I removed my ring—in addition to representing Andrelexa, the ring was made of a mineral with incredible properties. I drew a large square with the ring, pressing in hard. I was careful not to let it touch my skin. The burn would be significant. The metal doors made a horrible squeal in protest, but before long I had made an opening. I put the ring back on and got to work extending the hole so it was large enough for me to step through.
I stepped over the jagged metal, prepared for a fight. Once again I found emptiness. I walked up and down the hall, looking for a clue as to where people might be hiding. Surely someone stayed behind in the palace.
Before long I ended up in front of Dr. Graham’s lab. He was the only Earthling at the palace. He was the only other one with a connection to Rachel, and somehow I knew this tied into her. Gardenia would tell me it’s because I couldn’t think of anyone else, but I knew. Sometimes feelings shouldn’t be ignored.
I tried the lock on the door, unsurprised when it didn’t move. I removed my ring and repeated my earlier actions. I cut a hole and stepped inside. I walked around the lab, hearing and seeing no one. But I wasn’t ready to give up. I walked over to the interior office door. I tried the handle, and it easily turned under my hand.
Although I saw no one in the darkness I knew they were there. I could sense them. “I know you are in here.” I tried to walk a thin line between authoritative yet unthreatening.
No one said anything. “I am not here to hurt anyone. I want to know what happened.”
I heard a quiet stirring coming from behind the desk.
“You can speak with me and me only.” Dr. Graham flipped on a small handheld light. “This doesn’t involve anyone else.”
“I already told you I am not going to hurt anyone. I just arrived back, and I want to know where everyone else is.”
He walked fully around the desk toward me. “I can’t answer that for you.”
“Why not?” I needed to stay calm so I wouldn’t scare him. I needed any help I could get.
“Because I was down here.” He pointed to the ground. “Working.”
“Who else is in here with you?” I was positive he wasn’t alone.
A young woman crawled out from behind the desk. I recognized her—she was the one who I’d disturbed in the servants’ quarters—was it only a few days before?
She was followed by another young woman and a man who worked in the kitchens.
“Is that all of you?”
“Yes sir.” The girl I recognized bowed her head slightly. Pada. That was her name. “It is only us.”
“How did you end up down here? Were you assigned to the labs?” I already knew that was impossible. Only servants with top security clearance would have been, but I asked anyway.
“No, sir.” The male answered. “We fled here.”
“What were you fleeing?”
They all exchanged looks.
“What is it? You must tell me.” By the looks on their faces I wasn’t going to like what they had to share, but I already knew it was going to be bad. It had to be to force my family out of the palace. I was grateful Gardenia was on a ship. At least I knew she was safe. From that threat anyway.
“We don’t know.”
“Then why did you flee?”
“Because it was horrible. I could feel it inside.” Pada wrapped her arms around her.
“Feel what inside?” I needed more details.
The other girl shivered. “It was cold, the kind of cold I’ve never felt before. And it hurt. Like a burning. I know it makes no sense to be cold and burning at the same time, but it was. It was horrible.”
“I believe it was an invisible intruder.” Dr. Graham moved the light from one hand to the other. “As I said, I was down here. I did not witness it myself.”
“And it took everyone else from the palace?” I asked the servants.
“We don’t know for sure, but I saw people disappear into thin air before I made it down here.” Pada pulled the other young servant into her arms. “We have been locked down here for days. We do not know what happened to the others.”
“There is no one else here. I haven’t ventured outside the palace, but when I landed all of Andrelexa was dark. Even the moons are not visible.”
“Has something like this happened before?” Dr. Graham sat on the edge of his desk. “I don’t know all of your history.”
“Not that I know of, but I suppose it could be another secret that was withheld from me.” I’d once believed I knew everything there was to know about Andrelexa, but I had been sorely mistaken.
“Does anyone know you are here?” He leaned his chin in his hand.
“Why? Want to know if you can kill me without getting caught?” I tried to make a joke.
He didn’t even chuckle. “I want to know if there is any chance of getting rescued.”
“Rescued? I thought you haven’t even ventured upstairs. How do you know it isn’t safe?”
“We can’t know for sure that thing is gone.” The male servant looked me in the eyes. “We are not leaving until we know it’s safe.”
“What about food? What have you been eating?” It had only been a few days, but surely they hadn’t allowed themselves to starve.
“I had some rations.” Dr. Graham gestured to a cabinet in the back of the office.
“I need to investigate. I have to find my father.” It was even more urgent now.
“I will come with you.” Dr. Graham stood.
I narrowed my eyes. “I thought you wouldn’t leave.”
“They shouldn’t.” He pointed to the servants. “I have nothing left to lose.”
“Fine.” I didn’t know if I could trust the doctor but two would be better than one if we really had to search the place. “And the rest of you will stay here. Hidden?” I looked from one to another.
“Yes, sir.” Pada nodded. “Unless you want our help.”
“No. Stay here.” If there was danger afoot, I wouldn’t willingly bring innocents into it. Their status as servants didn’t mean their lives lacked value.
“Do you have weapons down here?” Officially he wasn’t allowed, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t broken the rules. He had aided Rachel in her escape, whether he admitted to it or not.
“No weapons.” Dr. Graham shook his head. “But I don’t think they’d be any use against this thing even if we did.”
“It’s not the invisible intruder I’m worried about. We don’t know who sent it.”
“Very true.” Dr. Graham started for the door. “Can we find some upstairs?”
“Yes, if we don’t run into anyone first.”
“Let’s hope not,” he mumbled as he followed me back out the way I’d come.
With the aid of Dr. Graham’s light, I was able to use all my senses as we backtracked up to the main levels of the palace. I found nothing new. No sign of a struggle. It was as if, just as the servants had explained, people had disappeared into thin air.
“Do you know what you are looking for in particular?” Dr. Graham broke the stifling silence.
“Evidence of what happened. Anyone else who managed to hide.”
“Are there any other secure locations we can check?”
“We need to visit the armory anyway.” I led us up another staircase, down a hallway, and across a bridge to the armory entrance. Before we reached it, I knew we weren’t going to find anything. “The doors are open.”
“That can’t be good.” Dr. Graham slowed.
I moved past him and slowly edged toward the door. I peeked inside. It was empty. Not a single weapon left. The only thing there was a puddle of blood.
“That’s our first evidence of an injury.” Dr. Graham pulled a test tube from his pocket.
“You thought ahead.”
“I don’t want to have to do this walk twice. This blood is likely Lexa, but if it’s not, we’ll know much more.”
“You said earlier you had nothing to live for.”
“I’ll never
return to Earth. I’m just waiting for my time to run out here.”
“When this is over, I’ll send you back.”
“Time will have passed.”
“Yes, but not too much. It will be worth it.”
“Then let’s see if we can make it out of this alive.”
Part 10
Noah & Rachel
20 Noah
Knowingly stepping into a nightmare is nearly impossible. When you’re lying in bed and know you’re probably going to end up back in one, you fight as long as you can until sleep takes over. But at least then you’ve fought your best fight. This was different. I had to take the steps down the stairs to face a memory I’d spent years trying to forget. Even if I wasn’t the one who chose to come back to this nightmare, I was choosing to face it head-on.
I took one step. And then I froze.
“Think of Rachel,” Jada called down. She sounded so much further away than the few steps. “The sooner you finish this, the sooner you return to her.”
“I should be able to just return to her now.” I hated being helpless and at the mercy of others I definitely didn’t trust. I’d had moments of feeling completely out of my element on Earth, but this was different. This was much worse. “This is all your fault.”
“Keep walking. If you’d stop stalling you’d be done already.”
“Done? As if I’ll ever really be done with this? No one ever gets over the death of their twin.”
“I never said you’d get over it. I said you’d be able to move on and feel whole. That’s an entirely different thing.”
“Will it be like I’m really there?” That was at the root of my fear. “Will anyone see me?”
“No. This isn’t real. No one can see or feel you. You aren’t experiencing it again. You are remembering.”
“I already remember it. Over and over.” It had haunted me since it happened. I knew I’d never escape the memory.
“Why can’t I go with him?” Dale whined. “If no one can see or hear him, why does it matter?”
“We’ve been over this. Do I need to send you away?” Jada’s voice had an edge to it. Even she was getting annoyed by him. But for once I wasn’t annoyed. I appreciated he was trying to help.
“No. I’m not leaving until he does.” Dale’s voice didn’t waver.
I wished there was a way out that didn’t involve continuing down those stairs. Could I fight her? She didn’t look that strong, but it wasn’t physical strength that brought me here. It was some sort of magic or special power. I was starting to miss the Fleshard. He was gross looking, but at least he didn’t send me into a strange dimension or whatever the hell this was. Even Caspian was preferable to Jada.
But I didn’t get to choose the alien. She was the one I was dealing with. There was no way out until Jada let me out. Playing along was the only way to get back to Rachel. I’d play along.
I moved down another few steps. That’s when I heard the voices for the first time. Ordinary voices. Voices of kids who thought this was going to be just another day of school, another Thursday just like the hundreds that had come before. School would be out soon. Graduation for many of us. A future we’d spent years working toward.
I saw him. Standing there with a circle of his friends. He was always surrounded by his friends. Joseph had a personality people gravitated toward. I’d spent most of my life jealous of it. Now I missed it. I was there too. Standing off to the side of the group. By my expression I was bored. Either that or I was daydreaming about college. About getting out of the rut of my high school life.
Joseph looked just the way he always did. Huge smile. Hair messy. For someone with such a loud personality, he never cared much about his appearance. But that was part of his charm. He didn’t try to look good, yet he always did. We were identical twins, yet he was somehow more attractive. At least that’s what girls said growing up.
A boy, dressed head to toe in dark blue, ran into the common area. I screamed, even though I knew it wouldn’t change anything. It couldn’t change anything. This wasn’t real. Just like Jada said.
There was Joseph jumping in front of the gun. Saying something to the gunman. Something I couldn’t hear. And then there was a gunshot. Blood.
It was over in seconds. A police officer hurried down the stairs, the gunman—a boy I’d known since the 4th grade—was down on the ground. And I (the high school me) was holding Joseph. Screaming and begging for help. Until I wasn’t. Until I was pulled away. The light went out of my eyes. My hands twisted into fists.
This was worse than a nightmare. This was my life.
* * *
The memory faded away suddenly. Leaving me blinking again. This time I was on a spaceship. I found Dale watching me with a worried expression. “You okay, man?”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know if I were okay or not.
“Don’t you feel better?” Jada had her sunglasses back on. I was grateful for it. I didn’t want to see my expression in her mirrored eyes.
I glanced around my new surroundings. There were screens all over, which meant we were in some sort command room—or so I assumed.
“Why would I feel better? The pain is fresh again. Plus, it reminded me of how brave Joseph has been while I had held back, frozen in shock. I’d been a coward. If I’d been braver he might still be alive. How could that possibly help?”
“You weren’t a coward. You had no time to react. How did you miss that? Do I need to send you back?”
“No. Don’t send me back.” A shiver ran up my spine. “I can’t face that again.”
“But you saw what happened to you. You saw how it broke you.”
“Of course it broke me. He was my other half.” I missed him more than anything.
“But you need to be whole without him now. You are whole without him.”
“I need to find Rachel.”
“But maybe now you can forgive him…” Jada trailed off. “That’s the real problem isn’t it? The anger has held you back. And now it’s impacting the balance of the universe. A starmate is not meant to hold such anger.”
“How can I forgive the person who stole my brother from me?”
“I’m not talking about the gunman. I’m talking about your brother. That’s where your anger is most raw.”
“Why would I have to forgive my brother? He saved my life. He was a hero.”
“But you are angry he left you. For taking a risk when it was possible the officer might have made it before either of you died.”
“Someone would have died. It took longer than I remembered. It happened so fast in real time, but it felt different this time.”
“See? That’s why I sent you there. Joseph was a hero. He is one. But that’s not a reason to be angry. Did he deserve to live more than the others?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Because you have a responsibility now. A responsibility so much greater than yourself. It’s time to let go of the anger. Yes, there is evil in the universe. Yes, violence is everywhere, but if you allow your anger to control you, everyone will lose.”
“You could have said all of this before. When we were with Rachel. You didn’t need to send me there.”
“Yes I did. You needed to see that you had no blame in what happened. Did you see how far away you were? Separated from the others? If anything that was where you went wrong. You held yourself apart. Your brother is gone now, but you aren’t. And if you two were as connected as you believe, then there’s still a part of him in you. Let go of the anger and let that part in. Forgive him. Understand why he made his choice.”
“It was hard to see him.” I blinked back tears. I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t going to remind Jada of my weakness.
“I’m sure it was.” There was an actual note of sympathy in her voice.
“I can’t go through that again.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Take me to Rachel. I did what you wanted me to.”
�
��Are you ready? Are you ready to be who you need to be?”
I nodded “Yes.” I would step up. It was my turn to be the hero.
21 Rachel
The so-called gatekeeper eventually gave in. He refused to take me to Veraka himself, but he told me she’d be in the first village I came across. He gave no other details, so I had no clue how far I needed to travel. According to my helmet I was down to nineteen hours. I’d wasted five hours arguing with the man. Even more than my worry about the air, I was worried about Noah. A lot could happen in five hours.
My initial view of the area as an island had been wrong. There had only been water on three sides. The fourth side led into what I was discovering was more akin to a never-ending desert. I was thirsty, tired, and terrified both for Noah and for this all leading to a dead end.
I walked on, with starlight as the only illumination. The hours ticked down in beeps inside my helmet. Still no village came into sight. I began to worry the gatekeeper had sent me to my death.
Ten hours left. I saw something in the distance. An outline of a building. But was it real? Or would I find it was nothing but a mirage? I was exhausted and afraid to hold onto hope.
Then all of a sudden the stars went dark. I was left in the middle of the desert in pitch blackness. I looked up at the sky, lost as to how all of the stars could have disappeared at once. It didn’t make sense.
Rachel. I heard my name as if being whispered by the wind. It was a feminine voice. One I’d never heard before.
Rachel.
With no other ideas, I took a chance. I followed the voice and hoped it would lead me to safety under the starless sky.
Thank You
Thank you for reading Starless (Half Light #3). I hope you enjoyed it! Please consider leaving an honest review at your point of purchase. Reviews help me in so many ways!
* * *
If you would like to know when my next novel is available you can sign up for my New Release Newsletter.
Starless: Half Light Page 13
