“Well, that’s a given,” I boasted sarcastically. “But seriously, they were tough. How is their guy’s team?”
“They’re rated number nine this year. They started out the season slow, but before break they killed Scribner-Snyder, who is rated higher than us…. so we will see. Lincoln and I have some tricks up our sleeves though, I think we’ll do pretty good tonight,” Tristan smiled widely, glancing over at his opponents who were filing out of the visitors’ locker room in an adrenaline surging warm-up routine.
“Of course you will,” I promised encouragingly. “Watch out for number seventeen though, his sister played middle too but she kept taking these random three-pointers and catching us off guard.”
“I saw that,” Tristan agreed, his eyes narrowing in focus. “Piper looked pretty pissed about it.”
“That’s because Piper is super possessive about her three-point record, even if they’re on the other team. Trust me, I haven’t even tried to take one since junior high,” I noticed the rest of my team had disappeared into the locker room and were probably waiting on me for the after-game pep talk from Coach. “I better go! Good luck though! I expect to be pointed at after the best play of the game! Tonight I’m thinking I want a 360 dunk, while you…. bark like a dog.”
I laughed at our pre-game tradition. Before every one of our games, I came up with ridiculous scenarios and if they were winning by a lot Tristan would try to incorporate them into the game in his own tamed down version. In his last game he had performed a tap-dancing jig while trying to throw the ball inbounds and then clucked like a chicken during a set of free throws shot by the opposing team. His teammates thought he was crazy and his coach only tolerated his antics because he was so good at winning games.
“What is with all these sounds now? It used to just be fancy moves! Next week I’m going to have to sing opera or recite the pledge of allegiance,” he shook his head at me, but was laughing and I knew I had already won.
“Those are great ideas!” I agreed energetically and gripped his bare bicep before moving around him.
“Hey!” he called before I could walk away. “Lincoln’s party tonight? What do you think?”
“Throw in some opera and you have yourself a deal,” I negotiated, wondering if this party was a good idea, but Tristan seemed to really want me to go.
Tristan shook his head at me and then took off onto the court when the official warm-up music came blasting through the gym speakers. I paused to watch as he led his team out, dribbling a basketball in a wide arc before running toward the backboard and tossing the basketball hard against the Plexiglas screen so the guy behind him could jump up, catch it and repeat the move down the line.
Something like pride bubbled up inside me as I watched Tristan maneuver around the court and command the attention of his team. He wasn’t a Warrior, but he was a truly gifted human athlete and he was mine.
Well not mine.
He could never be mine. I belonged to a destiny that didn’t include high school boys, or best friends…. or really anyone else besides Seth.
But right now he was my best friend. And if he wanted me to go to Lincoln’s party tonight I really couldn’t tell him no…. even if there was a nagging feeling in my gut that warned me something ominous hovered overhead.
I shook out my knotted, sweat-soaked ponytail and bounded into the locker room, ignoring my instincts and trying my best to focus on Coach Litz’ victory speech.
----
“I think I could play that sport,” Seth mused as we walked into Lincoln’s farmhouse that was full of rowdy teenage life. The party was extra lively after two winning varsity games and the first week of school after winter break being over. Lincoln’s parents were some of the wealthier farmers in the area so his house was only a couple years old and sat on two thousand acres of land.
“I think you could too,” I agreed, knowing as an Angel he could really do anything, including varsity basketball. “The hardest part of the game is staying human. I mean, initially that’s the hardest part of the game and then after that it depends on where your strengths are.”
“I can see why you use these sports to train though, they seem very invigorating,” Seth offered, sounding more like Jupiter than himself.
I laughed as the rest of our group gathered around us inside, “Make sure you report that back to Jupiter for me.”
“What about Jupiter?” Piper asked, pulling her long dark hair over her shoulder. Her copper bangles jingled around her wrist, matching the bronze beadwork of her hot pink, stylish tunic.
“It’s big, right?” I replied vaguely, changing the subject.
“Super big, weirdo,” Piper laughed sending me a curious look.
“So this is what underage drinking looks like?” Seth asked while taking in the wild teens in front of him that had turned Lincoln’s living room into a dance floor. Lincoln sat perched on the top of the staircase leading upstairs watching with restrained horror as Rigley’s party turned destructive on his parents’ expensive home.
“Well, this is what small-town underage drinking looks like,” Piper explained with obvious tones of disgust. “When it’s cold outside at least…. in the summer we prefer cornfields and bonfires. It’s so much more high class.”
“Where do you guys get the alcohol?” Seth asked, not necessarily judging but clearly interested. Red plastic cups were passed between students who drained them of their contents and then hurried back to the kitchen for more.
“The creek,” Tristan spoke up for the first time. He had been unusually quiet as he watched the festivities unfold from the doorway to a dark sitting room. I kept my eyes focused on Tristan, knowing that if I looked beyond him I would see outlines of couples in positions and situations that I would never be able to erase from my memory.
“The creek?” Seth asked, unsure if he heard correctly.
“Yeah, Rigley and some of the other guys keep their booze in a cooler, tied up down by the creek on his dad’s property. The water keeps everything cold,” Tristan explained as if it should be obvious.
“That is the most hillbilly thing I have ever heard,” Piper sighed and Tristan grinned at her.
“Where do you keep your booze?” Seth asked Tristan directly, his honey colored eyes flashing with the challenge.
“I don’t have any booze to keep,” Tristan replied casually, but his own green eyes hardened in response. This was an unspoken argument over my virtue and I recognized it immediately.
“Someone should go console Lincoln,” I changed the subject and gave Piper a suggestive glance. “Just promise him we’ll help clean up everything tomorrow.”
“Why do I have to go?” Piper whined, tipping her head back so that her straight bangs flopped to the side.
“Because your butt looks hot in those jeans!” I shouted over the music, smacking her directly in the discussed area.
Piper shot a hateful glance over her shoulder and then stomped through the middle of the makeshift dance floor in her knee high Muk-Luks. She sat down next to Lincoln with an unsatisfied plop and gestured at the house. I smiled at the way Lincoln’s cheeks pinkened and the way he tried to brush his stick straight blonde hair out of his eyes. They were adorable. If only Piper would admit it.
“So what do you do at these parties if you don’t drink, Stella?” Seth asked, assuming correctly that I wouldn’t partake in underage drinking.
“Oh you know, this and that, sometimes I drive kids home, sometimes I get to hold hair back when they’ve had a little too much to drink and sometimes I try to talk them out of ridiculous stunts that usually involve Rigley trying to jump off something extremely high in order to prove his manhood,” I shouted loudly over the music that increased in volume with the popularity of a recent pop hit.
“And sometimes you dance,” Tristan reminded me by reaching for my hands and pulling me to the dance floor.
“And sometimes I dance,” I called back, giving Seth a smile before turning to Tristan.
We moved to the middle of the living room and joined in the merriment. His hands moved around me as they had for years, it was casual, a friendly activity that we’d done for years. Or at least it used to be…. something in Tristan’s eyes reminded me that things had changed, and not just in my life, but in our relationship.
The upbeat pop song turned into something slower, more seductive and Tristan’s movements matched the beat. A flutter spread its wings in my stomach and I let Tristan lean in and hold me to him. He pulled me closer still, splaying one hand across my lower back. I stumbled forward into him, surprised by his boldness, and the heat of his hand cementing my body to his. I looked up into his emerald green eyes and realized this was exactly where I wanted to be.
He stared back for a moment, as if his gaze was transfixed to mine. The rest of the dance floor faded away and an unfamiliar kind of confusion settled over me. There was something in that gaze that I didn’t or couldn’t or wouldn’t understand. I was hyper aware of every place his body touched mine, and especially of his strong hand holding me against his body. I could smell him, feel him…. kiss him….
As quickly as we fell into the bewitchment, we fell out. Tristan let me fall away from him, taking his hand off my back and grabbing my hands instead. Sensual turned to platonic and our bodies moved numbly to the beat of the song. His face turned from penetrating to playful and he flashed his warm smile at me, letting me know we were still safe as friends.
And I inhaled again, not realizing I had stopped breathing.
My eyes floated to Seth, like I was searching for punishment for the brief moment between Tristan and I, but Seth wasn’t looking at me. A surge of something unfamiliar settled in my chest as I noticed Bree Henry hanging on his arm. She was talking fast and flipping her hair in the flirty way that usually got her attention. But then I relaxed when I realized he wasn’t looking at her, or even paying her any attention at all.
His eyes had found something more interesting to watch. My eyes followed his gaze and I inhaled sharply at the scene. A dark circle of Shadows swirled around the ceiling watching the party down below. They were mostly obscured by the dark room, but Seth and I knew what to look for. An involuntary shudder slithered down my spine as the numbers of Darkness grew overhead. They whipped their bodies in excited movements, switching their back ends as if they were tails, reveling in the underage drunkenness.
This was not my first party and I had witnessed the power of Shadows to manipulate and encourage teens under the influence before. But never had I seen such a collection of evil, save for the other night when they attacked me. Usually they appeared in partners or groups of three or four. Not clustered groups of twenty and thirty at a time, feeding the atmosphere with their dark presence.
Their slithering, black bodies weaved back and for across the ceiling, spreading their malevolence and evil in a thick cloud of angry dissension. The tension in the atmosphere settled on the dancing crowd slowly, filling my nostrils with sulfur and death. I choked on the intensity of the evil, watching as the crowd turned from their victory party to angry shouting and physical violence. Two boys from my class shoved each other violently, while others around them shouted their approval. Even Tristan turned from me to watch the fight destroy Lincoln’s living room with a sinister smile twisting his expression.
I moved to Seth’s side, desperate to fix the situation. The deadly blade I concealed against my thigh burned and itched with the desire to be used. Seth’s infuriated gaze settled on me and with a nod of his head, I followed him silently out the door.
“What do they want? I’ve never seen them like this before!” I demanded breathlessly.
The clear Nebraska winter sky sparkled with Stars from one horizon to the next and the ice cold air was a fresh and cleansing. I looked desperately upward at the Stars overhead as if they could feel my fear, wanting nothing more for them to collectively light up together and banish the Darkness from this planet forever. Death by a million suns seemed perfectly befitting for the evil lurking around this planet…. If only there was a way to protect humanity at the same time.
I knew there was an infinite battle to fight, a war that would go on until the end of time, but those were my friends inside, they were people I loved and cared for. The Darkness had just made this personal.
“I think they’re taunting you….” Seth confirmed what I feared.
A loud crashing sound resounded into the crisp, frozen night and I shuddered from all the possibilities that could be taking place inside.
“We need to draw them outside,” I announced, turning from Seth to unsheathe my blade modestly. It was smaller than ones I trained with before, just convenient enough to hide under a mid-thigh denim skirt and black leggings. Although I realized now how impractical the skirt was if I intended to take this fight to the sky.
“Are you ready to fight?” Seth asked calculatingly from a few feet away. His eyes narrowed against me and I knew he was trying to decide if I was ready to face them or not.
“Are you ready to let this continue?” I countered, gesturing with my chin toward the sound of increased violence and mayhem.
“Are you comfortable in the sky?” Seth’s eyes blazed into golden beams of light and I noticed his hands twitching with the anticipation of battle.
“I’d do better on the ground,” I admitted. I could fly, or at least I had flown before, but never in battle, never when the lives of others depended on me. Never when my own life depended on my ability.
“Ok, I’ll draw them out and herd them behind that line of trees. I’ll be right behind them, but you’ll have to initiate contact. I’ll use light to get them out of the house, but hold off with yours until the very last second, otherwise they’ll scatter. Except that….”
“Except that what?” I prompted, afraid I already knew the answer. Another crashing-breaking sound echoed into the still night around us and I jumped from the nerves skittering around my quickly heating blood.
“Except I have this bad feeling that they came here specifically for you….” Seth turned to me, placing a strong hand on my arm and squeezed. His golden eyes shimmered in the darkness and his body had a haze of light reflecting off the snow. “Stella, there are not enough to kill us inside the house, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more…. out there. Remember everything we’ve gone over in training. Do not get distracted; focus on the constant movement of your sword.”
I struggled to swallow but managed to nod my head so that he knew I understood.
“Ok, I’ll meet you behind the trees,” Seth smiled warily as if he had fought a thousand battles before tonight. “And Stella?”
I sucked in my bottom lip and waited for more instructions.
“I’ll be there to protect you. No matter what, I will be with you,” Seth squeezed my arm again and then jogged up to the house.
With the confidence I had in Seth I somehow willed my feet to move away from the house and toward the tree line. I sucked in a deep, frozen breath and picked up my pace through the snow covered field. Lincoln’s property was big enough that if we could get the Shadows behind the tree line, we would be out of sight from the house and the party that was quickly growing aggressively violent and out of control.
I picked up my pace and willed my jitters under control. I knew bravery and courage stirred my blood, but this was my first battle, the first time I would use my powers in an offensive attack against the Darkness. Adrenaline surged in my heart and suddenly excitement pounded in my pulse, beating against my eardrums and throbbing in my throat.
I was a born Warrior, bred for this purpose. The Darkness belonged under my submission and the evil that haunted my friends deserved retaliation.
Behind the tree line I breathed deeply, quieting the brilliant glow of my true nature and readying myself for the attack. I focused on blending into the obscurity of the dark night, not that I wanted to be invisible, but the temptation to glow with the brightness of the sun pricked at the back of my neck. I close
d my eyes for a moment, letting the frozen night settle over me.
I flung my arms across my chest, popping both of my shoulders into place and then I readied my stance and steadied my sword. I swung it out in front of me, letting my hands remember the fluid motions I had been practicing and then stilled so that I would be prepared for what would come next.
The first shrill cry sounded from near the house and I felt the presence of Darkness move toward me like lightning. Another screech piercing the quiet night and the hairs on my neck stood straight as I waited. Quickly the scent of sulfur and burning flesh filtered over me and I barely had a last moment to prepare myself before the shrieking Shadows appeared like a hundred bats startled from a cave.
They swarmed over me, breaking the tree line and poised for attack, moving stealth like through the night sky if it weren’t for their pungent smell that infested the air around me. There were obviously more Shadows waiting in the tree line. I froze, confused for a moment because Shadows did not make organized attacks like this. A bright, golden light followed them and as their keen eyesight found me alone on the battlefield, I pulled myself together and released the inner most part of me, the goodness and light that violates everything they are, and became the Star I was born to be.
The Shadows that were swooping down at me instantly retreated from my light and burned them, but only for a minute. The same way their ice cold evil tore at my flesh, my light injured them igniting the scent of more sulfur, more burning flesh. Soon the little demons braved my burning glow and moved through the air to attack me. I twisted my wrist into a constant unbroken motion of attack, stepping forward through the snow and lashing out at the evil surrounding me.