The Star Caster (9 page)

I stand up next to Sterren and watch his muscles flex and relax as he stretches. He lifts his hands toward the sky and his shirt lifts up again, exposing his abs. Oh gosh, he needs to stop
doing things like that.

“Practice casting another star, first. Then, I’ll tell you what to say,” he says.

I lift my hand up and feel that same first star, the one that I practiced with earlier. “Wait,” I say. “I used this star; how is it back with me?”

Sterren smiles at me. “No one wished on it,” he answers.

“But I didn’t feel it come back. I never felt myself become whole again,” I state.

“It’
s a gradual, slow feeling, one that we never really notice.”

I nod in answer and continue to pull the star from my cheek. When I am, once again, holding it in my hand, I look up at Sterren.

His eyes are filled with that same sadness, and I almost throw the star away in anger, knowing what it’s doing to him. But, I hesitate, and turn to cast it properly.

When the sparkling tail of light is gone forever, the same sense of loneliness envelopes me like a cloak. “What are the words?” I ask him.

“As your star is cast, I grant thee a wish,” Sterren says.

“That’s it?”
I let my jaw fall open after speaking, because I was waiting for something spectacular. Instead, I am left with Sterren’s simple words.

Sterren shrugs. “It’s enough to get the human to start speaking his part,” he answers.

“Oh, that makes sense.” I relax then, with one knee bent and my hand on my hip, ready to hear what the humans had to say before making their wishes. I know that I don’t have to ask.

Sterren leans forward, pulling me into h
is next few words. I stand straighter, interested because of the new look on his face. He wears an expression that indicates both humor and sincerity. This is an odd expression, and I smile at him. He smiles back and reaches out to take my hands. “Now, don’t laugh,” he says to me.

I giggle and Sterren raises his eyebrow. “Sorry,” I say as I sober up. For some reason, I can already feel the laughter burning in my chest again. I’m a sucker for doing the opposite of what people want me to do. So, when Sterren says don’t laugh, I laugh.
But, for him, I try to contain it as much as possible. I have a feeling that the words that the humans say are going to be just as plain as the words that I say, so it’s not difficult. However, there is the possibility that it’s something ridiculously stupid. In the end, I’m stuck pressing my lips together.

Sterren rolls his eyes at me.
Then he begins to recite something. His voice is a soft whisper that floats around the room like the summer air.

              “Star light, star bright – wishing star, you are mine.

I close my eyes at first sight and grant myself a wish tonight.
”

I don’t laugh. Instead, a frown crosses my lips. This was obviously where that nursery rhyme came from. And I used to say it to myself all the time. Now that I know its true meaning, it is no longer a favorite. “That’s like finding the truth behind
Ring around the Rosy
, Sterren. It’s horrible,” I state.

Sterren answers by leaning over and pulling me into him. “I’m sorry,” he whispers into my ear. I smile, despite my current feeling of sadness, and close the distance between us. I cannot get enough of his mouth. The way it moves over mine, leading me, is exhilarating.

Sterren pulls back suddenly, his hands tangled in my hair.
He looks me in the eyes, studying me. “Danika,” he says, “I need you to know something about us.” He holds my head, forcing me to acknowledge his words, and I do. “I meant it when I said that Star Casters are meant to be together. It’s an instinct, a call in our veins, our minds.”

I lean back a little.
“And?” I ask.

“And I want to be with you. I didn’t lie when I said that I wanted you.”

“You can’t lie,” I say with a lazy smile.

Sterren sighs before continuing. “Danika,” he says with a laugh. Then, he leans forward and presses his full lips to mine.

Chapter
7

“It is time,” interrupts Ego’s voice.

I jerk back, startled by his presence. I didn’t even hear him come in. Then again, I was completely enthralled by Sterren’s
mouth and hands. He is incredible, and I force myself to stop thinking about it. I gather myself and turn to face Ego, annoyed that he interrupted us.

“Now,” he threatens.

I sigh and pull myself away from Sterren. We both stand, and Sterren pulls me to his side. I’m standing, half beside and half behind him. I know that he won’t let me go this time. It’s too risky now.

“Come,” Ego says tiredly.

I turn and look at Sterren and notice a worried expression cross his features. His hand grips mine more tightly as we begin walking, and my heart begins to race again.

Be afraid of him. He is dangerous.

My eyes widen at Ego’s blatant warning. Oh no, if Ego is even warning me, this new guy must really be crazy, crazier even than Val is.

Do not lie to him.

I nod like Ego can see me, but he mumbles assent into my head, so I know he saw something.

And do not speak unless he tells you to.

This new guy is for real.

Up ahead, Ego’s silhouette is rising as he walks up the three stairs that lead to the door of his home. My heart, once again, begins racing. When he opens the door, the light that shines inside the living area blinds me, and I walk in unarmed.
I’m not ready to face what lies before me, but I will struggle through it.

“Star Caster,” says the real leader.
He is standing in the center of the room, arms crossed over his chest as he stares me down.

I take a deep
, steadying breath before speaking. “Yes?” I ask in a small voice, one so small that I am almost sure that he cannot hear it. I force myself to look into his eyes, though; it is a sign of respect and strength, and I do not want him to think of me as weak.

“You have come to cast your star for us, but first we must go out into the night. We must find out what you, lone Star Caster, can do for us.
Then, we will make our dreams come true.”

I shudder. I am not ready to do this. I will never, in a thousand years, be ready to do this. But, I gather my courage like I would a long gown, and respond. “Okay,” I say, even though my voice quivers.

“Ego, Val – take this woman out. Bring the sacrifice.”

Great.
Now it’s going to get worse.

“But what about you, Sire? Will you join us?” Val asks the huge man.

The man uncrosses his arms and steps forward. “I will be right behind you, watching your every move,” he warns.

Val stumbles back and nods furiously. He turns around and pushes Sterren and I forward. We move up the stairs quickly, and I can’t help but get lost as we make our way through what feels like a hundred corridors and stairwells.

Finally, we step out into the cool, night air. The breeze makes the hair on my skin stand up, and I feel like a rabbit out in the open. I want to bolt. I want to hide.

Ego pushes past the
four of us. He makes his way across a large yard and walks over a hill that stands about twenty feet in front of where I now stand. He disappears for a moment, before his figure pops back over the horizon. He is now dragging a blindfolded stranger. As this new person comes closer, I see that it is most definitely a homeless man. He is wearing tattered clothes, and has a long beard. He smells of alcohol, whisky to be exact, and he is jittery. By the time he reaches us, his breathing is heavy.

“Your time has come,” Ego says to the man as he pulls off the blindfold. The man blinks furiously, trying
to bring his new world into focus. He lifts his dirty hands and rubs his eyes. I can almost feel the fear as he takes in his surroundings. But, when his eyes find me, he smiles.

I stare at him and
squint my eyes. What does this man want? And what are they planning on doing with him after they find out that I have no magical abilities or powers?

“I want my wish,” the homeless man grumbles.

I glance at Sterren and sigh. Well, this is it.

Sterren nods reassuringly and lets my hand go. “You know what to do,” he whispers.

I lift my left hand and reach for my first star. The warm tattooed skin tingles as it heats my fingertips, and I pull it until I hold the star in my hand. It sparkles, just like it had in the dark dungeon. However, it appears to be brighter than it was when it was trapped underground. Now, it shines brightly, a real star.

The homeless man sucks in air and a gleam of greed flashes across his face. He had been skeptical about this, but now things were different. I could almost feel the plethora of wishes cross his contaminated thoughts. “I wish to have my love back,” he says to me.

Ego growls before I can tell him that he cannot make his wish yet. “We told you what to do,” he reminds the homeless man. “Do not mess up,” he adds.

The greed within the homeless man’s eyes flicker to reveal anger and a cold heart. I am afraid of him. I am afraid of what he’ll wish for
this time, because I have a feeling that it won’t be the same.

I breathe in as I prepare myself for casting my first real star. I pull my arm back, ready to throw my star into the sky. Before I let it go, I whisper the words. And when
the star leaves my hand, it shoots up in a fury of fireworks and sunlight. As it flies into the sky, the homeless man begins to recite the rhyme.

“Star light, star bright – wishing star, you are mine.

I close my eyes at first sight and grant myself a wish tonight.”

As the words tumble from his lips, a great surge of power fills my veins. I feel a burning sensation flow through me, and look down at my hands to find that they are glowing with the light of my beautiful star.
In fact, my whole body is glowing, right down to the ends of my glittering blonde hair. I turn to face Sterren, knowing that I am beautiful.

The man’s next words pull me from my happiness. “I wish to have this man killed,” the homeless man says.

My head snaps toward my captor, the man who has spoken his first wish. I look into his muddy eyes and nod unwillingly. Then, the power rushes through my veins once more, moving from my heart to my hands. I lift my left hand up and point a finger at Ego. It is a death sentence, and I fight to take it back; I know that this is my power, that they were right. But now, it would be used against them.

As soon as my elbow locks into place, a bolt of energy that mimics lightning releases itself from my body. I feel like a magician, knowing that th
e bolt is escaping through the very finger that points at Ego. His face is horrifying. His ugly mouth is contorted; it’s something between a sneer and a frown, and it’s terrible, because I am the one causing it. Ego’s immortal life is ending because of one man’s wish. His life is ending because humans are impulsive. And it’s my fault, because I am the one making it come true.

As the bolt of energy hits Ego’s chest, he falls to his knees. Val runs forward to collect his fallen brother, and he holds
Ego so that he doesn’t plummet to the ground. No matter what, no death should be ungraceful, and I am proud of Val for doing that.

It doesn’t take long for Val to recover from the shock, though.
He turns around, crazy and outraged at what happened. He lunges at the homeless man, who is still standing there, unaware and unprepared for Val’s brutal attack. When Val slams into the homeless man, there is no stopping him. He has hit crazy mode again, and no one – not even the leader of the twins – is stupid enough to stop him.

I watch, horrified, as Val tears this man limb from limb.
In the end, bloody body parts litter the ground, scattered around Val. He is breathing slowly now, and tears and blood are smeared across his face. He stands and lifts his head proudly, ready to face his master.

“Good,” the
man’s voice rumbles.

Val looks up at him like a child.
He nods. “Thank you, Sire. I am glad to have made you proud of me.”

I’m blinking, trying to figure everything out, when S
terren grabs my hand and squeezes it, silently preparing me for what could happen next. Thankfully, the leader doesn’t kill Val. Instead, the large man just opens his arms. Val walks into them, torn and breaking because of his brother’s death. I almost feel sorry for him, but it’s hard to feel sorry for someone that kidnapped you. So, I just stand there, wide-eyed and stunned. My nerves are buzzing, and I know that my mind is protecting itself from what it has witnessed. But when Val pulls away from the large man, I am yanked out of my protective bubble. And it all crashes down as the leader says five simple, yet frightening words. “Shall we get her father?”

A terrified scream erupts from my throat. “No!” I shout as I rush forward, ready to kill both of them. Sterren grabs my waist and holds me still, forcing me to stay with him. His voice reaches my ear a moment later, a soft embrace.
“Shh,” he says. “They have already seen death.”