JOSHUA MOON
by
Sharon Tregenza
SMASHWORDS EDITION
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY:
Sharon Tregenza on Smashwords
JOSHUA MOON
Copyright © 2010 by Sharon Tregenza
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.
About The Author
Sharon Tregenza is a multi award winning children’s author based in the UK. Her debut novel “Tarantula Tide” won the prestigious Kelpies Prize and the Heart of Hawick award 2010.
Chapter 1
Joshua Moon
‘Because you’re weird because you’re odd, because . . . because . . . red jelly?’ Tears of anger stung Joshua’s eyes. ‘It’ll be all round school tomorrow. Thanks, dad. Thanks for nothing!’
His father’s walrus moustache drooped at the ends.
‘But I thought you liked red jelly, Josh. I thought it was your favourite.’
‘Duh! When I was two!’ Joshua said. ‘I’m twelve. Twelve year olds do not eat red jelly at birthday parties.’
Joshua stormed off to his room. He slammed the door; its echo spiralled up the steps of the lighthouse. ‘That’s another thing,’ he shouted. Why do we live in this stupid lighthouse? Why can’t we live in a normal house?’ He threw himself onto the bed and thumped the pillow.
There was a tap at the door. ‘Joshua, I’m sorry about the jelly thing. But I have to talk to you about something - something extremely important.’
‘Do you know what dad?’ Joshua said. ‘They call you Professor Moon to your face, but behind your back everyone calls you the nutty professor.’
‘Joshua heard a chuckle. ‘That’s cool,’ his father said.
‘Don’t say cool’
‘Why not?’
‘Because dads saying cool is not cool,’
Joshua lay on his bed and ignored his father’s pleas. At last he heard unhappy footsteps fade down the hall. It’s bad enough having a weirdo for a dad, Joshua thought. But I’ve got a weirdo dad who doesn’t care he’s a weirdo. From outside his window the sounds of seagulls and the lazy slap-slop of the sea drifted in.
Somewhere, deep in the mess of his room, his mobile trilled. Joshua rummaged wildly through piles of clothes and magazines and pulled his phone out of a trainer.
‘Hello’
‘Joshua? I’m in the lantern room. I’m waiting for you,’ a strange voice said.
Click! The phone went dead. Joshua stood open mouthed.
The lantern room? No one had been in the lantern room at the top of the lighthouse for years. It was kept locked.
The phone rang again making Joshua jump. ‘Joshua! Come on!’
‘Who . . . ?’ he began. Click.
Joshua’s heart thumped hard in his chest. Friends told him his home was haunted. They said strange lights flashed from the tower at night. He didn’t believe it . . . until now. Shakily, he opened his bedroom door.
From his father’s study Joshua heard the familiar clicking of the computer keyboard. He would have called him but a dish of bright red jelly wobbled into his memory.
‘I’ll check it out myself,’ he said angrily.
The spiral staircase stretched up into darkness. Joshua put his head back and stared into its gloomy heights. Light struggled through dirty windows and patterned the walls. Cobwebs draped like dead seaweed from the handrails and dripped from step to step. The air had the dusty smell of empty spaces.
As Joshua climbed, his steps made footprints in the dust. Something ran over his hand with speedy, itchy, spider legs. Joshua yelled and beat at his hair and body.
‘That’s far enough,’ he said. ‘ No ones been up here in years.’ As he turned to go back there was a loud noise from the top of the tower, too loud a noise for rats, much too loud a noise for spiders. Joshua swallowed hard and forced his trembling legs to go on.
He reached the top landing and the trapdoor that led up into the lantern room. He climbed the steps of the ladder and listened - nothing but the nervous pulse of his heartbeat. The dust caught in his throat and he coughed.
Joshua took a big breath and counted, one, two, and three. He touched the trap door but before he could push . . . it slammed back on its hinges. A hard slice of brilliant light cut through the darkness and a face thrust itself at Joshua. It was a wild face, a face with furious marmalade hair and angry orange eyebrows.
‘Your late!’ it shrieked.
Chapter 2
Tilley Lamp
An arm shot out, grabbed him by his tee shirt and hauled him up into the lantern room. Joshua stumbled into the shock of sunlight. He rubbed at his eyes and struggled free.
‘Who? What?’
His vision cleared. He saw a girl, a skinny girl dressed from head to toe in black and white stripes. A coppery mop of hair stuck out from her head like dandelion fluff.
‘Tilley Lamp,’ she said.
‘No. I’m Joshua Moon,’ he replied.
‘I know that, stupid,’ Tilley said. ‘I’m Tilley Lamp.’
‘Stupid?’ Joshua recovered quickly.
‘We’d better get started. There’s no time to waste.’ the girl said.
‘Who are you calling stupid?’
‘Okay. Okay. I’m sorry about the stupid thing but we . . .’
‘Who are you? What are you doing up here?’
Tilley bit her lip, ‘You mean you don’t know?
‘Know what?’
Joshua stared around the half remembered room with its glass dome ceiling. Banks of computer monitors flickered, consoles hummed, telephones buzzed and bleeped. It was like a space station.
‘What’s all this stuff? Where are the books? There used to be loads of dusty old books. This was my dad’s observatory.’ Tilley ignored his questions and stared hard at him. She reminds me of something, Joshua thought.
I have something to tell you, Joshua. Something important.’ She frowned and her eyebrows angled like gulls wings over her green eyes. ‘In fact what I’m about to tell you is probably the most important thing in the history of the world.’
Joshua suddenly realised what she reminded him of, A Belisha Beacon!’ he laughed.
‘What?’ Her eyebrows flew up in surprise.
‘Nothing,’ he muttered.
‘Are you listening to what I’m saying here?’
‘Yeah, yeah,’ Joshua said, ‘’history of the world.’
He wandered over to the window and looked down. He could see for miles. From up high it looked as if fish had nibbled at the coastline, making little ragged coves. The sun shone on a sea shimmering turquoise. White waves rolled up the beach.
Tilley raised her voice. ‘Listen to me. You do know about the eclipse?’ Joshua groaned, ‘Not all that stuff again. My father’s an astronomer; it’s all he’s talked about for months. It’s sooo boring.’
‘Boring? Boring? Why you . . .’ Tilley closed her eyes and counted to five. ‘The eclipse,’ she tried again. ‘There is, um, how shall I put this . . . a power at work. And when the sun goes out, this power wants it to stay out. Forever!’
Joshua idly clicked a keyboard. Several screens flickered with figures and graphs.
‘Don’t touch that!’ Tilley shouted.
Joshua jumped back and waved his hands in the air in a mock surrender.
‘Look, the thing is, we need more light,’ Tilley’s voice was hoarse with urgency. ‘The sun will be vulnerable at the time of the eclipse. It needs help. It needs extra light. You’ve been chosen to collect it - the light that is. We’ll put it in here.’ She tapped a glass pyramid with her fingernail - it’s a prism.’
Joshua made monkey faces at himself in the mirrored wall
Tilley stood to attention and announced, ‘Joshua Moon you have been chosen to save the world!’
Joshua stopped making faces. He gave a slow smile. ‘Wait a minute, let me get this right’ he said, ‘You’re telling me that I’m going to save the world by collecting light to give to the sun, so that it will shine again after the eclipse.’
‘Exactly!’ Tilley said, shaking her marmalade hair with relief. The Light Director says you’re perfect because you’re brave and stubborn and . . .’
‘Oh a Light Director. And who is this Light Director person?’ Joshua sneered.
Tilley’s eyebrows did acrobatics on her forehead - a series of expressions passed over her face – shock, annoyance, and sadness.
‘You mean you don’t even know who the Light Director is?’
Joshua sighed, ‘ Okay enough. Which of my friends put you up to this? It’s pay back time for the jelly isn’t it? Well it’s not funny anymore. And when I tell my dad that you sneaked up here and . . .’
Tilley marched over to a computer. ‘Okay mister smarty,’ she said. ‘Which of your friends put me up to this!’
She stabbed a button and the day went out. Click. No light. Instant night.
A spider walk of panic flickered up Joshua’s back.
‘Or this!’ Tilley pushed another button and a massive beam of light shot out from the Lighthouse cutting a tunnel-shaped slice out of the darkness. Joshua breathed noisily through his nose.
‘And finally,’ Tilley pushed a third button. The tunnel of light began to spin. Slowly at first, and then faster and faster until the scene outside was flickering like an old black and white movie.
Tilley turned and faced him with her hands on her bony hips, her hair an orange blob against the background.
‘Well, mister smarty, which of your friends was it?’
Chapter 3
The Beam
Joshua closed his eyes and put his hand out to steady himself. The beam spun so fast the room seemed to tilt and lunge. He felt his stomach tilt and lunge in rhythm.
‘That’s enough,’ he said.
‘It’ll stop in a minute,’ Tilley answered.
Her voice grew softer. Look, I know this is a lot to take in. We’d like to give you more time, but time is something we don’t have. You must get started right away.’
The beam of light slowed and stopped.
Joshua watched Tilley in silence. She spoke into a mobile phone.
‘L.D.? Yes, he’s here. I’ve told him.’ She paused and looked at Joshua.
‘I don’t know. Okay I think. What does he have to get?
Starlight? Right.’ She paused again. ‘Why didn’t you tell him, L. D?’ She shook her head and sighed. ‘Okay, you’re the boss. Bye.’
Joshua’s legs felt odd, wobbly but stiff at the same time.
‘Stardust’ Tilley said excitedly. ‘The L. D. says we need stardust, a good sack full should do it, it's powerful stuff.’ She ran to a keyboard and her fingers worked frantically.
Joshua slumped down and sat on the floor. ‘L.D.?’ he said, ‘what’s an L.D.?’ His voice was small and scared. Annoyed with himself he coughed and sat up straight.
‘L. D. is what I call the Light Director,’ said Tilley. ‘He runs the show. He’s a great man Joshua, a great man and a good one.’ She gave him an odd stare. Then clapped her hands.
‘Right. To business, you’ll ride down the Beam of Light.’
Joshua stared out of the window at the giant yellow beam slicing the night. ‘Oh yeah, why don’t you ride down the Beam of Light!’
Tilley’s eyes followed Joshua’s gaze. ‘I only wish I could,’ she said, ‘but I have to stay right here. I have to keep the light lit. ’
‘Wait a minute’ Joshua laughed with relief. ‘I’ve got it. I’ve got it. This is a dream! You’re a dream. Riding beams, collecting stardust, Light Directors it’s all a dream. That’s it isn’t it? When I was on my bed I fell asleep. All this light stuff is nothing some dumb dream.’
Tilley groaned. Her seagull eyebrows flapped, and met over her nose. ‘This is even harder than I expected,’ she muttered to herself. ‘He should have been primed. L.D. should’ve told him. Fair enough, its all a dream,’ she said and shrugged her bony shoulders.
Joshua looked at her suspiciously. ‘You mean it's okay if I don’t save the world?’
‘Sure,’ she said. ‘I need some air. Let’s take a walk outside.’
‘Outside?’
‘This is all a dream isn’t it? What’s the worst that can happen? You fall, you wake up, right?’
Suddenly Joshua wasn’t quite so sure. Everything looked very solid.
Tilley grabbed his arm, opened a door and pushed him outside. He was on the ledge that circled the Lighthouse. The only thing between him and sea, roaring far below, was a rusty rail.
‘He screamed. His legs buckled with terror and he flattened his body against the wall as tightly as he could. ‘Okay, fine,’ he said. ‘Get out of the way. I want to go back in now.’ The wind made a whistling sound. It snatched at his clothes and hair.
‘What do you see?’ Tilley shouted.
‘Nothing,’ he shouted back, ‘my eyes are closed.’
‘Okay, what do you hear?’
‘Seagulls.’
‘And smell?’
‘The sea.’
‘And feel?’
‘The wall, and I’m not letting go,’ he shouted.
‘So what does that tell you, Joshua Moon?’
For a minute Joshua didn’t answer. He opened one eye and squinted at Tilley.
‘This isn’t a dream, is it?’ he said.
‘No. Now get into the beam and go get some stardust!’ she yelled.
The wind whipped her orange hair into a frenzy - it looked like flames.
‘Get into the . . . are you crazy?’ Joshua shouted back.
With the day switched off he couldn’t even see where the edge of the ledge was. The Beam of Light stretching out and down made the dark around it seem deeper and darker than ever. It was a terrible darkness, an insects in your hair kind of darkness, a screams in your dreams kind of darkness. He closed his eyes against a rising panic.
‘You’ll have help, there’re people waiting for you.’ Tilley said.
‘Let me back inside, now! Joshua hissed.
Her voice was a whisper against the wind. ‘I’m sorry about this, Joshua but I don’t have any choice.’
He couldn’t see her face when she said that. But he felt the shock of the shove as she pushed him into the Beam of Light . . .
Chapter 4
Skeleton Crew
Joshua twisted and whirled down through the Beam. He tried to grab hold of something but there was nothing to hold on to, the edges were completely smooth. Joshua screamed. It was like falling in your dream, wildly out of control. Eventually he manoeuvred his body into a sitting position and slowed himself down. Wind rushed through his hair and a sweet rhythmic music followed him. Down and down he slid through the silky softness of the Beam of Light.
He shot out at the end and cannoned, Bang! - into himself? No, it was a mirror. Joshua stared white-faced at the white face staring back at him. He rubbed his aching head. The crumpled reflection rubbed his head.
‘Do you think I’m beautiful?’ said a creamy voice. Joshua saw a young woman gazing into another mirror, a beautiful young woman; tall and willowy with long ashy hair and skin the colour of honey.
‘Oh yes,’ Joshua breathed. Staggering to his feet.
‘I’m Morgana,’ she said. ‘You must be the Moon child.’ She dragged her attention away from her reflection and drifted toward him. Catching sight of herself in another mirror she adjusted the straps of her shimmering gown.
Joshua watched, mesmerised.
‘You’ve got to get something,’ she said. ‘You’ve got to go the Lightship. It’s over there somewhere.’ She extended an elegant hand and waved it casually at where an avenue of mirrors led to a sparkling lake.
‘But I . . .’
‘Over there.’ Morgana said impatiently without turning.
Reluctantly, Joshua walked away.
‘How beautiful?’ said the creamy voice.
‘What?’
‘How beautiful am I?’
‘Oh very beautiful,’ breathed Joshua. ‘Very beautiful indeed.’
Morgana sighed and lifted her face toward him. Her eyes were splendid, almond shaped and black as jet. But her glance was as empty as a camera lens. She brushed her hair with long, sensuous strokes. Joshua dragged himself away, with a sigh, and strolled towards the lake.
He entered the avenue of mirrors and Joshua Moon reflections kept pace to the left and the right of him. The reflections bounced back and forth and created a walking column that seemed to go on forever. Joshua felt like a front-line of an army. Perhaps that’s what I am, he thought. He turned proudly to the eternal line of Joshua’s who all turned proudly back to him. Then they marched on together.
At the lake a sailboat bobbed in the shallow waves. It was painted a Day-Glo pink and its name, Radiance, flashed on the side in multi-coloured light bulbs.
‘Hello,’ Joshua called.
‘Hello,’ someone rattled back and a skull popped up. Joshua jumped back in terror.
‘Come aboard. We’re ready to go, that’s to say waiting for the off,’ said the skull.
Another skull popped into view. Joshua backed away from the twin grins.
‘Don’t go, stay where you are, that’s to say don’t be scared,’ said the first skull. ‘We’re the skeleton crew, here to help, give aid, offer assistance.’ he added. The other skeleton was silent. Joshua stepped forward nervously and edged across the gangplank. It was even more unnerving seeing the whole skeleton. The Bone man held out a friendly bunch of phalanges. Joshua clasped the bones in a handshake. They felt like dried twigs and made a soft crunch. He dropped the hand with a shudder.
The skeleton rattled a spiny laugh. ‘Don’t look so frightened, Joshua Moon. Didn’t the Light Director or Tilley Lamp mention us? Just think of us as normal people with our outsides off and our insides out.’ He nudged Joshua in the ribs.
‘That’s better. Smile and laugh, that’s to say, giggle and snigger,’ the skeleton said. ‘I’m Funnybones -- I’m the Captain. And this is Backbones he’s my first mate.’ The other skeleton nodded.
‘Off we go. Cast off. Make for the island!’ shouted Funnybones. Backbones leapt into action, pulling ropes and tugging sails.
‘Well we can’t say old Backbones is bone idle can we? Ack, ack, ack.’ rattled Funnybones ‘Bone idle, get it?’ He gave Joshua another painful dig. Joshua laughed politely.
Wind billowed the pink sails of the lightship. Backbones pulled up the gangplank, cast off, and the Radiance sailed away from the shore.
‘Where are we going?’ Joshua asked. Everything felt unreal, dreamlike.
‘Smoke Island, across the lake, over there,’ said Funnybones pointing to an empty expanse of water. ‘Make yourself comfortable, going to be a good trip, feel it in my bones ack, ack, ack. Feel it in my bones get it?’
Joshua neatly sidestepped another nudge. Funnybones sauntered, to the front and straddled the bow, his Bone body moving easily with the rolling motion. Backbones rushed around with astonishing agility. Joshua settled down on the deck. He began to relax, enjoying the feel of the breeze in his hair and the gentle sway. So what if he was in a boat with two skeletons. They were friendly enough skeletons anyway.
A shout from Funnybones roused him from his thoughts. ‘Oh oh, trouble. Look up there! Must be Morgana’s work.’
In the sky an exact replica of the ‘Radiance ‘ sailed upside down. It followed their passage like a ghostly galleon in eerie mimicry. The jokiness left Funnybones’s voice.
‘It’s a mirage, a trick of the light, Morgana’s specialty. I wonder what she’s up to.’
‘That beautiful lady?’ Joshua said. ‘She seemed so nice.’
‘She’s deceitful, treacherous, a bundle of trickery, Joshua. Don’t be deceived by appearances,’ he added kindly.
The phantom Radiance sailed the skies above them, mast down, stretching and elongating in an evil parody of the jolly, sailing boat.
Joshua and the two skeletons were so busy watching the mirage; they didn’t see the wall of water moving towards them - the huge tidal wave that came out of nowhere to tower over the little Radiance. They only heard the sudden roar as the great wave broke, and crashed over them in a wild boil of angry surf . . .
Chapter 5
The Dark Horse
The killer wave hit with the strength and ferocity of an avalanche. The Radiance was overwhelmed in seconds and Joshua found himself struggling through a world gone green. He desperately fought through a whirlpool of wreckage and water. He kicked toward the surface and broke into the sunshine coughing and spitting. He sucked in long painful gulps of air. As he grabbed a drifting plank of Day-Glo pink he remembered the Skeleton crew. He scanned the waters. Bright bits of pink bobbed around him but there was no sign of the Bone men.
‘Funnybones!’ Joshua shouted. ‘Captain!’ He dived under the surface again and again. There was no sign of the cheerful skeleton or his mate. At last, exhausted and shivering with shock and cold, Joshua admitted defeat. He felt a cold sting of misery for the jolly pink ship and its eccentric crew.
He collapsed onto a large piece of passing debris. The sun warmed the green water and twinkled the flat surface of the lake. There was no evidence of the gigantic wall of water that had caused such sudden and violent devastation. Joshua floated, completely spent, and fell into a deep, deep, sleep.
When he woke he was lying face down on something hard. He was aching, stiff and cold. He could hear the soft slap of water on rocks. He raised his head to find he was on a pebbled beach. It was night and a multitude of stars studded the black sky. Slowly, Joshua became aware of something nudging his neck, something soft and warm as a cat. He rolled over. A dark horse whinnied and pawed the ground beside him. Joshua was too exhausted to speak or even feel surprise. The black stallion’s hooves clattered on the pebbles. He nudged Joshua again, gently, but insistently.
‘You want me to come with you?’ Joshua croaked. His throat stung and his chest hurt. The horse neighed and nodded his majestic head. His eyes were black and full of secrets, but Joshua somehow knew he could trust him.
‘I don’t know if I can go anywhere with you. I hurt all over.’ Joshua groaned. Painfully he dragged himself to his feet. The horse sidestepped to stand silently beside a large rock.
‘Ride you? You want me to ride you?’ said Joshua. The dark horse nodded.
Joshua hauled himself onto the rock and clumsily straddled the horse’s back. He was immediately aware of the magnificent power of the stallion. Some of the strength seeped into him and Joshua felt the weakness leave his limbs. He tangled his hands in the lustrous mane, gripped the horse’s flanks with his knees and feet and held on tight.
‘There were two skeletons,’ Joshua,’ said. ‘Do you know what happened to them, are they okay?’ The horse gave no sign of understanding what he said so Joshua concentrated on holding on. They climbed up to the high ground and within minutes were cantering over fields. As they passed a pool of water its silver surface glittered with the reflection of a million stars. Joshua felt more confident – stronger.
‘I expect you know all about this collecting stardust thing?’ He tried again. There was a non-committal snicker from the horse. They wound round a sloping path where water ran down the bank of a wooded coppice.
‘Tilley Lamp sent me. And there’s a Light Director. Wow!’ Joshua ducked quickly as an overhanging branch narrowly missed his head. The dark horse trotted on. Joshua struggled upright again.
‘So you’re not the chatty type, eh?’ said Joshua.
He could feel his strength returning with every stretch of the horse’s powerful stride. He relaxed into the ride. In the soft breeze mingled the mossy smell of the woods and something else, something strange, a faint odour of sulphur.
The black night sky domed above them. The stars winked and sparked but as the night went on some of the glitter went out of them and they smudged and blurred. Joshua sensed urgency in the horse and their pace increased. He thought he knew why.
‘When morning comes the stars will disappear won’t they’ he said. ‘No stars, no star dust and I’m supposed to collect the stardust, somehow.’ He gripped tightly with his knees as the horse suddenly broke into a gallop.
They raced across the Island. Shapes and trees loomed and flashed past in a dark blur. Joshua was frightened but exhilarated at the same time. They thundered on, the horse’s hooves sparking showers of light from stones and pebbles as they raced against time.
When the dark horse slowed to a canter Joshua was able to breathe more easily and sit upright. He looked down at a deep valley below. At the bottom of a wooded slope a stream cut a straight black gorge. The river made a deep sulky murmur.
‘Is this it. Are we here?’ Joshua said.
The horse stopped and lowered his head.
Joshua dismounted and looked down to where the rush of water gushed over boulders. He felt the beginnings of an awful realisation.
‘I have to go down there?’ A rope was tied to an overhanging tree - it disappeared into the darkness.
‘Then what?’ he said.
But the dark horse had disappeared. Puzzled, Joshua peered up the slope. How could he possibly have moved so quickly? He thought. Joshua looked up at the stars. They had a soft grainy look.
‘I’d better get on with it,’ he sighed.
He took the rope and lowered himself over the side, trying hard not to look at the darkness below.
Twigs and brambles scratched and clawed at him and the waterfall boomed loud in his ears.
‘Just what am I supposed to do when I get down there?’ Joshua grumbled, ‘everyone’s disappears when I need them to help me.’
‘He looked up and saw that dawn was creeping into the night. Daylight meant no stars and no stars meant no stardust. Joshua slipped the rope quickly through his hands, wincing as the friction burned his palms and fingers.
‘I’m getting good at this,’ he grunted - just as the rope broke.
Joshua bumped down through plants and shrubs and in a very short time landed with a thump on the mossy bank. It took a few minutes to get his wind back. He inspected the damage; one pair of ripped jeans and two grazed hands.
‘Help!’ Joshua shouted. The rushing boom of the waterfall drowned his words. He tried again. The end of the rope dangled uselessly, high over his head.
‘Great. I’m stuck down here and I don’t even know what I’m looking for.’
Nearby was a rickety sort of water chute. Joshua went to investigate. There were several spades lying around and what looked like large wooden sieves. The scene was oddly familiar.
‘Yeah I know,’ Joshua said. ‘It’s from those old cowboy films. They looked for gold with these. What was it called? Panning! That’s it - panning.’
Thoughtfully he went back to the bank, sat down and looked deep into the river. He saw glitter. Glitter silvered the water, made the black rocks sparkle and gathered like sand in all the crevices.
‘Stardust!’ Joshua shrieked.
He started immediately, panning the glittering dust from the water. It was exciting. He strained the water through trapping the shimmering grains in the sieve and collected them in a large pile beside him.
‘Stardust fever!’ he shouted over the waterfall’s splash and laughed out loud. He was so engrossed he didn’t notice that the day was reaching into the valley. A finger of light crept over and poked the precious pile. The stardust spat like lit gunpowder and dissolved.
‘No!’ Joshua groaned. He tore off his tee shirt. As he threw it over the fizzing stardust - he heard a voice shouting above the boom of water.
‘Looks like you need some help. Got problems there have you? Lucky I’m here. But I’ve got a bone to pick with you, Joshua. Ack, ack, ack. Get it? Bone to pick with you.’
Chapter 6
Through The Waterfall
It was a bizarre sight, Funnybones coming down a rope through the waterfall with water pouring in him, out of him and through him.
‘But I thought, after the tidal wave. . . when I couldn’t find you I thought . . .’ Joshua stuttered.
‘Thought what? Said Funnybones. ‘Backbones and I walked the lake bottom looking for you. We were really worried.’
‘You walked around underwater?’
‘Of course, water can’t hurt us. Look at me now. Bone dry, ack ack ack. Bone dry.’ Funnybones nudged him.
‘Yes, yes I get it,’ laughed Joshua.
‘Have you got plenty? How much is there? That’s to say where’s the stardust?’
‘Stardust?’ Joshua had been so happy to see his skeletal friend that for a moment he’d forgotten the glitter.
‘Stardust! Oh no! The stardust, it’s disappearing in the daylight.’ He ran to the dwindling pile.
‘We can get more, lots more.’ Joshua said with a greedy glint in his eye.
‘No time,’ said Funnybones. They scooped the remaining stardust into Joshua’s tee shirt and tied it in a bundle. ‘We’ve got to get going.’
‘How?’ said Joshua looking up.
‘I’ll carry you,’ said Funnybones.
‘You’ll carry me?’ said Joshua.
‘Yes, like this.’ And without another word Funnybones picked Joshua up, threw him over his shoulder and ran for the rope.
‘Wait!’ yelled Joshua but the Bone man was shimmying up the ravine.
Joshua felt his bones rattling around inside his skin as they clambered up through the waterfall. Every time he opened his mouth to protest water poured in. So he gripped the stardust bundle tightly and kept his mouth firmly closed. At the top of the gorge Funnybones dropped him gently on the ground.
‘I’m freezing,’ grumbled Joshua. Pools of water dripped off him and he shivered in the morning sunlight.
‘Things are looking up now. Thought we’d lost you. That’s to say, if it wasn’t for him . . .’ Funnybones glanced over Joshua’s shoulder.
There was a whinny close to Joshua’s ear. The dark horse was pawing the ground beside him.
Thanks to Morgana’s vicious tricks, we’ve lost time,’ said Funnybones. Don’t want disappoint the Light Director. Let’s go!’
Joshua clambered onto the horse’s back. His sodden jeans felt like seaweed on his skin and his trainers squelched.
‘I feel like I’ve been wet forever,’ he grumbled.
The skeleton got onto the stallion behind him and they were off, sparks showering from the horse’s hooves. As they rode, Funnybones told Joshua how, after they had searched for him and almost given up hope, the dark horse appeared.
‘He carried me straight to you. Backbones stayed on the beach. He’s salvaging what’s left of the dear little Radiance.’
They cantered across the hills. The acrid sulphur smell that Joshua had noticed the night before came twisting into the wind. Smoke appeared. It flooded the landscape like mist. The muscles of the dark horse tensed and Funnybones gripped Joshua’s waist with his finger bones.
‘What is it?’ Joshua asked.
‘It’s the smoke from the volcano. Shadow land. All that’s evil.’ Joshua heard the clatter of fear in the Bone man’s teeth.
‘Who or what is Shadow.’ Joshua said. But for once Funnybones didn’t want to talk.
‘I may be a Jaw-Bones Joshua but I’ll let Tilley Lamp tell you, that’s to say I don’t want to talk about it.’
Suddenly, directly in front of them, a spectacular castle appeared out of the air. It floated inches off the ground. The towers and battlements twisted and elongated and spread. The horse reared in fright and Joshua and Funnybones struggled to stay on. Joshua hugged the bundle of stardust to his chest.
‘Another of Morgana’s mirages,’ shouted Funnybones.
The dark horse veered away from the apparition and changed direction. Another castle appeared, grotesquely magnified. Its spires distorted and stretched to block their path. The horse reared again. Joshua and Funnybones held on grimly.
Ghostly walls extended from one castle to the other in a shifting pattern, and joined together surrounding them. The stallion pranced in a circle searching for an way out. Then he stood completely still as if taking stock of the situation.
‘What’s he going to do?’ whispered Joshua.
There was a tensing of the powerful shoulder muscles, as with a wild shake of his majestic head the horse went into a gallop - straight at the twisting Mirage.
“Nooo!’ screamed Joshua and Funnybones together.
The horse galloped at full speed, his great neck strained, his hooves rang in the stillness, forward and forward and straight into the walls of the castle.
They entered the mirage. For a sickening instant Joshua felt coldness, like the pump of iced water, enter his veins. He closed his eyes. When he opened them they were through and out the other side. The dark horse galloped over the hills.
Joshua felt the bone grip of the skeleton like iron on his waist.
‘Funnybones, are you okay?’
The spiny voice trembled. ‘I’ll make no bones about it, that was the most terrifying moment of my life.’ Funnybones was so rattled that he didn’t even notice that he had made another bone joke and Joshua escaped a rib poke.
They reached the beach. Backbones had been busy. Bright, pink pieces of the Radiance were lashed together to make a sizable raft.
‘Back to the other shore, better be quick now. That’s to say the Beam will be waiting for you,’ said Funnybones.
They turned to thank the dark horse but he had disappeared.
‘Elusive creature, very secretive, that’s to say likes to keep himself to himself,’ Funnybones said.
The raft journey back across the lake was gentle and uneventful. Backbones, using a long flat piece of wreckage as an oar, paddled steadily.
‘Another strong, silent one,’ Funnybones nodded in Backbones direction. ‘But me now . . . ack, ack, ack,’ and he entertained Joshua with a long monologue of stories and bone jokes.
The sun dried Joshua’s clothes and hair and warmed his body. He plumped up the bundle of stardust and rested his head on it. He was tired but strangely happy. The Bone-man rattled on. Joshua dozed, lulled by the gentle bobbing and rhythmic swish of the oar.
The soft bump of the raft on the shore woke him. Backbones jumped off and tethered the raft to a rock.
‘Off you go Joshua. Good luck! That’s to say all the very best,’ said Funnybones. Give our deepest respects to the Light Director and love to Tilley won’t you.
Backbones managed a short wave.
‘I’m sorry about the Radiance, Joshua said, ‘she was a lovely boat.’
‘We’ll just have to work our fingers to the bone and build another,’ said Funnybones.
Joshua waved and walked away with the skeleton’s ‘Ack, ack, ack’ ringing in his ears.
Through the avenue of mirrors Joshua marched, clutching his bundle of stardust tightly. A long, long line of bedraggled Joshua Moons marched beside him.
‘I think I’m even more beautiful today, don’t you, Moon boy?’ said a creamy voice. Morgana stood before a long mirror, running slim fingers through her shimmering hair.
Joshua’s heart said no, but his eyes and his voice said, ‘Yes. Oh yes. But, you sank the Radiance and sent the castles to close us in. You’re deceitful and treacherous,’ he added firmly.
She turned a look of strange intensity on him, her full lips parted and she smiled.
‘Oh, do you really think so? What a sweet Moon child you are.’
Joshua sighed heavily.
‘Why?’ he said simply. ‘Why did you do it?’
Morgana twisted a frond of white blond hair around her finger.
‘For the Shadow of course, for my master, wait ‘til you meet him Moon boy.’ She closed her eyes and gave a small shudder. ‘All that delicious darkness.’
Joshua shook his head and walked away.
‘Oh, your Beam thing came for you,’ Morgana called. To take you back to silly Tilley.’ She gave a mean chuckle.
Joshua saw the Beam of Light waiting patiently for him in the sunshine. In fact, Joshua saw five Beams of Light waiting patiently for him in the sunshine . . .
Chapter 7
Starlight Fight
The five identical Beams of Light criss-crossed. Their tuneful humming filled the air. Joshua looked from one to the other in confusion.
He turned angrily to Morgana. ‘This is your doing isn’t it?’ he said. ‘This is another of your mirages.’
Morgana was admiring her profile; she licked a finger with her pretty cat tongue and traced a perfect eyebrow.
‘Yes,’ she said.
Joshua stared at the Beams. They glowed like bubbles in the sunlight.
‘I think you’re mean,’ he said.
‘Mmm,’ she nodded.
‘And. . . and cruel,’ Joshua stammered.
‘Oh what a flattering little Moon it is,’ Morgana purred.
The Beams hummed louder. In desperation Joshua blurted ‘I don’t think you’re beautiful at all.’
There was a popping sound and there were only four Beams of light shimmering in the sun.
Joshua thought for a moment. ‘You’re ugly,’ he tried. There was another pop.
Morgana turned slowly from the mirror to stare at him, her eyes dark as storm clouds.
‘As ugly as, as . . . an old boot,’ Joshua said lamely.
Another beam popped.
Morgana’s black eyes filled with black fire. ‘What did you say?’ The creamy voice was gone, replaced with a hiss of pure hatred.
Joshua backed away.
‘You’re the ugliest person I’ve ever seen in my life!’ He shouted. He ran straight at the Beams. Pop! One more exploded in the sunshine. Joshua leapt for the remaining Beam of Light and caught its lip just as it curled into itself.
The journey up was far easier than the journey down the beam. After just a few minutes He was dropped gently on the ledge at the top of the lighthouse.
‘I’ve got it! Joshua said bursting into the lantern room. He unwrapped his tee shirt.
Wait! The door’s still open! Tilley screamed. She slammed it shut.
Too late, the circular room was turned into a giant snow globe as the wind caught the stardust and whirled it around.
Tilley and Joshua stood stock still in horror. Light caught the sparkling dust particles as it gusted in flurries and eddies all around them. With a tinkling sound it fell on every inch, of every surface of the Lantern room and every inch of Tilley and Joshua.
They glared at each other in silence.
‘You’re sparkling,’ Joshua said softly.
Tilley shook her orange hair, a snowstorm of stardust swirled to the floor. Her eyes scanned Joshua from top to toe. She scooped up a handful and sprinkled it over him like confetti.
‘So are you,’ she said and laughed.
Joshua grabbed a handful of stardust, packed it like a snowball, and threw it. It exploded in a cloud of sparkles. The Lantern Room rang with shrieks and laughter as Tilley and Joshua hurled the sparkling dust at one another. They glistened like Christmas tree fairies, and the precious stardust was scattered everywhere. Exhausted, They collapsed onto the floor.
Tilley stopped giggling long enough to say, ‘We’d better gather this up.’ She fetched a duster and vacuum cleaner. Joshua spread his damp tee shirt on the window ledge to dry.
‘You dust, I’ll vacuum,’ she said.
While they worked, Joshua told Tilley about Funnybones, and the Dark horse and Morgana - most of all about Morgana.
‘I told her she was ugly and she sort of lost her power or something,’ he said. ‘But she was beautiful,’ he added.
‘Mmm.’
‘Very beautiful,’
‘Uhuh.’
‘She had this long silky hair and her . . .’
‘Yes, okay, you’ve made your point,’ snapped Tilley. ‘Put the stardust in there will you.’
‘What’s the matter with you,’ Joshua said.
Tilley emptied the vacuum cleaner and poured the contents into the glass prism. Joshua did the same with the duster shaking the cloth inside to loosen the remaining sparkles. The pyramid whirred like a liquidiser and the stardust whipped into liquid light.
‘It’s not enough,’ she said matter of factly. ‘You’ll have to go back down.’
‘No,’ said Joshua, ‘no way, not again, no!’
‘Well make up your mind why don’t you,’ laughed Tilley.
‘If you think it’s so funny you go’ said Joshua.
‘I told you I would if I could and I’d probably do a better job.’ They glared at each other over the prism.
Tilley’s phone rang. The Firelight? but . . .’ Yes I’ll tell him. Yes I’ll tell him that too. L.D. couldn’t I go, please? I’m sure I could . . .’ No, but . . . No but . . . Okay. Bye.’
‘The L.D. says to tell you what a great job you did,’ she muttered through gritted teeth. ‘And he says that only you can decide whether you go back or not.’
‘Yeah? This Light Director guy sounds pretty cool to me. What’ll happen if I don’t go? Joshua said.
‘You’ll die,’ said Tilley.
She sank down onto a chair and put her head in her hands. Her voice was low with despair. ‘If the Shadow wins and the sun can’t return there will be no warmth, no colour, no light ever again. Everything, everyone will die.’
Joshua picked up his crumpled tee shirt and picked off a few stray spangles of stardust. ‘Sooo if I go I’ll probably die and if I don’t I certainly will, easy peasy really. He pulled his still damp tee shirt over his head. ‘Lead me to the Beam’ He almost managed to act like he wasn’t terrified.
Tilley’s sudden hug astonished him. ‘Get off,’ he said.
The cold wind moaned around the ledge of the lighthouse. Waves crashed onto the beach below. Joshua pressed his body tight against the wall.
‘You need to know about the Shadow,’ Tilley said. ‘He’s cunning and more powerful, more, more . . . dark than anything you can imagine.’
‘Look, hanging around up here is the worst bit, lets get this over with,’ Joshua said.
‘He absorbs light. He’ll consume all that’s good in you, Joshua. It’s hard to explain.’
‘Then don’t. I’d rather not know,’ His legs shook so hard he thought they might give out on him. He couldn’t move.
A long ago memory drifted into his mind. When he was little and frightened of the dark, he father had sung a song for him. A song made from the secret sounds of star names. ‘Sing it whenever you need light, son,’ he’d say. ‘Sing Cassiopeia, Centaurus, Carina,’
‘Cassiopeia, Centaurus, Carina,’ Joshua sang and he jumped into the Beam of Light.
Tilley’s shout spiralled down after him. ‘You need firelight, Joshua. Collect the firelight!’
The Beam dropped him into a summer afternoon filled with insect noise. With a whispering song it curled up and disappeared.
He was in a place of stones, stone walls, stone piles and a tall stony tower with steps zigzagging up its side.
‘Bet I end up climbing that,’ Joshua sighed.
In the distance, mountains gleamed like gold in the bright light. At their centre, silhouetted in the brightness, was the smoking stack of a volcano.
‘I’m here,’ he called. ‘I suppose someone will be here to help me,’ he added. There was no sound but the whine of an insect near his face, he swatted it away.
Joshua lay on the yellow-green grass. ‘Thought we were supposed to be in a big hurry,’ he murmured. The grass was soft at his back, and warmth filled his body. The breeze shaped the clouds into sky-sculpture.
In the intense stillness Joshua heard all the small noises: little things crawling in the grass blades. Across the fields dragonflies dipped and dipped. His eyelids fluttered and the day began to shift.
‘You could have killed him!’ pinged a stinging voice inside his ear.
Chapter 8
The Timekeeper
Joshua jumped up with a shout, slapping at his ear and shaking his head as the insect fizzed angrily inside. When it flew out, Joshua’s eyes followed the pulsing firefly’s aerobatics until he felt dizzy.
‘Here! Here!’ he called, wiggling his finger around in the air. ‘Land here.’ The firefly hovered close. ‘Oh right, then you’ll swat me too.’
Joshua strained to hear the faint sound that vibrated in the air.
‘Swat? What?’ he said.
‘The advance guard, he came to greet you and you swatted him.’
Joshua remembered flicking at the insect that had flown close to his face.
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Is he all right?’
‘Mild concussion and a crinkled wing tip,’ pinged the firefly importantly, then added, ‘could have been worse I suppose.’ He made a vibrating string sound. Immediately, the air was filled with a cloud of dancing fireflies. They pulsed and throbbed their lights.
One landed on Joshua’s shoulder.
‘Mild concussion and a crinkled wing tip,’ it pinged.
Another settled on Joshua’s nose,
‘Mild concussion and a crinkled wing. . .’
‘I heard,’ said Joshua going cross-eyed.
‘Look, I’m sorry everyone. I didn’t mean to.’ He threw out his arms in a gesture of apology and sideswiped another firefly. Three more were whirled off course in the updraft. The one he’d hit, spiralled to the ground.
‘Oops,’ Joshua said. Kneeling down, he found the injured insect crawling groggily up a blade of grass. He placed him carefully in the palm of his hand. The Firefly flickered like a fading light bulb.
‘Now I’ve got mild concussion and a crinkled . . .’
‘Wing tip?’ offered Joshua.
‘Antenna,’ thrummed the firefly, massaging a ninety-degree tilt out of his feeler with his front legs.
Relieved, Joshua held his hand out and it flew off with a silvery,
‘Thanks.’
Several fireflies were using Joshua as a launching pad. There were regular vertical take-offs from the top of his head, and his nose was a landing strip. They tickled and itched.
‘Don’t we have to do something or be somewhere,’ he mumbled through clenched lips. He imagined the horror if he swallowed one of the glittering bugs - to them and him.
They swarmed together, making a cloud of throbbing light
‘Time to see the Timekeeper,’ they hummed. ‘Follow us,’
They formed an arrow pointing to the tall stone tower.
‘Well, what a surprise,’ Joshua said glumly. As he followed the glittering arrow, he noticed an ashy taste of smoke in his mouth. He looked to where the volcano dribbled charcoal into the blue sky, and a strange shiver passed through him.
They reached the tower. Joshua looked up at its full height. Moving clouds made the tower seem to lean. There were several flights of crumbling granite steps and no handrail.
‘It’s the Clock Tower,’ strummed the fireflies. ‘There’s a door at the top. The Timekeeper is waiting for you. He has the sundial.’
‘The sundial?’
‘The sundial,’ the swarm thrummed.
The fireflies changed their speech pattern so that they sounded like the ripple of a harp.
‘Up, up, up,’ they rippled.
The steps were steep and broken in places. Joshua climbed. He kept a steadying hand on the lichen-covered wall and tried not to look down. The sun threw the tower into a geometric shadow across the fields below. One more flight of steps to go, he steadied himself - and his nerve - for the final climb, took a step, and slipped.
Small pieces of crumbled stone rolled and fell, bouncing off the side of the tower in their haste. Joshua breathed deeply and clung onto the wall with both hands. He twisted around and forced himself up the final flight of steps.
He almost fell into the door at the top. When his eyes grew accustomed to the gloom he saw a man, wearing a white coat and working at a computer. The noise was terrible. Everywhere, clocks ticked, tocked and chimed. More clocks, watches, cogs and springs littered every surface.
‘Hello’ he shouted above the pandemonium. The man typed at the keyboard.
‘It’s me’ Joshua tried again. There was still no response. He tiptoed through the clocks cluttering the floor and tapped the man on the shoulder.
He jumped, and Joshua jumped too. He turned in his swivel chair and stood up. Joshua saw an even smile on an odd face. The Timekeeper’s long nose and chin curved towards each other like a caricature of Punch.
‘So sorry, the noise you know!’ he shouted.
‘Yes!’ Joshua shouted back. ‘The noise!’
‘You must be Joshua Moon!’
‘What?’
‘Joshua Moon?’
‘Yes, and you’re the Timekeeper!’
‘What’s that?’
‘Timekeeper!’ shrieked Joshua.
‘I’m the Timekeeper!’ shouted the Timekeeper.’
‘You’ve got a sundial!’ Joshua shouted.
‘I’ve got a what?’
‘Sundial!’
‘Just a minute!’ screamed the Timekeeper.
He rummaged in the deep pockets of his white coat until he found a crumpled scrap of paper.
He made ‘found it’ gestures and smiled. He held up a hand and read something out. Suddenly, there was an ear-splitting silence, every tick, and every tock, stopped.
‘How did you do that?’ Joshua said, too loudly.
‘A magic trick, I just read a quiet spell.’ said the Timekeeper. It’s a hobby of mine,’ he added modestly. ‘My real work is here,’ he indicated the computer where hundreds of figures filled the screen.
‘I keep the time. You know, daytime, night time, summer time, and winter time -masses of data. It’s endless, but endlessly fascinating too, lots of lovely files and spreadsheets and graphs. Wonderful stuff. Now, Tilley tells me you need the sundial, Joshua.’
Joshua nodded and wondered how Tilley got these messages to people. It was comforting to know she was working behind the scenes.
The Timekeeper pulled a curtain cord, light streamed down through a domed glass ceiling. He pulled a dustsheet off a pointy object.
‘The sundial!’ he said. It was a large stone disk with the hours marked around the circumference and a risen centrepiece.
‘Using the shadow of that pointer I can measure the hour by the angle of the sun,’ explained the Timekeeper.
‘What we are going to try to do is weaken the enemy,’ he winked at Joshua.
‘This is my theory: there’s no shadow at Noon when the sun is overhead. So, if we can move the sundial to point to twelve while you’re collecting the firelight, hopefully, the Shadow will be weakened.’
‘What shall I do?’ Joshua said.
‘Push,’ said the Timekeeper.
They grasped the edge of the stone pointer and pushed. Nothing happened. They tried again, pushing harder. As they struggled, Joshua grunted, ‘How do I find this Shadow?’
‘Find him?’ groaned the Timekeeper. ‘You’d be better off avoiding him. But he’s everywhere, behind the cruellest smile, inside the meanest trick and at the centre of an evil heart. It’s a great honour to be chosen by the Light Director, Joshua,’ he said. ‘But it’s terrible thing too. Ah!’ There was a grinding of stone on stone and the triangle moved across the disk. The Timekeeper turned his Punch profile up at the sun.
‘It’s worked’ he said.
Joshua followed his gaze, and to his amazement saw that the sun had changed its position in the sky. The sun burned down brightly, directly overhead. The Timekeeper rubbed his hands together.
‘Well, there’s no time to waste, Joshua. You’d better get going.’
Joshua’s heart suddenly sank.
‘You mean I have to climb down all those steps again?’ he said.
‘Steps? You climbed the steps? That’s terribly dangerous, you know. Why on earth didn’t you take the lift?’
‘Lift? But the fireflies. . .’
‘Ah, well they wouldn’t know about the lift you see.’
The mid-day scene vibrated with colour. Joshua and the Timekeeper walked to where the dancing fireflies sparked and glittered, their hum as soothing as the sea.
‘I really should get out more,’ the Timekeeper blinked - just as the Clock Tower exploded with an ear-splitting blast.
Chapter 9
Fireflies
Joshua and the Timekeeper ducked behind a wall as fragments of glass showered like raindrops from the shattered dome ceiling. When the tinkling stopped, they raised their heads.
The Stone Tower still stood high and strong, defiant in its solidity.
‘Wow,’ said Joshua, rubbing his shoulder.
‘Are you hurt?’ asked the Timekeeper.
‘No, I don’t think so. Are you?’
The Timekeeper did a quick body check and shook his head.
‘Seems to have been some sort of explosion in my laboratory, at the top.’ He looked up and clasped his hands to the sides of his crescent-shaped face with horror. Pages and pages of data were flying out of the top of the Clock Tower like ticker tape.
‘My work,’ he groaned, ‘all my hard work. The Shadow’s behind this atrocity.’
‘The Shadow tried to blow us up?’ Joshua said, horrified.
‘Oh no, that would be much too easy,’ said the Timekeeper bitterly. ‘This isn’t his style at all. His power is much darker, much more complete. This’ll be the work of one of his followers - probably used a time bomb.’
The wind snatched the fluttering papers and spread them across the fields.
One of the braver fireflies flew back and hovered, its fluorescent body flashing furiously. A funnel of black smoke rose from the top of the tower, mimicking the smoking Volcano in the background.
The firefly landed on Joshua’s nose. ‘There’s been an explosion in the Clock Tower,’ it said.
Joshua nodded.
‘There’s been an explosion in the Clock Tower,’ said another silver voice in his ear.
‘I know,’ said Joshua irritably. ‘I heard it.’ Unconcerned, the firefly pulsed off into the sunshine.
‘What about the sundial?’ Joshua asked anxiously. ‘Will it still work?’
‘I don’t know. It might have been destroyed.’ They both looked toward the sun.
‘It’s stayed in the same position anyway,’ said the Timekeeper. ‘Let’s hope it makes a difference.’ A paper fluttered down beside them and he snatched at it gratefully.
‘You’ll have to start your work all over again,’ said Joshua sadly. ‘It’ll take forever.’
‘Yes it will,’ said the Timekeeper. Brightening suddenly, he said,
‘Yes it will, thousands of graphs and millions of figures. I’ll have to work even harder - until the end of time. Of course how much more time, is really up to you Joshua. I’d better get started, lots to do, if you’ll excuse me.’
‘But. . .’ Joshua said.
‘Oh yes, I almost forgot.’ The Timekeeper rummaged in the pockets of his white coat, ‘this is for you.’
He held out a silver pocket watch. ‘It’s a stopwatch. It may buy you some time when you need it most. Only one minute I’m afraid. I’m still working on it. Another little hobby of mine.’
‘Thank you,’ Joshua said, slipping the watch into his jeans.
‘You only get one go. I’m sure you’ll use it wisely.’ The Timekeeper hurried off back to his work. ‘Bye, and good luck.’
‘Wait! One go at what?’
But Joshua was alone again.
The smoke from the tower rose like a sinister mist and hid the white clouds of the afternoon. Shadows crept across the fields turning the stony landscape bleak and cold.
Joshua shivered. This is another of those ‘What now?’ moments he thought.
A river of light flowed towards him out of the smoke and resolved itself into hundreds of flaming insects.
‘Get on,’ thrummed the fireflies. ‘We’ll take you.’
‘What - like a sort of magic carpet?’ said Joshua doubtfully.
‘Mmm’ buzzed the fireflies. Joshua put a tentative foot onto the undulating mass to test it. It held his weight. Awkwardly, he climbed on and apart from a few tiny ‘Ohs!’ and ‘Ouches!’ the carpet held firm. It was like sitting on a hammock of beads.
‘I’m not so sure about this . . . Whoa!’ shouted Joshua as the swarm took off.
They flew through sunshine. Joshua spent the whole journey trying to keep his balance. Every time he put his hand down to steady himself there was a minute squeak of protest. He stretched out his arms like an aeroplane and sat stiffly upright. The firefly carpet flashed in intricate patterns like a neon sign, but Joshua was in no mood to appreciate it.
His legs ached. He felt big and clumsy, riding on the backs of the tiny creatures, He was also very aware that any change in their formation could send him plummeting to earth.
He was so concerned with how he was being taken that it was a while before he realised where he was being taken. A hot breeze came off the mountains, the ashy smell increased and he saw puffs of black smoke in the distance. They were heading straight for the volcano. The volcano where the Shadow lived
When the carpet of fireflies set him down he was torn between relief and apprehension. He was in a strange Moonscape, hot, alien, and threatening. Steam formed clouds of white smoke, and hot geysers stained the rocks red and yellow. The ground was twisted and coiled like rope. In places it bubbled.
‘Are you sure this is the right place?’ said Joshua. He was looking at a crater lake stained an amazing red. The heat of the rocks seeped through his trainers. He shifted his feet uncomfortably. On the other side of the lake the huge cone of the volcano loomed above him.
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