A Life Beyond by Mark Church (ebook reader web TXT) 📕

'Ahhhh yes Harvey, that's it, Lydia told me all about you all, please step out I promise you that you are safe here with me for now, But if I may I'd like to ask a few questions myself', Lucas corrected his mistake as the children all stepped out from behind the boxes that almost hid

them to be met by the sight of a slightly oversized man, beard hanging down past his stomach which was neatly trimmed and sporting coloured rings down his beard, his clothes were hidden by a cloak and his face was out of sight slightly due to his hood covering most of his head, but his voice had a warming tone to it which made the trio feel slightly at ease in his presence seeing as he seemed to know all about them.

'Come. Please, I've been expecting you all' the man gestured to the children to follow him up the stairs into the safety of the main house,

'But I must warn you, there is every need for quiet up here as I wouldn't want you caught up in any danger whilst you're here' Lucas warned the children of the importance of silence whilst he prepared a room for them to rest.

So off Lucas stomped up the wooden stairs and out of sight into the house above where they were standing, the sound of doors being clunked shut and window blinds creaking as they were pulled inwards to hide the escaping light.

'What do you reckon Dan?' Asked Harvey inquisitively, hoping for an answer that would put him at ease,

'Well…' Daniel replied 'Seeing as he knows exactly who we are, I think we best do as he says and follow him'.

'I'm with you Daniel, I don't get any kind of bad feelings from this place, but let's be ready just in case ok?' Lillie’s answer put the slightest bit of caution into Daniel just as he was about to climb the stairs leading up into whatever was up there,

'Come on guys, there's only one way we are going to find out what's going on, let's ask the big guy!!' Daniel sighed as he gestured to the others to follow him as he made his way quietly up the creaky wooden stairs and through the door into the room above.

As they all stepped through the wooden door they were met with what looked like some sort of small bedroom, a basket with a blanket sat in the corner of the room housing a large bone off an unfortunate animal, a small bed sat proudly against the wall covered in warm looking covers that had been stitched together lovingly, a simple candle sat in its holder, the flame flickering in the smallest of breezes that whizzed round the room, a lone window had been covered up by a sheet draped over the blinds, stopping any light from escaping the room and out into the town around them

'What is this place?' Harvey asked as if Daniel would have the answer,

'Looks to me like someone's bedroom, and that looks like a pet's basket' Daniel pointing at the round wicker bed in the corner which then reminded him of his own loss since they came into this world,

'Bucksy…..' he muttered to himself as he stood there thinking about what had happened to his beloved pet Labrador.

As he turned round he noticed that Lillie and Harvey had made their way out of the room and had found a door that had led them outside into a small courtyard area, so he followed them outside into the night air.

'Woah...Look at all these lights Daniel, so beautiful!!' Harvey was mesmerised by what he was seeing in front of him.

The small courtyard they were standing in housed the most beautiful of sights, in the middle of it stood a tree, not a single leaf hanging off it but every branch was covered by countless small lanterns of light spinning and flickering in the night air, each corner of the courtyard was joined to the tree by a barely visible string which housed even more lanterns glowing with enough light not to be visible from outside.

'This...is...beautiful' Lillies eyes sparkled as brightly as the lanterns decking out the tree in front of her, she stepped closer to inspect them and as she did the light on the one nearest to her dimmed to almost nothing,

'What did I do??, why has it gone out?' she looked worried as if she had caused this to happen.

As they tried to make sense of this Lucas had made his way out of the door at the far end and was standing there watching them, listening to the panic in their voices as they thought they had broken one of the lanterns.

'It wasn't me this time thank god!!' Harvey puffed his cheeks out happy in the knowledge that he had played no part in what was happening,

'AHEM….' Bellowed Lucas causing the children to swing round to be greeted by the man they were supposed to be following but now he had removed his cloak and was standing there in front of them all,

'He's a bit ugly isn't he??' Harvey nudged Daniel who was now trying not to snigger at the sight of this slightly oversized man standing before them stroking his long greying beard.

Lucas had changed his clothes for something more comfortable for him, his beard was still decked out with the coloured rings keeping it together, his hair was tied back in a ponytail and he was sporting a pair of glasses which looked as big as Harvey's head,

'Jeez Dan look at those glasses he's got on too!!, they're huge, I hope they don't fall off his face and onto us otherwise we will be crushed!!' Harvey was doing his best to make Daniel laugh out loud but he was still just sniggering, barely taking his eyes of Lucas who was now making his way towards the children, Harvey gulped as Lucas towered over him like an enormous tree.

'Those lanterns are called ‘EXTERIO ILLUMINUM’....or dimming lanterns to you and I' Lucas proudly explaining to the children about the wonders of the world around them as he continued telling them about the lanterns,

'Whenever they feel threatened by something they extinguish their light so as not to attract nearby enemies when they are in their group, just as they are now, but...they can act as a powerful ally if they are treated right and looked after as if a pet'

'In what way do you mean??, Now I'm totally confused' Laughed Harvey as he kept making the lanterns lose their light by reaching out to touch them,

'Now Henry…..Don't tease them or you'll regret it' Boomed Lucas as he knew what was going to happen if Harvey continued to prod at the lights.

'Ermmmm my name's Harvey!!, Can't you ever get my name righ…..' Harvey moaned as he became frustrated with Lucas not getting his name correct so he swiped at one of the lights which extinguished its light instantly like a light bulb being turned off, what followed next took the children by surprise, none more so than Harvey as the lantern up a brilliant blinding white colour which seemed brighter than the sun, the light shone right onto Harvey's face and he shrieked out as his vision became just a blur of light,

'AHHH WHAT'S GOING ON!!!' He shouted out as he bumbled around the courtyard and fell against the tree clutching his face.

'I told you not to annoy them young man' Chuckled Lucas as he watched Harvey covering his eyes, unable to make any sense of what was going on around him as Lillie and Daniel just stood there looking rather shocked.

'That's what I was trying to explain to you all, Don't worry Hugo your vision will return soon just relax and in a few minutes you will be fine I promise' Laughed Lucas as he helped Harvey to his feet,

'IT'S HARVEY!!!!, How many more times do I have to tell you!!' Harvey whined as he was still rubbing his eyes heavily hoping for his sight to return, 'All I can see is a big white blur now!'.

Lucas smiled as he turned to Lillie and Daniel, clasped his hands together which caused the children to take a step back just in case something bad was happening,

'Now you two, as I was saying these lanterns aren't just any kind of normal lanterns as you have just seen, they possess the ability to emit the brightest of lights into the face of anyone or anything they feel threatened by, such as Horace over there….'

'HARVEY!!!!' Came the rather snappy, angry reply from Harvey who was still stumbling around, looking for some water to wash his eyes out,

'But they also have the ability to light up the path ahead of whoever is holding them, namely their ‘trainer’ as we call them, but the light is invisible to everyone else around them so only the holder of the lantern can see where they are going, guided by an invisible light, which comes in handy when you don't want to be seen I can tell you'.

Lillie was looking a little confused by this so decided to speak up,

'So what you're telling us is that these ‘lights’ are lights but invisible lights'

'Well….yes, but also be warned when they sense danger the light inside them begins to pulse, they act as a distress warning to whoever is close to it ' Lucas said confidently

'Oh...alright then….as if this world couldn't get ANY stranger!' Lillie tried to take in what Lucas was telling them but it seemed so strange to her so she just huffed and went to help Harvey find what he was looking for. Daniel took a few steps back so as not to stumble into the lanterns for fear of him suffering the same fate as Harvey who was now blinking his eyes constantly in the vain hope it would help him see properly.

So Lucas walked off towards the door he had appeared from earlier, struggled to climb the steps slightly letting out an ‘OOOH’ every so often, Lucas wasn't what you would call a young man but he never revealed his true age to anyone, he turned round to face the children who were scattered around the courtyard, still engrossed by the lanterns and what they could do if treated right and with his booming voice summoned the children to him.

'Ok then you three young Boglins, follow me please, let's get you rested up and then we can have a nice little chat over a pot of Crub Juice.

So off the children went, Harvey being helped up the stairs by Daniel, following Lucas through the oversized door which gently shut behind them as they entered the house, clicking away as a lock could be heard turning inside it.

Chapter Ten

The Truth

As the children caught up with Lucas who had made his way into a darkened room lit by only a single candle, he had sat himself down in his favourite chair covered in the fur of some kind of rather large ugly creature, it's head draped over the back of the chair and its jet black fur completing the darkness in the room.

The room itself was full of what looked like family pictures, row upon row of plates, cups and small trinkets sat on top of an overcrowded cabinet resting up against the wall looking like it would topple over at any minute, there were a couple of very large wooden doors at the far end of the room, leading off into bedrooms and other storage rooms.

Lucas beckoned the children into room but they were too busy getting their eyes to adjust to the darkness to see properly,

'Look at this place….It's so….dirty, Urrgh!!!' Came Lillies response as she scrunched up her nose as a waft of something bad filled her nose,

'And what's that smell!!!' she said holding her nose tightly so no more of the smell could penetrate her nose.

'Please come in and sit down on the bench