Starseeker

by S A McClure

  “And what if I want to take care of you?” The words flowed out of her before she could stop them, and she turned away from him. Her cheeks burned.

  He placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed.

  “We can take care of each other,” he whispered. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

  She didn’t fight the tears as they streamed down her cheeks. She was just so relieved that he was alive. That she hadn’t lost him before it was too late. She reached up and placed her hand atop his.

  “We need to get moving,” she said. “The sun will set soon, and we have a lot of ground to cover with how slowly you’ll be moving.”

  She took a step away from him, creating space between them. Unsheathing one of her daggers, she bent down and cut the spiders’ silk free from the poles. She folded it into a square and dropped it into her pocket, then headed down the path again.

  “Emma,” he said.

  She turned to face him. “Micah?”

  He met her gaze and held it. “I know you regret not going with Iris. You have to promise me that once we make it to a village, you’ll find her. She needs you.” He paused. “And you need her.”

  Emma stared at him for a moment. She didn’t want to admit it, but he was right. No matter what happened, she would find Iris. They started this quest together and she would not let her sister finish it alone.

  Golden light erupted from her chest, condensing into a vibrant line. She smiled as she shared a glance with Micah. She didn’t know what the different colors of her abilities meant, but she knew one thing for certain: she would find Iris.

  “Go,” Micah whispered, as he grasped her hand. “Don’t worry about me. I can find the village on my own.” He squeezed her hand. “Besides, I know you will find me again.”

  She hesitated. Pain was etched across his face. She didn’t want to leave him until she was certain that he would be cared for.

  He shook his head at her. “I know what you’re thinking, Emmaleigh. But please, don’t worry about me. The most important thing you can do now is find Iris. Save Liam. Come back to me.”

  He lifted her fingers to his mouth and pressed his lips to her knuckles.

  Emma relished the warmth that spread up her arm from the place his lips caressed her skin. She had never imagined that his kiss would be like this: full of hope, and a desire to continue caring for another person.

  “I have to know—” she murmured

  He wrapped his arms around her. She melted under his embrace.

  “You’ll know if I’m alive, Emma. You’ll feel it here.” He pressed his hand against her breast. “Now go.”

  This time, Emma didn’t hesitate. She brushed a kiss over his mouth before darting into the trees.

  Hours later, the warmth of him continued to linger on her as she followed the golden light leading to Iris. She just hoped she could find her before anything bad happened to her.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Emma

  Emma stood at the cave entrance, the steady stream of golden light leading into the darkness beyond. It smelled foul down there and she was loath to enter. But she knew Iris was down there. Alone.

  She drew the bow Eldridge had given her and strummed her fingers across the string. It reverberated as it grew into a full-size bow. Although it only took a few seconds for the bow to grow to its proper size, she didn’t want to lose those precious seconds during a fight. She knew it could be the difference between life and death.

  Inhaling deeply, Emma took her first step into the cave.

  It began to shudder.

  She raced down the wide, deep stairs. They were roughly cut from the mountain side. Emma wondered how many hours of manual labor were used to construct the lair, or if they had been built using magic.

  Grandmother Rel’s voice echoed through the cavern. Emma slowed her pace. She pressed her back against one of the cavern walls to block a surprise attack from behind. She inched her way down the stairs.

  Peeking around the corner, she saw Grandmother Rel standing over Iris’s unconscious body. Her eyes peered off into in the distance as if she were seeing something that no one else could. Her cheeks were pale and the stench of rotten eggs lingered in the air.

  Smoke curled from the witch’s nostrils. She appeared younger than Emma had ever seen her. She used to say that she believed using one’s magic to keep oneself looking young was a waste. She vilified her coven members for their vanity. But here she was, with perfectly smooth skin, dark, luscious hair, and red lips.

  Emma drew back on her arrow and aimed for Grandmother Rel’s heart. Although she longed to lease the arrow, she hesitated. She didn’t want to reveal herself until she knew she’d be able to get Iris out of this place alive.

  She scanned the room. A suit of armor leaned against one wall. It didn’t look like anyone was in it, but it was difficult to tell. Liam was nowhere to be seen. She half-expected him to be aligned with Grandmother Rel’s plans. He’d seduced Iris. Made her believe that he cared for her. And, after she’d nearly died to save him, he had betrayed her.

  She bit her bottom lip.

  “Of course, my lady,” Grandmother Rel whispered, bowing her head to some invisible force.

  Emma squinted into the room, trying to determine if there was a shimmer of magic in front of Grandmother Rel or not. She didn’t see anything. She strained her ears, waiting to hear if there was an answer. There was none, but Grandmother Rel continued talking.

  “No need to worry about the girl. Once Rhymaldis has accepted my offer, I will kill her and be done with it.”

  Emma’s heart skipped a beat. Was Grandmother Rel talking about Iris? And who was Rhymaldis? She’d never heard that name before.

  “Yes, I know her powers would have been valuable to you, but we can all agree that she is too strong-willed to be allowed to live,” Grandmother Rel said. “For all we know, she’d thwart our plans before we even had a chance to enact them.”

  Emma could not imagine who she was speaking with.

  There was a pause and then she said, “The other one will not be a problem. I have her right where I want her. She will be little more than a worm wriggling on a hook when I’m done with her.”

  Emma’s jaw clenched. She would never allow herself to be like a worm. She was a huntress. Not prey. Not bait. Anger rolled through her in powerful waves. She wanted nothing more than to run into that room and put a flaming arrow through the witch’s throat.

  But she stopped herself.

  Iris was in there.

  She needed to be smart about her attack. Grandmother Rel strong. She knew how to use magic in a way she’d never seen others use it. She was creative and vicious.

  But she could be beaten.

  Swallowing hard, Emma rounded the corner and sauntered towards Grandmother Rel, her bow still aimed straight at her heart.

  “It’s good to see you Grandmother Rel,” she said as she lowered the bow.

  The witch blinked rapidly, her eyes going from unfocused to aware. She scowled at Emma.

  “What are you doing here?” she hissed.

  Emma shrugged as she wandered over to a table and picked an apple out of a bowl. She wiped it on her sleeve before biting into it, juice spraying across the floor.

  “I missed you,” Emma said as she wiped her arm across the back of her face. She smiled. “I wanted to know if there was any way we could be a family again.”

  Grandmother Rel’s eyes flashed between gold, red, and black. She made a low, guttural sound as she took a step towards Emma. More smoke billowed from her nostrils.

  “Why are you really here?” she asked. “I thought you were on your way to the capital.”

  Emma shrugged. She wondered how Grandmother Rel knew that. Had Iris told her? She certainly hoped so. The alternative—that Grandmother Rel had been watching them—made her supremely uncomfortable.

  She took another bite of the apple. “As I said,” she replied with a full mouth, “I missed you.”


  Grandmother Rel’s skin turned gray with black and red veins swirling across her flesh. Her feet rose from the ground. She stretched her hands out wide, her nails lengthening, turning to claws.

  “You came here to kill me,” she hissed. “Don’t lie to me, Emmaleigh Valka. I raised you. I know you. I—”

  “You’re a fool, Grandmother Rel,” Emma said.

  Foolhardy or not, she was tired to Grandmother Rel’s rants and monologues. She was a hag and nothing more.

  Emma ducked in time to miss being hit by the fireball Grandmother Rel launched at her. She rolled across the floor and behind a chair. Breathing in deeply, she jumped up from her hiding place, aimed, and loosed her arrow, all within a manner of seconds. She didn’t wait to see if the arrow struck home or not.

  She only had a few arrows left in her quiver. She grasped one of them and waited for Grandmother Rel to approach. She watched as the witch’s shadow grew smaller on the floor, indicating that she was drawing nearer.

  She waited.

  Her muscles were taunt and tense, ready to spring into action as she crouched behind the chair. The moment she saw the first tendrils of Grandmother Rel’s magic curl around the edge of the chair, she leapt to her feet and fired.

  The arrow exploded in a ray of sparks as it struck Grandmother Rel squarely in the chest. Blood bubbled around the wound and her lips gaped for several seconds before she fell backwards

  Emma rushed to Iris and slapped her, hard, against the cheek.

  “Wake up,” she whispered as she did it again. “Come on!”

  “What are you doing?” Grandmother Rel hissed.

  Emma looked over her shoulder in time to see Grandmother Rel advancing towards her. Her face was contorted with rage and her eyes gleamed gold as she sent a blast of energy at Emma.

  She wasn’t fast enough to block it. She was flung backwards. Her head slammed into the wall behind her. She yelped in pain and gingerly touched the spot that ached the worst. Her fingers came back coated in crimson blood.

  “You think you can come here and ruin everything?” Grandmother Rel hissed. “I thought I’d got ridden of you.” She growled. “The cockatrice was supposed to kill you!”

  Emma whipped her head up. “You wanted me dead?”

  She understood the words. But, even after everything the witch had done to her, she couldn’t make herself believe that the woman who’d raised her wanted to end her.

  Grandmother Rel rolled her eyes. “You really are the most pathetic—”

  She abruptly cut off as the tip of a blade peeked through her chest. Emma’s eyes widened as blood rolled down Grandmother Rel’s chin and plopped onto the floor. The blade disappeared and a second later there was a loud squelching sound that could only mean one thing: the blade had been removed.

  Grandmother Rel’s eyes glowed gold as she worked at healing herself. Her flesh knit back together and the hole in her chest regrew. Emma had never seen someone heal so quickly before.

  Grandmother Rel turned on Iris, who stood behind her. Iris’ shoulders quivered and Emma wanted nothing more than to envelop her sister in a bear hug.

  Grandmother Rel lifted her hand and a sword materialized within it.

  As if in slow motion, Emma saw Grandmother Rel drop her arm to cut Iris down. She shot her remaining two arrows in quick succession. They puckered from Grandmother Rel’s shoulder.

  Grandmother Rel dropped the sword with a loud thud.

  Despite the pain in her head, Emma leapt to her feet, drawing the onyx blade. Pressing down with her feet, she jumped into the air and landed on Grandmother Rel’s shoulders.

  With a scream of rage, Emma plunged the dagger straight into her eye.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Iris

  Iris woke from the dreamworld to find Myrella engaged in a fight with Emma. Her mind took a moment to process that her sister was there. That she could come back for her.

  She watched as Myrella flung Emma across the room. There was a sickening crunch as she slammed into the wall.

  “The cockatrice was supposed to kill you,” Myrella was saying.

  Iris crawled across the floor and placed her hands on the skeleton’s feet. She concentrated on breaking whatever spell animated him. She focused on snapping the bonds it had to Myrella. The link severed with ease. She almost sensed it breathe a sigh of relief as it collapsed to the ground.

  Gripping the skeleton’s sword, she charged at Myrella just as she was calling Emma pathetic. With both hands, Iris raised the sword and plunged it into the witch’s back. She yanked backwards, readying herself for Myrella vengeance. Myrella had just turned when Emma suddenly leapt onto the witch’s head and slammed a small, black dagger into her eye.

  The witch thrashed wildly as Emma ripped the blade free and leaned down to shove it into the back of her neck. Blood sprayed across the room as she nicked an artery.

  Iris dropped the sword. It clattered against the stone floor as she slowly backed away. Emma leapt from Myrella’s shoulders and landed on her feet as Myrella continued to shake violently. She rushed to Iris’s side and took her hand.

  “Are you alright?” she whispered as they watched Myrella fade into the wrinkled, spotted hag that she always had been.

  Iris didn’t respond. She didn’t know if she could respond. She’d just helped kill the woman who raised her. Sure, she’d imagined killing Myrella over the months since she’d left them to die in the ravine. Since she’d taken Liam from her. But now that it had finally happened, she didn’t know how to feel.

  She glanced down at the blade still clutched in Emma’s hand, a wave of recognition washing over her.

  “You promised you would never use that thing,” she mumured. She tugged her hand out of Emma’s and took a step back. “It is an instrument of Darkness, Emmaleigh!”

  Emma looked from the blade to Iris, her lips curling downwards.

  “I had no other choice,” she said.

  There was so much sadness in her voice that Iris wanted to believe her. A part of her did. But, a larger, stronger part heard the words Rhys whispered to her as she drifted back to the real world: only trust yourself.

  “You made it so that her soul has no place to go,” Iris whispered. “She’ll be a lost spirit.”

  “Serves her right,” Emma spat. She turned her back on Iris.

  Iris blinked at her. “How can you say that? I know she wasn’t always the best guardian, but she was ours.”

  “You’re still defending her?” Emma asked incredulously. “After all she’s done to you? After she tried to kill us? Do you have any idea what I heard her say while you were still in your dream?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Grandmother Rel promised someone—I’m not sure who—that once you convinced someone named Rhymaldis to come to her that she was going to kill you. Murder you in cold blood.”

  “That’s not true!” Iris shouted. All the conflicting emotions she was having about Grandmother Rel’s death and her role in it came flooding into her in rapid succession. She took a rattling breath. “I don’t know what true or not,” she whispered.

  Her hands shook as she stepped towards Grandmother Rel and peered down at her. Blood covered her face and chest from the puncture wounds. She looked old. And weak. And alone.

  She opened her mouth to say a prayer over Grandmother Rel’s body.

  A deep rumbling shook the cavern walls. Startled, she shared a glance with Emma.

  “What’s happening?” they asked at the exact same time.

  Rocks fell from the ceiling, smashing onto the floor all around them.

  “We can’t stay here,” Emma shouted over the wreckage.

  “We have to find Liam!” Iris said. “He’s here. Please, Emma, you have to help me find him.”

  Emma nodded. She closed her eyes for a moment.

  It was agony for Iris as she watched the ceiling crumble. They would be buried in this cave if they didn’t leave soon.

  The temperature increased.
Sweat ran in rivers down her brow. She wiped the back of her sleeve across her forehead. She panted as breathing became laborious.

  Blue light streamed from Emma’s chest, leading them from the room. Emma opened her eyes and started forward. Iris followed behind quickly. She felt lightheaded as the temperature in the cave continued to rise.

  “I don’t understand what’s happening,” she said.

  Emma didn’t respond. She began running as the cave shuddered and more rocks fell from the ceiling.

  The light disappeared beyond a door at the end of a long hallway. Iris dashed ahead of Emma and twisted the doorknob. It rattled but didn’t turn.

  “It’s locked!” she yelled as she slammed her shoulder into the door. She bounced backwards, her arm screeching in pain.

  Emma pulled a long, thin dagger from her belt and jammed the tip of the blade into the locking mechanism. She twisted it this way and that for a few moments before pulling back and twisting the knob. The door swung open to reveal a small, cramped room. Liam lay on the floor, his leg trapped beneath a rock.

  Iris screamed and rushed towards him. She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around him.

  “I knew you’d come,” he whispered.

  “Of course I came,” Iris replied. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she trailed her fingers over his face, his hair, his shoulders, his torso. She needed to make sure he was really there. That they weren’t locked in a dreamworld somewhere.

  But he was there. He was alive.

  Emma slid in beside Iris, accidently jostling the rock crushing his leg. Liam sucked in a breath, cringing.

  Iris glared at her sister.

  “Be careful,” she hissed as she began sifting through the various bottles of potions and herbs in her satchel. She retrieved a numbing potion and carefully measured out the correct quantity into a drinking glass.

  “Drink all of this,” she commanded as she handed the cup to Liam.

  He scowled at the vibrant green contents.

  “We don’t have time to argue.” She pulled out lengths of cloth, then turned towards Emma and said, “We need to get that rock off him and bandage his leg as quickly as possible. The moment we remove the rock, he’ll lose a lot of blood.”