by S A McClure
Starseeker
The Valka Chronicles Book 2
S.A. McClure
Starseeker
The Valka Chronicles Book 2
Written by S.A. McClure
Edited by Rainy Kaye
Cover Design by Jennifer Munswami of J.M. Rising Horse Creations
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Starseeker © August 2019 by S.A. McClure.
All Rights Reserved.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Chapter One
Iris
“Iris.”
The wind carried the whisper of her name, drawing her from her thoughts. The sound of his voice sent a shiver of warmth down her spine. She whirled around, searching the woods for Liam, dreading that it had just been a figment of her imagination.
Silver-blue eyes gleamed from the shadows. Leaves rustled as his form separated from the darkness and into glittering moonlight. His skin undulated with currents of lightning as he stared at her. His form flickered like dying candlelight. Iris stretched out a hand to take his, but her fingers passed through him.
“Find me.”
His tone was plaintive. There was a hint of pain there that tore at her heart.
It had been months since he’d chosen to follow Grandmother. Months since she’d heard his voice. Months since she’d held him.
But he wasn’t really there.
He was just an apparition of the man she loved. Night after night, she waited for him. She willed him to return to the place they’d first met, once upon a dream. He never had.
Until now.
“Find me,” he whispered again.
His outline glittered like midnight onyx. The edges of him began to disappear.
“Where are you?” she cried. Claws grappled with her heart, squeezing the breath from her. She longed to touch his face, to feel the warmth of his hand in hers. “Tell me where to find you,” she whispered into the night.
He smiled at her, his features flickering as if he were struggling to stay in the dreamworld.
“You promised you’d always find me,” he said.
She shook her head. “That was a long time ago, Liam. I waited for you for months. I begged the Creators to let me see you again.” Her voice trembled as she spoke, and she could barely hear her thoughts over the pounding of her heart. “You never came.”
She peered into his eyes. He’d betrayed her. Broken her. Left her to die. In her loneliest moments, she hated him. But now, as he met her gaze, she couldn’t force herself to let go of the love she felt for him. It was a deep-seated pit in the bottom of her heart. Hard. Unyielding. Stuck.
She shook her head.
A voice whispered in the recesses of her mind. He hadn’t even glanced at her when he’d left with Grandmother Rel. She’d nearly died from the banshee’s attack and he just’ left her there to die.
“I don’t have much time,” Liam murmured. His voice was like velvet.
His face faded into the shadows. She reached out to him, willing him to stay just a little bit longer. There was a shimmer to the air as the outline of his face reemerged.
He jolted, as if being struck from behind. His eyes rolled to the back of his head before he slumped forward. And then, he was gone, as if he had never been there at all.
She swiped her hands through the space he’d just been occupying. She knew it was futile.
Sighing, she followed the thread she’d left for herself back to the real world. Her eyes fluttered open as she woke from her dream.
She leapt from her bed and stretched. With her nights spent prowling the dreamworld and her days spent training with her sister, she had barely any time to think about Liam.
At least, that’s the lie she told herself. She still thought about him every moment of every day. A part of her knew he would always be a part of her life. It didn’t matter how many times he left her or let her down. She was drawn to him. He was like the drug she needed to keep surviving.
And now, he was asking for her help.
She threw on her tunic draped over the chair in the corner, never mind that it was crusted in sweat from her previous swordplay with Micah. She pulled on a pair of leather pants she found wadded in the bottom of her closet, and then pulled open her door and rushed down the corridor.
When she and her comrades had first arrived at the manor house, it had been a run-down, boarded up mess. It’d taken a week just to clean the main floor enough to be habitable by the fifteen of them. Since then, they’d expanded into the east and west wings along with the second floor. She wasn’t sure how the house had been overlooked for as long as it apparently had been. Although it was hidden between mountain peaks and surrounded by forest, she would have thought that someone would have known about it. Despite its dilapidated appearance, hints of grandeur gleamed through the dust and grime. She could envision its history.
Micah was exactly where she’d anticipated. The manor gardens had been overrun by wild flowers and weeds when they’d arrived. He had spent hours in the garden, pruning, weeding, and replanting. They’d found seeds stockpiled in one of the storage rooms along with gloves and other gardening tools. It was too soon to tell if the little seedlings would survive what remained of the colder spring months, though. Dramadoon was known for its bitterly cold and lengthy winters. He contended that doing the work was the first step. What came next was to believe in the future they hoped to build.
She was, however, taken aback at finding her sister in the garden with him. That was one of the things that had changed for the better since they’d left Balkeen’s lair. Although Emma still hadn’t recovered all her memories from the days they’d spent fighting for their lives against the monsters the Silver Skull coven had sent to kill them, she’d started to trust Micah. Iris knew he loved Emma more than anything. Time and time again, he’d fought to save her. It was ignorance that drove her sister to distrust him. A half-smile crested her lips as she regarded them together. Emma had even invited him to go hunting with her a few times. It wasn’t much, but it was progress.
A loud snicking cut through the air as Micah snapped a pair of sheers shut. Emma sat on a bench, sharpening a set of daggers. Sparks flew from the blade as she ground the stone against it.
“What’s wrong?” Micah didn’t look up from the bush he was pruning as he spoke.
“What makes you think there’s something wrong?” Iris asked as she picked up one of Emma’s daggers. She ran her thumb over its edge. Blood dotted her skin and she hissed as she dropped the blade to the ground.
“For starters, you never come out here unless there’s something wrong,” Micah said, oblivious to the fact that she’d just cut herself.
Iris shared a look with her sister, wh
o just shrugged as if to say, ‘he’s right, you know.’
Iris rolled her eyes.
“I saw Liam tonight,” she said.
Micah snapped the pruners shut and cleared his throat. He peeked around the bush. Dirt was smeared across his forehead and there were damp splotches on his shirt. Lines creased his face. Iris knew they mirrored the lines on her own.
He leaned against the tree, crossing his arms over his chest. The muscles in his jaw clenched and unclenched as he waited for her to say more.
She glanced at her sister. Emma stared back at her, face pale. Only she had witnessed the nights Iris had spent restless, searching for Liam in the dreamworld. Only she knew how desperately Iris wanted to believe there had been some other explanation for why he’d chosen Grandmother over her. She hadn’t been their real grandmother, just a witch who had raised them, lied to them, and then left them both for dead. Gooseflesh coated Iris’s flesh. She wrapped her arms around her body and shivered.
“He asked me to find him.” She chewed on her bottom lip as she considered her next words carefully. “There was something wrong with him. He kept flickering, as if there was something—or someone—stopping him from fully entering the dreamworld. He asked me to save him.”
She looked between her sister and Micah, silently begging them to understand her need. She could see in Micah’s expression that he knew what she was about to ask.
“You have to try,” he said.
She turned her whole body around so that she was facing her sister.
“There’s no other option,” Emma continued. “You love him. He’s lost, but he wants to be found.” She shrugged. “Honestly, Iris, that’s all you really have to know. You don’t need our permission to go.”
For the first time in months, Iris felt the tension begin to melt away from her shoulders. She hadn’t wanted to admit it, especially to herself, but from the moment Liam had left with Grandmother, she’d wanted to seek him out. She’d wanted to find him. To let him know that he could still come back to her when he was ready.
She’d forced herself to stay busy with the day-to-day tasks of setting up their new home. She’d pushed herself to become a leader within their small family. And she’d risen up.
But she couldn’t let his cry for help go unanswered. She couldn’t abandon him, even though she had the terrible fear that he would break her heart even further.
“This is the closest contact with him since he vanished with Myrella,” Micah said. “This could be your only chance to find him.”
She met Micah’s gaze. They had been friends—him and Liam. She should have known that he would want her to find him.
He frowned at his hands, his lips puckered into a disenchanted expression. “But I don’t think you should go alone.”
“Nor do I,” Emma chimed in. “Which is why I’m going with you.”
Iris opened her mouth to protest, but Emma simply laid her fingers over her lips, stilling the questions bubbling there.
“No,” she said, “I don’t want to hear any complaining from you. I’m going with you and that’s final.”
Iris sighed. Her sister was as stubborn as a mule on a hot summer day.
“Fine. But if you get in my way—even for just a moment—know that I’ll leave you behind.” The moment she said it, she knew it wasn’t true. She could never abandon her sister. She was just frustrated that at the situation in which they found themselves. She wanted to protect the humans she’d freed from their curses. She wanted to grow her abilities. She wanted to give Emma time to fully recover from her near-death experience. But those things conflicted with her need to find Liam.
Micah leaned forward and placed his hand on Iris’s shoulder. He held her gaze for a moment. There was so much understanding and acceptance in his expression.
“We won’t give you a reason to leave us behind,” he said.
Iris nodded. It still felt strange having someone share her burdens who wasn’t Emma. Her throat bobbed as he bowed his head at her.
Emma set aside her tools and rose from the bench. She stepped forward and wrapped her arm around Iris’s middle. She hugged her tight and pressed her brow against Iris’s.
“I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I can promise you this: we will find him,” she said.
“Even if it takes us a lifetime to do so,” Micah agreed.
Iris stood in silence with them, wrapped in the warmth of her friend and her sister. She knew it was unlikely that they would return without new scars to add to their already twisted souls and bodies. Liam and Micah had been friends for centuries and Emma would do anything to make her happy.
All the fires they’d been through had forged them into warriors. As long as they remained together, they could face down any obstacle. They could save Liam.
She drew them in close to her. Inhaled in their scents. Felt the warm, damp air of their breath puff against her skin. She smiled. They were a family.
Emma pulled away from her side. Her face was flushed and there was silver in her pupils. Her eyes glazed over and she seemed to peer beyond Iris altogether. She swayed.
“What is it?” Iris asked, reaching for her. “What’s wrong?”
Emma’s jaw tightened. She stared straight ahead. Her long, auburn hair fluttered in the wind that swept by them with the promise of spring.
Micah cupped Emma’s cheeks, caressing her skin with his thumb.
He bent towards her, until their noses were nearly touching. “Emma?”
Still, Emma did not respond.
Iris shared a worried glance with Micah. Her heart thudded in her chest as she gripped Emma’s hand and squeezed.
Emma did not return the gesture.
Iris opened her mouth to speak.
Emma began to glow a brilliant cobalt blue. She stretched out a single hand. Her entire body quivered as she pointed towards the northern star. Tiny rivers of blue light coursed over her skin, as if it were flowing through her veins. Iris traced the lines with the tip of her fingertip, barely grazing her sister’s skin.
Emma stood motionless, her eyes fixed on a spot towards the heavens.
“We should take her to the infirmary.”
The rough sound of Micah’s voice broke Iris out of her reverie.
“Yes,” she said. “We should.”
They prodded Emma gently towards the door. She didn’t struggle against them, but she didn’t walk on her own accord either. Sweat coated her brow and upper lip and stained her undergarments yellow. Although Emma continued to point towards the northern star, she allowed them to guide her into the manor.
Iris peered into the shadowy corridors. She must have walked these halls hundreds of times over the months they’d been here. The sound of trickling water and the scent of mold greeted them. Iris couldn’t say she enjoyed the smell, but she had certainly gotten used to it.
The door slammed shut behind them.
Emma screamed.
“What’s wrong with her?” Iris asked, her voice cracking.
Micah grunted in response. He clamped his hand over Emma’s mouth, but she jabbed him in the gut before stomping on his foot. She slammed her head into his nose. His jaw tightened and his eyes watered. Dropping his hold on her, he cupped his hand over his face.
Emma scrambled towards the door, the cobalt light flickering in her veins as she moved. She didn’t look back as she swung the door open and raced into the trees.
“Emma! Wait!” Iris called.
She darted after her sister. She didn’t see if Micah followed or if he’d gone for help. All she could think about reaching Emma. When she finally caught up to her, she intertwined her fingers with her sister’s and let her lead the way through the winding trees.
They abruptly stopped. Iris tottered on her toes.
Emma’s face was placid, as if she had never experienced a single emotion in her life. She continued pointing at the northern star.
Iris gripped her sister’s shoulders. Not even Emma’s eyes f
luttered as she continued to stare in the star’s direction.
“Please, just tell me what’s wrong.”
She stroked a stray hair from Emma’s cheeks. She couldn’t lose her sister. She’d already sacrificed too much. Lost too much.
She snapped her fingers in front of Emma’s face.
Emma didn’t even look at her.
“Please, Emma.”
She shook her. She begged her. She prayed to the Creators for guidance.
There was no response. Not from the Creators. Not from Emma. Not from anyone.
She brushed away the tears trailing down her own cheeks. They were pointless.
She cradled Emma close to her chest as she hummed a song they’d loved as children. It was a slow, melancholy tune, but it was the only thing she could think to do.
“Please,” Iris whispered in her sister’s ear. “Please, come back.”
They stood, rooted in that spot with the trees bowing all around them. Icicles sparkled like diamonds, casting an array of color across the forest floor. It reminded Iris of the dreamworld where she’d met Liam.
Emma began to burn. Sweat soaked through her dress, dampening Iris’s hands. She shook uncontrollably. Iris peered around the woods, searching for anything she could use to stop her sister’s convulsions.
A burst of blue light exploded from Emma’s chest, and a wave of power washed over her. She was thrown backwards, her head slamming into a tree. She crumpled to the forest floor. It was all she could do to keep her eyes open and fixed on Emma.
The cobalt light coursing through Emma’s veins streamed from her outstretched finger, forming a brilliant line that disappeared into the darkness. Iris squinted, trying to determine how far it stretched, but could see no end to its light.
“I don’t know when. I don’t know how.”
Emma’s raspy voice caught her off guard. Iris ran to her sister’s side and crouched beside her.
She touched Emma’s shoulder. “You don’t know what?”
Emma passed her hand through the light still streaming from her fingertips. “It’s him, Iris. It’s Liam.”