Wirrin bows his head. “Kind is not something I've been called as of late.” He shifts his attention to Beda, who quickly glances away from him. “You should begin your journey. Conserve the Starfire's energy by traveling on foot.”
A few miles outside of Irilee, the terrain is reasonably flat and easy to navigate. But the trail is also entirely out in the open and leaves us visible from all sides. I peer around for possible attackers, who could appear at any time over the surrounding mountain range.
“Relax,” Javen says, taking my hand. “Nothing is going to happen to you along the way.”
I swing my head around to Beda and Yaletha, who walk fifteen feet or so behind us, and then back to Javen. Along our path, green grasses sway in the breeze, and the morning sun glows above us. “Wirrin sent them along for a reason. And neither like me.”
“Their escort is only a precaution. Neither Wirrin nor my father will allow our people to harm you now.”
“How do you know?”
Javen shrugs. “Because I know my father's desires for the Alku and the Starfire. Yes, my people have temporarily split over the choice to use the crystals as a weapon, but they don't wish to go to war with each other. A resolution will be found.”
I stare up at Javen's handsome face. His square jaw is set with confidence.
I reach up and touch his naturally dark tan cheek, and from behind, Yaletha clears her throat.
“What's up with her?” I whisper.
A fraction of Javen's confidence falls from his face, and he looks to the ground. “She was my intended.”
My eyes widen, and I fight the urge to turn and stare at Yaletha again. “Your intended?”
Javen presses his lips together and glances to me. “As the Luminary’s son, it's our tradition to ensure a good match. My and Yaletha's intention was not set in stone but was likely. The Starfire had not bound us yet. We were waiting. But when I met you . . . circumstances changed.”
No wonder she seems to dislike me.
“So, are all the Alku intended?”
Javen shakes his head. “No, the tradition is only reserved for a few anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because I am in line to become the Luminary of the Alku when I turn thirty.”
“What? Like the king or something?”
Javen chuckles. “Not exactly the king.” He looks at me and blinks shyly. “I would become the leader of my people.”
My mouth parts as my eyes widen. “And will your ascension still happen?”
“Of course.”
“What about Yaletha?”
“She'll find someone else. I'm not right for her. I'm right for you.” He slips his hand in mine and I feel the burn of both Beda and Yaletha's stares at the back of my head. I could be imagining it—but probably not.
Heaviness weighs on my chest. I have no idea what Javen's position as Luminary means for me—for us—for the future. If there even is a future for the Alku. My thoughts drift to the war playing out on the other side of the Intersection. Maybe if I can find my dad, he can help stop the madness somehow.
I squeeze Javen's fingers.
“The point is up ahead,” Yaletha calls from behind us.
I crane my neck and see her pointing to a small grouping of short trees. My heart and feet pick up the pace. I hope to see my dad again. I drag Javen with me and stop a few feet in front of the first tree but then realize that I'm not entirely sure what to do. Every other time I've crossed the Intersection, it has just happened, or Javen has crossed me over.
“Are we all passing through together?” I scan the group.
“Yaletha and I are ordered to stand guard on the Alku side of the Intersection and wait for your return,” Beda says.
“I'll go with you, though,” Javen says.
Relieved, I look around at the ground, but there's nothing but dirt and grasses—no apples.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” I ask.
“Of course I'm sure,” Yaletha snaps.
I open my mouth to apologize to Yaletha, but Javen jumps in before I can say anything.
“It's likely we won't be able to return to this exact point. But I'll open a new portal nearby. It'll take a lot of energy, but it's the best option to keep us together once we return.” He looks to me. “Are you ready?”
I gulp in a lungful of air and push down the nervousness in my belly. “I'm ready.”
I touch the Starfire Wirrin gave me earlier and grip my fingers around the crystal. Closing my eyes, I focus on thoughts of my dad.
Javen and I step toward where the Intersection point should be. Still touching my Starfire with one hand, I hold Javen's hand in the other. The space around us starts to warp and bend, and the air thickens, like water.
My heart slams against my ribcage as my mind spirals with fear and excitement. The space around us glows cyan, and I barely notice Javen's grasp slipping from mine until some unseen force snatches my body and rips me forward.
“Javen!” I scream, but he doesn't answer. Instead, the sound of a thousand lions roars in my ears.
My body twists and nearly rips apart. And then the chaos stops.
I gasp. Heaving in labored breaths, I turn in a frantic circle.
“Javen!”
The air is eerily quiet. The morning sun is gone, replaced by millions of twinkling stars. Arcadia’s two moons still hang in the air, but this place is completely blue-green, as if no other color exists. Only shades of cyan.
Javen must still be on the other side. My shoulders relax and my fists uncurl.
Is the Intersection a whole other world? A planet of its own?
The grass sways in a cool breeze, and the blade tips glow. The lights form a path straight toward what looks to be a flickering fire at the base of a hill.
And I'm confident I know who it is. It's Dad. Waiting for me.
Chapter 3
Ifollow the path that’s lit by the tipped glow of grass blades until I reach the open mouth of a cave. Inside, the walls dance with cyan firelight from somewhere deep within.
I rub my sweaty palms on my pant legs and breathe out a steady stream of air from my mouth.
“Dad?” I call out, but there's no answer.
The hairs on my arms stand on end, but I step into the cave and walk about fifteen feet.
“Dad?” I call out again.
“Cassi?” Dad's faint voice returns to me.
Tears prick the back of my eyes at the sound of his voice. I break into a sprint toward the light, and as I round a corner, I see him.
My heart nearly bursts at the sight. He slowly rises from sitting on a rock, wearing the same clothes from the morning we planned to leave Skybase together on a shuttle to Arcadia. The same Connect, too.
“Cassi?” he repeats.
“I found you.” Tears stream down my cheeks as memories flood my mind—a kiss on the forehead after bedtime stories, a bandage on a skinned knee, proud smiles after my first ballet recital when I was six. Mom and Dad never cared that I had two left feet and no rhythm.
I throw myself into my father's arms. Calming sensations spread through my body as a strong sense of safety overtakes me. I squeeze his frame closer as he does the same to me. His beard scratches against my forehead, the facial hair long and scraggly after not shaving for so long.
“I thought I was imagining you again,” Dad says into my hair.
“No, I'm here,” I cry into his shoulder. “I came for you. They found the apples you sent.”
Dad pulls away and stares at me with knitted, confused brows. “Apples?”
I nod. “The fruits showed up all over at the Intersection point I passed through to get here. Wirrin found them and thought they could only be from you.”
Dad lowers himself to the rock and runs fingers through his tangled hair. “Apples? Wirrin? Yes, I did give him a bag of them several years ago.”
I take a seat beside him in front of the fire. “You did mean to send the apples, right? So someone
would come for you?”
“I was thinking of you and your mother a lot while I've been here. But I didn't mean to send apples. The Starfire is so complex,” he mutters. “I haven't studied the energy nearly enough.”
Dad pulls out a large glowing Starfire crystal from his pocket. The gem around my neck lights up.
He stares at my necklace, and a confused expression washes over his face. “Wait. How are you here?”
“It's a long story, Dad. A lot has happened, and much of it isn’t good.”
“What did Hammond do?” He pockets the Starfire again.
“It's more than Hammond. The entire World Senate has split. A war is in progress on Arcadia over the Starfire fields.”
Dad leans forward and places his head into his hands. “The Senate has no idea what they’re getting themselves into. That's what I was trying to keep under control.”
“The Alku are working to defend the fields,” I add.
“The Alku? You know about them?” he asks.
“Yes, Dad. I know all about them. I know everything—even that you and Mom came to Arcadia.”
A look of relief falls over Dad’s face. “I’m so sorry we kept that from you.”
I smile. There are so many questions in my mind. But it’s not the time to ask. “That’s not what’s important right now.”
Dad brings his hand to his forehead and rubs it, his brows furrowed. “The Alku revealed themselves?”
“Some of them. They had to keep Hammond from mining. But their clan has split over the fight, as well.”
Dad breathes out a frustrated sigh. “That's terrible news.”
My lips turn up into a weak smile. “But when you get back, you can help patch this up. Make everyone see—”
“Before I came here, I was working on a new plan to harvest the Starfire in a way that would not harm the Alku. I had told very few people yet. It was preliminary.”
“I saw some of your plans for Renewal on your thumb drive. We can help heal Earth with the Starfire.”
His lips curl into a smile. “You are a clever girl to find that. But Renewal has expanded,” he says. “My team was working on the project before the Pathfinder even arrived on Arcadia.”
“Expanded? How?”
“When we were studying the Starfire. Matt Owens, from my team, had a theory that, as well as using the crystals to heal Earth, we might also be able to harness the energy and create a portal to transport people through.”
“Like the Alku do?”
“Right,” he says. “But with the aid of a computer program.” He brings out a small black device from his pocket.
“What’s that?”
“It’s the prototype. Matt gave the device to me before the explosion.” Dad opens the back and reveals a Starfire crystal embedded among the electronics.
“Is that what got you here?”
Dad replaces the backing. “I remember Vihann transported me. But since he wasn’t with me when I reappeared, my hypothesis is that his energy mixed with the prototype’s program and I ended up here. Jonas and Abbot, the rest of my team, theorized that the Intersection was itself a place. They were right.”
“Why didn’t you use it to get out of here—to come back to me?”
“The electronics are shot. I need Owens’s device and the data in my lab on Arcadia. I transferred the data after we arrived at Skybase.”
I inhale sharply. “No way there's any data left in the lab at the Capitol building. Hammond has control over everything. And that means she knows about the device.”
“Not that lab.” He smiles. “I never trusted Hammond enough to keep all my sensitive information in a place she could easily access. I had a remote lab built for me outside of the city. Only the people I trust the most know about its location.”
“Then let's go there,” I say. “Compile all the data and figure it out.”
I grab his hand and try to pull him up.
He rises without my help and pockets the device. “Cassi, I can't go.”
I stare at him in shock. “Why? I think I can cross you.”
Dad pulls away from me. “The Intersection is keeping me here.” He looks at the Connect on his wrist and taps the screen.
“What? How do you know?”
Dad brings out the Starfire again, and this time the crystal glows twice as bright as before, illuminating the cave walls. My crystal begins pulsing once more and waves of energy pass through my body. I watch Dad stare at the crystal in his hand as his green eyes begin to swirl. Fear plunges into my stomach, and I suck in a sharp breath.
“Dad?”
But he continues to stare.
“Dad, what's going on?” I shout.
He tightens his fingers around the Starfire and drops his hand to his side. He cocks his head and looks at me until the cyan cloud dissipates in his gaze. Eventually his eyes return to normal.
“Dad, are you okay?” I wait for him to speak, biting the inside of my cheek.
“The Starfire here is different than on each side of the Intersection, stronger and more difficult to control.” He thrusts the crystal into my hand and my skin burns. Everything in me wants to drop it to the ground, but for some reason, I can't. I won't.
“Take it with you. Figure out how to harness this Starfire’s power . . .”
“How?” I ask.
“Just go back.”
“Can't we just try together, now? I’m only seventeen—I can’t do this on my own,” I choke out, my voice wobbly with forming tears.
“No,” he growls, and his lips pull back a fraction. My eyes widen.
But then he blinks his eyes hard, and his features soften. “No, I'm afraid doing so could trap us both here. You must leave and come back with help.”
I stare at him, not knowing what I should say. Something about this place is affecting Dad—something about this Starfire. What if he’s lying about not being able to leave and he simply won’t? I look down at the crystal in my hand.
“I don't want this.” I shove the gem back in his direction, but he clasps his hand over mine and gently pushes the Starfire toward me. “I already have one.”
“The crystal fields here are different, more powerful—”
But that’s what I’m afraid of.
“—You'll need this Starfire’s energy to leave and get back here again,” he continues.
How does he know this? What isn’t he telling me? Pressure builds in my chest, and I fear I might explode with every breath. “I came here to bring you back!”
Dad drops his hand from mine and turns away. “You will. Just not tonight.”
“But Dad—”
He taps his Connect again and mine vibrates on my wrist. “My Connect didn’t work on Paxon,” I say, bewildered. “Why is it working here?”
“They don’t seem to transmit information out of the Intersection. Nothing happened when I tried that before. It appears as if they can pair with each other while inside this dimension, though. I uploaded the coordinates to my lab to your device.” He turns and wraps his arms around me. “The Alku don't even understand what they have in the Starfire, Cassi. I need you to figure out this crystal’s power and then come back for me. And when you return, bring an Alku you trust with your life.”
“Javen,” I whisper.
“If that is the one, bring them. But don’t reveal much of what you found here to anyone. Even the Alku.” He squeezes me tighter. “Close your eyes and focus. I will guide you back.”
My heart races and I work to slow my breath. A glow forms around us. The space bends and warps, and the feeling resonates through both my mind and body.
I fall into Dad’s arms, limp, as blackness devours me.
I draw in a sharp breath and throw open my eyelids and then squint against the light of the now nearly setting sun. It was just nighttime. How did the sky get light again? My mind swirls in a jumble of confusion.
“I have you,” Javen's deep, melodic voice soothes.
My vision clea
rs, and I feel his arms around me where Dad's were only a moment ago.
Javen brings his hand to my face and wipes moisture off my cheek.
I plant my feet and straighten with Javen's help. “Thank you, I can stand,” I say and wipe the remaining tears from my eyes.
Javen loosens his grasp, allowing me to stand on my own. What did I just see? I try to make sense of the puzzle—Dad—but he's different. He's trapped inside the Intersection and wants me to return with more information about the Starfire.
My stomach clenches as a vision of Dad's swirling eyes comes to mind. The Intersection is changing him . . . but the change doesn’t feel like the man I’ve always known.
“Well, what happened?” Beda says as she gives me a not-so-gentle push on the shoulder.
I stare at her, a scowl forming between my brows as sudden anger burns in my chest. My fingers form fists, and I squeeze and pump them.
“Stop it, Beda,” Javen orders. “Cassi needs time to recover. You of anyone should know traveling through the Intersection is difficult before you grow accustomed to the dimensional waves.”
I don't break my stare from Beda, whose irises now swirl. Of course, she stands her ground, too. Anger wells in me and I rush at her as if my body has a will of its own separate from me. I couldn't care less anymore.
Beda's nostrils flare, and a wicked smile stretches over her lips. She pounces.
Javen's strong arm wraps around my waist and whips me back against his chest with a thump. At the same time, Yaletha lunges for Beda and slams her to the ground. Beda screams and claws to get loose, but Yaletha pins her at the throat.
“Beda,” Yaletha growls. “You need to stop this nonsense! You’re not able to help us if you can't control yourself.”
“Let me go!” Beda yells, thrashing and pushing to escape.
Yaletha keeps Beda immobile by pinning her down again with powerful, muscular arms and legs.
Javen spins me away from the scene, and I struggle against him, but it's no use. Javen is much stronger than I am and there's no way I'm going to win.
After several wild heartbeats, my anger leaves me and I begin to relax. Once I fully do, Javen lets me loose.
The Starfire Wars: The Complete Series Page 19