Catching Stars

by Cayla Keenan

  Jayin was enough.

  Chapter Thirty-Six:

  Maddix

  They moved as soon as Maia woke. She could hardly stand, but Maddix helped her into the cart, where he’d laid as many blankets as there were left in the house.

  “Where did you get all this?” she croaked as Maddix got her settled as comfortably as he could manage.

  “I stole it,” he admitted.

  “I thought you used to be a Guard,” Maia said with a shaky smile that Maddix suspected was more for his benefit than anything else.

  “Lawmen make the best criminals,” Maddix said, making sure everything was secure before they started off. Maia had plenty of food and water, though Maddix noticed that she hadn’t eaten a thing since she’d fallen ill. “Maybe when we get to the city and you get better, I’ll show you how to pick a lock.”

  “I know how to pick a lock.”

  "Well, then we’ll rob a shop. You can have the whole Pavaalian experience. It’ll make a great story to tell your friends when we get you back home."

  “Okay,” she said softly, but he knew she didn’t believe him.

  “Yell if you need anything,” he said before mounting the horse and setting off. They made much better time than they would have on foot, even hauling the cart. As they came closer to the city, the streets began to fill with merchants and travelers, and soon the desolation of the fields vanished altogether.

  Maddix rode through the night, eating his rations on horseback without stopping to rest. He hadn’t slept in days, but Maia didn’t have time for him to stop. Besides, the closer they came to the city gates, the more his blood thrummed with adrenaline. By the time Maddix spied Ayrie Palace looming grandly on its cliff above Pavaal, it felt like he’d never sleep again. His hands shook and he clenched the reins tighter in his fists to steady them.

  “So this is Pavaal,” Maia said as they rode through the merchant sector. It was quiet, too quiet for the daytime. Maddix had never heard the city this quiet, without the noise of vendors shouting their wares or locals bustling from place to place.

  “Yes,” Maddix said, keeping his eyes on the road. Something slithered beneath the city’s surface, a moment of calm before a riot. Or after one.

  “It smells.” Maddix almost smiled as he helped her out of the cart. They hobbled into an old guardpost between the merchant sector and the Gull. It had been abandoned for years; during training, Maddix and his classmates used to sneak out of the barracks and meet there to drink smuggled arak.

  “It does,” he agreed. “But it has the best healers in the kingdom.

  “I’m the best healer in Kaddah, and I can’t fix me,” Maia said shakily. Her condition hadn’t improved. Her skin was gray and waxy, stretched too tight over her skull. Her eyes were red-lined and clouded. And her hands shook constantly, like she was having some kind of fit.

  “I’m going to get some help,” Maddix said, setting her up in a sheltered corner. It wasn’t immediately visible from the door and close to the back exit. Maia didn’t have much strength left, but she should be able to make it out if things went sideways.

  “You should get some sleep,” Maia advised. “You’ve been awake for too long.”

  “I’m fine,” Maddix replied. “How about the best healer in Kaddah lets someone take care of her for a change?” Maia smiled a little, and Maddix ruffled her blonde hair. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Be safe.”

  Maddix tapped the sword on his hip by way of answer before slipping out the door. Closer to the Gull, more people were on the street, but they kept their eyes trained on the ground. No one so much as glanced at him. Apprehension hung over everything like ash after a fire. The Gull was holding its breath, but Maddix had no idea what it was waiting for.

  Something terrible, no doubt.

  Worse, the local healers had vanished. Maddix checked shop after shop, but each and every one was abandoned. Whatever had happened, it had send the sahir running. He took what he could from the dusty shelves, but without magic he didn’t know how useful the items would be. Maybe Maia could talk him through it.

  He was running out of places to check when he remembered Jayin. It was a wonder he’d managed to forget her for even a minute. She’d run a shop in the slums. An apothecary. He had no idea where it might be, but she said it was squarely in gang territory. Clearly, she’d had a death wish long before meeting him. Who would choose to live in the Gull, of all places, let alone in the middle of the three neighborhoods that were so contested? The streets might as well have run with blood. It was suicide, and yet she had chosen to live there in order to flee from the Palace.

  In the end, it wasn’t all that hard to find. There were only so many places that matched her description, or herbal shops in this part of the city. The storefront was deserted and the air inside stank of must. Maddix didn’t stay for long, grabbing anything he might be able to use and stuffing it into his pack

  There was plenty left, untouched by carrions. Perhaps the legend of the Gulwitch was enough to ward away thieves. Maddix rubbed the back of his neck, shivering. It felt like some part of her was still there, haunting the little shop like she was haunting him.

  The only evidence that the shop wasn’t completely abandoned was a name written in dust on the counter. Ravi. It was a given name, not a ridiculous carrion moniker. Idly, Maddix wondered who this Ravi was, and why he would bother scrawling his name on the counter without stealing anything.

  Maybe he knew Jayin, from before. It was a nice thought, that there was someone in this stinking place that knew and remembered her, Maddix said a silent prayer that whoever he was, Ravi was safe too.

  “Take one more step, and I put this through your neck.”.

  Maddix stilled, turning to see a girl no older than twelve pointing a knife at him. Stars, he hadn’t even heard her approach. Her eyes were enormous, throwing the hollows of her face into sharp relief. Dozens of thin braids swung around her head as she moved.

  “Do you want me to get you a stepstool so you can reach or would that count as moving?” Maddix asked before he could help himself.

  “Who are you?” the girl demanded, her mouth twisting into a frown. “What are you doing in Gulwitch territory?”

  Maddix blinked at her. Gulwitch territory? Somehow, Jayin hadn’t mentioned that her alter ago ran a gang.

  “I thought she was a myth,” Maddix said dimly.

  “You stupid?” the girl snapped, narrowing her eyes. Recognition dawned on her face, quickly followed by fear.

  Maddix moved before she could say another word, pushing her aside to get to the door. Her blade bit into his flesh, slicing into his side. The girl shouted for help but Maddix didn’t stick around to see who would show up. He had to get back to Maia.

  “Maddix, what—” she started as he threw open the doors of the guard post. “They saw you.” She paused, her eyes finding the wound on his hip. “Let me.”

  “There’s no time and you need your strength,” he said, all but throwing the bag of supplies at her. “That should help, but I can’t stay here. If someone finds you, tell them you’re protected by the Gulwitch.”

  “The what?”

  “Gulwitch,” Maddix said hurriedly. Blood was dripping down his pant leg and his hip throbbed.

  “Do you understand me?”

  “I’m under the Gulwitch’s protection,” Maia repeated. Her voice shook. “Please be careful.”

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Maddix promised, grabbing the empty bag and rushing back the way he came.

  The clattering of hooves and jackbooted footsteps echoed in the street. Evidently, the stillness that had overtaken Pavaal wasn’t strong enough to keep him from being pursued.

  Maddix ran to the corner of the alley only to find the exit blocked by men outfitted in familiar Kingsguard dress. Cursing, Maddix spun on his heel but even more Guards lay in wait around the corner. Bleeding stars, where had they all come from?

  Maddix pulled his hood ov
er his hair and secured his sword before leaping for the closest fire ladder and hauling himself through an open window. He pressed flat against the wall on the inside of the building, trying to force air into his lungs. Beneath him, the soldiers marched on the spot where he’d stood just a minute before. He clenched his fists by his sides, his fingernails biting into the meat of his palms. There were too many of them; he couldn’t evade them all.

  Get out. Jayin’s voice echoed in his head He could imagine her beside him, vibrating with violent energy, her eyes glowing with green fire. Come on, dayri, move! Maddix inhaled deeply and took off again. He made it halfway down the stairs before the Guards stormed the building.

  “Stars,” he swore. They were going to be on him any second now. He closed the door of the nearest room behind him and pushed an antique chest of drawers in front of it. The single window led into a blind alley. No Guards lurked below—not yet anyway.

  Praying that he didn’t lose his grip, Maddix slunk out the window and held tight to the frame. There wasn’t a fire ladder this time, so he clung to the outside of the building like a spider. He was only a few stories up, but if he fell, he’d break both of his legs. One, Maddix counted off in his head. Two…

  He didn’t wait until three before letting go. There were several long seconds of freefall before he caught himself on the next windowsill. He didn’t allow himself time to breathe before letting go again. Rain slicked the next sill, and Maddix’s stomach bottomed out as his hand slipped. He hung over the street for a single, dizzying second before hauling himself back up. Maddix took a shaking breath, pressing his forehead against the wall before the final drop.

  When his boots finally hit the street, silver glowed in his periphery. He blinked and it was gone.

  Maddix enjoyed a single victorious moment before Guardsmen poured into the alley.

  There were too many. He was trapped. Well and truly trapped with nowhere to go. He didn’t have the strength to climb into another building and even if he did, they would catch him before he made it halfway up the wall. Even if he did manage to fight his way through the mob, he had no doubt that there were archers perched on rooftops, just waiting to pick him off. Maddix pulled his sword out of its sheath, meeting the first Guards’ steel with his own.

  Death first. Maddix had made himself a promise when he broke out of the Pit all that time ago. He wasn’t going back there, he wasn’t ever going back in the dark again. He wouldn’t let them have the satisfaction of locking him up for a second time, even if that meant he never took another breath. Even if it meant never seeing Jayin again.

  “Maddix Kell,” one of the men said, smirking at him as he swung his sword in a wide, showy arc. “We never thought you’d be stupid enough to show your face back here again.”

  Maddix gritted his teeth, raising his sword to block the man’s blow, but he wasn’t fast enough. The tip of the man’s sword sliced down the inside of Maddix’s arm and his weapon clattered to the cobbled street. Maddix didn’t let it stop him, rushing into the man’s guard and elbowing him in the stomach. The Guard doubled over, but another simply took his place.

  The hilt of another sword struck him in the back. Pain and tingling numbness shattered up his spine and Maddix went to his knees, spitting curses. Before he could stagger back to his feet, something pinched the side of his neck. Maddix tried to rise, but his legs had turned to lead. One of the Guards shoved him, and Maddix pitched backward like a wine-soaked drunk. He sucked in a single, panicked breath, trying to force air into his lungs.

  Above him, he could hear someone whistle appreciatively. “Ayrie is going to be happy to see him again.” Distantly, Maddix felt the toe of a boot nudging his side. “Wonder what’s so special that they want ‘im alive and not dead.”

  “Guess we’ll find out.”

  No, Maddix thought, but even as the thought snaked through his mind he knew that it was too late. They had him.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven:

  Jayin

  Jayin told herself that she was overreacting, but she couldn’t bring herself to go back to the warehouse. She was hiding. The infamous Gulwitch, scourge of the Gull and Ayrie, slinking about in the dark. Hiding from the kids who swarmed the moment she showed her face. At first, they only hovered at a distance and watched her with wide, rapturous eyes. But at night, assembled back at the abandoned building, they grew bolder.

  Sometimes they just wanted demonstrations of her powers—that was easy enough. Jayin could slip on a new skin and be done with it. It worked for few days, but then the game lost its appeal and the witchlings—Jayin still cringed at the name—wanted to know more. Where did she come from? Why did she leave? How had she survived with so many people after her? Why had she come back?

  She didn’t have the answers, or at least, she didn’t have the ones they wanted. They thought she was some kind of hero, the rogue witch that had defied the Palace and the Gull alike before taking on the rest of Aestos. Jayin hadn’t told anyone about Kaddah, or the sahirla, or—

  Or Maddix. The foolish, treacherous dayri that had taken her life away and then given it back with both hands.

  She shouldn’t miss him. Maddix had left her behind when things went sideways; he’d gone on ahead without her because she was going to slow him down. Jayin tried not to think of him. She didn’t have time anymore, not with Ravi and the witchlings to contend with. But his absence, his ridiculous optimism and rare smiles, was like a constant ache in her chest. No one said her name like he did. It was a strange thing to miss, but Jayin yearned to hear the clumsy way he overprounounced the syllables, drawing them out too long.

  Jayin couldn’t tell the witchlings the truth, that she never meant to become some kind of Pavaalian superstition. When Jayin had chased down the carrions who’d robbed her and scared them into giving her goods back, she hadn’t intended for it to grow this large. She just wanted to be left alone, not given a nickname and transformed into some kind of boogeyman. She really didn’t want a gang of children fighting under her banner. Vultures, Bloodwings, Red Crows, and now witchlings. Witchlings who were her responsibility now, whether she wanted it or not.

  So Jayin avoided the warehouse. She avoided the kids and their questions and the whispers of Gulwitch that followed her wherever she went.

  I’m not the Gulwitch! She wanted to scream at them. My name is Jayin Ijaad, and I can’t take care of you. She could hardly take care of herself. The fact she wasn’t dead in a ditch or strung up in some witch hunter’s compound was a miracle. A miracle and Maddix.

  “Ravi’s looking for you,” the dark girl with the braids, Zia, said, climbing onto the rooftop where Jayin had been hiding. Of all the kids, she was the only one who didn’t seem wholly taken with Jayin. It was refreshing.

  “Did he send you to come find me?” Jayin asked, looking at the dusky street. Things had calmed down, but it had been a hive of activity earlier. Some poor bastard had caught the Guards’ attention and they’d swarmed like brightly colored insects. There had been so many Jayin and the kids had gone to ground until they withdrew again. Whoever the Guards were after, Jayin pitied them for getting caught, but she had her own people to worry about.

  “Nobody sends me anywhere,” Zia said sourly.

  “No, I suppose they don’t,” Jayin said. “I never thanked you.”

  “What?” Zia said and Jayin finally turned to look at her.

  “For taking care of Ravi.” He was a smart kid, no doubt about that, but he couldn’t have done all this on his own. Zia was sharp and capable and obviously very used to being Ravi’s right hand.

  “Why are you here?” Zia asked. Some of the hostility had drained out of her voice. “The rest of them think you’re some kind of savior.”

  “I’m not,” Jayin said, opting for honesty for the first time in what felt like weeks. “I came back because I had nowhere else to go. I never meant for any of this.” She paused, standing. “But I’m here now, and I’m going to do whatever I can to keep you all safe.”


  Zia nodded, and they made their way back to the street in silence.

  “Ravi’s waiting,” Zia repeated when they were about a block away from the warehouse. “I got rounds.”

  “Watch the skies,” Jayin said, knowing better than to tell the girl to be safe. None of them were safe anymore.

  “Catch the stars,” Zia replied after a moment of hesitation. She pressed two fingers to her heart and held them out. Jayin returned the gesture. It wasn’t much, but Jayin felt lighter than before. She may not have made a friend, but something told her that she had an ally.

  Ravi was waiting for her when she walked in the door. He looked exhausted after facilitating the evacuation. It was impressive how quickly the kids had vanished, disappearing into the streets until the warehouse looked like the abandoned ruin it was supposed to be. Even with Jayin monitoring keeping tabs in her second sight, she knew how stressful the day had been for him.

  “Hey kid,” Jayin said, slinging her arm across his shoulders. “You look like something they dragged out of the river.”

  “I forgot how warm and fuzzy you are.”

  “That’s me,” she said, her heart squeezing at his small, tired smile. “You need to get some sleep or you’re going to pass out.”

  “I’m fine,” Ravi insisted.

  “You’re dead on your feet,” Jayin said gently. “Don’t worry about the witchlings. I’m watching the building.” Each of the witchlings glowed brightly in her second sight, marked so she would never lose them. “Get some sleep and I’ll look after things,” she promised.

  Slowly, Ravi inclined his head, knocking his shoulder against hers before retreating to the corner of the warehouse he claimed for his own.

  Things were quiet for a while after that—as quiet as things ever were. Pavaal might have changed but the air still hummed with energy. Jayin let it all wash over her, feeling everything and absorbing nothing until a spike from inside the building drew her attention.