Chapter nineteen

The hours crawled by slowly. To Phoebe, it felt like days had passed by the time she was finally told to change into her ceremonial tunic and braid her hair, both of which she did in record time. She was already waiting by the door when her parents finally emerged in their ceremonial finery, and she had to force herself to follow behind them as they walked to the druids' encampment instead of darting ahead of them the way she wanted to. As she walked, Phoebe couldn't help but be swept up in the excited buzz all around her. The entire commune was out tonight, neighbors streaming from their homes to meet one another in the roads and exchange fervent whispers as they made their way en masse to the encampment. Everyone was curious about what message the Stars had for them this time.

Even though she'd seen it plenty of times before, Phoebe was always wonderstruck by how the encampment looked during a connection ceremony. Tonight there would be no bonfire, only the flickering lights of candles and lanterns that marked a path through the otherwise darkened city of tents and encircled the makeshift courtyard at its center. If she let her gaze grow soft, the effect was that of the night sky reflected in a calm pool of water. The druids were already seated in rows of concentric circles, rippling outward from a central point where the departed elder normally stood to receive the word of the Stars. Over their bowed heads and the mesmerizing drone of their murmured prayers, Phoebe saw Castid standing in his father's place. His eyes were closed, his hands outstretched, palms to the sky. Rue and her mother were seated at his side and, as if she sensed Phoebe's presence, Rue's eyes fluttered open just in time for the two of them to spot one another. Phoebe waved her fingers discreetly at her side and Rue answered with a tiny smile and a nod. They would catch up after the ceremony.

Phoebe and the rest of the commune found spots to stand around the perimeter of the circle. They couldn't join the ritual of calling on the Stars, but they were permitted to watch. Once everyone was in their places and the chatter had ceased, Castid lifted his palms and raised his voice, chanting in a language Phoebe didn't understand. Rue had once explained to her that the summoner was reciting an invitation — calling on the Stars to turn their gaze earthward and speak through one of their descendants. It required a strong connection with the Stars and a great deal of mental fortitude. As Phoebe watched, she hoped that Castid's loss, not to mention the night spent tending to his father's pyre, wouldn't make this more challenging than it already seemed to be.

She lifted her face and stared up at the sky. A crisp breeze rattled the trees surrounding the encampment and caressed her cheeks like a gentle, caring hand. The night was deceptively calm considering the current of excitement that flowed through the gathered crowd.

Suddenly, the sky was blotted out by a blinding flash of pristine light. Then, like a wave receding back into the sea, the light pulled into itself and fell downward in a pillar of brilliance. In a matter of seconds the sound of high pitched whistling accompanied by a sparkler-like fizzle rushed in from the depths of outer space, following the pillar as it raced toward the encampment at stunning speed. The light touched down, swallowing Castid's form in another blast of starshine that forced Phoebe to shield her eyes behind her hands.

As the light faded into a manageable level of intensity, Phoebe lowered her hands so she could see Castid. His eyes glowed as if they had been replaced by a pair of tiny stars, and the air around him shimmered, giving him a luminescent glow. This is what it looked like when a druid communed with the Stars, and it was at once mesmerizing and terrifying. Phoebe thought back to how Rue described the experience of a Star's voice in her mind, speaking in an unknown language she could somehow understand. She wondered what this Star sounded like as she vibrated with anticipation.

"Salutations to you all," Castid's voice said. He sounded like himself, but with a quality that made him seem bigger than he was. There was an uncanny echo to his words as a Star spoke through him to address the breathless crowd. "On behalf of the Council, we extend our condolences to you in the passing of your great and venerable elder. Our wish for you is to find peace through your grief." Phoebe squinted. Even from a distance, she could make out a tear escaping from the corner of his blazing eyes. She wondered if the tear was his own, or if the Star was weeping through him. "Your elder brought you all together so that we might share a message of great import with you, the Plan's most faithful proponents. We bring this news to you out of concern, but also in the spirit of trust."

Over the heads of others, Phoebe and Rue's eyes met, alarmed. Normally when the Stars spoke to the people of Ardent, they did little more than heap praise on them for staying faithful to the Plan and assure them that things were unfolding exactly as they were meant to. Sometimes they would share intriguing little details of how their world, alluding to their tireless tasks of tending to the universe like a farmer caring for their garden, or how the movement of the cosmos might be affecting everything from the health of the planet to the moods of those who lived on it. On extremely rare occasions, the Stars even provided updates on the hunt for the stolen wishing star. Phoebe liked those updates the best. Something about the long-enduring mystery piqued her interest and kept her mind racing with theories and fantasies long after she was supposed to be asleep.

But Phoebe had never known the Stars to sound so burdened, and judging by her knitted brows, Rue was just as unsettled as she was.

Castid's amplified voice soared over the curious crowd. "We wish to warn you of a different kind of Starborn who is walking among your kind. She is not an astromancer like those of you in witness, but a true Starborn like your ancestors." The night air came to life with the sounds of surprised gasps and whispered exclamations of shock and confusion. Still, Castid kept speaking over the incredulous din. "She possesses abilities over which she has little control, and thus should be approached with caution. We ask nothing of you other than vigilance. Be wary of her, for she does not speak for the Stars, nor does she have any influence over the Plan. Should you meet her, do not let her sway your faithful hearts, and be safe."

Before Phoebe could fully process what she was hearing, another flash filled the sky, followed by the whistling of a second pillar of light as it careened toward them. Phoebe was stunned: they had never been visited by more than one Star at a time before.

"What's happening?" someone in the crowd gasped.

"Where is it going?" cried another.

The answer took everyone by surprise, including the Star who had been using Castid's voice, who recoiled as the descending light crashed down over Rue.

"Rue!" Phoebe shouted. Instinctively, she lurched forward, ready to leap over the rows of onlookers should her friend need her. But her father threw his arms around her and pinned her to his side. Left with no choice, Phoebe blinked as the brightness faded to reveal Rue, who glowed just as brightly as her father beside her. Rue rose elegantly to her feet and whirled around, her illuminated eyes searching the sea of faces that gaped back at her in awe.

"Audrey!" Rue's voice cried. "Emandi, please! I know you're there!"

"What are you doing?" the first Star demanded. Castid's head tipped back to look up at the night sky, his features pinched and vexed.

The Star speaking through Rue ignored the question and continued to address the crowd. "Audrey, you shouldn't be here. You need to—"

Whatever this mysterious Audrey needed to do was lost in a strangled cry that was dragged from Rue's throat as the starlight within her was ripped back into the ether. Samsi lept up to catch her limp daughter before she toppled over. Every pair of eyes turned back to Castid, whose expression was like stone.

"Apologies for that interruption," said the Star. "I'm afraid I must take my leave. But, I implore you to keep your faith. The Plan will unfold exactly as it should." Under different circumstances, the visiting Star would bid them all a proper farewell. This time, the Star didn't offer them so much as a goodbye. Their light lifted weightlessly from Castid's body and shot back into the sky before disappearing with a wink.

Castid, who had much more experience communing with the Stars, didn't sink into a faint like his daughter had. He shook his head and ground the heels of his palms into his eyes. When he looked up, he found the entire crowd staring back at him in stunned silence. Beside him, Rue was slowly getting to her feet with the help of her mother. Her face was pale and her knees quaked. Before her own father could react, Phoebe charged out of his grasp and raced to her friend. Her movement seemed to break the spell that everyone else was under, and the air was suddenly filled with the buzz of voices trying to make sense of what they just witnessed.

"Rue, are you okay?" Phoebe asked once she fought her way through the crowd. She took one of Rue's hands in both of hers and squeezed it tightly. "What was that?"

"A Star, I guess?" Rue replied, looking between Phoebe and her parents. "What else could it have been?"

Her mother pressed her fingers against her lips and glanced at her husband. "But why would another Star interrupt a connection like that?"

"Whatever their reason, it felt really important," Rue said. She laid the palm of her free hand against her heart and closed her eyes. "I could feel how concerned they were. They were desperate."

Phoebe's mind replayed every word the two Stars had said. From everything she had gleaned, there only seemed to be one thing to do. She locked eyes with Rue.

"We need to find this Audrey person."