Star Child: Places of Power

by Leonard Petracci

  “The Hell?” Darian shouted, losing control of a sphere that spiraled away, whizzing past the officer’s ear and taking a chunk of her hair with it as her expression turned to shock and the orb exploded just ten feet beyond. Another officer stepped forward, pointing as a thin tendril of electricity whipped towards Darian, striking him on the right arm and causing the muscles to go limp as the branches continued to constrict. As it made contact, the tendril flashed gold and blue, energy traveling down the beam and fizzing at tight bend points, with small trees of lightning erupting into the air at particularly curved sections.

  “Don’t resist!” commanded the officer as the tendril reached out again, this time aiming at Darian’s other arm, sizzling as it brushed against several leaves and ignited them. “This won’t hurt a bit.”

  “Won’t hurt, my ass!” yelled back Darian, tilting his still active hand towards the cop. “But this will!”

  Fire erupted from his palm, streaking towards the officer as he jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding flames that started consuming the branches holding Darian. More flames erupted out as Darian directed them around his body using his still functioning hand, and the cop I had seen near the lake stepped forward, basting him with water from a draining pipe with more force than a firehose as The Hunter cursed.

  “Damn!” he shouted, kicking the tire of a parked car hard enough to make it rock on its frame. “A damn Mimic!”

  Chapter 59

  “Where in Hell’s name did you pick up that power?” demanded Arial’s father as Darian hung sopping wet and limp, stunned up to the neck, and the tree branches wrapped around his limbs and torso the only reason he remained standing. “Where?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” spat Darian, their faces so close they nearly brushed noses. “You’ll just throw me back in there like you did it in the first place! In the beginning, you were the ones who framed me. Don't think I have forgotten that! I owe the police nothing.”

  “You, you idiot,” hissed Arial’s father. “You think we’re letting you back in there?”

  “Let me? Let me? I have the power of the gods!" cackled Darian. "The strongest I have ever tasted. Maybe now I want to go back, what do you say to that?”

  “You’re not going anywhere until we know where you got that power,” The Hunter answered, his face reddening.

  “Oh, I’m not, am I? I’d rather go back and ruin them than help you!” Darian retorted, then threw his head backwards, drawing in a deep breath and shouting, “Siri! Siri! Right here, come and get me! Come right—”

  “Silence!” The Hunter’s hand clamped over Darian’s jaw, crippling one of the last working muscles in his body. “Bundle him up; we’re taking him back for interrogation.”

  “Ha! You think you can hold me? Hell, you think you can crack me?” came Darian’s muffled voice through the hand. “If I can stand up to Siri, I can stand up to anything you throw at me. You’re going to have to sweeten the deal.”

  “And what, exactly, do you want?” hissed The Hunter as the branches detached themselves from the tree, tightening like a boa constrictor as Darian fell to the ground, and one of the cops hoisted him over his shoulder.

  “You know, I’m not too sure about that. Let’s see what you have that might convince me. But I’m famished. Maybe I could think of something over dinner. A steak for one. Considering I’m the only one who saw where they are keeping that power, make it good. Maybe I’ll even show you what it can do.”

  “First, where did it come from?" growled The Hunter. "We need to know what we are up against.”

  “Oh, you want to know that too?” asked Darian, bouncing on the guard's shoulder as they walked away. “That’s going to cost you lobster too. And the softest bed in the city. I’m not cheap, and these past few weeks have really pissed me off. Thanks again for that, by the way.”

  They turned down the street corner as Lucio and I watched, then their shadows too disappeared, until the street was silent and empty once more, with little to attest for their presence besides a muddy ground and a slightly larger and unkept rhododendron.

  “You caught him, right?” I asked to Lucio when I dared to make a sound again. “The memory has been implanted?”

  “As solid as his first kiss,” answered Lucio, puckering his lips. “Indistinguishable from reality. I had plenty of time to dull the corners and really root it in there.”

  “A success all around, then,” I said. “Assuming everything goes to plan with Darian, and that—”

  Lucio’s hand squeezed my wrist and tugged, his other finger across his lips before pointing. There, across the wall and back in the street, something had started to move. Another figure, glinting in the lamplight, that had just rounded the edge of the wall from the direction of the front gate.

  Blake.

  Without a battle, I’d never seen Blake in full transformation. There had been moments when parts of his skin had morphed to diamond, perhaps a finger, or even an entire arm. But here nearly every inch of him sparkled, his movements slightly more robotic than normal, and even his hair taking on the appearance of fiber optic cabling.

  “To rip and to shred, that’s what I said,” he sang, trotting, one of his fingers trailing along and cutting a deep groove into the wall with a similar sound to nails on a chalkboard. “Alive or dead, or just a head.”

  He stopped under the tree, squinting down both side streets before continuing, his heels clicking against the ground as he moved, his shoes already torn apart by diamond toes and arches. Then he too was gone, moving nearly parallel to the police but not quite in the same direction.

  Moments later, Connor appeared from the other end of the wall, then departed in another tangent, his running considerably more labored. And the longer we stood there, the more Uppers that flowed past, scattering through the city, combing the streets, appearing and moving in every direction, searching. Their powers activated and ready to strike, all repeating similar snatches of song to Blake.

  “They better be moving fast,” said Lucio. “I wouldn’t want to get caught by that lot.”

  “Knowing The Hunter, he’d have been prepared for this. He's had enough time to plan. Besides, he’s not moving alone,” I answered, stepping back from the wall. “Now let’s head back in before they think we are missing too.”

  Chapter 60

  Siri called an emergency meeting in the auditorium just as we returned, an instructor fetching us from the hallway and escorting us in a growing crowd of Averages and Bottoms until we reached the bleachers. And she stood in the center of the floor, a crease formed in her usually flawless suit, and a stray hair escaping her tight bun.

  “Tonight,” she started, her voice harsh, “there was a breach of not only our facility, but of our trust. The power used to escape was brought from the outside, smuggled into here, and hidden like a rat beneath our feet. By a traitor.”

  She paused, her eyes ice, and looked over us.

  “Know that his name is now a curse, that anyone who utters it is worse than the lowest Bottom, not fit to be any of us. And know if anyone aided in his escape, they shall be even lower, should that be possible. That they too will be known as a traitor to us, to their country, and to common good. Now, I ask that anyone who knows the means of how this particular student obtained such a power, step forward now.”

  She looked over the bleachers to be met with scared and confused expressions, students actively avoiding her gaze, and my heart quickening as her eyes glossed over mine. And my memory flashed back to when I had discussed the plan with Darian and Lucio at dinner just a few hours before.

  “So let me get this straight, the plan is still the same as yesterday before Arial fell,” Lucio had said, his eyebrows scrunched together, looking between me and Darian. “Darian breaks through the wall using your power, which attracts The Hunter since he’s borrowing your power. Next, he lures the hunter away from the facility before doubling back to the rhododendron, where we lie in wait.”

  “From th
ere,” interrupted Darian, “Lucio plants a memory inside The Hunter’s head that Peregrine has transported his daughter away for safe keeping, and alludes that the police should stay away, because his project will make them irrelevant. In addition, he alludes that Arial will be kept at the same site as this project.”

  “All to be said when he teleported next to her father, which actually did happen,” I added. "Remember, let's keep this as close to reality as possible."

  “Right,” said Lucio, drumming his fingers on the table. “Now, Darian is captured and mentions he knows where the power comes from, and after he is wined and dined, he tells The Hunter that the true wielder is being kept hidden and is the subject of Peregrine’s project. Now The Hunter has a double reason to track down Peregrine, wherever he is keeping your mother, and potentially the police backing to do it. All assuming the project is not actually here at the school, of course.”

  “Correct, and after years of being around my mother, I would have noticed if she was here by her power. Wherever his project is, it's not at the school,” I answered. “Darian, really make them earn that information. If you make it too easy, they might suspect this is a trap. Remember, make them work for everything – for capturing you and for the information. Don’t be afraid to do some costly police damage on your escapade through the city, though I'd avoid injuring anyone. Rest assured they won't harm you, because they care too much about the power they think you have.”

  “It’ll be my pleasure,” smiled Darian, cracking his knuckles. “Just name a dollar amount.”

  “Anyways, what truly matters,” I continued, “is that they take you with them because you can identify me. Make sure with absolute certainty you go, and once you do, tell us what happened and where. We’ll be waiting. Let’s find my mother, and let’s hit Siri where it hurts.”

  Back in the auditorium, not a single person stepped forward to Siri, but a few glanced to me and Lucio. For though none of them had known what had happened, our clique was well known among the others. Naturally, we formed the top suspects.

  “Oi, I know what happened,” shouted Slugger from the back, as the entire assembly turned. “Lad was spending all his time during chores walking the perimeter. Didn’t do shit, worst chores partner ever. Probably picked up the power from some passerby. I’d say good riddance, real dosser he was, had me wrecked picking up his slack.”

  “Which edge, where was he?” Siri pressed, her expression intent as she walked towards Slugger.

  “All round he was. I’d say as soon as he found the power, he probably broke free. Was going on about how he was looking for a digging power for ages. Bet he dug right on through.”

  “And why didn’t you mention this earlier?” demanded Siri, her voice furious.

  “We go on picking up leaves every day,” complained Slugger, waving a hand. “Then we’ve got to haul them all the way back to the dumpster. Back and forth, back and forth, ‘til we nearly die of boredom. I thought he was just trying to be more efficient like a good citizen by finding a way to bury them instead. Didn’t want to waste your valuable time, Miss.”

  Siri’s look lingered on Slugger, as well as the rest of the crowd. But no longer did their gazes linger on us. And together, Lucio and I breathed a sigh of relief.

  Chapter 61

  “Whatever it is, I’m in. What was that, a practice round?” demanded Slugger as we walked back to our sleeping quarters, his voice too low to be heard by others. “When’s the real fun start? I'm always in for a good skirmish.”

  “The what?” I asked, glancing left and right, making sure no one else was close.

  “The big shebang! When we all get outta here, the home run outta the park! I want in, and I deserve it after sticking up to Siri.”

  “There is no big shebang. We had no part in the escape,” I answered, speeding up my walk. “Darian acted on his own.”

  “And my father really did get lost on his way back from a pint,” retorted Slugger. “That story would have been far more believable if it was a dozen anyways. He always was plastered.”

  “Really, I had no part in it, Slugger. You can ask Darian all about it when they catch him again.”

  “Besides, where the hell did he get a power like that? Did you see it?” continued Slugger, completely ignoring my comment. “Like an Electrospark and a Hurricaner had a baby!”

  “Will you shut up!” I hissed back, and he clapped his hands.

  “Ha! So you do know something!” he exclaimed, and poked his index finger into my ribcage. “Don’t you worry, lad, I’ll keep your secret once I find it out!”

  He kicked the back of my shoe, and I stumbled forward as he ran down the hall cackling.

  “Hey, get back—” I started before I tripped again, my foot held in place by a shoe that now had the mass of several bowling balls, and dragged behind me as my cheek smashed into the cold tile. I jerked my leg forward, but my heel only moved an inch, the shoe dragging laces side down and refusing to release its grip.

  “Damn Momentive,” I cursed as the mass gradually eroded and my mobility was restored, the feeling like if an overweight adult was slowly shifting his weight away. But by now, Slugger would have made it back to the sleeping quarters, and any talk would be overheard by several pairs of ears loyal to Siri.

  And once the lights were out, and I closed my eyes, I found it impossible to sleep. Thoughts of Darian and Arial rolled through my head – wondering the condition that both of them were in, joining the usual thoughts of my mother. As snores started to fill the room, I felt habit takeover, and I crept from the room, slinking down the dark hallways until I was in front of the nurse’s office. There, the door was closed, the lights appearing off from the crack under the door, and no sound originating from within.

  But in front sat a single guard, his head nodding every few moments, but his chair directly before the door knob. Without waking him up, there would be no entering.

  Tiptoeing backwards, I started to make my way back to the sleeping quarters but stopped halfway, taking an abrupt right. I exited the still air of the facility for the breeze outside, shutting the door behind me with a soft click and making my way around the perimeter of the school. Sticking close to the bushes and shadows to keep from being seen, I listened for any sounds besides the noise of faraway traffic and kept a steady pace forward until I reached the far back of the school. And there, feeling my way through the darkness, I found the crawlspace door that Darian, Lucio, and I had entered only a day before.

  Slowly, I crept inside, removing a dark sphere I had kept in the pocket above my wrist ever since Arial had fallen in case I needed to make a quick escape. And I let the light play out within the crawlspace, edging my way forward on all fours, avoiding dark puddles and cobwebs that were woven thicker than some of the discount shirts from my childhood. There was no true path and the going was slow – moving too quick would dirty my clothes beyond cleaning, meaning there would be suspicion the next morning.

  After several minutes and side tracking around several wooden beams that jutted into the earth with no sense of purpose, I came to what I what I was looking for – six pipes that extended from the ceiling, marking the students’ bathroom above, along with a single pipe several feet away that indicated the faculty restroom just across the hall. And there, just a dozen feet to the right, was a smaller pipe – one that would belong to a single sink, and nothing more.

  The single sink of the nurse's office, where Arial would be staying.

  Orienting myself just next to the pipe, so that I would be under the sink itself, I raised the black orb to the barrier separating the crawlspace from the inside of the school. And I began to feed the orb pieces to the floor above.

  Chapter 62

  Splinters of wood ripped away from the floor above, disintegrating as they flew into the dark orb, followed by tufts of insulation that streamed into the darkness like a river of cotton candy. Then came more wood, then tile, the orb eating into the ceramic like a drill, microcracks spli
tting away as the gravity drew the tile into the center.

  Fresh air rushed through the hole, just before a torrent of bandage strips and adhesives that scattered through the crawlspace as I guided the sphere in a circle, cutting out a space just large enough for my torso. And above, as the remainder of the material fell to the ground, two doors appeared through the darkness. Tucking the sphere in the pocket above my wrist, I reached upwards, and slowly pushed one open and climbed through the gap, extinguishing the light to be in full darkness.

  I held my breath as I entered the room through the cabinet under the sink, the creak of the hinges the only noise besides light breathing, my knees dragging against the cold tile as I inched forwards. Slowly, to minimize the noise, I closed the door, then stood, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, staring for any shapes that vaguely resembled anything human. Seeing nothing, I released the orb from within the pocket above my wrist, teased out the light, and let it play over the room.

  And there I saw her, sleeping the farthest of the three beds and the sole occupant of the room, her chest rising and falling in deep breaths, her hair tousled over half her face, her wrist handcuffed to the metal bed frame, and her clothes the same as when she had fallen. She stirred as the light fell over her face, and I quickly retracted it, my ears too aware of the soft snoring of the guard that had started from outside the door.

  “Wha?” Arial slurred, her voice soft in the darkness, the sheets rustling as she shifted. “Who’s there?”

  I crossed the room in three steps, practically leaping towards her, and dropping my voice to a whisper.

  “Shh, Arial, it’s SC. Keep your voice down, others will hear. Are you okay?”