by Jamie Ott
"You're talking to Keagan?" she asked hotly. "I don't want him here. If you're with him, you can go."
"Relax, Starr. Keagan isn't here."
"What's your beef with Keagan?" asked Druce.
"He's just a jealous fiend, Druce. Sestin chose Starr to carry his legacy."
Starr knew it was a risk, working with the very people who were apart of Keagan's clan, as he was the Scamall, but as long as Keagan didn't come around, she'd try to be easy. Plus, it was the ghost lady's instruction that Starr should trust them.
"Yes, I know where the castle is, but I'm a terrible artist," she said, taking the pen and leaning over the sheet. "The castle is huge, and nearly impossible to get to."
Starr did her best to draw the mountain range with the castle in the middle.
"As you can see," she said, "it's completely surrounded. How they managed to build the castle, millenniums ago, and survive is a mystery, what with all the moisture and no real drainage."
"Actually, the castle was built in the late first millennium, though it looks older than that. What I want to know is how in the world did you get there?" Ciaran asked sounding frustrated. "Looking at this map," he said as he pulled out a green map from underneath Starr's drawing. "This is really terrible terrain."
"From the Castel de Negru," she pointed to an area on the green map, "I went east into the mountains and then followed the voices. It took a couple days, though if I were human, I would've died. It was the worst journey I've ever taken."
"I can imagine," said Ciaran.
"What is this Castel de Negru?" asked Druce.
"The Order of Black's Romanian castle," he replied.
"Madam Balaji's order?" he asked.
"Yep."
"I've been thinking about how we should do this," said Starr. "I think we should sneak in and rescue the kids, and then sneak out. Just a couple of us should go. What's the point in trying to battle our way in? We might all die, and then what would happen to them?"
"I hate to disagree with you, but we have a problem. We don't have enough men or resources to cover two missions; the two missions being rescuing your friends and going to war with the Council."
When Starr didn't get it, Druce cut in with, "We're certain that no matter what, we're all going to war. And we're certain that some of us won't make it back. Now, if we lose men in a rescue, then we won't have enough men for the real fight. What we're asking is for you to be patient. Give us another week to prepare for battle. That way we can go in and fight, and rescue the kids, at the same time."
"That won't work because I don't want them or my friends around the fight. They could get hurt."
"We could fly them out," said a man from behind them.
She leaned her head back and saw the man she'd met at the caf?. He was sitting on a couch, fixing a broken machine gun.
The man set the gun down, stood and walked toward them.
"Starr, this is Seth. He's gonna help us with getting the rocket launchers from that base in Maine," said Druce.
"After the army, I was a commercial pilot for twenty-three years," he said.
"When was the last time you flew a plane," asked Starr. "A lot's changed, become electrical."
"I can figure it out, trust me. Besides, it wasn't that long ago."
"Yeah, well, I have the lives of over a dozen people counting on me."
"Give me a chance; that's all I ask," he said, sweeping his long brown hair over his shoulder.
When she was about to protest, Druce said, "Starr, Aine has vouched for Seth, who has done nothing but good since he's been here. We need him, so let's give him at least one chance."
Starr relented. She blinked her eyes and nodded her headed in consent, and took another sip of her coffee.
"Back to the rescue plan," Ciaran said, pulling up a chair. "You know that your friends are safe. They're probably eating junk and playing games. That place is like an amusement park. So just give us one more week."
She nodded her head and said, "I think you're right."
Just as she turned to leave, he said, "Wait! There's something else."
"Yes?" she asked, turning back around.
"Since we need to preserve our men and resources, I think we should send our strongest to the military base, to get the launchers. That way we know the job will get done without losing anyone."
~~~
The next morning, Seth pulled up to the condo building in a Chevy Suburban.
Starr was reluctant to leave the baby and her soul behind, but Aine promised her she'd, personally, watch out for the Mitchells. What amazed Starr was that they still didn't realize they were being watched and tailed.
She climbed into the middle seat, behind Seth as she spied into the Mitchell's condo. One thing that Starr was good at was remote telepathy, which enabled her to see things in other places.
In her mind, she saw the husband getting ready for work. The wife was feeding Meghan breakfast. They were a perfect couple. Mike liked running off to his job as a CGI specialist while his wife took care of his first child. He was a little disappointed that the baby was a girl, but he seemed to love her all the same.
Meghan was much like Starr, though different in subtle ways. She loved the little plastic blocks her mother got her, but hated the smell of her stuffed animals, which her mother insisted on putting in her crib or play pen.
Somehow, Meghan was able to communicate with her in a spiritual way, and even spoke to her in her dreams. Starr told Meghan one night that she, too, hated stuffed animals when she was a baby.
But are you happy? Starr asked her in the dream.
Meghan assured her that in her new life, her parents really did love her. She assured her that this time around, life would be better than the last.
This made her cry. Being close to her soul made her very emotional, but at that moment - knowing her future self was happy - touched her deeply. Even when she woke, it was to find her pillow was soaked in tears.
Don't cry, Meghan said to her from the other building, though she was awake.
Her parents never loved her the way they loved her sister, Meghan. Even after all the terrible things her sister did, they treated Starr like she was an extraterrestrial, and then acted as if she should've been grateful.
How strange it was to find that her soul had evolved into a character named Meghan who was actually cared for. It almost made her wonder if she, Starr, should have been Meghan when she was alive. What if the cosmos made a mistake?
Somehow, knowing that little Meghan was cared for gave her peace; made her forgive her parents. She even entertained the notion, for a brief moment, of returning home.
As she sat there waiting for the guys, Starr mused at how normal the Mitchell's lives were. New York City was still underground, in the sewers, and she and the kids had been out of school and jobs for what seemed like forever, yet here was this small family going about their lives as though nothing happened in the world, except the passing of another day.
The scene made her envious. How she missed the days when going to school and worrying about what movie to watch on Friday nights with the kids was all she had to think about.
Seth remained quiet, but she caught his marble blue eyes in the mirror a few times. He wanted to speak to her, she could tell, but she wasn't in the mood for chit chat.
Finally, fifteen minutes later, Ikael, Druce, Ciaran and another Scamall clansman by the name of Shea exited the building, carrying large bags. They opened the back of the suv and stacked the bags in.
"Hi, Starr," said Shea, scooting in next to her.
"Hi," she said lightly.
As she said this, Seth caught her eyes in the mirror again, and then turned his head, shaking it mildly.
Starr couldn't help it. She trusted them. Seth, she didn't know from Adam, and even though Aine vouched for him, he was nothing like the other vamps, which made him even more suspicious to her.
As they pulled away from the condo, Starr felt c
oldness return to her core. Being so close to her soul, though it lay in the body of another, was like being near a fire on a chilly day. The further away from it she got, the deeper the chill returned. More than anything she wanted to stay near that flame, but business called.
She looked out of the window and wondered what the ghost lady was up to. It had been a few days since she'd heard from her. For a while there, it was almost like they were living together. She was always there, whispering in her ear. The woman made her feel safe. She hated to admit it, but she felt lost without her constant reassurances.
They'd been on the road a while before Seth mustered enough courage to talk to her.
"I'd heard of you, before, too," Seth said.
"Yes, I know."
She sighed.
"Why does that bother you?" he asked. "People look up to you; they respect you."
"Ha," she said. "They don't respect me as much as you think."
"How is it that people follow you, when you're so negative?" he asked.
Starr was incensed, but Druce said,"That is why we love her. Humble Starr: A leader with no real bias, she is. Get the job done, and everyone is equal to her."
"Equally distasteful?" Seth suggested.
"Sounds strange, but yes," Druce answered.
Starr felt her face get hot. It was embarrassing that they talked about her whilst she sat there. She wanted to speak, but didn't know what to say.
"I should have asked this earlier, but how many men do you think will be there?" asked Ciaran.
"At least a dozen is my guess. If we're swift, we might miss most of them. "
At 11 p.m. they parked the SUV near a large boulder that blocked the view of the army base from the road.
Before stepping out of the car, they put on masks and gloves to hide their faces and fingerprints.
"Now," whispered Seth, turning in his seat. "They've likely got this whole area under surveillance, and can probably even hear what we say. Once we get within a 100 yards, we should whisper when we speak."
He pulled the mask over his face and then stepped out of the vehicle; Starr and the others followed. As fast they could, they ran across the dirt field.
The fence was twenty yards away from the road, and the army base was another twenty inland.
When Seth got close enough to the fence, he leapt clear over the barbed wire. Starr and the others did the same.
The alarm went off, immediately, as they touched the ground.
They ran for nearly a minute before two men burst out of the door of the white building.
"Stop right there!" they shouted, holding machine guns.
When they didn't stop, they shot nonstop. Starr was surprised to see the other men's reflexes were as good as hers. They leapt, jumped, flipped, and Seth even rolled, out of the path of zooming bullets.
The men, realizing they weren't going down, ran back inside the building.
Although the soldiers locked and barred the door, it was no match for Starr and the others. Seth sent a strong front kick, blasting the door off its hinges.
Another alarm, in the building, went off. Lights flashed, making Starr squint.
The building was brightly lit with fluorescent lights. The walls were cemented stone shapes.
Another man with a rifle on his shoulder ran at them from across the room. Before he could pull the trigger, Seth ran up to him and punched him out, splattering the wall with his blood.
Further down the hall, a few men turned and shouted as they, too, pointed their weapons.
The hall being too small to dodge bullets, Seth, who was still in the lead, took the first draft of metal bits, dropping him to the ground in pain.
Starr raised her hands towards the men, who flew back into the wall and crumpled to the floor.
Since drinking the Primordial blood, her telekinetic energy had gotten better. She flicked her hand, and the rifles skidded away, across the hall.
The men stood and ran.
Starr picked Seth up by the arms and supported him with her shoulders.
"This way," he said, pointing right.
They went to the end of the hall, and then down a set of stairs.
At the bottom, there was another hall. Across it was a thick iron door. It took several hits from Ciaran, before it caved in.
Starr helped Seth through the door, and set him in a chair.
Inside was the largest storage of weapons she'd ever seen, including 100s of rocket and grenade launchers, which she immediately went for.
"I always wanted one of these," she said, picking up a rocket launcher like it was an anxious puppy.
"Yeah," Seth said from his seat. He grinned and groaned, as he pushed himself up and walked toward her. "Well I always wanted one of these."
He pulled a .50 caliber MK 19 from the cabinet. The smile on his face reminded Starr of Lily, several years ago, on Christmas morning.
Starr smiled, as she reached out to hold it.
"Okay, lovebirds, someone's coming," whispered Shea. "I'm gonna head them off. You guys need to start loading these bags."
He left the room.
From up the stairs, she heard "Don't move!" Then there was the sound of more shooting and footsteps. But she and the others paid no mind: rather they continued to load all the weapons and ammunition into their bags.
When the sounds got particularly harry, and Shea cried out in pain, Druce said, "I'll go help Shea."
Twenty minutes later, they'd loaded an insurmountable amount of weapons into their bags. If they were human, they'd have never been able to carry such weight.
Seth, who was fully recovered, took the lead again.
They ran back up the stairs, down the halls and out of the building. Shea and Druce met them as they exited into the cool night air, when a man from the roof shot at them.
"Run as fast as you can," Seth screamed. "Carry the ammo in front of your bodies! We don't want to get blown up!"
Luckily, the bullets didn't hit their ammunition.
They leapt over the fence and ran to the SUV. They threw the ammo in the back of the auto, and the larger weapons into the rack on the roof.
Seth skid the SUV off down the gravel, kicking up dirt.
Just when they thought they were safe, an army truck with a few men appeared behind them.
More bullets hit the back of the SUV.
Having lost her patience, Starr turned around and focused on the trucks front tires.
A few minutes later, they were aflame. The tires exploded, and then the soldiers steered off the road.
Twenty miles outside of Boston, they ditched the SUV and found a U haul truck, which they crowded into and drove the rest of the way back.
As they got closer to the condos, she felt the warmth of her soul again.
They pulled up to the house at about 4am. Starr sighed, relieved that Aine had kept her promise: The Mitchells were safe.
They hurried to get all the weapons in the house before the dawn came, making them visible to any neighbors.
After they'd finished, the men retired for a couple of hours while Starr went to the caf?.
As she sat there, reading a book she'd downloaded into her phone, Seth came and sat.
She sighed, and set down her phone.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I just wanted to talk."
"No, it's okay," she said. "Stay, sit. I should be used to this by now."
"Sounds like you get approached often."
"Not to sound bitchy, but yeah. People have all kinds of ridiculous questions for me. They talk to me like we're buddies or family."
"So what is your story?" he asked, trying to sound genuine.
"Cut the hussle. You know my story, just like everyone else here. I know you've been asking about me, and that you're fascinated by this soul business. Now, tell me, what do you really want?"
He looked at her a moment; his jaw clenched and then relaxed.
"As you put it, I want to know about this soul business. H
ow does it work?"
"Why?"
"Because it fascinates me."
But Starr knew he was lying.
"Well, Seth, you really aren't the man I thought you were. After all, what kind of person would condemn a person to live life on Earth without a soul?"
His eyes flashed.
"Starr, it's not like that; you're jumping to conclusions. That's not fair."
"What's it like, then?"
He looked away.
"Look, I just want to know what happens when you put the soul back into a body."
"Seth, let it go. You see that, in my case, the baby is another life form all together. It's likely that it's the same with your soul, too."
Seth remained with a steely look in his eyes. A scent of something foul filled the air. It was his pheromones, indicating that he had no intention of listening to her, or that he felt resentment towards her.
She stood up, sipping her coffee, and said, "You can think what you want. I don't care how you feel toward me, but if you hurt innocent people, you'll have me to deal with."
She stepped outside the coffee shop and said to the air through clenched teeth "This was exactly what I was afraid of, lady! GRRRrrr," she growled.
She didn't know if the ghost lady heard her, but she sure hoped she did. Starr hoped she knew what a big mistake she'd made, sending vampires like Seth to her. No doubt, when vampires started to attack humans en masse to get their souls, they'd look to her to fix that problem, too.
The next day, one of the Scamalls, whose name she'd forgotten, brought another stolen SUV to the house. Seth appeared but said nothing, as they got in and drove to the Boston airport where Seth tested out his pilot skills on some of the newer jets.
The airport was the only thing in the city that wasn't up and running; that and some of the government buildings, and most of the colleges.
One particular air bus seemed to catch his eye. They watched him fly around Boston for a number of hours.
After a few dozen turns about the sky, he came back down.
"Well what do you think?" asked Aine.
"I can do it," he said.
"I don't know if this is a good idea," said Starr, thinking that he might double cross them just to get back at her for the things she said.
"Starr, just give me a chance," he said angrily.
Night Before the Battle
Chapter 3