“No!” Panic flared in Jackson’s eyes as he called the word aloud. “No, Rush. You don’t have to save me. You don’t. You’ve saved me since I was born. You don’t have to do this.”
Rush sent Jackson a mental embrace, He hugged him fiercely. I can’t fight fate anymore, he whispered in a calming tone. I do have to do this. I have to save you, and I must save Domina, and I have to save everyone else. And then he released the brief embrace and left Jackson only a vision of what was happening miles above him in the sky.
Rush faced the evolving Bright Star once again. The ball of blue light began to pulsate and grow. Heat washed over the assembly as the ball grew hotter, lighter, brighter. Then there was the screaming.
Piercing and deep at once. Blare and echo. Anguish and indignation. The ball was screaming its agony and defiance. The sound was tangible and left no watcher untouched. And then, the world was screaming. Even Jackson and Point threw their heads back and howled their communal pain.
Higher the ball floated into the sky until it gained momentum and hurtled out of the atmosphere. A shooting star in reverse, the assembly watched as the star took its place in the day sky, a smaller, blue sun, as bright as the large yellow ball beside it.
Jackson and Point both stopped their plaintive cries and looked at each other. It was then that Jackson fully understood. When Bright Star bound her fate to that of their universe, she had made herself impervious to earthly catastrophe. She could not die. She was as impervious as he. More so. So she was going to attempt to kill herself with Shift. She was going to kill herself and in that, demand that Rush save her. And she would never stop. Even if Rush saved her this time, she would not stop. She would continue until he could not save her. And she would take the world with her every time.
He couldn’t kill her. He could only hold her. Hold her forever. He would have to hold her to him forever. What had she said? Destined to orbit each other.
Jackson remembered the day at the observatory. He felt his body go hot and cold at once. Liquid started to collect beneath his tongue and he could feel an acidic burn in his nose. His eyes were raw and his breath was ragged. He fought to find that path, that thread that had bound them together since his birth. You can’t do this, he pleaded with his brother. He knew what Rush was doing. He understood everything now so well.
Rush didn’t answer. If you do this Rush, I swear I will become the Prophet. Tears rolled down his dirt-streaked cheeks. I swear to you that I will die every day just like she did.
You won’t. Domina will not let you, Rush returned, nothing more than a quiet murmur. Then, as Rush rose before Jackson’s mind’s eye, his body began to radiate red. Much quicker than Bright Star, he became a floating, opaque orange then yellow bubble causing heat and electricity to horrify the assembly.
The new star took less time to achieve its place in the sky. A darkened yellow ball next to the blue one, seated at the horizon.
Domina
At the moment when two new stars were born into Earth’s sky, Point delivered a squalling baby girl into Jackson Rush’s waiting arms. The cinnamon-hued baby had a full head of silken, curling sandy hair and soft amber eyes. She had strong lungs. She weighed over eight pounds.
Domina is what she was called. Point did not survive the birth so did not declare it. Jackson hadn’t asked. It was her name.
Domina, the second born Precocial, bore a mark high on her tummy, beneath her heart. It was a square patch of skin—no bigger than the head of a cufflink—that looked like three tiny blue stars.
About Grayson Reyes-Cole
Grayson Reyes-Cole adores drama, the fantastic, and words. She is intrigued by the relationships people build and what makes them work. Grayson hopes to bring intense and engaging characters to life for her readers along with well-developed, interesting stories.
Splitting her time between Florida and Alabama, Grayson considers herself a quintessential Southerner. She also has a longstanding love affair with travel and speaks two and a half languages (if you count English, a fair amount of French, and the travel Spanish, German, and Tagalog). Grayson never needs her arm twisted to share stories and photos of her adventures across Europe and Asia.
Grayson’s homepage: http://www.graysonreyescole.com
Reader email: [email protected]
Coming Soon from Grayson Reyes-Cole
The Chemist
http://lyricalpress.com/the_chemist.html
from the Delicious Darkside Series
Also Available from Lyrical Press
Practical Purposes
by Yeva Wiest
http://lyricalpress.com/practical_purposes.html
Four rednecks and a funeral…
What should a white Irish Catholic boy wear to his black, gay lover's family funeral?
A gun, if he's smart.
Good old boys and the dog from hell await Zachary O'Boyle when he arrives in 1977 Salem, Texas, hoping to show his support after his boyfriend James's aunt dies. By the time he gets there, James is already missing, and the only locals willing to help find him are no match for Ole "King" Cole's plan to keep James in the closet where all family skeletons belong.
Practical Purposes is a bitingly funny look at the personal truths behind prejudice, homophobia and other precious family memories.
Coming Soon from Lyrical Press
Ella the Vampire
by Barton Paul Levenson
http://lyricalpress.com/ella_the_vampire.html
Lyrical Press
Where reality and fantasy collide
http://www.lyricalpress.com/
Lose yourself in an ebook and discover a new wave of reading.
Just click, buy and read. It’s as simple as that!
Discover more Lyrical Press titles at:
http://www.OnceUponABookstore.com/
Bright Star Page 30
