At least the Jeep was ruined because of a near death experience…. that at least gave me some explanation to offer to my frugal father.
I hopped down from the cab and walked quietly to the back door of the old farm house I called home. In my parents attempt to blend into humanity, my father had taken up farming a long time ago. So like most families in this particular middle of Nebraska region, we lived on acres of property, miles from our neighbors and even farther from town. Well, we lived miles from the one stop light, bank and bar we called town. We lived a full hour from real civilization.
Oh, there was a gas station too.
That had to count for something.
Seth and Jupiter followed me inside the house, careful to remain silent. They had both stayed relatively quiet after the Jeep was righted, the fatigue of battle and the late hour wearing even the strongest men down.
“I should tell Annabelle you’re here, so you don’t give her a heart attack in the morning,” I whispered.
I led them out of the mud room into the kitchen and turned on the light. Seth’s eyes immediately fell on the refrigerator and he took an excited step forward before stopping himself.
“Stella?” I turned from the staircase that led up from the kitchen, an old servant’s hall from back when this farm had things like…. servants. “Do you mind if I….?” he gestured to the refrigerator and widened his eyes in anticipation.
“Help yourself,” I smiled down at him, happy he wasn’t awkward about the new arrangement. His grin spread across his face and his honey colored eyes sparkled with gratefulness.
I climbed the steps wearily, wondering how I would explain this to Annabelle. Wondering how I would explain it to anybody! I knew what this meant. I knew that the death of the Protector meant it would be my turn to step up. That also meant that Seth would become a permanent, every day fixture in my life.
I didn’t necessarily mind that, we seemed to have the natural, friendly chemistry that was born between a Star and Warrior. We had been destined to get along before either of us was even born, chosen by the Elders to protect this planet together. We didn’t have much choice, or say in the pairing. Our personalities would complement each other the same way our fighting skills would, the same way our unique, supernatural powers would.
Still, there was supposed to be years before we met, before I had to face the promise between us. I had a life to live, high school to finish. And as solidly as my destiny was rooted in my heart, so was the desire to be a normal, carefree teenager for just a few more years.
Evil always got in the way.
Standing in front of the guest bedroom, I shook my head and squared my shoulders. I was complaining, whining about circumstances that couldn’t be changed. The truth was I wasn’t a normal anything. I wasn’t even a normal Star. I was the Protector of Earth and wanting and wishing were not going to get me anywhere.
I twirled a loose end of hair around my pointer finger for a few seconds; still trying to shake my head right and then lifted my arms to jerk them across my chest, successfully popping my shoulders. The movement felt good, an old habit from volleyball and something I was positive no other Star in the entire universe practiced.
Another quick breath and I knocked quietly on Annabelle’s door before turning the handle and letting myself inside. Annabelle had watched me from my first year of life, every time my parents went out of town. She was as much a part of my family as anyone else and the main reason Tristan and I had become such good friends.
“Annabelle….” I whispered, knowing the old woman was a light sleeper. She stirred under a heavy quilt that she, herself, had made for my mom, and groaned something indecipherable. “Annabelle….” I whispered louder and this time Annabelle lifted her head off her pillow and brushed gray curls away from her face.
“What is it child?” Annabelle asked, immediately concerned. Her soft, wrinkled face peered at me through the dark, her gray eyes filled with caution.
“I’m sorry to wake you,” I tried to quickly explain so I wouldn’t worry the elderly woman. “I’m late coming home because some old friends of our family surprised me tonight by coming to town and I had to meet them so I could bring them here,” I explained, using half lies and rambling. I generally didn’t like to hide any truth, lying was one of those things I just could not stand. I had even explained to Tristan a long time ago exactly who I was and why, at certain times…. I glowed, just so we could continue our friendship without any secrets. “They are staying with us for a while. There are two of them, Jupiter is your age and Seth, his uh…. grandson. He’s my age. Anyway, I’ll let you get back to sleep; I just didn’t want you to freak out in the morning.”
“All right, child. Get to sleep now,” she admonished before rolling over in bed. Her robust frame caused the double bed to creak beneath her and as I slipped out the bedroom door I could hear her mutter, “What kind of name is Jupiter?”
I laughed to myself as I made my way back down the servant stairs. I paused in the hallway to adjust the heat, noticing how cold Annabelle’s bedroom had been. My parents and I had to be particularly careful about the temperature of our house when human guests were over because when our powers were not restricted, our internal warmth kept us comfortable. Sometimes, in the winter, it would be several nights in a row before we noticed the frost on the inside of our windows and not just on the outside. My father loved how low we could keep our heating costs.
In the kitchen Jupiter and Seth sat eating left over potato cheese soup Annabelle made for dinner making happy murmurs of approval for the skill of my guardian. I got myself a glass of water before joining them at the table. As much as I longed to find my bed right now, I knew there were still things that needed to be discussed.
“This is so good!” Seth declared, lifting his eyes from the soup to mine, proving how in love with the soup he really was. “Usually we eat…. I don’t know what we eat, but it is never as good as this!”
“You’re certainly not starved, boy,” Jupiter grunted. I laughed at what had clearly been an insult to Jupiter’s culinary skills.
“Annabelle is an amazing cook,” I agreed, knowing what it was like to not eat this good on a regular basis. Stars weren’t exactly born domestic and although my mom tried to familiarize herself with the kitchen, things usually ended…. interesting. And since we lived so far out in the country, take-out was almost never an option. Although the gas station did have hot pizza. Not good pizza. But at least it was hot.
Jupiter made another grunting nose, but continued to shovel the spoon from soup to mouth without slowing down. I sat quietly while the two of them finished their late night meal. They stayed absorbed in their soup, so I had the opportunity to study them under light.
Jupiter was old. Not just by human standards, although I knew the human eye wouldn’t place him later than seventy, but old…. really old. I could tell. I could also feel how other-worldly he was now that I spent some time with him.
As if the fact that he could fly wasn’t a big enough tip that he wasn’t from around here….
My ability to detect the nature of someone’s essence had been with me since birth, but this was really the first opportunity I had to use it other than the every once in a while Shadow that crossed my path. I couldn’t place his exact age, but it was definitely old, hundreds of years old. And he definitely wasn’t human, although other than the dull red of his eyes, he appeared to be Homo-Sapien in every other way. His tanned skin was wrinkled and weathered and his gray hair fell in disheveled short tufts of rebellion.
Even without ever hearing him talk, I could have assumed he was a tough man, and that had nothing to do with my ability to feel out the foreign. He had deep frown lines, and his permanent scowl wouldn’t invite any stranger into a random conversation. He wasn’t exactly an imposing man, just a few inches taller than me and probably barely making six feet, but his very presence was intimidating. I could bet most humans ran from him as quickly as they could, and suddenly I
felt a deep pang for the humanity I had come to love. Whatever happened to Jupiter’s home planet, I wasn’t sure Earth deserved him as punishment.
Seth on the other hand was the very opposite, and not just in age. He was the kind of guy that strangers would trust to hold their babies or the police would ask to be a witness in a crime even if he were holding a gun and covered in blood. His dark hair was unruly and wild, but his amber colored eyes were inviting and soulful. His smile reached from ear to ear and the angular shape of his face didn’t exactly scream out trustworthy, but it did cast him in such a way any woman would toss caution to the wind and throw themselves at him.
I couldn’t help but smile at him. His golden-toned skin, his muscular body, his carefree recklessness…. I didn’t have many feelings for him yet, but one that shone brighter than the others resonated as pride. I was proud to have him as my Counterpart. Already I could tell that I could trust him, and not just in battle. Plus, saving my life once already definitely spoke volumes about our future together.
Our, uh, professional future together. Not the other future…. that I wasn’t exactly ready to think about yet.
“So, when your parents get back, we will discuss finding our own place,” Jupiter broke the silence after scraping his bowl clean and giving a tentative glance back at a Tupperware still half full of soup. “Until then, I think it will be safer if we stay with you. If more Shadows come to find you, it will be better if we’re with you, especially with your…. questionable training.”
I smiled at his polite way of referencing my actual lack of training, I felt like that was as nice as he was going to get. I wasn’t embarrassed of my lack of skills though. Even if tomorrow I faced an army of the Darkness, I wouldn’t regret the life I’d lived so far. Experience had to count for something. And I had plenty of life experience. Well, at least sixteen years of it.
“Will it be hard for you to move?” I looked to Seth, wondering if he was as regretful about leaving typical high school life behind him as I was.
“No, why would it be?” his eyes turned curious and his spoon suspended itself midway to his mouth.
“Oh, I didn’t know if you were leaving behind a lot of friends or something,” I tried to explain without looking at Jupiter, but heard his mocking grunt and couldn’t help but turn to him.
“Unlike you, Seth has focused on his training, real training. We chose to abstain from unnecessary human interactions,” Jupiter explained in the most condescending voice I had ever heard.
Seth set his spoon down, ready to stand up to his mentor. I could see how he respected Jupiter more than anyone else in the universe, but there was also the overbearing instinct to protect me. I knew he felt because I felt it, like the hottest, most honest kind of liquid truth running through my veins. It was consuming and bonding at the same time.
Seth shot a warning glance at Jupiter that sent the message he wouldn’t stand for any more. The look of pride and slight excitement Jupiter returned with was surprising, but I wondered if Jupiter had been goading Seth to see if he could get some kind of reaction like this, just to make sure the bond between us existed. Plus, I suspected Jupiter was always looking for a good fight.
No other Star and Counterpart had been raised the way Seth and I had. Usually, they grew up together, paired together at a young age from a natural bond. The Elders watched every Angel’s training and paired them with a Star accordingly.
But our case was different. Hell, our case was an experiment. As Earth remained the sole remaining planet with sustainable life left in the galaxy, the Elders had decided it was time to try a different tactic. They decided Seth and I would be raised on Earth, with humans, immersed in the culture and able to call the planet they protected home. Because of the danger of living not only amongst humans, but also surrounded by the Darkness, it was decided to keep us separated for the sake of secrecy until the time when we would take over together.
The Elders had relied on destiny and the natural order of their way to keep the bond between Star and Counterpart intact. It was a risky thing to do. Not meeting each other until the night of battle could have had dire effects, a team not willing to bond, or able to get along. But as Seth gazed across the table at me, filled with the same fierce desire to lay down his life for me that I had for him, I knew they had gambled with success.
“What about school?” I asked him, pulling him away from his soup again.
“Oh, Jupiter and I just did that in between training sessions,” Seth shrugged.
“You were homeschooled?” I laughed loudly, and then slapped my hand over my mouth. “Jupiter, how is homeschooling immersing Seth into humanity?” I couldn’t help but ask, while trying to hide my amusement.
I wasn’t sure where exactly Seth and Jupiter had come from, but I decided wherever it was had deprived not only Seth of a high school experience, but some random teenage girls as well. Shouldn’t all high schools have an unattainable heart throb Angel walking the halls? And then the laughter bubbled over again and I dipped my head so I wouldn’t have to explain that concept to Seth.
“Obviously your parents and I have different methods,” Jupiter replied coolly. “I wouldn’t exactly call contact sports weapons training after all. The ability to dribble a basketball did nothing to save your skin tonight.”
I took his point and settled down a bit.
“We can talk more about this tomorrow, when your parents get home,” Jupiter instructed. “Where will we sleep tonight?”
“There is a guest bedroom down the hall for you,” I addressed Jupiter, not really knowing the state of his fragility or old age, and deciding the room downstairs might be difficult for him. “And Seth, there’s another room downstairs that you can have. I’m told it’s freezing and kind of creepy down there when you’re alone, but hopefully none of that will bother you.” I smiled at him, but he only looked at me curiously.
“I don’t get cold,” he answered matter of fact.
“No, I know you don’t. It was a joke….” I sighed; apparently it was too late at night to be a comedian. “I can walk you down there if you’re ready. And Jupiter, help yourself to more soup; when I get back, I’ll take you to your room.”
I stood and Seth followed. I walked to the hallway and opened the old wooden door that led downstairs. My basement had been finished years ago, but it was still an old farmhouse basement. I wasn’t supposed to scare easily; my job expected me to be brave, courageous… to laugh in the face of danger…. required it actually. And usually I did. But even if the cold, dampness of the basement didn’t bother me, there was something about being down there, underground and without direct access to sunlight that did.
I opened the guest bedroom that sat off the rec room and turned on the light for Seth. “The bedding is fresh and there are toothbrushes and toothpaste in the drawer in the bathroom. I think they’re all new….” I sighed, trying to remember if anyone had been down here recently. Sometimes my parents housed Stars or Counterparts passing through, and that’s why there were so many guest bedrooms and such a huge house for just the three of us. “There’s a shower in the bathroom too, with soap and shampoo and all that stuff. The towels are in the cabinet next to it.”
“Thanks,” Seth turned to me. He had been eyeing the bedroom carefully, marking a fast escape route through the small window and checking for anything abnormal. Actually, he had been checking for Shadows since I met him, even though a Star’s house was technically blessed, after tonight he didn’t trust anything or maybe he was always this paranoid.
“I wish I had clothes or something for you to change into. Tomorrow, I’ll go through my dad’s things and see what I can find,” I promised.
“Yeah, I won’t need anything till tomorrow anyway,” Seth smiled, his big, wide grinning smile and started to take off his shoes. “Hey Stella….”
I looked up into his guarded, careful eyes and suddenly I was nervous for whatever he was going to say. “Yeah?”
“Listen, we don’
t have to…. I mean…. there’s no pressure between us,” he stammered and an instant wave of relief washed over me. “I’m not expecting you to like be my girlfriend or anything. I just want to get to know you. You know, be friends first,” he smiled confidently and I mimicked his expression.
I did know.
“Oh thank goodness,” I relaxed against the door jam. “I feel the same way! No pressure.” I nodded my head in all seriousness and his eyes twinkled at me from across the room. “We’ve got like eight years anyway, right?”
“Uh, yeah, eight years….” Seth suddenly looked uncomfortable and I instantly wanted to retract my time limit. Maybe he was hoping to postpone our “relationship” even longer than that.
I almost told him he could have even longer than that but decided to change the subject from awkward to more common ground, “Well, thanks again for tonight,” I moved away from the door, realizing he was starting to undress and I needed to give him some privacy. “You probably saved my life.”
“Hey, it’s what I’m here for,” Seth’s eyes turned very serious for a second and then he tugged his shirt off. I couldn’t take him seriously anymore. Golden skin pulled tight against a perfectly chiseled chest. Every one of his muscles rippled with his movements from his thick, gorgeous neck down across every singly defined abdominal muscle.
I closed the door behind me, laughing again.
Mead High School wasn’t going to know what hit them when that boy walked through their doors.
Chapter Three
The beep of my phone woke me early the next day…. too early. I groaned and rolled over in bed. The early morning sun streamed through the window above my headboard, bathing me in natural warmth; I lay there for a moment soaking in the sun, enjoying the exhilaration of light.