A Whisper of Southern Lights by Tim Lebbon

Author:Tim Lebbon
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Historical, Fiction
ISBN: 9780765384508
Publisher: Tor.com
Published: 2016-04-30T14:00:00+00:00

We were searched as thoroughly as ever upon our return to Changi, and then let inside under our own steam. I parted from the others and made my way into the main building, climbing staircases that were now home to dozens of men, finding my cell, grabbing my meager belongings and leaving. I had to find somewhere else to sleep. I craved the company of strangers.

More than anything, I needed to think about what had happened.

“Sykes,” a voice said.

I gasped and spun around on the landing. There were men all around me, sitting in hallways, leaning against doors, talking and smoking and sleeping. I tried to see where the voice had come from. I dreaded seeing that shifting face again.

He was shot, I thought. A dozen times or more . . . he was dead.

“Sykes, here.” A man stepped from the shadows of a doorway and motioned me toward him.

“You stay away from me,” I said. I backed away, keeping my voice low. “Just stay away.”

“Sykes, someone needs to see you.” He was following me, a short, thin man with a wound to the side of his neck. “He’s been looking for you, says it’s something important. His name’s Gabriel, like the angel.”

“How do you know my name?”

“I heard from a lad I know that you ran into a bit of trouble on your work party today. Japs shot someone who attacked you and your sergeant major.”

“And how many names do you have?”

The man frowned and shook his head. “My name’s Henry.”

I saw nothing in his face or eyes to reveal a lie. My heart thudded in my chest, and my vision throbbed with each heartbeat. I was badly scared. I’d seen something that I could not even begin to explain, and there was a hot patch on the back of my neck, as if someone was staring at me.

“What does this Gabriel want?”

Henry shrugged. “I don’t know. But I think he’s been looking for a while. He’s old.”

“How old?”

Henry shrugged, frowning again. “I dunno. There’s just something about him.”

“His face changes,” I said. I had to get away. I had to run, flee . . . but I was a prisoner there. A rat in a trap waiting to be killed.

“No,” Henry said. “But I’m sure he wishes it could. Follow me if you like. He said it was important. Don’t know how or why, but I believe him.” Henry turned and walked away along the landing.

I followed. I should have gone in the opposite direction, exploring the depths of the prison until I found somewhere dark to hide. But I was suddenly tired and depressed, driven down by everything I had seen, scared at whatever was to come. Some said the Japanese were going to leave us here to rot, while others heard rumours of work parties being sent up-country to work on roads and railways. The future felt bleak.

We moved through the prison, and the stink and sounds of that place could have been lifted straight from Hell.

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