Crystal: Starlatten Book One

by Darby Cupid

  Exhaustion smacks into me and I sink down on the stoop like a bag of cement. What do I do? This Linda girl is completely loopy, but Cas wants answers. This friend she keeps talking about might have more information. If I go back with only half a story, Cas will be furious and that’s something I want to avoid at all costs.

  “Okay,” I slap my hands on my thighs decisively. “Let me meet this friend of yours.”

  Linda laughs and holds up her hands. “Whoa there, cowboy! You attack me in an alley, and you think I’m going to just march you through town to meet my friends?”

  I open my mouth to argue, but I get the feeling there’s no point. “So, what then?”

  Before she can answer, the sound of shouting echoes down the alley and I flinch, my hand reaching for my knife.

  “It’s my brother,” Linda whispers. “He’s looking for me.”

  I raise my eyebrows. “He likes leaving you alone in alleys, doesn’t he?”

  “They can’t find you,” she says, ignoring my comment. Stepping forward, she reaches out and touches my arm. “He’s still super pissed that you attacked me.”

  I stare at her arm on my sleeve. “Yeah, I can imagine.”

  Linda snatches her hand back. “Look, how about you come meet us tomorrow at a neutral place? Just you though. No one else.”

  I try to wipe the disappointment from my face. If we meet tomorrow, it means another night on the street. I can’t go home without answers and a possible meeting is not enough. The frantic shouting grows closer and I realise she’s staring up at me, her big dark brown eyes pleading. “Sure,” I shrug. “When and where?”

  “Crestfield Park. Midday. The benches near the playground.” She starts to head in the direction of the voices and away from me. “I’ll lead them away. Stay hidden!”

  I nod and give a half wave, half salute. I’m not sure why, but words seem to have failed me.

  “Later, Green Eyes!” Linda calls over her shoulder as she jogs around the corner and out of sight.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Crystal

  My heart is in my stomach. It’s been ten minutes since Eddie called, asking if we’d seen Linda. I can’t believe this is happening again. What if Green Eyes has hurt her? I swallow and wince at the effort.

  As we hurry to meet Eddie and Jordan, I clutch my amulet, even though I know it can’t help. Beside me, Sera puts her phone to her ear for the tenth time, trying to ring Linda. If I was back home, I’d be able to speak to her telepathically and we’d know instantly if anything was wrong.

  The thought makes me pause. It’s the first time I’ve really thought about it since I arrived on Earth. Usually messages and conversations happen in my mind throughout the day. Here, it’s silent. I think back to the last time I heard a voice in my head. My mother, telling me to be brave. That she loved me.

  “Over here!” Jordan waves from further down the alley. Eddie stands beside him, his phone to his ear.

  “How could you lose her again?” Dylan growls as we reach him. “This is ridiculous!”

  “Jordan lost track of her a few meters further down there,” Eddie seethes, nodding towards his friend.

  Jordan holds his hands up in front of him. “Hey! If you hadn’t stormed off, maybe she wouldn’t have had trouble keeping up.”

  “Guys,” Dylan stands between them and puts a hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “We’ll find her. Okay?”

  “Find who?”

  I spin around to see Linda walking towards us from the far end of the alley.

  Eddie runs forward and grabs her shoulders, inspecting her for new injuries as the rest of us gather around.

  “I’m fine,” she insists, shoving Eddie off. “I was just checking out the alley. He’s not down there. Did you guys find him?”

  “We’ve been too busy looking for you,” Jordan groans.

  As the group falls silent, I glance at Dylan who’s staring down the alley, deep in thought.

  “I think we need to go home and regroup,” he says, his voice tired. “It’s getting late and it’s been a really long day.”

  Our disappointment is palpable, and everyone murmurs in agreement. We head back toward the main street and into the dwindling summer sunshine. Just before we emerge onto the quiet street, I flinch as my amulet grows suddenly warm against my chest. So warm it causes me to gasp and take it into my hands.

  “What’s wrong?” Dylan asks, stopping at my side.

  “I’m not sure,” I reply. “My amulet felt very hot for a second, but it’s gone now.”

  “Does it do that often?”

  “No,” I say, frowning at the purple stone. “That’s the first time it’s ever happened. Maybe it was my imagination.” The amulet is back to its normal temperature between my thumb and forefinger and I start to wonder if I imagined it.

  “My head is a mess,” Dylan chuckles. “I can’t imagine the state of yours.”

  I smile as his comforting tones envelop me like a warm embrace. Despite all the unanswered questions and seemingly insurmountable problems ahead, I know I’m incredibly lucky that this group of brave and caring people were the ones to find me. Things could have been very, very different.

  “So, what now?” Sera asks as we reach the end of the road. “Back to mine to check on Oakstone?”

  “He’s fine,” Jordan says with a cough.

  I stare at him in confusion along with the rest of the group, awaiting further explanation.

  “I’ve been keeping him in the loop by sending messages to the laptop he’s using,” Jordan shrugs nonchalantly. “I thought it might be useful to have an open line of communication.”

  Dylan breaks the astonished silence with a laugh and claps Jordan on the back. “You were right – that’s a great idea. I think we forget you’re the clever one sometimes, mate.”

  “Hey!” Eddie and Linda cry out.

  “He’s right though,” Sera laughs.

  The look on Linda and Eddie’s faces is too much and I start laughing too.

  “Okay, okay,” Linda says, rolling her eyes. “Jordan is a genius, but I have a brilliant idea too, if I don’t say so myself.”

  “Go on,” Dylan prompts, trepidation clear in his voice.

  Linda grins wider, almost unable to contain her glee. “Bowling!”

  Everyone looks at each other, a quiet rumble of discussion beginning on the pros and cons of the idea, but I’m completely in the dark.

  “Excuse me? What’s ‘bowling’?”

  Linda throws an arm around my shoulder. “Something fun! Things have got way too tense and I think a bit of down time will help freshen up our brains.”

  “Why not?” Eddie smiles, visibly relaxing for the first time today. “Beats sitting around Sera’s place watching Dr. O tapping away on his laptop.”

  Looking at the relaxed and happy faces around me, I decide with a smile that whatever this ‘bowling’ is, it might be just what we need.

  I flinch at the cacophony of noise as we walk into the bowling alley. My eyes must appear the size of planets as I stare at the many see-through contraptions with dangling claws and the large black boxes with flashing lights. People laugh and talk loudly on every side, some clustered around the machines and others leaning on tall tables, eating and drinking. My mind swims with questions and I long to go and explore the strange boxes, but the group sweeps me toward the back of the enormous high-ceilinged room.

  My mouth falls open as I take in the long row of shiny aisles. I watch with fascination as a girl picks up a large sphere and rolls it towards some white ornaments at the end of one of the aisles. When the sphere knocks down the majority of the ornaments, the noise is tremendous and everyone around her cheers. The girl seems quite pleased with the destruction and I watch in awe as a machine sweeps away the mess and replaces the ones she missed. I turn to Dylan with many questions on my lips, only to find him watching me, clearly amused, his mouth twitching.

  “Kind of weird, I guess?” he smiles.

  I sm
ile back. “Just a little.”

  “It’s quite simple,” Jordan explains. “You pick up the ball using these holes and roll it towards the pins –”

  “The white things,” Dylan whispers in my ear.

  “—and you try and knock down as many as you can in two tries.”

  “Well, that does sound quite straightforward,” I agree.

  “I’m starving,” Sera announces, twirling her blonde tresses up into a pile on the top of her head. “I’ll go order us some food and drinks.”

  “Amazing!” Eddie rubs his hands together. “I can’t remember the last time I ate.”

  I watch as Dylan and the others begin pulling strips of paper and small pieces of metal from their pockets. Money, I remember. They’d shown me this when they ordered pizza that first night.

  “Are you kidding me?” Sera rolls her eyes. “This place is hardly Michelin star. They’re on me.”

  Everyone starts to protest but she’s already started to walk towards the counter adorned with pictures of food.

  Eddie shrugs in defeat. “I guess I don’t feel that bad now we’ve seen her house.”

  “Good point,” Linda chuckles. “I still can’t quite believe it.”

  “I’ll give her a hand,” Jordan declares, jogging off in her direction.

  I smile to myself, fairly certain there’s something more than friendship between Jordan and Sera. I wonder how things work on Earth when it comes to relationships. Although, if I’m perfectly honest, I’m not sure I know much about how they work on Starlatten. It’s not as if I ever had someone special and I’m not sure how my parents would have dealt with it if I had. I realise I’m staring at Dylan as he picks up different balls, testing their weights.

  He’s possibly the most gorgeous creature I’ve ever seen. I drink in his strong arms and broad shoulders and the way his hair falls forward onto his forehead. As much as he’s physically beautiful, it’s his eyes and his smile that really stand out for me. When I look in his eyes, I know I’m safe and respected. Not just literally, he sees right into my heart and understands.

  We haven’t spoken about what happened at Sera’s house yet. I relive the memory of his closeness. The warmth of his breath on my lips. My body tingles at the thought and I blink several times and look away. He might be handsome, kind and smell like bliss, but I can’t develop feelings for him. What would be the point? I’m going home. Right? My stomach lurches at the thought. How though?

  My descent into despair is momentarily placed on pause as Sera and Jordan arrive back with food and the game begins.

  My laughter catches me by surprise as Eddie bowls another ‘gutter ball’. Linda was right. It’s wonderful to have some relief from the events of the last couple of days. Everyone is sprawled on the benches alongside our ‘lane’, our chatting and laughter interrupted only by cheers when someone bowls a ‘strike’.

  I have quickly discovered that bowling is not one of my strongest skills, but everyone has been very kind and supportive. Something they are definitely not when someone else fails.

  “Crystal! You’re up!” Jordan grins at me. “You’ve got it this time, for sure.”

  “We’ll see.” I smile as I stand up and select the shiny purple ball I’ve decided to use. Purple and shiny like my amulet. My amulet! I glance back at the group. Dylan’s gone to get some more drinks, Sera and Linda are sitting chatting intensely about something and Eddie is scowling at the scoreboard. Only Jordan is watching, sticking his thumbs towards the ceiling in what I can only assume is an encouraging gesture.

  Carefully, I focus on the centre pin, swing my arm back and roll the ball forward. Almost instantly, it starts to roll to the left. Keeping my back to the group, I concentrate on the ball and as the amulet warms against my skin, the ball swerves away from the gutter and towards the middle pin. I throw my hands in the air and squeal as all the pins promptly topple over.

  “Wow!” Jordan and Eddie exclaim simultaneously.

  Linda jumps up and hugs me. “Your first strike! Well done!”

  I hug her back, hoping my burning cheeks don’t give me away. I’ll confess later, but for now I bathe in the congratulations. I take a seat beside Jordan as Linda takes her turn. Turning around, I scan the bowling alley for Dylan, but I can’t see him anywhere.

  “Looking for Dylan?” Jordan closes one eye briefly as he looks at me. “He had a missed call from his mum. He went outside to call her back.”

  I open my mouth to deny the truth, but Jordan’s huge grin and wiggling eyebrows make me blush and look away.

  “He’s totally into you, you know.”

  “Pardon?” I ask, equally puzzled and bemused.

  Jordan laughs and whispers loudly, “He. Likes. You.”

  My stomach flips upside down. “He’s spoken with you about it?”

  “No,” he admits, “but he doesn’t need to.”

  Turning my gaze to the scoreboard, I wonder if it’s true. Dylan has been so kind and caring towards me, but hadn’t they all? Of course, my heartrate doesn’t go into lightspeed when any of the others brush against me. It doesn’t matter if he has feelings for me, I remind myself. With everything that’s going on right now, we should concentrate on finding Green Eyes and getting home.

  Should. I hate that word. It reeks of duty and responsibility and the absence of free will. You should never smile with your teeth unless it’s close family and friends. You should always lift your glass after your father at government meals. You should try harder in class. You should try to use your amulet more. You should be proud to be the heir to the throne.

  Perhaps here, stranded on a planet a trillion miles from my royal responsibilities, I could do something I shouldn’t do. A spark runs along my spine at the possibility and I glance back at Jordan, but he’s not looking at me anymore. He’s staring at Sera.

  “She’s ‘into’ you too,” I say, hoping I’ve used the phrase correctly.

  He chokes on his mouthful of drink and turns, his dark eyes wide. “What did you say?”

  “She likes you.” I smile. “You’re very sweet to each other.”

  Jordan’s mouth opens and closes a few times, reminding me of a water-based animal on my planet called a zorgat.

  “You should tell her how you feel,” I continue. “You never know what’s around the corner.”

  He shakes his head as his gaze returns to Sera. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

  “Jordan,” I reach out and place a hand on his arm. “What do you do on this planet if you like someone?”

  “Um. You ask them out?” he says. “It’s called a date.”

  I give his back an encouraging rub. “Then go ask her on a date!”

  “You’re right!” he exclaims, his eyes bright. “Life’s too short.”

  Before I can respond, Jordan folds me into an embrace and kisses me on the cheek. I giggle and watch with excitement as he saunters over to sit next to Sera. For a second, I allow myself to imagine myself in her shoes, with Dylan asking me on one of these ‘dates’. I smile and shake it off, dismissing it as the reckless notion it is and try to focus on the game once more.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Dylan

  My vision blurs at the edges as I watch Jordan hug Crystal and kiss her on the cheek. Shoving the drinks down on the nearest table, I turn and stomp off into the arcade. I can’t shake the sight of them giggling and whispering, her hand rubbing his back. When did that happen? I thought we – okay. I don’t know what I thought, but it wasn’t this.

  I’m breathing hard, my blood red-hot in my veins as I come to a stop near the 2p machines. Squeezing my eyes shut, I attempt to suppress the heavy wall of throbbing emotion pounding in my skull. What is wrong with me? How can I possibly be jealous? My cheeks flare with embarrassment. If things were different, then sure, I would be interested, but she’s a literal alien princess for crying out loud.

  I picture her face earlier this morning as we stood in the kitchen; her deep brown eyes so all
-consuming. I’d come so close to losing control and kissing her. As I replay the image of Jordan kissing her on the cheek, I’m glad I didn’t. Maybe if I had though, I wouldn’t have lost my chance. Gah! There is no chance! I press the heels of my hands into my eyes in frustration.

  It’s becoming all too familiar, this spiralling sensation of being out of control, and I’m sick of it. For the past eighteen months, I’ve been under so much pressure, not just from my mum but my teachers too. How are you supposed to know how you want to spend the rest of your life, when you haven’t even lived two decades of it?

  Mum would never admit it, but I know she’s terrified I’ll go off to university. If I did, she’d have to sell the bakery. She wouldn’t be able to run it by herself and I know we can’t afford to hire someone. I don’t want that on me.

  Maybe it’s because Dad left, but the bakery isn’t where I see my future. I’m not sure if it ever was. I want to do something that means something, but what? The pounding in my head intensifies as I picture the stack of university brochures on my desk at home. Do I even want to go to university? I groan and screw my eyes tighter as my emotions threaten to manifest in liquid form.

  A loud giggle takes me by surprise.

  “Dylan! I thought that was you.”

  Taking a deep breath, I turn to face the source of the saccharine giggle. “Hi, Chloe.”

  Chloe is in my year at school and now she’s standing, as always, just a little too close as she twirls a strand of long dark brown hair around her finger.

  “Fancy bumping into you here,” she purrs, fluttering her lashes in my direction. “Enjoying the summer holidays?”

  I lean back against the machine. “It’s been… interesting. How about you?”

  “Oh, you know. The usual.” She turns and leans against the machine beside me, reaching out a finger and running it down my arm. “Looks like you’ve caught a bit of sun. I hope you’re using sunscreen.”

  I watch her finger trail down towards my wrist as if it’s someone else’s arm. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a very pretty girl and I’m not going to deny I’ve noticed her around school. To be honest, the message that she’s interested in me has been passed to me several times – sometimes quite bluntly – through various members of her entourage over the past month or so.