I continue walking and absorb the incredible beauty that is in complete contrast to the desolation above ground—not much more than dry, hot earth that becomes worse by the day.
I step close to one of the plants growing beside the flowing water and touch the small, white flower. As my fingers graze the petals, the center glows cyan. “This is incredible.” I turn back to Mom, who's followed me into the cavern. “These don’t even need sun?”
“The Starfire gives them all the energy they need.” She gazes around. “This growth and healing are what could happen to Earth, if we only allow the Starfire growths around the world to create a Network.”
My heart races at her words. “So, are there more of these . . . caverns?”
Mom nods. “The Starfire had them placed strategically around the world. Each one is hidden underground in remote locations to help avoid detection.”
Straightening, my rounded eyes scan the space again. “How did you even get the Starfire here in the first place, let alone all over the world?”
“Your Dad and I had brought back a small amount of Starfire from Arcadia to study. When we began to develop the Renewal project, my visions intensified. The Starfire was creating a connection with me that I didn’t quite understand yet. But I knew it was important . . .” She wrinkles her brow. “After I ‘died’—” Her voice fades when she notices my reaction to her statement.
My body quivers, every muscle tightening as the words make my stomach roil, and the emotions I experienced after I believed Mom was killed rush through my mind. All the feelings from that day—the pain, anger, sadness, and loss I felt when Dad told me she had been in an accident and died—create a storm in me. Her body was supposedly burned beyond recognition, and I had felt as though I never really got to say goodbye.
Gently, her hand touches my upper arm. The sensation brings me back to the now. With Mom standing right in front of me, alive and whole, I hold back the tears stinging at the corners of my eye and mouth to her, “I’m okay.”
“I was able to continue my work in full force,” she finishes, squeezing my arm and then letting go of me. “One day the crystal led me here, to these coordinates. The town nearby had been long abandoned, but the structures you saw above ground still stood. Still not knowing why I was led here, I went inside the building. I had brought a Starfire crystal and had an overwhelming compulsion to place it on the ground. The crystal burrowed in immediately and then began to form this cavern that surrounds and protects the gems. As the crystal worked, a vision came over me, giving me the coordinates to all the other locations where I needed to take the Starfire. So, I packed up and went.”
“But all those people working up top, or in the other locations. How’d you know who to trust?”
Mom shrugs. “I didn’t. I had to leave that up to the Starfire. Somehow it brought me to all the right people. And the strangest thing? The Starfire had given them visions, too. They knew I was coming for them. For the last year, we’ve been growing the crystals—waiting until they’ve developed and are finally strong enough to use.”
“But is Renewal ready?” I ask. “Earth doesn’t have much time.” With the dreaded reminder, my gaze wanders around at the cavern. Please let this all be worth it. Because I’m not sure I could take the news if it isn’t. “Will this be sufficient?”
Mom’s lips turn up into a small smile. “Nearly. But something is still missing.” The smile falls away and uncertainty wells in her eyes. “The Starfire will not tell me everything. Yet I have the feeling that ‘something’ is you.”
Tightness spreads over my chest at her words. Then lightheadedness grips me and the room spins. A blueish-green glow takes over my mind next, bringing me into a new experience.
I sense the Protectors’ presence in the back of my consciousness, hovering. Unexpectedly, my body jolts. and it’s as if I connect to the grid. My mind becomes like a version of the Earthscape program, and a 3D map forms. At first, I see myself here at the compound, and then it pulls back into a bird's eye view, traveling higher and higher. The wind rushes around my frame while I move, and the map shows me the vast lands of the United States before pulling higher into the sky—Mexico, Canada, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic.
The rush of information whirls in my brain while the view pulls farther and farther back, revealing more continents and more water until I can see the entire planet, spinning on its axis.
Multiple dots across the continents glow a bright cyan. The Starfire growth locations. The spots pulse, each in different tones, and begin to play in perfect harmony. My body quivers when the Starfire calls to me, and I hold my hands out to the map. The next second, pressure drives into my palms, and with a jerk, my entire being locks onto the spots, tethering me into place.
Energy flows from me to the Starfire caverns across the globe. Tendrils of light exit each spot, working their way over the lands, even under the water to find each other. The world glows brighter, and with it, the deserts become lush and the ice around the polar caps grows. The Starfire’s light expands outward to the sky and begins to heal the atmosphere.
A smile spreads across my lips at the sight, despite that fact that I can’t feel my limbs anymore. I can’t feel anything anymore. Somehow, I know what’s happening—I’m dying. Being absorbed by the crystals.
This is what I must do isn’t it? I whisper. Or maybe I only think the words. I’m not sure.
This is what each of us was meant to do. The chorus of voices comes back to my mind. The Starfire needs a Pure Soul to sacrifice. To teach it what being human and Alku is. It will take all of us to fulfill this destiny.
They speak, but their words grow muffled as my breathing quickens. But I don’t want to die. A tear spills from my eye while the cyan around me grows more intense, consuming me and the world below. Fear shudders up my spine.
She’s not ready for this, one voice says.
But she will need to be. This voice is soft—my grandfather’s.
I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes. This can’t be. I have so much to live for . . . Mom is back . . . Javen . . . seeing the miraculous healing of our two worlds.
“Cassi.”
My eyelids flutter at the voice, and the cyan fades.
“Cassi.” Someone shakes my arm.
Finally, my eyes flick open. Mom stands in front of me, and the cavern of crystals is still around us. The melodic sounds of the flowing water and the Starfire’s soft notes tickles my mind.
“What happened, sweetie?” Mom’s face is drawn, waiting for me to answer.
Slowly, the panic dissipates from my body. Why was I afraid? I try to remember, but I can’t. “I . . . I don’t know. I think I had a vision. I saw the world . . . the Starfire was healing it. It was beautiful, magical. But then . . .” I struggle to recall. “I don’t remember.”
Mom takes me into her arms and, again, I melt into her. “Well, I’m here now.” She squeezes me.
I can hardly believe I have her back.
“So, Dad really doesn’t know you’re alive?” I mumble into her hair.
“He doesn’t know.”
“When can we tell him?” I glance back toward the door. Something inside me tells me that we need to go. I must get back to the Intersection.
Mom’s arms loosen from me, and she eases away. “As soon as possible.”
Excitement builds in my chest for my parents to be reunited. For our family to be Team Foster again. “Let’s go, then. I know he needs some good news, and I need to return to Arcadia. I’m sure Dad and my friends are worried about me.”
Mom nods, and we start for the door just as my Connect buzzes, and I check the screen.
34°54'8.10" N, 110°09'29.45" W
The message is coming from Max’s contact information.
Mom glances at it and freezes. “Why are our coordinates in that message? No one knows them except our inner circle.”
My heart drops into my stomach. I had forgotten all about messaging Max.
CHAPTER 15
Mom’s eyes widen with panic. “What is that, Cassi?”
My thoughts race but I push to get words out, most of which barely make sense. “My friend’s aunt and cousins were stuck in LA.” I pull out the portal device. “Dad was able to make several of these, and I used one to transport us to Earth. We had planned to get her family . . . but I also wanted to get my friend who was already here.” I rush, leaving out the whole part that he came here with Dad and Vihann—too much complication. “But the rescue of my friend’s aunt was pretty rough, and I didn’t know if I would be able to contact him. When I stayed behind, I sent him a message.”
Mom’s breathing picks up instantly. “They must have tracked you somehow. Who’s your friend?”
“His name is Max Nor—”
“Max Norton?” Mom cuts me off from saying more.
Sudden nervousness turns my stomach. “He’s Kole—”
“Yes, I know who he is. We’ve heard rumors that Harris has been very busy all of a sudden. He’s made at least one trip to the World Senate headquarters. Intel mentioned something about his son returning to Earth. No one knew how he would have gotten to Earth from Arcadia, so we thought it might just be rumor.” She touches my arm with a shaking hand. “But you’re telling me it’s true?”
“Everything has moved so fast since I arrived. Dad and one of the Alku, Vihann, used a portal to come to Earth. They were trying to get help from Kole Harris since he still has interstellar ships. We need ships on Arcadia to stop Hammond from mining the Starfire, which is destroying the Alku’s dimension, Paxon. Max came with Dad to be a contact with his father.”
Mom pinches the bridge of her nose. “I wanted to contact your Dad so badly, but there was too much risk involved. If I had, we could have told him that Kole Harris shouldn’t be trusted.”
“All I know is Max didn’t return. There’s a possibility that he stayed of his own choice, but I think that Harris forced him to. Dad and Vihann barely made it out of there alive. If Vihann hadn’t been able to port the two of them away, I don’t think they would have made it.”
She looks up at me, panic in her eyes. “Turn off the global positioning function on your Connect.”
My entire body tenses, but I do as she says. “I didn’t think it through completely when I decided to message him. I knew I could use the Starfire to help me. If for some reason it all went bad, I would use the portal to get away and back to Arcadia. How was I supposed to know that I would end up here? None of that was part of the plan.” Tears sting at my eyes. “I couldn’t have known, and I was so excited to see you and . . .” I gesture back to the cavern. “All this.”
Mom blows out a quick breath and taps on her Connect. “Okay . . . we can fix this. First we must assess the damage.” She waves me toward the door as it slides away. “We need to get up top and decide the next course of action. I’m very sorry that you won’t be able to contact your friend. You may not respond to that message in any way. We have no idea at this point if he has turned into a foe.”
“Not Max! He would never—”
“These are times of survival, Cassi.” Her voice drops into a low tone. “People do things you would never expect when they believe their survival to be threatened.”
A pit forms in my stomach for the few seconds she locks onto me. My only thought was that Max would have stayed here on Earth because he couldn’t bear to go back to Arcadia. I’ve hurt him so much, and I mostly wanted to make sure he was safe. In the end, I nod. I can’t let my caring for one person get in the way of what we need to do next.
Mom pilots me through the doors and up the stairs until we enter the hallway to the compound, the metal doors snapping shut behind us. An alarm blares at that moment.
“Prepare for possible evacuation. Use procedure 502B,” an unseen voice instructs calmly, repeating the message every few seconds.
Multiple people rush past us. A woman with a panic-stricken scowl eyes Mom before she hurries along.
Mom guides me to a room on our right. Inside the plain, sparsely furnished room is the dark-skinned woman who stowed my hover away. Beside her, around a conference table, is a man and another woman.
“You’re all here.” Mom ushers me to a seat. “This is my daughter, Cassi. She knows everything about the Starfire and now the Renewal Network.”
They all bob their heads but say nothing. I know none of them, but apparently my situation isn’t any surprise to them.
Tapping the computer console in the table’s middle, Mom brings up a holocomputer screen. It shows a 3D view of the compound and the surrounding terrain. “I’ve been informed there is a possibility that an outside source knows of our location.”
“How did this happen, and what is your source?” The dark-skinned woman leans back into her chair while touching the face of her Connect.
“That’s not important right now, Dr. Ellis, but I trust the source and believe we should ready for evacuation.”
My stomach flutters. She’s not telling them it was me.
“If nothing comes of it,” she continues, “it will be no more than a drill. We’ve run the scenarios before, and the Starfire mine can conceal and protect itself. It’s worked in the tests we’ve performed.”
“And if it doesn’t work in practice?” the man asks.
Mom sighs. “Then we can only hope the other locations aren’t discovered, Dr. Burke, and that the Network will still work without ours.”
“We knew this was a possibility from the start.” Dr. Ellis moves her hand to the holocomputer screen and zooms out to show our location, as well as the thousands of miles around it. Multiple red and green blips form on the display. She taps her paired Connect, and the majority of dots disappear. When she touches her screen again, the remaining dots disappear, leaving only the red ones. “These are the vessels that appear to be headed for our location. If this is indeed the case, they’ll be here within the next fifteen minutes.”
Dr. Burke studies the display. “Unfortunately, we can’t be sure of their destination until they move closer to our location.”
Dr. Ellis nods. “But all these highspeed ships were dispatched within the last twenty minutes and appear en route.”
“How many ships are in each of the blips?” Mom asks.
Ellis taps on the screen and a window pops open. Hundreds of ships are listed. I don’t recognize most of the models, but I know enough to understand that these are warships and they’re going to discover the Starfire cavern.
My heart picks up as their voices fade away. It was a giant mistake on my part to message Max, but if someone were on the way to attack us, why would they warn us?
The metal legs of my chair scrape against the tile flooring as I stand. “This is my fault.”
All eyes in the room swing to me, and Mom’s eyes widen. I know she was only attempting to protect me by not giving the others this information. But they should know.
“I made a poor choice before I arrived here, one that may have allowed Kole Harris access to this location.” I tap the face of my Connect, bring up the message and show them. “The tracking must have sent an alert back through my Connect.”
Both Ellis and Burke stand, turning their attention to Mom.
“Why didn’t you tell us that your daughter may have lead Harris here, and in turn, Hammond?” Dr Ellis asks.
Mom flits a look my way. “Because it didn’t matter. Harris may be coming no matter what. How it happened is no longer relevant at this point.”
Anger flares in Burke’s eyes. “You can’t keep details from us.”
My stomach tightens, and I grit my teeth. “None of this matters, okay!” I slam my hands onto the table. “I know what we must do.”
Dr. Ellis wrinkles her brows at me. “I’m aware that Dr. Foster believes you are a key part of Renewal, but you are a child. I will not allow you to put this entire operation at risk! And your presence here has already done so.”
Mom’s voice flares as she argues b
ack, but I don’t pay attention to the words. Instead, I grab a peek at the holographic display again. The ships are only growing closer to our location and haven’t veered off course.
“You said the Starfire may protect itself. What does that mean?” No one looks my way; they only continue arguing. Knowing we don’t have much time I repeat the question, this time louder, and all eyes return to me.
Mom blows out a frustrated breath. “Yes. We believe the crystals will encase the mine.”
“Then we need to get everyone safely below. Once we do, I have a possible escape option.” I pull the portal device from my bag and hold it up for everyone to see. “This is how I got to Earth. We can get everyone below and then I’ll open a portal, either to a new location on Earth—if I have the coordinates—or to Arcadia.” Our exit location will be the Intersection, but there’s no time to explain that.
Mom and the other two exchange a loaded glance. “Dr. Ellis, relay a message to the staff to gather as much equipment as they’re able and move it to the Starfire mine.” Her attention shifts back to the holocomputer display again. “We haven’t much time.”
“We can continue to monitor the incoming ships’ positions from below,” Dr. Burke agrees.
Instead of more arguing or questions, Dr. Ellis and Burke gather themselves and head for the door. Mom deactivates the display, pairing her Connect with it instead, and a miniature view of the map pops up over her screen instantly. She reaches for my hand and we follow the others out the door.
Outside, the emergency code has changed and more people scurry by us. Several have small computer consoles in their hands as they head toward the double doors leading below ground.
Mom hustles me in the same direction but first stops by her office and deactivates the DataPort computer in there before tucking the device under her arm. I scan around at the room, and my eyes land on the two framed photos on her shelf . . . the first of our family—Team Foster—and the other of her and my grandparents. I’m sure she has additional copies of the images, but I tuck the frames into my bag anyway.
The Starfire Wars- The Complete series Box Set Page 59