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Chapters (68)
  1. Title page
  2. Dedication
  3. Part I
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-one
  25. Twenty-two
  26. Twenty-three
  27. Twenty-four
  28. Twenty-five
  29. GAIA YOUNG. SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS.MISSION DAY 20. 20:25 MT.
  30. Part II
  31. Twenty-six
  32. Twenty-seven
  33. Twenty-eight
  34. Twenty-nine
  35. Thirty
  36. Thirty-one
  37. Thirty-two
  38. Thirty-three
  39. Thirty-four
  40. Thirty-five
  41. Thirty-six
  42. Thirty-seven
  43. GAIA YOUNG. SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS.MISSION DAY 22. 20:05 MT.
  44. Thirty-eight
  45. Thirty-nine
  46. Forty
  47. Forty-one
  48. GAIA YOUNG. SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS.MISSION DAY 25. 15:30 MT.
  49. Forty-two
  50. Forty-three
  51. Forty-four
  52. Forty-five
  53. Forty-six
  54. Forty-seven
  55. Forty-eight
  56. Forty-nine
  57. Fifty
  58. Fifty-one
  59. Fifty-two
  60. Fifty-three
  61. Fifty-four
  62. Part III
  63. Fifty-five
  64. Fifty-six
  65. Fifty-seven
  66. Fifty-eight
  67. Also by Chris Beckett
  68. Copyright page

His heart filled with dread. He knew this was the pure pure light of Earth pouring out from the Circle of Stones into the darkness of Eden. He knew the Davidfolk had always claimed that their Circle was the place where Earth would return. He knew his own many-greats grandfather John Redlantern had denied that claim when he destroyed the Circle, broke up Family, and brought killing into the world. But now here he was, Luke Johnson, the many-greats grandson of John, who had come across the water to destroy the Davidfolk, being summoned back to the Circle by Mother Gela. She’d sent the message by the many-greats grandson of Great David. And he was riding down to meet her with yet more blood on his hands.

Gela was the gentle Mother of all of Eden. The Johnfolk believed that no less than the Davidfolk, but Luke knew better than many that mothers had another side. His own mother had seen her dad and her brother thrown down into that fire by her uncle Firehand, and she was full of bitterness and rage. That white light in the distance didn’t seem gentle to Luke. It didn’t seem kind. It seemed to him to be a sign that Gela already knew what he’d done. It felt to him like it was searching for him through the trees and that nothing could escape it in the end. He thought that, when that light finally found him, it would shine right through him and into the darkest and most hidden parts of his mind. His mouth was dry dry as he called out to those three guards who kept refusing to talk to him. ‘What is that light? How do they make it?’

‘How would we know?’ the guard called Roger answered with a shrug. ‘It comes from their veekle. I guess it’s the light of the sun. We know the Earth people can carry pictures and voices from one place to another, so I suppose they’ve got a way of carrying that with them as well.’

Luke yanked off his headwrap, suddenly maddened by the stuffiness and the smell of it, and, as his buck began to pick its way down the slope, he felt the cold cold air of the Dark against his face. ‘The light of the sun,’ he said, running his tongue round his dry lips. ‘Yes, I guess it must be. They do say that sunlight is pure pure white. Mother of Eden, imagine that! They can gather the light from a star and bring it down to the ground, as we might gather a jug of water from a pool.’

Roger didn’t answer him, but one of the others gave a harsh laugh and spoke not to Luke but to Roger and their mate. ‘I bet he wishes he hadn’t messed with people who can do things like that.’