The Fallen Stars (A Star Child Novel) (7 page)

Cali’s eyes watered as she reminisced. “We shortened our names. I was Cali, Rowan was Row, and Cabhan was Cab. Nothing elaborate, but we considered it exciting. We could be anyone that we wanted. My mother scolded us. She didn’t think that immortals should shorten their names.” Her eyes remaining on the passport, she touched her name again. “St. James. I like having your name,” she said, looking up at me.

My lips sought hers and she responded, sighing against me. No one appeared to be paying attention to us, and we clung to one another in the darkened cabin. My mind contemplated what this night would have been like if we had gotten married. It would have been my wedding night, and I would have been a married man.

Oh, man
.

Forcing those thoughts away, I pulled back and looked down into her eyes, where confusion appeared to linger. “I’m sorry we didn’t get married today.”

She shook her head. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t cause any of it to happen.”

“I’m not so sure. Can—”

Cali placed a finger to my lips, silencing me. My skin burned where she touched me. “Kellen, let’s not say her name. I don’t think we should speak of it.”

One of the cardinal rules in dealing with Faeries was you never spoke of them directly if you could avoid it. It had been known to attract their attention, particularly at night when they roamed the mortal world freely.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Nodding, I rocked for a second against the seat, causing it to hit the wall behind me.

“It’s not your fault, Kellen,” Cali said again.

“I know I didn’t cause it, but I wish things could have been different.” I pulled her head to me again. She shivered against me. “Are you cold?” The coolness from her skin seeped through my clothes and I wrapped both arms around her, trying to warm her up.

“I—I think so.” She seemed perplexed.

Reaching over, I grabbed a blanket and pillow from the storage pocket in the seat in front of her. Tearing the plastic cover, I removed the hobbit-sized blanket, covered her, and placed a pillow under her head. “How do you feel?” I asked.

“Warmer.” She snuggled down under the blanket.

“No, I mean…well, you’re mortal now,” I said, lowering my voice to a whisper as I caught the eye of the passenger in front of us. I glared at him, and after a moment, he returned to his previous position.

“I think—I think I’m afraid,” she said. Tears welled in her eyes.

My lips brushed against her forehead. “It’ll be all right. I’ll take care of you. I promise.”

She smiled. “I know you will, Kellen. It’s just that I don’t know how to do anything. I’m—”

“Vulnerable. Like you have to trust someone totally and you’re afraid to take the chance.”
Man, did I ever get that.

“Yes.”

“That,” I said, shifting in my seat to make it easier on my neck, “is exactly how I felt when I met you. I had to trust you, but I wasn’t used to trusting anyone. Except Gran and Alistair, and even Alistair I didn’t meet until I was older.”

“What about your Grandda?”

“I don’t remember him much. I remember what he looked like, but just barely. He died the year before my mother did. He worked as a fisherman.”

“He was a good man,” Cali confirmed. She looked down at her hands for a moment.

My brow creased. “You knew him?” I shouldn’t have been surprised.

She looked back at me, worrying her hands, rubbing them together on and off. “I know of him. It was a sad day when he was lost at sea.”

Confused, I corrected her. “But he wasn’t…What do you mean, lost at sea? He had a heart attack. That’s what my Gran told me.”

Cali shook her head. “No, he died in a storm. His ship went down off the coast.” Staring at her, I sat unmoving as I took in this news.

Facing Cali in the dim cabin, I waited for her to explain about how my Grandda died. The other passengers were sound asleep. The woman next to Cali with the space issue. The man with the Bible who’d been praying loudly throughout most of the journey, making part of me fear an even more imminent death than the one that Cana and company had planned for us.

Why was it that Cali always knew more about my family than I did? And
did
my Gran lie to me about how Grandda had died?

Secrets. Yeah, it’s not like my family didn’t have any of those.

CHAPTER TEN

CALI—
GRANDDA

As I sat with Kellen on the air-o-plane, I watched an odd expression shift across his face.
Oh, no.
I thought that he’d known about his Grandda…what was his name again?

Unease filled my heart. I couldn’t remember. I should have been able to remember the man’s name, but it had left me entirely. If I’d been honest, I didn’t remember the entire story about him either. But now I’d opened my mouth and I’d have to tell Kellen something.

“A horrible storm battered the coastline. Your Grandda went out in his fishing boat and got caught in it. He couldn’t navigate to port in the storm. The ship kept crashing against the rocks.” That much I knew. Hopefully he wouldn’t ask me which storm or which ship. Why couldn’t I remember?

Kellen sat back and looked away. This had upset him. If only I’d kept quiet! Kellen didn’t need any more tragedy in his life, any more secrets. “Don’t say any more, please,” he whispered.

I truly felt for Kellen. He’d been lied to so much and about so many things. He closed his eyes, no doubt imagining the scene in his mind. It would have been the most horrible death.

Placing my hand on his arm, I gave it a squeeze. He looked down at it, as if he’d only just noticed I’d been touching him.

“Why did Gran keep this from me?” Kellen and his Gran had been close, despite the physical distance between them most of the time.

“I’m sorry, Kellen,” I said. “She probably just didn’t want you to know, to worry for him.” My heart went out to him, this man that I loved.

“Do you think they know where we are, Cali?” he asked, unmoving.

“I don’t know, Kellen. I just don’t know,” I said, and I meant it.

Kellen expelled a breath and closed his eyes. After a time, his breathing told me that he’d fallen asleep. Looking up, I met Gabriel’s eyes.

“What will they do to him if they catch us?” Gabe asked, his voice seeming strained from the effort of whispering.

I opened my mouth to answer, but the answer I’d been planning to give disappeared. It seemed eerily similar to when I couldn’t remember the whole story about Kellen’s Grandda. But there was one part that I could remember…one thing that I understood as fact. I shared it with Gabriel now. “They’ll keep him forever.”

As I watched Gabriel blanch, I prayed that the Children of Danu would not get the opportunity, because there was nothing I’d be able to do to stop them.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

KELLEN—
LIE

When I awoke, both Cali and Gabe were chatting in low tones across me. Stretching my arms up in the air, I reached for the ceiling. The pair sat up as I unintentionally ended their discussion. We were about seven hours into the flight. With the time change, it was only around eight o’clock at night, though as dark as the UK that we’d left behind.

Though I’d slept, no dreams assaulted me, something that still surprised me. After so many years of vividly dreaming of Cali throughout my life, I half-expected to see her whenever I closed my eyes. Yet she no longer needed to haunt my dreams; she’d moved into my reality.

Excusing myself, I got up and headed toward the facilities. Walking felt good; even taking the three steps to reach the bathroom represented some action.

Did they know where we were?
The thought popped into my head, making my heart rate pick up. We were over water at that very moment, which meant if they brought the plane down, we’d be screwed.

Shrugging off the worries, I reached the bathroom and walked in, shutting the door behind me and sliding the lock. I looked at myself in the tiny mirror under the dingy lighting of the airplane toilet. I hadn’t changed much from my graduation day: still the same pale guy, my only distinguishable feature my vivid green eyes. A manager at a frozen yogurt place had once called them “compelling.” I’d left without placing an order.

My dark brown hair hung in a longer style despite my recent cut, and leaned toward the category of “disheveled.” Splashing some cold water on my face, I thought,
I need coffee.
It seemed easier to focus on such a mundane thing as caffeine than on the freaks that were following us.

Turning, I opened the door and found Cali standing just outside it. It occurred to me that she probably didn’t know about basic mortal necessities like using the bathroom. Yet she brushed past me with confidence and shut the door. Nonplussed, I remained there for a moment before making my way to my seat.

Gabe stood up to let me by. “I bought breakfast,” he said. He sounded distinctly unhappy that he’d been considerate enough to treat.

A cup of coffee had been placed on my tray table and steamed in invitation. Next to it, a cold bagel with cream cheese sat on a small square napkin with the airline logo printed on the front of it.

“Thanks. Good.” I lifted up my breakfast from the tray, locked the tray in place, and drank down my coffee in a single gulp, before sitting down. Taking my seat again, I bit into the bagel, its coldness hitting my tongue. It had probably been stored in a freezer somewhere. Toasted bagels were my favorite, though I could guess what names I’d be called behind the flight attendants’ curtain if I asked them to toast my bagel. Swallowing, I looked at Gabe’s profile. “So, Boston, huh?”

Gabe bit into his bagel. “I’m not supposed to talk about it. You’ll see where we’re going.” His words were mumbled as he chewed his food.

I stared at him. “What’s up with you? You’ve done nothing but give me the evil eye since we started this trip.”

“Drop it, Kellen. Just eat your breakfast.” Gabe took on a parental tone that I resented.

Frowning, I bit into my bagel again. Another bite and it would be history. Looking around, I searched for the flight attendant, hoping for a refill on my coffee. Not seeing one, I turned back to Gabe. He’d taken this leadership thing to an entirely new level. He seemed so much older than me then. Though Gabe was five years older, I’d always been in charge. He’d looked to me for guidance, not the other way around.

Pushing my thoughts aside, I took the last bite of my bagel. Cali would have made a very convenient buffer now. I waited, watching out of the corner of my eye for her return.

When Cali didn’t come back, worry forced me out of my seat again. I climbed over a sighing Gabe and went back to the bathroom. A line of two annoyed people had formed outside the restroom door. My heart pounded. Had they gotten to her somehow? Had she been taken?

Gently I pushed to the front of the line. “Excuse me. I’ll just check on her,” I said to the man standing nearest to the door. Reaching the door, I placed my cheek against it. “It’s me. You okay in there?”

“I don’t know how to open the door.” Exasperation shaded Cali’s voice.

Smiling, I tried not to laugh as relief filled me. “Um, did you unlock it?”

“There’s a lock?” she asked.

Oh geez
. “Pull the handle to the left, then.”

Some minor shuffling ensued. “Where is the handle?” She uttered the words with short, crisp articulation.

“It’s on the left hand side, at an angle on the door,” I said.

More silence.

“You could always read the directions.”
Does she know how to read?

Another moment passed and the door opened. Cali emerged looking annoyed. As she stepped over the threshold to the restroom entrance, the next occupant caught part of her gown in the door when he shut it. As Cali moved forward, a distinct ripping sound broke through the white noise in the cabin.

Reaching down, I ripped a small part of her gown off to free her. The other passengers waiting in line gasped audibly, every face transformed into a picture of shock. Shrugging, I looked around at the others in line. “It’s not real. We’re just…ah…going to a concert.”

Without waiting around for their reactions, I placed my hand on the small of Cali’s back and led her to our seats. Reaching the row first, she climbed over Gabe, picked up her bagel, and started eating it as she sat down. Her nose wrinkled. She glared at me, whispering, “Not a word, Kellen.”

“What?” A laugh escaped me, but the look on her face made me regret it instantly. I looked at Gabe, who normally would have taken my side, but he faced the other direction, apparently steadfastly ignoring me.

The flight attendant picked up the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen. We’re—”

He didn’t get the chance to finish. The plane shook and swerved in mid-air. Tray tables rattled, people walking about the cabin stumbled. Luggage slammed around inside the overhead compartments. The plane accelerated, abruptly taking a nosedive. We were stuck in the middle of every traveler’s greatest fear.

They’d found us.

“Kellen…” Cali said, her voice sounding worried.

I met her eyes. I didn’t know what to say or what to do. We had no escape, no way out. We’d gotten on the plane and we were sitting ducks. Three mortals with a death wish…Now everyone on the plane would die with us, casualties in our unwanted war with Faerie.

Passengers screamed, grabbing their families. Around me, people frantically scrambled, probably trying to remember the safety instructions that they’d studiously been ignoring for years. The praying man in the corner had chosen to increase the number and the velocity of his prayers, which only served to up the amount of drama in the cabin.