The Starfire Wars- The Complete series Box Set

by Jenetta Penner

  “That is what my father wanted to do with Renewal, and you wouldn’t listen to him!” I yell. “You had him killed for even suggesting it.”

  Hammond’s face remains stoic, so much so that her expression gives me no indication on whether she knows Dad is alive. “Your father’s plan was too risky because it was not aggressive enough.”

  “Not aggressive enough? You mean it didn’t have to murder the Alku to work.”

  The president uncrosses her arms to fold her hands behind her back. “Yes. My plan will likely destroy the Alku’s dimension by mining the Starfire—”

  “And kill them in the process,” I interrupt.

  “And, sad to say, kill them in the process,” she echoes. “But your father’s plan was statistically much less likely to heal Earth. So yes, the Alku would live, but billions of people on Earth would not.”

  I step back from her words. “How much less likely?”

  Hammond tips her head. “We can’t know precisely, but estimates are eighty percent lower.”

  Disbelieving, I rake my hands through my hair. Is she lying? Eighty percent? There’s only a twenty percent chance of Renewal even working? Does Dad know the odds are so low?

  “Your father believed we had more time than we actually do, and I could not convince him otherwise. If we had ten years, his plan might have worked. Smaller amounts of the crystal ore could have been transported through the Turner Space Fold. The Starfire fields would have time to regenerate, produce more, and uphold the integrity of the Alku’s dimension.”

  “Paxon,” I remind her. “It has a name.”

  “Yes, Paxon,” Hammond mutters and revolves in a slow one-eighty, walking a few steps to the door. Turning back, her gaze locks onto mine. “As president, my duty is to Earth, not to the Alku. I may seem like a horrible person to you, maybe even hungry for power, but—”

  “Well, aren’t you?” I snap.

  She casts her eyes to the ground and shrugs. “Maybe I have been, but I won’t let my people die when I can save them. The scene I just showed you is the type of thing I must live with daily. What I’m trying to find a solution for.” Two lines form between her eyebrows. “Wouldn’t you do anything to save your people? Because I will. Those like your father, Luca, General Atkins . . . they were all wasting precious time. Time that Earth doesn’t have.”

  My stomach roils like a sea tossed by a storm. My people? I don’t even know who my people are. I’m one-quarter Alku, and anyway, does saving a larger race justify destroying a smaller race? Pain pulses in my head.

  “Then why don’t you just kill me, too?” I challenge. “I can’t tell you anything more about the Starfire than you already know. I’m just in the way of your plan.”

  Hammond’s lips quirk into a crooked smile, probably because she knows I’m lying. “Why don’t you see it yet, girl?”

  “See what?” I croak, and my chest tightens from just voicing the question.

  “That the secrets you hold are . . . everything. I can’t wait much longer to obtain them.”

  With that, Hammond spins on her heels toward the exit, and my head explodes into a supernova of pain.

  I scream into the void.

  CHAPTER 2

  My body goes numb.

  The pain from Hammond’s torment is still with me, hovering like a ghost in the background. But by my own will—or something else—it’s as if I’m separated from it.

  “Cassi . . . Cassi,” a muffled voice calls out and worms its way through the jumble in my mind.

  Everything. The word echoes and bounces off the corners of my brain.

  That’s the word both Javen and Hammond used. Why? Is Hammond so in control of my thoughts that she can influence them? Is she planting ideas in my head? Did she use the image of Javen to somehow deceive me and break down my spirit?

  “Cassi.” The voice—no, voices—come again.

  “What?” I snap, fully expecting Hammond to be back in my face and ready to torture me again in some new way.

  “You must focus.” The chorus of voices melodiously weaves together in a harmony, confusing my already jumbled thoughts. Is it Hammond trying to trick me?

  “You would like that, wouldn’t you?” I accuse.

  “She needs our assistance. She is very young.” The words and voices of the past Pure Souls begin to blend together while I concentrate on sorting them out.

  I grit my teeth together, but it proves futile, and I finally let loose a guttural scream to make them stop. It works, because immediately the voices go quiet. In the silence my mind comes back to itself, and I’m sure that they do not belong to Hammond.

  The Protectors have returned.

  “Can you please speak one at a time?” I announce to them.

  “We apologize,” a single voice says.

  “We’ve been together for so long that we almost always function as one,” another adds. “It’s easy to forget that you are new to us.”

  My body relaxes as they speak, and the pain Hammond is causing—that I am still acutely aware of—seems to bury itself deeper into the back of my consciousness.

  I stand, and the empty space around me glows a soft cyan.

  “Why aren’t the Starfire powers working for me?” I ask.

  “We believed you might die,” a softer, more feminine voice responds, and the cyan pulses to her beat.

  “Die?” My shoulders tighten at her words. The color around me suddenly dims, but as it does, warmth saturates my body, building my confidence again.

  “Your makeup is different than ours,” a male voice says, and I know instantly it’s my grandfather’s. Knowing he’s here floods me with peace. “The blend of Alku and human DNA is tricky for the Starfire, new. It’s still learning how to commune in you without damaging your person.”

  “So we decided to close off the effects until the Starfire could learn more about residing in your body,” a third voice explains. “Our job is to guide and protect. And we must protect you as best we can.”

  Tears sting at the corners of my eyes from thinking of Luca and Atkins. “But people died. I could have saved them.” I raise my hand and wave to the space around me. “And I ended up here, with Hammond.”

  “We grieve with you for those lost lives,” another voice admits. “But sacrifices were necessary to ensure the safety of the current One Pure Soul.”

  “But I’m not safe,” I protest. “Hammond may kill me anyway since I can’t transport my body away from here. I can’t even summon any of the Alku to let them know where I am!”

  They don’t answer.

  “And what is all this talk about an Everything . . . or a One Pure Soul for that matter? I am neither of those things. I’m just a girl, an Earthling. You said it yourself: I’m too young, too inexperienced.”

  “We all had inadequacies,” the final voice confesses. “The Starfire is not looking for perfection; it is searching your heart.”

  “My heart? What is it searching for?”

  “Everything.” My grandfather speaks again, his voice pulsating the cyan color.

  “Ugh,” I scoff. “What does that even mean?”

  “We can’t tell you,” the soft voice says.

  I blow out a breath in frustration, crossing my arms over my chest. “Then what good is it having you in my mind? I might as well be talking to myself.”

  Maybe I am.

  She chuckles. “You have so much spirit, Cassi. It is refreshing to have you be a part of us. But please understand, we won’t keep information from you because we want to, only because we don’t know or it’s not time to share. You are the one who has to decide what ‘Everything’ means to you.”

  The groan building in my throat escapes me. “Do you people all have to be so cryptic?”

  The five voices produce a collective laugh that sounds like a short musical interlude, and my fingers pinch the bridge of my nose.

  “You will understand better one day,” another voice assures. “We have all shared your frustrati
on at one time. It’s simply easy for us to forget. But this experience is a journey, not the destination.”

  “Fine,” I concede.

  Obviously, I’m not getting Everything, or much of anything, out of these beings. But I don’t want to mistrust them either, so I’ll have to leave my questions unanswered for now.

  “Can you at least tell me when I’ll be able to use the Starfire again? The longer my body is with Hammond, the more likely it is that I’m going to get killed. And then you’re just going to need to start over with finding a new One Pure Soul.”

  The Protectors say nothing, but the cyan pulses slowly around me, building pressure around my body. My head goes light, and I sit to keep myself from falling over. While I wait, I close my eyes, and my mind drifts into a near trance.

  “We may have a solution.”

  My grandfather’s voice pulls me from my hypnotic state, forcing me to blink my eyes open.

  “We believe, as a group, that we can tether ourselves to the Mother Starfire,” the fourth voice announces.

  “What will that do?”

  “It will reinforce you as you continue to adjust to the Starfire cohering to every part of your being,” the third voice explains.

  “Doing so will allow you access to a small amount of Starfire energy,” a feminine voice adds. “But not as much as you’ve been used to. You will need to use it wisely and conservatively to maintain your safety.”

  “Can you be more specific?” I ask.

  The cyan dims.

  “Unfortunately, no,” my grandfather replies. “We will only be able to monitor your health. If you utilize too much of the energy, we will be forced to shut the energy down completely again.”

  “There’s nothing more you can do?”

  “You must learn to control the power within yourself,” the softest voice says. “Trust your instincts, and you will do fine.”

  At that moment, the cyan around me brightens, and the Protectors release a collective sigh.

  “We have completed the tether,” voice five says. “But we must leave you now to maintain it.”

  My mouth opens to speak, but before anything comes out, their presence is gone. Even without them, sudden peace travels over my body, clearing my mind.

  I know what I must do. At least, I think so.

  Since the beginning, my connection with Javen was intense, almost like I had a tether to him. I barely needed to think and I would port to his side. If I can’t port out of here now, the next best thing is to get a message to him because if he knows where I am, nothing will stop him from coming to me.

  The problem is, I don’t even know where I am, and I haven’t been able to contact him since the Starfire stopped working.

  Frustrated, I bury my face in my hands. Stop overthinking this Cassi . . . just call for him.

  Straightening my back, I fold my legs underneath me. I was never much for meditation, but I had done it with Mom a few times until I got bored. Determined to make this work, I close my eyes and blow out a slow breath, then inhale just as slowly. It only takes a few times before the Starfire’s warmth settles through me, and I allow the subtle sensation to permeate my body.

  Peace.

  I open my eyes to find Javen sitting directly in front of me. His knees touch mine as he mirrors my position. With a light gasp, I inhale his spicy scent. Without missing a beat, he leans close to my face and then his soft lips are on mine, fulfilling the need that Hammond so rudely stole from me earlier. I tangle my arms with his and drink in this moment.

  However long it may last.

  I’m here, waiting for you. The beacon transmits throughout space, dimension, and time.

  Hopefully.

  CHAPTER 3

  Another thousand years pass. Not really, but it seems that way.

  Javen doesn’t come. All I’m left with is the shadow of his kiss on my lips.

  The Protectors don’t return either, for that matter. Maybe they, too, were a fantasy of a crazy girl—hope built on nothing but sand.

  I’ve finally gone so insane that my mind is no longer connected to my body. The pain of Hammond’s apparent experiment to remove the Starfire and the infinite loneliness are too great, and somehow my consciousness now floats outside of myself in the dark. I can still sense my figure beneath me, even though I can’t see it. I guess separating from my body is the only coping mechanism I have left in a situation where I have no control.

  But even that control is wavering. My mind keeps trying to pull me back into my body, but I resist . . . for now. The strain is wearing me as thin as threads dangling from a weather-worn cloth. Maybe if I just stay out here long enough, my body will die, releasing me from this torment. A new One Pure Soul will be chosen. Someone older, wiser . . . less tired.

  Less beaten. Less crazy.

  My body shudders and lets out a long, slow breath as it lies on the floor beneath me.

  Just die, won't you?

  Not that I really want to die. There are so many important things to take care of, like saving the Alku. But honestly? The whole problem feels so far away, a universe of stars away, with no way to bridge the gap.

  Quietly, I will my body to let go, but instead of the peace I crave, a magnetic force tugs at me, driving me back toward my frame.

  “No!” I scream. I don’t want this. I don't want any of it!

  But the choice isn’t mine. My consciousness slams back into my mental image of my body, and a tidal wave of pain batters every inch of my being.

  A primal scream releases from my gut, one I would never recognize as coming from my own mouth. Pain, as if I’ve been struck by lightning, circulates through my torso, limbs, finally settling in my brain . . . And when the scream dissolves, all that’s left is a dying whimper.

  “Just let me die,” I plead into the darkness.

  “I can’t.” Javen’s soft voice weaves its way into my mind and some pain subsides, replaced by subtle, healing warmth.

  “You’re not real,” I whisper and squeeze my eyes shut, attempting to will away my insanity.

  “Cassi.” Javen’s warm hand touches my cheek. “You must focus. I know this is difficult, but I don’t have long.”

  “Go away,” I mutter, not wanting false hope to deceive me again.

  “No.” This time Javen grabs my shoulders, pulling me up to a sitting position.

  My head spins and I gasp from the explosive pain reeling inside of my brain, but I open my eyes and allow my attention to settle on him.

  “Are you real?” My words come out slurred while my body is limp, likely from the effects of drugs.

  Javen continues to support me with one hand and grazes my cheek with the other. As he does, a cyan hue fills my vision and my head clears.

  My eyes widen, and I throw my arms around his neck, squeezing him. Please be real.

  Tears pool in the corners of my eyes. “Are you here for me?”

  Javen nods. “But we’re still in your mind.”

  My heart sinks.

  Grasping my arms, he gently eases me from him, keeping his hands near my shoulders.

  “But we’re coming. You need to hold on.” His eyes fill with a mix of worry and hope. “I sensed your summons, but I couldn’t connect with you. I told my mother and she was able to help me complete the link. I don’t know how she did it.”

  “Did she cross over from the Intersection to Arcadia?”

  “Yes, we used the small portal device to cross her, and she has joined our group.”

  I should have thought of it myself and tried to summon her first. Although my bond with Javen is unique, Zarah was also supposed to be a Protector. She and I had to link minds for her to allow the Starfire to pass on the duty to me when the transfer didn’t work for her. The connection must remain in some way.

  A shiver rushes down my spine in response to the pain still pounding at my brain, but I do everything in my power to fight it. Javen may only be in my mind and not be real, but if he is real, I must live.

>   “Do you have any idea of your location?” Javen asks.

  I squeeze my eyes shut, attempting to think. I replay everything I remember from when Hammond captured me—General Atkins’s ship exploding, Luca getting blasted, Hammond’s eyes swirling in her ship as she touched me . . . after that? Nothing until I woke up here. Not much information.

  “Hammond mentioned I was in a medical facility in Primaro,” I say. “She could be lying.”

  Javen shakes his head. “We don’t think so. Beda, Wirrin, Yaletha, and I have sensed the use of Starfire in a few locations in Primaro, but we may only have one chance to get you out. If we storm the wrong one, it could put you at risk and alert Hammond to our plan. We will use your father’s portal to bring a team of both Alku and humans, so we need to know the schematics of the building you are in to ensure everyone’s safety.”

  I grit down on my teeth to help the pain in my head while I process his words. I eventually relax enough to ask, “Do you have access to Dad’s Earthscape program?”

  “Yes. Irene downloaded all of the data and brought it back from the lab in the Intersection to Arcadia.”

  “It will have all the building layouts and locations in Primaro.”

  “Yes. We have found three possible locations,” he admits.

  My mind comes alive with Dad’s original design of Primaro. I probably viewed it a hundred times before we came to Arcadia.

  “Are any near the Capitol building?” I ask.

  “Two. The closest is one is a block over.”

  “And is there any intel about Hammond still using the Capitol building as her base?”

  “She barely leaves the building, and we haven't been able to track where she’s going.”

  “It’s the closest one. My guess is that there’s an underground system to reach a few different locations from the Capitol building.”

  I think of the building Irene was in when the Alku were guarding the city, before Hammond’s attack. That building had an underground secure section for emergencies. The Capitol building would have more measures built in, no doubt. Dad always thinks of everything, especially when he’s designing.