The Starborn Saga (Books 1, 2, & 3) (31 page)

The commander seems perplexed by this. His skin is slick with sweat and his teeth grind in anticipation. I kneel calmly. 

Just do what you do.

My left hand falls slightly. Through the air, I grab hold of the commander’s wrist. His eyes widen in terror as he feels the invisible grip. With all his might he tries to move the pistol to Jake’s head, but I won’t let him. He tries to resist as his wrist contorts and turns toward his own head. 

His arm shakes in resistance and he falls down to his knees as the barrel of the pistol is forced against his temple. He shouts out in fear, knowing he has no control over his next move. To anyone else looking, it would seem to be an act of suicide, but everyone knows better. All I have to do is focus on his finger to squeeze and pull the trigger. 

Grandma and Jake scramble away from the commander toward my direction, but my eyes stay focused on the man that intended to kill them. 

“Mora, we’re safe,” Grandma says through relieved tears.

I can barely hear her. The commander and I stare into each other’s eyesoth

Jake is watching you. All he has heard in the past two days is that you’re a murderer.

My breathing is heavier. I want to pull the trigger. I have no desire to kill this man, but for a moment I imagine he’s Jeremiah. The man who had been the hope of our village only days ago is now our enemy. The commander is not the one I have to worry about. He is not the man that Jake should see me kill. 

With a flick of my wrist, the pistol flings out of the commander’s hand. With another swing, I slam his head against the ground. 

I can’t help but feel the relief when Jake wraps his arms around my
shoulders and my grandma kisses me on the cheek. Behind us comes the footsteps of Danny, Heather, and Aaron.

“Everyone okay?” Aaron asks. 

“Yeah,” I say, looking at him in the eyes. His smile is bright even in the darkness. I hug Jake again, and am about to tell the others to begin gathering the guards when I see the commander moving. He kneels on the ground and pulls a gun from the dirt, aiming it at us. I’m about to try and block whatever he may send our way but a shot from the woods is all that is needed to stop the commander. Connor’s bullet shoots straight through his heart, ending whatever leadership these guards may have had. 

I don’t know what the villagers of Springhill have been told about the Starborns. No doubt it has mostly been lies. But all of them will learn soon enough what has happened and what is going to happen. 

All that matters is that Jake and Grandma are safe.

Jeremiah has already given Springhill what it needs. The materials for an impenetrable wall have already been delivered. Springhill’s protection is secure. At least, now that I’m here it is. 

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

The sun is up and the fifteen-or-so Screven guards that remain are locked up in the basement section of the Tower. The bodies of all the dead guards have been picked for supplies and buried. 

Now I sit at a table with the three elders of Springhill. Aaron sits to my left while Evelyn sits to my right. Next to her are Danny and Heather while Connor sits at the end of the table alone. None of us have slept at all. I can’t speak for the rest of them, but I’m exhausted. 

Somehow in the wee hours of the morning I was able to persuade Grandma and Jake to go back to bed and try to get some rest. This was only after they demanded that I tell them what all these stories were about. I told them that it was all a big misunderstanding. That these new abilities came about just a day after I had left Springhill. Neither of them would have believed me if I hadn’t displayed them last night. 

“They’re calling you the Starborn?” Jake asked.

I nod.

“Man, I wish I could do that stuff too.”

At eleven years old, I’m not surprised Jake finds the power amazing. I still have trouble wrapping my mind around it too. But Grandma was more concerned with the reports of our crimes. Reports that we destroyed Salem. 

The elders have the same question. 

Bill, Austin, and Linda sit in front of me awaiting an answer. e fan
Did we kill the Screven guards in Salem?

“Only one,” I say. “His name was Krindle. I saw another die, but it was shrapnel from an explosion that killed him.”

“Explosion?” Linda asks.

I can’t help but shake my head at them. They have no idea what has happened over the past few days.

“Krindle was responsible for the deaths of the guards at Salem,” I continue. “He and Jeremiah collaborated to make it look like we did it. Somehow he managed to attract hundreds, if not thousands, of greyskins to attack the colony.”

The oldest of the three, Austin, speaks up next. “How and why would he do that, Mora?” The white hair around his ears is frizzy and the top of his head shines from the reflection of the morning sun. I’ve always considered him to be the kindest of the three elders too. Some days he would come to my family’s house for dinner. He often brought his home-made sweets for dessert as a treat for us. After my parents died, his visits became more frequent. He was concerned for me and my brother, but it became obvious that his main concern was for my grandma. It was Austin who hated the idea of me going out alone to talk to Jeremiah in the first place. I’m sure he feels justified in his reservations now.

“I have no idea how he got the greyskins to attack Salem,” I say. “But it had to be planned. The colony gates exploded after the Screven guards were killed. They were rigged to detonate so the herd could get through. That’s how we know it was planned.”

“But why would he want to frame you for these crimes?” Austin asks. 

“Because we wouldn’t collaborate with him,” Aaron answers. “He wanted us to recruit more Starborns to feed his power-hungry regime. He’s looking to take over the world, village-by-village. With the power of the Starborns, he could do it too.”

“Yeah, about that,” Bill says in his usual crass tone, “what are you anyway? Sorry, Mora, but you didn’t have these abilities when you left Springhill. Did you?”

“No.”

“Then how is it you’re able to throw me to the ground without even touching me?”

“The vehicle I took ran out of gas. I was attacked by greyskins and somehow I was just able to move things with my mind. It saved my life.”

“That’s how it works,” Evelyn says. “Starborns usually don’t discover their supernatural gifts until they are in need of them.”

“And what is it you can do?” Bill asks. 

“I’m not here to answer to you,” she says coldly. “One of your own is here telling you the truth. You can accept it or not. Either way, you’ve got a madman coming after you.”

“Who? Jeremiah?” Austin asks. 

Evelyn nods. “He’ll be back. Your job is to raise your defenses. He’s unwittingly left you the materials for a wall around your village. I suggest you start building.”

The room is silent for a long, awkward moment. I’m glad Evelyn spoke up. There’s no reason or way to explain my abilities to the elders. There is nothing I can do to make them understand.

Looking to my right, my eyes catch Connor’s. A slight grin forms at the corner of his mouth and he gives me a nod. I try to smile back, but I’m not sure that it shows. I’m so thankful for him. He has saved my life more than once. More than twice. And last night he had saved me from killing the commander in front of Jake. It seems that every step along the way, Connor is looking out for me somehow. What’s crazy is that he has no special abilities like the rest of us Starborns. He’s not a Starborn at all. He is normal like all of us used to be. Like the elders that sit in front of us. Like all the people in the village of Springhill. Butpris Starborn to me, he’s not normal at all. There’s something about him that I just can’t get out of my head. 

Then there’s his brother, Aaron. He has so much to show me. Because we are both Starborns, Aaron and I share a connection unlike any other. More than once, I have allowed my attraction for him to take over. I’ve kissed him; I’ve let down my guard and shown him that I wanted him. Maybe even needed him. But Connor saw it. And it hurts to know that I may have hurt him.

The thought of losing either of them right now seems unbearable. We’ve all been through so much together already. That’s why I can’t think of either of them. I’ve got to try and focus my attention on here and now. Springhill is in trouble because of me. Now I’ve got to fix it. Jeremiah will be coming. 

Austin breaks the silence by clearing his throat. “I don’t know if you’ve heard any of the broadcasts over the radio lately, but ever since we got news of you being fugitives, we’ve started recording some of what Jeremiah has been announcing.”

He nods at Linda who pulls out a device and presses play. The sound of the broadcast is heavy with static and fades in and out, but the voice is clear enough. Jeremiah speaks with a vengeful tone. 

“…mayhem through the streets. There is no telling how many may have survived, but reports have come that most are dead in Salem.”

“Lies,” I say through clenched teeth.

“That’s why I’ve made a call to any of you that may possess these same powers as the Starborns. If you are willing to fight, you must fight with me to take down these lawbreakers that threaten our peace. Our enemies are the greyskins. Not each other.”

“Sly dog,” Aaron says. Austin stops the recording. “He’s trying to use Salem as a way to recruit Starborns for his cause.”

“I beg your pardon?” Austin says. 

“Yeah,” Aaron continues. “Mora and I refused to be his puppets, so he constructed a way to try and recruit them anyway.”

“The people of Salem survived?” Linda asks.

“Most of them,” Aaron says. “Enough to start shooting at us whenever they got word that it was our fault. I seriously didn’t think they would be swayed so easily.”

“Hold on, there’s more,” Austin says, pressing play again.

“I have my own agents. They are men with great power. Starborns. My hunters. They will hunt down these rebels, but I need more of you. I know you exist. I know you are out there. Only when we are united can we keep order in the colonies and the rest of the world.”

Austin stops the recording and the room is silent again. 

“Hunters,” Evelyn whispers to herself.

“Doesn’t sound like he’s messing around,” Bill says. 

“No,” I say. “No, it doesn’t.”

“Could be a bluff,” Danny says. “A way to try and scare us.”

I nod at this. It’s possible. I’ve never really thought about fighting against other Starborns. If what Jeremiah is saying is true, then he is a powerful enemy indeed. Gone will be the days of just fighting off greyskins and Screven guards. We will be fighting people with potentially more dangerous powers than our own.

“We elders believe what you have to say,” Austin says. “But we also feel that you can’t be here. You are a danger to us.”

I can feel the blood rushing to my ears, knowing he’s about to ask us to leave.

“We just saved your lives out there last night,” I say, feeling hot. 

“That or stirred up a hornets’ nest,” Bill comes back. “We’ve made our decisiadest on. You can’t stay here. Jeremiah is hunting you and he probably knows you’re here. We can’t take the risk of harboring fugitives.”

“But I came here to protect my family,” I say.

“You shouldn’t have left in the first place, Mora,” Austin replies. “All of you can spend the night tonight and get some much needed rest, but you must be out by sunrise. We will provide you with the fuel you need.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Danny says, nearly erupting. 

“Idiots,” Heather spits.

I can’t help but remain completely silent, betrayed by my own people. How could they decide this? We are the only protection they have. If we leave, Jeremiah will just take them over again. They will have no freedom to live. I came here to keep them safe!

“I’m sorry,” Austin says. “That’s how it must be.”

Then a voice sounds from the other side of the table, one I’m not expecting at all. 

Connor. 

“You’re not going to kick us out,” he says. All eyes fall on him. He sits confidently slouched, his brown hair pushed to the side. Several days of stubble darken his jaw. 

“Excuse me?” Austin says. 

Connor shakes his head confidently. “You would be fools to remove us.”

“I don’t see how you figure,” Bill says. He has an ugly scowl on his face. 

“I figure because Jeremiah cares nothing about you. He cares nothing about keeping people safe. All he cares about is power. Mora is still connected to this place. It’s the only thing she talks about. It’s her home. These are the people she loves. You don’t think Jeremiah will try to exploit that?”

The elders are silent as the rest of us stare at them waiting for a reply. Evelyn finally breaks the silence. 

“We can help you build your wall. We can protect you from greyskins. We can stop Jeremiah from harming you. You have more protection sitting in this room than anything Jeremiah could possibly give you.”

Austin looks at the other elders. None of them speak, knowing what we say is the truth. 

“Then what happens next?” Austin finally says. 

“We build the wall,” Evelyn says. “That will get rid of any immediate threat you may face with the greyskins. Jeremiah knows how to send them our way, so this wall will be the first order of business.”

I barely hear what she’s saying. Others start talking too, but my thoughts are focused on the notion of other Starborns. Evil ones who would kill or capture me and the others because we are a threat to Jeremiah. But there are others who aren’t against us. Christopher, the healer I met only minutes before our hasty escape from Salem. What an asset he would be around here. Especially when the fighting begins. But he is in hiding with no desire to be found out — except for the fact that he showed himself to me. There has to be something that makes him want to be known. 

“What do you think about that, Mora?”

I look up at Aaron who is staring at me, waiting for a reply to his question.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” I ask feeling stupid.