Starlight

by Lauren Jade Case

  “I’m not here to harm you,” it said. Its voice was monotone and scratchy like it rarely spoke. Two arms suddenly popped out at its sides. Then a third appeared from its front. “We are here to collect you.”

  “Like Hell.”

  She lunged forwards. This time, she caught the Shadow unawares. It burst apart in a flurry of black ash which rained to the floor, oddly sounding like rice hitting tiles.

  Screaming erupted from the far end of the room. Natalia spun, eyes searching for the source. Under a table, cowering in terror, was Kiva. Natalia’s heart pounded inside her head. At Kiva’s side was her mother, her Human mother, and a Shadow was approaching them both.

  Natalia ran and threw her blade, hoping with all she had that it would land in its target.

  She was already too late.

  The Shadow snatched Kiva’s mother with its third arm, its hand somehow inside her chest. Her face paled and Natalia couldn’t see her chest rising and falling as she was dragged along the ground. Her head collided with the wall at the wrong angle and there was a sickening crack. A shiver ran along Natalia’s spine. The shadow looked at the woman and cast her aside easily. Kiva’s mum laid limp on the floor, her neck bent too far back on itself.

  Kiva screamed and the Shadow turned to her. Natalia’s blade hit it then, thumping hard into the side of its face. Though it hadn’t stopped its first attack, it diverted its second attack away from Kiva.

  “You are the Fairy,” this Shadow spoke at Natalia as it rounded on her.

  “Human,” she lied, her stomach twisting.

  The Shadow attempted to pull out her blade but it seemed to wince. As Natalia looked harder, a few of its “fingers” were now missing, a small pile of ash collecting at its feet. “This blade says otherwise,” it said.

  “I borrowed it.”

  “Fairy,” it judged. Then tilted its head. “But not.”

  The Shadow crumbled to ash, Natalia’s blade clattering to the floor.

  Natalia lept over it all. Kiva hands covered her ears, her sodden eyes, red and blotchy, fixated on her mother’s broken body. Natalia knelt in front of her and Kiva dropped launched into her arms, sobbing hysterically.

  Before Natalia could speak, she was torn away.

  Her limbs failed in their attempt to stop herself as Kiva screamed again, clearly able to see the attacker Natalia couldn’t. She called on her blade as she passed it, a horrible feeling arising in her stomach. A lump formed in her throat and then in the next breath it felt like something was restricting her airways.

  She tilted her head back and saw a Shadow had her by the scruff of her t-shirt and was dragging her, with extreme force and strength that it didn’t seem like it should’ve possessed, across the café floor.

  “We are here to get you,” it said, noticing her watching.

  Keep it distracted. Natalia swallowed the lump and went to stab at it but it was out of reach. She lowered her arms. “If I’m that important, why haven’t you come before?”

  “You are the Fairy.”

  “There are plenty of others.”

  “Not like you. We didn’t know where you were. You were lost.”

  Daylight casted itself upon Natalia. For a moment, she couldn’t see, and wanted to call out for anyone who could hear. Finally, when her vision cleared, she noticed she was outside. Where is everyone? Have they escaped? Where’s Kiva? Her body was covered in sweat and her stomach was knotted. The scar on her forearm twinged, as did her ankle, as if the wounds had been re-opened.

  This time, Natalia didn’t care about consequences. She slashed her blade at the Shadow but cut off the fabric of her t-shirt instead. It was good enough.

  Natalia clambered to her feet and lashed at the Shadow before it had the chance to face her. Black ash stuck to her face and hair as it incinerated. She spat it out of her mouth, and headed towards the café door, towards Kiva.

  She made it a few paces before stopping dead at the sight of the reflection in the one remaining glass window of the shop’s front. Three things flared inside of her; anger, revulsion, and horror.

  A Calefaction had Peri’s arm clamped in its jaws and was beginning to drag her away.

  16

  Starlight

  Save the girl who was cowering alone?

  Save the pregnant woman who was being dragged by her arm?

  Natalia’s feet moved.

  The café was a disaster. Broken glass was strewn across the scratched floor. Tables were overturned, some with broken legs. Chairs were bent or snapped. There were even a few dents in the walls and the main counter had a saggy middle as if something had been thrown into it.

  But Natalia kept searching; she had no time to waste.

  She turned everything over; tables, chairs, even a few fallen ceiling tiles in case she missed something. The more she rummaged, the more she split – not seeing anything felt good, it meant there was hope, but also finding nothing left the air open.

  Natalia heaved another table out of the way, and let out a cry of relief when she saw Kiva huddled in the corner. She rushed to the girl half bent over her mother’s dead body. Noah was at her side, an arm slung over her shoulder, holding her to him as she wept.

  Natalia crept to their side, her lungs struggling to grasp onto air, but her heart finally at rest at finding them both. She knelt down in front of them. “We’ll burn her,” she promised. The Creature custom was to burn their dead so their ashes would be set free and their souls could be sent to guard Heaven’s gates.

  “In Atlantis,” Kiva decided, her voice wobbling.

  “Yes,” Natalia agreed.

  Kiva’s eyes found Natalia’s, reflecting back the gorgeous light of the sun. The connection was broken when Natalia remembered her friend still needed saving. “Noah?” He turned, his own eyes wet with tears. “I have to go after Peri,” she told him, already letting go. “Stay here. It seems to be safe in this area now. Hide in the bathroom. Do whatever you can to stay safe.”

  She kissed Noah’s forehead slowly, finding her own eyes stinging. She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye and hoped this wouldn’t be their final goodbye.

  With a part of her heart left behind, she ran away.

  At least two people she cared for were safe. Now she had to find the others.

  If these were the choices a Creature had to make in order to follow their purpose, Natalia didn’t know if she wanted to make them. The only reason she’d be able to make a call this time was because wherever Peri was, Archie was bound to be, meaning she already had some kind of support. For Kiva, there had been none. But if she was forced to choose again, to split her heart another time, could she?

  As she’d told Noah, the area was clear. No signs of life bustled around, which was odd for a usually busy area. Main Street nearly always thrummed. Now, even the birds were silent.

  Natalia ran past houses and down streets, her lungs and throat burning. She could see people behind the windows, and when they caught sight of her, they shut the curtains or visibly held up knives that reflected light back at her. She understood and dropped her head. All they could see now was danger, not help. She urged herself on.

  Roaring came from up ahead and Natalia knew she was on the right track. She neared Venderly hotel, barely a road away from Opal House. The smell of burning rubber stuck to the insides of her nostrils first, her brain trying to comprehend what she was seeing.

  A Calefaction thrashed its head, something pale dangling from its mouth. Was that Peri? Was she dead too? Natalia’s heart threatened to stop, but she shook her head.

  No, she thought. I won’t believe it. I refuse!

  The hotel itself was burning, fire cracking on the top floor. All the magic in the world couldn’t cover this up now, could it? Surely too many had eyes seen too much already.

  A Shadow glided across the street and Natalia dived behind a car. If these Monsters were intelligent enough to talk, then they could spot her, even in a crowd, and right now there was no cro
wd. She was solitary.

  Natalia needed a way out. She spotted her best chance to her right and bent her body awkwardly, running in that crouched position; it was easier said than done, and within seconds the strain had her forehead breaking out in a sweat. But she made it round the other side of another building, where she slammed her back to the wall and used a large dumpster to hide her body.

  The sound of a hiccup startled her. She drew her blade and aimed it, and leapt round the dumpster. Arms surrounded her swiftly, like a bird flying into a waiting net, and fear gripped her harder. However, it subsided as the familiar scent of a cold night came next. A kiss was planted to the top of her head.

  Jasper forced them behind the dumpster again, shrinking to their knees to use it as a shield. “I came as soon as I heard,” he said, touching her face gently. “But when I didn’t see you—”

  “Where’s Peri?” she cut him off. She didn’t care about herself.

  “I… I haven’t seen her.”

  “They…” Natalia’s breathing became rapid and she felt those tears rise a second time. “They… they attacked the café. Katherine called them Shadows? And there’s a Calefaction. It had Peri between its teeth. And I had to choose. Peri might have Archie, but Noah and Kiva were defenceless.”

  “The Werewolf girl from Atlantis?”

  “Her mother’s dead and her father’s missing.” The weight crushed Natalia suddenly, burying her under invisible stone. “Noah’s with her. They’re safe. But Peri… we need to get to Peri. Now!”

  She sprung up, calling her blade, and raced round the side of the building; a muttered “bollocks” told her Jasper would be following. Hiding would do neither of them good. Plus, it backed them into a corner; if they were going to be spotted, it would be better if it happened in an area they could control, in an open space where there was options, not hiding behind trash with their backs against the wall where they couldn’t fight.

  Natalia darted to a strewn car, and realised it had crashed there. She peeped over the bonnet as Jasper skidded to a halt beside her.

  Though the fire in the hotel seemed to be dwindling, Shadows, too many Shadows, were pacing about the front doors like soldiers waiting for orders. Whatever the Calefaction had been chewing, it wasn’t anymore, and raised its back leg.

  Huddled together, on the other side of the beast and surrounded by a ring of Shadows, was Peri and Archie.

  “Shit,” Natalia cursed. “I can’t tell if they’re hurt.” She turned to Jasper, and gasped.

  A Shadow had its hand wrapped around Jasper’s throat and was grinning down at her.

  Anger coursed throughout her body like an out of control inferno. She gritted her teeth, her eyebrows knitting together, before she pushed off the ground and dove for them.

  The weight of her body knocked Jasper free of the Shadow’s grasp. He fell with a thud and she jumped over him, throwing a collection of her dust at the Shadow. It landed. The Monster jolted and fizzed, a smell like sizzling bacon wafting towards her, before it burst apart. She dropped to her knees and turned to Jasper, shaking her head above him.

  Her dust was sniffed up his nose and sprinkled into his eyes. He sat up spluttering like he’d nearly drowned. His eyes were red, a somehow beautiful backdrop for the green irises. His dark hair was a wild mess and swept aside, a single ringlet touching on his forehead, and his cheeks were bright pink, but at least there was colour in them.

  Nothing else immediately came rushing at them and Natalia straightened.

  Jasper touched his neck and then pulled his hand away, looking at how it glittered. “Your dust?”

  “Yes,” she managed.

  He rubbed the bronze into his face more. “To Creatures, if Shadow’s go see-through, you can pass through them, which is poisonous. Your dust stops the poison, and—”

  She kissed him. The tang of bacon – which she’d now been put off for life – mixed with his sweet scent. Using her dust had been a spur of the moment thing, nothing taught. Pulling back, she grinned. The kiss had settled part of her and saw that Jasper seemed to be thinking the same; his eyes were nearly all green and white, and they were flicking between her eyes and lips.

  Natalia went to kiss him again and stopped midway. Peri and Archie were still trapped. There was a time and place, and this wasn’t it. As if remembering their danger, guilt wormed through her stomach. This was her fault. If she’d just told someone her fears, her worries, and what the Geminis had said, that they wanted her, they might have been better prepared for this attack. But who trusted what Monsters had to say? The problem was, she knew they hadn’t been lying; she just hadn’t been willing to admit it, even to herself.

  Natalia looked to Jasper desperately. “Can you jump us out?”

  He closed his eyes and then opened them a breath later. “I can’t sense a magical guard or barrier that’d stop it,” he said.

  “If there isn’t one,” Natalia peeped over the car, “why hasn’t Archie jumped out?”

  “There might be something we cannot see.”

  Someone, Natalia mentally corrected. Whoever was after her, if they’d gone through this much trouble already, they were bound to be here themselves. Otherwise, what would be the point?

  “So we might have a fight the second we drop in?” she asked.

  “We will no matter what with all those Shadows. It just might get worse.”

  “Worse, we can handle. As long as it’s not impossible, we stand a chance.” She tried sounding optimistic but it came out flat.

  Jasper swiftly kissed her cheek and said, “I wasn’t planning on having a lazy day anyway.”

  He closed his eyes again; lines grew along his forehead as he started muttering words. A humming gradually built until Natalia felt the crescendo inside her skull. She grabbed Jasper’s shoulders and peered over the car, just as four Shadows turned in their direction. She bobbed down and went to urge Jasper on when pink light spread around them, sucking them in.

  Natalia was thrown. She landed in a tucked roll, only stopping when her body hit something. Groaning, feeling a hand on her chest, she looked up.

  They’d both landed below the Calefaction.

  Natalia and Jasper darted apart. How had they landed so far from their targets? She turned to see Peri and Archie, the latter using his body as her shield, but they were still too far. Either Jasper has misjudged his magic or he’d misjudged what was protecting them.

  Grabbing for her blade, she realised it was gone; it must’ve come loose in the transition. She called it and took what was closest to be her weapon as she clambered to her feet, looking for Jasper. He stood a few paces away, a horrified pale look upon his face. Natalia didn’t understand until she looked down at what he was actually staring at.

  In her hands was a bloodied arm. One that had no hand.

  Natalia threw it, holding in a scream. It landed by the Calefaction’s head and it snatched it up. Had that been what she’d seen it with before? Was that—

  Jasper rushed forwards and Natalia, gagging, had no choice but to follow. They dived back under the Calefaction. Natalia called for her blade but again it didn’t come.

  As they made it to the other side, four Shadows came to meet them. The ground vibrated when the Calefaction stomped its feet, and the Shadows looked at their companion as if unnerved by it.

  “We are here for the Fairy,” one Shadow said.

  “Don’t think so,” Jasper argued. He drew a silver long sword off his back; Natalia hadn’t noticed it before.

  The Shadows ignored him and advanced. The Calefaction stomped its feet again, sending the Shadows scattering, and Natalia saw a break.

  She pushed through them, careful not to touch, and landed on the other side. Throwing her hands in an arch, dust rained from her. She flashed Jasper a brief look, and he gave a curt nod, then ran, four Shadow in tow.

  The shield closed. The bronze shimmered and kept Natalia, Archie, and Peri protected inside. As if wanting to test it, the Calefaction
roared and spat fire. Natalia covered her head and waited to be burned alive, to feel her flesh melt away from her bones. Her heart hammered painfully as if this would be its last rhythm.

  But the song carried playing.

  Knowing her shield was safe when there came no pain, she untangled herself, and turned to the couple.

  Archie’s face was pale and wet with tears. Silent sobs escaped his mouth, but he was otherwise unharmed. Peri was not. Her entire right arm had been ripped off, though thankfully the shoulder joint wasn’t exposed. The teeth marks around her shoulder were clearly from where the beast had tried sealing the best grip, and had then bitten straight through the flesh, taking the upper arm bone clear out of its socket too. Deep red blood poured from the wound. Her remaining arm was tucked against her stomach, her entire body hunched in a sweaty, shaking ball of shock and pain.

  Natalia fixed her eyes on Archie. “Can you jump?” He said nothing, his eyes vacant. She clicked his fingers several times and that got his attention. “Can you jump out of here?”

  “From this shield?” he asked, and Natalia nodded. He looked at the bronze shield with contemplative wonder. “I think so.”

  “Get her to Gold.”

  Peri began to hyperventilate, and then screamed. She was losing blood, her baby was probably hurting, her mind would be wakening from its shock by now, and the pain spreading throughout her body would be deadly. Natalia shook her head at Archie when he went to open his mouth; they couldn’t waste time, she could read the thanks on his face at being giving the chance to save his love, and hopefully his baby.

  They collapsed into a vision of green.

  Alone again, Natalia stood, shuffling from the blood-stained ground.

  Bile rose in the back of her throat until she gagged. She’d looked at Jasper before casting the shield, and he’d nodded, telling her that he understood and agreed to what she’d been about to do, that it was best to save what could be made safe. That had left him to fend off the Monsters. Once again, she’d had to choose between two impossible things – which life to save, and in that moment, Peri’s had been more desperate. Where was he now?