Among the Stars

  Chapter 10

  We’re almost to L.A. when Orion wakes me. I didn’t get a wink of sleep after Orion left and when we regrouped to leave in the morning Orion didn’t look like he had either. Canis was full of energy and gave us weird looks when he saw the bags under our eyes but he offered to drive and Orion gave him the keys. I barely made it two hours on the road before I fell asleep in the backseat of the car. I rub the sleep from my eyes and sit up. Orion hands me a bottle of water and a paper bag.

  “You missed lunch,” he says while giving me a smile. He isn’t acting weird about last night so I take that as a good sign. I thank him and eat the sandwich and chips that were in the bag.

  “You know you sure can snore,” Canis says while I munch on my food.

  “I don’t snore,” I say, glaring at him. Stacy teased me about the same thing though when we were younger. Mortified that I was snoring and drooling in the back seat the whole way I turn to Orion. “Do I?”

  “Not even a wheeze,” he says but Canis gives him a look and Orion turns to look out the window, suppressing a smile. Great, that doesn’t help put my mind at ease at all.

  “We should be in L.A. in a few hours. We’ll check into the hotel then head to the club,” Orion informs me.

  “I can’t believe I slept the whole way.” Sure I barely got a couple hours of sleep between the nightmare and talking to Orion but still I don’t normally sleep entire days away.

  “You were tired,” he says and I wonder what kinds of emotions he sensed from me last night. “Plus it’s good you are well rested for tonight. You won’t want to miss anything.”

  “You weren’t the only one sawing logs,” Canis says. “He slept almost as long as you did.”

  Orion just shrugs. I’m glad he got some sleep. With his arm who knows what kind of symptoms will start showing up, he needs to rest and keep his strength up.

  -------------------------------------------------

  I was in my hotel room changing into clothes more suitable for the clubbing scene when I heard them fighting. I moved closer to the wall so I could hear more clearly.

  “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Canis demanded.

  “I didn’t think it would help the situation,” Orion replied.

  “You always do this!”

  “Do what?”

  “Pull this lone wolf crap. I’m sick of it. For once in your life can you just stop pretending you’re fine?”

  “I am fine.”

  “No, you aren’t. That’s evidence right there.”

  There was a long silence before Canis talked again.

  “Is there anything else you need to tell me?”

  “No.”

  “After all these years you’re still trying to protect me.”

  “Old habits die hard.”

  “Just like us.”

  That had been the end of it. When I went out to meet them there was no hint of coldness from either of them. They were the same as always. It would take more than a secret to create a rift between them.

  As we left the hotel Orion gave me a ring. It was an elegant silver band with a black and silver gemstone. The gemstone reminded me of their eyes when they use their powers.

  “What’s this?” I asked. Orion held out his hand where a thinker silver band with an inset band of the same gemstone rests on his middle finger. I had never noticed it before.

  “This marks you as one of us. It will get you into all the places we can go in the club but the humans can’t. You shouldn’t need it but with the ring if we get separated you’ll still be able to get through security and you won’t have to worry about getting thrown out.” He explained.

  “Oh okay,” I slipped the ring on my middle finger like Orion’s. “Do you always wear these?”

  “No, it’s just easier to move about in the club with them.” So that’s why I haven’t seen the ring on him before.

  Now we are standing in front of the Zodiacs’ club. Oddly it’s actually called The Zodiac. Pretty obvious but maybe that’s what they were going for. People are lined up for a block to get into the club. Orion leads us straight to the front and flashes his ring at the bouncer, who lets us right in. I don’t know what I expected the club to look like but this sure wasn’t it. From what I can see the club has three different sections that flow together. You have the bar, a lounge area, and the dance floor. The bar is made out of some kind of polished metal that makes it look like a mirror and has a sleek modern design to it. All the barstools are clear and have blue lights running through them that make them glow. The couches in the lounge area are silver and people are draped all over them. The dance floor is lighted up and strobes flash in time to the music. All around silvers, blues, and greens flash, tying the colors of the club together.

  I think the best part is the ceiling though. Somehow they managed to make it look like the night sky. 3D stars and galaxies twinkle and swirl in constant patterns. These are some major special effects. Orion sees me admiring the ceiling and leans down to talk in my ear so I can hear him.

  “It’s part of their powers,” he yells over the music.

  “They are doing this?” I yell back. He nods and I’m even more amazed than I was to begin with. No wonder it looks so lifelike.

  The club is packed and I stick close to Orion as he pushes his way through the crowd. Canis follows behind me. We make it to the far corner where another bouncer stands guarding a door. This time all three of us show our rings and he pushes a button next to the door. A green light turns on above the door and the door opens. Once we are inside, the door closes and I can’t hear the music anymore. In front of us is a staircase that we ascend. At the top is a hallway with another door at the end. We make our way down the hall and Orion opens the door without knocking.

  The room screams fancy. One whole wall is a window overlooking the club. The rest of the walls are decorated with paintings that look like they should be in a museum. There’s a small bar in the corner and in the center of the room there’s a circular couch that’s cut in half so that there are two openings to access it. Scattered about the room are twelve people.

  Six guys dressed in suits of varying styles and colors and six girls in dresses of varying styles and colors. They all look to be in their mid-twenties. Power permeates the room.

  “Orion and Canis,” says a man with golden hair. He walks over, grabs my hand, and kisses it. “Who is your lovely companion?”

  “Ailey, meet Leo,” Orion introduces us.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” I say politely. Leo smiles brightly and kisses my hand one more time before letting it go.

  “The pleasure is all mine.” He moves to my side and puts his arm around my shoulders, ushering me away from Orion and closer to the center of the room. “Please, allow me introduce you to everyone.”

  As he led me around the room, I picked out little aspects of each one to help me remember who they were.

  Taurus was easy to remember because he actually looked like a bull. His upper half was wide and muscular but his waist and legs oddly small for the rest of his body. Aries had short curly hair that I used to remind me of the curled ram’s horns. He also bobbed his head a lot when he talked. Cancer had long lean legs like a crab. Sagittarius was easy because she had an arrow tattoo along her collar bone. Pisces was a little difficult but I noticed his eyes shifted color like fish scales when the light hit them. Aquarius had long blue hair that spilled over her shoulders like water. Capricorn kept tapping his foot on the ground and I immediately thought of how my uncle’s goats would jump around, stamping the ground with their hooves. Virgo was dressed all in white; she even had white lipstick on. Libra always had his head tilted to one side like weights were attached to his earlobes. Scorpio had long pointed nails that clicked together like pinchers.

  After going all around the room, I thought for sure I had met everyone but Leo’s eyes continued to search the room. “Where did,” he starts to say when a voice right n
ext to my ear makes me jump.

  “Hello,” it says. I turn and a man is standing so close to my face I can see the blue flecks in his grey eyes.

  “Ah,” Leo says, “and there’s Gemini.”

  “Hello,” I say to Gemini. He stares intently at my face then grabs my hand. He holds up my hand and looks at the ring Orion gave me.

  “You must be special if you have this ring,” he says.

  “Well, I,” his sudden appearance and contact make me struggle to form words. Libra, who was sitting with Scorpio wrapped around him, pushes her off from his lap and takes my hand from Gemini.

  “Star rings are only for those like us and the ones they are closest to,” he says.

  “She has a ring?” Virgo asks excitedly. She pushes her way between the men and grabs my hand. “Who gave it to you? Oh they must love you. I just love love. Please tell me everything.”

  Suddenly I’m surrounded by more of the Zodiacs asking questions about who gave it to me, how long had we been together, why was I here, was Orion or Canis the one who gave me the ring? They all crowded around me and yanked my hand around trying to get my attention. I can’t think of what to say and I’m getting nervous being surrounded by so many people. Sensing my discomfort, Orion reaches through the group and pulls me out.

  “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t touch her without her permission,” he says sternly. The Zodiacs turn and stare at us. Uncomfortable with their stares I move closer to Orion.

  Taurus speaks from his place by the window, “There’s your answer.”

  The rest of the Zodiacs murmur their agreement. All except Leo, he glares at Orion with annoyance. What is going on? Is this all over because I’m wearing one of their rings? Orion made it seem like it wasn’t a big deal. Maybe it’s a bigger thing than he made it out to be.

  “I gave her the ring so she could get through here without me if need be. That is all.” Orion looks angry for some reason.

  “Then you won’t mind if she sits by me.” Leo grabs my arm and starts to pull me towards the couch. Orion grabs his hand and pulls it off of me.

  Orion gets right in Leo face and whispers, “Maybe you should ask her if she wants to sit with you.”

  The other Zodiacs back up, giving the two ample room.

  “Men,” Sagittarius scoffs.

  “Oh come on, you love a good fight just as much as the rest of us,” Aquarius says to her.

  “Especially over love,” Virgo swoons, looking at the two men admiringly.

  “How much you wanna bet Leo wipes the floor with him?” Aries says to Taurus.

  “Don’t be so quick to count him out,” Libra muses. “After all, he is an Elite.”

  Just as their eyes start turning color, Canis steps in.

  “Why don’t we take a few moments and cool off. We came here for information, not to start a fight.” Canis places a hand on both of their shoulders and their eyes return to normal. Orion steps back and I breathe a sigh of relief.

  “Can’t fight your own battles, Orion? Have to have the dog save your ass?” Leo sneers in disgust.

  “You know very well I would win. Or have you forgotten Egypt?” Orion says defiantly. Leo lunges at Orion but Gemini holds him back, except now there’s two of him. The two Gemini each hold an arm while Leo spits words at Orion.

  “You bastard! I loved that monument!”

  “You’re the one who broke it. Not me.” Orion shrugs. I’ve never seen him like this, it’s like he wants to fight Leo.

  “Only because you threw me into it!” Leo continues to try and break out of Gemini’s grasp. One of the Gemini whispers something in his ear and Leo looks over at me with golden eyes that match his golden hair. Something passes over his face and he nods his head and Gemini lets him go. He straightens his suit and composes himself. Canis nods to Gemini in thanks, he nods back before becoming one person again. So like Canis Morphs into a canine, Gemini Morphs into two people, that explains why Gemini is called the Twins.

  “You said you came for information. How can we help you?” Leo speaks to Canis. While Canis explains the situation I walk up to Orion.

  “Are you okay?” I whisper to him. Everyone is listening to Canis so no one is paying us any attention.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” He says curtly.

  “I’ve just never seen you get so upset, even when Alex-”

  He interrupts me.

  “Just drop it.” He storms over to Canis without even looking at me. I try to ignore the hurt I feel at him brushing me off but I can’t. His moods shift from open to distant in a blink of an eye. It’s exhausting trying to keep up with him. I didn’t ask for any of this but sometimes it feels like it’s all my fault. The reason Orion got hurt was because he was saving me and then I wanted to come along on this trip but all I do is follow them around uselessly.

  Cancer walks over to me with the grace that would make any dancer jealous.

  “Maybe you should go to the main floor,” she says. There’s no malice in her voice, just a look in her eyes that suggests she knows something that I don’t. Feeling hurt and angry at Orion, and myself, I decide to take her advice and go down to the club. “The ring will get you anything you want from the bar, free of charge,” she adds as I turn to leave. I nod that I understand.

  The bouncer nods at me and I make my way to the bar. I decide to try this ring out. The list of drinks is extensive and I have no clue what to order. I recognize the normal drink names but there’s also drinks named with star themes. Each of the Zodiacs have a drink named after them, there’s something called a Star Slinger, and there’s even one called a Black Hole. I flash my ring at the bartender and he comes over right away.

  “What can I get you?” the bartender asks me.

  “Is there anything that will make me forget that last four days?” I ask, half serious. The bartender laughs and makes me something that glows blue. I’ve never been a drinker, at parties I rarely drank a beer let alone something stronger, but something about the club’s atmosphere makes me want to drink and dance. I tentatively take a sip and start choking. It burns and tastes like what bleach smells like.

  “What is this?” I sputter.

  “Probably best you don’t know,” he says with a smile.

  “Is it safe to drink?” I ask, suspicious that he may be trying to kill me. His only reply is another laugh and he goes to help other customers. “Well, here goes nothing.”

  I take another sip and it goes down better. Maybe it just takes some getting used to. I look up at the VIP area but the wall is just mirrors. They must be two way mirrors. It’s kind of creepy knowing they can see the whole club and no one knows. I finish my drink and order another one. My phone buzzes with a text message. It’s Orion asking where I am. I put my phone back without responding. Maybe it’s what happened or maybe it’s the drinks talking but I don’t feel like being a follower anymore. I’m going do what I want to do and right now that’s drink and dance. I finish my drink and move to the dance floor.

  I join the mass of dancing bodies and move with the beat. I’m lost in the music and atmosphere when I feel hands on my waist. I turn around to give whatever creep is touching me a piece of my mind but when I see who it is I hesitate.

  “May I dance with you?” Leo yells so I can hear him over the music. I nod and place my hands on his shoulders, a part of me wanting to rebel against my safe nature, the drinks making me braver than I normally am. He smiles and guides me with his hands to the beat of the music.

  “Your boyfriend is looking for you,” he informs me.

  “He’s not my boyfriend,” I say, a bit annoyed that everyone seems to think so.

  “Happy to hear it. Not that I don’t enjoy a challenge.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “There’s something unique about you, Ailey. Something special.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The only thing special about me is my apparent ability to get into crappy situati
ons.

  “I sensed it as soon as you walked through that door. I watched the wonder on your face as you looked at the ceiling and I knew I had to meet you. Then those two brought you right to me. Sounds like fate doesn’t it?”

  “I really don’t know about fate.” He seems sincere but the way he acted with Orion makes me think he’s just trying to push buttons. I’m in no mood to be a piece in a game.

  “I like you and I’m a man of action. I go after what I want and I don’t beat around the bush. And what I want, Ailey, is you.” The softness in his eyes makes me rethink my previous impression of him.

  “Leo I’m flattered but-” he puts his finger up to stop me.

  “Don’t say anything. Just let me give you something.” He gently takes my hand and kisses my wrist. Warmth radiates across my skin and when he removes his lips there’s a phone number and a tiny lion glowing where his lips touched my skin. Surprised, I look up at Leo who smiles. “It will go away by morning so remember to put it into your phone. You can call me anytime for anything.”

  I’m stunned by his gentle words and the glowing tattoo on my wrist. After a moment it stops glowing and turns black. My mind is a little fuzzy from the drinks and all I can manage is a nod for a reply. Leo goes to say more but suddenly looks over to the side of the club. I follow his gaze to find Orion and Canis standing there watching us.

  “Looks like they are waiting for you.” Leo kisses me on the cheek and I feel heat creep into my face. “I hope to hear from you soon.” He drops his hands from my waist and I make my way over to Orion and Canis.

  “Ready to go?” Canis asks. Orion doesn’t look at me.

  “Yeah.”

  I follow them and we weave through the crowd towards the door. I look back to see if Leo is still on the dance floor but he’s gone. I turn and follow Canis out of the club; leaving the music and lights behind me.