Book of Fire: a debut fantasy perfect for fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Maze Runner. Michelle Kenney

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СКАЧАТЬ in my subconscious, and yet still no clearer than it was all those years before.

      The pages were covered in strange misshapen, circular drawings, and annotated by lines and words I didn’t recognize. And written into the borders were more faded words, some of which could have been written in English or ancient Egyptian, for all I could tell. Each drawing was different – some contained hieroglyphic markings, others smaller distended circles and more indistinguishable writing. I stared for a few seconds, before exhaling. Thomas’s research was a complete enigma.

      ‘I don’t understand it,’ I ventured after a moment’s silence. ‘It looks like an adult has written over a child’s drawing.’

      ‘Ah well, that’s scientists for you!’ Grandpa leaned forward to brush the text gently.

      ‘You recall everything I’ve told you about Thomas?’

      I nodded uncertainly.

      ‘Good. Well, these central pages are all that’s left of his work: precious, classified scientific work. You know Thomas as the pioneering forefather of Arafel, and he was. But he also had a life before Arafel … in the city,’ he continued, gazing at me intently.

      ‘Thomas was working on a huge Government project at the time the Great War broke out, as a Lead Scientist in the team that created the Lifedome.’

      I looked at my grandfather sharply. It was the first time I’d heard of a connection with the dome.

      ‘Something happened while he was carrying out important Government research, something big enough to make him abandon everything he knew, and run.’

      ‘Do you know what it was?’ I prompted breathlessly.

      Grandpa drew a deep breath and scrutinized my face.

      ‘Have you ever heard of the Voynich, Talia?’ he whispered so quietly I had to strain to hear at all.

      For a second, it seemed as though even the leaves of our white oak paused their dance to listen. I shook my head.

      ‘The Voynich was an ancient medieval manuscript, which baffled historians and scientific cryptographers for centuries. Thomas was a very clever scientist, Talia, and just before the war he made a discovery about the Voynich, something that changed his mind dramatically about the purpose and sanctuary of the Lifedome.’

      ‘Is this … the Voynich?’ I asked wonderingly, pointing to the open pages resting on Grandpa’s lap. My skin prickled with the prospect of the real-life ancient mystery unfolding before my very eyes.

      Grandpa chuckled softly. ‘Oh no, the Voynich Manuscript was a wonderfully ornate ancient manuscript, which we believe may have been lost during the Great War. What you are looking at is Thomas’s own research into the Voynich, although some believe it’s of rather more importance …’

      I tried not to show my disappointment. ‘What … what does it mean? What did he find out exactly?’

      ‘Well therein lies the real mystery.’ Grandpa pondered this for a moment. ‘We’ve never been able to understand its significance. He attempted to persuade the authorities at the time to listen to him, but instead they arrested him. Luckily, some of his team remained loyal, broke him out of prison, and together with his key research … these pages … smuggled him out of the city to start a new life as an Outsider. Thomas bound the pages inside the Book of Arafel, so they would always be safe, together with his account of Arafel’s beginning.’

      I stared in wonder at the new light in Grandpa’s face. I’d never seen him so passionate, or serious.

      ‘You remember what I taught you of Thomas’s vision? We must live freely, know our place in the forest, and take only what we need to survive.’

      I nodded.

      ‘Yet, Thomas left something else on his deathbed too: a secret request to his family and descendants, that we protect the Book of Arafel from the Insiders – with our lives.’

      The words hung on the air and I shifted, trying to digest the enormity of what Grandpa was saying.

      ‘But, you must know more,’ I tried after a weighted silence. ‘You must have some suspicion as to the meaning of Thomas’s research?’

      I reached out to touch the crinkled paper, and a twinkle crept back into Grandpa’s eyes.

      ‘There’s my Talia, always asking why,’ he responded cryptically. ‘And all I really know is our beginning is hidden in these pages somewhere, and by that I don’t mean Arafel’s beginning – I mean yours, mine, and every other creature that ever walked this earth …’

      I gazed back at the grandfather I thought I knew so well, and suddenly realized how many secrets his wise and kindly face had hidden over the years. For all our sakes.

      ‘The … Origin of Species?’ I tried, racking my brain for any memory of the Darwinian text I’d read years ago.

      He let out a short bark of laughter.

      ‘Yes, but a secret that may make the Origin of Species look like your school abacus! I don’t have the answers, Talia, but I have equipped you so that one day you might understand this better than your old grandpa.’

      Equipped me? I studied the complex text intently, willing its enigma to somehow rise from the pages and reveal itself.

      ‘Can Eli know?’ I asked.

      ‘No.’ His tone was sharp and non-negotiable.

      ‘The Book of Arafel is the responsibility of one of our line only. You must only share it when it is your time.’

      I scowled, conjuring up all the permutations where that neat arrangement could break down, as a piercing alarm filled the air.

      Grandpa glanced towards his window, his bushy eyebrows forked into unusual concern.

      ‘The perimeter alarm!’ I frowned, jumping to my feet. ‘I’ll get the others, Grandpa.’

      My chest tightened as I sprinted out through the living space, and scrambled down the ladder to join mum and Eli at the bottom of the tree. Jas had retreated to the topmost branches, and was mewing like a kitten.

      Eli shot her an anxious look but there was no time for animal therapy now. The drill was mandatory. If the alarm sounded, every member of the village had to report to the Council Ring.

      The Ring was a large, deep cave, accessible only via a narrow tunnel behind the village storehouse. It contained a natural circlet of boulders, which gave a spherical appearance to the space, and had provided Thomas and his small following with shelter in the early days. Now it was used only in an official capacity for events, meetings, and shelter if the weather was unusually bad. The Council said the natural shape of the Ring reminded us of Thomas’s harmonious principles: shared community living, open trade, and dispute resolution by dialogue. But tonight the Ring was protection.

      Every direction I looked villagers were hurrying out of the dusky foliage, their faces pale and strained, barely concealing their anxiety. The young and fit helped the elderly and infirm. Between the trees to our left, a golden-haired toddler stumbled while his mother struggled with a crying newborn. СКАЧАТЬ