THE SEARCH FOR STARLIGHT
By
Elyse Salpeter
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. While certain places are real, the incidences regarding them are works of the author.
Copyright © 2018
Amazon Edition
Edited by Elizabeth Thomas
Published by Elyse Salpeter
Cover created by LLPix Photography
Formatted by BZ Hercules
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in print or electronic version without permission from the author.
This ebook is licensed to the original purchaser only. It cannot be sold, transferred, shared, or given away.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Other Books by Elyse Salpeter
BONUS CHAPTER: THE MANNEQUINS
THE SEARCH FOR STARLIGHT
Chapter One
Sometimes a snowfall is peaceful, with the falling flakes akin to gentle wet kisses against your cheek. Other times it’s ferocious and biting, like knives piercing your skin. A ruthless enemy with no mercy or forgiveness. Robbie wondered which snowfall this would become. He glanced at the darkening sky and knew the incoming storm could change at any moment. He leaned against the granite surface of the mausoleum and shivered against the cold surface resting against his stubbled cheek. How many times had he used rock walls for protection while demons raged around him? How many times did they shield him while the demons attacked, intent on destroying the realms they traveled to with their ill-sought desires? Stone walls had always provided shelter from the tumultuous tempests roaring about him. They were strong, cold and unmoving. At times, he felt like a stone wall himself. Emotionless. Blank. Just a soldier following the orders of his masters.
What had his teachers impressed into his brain ever since he was a child? “You must be steadfast and unbending when it comes to demons, Robbie. A demon doesn’t care if you live or die. They don’t care if you suffer in agony. They care about nothing but their own egotistical needs. You are not to care about their paths or their lives. You are a soldier, trained to protect the realms. That is your journey and why you were saved and brought to Prithvi.” And he had followed orders. In his eighteen years he had already killed twelve demons and he wasn’t scared of anything. He knew death ultimately meant nothing. Once you died, you were reborn and you’d continue your path, lifetime after lifetime, plain and simple.
Robbie leaned his head forward to peer around the crypt. He perused the group of black-clad mourners assembled on the snowy knoll. The crowd congregated around an open grave. The wind picked up and he brushed the snowflakes from his brows and covered his mouth, careful to hide the curly wisps of smoke from his breath. He did not want his cover blown too quickly. While he was cold, he didn’t mind it. It was easier to track demons in the dead of winter. They were so much easier to see in a bare, naked landscape.
Like right now.
From his vantage point, Robbie heard the mourners’ soft cries. He could see them comforting each other. The hollow, final clump of the dirt hitting the coffin as the gravediggers covered the grave. The echoes of all these sounds traversed the cemetery. Another life gone. He was used to death and it didn’t bother him. He believed dying was the only release from this lifetime, and it would give a wayward soul the chance to start over. Or pay their penance. Either way it brought a chance for redemption to every creature in the universe, good or evil.
His talisman throbbed and he absently placed his hand to his neck. His fingers gripped the small wooden charm that held the trapped soul of a Jikininki demon, imprisoned there for the past ten years by his teacher, the Elder, Master Dov. This elder was extremely powerful in the dark arts and had caught this demon while the fiend had been feasting on the corpses of humans in a small town decimated by the Plague. Master Dov had ensnared the demon in this talisman, and now the demon would serve his penance by providing aid to the soldiers of Prithvi.
The talisman throbbed again and Robbie knew the demon could sense another of his kind nearby. At the step-up ceremony two years before, he’d been awarded this amulet and he’d felt honored. Having this in his possession aided him in his quest by acting as a homing beacon to any other demon nearby, and it proved to him that his teacher thought him worthy of this great distinction.
The Jikininki now began to rage within the charm. The talisman pulsed and fulminated like a sick heartbeat, and Robbie knew it was caused by the Jikininki calling out for help, summoning any other fiends nearby to join ranks with him and rid him of his confinement.
Robbie watched the assembled mourners intently. Humans could not hear, see, or feel the monsters that lurked around them. And those assembled obviously couldn’t hear, see, or know one actually hid within their midst right now.
But Robbie knew. He’d been training to hunt demons since he’d first come to Prithvi at the age of three. And he was good at it.
Robbie stared pointedly at the beautiful brunette standing innocently within the throng of funeral-goers. This demon who pretended to be human. He knew otherwise. Her human name was Kelsey Porter, but she was almost certainly the temptress demon, Tanha, from the Naraka hell realm. The same Demon he’d been told to follow by the Emperor and Empress when he’d visited them in Xanadu. Well, he’d confirm it soon enough.
The temptress demon looked much like he suspected she would. Beautiful, graceful, and alluring. Long dark hair framed Kelsey’s stunning, heart-shaped face, and her hair cascaded down the back of her long black coat. Her ridiculously high black heels, which sunk into the inch of snow collecting at her feet, amused Robbie. He found it even more absurd that she wore those heels while sporting a pair of crutches. A demon with crutches? What a brilliant way to hide inside her humanity.
He had to give her credit for her facade, but her appearance didn’t surprise him. She should be beautiful. And sexy. And appealing. What else would you expect from a temptress demon who’d tried to seduce Siddhartha with the promise of sex? So presumptuous of her. But she’d failed then, like she would fail with her mission now.
A man stood next to Kelsey with his arm wrapped around her waist as if he were supporting her. Obviously, some innocent she’d sucked in with her charms.
Robbie thought back to his conversation with the Emperor in Xanadu just a few weeks back. The Emperor had warned him not to let Kelsey’s allure sway him if she tried to use it. That her irresistible magnetism was one of her powers.
The talisman throbbed again. “Yes, I feel her, too,” Robbie murmured.
Kelsey then glanced up and stared directly at him. Her eyes widened slightly, and that sealed her fate. Robbie knew she must have felt the trapped demon as well. Why? Because she was one of them and had heard the Jikininki’s plea for assistance. It was the only reason he had attracted her attention.
Big blue eyes stared at Robbie and for a brief moment their gazes locked.
Robbie stiffened. A sense of déjà vu hit him hard, and he took a moment to consider what this meant. Suddenly this demon seemed eerily familiar.
He’d been taught to always listen to his gut. To take heed of his inner feelings. That thoughts from his inner mind could save his life in a dire situation. So many times humans dismissed feelings as flights of folly, but he’d been instructed in the art on how to interpret what they meant.
Something about this demon made him pause… was it her eyes? He let her name roll off the tip of his tongue. Kelsey. Robbie started and was taken aback for a moment. Why did I have this reaction? What does this mean? But then he brushed the feeling off quickly, realizing immediately what had happened to him. This female temptress demon, even from across the cemetery, was obviously already using her sultry glamour to sway him. To make him question himself. The Emperor had warned him about this and advised him to take great pains not to get swept away by her charms.
He’d seen enough. He glanced at his finger with the Azurite stone nestled in its white gold setting. The deep blue color was in stark contrast to the band that held it. He paid it no more mind. He didn’t need it right now and would move away on foot. Robbie turned away from the mourners and the temptress demon named Kelsey Porter, hopped a set of gravestones, and disappeared into a thicket of trees. From there he made his way to the front of the cemetery and jumped onto his motorcycle. He knew where the girl lived.
His instructions were to follow her as she sought a dangerous trinket. And when she found it, he would steal it from her and bring it back to the Emperor and Empress in Xanadu, like they had asked.
And if she refused to give it up? Then he would fulfill his purpose as a soldier in Pritvhi.
He had license to kill her.
Chapter Two
New York City always appeared dismal, filthy and dangerous on a dark, dreary day. Every horror movie or homicide thriller depicted it this way, and it gave tourists terrible misconceptions about its safety. Unfortunately, today’s weather was living up to its reputation. The snowstorm from the day before had dumped three inches on the ground, but it had warmed up significantly since then. Now there was nothing but garbage stewing in the melting, slushy puddles of dirty snow.
Kelsey turned off a main avenue and moved gingerly down the narrow alleyway. Sallow, glowing yellow streetlights illuminated the concrete sidewalk, and her low heeled boots clicked hollowly as she moved down the street.
Her leg ached and she absently rubbed her outer thigh, recalling once again the moment Ridley had stabbed her with the phurba dagger just a few weeks before. She was fortunate the injury hadn’t been deeper than it was. “I’m forever getting hurt saving the world,” she thought, bitterly.
After she’d been attacked at Cragg Hill House, Desmond had stabilized her wound in the attic, but she’d needed professional care immediately. He’d carried her downstairs, hitched her up to a sled he found in the back of the property by the greenhouse, and through the continuing blizzard, slogged down the mountainside with her. He’d flagged down a snow plow truck and they’d taken her right to the hospital an hour away. While en-route Desmond had been able to call the police and update them on the tragic conditions back at the mountain house.
Kelsey had been one of the lucky ones that night. The nurses in the emergency room sterilized the wound, gave her a shot of antibiotics, and the doctors had managed to close the gash with sutures. Thankfully the blade Ridley stabbed her with only went a half inch into her thigh. Enough to serve its purpose of releasing the demons from Kelsey’s body, but not deep enough to hit any arteries. She was amazed Ridley had the wherewithal at the time to injure her in this fashion and spare her multiple surgeries and a lifelong disability. Of course, Kelsey figured he had not thought about it; had not thought much of anything at the time. The hospital had wrapped her up and ordered her to stay off her feet for the next three to four weeks.
Like that would happen.
For two weeks she had let Desmond baby her, only grabbing a set of crutches to go to Josh’s funeral the week after they’d returned home. A week after that, after reading every book Desmond put in front of her and catching up on some films to keep herself current, Kelsey just could not sit still any longer. She had been given a quest, and she had to find the trinket the Emperor and Empress wanted. She was determined to fulfill her part of the bargain she had made with them. So, she ditched the crutches and took the painkillers the doctor prescribed. She’d healed beautifully and now just had a slight limp and a deep ache if she did too much on her leg.
Like right now.
Kelsey skirted around a puddle and took in her surroundings. The entire city was wet, barren and gray, from the dirty brick buildings to the leafless, barren trees. A lone streetlamp flickered and Kelsey vaguely wondered why every part of her life always seemed to take place in settings like those in a horror movie.
Because I was born from the ultimate horror movie, that’s why.
She glanced to her right where two homeless men huddled together and dozed under a heap of blankets. One stirred as she passed and she heard him moan as if in pain. A sudden tingling, like the nervousness of butterflies, settled in her own gut. She absently touched her wrist, realizing she’d left her opal and jade bracelet back at her apartment. No worries. She knew what that feeling was now when it came. The random mysterious stomach pains that had plagued her growing up. The homeless man was obviously a descendant of her multi-great grandfather Kenmut and one of her long-lost relatives. A cousin so distant she wouldn’t even be able to find the connection. Nor did she care to.
She paid him no more mind and moved on quickly, knowing the feeling would leave as soon as she distanced herself from him and he’d feel better as well. Her thoughts returned to Josh’s funeral the week before and the disturbing thing that had happened.
It had been tougher emotionally than she had thought it would be. She knew her friends would grieve over Josh’s death, but she didn’t realize how hard it would hit them. She shouldn’t have been surprised. She’d been devastated when her own parents died and she’d emotionally disappeared from this earth for six weeks while she healed from their murders. The realities of death hit everyone differently.
It had been the most difficult watching Ari struggling to maintain his composure. Her brother and Josh were best friends, but had been fighting right before Josh had left to meet her at Cragg Hill Mountain House. About what, Ari wouldn’t say, but now Ari was riddled with guilt. She’d tried to explain Josh’s fate to him, and what had ultimately happened to their friend, but it changed nothing. There was no way Ari could ever say he was sorry to him. No way to have Josh ever understand what Ari had wanted to do ultimately in the Middle East. Not that her brother would tell her exactly what that was, though she had a pretty clear suspicion of what he’d been up to, and it wasn’t good. She felt quite certain that Ari’s next life would not be an easy one. She vaguely wondered if she could ask the Emperor and Empress to save him as well when the time came.
Recalling Julia’s constant sobbing hurt Kelsey’s heart. Her friend had been sandwiched between Dennis and his partner, Roger, and had held onto them for dear life. Julia always had a soft spot in her heart for Josh. Kelsey wondered if she’d been secretly holding out hope for Josh to start a relationship with her, even though Julia knew Josh had pined for Kelsey since high school. Regardless, neither scenario was ever going to happen now.
Josh’s parents had sat on a row of chairs at the front, stooped and defeated after losing their only son. Seung clung to Meliee’s shoulder and tried not to cry. Seung had idolized Josh ever since high school, and now he spent his days drawing out designs for a new tattoo to honor him.
Kelsey was going to miss Josh terribly, but she knew that if she wanted to, she could take herself to Xanadu and visit him. Josh might not know her any longer, or even remember his own name since his memory was slowly disappearing, but she could at least see him and somewhat ease her own pain. Josh now lived with the Bhikkus and Bhikkunis in Xanadu, where he would remain until he used up the negative karma he’d acquired in this lifetime. She was indebted to the Emperor and Emp
ress, who put him there as a personal favor to her so Kelsey’s spiritual father Mara would not find him in the hell realms and torture him for a millennia. He was, thankfully, safe.
And now she owed the Emperor and Empress a very big favor back.
Josh’s service had been lovely. They’d each said a few words honoring their friend, but towards the end of the funeral, Kelsey had been troubled. An odd feeling had crept into her gut and she’d gotten a case of shivers that had nothing to do with the cold. Her powers and abilities had grown over the past year, causing her to become more aware of things happening around her. More instances of the otherworldly invading her life now caused differing sensations in all parts of her body. Many times they started on her skin, like little tingles of electricity. Other times, they bloomed in her gut, and each had a life force surrounding it like wicked icy tendrils floating in the air. It was almost as if miniscule creatures gently ran their broken nails against her skin, or performed cartwheels in her stomach.
The oddness started the moment the grave diggers began covering up Josh’s coffin. Her skin had suddenly started to prickle and dread had settled over her. It was the exact same feeling she’d had when she’d first became aware of the Oni demons up at Cragg Hill House. And now that feeling had come to her at the cemetery. And what had unsettled her further was that it was not an unfamiliar or unpleasant feeling at all. In fact, the longer it stayed, the more comfortable it became, and Kelsey realized it unsettlingly reminded her of her time in Naraka.
Why? Because I lived with my kind in Naraka, that’s why.
Kelsey was certain a demon had been in that cemetery with her that day. She didn’t recognize what kind it was, or what it wanted, but it must have sensed her likeness to them in her spiritual core, just as the Oni demons had sensed it.
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