The Fallen Stars (A Star Child Novel) Page 7

  “Wow,” Gabe said, after she’d left. Apparently taking our truce to heart.

  “Yeah.” I couldn’t muster up anything else to say.

  When Cali exited the restroom, she looked more comfortable without her dress on. I couldn’t do much about her ballet flats and lack of socks, but at least we weren’t as conspicuous as we had been. “Better?” she asked.

  “Much less conspicuous,” I said.

  Gabe nodded and walked ahead of us. Cali and I followed him by a couple of feet.

  “Thanks. I…I had to throw the dress away. It…” Tears welled in her eyes. She’d loved that dress.

  “You’ll have another one that you’ll love even more at our next wedding. Next time we’ll really get married, but this practice one was entertaining,” I said, leading her forward. She laughed, giving my side a squeeze.

  We headed in the direction of the signs marked Ground Transportation. Once we made it outside, Gabe turned left and the three of us had to run for the shuttle, making it just in time. The small bus was bright and crowded, harsh after the relatively quiet airport.

  “What’s up, guys?” The driver waved a hand in greeting as we boarded along with about fifteen other passengers. A sign above the man announced that Joseph would be driving us today and would be happy to serve us! My attention shifted from the sign to Joseph as the bus moved.

  Joseph, a tall man with thick dreadlocks that swung against his dark skin as he steered, sang along to the music of the blaring radio. He bobbed his head sideways periodically in time to the beat. The band was one that I recognized: Nirvana. Though I’d only been a baby when their music would have been popular. The lead singer shot himself. There was a documentary on TV about how his death was mourned all over the world.

  We’d taken our seats by the door in case we needed to make a quick exit. The cold air permeated the bus’s interior easily and Cali shook beside me. Pressing myself against her, I tried to lend her some of my warmth, but it didn’t seem to be doing any good.

  Gabe looked like he’d nodded off, his head leaned against the window, eyes closed. In that moment, my mind drifted back to the year that Stephen had sent me to Yale four years ahead of schedule.

  Move-in day had arrived and I’d wandered through throngs of people, mostly families, with a map in my hand. Stephen had hired a driver for the occasion. The man, a gruff-looking dude named Gerald, left me off at the entrance with a suitcase in hand and a backpack on my back. The rest of my things had been shipped to the school in advance.

  Everyone seemed to have someone. Staring at the ground, my fourteen-year-old self had no idea how to navigate the social mores of college life. For just a moment, I closed my eyes, wishing fervently for the security of my boarding school back in England, my teachers, my friends…At least there, I would’ve been less of a freak.

  On the prestigious Yale campus, I looked like somebody’s little brother in for the weekend. I’d never wanted to go to Yale, but because of my abilities, so many things came too easily for me. Especially since the experts that Stephen sent me to said that they’d never seen a photographic memory as impressive as mine.

  Once Stephen mentioned to me that early graduation from boarding school stood in my future, I’d tried to fail. I’d been too late to have any impact on my Grade Point Average by that time, though. I’d so far exceeded my teachers’ expectations that I graduated that very spring.

  Stephen paid to let me stay at the boarding school over the summer, with a boring group of teachers that also had nowhere else to go. And that was it. He didn’t come and visit me. I’d not seen my father since he shipped me to the boarding school three years prior.

  On that first day at Yale, I searched for him like the trusting fool that I’d been, hoping that he would come, would finally be proud of me. Or at least be proud enough of me to come. But he never showed. It would be three more years before I ever laid eyes on my father again.

  With the map in one hand and a paper showing my room assignment in the other, I headed in the direction of the dormitory that I’d been assigned to. Housing always ended up being the most intimidating part of any new school for me. You never knew what your living arrangements would be like until you arrived. Nobody would want to be stuck with the underage kid. My room assignment sheet just read “Roommate—Undetermined.”

  Staring hard at the map, I didn’t look where I was going and ran right into Gabe. I expected to get a fist in the face, but Gabe’s face lit up.

  “Hey little guy! Are you looking for your parents?” A lopsided grin split his face.

  Burn. Well, that wasn’t cool. It’s not like I was ten or anything. “No, I’m a freshman, actually,” I said.

  Horror showed on his face. “I-I’m s-so sorry, man. It’s just you look—”

  “I’m fourteen,” I said.

  “Cool!” Gabe enthused. “You must be, like, really smart, then? Bitchin’!”

  “Sort of.”

  Gabe scratched his head. “Cool! Hey, I have an apartment. It’s close. Do you want to be, like, my roommate?”

  And that was that. Gabe’s family had somehow changed my dorm arrangements and I became Gabe’s roommate. Though I’d always referred to it as a dorm, our place was far from it. It never occurred to me at the time that freshmen weren’t permitted to live off-campus. How they’d arranged it I had no idea. Gabe and I had been best friends ever since. We did everything together. He became one of the few people I could trust.

  Chancing a glance at him now, I met his hard glare in the reflection in the windows across from us. He looked away.

  We didn’t have a long trip on the shuttle and we’d alighted at the rental car section of Ground Transportation within minutes. Cali pulled her sweatshirt more firmly around herself, hugging her arms. Her teeth chattered audibly.

  “Wait here,” Gabe muttered to the pair of us. He left us by a large round support with the number one on it and walked over to the counter, holding up a smartphone that he’d pulled from his pocket. Knowing him, he’d probably made the arrangements online while we rode the shuttle.

  I pulled Cali into my arms. “They know where we are, don’t they?” I asked, pressing my lips against her hair, trying not to think about how we’d almost died on the plane.

  Cali sighed against me. “I think they did before, but Gabriel’s spell may have cloaked us.”

  “Spell?”

  “The piece of paper that my father gave him. That’s what I think it was, anyway.”

  “I thought it was too much of a coincidence that the plane stopped shaking right after that,” I said.

  Cali pulled back. “It was. You should know by now that there are no coincidences,” she said, a small smile playing at her lips.

  “How long do you think it will hold?”

  Cali shook her head. “I couldn’t say. We could have days, or they could know already.”

  “Let’s agree to both be on the lookout,” I said. Cali nodded.

  After about ten minutes, Gabe returned to us and we followed him. Cali and I walked close to one another, our heads both turned in opposite directions as we searched for anything out of the ordinary.

  Arriving at a small teal-colored SUV, Cali offered me the front. Since there was considerably less legroom in the back, I accepted, giving her hand another squeeze before I got in. As I took the passenger seat, I realized that Cali needed help with the door and turned to slide back out. Gabe quickly came to her aid, opening it for her. He helped her into the backseat, taking care to buckle her in. Gabe clambered into the front seat and adjusted all of the mirrors and the seat to accommodate his unusual height.

  “Destination?” I asked, looking back to Cali who already appeared to have fallen asleep in the backseat.

  “You don’t need to know right now, Kellen. Trust me. Lugh said it would be better for everyone if no one knew.” His voice sounded tired. Sitting behind the wheel, he muttered something under his breath similar to the words that he’d spoken on the plane
.

  “What did you just say? It sounded like what you said on the plane.”

  Gabe rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand for a moment, keeping his right hand on the wheel. His collar stuck up on one side, his tie long ago loosened during mid-flight. He didn’t look at me as he spoke. “I don’t know. I told you before. But it seemed like what I said…helped. I figured it couldn’t hurt.”

  Staring at him hard, I tried to catch his eye, but he wasn’t giving in. Turning my head, I looked out the side window. “Maybe.”

  Had Cali been right? It must’ve been some sort of protection spell that he’d said. How would it have worked if he didn’t have any powers? Maybe Lugh gave him some, somehow and Gabe wasn’t allowed to talk about it…

  After more silence—something uncharacteristic of any road trip that I’d ever taken with Gabe—I returned to looking out the window, my own reflection looking back at me. “We do need to get Cali something to eat and some more clothes.”

  Gabe put the car into reverse, shifted into drive, and we left the airport grounds. “Okay. Just let me get out of here first.”

  “Yeah,” I said, my reflection mirroring me.

  Businesses passed by the car window as we drove out of the airport lot. After about fifteen minutes, we merged onto I95 North. We were going further into New England.

  My eyes searched the road ahead of us and then flicked to the side mirror to look behind us. They could have been following us right then. Looking at Gabe again, I decided to risk further annoying him. “Couldn’t we have flown to wherever we’re going?”

  Gabe glanced at me quickly and then turned his eyes back to the road. “It’s a diversion. Get some sleep, Kellen.” His voice was rough, contradicting the concern in his eyes.

  I’d find out eventually, I guessed.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CALI—COLD

  We hadn’t been traveling long before Gabriel took us to a shop that provided us with more than enough outer garments and some food for our journey. We shopped as quickly as possible and in twos; someone kept watch at all times. Well, Kellen kept watch when he wasn’t reading. I kept catching him perusing a volume on birds, of all things.

  Gabe and Kellen changed into heavier clothes in the car while I stood outside freezing. I couldn’t believe the cold. However, I already felt better with my new coat on.

  In the backseat, several bags of clothes formed a small pyramid while bags of dry goods filled up the back of the vehicle. I climbed into the backseat and took out something Kellen had called a Granola bar. “Mmph.” The sound escaped me involuntarily as I tried to open the package.

  Kellen reached into the backseat and opened up the snack for me. “Here you go.” He smiled as he handed it back unopened.

  Taking a few bites of the bar, I watched as Kellen got into the car. I met his smile in the side mirror.

  Gabriel climbed in, looked at me in the mirror, and smiled. “You all right back there, C?”

  “Yes, thanks, Gabriel.” I finished the granola and crumpled the empty wrapper in my hands and putting it into my pocket, I closed my eyes and rested my head against the seat.

  Much like eating, sleeping had been optional in my immortal life. Now exhaustion followed me around from the moment I’d become mortal. No matter what I did or thought, I just couldn’t keep my eyes open.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  KELLEN—APOLOGY

  Looking into the backseat, I considered Cali for a moment as we sped down the dark highway, headed for who knew where. She’d rested her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. I didn’t know if she’d fallen asleep or had chosen to give us privacy.

  Either way, with Cali asleep, it seemed like as good a time as any to try and talk to Gabe. Cali would probably hear my conversation, but oh well. “Gabe, I’m sorry. I should have told you about Cali, about all of this,” I said. There, apology out. Let’s move on.

  Gabe looked up at me and I searched his hard exterior for any signs of a crack. He started the car up, performing a pull-through in the parking lot of Wal-Mart.

  After we got back on the highway, I decided to continue. “It happened so fast. Cali showed up and then everything just…happened.”

  Gabe looked down at the wheel and then to the road. “You’re pretty young to be getting married, Kellen. I mean, have you ever even been on a date?”

  Well, that was a slam. He knew that I hadn’t. Annoyance encouraged me to lash out with something caustic, but I stopped myself. That certainly wouldn’t win back Gabe’s friendship. Pushing my resentment aside, I responded, “No, I haven’t been on a date, but there is something that I’ve been wanting to tell you for a long time.”

  Gabe’s silence encouraged me to continue. There’d been so many things that I’d kept from him. The journey through Faerie, the duel with Arawn…Where did I begin? Would he be even more freaked out when he realized what hunted us?

  Clearing my throat, I looked back at Gabe. “Cali and I met when I was six years old on a visit to Ireland to see my Gran.”

  Gabe kept his focus on the road. He scanned the perimeter periodically as he looked ahead. Searching for an answer, or searching for our enemies? “You’ve never mentioned her to me.” His tone made his words an accusation.

  “It’s—”

  “Didn’t you trust me?” He looked to me before returning his eyes to the road. The car had become quiet except for the hum of the engine. The road provided no source of light, completely dark save for the minimal highway lights hanging overhead at every exit. Without warning, Gabe exited.

  “Where are we going?” Squinting at the sign, I read the name. “Peabody. We’re going to Peabody?”

  “No, it’s just a diversion.” Gabe’s voice was even.

  “Gabe, if they know where we are then we’re better off sticking to the main roads. There’s no point in getting lost on a bunch of rural routes.”

  Gabe got to the end of the exit ramp and sat there for a moment, staring straight ahead, unmoving. After another moment, he looked to the left, then the right. My words seeming to sink in, he drove straight onto the exit across from us and merged back onto the highway again.

  We drove a little farther before I answered his question. “Of course I knew I could trust you. That wasn’t the reason.”

  “Then what was?” Gabe’s voice still had that hard edge to it. I tried to figure out how I could word my thoughts so I didn’t sound like an insane loser.

  “I didn’t want you to think I was…crazy. I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t cool.” There, I’d said it. My geekiness was out there on display. No holding back now. “You don’t have any idea what it was like, okay? I was the only guy my age at college. It never mattered that I aced every class I ever attended, was ranked the best in each class. The only thing that mattered to other people was my age. No one would go out with me, no one would even talk to me. Half the time I was seconds away from getting beat up by somebody.”

  “People liked you. I never saw you have any trouble,” Gabe said.

  “You wouldn’t have, because they were all looking at you. Everyone loved you, Gabe. You were the best…you are the best friend I could ever have, man.”

  Gabe responded, his voice barely audible, “Thanks.”

  Grabbing my drink from the console, I took a swig and put it back down roughly into the cup holder, looking at him again. “When I stood beside you, no one noticed I was there. However, no one told me to leave, either. I belonged. That’s something that I never had before. No one ever gave me a hard time because you were my friend. College would have sucked for me without you.”

  As it was, my time at Yale offered me an unprecedented amount of freedom without Stephen’s influence. He’d had a much easier time keeping tabs on me at boarding school. College freed me to do whatever I wanted. The things that I did, the experiences that I had wouldn’t have happened if Gabe hadn’t been my friend.

  “Why would I think you’re crazy?” He smiled sli
ghtly and added, “I mean, you are, but—”

  Delaying the inevitable, I leaned into the backseat and grabbed the package of Snickers candy bars from a bag on the floor next to my sleeping Cali. Opening the outer package, I took out a bar. “Want one?”

  “Nah, I don’t eat that stuff anymore.”

  “Since when?”

  “Since I started watching what I eat, dude. Gimme a granola bar.”

  “Granola? What are you, an old man now? You watching your fiber?” I asked, laughing.

  Gabe snorted, but he seemed to be waiting for me to continue. Knowing Gabe as I did, I had no doubt that I would receive a full cross-examination if I didn’t spill the beans. Handing the bar to him, I sat back down in my seat. “Keep going,” Gabe said.

  “Okay.” Tearing the wrapper, I looked down at my hands. “I met Cali when I was six. Anyway, I’d gone to my Gran’s in Ireland with Stephen and Roger. I had wandered off alone.”

  Gabe made a small sound. He disliked my use of “Stephen” in reference to my father. Roger, my brother, he knew of but had never met. Roger could be best described as a loser and a younger version of Stephen. I often referred to him as The Turd. The presence of the word the in front of the word turd implied that Roger had reached a certain status as a turd—the highest level possible.

  Opening my candy the rest of the way, I took a bite, my stomach rumbling greedily as the chocolate hit my taste buds.

  “Dude, you’re like…addicted to that stuff.” Gabe glanced at me as I ate. When I just chewed without speaking, he asked, “Did your mother go with you? To Ireland, I mean?” Gabe bit into his granola bar.

  “My mother…had already passed by then,” I said.

  “Yeah.” Gabe’s voice shifted as understanding crept in. He knew all about my childhood, how my mother suddenly died and I was left with Stephen and Roger, both of whom verbally abused me. Gabe had always insisted that I should make more of an effort with Stephen—though I doubted he would have believed that if he’d known the latest.

  Earlier that year, pre my fantastical journey through the world of Faerie, I inherited my Gran’s cottage in Ireland and a substantial amount of money. After graduation, I decided to move there and focus on my writing. My degree in literature had been the first stepping stone toward getting my work published. Once I got to Ireland, letters from my Gran provided clues as to where I could find information about my mother. A hole in the wall contained a stack of letters from my mom, Addison, as well as the truth about what really happened to her.