Read From Light to Dark for Free Online

like we’re trying to prove that we’re strong enough to deal with darkness.”
    “That’s what the kids here do with light and fire,” Vul said, her voice filled with sadness.
    “Yes,” Caer agreed. “They play at the Pyre, looking for embers that are still burning after the last execution.”
    “Well, my friend Balor and I were the same. We sneaked out of the special session and found the breaker box for the auditorium lights. Balor and I pulled the switch.”
    “And they sentenced you for that?” Vul sounded incredulous.
    “No. They didn’t sentence me for that.”
    “Then what did you do?”
    “That’s all I did. But something went wrong. The lights flickered, and it was dark all around us. Balor and I stood in the darkness for a moment, just seeing how it felt. Then there was a loud pop. I looked out the window and saw that the whole world was dark. The lights had been turned off for all of Light World.”
    “Oh, no,” Caer said.
    “I can’t imagine Dark World filled with light.” Vul’s voice was a horrified mutter.
    “I don’t know how it happened,” Eref said. “Some kind of malfunction. We didn’t mean to cause such trouble. The police came for us after they got the lights back on. Everyone was upset. Balor’s birthday was the next day, so he went to the Center and came back changed. My birthday isn’t for another two months, so I went to the End.”
    “Horrible,” Vul said. “Light People are horrible.”
    “Dark People too,” Caer said. “Remember what happened to Edad?”
    “Caer....” Vul said, her voice a pleading warning.
    “I’m not going to talk about it. But you know what I mean. It’s not just Light People who are paranoid and horrible. The same thing goes on in our world.”
    An awkward silence followed, during which Eref tried to look strong. He knew he probably just looked blind and confused.
    After a minute, Caer spoke. “Should we go try to get a look at the guards?”
    “What?” Vul made a sharp movement. “With him? They have flamethrowers, Caer.”
    “Just from a distance,” she said. “How else can we find out what they’re planning? They could be going door-to-door for all we know. I think we should just sneak over and listen for a little bit.”
    “I agree,” Eref said.
    “Yeah,” Vul said, “so they don’t have to go too far to find us. We’ll walk right into their hands.”
    “You couldn’t wait to go there half an hour ago.” Caer sounded annoyed.
    “Before I knew you were mixed up in it!”
    “We’ll hide in the bushes and listen to them talking. Just for a few minutes,” Caer said. “Unless they know I have him, we only need to conceal Eref, anyway.”
    “I don’t like this,” Vul said. “He’s making you do stupid things.”
    Eref cleared his throat. This plan didn’t make him feel very safe, either, but he couldn’t see what else to do. “Is there another option?”
    “We have to do it,” Caer said. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, Vul.”
    Vul’s voice dropped to a tragic whisper. “You’re going to leave me alone? Tonight?”
    Eref waited.
    “No. I won’t leave you alone. I’ll stay with you all night and I’ll keep you safe,” she said.
    A painful silence filled the room, and Eref had the feeling it had nothing to do with his presence in Dark World. He wished he could leave the room to give them privacy, but he couldn’t see his way out. This was the kind of empty promise all friends made to each other on the night before someone’s eighteenth birthday. There was no real safety, but no one wanted to hear that before the Eighteener Entrance.
    “I’ll go,” Vul said finally. “We have to. There’s no other way.”
    Caer gave a small cry of relief. “Thank you, Vul! I promise it’ll be just for a minute, just long enough to find out what they know and what they’re planning.”
    “We’ll have to be careful with him, though. It’s dangerous.”
    “Of course. We’ll leave