Soul Forgotten (Blue Star Series Book 1)

by Laura Winter

  “Joy,” Glitch said as he rolled over and pulled his blanket with him. “I shouldn’t have agreed to this.”

  Clara laughed and slid closer to me, playing with my fingers until we both fell asleep.

  Aidan was lifeless on the ground, the cloud of dust settling around him. I made sure not to let go of her hand this time, but she didn’t fight against me. In fact, she didn’t move at all. Her touch was limp.

  “You’re too late, boy.”

  My gaze shifted to Richard as he reached his arm into the air in front of him. I tried to focus on his hand that had a soft red glow spilling out of his grasp. But I didn’t have long as Clara’s free hand lifted up, a knife held tight in her grip.

  Everything happened in a flash. Richard pulled the red object into his stomach as I dove for the knife in Clara’s hand, but her movements followed Richard’s precisely. She plunged the knife deep into her gut, blue blood spilling around her fingers as she screamed.

  I fell face down into the empty space next to me, reaching for Clara. I scrambled forward, unable to find her until I ran into a sleeping Glitch.

  “Ow, what the hell?”

  “Where’s C?”

  The panic in my voice made Glitch sit up quickly. “I don’t know. I just woke up.”

  I jumped up and looked around the room until I spotted her. She was standing with a blank face in front of the open door, staring out at nothing. My heart dropped when I saw the kitchen knife in her hand, extended out in front of her.

  “Clara!” I stepped forward but her grip tightened on the knife handle.

  “I got it,” Glitch said. He popped over to her, wrestling the knife free. She didn’t seem to fight back, but it still took him a second to yank it from her hand before he glitched out of the room.

  Clara’s arm dropped to her side as she screamed, sending out a blast of her energy around the room. Weights and padding went flying through the air, but not even the energy hit me. It was almost like she created a path. I moved forward cautiously, just in case there was another knife or sharp object I couldn’t see.

  She stood still, blue blood dripping form her fingers as she stared right through me. “The Ruby. My dad’s plan. I’m going to die.”

  42

  Clara

  “Where’d you even find the knife?” Glitch asked. He continued to open every drawer in the kitchen, but it was useless. House was going to hide everything that had a sharp edge.

  “I told you, I don’t remember doing any of it,” I replied, wincing as Nate cleaned around the lightning cut. I was going to run out of first aid supplies and blood if I wasn’t careful.

  “Did you have the same dream as me?” Nate asked, pressing a little too hard. I yanked my arm away as he cringed. “Sorry.”

  I shook my head. “I didn’t have a dream. One minute I was falling asleep, the next I was standing there holding a knife. I was there, but not there. It doesn’t make sense.”

  “The Blue Star did this?” Glitch asked as he sat next to me.

  “Not this time,” I said with a shrug. “My head was completely blank. No emotions, no fear, no voices, and no cold. I saw what I was doing, but I wasn’t thinking or reacting. I was just… empty.”

  “What did you mean by the Ruby?” Nate asked, securing the wrap on my arm.

  “Huh?”

  He frowned. “You said ‘The Ruby. My dad’s plan. I’m going to die’.”

  “No I didn’t.”

  Nate raised his eyebrow. “You definitely did. So you don’t remember that?”

  “No. I mean, I believe you, but I don’t remember that,” I answered.

  “In my dream, I think your dad was holding something red. Maybe that was the Ruby. But he used it to make you…” Nate scrunched his nose as he trailed off. I guess I had died again.

  “Wait,” Glitch said, leaning forward. “Why does the Ruby sound familiar?”

  I sighed and hung my head. I knew exactly what it was. Well, at least where we could find out about it. “The book when I sent you guys into the walls. It’s a power source.”

  Glitch went to get the book while Nate stayed with me. I could feel him watching me, trying to see if I was actually in control of myself. This wasn’t good. Now we had more than just the Blue Star to worry about.

  Glitch dropped the book on the table and went to open the cover but I slammed my hand on top. “Not while I’m in here. Clearly the Blue Star is trying to keep me from reading this book. I don’t know what the hell happened to make me go crazy last time, but I’m not about to test it again.”

  “Just turn your back and as soon as you feel dizzy, we’ll close it. The Blue Star will never know,” Glitch replied, motioning for me to turn around.

  Instead, I walked away and planted my face into the couch cushions. I didn’t have a headache, but I almost wanted one. It would make me feel less uneasy than this dull, empty feeling.

  Nate spoke from the other room. “You translated half of it. Oh, wait, maybe not. It’s still gibberish.”

  “Great,” I mumbled through the cushions. “I don’t date papers and I don’t know how to write real words.”

  “Shit.” Nate and Glitch said in unison.

  I shot up off the couch, but as soon as I looked in their direction, I felt the nausea punch me in the gut. I dropped back to the couch as I heard them shut the book. The room slowed its spinning and the floor settled underneath me but I kept my eyes closed just in case.

  “What did you find?” I asked. I felt them sit on either side of me as Nate wrapped his arms over my shoulders and Glitch took my hand in his. Neither spoke. “Would someone please tell me something?” Why the hell weren’t they talking?

  Glitch was the one to break the silence. “C, the only legible words you wrote were ‘puppet master’.”

  My stomach churned. I was my dad’s puppet now. That’s how he killed me.

  Focus on their hearts beating. Count them. Regain composure. I tried to reassure myself before panic set in. If my dad was going to try to control me, I had to be strong to fight him, or at least strong in front of these two. They were doing so much to help me. I stood up off the couch and spun to face them, pressing my shoulders back.

  “C?” Nate asked nervously.

  I threw up the walls around my head. “I’m fine. We can find a way out of this. My dad found the Ruby. So what? We have that book and a library and a magic house to figure this out.” Glitch and Nate exchanged concerned looks as I gripped my fists. “Seriously, guys. Get out a translating app or find a book that can help us understand that thing. I’ll be in the library away from it. Just keep an eye out and make sure I don’t walk out the front door. At least I don’t have traveling powers like you two.”

  I walked out of the room, trying not to speed up or give myself away. House opened the library door for me but I had to shut it after I walked in, collapsing on the ground. I leaned up against the door, flicking my fingers to lock it as I started to cry.

  I knew my future. My dad was going to use the Ruby to control me. He would use it to make me juice the Blue Star for him before he killed me. That was it. My story ended there. I picked myself up off the floor and started digging through the books again, reading through all of my notes to see if I had ever been able to resist Aidan’s powers. That’s essentially what Richard was doing with the Ruby. Nate wasn’t affected by Aidan’s powers, so maybe I could find a reason why, or at least a way to protect myself from the Ruby.

  What was the Blue Star’s power besides those evil voices? The Ruby was the puppet master, but the Blue Star was just the Cold Soul. To me, it was just a headache with useless voices, hissing promises that only brought pain and destruction. They would claw and fight through me to get out and kill everyone. Blue Star or Cold Soul, it was evil.

  Glitch left that night with no answers and no way to help until after the new year, assuming I made it that long. He picked me up in a hug and spun me around.

  “You better be here when I get back. I
can’t go back to hanging with that loser alone.”

  I kissed his cheek and closed the door behind him. Back in the library, Nate was flipping through three different books at once and comparing lines between them. I picked him up off the floor, cheating a little bit, and hugged him. We shifted away from the desk, swaying slowly.

  “You know,” he whispered, “most people dance to music.”

  I flicked my finger and turned on the stereo.

  All About Us. He is We ft. Owl City.

  It played slowly in the background as I pressed my head harder into Nate’s chest, listening to his heartbeat to distract myself from my twisting insides. I must have been distracted enough to sway the next song.

  Sound of Your Heart. Shawn Hook.

  Nate sighed and tried to lift away despite me holding him tight. “C, I’m not leaving your side. If that means I never let go of your hand again, I’ll hold on forever.”

  “Nate, you are so important to me. You need to know that. I need you to know that.”

  He frowned. “Stop acting like this is the end. We’ll figure out a way to save you. Just keep fighting a little longer.”

  I looked into his eyes, knowing that he would never let me give up. “Okay, I love you.”

  I flicked my fingers to change the song again.

  Gold. Apollo LTD.

  He smiled and pulled me back in. “Always forever.”

  43

  Nate

  Due to weather, Mom’s flight home was canceled and she didn’t have any options to get home. But she was still close enough for Dad to drive out and bring her home by Christmas. While I was excited to see her, it meant I could get away with Clara staying over for a few more days. We needed a break from the library and we desperately needed to relax. It didn’t go as planned since I barely slept. Every time she shot up from the nightmare, I was there to catch her because I had already been awake for hours from the same one.

  On Christmas morning, we were both awake before the sun. Being that tired, we couldn’t even enjoy all the decorations around the house. It felt like fake happiness, and not even the tree could lift our spirits. We just sat on the couch and stared at it, not even turning the lights on.

  I should have been happy that I could spend so much time alone with Clara, but the fear of it being our last moment together ate at me more and more. What happened if Clara had an outburst with my parents around? What if Richard showed up and my parents found out about our powers? Were we ready to fight him alone?

  Clara shuffled back from the kitchen, her second cup of coffe steaming in her grip. She had on my old sweatshirt with the sleeves pulled over her hands. She set her cup on the table and dug under the tree to pull out a poorly wrapped present. Knowing her first aid skills, this was definitely her doing.

  “Stop judging my wrapping. I know I’m terrible at it,” she huffed, dropping the gift on my lap. “Merry Christmas, my fellow insomniac.”

  I flipped over the crumpled wrapping paper to pull a mound of tape off the small box. The lid of the box lifted to reveal a large key on a chain, just like hers.

  “Are you asking me to move in with you?” I asked, playing with it in my hands. It buzzed just like hers had.

  “No way, you’re a terrible overnight guest. Just put it on,” she said, rocking on her feet impatiently. What a weirdo.

  I threw it over my neck, confused why Clara still looked at me with anticipation.

  “I don’t get it,” I finally said. But as I turned my hands over to question her excitement, I saw my palms. My right had was blue-scar free. I looked up with a smile. “How did you do that?”

  “I charmed it! I found a book in the library and did it to mine too. Now I don’t have to hide it all the time,” she cheered, lifting her sleeve to a scar-free arm.

  I took her hand and rubbed my fingers over her forearm. There was still a bump I could feel under my fingers, but I couldn’t see what it was.

  “So it’s still there, but now instead of you messing with everyone’s brains, the key does it?”

  “Basically.”

  “Well, my gift is complete shit compared to this,” I groaned. Technically she had an unfair advantage using charms.

  Clara switched places with me as I pulled her gift out from a drawer in the table. She frowned at me as she pulled at the gold ribbon. “You didn’t put it under the tree?”

  “If I had, you would have opened it early.”

  “Fair point,” she replied with a shrug. She lifted the lid and slid the chain necklace out, resting it in her palm.

  “It’s a caffeine molecule for your coffee obsession. I guess we both stuck with the same theme for our presents. No charm on mine, though.”

  “Nate, I love it. Help me put it on?” she asked.

  I nodded as she shifted in her seat, pulling her tangled hair off her neck. Half of it was still in the way as I wrapped the necklace around her neck. When I lifted the rest of it through the chain, bruised splotches peeked out from her hair line and down the back of her neck.

  “Clara, what the hell is wrong with your neck?” I lifted the rest of her hair, running my fingers over the bruises.

  “What are you talking about?” she asked, trying to spin around. She reached back and grabbed my hand. “Nate, you’re freaking me out.”

  “How hard have you been digging into your neck when you get headaches? There are bruises everywhere.”

  Clara turned her body so she could look at me, sadness in her gaze. “I was using my powers to help with the pressure, but now I don’t even notice when I do it. How bad?”

  “Bad enough you’ll need to keep your hair down for a while. It looks like a black and blue painting back there.”

  She sighed and pressed her cheek into my chest. Great, more depressing things right before my parents got home. We were going to be a buzzkill today.

  Clara sniffed but stood up, pulling me with her. “No, I’m done letting the Blue Star win. I don’t want to walk around like I’ve already lost.”

  I heard her iPod start playing on the table.

  You Know Me. Air Traffic Controller.

  She looked back up at me and placed her hands on my cheeks. “I love you, always forever, and I intend to be present with you for that whole time.”

  I could see her fighting back her emotions so I played along with the distraction, wrapping my arms around her hips to help her up as she kissed me. We swayed, listening to the music in the background until the front door lock clicked open.

  “Merry Christmas!” my mom cheered, running in from the front and leaving my dad behind to drag in her bags. She looked as pretty as always, her long brown hair tied in a braid and green eyes shining behind a face that never seemed to age. I met her in a hug. She squeezed so hard I thought she was going to break a rib.

  “Hi Mom. I missed you too,” I grunted through her grip.

  She leaned away and held my face in her hands. “Now, I’ve been waiting forever to meet this wonderful girlfriend of yours.”

  “Mom, this is Clara.” I slid to the side, looking back at Clara. She had her sleeves wrapped around her hands again, tugging at them in her nervous habit.

  “Ma’am,” she said with a smile, shifting anxiously in her stance. She quickly lifted her hands to fix her hair again, but her smile soon changed to confusion.

  “Finnley.”

  I spun back around in shock. My mom’s face was pale and her voice echoed with surprise and… anger?

  “What?” Clara and I said at the same time.

  “You promised me. You promised you wouldn’t get him involved,” she snapped, her voice rising with each word.

  “Mom, how do you know what her name is? What promise?” I asked, stepping back. I bumped into Clara’s arm, the chill sending ice through me.

  “Wait,” Mom said, turning her head to me. “How do you know her name?”

  “Okay, hold on a second,” Clara blurted, sending her mug rattling on the table. “What the hell is going on?�
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  Everyone stood there, glancing awkwardly as we waited for someone else to go first.

  “Let’s try to get on the same page here,” Clara said, breaking the silence. “I was Finnley, I lost my memory, and I clearly don’t remember you so I have no idea what promise you’re talking about. How do you know me?”

  “This is Finnley?” my dad asked, shaking his head. He guided Mom to the chair. “Angie, your description was off.”

  Hold on, he was in on this too? Who the hell were my parents?

  “Tom, not the time. I didn’t know she was still alive,” Mom sighed, turning to us again. “I know you because your mother was my best friend. Do you remember anything about The Complex?”