Finally, Elysian slowed down, and I discovered my fear of extreme heights. “This is your world, right?”
“I suppose,” I agreed, awed by the spectacular view even as I am annoyed with my abductor. “Can we go back down to it?”
“No. Do you see the stars?”
Of course I saw the stars. Billions of them were swimming all around my vision; I was dazzled and dizzied by the twinkling lights as Elysian continued. I also remember vaguely hoping we were not on NASA’s radar.
“I will tell you what happened now. This world’s darkness has clouded my memory. This side of the River Veil – the River of Memory which guards immortality from humans – is hard on creatures like myself.”
“Well, that’s too bad, but can we just –”
“Hush. I’m talking now,” Elysian interrupted, and even from his bigger body voice, I could tell there was an irritated quality to it.
“A long time ago, the earth was peaceful, and full of light. It was a treasured among all worlds by the Prince of Stars. He protected the earth with his warriors.”
“So he’s an alien?” I asked, remembering my nicer dreams.
“No. He was much more. He was the one who brought the human race to this planet – it was a planet of his own design.”
“You mean he made it?”
“I’m talking here,” Elysian rolled his eyes.
“But that’s impossible.”
“You are so rude. Can’t you just let me finish the story before you ask your questions?” When I glared at him, he seemed to take it that I had given my blessing on him. “Anyway, some of his warriors, his Stars, turned on him.”
“Wait. Stars? Stars are just huge burning balls of gas. They’re not people.”
Elysian huffed again, and I bit my mouth shut. Why did I want to learn about this anyway? I asked myself. Don’t buy into this. You’ll be an outcast if you do. That’s what happens to people who believe crazy things. And then they get sent off to asylums. You don’t get to go off to college and become a lawyer if you go to the asylum; it’s not like it’s AA.
“…peace of the world and all of humanity’s soul was hollowed out, all because of his betrayal. We think he did it largely out of spite, but we are not sure. But there will be a day when he answers for it.”
Huh? I hadn’t been paying attention.
I resumed listening because I was being forced to. But no one could make me believe anything I didn’t want to believe. I put my skeptical face on.
“The Prince of Stars, and his Stars of the First Light, the Manorayashon, fought the emptiness in order to save the people from complete destruction. The Prince and his forces were able to seal away the most deadly of their foes – the Seven Deadly Sinisters, the Saadonrasha, trapping them within the white-hot intensity of a bright star.”
“Wow. That sounds really… made-up.” I was about to add additional comments to my critique when I recalled the vision of the supernova. The faces of Orpheus and his rainbow of charges. The relentless figure hounding me in the back of my mind, cloaked in the shadows of my willful ignorance.
I switched back to the concerns at hand as Elysian glared at me. “I was there. I saw it myself.”
“Well, you think weird and look weird and should be made-up, too, you know,” I countered.
Elysian sighed. “You are so narrow-minded. You don’t believe in the impossible until you see it, smell it, run psychoanalytical tests on it, is that right?”
“So? I like knowing what’s real and what’s not.”
Elysian sighed again. “Your delusions would be quite amusing if they weren’t so sad,” he told me, and I was offended. “Your perception is extremely limited. But back to what I was saying.
“The Seven Deadly Sinisters were the most powerful of all the dark forces’ warriors; they were worse than humans who rebelled, because they were once among the highest ranking Starlight warriors before they turned.”
“This has got to be some kind of unwritten portion of Star Wars or something. You know, ‘the dark side of the force,’” I laughed.
“You’re stupid,” Elysian smacked me with his tail. “Light and Darkness are not natural enemies – there is no such thing as dark in the sense there is such thing as light.”
“I’m stupid? Of course there is such thing as darkness.” Now I had proof Elysian was all wrong about everything he’d ever said.
Elysian narrowed his eyes. “What is darkness, but the absence of light? It is the void you should watch, because snuffing out the light is more dangerous than shielding it.”
“What?” I scratched my head in confusion. “You mean –” I stopped there. “Never mind. I’m not buying this. Let’s just skip this part, Elysian. I’m getting hungry and tired, and I’ve had a bad day, and I don’t understand, and I think I need some rest.”
Elysian frowned at me. “You’ll never learn the truth if you get caught up in your emotion-driven excuses,” he warned.
“Well, can I just worry about it later?”
Elysian shook his head, irritated.
“Fine. Where do I fit into this whole mess?” I asked. “Just tell me and get it over with.”
“You are a Star, fallen into humanity, an Astroneshama. And you had been chosen to capture the Sinisters once more.”
“What!?” An incredulous look crossed my face. “That’s not possible. I don’t want to have anything to do with this, including capturing anything!”
“You have to.”
“But I don’t want to! They’re not really bothering me –”
Elysian smirked. “Oh, so that Gwen girl means nothing to you at all? Yet you seemed pretty determined to save her from them.”
I shut my mouth. Elysian had me there. “Well, so what if she does? That doesn’t mean I want to protect the whole world. I’ll just protect Gwen.”
“What about your other friends? And your family? Your brother? Everyone you’ve ever known and liked and loved and cared for?”
“There aren’t many people I care for –” I found myself grasping at straws now. “Elysian, you’ve got the wrong person. I mean, I know I’m a genius and I’m strong and I’ve got the looks to be a great superhero, but I don’t really want to be one. I like being a sports star, someone who is admired by fans and girls and… more girls!”
“There is something greater than your own glory dependent on this,” Elysian scolded me gently. “There is no doubting it’s you. Your power the other night proved it.”
“Well, what about that girl? That Starry Knight person? Who is she? She was able to fight off that smurf-woman. Why doesn’t she protect humanity?”
“You are the one I was sent to. Never mind her destiny for now. You’ve got your own to worry about.”
“But I can’t do this! I’m just a normal – okay, extra-awesome – teenager in high school trying to graduate so I can go to college, major in pre-law and political history, and go to graduate school and become a government worker!”
Elysian sighed. “I suppose everyone has the choice to accept or refuse the opportunities presented to them.”
“Look, Elysian, I can’t be the person you want me to be, even if you think it would be better. I’ve got to learn to make mistakes on my own.”
“I should have known you would not say yes anyway. You have no love in your heart.”
“What?” What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?
Elysian ignored me, continuing on. “And you have no real fighting skills; you are a long way off from becoming an even decent warrior again, too. It’s actually probably better you don’t fully accept the supernatural abilities you have. With all the human influence you’ve been exposed to, you would only cause trouble with them.”
“What!?” I found myself climbing further up ont
o Elysian’s head. “I don’t have supernatural abilities, for one thing –”
“But the other night, you managed to scare away the one Sinister,” Elysian reminded me.
“– and I am capable of love, so I don’t really see the point of you bringing that up –”
“Everyone needs love; that is the best defense against –”
“– and I could so become the greatest warrior person ever if I did accept your stupid made-up not real offer.”
“Except you don’t know what kind of powers you have, and it would take hard work for you to grow and mature into the kind of warrior you were made to be.”
“What?” I looked down at him. “I didn’t catch what you said.”
Elysian snarled. “You should know, at this point, if you do not act on your given abilities, and continue to deny them, they will eventually go away. That is probably why they have remained dormant inside of you for so long.”
“That’s fine.”
“Once they are gone, there is little hope for getting them back,” Elysian warned.
“I don’t care. I don’t want them. Sell them on eBay, if you want.”
“Do you even know what you are giving up?”
“I’m perfectly aware I am giving up the chance to ruin my high school career and my reputation by not accepting this.”
Elysian shook his head. “Your decision to not act will cost you much more than fighting it.”
“What do you mean?” That caught my attention.
“If you really want to give up, you will see,” Elysian told me. “If you love the illusions you have surrounded yourself with, you will see them increase to their deadliest. You were assigned to capture the Seven Deadly Sinisters. When things meant to do a job don’t work, things go horribly wrong for everyone, not just you.”
I felt a strange sense of irritation and disgust – and a tingle of fear – at Elysian’s words. I wondered if Elysian was trying to guilt-trip me into believing some fairy tale was real, that there really was some line drawn about good and evil and absolutes; that I was a cast away star living among normal humans; that I had a duty to humankind for something I didn’t want to do; or worse yet, that he knew how to convince me.
Thankfully, it’s too huge and inconvenient for me to believe it all. Or any of it.
“Just so you know,” Elysian added, “Being ignorant will only make you happy until you least expect it.”
And that was the way I wanted it. I wanted nothing more than to be surrounded by my own ideas of the world and have the free will to choose which way I saw it, even if it was all folly. I pushed madly at the madness in my mind, scuttling away at the gnawing ghost walking with unhurried chase with increasing desperation.
And that was probably why I missed the fact, as we were headed back down to Apollo City, that there was a deadly, brilliant ring of sunshine burning a hole in the clouds above my city.
Apollo Central
“I’m so glad all of you were able to make it here today,” Ms. Carmichael announced to start the meeting. “I’m sorry it is because of such horrifying consequences.”
Ms. Carmichael was the art director at Rosemont before the terrible events with the meteorite. She’d willingly volunteered to help Mr. Lockard finish the play at Central while her unemployment/disaster relief paychecks were delivered.
As Ms. Carmichael continued to give out comments focused on stalling until the arrival of the last remaining drama group members who weren’t maimed, put to sleep, or scared off, Gwen felt pain creep up her arm and cringed. The fracture was not severe, according to the doctor, but she still wished it would stop hurting so much; obviously, the pain medication had worn off after the long school day.
“I just wanted you to know Mr. Lockard will not be returning. The, uh, incident at the opening night performance has apparently sent his system into shock. He is in the hospital, in the special care ward.”
There was little remorse expressed for Lockard; I don’t think they hated him, but the students were more upset he wouldn’t be around to direct the play than at what had happened to him.
Gwen raised her good hand. “Ms. Carmichael, why can’t you direct the play this week so we can reopen?” It wasn’t impossible; after all, the auditorium was fixed up (just needed cleaning now) and the stage was mostly repaired.
“I’m sorry, Gwen,” Ms. Carmichael apologized. “I already went to the school board, asking in light of Mr. Lockard’s condition, if I could step in. I’m afraid the reparatory arts have been placed on hold until next year.”
“That’s stupid,” a student spoke up. “We’ve been working so hard, and they’re going to throw it all away because they’re afraid of having to pay money?”
Ms. Carmichael sighed. “It’s very complicated. Please sit down. I’m very sorry, but there is nothing we can do. Even if Mr. Lockard was well enough, there is little chance that the play would go on.”
She continued on, assuring them she wanted to be able to work with them again, and other stuff, like how the students should make sure everything was in order, and… the list went on (There’s always a list teachers tell the students the students don’t think is necessary so they don’t listen and usually regret it later.)
After being dismissed, Gwen hopped up the stairs onto the stage and sighed. She looked out into the audience seats and dropped her head, miserably.
“Gwen!” Tim came up to her.
“Hi there, Tim,” she answered glumly.
“I hope you don’t feel too sad,” Tim told her, putting his hand on her shoulder gently.
“Not now, Tim,” Gwen told him. “Please leave me alone.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” He backed away from her. “I’ll call you later, if you’d like.”
“No, I’ll just see you later,” Gwen told him. She watched as he left, downcast, before she walked backstage and saw the balcony set. “I wish the play would’ve gone on.”
A small shadow moved, and a second later, it spoke. “Gwen.”
Gwen looked over her shoulder and saw Raiya standing behind her. “Oh, hi… Raiya.” Gwen inwardly grimaced at herself; she’d almost forgotten Raiya’s name.
Raiya put her hand on Gwen’s bandaged arm in sympathy. “I’m sorry you didn’t get a chance to be Juliet,” she whispered softly.
Gwen smiled at her kindly. “Thanks, Raiya. I suppose there’s always next time.”
“I heard you got hurt because you were looking for me. Thank you for helping me when I fainted on Thursday,” Raiya added with a small smile.
Gwen smiled. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. And don’t worry about my arm. It’s not your fault I got hurt,” she said. “It was an accident. It doesn’t hurt anymore –” She stopped there. It didn’t hurt anymore. The pain she had just experienced moments ago in the auditorium seat had gone. That’s funny, she thought.
“Something the matter?” Raiya asked, noting the expression on Gwen’s face.
“Er… no, I’m just surprised it’s healing so fast,” Gwen shrugged. She didn’t know what else to say.
Raiya nodded. “That’s good.” And then she let go of Gwen’s arm and turned around. She picked up her case of paint and headed out. Her footsteps were silent on the floor as she made her way out of the building.
Gwen smiled after the sweet girl. She felt a lot better hearing Raiya thank her.
Her eyes caught sight of the repairs made over the weekend. Looking at the damage, she shivered. Maybe, as much as she hated to admit it, it was for the best the play was canceled. After all, that woman had been pretty scary. And she had powerful friends, too; maybe she was in some kind of gang. Who’s to say she wouldn’t try to spoil their play again?
16
Fire
I barely realized it was Friday morning when I woke up in a cold
sweat. I didn’t need to place my hand over my heart to feel it try to pop right out of my body.
That dream again. It was that supernova dream again.
I blamed the spells on Elysian, who was quietly and oh-so-innocently sleeping on the edge of my bed. But even that didn’t make sense, a small part of my brain told me. The dreams had come long before Elysian sought me out.
I ignored that part of my brain; Elysian was a too-convenient choice for a scapegoat.
Elysian opened his eyes. “Big day today, isn’t it?” he asked. Already the sleepiness had left him, and I was slightly jealous of that (although I was ready to call it suspicion to make myself feel and look better.)
“Yeah, the last game of the season is today,” I replied. “And then next week, swim team practice starts.”
“You just go from one sport to the next?”
“Pretty much.”
“Oh, I see. How sad for you.”
“What do you mean?” I asked as I ruffled around trying to find my books and homework.
“You just go from one season to the next, one plan after another. You’re not a very spontaneous kind of person, are you?”
“I have priorities,” I told him and myself, reaching for my socks, “But that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun.”
“I don’t imagine you have a problem with fun,” Elysian replied. “It’s the lack of control I mean. You like being in control.”
“Well, yeah, of course.” Duh.
“You have your whole life planned out, at age sixteen –”
“Closer to seventeen –”
“And it’s just one big fat to-do list.” Elysian looked up at me meaningfully. “No wonder you don’t believe in the supernatural. You don’t have the time to spare to consider it, you’re so busy and stressed and trying to control everything.”
I looked down at him. “So? It’s my life.”
“I know. But it just seems, well… you’re afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”