Starbright (The Starbright Series) (18 page)

“No, not like that,” Jupiter shook his head, clearly discouraged.

“It’s more like this,” Seth offered. He had exchanged his broadsword for the cutl
a
ss he was apparently fond of and took a step forward into the circle of tousled snow
we
made together.

Seth swung his arms around his body, both hands gripped firmly on the hilt of his curved sword
, in effortless, beautiful motions that reminded
me
more of a dance than a fight. His arms swung overhead and behind him before he brought them powerfully but efficiently to his side and then back and then to his other side. He moved his feet in quick, easy steps, kicking up sn
ow in short bursts of blizzard
white-outs that he would step through thrusting his sword forward at the same time.

I
consciously closed
my
mouth, afraid that it hung open in awe of the intricacy of his skill. Seth never stopped moving his sword; it flew in every direction with precision and ease
, he tossed it around behind him and over his head and back and forth catching it as easily as if it were a baton
. His brow furrowed together, wrinkling in between his thoughtful eyebrows, his biceps stayed flexed and his feet danced around the snow as if his steps were well-rehearsed and choreographed. His eyes glanced up at
me
once, and they twinkled with excitement and concentration.

“Oh, so that’s what you meant,”
I
remarked
a little out of breath
when Seth slowed down and ended his performance.

“No, that’s what I said,” Jupiter corrected
me
, not even trying to mask the tone of irritation that accompanied his words.

“Shadows can come at you from every way, and depending on the situation there can be hundreds of them attacking you all at the same time,” Seth explained more gently. “They do not have fear or restraint, so they will not stop. It is one constant action of attack. That is why your sword cannot stop moving either. Did you notice how I swung the sword in every direction, even behind me although I couldn’t see necessarily what I would be hitting?”
I nodded my
head. “That is because I don’t have time to find them, I just have to instinctively know that they are either there already or they will be shortly. The sword cannot stop moving. You must make every single swing a kill shot, or their attack on you will drive you mad or be the end of you,” Seth finished seriously and all
I
could do was swallow the lump in
my
throat and stare at Seth as he demonstrated the movements again.

“Every shot has to be a kill shot?”
I
asked tentatively, wondering if it was possible to get that good. Ever.

“Only if you want to live,” Jupiter chimed back in.
I
turned
my
attention
to him and bit
my
bottom lip to keep from retaliating something equally as sarcastic. “The difference between Shadows and Fallen though, are that Shadows are not natural beings of creation. God did not create them; they are a byproduct of the evil the Darkness spreads across the galaxies. Therefore most thrusts of a sword will slide right through that vital organ, as long as you make contact. It is possible to swing too high or too low, but as long as you are swinging you are going to stand a good chance of staying alive.”

“Well, there’s that,”
I
mumbled, readying herself to attempt the movements.

I
gripped
my
sword,
the one that looked like a samurai sword…. a katana; I loved how it felt in my hands and the weight that was distributed over it. I
began to swing it out in front of
me, flicking my wrist around trying to mimic Seth’s movements
.
My
movements felt awkward and ill-timed and when
I
attempted to swing the blade behind
m
e
things turned downright dangerous. More than once Jupiter
and Seth had to jump out of the way or risk becoming a discarded Shadow among the remains of
my
pretend pile of enemies.

Shadows were supposedly the easier of the two enemies, but
I
was
pretty
certain
I
stood a better chance against the Fallen. At least
I
didn’t have to worry about hundreds of them advancing on
me
at once from every direction.

Or did
I
?

I
wasn’t actually sure.
I
hadn’t even heard of a Star getting into an on planet batt
le with the Third. But
I
supposed it was possible, if enough of them were organized against
E
arth.

I
stopped for a moment to realize there
were
enough of them to organi
ze against
E
arth. Earth was it, t
he last planet with life, the last possible place
for the Darkness to feed off of
save for
H
eaven itself. So why wouldn’t they be organizing
themselves to attack the planet?

Starting with the one Star sworn to never leave, to protect its inhabitants until there was nothing left to protect.

My
pause caught the attention of
my
teacher and he stopped midsentence in instructing
me
to “try not to clomp around like a clown but learn to fight like a ballerina.” Moments ago
I
had wanted to make a joke about Seth being a ballerina, but now all
I
could think about was that
I
could be the last Star to take a stand against the entire army of Darkness.

Or
I
would live a very, very, very short life and the Elders would send someone else after their careful mission failed.

Either way,
I
needed to focus.

I
shook out
my
head and
my
eyes found clarity.
I
looked up at Jupiter who watched
me for a second before retur
ning to his lecture. Something passed between
us
, something deep and connecting. He understood a part of
me I
didn’t realize was so visible to others until that moment.

Fear.

I
felt fear. And
I
knew
I
wasn’t supposed to.

Yet it was as if Jupiter was defying all of the history between humans and
A
ngels. There was something in the look he gave
me
that was proud, that reveled in
my
ability to be anxious for
my
future. It was a wise look. A determined look. And even if he never spoke to
me
politely again, after that moment of clarity,
I
felt like
I
understood him a little bit better too.

“Try it again, Stella,” Jupiter commanded, completely back to his old feelings and older ways.

And
I
was fine with that.
I
knew Jupiter was what
I
needed in a weapons t
rainer; he was what had to be put in
my
life.
I
didn’t have time to be coddled, or given time to feel sorry for
my
self.
I
had a planet to protect. It was time to buck up and face the music.

I
just hoped
I
had time to learn the music before
I
faced it head on.

Chapter Seven

             
I could feel all eyes on us as w
e walked into
Mead High School
on the first day back from winter break. Openly curious students watched
us approach my
locker with unmasked interest.
I
knew it wasn’t entirely
for me
, but the gathering crowd couldn’t keep their eyes off
me and my
new
friend: Seth. They looked back and forth between
us,
two
A
ngels
appointed the duty of walking high school halls until graduation; at which time our fellow students would be off to college and we would battle the forces of Darkness. I sighed and wondered
if they could see the other-worldliness transparent
between us
now that there were two of
us
.

             
Seth seemed completely oblivious to the attention he drew,
students and faculty alike assessed him as though he were a new piece of equipment added to our school
’s inventory
and not a new student with potential feelings
.
I
wondered if he was nervous for his first day of school with humans. He didn’t seem to be, and
on the surface
had no trouble fitting in with his relaxed jeans and long-sleeved gray polo.
The ends of his hair curled in golden tendrils and he walked with his head held high and beaming with confidence.

             
I
twirled the end of a strand of hair around my finger
, knowing there would be backlash for
my
association with the gorgeous new kid in school, starting with the drooling female population.
I
didn’t know if
females school-
wide would hate me
for
our
bizarre relationship
or stalk
me
…. but
I
knew
without a doubt
Seth would bring
me
all kinds of trouble.

             
“Thanks again for coming back to pick me up this morning,” Seth broke
my
thought train as
I
unloaded
my
backpack into
my
locker.
I had to keep shoving things back in
it;
I was suddenly super embarrassed with Seth watching the tragic disorganization that followed me everywhere.

             
“Really, it’s Tristan you should be thanking, he’s the one who drove,”
I
replied, wondering if Seth was more nervous than he let on, since this was the fourth time he thanked
me
for a ride. “I won’t have basketball practice every morning, but at least this next
week since coach wants us
ready for our upcoming games. She thinks we get lazy over winter break.
But we’ll probably have to carpool with Seth for a while, until my dad decides what to do about my car situation.
”

             
“Hopefully, I’ll get my own car too, soon,” Seth leaned back against the adjoining lockers and looked out into the sea of students who still seemed to be watching him openly.

             
“
Hopefully Jupiter is a little more charitable than my father
,”
I
grumbled. The
J
eep had been officially totaled, after
my
dad
assured
me
Seth couldn’t keep holding the door on with his super strength while driving through town. A further discussion of not needing the door really at all had also been negated.
But with the death of the Jeep, I knew it would be a long time before I could reinstate my vehicular freedom. Dad wasn’t known for buying things…. like anything. He usually preferred to make it.

             
“Where we were before, I didn’t need a car, there was plenty of public
transportation to get around on. But we also lived in a city…. like a real, populated city,
” Seth explained further and
I
turned to ask him
about what Boston was like,
before a bouncing brunette
with stylish straight bangs, and extra-large turquoise feather earrings
interrupted
our
conversation.

             
“Excuse me,” she sung, waiting for Seth to move out of her way.
She had a little more tact than the rest of the student body in that she didn’t stare at Seth as though he were an animal
caged
in a zoo, but her lightly freckled nose crinkled in curiosity and her hazel eyes brightened with impatience.