The Luminescent Children
an excerpt

I breathed in carefully, grateful that the darkness completely concealed me. Another guard walked past, and another, their sting sticks creaking slightly as they moved. I flinched as one swung close enough for me to feel the magic welled up inside. Being this close to magic was dangerous to those untrained; and no one was as untrained as a common thief and even more so for me.
The sound of the guard’s steps faded down the hall as I moved cautiously out of my hiding spot. I was in a hallway, sparsely lit by gilded lanterns, but not the correct hall. Deirdre had said that you could feel the power emanating from its location and all I felt was an acute sense of nausea from being so close to danger.
I ran lightly down the hall, ears pricked forward for any tiny sound in the distance. I reached a staircase and stopped abruptly. Voices echoed down the hall and my heart leapt into my throat. I hid in the shadow of the downward staircase, crouching low so as to conceal as much of myself as possible. Good thing there wasn’t too much to conceal. I prayed that the voices decided to go up the stairs, not down.
I could feel my heartbeat everywhere; it pounded so loud that I could barely hear the voices of the approaching people. I took a deep breath, trying to discern how many voices there were. Only two, I determined after a moment. If it came down to it I might be able to get away. It just depended how big they were.
I peaked around the corner and saw two figures walking toward me, one tall and slight, and the other shorter with the lanky form of a young man. I could just make out their words as they came within a few paces from the stairs. I snatched my head back and waited.
“-Princess Maliara. I can’t stand the girl and yet I must marry her. What else could I have done?”
“It was your duty my Lord, you must-“
“I know what must be done. I just wish it was what I wanted for once.”
The two stopped as they reached the stair entry and I held my breath. The older man chuckled softly as the young man stood there sulking.
“The life of a noble is never easy, my Lord. Good night.”
One set of steps retreated back the way they’d come and the others continued on up the stairs. I breathed a sigh of relief and crept back to the landing once I was sure the nobles were no longer in sight. My eyes widened as I placed my foot of the stairs. It was tingling pleasantly along with the rest of my body. I must be getting close.
I crept silently up the stairs and the tingling spread through my body like wildfire. I was so close now that I could feel it pulling me forward. I peaked down the next hallway. It was empty so I stepped cautiously forward. My foot was cushioned by a large fluffy rug and the lanterns up here were not gilded, but real gold: of that I was sure. Large paintings were hung at intervals around the ways and random tables with flower were placed every few inches.
My fingers inched to grab a lantern and run for I had never seen that much gold in one place before, but I held myself back, focusing once more on the pull and tingle of what I was looking for.
There was only one door in which light could be seen from and as I approached the light flickered and went out. I stood silently, watching, before moving forwards.
As I passed the door the power hit me like a sledge hammer and I staggered. Deirdre was right, it was really strong. I pressed my ear against the door and listened. I heard a few movements before it fell silent. I’d wait until midnight I decided; I had time, now that I’d found it I had all the time in the world. I slipped away and found a small storage closet filled with dust and spiders. I flicked one of a bucket and sat, preparing to wait.
My eyes were just starting to drift shut when a loud thump sounded outside in the hall. I rubbed my eyes as the distant sound of yelling filled my head and heard the distinct sound of a sword being drawn. Some time had passed since I’d sat on the bucket but my instincts told me it still wasn’t quite midnight.
I opened the door a hairs width and looked out in time to see two guards supporting the limp figure of a young boy. I gasped in recognition as they turned and carried him toward my hiding place.
“Cyprus,” I whispered, “You stupid son of a-.” I sighed in annoyance and tried to think of a plan. There wasn’t much I could do, but maybe…
It was risky but I had no chance, if I didn’t rescue him he’d be hanged. I had no choice at all.
As the guards drew even with my hiding spot I slammed the door open. They dropped Cyprus in surprise as I swung the empty bucket I was previously sitting on at the nearest ones head. He went down with a grunt and I saw Cyprus turn to deal with him as I faced the other. I nailed him in the nose with a well aimed punch and slammed him in the stomach. Their sting sticks made it impossible for me to approach them but I had done enough. The only way they would come after us now was on a rolling hospital bed.
As I’d suspected Cyprus had been playing the “I’m-a-poor-innocent-thirteen-year-old” card once again. He was now hopping from one foot to another in impatience.
“Do you feel it Mac? Can’t you just feel it?”
I silenced him with a glare and said, “Come on.” I ran toward the door, sending a prayer to the Thief Lord that it would be empty.
It was. I stepped cautiously around the room which was grander than any than I’d ever been in. A large canopy bed draped in red and gold stood against the far wall and the engraved bed posts and head boards were made of solid gold. Cyprus and I looked around in awe, almost forgetting our purpose. Cyprus’s eyes darted from treasure to treasure and his fingers twitched.
“Let’s go, Cy. We’ve got to find it NOW.”
Suddenly I saw it, glittering like a jewel on a small table by the bed. I snatched it in triumph before turning to get us out of here. I stopped short; Cyprus stood by the window held from behind by the young man from the night before whose knife lay dangerously close to Cyprus’s throat. I froze with my mouth halfway open and the thing we’d gone through all this to get clutched tightly in my fist.
I smiled; no one could hold us now that I had the power. Cyprus smiled too and I took a step forward. The young man’s hand tightened on his knife and I stopped for fear of going to far; I didn’t want to get Cyprus hurt.
“Leave the power that you’ve taken on the desk,” he said. He used the voice of a noble, one that was used to getting what he’d asked for. I looked at him in surprise; nobles did not know about this type of power, it was only known to thieves and city people. Yet, there he was, a stupid boy about a year older than me and he knew exactly what I held and was eying it greedily.
I placed my free hand on my hip and held up the power. I opened myself to the power and felt it through my veins, starting with my hands and ending in my feet. I felt my toes lift off the floor and I was filled with the natural power of the stone in my hand. My heart beat slowed, dispersing the power steadily throughout my body. I lifted all the way off the floor and the young man stared at me in surprise.
Cyprus held his hand out and I threw the stone to him. The young man was lifted and thrown backwards over a chair. Cyprus and I ran toward the window, laughing, and out onto the terrace.
“Get the girl!”
I glanced back and shot him my cheekiest grin. He glared at me and I saw hatred in his eyes. My smiled faltered for a minute and the corner of the boy’s mouth twitched. I’d made myself an enemy.
I shrugged it off and turned my mind to escaping. We were running across the walls of the castle towards the gardens. Once we reached the garden we climbed down and hid in the undergrowth still chuckling. I could hear the guards racing atop the walls, yelling to each other and scouring the grounds. We waited in silence for the guards to give up.
Finally, their shouts faded and we stood, unsteady from sitting for so long. Cyprus held out the power to me and I took it from him carefully. The power surged through my system and I breathed slowly in contentment.
“Mac?”
I glanced up. “Mhm?”
“Thanks.”
I looked at him thoughtfully before nodding. It wasn’t often that Cyprus thanked anyone, even if they’d done something huge for him. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful, but more along the lines of he’d never seen the point. But normally we didn’t mind because we knew exactly what he was thinking. We sat in silence for a moment before standing and approaching the breach in the wall through which we’d entered.
“It was so worth it,” Cyprus muttered, breathing in the power happily.
I laughed.

James growled in frustration, trying his best not to take out his anger on the poor maids and guards who were the only ones available to deal with the theft. He could not believe that impish girl had taken the greatest organic power source to be found in Neork in three generations; stolen it was more accurate, and from right under his nose; and the boy that was with her, they would pay. He wouldn’t soon forget that mocking look she’d given him, or the way they’d used the organic power. No, they would meet again and next time he would be ready.
He angrily twirled a guard’s sting stick around his finger, studying it carefully. It was so crude, the metal power flowing from small balls of inorganic power through a needle which was inserted into the victim. It may’ve been crude but it was very effective.
Effective enough to knock out a man let alone a girl barely over fifteen. He sighed, trying to stop thinking about it. It would do him no good to brood over lost power, he would find it and when he did they would pay.
“My Lord?”
James looked up into the eyes of his mentor, Jeffery. He was a tall, slightly older man with a small goatee neatly trimmed and enormous grey eyebrows. He bowed low and resumed his former position, back ramrod straight and shoulders held just so. James smiled and gestured for him to sit.
He remained standing but nodded at the offer. “The chief of the guards said they have found the location of the thieves’ entry. It appears as though they used a crack in the kitchen garden’s wall, they are working on repairing it as we speak.”
“And the thieves?”
“Not yet, my Lord, but the guards are scouring the city. I believe the description, along with your drawing of the girl, will make it easy to locate them. There are not many places they can hide in this city that we do not know about.”
“I’ll bet she knows them all,” muttered James, thinking of the way the two had disappeared from sight almost the instant they’d left his room. Even through his anger James and felt a strange sense of admiration, they were a sly duo.
“Even so, I suspect we’ll find her soon. I’ve had the scribes working on posters to be posted over the entire city. If the guards don’t find her, one of the cities occupants will.”
“No doubt, thank you Jeffery.”
“My Lord,” he said, bowing once more.
James stared out his window, musing over his eventual meeting with the thieves. It would be him laughing the next time, holding the organic power source underneath her nose. He smiled grimly, this would be fun.
“James?”
He turned once more. Princess Maliara looked at him from beneath her long dark eyelashes. Upon meeting his eyes, she ran forward in a flurry of petticoats and too strong perfume and threw herself into his arms. He wrinkled his nose but managed not to look too disgusted. She buried her head in his shoulder.
“I’m so glad you were not hurt, James! The thieves could’ve killed you for certain, I’ve seen it before, and they fight like animals in the streets. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
James rolled his eyes and pushed her away from him gently.
“Maliara, we aren’t married yet. What would the King say?”
She straightened up and smiled at me radiantly. “Aw James, I can’t wait until I can call you MY husband.”
She ran a finger up his chest and fluttered her eye lashes, a suggestive smile playing on her lips. He shivered in disgust and tried not to gag. Her rouged cheeks were caked with powder and when she smiled it creased, breaking her otherwise “perfect” mask. For some reason the face of the girl thief came to his mind. There was nothing on her face that made her look like one of the jesters in his father’s court.
He scowled, angry at this turn of thoughts. Maliara pouted.
“James?”
He shook his head to clear it and looked at her and forced a smile. “I’m sorry, Maliara, I was just thinking. It had been nice seeing you but I think I must be going. Princely duties, you know…”
James didn’t think it was possible but her lip pushed out further. “But James…”
He bowed his head slightly at her, before escaping out into the hallway. His face burned as he ran down the hallway and out of sight. He hated that dreadful girl. She was the worst possible choice for a wife that his father could have picked and yet- here he was, only weeks away from the most horrible moment in his life. He sighed inwardly. Even if Maliara was a Princess, she was as dull as dirt and more annoying than anyone else he’d ever met.
He ran all the way to the kitchens, dodging the maids as he avoided the chaos caused in the supper rush. He ran out to the stables and climbed into the loft, soiling the rich clothes he wore but not caring a bit. He crawled to the loose board where his drawings were carefully placed and his drawing materials stored. He put himself in a small corner, sparsely lit by the dying sun, and started to draw, his thoughts lost in the creative energy that drawing invoked. Foremost in his forgotten thoughts were those of an infuriating, dishonest girl now making her way further and further out of his clutches.

“Abigail, it is me for only the Thief Lord knows how many times! Cyprus and I would like to come in, please.”
“Alright, but I am armed Mac, if it isn’t you. You’ve been gone for days, Deirdre is frantic. Have you found it?”
I listened as Abigail unlocked the many locks we had procured for protection, and pushed the door open as soon as the last latch came undone. I heard her scramble out of the way and a second later she was jogging by my side. She was our newest recruit, only ten, and an endearing black haired pixie. Her mischievous way had nearly gotten her caught any number of times and now under our protection she’d flourished, escaping more times than all of the rest of our crew combined; my bet was that it was because of her enormous blue eyes.
“You’ve got it, I know it, and I can feel it. Oh, how fantastic Mac!”
I smiled down at her and patted my pocket. We entered the once grand hall where we lived to find the other four members of our group waiting for us to arrive. We had four boys and three girls, me included. Deirdre jumped up and placed her hands on her hips. She was a tall girl, with a shock of light brown hair that matched that of Cyprus, her younger brother. She was a tall gangly youth of about fifteen she had a saddle of freckles over her impertinently turned up nose and a mischievous look in her hazel eyes that every thief of the lower levels had.
“CYPRUS!”
Cyprus flinched and ran. In her fury, Deirdre even missed the tingling feeling the other members of their crew had felt almost immediately. I pulled out the source of their interest as they crowded around me, a large multicolored jewel as big as my fist. It pulsed slowly as we gathered around it and breathed deeply in content. We all completely ignored the slams that Cyprus and Deirdre were causing as they were nothing new and completely negligible.
I untangled my chain that I wore tied around my neck, the only piece of jewelry I had not stolen, but had inherited from my parents, and took it off. On it hung a smaller version of the stone in my hand but infinitely less radiant. I slipped the stone out and concentrated on the stone in my palm. For a moment it stayed the same, then suddenly it flashed green and the stone from my chain shined brilliantly. I replaced it in its setting and handed the stone to Abigail.
Hers did the same, only it flashed a bright blue before glowing steadily. The three other boys in our group tussled for a moment before Kirk came up to take his turn. He bent his tousled red head over the stone and a few seconds later there was a flash of orange. He straightened up and held up his small stone triumphantly, its glow illuminated his jolly features making him look devilishly gleeful. The next was a small boy named Finn. He took the stone and held it to his face stoically before his stone flashed a bright purple, stunning all of us watching.
Finally Nathan stepped forward, snatching the stone from Finn eagerly. Finn stumbled and fell, he was the clumsiest of us all by far, and also the smartest. He had the geeky, awkward look of a scholar but his muscles were defined and the intelligence in his eyes was backed with the familiar twinkle.
Nathan was the tallest of us all, but built stocky with huge muscles. He was the brawn in our crew but also part of the brains. His stone burned a luminescent silver color.
By now the stone was starting to lose its brilliance and there was only enough left for Deirdre and Cyprus, who were now engaged in a raucous sibling wrestling match. I watched for a moment before turning to the others.
All of them wore the peaceful, almost blissful looks of someone who had just woken up and I smiled along with them.
“What happened Mac?” Abigail asked.
“Yes, what took you so long?” said Finn, “And where did you find Cyprus, he’s been missing for ages.”
I shrugged. “It took much longer than I suspected to find the crack in the wall, besides have you ever been in any of the mansions, they’re enormous. I only just found Cyprus today, saved him too, the guards almost hung him.”
They gasped.
Nathan leaned forward and whispered, “He was seen, he got caught?”
I nodded and smiled, “But they have no idea what we look like, the only one who saw us was this boy but even he didn’t see us for more than a moment at most. And the guards didn’t have nearly enough time to memorize either of our faces before we took them out.”
“How many guards?” Kirk asked, eagerly. He loved fighting, anything to do with it.
“Two.”
He looked disappointed but Abigail looked relieved.
“You’re lucky to have escaped,” Nathan said conclusively. He fiddled with his stone as he said, “But it was worth it.”
There was a murmur of agreement. Cyprus and Deirdre finally stopped fighting and sat, unkempt, one on each of my sides. Deirdre reached for the stone and gave a sigh of relief as her own stone glowed topaz. Only when her hand was back in her lap did Cyprus reach cautiously for the stone. It seemed that this time he had lost the fight.
Another surge of topaz and the large stone went dark. It still looked the same to the naked eye, but to the crew it was as dull as any pebble found in the streets.
“I think we have a problem,” Cyprus said slowly. Usually Deirdre, being our leader, asked the questions but seeing as she was still glaring straight ahead, fuming, I answered.
“What kind of problem?”
“Well…one of the guards, the one you hit with the bucket, I recognized him. I’d seen him earlier that day-.”
“When you were supposed to be getting the crew’s dinner,” Deirdre snapped.
He hung his head. “Yes, well, he also recognized me. When he caught me trying to get into the room with the stone I saw it in his eyes. I’m sure if he ever saw me again, I’d be in a jail cell faster than you could say Prince James the III.”
The group groaned in unison. This was not good. I tilted my head back to the ceiling in hopelessness. We had nowhere else to go, and now we had lost the only place we’d ever found a home in. Cyprus’s face glowed beat red under the accusing glances of his friends.
“I’ve got it,” Abigail yelled, jumping to her feet, “We could stow away, on a ship that’s going far away. They’d never catch us!”
“Of course,” Finn said, “And there’s that new ship, The Reformer, that’s leaving the docks tomorrow for Sepia!”
Deirdre frowned. “But what about this place, it’s our home isn’t it?”
“Eh, we wanted something new anyways,” said Kirk dismissively, “This place was starting to get boring.”
Deirdre looked at us all, one at a time. Finally she turned to me. As the second oldest, at age fourteen and three quarters, if I agreed with the others we’d have the majority. I nodded my head once. She looked at me thoughtfully before repeating the gesture.
The crew reacted instantly, jumping to their feet and running to their sleeping places. They gathered their belongings together, shouting and laughing. Deirdre and I sat silently watching them. If we were to leave first thing in the morning, we’d have to move fast, because according to the windows it was nearly dawn.
Finally she shifted to face me. “Why?”
“We would be found.”
She shook her head in disbelief.
“We would,” I repeated, “We stole from the Prince himself, that’s where it was hidden.”
She gasped and held her hand to her mouth. She’d scouted out my mission with me but even she hadn’t known who lived in which part of the castle. Everyone, even the lowliest of the street rats, knew what the royal family looked like.
“He will stop at nothing to get it back,” I continued, remembering the fury in the Prince’s eyes as he watched me escape, “Nothing at all.”
She shook her head in despair and went to pack her few belongings. I did the same, my thoughts racing over the Prince, and the new found power now swinging around my neck. Things were about to get a whole lot more interesting.

At dawn we exited our home through the side door which entered into a dingy alley. Whatever small amount of belongings we had were slung across our backs and our bare feet clenched when they hit the cold rocky streets. The crisp autumn air tossed my boyishly short auburn hair in my eyes and stung my cheeks. The others stood yawning, tired after staying awake for so long.
I turned toward the main street where the peasants of Neork were just beginning their days work. The others followed, not one looking back at the crumbling old orphanage we’d stayed at for the last year. No love had been lost on it, and we could not waste time being emotional.
We entered the street and walked cautiously down the rutted road. I grabbed Abigail as she sauntered over to a fruit seller’s stand and gave her a warning look. We couldn’t risk getting caught this morning. We were halfway toward the docks when I noticed the strange off-white posters plastered over ever free surface the city had to offer. I frowned and sent Cyprus over to check them out. Every once and a while the palace offered a reward for certain criminals, if their offence was large enough, and it was a good way to earn a few extra coins.
As we watched Cyprus, someone suddenly grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward a shop. I yelled and struggled to release my arm; Deirdre and Nathan came to my rescue, pulling the irate shop keeper off of me and placing me behind them. He was pointing one pudgy finger at my face and held in his hand one of the posters I’d sent Cyprus to look at.
I gasped as I recognized my own face printed on the paper above some strange symbols that I took to be words, I’d never learned to read. Deirdre and Nathan stared at the sign as well and by now we’d attracted quite a crowd.
I panicked and raced away, searching for someplace to hide. I heard Abigail and Nathan calling my name and Kirk tried to grab me before I got to far; but I left them far behind, trying to think as fast as my feet, which were steadily gaining speed as I reached the empty alleys. I headed toward the docks, thinking I’d meet up with my mates once they’d caught up.
When I reached the docks I clambered up the side of a building, using the rusty rungs left to rot. They barely held but I made it to the top and sat there shivering. I looked out across the water and saw The Reformer floating just off the dock in the midst of some frantic looking soldiers loading her. She was quite a large ship with three masts, whose cargo looked to be something small like china or tea.
I looked away from the docks and down at the poster I’d grabbed in my race for freedom. I studied it carefully, my heart still racing in my chest. How had the guards gotten that picture of me?
It was a good drawing, even getting the scar on my cheek and the small gold hoop I’d had hooked into my left ear. Whoever had drawn it had a good eye. I sighed, I was almost positive no one but the Prince had seen me for more than a few seconds and the thought that the Prince could have drawn like this was just preposterous.
I crumpled the poster in a surge of anger and threw it down into the alley. No one had the right to chase me out of Neork and yet I had let them do it, made it easier even. Now I was one of the most highly wanted thieves in the country and it was this stupid artist’s entire fault! I vowed that I’d make him pay, even if I did have to run away for now, I’d be back.
I saw my crew standing on the dock’s now, waiting. I scrambled down the handholds and jumped down into the alley, carefully landing on the poster I’d thrown. He would pay, I would guarantee it.

Prince James stared out his window toward the bustling city and even further down to the docks. He watched as a large ship pulled out of the harbor and raised her sails. He smiled wistfully as he watched it gliding almost effortlessly toward the horizon, wishing he could be along for the voyage.
There was a knock at the door and he called for whoever it was to enter.
“My Lord?”
“Yes, Jeffery?” James said, turning. Jeffery bowed and James inclined his head.
“The girl has been spotted, my Lord, by one of the commoners. He said she escaped but he saw her run in the direction of the docks, we’ve sent the guards down with her picture. She should be caught by tonight.”
James smirked and looked back toward the docks, his thoughts full of his hate for the thief. But even as his guards scoured the lower city, the thief herself watched from her invisible perch high in the rigging and laughed at the chaos caused by those same guards. Her crew sat next to her, equally as unseen and chuckled. All seven pairs of eyes glittered mischievously, that roguish glint that only thieves of the lower levels had.