The Star Caster

by Jamie Loeak

  Up ahead, a dim light shimmers through a cracked door. For some reason, the light scares me, but I know that I have no choice but to walk through that door, no choice but to find myself in some room with Ego and Val.

  Chapter 4

  When I push open the door, I am blinded by fluorescent lighting. I step into a cold, damp room. The floor is a polished stone and the walls are the same dull, brownish grey as the floor. As I look around I take in the fact that we are still underground, and my heart sinks further. Where are we right now?

  I step further into the room and begin to take in the other things. There is a plain, wooden table to the right of me. Four chairs frame it and a bowl of fresh fruit sits on top of it. A small kitchen stands against the wall nearest the table, the same wall where the door sits; I look further to find plain cabinets and countertops, along with smaller versions of the appliances in every kitchen. It’s weird, seeing something like this, something almost normal. It makes me realize that even these evil creatures eat, that they need something most would claim as “human” to survive. I make a mental note to remember this fact and move into the next area.

  A fireplace sits in the wall opposite the kitchen. A plush, brown sofa faces it. A wooden table, similar to the one in the kitchen, is placed between the couch and the fireplace. On top of it sits piles and piles of papers, notebooks, and writing utensils. Ego pushes in front of me and closes or pushes everything until no words or scribbles can be seen. Then, he gestures for Sterren and me to sit. Sterren and I do as we’re told, and sit on the squishy fabric. Sterren pulls my hand into his, holding it on his lap. Once again, I’m hit with a wave of confusion and desire. What is he doing to me?

  “Here,” Val says from over my shoulder.

  I look up to see him holding a small, handheld mirror. It’s black, with a handle attached to the frame. I sigh and reach for it, so that I can look at my reflection.

  Wow. I am completely different. My brown eyes are no longer plain and boring. One of them is the same gold of Sterren’s left eye, and the other shimmers with speckles of gold. My eyes mimic Sterren’s, and I look over at him, feeling that overwhelming sense of connection again. He is staring blankly ahead, so I knit my brows for a moment, and turn back to my reflection. My cheek, right underneath my golden eye – and the very spot where Sterren caressed me – is fully covered in a tattoo. The tattoo depicts three stars that stand in a row. They angle up to imitate the curve of my cheek, and shimmer, a glittering silver.

  I blink and look at the rest of me, noting that my hair is still the same, straight blonde. It’s still parted down the middle and tossed into a careless ponytail. My skin is still tan and my mouth is still pouty. But I shouldn’t expect anything less; I was kidnapped for crying out loud. And I’m still stuck.

  “What do you think of it?” Val asks me. He leans over and pulls the mirror from my grasp.

  My jaw drops open slightly. No one has ever done something that rude to me. These evil men surely know no manners. “I think it’s okay,” I say. I shrug, not really knowing what to say, because I don’t want them to know me. I’m going to play it right, and I won’t let them in. I won’t let them figure me out or learn my weaknesses.

  “Good,” Ego chimes.

  “The tattoos,” I ask him, “do they symbolize your three wishes?”

  Ego smiles like I have just correctly answered the easiest question on the test; it is condescending and vulgar.

  Val claps.

  I stare at these two uncouth men like they are idiotic. This is entertainment to them? Oh my gosh. They really are insane. So, I try to focus on the only other person in the room, but he has been staring straight ahead for the past couple of minutes. I squeeze his hand comfortingly and lean over. “Sterren?” I ask nervously.

  “We wanted to speak with you alone,” Ego says as he smiles snidely.

  What? So they just put Sterren to sleep? I look up at the twins, appalled by their choices. They could have just sent him out. “Why do you need to speak with me alone? Why can’t he hear you two? What do you want from me?”

  “You ask too many questions at once,” Ego says plainly. “One at a time, Star Caster. I will only answer one question at a time, okay?”

  I sigh but nod, knowing that it isn’t the time to be brave. Without Sterren guiding me through the twins’ madness, I know I’m not clever enough to survive.

  Val leans over the couch again. “Magic,” he whispers as his rough lips touch my ear. I jump away from him, nervous that they’ve got some weirdo fetish with me. It would be an unspeakable double-whammy if something paranormal and normal happened from a female kidnapping. Only then would my night be complete.

  I shudder at my most recent thought and stay in my current position. I am half-leaning against Sterren right now, and I fight to remain comfortable like this. There will not be any more lips touching me tonight – not unless they are Sterren’s.

  Val pulls back, aware of my discomfort. He laughs nervously, another sign of his insanity. I’m starting to think that Ego is the sane one around this place.

  “Now that you have earned your answer,” Ego begins, “we shall talk about what we want from you.” He moves until he is facing me from the other side of the table. A fire begins roaring behind his back as Val moves to light it, and Ego stands there basking in the warmth. “My brother and I are seeking revenge.”

  Great.

  Ego lifts his hands, placing them together as if he is in prayer. His fingers are long and thin, and I can’t help but think of a skeleton. “The humans that we have known have been cruel. We are seeking to find a way to end them. Humans are nothing more than power-hungry tormentors that seek ways to humiliate anyone that is different than they are.”

  I feel the lawyer in me claw at my insides. I want so badly to argue my point, the right point in this lose-lose situation. But, I hold my tongue, having learned this technique from an old professor of mine; I just have to wait for it. So, I do.

  “We want to harm them by letting them harm themselves,” Ego continued.

  “They already do that,” I say seriously. I raise my eyebrow at them and offer my best are you stupid? smile.

  Val and Ego laugh. “They do,” Val agrees heartily. He claps again and I roll my eyes at his childish behavior. When he stops, because of my response, he becomes oddly serious and heated. “Do not laugh at me, Star Caster, for I am a great enemy to claim.”

  I swallow. Oops. Maybe Ego isn’t the worst of the two. I guess it’s time to stop underestimating either of them. Sterren was trapped because of them, and he stated that they were masters of the spoken language. I, myself, might be handy at finding my way through verbal confrontations, but I’m probably nothing in comparison to these two. “I’m sorry,” I say humbly, and I mean it. I am sorry to see this side of Val. I want the old, crazy Val back.

  Val smiles meanly, but reverts to the former and better version of himself. I silently thank him for doing so and smile outwardly. That other Val was making me nervous.

  “We need you to help us,” Ego says. He continues as if nothing has happened with Val, and I look up at him, pretending that nothing has transpired either; if Val didn’t just have a damn fit, well, he did not have a damn fit. And I wasn’t going to act like he had.

  “We need you to help us with our wishes. After Sterren trains you in the ways of the Star Caster, and after you pass your tests, we will come back to claim what is rightfully ours. Then, we will watch as the humans destroy themselves. We will watch as they suffer in their pain, sorrow, greed, and lust. Their sins will be their demise.”

  Okay then.

  The two of them just stare at me then, their dark eyes boring into me like I am supposed to answer a question. I blink, taking it all in slowly, and nod once. These guys are a joke, a seriously scary and screwed up joke, but still a joke nonetheless. And I don’t have plans of giving them what they want. But, I will sit here and pretend that I understand; I’ll pretend that things are fine. And th
en, when I find my chance, I’ll run. I’ll escape with Sterren, just like he had planned before.

  A moment later, my trainer wakes from his spell. Val leans forward, his hood covering his nearly translucent skin. He licks his brown, cracked lips before speaking to him. “Train the girl. That is all you are to do.”

  And don’t attempt to escape. You won’t succeed.

  I gulp and look at Sterren. He nods and sighs before looking at me. His grey eye is still dazed, almost like he was still in the process of waking up. It would be endearing, if I didn’t know the cause. Those greedy men are monsters, the kind that people imagine, and the kind children believe exist. I shiver and shrug it off.

  Well, we aren’t going to be going anywhere. At least, not with Sterren’s help and definitely not with my help. So, when Ego and Val leave the room, venturing up into higher levels of this enclosure, I just sit and wait for Sterren to talk. His hand is now limp in mine, and I can tell that he has given up on saving us. The mysteriously haughty man that I met earlier is now gone, and in his place, sits the shell of someone claiming to have been a Star Caster. Well, he doesn’t look like one to me, and I am going to change that; I’m going to bring back that annoyingly honest man.

  “I want you to train me,” I say. “I want you to train me so that you can find yourself. You’re lost in your own misery and self-pity right now. Hello,” I grumble as I pull his hand into my lap. Then, I yank it harder, trying to get his attention. He doesn’t move, but I still talk to him. “Sterren, you’ve got to listen to me. You are going to train me.”

  Sterren just sighs. Then, he turns to look, first at his hand in my lap, and then, into my eyes. He smiles warily. “It appears that you, too, are honest,” he says a second later.

  “So? Will you train me?” I nearly beg him.

  Sterren smiles and nods once. “We will start tomorrow,” he says.

  “So where are we supposed to sleep?” I ask him. As I wait for his response, I glance around the room. There is no way I am going to go back out the door I just walked in through.

  “We are to share that bed,” Sterren says as he points to a small bed in the corner. I snap my head around to locate a small bed. Then, I raise my eyebrow at him.

  Sterren laughs.

  “Together?” I ask, half-intrigued, half-disgusted. I barely know this man. But I do feel that connection with him, and it is almost mesmerizing.

  Sterren surprises me by ignoring my question. He stands up and pulls me with him. He must surely think we are sleeping together tonight. But, I am more surprised when he stops and turns suddenly, and brings his hand up to caress my tattoos once more. I am held there by his stony gaze, by his soft breathing and smooth skin. I feel my eyelids flutter shut, and I lean my head back a little, so that he can run his fingers along my neck and collarbone. I shiver in delight as he traces my jaw, my lower lip.

  Then, just as quickly, he pulls away.

  I open my eyes. “What was that, Sterren?” I ask irritably. I stop, though, a little embarrassed at my outburst. I would never say something like that. Especially to a new, strange guy. I’m not that kind of woman.

  Sterren sighs and looks into my eyes. “Star Casters are meant to be together,” he says simply. “It is a connection.”

  Well, duh. I think I could have figured that out on my own. “So?” I ask out loud. I want him to finish explaining this weirdo connection. Is it normal? Do all Star Casters feel this for each other? Or is it just Sterren and I?

  Sterren bites his sensuous lower lip, and I feel my skin tingle with desire. Wow, he has got me right now, and I am so helpless. This realization brings up a distant memory, a memory of the only other man that has made me feel vulnerable. That man was my father.

  You see, my dad is a huge – and I mean huge – corporate lawyer. And I was his star, his prized possession. That is, until I decided that corporate law wasn’t really for me. After that, there was a fallout; there was a lot of screaming and we both said hateful words that we didn’t mean. But, to make matters worse, when I went back to apologize, I found out that he did, in fact, mean those vile words. He didn’t want to talk to me again, ever again.

  Yet, somehow, I managed to stumble through the static that had become my life. I managed to pass my classes and chose to follow my heart. I became strong, and a damn good lawyer – well, law student – no thanks to my egotistical father.

  Sterren seems to notice my inner turmoil, because I’m pulled back to reality by his touch. It’s soothing and addicting, and I lean into it, falling closer to him. Sterren answers by opening his arms and pulling me into a warm embrace. One hand is around my waist and the other is stroking the back of my head. “I will find a way to save you, Danika. I swear it,” he whispers, and his voice is so soft, I almost miss it. No, Sterren was never gone. He was there, waiting for me to fall into him, waiting for me to need him.

  Chapter 5

  I wake the next morning, tangled in Sterren. We had, in fact, slept together on that tiny bed. Somehow, I found it comfortable. Probably because Sterren was right there with me; probably, because he was all I had.

  I look at Sterren, at his closed eyes and slight smile. I take in the curve of his full lips, the contour of his muscular shoulders. I let my eyes trace the slight curve of his waist, and swallow as my heart flutters. He truly is the most beautiful man that I have ever seen.

  His fit, tanned body reminds me of the connection that he spoke of last night; it won’t leave my thoughts. Why? And since there are no answers from a sleeping Sterren, I decide to wake him up. I sigh and lift myself up so that I can trail my fingers over his soft skin. I reach out and trace the curve of his rising and falling chest; Sterren smiles, and I watch as his eyes flutter open. My hand moves to trail along his strong jaw, and I feel the same sense of falling. I know that things are escalating quickly, but I don’t care. There isn’t really time to take things slowly.

  “Training will begin immediately,” Ego’s voice shouts.

  I bolt upright, my heart hammering in my chest. “What the hell was that for?” I ask as I clutch my heart.

  Ego laughs.* It’s more of a cackle, really, and I can’t help but sneer as I stare at his crooked teeth and cracked lips. There are dark circles under his eyes; it looks like he hasn’t slept in far too long, far longer than one night.

  “The Star Casters were getting too comfortable,” Val says nastily. He raises his eyebrows and blows kisses in my direction. That slimy bastard! He is so gross.

  Val winks at me, and I stand up, feeling the need to knock him out, to knock some sense into him. He’s disgusting. But, I feel Sterren’s hand on my arm. He’s holding me back, and I turn toward him, ready to listen to what he has to say.

  Sterren just shakes his head once, simultaneously telling me his opinion and their ideas. They want me to freak, to push their boundaries. They want me to break something so that they can use me more easily. That’s right; they need to discover my weaknesses, and I have just let them figure one of them out: Sterren and my feelings.

  Go me. I am a real winner today. So, instead of saying anything, or letting my emotions betray me, I move closer to them. I can’t let them win everything. “Where’s the bathroom here?” I ask in an attempt at normalcy.

  Val blinks but Ego is unfazed. As usual. “It is down the hall,” he says as he turns and points to a hallway that lays hidden beside the staircase they used last night. From here, it looks long and winding, and I swallow, uncomfortable.

  Behind me, Sterren’s stirring yanks me from my unease. “Let’s go,” he says as he reaches out to take my hand. Together, we walk down the hallway – and yes, it is winding – until we reach the very end of it. There, a large door leads into an even larger bathroom. The tile isn’t just on the floor; it frames the walls, too. Thankfully, it’s a light color that helps make the room appear more open and spacious. The illusion is comforting to me, and I step into the room first, wanting to freshen up before Sterren.

  The sho
wer that I take is warm and the air is cold as I step out and dry myself off. My blonde hair is tangled from my scrubbing, and I push it in front of my shoulder so that I can comb the ends with my fingers. Then, I lean forward and wipe the steam from the mirror so that I can look at this new version of myself.

  My lips are held in a tight line, and I bite my lower one uncertainly. My blonde hair is tousled and wavy. Brown highlights shimmer in the light of the lamps, and I sigh as I stare at my previously worn, dirty clothes. I guess I have to wear them again – yet another sign of my glorious captivity. I get dressed quickly, not wanting to dwell on it.

  When I reemerge minutes later, I find Sterren holding some clothes: new jeans and a comfortable looking shirt. And there, on top of the small pile, is my favorite leather jacket. “Where did you get these?” I ask as I take the clothes. “How did you…?”

  Sterren shrugs. “We were asked to take what we could find. I thought about clothes.”

  I bite my lower lip, reminded of Sterren’s original place in this whole mess. I reach out, though, letting him know that he is forgiven, that I only care about what he does now.

  He nods.

  I nod in return before stepping back in the bathroom. Once there, I change into my clean clothes. The familiar jeans hug my hips, and I roll up the bottoms of my skinny jeans before slipping my Vans back on. My worn, white shirt fits loosely, and hangs over the tops of my jeans. The leather jacket hugs me tightly, and I almost feel like I’m at home. The effect is calming and when I walk back out, I smile at Sterren in thanks.

  Sterren smirks and moves past me so that he can take his turn in the bathroom. I wait outside, alternating between staring at the wall and pacing. This whole place is eerie and dark. They seriously need some more electrical appliances, like light fixtures or sconces.