by Ahmet Zappa
The girls stood close together in the center of the room. They looked at one another guiltily. Gemma gripped Adora’s hand, her face flushed orange with fear and concern.
“It’s all right,” Adora said calmly. “But let’s not linger. There’s the desk.”
Of course everyone knew the desk was there. Everyone knew it had a secret drawer, with a button to open a hidden door, the entrance to the Star Caves. Adora just felt she had to say something to get everyone moving.
As a group, the girls shuffled closer to the desk, then stopped. No one wanted to go to the other side, where Lady Stella usually sat so regally, her back straight, her expression calm and reassuring.
Adora almost changed her mind. What if she told everyone they should leave, not mess with Lady Stella’s desk, and find another way to rescue their friends? She shook her head to clear it. No, they had to do this—now. “Maybe someone should open the drawer?” she said, still a little hesitant.
No one stepped forward.
Finally, Leona said, “For stars’ sake, let’s just get it over with!” She edged behind the desk and opened the drawer.
“Oh!” she gasped. Her golden glow paled, and her eyes widened in shock.
“What?” cried Adora. “What is it?”
She hurried to the other side, but Leona half closed the drawer and blocked her view.
“It’s n-n-n-nothing,” Leona stammered. “Everything is fine. I just saw a twelve-legged rainbow orb spider in there.”
“Oh,” said Gemma, looking interested. “Can I see?”
“No!” Leona said quickly. She peered back inside. “It’s gone already.” She smiled a little shakily. “You know me. I can’t stand the sight of any creepy crawly.” Then she reached into the drawer and pressed the button.
Behind them, the hidden door in the back wall slid open. Again, the girls exchanged glances. This is it, Adora thought. She set her Star-Zap on flashlight mode, and the others followed her lead. Then she started down the curving metal stairs, the line of Star Darlings behind her.
“Wait!” Adora called up the stairs just as the last girl, Astra, was about to close the door behind them. “We need to keep the door open so we can get out when we’re done.”
“Okay,” said Astra. “I’ll do it.”
Of course Adora trusted Astra. The Starling had, after all, recently come back from a successful mission. How difficult could it be to leave the door open just a crack? But Adora liked to control every experiment as best she could, and that went stardouble for times like those. She hurried back up the steps, waving the others forward.
Adora checked that the door was open, just a bit, then turned to leave. But she heard a soft murmur. Voices drifted through the crack.
“Wait!” she whispered. “It’s Lady Stella! And she’s talking to someone.”
Adora stood on the top step uncertainly. Should she and Astra catch up with the others? Or should they eavesdrop and maybe learn a thing or two about Lady Stella? She decided to listen in.
“Can you hear anything?” Adora whispered to Astra.
Astra cocked her head, concentrating. “Not really.” She reached into her sports bag and took out two empty water bottles. She handed one to Adora. Then she placed the other one against the wall, the bottom against her ear.
“Don’t laugh,” she told Adora softly. “It transmits the sound and helps you hear. I caught my little brother eavesdropping on my parents this way!”
Adora lifted the bottle. She could hear a little more clearly, it was true, but it was still more mumbling than actual words.
Then the bottle slipped from her hands. It clattered to the solar metal steps. The voices stopped, and Adora froze. She and Astra stood as still as statues. Finally, the voices continued. Adora bent to pick up the bottle. Then a thought struck her: what if she had to sneeze?
All of a sudden, as if the mere thought of sneezing could make it happen, she felt a tingle in her nose. For stars’ sake, she thought. This is ridiculous. She clamped two fingers on the sides of her nose as Astra looked at her curiously. Finally, the feeling passed.
“Are you all right?” Astra whispered. Adora nodded, gesturing that they should listen through the water bottles again. More star craziness, she thought.
But Lady Stella and her visitor must have moved closer to the back wall. Adora could hear them more clearly now.
“This is happening even faster than I imagined,” Lady Stella was saying. “Starland is losing energy every starday.”
The headmistress sounded the same as ever, calm and steady. If she thought the energy shortage was a serious problem, wouldn’t she be anxious? And if she was engineering the whole thing, wouldn’t she sound more pleased?
A second voice answered. “On my end, wish energy scientists have been working hard to…” Adora heard the rustle of clothing as the Starling moved farther from the door, her voice fading. Adora could just make out the words Cosmic Transporters…swift trains…energy supplies…a true crisis. Then the voice sounded a bit more clear: “Two schools have temporarily shut down. And more may follow. It may be time to tell them. You can’t keep it secret any longer.”
Tell who what? Adora wondered.
Lady Stella spoke next, but Adora couldn’t catch anything at all. Astra grabbed Adora’s arm. “I recognize that other voice!” she hissed.
“Who is it?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t think I know her, really, or have heard her say more than a few words before. I have to hear more.”
Astra paused. “Or maybe I could just…” She flicked a wrist so the door opened a tiny bit wider. Then both girls peered through the opening. They saw Lady Stella’s back and a figure in a lavender cloak facing her. Astra leaned closer. Suddenly, the door whooshed shut.
“Odd,” Adora heard Lady Stella say. “I thought that door was closed….I must have left it open when I mumble mumble.”
Did Lady Stella think she’d left the door open when she trapped Cassie, Tessa, and Scarlet? Or was she talking about something else entirely, like checking Wish Orbs?
It was so starmazingly confusing.
“Adora? Astra? We’re waiting.”
The Star Darlings were calling to them softly from the foot of the stairs. They couldn’t waste any more time trying to listen. Adora squared her shoulders. They had to rescue their friends. And hopefully, when they did, Scarlet would know of another way out of the caves. Because now they were trapped, too.
The stairway to the caves wound round in spirals. At any given moment, Adora couldn’t see past the step she stood on. Finally, she reached the bottom, pushed past the other Star Darlings, and once again led the way.
Plop…plop. The sound of dripping water grated on her nerves. Sage, behind her, stepped on her heel.
“Star apologies,” Sage told her. “But maybe you could go a little faster?”
“Yes!” Gemma called down from behind them. “This is a rescue mission, you know!”
It was true that Adora didn’t like to hurry. She walked the same way she thought: slowly and methodically. Haste, in the long run, interfered with reaching correct conclusions. Still, Adora moved a little more quickly. She wanted to help Tessa, Cassie, and Scarlet as much as anyone else did.
Finally, she reached a split in the cave. Now which way should they go? Remembering other visits, she turned left. Slowly but almost surely, she led the girls down one long tunnel into the next. Really, it wasn’t so bad down there. Even without Lady Stella’s guidance, they were moving along.
Adora was congratulating herself on her leadership skills when she bumped smack into a boulder blocking the way. Could they squeeze past it?
She examined the passage more closely. Not even the thinnest Starling in Starland could get through. They’d have to take a detour.
Adora took the group to the right. She made a second right, then a third. By her calculations, that should have taken them around the boulder. Instead, they wound up in the same spot—directly behind
it.
This time, they’d go left, Adora decided.
“You know,” said Leona a few starmins later, when they found themselves stuck behind the boulder once more, “maybe this is some elaborate practical joke.” She shot an angry look at Astra. “And no one likes a practical joker.”
“What? Don’t give me that solar flare, Leona. You know those jokes were out of my control. And do you think I’m having fun wandering around these tunnels? My star ball game must be over by now. Coach Geeta will bench me for a double starweek because I left in the middle. And I don’t even know who won!”
Astra checked her Star-Zap to see if she could get the score, but the screen stayed dark. “Starf!” she said. “I forgot. Star-Zaps don’t work underground.”
“Except for the flashlights,” Adora corrected Astra—accuracy was always important!—as she plowed ahead, mentally crossing off tunnel routes they’d already taken.
Then she stopped short. How could they possibly be behind the boulder again?
“If we’re getting frustrated,” Gemma said, hiccupping back a sob, “I can’t even imagine what Tessa, Cassie, and Scarlet are going through. You know, Tessa likes wide open spaces. She’s probably feeling claustrophobic.”
Gasping, Gemma clutched her own throat. “I’m feeling it, too! I remember when Tessa and I were wee Starlings, and we got stuck in a Flash Vertical Mover. We didn’t have any wish energy manipulation skills yet and—”
“Starf!” someone yelped.
“Sage?” Adora said, swiveling around. “Was that you?”
“Yes,” Sage said with a groan. “I stubbed my toe.”
Secretly, Adora was grateful that Sage’s cry had at least ended Gemma’s story. All the whining and bickering was distracting. And they really had to find the others.
“Piper!” she called, waving the Starling to her. “Can you sense if the girls are nearby?”
“Why, Adora!” Piper said, sounding surprised. Astra could hear the smile in her voice. “You’re asking me to use my intuition? I’m flattered.”
“Just do it,” Adora said calmly. “I’ve used up all my reasoning skills, and you know I have an open mind. Besides, I think everyone has just about had it.”
Piper closed her eyes and swayed dreamily. Adora tapped her foot impatiently. Finally, Piper opened her eyes. “I do sense another being.”
“You do?”
All the girls leaned toward Piper eagerly. “She’s coming closer. I believe we just need to wait.” She paused, concentrating. “It might be Tessa or Cassie or Scarlet.” She closed her eyes again. “Then again, it might be—”
“A bitbat,” said Adora, stepping back as the small winged creature swooped in front of the girls.
The bitbat fluttered its wings, hovering in place. It held Adora’s gaze for a moment. Then it went down the line of Star Darlings, stopping in front of each girl. Most stepped back, trying to put some distance between themselves and the creature. But Leona stared at it intently, actually edging closer.
“Leona!” said Adora. “What are you doing? You don’t like bitbats, remember? You’re always saying you’re afraid they’ll get caught in your hair.”
Leona started to toss her curls, remembered herself, then pulled her hair back with both hands. “Of course I don’t like them! But maybe this bitbat is the one that landed on Scarlet that time and it’s trying to tell us something.”
Leona looked at the bitbat again, then shook her head. “Forget it. That’s crazy.”
“Maybe; maybe not,” said Adora. “The only way to find out is to give it a chance.”
The bitbat flew to Adora, gave a funny little nod, then took off slowly down the tunnel back the way they’d come. Adora followed close behind, and the others filed after her.
The tunnel twisted again and again. Adora lost track of their path. Stars crossed this works, she thought.
At last the bitbat paused in front of a sheer stone wall.
“Well, this is just starmendous,” Leona said crossly. “There’s nothing here. What a waste of time.”
Adora shook her head. “We don’t know that yet. Cassie?” she called. “Tessa? Scarlet?” Her voice echoed eerily through the chamber.
The girls held their breath, waiting. But no one answered.
Adora sighed, disappointed. “Come on, bitbat,” she urged. “Show us why you brought us here.”
The bitbat swooped close to the wall, its wings brushing the stone. It moved around on the wall, almost in a pattern….
“It’s making a rectangle!” Adora exclaimed.
With every bitbat movement, the gray stone brightened, until Adora realized they were looking at a holo-screen.
The bitbat bowed, then flew away. They all stared at the screen, wondering what on Starland it could possibly mean.
“This is it,” Piper said with certainty. “Tessa, Scarlet, and Cassie are on the other side of the wall. I can feel it. They just can’t hear us.”
Adora snapped her fingers at the holo-screen. She waved her hand in front of it. She placed her palm at different spots, hoping a hand scanner would appear. The screen stayed blank.
“Let’s try our Power Crystals,” Libby suggested.
“Yes, they were such a startacular success before,” Leona said.
“Don’t be sarcastic.” Adora shook her head. “You never know.”
Libby, Sage, Astra, and Vega waved their Power Crystals, but again, nothing changed.
Leona couldn’t seem to help herself. “Like I said…big success.”
Leona appeared to be correct. But Adora had a hypothesis and she wouldn’t give up: if they activated the screen, they would find their friends. But how?
She searched again for a button, a lever, a scanner. They all set their Star-Zaps on the strongest flashlight mode, and she looked again, hoping to find something she’d missed. But there was nothing.
“Hey!” said Vega suddenly. “What about a password?”
“Great idea, Vega,” said Adora. “Let’s each try a word or phrase,” she suggested. She knew it was a moonshot, but it was better than just standing there, doing nothing.
Piper stepped forward. “Dreaming is believing.”
“Password denied,” said a Bot-Bot voice as the phrase appeared on-screen, as well.
“Well, at least we know there is a password,” Adora said reasonably.
Leona went next. “Wish Pendant,” she practically hissed.
Nothing.
“We’re never going to guess it!” Gemma cried. “It could be anything under the stars!”
Adora whirled around to calm Gemma, and her Star-Zap flew out of her hand and crashed to the floor. “Oh, moonberries!” she snapped, using her roommate’s favorite new curse.
The holo-screen lit up. “Password accepted,” said the voice, and a door slid open.
Inside, Cassie, Scarlet, and Tessa huddled on the ground.
Tessa jumped up, rushing to meet them. “Thank the stars you’re here!” she cried. “Did you bring any food?”
Everyone talked at once, and it was impossible to make out what anyone was saying.
“Wait a starmin!” Adora held up a hand. “Let’s settle down and find out exactly what happened. Cassie, since you sent the holo-letter, why don’t you explain?”
Cassie gestured at the room, which was filled floor to ceiling with shelves of ancient holo-books. “Okay, but come inside. I have to show you something important.”
“First things first,” said Tessa, looking expectantly at her sister.
Gemma handed Tessa the container of ozziefruit, along with some wrapped astromuffins.
Tessa flung her arms around her sister. “Star salutations, Gemma! You’re the best sister ever! I’ll tell Mom I was the one who left the barn door open that time when all the galliopes ran off.”
“Good,” Gemma said. “Because it was you.”
Adora and the rest of the Star Darlings joined Cassie and Scarlet inside the room. With twelve girls and
hydrongs of books, it was a tight squeeze. Scarlet stood to the side, careful to keep her distance as best she could. But Cassie pulled her into the center of the group.
She quickly explained how Scarlet had found another entrance to the caves through a supply closet, and how her special bitbat had brought them to the room.
“Hey!” said Gemma. “That must have been the same one we saw!”
“Anyway,” Cassie said, “we found this.” She held out an ancient-looking holo-book with a five-point star pulsing on the deep purple cover. “It’s hard to read. The writing is dim and in some old-fashioned style. But there’s one part…”
Her voice trailed off as she flipped through the pages. “Here!” She stopped about halfway through, and a holo-picture rose in the air, showing twelve girls in a circle. Each Starling had her own Wish Blossom. Energy from the flowers was flowing into the circle’s center, gathering in a ball of light.
“I can’t see from back here,” complained Leona. “What does it say?”
“The writing explains a prophecy,” Cassie explained. “An ancient oracle that predicts the future.” She pointed out some words as they hovered in the air. “This part tells about twelve Star-Charmed Starlings who have a special gift: the ability to grant wishes and gather powerful wish energy.”
“Twelve?” Adora said slowly. “So that must be us. We’re the Star-Charmed Starlings!”
Adora smiled at Scarlet. If she had to take sides in the Leona versus Scarlet battle of the roommates, she might just choose the serious loner over the social flutterfocus. Who else would have explored the tunnels and found that room?
Without thinking, the girls drew together in a circle. Even Scarlet reached out to hold hands with Sage and Clover. They looked at one another in awe and disbelief.
“There’s more,” said Cassie. “The oracle says we save Starland.”
The rest of the Star Darlings gasped in unison.
