Free The Moon Stealers and The Children of the Light by Tim Flanagan Page A

Bottom,’ he
explained to the children. ‘It was only a drop. It didn’t seem to make much
different at first, but now I can feel it invading my body, making me weaker
every day. I don’t know if I will have enough strength to control the twelve
swords of power.’
    ‘You heart is kind and strong,’ replied Flora placing
his hand back in hers. ‘It will take more than a drop of poison to invade it.
You have the strength. You have the children. They give you courage and hope.’
    ‘You are not alone,’ added the Grey Man. ‘We will help
you in any way we can.’
    Lady Flora shook her head. ‘No, you must all follow
your own path. Yours is to find your son, if he is still alive,’ she said to the
Grey Man. ‘You and your son have an important part to play in
this new world.’
    ‘If we have to follow our own path, then I believe
that mine is with Edgar,’ said Joe.
    ‘And so is mine,’ added Max quickly.
    Lady Flora nodded.
    ‘Where’s your path?’ the Grey Man asked Flora.
    ‘Mine is to a place called Burnham Beeches,’ replied
Flora. ‘There I will find an ancient tree called the Druid's Oak. Its strong
roots stretch deep underground and travel great distances linking oak tree to
oak tree. In my world, the Druid Oak is a door to greater wisdom. From there I
will awaken the magic in this land once more.’

10. Watching the world from a
distance

 
    The storm blew over sometime during the night. Until
then they had slept in pairs whilst one person stayed awake, just in case their
progress along the shingle spit had been noticed. Stuck in the middle of the Solent , they
had been left alone by the creatures who appeared to concentrate most of their
attention over the land. By the time the sun appeared above the sea and the
dawn brought a new day, Steven had climbed onto the top of the fortress where
he had a clear view across to the Isle
of Wight , as well as the south
coast of England . He watched the all too familiar black shadows circle
in the sky, then plummet to the ground when prey had been spotted. In a strange
way, from this safe distance, they almost seemed to be performing a poetic
dance, like some elaborate mating ritual of an exotic bird. Despite the deadly
nature of the creatures, Steven couldn’t help but be fascinated with them. A
foreign creature had quickly flicked the human race of its pedestal of
superiority within a matter of days, like an insignificant piece of dirt on a
dusty sleeve. To Steven, this was incredible. He had noticed that some of the
creatures had even now begun to work intelligently in packs, several would
break away from the group and make fake attempts of attack, driving their prey
out of hiding, whilst another creature waited above ready to make the fatal
blow.
    Above the Isle
of Wight , the sun began to burn
away the dark clouds leaving the sky a wonderful mixture of salmon pink and
orange. The island floated harmlessly across the short stretch of water. From
where Steven was, it looked quiet and showed no signs of life. The chalk and
flint cliff face was topped by lush green grass that signified the end of land
and the start of the sea. What was interesting was the lack of creatures that
were hunting above the Isle
of Wight . Had the creatures
crossed the water to the island? He scanned the horizon waiting for a black
shadow to dive to the ground, but saw nothing. Did the lack of hunting
creatures signify a lack of humans on the island? Maybe he had been wrong.
Maybe Coldred hadn’t moved the community to the Isle of Wight . Steven glanced along the coastline, looking for the port of Yarmouth where the ferries would usually be taking tourists to
the island. If Coldred had left a division of guards at the port to secure the
stretch of water, surely there would be some sign of activity, but from this
distance, the island appeared lifeless.
    Steven thought back to the note they had found on the
car outside the Bank of England. They assumed it had been left for