as Jake stopped in his place and turned to face her. There were a group of people standing at the building entranceway, calling, waving for Jake to reach them. His entire focus was channelled onto Abbii though, even as she glanced back to the Shadows. They were starting to ascend the bank, extending their claws ready to kill.

Abbii tried to crawl as fast as she could, but the tears that clouded her eyes made her feel dizzy. Dirt pushed under her fingernails as she forced herself across the ground. Moisture collected along her trouser legs causing the cold to envelop her. She glanced back, Jake wasn’t there.

The breath that she was holding left her lips slowly and her face fell blank. He’d left her. Maybe the others had been right. Maybe Jake really wasn’t the same person that he was. Abbii turned to face the Shadows directly, seeing that they were only strides away. All her life she’d been running; it was time it ended.

One of the creatures jumped into the air with nothing but Abbii as its focus, but a blinding light materialised then, cutting the creature down. It moved fluently, killing three more with a surge of electrical energy. The faster it moved the less it seemed bright, and Abbii could see that it was a figure. A Shadow tried to slash at the light with its claws, but its skin was burned with a fierce blast of fire. Two more were killed by the shockwaves that emitted outwards from the heat. More and more Shadows came. There seemed to be no end of them.

Abbii inhaled a shallow breath, losing the energy to keep herself upright. Her body was giving up, it needed rest. She lay down, watching as the figure raised both of its arms, channelling its energy. A powerful shockwave then emitted outwards and the light faded from sight.

Every Shadow in close proximity was destroyed, and Abbii watched as the figure turned to face her. As the light died down, Jake was left in its place. He moved towards her position, smiling like he had used to, a large grin spreading across his face. He gently moved her into his arms and stood, cradling her.

Leaning her head against his shoulder, Abbii could only think of one thing. On the first night that she had been attacked by Shadows, when her powers had first materialised, Abbii had seen a vision of herself, holding the hand of a figure of light. After all this time of searching for it, she believed that it had always been Jake. The way his brown eyes had shone when overcome with magic, the way his body had vibrated with energy, it had been her destiny to find him.

Jake… she whispered his name, leaning her head back to meet his gaze.

You need to rest, he worded clearly. The worry in his eyes was clear for all to see, but he didn’t remove his gaze from her face. The glow from his eyes still remained but it faded eventually, allowing his magic to remain dormant.

Abbii tried to keep her eyes open as they ascended the staircase of the entranceway. She could see that the people who had waited for Jake’s arrival seemed to move back, spreading out across the large space. They were Forgotten, but Abbii didn’t care.

Jake tightened his grip on her ever so slightly, reassuring her that everything would be fine. He moved past the members of Forgotten and made his way up a set of stone stairs far to one side. Abbii tried to move her head to see where she was going, but the bile in her throat started to make her feel sick.

Continuing on as he reached the first level, Jake ascended a second set of stairs and then made his way down a long corridor. Abbii noticed that a door covered with a bright coloured light was on their right as they passed, but she didn’t have the energy needed to ask where it lead to.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against Jake’s chest as he entered into a well lit room; the brightness was overbearing for her weakened irises. The light seemed to dull though as Jake moved towards a large bed in the centre. He placed Abbii onto the covers gently and then straightened his back to look over her.

Not caring where she was, Abbii moved onto her side and clasped her hands in front of her face. She closed her eyes and let sleep take her, vaguely feeling the movement of material as Jake pulled a blanket over her injured body. Nothing formed in her head; no dreams disturbed her sleep—for once they were willing to let her rest.

Jake focused onto her face, realising how much he had missed her. They had been each other’s strength in times of weakness, and he wasn’t going to let her go again. He lowered his gaze briefly, noticing that her angel pendant was missing. It surprised him as he had expected her to always wear it, but he guessed that she had lost it in one of the many battles that had passed.

A figure stood in the doorway, drawing Jake’s gaze. He sighed loudly and then left Abbii’s side, allowing his expression to tense. What do you want? he asked sternly, closing the door to Abbii’s room.

You have what you wanted, now it is time that you help me with what I want. Their face was hooded but Jake wasn’t afraid of her.

She’s lost her powers. You don’t need her!

A moment of silence passed by before the figure stepped closer to where Jake was standing. He had never seen her face but her strength was undeniable.

I need all of them. Their strength is only whole when they are united. Either you help me gather their powers, or I will take everything that you have away from you! A shallow glow allowed her irises to burn through the darkness of her hood.

Jake gasped for a breath as it felt as if the air from his lungs was forced out. Fine, but you don’t need her yet.

The figure smirked, removing her magical presence from Jake’s neck. She turned then and started to walk down the corridor. Never forget who it was that found you in the dark, alone and weak. Within a flash, they disappeared and silence followed.

I’m sorry Abbii, Jake whispered, Things have changed.

He inhaled a deep breath and leaned against the door. All he’d wanted was to have Abbii return to his side, but she had suffered. And