by C.L. Mozena
*****
That night, Orion lay in bed, exhausted after his levitation lesson with Joshua. He listened to all the usual night noises as he stared up at the darkened ceiling. He could hear the buzzing and chirping of night creatures through an open window, along with the whispers and shuffled steps of the servants passing in the halls. The nights that followed his transformation were restless and often frightening due to Orion’s increased hearing. Now, he looked forward to hearing these noises each night. Turning his head, he watched a small silhouette as it played in the moonlight across his blankets. He smiled to himself as Star crawled this way and that, never satisfied.
“You’re gonna like it here, Star,” he said to his pet as he closed his eyes. Suddenly, a high-pitched scream filled the room. Orion laid there, eyes wide, searching for the source of the noise. It didn’t sound like any person’s voice, more like the howling of some animal. Orion thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned to look, there was nothing there. Finally the noise ceased and silence engulfed him. He felt that the silence would swallow him up when he felt Star crawling across his chest. He noticed that the moonlight was in a different place as he watched his pet squeak and settle down next to him. He realized that, while it didn’t seem like any time had passed, he must have been asleep for hours.
“Was that you making that awful wailing, Star?” he asked. Star replied by yawning. An urgent knock at the door made him catch his breath. “Who’s there?” he called to the darkness.
“What in the world was that noise?” Alex asked as he came through the door. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Alex,” Orion craned his neck to see his friend. “I think that was Star. I’ve never heard her wail like that before.”
“What’s Star? Some pet of yours that you haven’t shown me?” Alex sat on the edge of the bed.
“Yea. I she’s a zupzie I got on Lunspae. I didn’t bring her with me when I came back because I thought I would have returned before now. Mother brought Star with her today.” Orion reached over to the curled up zupzie next to him and stroked her fur. “The only time anyone heard her wailing was when I was attacked in the park on Lunspae.” Orion started to panic. “I- I think someone was in my room, Alex. I thought I saw something over there.” He pointed towards a dresser with an oval mirror against the wall.
“Well, there’s no one there now,” Alex said, getting up and examining the dresser. “I think your pet scared ‘em off,” Alex sighed, “I’m gonna have a thorough search of your rooms, okay? Don’t worry about anything, Prince. You’re safe in my hands. And in your pet’s voice,” he added, smirking. Orion pulled Star closer to him as Alex walked out the door.
“You knew there was someone there, didn’t you, Star?” Orion glanced down at the zupzie, but all he could see was black fur curled up into a ball. “You saved my life, didn’t you?” Orion whispered as sleep overtook him. Star just purred in reply.