by Skye Lotus
Copyright 2011 Skye Lotus
Chapter 1
Star looked into the open sky. Moonlight poured down on her face as she gingerly touched the lanterns along the street. Everything was abandoned, untouched for centuries.
Whispers in the air warned her of danger, tried to hold her back.
As Star stared into a window, a reflection of a dark, shadowy figure loomed in the window. Stretching, reaching,
SLAM!
Star kicked the enemy under the chin with all her force, pushing them to the ground.
“Ouch, Star! Didn’t need to kick so hard!” The figure protested, standing up.
The figure was one of Star’s best friends, Moony, training on her sneaking up skills.
“I’m sorry, Moony. You know when I train, my reflexes are fast!” Star replied, beaming from ear to ear.
The lights flickered on.
Suddenly, the deep, dark alleyway was the training room.
“You should’ve seen me gazing into the window, Moony. It’s a trick of the trade.” Star continued, dusting herself off.
“I did, I just thought I’d faded.” Moony sighed.
Star and Moony were two of many Pixies. They took care of mysteries threatening Earth, and sometimes, the galaxy.
“Practice over.” A computerized voice snapped. “Proceed to Greenhouse.”
Star’s rainbow eyes literarily lit up.
“We’ll get to see the others, Moony!” She cried, pumping the air and flapping her wings.
“Come on, we’ll use the teleportus. Get out your virtual purse.” Moony said, clicking a button on her belt.
Immediately, a little open purse hologram flickered up, filled with gold and silver squares. Star copied Moony, opening her own virtual purse and plucking a gold square out.
“Let’s go.” Star said, slipping the gold square into a machine. The machine opened up and Star walked in. Star disappeared in the blink of an eye, letting the machine close and wait for its next customer.
In the greenhouse, Star followed Moony through a maze of hedges. Every time they saw a sparkling green leaf, they plucked it off and shoved it in their Mint baskets.
Sparkling Mints were a strong antidote to poison, and their flower was quite the opposite. The Sparkling Mint flowers, when eaten in a brew, could make somebody deadly sick, pixie or not.
Star was excited. When she finished her Sparkling Mint plucking, she could go decorate her dorm with things from the Dorm Decorator with her Pixie Squares. Then, Moony and herself would go to the dining hall and have dinner with their friends, Jazz, Lottie and Sunny.
As Star and Moony neared the corner, Jazz leapt out from a hedge.
“Surprise!” Jazz giggled, clapping her hands.
“Pupils can finish early today. In the meantime, clean your dorm whilst you wait for the dinner bell.” A familiar voice boomed.
Jazz halted her clapping and stood straight. Miss Thorn rounded the corner, glaring down on Star threateningly. For some peculiar reason, Ms. Thorn disliked Star, and all her fellow friends.
“We’ll get going then, Miss.” Moony replied coolly, turning around and pulling Star along with her.
Star stumbled as she was yanked along, waving for Jazz to follow.
Chapter 2
Inside the dining hall, Moony, Jazz, Lottie, Sunny and Star cut through the crowd, searching for a decent table.
“Once, I foresaw us sitting at a table. I thought that might’ve been today.” Lottie sighed.
Star jumped up, her wings carrying her. She scanned the room, spotting a table.
“Over there! Hurry!” Star cried, waving frantically.
They rushed over, slamming their trays on the table. They began to talk when a voice interrupted:
“Move it.”
The voice was so sharp that Star winced before spinning around. A young wizard stood close beside her, glaring down on her icily. His hair was brown and ruffled, and his eyes were purple with a spark of rage.
“Pardon?” Star replied innocently, meeting his stare.
The boy’s eyes darkened angrily. “You heard. I need a table for my friends. So move it.” He snarled, yanking one of Star’s wings.
Hard.
Star burned with pain, but remained calm.
“And what is your name?” Star continued, testing the wizard one last time.
The Wizard almost exploded with fury.
“Why should I answer you?!” He thundered.
Suddenly, the whole cafeteria was looking their way. Star smiled as she began to talk.
“OK, no more Miss Nice Girl, wizz head. We do what we like, and by our own command.” Star snapped, standing up. She met his height and glared at him angrily.
“I can put up with a small amount of taunts, Wizz head. So listen carefully. Go now and find a different table, and we’ll pretend this didn’t happen. Stay here and I’ll call a teacher.” Star hissed.
Star sat back down and waited. The boy looked utterly surprised, and, quite worried. His eyes had turned a pale, watery blue. Out of the shadows, four more wizards appeared. The tallest looked at Star, and smiled coaxingly.
“You lost to a Pixie, Jamie. This isn’t like you at all.” He said, spinning around to the wizard, by the name of Jamie. Then he turned his attention back to Star. “Or maybe, this Pixie has a little more confidence and attitude than you. And she didn’t complain about her wing, either.” He added on, eying Star with suspicion, and a hint of admiration.
“I don’t know my powers yet.” Star replied.
Jamie seemed ashamed. “I’m sorry, but I’m not used to such a stubborn pixie, Chris!” Jamie retorted, frowning deeply.
The tallest wizard, Chris, looked at Jamie and then at Star.
“Then, like all stubborn pixies, she should be taught a lesson.” Chris began, reaching for his sharp, pointed wand.
Ms. Thorn appeared, and slapped Chris’s hand away from his wand.
“Detention!” She cried shrilly, getting out her notepad. “Your names, if you please!”
Star decided not to get involved with this. She turned back around, and talked to her friends. But not too soon after the dorm bell, a hissing voice filled her ears.
“Watch your back, little Pixie. I’m waiting for a time to strike.”
Star looked over her shoulder just in time to see Jamie walking away. He glanced over his shoulder and looked at Star darkly.
“We will see.” Star whispered back in her thoughts. “We will see.”
Later on, in Star’s dorm, Moony decided to question Star about Jamie.
“What did he do?” Moony asked for the hundredth time, flopping onto her bed.
“He told me to watch my back. He threatened to hurt me, Moony.” Star sighed, pulling her violet hair out. It hung loose around her shoulders, leaving her looking young and beautiful.
Star, Moony, Lottie, Sunny and Jaz were all the same age, 14. Star was the tallest and Jaz was the smallest.
Sleepily, Star pulled the covers up on her bed.
“Nighty-Night, Star. Have a good sleep…” Moony’s voice drifted off as Star fell asleep.
Chapter 3
It was incredibly dark. “Where am I?” Star thought, standing up. As her eyes grew accustomed to the night, she saw a horrendous sight.
A shapeless black mass was surging through the air. Star took flight. She flew away at top speed, panic pulsing through her body.
“Is this that complex training I needed to catch up on?” Star thought, looking over her shoulder. The wave was almost upon her. Black, hungry vines seeped up, up, up from the ground. Star turned to fly faster, but it was too late. The black mist coiled around her arms and legs, pulling h
er down to the ground. The cruel, oily fingers held her down as the black wave fell upon her. Star opened her mouth to scream, but black gushed into her mouth and up her nose.
Star woke up screaming, gripping her bed.
“It was absolutely horrid! It felt so real!” Star said, clenching her fists. Star had never experienced a nightmare in her life. She wasn’t accustomed to cruel and terrifying dreams.
“Don’t worry, Star. It was just a dream.” Sunny reassured Star.
“Yeah. It can’t harm you.” Lottie chimed in, sitting down.
Star sighed huffily. “I couldn’t have been a dream.” She sighed.
“Yeah, right.”
“Moony! I know what I saw! It was a clear act of sorcery!” Star cried, frustrated.
Lottie frowned, confused. “Moony didn’t say anything.” She said, raising an eyebrow in puzzlement.
“Oh, never mind.” Star whispered, shaking her head.
“We hear you, Star! But no one else can know of this. It’ll spread around the whole school!” Sunny replied hastily.
Suddenly, Jamie walked past. He glanced at Star, and then turned abruptly away. His voice echoed in Star’s mind.
“Sweet dreams, little Pixie. Sleep tight!” Jamie snickered.
Star shook her head. “Why can I hear people’s thoughts?” She thought, drinking from her glass. “It’s not natural. I’ll have to tell a teacher.”
Through the corridors, Star searched for Ms. Thorn’s door. It was important that she found out what was going on in her life. Finally, she approached Ms. Thorn’s room.
“Come in!” Ms. Thorn’s voice called from inside.
Star slipped inside, not sure how to react. Ms. Thorn was at her desk, signing off reports.
“You are curious to find out about yourself.” She snapped, looking up.
Star held down a flare of anger.
“Indeed I do. I want to know what’s happening to me. I can hear people’s thoughts when I focus on them.” Star replied, taking a seat.
“So, you have finally manifested one of your most special powers. Would you like to know where your powers come from?” Ms. Thorn asked kindly, offering Star a chocolate. Star nodded.
“The teachers are sure you are a witch, slash pixie. You can hear people’s thoughts, like I can. One day, you will be able to see them in your mind.”
Star nodded, slowly understanding why she could hear Jamie. Why she could hear Moony thinking that she was going loony.
“Ms. Thorn, am I supposed to have... Nightmares?” Star flinched as she spoke the last word.
“No.” Ms. Thorn inquired, tilting her head, “Have you had one?”
“Yes. I had one last night. At first I didn’t know what it was. But then I remembered when Moony would wake me up in the middle of the night, she would be as scared as a rabbit and would babble on about what she saw.” Star replied.
Ms. Thorn’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “Sorcery,” Ms. Thorn muttered.
Star didn’t hear the rest under the training bell.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Thorn, but I must go.” Star ducked out of the room, feeling cautious.
Chapter 4
After dinner, Star skipped into her room. Moony was already inside, ready for bed.
Once the door was closed, questions poured from Moony’s mouth like a waterfall.
“Did you really hear me think in the morning?!” Moony shouted, bounding off her bed.
Moony’s thoughts whizzed around Star’s head. Moony looked unhappy and quite suspicious.
“If you’re in my head, GET OUT! My mind is entitled to its own private thoughts!” Moony raged, almost blowing up Star’s head.
Star felt a wave of dizziness overcome her, nearly forcing her to fall.
“I can’t help it, Moony! It just happens when I look at people! I have to learn to control it!” Star cried, trying to find her balance.
Star felt herself falling backwards. Her eyelids fought to keep the world in sight. Then her head hit the floor, and she knew no more.
Darkness.
“Here we go again.” Star thought, searching for a huge, black mass. But it wasn’t there. She looked around, and finally, up.
Star took in a sharp breath after what she saw.
Jamie’s face was looming over her, smiling wickedly. His eyes flared a bright green, and his hair flapped in an invisible wind. Star gritted her teeth angrily and she watched black ooze from his fingertips, forming a mass of shapelessness.
“I see you, culprit! And you will pay!” Star screamed, punching the air.
Star stood still, letting the black swirl around her. It grew heavy, and lifted off. Star breathed a sigh of relief. Looking up again, she saw the black forming a big, black ball. Before she could turn and run, the weight of the ball crashed down on her, crushing every living cell in her body.
Star woke up again, startled. She ran her fingers over her body, checking for misplaced or broken bones, or signs of injury.
Nothing.
Just herself, like she was when she had fainted.
It hit her like a lightning bolt. Moony was up, up and ready for breakfast, staring worriedly at Star.
“St-star! I’m so glad you woke up! You were twitching and wailing horribly, as if in agony!” Moony cried, shaking Star roughly.
“I’m alright. I just had another… nightmare.” Star replied, standing up. Her legs wobbled beneath her as she tried to maintain balance.
“About last evening, I’m sorry I yelled at you...” Moony said, twiddling her fingers nervously.
“It was what Jamie wanted. The more he drew us apart, the less protection we gave each other.” Star cut Moony off, saving her embarrassment.
They left their room, ready for their first class.
Chapter 5
Star needed to talk to Ms. Thorn again. Urgently.
Ms. Thorn had sent Star a note in Gardening Class, demanding her presence at Lunch bell.
Star knocked on Ms. Thorn’s door softly.
No reply.
Star tried again, a tad harder.
Still no reply.
Star decided it would be best to go in. It might as well be a test of trust.
The door creaked open slowly. The room was empty, apart from a cluttered mess of paper and ink.
Star walked through as if in training, staying alert, yet calm.
A soft sound of feet landing on well-padded carpet broke the silence.
Star spun around, wand ready in her hand. The door slammed shut, with Jamie standing in front of it.
“Hello, Midnight.”
“That’s not my name.” Star snapped.
“With Ms. Thorn out of my way, you’re a simple target.”
“Think that at your peril, Jamie.” Star hissed, tightening her hand on her wand.
Jamie smiled, his eye’s glinting green, the colour of wicked pride.
“I have been tortured for failure because of you, Midnight.”
“That is not her name!”
Lottie’s voice came from outside a window. The surface of the glass began rippling like water, allowing her to step through.
“Stay away, Lottie. He’s dangerous!” Star cried, waving her back.
“No. You’re my friend, Star, and friends are there for one another.” Lottie’s thought’s whispered in Star’s head.
Jamie decided to use his voice.
“You will find out soon enough who you really are, Midnight. And then will you realise your destiny.” He laughed, vanishing in a black mist.
“I wonder what he’s done with Ms. Thorn.” Lottie thought aloud, once outside the room.
“Yes! We’ll tell Mr. Blackbird later. First of all, how did you do that to the glass?” Star cried, wide eyed.
“I don’t know. There was a voice in my head. It kept whispering the word danger. It got louder as I approached Ms. Thorn’s room. The door was locked, so I just...” Lottie’s voice trailed off, searching fo
r the right words.
“Lottie, I need Moony. We need to search Ms. Thorn’s room tonight for clues. We might even find out what you are.” Star said, halting her steps and turning to face Lottie.
“Tonight?” Lottie asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Tonight” Star replied, gathering her confidence.
The sky was pitch black. Star and Moony crept through the halls, careful not to make a noise. They slipped through Ms. Thorn’s door, ready for action.
Star led the way as they ducked and jumped over obvious alarm systems Jamie had placed down, in suspense for them.
Star searched Ms. Thorn’s desk as Moony flipped through pages of ancient spell books, for a clue. A clue could be a hair or a fingerprint, for all they knew.
“Moony! I found something!” Star hissed, waving her friend over.
A note for the Principal was strewn across the desk, ready to be sent.
Star read it slowly and carefully, as not to miss a word.
Dear Principal,
Star came to me today. I told her all I could. But I have found out more. She has had a Nightmare. She is supposed to be free of those.
I am now afraid that Star, and her friends, are the ones. They are the protectors, and they must care for themselves from now on. Teach them their powers, and find out which one they are from below.
Midnight is the Dream catcher, Moonbeam is the Shape shifter, Goldie is the Weather beam, otherwise known as the Weather Controller, Clover is the Lucky Charm and Twinkle is the Time Twister. They must all know their powers before they strike. I’m afraid it is too late now, though.
Sincerely,
Rose Thorn.
“Case closed.” Star murmured, snatching up the note.
Chapter 6
The next morning, Star woke from another Nightmare. She had got as far as the bone-crushing ball, but the Breakfast bell had rung, awakening her.
She sat down at the table furthest away from the noise, waiting for her friends. They came over, annoyed at the choice of such a dark corner.
“Can we please move? It’s so dreary....” Sunny began, before being cut off by Star.
“We can’t move. I’ve found out some shocking news.” Star snapped, drowning out Sunny.
She laid the note in front of her friends. They read as slowly and as carefully as she had done the night before.