Circumstellar (3 page)

I quickly turned, tying up the last of my “body bags” and throwing them into the closet. I had always suspected, but never could I have known. No. That wasn’t true. It had been there.
Little signs barely noticeable to the unobservant. I just didn’t want to believe . . .

“Hey, why don’t we go to Clive’s? I know it sounds strange, but after handling all this, uh . . .
stuff
. . . I could really use some comfort food.”

I fixed a smile on my face just before I turned to face her. “That sounds great.”

Lesia smiled in return, and together we closed the closet door and headed out to the school gate. She made little jokes about our “clean up duty,” which I could only respond to with light laughter, my mind still buzzing from the window. As we headed to the door, I settled on doing the same thing to the look I did with the rest of the signs and everything else I didn’t want to know about. I passed it to the back of my mind and pretended like I didn’t see a thing.

C
live’s was, in short, a local burger joint. It was also a hot meeting spot for teens and young adults because of its atmosphere and good quality. The owner, Clive, was a kind old man who always strived to make the best burgers around. It was like heaven for fast food junkies.

“Come on, Ty, you know you want to give me a piece of your burger. It’s the least you could do after bailing on us in
Ursa’s office,” I reasoned while eyeing his feast. Mmm, double cheeseburger. It was the first opportunity I’d gotten to eat all day. I was so hungry.

“Okay, first of all, I didn’t bail on you; I just had a good excuse. And second, I waited for both of you in the hot sun, while you played with the mice inside. But since I’m such a good friend, I will be generous and give you a bite,” Ty finished while tearing off a piece of burger and tossing it to me. It existed for only a nanosecond before I stuffed it in my mouth.
Glorious
.

I didn’t blame Ty for being reluctant to give up his food. Like me, this was probably the only meal he was going to get for the day. I prepared to make a bid for another small sample when a large carton of fries plopped in front me. I raised my eyebrow at
Lesia when she sat down.

“What? I just accidentally ordered two instead of one.” She shrugged, trying so hard to play innocent.

“Funny how often that happens,” I teased. “You’d think by now you would have learned not to make that mistake. Thanks, though,” I said, giving her a grateful look. I meant it, too. Without Ty and Lesia, I probably would have starved to death.

“Oh, it’s no problem. Besides, I don’t think Mr. Clive’s been charging me full price.”

I glanced over to where Clive stood behind the dining counter. He was smiling and talking to a few college students, his bright blue eyes glinting in the light. He really was a nice guy. In fact, I knew Lesia wasn’t the only one that got “undercharged.” Whenever Ty came up short, he always just took what Ty could give no matter what the order. I made a mental note to one day pay him back for all those free large fries.

“So,
Tybalt, why did you bail on us?” I asked, turning back to my fries.

“You’re impossible sometimes, you know that?” he said, a smile creeping up on his face.
“Wouldn’t have you any other way.” I viciously fought to keep the blush off my face. “The truth is . . . I already told it. My dad did take the keys. And please, let’s keep the full name a secret.”

“So? You still could have helped us clean the lab. It was like a
slasher movie in there.”

“Well, it’s, ah,” he paused, furrowing his brow, “I just kind of have a thing . . . about mice.”

“Is that it? Hell, I thought there was something serious going on. You could have just said you’re scared of mice.”

“So that’s why,”
Lesia piped it, a thoughtful look on her face, “you were missing on dissection day when we were freshmen.”

“And why he didn’t want to go on that field trip to the farm,” I pointed out.

“Come on, guys, keep it down. It’s embarrassing. I wouldn’t be doing this to either of you. Well, maybe I would.” He snickered to himself. “But the point is I’m way too cool for this to get out.” It wouldn’t have been nearly as funny if he hadn’t been so serious.

“If you say so,” replied
Lesia while joining in with my laughter.

“Oh, you girls are so mean,” he huffed, pretending to pout. “I’m so not inviting you over to my slumber party this weekend.”

“Good,” I returned as I checked my watch. “Looks like it’s time for me to go make sure Auntie hasn’t drown herself.” I devoured my fries and stood up. Ty and Lesia also finished their meals and followed me to the door.

“Have a good night,”
Lesia said with a wave before turning to leave. “I’ll see you bright and early,” she said pointedly. “This time I mean it.”

“Bye,
Lesia!” Ty yelled after her. “Be careful!” I expected him to start walking away as well, but instead, he turned towards me. “Do you want me to walk you home? You have a lot further to go, and it’s going to be dark soon.”

I could feel my stomach knotting up as I looked up at him. More than anything, I wanted to say “yes.” I wanted to walk hand in hand all the way back to my small, stinky house, smiling all the way. But I couldn’t. I didn’t want him to inconvenience himself for me or to walk home from my house in the dark. The lack of street lights on every corner was no big deal to me, but I knew it would be hard for him. And somewhere in my mind, a small part of me didn’t want to appear weak.

“No, that’s all right,” I declined at last, a small note of disappointment in my voice, “but thanks for the offer. Really.”

“Are you sure?” I nodded and he smiled at me. “Okay, Ingrid. You better be careful. I don’t want any bad calls in the night.”

“Don’t worry, I will,” I said, smiling back. “You be careful, too.”

“All right,” he said, his eyes lingering on mine for a few seconds before finally turning away. When he started walking, I turned to leave. Someone really needed to tell my stomach gymnastics tryouts were over. I was going to have to do something about this before I developed some serious gastric problem.

It was a nice time for a walk. The sunset bathed all the houses in a pretty orange glow. The lights in many homes started to come on, and in some windows, I could see families sitting down ready for dinner.
Must be nice
. I hummed wistfully as I continued on my way. Other than me, it was really quiet out here. Not another soul in sight. Kind of eerie, actually.

I gripped the straps of my bag with clenched fists and quickened my pace. Maybe I should have let Ty walk me home. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. My eyes darted around taking in every shadow, every dark corner. The only sounds were the wind rustling in the trees and my own
pulse. It was so quiet.
Something’s wrong!
The hair on the back of my neck stood on ends, and I broke out into a run. My feet pounded into the concrete while I plowed full speed down the sidewalk.
Almost there. I’m almost there.
There! I could see my house just at the end of the stre –
Pow!

I cried out as I slammed into the ground, my knees and hands scrapping roughly into the concrete. Something hit me in the back – hard. I stared at the ground for a second trying to catch my breath and steady myself.

“Damn! That was one big bump in the path! These damn humans need to watch where they’re going!”

I froze, eyes widening. I wasn’t alone. Someone did run into me: someone big and stupid sounding. And what was with that weird accent. It was like this guy had lived in at least five different countries.

“You’re the one who needs to watch where they’re going, Plumbarco. We finished what we came here to do. Now you’re just making unnecessary messes.”

The new voice washed over me and tingled all the way down my spine. Deep and smooth like fine silk. He had the same accent as the other guy, but boy, what a voice.

“Come on, Farron, I haven’t seen a human in years. Let me have a bit of fun, will you? The Lady won’t mind.”

“She will mind if we are any later than we already are. She’s waited a long time for this, and her patience is wearing thin.”

From the sounds of things, whoever this Farron guy was, he was obviously much more intelligent than this Plumber-whatever.

“Fine, fine.
Have it your way. Always ruining the fun,” I heard the Plumber mutter. “Guess I’ll just have to hurry up and kill this one.”
Oh, God
. “Would’ve liked to play a bit.”

My mind sped into overdrive.
What should I do? Fight?
No, from what I could figure, this guy could probably chokehold Becky.
Lay still and play possum?
I don’t think so. That left me with one option.
Run.
I braced myself, ready to spring to my feet and take off like a bat out of hell.

“I think you’d better let the girl go.”

Huh? Who was that?
I paused from my escape plan, wondering if another creep had come to join the party. At least, this time it sounded like someone that – hopefully – didn’t want to kill me.

“Who the hell are you?” The Plumber and I were on the same page with this one, but he confirmed what I hoped.  I took in a deep breath, not realizing I had been holding it. This guy wasn’t a friend of theirs.

“You already know who we are,” a strong female voice rang out. “Now give it back to us, or we will take it by force.”

For someone who had been here since this whole thing started, I sure felt like I’d missed a lot of the conversation. Curiosity overwhelmed my fear, and I turned my head, shifting my eyes to glance at the newcomers. Even as the sun set behind the horizon, I could still easily make out their features. Both had their eyes focused intently over my head at, I assumed, my attackers.

I first looked at the guy who saved my life. My gaze left his hard blue-gray eyes to take in the rest of his face. He was good-looking, admittedly: a strong jaw, chiseled cheekbones, and a perfectly straight nose. Blond hair cropped into a short buzz cut crowned his head. Looking down, I noticed he was wearing a white tank top and light green, loose fitting pants. The whole thing screamed martial-arts-military-man.

My eyes moved to his female companion, and I instantly felt a stab of envy. She was beautiful, tall, and slender. Her intense hazel eyes never wavered from their target, and with her full lips and short black cut, she reminded me of a model. She wore a white wrap shirt held by a green cloth around her waist. Unlike her army-like buddy, her light green pants were cut into shorts, displaying long ebony legs. They were an impressive sight, all right, especially considering they couldn’t be but a few years older than I was. The two people, that is, not her legs.

“I knew I should have just stayed in bed today,” I mumbled, shifting my gaze from the two teens on my left to the ground again. I sighed and worked up the courage to look at the figures on my other side. The scrapes on my hands and knees burned as I studied the cloaked figures. They were just as mysterious to me now as when I was staring at the ground, the heavy hoods giving nothing of their appearances save for one thing – or rather four . . . things. From within the folds of black, two sets of bright, glowing eyes shone brilliantly – like stars in the night sky – glaring at the pair on my left. The familiar sight filled me with shock and confusion. A bizarre, single thought came to me then: the only thing my mind could process. Somehow, I got the impression my strange visitors were a little less than human.

“How did I get into this?”

That was the question of the century.

A
fter a short trip down memory lane, I focused my attention back on the mysterious men. Emerald and sapphire, that was the only way to describe the glowing orbs in the darkness. Taking another look at them, I could tell both were tall; however, the blue ones were a good few inches higher than the green. His cloak also seemed bulkier. If I had to make a guess, I’d say “Ol’ Blue Eyes” was the one unclogging toilets. Despite my desperate situation, I felt the corners of my mouth twitch at my thoughts. I turned my gaze back to the other man, only to find myself staring into the most vivid form of green I had ever seen. To be fair, most of the other shades don’t light up.

We stared at each other without a word, both lost to the world around us. The funny thing about eyes is they can usually tell you a lot about a person: what they’re thinking, how they’re feeling, or maybe even a glimmer of
who they really are inside. I had spent nearly my whole life looking into other peoples’ eyes, studying how to read them. But as I gazed into that brilliant green, I was at a loss. It was too bright, too distracting. For the first time in my life, I was across from a person who had the same eyes as me, and I had no idea what was going on in his mind.

“It can’t be,” he said in a hushed voice. Though his gaze was a mystery to me, the disbelief in his voice was evident.

“Huh? You say something, Farron?” the Plumber asked while turning his head towards his companion. He glanced at Farron for a second before I caught his attention. Suddenly, deep blue joined the green in my vision, and I narrowed my eyes. It was like being in the headlights of a neon party car.

“No way!
This girl is . . . but she’s so weak!”

Now that was just uncalled for. I huffed to myself, about to remind this guy I got taken out by a back-attack – from someone over a foot taller!

“Should we take her?”

“No. We’re done here,
Plumbarco. We’ve wasted enough time with these humans.” Farron shifted his arm into his cloak.

“Hey! We’re still here, or have you forgotten? Don’t think we’re about to let you leave!” the girl on my other side yelled. Truth be told, I kind of
had
forgotten they were there. I whipped my head around just in time to see her break into a run towards the cloaked men.

“
Kaira! Wait!” Her handsome friend reached out to grab her arm, but he wasn’t quick enough. She was barely a foot away from the strangers when she slowed, her leg sailing around into the air for a high kick – sleek and graceful, just like a ballet dancer. I looked in awe as her long leg forced forward, only an inch away from impact.
Swish!

I coughed violently as a surge of . . . of
dust? sand?
. . . filled the air.
What the hell was that?
I continued to try and clear my lungs as I stood from my position on the ground. It turned out to be a good decision. As the air cleared, the cloud began to settle on the ground. I brushed my clothes off, looking at some of the material that came off in my hand. It was like fine, dark gray sand, and as I moved my hand over to the nearby street light, it glittered with tiny sparkles of light.

“Cool,” I said in awe, waving my hand in the light.

“Kaira, are you all right? What happened?”

The army man crouched by his friend and put his hands on her shoulders. She sat coughing on the ground. Other than the dust coating her clothes, she looked no worse for the wear.

“Yeah, Markus, I’m fine. It just surprised me. They must have used the stone.” She grimaced before she and Markus stood. “What do we do now?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “We have to return to Master
Rigel. He needs to know what happened. Oh and the girl,” he pitched in, suddenly remembering something. “You -” he looked at me and stopped mid-sentence. This was the first time my fighter saviors paid me any attention. And unfortunately, it looked like they didn’t like what they saw.

“This was a set up!”
Kaira spat in my direction. “She’s one of them!”

Seeing my integrity was in danger, I spurred forward
s. “No way! I was attacked by those guys! Who the hell are ‘they,’ anyway? And who are you?”

Kaira
looked at me in furious indignation. For one so beautiful, she sure could make one scary-ass face. Her whole body tensed up, and for a second, it looked like she was about to leap at me and try to kick my head in. I was trying to decide whether I could take her when I was mercifully spared by the militant forces.

“Settle down,
Kaira. I don’t think she’s with them,” Markus said while looking at my wrinkled uniform. I smiled at Markus. Looks and brains. I’m beginning to like this guy. “Besides,” he began, looking lower to take in my bloody knees, “I don’t think she’s cut out for fighting, especially against them.”
Scratch that last part
. My smile dropped, and I glared at him instead.

“So we’ve established I’m just the victim here. Good. You never did tell me who you guys are,” I pointed out while nursing my pride. Didn’t anyone know what a back-attack was anymore? Not cut out for fighting, indeed.

“Who we are is none of your concern,” Kaira snarled, turning away. “Come on, Markus. We need to speak with Master at once.”

Markus shook his head at her retreating form before turning back to me. He looked at me for a few moments then slowly took some steps forwards.

“Are you sure you’re all right? Do you need me to escort you home?” he asked. “It’s gotten pretty dark.”

I studied him cautiously. He seemed to be honest. I didn’t think he was trying to lure me into a dark alley and do away with me.

“No, that’s okay,” I declined at last. Pointing down the street, I added, “My house is just there.”

“All right, then. Take care.” He turned and began walking after
Kaira.

“And the dark doesn’t bother me.”

He threw a smirk over his shoulder. “I know.”

I watched him until he faded out of view. Maybe my first impression was right and he wasn’t so bad.
Couldn’t say the same for his friend. I turned and started making my way to the house, wincing as my knees burned from the movement. What a messed up evening. My mind buzzed in the aftermath of all that happened. A million questions flitted around my mind, and I didn’t know where to begin. Something big happened, and I was just as clueless now as I had been before I even got attacked. Who were those guys in the hoods?
What
were those guys? I couldn’t help but think about the way that Farron guy had looked at me so intensely.
Does he know something about me?
I growled in frustration as I began walking the path to the front door. My hand gripped the handle tightly, and a new thought suddenly crashed through the jumble of questions.
Does he know something about my father?