by Dan Haring
None of it mattered. Not to his father. All that mattered was whatever mission he got into his head that he needed to fulfill.
Kyro didn’t realize his fingers had clenched into fists until Doman’s large hand cupped his shoulder. “Don’t blame him too harshly, Kyro. In his mind, he did it to protect you.”
“Protect me?” Kyro sputtered. “From what? The vissla have returned, the sky is falling, and someone is stealing the stars. If he really wanted to protect me, he would be here.”
“I don’t disagree. But he was very insistent when he left. I figured it was just another of his larks. Some silly idea he’d gotten into his head and that he’d be back in a day or two.” Doman let out a breath. “But Tirin has been gone much too long. It isn’t like him to leave his tower unmanned. The stars mean everything to him. I fear something is wrong. Someone needs to go after him.”
A chill made its way down Kyro’s spine. Doman’s words hit on his secret fear, the creeping thought that had been prickling at the back of his brain every day since his father disappeared.
Only something terrible could keep him away from his duties for this long.
“What can I do?” Kyro asked as raw, biting helplessness spread through his gut.
“We’ll go after him. He told me he was planning to return to the village of Romvi. We should start there. And,” Doman held out the rucksack to Kyro, “he left this in my care. I haven’t opened it. But I think you should have it.”
Kyro took the rucksack, equal parts curious and furious. It was as though his father had abandoned him all over again, leaving nothing but questions behind. Cypher nuzzled against his knee, and Kyro absentmindedly scratched his dog’s head.
But before they could discuss the best route to Romvi, echoes from the streets beyond Doman’s door startled them. It was the unmistakable sound of an angry mob. Kyro tensed in his chair.
Doman leapt to his feet. “Go, Kyro. And grab what you can from the pantry on your way out. Quickly now, out the back. I’ll catch up to you when I can.”
Kyro obeyed without question and fled out the back door, Cypher matching him step for step. At first he wasn’t sure what direction to go, but he decided on north, and ran as fast as his legs would carry him.
When the mob reached Doman’s cottage, Kyro wanted to be as far away as possible.
But as he approached the village gates, a new sound reached his ears. One small voice, growing louder by the second.
“Starboy! Wait!”
Kyro turned in amazement. There was Andra running after him, arms waving.
“What are you doing here?” Kyro asked when she stopped at his side.
She wrinkled her nose at him, only slightly out of breath. “I’m going with you, of course. Doman told me you’re headed to Romvi. He’s still busy keeping the villagers occupied. You’re not going alone.”
“Andra, you’ve already gotten in enough trouble because of me.” Kyro desperately didn’t want to go on this journey alone, but he couldn’t help feeling somewhat responsible for Andra’s recent spats with her father.
“No, Kyro. I got into trouble because I chose to help a friend. And I choose the same now.”
“But your father—”
“My father is a fool. And really, I think he’s frightened of you.” She pushed loose strands of dark hair behind her ears. “I’m not scared. And I’m ready to help. This is my choice, not yours.”
Startled by the force of Andra’s conviction, Kyro smiled gratefully. He really didn’t want to be alone, not for this. Not anymore.
“Thank you,” he said. “We should get going then?”
“Definitely. And as fast as possible.” Together, they ran through the gates, Cypher dodging between them, and disappeared into the forest.
Chapter Twenty
As they hurried through the forest, Kyro consulted the map he still had in his pack. There were two ways to reach Romvi. They could cut through the Ergsada Valley Desert, or they could travel the steep hills that edged it. The hills were technically the shorter path, but it would take them much longer to cross. The desert looked like it would be their best bet. Thankfully, the Ergsada Valley, while still dangerous, wasn’t anywhere near as bleak or treacherous as the Black Lands.
Kyro sighed. If only Romvi were a port town, maybe Captain Salban could have given them a ride there and made the journey faster. As it was, they should reach Romvi by late afternoon, if they were lucky. But only if they didn’t stop to rest.
Kyro explained the options to Andra, and they decided to press on for the desert without stopping at Kyro’s watchtower to pick up more supplies. Andra had brought a little money (which apparently Salban had guilted her father into giving her), so they could buy food. They’d split the remaining supplies already in Kyro’s pack on the way.
Ever since Doman had told Kyro his father was headed to Romvi, an odd feeling had begun to well up inside him. Kyro had loved Romvi. It was where he and his family had been happy. Back when his mother was still alive. Life had been filled with friends, family, and laughter. In Drenn, all of those things were in short supply. Returning to Romvi only reminded Kyro of what he’d lost. He couldn’t imagine what would take his father there now.
“How does your father know the captain?” Kyro asked. The more he learned about Salban, the more his curiosity grew. Her connections to the Star Shepherds had made her all the more intriguing.
“She said something about hanging out on the docks when they were kids, so they must have known each other growing up. My dad did want to be a sailor for a time before he decided to take over his parents’ bakery.” Andra shrugged. “Who knows? I’m just glad it worked in my favor.” She grinned, and Kyro laughed.
It wasn’t long before the forest thinned, the ground beneath their feet turned grainy and dry, and the plants grew sparser and farther apart. Soon, the yellow sands of the Ergsada Valley were churning in front of them in great sloping waves. Unlike the Black Lands, there were no skeletal remains of long-lost structures clawing out from the ground here. It was smooth, rolling sand as far as the eye could see. It almost looked like no one had ever disturbed the dunes before. Kyro shivered. The Black Lands had been disconcerting, but this seemed so vast, like it might swallow them whole.
Kyro and Cypher paused before the sands, and Andra wrinkled her nose at them. “Are you all right?”
Kyro tried to laugh, but it came out more like a groan. “I was just thinking that I’ve already had my fill of deserts this week.” He shrugged. “But there’s no help for it.”
And with that, they set out into the yawning expanse before them.
Andra spoke first. “How did the Council meeting go? Did they agree to let your father remain a Star Shepherd?”
Kyro’s shoulders slumped. Amid all the excitement, he had almost forgotten about the Council’s terrible verdict. “No, they didn’t.”
“But why not?” Andra kicked at a crest of sand, spraying the fine stuff in front of her.
“I couldn’t defend his actions to their satisfaction. And not enough of them believed what I had to say about the stars being cut down. Both of us are now banned from touching the stars.”
Andra placed a hand on Kyro’s shoulder and squeezed. “What an awful thing to do. You were just trying to make things right, after all. It isn’t fair for them to punish you for it.”
Kyro picked up a wayward pebble, rubbing the smooth stone between his thumb and forefinger, then tossed it at the horizon. It skipped over the sand as if it were water. “I wish they hadn’t. But there was nothing I could say to change their minds. They’d decided before I got there.”
Andra’s hands balled into fists at her sides. “Well, that’s just not right. I’d tell them that, if they were here.”
Kyro gave his friend a half-hearted smile. “Thanks.”
The sun rose higher, and the day gr
ew hotter and drier. Soon they were sweltering as they trudged through the sands. They were about halfway to Romvi when Cypher—who had been running ahead—yapped. Kyro’s heart leapt, and he broke into a run.
He hadn’t forgotten the last time Cypher had run off in a desert. He’d almost lost him.
When he reached his dog, Kyro was relieved to see Cypher wasn’t in trouble. But he had certainly found…something.
Andra caught up to him and stopped short. “What on earth is that?”
Cypher pawed at something sticking out from the sand. They knelt down to examine it.
“It looks like some kind of metal canister,” Kyro said, shaking his head. “But I couldn’t tell you what it was for.”
“Or why it looks like someone tore it in half,” Andra said, eyeing the jagged edges.
Cypher began to dig more determinedly around it, and Kyro and Andra helped to free the metal object. But the deeper they dug, the clearer it became that this wasn’t a mere canister. There was a bend farther down. It was hard work, but their curiosity was at the boiling point; they had to know what this was. Finally, they removed enough sand to yank the huge object free. They stumbled back, nearly dropping their prize.
This was definitely not a canister.
It was a gigantic mechanical arm—taller than Kyro—ripped off whatever body it had once belonged to, with an elbow joint and a forearm that ended in grasping metal fingers.
Kyro’s heart pounded in his ears. He couldn’t help remembering his mother’s stories about the metal giants. This arm was big enough to belong to one of them.
“How is this possible?” Andra asked, astonished.
“I don’t know…” Kyro said. “It reminds me of the story of the giants. But they’ve been gone for centuries.”
Andra touched the arm with awe. “Maybe this is one of the ancient ones. Maybe it fell out here in the dunes centuries ago, and we just found it now.” She swept her arm at the desert surrounding them. “Who knows what else might be buried out here?”
As she spoke, something else glinted in the sun and caught Kyro’s eye. He left the mechanical arm on the sand and ran toward the glimmering object. When he reached it, his heart took a seat in his throat.
It was unmistakable, a thing he would recognize anywhere: a star hook, severed in a clean cut. Just like the ones he and Andra had found not long ago. Andra gasped behind him, then shouted. “Look! There’s another one!”
Sure enough, another severed hook rested nearby. They found several more in the area, but try as they might, not a single burlap casing or star heart was anywhere to be found. It was as though someone had taken them and left only the hooks behind. And perhaps that arm. Though that last bit seemed too impossible to imagine.
“What do you think happened here?” Andra asked.
Kyro shivered. “I don’t know. But if it has anything to do with the stars, it might be related to my father’s disappearance.”
Andra grew serious and tucked the star hook she was holding into her bag. “Then we best get going and find out.”
Chapter Twenty-One
The sun was settling behind the Radamak Mountains when they reached Romvi. The sight of the village’s familiar thatched roofs surrounding the tall spire of a watchtower in the very center—the one his grandparents had manned before he was born—made Kyro’s breath hitch in his throat.
Kyro frowned and rubbed the back of his head. The best memories he had were made here. Seeing it now was a painful reminder of how much he missed his old life and the time when he had both his mother and father.
While Drenn was surrounded by a forest on one side and a bay on the other, Romvi was flanked by acres of rolling fields filled with grains and vegetables, the Radamak Mountains looming in the distance behind. There was less bustle here; the atmosphere was more relaxed and friendly. And they didn’t mind Star Shepherds. At least, that was how it used to be.
“Is it at all like you remember?” Andra whispered, startling Kyro. Cypher whined by his side.
Kyro nodded. “Yes. At least, I think it is. I hope so.”
“Should we ask the local Star Shepherd if they’ve seen your father?”
Kyro gritted his teeth. “Definitely not. I don’t think he’d seek their help after the Council didn’t believe his report. I don’t know who is in charge of this territory now, but since most of the Council voted against him, whoever it is probably did too.” He sighed. “They won’t help us. They might even try to make us leave before we figure out what happened to my father.”
After his grandparents passed away, the Romvi watchtower had remained vacant for some time before the Council filled the position. But his mother had often taken him there to show him where she had grown up and tell him stories about the stars. A new Shepherd had been assigned not long before she fell ill, so Kyro had never really known him. If only they hadn’t filled the position, his father could have taken it over and they could have stayed in Romvi.
Kyro wondered if any of the people they had known still lived here. He’d had friends when he was little, but he doubted they’d remember him now. And he wasn’t in the mood to explain what he was doing here if he could avoid it.
“I think it’s best if we find my old house and see if that’s where my father went,” Kyro said.
Andra wrinkled her nose. “But what if someone else lives there now?”
Kyro’s heart sunk into his shoes. He hadn’t considered that, and he doubted his father had either. Hopefully, he hadn’t caused too much trouble in this town too.
“Then we’ll just have to explain why we’re here, as much I don’t want to. What choice do we have? This is our only lead. Maybe someone has at least seen my father, if nothing else.”
A thought occurred to Kyro, and he pulled out the rucksack his father had left with Doman. “Actually, maybe it isn’t our only lead…”
He and Andra rested under a willow tree at the edge of the village, while Cypher chased the fireflies that sparked in the dusk. Kyro placed the rucksack between them.
“My father left this in Doman’s care, and Doman gave it to me. I was in such a hurry to leave Drenn that I nearly forgot about it.”
“You mean, you haven’t even opened it yet?” Andra said, eyes wide.
Kyro shook his head and put his hand inside. The first thing his fingers touched was something familiar, and he pulled it out eagerly, his face brightening with hope. The starglass goggles glinted at their sisters and brothers peeking out from the night sky above.
“Where did he get these?” Kyro murmured at the same time Andra said, “Don’t you have some just like that?”
“I did,” Kyro said. “Until the Council took them away when they forbade me and my father from ever touching the stars again.” This was a jolting reminder of just how much he missed chasing the stars.
The goggles were perfect, not even a little bit dinged or dented. His father must have been hoarding an extra pair. Kyro carefully placed them around his neck, the familiar weight oddly comforting.
Andra squinted at the rucksack. “Anything else in there?”
Kyro fished around again, and his hand alighted on a glass container. When he opened his hand, a vial of stardust glinted up at him. That tiny glimmer in his heart warmed further. The goggles would help him find the stars, and the stardust could be used for protection against creatures like the vissla.
Maybe hope wasn’t lost after all.
Andra laughed. “That’s stardust, isn’t it?”
Kyro nodded. “It has protective properties. My father must have been saving the stardust from stars he wasn’t able to rescue before dawn for the last few years. It’s what I used to keep the vissla from getting into our yard near the watchtower.”
Andra nodded approvingly. “I remember. Good thing to have around.”
Kyro agreed. But why had his father le
ft these things with Doman? Why not give them to Kyro himself? He would have looked after them just fine. Or perhaps his father guessed what the Council would do and feared they would take the items from Kyro. Whatever the reason, they were his now, and he was glad of it.
Kyro stood and offered his hand to help Andra to her feet. Cypher yapped, as eager as they were to get to their destination. With a deep breath, Kyro stepped into the village, grateful that Andra had not let go of his hand. Hers was a steadying presence. And she made him bolder. Perhaps he should’ve let her come with him to the Star Shepherd Council meeting. Maybe she would’ve found a way to change the Council members’ minds.
But what was done was done, and all that was left for Kyro was to find his father.
He led Andra and Cypher through the grid of streets in Romvi. He hadn’t been here in years, but his feet remembered the way. The days when he ran through these streets and alleys with his friends had been the happiest time of his life. When his family was whole, not broken into shards like it was now.
On the way through the village, Andra ducked into a shop to quickly restock their supplies with the money her father had given her. After that, it didn’t take long to reach the little house adjoining an old boarded-up shop front. A lump formed in Kyro’s throat, and he wiped his clammy hands on his pants. Once, that had been his father’s clockmaker’s shop. It looked like no one had touched it since the day they left. To his relief, no one seemed to have moved into the house either. When he knocked, no one answered and the door was not locked, which he found surprising. He took a deep breath and pushed the door open, sending a puff of dust into the air like smoke.
He and Andra both sneezed, while Cypher trotted inside, leaving paw prints on the dusty floor. They looked like they were dancing with a recent set of boot prints, illuminated by the starlight slipping in through the windows and open door.