by F. T. Lukens
“Not for that,” she clarified with a smile. “For being friends with Asher.”
“Oh,” Ren answered, hoping he didn’t blush. “That’s not much of a hardship either.”
Rowan released Ren’s arm with a small laugh and patted his hand. “Don’t lie. We all know Asher has his moments. When he was younger, he was always so serious, so anxious to get away, to forge his own life. I was scared when I received the message he’d escaped that I wouldn’t find the boy I knew. And I didn’t.” She smiled. “I like this one better.”
“Really?” Ren asked, settling the lid on the game. “We’re talking about the same person who spit juice out of his nose not an hour ago.”
Rowan laughed. “Yes, one and the same. He’s much more sociable since he met you,” Rowan said. “There’s something about you, Ren.”
Ren blushed. “There’s nothing… I haven’t…”
She smiled. “It’s not an accusation, merely an observation. Whatever you did when you two were captured has changed him. For the better. So thank you.”
Ren looked down, ran his hand over the brightly colored game box and mentally replayed the moment when Asher had thrown his head back and laughed so hard at Ollie’s affronted expression when he realized what they had done. Asher didn’t laugh like that often, and Ren had been treated to an unhindered view of Asher’s jawline. His pulse had jumped under his skin.
“You’re welcome, Captain,” Ren said. The tips of his ears burned and he hoped Rowan didn’t notice.
She clasped Ren’s shoulder lightly in a familiar and comforting touch, then left the common area.
That night when Ren lay down in his bunk and curled around his pillow, he didn’t fall asleep worrying about his home, about his power, about his family. He didn’t fall asleep dreading the bad dreams that sometimes woke him in the dead of night, dreams in which he went mad without anyone to pull him back to the surface, or that Liam was caught instead of him. He didn’t fall asleep hearing Abiathar’s voice slither into his ear, or Oz’s warnings, or Jakob’s cries of pain.
He fell asleep thinking of Asher.
%
Ren didn’t think he’d get to see much of Delphi Drift. He assisted in unloading the cargo, though what Ollie could move in one trip took Ren three. He helped Penelope draft a list of supplies the ship needed. He even helped Lucas plot the course from Delphi to Mykonos, where they would meet Councilor Morgan.
But when it came time for the crew to set foot on the drift, Rowan blocked his path, putting one palm on his chest.
“Sorry, little one,” she said. “You have several people looking for you. A new bounty popped over the drift’s information system as soon as we docked. You better stay here.”
Ren deflated. He peered over Rowan’s shoulder, past the slip and into the main drift area, seeing the people, the wares, the food.
“Really?”
She smiled sadly. “Sorry. I can’t allow you to risk it.”
Lucas patted Ren on the back as he walked by, descending the ramp. “I’ll bring you back something, kiddo. And maybe, one day, you’ll tell us what the stars you did that gave you such a high bounty.”
Smacking his arm lightly, Penelope shushed her husband. “How about a sweet? Delphi is known for its chocolate,” Penelope said to Ren, pushing her husband down the ramp. “I’ll pick out something special.”
Ren prickled at being treated like a child, especially when Ollie walked by and ruffled his hair, and he tamped down the desire to stamp his foot and cause a scene. He settled for pouting.
“Oh, don’t be like that,” Rowan said. “Ash is staying behind too.”
Ren crossed his arms. “Fine.”
“We’ll be back in a few hours. Don’t let anyone on board you don’t know, and don’t leave the ship.” Rowan waved over her shoulder while the ramp raised and settled in its spot.
Ren scowled.
Asher, who had been silent, draped his arm over Ren’s shoulders. “So, ready to go out?”
Eyebrows shooting up, Ren cast Asher a hopeful look. “But your sister said to stay put.”
“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”
Ren beamed.
“Don’t get too happy,” Asher said, with a shove to Ren’s shoulder. “You’ll have to wear a disguise.”
“That’s fine.”
Asher grinned.
The disguise was a jacket with a hood, which Asher made Ren promise he would keep pulled up at all times. It was red, which, among the bright colors everyone wore on the drift, blended in perfectly. Asher wore civilian clothes so he wouldn’t stand out in his uniform.
Asher tugged Ren along as Ren stopped to look at a sparkling necklace he knew his mother would adore. And then again when Ren dug in his heels to watch a magician pull a flower from behind a child’s ear. And then again when they passed a stall selling sweet bread.
“Will you come on?” Asher said. “I promise, where we’re going is way better than all of that.”
Ren rolled his eyes, but kept his head down.
They hadn’t walked much farther when Asher halted and Ren bumped into his back. He looked up to see a flashing sign declaring they’d found Delphi Drift’s best buffet. Ren took a deep breath and his mouth watered at the smell of food wafting from the entrance.
“What’s a buffet?” Ren asked, drifting closer to the glass windows.
“Amazing is what it is. We pay one price and eat all the food we can.”
Ren’s eyes widened and his stomach growled. Through the glass, he could see tables upon tables of food. “It’s so beautiful, I could cry.”
“I know, which is why I swiped this.” Asher pulled out a card and waved it in Ren’s face. It was Rowan’s credit chip. A small smirk curled over Asher’s lips.
“Want to try it?”
Ren smiled so wide his cheeks hurt. “Yes!”
* * *
Stumbling out of the restaurant an hour later, Ren felt as if he was going to explode. He rubbed his belly, full of every food imaginable, and leaned into Asher’s side.
“I ate too much,” Asher groaned. “I think I’m going to vomit.”
“Please don’t.”
Asher slung his arm around Ren’s shoulders. “You’re going to have to roll me back to the ship. I can’t walk.”
“Ugh. You’re too heavy.”
Half-drunk from food and sugar, Ren and Asher bumped their way through the crowd toward the ship. With his hood up, Ren couldn’t take in everything, as he wanted to; but he didn’t dare pull it down, for fear of being recognized. He had only joined Rowan’s ship; he didn’t want to incur her ire over something as silly as sneaking out.
Despite his hindered view, Ren caught sight of a sign that captured his interest. It didn’t blink or flash like all the others. It was simple and handwritten and displayed across a small door.
Seer. Know your future.
Ren stopped suddenly and ignored the grumblings of the people behind him. Shrugging off Asher’s arm, he slowly moved toward the door and stood in front of it. His mother had been right about the men who could merge with machines. Maybe she was right about people who could see the future.
“What are you doing?” Asher asked, squinting at the sign.
“A seer. A star host. Like me.”
Asher frowned. “Ren, more than likely, it’s a charlatan. People make stuff up all the time. It doesn’t mean it’s real.”
Ren ran his fingertips over the lettering. “But what if it is real? People say I don’t exist, but here I am.”
“Ren…”
“What if they can give me information? What if they can see my family?” Ren looked at Asher, pleading. “Please.”
Asher sighed. He put his hands on his hips and looked around. “Fine, but one whiff of anything strange and we’re out of t
here. Got it? I’m not going to get you caught over a fake fortune teller.”
“Thank you,” Ren said with a nod and a small smile.
“Don’t thank me. I’m pretending not to have anything to do with this.” Asher gestured toward the door. “Go on then.”
Swallowing his doubts, Ren pushed through the door.
The office was small and dimly lit. It smelled of herbs and earth, and Ren was reminded of his home. Around the interior were shelves filled with vials and jars. Each held something different, and Ren leaned toward a large blue one with something floating in it.
“May I help you?”
Ren flailed backward and was only saved from breaking something by Asher’s firm grip. His hood fell back to reveal his face.
A woman emerged through a beaded curtain with her hands clasped in front of her and an amused smile playing around her lips. She had copper skin and long, straight black hair. She wore a blue, red and orange dress, and its hem tickled the tops of her bare feet. She seemed young, but she had an air of wisdom that made Ren question her apparent age.
“Uh…” Ren said, as Asher pushed him forward. He stumbled and kneed a low desk full of books.
She laughed and it was a tinkling of bells, clear and strange and beautiful.
Ren cleared his throat. “I was hoping you could help me.” He tangled his fingers and looked back to Asher, who wore a wary expression. “I wanted to know if you could see my family.”
She tilted her head; her deep black eyes stared through him. “I’m sorry,” she said. She spread her hands, so the rings she wore caught the low light. “I specialize in seeing the individual. It is difficult to see events in which the individual is not present.”
Ren swallowed, choked. “Does that mean I won’t be with my family again?”
“Oh no, little star host, it does not mean that at all.”
Asher straightened and, posture threatening, stepped close to Ren’s side. Ren’s pulse fluttered.
“How did you—”
“There is no need for fear, Phoenix. I will not hurt your friend or you.” She smiled. “Come.” She pulled the curtain aside. “I will tell you what I see.”
“How much?” Asher asked.
“So practical, Phoenix. If it pleases you, how about ten credits?”
Ren furrowed his brow. That was less than the entrance to the buffet. He had expected she would charge more.
As if reading his mind, she smirked. “I wouldn’t be much of a seer if I couldn’t figure out how to use my gift to ensure my profits.”
Ren barked out a laugh, and Asher’s lips twitched.
“Ten credits it is then,” he said. He swiped Rowan’s credit chip across the device on the wall and entered the amount.
“It is appreciated. Now, follow me.”
Ren eagerly stepped through the curtain with Asher a step behind him. The room was small and close, and decorations filled every available surface and hung on all the walls. Cushions were piled in the corners. A round table sat in the middle of the room, and the woman took a seat there.
Ren sat across from her with Asher next to his elbow.
“My name is Nadie,” she said, clasping her hands on the table, her bracelets jangling.
“I’m Ren. This is Asher.”
“A star host and a Phoenix,” she corrected. She eyed them both. “I will not use the cards. They lie in the face of power and you,” she said, gaze zeroing on Asher, “will not believe them.”
Asher crossed his arms. “Well, for a fraud, you’re not half bad.”
Her expression went flat, and her black eyes glittered. “You insult me in my home. Watch your tongue, Phoenix.”
Ren felt something crackle in the air and the beaded curtain shook, the strands bouncing into each other. Ren knocked his knee into Asher’s.
“I apologize,” Asher said, quickly.
Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she held out her hand, palm up. “Give me your hand,” she commanded Ren.
Tentatively, Ren reached across the table and slid his hand into hers, palm to palm. She clasped her fingers around his, bruising.
Her eyes glowed red and Ren flinched, but she held on, her fingernails digging into his skin.
“He will find you,” she said, her voice echoing around the room, otherworldly and terrifying. “He will find you. He will use you. It will consume you. Your eyes will turn blue and you will forget.”
Ren tried to pull away, but he couldn’t. Her grip held fast. “Ash,” he said, panicked.
Asher moved to help, but she reached out with her other hand and grabbed his forearm. He attempted to wrench away, but she cackled, and the hairs on Ren’s arms rose.
“It’s like iron,” Asher grunted, yanking back from her, unsuccessfully.
“Your voice is his anchor. You died in ashes. You rose from ashes and you will die again in them.”
Terror gripped Ren at her words; his insides churned. Asher was going to die. He was going to be caught. He was going to be consumed by his power.
She opened her mouth to speak again, and Ren struggled against her grip. “Let go!”
Her fingers opened, and Ren fell backward in his chair. Scrambling upright, he saw the red fade from her eyes and the pleasant woman she had been at first stared at them again.
His back to the wall, Ren cradled his arm where a line of scratches from her fingernails bled lightly. Asher stood close to his shoulder with his chest heaving and his face pale, and they both watched her.
Her gaze flitted between them. “I didn’t tell you the story of your first kiss, did I?” she asked. “It was something frightening.”
Ren gulped and shook his head slowly. “You mean you don’t know?”
Brushing her long black hair over her shoulder, she blinked. “No. When I tune into my power, I become someone else. My body is merely a mouthpiece for what the stars reveal.”
“It is the same for me,” Ren said, rubbing his hand. “I’m a conduit. I can control it sometimes, but others, I can’t.”
She tilted her head again and studied him. “We are the same.”
“He’s nothing like you,” Asher spat. “He wouldn’t scare us as a party trick.”
She lifted her chin, eyes narrowed. “You still do not believe me?” She stood, slowly, shoulders back, eyes flickering red. “I have seen glimpses of your past and your future. He can connect with machines at will. There are others who can control the will of individuals with their voice. Yet you disparage my gift. Why?”
“The future is fluid,” Asher said.
“Yes, but the past is fixed. A past leads to a future.”
“It can be changed. What if knowing what you’ve seen changes it? What if we make different decisions?” Asher licked his lips and looked at Ren. “It doesn’t have to turn out that way.”
“Oh, I see,” Nadie said with a warm smile. “Do not be frightened of your future. I have seen only pieces. There is always more than what I reveal.”
“We should go,” Ren said. He reached over and took Asher’s sleeve. “We need to get back to our ship.”
She dipped her chin and bowed slightly. “Go with the stars.”
“Yeah, uh, same.”
Ren pulled Asher through the beaded curtain, pretending he didn’t feel the tremors in Asher’s hands. He flipped up his hood, and they exited the shop.
“I’m sorry,” Ren blurted as soon as they stepped outside. “We shouldn’t have. It was a bad idea. I’ll pay you back the money. I’ll do chores on the ship, wash the dishes, fix the sensors. Anything.” Ren realized he was babbling, but he couldn’t stop. Any sense of peace he had experienced since being rescued by Rowan had been scattered on the wind by what Nadie revealed. His breath came in stuttered gasps.
“Hey,” Asher said, placing his hands on Ren’s shoulders. �
��Calm down. It wasn’t real. It was all guesses.”
“He’s going to find me.” Ren’s heart hammered. “I’m going to forget. Do you know what that means? I’m going to forget my humanity.”
“You’re not.”
“I am.” Ren gulped. “She said you were going to die.”
“Death can mean anything. She said I’d already died once and here I am walking around. I’m fine. You’re fine. Everything will be fine.”
“But what if it’s not?”
Asher gave Ren a firm shake. “The future is fluid. We can change it. We will change it.”
“Do you think we can?”
“Yes.” Asher said it firmly, and Ren almost believed him. “We should get back. Rowan is going to kill us if she realizes we left.”
“Don’t let me.”
Asher raised an eyebrow. “Don’t let you what? Get in trouble? Sorry, I can’t do anything about that. Rowan is the captain.”
“No, not that. Don’t let me. Okay? If I start to… if I experience another personality glitch… or if I’m about to do something horrific. You stop me, okay?”
“That’s not going to happen.” Asher moved to walk toward the ship, and Ren caught his elbow, stopping Asher in his tracks.
“Ash, please. Promise me.”
Asher looked down to where Ren’s fingers curled around the fabric of his shirt. He nodded. “I promise.”
“And you keep your promises. I know that about you.”
Asher’s lips ticked up in a grin. “Yeah, I do.”
With Asher’s promise, Ren felt mildly better, though Nadie’s words haunted him as they walked to the ship.
* * *
They got back mere moments before Rowan and the others entered the cargo bay. Asher and Ren shared a quick grin, especially when Penelope handed Ren a parcel of sweets and a sympathetic smile. Rowan didn’t learn of their adventure until days later, when the charges showed up on her credit chip.
10
Ren reclined on his bunk, bare feet up on the mattress, head and body cushioned on a pillow that was larger than any Ren had ever had. A technical manual lay open on his lap as he mapped the systems of the Star Stream. He studied the communication system and with a press of his fingertips against the wall of his room, allowed his eyes to flutter shut. With a small push, he was able to race along the wires and the circuits of the ship and follow the path of a message from Rowan on the bridge to Ollie in the hold.