A Night without Stars

by Sabrina Albis

  Rick let out the breath he had been holding in. “Dude, you had me so worried!”

  “Man, I was pissed but you like her. I should have seen that,” Nathaniel admitted. “The way you looked at her and talked about her constantly before she got here this summer. It was so obvious.”

  Rick crossed his arms over his chest, looking mortified. “Thanks man.”

  Autumn nudged Rick in his side, grinning. “Constantly, huh?”

  “Oh, he never shut up about you,” Nathaniel said. “He still doesn’t.”

  He looked back to Rick. “I want you both to be happy. So go for it.”

  “I think you guys would make a really cute couple,” Mandy agreed.

  “I think so too,” Rick said as he took Autumn’s hand into his and squeezed it gently.

  17

  True to her word, Autumn trained religiously with Rick, Mandy and Nathaniel as they prepared to heed their new calling as monster slayers. Weeks passed, with no word on Caleb and Renee. Still, no one, not even Eric, went anywhere near the caves.

  They had made a pact not to venture there until they were all ready.

  Autumn didn’t think she ever would be.

  The oddest part for Autumn, was keeping the training a secret.

  During the day, she was an average student, helping Rick pass tests while studying for her own. When they weren’t at school, Rick and she worked together in a different manner. They sparred, lifted weights, jogged and did martial arts.

  Autumn was like a double agent, harboring a huge secret that seemed unfathomable, even to her.

  Rick bought a punching bag, which he stationed in his garage, where everyone practiced. Rick taught Autumn how to dodge and block, different fighting stances, and how to breathe properly during combat.

  She had the least fighting experience but was progressing quickly thanks to her patient trainers. Mandy and Rick had both taken mixed martial arts when they were younger and Nathaniel had hunted with his father for years, so using weapons came naturally to him.

  Rick’s biggest concern was his parents asking questions about their sudden obsession with exercise. He chalked it up to Autumn learning self-defence, which mollified them for the time being.

  Of course, they didn’t always train at Rick’s house. Eric’s house, in all its vastness, made for a remarkable and private training ground. He had a huge backyard, with acres of land and his house was surrounded by batches of trees that shrouded it effortlessly.

  Inside his giant gym, he had weights, mats and state-of-the-art machines. Plus, the lack of nosy parents puttering about was a bonus.

  While everyone trained physically, Eric continued working on the spell to seal the caves and on various healing potions, in case they were wounded on the battlefield. Most nights, Eric could be found in his study or in the library, surrounded by thick piles of ancient tomes.

  At times, Autumn thought this was Eric’s attempt at avoiding her.

  Although he insisted there weren’t any hard feelings, Autumn knew he was wounded.

  Their once blossoming romance wilted. After the dance, Eric had taken the news as well as could be expected. He was hurt, but he didn’t want to lose Autumn’s friendship. She was the one who had brought him out of his shell, and he wouldn’t soon forget that.

  His graciousness didn’t help alleviate Autumn’s guilt. She was indeed the catalyst for their end. In fact, his kindness only made her feel worse. Instead, she wished Eric would’ve been angrier at her, but perhaps his passiveness was punishment enough.

  In the end, Autumn made the decision not to date anyone. She needed time to figure things out, and she couldn’t do that with a guy at her side.

  It was a mild, fall afternoon and everyone was in Eric’s backyard training and taking advantage of the rare weather. The sun was glimmering, the wind seamlessly blowing, and the sky was a clear and vivid blue. Many trees were bare, their buttery and auburn colored leaves laid strew on the ground or blowing in the wind.

  Autumn, wearing a crisp, white tank top and grey sweat pants, was sparring with Rick.

  On opposite sides of one another, Autumn shuffled around Rick.

  Bobbing side to side, she taunted him, before kicking rapidly, trying her best to land blows.

  Rick could easily evade her, but instead he took the hit, while giving her tips as they moved around the yard.

  “Aut, remember, accuracy and force sweetie,” he instructed, as Autumn landed a shaky but impactful punch, nearly missing him.

  “Don’t call me sweetie,” Autumn smirked, taking another shot and clipping Rick in the shoulder.

  Rick, who had been positioned to punch Autumn, stopped abruptly. Autumn was set to dodge him, but she dropped her defensive stance and put her hands on her hips.

  “Rick, what was that?”

  Rick looked at his hands guiltily. “I can’t hit you. I never hit you. You know this.”

  “You have to hit me,” she said, eyes narrowing. “Otherwise, I won’t learn to dodge properly, and the big bad monsters will wallop me. They don’t play nice.”

  Rick’s face went pale at the mention of his beloved being attacked by monsters.

  “Don’t like that option much do you?” she asked sarcastically and Rick shook his head.

  “Nope.”

  “Alright then, we are on the same page. Are you ready?”

  “Ready,” Rick said as Autumn got back into her defensive pose.

  “Go for it. And don’t go easy on me because I’m a girl.”

  Autumn saw a grin on Rick’s face before his fist came flying at her. She moved out of the way lithely, ducking away from him with ease.

  Rick went at her again, closing the distance between them. He kicked her with a roundhouse, and she dodged narrowly. She came at Rick with a side kick, followed by a sharp jab. The kick barely landed, but she got him in the jaw with the punch.

  “Whoa!” Rick said, rubbing his face. “Time out tough guy!”

  He looked at Autumn, eyes welling with pride. “That one hurt! Good job!”

  The hours passed and by the end of the training session, Autumn and Rick were drenched in sweat.

  Rick handed Autumn a towel and a bottle of water.

  She took a seat on the grass, patting her face gently with the towel as Rick plopped down beside her.

  Across the yard, Mandy and Nathaniel were also scuffling. Mandy was showing off, backflipping out of the reach of Nathaniel’s kick. Her tiny frame soared through the air and when she landed, she lunged at him.

  Nathaniel, who wore boxing pads on his hands, was thrown backwards from the force of Mandy’s kick.

  “Take that!” she said, smiling smugly.

  “Jeez Mand, you kick like a freaking stallion,” he muttered, just barely managing to keep his balance.

  Mandy, dressed in a black T-shirt and matching shorts, raised one boxing-gloved hand in the air, to demonstrate her victory.

  “And the crowd goes wild as Mandy Jensen defeats Nathaniel Abrams AGAIN!” she yelled in a mock-sports announcer voice.

  Nathaniel rolled his eyes and walked towards her.

  “Alright you win, but just remember, my rifle versus your fists, now that’s a losing battle.”

  Mandy chuckled, patting his shoulder affectionately. “Boys and their toys.”

  Autumn sat with her legs outstretched on the lawn, soaking up the warmth that became so elusive. Rick reached out to grasp her hand, and she tingled at his touch.

  The sound of a door opening startled her, and she looked up to see Eric approaching them. She pulled her hand back quickly and shifted slightly away from Rick.

  Eric was dressed in his usual black shirt and jeans. His chin-length, dark hair framed his handsome face, and his tan skin glowed in the sunlight. He smiled as he came towards them.

  “How
is the training coming along?” he asked, taking a seat beside Autumn on the lawn.

  Rick squeezed Autumn’s shoulder affectionately.

  “She nailed me quite a few times. She definitely has the heart of a warrior.”

  Eric looked at Rick touching Autumn and for a moment she swore she could see the longing glimmer in his eyes, but with a blink it all washed away, and he smiled again, looking untroubled.

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less of you Autumn,” he said almost ruefully.

  Autumn studied Eric’s face carefully. Even though he tried to appear bright-eyed and bushy tailed, she could see the exhaustion in the form of shadows and bags around his dark eyes. Between schoolwork, the potions and the spell, he was obviously worn-out.

  “I actually came out here with news,” Eric began. “The good news, the spell is nearing completion.”

  “Really?” Autumn’s eyes lit up.

  “I’m so close Autumn. I can feel it in my bones. Basically, I need a few more ingredients, if you will. That’s the bad news. One of them is quite inconvenient to attain.”

  Autumn expected the ingredient to be something sinister and heinous. Still, she had to ask.

  “What is it?”

  “I need blood,” Eric said with finality.

  Rick looked from Eric to Autumn and threw his arms around her protectively.

  “Don’t even think about asking Autumn for any blood King!” he shouted.

  Eric, who was now used to Rick and Nathaniel’s outrageous outbursts, looked at him, unfazed.

  “I don’t need Autumn’s blood Rick.”

  “You can’t have mine either!” Rick added hastily.

  “I don’t need human blood,” Eric said, rolling his eyes. “Otherwise, I’d just use my own.”

  Rick let Autumn go tentatively and rested his face in his hands.

  “Fine. Go on.”

  “I need monster blood,” Eric said as he fiddled with a large, black ring on his finger.

  “The cave monsters blood.”

  “The lizard men?’ Rick asked and Eric took his cue, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a paper.

  “They are actually demons, at least according to my research.”

  He showed them a drawing of the creature. It had obviously been scanned from one of Eric’s many tomes, and it matched the description of the lizard men to a T.

  “Of course, the demons come in all shapes and sizes because that cave doesn’t discriminate when it comes to evil,” Eric jested.

  “How liberal,” Autumn muttered as she heard Mandy’s screech echo throughout the yard.

  “HI YA!”

  Everyone watched as Mandy and Nathaniel, both in complete protective padding, chased each other around the trees. Mandy swung a punch at Nathaniel, and he ducked, narrowly avoiding it. He kicked at Mandy, who caught his leg and turned it sideways. She kicked at Nathaniel, nearly getting him between his legs.

  “Hey! Watch where you are kicking!” he said, backing away while panting. “You could ruin me!”

  Mandy stood defiantly before him.

  “In the world of monsters, no body parts are off-limits,” she said sharply. “Now, bow to your sensei.”

  “My what?” Nathaniel asked, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

  “Your sensei!” Mandy said, louder this time. “Your teacher and your instructor! Bow to me.”

  Nathaniel looked at her in disbelief, and then he began laughing hysterically.

  Mandy’s nose crinkled at his amusement.

  “What the hell is so funny Abrams?”

  “Sorry,” Nathaniel said, almost doubled over in stitches. “I don’t bow to people shorter than me.”

  Mandy’s face inflamed with anger. “I will remember this insolence next time we train Nate!”

  Nathaniel shrugged his shoulders carelessly and began pulling off his padding. “Don’t you forget it.”

  Mandy rolled her eyes as the two of them headed towards the others.

  Nathaniel took a seat next to Rick and was joined by Mandy, who noticed Eric’s grave expression.

  “Who died?” she asked, before pausing. “No one did die right?”

  Eric shook his head. “No one is dead. I was just telling Autumn and Rick, I am close to completing the spell. I just need blood for the ritual.”

  “You can’t have mine!” Nathaniel piped in immediately.

  Eric sighed, and Rick put his hands up in the air. “I said the same thing dude!”

  He looked at Eric. “You need to phrase that better man. You are freaking everyone out.”

  “I need the blood of the monsters,” Eric said, looking exasperated now. “Cave monsters. Lizard men as you have dubbed them.” He handed the paper to Mandy, who began examining it.

  “They are demons?”

  “Full-fledged,” Eric replied.

  “We can get the blood for you dude,” Rick said confidently. “We have all been training. It will be a piece of cake. Besides, we could use the practice.”

  “As much as I hate putting any of you in harm’s way, I was hoping that you would offer to help,” Eric admitted. “As you know, I’m not the finest fighter.”

  “It’s alright man,” Nathaniel said. “We understand. You fight like a spaz.”

  “Thank you Nathaniel.” Eric glared at him. “As always, I love when you remind me of my flaws.”

  “And how I love to remind you,” Nathaniel said, grinning.

  Autumn smiled. Eric was usually a fountain of infinite patience, but even she knew there was only so much of Nathaniel’s boneheaded remarks you could endure before lashing out at him.

  “Now, if we are done with the childish remarks, let’s get back to the grownup stuff,” Eric said.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial, handing it to Rick.

  “I need this filled to the brim with demon blood.”

  Nathaniel crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. “A little demanding aren’t we?”

  “We need that blood Nate or the demons win!” Mandy barked at him.

  “Geez, I thought you elves were supposed to be cheerful,” Nathaniel said as he inched away from her.

  “Guys, I really appreciate this,” Eric said, ignoring Nathaniel. “I will be coming along for moral support of course and in case any of you need healing.”

  “Sweet, invincibility!” Nathaniel said.

  “You are not invincible Abrams,” Eric said, warningly. He was constantly trying to hammer home the idea that fighting monsters wasn’t a joke. He didn’t want any of them taking it lightly.

  “We have been through this. I can only heal minor things. And some healing can take longer depending on the severity of the wound. So, if you break your arm out there it will take longer to heal then say a cut on your leg, and you may be out of commission for a bit.”

  “So avoid getting nailed,” Nathaniel said, leaning back on his elbows.

  “That is obvious,” Eric said plainly. “Be safe. This isn’t a game. This is your life.”

  This is your life. The words resonated in Autumn’s mind, but she still couldn’t quite grasp them.

  Demons, magic and fighting for blood. They were playing with fire. How did this become her life?

  18

  It was a sunny Saturday morning when Autumn awoke to the sound of her cell phone vibrating on her nightstand. She reached over, eyes hooded and sleepy, to see two text message alerts on the screen.

  Both were from her sister.

  A SEXY GUY CAME INTO THE SPA YESTERDAY. HE WAS TANNED, MUSCULAR AND RICH. NATURALLY, HE ASKED ME OUT! JEALOUS?

  Autumn chuckled to herself. At least she wasn’t hiding her bragging under thinly veiled pleasantries these days.

  The next message was one Autumn hadn’t expected.<
br />
  Seriously, I miss you Aut. Please come home for Christmas!

  Although Audrina was older than Autumn by three years, they suffered the same afflictions as most siblings, and sisterly rivalry was par for the course. Most of this was due to Audrina. Autumn couldn’t be bothered to compete with her sister. Audrina enjoyed it. In fact, she thrived on it. She was always vying for their parent’s attention or trying to upstage Autumn in some way.

  Getting as many dates as she could, had always been her go-to ace in the hole.

  After putting her phone back on the nightstand, Autumn’s mind began drifting, like sleepy minds often do.

  She pictured her mother, in her blue and white cotton apron, baking homemade cupcakes and banana bread. Her father, in the garage, waxing his sports car while listening to oldies on the radio. Kristin and her, on the front porch, drinking tea while discussing books. Even memories of Audrina and her bickering made her heart ache.

  She searched her phone for a text message Kristin had sent yesterday.

  Reading your favorite book in class today and thought of you. Miss you A.

  It was official. Autumn was feeling homesick.

  It wasn’t long before Autumn’s wandering thoughts lulled her into a light sleep. She had just dozed off when she was awoken by Rick and her aunt chattering downstairs. Autumn decided she had slept long enough and got up, stretching as she headed to the bathroom.

  She took a shower, brushed her teeth and put on a pair of dark jeans and a pink tunic. As she made her way down the stairs to the kitchen, she overheard Rick’s voice.

  “Mom, did you or dad ever go to the caves outside of town?”

  The question lingered in the air for so long that Autumn thought her aunt hadn’t heard him.

  She realized she had stopped at the foot of the stairs, essentially eavesdropping. She felt guilty but still awaited her Aunt Katherine’s response, unable to move a muscle.

  “Never,” Aunt Katherine said finally. “Terrible stories are told about them though. Your father and I believe them too.”

  “You do?” Rick sounded taken aback. “You and dad believe in,” he paused. “The supernatural?”