When Stars Fall (NaNoWriMo22)

Chapter 28

The rain pours down on us with a force so powerful as if it was pushing us away. The gale is tremendously rebellious, I should think. That or nature is as spontaneous as humans. Averett and I struggle against it as we walk through this stone town. The water has darkened the stone to appear like rough concrete. It matches the dark grey of the storm clouds, I observe.

"Where shall we go?" I yell over the rain. My delicately tailored shoes are completely soaked through and my dress, although shorter than my other dresses, has begun to weigh me down. "There has to be somewhere to stay around here," Averett calls back. His hair strewn across his face, the water sticking his random strands to his skin. The same way the short hairs on the back of my neck are right now. "Not another inn," I mumble under my breath.

Averett points at a group of people that are piling into a brightly lit building. "Let's go in there!" He grabs my arm, leading towards it. "Who knows? We might be able to warm ourselves until the storm passes. Possibly be able to eat something other than the scraps that we have with us." I didn't know we had food! My eyes narrow at him, but he takes no notice. He hurriedly takes us to his destination.

We enter and the warmth immediately envelops us. Averett groans in relief, stepping closer to the fire that burns in the fireplace. The place is bigger than what it looks like on the outside. There are many people inside. The tables are all occupied as well as the booths. Men drink merrily in their seats while the women serve or entertain. I recoil as I recognize the scene before me. "This is a pub!" I've seen many atrocities occur in places like this. I shiver, disgusted at the stories I remember. I stomp over to Averett, fuming for bringing me here.

"I cannot believe you brought me to a pub, Averett!" I hiss quietly at him.

"Would you rather be out in the pouring rain?"

No. I rather not. Still, I would like to stay somewhere else. The men become brutes in a place like this. People die in places like this because of minor grievances. I don't like this. "Shall we ask if they're serving at this hour?" I'm not sure that the horror on my face along could've stopped. The fire's warmth seeps into my drenched clothes down to my cold skin, but it almost-almost!-makes me give in.

"Averett," I say speak his name nervously, "you can't be serious."

The moron winks and saunters off, leaving me behind dumbstruck. I will kill him. I'm sure of it! One day, I'll kill him! My body leans closer to the flames. The warmth has begun to feel so good. "I just hate rainy days, don't you?" A man lean against the fireplace's brick. I ignore him. "It just ruins a man's day, but a sight like yours makes it." I barely know what he means, and I don't try to. My only focus is to get warm and dry now that Averett is set on angering me. The man gets closer. I merely eye him warily my peripherals. "You're a mighty pretty gal," he drawls his compliment. The man is drunk. Curses. "Won't you thank me? I just gave you a compliment."

"Your compliment is appreciated but unwanted," I keep my tone leveled, my eyes averted. "Please, go compliment someone else." The man does the opposite. He gets closer. It makes my blood boil. "I don't want anyone else. No one in this wretched town looks as good as you." He raises a hand, aiming to touch a loose strand near my cheek. But I snatch his hand and pull him closer.

His eyelids droop slightly. The eyes red rimmed and shiny. But that's not all I see. His soul is revealed to me. My skin heats from the inside out as I reach forward and watch snippets of his life. A boy laugh, a woman's smile, a soft caress. Then, a sickly cough, a grimly furrow of someone's brow, the clear indents of graves in the ground. "You hide behind your drunkenness to atone for your loss as if it was your sin." The color drains from his face. His eyes become more alert and less intoxicated. Good. Let him remember this moment. "The true sin that you should be hiding from is the one that you have constantly done ever since you've experienced loss. Wake up!"

He flinches, pulling at my grasp. "You disgust me, human. Atone for your sins the right way! Care for your woman, to whom you have been mistreating and being unfaithful to ever since the death of your son." I drop his hand. He wakes up from my trance and stumbles back. He can no longer look at me. In fact, he looks at no one as he leaves the pub. The warmth leaves my body and I sway ever so slightly.

What the bloody hell just happen? How did I do that? Nausea rocks my stomach. I...I watched his memories? No, I can't have been. It is...impossible?

I lean my shoulder against the wall. My skin's glow fades, in and out. What is happening to me? "Good for us, Alcyone," my shoulders relax at the sound of his voice. "I got us a room and board for cheap! They said the same thing that the inn keeper said. That it wasn't the season for tourist. It makes me wonder which season that is." His smug smile drops once he notices my state. "What did your siblings say this time?"

"It wasn't them this time." I shiver as the cold claws deeper to my core. "I did something I've never done before. And I think I'm going to vomit now."

*****
   
I retch into a rusted bucket that already smelt as if someone had disposed of their food in it. I've never done this before. I feel like I'm doing it wrong. I keep resisting the motions. It's the most disgusting and unnatural thing I've done thus far. But, for every heave and gag, I feel better. So, I must be doing something right.

Finally, I stop. I lean my head against the rim of the bucket and breath for the first time in twenty minutes. Averett rubs my back comfortingly while I take deep, soothing breaths. "From what I pieced together, in between vomits, is that you have gained your powers." Oversimplifications of what occurred but I haven't the strength to fight him on it. "I think these are just growing pains, Alcyone. You've never used your powers before, let alone in the realm. You don't really know how strong you can be until you grow."

"Averett," my voice rasps uncomfortably, "my only wish now is to go home." My sweat rolls down my neck. I feel so cold. "I cannot wish for anything else. I don't want to change." Averett stays silent while he moves me into his embrace. He pulls me up and touches the skin on my arms. "You're burning up." He curses under his breath. I feel us move somewhere, but I stumble on my feet. "I think you have a fever." That's impossible. Stars cannot get sick. Mortal diseases cannot affect us the way it affects humans.

"You don't get to decide what's possible or not, Alcyone." He lays me down gently. "Sleep. I'll protect you." My eyes roll to the back of my head just as I feel something soft graze my forehead.