Chapter 56
The Night of Falling Stars
Jarek
The Night of Falling Stars
The first explosion hit just at twilight, when the light was just starting to leave the world, and the dark was spreading like a blanket across the sky.
The boom woke Kaida from where she was lying on the couch, tearing a startled scream from her.
Mordecai came rushing out of his office with his headphones hanging around his ears, his eyes wild.
“Did you feel that?” he shouts. “Was it a bomb?”
I set down my coffee, spilling scalding hot liquid over my hand, and dart out onto our balcony, leaning over, looking up and around.
Screams of horns and people spill into the twilight. There are lots of people out, my neighbours, strangers. Everyone searching the skies, peering anxiously, trying to see where the danger is coming from. The feeling that something is off and very wrong throbs in the back of my head.
Exhaust fumes are normally heavy in the air, but I can smell cloves. Burning cloves.
“I can’t see anything!”
I glance backwards into our apartment, looking at the TV. Breaking news is written on a red strip beneath the reporter, who is talking anxiously into a microphone. My fingers curl around the cold metal railing.
“Hey! Did you see what it was?” A guy above calls.
Across the street, with a road full of congested traffic below, a man on a balcony opposite mine cups his hands to his mouth.
“They think it’s terrorists!”
My blood goes cold. Terrorists? Here?
“What are they saying? Is it weapons? Nuclear?” I ask Kaida urgently.
She brushes her long white hair behind her ears and wraps her arms around herself. Kaida stares at the TV with a pale face and shakes her head before running her fingers through her hair and messing it up again. “No, they have no idea.”
There’s a vibration in the air, a whoosh of air displacing, a burn of heat that licks my skin.
I look up, and my entire world drops, falling, changing in front me. I know it will never be the same.
I open and close my mouth. All I can think is that they are wrong; this isn’t people. This is something else.
“Oh, my gods!” I whisper.
All around me, people scream. The traffic below becomes even more frozen as people abandon their cars and run on foot, desperate to find safety.
Mordecai and Kaida rush towards me, drawn by the sounds of screams. Kaida crashes into me, her nails biting into my back and her gasps loud in my ears. We’re locked together, frozen witnesses on my tiny balcony, watching the end of the world.
People scream and run away, but I can’t look away from the golden-red light as the star falls. A tear slips from my eye. I’m sad, not just sad, but heartbroken.
“The stars are falling,” Mordecai cries. “Alphas above and below, Alpha High, have mercy.”
It’s the first time I’ve ever heard him pray.
I shake my head, protesting Mordecai’s words. But another huge ball of golden-red light illuminates the city, passing so close that it almost hits our building. I look up, staring intently, even as it feels like it burns its shape into my eyes. It’s strange; the inside looks almost human.
Impossible.
“What is it? It can’t be a star,” Kaida hisses and swipes at her cheeks.
She leans over the rail, watching as it disappears and smashes into a building.
It’s gone from our sight for three seconds, but the massive boom and explosion of debris suddenly takes over half of our view.
I grab my pack and drag them inside to the illusion of safety.
I close the doors and stand there with one hand on the glass, watching the world end.
“The stars are falling,” the reporter on the TV screams as she runs.
Kaida, Mordecai, and I stand, shoulder to shoulder, before I grab their hands and run out of the apartment. I climb the stairs up to the roof and shove open the door, looking up as another one goes past, but now we’re so high we can see better. We can see everything.
“Oh, shit.”
I turn in a slow circle, unable to shut my mouth. All around us are falling stars. Hundreds? Thousands? They rain down on the Earth as far as we can see.
Kaida lets out a sob, and I rush over to her, grabbing her hand and holding onto it, unable to look away from our end.
“It’s okay, Kaida, we’re going to be okay,” I say, but I don’t believe it.
“The stars are falling,” she sobs. She’s inconsolable, sobbing her heart out, but then I realise she’s not the only one.
Everywhere I look, omegas, alphas, and betas stand in the street, on buildings, on balconies with their friends, family, or alone, crying in the streets, on the roof, and they sob.
I don’t think anyone knows why.
The sound of a city in mourning reaches a fever pitch. It goes on and on. We stay where we are, watching as they fall, tears running down our cheeks, unable to say what’s wrong.
All through the night, these giant orange and red balls of fire crash into our world. It’s all we can do to watch the end of it all.
I hold my omega, my pregnant omega, and whisper to her that it’s going to be okay, we’re going to be okay, but I don’t know that I’m telling the truth because this feels like the worst thing that could ever happen.
I turn, hearing something, and look up at a fireball, and I scream. The panic and fear slam into me. I run towards it, stopping at the edge of the building, screaming over and over as it crashes into the building across from us.
Mordecai grabs my arms and holds me, hauling me back.
“What’s wrong? Jarek?” Kaida screams. “Alpha?”
I don’t answer her; I just keep screaming. Mordecai grabs me in a bear hug and holds me tight. I hit him, trying to get free, but when I can’t, I collapse into his arms.
“What’s wrong? Speak to us!” he soothes. “Tell me.”
“I don’t know!” I scream frantically. “I don’t know.”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen.” The voice is loud enough to cut through my screams. Calm enough that it’s out of place. Power and authority.
We all turn and find an old woman standing there. I wipe the tears from my face, but they keep coming. Her hair is in curlers, and she’s wearing pink bunny slippers, but there’s something strong in how delicate she appears.
“What wasn’t?” Kaida asks nervously. “Are you okay? Do you need help?”
“This,” she waves a hand. “It was seen, of course; the All-Seer would have seen some of it, but I gather she thought she could avoid it. Or maybe it has to play out this way.”
“What are you talking about?” Mordecai asks.
“The gods are dying,” she whispers.
I whip my head back to a falling fireball, and the panic returns. “No, no, you’re wrong. They are stars, not gods.”
“And yet, I’m not. The gods are falling, dying, or dead.” She looks up and wipes her cheek. “We can’t live in times of green and joy forever. Every forest has its shadows.”
“What does that even mean?” Mordecai growls in frustration, turning to watch another star fall.
“It means that bad times are upon us,” Kaida whispers.
“Smart girl,” the old lady says with approval. “I wish I were wrong. It would be so much better if this didn’t have to happen.”
I watch her carefully.
“When he tells you about the gods dying, remember this conversation, young man,” she says to me. “You remember this moment. And remember what I told you in your dreams.”
I stare at her, my mouth dry.
“Remember your sister, Sorcha,” she says regretfully, with so much sympathy that her words take a moment to register.
The name lights up my insides like a fire.
“Remember that there will come a time when you will need to remember that the gods died. They didn’t desert you; they didn’t leave or abandon you; they never lost faith. They died.”
“How do gods die?” Kaida asks. “That seems so impossible.”
“Well, you need the cooperation between an alpha and omega god or goddesses, but that’s my point. She couldn’t find anyone to help her, no one but the betas she blackmailed and conned.”
“So, they aren’t dead?”
The old lady shrugs a frail shoulder. “Perhaps they are not dead; perhaps they are. But if they could be revived…we could undo everything that’s going to happen.”
I’m already starting to think this old woman is crazy, but she just shrugs and takes a few shuffling steps to the edge of the building.
“Hey, what are you—”
“The Anarchy Wolf will save you,” she says and then steps back into the air. She disappears so quickly, just there and gone.
Kaida screams, but I grab her and hold her tight. We huddle on the roof, staring at these falling gods until dawn when they just suddenly stop.
“The stars are gone,” Kaida whispers.
My hands ache from how hard we’re holding onto each other, but when I look up, the sky is grey and cloudy; the stars are gone.
But that’s when the screaming begins.
And everything gets so much worse.
Jarek
Haven; Resistance Camp
Present Day
I sit up gasping. I climb to my feet, stumble out of the tent, and just manage to get to the bushes before I throw up. When I finish, I rinse my mouth out and spit until I feel human again.
“This keeps getting worse and worse,” I mutter when I’m crouched over, waiting to see if the nausea passes.
Mordecai sits down beside me. “How much do you remember?”
“Every time I say I remember it all, I remember something else.”
“What was it this time?”
“The Night of Falling Stars.”
Mordecai pauses, and I see the memory return to him in real time. “That…is not something I want to remember.”
“No. That night and a million others, I could do without.”
“She said that he would save us.”
“Yeah, but does she mean us or us?” I move my arms, encompassing the entire camp.
“I have no idea, but it looks like Cadel’s story was right.”
“He remembers everything, doesn’t he?”
Mordecai scrapes his fingers through his hair. “Yes, I think he knows it all. Sometimes, when I see him looking at her, I can see something in him breaking. I can’t remember what she told me in my dream, she said she needed to speak to me, but it’s blank every time I push for it.”
“Same,” I say with a tired sigh. I grunt and stand up, feeling my stomach jolt. “I remember my sister. It’s unfathomable that I would have forgotten her. She stayed behind and covered for me when I left. I watched her fall. I knew it was her, even though I didn’t know her. My soul recognized hers.”
I close my eyes, trying to swallow past that wave of grief again. Gods rarely die, so losing each other leaves a strong grief that humans feel; after all, there are so many more years of memories, of feelings. Sorcha was my twin, too.
“Let’s go find the others, see what they are up to today.”
Theo storms out of the closest tent, turning and growling. “You are letting your feelings impede things. We need to get everyone out of here.”
“No, it can wait another day!” Bear snaps.
“One more day might be a day too many. Are you okay with having all these lives on your hands? Bear, its setup, we’ve got a whole village hidden enough that people can live there; we just need to move them there.”
“Not yet,” Bear says in a rush. “It’s not time yet.”
“When will it be time?” Theo shouts. “We’re running out of time. They can’t run; there are children here. We need to get them out before they come for her.”
I glance at Mordecai, wondering what he thinks about what he just heard. His hands are clenched into fists, and he’s staring intently.
“I’m not ready yet. Tomorrow. It will be tomorrow. One more night.”
Theo’s face softens. “One more night, but no matter what happens, I’m taking them out of here tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Bear whispers and retreats into his tent. Theo disappears without ever looking back at us.
“The politics of this camp are interesting, no?” I murmur.
Mordecai takes my hand. I’m startled, but it feels right and natural, and I relax into it, moving closer to him.
“If I told you to take Kaida and leave, would you?” he asks low under his breath.
“I remember how much I loved you,” I murmur to him. “I remember in all our lives how much I love you.”
Mordecai turns and pulls me closer. Our lips meet, and I fall into his kiss willingly, losing myself in it. This alpha has been by my side since the day we agreed to come down here with our omega. It’s been us against the world.
I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling myself up on my toes so I can reach better.
“Hmm.”
I break apart and find Sophie and Mia standing there smiling at us.
“So, it’s like that, is it?” they tease.
“Yes,” Mordecai says, “it is.”
He’s still got his arms around my waist, his thumb stroking my lower spine.
“We’re sorry to interrupt, but we wanted to take you guys, Cadel, and Kaida, out and show you some of our favourite places. Just something to do today, if you feel like escaping?”
I look up at Mordecai, prepared to defer to him.
“It does sound like fun.”
Mia claps her hands. “Excellent, I’ll see if Legion wants to come with us, we can make a day of it, check the traps.”
I refocus on her. “Traps?”
“We set up fish traps and game traps.”
“So, we’re actually getting out of here?” I ask, excited. The enclosed valley has not been doing anything great for me. I’ve been trying not to admit it, but the growing unease with being trapped in here has started really getting to me.
Cadel and Kaida walk slowly over to us, hand-in-hand. He looks at me, and I remember the haunting story he told us last night, which in turn jogs my memory of the event in question.
“If the gods all fell, how sure are we that it’s just one beta? What if there are, like, a dozen?” I ask slowly. “Do you think that’s a possibility?”
“I don’t think it really matters at this point. How do you stop a god? Do any of us have the power to even stop one, let alone more?” Cadel murmurs as he joins us.
I want to tell him what the old lady had said. He would save us. What is he going to do? When is it going to happen? I can’t relax because I’m waiting for something terrible to happen.
Imminent doom has settled over us, and it feels like our peace has gone.
“Let’s just forget all about the world today and go out and have some fun,” Mia says with a strained smile.
She turns and walks away. I shrug off Mordecai and follow her. I catch her, touching her elbow.
“Mia, are you all right?” She looks up at me and smiles, but it’s a watery, false smile that does nothing to convince me that she isn’t on the verge of tears.
“I’m fine. Just dandy.”
I consider her for a long moment. “Have you dreamed of an older lady with silver hair?”
She recoils as if I've hit her. “No!” she shouts. “No, I haven’t, and I resent you asking me. You should mind your own business.”
“Mia, I’m sorry.”
She shakes her head and turns away from me. “Forget it. Let’s just get ready.”
She stalks off, but my brain is racing because there’s something else I’ve remembered.
The All-Seer often appears in the shape of an old woman with silver hair, which would make her…I turn around, and my gaze finds Kaida.
I blow out my cheeks. “Not going there.”
“Coward,” Mordecai teases as he walks past.