White Light
A W.i.t.c.h. Sovereigns Sequel

by EnnyMay

White sand danced across a white shore. A shore without water, a dance without soul and a searing white in every direction. The kind that blinds you. The white of stars, just up close instead of lightyears away. Moving, alive and yet so far from existence, from purpose. Just white sand, moving and an empty scream –

"HEY! WATCH IT!" Maze tumbled backward irritated by a car's headlights. "COME ON! Move it, move it!" the driver shouted angrily, causing the young man to finally step off the street, still half asleep. The engine roared and the car rushed deeper into the city. Grey darkness followed. Maze sighed. He shook his head in an attempt to wake up then tousled wildly through his black hair! But as soon as he stopped, sleep welcomed him back into its warm, comfortable and heavy arms. So… heavy… His head shot up! "Damn" he inhaled deeply. Damp concrete, rotting leaves, the first bite of winter. A sudden wind howled through the trees above, making them bow to its will. Maze pulled his sweater up under his chin. Time to get inside. He turned around for orientation but of cause he recognized nothing. It was a wonder he had made it this far, alone in a strange city in the middle of the night, sleepwalking. He started searching for the directions, only to find them already in his other hand. Too tired for any mental activity, Maze simply stared at the crumbled paper until he felt his brain knew what to do, adjusted the big backpack and walked onward.

A few blocks later he felt he had reached his destination: A tall apartment building, dull and grey looking, the only colour being the reflections of a neon sign from the bar across the street. Maze was about to ring the bell when a man opened the door next to him, keys jingling noisily. Mid-age with a boring face and clothes that had the words 'I'm a lawful citizen who knows no fun' printed all over it. "Are you here to visit someone?", the man asked. Maze looked at him and nodded. At least he thought he was. He knew he wasn't smiling but he felt like his head was trying to move somewhere below all the weariness of a whole day spent in a train. For a while the two stood there in the darkness, unsure what to do next. The man looked at him and Maze looked back. After a long moment a strange tension began to build so the younger one shifted and shoved past his future neighbour with a half-hearted "Thanks". As he climbed up the first flight of stairs he could feel the man's gaze in his neck. 'Way to go, Maze. Great start.'
It took a while to find the right apartment. Longing for a bed and a good rest, he knocked. Within seconds the door swung open and his aunt grabbed him by the shoulders and gave him a hearty hug. "Maze! Good to see you! It's been forever!" Irritated, the young man blinked while his new guardian busily pushed him into the apartment and kidnapped his backpack to some room further down the hall. He was surprised at how she hadn't changed in all those years. Not one wrinkle in her handsome face, not one grey strand in the golden waves of hair she tucked away so neatly. Only the glasses were new. It made her look unusually strict, like a teacher. Maze suddenly realized he hadn't really entered the apartment yet. Shoes still on, hands in his pockets a part of him seemed to expect to be thrown out again any moment. Only she wouldn't do that. It was weird. To distract himself, Maze let his eyes take in the interior. As far as he could tell, the apartment consisted of four rooms. The one his aunt had disappeared in was down the hall to the right. Probably his room. Another door was next to it and then there was a door on the left. Both either bathroom or his aunts'. The biggest one was entrance, kitchen to the left and a mixture of living and dining room on the right in one. It looked like Lisa was still into antiques. Most furniture was made of dark, polished wood. They looked old and classy with funny trinkets scattered here and there. On the wall next to him there was a big painting showing a purple sky with a bright light in its middle, splitting the horizon. Interested Maze slipped out of his shoes and walked over to take a closer look. Small figures were moving in one of the long white rays and there was something that resembled a tree. He stopped short, took a step back and squinted. What had seemed like shadows of clouds now turned into the extended branches of the tree reaching out across the entire painting! It was fascinating and eerie at once.
"I see you found Adate." Maze turned his head towards her: "What?" Lisa smiled and joined him in front of the painting. "That's its name. Adate. Nobody knows when or by whom it was painted and there are several strange occurrences tied to it. Some say the light starts blinding you if you look at it too intently. Others say the sky changes during the night." She looked at it with fondness. "Hm." was all he could come up with. Lisa laughed openly. "What do you mean 'Hm'! It's one of my most precious possessions and that is all you can come up with?" Maze looked at her, trying to remember something from long ago: "Do you still have that blue elephant from India with markings of the gods?"
"Yes, why?"
"And that thing with the metal rings from ancient Chile?"
"Of cause! I would never give it away!"
He crossed his arms: "If there was a fire, what would you safe?"
A glint caught her eyes, her grin stretching to one side. It made his skin crawl!
"If there really was a fire", she snickered, "I would get the hell out of here."
Maze wanted to reply but she turned and took a few notes that she handed him. "I'm afraid I have to leave town for a couple of days. It's an important matter that can't wait but I feel bad leaving you to yourself. Your first day at school coming up Monday and all."
'That was sudden…' To his own amazement Maze felt a sting of disappointment. Ignoring the notion, the young man shrugged in a careless manner and commented: "Can't be helped then. I can handle myself, don't worry." Lisa seemed more like herself again. Theatrically she creeped up to him, humming "Oh, but it's Halloween! Aren't you scared?" and attacked him with tickly fingers! He tried not to laugh and failed, awkwardly jerking away from her. "Stop it! I'm not a kid anymore! Halloween's for babies." The last part came out more stubborn than he had planned. "I wonder", he heard her say but when he turned, there was no Lisa. She had vanished. Dumbfounded he gaped at the spot where she had been few seconds ago. It was several meters to the hallway. She couldn't have made it unless she had been running and that would've made noise. Right? Right. But then again, this was Lisa. She had always been a little… unusual. Before his thoughts could get any wilder, said aunt appeared from the hallway again minus glasses. "How did you do that?", he blurted out.
"What honey?"
His fingers pointed wildly through the air: "The disappearing! You were here and then… not and –" She smirked triumphant. It was a trap. Damn that woman! Maze coughed in a composing manner. "Oh, forget it."
"Hi hi! Now, you know the drill. If you go out, close the doors, the windows, bla bla. In the night you shut all the lights and lock the door."
"Sure."
"There's some money in the globe. Just push Atlantis and it opens."
Atlantis. How old was she again? Unbelievable. He looked at the globe by the dining table. No, he wouldn't go over to give it a try. That was childish. Very. He grunted and shuffled over to the globe, hands still in his pockets. He glared at it from above as if to impress it. Staring contest was on! Meanwhile, Lisa continued her verbiage: "If you need anything or if something goes wrong I wrote down numbers of good friends of mine that will help you." She pranced over to the door, and then halted. "Did I forget anything?"
A sudden movement in the corner of his eye. "What about this lamp?", he asked. "Can't find any switch…" A perfectly round milky glass orb sat on a twisted dark iron foot in the middle of the table. Two arms closed around the orb with a few swirls and small yellow stone insets. A dim white light originated from its core. Maze examined it thoroughly. He tried to lift it but it was far too heavy or glued to the table. "Oh, that!", Lisa exclaimed. Was she worried? Maybe it was another of her oh-so-precious oddities. Better not touch it. One last look and he left the lamp to return to his aunt. "It doesn't have a switch. Just leave it on. It's safer that way."
"Safer?", he repeated but Lisa was already gone.

His room was tiny. Empty walls closed in on him, the only variety being a window towards the street. His backpack was placed under it. Maze fell down onto the make-shift bed, meeting the wall with one arm. So tiny! He turned over to one side and found himself inches away from the leg of a small couch table. Grumbling and shifting, he finally found a position that was comfortable. This was going to be a long year. 'If I grow any more, I won't fit', he thought drowsily. His eyes fell shut when a thought raced through his mind: The backpack… 'She didn't take any bag.' But he was too tired to care. Slowly Maze drifted off into a deep slumber.

Darkness ruled the apartment. The sound of cars and a few night walkers billowed from the city. Darkness, except for a dim light coming from a glass orb. Shy but persistent it broke the blue. Silent, waiting, watching. A shimmer of violet flared up inside it, then died again. Waiting…

...

Scratching. It was a dragging, long noise, far in the distance. Scratching. Like something wanted out. Something? Or someone? It didn't make sense. He was alone after all. Scratching. Maze opened his eyes, blinked against the light of day and closed them again. He tried turning around but got tangled up in his blanket. "Ugh!" He hated mornings. One arm went up as if stretching, then fell back down right into the young man's face. There it stayed for half an hour until its owner awoke again with a start. Heart racing, Maze sat in his little room, wondering what it was that had scared him. He couldn't remember anything but whatever it was, it had left an unsettling feeling deep down inside. Sullenly he got up.

One morning routine later he felt just a little more human, hair roughly combed, face washed and teeth brushed. Some water and toast for breakfast in front of the small TV was all it took to make him comfortable. An hour later, Maze hung on the sofa, feet up in the air staring at the ceiling. The TV blabbered, rain pattered against the windows. He wanted to call his friends but they were far away so what was the point? They wouldn't stay his friends for long now that they couldn't meet up. That was just how life worked. How depressing. Slugish, he changed the channel until a group of people appeared wearing black masks with red markings. Demigoro, his favourite rock band. The figures on TV started to lift their arms like puppets on strings while the background changed colour in a pulsating rhythm. Without knowing, Maze bobbed his head to the music. Soon he was up screaming the rimes, slowly grooving through the living room, occasionally abusing furniture as a drum set. He stopped by the lamp. It wasn't in the middle of the table any longer but a few inches out to the left. His hand moved towards it, giving it a slight push. The lamp reacted moving away. "What the hell?", he said under his breath. Something glowing jumped up, before falling back to the bottom of the orb. Maze squatted down beside the table, head resting on the wooden plate, focusing on any further movement. Moments passed. Nothing happened. Slowly his finger crossed the distance to the iron foot, touching it, pushing it. This time stronger. With a rasping sound, the lamp slid over the wood. 'That's… almost like what I heard this morning.' Abruptly the light brightened and three tiny balls jumped upward! Like snowflakes in the wind, they danced around in chaotic patterns. Their colour varied ever so slightly. One was red-ish, one green, one yellow. Then, without a warning, they dropped down lifeless once again, sinking downward. Maze craned his neck and spotted another four balls lying inside the orb. 'Bad idea', he cautioned himself, still his hands reached out once more, embracing the orb, pulling it upward. It gave way and, in an instant, was off the table. Green eyes hungered for more. "Very bad idea!" The lamp was heavy, but not impossible to lift. He gave it a soft shake. The light balls shot up, floating for a while until playing dead again. 'Like a snow globe.' He thought, smiling. The light flared up again, this time with such intensity, Maze turned his head to shield his eyes. At the same time the lamp grew extremely heavy and painfully cold. In shock, he let it drop onto the table and stumbled a step back. The small balls flew back and forth inside the globe, pressing against the glass! Their light was no longer dim but intense, almost angry! The world around him grew darker and quieter, the lamp ever more bright. Through narrowed eyes Maze watched the eerie play grow wilder still and a purple halo building up around the outer rims of the light. Then he could take it no longer. He scrambled to his feet, grabbed his hoody from the couch and the keys and was already outside the door, locking it shut. Heavy breathing echoed through the stairwell. 'What the f*** is this?' But he had no intention of finding out. Taking several steps at once he fled down the stairs and out into the rain.

….

Bla bla