Between the lost stars

Chapter 9

Annie

She was looking at me.

Waiting. Her white eyes gleamed.

"When the stars found me they spoke to me, I finally understood this world. I realised how it had been able to last so long. Magic is not lost, it never left." She held up my chin so I would look into her eyes. "I'll show you, otherwise you won't believe me." Her eyes shone even brighter, her hand holding my chin kept me from turning away from her.

I was no longer in my body.

I don't know where I am.

There was deep darkness and sadness, pain and fury here. The endless void is so powerfully engaging. My body floats in the unavoidable dark waves and for a moment the thoughts that boiled in me were gone.

The pain here was as intense as it was in me, dark and waiting, not backing away and continuing to drive me even deeper. There were so many dark toughts that my body was shaking, unstoppable and exhaustive.

Two bodies appeared in front of me, lying on the ground in white clothing. Their calm faces were left with no eyes and ears, no teeth and no hair. Blood was everywhere. There were so many that even the walls were smeared against it, but it wasn't red, it glittered silverblack. Like stars covering the sky. Amelia sat close the bodies, tears pouring down her cheeks and the screams that came from her filled with pain and anger. The screams were so unbearable that my soul called with them, remembering the pain in my body. Something was different, though. She was younger and smaller, she looked like she's dying with them. Her black hair didn't shine in light waves, it hung bloodily over her shoulders, wet and sticky. The house smelled of despair and hatred.

Someone grabbed my hand and hooked my fingers with mine, frightening me.

"They were killed while looking for me." Amelia said, her voice trembling a little. "I wasn't home because I helped watch the stars in town." She said, her voice trembling even more. "Then I thought there could be nothing more important than that. When I found them, I cried for several hours, unable to breathe. I hoped I would die so I could rest. When nothing happened, I hoped they would come back for me so I could kill them for what they did to them." She squeezed my hand tighter. "When I thought I had nothing left on this world, the Stars came."

Memories changed. But the land Amelia was walking on was not familiar to me. At least it didn't look like the world I knew. The weather was warm, but there were no flowers around, no trees, no animals, no sound. Just a non-exhaustive black sky and white glowing stars.

Figures appeared before Amelia. They were vague, emitting white light, so bright that I had to close my eyes.

"Morana." The white figures said. "Our child."

I opened my eyes but closed them just as quickly, unable to grasp the bright light of the figures.

"Leave me alone." Amelia said in a harsh voice. "Get out of the way."

"You're the child of light. You have to follow the path of destiny."

"Destiny turned away from me by taking my family."

"We'll help you, Morana." All I could think of was their soft and enticing voice, but they didn't fool Amelia.

"You can't help me! Get the fuck away from me!"

"You want revenge."They continued to whisper. "But it won't help your pain. We will help you recover your lost and shattered soul."

"Thanks! I don't need it."

"Morana, you're not a liar. You are more than hate and pain. You have power like nothing you have seen before!"

She thought for a moment. "How do you know I have it?"

"We gave it to you." The figures replied. "You're a child of the Stars, Morana. You have your own path of destiny. You have to accept it."

"I accepted it." Amelia said beside me releasing my hand. I opened my eyes to look at her. "I was alone. For a very long time I fought for justice that I didn't even understand. About light I didn't see. When I found others like me ... they were my friends, my light, which I tried so desperately to find, and my path of destiny. I killed for it. I killed protecting them, not this goddamn pathetic world." She grabbed her sword and pulled it out. It shone in blue flames and a field of bodies appeared before my eyes. "I haven't forgotten anyone. I remember their faces and their names and smell. They had to leave this life, though. My friends from the war field never stood up again. I had lost not only my parents but the only light I ever found."

I cringed from the view. The bodies were everywhere, positioned in every posible way on top of each other. There were so many of them, mountains.

"I have no simpathy. I've been here so long I don't know it anymore." There was pain and fury in her white eyes. "The world is dying, Annie. The darkness that comes is so huge that I alone won't have the strength to stop it."

She threw me back into my body.

I thought I was going to vomit. My whole stomach had turned upside down. There was a guardian in front of me.

Real. All of this was real.

I got up to take a step toward Pete but my legs were so weak. My body was shaking so bad the whole room was turning and my legs were powerless, I almost fell. When I was able to talk again all I could say was what came over my lips unstoppably. "Did he know?" I looked at Pete. To someone who was always by my side, who always made sure I was okay. Did not let me freeze, who handed out his hand and gave me peace. Who lived and breathed beside me as proof that I would once be able to master the same peace in my soul as he was. That once I could get over my pain. Someone I thought I knew.

Something poked in my heart when she gently nodded, but I tried not to notice.
"He's a guardian himself, Annie." She whispered softly. "It's disgusting that he lied to you, pretended while he could help you. When he could help all of us to stop this world from extinction."

I felt powerless, betrayed, weak, falling to my knees, tears started raining, but there was no screaming, just pain and betrayal. My breath had stopped, only this time it wasn't Amelia stopping me. It was pain and anger.

Pete wasn't a reality. He wasn't real. He wasn't my friend. He isn't the Pete I know.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to kick the ground in the air so everything would fall apart just as i did.

Pete was the only thing that made me somewhat happy in my life. How could he throw it all away and pretend to be someone he had never been. How could he lie?

Tears continued to roll down my cheeks, so intense and horribly painful that I almost dissolved right there on the floor. I felt like my whole life was a lie. Why did he lie? What else did he lie about?

Amelia gave me her hand and I looked up. "Come with me, Annie. I'll show you the world, not just tell you about it and I swear I'll never lie to you."

Amelia hadn't lied to me when Pete wanted to. Pete had been tricking me since the day he came to my house. He had pretended all this time, these years. He tricked my parents, tricked my heart and manipulated what I felt for him. I looked into his frozen eyes. "He won't find us?"

"He can try." She simply shook her shoulders.

"Where will we go?"

"Somewhere I can teach you who you are. Who you're meant to be. Show you what you're capable of."

"I'm scared." I confessed, but I grabbed her hand. She got me up and smiled with a smile that was unexpected and heartbreaking.

Pete remained frozen when Amelia's voice found me again. "We're all scared, Annie. And it's okay."