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CHAPTER 1
THE TRAPPED STARS
TSERI-MAI VERAI
It had been raining since the very morning. Rain trickled down the window, splashed on the road and danced on the umbrellas of the passersby. Heavy clouds, ruffled and rushed by the cold wind, sealed the horizon.
"They have rotten springs here," stated Nesteri who stood by the window, giving the soaking city down below an absent stare. His ashen hair appeared even more greyish now.
The dwelling in Meguro was exhilaratingly close to the sky. When looking outside, Nesteri felt like a bird might feel, spreading its wings and gliding through the wind, high and higher, the city sparkling beneath. It made him think of Dragh — his pet raven and a true friend, the faithful companion of his younger years. Nesteri missed him.
Hagal nodded silently, without taking his eyes off a book, his slender fingers fiddling with a bookmark. The immaculate white shirt peeking from underneath his emerald dressing gown made him look typically aristocratic. Even in these unfamiliar clothes.
The main room of their rented flat was bright and simple — and almost tidy — if not for the desk in the corner, buried under the superfluity of scattered papers.
"Yeah," answered Tei, the only one with short dark hair, his deep blue eyes harbouring a faint glow of disquiet. His shirt was red, and half unbuttoned, with messily rolled up sleeves. The Star was pensively strumming a guitar. "Worry not, soon there will be more fun for you out there."
"Fun, you say?" Nesteri scowled and turned away from the window. His style was ink and watercolours, a sleek black top with metal buckles paired with distressed charcoal jeans. "I hate parties. You know that. I really wish there was a better way for us to find him."
"So do I," Tei shrugged. "And if you have any bright ideas, genius, do share." He returned to strumming.
Nesteri didn't answer. There were no better ways of finding Farien that he could think of.
There wasn't much of that fight they could remember. The attack was sudden and as fierce and ruthless as the Shadow would have it; the Quarta had escaped death by a hair's breadth. That wasn't new, but the explosion that followed had torn the team apart, scattering them into space. When their consciousness returned, they were only three. Farien was nowhere to be seen.
They knew he must be still alive, and nothing else. "You could communicate through the Crystal," their old teacher once said in passing. Now, more than ever, the Quarta wished they had had a chance to learn how.
Tei would moan occasionally about wishing to be one of Great Stars, so he could travel at will just like them. The winged Guardians of Light, Great Stars were ancient and mighty, and wielded formidable power if the legends could be believed.
But the Quarta weren't Great Stars. They were Minor Stars, and there were only three, and they were stuck. This planet had taught them what being trapped really means.
Yet the Farien's fate was most worrying of all. Wherever he was, he was on his own. Too easy a target, if the demonoids tracked him down. And that they would, was only a matter of time.
How does one find someone in a world he knows little about? In a world one doesn't belong to? Many long evenings and a turbulent storm of ideas yielded just one answer. Music.
"Music travels as fast as thought does," Nesteri said. "It could be our messenger."
"We would risk too much, drawing attention to ourselves like that," Hagal objected cautiously.
"Better to risk than to be prisoners here," Tei cut him off. "Sounds like a simple enough plan. It may work. Let's give it a go."
Although in no singing mood, their warrior discipline showed them the way. It was easy indeed. Almost too easy. The last disciple of the famous bard Demaré, Tei certainly knew how to compose. And, by Light, could he sing! Nesteri added to it with his mastery over words, covertly yet deliberately spellbinding, and a duo was born. Hagal who shrank from anything public had managed to find a way to stay near but detached. Writing, his favourite pastime, became his shield. He did compose some of the lyrics and volunteered — somewhat a bit too eagerly — for the ungrateful task of handling correspondence.
"Hagal, you'd do anything not to be heard singing, would you?" Tei chuckled.
Hagal casually ignored Tei's jest. He was sketching a layaremth in his notebook — a gold winged horse, his family crest — and pretended not to hear.
Hardly surprisingly, they were a success. The Quarta's music stirred the souls. The magic of their tunes was storms and stardust, not of this world. The downloads numbers soared, and the videos with the mysterious handsome singers swept across the cyberspace like a forest fire.
A nomination for the Best New Band came within a few short months. Unexpected and flattering, it was swathed in a dark veil of danger. Those who shine too brightly attract all sorts of eyes. They flip up an easy target. The Quarta knew that.
But there was no other choice.
* * *
The neon colossus of the city sprawled around the ocean bay like a mythical hydra with its multiple heads. Tokyo was unlike anything the Quarta had ever seen before. It throbbed with a dazzling, forceful and alien vibe that contrasted sharply with the gentle and soothing feel of the land itself.
And yet again, the Stars were lucky. They weren't the only strangers there. The quirky tapestry of types, the cosmic masquerade on the streets had readily embraced them as a sea swallows a drop. Nobody cared, nobody noticed. It was almost as good as being invisible.
Other than that, the city was far from kind. The Stars' extended perception was nothing short of a curse here. They could sense, see and feel the subtle energy currents that plagued the place, toxic and suffocating like a heavy smoke. It oozed from everywhere — the tangled snakes of electric lines overhead, the cobwebs of wires in walls, the cold darts from the countless devices. It made it so hard to rest, sleep or meditate. The menacing network of underground trains was the worst, with their dark tunnels and ominously buzzing jumble of signs and cables. The Quarta was forced to learn to drive. Cars, although not ideal, were better.
The Stars did what they could. They had sealed their flat with energy screens; although deteriorated quickly, those did help somewhat. But even the screens were powerless against another pestilence — small electronic objects, omnipresent here. Hagal tentatively made peace with laptops, but plainly refused to use smartphones.
"They burn my fingers and give me a headache," he said.
"True, but they can be handy at times," Tei's attitude was less barbed, especially since he had discovered that the little devices could record and play music.
Nesteri, on the contrary, was quite intrigued. The idea of an endless virtual library appealed to him. Yes, it was limited to the knowledge of this planet, but still. The Star had quickly learnt about the power of blogs and social media, and it was mainly his effort that helped the Quarta spread the word. His resistance to the unknown radiation seemed to be greater, but long hours in front of a laptop were taxing even for him.
Ding! Startled from his thoughts, Nesteri walked to the table and picked up his phone. Tei gave him a questioning glance. "Just an event reminder," Nesteri clicked to switch off the screen. "I'm pretty sure the demonoids could be on our trail by now," he dropped a casual remark to no one in particular.
"I wouldn't be surprised," Tei answered. He put his guitar aside. "While you're fiddling with that thing, look up the floor plan and exits for us, just in case."
"Aye, captain."
Tei slowly got up and stretched. "Right, it's time to make a move." The clock on the wall was giving him an unambiguous hint. "Let's see what we've got here." A plastic cover rustled in his hands. Inside the cover was a rented black tie suit, almost the right size, although Tei expected that the sleeves would be too short again.
"Huh, it actually doesn't look too bad!" Tei's voice soon came from the hallway.
"What?" Nesteri came closer to witness the preening scene. He threw Tei a sidelong glance. "Tei, you're enjoying this, aren't you ...?"
"Well," Tei smirked, somewhat awkwardly. "I do think we pull it off, even if I say it myself."
Nesteri grimaced. "You know what we're packing ourselves into, right?"
"I bloody well do. But come on, it's still an adventure of sorts," Tei said, fumbling with his tie. "This thing that goes around the neck looks a bit weird."
"Where did you put the car key?"
"Over there, on the desk."
"Found it." Nesteri came back, jingling the keys in his hand.
Tei ran his fingers through his hair. "And anyway," he added, straightening his bow tie, "since we're stuck here, we may just as well try and enjoy some of it." He looked over at Nesteri. "What do you say? Nothing. Exactly. You know I'm right."
* * *
By the time the Stars arrived in Yokohama, the skies had cleared; the afternoon sun broke through the clouds. A carpeted path stretched before them, vividly red in the last of the daylight. On both sides, the usual swelter of press photographers was bristling with their cameras and ladders. Dense facial hair covered some of their faces; for the Quarta, an unusual view.
The three looked breathtakingly sharp in their black and white, as they walked along towards the entrance. Three long shadows run after them on the ground, thin and deep. On Siltarion, the Quarta's looks were nothing special. This world seemed to hold a very different opinion, though. Tei smirked at the thought.
A group of fans surrounded the Stars, jostling and chirping excitedly, asking for photos together and autographs.
"Those stupid flashes," complained Hagal in a low voice, "make me flinch. They seem like tiny energy attacks."
"Argh," Tei frowned. "I wish you didn't say that. Now I too feel that way. Damn." He forced another smile to the cameras, before disappearing with his friends inside the building.
The agonisingly boring award ceremony descended into an agonisingly boring afterparty of fake smiles and unending toasts. Nesteri volunteered to drive home, a perfect excuse not to drink. Tei and Hagal had a trickier job secretly watering their drinks down, and leaving them about the place. The Quarta couldn't afford to lose their presence of mind. Not now. Not in a place like that.
The slow torment of hours was dragging and waning away, yet of Farien there was no trace. If he were in the room, or anywhere near, the Stars' extended perception would let them know. They would sense his presence, as he would sense theirs. But space around remained deftly still. Farien did not come.
Meanwhile, the party raged on, shaking to the rhythm of convulsing lights and the deafening cacophony of music. It was getting late.
Nesteri suddenly felt a soft ball of paper pushed into his hand — Tei passed by, throwing him a short intense glance. Nesteri made his excuses and quickly vanished, leaving the company to their drinks and jokes. Having found a spot that was brighter somewhat, he unfolded the napkin. Its creased surface revealed a short line in the familiar Siltarionese script, in Tei's resolute handwriting:
"Maeth averin. Tie-ni roende."
"Let's go back. Meet you outside."
* * *
Their walk to the car park led through the silent maze of night streets. Tei casually opened the box he was holding, and pulled out a dainty block of cut crystal. Its facets and their band's name in gold glistened in the murky glow of streetlights.
"Well, that was sort of fun," Tei looked at Nesteri who was busy with his phone. "What are you doing?"
"Updating our pages with some snaps I took. A little thing, but it helps to spread the word, I've noticed. People share photos and such, then more people join. That's how it works."
Tei looked over his shoulder. "What an eyesore. I've never seen so many pictures of myself in my life."
"You gave me an idea. I can print them out for you and decorate the walls."
"Get off." "Photos are great. They are like ... like catching the butterflies of time. You know? Any moment you want, you can order it to stay forever. I like that."
A sudden vision from childhood flashed before Hagal's eyes, the smell of grass, the coolness of the creek, and the butterflies, dozens of them, sparkling like gemstones, fluttering past. His eyes, opened wide in wonder, and the whisper of the breeze, and the warmth of the earth, and the world around that was just meadows and skies, skies and meadows, and flowers, and summer, which seemed to be never ending. The butterflies of time ...
"How can you put up with that thing burning your fingers? It's sort of irritating," Tei said.
Nesteri shuddered. "Yeah, I guess. I just told myself to ignore that."
"For Light's sake, this is getting tiring," Tei suddenly changed the subject. He put the block of crystal back in its box. "Too long! It's taking too long. Where is he?! With all that noise we've made, I hoped he would answer at last."
"So did I. I looked for him everywhere at the party, but no."
"What the heck is going on with him? I wish he'd move his lazy arse and look for us as well."
"I bet he probably is."
"That would worry me even more," Tei frowned. "After all this time, it would mean that we're rubbish at this, all of us." Tei and Hagal stopped outside, waiting for Nesteri to bring the car down.
As soon as they got in, Tei tore his bow tie off and threw it in the glove compartment. He had clearly pined to do for a while. Hagal and Nesteri did the same. "This neck ribbon is ridiculous!" Tei scowled undoing the top buttons on his shirt. "It looks like something girls would wear ..."
The night drive home was quiet on the empty road. The full moon brightened the sky. Nesteri glanced in the rear view mirror. In the cold shine, Hagal's face appeared drawn and mournful.
"Hagal, what's up? You're too quiet, even by your standards."
Hagal wrinkled his forehead. "I've never been known for excessive verbosity, as far as I'm aware," he rubbed his face. "And what to talk about? I've had enough. Being on this planet is a drain. I'm worried about Farien — "
"— aren't we all."
"... and I wouldn't mind getting some sleep, too. I'm not a night owl like you are."
"Or a night raven, rather," Tei joked nodding at Nesteri's left wrist. A small silver raven, a distant memory of Dragh, twinkled on his leather strap bracelet.
"Night is when the stars come out ... or go out," Nesteri quipped.
Tei chuckled at his words, recalling many a merry night out, back in his Academy days.
"Well, without me. I'm going straight home," a shadow of a smile touched Hagal's lips.
"I sure hope we'll be out of here soon," cut in Tei, "and that this mess is a one-off."
The road lights flickered and blinked unexpectedly, like an old sea lantern in a stormy wind. One more blink and they were gone. The highway plunged into darkness. The moon shone lonely above, a single eye. Strange tension trembled in the air.
"What the heck ..." Tei broke his sentence midway.
"Oh hello," remarked Nesteri almost nonchalantly. "Well, that didn't take long."
"Not them, for the love of ..." Hagal rolled his eyes. "This was the last thing we needed tonight."
A blast of dazzling red light hit the road in front of them a moment later. Nesteri threw his arm up, covering his eyes, and slammed on the brakes. The tires screeched. The car skidded on the slippery road, whirled and landed on the other lane.
Tei, who despised seat belts, was thrust forward and despite his trained senses made a predictably close encounter with the windscreen; he rubbed his forehead and swore unintelligibly under his breath something about high speeds and lame drivers.
"Next time, you drive!" snapped Nesteri. He restarted the engine and pulled to the side. Trying to keep on driving now would not only be pointless; it would be dangerous.
The Quarta got out and divided, moving as far as possible from the car. The night surrounded them with chill and whispers; the smell of rain still lingered in the air. The quiet was deceptive. The Stars could clearly sense an energy barrier, a safeguard measure of their enemies. The dark screens sealed the battlefield tight, so no one else could get in, no one could take in the rear.
The ground shook with the sudden thunder of explosion. A lashing gush of heat breathed out the acrid smell of burning, as stones and cinders shoot into the air. A torn hole gaped in the road like a fresh wound, widening slowly, its melted edges collapsing inwards.
The smoke soon cleared, and the pale silver of moonlight revealed two figures in the dark uniform, too familiar not to recognise.
Rangy red-haired Phatiel and his companion Nedros, squint-eyed and tabby like a stray dog, appeared side by side for a split of a moment, and then divided, ready to attack. The demonoids had been on the Quarta's tracks for long enough to get their patience strained. A couple of years had passed, yielding no results but the contemptuous looks and ridicule from their cohorts. The four irritating youngsters had so far always managed to outsmart them, disappearing and reappearing again in unpredictable places. It was getting too much.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Lighttwatch Chronicles Book I - The Guardians"
by .
Copyright © 2018 J. H. Tepley.
Excerpted by permission of Filament Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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