Child of Light, Chapter 1

Rising Before Dawn

My hands felt like they were on fire, and my knee pulsed with a shooting pain. Everything was blurry, an indistinct haze that made it impossible to focus. I blinked, trying to clear my vision, but nothing sharpened. The scent of damp earth clung to the air, fresh and grounding. Nearby, the soft chirping of crickets formed a gentle lullaby, reminding me of their quiet presence even as I struggled to orient myself.

The sky was pale, just a hint of light seeping through the haze. The sun hadn’t risen, but the world was waking. Early morning, or was it evening? I couldn’t quite tell.

Suddenly, a high-pitched ringing exploded in both ears, sharp and relentless. “Ugh!” I gasped, clamping my hands to my head, but it did nothing to stop the noise. It wasn’t external—it clawed from within, fraying the edges of my mind. Gradually, the piercing tone faded, leaving an eerie stillness in its wake. My vision cleared in fragmented pieces, and I found myself staring at my hands—red, raw, trembling. Fear coiled tight in my stomach as my eyes darted around in a desperate attempt to orient myself.

I was outside. In the front yard of my parents’ little brick bungalow. The street was eerily quiet, and the sky had that strange pre-dawn stillness where everything feels suspended. “Holy shit…” I mumbled, the realization hitting me. Had I sleepwalked out the front door? I glanced at the house, my mind still foggy and unsure, when a rustling sound came from behind me.

The hair on the back of my neck bristled, a primal warning that something was wrong. I tried to turn, to at least catch a glimpse, but my body wouldn’t obey. I was frozen, rooted to the earth beneath me, like something held me in place. Panic rose in my chest as I strained, pushing with my hands, but I couldn’t move. It was as if the ground had swallowed me.

“There you are, girl. Now, sit still this time,” the voice commanded from behind, low and smooth like honeyed velvet, each word rolling out with an unsettling ease. It was unmistakably a man’s voice, rich and deep, but with a dangerous calm to it, as if he was completely in control—like he knew I couldn’t move.

That smoothness made my skin prickle in a way that was both unnerving and oddly mesmerizing, trapping me in the moment as much as my frozen limbs did.

I felt him move closer, each deliberate step sending my heartbeat into a wild frenzy. My pulse throbbed in my temples, and panic seized me. I had to run. Desperately, I willed my arms to push me up, to break free from whatever invisible force held me down. But then, as if from somewhere deep within, a voice, soft yet clear, echoed inside my mind, “Fly free a’mun sul.”

There was no time to process it—no time to wonder who or what the voice was. In an instant, my body shifted, growing lighter by the second, like the very air around me had released its grip. My feet lifted from the ground, and I rose, floating upward before I could even comprehend what was happening.

The moment I felt weightless, I urged myself higher, desperate to escape whatever was creeping up behind me. I didn’t dare look back. All I knew was that I had to reach safety before whoever—or whatever—caught me.

I must have been ten feet in the air, maybe more, before I stopped rising and dared to look down. My body remained suspended, still and weightless, as though I were floating in water. Below me, a man stood, staring up with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. His hair, a strikingly pale shade of platinum, flowed elegantly over his dark shirt, catching the faint light with an almost ethereal sheen. His brow was furrowed in irritation, but the smirk playing at the corner of his lips hinted at something else—an unsettling amusement. Was this all just a game to him?

Who is this guy? And how the hell am I flying?

I glanced down at my own body, my scraped hands and knee still stinging from the fall. Despite the pain, I felt strangely calm, like nothing could touch me up here. As I moved, I didn’t lose altitude, simply hovered in place, free from whatever had held me before.

“Very nice,” the man called up, his voice smooth, almost... playful. “I see you’ve had a little help. Now, be a good girl and will yourself back down to me.”

His words were less intimidating now, but a cold dread lingered in my chest. I didn’t trust that voice—no matter how soothing it tried to sound. I floated just out of reach, and that was exactly where I wanted to stay.

The man’s gaze remained fixed on me, his eyes narrowing slightly as if sizing me up. His smirk didn’t waver, but there was something unnerving in the way he observed me, as if he knew more about me than I did myself.

Despite the strange serenity I felt floating above him, anxiety gnawed at me. The voice in my head—“Fly free a’mun sul”—was a puzzle I couldn’t solve, a cryptic message that might be my only clue or my undoing. My pulse still raced, a stark contrast to the calm, almost surreal state of weightlessness.

I twisted and turned away from him in the air. If he wanted me to will myself down, perhaps I could will myself higher and further away from him. I closed my eyes in concentration, feeling the cool air against my bare arms. When I opened them again, the landscape had shifted; I could see the tops of houses and trees extending for blocks around. The man’s figure diminished below me, becoming a mere silhouette against the darkness as I soared further down the street.

Suddenly, I jolted to a stop, as if I had reached the end of an invisible leash. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t move forward. Panic surged anew, my heart pounding violently in my chest. I glanced behind me, and there he was, making his way up the street toward me. With each of his deliberate steps, I began to sink slowly back toward the ground.

“No!” I whispered urgently to myself, breathless, as my arms reached desperately toward the empty space above me. I clawed at the air, pleading for it to lift me higher, but no matter how fervently I begged, nothing answered. The ground seemed to pull me down with a relentless gravity, inch by agonizing inch.

I was now just feet off the ground. As I began to descend, I was slowly turned to face him. By the time my feet touched the earth, he stood towering over me. I hadn’t realized how imposing he was up close. He wore a crisp black dress shirt, its top buttons undone, revealing a hint of smooth, bare skin at his collar. The sleeves were rolled up to reveal forearms that were lean and defined, with a subtle strength evident in their contours. His light skin contrasted sharply with the dark fabric of his shirt. Though he wasn’t overly muscular, his toned physique hinted at a quiet, restrained power.

His eyes were a deep, rich chestnut brown, flecked with gold that caught the light with an almost hypnotic gleam. He stared intently at me, his gaze unwavering. Slowly, he raised a hand toward my face. I tensed, bracing for impact, but instead, he gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear and cupped my cheek in his palm. His touch was surprisingly tender as he turned my head to face his.

“Now, that’s a good girl.” The corners of his mouth lifted into a gentle smile, and his voice, with its familiar velvety tone, carried a note of approval in his praise.

Continue the story…

Chapter 2: A Bookseller Is Never Late »

View all chapters of Child of Light

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This chapter was featured on Top in Fiction! Thank you to Erica and the TiF community!