The Fallen Stars (A Star Child Novel)

by Stephanie Keyes

  My mother…What if I never see her again?

  I burst into tears, hating myself for crying right then at a time when I should have been a pillar of strength, an example for the mortals.

  Father took my hands in his own large ones and led me into the center of the room. There he spoke one simple word: faoiseamh.

  The powers that I had been born with were simple: I could control the elements and do some other remarkable things, like flying. What would happen when those powers left me?

  I heard Father’s voice in my head, which seemed to be for me alone. I doubted the others could hear. Daughter of Air, of the wind that lifts the trees, of the breath that fills our lungs, of the air that breathes life to the world. Your bond to Air, we sever.

  “Air, I release thee,” Father said.

  Memories surrounded me. Flying through the air, guiding the wind from places where it caused harm, filling Kellen’s lungs with air when he’d been near death at Dillion’s in Faerie…No!

  The fresh air encircled us, lifting my hair, ruffling my clothes, like a friend. No! Not Air. My friend, you would leave me? Though I’d chosen this, a single tear trailed down my cheek.

  As quickly as Air joined us, it dissipated, leaving us once again in the quiet of the room. I couldn’t have moved from my position with my father if I’d wanted to, so I remained locked in place.

  Father’s voice returned to my head. Daughter of Fire, of the heat that warms our hearths, of the warmth that sustains our lives, of the passion that fuels our love. Your bond to Fire, we sever.

  Fire burst into life in the small hearth in one corner of the room. For the briefest of moments, too much heat filled the space, too much to take. The dining room had become a furnace that would bake us alive. Then, as suddenly as it heated up the warmth began to subside.

  Goodbye to you too, friend.

  “Fire, I release thee,” Father continued.

  Reminders of my time with Fire came to me: calming a fire that had gotten out of control, creating fire for a family that didn’t have one, destroying Arawn’s spectral dogs with the power of fire and saving Kellen in the process.

  Then the glorious Fire left too, and the memory of it clung to the room, manifested in the form of the smoking ashes.

  Father’s voice returned to my head again. Are you okay? His thought came across, unheard by anyone else in the room.

  Father, I’m afraid, I thought.

  I will always love you, Calienta. You will never be alone, remember that.

  He returned to the ceremony then. Daughter of Earth, of the dirt that feeds our trees, of the ground beneath our feet, of the soil that grows our sustenance. Your bond to Earth, we sever.

  The room filled with the scent of a spring meadow and damp earth, and I began to cry again. I had an affinity for Earth and I would miss her. She’d always helped me to remember Ireland, to remember home. Now, only my mind could provide those memories. I wrapped my arms around myself, like an embrace, trying to hold them close.

  “Earth, I release thee,” Lugh said.

  Memories of dancing on a hillside, of standing on the sea cliff in the glorious tall grass, creating a moat around Kellen’s home to protect him…The scent of the earth left us then, to be replaced by a cold, musty smell.

  “Don’t interfere, Kellen. She’s not in any physical pain,” Lugh said.

  Kellen stood nearby, I sensed, but I couldn’t look at him. I knew that I would see pain on his face, his worry for me. I needed to keep my pride intact.

  My father squeezed my hand as he addressed the final element. Daughter of Water, of the element that grows the fields, of the rain that breaks from the skies, of the force of all things in life. Your bond to Water, we sever.

  Water startled me, bursting through a window, flooding out of the chimney, and flowing into the room. Gooseflesh rose on my arms as it swirled around me; a whirlpool formed that gradually seemed to be building in strength.

  This is it, my daughter, came Father’s words in my head again.

  How will I go on without them? I referred to the elements.

  They will always be with you in spirit, but you will receive a distinctive gift from the element that holds you closest to heart. It will only come in the time of your greatest need. Only time will tell which one.

  Then Father’s quiet thoughts were silenced as he spoke again to the room. His next words subdued Water. “Water, I release thee.”

  My memories of Water danced through my head—splashing in a stream, guiding the rain to the parched Earth, guiding the ocean waves away from Kellen, as he slept in the cove, so that they wouldn’t drown him…

  After a time, Water began to slow, to lose power. Eventually, the water around me seemed to evaporate, and as the last remnants of it left the building, so did my immortality.

  The pain shifted from emotional to physical as my immortal life force left me, and I held myself, rocking forward and back. My skin had been ripped open and parts of me simply taken, as though I’d been cut in quarters. Yet I didn’t bleed, couldn’t speak, couldn’t move or cry out.

  Four luminous golden strings seemed to be pulled out of me. They levitated in the air in front of me. My immortal life force. The shimmering light left me and broke apart, flitting out of the building through the windows and doors and up the chimney. And then it all disappeared. All of the light, the same light that lit the stars in the sky, had gone back to the heavens.

  The room held the reverence of a tomb. I couldn’t speak to anyone. No one understood what I’d lost, what I’d just given up. Not even my father, for he’d always been an immortal. In the distance, bells rang, but I didn’t know why.

  “My family still can’t see or hear us, but the mortal security guards can,” my father said.

  I couldn’t drum up the energy to respond to him, but then I heard the voice of my love. “Calienta?” he said. His voice sounded scratchy, as if it belonged to someone else.

  I opened my eyes for a second and met Kellen’s gaze. A million thoughts competed for attention as my world crashed down around me and the blackness took me. My immortal life, all that I had known, had ended.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  KELLEN—THE GREAT ESCAPE

  Before Calienta could hit the hard floor, Lugh caught her, lowering her to the ground.

  Kneeling to her side immediately, I cradled her head in my hand. “Calienta.” I hadn’t realized that she could be hurt, could be weakened by the ceremony, but now that seemed naïve.

  A pair of feet stopped in front of me and I looked up into Alistair’s eyes. “Kellen…?” he said.

  Unexpected tears burned the backs of my eyes. They were acid, blinding me. “I’ll talk to you as soon as I can. I’ll call you,” I choked out.

  Alistair’s entire expression changed. “Kellen, I’m coming with you, do you understand? I never had a relationship with your father, Stephen, though God knows I tried. I don’t want to lose you too.”

  My eyes burned behind their sockets as tears continued to build up, but I blinked them away. In my life, there’d been so little love. I’d experienced it only in small pockets of time, after which I’d stored the memories away like a miser.

  “Thanks,” I said, swallowing. “But it’s too dangerous. I’ve been through this sort of thing before. You haven’t.”

  Alistair stared at me for a moment, appearing torn between his need to be a grandparent and his common sense—though perhaps both arguments were the same.

  “You have to trust me on this. You do trust me, Alistair?”

  Finally, Alistair nodded his agreement. He looked old again, in that moment. Worry pressed down on me at the thought of leaving him alone.

  “You should call Percy and James. Just to check in,” I said. At least his sons lived close to Alistair’s London residence and could visit him, even if I couldn’t.

  Alistair sighed. “Of course,” he said..

  Lugh interrupted us. “I’m going to send you home now, Alistair. You s
hould be safe there. I’m sure their quarrel is not with you.”

  “Thank you,” Alistair said.

  “Is this going to hurt me?”

  “Only if you land on your backside,” Lugh said with a chuckle. “Safe travels.”

  “Thank you,” Alistair said, shaking Lugh’s hand.

  Lugh touched Alistair lightly, and in a flash he’d been sent home.

  The sound of barking dogs pierced the night air. Their cries sounded closer with every second that passed.

  A stray tear forced its way out as I stared for a heartbeat at the empty space that Alistair had left behind. What if I never see him again? Roughly, I dismissed the idea, wiping at my eyes.

  Lugh walked over to Gabe then the pair of them held a whispered conversation for a moment, heads bowed. Gabe nodded and pulled out a notebook and pen. Just as quickly, Lugh placed a hand on top of the notebook and Gabe put it back in his jacket pocket. Gabe always had to write everything down otherwise he’d forget it. Hopefully, whatever information Lugh shared with him had enough importance that it would be committed to his long-term memory.

  Looking at the sleeping Calienta, I said, “Baby, please be all right. I love you.” I stroked her cheek as she slept.

  The sound of Lugh’s voice drew my attention back to him. “This is everything that you’ll need,” Lugh said to Gabe. “Don’t lose that piece of paper. It’s the most important.”

  I looked up again in time to see Lugh hand Gabe several envelopes that appeared as if they’d just been picked up at an average office supply store.

  “Got it,” Gabe said, his eyes meeting mine briefly before he looked away.

  Lugh walked over and bent down, touching my arm. “You need to take her and get out. I can transport you three out of here, but you’ll need to take things from there.” Lugh nodded in Gabe’s direction. “Gabe is in charge.”

  Gabe stood up straighter. He appeared to be taking his assignment seriously.

  Turning to face Calienta, Gabe, and myself, Lugh said, “Take care. All of you.”

  Where did I begin? “Lugh—” I looked up into the face of my almost father-in-law. He’d been more of a father to me than Stephen, my bastard biological father, ever had.

  Lugh finished my sentence for me. “If you hurt her, you answer to me,” he said in a cutting tone of voice, but then he softened the warning by touching my arm again.

  Clearing my throat, I swallowed. “Good enough.”

  Gabe held out his arms. “Do you want to carry her or should I?” He stood there, prepared to carry Calienta anywhere, just because I needed him to.

  “That won’t be necessary,” Lugh said, kneeling down and touching his hand to Calienta’s forehead. Her skin, which had looked grey and pale, glowed a warm golden color again under his hand. When Lugh stood back, she opened her eyes.

  Calienta turned to me with vacant eyes. After a moment she said, “Kellen?” in the weak voice of someone getting over the flu.

  “You’re safe, love. Mortal, but safe,” I said. Her skin felt so much colder now, so different from the heat that had emanated from it before.

  “Oh.” Then she seemed to come to herself. Taking my hand, she stood up.

  A ferocious pounding started on the door, accompanied by the sound of barking dogs. The jingling of keys pricked at my ears. The resonance caused by the security guards reverberated throughout the room.

  “Goodbye, Lugh,” I said. Lugh nodded in my direction. Wrapping my arm firmly around Calienta, I kissed her head. “I love you.”

  Calienta looked at Lugh and whispered, “Goodbye, Father.”

  Those were the last words that I heard as Lugh beamed us from the castle grounds. Our life as fugitives had begun. I could only hope that we’d be able to stop running one day.

  ***

  Before I could blink, we stood in a hallway that reminded me of the cafeteria at my old boarding school. The stark white walls blended into tiles, much like those at the subway station back home, which ran from the middle of the wall down to the floor. Closer inspection showed the walls were badly marked, possibly left over from the times they had been struck before, perhaps with a utility cart.

  Scuffmarks ran across the borderline clean floor. Moving my feet in an effort to get a better look, I realized that I’d been beamed onto a piece of gum. Really? My lip curled as I tried to get the lime green gum off the bottom of my shoe. I used the tiles as leverage to scrape most of it off. Gross.

  Large swinging double doors dominated both ends of the hallway. The doors to my left hung dirty, white, and windowless, with a sort of kick plate at the bottom that looked beat up. The other doors matched, but had windows. Through them, I could see workers moving behind the glass, though I couldn’t tell what they were doing.

  “Where are we?” Gabe looked down the hallway.

  Then I smelled the food and my stomach rumbled. “A food court or a cafeteria, I think. Where, I’m not sure.” When was the last time we’d eaten anything?

  Calienta fidgeted on the spot. “Maybe we should just stay here.” Her stomach grumbled and her eyes widened as she looked at me. If our situation had been different, I would have laughed out loud.

  “Are you hungry?” I asked.

  She continued to fidget. “Maybe…I don’t know.”

  A man burst through the door and halted. The door continued to swing behind him while stood in a chef’s outfit: a white hat, white shirt, apron, and black-and-white-checked pants, and took the three of us in. This stranger appeared to be a couple of inches taller than Gabe. With his hands on his hips, he made an intimidating presence.

  He spat out his words. “Who are y’all? Are y’all the help that they sent over to me from downtown?” The y’all seemed out of place, as the cook spoke with a distinct British accent. I couldn’t place the location, but I’d never studied language origins, either.

  “Um…” I began.

  “We just made a wrong turn,” Gabe offered. “We got lost.”

  The man scowled. “Lost, huh? Well, y’all better get out of here. I’m calling security if y’all don’t.”

  Playing along with Gabe’s approach seemed like the best bet. Leaning forward, I spoke up. “Can you show us the way?”

  The man rolled his eyes as if I’d just asked him to cook a five-course meal for the three of us. “Fine. Come on, out you go. Follow me,” he said.

  Without a word, we all followed him out through the doors and into a food court.

  “Now get out of here before you get in trouble.” He stared us down, apparently to emphasize his words, before turning and walking back in the direction from which we’d come.

  Panning the area, I looked for some sign or marking that would tell us where we were. We’d been set down in the middle of chaos, which made that easier said than done. Everywhere, people bustled about with trays. Many of the shops looked as though they were cleaning up or winding down for the day. Grates were slid into place. We stood in the middle of it all, trying to sort things out, probably looking like a trio of lost schoolchildren.

  After about a minute of this, I realized that people stared at us. We were still in our wedding clothes, with Calienta in her gown. She’d narrowly avoided having to wear one of those hideously large monstrosities that many brides seemed to prefer, but that didn’t prevent her from sticking out in a crowd now.

  I hissed under my breath to Gabe, “We need to get Calienta out of this dress, otherwise forget going in disguise.”

  Gabe nodded but didn’t say anything as he shot furtive glances around the area in which we stood.

  Recognition hit me as I panned the area. I’d been in that exact spot before. “I know where we are. Heathrow Airport, London.” I’d flown in and out of Heathrow on my trip to and from boarding school. Great. It looked like we’d be flying today on top of everything else.

  Did Lugh think that the C.O.D. wouldn’t know how to find the airport?

  CHAPTER SIX

  CALIENTA—OVERWHELMED


  Gabriel, Kellen, and I stood in the middle of the airport food area surrounded by mortals. There were so many sounds and smells, not all of them pleasant. Kellen held my hand, but my head spun from the intensity of it all.

  “There’s a Starbucks!” Gabe’s eyes shone with tears as he displayed quite a bit of emotion.

  I held onto Kellen. So many important words that I would need to learn. How would I ever understand the mortal language? “What’s a Starbucks?” I asked Kellen.

  Kellen ignored my question, which we’d have to discuss when we were alone. Unacceptable. Instead, he turned to Gabe. “We’ll get coffee later. Gabe, what’s in the package that Lugh gave you?”

  Gabe glared at Kellen again, all enthusiasm at finding the star place apparently forgotten. That surprised me. There was something there…something between Gabe and Kellen that hadn’t been there before.

  “I was just going to look,” Gabe said, as if in defense. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out the envelopes and ripped them open. An announcement began, a boarding call for someplace called Bos-ton.

  Gabe’s head snapped up after he read the papers. “Kellen, we don’t have time to go shopping for Calienta. We have to get on that plane to Boston…”

  I’d stopped listening, as I found myself drawn to the place that Gabe had gotten excited about. Maybe it was because it had the word star in the name, but this place seemed magickal. I wanted to go inside.

  Then Kellen came and took my arm, leading me back to where Gabe stood. I frowned at him. “But the lights are so pretty, and it smells nice.”

  “Babe, we have to go. Now. Okay?” he said. I could tell he fought not to laugh at me.

  How dare he treat me like a wondering child! Yet I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to him. As I looked around, all I could see were people, lights, and movement. If it had been left up to me, I would have had no idea how to navigate my way through this.

  Thank goodness I trusted Kellen and Gabriel implicitly. They would help me. And how would I help them, now that I had no powers? The voice became a whispering menace in my mind as Kellen took my hand.