Turner. Jonathan De Montfort

master nodded. ‘We call it the voice. Although it does sound like there are many, it is in fact only one voice.’

      The hairs along the back of Hero’s neck stood up. ‘Wait—you’ve heard it too?’

      ‘Of course. We all hear it, and it seems to say the same thing. It’s particularly strong during meditation because your mind is open.’

      ‘I thought I was going mad. But what does it mean?’

      ‘The voice instructs us on the right thing to do. But come on, Hero, you’re an intelligent guy. Let’s see if you can work it out.’

      Hero rubbed his temples. ‘Well, if you’re the Light Master—and obviously there’re other people, so you’re not the only one—so . . . The Light isn’t a thing? It’s a group?’

      ‘And?’

      ‘We’re connected? We’ve all got something in common?’

      ‘And what do you suppose that might be?’

      He already knew the answer. ‘We’re all fast? Really fast?’ His eyes widened. ‘We’ve all got the same ability.’

      But the Light Master’s expression suggested he was expecting something else.

      ‘It’s more than that, isn’t it?’

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘What?’

      The master had begun to pace up and down the edge of the mat. ‘Our ability. It’s not that we’re fast. It’s that we can all slow down time.’

      Hero glanced at James then back at the Light Master. They’re having me on. He started to smile. It got broader and broader until laughter bubbled over. The master blinked at Hero, unmoved, but James was smiling as if sharing the joke. This was one of James’s cheeky gags.

      ‘You’re not serious.’

      ‘I’m deadly serious, son.’ If this was a joke, then the master was not part of it.

      ‘But I don’t slow down time,’ Hero said. ‘Nothing goes slower for me.’

      ‘It doesn’t seem faster or slower to you because you actually change time. You’ve done it your whole life—you’ve just never noticed it before. But after training with us, you will notice it. You’ll notice it a great deal.’

      Hero looked away uncomfortably. The man was daft.

      ‘I’m not a fan of parlour tricks, but let me convince you,’ the master said quietly.

      And then he was gone.

      ‘Behind you,’ a voice whispered in Hero’s ear.

      Hero whipped around. The Light Master was just behind him, his mouth to Hero’s ear.

      James cackled. ‘Don’t worry, bruv, I nearly shat my pants when he did that to me.’

      Hero giggled, mostly with relief.

      The master circled around and retook his position in front of Hero. ‘Now, can you understand why you can’t be close to anyone during this very delicate time?’

      Hero shook his head.

      ‘Think about it, son. If you slowed down time like I did just then, how fast would you be moving? I’ve told you that this happens when you get emotional. Imagine if you got emotional while you were kissing that girl. What do you think would happen?’

      Hero’s hand flew to his mouth and nose to cover his shock.

      ‘That’s right, son. You could smash her face right off—and the worst part is you wouldn’t be hurt yourself.’

      He squinted. Theoretically, he was following this. But in practice?

      ‘When we slow time, there’s an energy field that protects us,’ the Light Master said. ‘We can extend it around others, but that takes control you don’t have right now.’

      ‘But you’ll teach me, right?’

      The master nodded.

      ‘And then I could—for example—go back to Fi?’

      James burst out laughing. ‘Subtle, bruv.’

      The master grinned, shaking his head. ‘Yes, Hero, you could.’ He became serious again. ‘But you might want to think that through.’

      Hero frowned.

      ‘Hurting someone accidentally is not the worst thing that can happen.’

      ‘It’s hard to imagine how that could be true,’ Hero muttered.

      ‘Really?’ James stabbed a finger towards him. ‘What do you think would happen if someone like Fi found out you had a superpower like this? Do you think she’d hang around? You know what kids are like. She’d scream “freak” at the top of her voice.’

      James was right. Hero felt powerless to do anything but stare.

      ‘And that’s why it’s important that nobody sees us jump in and out of the time dilation,’ the master said.

      ‘Why would they even see that?’

      ‘Because as you change time, there’s a point at which, from other people’s point of view, you’ll appear to be jumping erratically from place to place. I disappeared right in front of your eyes, remember?’

      Hmm, he hadn’t thought about that. ‘But who cares? So what if people know that we’re different?’

      ‘Can you imagine what a government would do with one of us?’

      He shrugged.

      ‘There’d be people that would come for you, put you in a lab, and dissect your brain so fast your feet wouldn’t even touch the floor. Then they’d hound the rest of us to the ends of the earth. They’d never stop, ever.’

      That was probably true. They’d want to understand us, if only to send us—but wait, no no no.

      ‘Even if they did find us, so what?’ Hero asked. ‘We could dilate time and walk right past them, surely.’

      The master gave him a disdainful look. ‘Do you really want to live a life where you’re constantly looking over your shoulder into the shadows? And forget the government—what do you think regular people would do if they found out about us?’

      Hero’s skin tingled as he tried to take it all in. Looking over my shoulder—that’s exactly the life I don’t want. That’s why I’m here.

      The master kept pressing. ‘Have you heard of the Spanish Inquisition? Or the Witchfinder General, burning people at the stake?’

      ‘People aren’t like that anymore.’

      ‘Really? So, you don’t think there’s any stigma attached with being a Muslim, then? Or homosexual?’

      ‘Oh.’

      ‘Sure, the target group changes every so often, but one thing you can guarantee is that if you’re different, you’re going to be in that group. And no one is more different than we are.’

      He knew this was all true. He’d seen how kids treated boys who were a little effeminate, or shy, or different in some other way.

      ‘I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to relocate my gym. That’s why I sleep in this place. I daren’t go outside often, in case I’m recognised.’ The Light Master breathed out heavily as if he were exhausted. ‘I’m talking about people with pillowcases over their heads and torches in their hands. Burning torches. I really don’t want to have to move again, Hero. I like it here.’

      ‘Are you sure you’re not just seeing the worst of humanity?’

      The Light Master smirked. ‘Don’t worry, Hero, you’ll see things this