“That’s amazing,” Aleia said, “that you were able to see her.”
“I’m surprised I was able to stop her,” I admitted. “Sometimes I worry about her.”
“I can understand.”
“I mean, she was comfortable with sacrificing herself for her mission before. I’m worried she’ll still feel that way. And I’m more worried that … ”
“That what?”
“That it’s what Adonaias wants,” I finished, my voice barely a whisper. “When Maia attacked us, down by the marina, I heard him as I reached for her in the water. He said he was waiting for her.”
“She went up to Alora hoping for a new wish,” Aleia said. “She’s pretty stubborn.”
“What do you mean?”
“She wants to be back with him, too, of course,” Aleia explained. “Even though she loves you. She thinks a new wish will grant her what she wants. But she really should just ask him.”
“What if he doesn’t want to talk to her?” I asked. “I mean, sometimes I talk with him, but not a whole lot, and it’s usually when I’m … afraid or something.”
“Maybe you mean more along the lines of vulnerable,” Aleia suggested. “Raiya has always been tough, and proud, and strong. And she should be. She is a powerful, adept Star, with full knowledge of right and wrong. But it seems that her pride is getting in the way of asking for help. She has always seen work as a way to get what she wants, and this is, unfortunately, not an exception.”
“She did say she was hoping the Sinisters’ return would grant her that,” I said.
“Self-reliance is a good skill to learn,” Aleia said slowly, “but it is not meant to be taken to the extremes. Alküzor is proof of that. He is alone in his own world, only able to take from this one.”
“I definitely don’t want her to end up like him,” I said.
“I don’t think she will,” Aleia said. “She loves you. He only loved himself.”
I felt the heat in my cheeks rise. “I’m thinking of asking her to marry me.”
Aleia’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
“I know,” I blathered on, scratching my head nervously. “I’m a little caught off guard myself. And I don’t know what she would say. I mean, given everything that’s been going on, and there is the fact we’re only seventeen and all, but—”
“I think she would love it,” Aleia said quietly.
I grinned. Before I could reply, I felt the now-familiar sensation of my body flinging forward as my inner world came crashing against the solid ends of myself.
Time stopped, once more.
I gritted my teeth together. “I hate that.”
“Look,” Aleia said, pointing at all the millions of raindrops caught in mid-fall. The brilliance of it added to the overall magic of the night. “Time’s power is amazing, even when it is not in motion.”
“St. Brendan is supposed to be coming,” I said, pointing to the incoming fog. “He must be close. This happened the last time he came.”
Elysian came swooping out of the sky, spluttering as he tried to navigate through the rainy night. “Good, I was hoping you’d be here,” he said.
“Why? Did you see Asteropy?” I asked.
“No,” he said as he shook his gigantic head. “We’ve got to get to the harbor. Aleia can fly on me.”
“I could’ve taken her, too,” I said. Before we could argue, I shook my head. “It’s just as well that you’re here though. I need to make sure Adam is safe with Mary before we go.”
“That’s right,” Aleia said. “He’s supposed to be at his daycare. I was supposed to pick him up.”
“I’ll get him,” I said. “And I’ll take him to Mary. I know she’s at Rachel’s.”
“Be careful,” Aleia said. “If Draco is watching us, he’ll be able to move through the time stops, too.”
“I’ll watch for him—”
“Draco’s here?” Elysian’s narrowed eyes found mine. “And you said I was paranoid.”
“Not exactly,” I said. “Just that it was more likely someone from SWORD who was bothering us.”
“SWORD is supposed to be on your side.”
“Well, you’d think your brother would be on yours,” I said.
Elysian snorted out a long stream of smoke. “Don’t go any further,” he said dangerously.
“Honestly, you two,” Aleia said with a motherly sigh. “Elysian will take me to the marina. Hamilton, we’ll see you there. Please try to hurry; the faster we can get there, the faster we’ll get our answers.”
☼16☼
Across Time
“Woo-hoo!” Adam cheered as he rode on my back.
I was glad to see that he’d given up on screaming; when we first took off, I had a feeling the petrified rain came as an unwelcome surprise to him.
But it was not a permanent surprise. He giggled as we flew through the night, heading over to Rachel’s.
I wondered at the picture he made for a moment, as he propped himself up on my back, grasping for the rain and catching the clouds.
Oh, the innocence of childhood. I wasn’t sure if I ever recalled feeling as free as Adam looked. But I smiled, because I knew that was one of the things I loved about him.
We arrived at Rachel’s in record time; Mary greeted us at the door.
“I was wondering if you were coming,” she said, handing me a small cup of coffee as Adam took her hand.
“Thanks,” I said. “You’ve been a good stand-in for Raiya; she would’ve given me a cup, too.” Although it would have been a large.
Mary smiled. “I’ll likely be here when you get back,” she said, “but since Raiya will returning, there’s no need for me to stay. I’ll remember you fondly.”
“You’re going to leave?”
“Once Raiya is back.” Mary nodded toward the house. “Grandpa Odd is here, if you’re worried I’ll leave before you get back.”
“Now I’m worried,” I said her, only half-jokingly. But I did take hold of her hand and grasped it, knowing it was unlikely that I could convey all my gratitude to her through such a quick contact. “Thank you for all your help,” I said, sincerely and certainly. “I miss Raiya, but I’m glad someone as kind as you was able to come and help us out. If I don’t see you again, it’s been fun.”
“It’s been a pleasure,” she said, giving me a wink.
“Adam,” I said, turning to my little brother, “make sure you give Miss Mary here a warm farewell.”
Adam cooed in agreement, hugging Mary’s leg.
I laughed. “Thanks again for the coffee,” I said.
“Until we meet again,” Mary said as she waved good-bye, Adam already climbing up into her arms.
I might’ve loved my brother, but the moment I knew he was in good hands, I rejoiced; I was off to see Raiya again.
Of course, I had to help Alora and find out what was going on up there, and possibly comfort Aleia.
But just like before, Raiya managed to push back the unpleasantness. Seeing her again was worth all the suffering.
I grinned as I spotted the Meallán coming into port at the marina. I pushed myself to fly faster. In the distance, I could make out Elysian’s misty shadow as he flew Aleia up to board the whimsical boat filling up the bay.
“Wingdinger!” The enlightened outline of St. Brendan the Navigator came into sight as he called out from the top deck of his ship.
I grinned as he waved; I was about to call back when I saw he was signaling to me to hurry. The anchor was raising, and the ship was already turning to head back out to sea on the ocean of awaiting starlight.
I knew I had to push to make it. My wings fired up at the challenge, burning so much I could’ve sworn there was a trail of flames following me.
“Whew!” I said, grabbing onto the railing as I hauled myself up onto the deck.
“Good job, lad,” St. Brendan said. “I’m afraid it’s not much of a stop here we have.”
“I’ll take it regardless,” I said, grasping
his hand in mine in welcome. “Nice to see you again.”
“Same to you,” he replied, his smile as quick as ever, though it did not reach to into his eyes. “I’m afraid there’s trouble back at milady’s star.”
“We had a feeling,” Elysian said drily as he came up behind us. “We haven’t been able to get in touch with Alora.”
“Something happened with my memory bubble,” Aleia explained, dismounting from Elysian’s back. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”
“You know as well as I the earth lives in perilous times,” he said.
“It’s quite a different experience living through it,” Aleia assured him.
“Aye,” St. Brendan agreed. He ran a hand through his black hair and turned toward the world. “I know that quite well.”
“What’s happening at Alora’s?” I asked, deciding it was best to redirect the focus of the conversation. As much as I liked both Aleia and St. Brendan, I wanted answers.
He shook his head. “She’s been attacked,” he told us. “I came only because I knew you could help.”
“What happened?”
“When Lady Justice came up with Orpheus, he seemed a nice enough fellow, looking for a second chance,” St. Brendan said.
“He didn’t hurt Starry Knight, did he?” I asked. I shook my head a second later. “Sorry, keep going. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Lady Time welcomed him and took him into her castle, along with your lady,” he said, nodding to me. “Lady Justice was content to wait for Orpheus to return. She grew restless and then headed out on her own, saying she wanted to go out for a spell. It’s not too unusual, seeing as this was her home.”
“Alora wouldn’t object at waiting for her,” Aleia said. “I know she is not exactly friendly with Starry Knight.”
“I remember,” I said. “Raiya told me she was the one who made the hole in Time’s power when she went supernova.”
“Lady Time has always said she will let the matter rest when she gets back what is missing,” St. Brendan said.
“What’s missing?” I asked. “If there’s a hole in Time’s power, there’s a hole.”
“Time’s power is more like a fabric. There’s a piece that is missing, and Lady Time suspects that your lady still has it.”
“Why would she have it?” I asked. “And how? That’s not something that seems like it can be reborn into humanity very easily.”
“Well, there are some speculations—”
“You know what, I’m sorry I asked,” I said. “Tell us what you can about Alora and the attack.”
“I saw the chamber door to her castle close, and a rush of power detonated from inside; it is unusual, so I set out to investigate. Lady Time told me to go and get you, saying her time pool had been poisoned.”
“That’s not good,” Aleia whispered. Her head fell into her hands. “How could I have been so blind?”
“He managed to escape my scrutiny as well, Lady Memory,” St. Brendan said apologetically. “Evil is better at hiding than we think.”
I put my arm around Aleia’s shoulders. “I’m sorry too,” I said.
“Don’t be,” Aleia said. “Everyone has choices to make. You had yours, after all, and Raiya had hers. I was hoping that Orpheus would make that choice, too, especially after he was able to cut ties with the darkness around him. I should have known he still had some inside of him, and he would be tempted by it.”
Elysian sighed. “I should have told you before,” he said scaring me. For the first time in his life that I could remember, he looked genuinely contrite. “I knew about the power to hide from Time, but I didn’t think anyone else did.”
“Draco must have taught him,” I mused.
“Draco?” Elysian eyed me. “You mean you believe me about him now?”
“Well, I sort of got proof,” I said. “He was the one who told Mikey to go to the observatory, where I was with Starry Knight that one night.”
“Mikey knew it was Draco?”
I explained to Elysian what had happened when I went to visit Mikey in the hospital.
“That demon,” Elysian spat. “I should’ve known.” He flicked his tail angrily, striking the cabin doors nearby.
“Please, sir,” St. Brendan said, “not on my ship. You’d best save your anger for the battle ahead.” He nodded toward Alora’s castle, which had a blood-colored aura around it.
“What’s that?” I gasped.
“The blood of a Star,” Elysian murmured. “If Draco’s in on this plan, we’ll have to be very careful.”
“I don’t think he’s here,” I said. “I mean, surely someone would’ve—”
“Would’ve noticed?” Aleia finished. “We can’t be sure of that.”
“Why would Draco want to come here anyway?” I asked.
“For his skin,” Elysian told me. “Dragon skin is very, very powerful. If it weren’t for the fact he did drink from the River of Life, he should have died once he got to Earth.”
“The dragon’s got the right of it,” St. Brendan said. “There’s a good reason why it’s tangled up in Time’s power, near her castle. It took a good deal of power for her to keep it there.”
I squinted up at the castle, looking for the moat of dragon skin I’d seen before. It was bathed in a cloud of black, and it was starting to sink toward the castle. “That doesn’t look good,” I said, pointing. “But at least it seems we have the right of what’s going on.”
Aleia gasped. “It’s coming down!”
“Can’t you make this ship go faster?” I asked St. Brendan. “We need to get there.”
“She’s going as fast as she can, lad,” he told me. “I’ve got to bring her around slow, so I can cast my anchor.”
I had an idea.
I pulled out my sword, preparing for battle. “Elysian, get Aleia ready. St. Brendan, get the ship going at full-throttle; we’re going to make our own exit.”
“Are you sure?” Aleia asked.
“I’m up for it,” Elysian said. “Anything to stop Draco’s plans.”
I turned to St. Brendan. “Well? You were the one who taught me how to surf on the solar winds. Surely this can’t be much different.”
“You always were a bit mad,” St. Brendan said slowly, but he saluted me and headed toward the command bridge. “I’ll see to the preparations at once. Just a bit of a warning—it’ll be a hard stop once you land.”
“It’s already going to be a less than pleasant visit,” I said. “A bumpy landing isn’t going to deter me at this point.”
☼17☼
Battle for Time
St. Brendan’s warning had fallen on deaf, naïve ears.
Having surfed with him before, and having soared around the skies with Elysian, I imagined I was fully prepared to take a daring leap from the deck of a ship going breakneck speed.
I was wrong.
Close to Alora’s home, there was no solar wind to catch me, there was little help in keeping a steady flight path, and there was no certainty in the landing site.
It took me approximately half a second after I’d leaped off the ship to realize this.
My adrenaline junkie days are officially coming to a close after this, I silently promised, repenting of my cocky, prickish pride.
The ground seemed to rush up to me, more than I rushed into it; I could hear an audible slam! as I crashed to a stop, my front armor taking the brunt of the beating.
“Ouch,” I murmured, trying not to whimper in pain.
Elysian’s cackle of smug superiority washed down on me a moment later as he landed behind me, only buckling his knees as he touched down. “You know,” he said, “I have plenty of room on my back for two.”
“You can’t expect Humdinger here to ask for help, even if it means avoiding pain.”
My head jerked up at the sound of her voice. “Raiya.”
There she was, standing outside of Alora’s shining castle, leaning against the entrance like she’d been waiting for me there all
along. The light teased out the red undertones in her hair as it streamed behind her, pulled back in its usual half-bun.
Her violet eyes met mine, and I swear, at that moment, I could hear music swelling inside my ears. After peeling myself off of the ground, I hurried forward and immediately swept her up in an embrace.
“If I didn’t run into pain willingly,” I countered, “we never would’ve gotten together.” My hands framed her face as I leaned in and kissed her.
“Ugh,” Elysian groaned. “This again?!”
I waved him off as I reunited, at last, with Raiya. “Was that really you in my dream before?” I asked her quietly.
“Yes,” she breathed. “But this is a dream come true.”
“So you didn’t drink the water from the River of Life?” I stiffened as I asked the question; it was not merely a matter of condemnation at that moment, but a statement of my word and its worth.
“No.” Raiya shook her head. “I knew it was you, and I knew I had to trust you.”
“Thank goodness,” I murmured, before pulling her close again.
“Ugh, it’s bad enough we’ve got to fight up here,” Elysian muttered. “Can you please stop? I think you’re making me sick.”
I stepped away from Raiya reluctantly, but my gaze remained steady. “My pleasure.”
Her hand intertwined with mine. A rush of emotions, all ranging from welcome to worry, and a silent plea for patience rushed at me; as much as I wanted to be with her and spend time with her, we had work to do, and we both knew it.
With her free hand, Raiya waved toward Aleia as she climbed down from Elysian’s back. “Aleia, thank goodness you’ve come.”
“Is it so bad?” Aleia asked as she pulled out the daggers she kept at her side.
Sadness came over Raiya’s expression. “I can’t get through,” Raiya told her, pointing behind to the door. “Alora’s sealed inside.”
“Is it possible she’s sealed it herself?” Elysian asked. “If we are dealing with Alküzor’s treachery, there’s no telling what lengths Alora would have to go to in order to keep the rest of the realm safe.”