The Spectrum Force by Heather Ray (good inspirational books .TXT) 📖

large enough to fit the entire Maloy family, and their luggage.

"Good," Stephen said, getting out of the passenger side. Keith sighed inwardly, and turned off the car. During the entire drive from the airport, neither Maloy man spoke a word to each other. Connie and Monica, however, were enjoying an animated conversation with Tamara in the back. Keith had almost asked Tamara to drive, so she could sit by Stephen. But that would probably seem obvious, so he decided to just deal with it.

At least we didn't argue,

Keith thought grimly, opening the fifth door and pulling out some luggage. Suddenly, a shadow passed over the parking lot. Keith paid no attention, until he heard a shriek from next to him. His sister had just climbed out of the car, and stared in horror at the black cloud covering the Sun.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Oh no," Tamara uttered, following Connie out of the automobile. She looked questioningly toward Keith, who met her gaze immediately. He had a concerned expression on his face. They both knew what was happening.

"Is it some kind of eclipse?" Monica asked, unconsciously leaning against her husband.

"I... I don't know," Stephen replied, awestruck.

"Oh!" gasped Tamara, "I forgot, we have to pick up Rachel from the museum!"

"What?" said Stephen.

"Right," Keith said, "She... lent us her car so we could pick you guys up, so she asked us to pick her up from the museum across town, since she won't have a car."

"Why didn't you lend her your car?" Monica asked her son. He blinked.

"Rachel can't drive a stick-shift," Tamara answered quickly, "C'mon, Keith! Ray's probably steamed!"

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Keith told his family, "Um, maybe you should stay in your hotel room? Just until the Sun comes out again?"

Stephen's eyebrow rose. "Why? Do you think an eclipse is something dangerous?"

"Well, who knows what it could be," Tamara said, "Rather be safe than sorry."

Stephen shrugged, and the rest of the Maloy family collected their luggage and entered the hotel. Keith and Tamara hopped into the minivan, and drove it out of the parking lot, and down the street. As soon as they were a bit away from the hotel, they parked along the street, and hurried to a secluded spot amongst some trees.

"To Cloud Castle!" they both exclaimed, their bodies glowing with red and yellow light, respectively. They transformed into sleek beams of light, and streaked through the darkened sky to a tangible cloud. Atop that cloud was the majestic Cloud Castle, a magical construct hidden within the clouds. They sailed through the large window on the second floor, and landed inside the throne room. Once they materialized, they noticed that Jocelyn, Craig, Chris, Matt, and Rachel were already there. But someone was surprisingly missing.

"Where's Spectra?" Tamara inquired, glancing at the empty throne.

"She just up and left," Chris said, "about fifteen minutes ago. Rachel and I were downstairs, in the training room, so we came up here when Jocelyn, Matt, and Craig appeared. It was then that we noticed the eclipse."

"Why would Phaedra create another eclipse?" Keith pondered, "It didn't work the first time."

"This is different," Rachel said, "Spectra recognized whatever evil spell the Denebians cast, and she nearly panicked."

"Spectra?" said Matt in disbelief, "Spectra nearly panicked?!"

"Yeah," said Chris, "and we don't know why."

Suddenly, in a flash of white light, Spectra appeared on her throne, her face cast downward. She glanced up at her Spectrum Force, and all the humans present gasped at her expression. Her pale features were creased with anxiety, and her muscles appeared tense.

"What's going on?" Keith demanded.

Spectra drew a long breath, and gazed intently at the hot-headed young man. "Acheron and Phaedra have released the Nightfall... the most evil, lethal magical creature in existence. That is the cloud that covers the Sun as we speak."

"What does it do?" Jocelyn asked.

"It feeds off the light and energy of stars. Once it has consumed its fill, the entire Sun will be reduced to a dead star, giving off no light or heat energy. And then the Nightfall will continue on, consuming every star it comes near without ever stopping."

The Spectrum Force gasped. "So how do we destroy it?" Matt asked.

Spectra closed her eyes tightly, and paused for a moment. "You can't."

"Excuse me?" Craig said, blinking.

Spectra gazed intently at the team, her eyes expressing a creeping feeling of hopelessness. "I said you can't," she repeated louder, "The Nightfall cannot be destroyed. Earth, as well as all the planets circling the Sun, are doomed. And there is nothing you can do to prevent it."

Part Two

Chapter Six

Stunned silence reigned for several minutes, as the seven college students absorbed the weight of Spectra's decree. The quiet was grave, to the point that you could hear a heartbeat. And considering the panic that began rising within the assembled heroes, the heartbeats quickened.

"Earth is doomed?" Jocelyn repeated blankly, "And there isn't a single thing we can do about it?"

Spectra nodded silently.

"That's bull!" Keith yelled angrily, "We're superheroes! There must be something we can do! Why can't the Nightfall be destroyed?"

"Because the mightiest magicians in the cosmos have tried, and failed. Eons ago, when the Denebian Empire was young, and their greatest warlocks and witches were alive, they all cooperated in creating the Nightfall, which is a living organism that has an endless appetite for consuming energy. After centuries of diligent work, the Nightfall was perfected, and unleashed into the galaxy. The Nightfall consumed the stars near Deneb, leaving nothing but neutron stars in its wake. By drinking the fusion energy of a star, the Nightfall hastens the star's dying process. Star's take billions of years to age and die, but the Nightfall reduces the cycle to a matter of days. One by one, all the neighboring stars were consumed, and the planets that orbited those stars froze in the coldness of space. Dozens of civilizations weere eliminated. Once the star was blocked, the Denebian armada was safe from the light rays, and pillaged the planet. Once they had stolen all the magical knowledge and slaves they desired from the planet, they left, leaving the remaining natives to freeze to death."

"That's terrible," Tamara gasped.

"Indeed," Spectra agreed, "Many of the civilizations that were attacked were mighty in magic, which is why the Denebians targeted them. But no matter how great the magical spells, nothing could stop the Nightfall. So it cannot be destroyed."

"But, if the Nightfall was created eons ago, why didn't it destroy the entire universe already?" Jocelyn asked.

"Because it wasn't allowed to. The White Denebians witnessed the horrors the Denebian creation had caused, and vowed to stop it. So they united, and formed the Council of Light. The entire nation of White Denebians put their magical efforts together, and formed five magical crystals of unparalleled magical power. These are the White Stones. One White Stone was used to contain the Nightfall, preventing it from destroying anything else. The Council then threw the Nightfall, now contained in a magical crystal, into a star, because the Black Denebians can never enter a star to retrieve it. From inside the White Stone, the Nightfall couldn't consume energy, and so it weakened. It had been captured for ages, but somehow, it has been released."

"There were five of these White Stones," Chris pointed out, "So why can't we just get one of the other four?"

Spectra shook her head, her salmon-hued locks casting a shadow over her brow. "I tried," she said, "That's why I left before. I tried to contact the wise Luminus, who keeps a White Stone. But he cannot let us have it."

"Why?" asked Rachel.

"The White Stone Luminus still possesses has been fragmented into seven pieces, which now power the Star Riders, a team of superheroes who span the universe, and battle the Denebian forces in the more distant quadrants of space. Without the Star Riders to protect them, dozens of civilizations could be destroyed."

"Where are the other three?" Craig inquired.

"Two were stolen by a traitor, and were lost. The other has been fragmented into six pieces, and now powers the Spectrum Force."

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. "So why can't we contain it?" Keith asked.

"In order to contain the Nightfall, all the shards must be united to form the White Stone. Then, once the Nightfall is trapped within, the White Stone cannot be used for anything else. It will forever remain a prison for the evil creation."

"I see," said Rachel, nodding with understanding, "If we were to recreate the White Stone, then that means the end of the Spectrum Force..."

"...and no one will be left to stop the Denebians from conquering the planet with their other methods," Matt concluded, running a shaking hand through his rust hair, "Isn't there some other way to capture the Nightfall?"

Spectra shook her head in the negative.

"Maybe we can find one of the lost gems?" Tamara suggested.

"Impossible," Spectra said, "Although it is rumored that they are somewhere in this solar system, we simply do not have the time. The Nightfall will completely destroy the Sun within seven days, and whatever damage that is done cannot be reversed. I'm sorry."

"What do you mean you're sorry?" Keith asked, folding his arms, "We're not giving up yet!"

"What can we do?" Matt groaned, sitting heavily on one of the golden steps, "There's absolutely nothing we can do. It's a no win situation..."

"You're really optimistic today," Jocelyn muttered, casting her hazel gaze at her best friend, "I guess the only thing we can do is search for the two missing White Stones. It's our only chance."

Rachel continued her nervous pacing, her brow wrinkled as she analyzed all the possible options at their disposal. "Can't the Star Riders come here, and fight off the Denebians after we use our Spectrum Stones to trap Nightfall?"

"They cannot arrive in time," Spectra