New Light by Ben Johnston

Author:Ben Johnston [Johnston, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-04-20T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

In the growing shadows of the jungle, rays of afternoon sunlight crawled across the ground as the big, gleaming-white yacht descended from the sky. Disturbing the hot, stale air no more than the light that shined out from its citrine crystal engines, the big ship quietly extended its landing struts to set down gently and noiselessly in an open meadow of tall grass, broad-leafed plants, and squawking, scurrying animals.

The yacht’s crystal engines faded and the side ramp slid down, crushing the tall grass. Anniya stood atop the ramp in the big hatchway. She turned to Christopher and Tom with a smile and a bow.

“Thank you, kind Scholars, for your help. Thank you for the ride. And thank you.”

She gave a little sideways nod, her eyebrows jumping slightly. “For everything else.” Her mouth pulled into a tight smile.

There was a sudden flash and Christopher and Toms clothes whipped in a sudden rush of air.

Anniya was gone.

Tom blinked. “Wait. Is that it? I thought we were bringing her to her house to get her stuff. Isn’t she leaving the planet with us? Aren’t we her ride?”

Christopher frowned as he patted his long jacket’s pockets. “Spark.” His pocket-patting stopped, his hands fell to his sides. “I think we’re the ones who just got taken for a ride.”

Tom turned and looked at Christopher. “Taken for a ride?”

Looking down, Christopher shook his head then hefted his gaze to the edge of the clearing, staring off into the dense jungle that Anniya had run off into.

“She took the sunstone.”

Grinning, Anniya flew through the Jungle.

Flashing past clearing after clearing, over one dense group of brush, over another, leaping to sail over one creek, then over another, she finally burst out of the overgrowth into a meadow of evenly-spaced trees, almost like an orchard. She crouched at the base of the nearest trunk, activating a little crystal device the size of a fingertip.

The device glowed visibly for a moment, then faded out. She flashed to the next tree.

Crouching at the base, she activated another little device. This device also glowed visibly for a moment, but before it faded out it sent out a fine line of quickly fading light across the jungle floor to the other device she had already activated. She flashed to the next trunk and activated the device at its trunk. It sent out two lines of light to the other two devices. Those two devices also flashed the line they had made between each other. The lines faded and she moved on to the next tree.

Each device, when activated, flickered-out lines to all the other devices.

Eventually Anniya finished flashing to every single tree trunk in the grove, weaving the net of invisible lines of light across the flat, leafy ground. After she activated the last one, and the big network of light lines faded away, she turned to gaze back through the vast stand of trees and up to the dense canopy. The sun rays held a deepening hue in the waning late afternoon.

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