Dark
Light
Chapter
One
“They’re
back! The Dark Lighters are back!”
I
looked up from the book I was reading at the cry from outside. The children
gathered at my feet got up and scrambled for the window, pressing their little
faces against the glass. I couldn’t help but close the book and follow them. It
wasn’t that their attention was gone from me now, though that would’ve been a
nice excuse had anyone asked why I didn’t call them back. Truthfully, I wanted
to watch the Dark Lighters come back as well. I always counted them as they
walked down the street in their trademark black armor. The Dark Lighters went
out in squads of five so I wanted to make sure the same number returned home
each time.
“What’s
this now?” A voice said from behind me. I recognized the soft tone immediately
as that of Master Linde. I shooed the children back to the mats where we’d been
reading and tried to hide a blush.
“The
Dark Lighters have come back. The children ran to the glass to see what the
shouting was about. I counted an extra person, Master Linde. They’ve brought
someone with them.” I didn’t look up as I explained myself. The Master’s grey
eyes had a way of seeing everything I never wanted to say out loud.
He
made a sound close to that of a laugh without actually being one. “Julian, you
don’t have to hide your admiration of them. Everyone in this community looks up
to the Dark Lighters and their work.” His pale hand reached for me, long
fingers tucking back a section of my brown hair. “I know you wish to join them.
I can’t say I’m sorry fate didn’t see fit to bestow the power upon you. It’s a
gift and a curse, young one. To have the power is to assume responsibility not
only for you but for others as well. If you had it you would use it to protect
this community instead of teaching our younglings how to read and write. Your
work here is just as important as their work out in the wild.”
There
was no use protesting and I didn’t want to argue with him. It wasn’t just his
status as a Master that made me hold my tongue. I respected him. He’d brought
me here twelve years ago when my family had been killed. Finally, I raised my
eyes to his. It was a long way up. He stood a few inches over six feet tall and
I was no where near that. “I remember the day you came and got me from my
school, Master Linde. I was five years old and I’d been waiting for my parents
to come get me for what felt like hours. As soon as you walked up I knew something
terrible had happened.”
He
smiled and wrapped one impossibly thin arm around my shoulders. To my surprise,
he didn’t lead me toward the children. We walked to the window instead. The
Dark Lighters had gone, probably back to the barracks. I wondered what had
become of the man they’d brought with them. “You started to cry,” Master Linde
said in his usual soothing tone. His voice was made for crooning softly to
scared children. It never failed to make me feel warm and safe; as it did, I’m
sure, the others in the nursery. “When I gathered you in my arms you wrapped
your tiny fists around my dreads and demanded to know what had become of your
family.”
I
couldn’t help but smile. We both knew this story but he indulged me whenever I
wanted to hear it again. His never ending patience was just one of the things
that made him wonderful with the kids. That and I secretly thought they really
liked playing in his waist length dreaded hair. I know I had when I was their
age.
“I’ve
always hated having to tell a child their family is gone,” he continued, “but
you took it the best out of all of the times I’ve delivered such sad news. Your
tears stopped and you looked at me with such determination and sheer
stubbornness.”
I didn’t try to hide the blush I felt creeping up my neck. I knew what would
come next.
“You
said to me ‘I’m gonna grow up tough so you don’t gotta get no more kids like
this.’ And when I brought you here, to
I
looked up at him as I remembered that day. “’Dark Lighters are soldiers that
protect us from the bad guys’, you said. And I still want to be one, Master
Linde. I just didn’t get to grow up tough. Even if I’d had the power I’m not
big enough.”
“Are
all Dark Lighters so big then, Julian? They’re all as tall as me with more
muscle then they know what to do with?” His lips twisted in a kind smile. “No,
young one, it has nothing to do with your size. Dark Lighters are quick and
smart before they are large. Take Stefan for example. He’s built like an ox but
is he a Dark Lighter?”
I
shook my head. Master Stefan was the head hunter. “No, Master, he’s not.”
“And
he never will be. Do you know why?”
“He
doesn’t have the power.”
“That’s
exactly right. Being large doesn’t guarantee your lot in life; neither does
being small though. Your work in the nursery isn’t because you are too delicate
for anything else. You were assigned this job because you are suited for it.”
I
looked behind me to check on the children. The eleven of them were keeping
themselves entertained with the many toys and books spread throughout the large
room. I had to wonder if this was the only thing I was suited for. I dropped my
voice to a whisper as I spoke again, “But what if I want something more?”
“That
is the age old question, isn’t it? What do I do with my life when I want more
than what I have?” Master Linde let out a long, quiet sigh. “I will see what I
can do about getting you reassigned. You’re not too old to learn a new trade.”
I
kept my excitement contained with effort. Maybe he’d be able to talk Master
Ville into letting me try out for a Dark Lighter. “Could you, please?”
Nodding,
he let me go when one of the younger girls started crying. An older boy had
apparently taken the toy she’d been playing with. And with that it was back to
work; another busy day in the nursery at