Starlight

by Lauren Jade Case

  Was waking up here the same for Captain America when he was woken up seventy years later into a world he didn’t know? Was this how he felt about not having his Bucky at his side?

  Noah scrambled from the window when a knock echoed through the room. A girl with cropped black hair entered like she wouldn’t have stayed back even if asked. She smiled, the door closing behind her.

  Can I trust her?

  “D’you want to talk, amore?” she asked. Noah noticed the slight accent. Italian?

  “I think that man explained enough,” he answered honestly.

  True, it had been explained, and there were things he couldn’t deny, but the whole premise of its reality made Noah dizzy. He’d thought about applying a damp cloth to his head. Was someone playing a prank? Was this Natalia’s doing? Should he go throw up?

  Though Noah hadn’t said much, the girl’s smile said he’s shown plenty. “Natalia acted the same,” the girl told him. “She was lost and confused at first too.”

  Noah licked his lips, his braces making them dry. “And now?”

  The girl sat on the loveseat at the bottom of the bed. “She didn’t have much of a choice. She’s one of us. For you, it’s different.”

  “Creatures and Monsters being real?” Noah’s own words sounded wrong, like his own voice was being echoed but they’d been twisted on return. “It’s not—” he cut himself off then tried again. “I heard the whirling wind—”

  “Portal,” she corrected.

  “I heard the portal.”

  Her voice turned gravely serious. “You shouldn’t listen to those voices.”

  He slumped down beside her. “I’m not,” he assured. “But I heard them, only once and only briefly. And then there’s all the things I’ve heard since. My whole view of life has shifted. Knowing my dreams and nightmares are real is a little,” he indicated “little” by holding his hands several feet apart, “life-changing.” He put his arms down.

  “You’re doing better than expected.”

  “What?” His stomach certainly wasn’t agreeing.

  “Not many people take this very well. You only passed out from the portal ride for a short time.” A playful glint entered her dark eyes. “And you’re dealing with all this information rather well, even if the Human part of your brain is trying to convince you that Creatures and Monsters don’t exist when you can clearly see they do.”

  “Should I be proud? Proud that I’m dealing well and my brain is changing?”

  “Natalia would want you to be.”

  Noah swallowed the lump in his throat. “Where is she? I saw her moments before stepping through that,” he swallowed again, “portal. I haven’t seen her since. Is she ok? I thought she’d be with her dad.”

  “She was,” the girl said.

  Past tense didn’t sound good. “What’s going on?”

  The way the girl pressed her fingers against her stomach as if she was about to be sick sent a ripple of unease along Noah’s spine. “Natalia had a Council meeting. But things didn’t go to plan.” Wetness brimmed at the edge of her eyes as she looked at him. “She was supposed to reveal her wings.”

  “Wings?”

  “It was their last request. After that, she would’ve been free.”

  “What happened?”

  The girl’s voice was sorrowful. “She didn’t show them.”

  The worry inside him was justified and hit peak levels. He was sure he was seconds from needing the bathroom now. “Why? Why would she do that? Or, not do that?”

  The girl shook her head. “We don’t know. But we’re sure the Council will hold another meeting in the morning with her. They usually do in these situations, to give a second chance. Maybe she’ll have better luck this time.”

  Noah didn’t want to think about it but asked, “And if she doesn’t?”

  “There’s a back-up plan being cooked up.”

  Noah asked no more. What even was there to ask? Plenty, he realised, but no questions he wanted the answers too right then. Without Natalia, he was left in a limbo debating whether this was real or not, and it didn’t sound like she would be there any time soon to help him.

  For all he’d seen, for all his heart wanted to jump at, having Natalia at his side to show him the path to the truth would be the guiding hand he needed. He’d spent eighteen years believing one thing, so it would take a near magical miracle to change. If those things really did exist.

  “Do you want something to eat?” the girl asked, standing.

  “What about Natalia?”

  “Until the morning,” the girl’s eyes dropped, “we can’t do anything.”

  Noah stood up but it was a mistake. He raced into the nearest bathroom and barely made it to the sink before all the churning acid and his breakfast came out.

  ◆◆◆

  Peri crept stealthily down the stairs, but despite her silence, a shape sprung before her at the bottom. Thrusting out her trident in panic, it collided with something with a clang.

  The hall light flared, illuminating Gold’s silhouette. His hand gripped the end of Peri’s trident; one spike rested inches away from his collarbone on a broach decorating his jacket. Gold uncurled his grip as Peri withdrew her trident, folding it to fit back into her dressing gown pocket.

  “I wasn’t expecting anyone to be awake,” she stated. She moved away down the hall. Though she heard no footsteps behind her, she somehow knew Gold was following.

  He zipped past and appeared in front in the kitchen doorway. “Have you forgotten what I am? We roam the night.”

  “You can walk in the light fine, for now.” She ducked under his arm and went to the fridge, pulling out a carton of orange juice. “Want some?”

  He raised his neat eyebrows. “Are you alright, dear girl?”

  Peri poured two glasses. “Yes,” she cocked her head. “Why?”

  She picked up her glass and the smell offered some relief to the pent up energy coiling in her stomach. The drink itself slid down her throat coolly. Before she knew it, she was finishing the glass and pouring another.

  “I’m just drinking,” she justified when Gold remained silent yet poised.

  He pushed his untouched glass away. “How long have you been drinking that like that?”

  “Not long.” She put her cup in the sink. “A couple of…”

  Her voice trailed off. Her mouth dropped open with realisation over what he might be implying, his unsaid words smacking her brain as if he’d told her outright.

  Though her trident was no bigger than a garden folk, she brought it out and pointed it at him threateningly. Her heart hammered in her chest and a cold sweat brewed along her skin. She fought the urge to jump into the nearest body of water and swim away in its current.

  “Not a word,” she demanded in a whisper. She pocketed her weapon again. “Please,” she begged.

  Gold crossed a finger over his undead heart. “My word.”

  “This might be nothing,” she continued, trying to assess aloud. “There’s a lot going on. We have Natalia and the Council to worry about. And we’re in Atlantis.”

  Gold circled the counter until Peri was tucked into him, his arm over her shoulders, her side pressed into his ribs. Warmth rushed over her like a blanket and she knew what Gold was doing. It worked too because her shoulders relaxed and her stomach stilled.

  “Perhaps Atlantis might be the best place?” Gold suggested. She tilted her head at him like he’d grown three heads. Even without his monocle, his golden eye was intense – where was it? “If not,” he drew something from his silky blue pyjamas, “you may come to my place.” Gold tucked a card into the pocket she stored her trident in. “All you have to do is shake the card. The rest will be managed according. Just, please, phone ahead first.”

  Peri removed herself from the Vampire, instantly missing his warm touch. “Thank you.”

  “I understand,” he said.

  And she believed he did.

  He left the room silently, his drink u
ntouched. Peri downed it quickly, only partially because she didn’t want it to go to waste, and put the cup in the sink after.

  She tip-toed all the way back into her room, shutting the door behind her and placing her trident onto the dressing table. Her gaze shifted to Archie as he rolled over in bed and rubbed his face until his eyes cracked open. He swung an arm above his head, propping it up, the blankets slipping downward to expose his bare chest. Peri grinned, a mischievous glint entering her dark eyes.

  “Oh, my amore,” she whispered.

  “Darling?” He watched her through barely open eyes. “Are you alright?”

  She dropped her dressing gown and moved the duvet aside. She slid on top of Archie, pulling off what little she’d had on and pushing against the nothing he had on. One of his hands instinctively touched her thighs, drawing patterns into the skin, while the other snaked upwards to hold the side of her neck, his pinky against her collarbone. She bent forwards, pinning her hands against his firm chest.

  “How are you?” she whispered, kissing the corner of his mouth.

  “Kiss me properly,” he groaned.

  Again, she kissed the corner of his mouth and giggled. Archie shifted his hands and suddenly Peri was captured beneath him, his hand still touching her throat. The pressure wasn’t crushing, it was merely a hold, one Archie knew Peri liked.

  “I did tell you,” he said, grinning.

  “I wasn’t listening,” she replied, sliding her hand up his thigh.

  He bent to her neck, kissing just below her ear. His voice was soft and sensual against her skin. “I’m going to be listening to you.”

  “Ti voglio.”

  Peri gasped in surprise when Archie bit her ear then resumed kissing down her throat to her breasts. She loved the gentle kisses and the way his hands moved the opposite. And when he took the lead, Peri didn’t mind at all.

  ◆◆◆

  Jasper was halfway to the bathroom when a booming roar rattled his bones. He huffed. “Can I piss in peace?” Another roar. “Please?”

  Seconds later, another came.

  Jasper dashed to the bathroom, did what he needed, and waited. Nothing. But Jasper knew that sometimes hearing silence was worse. He threw on a shirt and jumper despite Atlantis’ usually warm climate.

  Running downstairs while shoving on shoes wasn’t his smartest idea, but he managed to descend without falling. He stopped on the bottom step to tie his laces, his family joining him a moment a later.

  “Is something out there?” Alex asked, untying her messy hair only to put it back up. Jasper decided to not point out her screwed up t-shirt or the sleep still evident in her eyes. “Are we going to check?”

  “I don’t plan on leaving it to the Council,” Jasper remarked coldly as he stood. He hadn’t liked the Council much before and now he had an even more burning hatred for them. “And I don’t plan on waiting for them to throw us in a cell for not being out on the streets.”

  Alex crouched, putting her palms to the floor and bowing her head. Peri extended her trident with a flick of her wrist. Archie straightened his jacket and with a snap of his fingers, the tips glowed green. Their mother gave a nod, saying that she’d watch on but wouldn’t be joining, while their dad was tying his shoes.

  They flung themselves out the door. Jasper paused as a voice called out for him to wait. He whirled round, coming face to face with Natalia’s friend, Noah the Human. His clothes were a crumpled mess as if he’d slept in them, and his lips were dry and cracked.

  “You’re not coming,” Jasper told him sternly before he could utter a word.

  Natalia wouldn’t want you to go, he thought. And she wouldn’t forgive me for letting you. He had no idea why he thought it, yet he did.

  Noah stood taller. “Excuse me?”

  Jasper moved his body to block the exit. “You’re Human.”

  “And? I know you’re all Creatures.”

  “Whatever is out there, what we’re heading towards, won’t be.”

  “Oh.” Noah took a sinking step back. “It’s not a Creature?”

  A piercing, howl-like sound tore through the open door. Noah jumped backward and Jasper took his chance. He lept back, grabbing the door’s handle on the way and slammed it shut.

  He turned to the empty street, his family long gone. To no one, he answered Noah’s question. “I don’t think it will be.”

  A roar, one so familiar in Natalia’s brain, dragged her from her dreary slumber. Questions filtered through her subconscious with rapid efficiency. How long had she been asleep? How had she even managed to sleep in such an uncomfortable place? Had a noise at all woken her, or had a memory leaked into her dreams?

  She reached for the candle in the dark. The flame was long gone, dried wax plastered to the floor holding it upright.

  Yanking it free, the flame burst to life. Natalia almost threw the candle in surprise at both the magical flame and the second roar that ripped through her cell, echoing over the stone. Natalia gulped. A noise enough to penetrate solid stone had to be powerful. It had to be close too.

  She stood, waiting for someone to shunt aside the stone from wherever the doorway was.

  She counted to one hundred before it sank in. No one was coming. Who cared about a prisoner? What did it matter if what was coming came for those convicted of a crime?

  Bile rose in Natalia’s throat when she heard the bone rattling noise again. She gripped the candle like a weapon, clenching her jaw. If no one was coming to recuse her, then she was going to save herself. She faced the direction the roar sounded strongest, holding the candle out before her like it could ward off whatever was coming. The subduing magic that’d been used on her earlier was still dormant under her skin, a weakness inside her body, and so she still couldn’t tell which wall was the moveable one to escape.

  As if someone or something was listening to her jittery thoughts, the wall behind her began to grind and shift until she was staring as a body-sized gap. But the stone seemed to stick in its movements from there. Taking no chances, Natalia scraped through the opening.

  Once on the other side, the stone slammed back into a place.

  Natalia glared at it. How did the stone move? she thought. Would I have been left to rot if it hadn’t? If I hadn’t made it through fast enough…

  She pushed the thoughts aside and inspected the narrow corridor. Water, a couple inches deep, drowned the stone floor. Natalia’s feet sloshed in it as she moved.

  Turning, she found another cell sitting opposite hers. From this side of the door, it was clear what parts of the walls were cells, the doors of solid round stone easily recognisable even in the dim light. This particular door had a large triangle ridge broken away. Natalia crept closer and an arm poked out. She dropped her candle by accident but sank to her knees on purpose, grabbing for the hand.

  A girl squirrelled her way out, breathing audibly despite the darkness of the corridor. Though the lighting was dim, only a few candles linking the walls, Natalia could see the terror controlling the young girl’s gaze.

  Natalia wasted no more time. She took the girl’s hand again and ran.

  Ascending steps loomed before them. Natalia pushed the girl ahead, wanting to be sure she escaped. If something happened, Natalia could find another way. But the girl stopped.

  “Keep going,” Natalia encouraged.

  “I can’t,” the girl whispered. “There’s stone.”

  Climbing up to her side, Natalia reached out, brushing her hand against solid stone. The girl was eight. But it didn’t make sense. These steps couldn’t have led nowhere. This had to be their way out. Without any light, it was hard to see if they had any other options, but would it even matter? What was going on?

  Natalia bent so she wasn’t as close to the ceiling. “What Creature are you?” she asked, wondering if it would be any help to their current situation.

  “Werewolf,” the girl said. “I was bitten a week ago. The Council found me two days ago and locked me away because I’d
been bitten by accident. Apparently, I needed a trial to find what happened and who’d bitten me.”

  “Fuck.” Natalia glanced at the girl. “Sorry.” The girl offered a weak smile.

  Just as she went to speak again, her body grew hot. She stood and forced the girl back down a few steps. Cautiously, Natalia reached up, her fingers barely grazing the ceiling before she pulled back like she’d been burnt.

  Everything clicked.

  Her throat clogged and her tongue felt like sandpaper. The sweat that broke out wasn’t heat related. Her stomach flipped and her heart both wanted to stop and run faster all at once. Her entire soul rolled like waves washing out to the ocean and not to the shore as if nowhere, in her mind or in reality, was safe.

  Natalia forced the younger girl back even further, relieved when she didn’t protest. If this stone was burning, whatever was above must be too. The situation had suddenly been raised from extreme to near deadly.

  Fairy dust can break and dismantle some Witch spells.

  The thought hit her like a bolt of lightning. Natalia closed her eyes. Her dust usually came intermittently, more frequent however when she was nervous or embarrassed. She needed a moment that would set her on edge now to bring forth the dust.

  She touched her hair, where Jasper had slid the band into. He’d been helping her, she knew, like he’d done plenty of times before. And while meant nothing except offering aid, it still sparked something inside her, something she’d never felt before; her head spun at the memory and her face heated.

  She touched her cheeks as she opened her eyes. Dust coated her fingers when she pulled them away.

  Over her shoulder, she yelled, “Close your eyes and cover your head!”

  She didn’t wait to see if the girl had done as asked and began to mark the stone above, smearing her hand and subsequently the dust across its warmth. Moments later, she covered her head with her arms and fell flat against the steps.

  The ceiling burst like it was blown apart dynamite.