The Star Child (The Star Child Series) (21 page)

Calienta had that effect on me. When I was with her, I forgot about the things that were part of my normal routine. Being with her was so all-consuming that it was hard to think of anything else. This should concern me, but it didn’t. Right now, nothing mattered but her and the prophecy.

Continuing my perusal of the room, I noticed that trinkets of all shapes and sizes littered the side tables. An additional set of shelving contained books that hinted at an interest in exotic travels. Curious, I looked at the spines, expecting to see titles like “Your Journey to the Foremost Nether Regions”. Instead, there were titles such as “San Francisco on a Budget” and “Exploring Canadian Wine Country”. Just like Dillion himself, his house was surprising me.

Two leather chairs and a settee dominated the room, inviting anyone to come and rest by the fireside. As tempted as I was to immediately accept this strange one’s hospitality, I had one burning question that I needed answered.

I looked directly into Dillion’s blue eyes as I spoke. “I need to know how close we are to the Ellipse.” There was shock and surprise his eyes when I finished my question.

The little man started to shake and ran to hide behind a small sitting chair. Only the tip of his beret peeping over the top gave away his location. “You must not go there. You will never survive. They will destroy you.”

He was afraid, I got it, but we needed information. “Look, I know it’s going to suck, let’s face it, but it’s the only chance that we have, Dillion.”

He peeked over the chair and looked me in the eye, his piercing blue ones meeting my own.

“Her father could be dead right now,” I continued. “We can’t let Cabhan win. This is her father here. Your family.”

“I know we are talking about my family.” The little man ran around from behind the chair. He pointed a plump finger at me. “I have been trapped down here for years with no one. But do you think I would see her die so easily? You are not the only one who loves her.”

Shame flooded me as I realized that I’d never considered what such a thing would mean to Dillion.

“You do not know what you are up against. You have no hope of winning,” Dillion said earnestly.

“Look, I’m sorry. This must be done, though. It’s our only hope.”

“Thank you.” Dillion acknowledged my apology. “I know that you are right. Of course it must be done. That does not mean that I like it.”

He went to sit down in one of the chairs by the fire, defeat evident in his features. Calienta and I followed him, taking seats across from him.

“You are trying to get to the Ellipse? I do not know if there is much point in that now.” The little man seemed sad.

“I saw my mother,” I said, turning to look fully at Calienta.

“Your mother?” She didn’t speak again after I nodded my confirmation. Instead, she simply took my hand in hers and squeezed. As I looked into her eyes, no words were necessary. She understood what this had meant to me.

Eventually I let my gaze drift back to Dillion’s. “My mother told me that I have been traveling for four years. It’s too late now, isn’t it?”

Dillion looked at his shoes.

“Dillion, please answer me,” I implored.

As he looked up a shadow passed over his face and my suspicions were correct; we were too late and we were trapped here. Too much time had passed and he was telling us we were too late.

He spoke after some hesitation. “The Ellipse is not much farther, but you will not be able to get to it. We have tried. It is beyond the Upside-Down Ocean and that in itself is littered with the Sluagh.”

Calienta gasped, obviously showing a concern that, in my own ignorance, I didn’t have.

“Who or what’s the Sluagh?”

Calienta hesitated. With a chill, I realized that this must be the part where I could die—although I believed that there’d been quite enough opportunity for that already.

Finally, after being silent for so long, Calienta spoke up. “The Sluagh is the name given to the collection of hosts of the unforgiven dead ancestors of the Celts. It has long been known that Arawn claimed him for his army.”

“Yes, and the hounds will be there as well, along with, I am sure, many others waiting for you.” A tear graced the little man’s plump cheek.

“Dillion, we have to get through somehow. There must be a way. Arawn and Cabhan have her father. We’ve no choice.”

“No, you simply cannot go. I will not allow it.” Dillion crossed his arms in front of him.

“Is this a trick then? Why won’t you tell us how to get there? Are you trying to keep us from leaving? I’ve been told that faeries trick humans into staying down here. The jig’s up, old man.” Standing up for emphasis, I found myself about a foot tall and wearing a pink tutu. Admittedly not my best look. I glared at him.

“I am sorry about that, lad, but you seem to have an anger management problem.” Dillion giggled at his own humor.

Instantly I was myself again and blushing beet red.

“He’s not trying to keep us here. He’s trying to avoid telling us that it’s too late, that my father is already dead.” Calienta’s last words radiated with such agony, I found that I could barely look at her.

Instead, I reached out and took her hand in mine, finding it cold. Her hands were never cold; she was always warm, like she’d been sitting by the fireside. Did this mean that there was no hope for us?

In the silence, Dillion and Calienta maintained eye contact, staring one another down fiercely in the cozy sitting room. Dillion restored me to my previous state, sans tutu. “Aye. Cabhan and Arawn have destroyed your father.”

Lugh was a stranger to me, yet I couldn’t imagine the world without him. Without a word, I pulled Calienta into my arms. She didn’t cry, as I thought she would. We stood that way for a few moments.

Absentmindedly, I glanced in a mirror that hung on the wall to my right and looked at myself for the first time in…years, taken aback by my gaunt frame and haggard appearance. This was far from what I’d expected. My clothes were dirty and torn, my hair long and past my shoulders in a hornet’s nest of black. I’d never noticed that it had grown.

My eyes gleamed with a spark of wildness. Part of my shirt was torn, and I could see my ribs pushing against my pale skin. I stared at myself for a moment before turning back to face Dillion.

“This is some sort of mistake. If I’ve been here for four years, how have I been able to survive without eating hardly anything?”

“Things do not work the same way here in Faerie. Surely you have realized that by now? You have really only been in our world for a few months, but time passes differently here. It has been four years in your world, not ours.” Dillion seemed almost embarrassed by my lack of knowledge.

Four years, I thought, amazed, wondering what had happened back home. How was the house? What had happened to Gabe? Suddenly I was flooded with homesickness. Even though I didn’t have too many people in my mortal life, it was still my life.

“What’s been happening?” Calienta finally asked him.

“How about I let you see for yourself? I do not know that I can do the situation justice.” Dillion turned to a small table on his right and grabbed a remote control. With the push of a button, a small screen on the wall came to life.

“You have a plasma TV?”

“I am not living in a cave after all. I use the Internet, too.”

I was star
ting to wonder where the FedEx packages were sent, when the first image came up on the screen. We were looking at Gran’s village, but a run-down dirty version of the original. Each building was covered in soot. The beautiful flowerbeds that complemented the tiny yards in front of each of the houses were torn up. Only bare soil remained. When I’d walked through town on my last visit, all of the windows were open and many of the townspeople sat on their porches, waving as I walked past. Now everything was locked up tight, with each house appearing more unwelcoming than the next.

At first I didn’t see them, but then my attention was drawn to the two people walking along the street. They were dressed in gray, as gray as the village itself, with sour expressions pasted on their faces as they trudged along. One of them, a woman, looked around nervously, as though she expected to see something. Taking a right, they turned onto the walkway that led to the most depressing of the cottages. Two flower boxes had broken and hung askew at both of the front windows, giving the house a lopsided appearance.

The pair had made it to the entrance of the small cottage when a man came bursting out of the house across the street. He was balding and heavy-set, with stains on the front of his olive-colored cardigan. With each step he seemed more off balance, which was concerning since he carried a rifle in his hand.

He shouted something at the couple, but when the pair started to speak, he raised the rifle and fired two rounds, taking them both down. The couple collapsed to the ground. It wasn’t clear what the argument was about, but it was made more horrific when the gunman then turned the gun on himself and ended his own life. The last scene depicted three pairs of dead eyes.

In an instant, we were immediately watching a full-scale battle in a different location, though I couldn’t name it. Tanks charged down the street while fighter planes dove through the air. My mind immediately came to the conclusion that we were watching a movie or even a video game, because by now I recognized Times Square in New York City. The lighted billboards and TV screens were destroyed as a bomb dropped from the sky, showers of sparks raining down on the streets below. The camera panned over a destroyed city. Historical landmarks were reduced to ash. Rubble flew everywhere as the few people that were on the streets ran for cover.

Then in an instant, we were in the street with a young soldier who’d taken a hit and was unable to stand and make his escape. A section of building was leaning precariously in his direction and he was sweating profusely as he looked around frantically for help.

Spying another soldier running in the opposite direction, he called out, “Help me. Help me, man.”

The soldier stopped and looked at the wounded man on the ground. With a look of purest loathing he walked away without a backward glance.

The show continued with many similar scenes, each more depressing than the next. As I looked for some sort of pattern, some sort of rhyme or reason, I only noticed that the sun was missing, which I suppose was the most telling piece of evidence that there was.

Dillion must have read my mind. “This is what the world looks like these days. When Lugh was killed, the sun was covered in clouds. People need the sun. They gain strength and energy from its light.

“The unsettling darkness that you have seen in every image is a constant. There is never any light. To make matters worse, Arawn has infused them with a general sense of anxiety. Everyone is afraid to talk to everyone else. Most people will not trust, let alone help their neighbor. It has destroyed any sense of goodwill and has been the cause of several wars.”

“We can do nothing to stop this, then?” My heart ached for Calienta. She met my gaze and held it. There was uncertainty there that told me that she could not answer my question. Gulping, I realized that I would need to take the lead. “Surely there’s another way?” I looked to Dillion.

“There is. I’ve been told of a way to turn back the clock, but it is very dangerous. It is possible to do the world more harm than good, you know.”

“What could be worse than what you’ve shown us? People killing each other, homes destroyed, war, narcissism, apathy…”

“Very little, I imagine,” Dillion agreed.

“We’ve come this far, Uncle. We must try, whatever it is.” Calienta’s voice was pleading.

After a long pause, Dillion nodded his head. I could tell that we’d finally convinced him. “First, we need to feed your young man here.” He inclined his head in my direction.

Starving, I longed for food, but we were getting somewhere and I didn’t want to stop and eat. “Food isn’t important.”

“Kellen. Kellen.” Calienta was shouting my name and I felt her warm hands against my face as I blacked out.

***

When I came to, I finally realized how hungry I was and how long I’d gone without actually eating anything other than candy. I also smelled. Bad.

“Do you have a shower?”

“Glad you asked,” said Dillion, his merry eyes twinkling. I guess it was no secret how bad I reeked.

“Thank you.”

Following him, we walked into a very modern-looking bathroom.

“There are some towels by the sink for you. I’ll work on getting you something to eat.”

“Thanks, Dillion.”

“Sure, lad.”

With Dillion gone, I looked around as I undressed. The floor was a dark-blue slate, which appeared weathered but at the same time maintained a quality of newness. In one corner there was a walk-in shower and in another area a small sink. It was amazing to see such modern amenities in this place. Flat screens, the Internet, now a walk-in shower. It was more updated than Gran’s house.

The warmth of the hot spray was incredible. It had been such a long time since I’d experienced anything so wonderful. There was an elephant-sized showerhead with several dials on it to adjust the pressure. How bizarre. The shower itself resembled a home remodeling showroom. I moved the knob to the most intense massage level and let the water beat down on my sore muscles. When my back started throbbing, it was time to get out and find food and a nap.

After I’d cleaned up, I wandered out into a large bedroom that I hadn’t noticed before. On a table next to the bed there were several covered dishes and a tankard of something thick and creamy. Practically drooling, I started looking through each of the offerings. A large roast turkey surrounded by bowls of mashed potatoes, endless gravy, and macaroni and cheese were a few of the comfort foods within reach.

Grabbing a fork, I didn’t bother to scoop anything onto the empty plate that sat at the table. Instead I picked up each serving dish individually, eating a little here and there. The table across the room went ignored and I chewed standing up. I remembered the warnings that Gran had given me about not eating food from faeries, but I was too hungry. I had to trust Dillion; I’d starve if I didn’t.