Starbright (The Starbright Series) (48 page)

             
And then the attack stalled completely.

             
The Shadows retreated to the farthest corners of the room, staying near the ceiling or close to the ground. I felt like we had been entombed in a coffin of evil. This was not going well.

             
From the darkness Aliah stepped out and I couldn’t even be surprised to see him. I immediately softened my light to protect the dilapidated locker room from more damage.

             
Aliah was perfect as usual, his golden brown hair was swept back from his forehead and his intense hazel eyes seemed to match his hair color perfectly. They were crinkled in a happy expression and I couldn’t help but admire the strong lines of his handsome face. His evil nature made my stomach curdle in disgust, knowing it belonged to someone who looked exactly like an
A
ngel should.

             
“Aliah,” I growled. “This is clever.” I gestured with my sword to the room.

             
“What’s clever?” he asked, his lips twisting.

             
“School property….
We’re in here, surrounded by people we know…. broad daylight and all,” I offered while his smile grew.

             
“Oh that’s right, I forgot all about your moral code of conduct! Wouldn’t want to damage property that isn’t yours or blind an innocent bystander….” he laughed.

             
“Why are you here Aliah?” Seth asked and then sighed as if this was the biggest waste of time. “Didn’t we just go through this
the other
night?”

             
“We did,” Aliah admitted shortly. “But I didn’t get the outcome I was hoping for, so I thought I would try
again
and again and again until you give up pretending to be all holy light and join me!” I flinched at the way Aliah grew more animated with every word until he finished his sentence sounding disturbingly maniacal, his voice punching the syllables with a disconcerting poignancy.

             
“That will not happen Aliah, so why don’t we skip the next several weeks of you trying to court me and we end this right here, right now,” Seth growled, his eyes flashing with something other than light.

             
Aliah relaxed a little then, stretching his arms out like he was yawning. “Doesn’t it feel good?” He waited for us to respond and when we both stayed silent, poised to attack he continued, “The Darkness, can’t you feel it moving inside you, taking hold of those secret places you keep buried. It’s already there, it’s already made a bed. Just give in, let it take over. It’s so much easier. You will feel so much better, I promise.”

             
I took a step back at the hypnotizing tone to Aliah’s silky voice. He wasn’t speaking directly to me; he wasn’t even looking at me. He had eyes only for Seth and a direct link to his conscious. I watched Seth blush from embarrassment and frustration. He gripped his sword tighter but didn’t respond to Aliah verbally.

             
I hated that there was conflict inside of Seth.

             
I hated that Aliah knew exactly what to say.

             
But I also knew that
Seth had to deal with this himself, I couldn’t fight this particular battle for him. He swallowed and it looked painful. I watched the indecision rage inside of him, pulling him in two very different directions.

             
Seth faltered for a half a beat more, the cloud of uncertainty settling over him in an oppressive weight that held down his shoulders. He tilted his head away from Aliah to look at me. Our eyes locked, a thousand words and a hundred emotions spoken silently between us. And then his eyes went from pained to brutally determined and I knew which side of his internal battle one.  

             
“You can taunt me all you like, Uncle, but I will
never
join you,” Seth sneered.

             
I wasn’t the only one that flinched at Seth’s term of endearment.

             
“Your sister will be so disappointed to hear that,” Aliah stated simply.

             
“I warned you,” Seth growled.

             
“Oh about Seven?” Aliah laughed and then his expression turned cruel and serious. “You did warn me, but I have a hard time taking you children seriously. She is waiting for me though, better not keep her. She has quite the temper on her, feisty little thing. Did I tell you she was the one to end Sidra? She got so angry when Sidra wouldn’t tell her where you were, I’m afraid she just snapped a little bit. Not enough to completely diminish her light, just enough to dim it a little bit.”

             
“Dim her light?” Seth choked as h
e
and I tried to process Aliah’s explanation. “You’re not telling me that she still….”

             
But he couldn’t finish his thought out loud. I couldn’t even finish his thought inside my head.

             
It simply wasn’t possible.

             
Aliah shot me a wicked smile, his eyes dancing with malice and unrestrained delight. I wanted to turn my head and be sick but I couldn’t take my eyes off his.

             
“Enough of this,” he announced, still smiling. “End them.”

             
And then the Shadows descended again, swarming us before we could stop Aliah from leaving. My light flared to brightness and my sword moved before my brain could catch up. Seth mimicked my movements and our heads were forced from Aliah’s parting words to the battle at hand.

             
The Shadows were everywhere, endless in their attack. I fought against them as best I could but they were simply relentless. My arms moved in practiced strikes, and I was covered with the black tar of their blood. The small reprieve from the icy evil I had gotten during our conversation with Aliah was gone and my blood had turned into
the same kind of sleet that fel
l from the sky outside, it slushed around in my veins making me sluggish and stiff.

             
“We need a more open space,” I grunted to Seth and then let out a feral cry when the disgusting goop of a kill flew into my mouth tasting like acrid death.

             
“We have to get out of here,” Seth agreed, pushing back against a solid wall of evil advancing on him.

             
I turned my fight toward the door but it was completely obscured in the mass of Shadows advancing. I cursed loudly and then wondered how long they had been hiding down here, waiting for us. I wondered how thought out Aliah’s plan was, how deep it went.

             
I knew whatever happened today would have consequences that rippled for a long time, and I couldn’t help but just hope they included me and Seth…. alive.

             
“Do you remember the first day you were here? When you came to work out with Tristan and me?” I shouted, bracing myself for the blood splatter I would have to eat.

             
“Light up, Stella, that’s the only way we’re getting out of here,” Seth directed, clearly getting my message.

             
There wasn’t a moment to think over the consequences, I let my inner light burst from me in a supernova of heat and warmth. I prayed there were no humans directly outside the building because this was a death sentence for them if there were.

             
The light left me in folds of energy that shattered the ice in my veins and healed my weakening body. I was strong and capable again in my natural state, the brightest I had ever allowed myself to get. The awful shrieking sounds of Shadows filled my ears as they felt the effects of goodness burn through their evil little bodies. Some of them still made it through my force field of light before disappearing, but even then the cuts and injuries they were able to land on my body were quickly healed by the light. 

I could smell the melting lockers around me and I saw the wooden benches burst into flames. We had to get out of here before I blew up the entire building. I reached for Seth who stood in the protective radius of my light and grabbed his hand.

We blew through the small basement window with a shattering force and bypassed the bleachers and fence that lined the football field before landing in between the snow covered twenty and thirty yard lines. I extinguished my light immediately so I didn’t light the whole field on fire and then breathed in the fresh, cold air, turning on my back to look up at the now black sky.

Seth and I
lay
in a pile of upturned snow and dirt, our clothes singed and frayed. Both of us were covered in the dirt that flew up with our hard landing and I could feel new injuries begin to burn from the force of our impact.

Still our hands were held tightly in each other’s.

We laid there for a brief moment more, taking in all that just happened silently before Seth hopped to his feet, pulling me with him.

“Come on,” he ordered.

“Where are we going?” I asked breathlessly, not sure if I was ready for his answer.

“To find Aliah so I can kill him and my sister,” he answered and then took off for
the sky, my hand still in his.

Chapter Twenty

             
No sooner had we made it into the thick cloud cover than we met Seren
a
and Nate. They were untouched by battle yet and both sets of their eyes grew big when they met us.
The four of us clustered together made a hole in the black clouds we were taking cover in with our light. All four of us reflecting against the blackness and preparing our bodies to fight again.

             
“We got here as fast as we could, are you two alright?” Seren
a
asked, her eyes glowing with the bizarre mixture of concern and bloodlust.

             
“We’re fine, we just need to find Aliah,” Seth bit out, his eyes frantically searching through the dense,
murky
clouds.

             
“We tracked him here,” Nate said in a low voice and all of us tensed.

             
“He’s not alone,” I warned in a voice just above a whisper.

             
“Do you know who’s with him?” Seren
a
asked. A burst of lightning lit up behind her. None of us were afraid of lightning, but the dramatic effect paired with the gravity of the moment sent chills snaking over my body.

             
“My sister,” Seth replied.

             
“Among others,” Jupiter growled, meeting our powwow in the sky.

             
“Are my parents here?” I asked, wondering why he would be here but not them.

             
“They’re trying to control the situation out front,” Jupiter explained. “School was canceled after the weather turned dangerous. The fire department was still inspecting the school for bats when a fire started in the boy’s locker room. They went to deal with that situation, when one of the big
M
aples lining the parking lot was struck by lightning, toppling over and landing on a couple cars. Nobody was hurt, but the tree and excitement surrounding the fire have left students loitering in the parking lot. Your parents are trying to help clear everyone out while making sure they
stay
safe.”

             
But in my head I knew the truth, I knew they weren’t safe.
And they wouldn’t be safe until Seth and I destroyed this evil.

             
“How did this happen?” I growled, casting my eyes back to the
ground
that was obscured by cloud cover.

             
“Oh my Callisto,” Jupiter gasped suddenly. His voice was an angry snarl and his red eyes had turned a brilliant
reddish-orange
with intensity.

             
I followed his gaze, looki
ng through where the clouds
parted and the football field was visible. Aliah stood in the center of the field taunting me.

             
Or all of us, I realized when I saw Seth’s expression.

             
“I’m going to stay here for a moment,” Jupiter whispered. I glanced at Seren
a
and Nate to gauge their reaction to Jupiter’s hesitance, but when I saw their knowing smirks I decided there was more to Jupiter staying behind than fear.

             
Seren
a
led the charge to the field and
I
followed closely behind, landing
with my feet planted firmly on the snow packed ground.
Seth and Nate flanked us, their glows so brilliant and blinding I could feel the heat radiating from them. Suddenly I felt better just knowing Jupiter was in the clouds watching over us. He was a tangible guardian
A
ngel.