When the Stars Align

I Get an Unexpected Visitor

I had just fallen asleep that night when I felt rough hands grabbing me. Disoriented, I was dragged out of my bed. It was pitch black and my eyes had just barely adjusted to the dark. I screamed bloody murder until someone gagged me. Regaining some of my senses, I kicked and flailed my arms but by this time some sort of handcuffs had secured my wrists in front of me.. I heard the door creak open and saw a small figure standing in the doorway. It was Jase, who had most likely been aroused by my screaming.

With the door being open, some of the light from the hallway flooded into the dark room. The handcuffs I was secured with were blue, which was strange. Dismissing it, I looked around. I could make out three dark figures holding me that I didn't recognize, all of them male. There were two more males standing a few feet away along with a small, petite girl. They were all Étoiles. One of the guys standing a few feet away had tousled blonde hair that shone in the light like a beacon. As he turned, my heart contracted. It was Brendan.

I locked eyes with Jase. I wanted to tell him to run but I couldn't with the gag. Brendan nodded to the guy standing next to him.

"Get him," he said pointing to Jase.

The guy took a step towards him before Jase bolted down the hall towards the stairwell. The guy ran out the door after him. Brendan turned towards me.

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Jase's P.O.V

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I ran as fast as I could down the stairs until I reached floor 5. The guy who had chased me was bigger than I was, but he was in good shape and fast. He was gaining on me. I ran through the hall struggling to remember which room was Will's. I stopped at a door that seemed right and tried the knob, praying it was his. Locked. I banged rapidly on the door.

"It's Jase, open up!" I yelled as the guy giving chase neared to no more than a few yards.

3 feet. 2. 1. He grabbed the collar of my shirt with a knife in his free hand. The door was thrown open, and thankfully, it was Will. He stepped in front of me, unarmed.

"What do you think you're doing, Noah?" Will asked him.

Noah raised the knife. Will easily grabbed his wrist and slid the knife out of his hand and into his own. He grabbed Noah roughly by the arm and led him a few doors down. I followed, interested to see what happened. Noah protested slightly.

"Noah, if you know what's good for you, you'll shut up," Will said gesturing to the knife he still held in his hand.

He knocked on the door. Avery opened it looking as bright and cheerful as ever.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Do you have a pair of restraints?" he asked.

She disappeared back into her room without a reply. She came back a few seconds later with a pair of blue handcuffs. She handed them to Will. He locked Noah's hands in them behind his back.

"Why are they blue?" I asked curiously.

"These are special Étoile handcuffs, so not only do they restrain your hands, but they keep you from using your element," he replied.

"I'll explain everything later, but would you mind taking him down to the cells?" he asked Avery.

"Yeah, of course," she said taking him from Will.

Once Avery and Noah disappeared down the stairwell, Will turned to me.

"So what happened exactly?" he asked slipping the knife into his pocket.

"It's Nova. Brendan has her," I replied.

He sucked in air through his teeth.

"I was hoping we had seen the last of him, but I suppose it was too good to be true," he said already on the move towards his room.

He opened the door and stepped inside with me on his tail. He opened his closet to reveal a large stash of weapons. They lined the wall, the floor, some even hung on hangers by clips or something. He reached in a took out a sword.

"I'll need a sword too," I said.

"You can stay with Josh," he replied.

"No, I'm coming with you," I said stubbornly.

"You're eight," he said simply.

"Almost nine," I replied. "Besides, she's my sister."

"And as your sister, she will be mad if I let you come with me," he argued.

"You think that's going to stop me?" I asked.

He smirked.

"No, I guess it won't," he said handing me a smaller, lighter sword.