“But you saved Adam,” I said. “That’s something.”
“That’s a great deal of something,” Raiya agreed. “And I take comfort only in that. But he might struggle with side effects for years to come.”
“They might be good side effects,” I suggested.
“True. We’ll have to see about that.” She shrugged. “My blood managed to revive Adam. When your mother learned what happened, she was so happy Adam was going to be okay. She promised me if I needed any help, ever, she would be there for me.”
“I hope you got it in writing,” I said with a laugh. “She’ll never honor it otherwise.”
“I think that’s part of the reason she never liked me after that,” Raiya said. “I can’t blame her entirely. After all, I did get your dad to cooperate on something pretty risky, while she was in a vulnerable state. Even if she didn’t know all of it, she knew I was dangerous.”
“She certainly seems to think that,” I agreed. “She’s not happy that we’re dating.”
“I’m surprised we still are dating,” Raiya admitted. “Especially if she is unhappy.”
“We’re still dating because I’m happy, not because my mother isn’t,” I assured her. I reached over and cradled her face in my palms, then drew her close to me. “And I’m so happy,” I told her, “that even when you make me angry or upset, I’m still happy.”
“I make you angry and upset?” She arched a brow at me, making me laugh before I leaned in and kissed her.
“You might give me pain,” I murmured against her mouth, “but you’re my pleasure, too.”
She clutched at me, and I went back to kissing her before either of us could start another argument.
*☼*
At the memory of Raiya telling me how she’d saved Adam, minutes after he was born, I tightened my grip on him as we flew through the sky. The loss of Time’s power to move us forward into the next second was probably harder on him than it was on me.
Maybe this is one of the side effects Raiya was worried about before.
Adam was content to ride piggyback style, while Elysian flew through the air beside us. I appreciated Adam seemed to sense, even at his young age, that this was an important mission and he had to behave. I also appreciated that I didn’t have to tell him not to rip out my feathers or pull on my armor.
“You okay, Adam?” I called back.
He said nothing, but I felt his grip on my shoulders squeeze just a little bit harder, and I took that as a good sign.
“We’re almost there,” I promised.
Elysian gave a loud roar as we approached the church where Aleia was staying. It was surprising to me, but when we landed in the back gardens, I realized he’d been calling ahead to let Aleia know we were coming.
“We need to get a phone plan or something,” I muttered. “Texting would make a lot of this easier.”
“I don’t think any of the companies would consider us a legitimate business,” Elysian said. “Besides, I would have trouble using the keys with my claws.”
“You seem to do okay with my parents’ TV remote.” From behind me, I thought I heard Adam giggle.
We glanced around as we landed in a small patch of starlight. Nothing else moved for a long moment, and then Aleia stepped out to see us.
Even in the moonlight, I could tell she was distraught.
“I was hoping you would come,” she said.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Are you hurt?”
“Not physically,” she said. “But my heart is aching.”
“Maybe we should go downtown and see Mikey,” I said, half in jest. “His medicine might be able to help.”
Elysian’s tail whacked me on the head. “That’s nothing to joke about.” He turned to Aleia, his eyes glazing over with at least a hundred percent more compassion. “How can we help?”
“Alora’s power is dwindling,” Aleia said. “And with my memory bubble broken, there’s no way for me to help her. I need to go see her as soon as possible.”
“St. Brendan is coming,” Elysian said. “He can’t be too far out.”
“I know.” She sighed, and I caught the hesitancy in her eyes.
“Are you worried about Orpheus, too?” I asked.
She pursed her lips. “Yes,” she admitted. “I’m worried that he was lying to me before.”
I shifted my feet into the ground uncomfortably, using the moment to shift Adam’s weight from one side of my back to the other. I didn’t know what to say to that, but I knew by now that “I told you so!” wasn’t the best option.
Even if it was most likely true.
Glancing between at Elysian and Adam, I knew we were all unsure (or unable) to say what needed to be said to make her better.
But I had an idea of what would help.
“I can’t help your pain,” I finally said, leading with empathy, “but I know what we can do while we’re stuck here. Let’s go out and see if we can find Asteropy or Elektra.”
“That’s a good idea.” Aleia made a show of straightening her tunic. “I know I shouldn’t despair.”
“It’s okay to mourn,” Elysian said. “But you can’t let life keep you down.”
She nodded, and I saw more resolve in her gaze. “I know,” she said. And then she came over, got on her tip-toes, and planted a small kiss on Elysian’s cheeks. “Thank you, Elysian.”
I swore I felt the heat from his blush. “No thanks needed,” he grumbled, but he suddenly had a solemn look on his face.
I knew that Elysian and Aleia had known each other before their respective falls from the Celestial Kingdom. I also knew Elysian well enough to know that he probably wondered whether or not Aleia, from whom he had stolen the special water from her star, had truly been able to forgive him.
Maybe that was what made him keep judging me, I thought. He doubts his own forgiveness, so he seeks to undermine my own redemption.
It wouldn’t surprise me.
I cleared my throat. “Well, let’s go.”
“Wait,” Aleia said, “what are you going to do with your brother? He probably shouldn’t be fighting with us.”
“Ugh, you’re right,” I groaned. “Well, let’s go to Rachel’s and see if Mary can watch him while we work. With any luck, if time resumes, I’ll be able to sneak him back into our house before Mark or Cheryl are any wiser.”
I didn’t know how well the plan would work out; but when I saw the lights on in Rachel’s, a sense of hope flared up inside of me.
“Mary?” I called tentatively, opening the door. I left Elysian and Aleia outside as I walked in and glanced around the café.
“Mary’s upstairs.”
I jerked around to see Grandpa Odd, not sitting at his usual seat by the bar, but in the back of the room. “Grandpa Odd.”
He smiled in greeting and confirmation.
He’s okay with the time stops, I reminded myself. That means he knew about Mary, too.
I didn’t know whether to be happy about that or not. “I guess you know that Raiya’s not here,” I said slowly.
“I know my granddaughter better than anyone,” he said, “and Mary, while she is charming and lovely, and dutiful as ever, is not my granddaughter.”
“So you know where she’s gone?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “She’s gone to see her prince about getting a new wish, so she can live freely once more in the Celestial Kingdom.”
“I guess you do know,” I said.
He laughed. “I salute you, Wingdinger, sir,” he said, “but I must warn you not to underestimate me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“Astraiya, like all Stars, has a destiny,” he said, surprising me with the use of her Star name. “And she will meet it one day. I will see to that.”
“Okay,” I said with a shrug. What was that about? “In the meantime, can you tell me anything useful? Is Mary here?”
“She’s coming. She was, like the rest of us, not expecting the time stop. But I do happen to
know that St. Brendan will be here the next time Alora’s power stalls,” he said. “So you can tell Aleia to take heart.”
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“I told you before,” he said easily enough, “I’m here from the Celestial Kingdom myself, on assignment. That means I’m privy to certain information others are not.”
“I’ve heard that this world can cloud your memory of the other side of Time.”
“Prince Adonaias has no problem crossing the different planes of existence,” Grandpa Odd pointed out.
“But he’s not a fallen Star—”
“Hamilton,” Mary called as she came out from the back of the kitchen. “I’m here.” She nodded to Grandpa Odd. “Thanks.”
As she turned to me, I nodded toward Adam. “I was wondering,” I said, “since Starry Knight’s not here, if you wouldn’t mind watching him while we go investigate.”
“No problem,” Mary said with a smile. She reached over and took Adam, who instantly clung to her. “I imagine it’s hard for him to experience this sort of thing.”
“I don’t even want to think about what will happen if we have another stop like last time,” I said. “Mark mentioned to me the daycare place had a lot of issues with him on the day that Alora’s power stopped.”
Mary nodded. “Go,” she said. “I’ll take care of him.”
“Thanks.” I waved and headed out the door. Before I left, I turned to Grandpa Odd. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Asteropy and Elektra are, would you?”
“The Sinisters are not a terribly creative bunch,” he said. “As far as evil goes, it can’t create anything on its own, but only uses what it is given; it has a limited creativity.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
“It means that I think it’s likely you’ll find them in familiar places.” His eyes twinkled, and his wrinkled face seemed even older as he smiled.
“I guess I should’ve known that Raiya didn’t learn to be cryptic and unhelpful on her own.” I sighed and rolled my eyes as I headed back outside.
☼13☼
Greed
I wasn’t entirely sure what Grandpa Odd meant by his “clues,” if indeed he meant anything at all. He seemed like the kind of person that would trick me into wasting time and effort and energy—something I absolutely, absolutely hated. The best thing I could guess was that I should look in other places where the Sinisters had shown up.
Immediately, I ruled out any high schools; they were out for the night, so it was unlikely that anyone would be there, aside from a janitor or a night watchman. It was also unlikely that Asteropy or Elektra would go where there was little power or money involved in their daily business routines.
The last battle had been at the Time Tower, I recalled. “Maybe we should look there.”
“Look where?” Elysian asked as he scooted through the sky beside me.
“The Time Tower,” I said, pointing toward the clock tower that dominated Apollo City’s skyline. “It’s going the power component for Asteropy, and I’ve been wanting to check it out anyway.”
“Why did you want to go there?” Aleia asked, leaning forward as she sat astride Elysian’s back. “Did you find something new from our battle with them a few months ago?”
“Maybe,” I said with a shrug. “The Time Tower is home to the Skarmastad Foundation. They’re the ones who are making Mikey’s medicine.”
“Medicine?”
“They’ve been using Star blood,” I told her. I briefly explained the connections between SWORD and the Skarmastad Foundation. Between the medicine, the radiation machines, and the meteorite—not to mention the money—I started getting more suspicious by the moment.
“What makes you think the Sinisters would be there, if SWORD is trying to stop them, same as we are?” Elysian asked. “Wouldn’t they be further away?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “But Grandpa Odd is right; they aren’t a terribly creative bunch, and if they were able to hide from us, then it might make sense for them to go where we would least expect them.”
“Grandpa Odd?” Elysian repeated. “That old man you hate?”
“More or less, yes.”
“He’s a Star, too?”
“I guess.”
Aleia spoke up. “He’s not a Star,” she said, “but he is from the Celestial Kingdom.”
“He’s Raiya’s mentor,” I added. “He’s raised her and taught her about her power.”
“And we didn’t know?” Elysian asked.
“Well, I did,” I objected. “You know, after the last time that Alora’s power was interrupted.”
“I knew there was something unusual about him when I first saw him.” Elysian frowned. “Well, if he is from the Celestial Kingdom,” he said, “then he might have a point about the Sinisters. We should at least check it out.”
“So, let’s go to the Time Tower,” I said.
“Are you sure?” Aleia asked. “If there’s another place—”
“We had that big battle with Orpheus and the Sinisters at the park, and that other one near the observatory,” I said. “Then there was that one at City Hall where Krono tried to kill me … ”
My voice trailed off as we passed over City Hall, and my wrist started to hum with small pain.
“Okay, never mind about the Time Tower,” I grumbled. “There’s activity down there.” I nodded in the direction of City Hall and swiftly turned my wings toward my new intended destination.
Maybe both Elektra and Asteropy are here, and we can finally capture them, and then Gwen will wake up, and Mikey could be discharged from the hospital. Assuming that Dante doesn’t have a backup plan to protect him by poisoning him or something.
I could only hope.
As we landed at the front of the building, I felt the slow-burning twinge of my wrist burst into full-on pain.
“Ouch,” I cried, grabbing my wrist. “You know, this has got to be the stupidest way of letting me know that evil’s around.”
“If it’s effective, it’s probably not stupid,” Elysian said, making me glare at him vehemently.
I graciously decided not to comment (or hit him). Instead, I knew it was better to channel my frustration into defeating the real enemy. I turned to Aleia. “Can you scout around the building? Elysian and I will check inside.”
“You have better knowledge of the building’s insides,” Aleia said. “I haven’t been in here since the last time a Sinister and her minions were in here.”
“That was Elektra,” I said. “So she’s the one who’s likely here.”
“We’d better make sure she doesn’t try to take your soul again,” Aleia said. “It would be harder without Starry Knight here to return it.”
“Why?” I asked. “She’s told me before of the Starsoul, and the different parts of the soul and spirit. Why can she help me?”
“Because you love her,” Aleia said simply enough. “Once a human’s Soulfire is free from the Sinisters, it’s easy enough to return to the body. But for you, the Starfire inside of you—the raw materials that make you who you are, bound up inside your Starsoul—would want to return to the Immortal Realm. With Starry Knight here, you are more likely to want to stay here, with her.”
“I see.” I frowned. “What do we do if she takes yours?”
Aleia paused for a moment. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” she finally remarked.
Before I could reply, she gave me a rueful glance. “Or maybe we should. Then I could return to Alora and see what’s going on up there.”
“Don’t say that.” I patted her arm lightly, feeling awkward. This is more Raiya’s department, I thought. “I know these things hurt. But you’re a member of our team, and it’s just not complete without you. We need you here to help.” I glanced over at Elysian, who came over and rubbed his cheek against her leg affectionately, almost like a large, scaly cat of some kind.
“Don’t worry,” Aleia said with a small smile. “I know I
have a purpose here.”
“No,” I argued, “you have friends here.” I whipped out my sword. “Come on, we need to go now. There’s no telling when Alora’s power will resume.”
“True.” Aleia gave my hand a quick squeeze. “Thank you. I’ll see you in a bit.” She smiled as she patted Elysian on the head before she headed out.
“That was kind of you,” Elysian said. “I’m surprised.”
“We’re all hurting, Elysian,” I snapped. “Even you are, aren’t you?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You never do,” I pointed out. “Maybe you should tell more people about what happened with you and Draco. It could be helpful to you. To, you know, feel better and stuff.”
Technically, therapy is supposed to work, right?
“I don’t need to feel better,” he retorted. “I needed to be better. And it’s too late for me now. Once I took the bloodwater from Aleia’s star, it was over for me. I deserved to be punished and went into exile. I don’t talk about it with a lot of people. In fact,” he said, “Aleia and you are the only ones who know the truth down here, so far as I know.”
I was surprised. “Starry Knight doesn’t know? But you asked her about Draco before.”
“I’ve never told her the full story,” he contended. “But she probably has her suspicions.”
“That’s probably true.”
Another moment passed before I pushed through the glass door, glad it was unlocked; it was indeed a relief to know I wouldn’t have to break in. “Let’s go. I’m going to head for my usual office space in the back, near the Mayor’s office. You take the records and the departmental offices. Let’s meet back at here when we’re done searching.”
“Right. See you in a bit,” he called, already speeding off.
“Keep it down,” I yelled back. “There’s no need to alert them to our presence.”
Elysian had flown off, heading down the halls with haste; I was a bit more cautious in my steps. My marked wrist still pulsed with pain, but it was getting easier to bear.
I heard a moan drift eerily down the hallway. “Gotcha,” I muttered and headed off to start the fight, determined to stop the Sinisters or any of their demon monsters.