Authors: Sara Walsh
The Dark Light (42 page)
“That’s good.”
“And if they come back for it?”
The golden flecks in Sol’s eyes twinkled in the sunlight. “We’ll be ready.”
He drew me into a kiss that chased any thoughts of danger from my mind. I savored every sensation—the touch of his fingers as they grazed my cheek, his hand on my neck beneath my hair. Why care about tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that, when I had Sol now?
Our kiss ended and we lay on the grass and watched the clouds gather in thick clusters. They drifted to the east and I couldn’t help but wonder if those same clouds had passed over Orion or over my father’s house in the valley. Did it matter which world those clouds belonged to? Or had Sol been right when he’d said that all worlds were connected?
You see, no matter how quickly life changes, some things always stay the same. Take the lights, for instance.
There have been strange lights in Crownsville for as long as I’ve lived here. Lights on the Ridge; lights on the river; lights that seep from the ground and then float to the sky in clouds of colored mist.
There have always been strange lights in Crownsville.
Now I know why.
To Nathaniel Jacks, my amazing agent, who always said “when” not “if”, and who helped me turn something raw into something real. Huge thanks to you, Nat, and to everyone at Inkwell.
To the entire Simon Pulse team for making me feel so welcome and for all your hard work on this book. Immense gratitude to Angela Goddard for designing the most amazing cover. Wow. Special thanks go to the gorgeous Anica Rissi for taking a chance on this story, and Annette Pollert, my wonderful editor, who is just so awesome she blows me away. Annette, I’m so lucky to work with you. Thanks for loving Mia and Sol as much as I do.
I offer a bootay shake to everyone in Purgatory, and raise a spezna to the Next Circle of Hell. You guys are the real deal.
Huge hugs to Cueball and JoJo for madness, mayhem, and
days at the Branch. I’m throwing an outdoor disco on your behalf. You know the moves.
To the formidable Walsh clan: Sunny, Susan, Doug, Bridget, Maggie, Emma, Mark, Paige, Mac, Lily, Donovan, Charlie, Matt, and Cherie. Home doesn’t feel so far away when I have family like you.
To all my family across the Pond—especially Mandy, Fintan, David, and Tanya. Mandy, thanks for reading over all these years and for never suggesting that I was crazy to keep going. To David and Tanya, who were there on the road trip that started this story no one could ask for a better brother and sister-in-law. And to Mum and Dad, who never doubted I could do this. I hope you’re watching from somewhere up there.
Finally, to Mike for reading this story and then telling me that it was the one. Like Willie, I believe in fated love. This one’s for you. Always.
SARA WALSH
is British, but happily lives in Annapolis, Maryland. She graduated college with a degree in psychology, but decided that telling stories was much more fun.
The Dark Light
was inspired by a local news event about a boy who mysteriously reappeared after having been missing for a decade.
Visit her online at
sarawalshbooks.com
.
Jacket designed by Angela Goddard
Jacket photograph copyright © 2012 by Gianluca Fontana/
Stock4B
Tattoo art by Mark Heggie
Author photo courtesy of Tamela Kemp of Baltimore, Maryland
SIMON PULSE
Simon & Schuster, New York
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON PULSE
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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www.SimonandSchuster.com
First Simon Pulse hardcover edition August 2012
Copyright © 2012 by Sara Walsh
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Designed by Mike Rosamilia
The text of this book was set in Berling LT Std.
Walsh, Sara.
The dark light / Sara Walsh. — 1st Simon Pulse hardcover ed.
p. cm.
Summary: When seventeen-year-old Mia’s ten-year-old brother becomes
the latest child to disappear, she discovers that her town of Crownsville,
Nebraska, adjoins another world, and with help from new friend Sol, she tries
to rescue him from the Suzerain, who is trying to destroy her world.
ISBN 978-1-4424-3455-4
1. Missing children—Fiction. 2. Supernatural—Fiction. 3. Magic—Fiction.
4. Identity—Fiction. 5. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.W168933Dar 2012
[Fic]—dc23
2011041701
ISBN 978-1-4424-3459-2 (eBook)