Took Andrew to the crater? More like dropped him into it. “Can you tell if they’re still there?”
“The nest is empty, Ella. I’m sorry.”
I put the microphone down. Why hadn’t I thought to ask Sagittarius about the guys earlier, before I’d gone looking for them? They could’ve been back here with us now. “Where did he take them?” I said more to myself than the group.
Avery put his hands on my shoulders and rubbed them. “We’ll find them. Don’t worry.”
“Find who?” Melanie stood in the doorway with Hercules only a half step behind her.
I jumped like a little kid who was caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
Melanie looked up at the ceiling. “Always running to Sagittarius the Big Mouth, aren’t you, Ella?”
“We’re looking for the lost boys. Ophi was able to bring Andrew back from the dead and heal Kevin’s burns. If we can find the missing boys, he can heal them too, even if they’re not alive. He can save them.”
Melanie sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Ella, but that’s not possible.”
I scowled at her. “Why not? You’re asking Ophi to bring back all the Stellarians who died fighting the constellations. Why shouldn’t he bring back the guys you kidnapped? The guys you got hurt? The guys you got killed?” If her answer was because they were human I was going to rearrange her face.
Sadness washed over her. “I didn’t know how to tell you this before, but there’s a reason you weren’t able to find the other boys earlier.”
I couldn’t imagine what she was keeping from me this time, but I was ready to give her hell for it. She was toying with people’s lives again. “Dragging this out is only making me want to hit you more,” I said through gritted teeth.
Avery grabbed my arm, holding me back. “Do you know where they are, Melanie?”
She reached for Hercules’s hand as if she was relying on his strength to help her get the words out. He nodded, urging her to go on. She stepped into the room, gaining confidence. “The boys have completely faded. They’ve become constellations in the sky. I saw them through the orb earlier today. They can’t be brought back. They will spend eternity in the heavens.”
22
My heart couldn’t take much more of this. Disaster was nonstop in this place. I turned to face the army huddled by the doorway. They were checking their limbs again for signs of fading. I squeezed my fading hand and saw the blotchiness was creeping up my arm.
“Show me. I want to see them for myself.”
Melanie didn’t say a word. She walked to the doorway, and the boys parted, not wanting to touch her. I couldn’t blame them. Hatred for Melanie Pritchard ran deep.
We followed her upstairs to the orb room. Avery held my good hand, and I was thankful for that because it kept me calm—or at least as calm as I could be. The guys whispered things like “Cool!” and “Is that real?” as they circled the orb. Only then did it hit me that they had never seen the orb. Bobson had covered it when they boarded up the windows. But even as amazing as the orb was, this wasn’t the time.
“Stay back!” Melanie said. “No one touch the orb. It is very real and anything that happens to it directly affects the heavens.”
I searched the orb for boy-shaped constellations. “Where are they?”
Melanie pointed to a patch of sky near the empty space by the North Pole where Draco usually stood. I swallowed hard before leaning over to see the faint constellations. They were much smaller than the others. Maybe a quarter of their size. I recognized every one of their faces, even though I still didn’t know their names. Their images burned into my brain, and I could already see their pictures being plastered all over the news when I finally got back home—if I got back home. The thought of ending up a constellation and having Melanie watch over me for all eternity was too much to bear. My breath caught in my throat. Avery placed his hands on my shoulders, and I leaned against him for support.
“Can we bring them here? On meteors like we did with the others?” The words were hard to form.
Melanie shook her head. “They’re too faint and too small. It would be nearly impossible.”
“Nearly impossible? So then there’s a chance it would work?” I turned to Ophi. “If we brought them here, you could bring them back to life.”
Serpens slithered across Ophi’s shoulders as Ophi reached for me, placing his enormous hands on my upper arms. “It’s not that simple, Ella. They aren’t dead. They’re constellations, like Hercules and me. I can’t bring them back to life any more than I can bring myself back to life.” He lowered his head and released my arms. “No matter how much I wish I could.”
I wondered if he was talking about the boys or himself. I couldn’t blame him for feeling that way. He hadn’t chosen this life, and those guys hadn’t chosen it either.
“But how did this happen? You and Hercules were placed in the heavens by Greek gods. There aren’t any here. This isn’t possible!”
Ophi took a step back and looked to Melanie. I stared at her, waiting for an explanation, but instead Avery wrapped his arms around me. “Ella, please. There’s something you should know, but I need you to stay calm.”
I turned to meet his eyes, and I saw it instantly. He’d been keeping a secret from me. There was a reason he was so loyal to Melanie, and that reason was enough to make me want to puke my guts out. I pushed him away and ran to the window, forgetting it was boarded up. “I’m going to be sick!”
Hercules ran over and punched a hole through the boards on the window. I leaned out and threw up all over the grass below. Someone grabbed my hair, pulling it out of my face. I hung halfway out the window for a minute, gulping in the fresh air. The wind blew across my cheeks and stung my eyes. I blinked back the tears, refusing to shed a single one over Melanie.
“Ella, are you okay?” Avery asked.
I pulled myself back inside and saw Hercules was the one holding my hair. “Thanks.”
He nodded and let my hair fall down my back.
I tried to wipe my mouth with my left hand, forgetting it was fading. “Ugh!” I slammed my arm down to my side.
Avery rushed over to me. “Your arm. You’re getting worse.”
I stepped back before he could touch me. “I’m fine.”
He stopped short, looking like a puppy that had been yelled at. “Please don’t be mad at me. I didn’t mean to keep this from you. It’s just that you already disliked Melanie. I thought if I told you she was—”
“A god. Or goddess or whatever the hell you call the female version of it.” I looked at Melanie and Hercules, suddenly aware of why they got along so well. Hercules was the son of a god and had become one himself. Melanie was the daughter of gods, and she was being groomed to become a god herself. I was pretty sure she wasn’t fully considered one yet.
“I haven’t come into all of my powers,” Melanie said as if reading my mind. “But, yes, one day, maybe soon, I’ll be as powerful as a god.”
“As powerful as one?” My voice cracked and shook. “Don’t you mean you’ll be a god?”
“She’s being modest,” Hercules said.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “She’s a lot of things, but modest isn’t one of them.”
Bobson stepped toward me. “Watch how you talk about her.”
I glared at him. “I’m sorry, but doesn’t anyone else here understand what’s happened? What she’s done?” I moved closer to her, but Hercules stepped between us with his bodyguard figure.
“Why did you put those guys in the heavens? You sentenced them to spend eternity in the sky!” My heart pounded with rage.
Melanie sidestepped Hercules and faced me. “If I had let them fade completely, they would’ve been gone for good. That’s worse than dying.”
Was she really giving me the “fate worse than death” speech?
“Ophi never would’ve been able to bring them back to life. I did what I did so that they’d at least be able to exist.” She spoke with a st
rength I’d never seen in her. “A life in the heavens is better than no life at all. I chose to give them life.”
“I’m not so sure they’ll see it that way.” I walked back to the orb and stared at the new constellations. They looked like tiny warriors, and for the first time, I noticed the weapons they held. Double-sided axes. They hated those weapons, and now they were stuck with them for all eternity. “At least they don’t look terrified anymore.”
“We’re fine, Ella,” one of the guys answered.
I jumped, forgetting they could hear me through the orb. Leaning closer, I saw it was the oldest boy talking.
Avery stood next to me. “Hi, Matt.”
“Hey, Avery.” Matt smiled and waved before turning his attention back to me. “We understand about Melanie and why we’re here.”
“But it’s her fault you’re stuck there. None of this would have happened if she hadn’t kidnapped you.” My voice shook with a mixture of grief and anger. I couldn’t help thinking about my own part in their kidnapping. I’d never forgive Melanie for making me Bobson’s accomplice.
“She’s a god, or at least she will be one,” Matt said, “and she made us immortal. How cool is that?”
The others nodded in agreement. Maybe it was a guy thing because I didn’t get it at all. How could they be happy about this or even just okay with it? It sucked. I doubted Matt was any older than I was, and he was totally fine with never going home or living a normal life.
Melanie put her hand on my shoulder for exactly two seconds before yanking it away. “I’ll take good care of them, Ella. I promise. The people of Stellaris will honor these boys for their sacrifice.” I saw warmth in Melanie’s eyes. It didn’t make me like the situation, but I understood she had done what she thought was best for the guys. For once, she hadn’t been thinking only of herself.
“Speaking of the people of Stellaris,” Ophi said. “It’s time I work my magic to bring them back.”
“I’ll take you to the crypt where they’re all buried,” Bobson said.
“I want to go too. I want to see the people we all risked our lives for. The people these guys lost their lives for.”
Melanie nodded. “Bobson, bring Ella with you. She has a right to see this. Maybe it will help her understand the severity of our situation.” She looked at me for a moment, and I knew she was trying to find a way to explain all this to me. “I’m not a monster. I’m a teenage girl who made a mistake, and now I have to do everything I can to fix it. I’m willing to bet you’ve made plenty of mistakes in your life.”
“Yeah, but none of them ever cost a human life. None of them ever doomed a group of young, innocent boys to an eternity of imprisonment.” If she was looking for understanding, she wasn’t getting it from me. I took one last look at the new constellations. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.” I walked out of the room before they could try to convince me that it was okay.
I waited by the stairs for Bobson and Ophi. I couldn’t be around Melanie anymore. Her warped mind was too much for me to handle.
Avery came out of the room and joined me. “Are you sure you want to go with Ophi? I mean, what’s seeing the Stellarians going to do to make this whole situation better for you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just want to see them. I can’t really explain it.”
He kissed my forehead, accepting it was something I had to do, whether he understood it or not.
Bobson and the others came out of the room, and Bobson was already shouting orders. Sometimes I thought he only knew how to shout. “The rest of you, start preparing Draco and Scorpius to be sent back to the heavens.”
“But how are we going to send them back?” Avery asked as he and I fell in step with the group.
I locked eyes with Ophi. “The same way the constellations were going to send the Pritchards and me into the heavens. On the meteorites.”
Ophi turned away without saying a word. Bobson nodded. “We’ll meet you on top of the hills after Ophi’s finished.” He glanced at Avery, silently communicating he’d be in charge until Bobson got back.
We stopped at the front door, and Hercules and Melanie passed by us. They were going to get Scorpius and Draco. The rest of the army went with them, happy for the opportunity to finally pet Cerberus. What was it about a dog that made people want to pet it? Even if it did have three heads and used to guard the gates of Hell?
I met Ophi’s eyes. “On a scale of one to ten, how awful is this going to be to watch?”
“How bad did you think Kevin was?”
I got chills just thinking about how Kevin’s skin rippled and the violent seizures he went through. This was going to be like that multiplied by hundreds.
Ophi placed his hand on my shoulder. “You can stay outside the crypt. That way you’ll only see the Stellarians after they’ve been brought back to life.”
I forced a smile. It was good to have him on my side again.
The crypt was at the bottom of the hill, nestled on the same side as the beach. Ophi had to move the boulders we’d knocked over earlier, but it wasn’t too difficult for him. The crypt was stone and had a big wrought iron gate in front of it. I was instantly thankful the net that pulled me over the cliff hadn’t landed on the gate.
Bobson used a pen to open the gate and the door. I stood back, not wanting to get too close. They went inside, closing the door behind them. I sat down on the beach and stared up at the heavens, looking for the boys. It took me a while, but I eventually found them. Matt waved. He still thought it was the coolest thing ever. I hoped for his sake he always would think that, but I seriously doubted it, and that broke my heart.
The gate creaked behind me, and I turned to see the first Stellarian Ophi had brought back from the dead. She was a girl about eight or nine years old. She tilted her head when she saw me. I smiled because I didn’t know what else to do.
“Hi,” she said, coming over and sitting next to me.
“Hi.” I must have looked uncomfortable because she slid a few inches away from me. I felt bad for making her think she’d done something wrong, so I asked, “What’s your name?”
“Bethany. What’s yours?”
“Ella.”
“You aren’t from Stellaris.” She pointed to my hand.
“You know about this?” Had Melanie done things like this before? Taken people from my world and brought them here?
“The grown-ups tell stories.”
“So people like me have been here before?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” She shrugged like it was no big deal.
“Do you know what’s happening to me?”
“You’re fading. My mommy says people like you fade into the shadows. She says that when I see shadows, it’s people from another place coming to say hello.”
Oh my God! How many people had Melanie and her family killed? This was worse than I’d thought, but it was all making sense now. How else would Melanie know what happened to people like me when we stayed in Stellaris for too long?
“Have you seen these shadow people? Do you see them often?”
“I don’t know, but Mommy says your world has shadows too. Only you guys are afraid of them.”
My mind raced. What shadows was she talking about? “Do you mean the Stellarians who go to Earth and turn into shadows?”
She nodded. “Why are Earth kids afraid of us? We’re not monsters.”
Earth kids? Was she saying all the stories of monsters under the bed and in the closet...those were Stellarians visiting Earth? “How often do Stellarians visit Earth?”
Bethany laughed. “You ask a lot of questions. We like your stuff. Some of it is funny.”
She must have been referring to the things the Stellarians stole from Earth. “Why can’t you guys get your own stuff? Why do you have to steal from Earth?” I couldn’t help thinking of the old farm I saw when I first came to Stellaris. Maybe they’d tried to be self-sufficient but it didn’t work, so they started getting everything from Earth.
“Bethany, did—?”
“Bethany!” A woman rushed through the gate and scooped up the girl.
“Mommy!” Bethany hugged her mother, who was crying, no doubt because she never thought she’d hug her little girl again. When they separated, Bethany tugged her mother closer to me. “Mommy, this is my friend Ella.”
“Your friend?”
“Hi.” I stood up. “Your daughter saw me sitting here and came to say hello.”
Bethany’s mother stared at my arm and hand. “Oh, I hope she didn’t bother you.”
“Not at all. Actually, she told me something I’d like to ask you about.”
Her mother pulled Bethany closer to her like she thought I might be a threat. “Um, I’m sorry, but we have so many things to do. Rebuild, see what’s left. We really need to be going.” She backed away, taking Bethany with her.
“Wait! Please.” I stepped toward them, but the woman took off running, dragging Bethany behind her.
“Bye, Ella!” Bethany yelled.
I watched them go. A huge part of me wanted to run after them, but I didn’t want to scare Bethany. She was so young. She didn’t need to be subjected to the kind of horrors Melanie Pritchard apparently caused.
I waited outside the gate for the next Stellarian to come through. This one was a guy, probably in his thirties.
“Sir!” I blurted out, which only made him take a step back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I just need to ask you a question.”
He sized me up, his eyes falling on my faded limb. “No time for questions. There’s too much to be done.”
“Wait!” Someone had to talk to me. I reached for his arm and yanked him back.
He turned and glared at me. “Release my arm. I don’t appreciate being touched by your kind.”
“My kind? So you know what I am? Where I come from?”
“Yes, I know.” The disgusted look on his face let me know exactly what he thought of my kind.
“So the Pritchards have brought humans to Stellaris before?”
He scoffed and turned away.
“Please!”
“Yes,” he yelled over his shoulder. “And I wish they’d stop. We don’t need anymore shadows around here—even if they do disappear in the end.”
Magic and Shadows: A Collection of YA Fantasy and Paranormal Romances Page 55