Soul Forgotten (Blue Star Series Book 1)

by Laura Winter

  “Not yet,” Glitch groaned in frustration. “I really wish she had dated these notes.” I picked up the book that Clara had reacted to and played with the cover. Glitch raised his eyebrow. “Are you sure you want to try that again?”

  I shrugged. “She’s in the other room. I’ll just flip through and see if we missed anything.”

  “Wait until I brace myself. I’m already sore from that first trip across the room.”

  I fanned through the book quickly, stopping only at the pages that had been translated and completely avoiding the Blue Star page. Nothing. When I shut the book again, I noticed a gap near the front cover. I opened it and pulled out a folded sheet of notebook paper that had been stuffed into the crease.

  “Glitch,” I said, unfolding the sheet to see Clara’s handwriting.

  Whispers.

  Screams.

  Fear.

  A soul.

  Replaced by the Cold Soul.

  Erased.

  Consumed.

  Existing within.

  Waiting.

  The Blue Star.

  Called into Darkness.

  Called into Cold.

  Dividing.

  “Oh, shit,” Glitch said over my shoulder.

  So this is what was happening to Clara. Every voice she heard was calling her for this reason. Her past was erased by the Blue Star, but it hadn’t completely consumed her. I flipped my right palm over to look at the blue scar I had.

  The Blue Star hadn’t become the Cold Soul because it still had power inside it. Clara hadn’t taken it all in, and now I had some of it. I walked over and picked up the marble among the splintered desk. Soft blue light swirled inside, still visible despite the blackness it swam in.

  That blue light was what still called for her; the reason it kept finding its way into her pocket. It wasn’t her fault. It wanted her to take in all of the power, but she was resisting and it wasn’t happy about it. How much longer could she stay strong?

  Before Glitch left, he reminded me to make sure we showed up for class so all of his quizzing and tutoring wouldn’t go to waste. It also reminded me to text my dad that I would be staying at Glitch’s place so we could study some more. Hopefully he wouldn’t see through that.

  I went back to Clara’s room, surprised to see she wasn’t in bed anymore. I heard the shower turn on and relaxed. At least she was feeling good enough to walk around.

  I sat on the edge of her bed and flipped through her nightstand, pulling out a small sheet of paper from her copy of The Magicians. I pressed out the wrinkles and laughed.

  Clara.

  18 on August 18.

  Sarcastic.

  Senior, West Hills.

  The Magicians.

  Music.

  Headaches.

  Left-handed.

  Mind reading, telekinesis.

  Volleyball?

  Nightmares.

  Marble— Blue Star?

  It was a list of all the things she was discovering about herself. I smiled and put it back in the book as I heard the shower turn off.

  “C, do you want anything to eat?” I called into the bathroom.

  She stuck her head out of the door, purple hair dripping everywhere. “Cereal.”

  “Done.”

  I went to the kitchen and sat next to a big bowl of chocolate cereal, setting her two notes off to the side. House creaked unpleasantly below me.

  “She wrote the notes,” I said, grimacing as I realized I was talking into empty space. “I think she needs to know.” I heard Clara’s door open, and when I turned back, the poem she had written about the Cold Soul was folded tightly on top of the other note. “Got it, just the first one.”

  I slid the poem into my pocket just before Clara turned the corner.

  “Are you mad at me?” she asked, leaning against the counter as she played with the sleeves of my old sweatshirt.

  “Why would I be mad at you?”

  “Because I got you into this mess. Because I launched you guys into the walls.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not mad. I hear the voices too, and they are not friendly. I can’t imagine what that must feel like for you.”

  “I wish you didn’t have to hear them too,” she said, frowning.

  “And I wish I could help you with them. Their screams and scratching must take their toll.”

  I kept an eye on Clara as she walked over and sat on my lap to hug me. She leaned over the table, reading the note that was still out.

  “Shit,” she whispered, biting her lip nervously.

  “Look, we don’t know if they figured anything out, but it looks like you knew they needed you to do it. I’m not sure how they were going to take that power, though.”

  Clara pointed at the note. “What’s the Cold Soul?”

  “We couldn’t find anything yet. We’re still trying to sort through all the papers that got thrown out of order,” I replied, blocking my thoughts. I felt awful lying to her, but House didn’t want her to know.

  She sighed. “Okay, I’m too tired to worry about that, the fact that Aidan and my dad can steal my power, or that Finnley was convinced she was going insane. Speaking of dads, yours is calling.” She pushed my phone closer as she slid into her seat to eat.

  “Hey, what’s up?” I answered with a shrug. It was the best I could do.

  “Just making sure you have everything you need. Clara isn’t spending the night, right?” he asked.

  “No, she went home with a headache.”

  Dad let out a breath. “Okay, well, good luck with midterms. I expect you home tomorrow after school.”

  “Yes, sir,” I said before hanging up. Clara just stared at me as I raised my eyebrow. “What?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Are you moving in with me or something? Who says I want you to be my overnight guest?”

  I cringed. “I’m not leaving you alone after that mini outburst.”

  “Fine, but I have rules,” she said as she leaned back in her chair with a smirk.

  I rolled my eyes. “Alright, what are they?”

  “First, no morning breath kisses.”

  “No promises. Next.”

  Clara laughed and pulled my chair closer. How the hell did she do that so easily?

  “Second, no getting between me and coffee. And no judging how I look when I wake up.” She frowned and stuck a piece of wet hair behind her ear.

  “C, I’ve never judged before. But that’s two and three. How many rules are there?”

  “One more, and it’s important. I want a new song every time you stay over.”

  I smiled. “Easy, and you owe me one too. Now tell me, how are you so damn strong?”

  Clara grinned and scrunched her nose. “I cheat.” She pulled my chair closer without moving her hands. Of course she used her powers.

  I wrapped my arms around her waist, letting my hands trace along her spine as she kissed along my jaw. We made our way back to the bedroom and held on to each other, focusing on the cool touch of our skin. At least for the moment I could ignore the scratching of voices in the back of my head that were probably yelling in hers. Clara turned on her stereo without leaving my arms.

  Can’t Get Enough. ROMES.

  32

  Nate

  Our morning midterms went well. Thankfully Glitch was an excellent tutor or I absolutely would have failed history. It also helped that Clara and I were giving each other the answers every time we got stuck. There were definitely perks to reading your girlfriend’s mind. And that she could also read the mind of our genius best friend. We were going to be screwed tomorrow for calculus.

  “You guys owe me for your relationship and your grades,” Glitch groaned, reaching across the lunch table to steal one of Clara’s fries.

  She smacked his hand away as I laughed. “You’re just jealous we can’t include you in our heads.”

  “At least I don’t have to cheat to be this brilliant,” he replied, sticking his tongue out at me.

&nbs
p; Clara let out a forced laugh and pulled her knee into her chest. I knew she had the remnants of a headache after yesterday because I could feel it too, but she was trying to fight through it. I wondered where the Blue Star was hiding this time.

  I tried to distract Glitch from bothering her. “We’re getting A’s in all our classes anyway. What’s the difference between one-hundred points and ninety-two?”

  A commotion in the middle of the lunch room caught our attention as we all turned. Some freshmen girls had decided to sit at Emma’s table. Since the volleyball team hadn’t made the championship tournament, they had been in a sour mood for the last few weeks. It was definitely not a good time to cross QB. She was shouting at them to move from her table, even though there were three open ones right next to it.

  “I think I could make her skirt catch fire if I really concentrated,” Clara said, tilting her head as she tried to figure out how to make it happen.

  “Do it,” Glitch encouraged, an evil grin growing on his face.

  “Maybe something less dangerous?” I blurted quickly. I definitely didn’t want Clara sending the whole room up in flames.

  “Fine.” Clara scrunched her nose and in the distance, Emma’s soda exploded, covering her face and drenching her hair in a sticky mess. She screamed and ran out of the room while everyone laughed. The freshmen girls stayed in their seats, surprised at their good fortune, as Clara turned and rested her chin back on her knee.

  As Glitch continued to laugh, Clara’s face suddenly froze and she dropped her foot to the ground. I felt a hand grip around my right shoulder. The cut had healed enough, but it was still pretty sore as fingers dug into me.

  “Hello there, darling Finnley. Oh, that’s right, it’s Clara now.”

  Shit. Aidan.

  I tried to pull away but he pulled up a chair and poked my side with something sharp. Glitch gripped the table, knowing he couldn’t do anything with his powers in the middle of a lunch room. Aidan wasn’t using his powers yet, so Clara leaned forward, her eyes a fiery blue.

  “What do you want?” she hissed, her face dark as the air around us got colder.

  “Careful now, Finn. You try anything and pretty boy here bleeds out.” Clara clenched her jaw but leaned back slightly at his threat. He nodded slightly. “Better. Now, let’s have a friendly chat.”

  “Real friendly,” I grumbled as I tried to slide away.

  He just poked me harder as he growled. “I won’t do anything unless you make me. Richard wouldn’t like it if I killed you all right now.”

  “If you aren’t going to kill us, why are you here?” Clara demanded. She flashed me a look as the sharpness turned to pressure, using her powers to protect me from getting stabbed. I could hear her mind spinning to find a better way to help but there weren’t any options that didn’t involve the entire school finding out about us.

  Aidan let out a small laugh. “Just wanted to make you squirm a little knowing that you can’t hide from us. We’ll be coming for you one of these days.” He pulled away from me so he could slide next to Clara. I instinctively shifted to dive at him but Clara held me back with her power as Aidan laughed at me. His gaze was dark as he slid his hand along the inside of Clara’s leg, making my stomach churn. But Clara sat tall, defiant and unflinching as he ran his other hand through her hair. “Maybe that’s the day I’ll jog your memory about the two of us together.”

  He turned to smirk at me but Clara shot her hand up, grabbing his wrist as she dug her fingers into his skin.

  “I will kill you,” she hissed through her teeth. Her face was just inches from Aidan’s face, but her victory was short-lived. Her fingers started to shake loose from his arm as the air thickened around us.

  Aidan yanked his arm away from her and stood up, Clara remaining stuck to her seat as she stared into nothingness, still affected by his power.

  “Oh, that’s so cute,” he growled, hate dripping from every word. “You think you can beat me.”

  He turned and walked out of the lunch room, releasing his grip on Clara. I let out the longest breath of relief, glancing to Glitch who looked like he had just seen a ghost. Now he knew the real shit we were up against.

  Clara shook in her seat, her fingers still trembling in the cold air as a single tear ran down her cheek. We barely noticed when the bell rang.

  33

  Nate

  The day flew by, and then the evening, and the next thing I knew it was Friday. Somehow we had to pull out of our trance long enough to survive my dad’s work party. The events of the week were a complete blur, and none of us could talk much. It became mechanical as we sifted through the books and notes in the library, careful to avoid anything that remotely triggered a headache for Clara. Other than a few minor ones here and there, she hadn’t had them much this week.

  Clara and I spent the morning binge watching as many episodes of Doctor Who as we could fit in, trying to take a break from the library for just one day. The search for answers was starting to wear on her, and being stuck there all day and night was starting to mess with her sleep more than the nightmares. I’m sure she was in there long after I went home for the night. It pained me not to be there all the time for her, but now I needed her to help me get through my dad’s work party.

  I went home to change and kicked at the dress shoes my dad had set out for me. They looked stiff and uncomfortable compared to my Converse so I threw those on instead. Their stained fabric stuck out under the pants that were just a little too short for my legs. Even my tie wasn’t long enough for my torso. Dad had clearly underestimated my height.

  He had offered to drive Clara and I to the party, but it was probably best if he didn’t see House with his knob-less doors and magical interior. In a surprising move, he let me take the car myself to pick her up. Unsurprisingly, Clara wasn’t ready yet so I sat on the bed and switched out my tie for the gray one House had left sitting on the covers.

  “Why did this have to be a suit and tie event? I feel ridiculous,” Clara shouted from the back of her closet.

  “You are ridiculous. Besides, I’m sure you look great in a suit and tie.” I laughed but choked slightly as my tie tightened around my neck. Clara clearly didn’t think it was funny. I shook my head. “I’m kidding. Would you hurry up already?”

  She walked out, arms folded with a sour face on, but I couldn’t understand why. Part of me expected her to walk out in my old sweatshirt but I was blown away by the dress she had on. She kicked out the silky gray skirt, the fabric shimmering and flowing from the waist down. It faded up into light gray sleeves that attached at her fingers, carefully covering her lightning scar.

  “I miss my pants,” she grumbled, her purple curls bouncing as she reached up and adjusted her key necklace.

  “You are absolutely stunning. No words can describe how perfect you look,” I replied, standing up so I could spin her around.

  “Thanks, Nate. You look very hands—“ she paused as she looked at my shoes, holding in a laugh.

  I frowned. “Hey, don’t judge my shoes. They go perfectly with my short pants.”

  “Right,” she replied sarcastically. “About as much as my shoes go with this dress.” Clara laughed and picked up her skirt to show off her Converse.

  I wrapped my arms around her and leaned down to kiss her. “Glitch was right all along. You’re definitely my type. I love you. Always.”

  “Always forever?” she asked.

  “Always forever,” I replied as I kissed her forehead.

  Clara took the moment to slip the key off her neck and over mine, tucking it down my shirt as she pulled me closer.

  “This definitely doesn’t go with my outfit,” she said, patting my chest as the key buzzed gently against my skin. Before I could kiss ehr again, she took my hand and dragged me out the door.

  I pulled up to the venue, the Forest Hills Museum, and looked up at the sad structure from the front seat. It used to be so fascinating. All of the school field trips took place here. You cou
ld run around and look at all the dinosaur skeletons, see the little figures acting out the history of the town, and watch fish swim around in the large tank. Now that we were older, we started to find the flaws. Dinosaurs were mislabeled and missing bones, the figures had misshapen features or no faces at all, and the fish we had lovingly named Killer as children had eaten almost all of the other creatures in the tank.

  A small crowd had formed outside the door, all older couples. We would easily be the youngest in the room by a minimum of ten years. As the line started to grow yet again, I realized something I should have all along.