“I don’t know how that’s possible. I’m nothing special. I’m a kid. A kid who didn’t even want to go to Arcadia, no matter how bad it was on Earth before we left.”
His lips turn up into a small grin. “It’s not about being special. It’s about your willingness to look outside of yourself.” He chuckles. “You’ve not always been perfect. None of you beings seem to be. But you were willing to learn. Grow. That is what we needed to understand conscious beings. And now we do.”
“If you understand, then why don’t you fix this whole mess?”
Kieran releases air from his lungs slowly in a steady stream. “Because you are the catalyst. You are the fuel. We are unable to complete the cycle without you.”
My heart twinges as he speaks, and the rest of my vision on Earth comes back to me. Not only do I need to return to Earth and initiate the Renewal process, but I may not survive it. “But fuel gets consumed.”
He doesn’t answer.
“I’m going to die, aren't I?” I don’t need to ask the question. I already know.
“It’s a possible outcome,” he answers plainly. “There are many possible outcomes.”
The room grows silent after his words.
I grab for a cookie and stuff the entire thing into my mouth, chewing it slowly to savor the sweet, slightly salty, and bitter hints of chocolate on my tongue. While chewing, all those I love appear in my mind—Mom, Dad, Javen, Irene, Beda, Max. Even Yaletha is important to me.
If I have the key to saving all of them and everyone else on both planets, I should unlock the door. Even if it means I fall through and never come back. I gulp down the cookie and consider another but decide against it. If Kieran is right and time doesn’t exist in here, I could stay as long as I like. What good would that do, though? As much as I might want to sit here on this comfortable chair and eat cookies, that isn’t the life meant for me.
Kieran smiles again. “I told you the cookie would make you feel better.”
For a moment I forget that this man before me is the Starfire and only see my grandfather, the man whose wisdom and experience is inside my mind as one of the Protectors. His twinkling eyes and gentle voice compel me to stand and step toward him.
He tips his head in interest when I lean over to hug him. I wrap my arms around his neck and squeeze. For this brief moment in time, he can be my grandfather, the Alku who risked time and space to find my grandmother, to share a life with her and begin a legacy that could last a hundred generations or more if I succeed.
“My dear,” Kieran says, with surprise in his voice.
I loosen my arms and peer down at him. “I guess I didn’t even know I would do that.”
“You are a surprise each day, Cassiopeia.” The skin around his eyes crinkles.
Inhaling a settling breath, I close my eyelids and peace falls over my body.
I’m ready.
CHAPTER 21
Real-time comes back way too fast. My eyes open to Beda and Yaletha, who are cursing. The words are in Alku, but I know a curse when I hear one.
Max dips the hover to the left, and just as he does, a bolt of green light flies past us in the sky.
I whip my head around and catch a glimpse of the fighter ship tailing us.
“You need to get us out of here. Land this machine so we can fight,” Beda growls at him.
Max peers at the console. “There’s no place to land safely! And the way out of Primaro is blocked.”
34°54'8.10" N, 110°09'29.45" W
The coordinates flash in my mind again. “No, keep flying! I’m going to port us out of here.”
“You’re going to port the entire vessel?” Yaletha demands from beside me. “Where? We are not giving up.”
I look her straight in the eye. “We’re not giving up. I need all of you ready to fight.” Before she can answer, I focus and commune with her and Beda’s minds. I must connect to them. I need them to use their Starfire now with mine, and I might need them to be ready to use it the second we exit.
My body jerks the moment the connection is formed. All the information they require pours from my mind and into theirs. When the transfer is complete, cyan light engulfs my vision. My eyes roll back as I let the location of Earth fill my mind. The planet illuminates, and its presence calls to me like a siren’s song, reverberating through my entire body. The information snaps into place with a jerk, and my thoughts become like the Earthscape program once more.
34°54'8.10" N, 110°09'29.45" W
As my mind calculates the coordinates, the globe spins and locks us into position.
“Take us there!” I scream, and then the Starfire explodes inside of me like a bomb. I force my eyelids open as the Starfire energy crackles and twists around us, connecting me, Beda, and Yaletha in a blinding light. Ahead of the ship, a giant portal opens like an electric mouth about to swallow us whole.
“Keep flying!” I shout, and Max does. Our hover plunges into the opening, and my consciousness fills with billions of stars, planets, black holes . . . all time and space between here and Earth.
Our hover spits from the portal out to a desert landscape with a tremendous boom. The sun sits high in the sky, my first observation while the crystal’s energy dissipates, detaching me from Yaletha and Beda. Next, I spot the white buildings of the compound not more than a mile or so ahead of us. And my head, heart, and ears immediately feel the Starfire’s call from the cavern. The crystal’s song resonates through me.
Come . . .
“What the—?” Max sputters.
“Land now!” I scream. “Kole’s people will be on us fast.”
“And landing will help that?” he argues while Yaletha and Beda’s heads twist back and forth between us in total confusion.
“Where are we?” Yaletha’s concerned eyes land on me.
“Just land!” I yell, ignoring all of them.
The display shows three ships already en route to us, and Max isn’t listening. Instead, he turns the vessel in the opposite direction to escape from them. On instinct I place my hand on his shoulder and send the Starfire’s calming abilities to him.
“Land,” I order. “When we get to the ground, everyone will stay inside.”
Like a lasso surrounding me, the Starfire calls, singing, pulling me closer. I must resist. I fight the intense urge to port somewhere safe. We can’t port the entire ship into the cave without risking a crash.
The hover touches down. Beda flinches out of her confusion to activate her door. Before she has the chance, I take off my safety belt and lunge forward to touch some part of each of them. As I do, an intense energy reaches out to grab hold of me, and then the Starfire yanks all of us into the center of the cavern.
Once inside, the crystal’s call quiets to a background noise in the rear of my mind.
People in white coats with Galaxis Corp. on the pocket mill around, along with several armed guards near the exits. They have no time to react before I throw my hands out and emit a blast of bright cyan energy, freezing everyone in place. Immediately, the cavern’s Starfire reactivates at my presence.
Max, Beda, and Yaletha swing around and gawk at the magical site.
“Where are we?” Yaletha asks once more.
“This is a Network site for Renewal, someplace in Arizona.” As if she knows where that is. My gaze lifts to the roof of the cavern. “I must complete the connection to the other sites, and I need the three of you to cover me while I do it.” I peer around at the people in stasis. “I don’t know if I can hold them like this while I’m bridging the Network.”
Max reaches for his holstered gun and clumsily points it at a frozen man while simultaneously scanning the ceiling. Max can use a blaster, but that boy is no warrior.
My attention moves to Beda and Yaletha, and my heart shudders. “You ladies are in charge. Try to keep him from getting killed. No . . . try to keep us from getting killed.”
Max lowers his brows at my words. But his attention quickly shifts to Beda and Yale
tha as he runs a hand through his spiky blond hair, giving away his nervousness. He knows they are infinitely more prepared for this moment than he is.
My stomach flips. I already know my chance of making it out of here alive is nil. But more than anything, I want for them to live—I want Javen and my parents to live. I try to will the nausea away, but the persistent thoughts do nothing to relieve my discomfort.
“This is our last chance for Renewal to work,” I say. “And it might be our last chance to save Paxon. If Earth is destroyed, Hammond could still retaliate and harvest all the Starfire from Arcadia.”
“And that will destroy our world, as well.” Yaletha narrows her eyes, pumping her fists.
The two women square themselves and ignite balls of Starfire energy in their palms nearly in unison. Both were born to protect, and when someone orders them to do it, there are no questions.
“We are the last hope,” I say. But as inspiring as that might sound, I glance around, not quite knowing what I’m supposed to do. Don’t think too hard Cassi . . . The words whirl in my mind. The Starfire got you across a galaxy. It’s not going to let you down now.
I spot an area empty of frozen Galaxis workers near the cavern wall and gesture toward the space. “There, follow me.”
“What are you going to do?” Max comes alongside me as I jog to the Starfire-covered stone.
“Honestly, Max . . .” I place my hand over a cyan crystal jutting a few inches from the stone. “I don’t know yet.” Before he has the chance to question me, I turn my attention to the girls. “Yaletha?”
She nods and stares at me intently. I’m trusting my life to the woman who was Javen’s betrothed before I came into the picture. But I trust her with everything in me.
“You’re to make sure I remain cloaked, if you can. Beda.” My gaze flicks to her. “Do the same for Max. And you all need to be prepared for anything.”
“I understand.” Beda grasps my shoulder, squeezing it gently. “I’m sorry I didn’t see who you truly were when we first met.”
My lips curl into a smile. “How could you? I couldn’t see myself.”
The Starfire swirls in her eyes and she gives me slight head bow, her hand falling from my shoulder. “There’s a significant chance that everyone frozen will release from stasis when you do this.”
My breath hitches, knowing it’s likely true.
“We will cover you as long as we can,” Beda promises.
I bring my other hand to a second crystal. The cavern tumbles from my vision until inky blackness takes its place.
Slowly, the Earth reveals itself ahead of me as if I’m floating high above the globe, in space. No sun, no moon, no stars are behind me. Only darkness. The Earth spins and is lit by an unseen source, as if I’m viewing a model of the planet. There are no clouds, nothing blocking my view. I study the curves of continents meeting blue oceans, the brown of deserts, the green of tropics. The Earth vibrates slightly and my entire body shudders. New music fills the back of my mind, similar to the call of the Starfire but also not the same. This song is more melancholy as though it were lost long ago.
I allow the melody to permeate me, and while I do, the Renewal Network forms in my mind.
Each scattered location over the continents—at least twenty—pulses with a blue-green glow. I home in on our coordinates, and instantly the light brightens and the music of the Starfire begins, interweaving with the Earth’s melody in a haunting tone.
Slowly, like a root extending from a great tree, a path of light grows from our location. The other Renewal points pulsate more quickly, calling to connect.
I reach toward the Earth and trace one of the paths as it spreads toward another in South America. Just as they connect, the music changes and the two grow even brighter. Several more paths, from our location and the South American one, extend and work their way under the sea to the rest.
It’s working!
My heart pounds against my chest like a beating drum to the symphony when more and more of the Renewal points alight.
The rhythm of my breaths quickens. The light travels to the last of the points—in the center of Africa—and when it connects, the music crescendos and forces me back, slamming me into the nothing. But it doesn’t feel like nothing! The blast sends ripples of pain through my back and torso. What happened? Am I hit? No! This can’t happen. We’re so close. My mind immediately goes to the others. Are they hurt too?
With the impact, my vision wavers back and forth between my spectacular view of Earth and the battle in the cavern. Then my head spins and my vision begins to blur. I think Max is on the ground, not moving, and Yaletha is no longer at my side. She’s nowhere to be seen, which means there’s no way I’m cloaked. Beda, also uncloaked, is throwing bursts of Starfire energy toward the onslaught, but she can’t do this on her own, no matter how strong she is. In a burst of light, blaster shots from our enemy explode beside me.
Everything in me wants to help them, yet I can barely support myself right now. I must get back to linking the Network. It’s the only way I can fix this mess! I squeeze my eyes shut, and the moment I do, a blaster shot hits me square in the back.
A last desperate gasp leaves me, and then I open my eyes to nothing.
CHAPTER 22
“I’m sorry. I tried.” The words echo in my mind as the world below me disintegrates, and I float into space.
Everyone is dead. I’m dead.
The last of the Starfire within me pulses, and I bring my hand to my chest. Below my fingers, the slow rhythm of my heart beats in time with the faint power of the crystals. The Earth disappears, and my feet touch something solid. Why am I still here? As the question spins in my mind, Javen appears before me.
“I tried,” I say again to his apparition. “Really, I did. But I couldn’t make the Network connect.”
Javen says nothing and his eyes grow sad. The space between his dark brows pulls together.
Even though I know he can’t be real, I fall into his arms and rest against his warm, muscular chest. Javen gently caresses my shoulder blades and up the back of my neck and tangles his fingers into my hair.
I peer up at him, and for the last time, I raise on my toes and touch my lips to his. My hand slips up his chest to the curve of his jaw. His taste is sweet, like honey, like joy.
Javen is everything to me.
I open my eyes to nothing but stars, millions and millions of them. To my right is Earth and to my left is Arcadia. Earth—brown and dead. And Arcadia—pristine.
Javen parts from me while extending his hand toward Arcadia. As he does, the sliver of Starfire still within me twinges.
Take Earth. The words roll through my mind as clearly as if someone had spoken them. Compelled, I extend my hand to Earth.
In the middle, Javen takes my hand. The moment our fingers touch, my body jerks with energy. Life. Starfire.
The power of the crystal intensifies and races through my blood. Cyan light travels through my hand to Javen’s, and his body illuminates.
The Renewal Network lights up in that instant. Spiderwebs extend over the globe, bathing the planet in blue-green energy. My eyes widen as the land starts to transform, from death to life. Resurrecting. From each Renewal point, the green of life spreads over the planet like someone dropped watercolor paints into a cup of liquid.
Ripping my rapt attention from the planet’s surface, I focus on Javen. His long fingers interlace with mine and a dim light emanates from our connection. The light grows brighter, vibrating when the energy intensifies. It travels up our arms, consuming both our bodies, and then extends as a beam, tethering us to both planets. Javen to Arcadia, and me to Earth.
Then it happens.
My mind, my being, my soul, my consciousness opens. And there they are. Everyone. Alku. Humans. Every race, every language. Every experience. The images of smiling faces, grieving hearts, joy, loss, gain, terror, and a rainbow of other emotions shift through my mind. My entire body shudders with the vast diffe
rences, as well as the amazing similarities between individuals. Yet, no matter how different, we’re all looking for the same things. Love. Acceptance. Wholeness. Even those who seem a world—or even a galaxy—apart.
Then, as quickly as the experience came, it’s gone. I open my eyes to nothing again. And yet . . .
Everything.
Thank you, Cassi, a voice speaks to my mind. Kieran.
I twist around to face him, but several wisps of cyan light flit in the space around me, and he’s nowhere to be seen.
“Thank you?”
The lights pulse, continuing their slow dance. You and Javen completed the circle from Earth to Arcadia. Arcadia was the last Network point, and you were able to see that. You’ve taught us and allowed us to know what it is to have true consciousness. To experience what it is to be a natural being, what relationship and connection was meant to be. Just as you saw into everyone’s minds, so did we.
My breathing quickens at the Starfire’s words. “And the Earth? Is it saved? Javen?”
Warmth travels over my body, like being held by a loved one, and images of my parents, my friends flash in my mind.
And in turn, we were able to share this gift, because you were willing to sacrifice yourself for those you knew and didn’t know.
“That’s a yes?’ Excitement fills my voice.
More than a yes. The two planets are connected again, fully healed, and working in perfect symbiosis. There is no more need for the Intersection or the separation between Paxon and Arcadia. They are now whole. All inhabitants are also bonded. Each has been given the opportunity to see the best and worst of life in one another. The effect will not last forever, but the experience will cause change. Hopefully, for the better. We have also left the crystals. Their powers will no longer be the same, but they may be used as a source of energy for both planets. They will continue to grow easily and be available for all.
I wrap my arms across my middle to tame the fluttering in my stomach. Everyone experienced the same vision I had? A smile curls onto my lips and I twirl, too happy to remain still. Earth and Arcadia are safe, and the people are primed for transformation. “Thank you.”
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