My breath caught in my throat. Melanie had done this before. She’d kidnapped people from my world and let them fade into shadows. Shadows the Stellarians didn’t want to have around. Melanie was more of a monster than I’d thought.
23
I stood there barely aware of the Stellarians that passed through the gate and gawked at me. I couldn’t believe I had ever tried to understand Melanie’s situation. That I had helped these awful people defeat the constellations. Melanie had kidnapped me, lied to me, almost killed the guy I was crazy about, doomed a bunch of boys to imprisonment in the heavens… The list just kept going. And here I was trying to understand, trying to be somewhat sympathetic to the Stellarians, when they viewed me as nothing more than a pest. These people didn’t want me fighting for them. They wanted me gone—and right now, that was all I wanted too.
I didn’t acknowledge any of the others as they left the crypt. They didn’t mind stealing from Earthlings, but they didn’t want to have us in their world. The double standard was too much for me. Finally, Bobson walked through the gate with Ophi following behind. “All finished. We better meet up with Melanie and the others. Those constellations need to get back where they belong.”
“How many others?” I demanded.
He wrinkled his brow at me. “Other what?”
“How many others did Melanie and her parents bring here?” I pointed in the direction the Stellarians had all headed. “They told me the Pritchards have done this before. Brought people like me here to fade away into the shadows. How many?” I’d flipped. I wanted to tear Melanie’s head off, and if I had to tear Bobson’s head off to get to her, I would.
Bobson put his hands on his hips. “I knew this was a mistake. You’re always asking questions. Leaving you out here to interrogate the Stellarians was just plain stupid on my part.”
I was inclined to agree. He was an idiot as far as I was concerned. “How many?”
“The Pritchards experimented with bringing humans here. They didn’t know what would happen at first.”
“And after they found out?” It obviously hadn’t stopped after they let the first batch of humans fade into shadows.
“They tried different ages, different genders, whatever they could think of.”
“Why? Why did they need people from my world? What’s wrong with the Stellarians?”
“Our world is small. We’ve tried to exist in yours, but we turned to shadows.”
And made kids afraid of the things that went bump in the night. Where the hell was he going with this? “If your world is so small, why would you bring more people here? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Our intent wasn’t to keep people like you here. It was to keep Stellarians in your world.”
“What?” I was completely lost.
“The Pritchards believed if we mated with humans, our offspring would be able to survive in both worlds.”
Oh, God! They brought humans here to force them to mate with Stellarians? That was sick. “Do you even understand the words coming out of your mouth? You guys are all monsters. That plan was insane.”
“We didn’t force the humans to stay or mate with us, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“No? Then explain it to me, because it certainly isn’t sounding good.”
Ophi smirked, loving the way Bobson was squirming. He might be back on our side now, but Ophi didn’t care for Bobson.
“The Pritchards explained the situation to the humans. Most of them were willing to hear us out and think over our proposal.”
“Most? What about the ones who weren’t?” My mind raced with thoughts of imprisonment and death.
“We returned them to their own world.”
I studied his face, looking for some indication he was telling the truth. Could it be possible that they just let the unwilling humans go? They certainly hadn’t let me go when I wanted to. Or Avery.
“Ella, you can ask Melanie if you’d like. I’m telling you the truth. We never forced anyone to stay here.”
“Yes, you have. You’re forcing me. You’re forcing Avery and the others.”
“Avery chose to come back. I didn’t force him.”
I stepped closer so we were only inches apart. “Avery didn’t come back for you or Melanie or the rest of the Stellarians. He came back for me! Because I’m his best friend. His—” I wanted to say girlfriend, but I wasn’t sure if that was what I was in Avery’s mind. “His decision to come back had nothing to do with you.” I turned away from him, unable to stand the sight of his face anymore. But another face I didn’t like greeted me.
“All finished?” Melanie asked Ophi.
“Yup. Everyone’s working to rebuild.”
“Good. Hercules is almost finished getting the constellations prepared, so let’s go.”
“No.” I wasn’t taking orders from her anymore.
“What?”
“I’m not going to help you.”
Avery jogged over to us. “Hey, everything okay?” He saw the look on my face and wrinkled his brow at me. “Ell?”
“Go ahead, Melanie. Tell Avery about how you and your parents conducted little experiments by bringing humans here to mate with Stellarians. Tell him how your plan backfired terribly and all those humans faded into shadows. Shadows your Stellarians resented having to deal with. Shadows the kids were afraid of. That is until they disappeared completely and ceased to exist anymore. Tell him how you’ve been stealing everything you want from Earth and scaring human kids half to death in the process!”
I watched the truth slam into Avery. His face turned stone cold as he stared at Melanie. “I helped you. I felt sorry for you.”
Melanie’s eyes watered. “It was my parents’ idea. What was I supposed to do? I was only twelve at the time. They told me it was a way for Stellarians and humans to coexist in both worlds. We’d be able to move freely between them instead of being trapped here.”
“Trapped here?” Melanie had a huge castle in a world where she would become a god. In what universe did that equate to being trapped? “Why do you think you’re trapped? Especially you and your parents. You’re gods. How bad could your life be?”
“Our world is getting smaller. Eventually, it will deteriorate into nothing.”
I laughed, which shocked everyone. I felt like a crazy person, but that was what happened when you were surrounded by crazy people. “And you think your planet is the only one that’s in danger of ceasing to exist?”
She didn’t answer.
“Oh, I see. It’s the old Pritchard selfishness. You’ll continue to take over planets until there are none left.”
“You don’t understand.” Melanie inhaled hard, regaining some of her composure. “You’ll die one day. My family and I are immortal. We’ll be here when Stellaris is gone, and then what?”
“Like I said, selfishness. It’s all about you. So what if you kill humans? So what if you destroy lives, so long as it’s not your own? I’m sure your parents would be very proud.”
“Don’t talk about my parents!” She shook with rage. “They stopped experimenting. They learned it was hopeless, and they felt sorry about the lives that were lost.”
“Oh, well if they felt sorry, then I guess that makes it all okay. I’ll be sure to tell the victims’ families they can stop grieving because the Pritchards are sorry.” My words pretty much exceeded the laws of sarcasm.
“Listen,” Melanie bellowed, and the rocks on the ground around us shook. Crap! This was so not the time for her to start developing her god powers. “You aren’t a god. You have no idea what demands are on us.”
“Demands? Who do you have to answer to?”
“We answer to our people.” She gestured to the town in the direction the Stellarians had gone. “We aren’t free from judgment. We listen to complaints. We decide futures. It’s not fun and games, Ella. It’s serious. And sometimes it’s necessary to sacrifice a few for the good of the group.”
“And better yet if th
ose few aren’t the people you’re ruling over, right?”
Bobson grabbed my arm and yanked me toward him. “That’s enough.”
Before I could yell or punch him, Avery was in his face. “Get your hands off her. Now.” I’d never seen him look so angry.
Bobson stared him down for a second before releasing me. “Don’t forget your rank, soldier.”
Avery reached for my hand. “I’m not your soldier.”
I wanted to kiss him right there. Avery didn’t talk back. He respected his elders and did what he was told. That was the way he’d always been. But Bobson had threatened me, and Avery’s need to protect me was stronger than his urge to please everyone.
Melanie sighed, an irritated sigh, laced with contempt. “We are wasting time.”
I wanted to tell her I didn’t care what kind of schedule she was on, but my arm was getting worse. I couldn’t afford to stand around and fight with Melanie and Bobson. For my own sake, I had to get this over with so Avery and I could get home.
I didn’t say a word. I led Avery by the hand, and we walked passed Melanie. Part of me felt bad Avery had found out the truth about her. He seemed so crushed by it, and I was the one who had brought that on. But the other part of me realized it was better he wasn’t in the dark about her true personality anymore. He deserved to know the truth.
We walked to the hills together. We didn’t talk much. Avery knew me well enough to know nothing was going to make me feel better about losing those boys or finding out other humans had lost their lives thanks to Melanie Pritchard and her family. I hadn’t known the other people, so my heart went out to the boys. No matter how cool they thought it was now to be immortalized in the sky, they were most likely going to end up like Ophi and the others, wanting nothing more than to escape from the heavens once the novelty wore off.
We caught up with Hercules, who was dragging Draco up the hill to the meteorite Melanie had been chained to. I couldn’t help wishing she was still chained to the thing. I’d launch her into the heavens myself if I could. We secured Draco, which wasn’t easy since we had to take the net off him to do it. But he couldn’t be in a net in the heavens so we had no choice. Luckily, Hercules was every bit as strong as the legends say. It also helped that Draco was still groggy from all the poison arrows. Avery kept another arrow aimed on him the entire time Hercules tied him to the meteorite. We weren’t taking any chances.
Hercules walked over to Melanie. “He’s secure. Well, as secure as he can be, considering you and Ella will have to shake him loose from the chains. If he wasn’t still so out of it, we’d be in trouble.”
“Avery, keep an arrow pointed at him until we’re ready to launch the meteorite.” Melanie gave orders as if nothing had happened. As if Avery hadn’t seen her true colors.
Avery didn’t respond, but he readied his bow and arrow. He wasn’t going to jeopardize our safety just because he was mad at Melanie. He positioned himself about ten feet in front of Draco. Not many people could’ve stayed so calm that close to a fire-breathing dragon, but that was Avery. Practically fearless. Melanie could have Hercules with all his muscles and god-like strength. I’d take Avery over him any day.
The remaining boys stood there staring at Draco with us, and a sense of relief filled the air. We’d all be getting back to normal soon. Stellaris had its people back and would rebuild, and the army, Avery, and I would be back in our own world.
“Hey, shouldn’t we get Scorpius chained to a meteorite too?” I asked.
“I think we should let Ophi decide how he wants to travel with him,” Hercules said before Melanie could respond. She gave him a look, but he kissed her forehead. “It will be a sign of good faith letting Ophi make this decision. He’ll see you are more than capable of keeping up your end of the agreement.”
I wondered how well she’d keep it up after Hercules was back in the heavens and she didn’t have anyone here to make her play nice.
Hercules and Bobson checked on Draco again to make sure everything was ready. Draco snorted, and a puff of smoke erupted from his nose. We all jumped back, and Avery accidentally shot his arrow into Draco’s leg.
“Oops.” His face turned bright red. Okay, so maybe he wasn’t as calm as he looked.
I laughed. “Well, at least he won’t be waking up any time soon. It’ll be easier to control the meteorite without him fighting us the whole time.” I sat down on the grass a few feet from the sleeping Cerberus and patted the ground beside me. “Come sit. There’s no reason to guard him anymore. I’m sure the extra dose of poison you just gave him will keep him unconscious for awhile.”
Avery put his bow and arrow down and sat next to me. He leaned his shoulder against mine, and I felt the warmth of his skin. I was glad he wasn’t wearing his armor anymore. I had to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn’t start fading again. I hid my fading hand under my leg and twisted my upper body to block my arm. I didn’t want him to worry, even though I was clearly getting worse. We didn’t talk, but we didn’t need to. It was enough to be together.
When Hercules and Bobson were satisfied with the meteorite, they joined the rest of the group.
“You should get back to the orb,” Bobson said. “We’ll need you there when we launch the constellations. We can finish up with Scorpius and—” He turned to Ophi.
Ophi raised one hand to stop Bobson from saying more. “I’m fine. Serpens and I are ready to go. I know Melanie won’t go back on her agreement to return me to Stellaris when someone needs healing.”
Melanie nodded. “You have my word” was all she said. No thank you for bringing the Stellarians back to life. No thank you for agreeing to go back to the heavens and keep Scorpius in line. But Ophi seemed to expect as much.
Melanie turned to me. “I know you’re angry with me right now.”
Right now? I’d spent most of my time in Stellaris being angry with her.
“But I’d like your help directing the meteorites. This is going to be twice as difficult with the constellations chained like this.”
What could I do? If I didn’t help her, I’d never get home.
Avery squeezed my good hand. “Good luck. I’ll see you back at the castle soon.”
I wished he could come with me. I didn’t want to let him out of my sight, but I knew he had to stay with Bobson and the army to make sure everything went smoothly with the constellations. “Let’s make this quick, okay?”
He leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “Piece of cake.”
“Sounds good to me. I’m always up for a good piece of cake.” I smiled at him and followed Melanie.
As I walked past Ophi, he whispered, “I just want you to know I never would’ve been able to send you to the heavens. I’m sorry I scared you.”
I stopped and faced him. “I know, Ophi, and thank you for your help. We all appreciate it, even if some of us can’t admit it.” I cocked my head toward Melanie.
Ophi smiled, and Serpens flicked his tongue at my hair.
“I really hate snakes.” I looked Serpens in his big yellow eyes. “I know the only reason you’re not trying to squeeze me to death right now is because Ophi wouldn’t allow it. And believe me, the only reason I’m not taking an axe to your head is because Ophi wouldn’t allow it. So we’re even.”
Ophi laughed. “Good-bye, Ella. I’m really going to miss you.”
I smiled and walked past Scorpius. He was still tied up in his net. Something came over me. Anger and bitterness, mixed with a little courage since the giant scorpion was trapped at the moment. I doubled back and stood right in front of Scorpius’s head.
“You tried to kill me twice. Personally, I don’t see why we have to put you back in the heavens. If I were Melanie—and thank God I’m not—I’d get rid of you permanently. She’s going easy on you by imprisoning you in the sky. You deserve worse. Much worse.”
Scorpius laughed. “You know what they say; the third time’s a charm.” He chirped, sounding like an overgrown cockroach.
<
br /> “Ella, no!” Avery yelled.
I turned toward him, not understanding what was wrong. Scorpius was tied up. What was the problem? Avery grabbed his bow and arrow and raised it. I looked back at Scorpius. He was standing up tall. The net had two huge holes where his front claws had snipped them when I wasn’t watching. Somehow his claws had gotten free from the ropes.
I tried to back up, but before I could take a step, Scorpius’s tail lashed forward. I flung myself to the side and felt the searing pain of Scorpius’s stinger penetrating the back of my leg. I hit the ground hard, paralyzed from the poison. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t force my heart to beat. My eyes shut as the life drained out of me.
24
A tingling sensation ran down my body. Blood surged through my veins, and my heart pounded like I’d run a marathon. But instead of being exhausted, I felt completely full of life, which was strange because I was pretty sure I’d been dead only seconds ago.
I heard Avery’s sweet voice calling my name and felt his soft touch on my hand. I opened my eyes to see Serpens hovering over me in Ophi’s arms. I must have looked terrified because Ophi stepped back, mumbling an apology.
Avery leaned closer to me, and if I hadn’t just seen Serpens and Ophi, I would’ve sworn I was in Heaven. He lowered his head and pressed his lips to mine. As he pulled away, he whispered, “Even though I knew Ophi could bring you back…” He swallowed hard and pulled back. “How do you feel?” His eyes were red, and his voice was shaky.
“Kind of how I imagine Andrew felt when Ophi brought him back to life.” I thought my voice would sound weak, but it didn’t.
Andrew walked over to me. “You can sit up. Trust me. You’ll feel fine.”
He was right. I felt amazing. Like my entire body was energized. Well, almost my entire body. My left arm was still blotchy and fading. Obviously Ophi had been telling the truth when he said he couldn’t bring back people who had faded. His powers were definitely useless against the fading process. Avery grabbed my good arm and slowly pulled me to a sitting position. He gave me about five seconds to assure myself I was okay before he wrapped me in a hug and kissed my forehead. “Please, don’t ever do that to me again.”
Magic and Shadows: A Collection of YA Fantasy and Paranormal Romances Page 56