StarLight

Chapter 57: Following The Voices In Your Head

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Skylar
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I opened the music box with a sigh, watching the crystal catch the light as it spun, the music slowly beginning to play.
You are the sun in my sky, Even when the stars all die. You are gonna make me Shine.
I gently hummed with the song, before looked out my window.
With a sigh I activated the amulet, grabbing the music box and made my way outside.
It's just a box.
It doesn't mean anything, it never did.
I threw it up into the air, releasing a torrent of flame after it.
It burned quickly before the ashes fell to the ground.
I sighed, the wind suddenly picking up the ashes and letting them dance as they spread.
"Skylar!"
I turned around quickly, finding no one behind me.
I frowned, glancing around.
A groan left me as I looked to the sky.
I was completely losing it.
"Skylar!" The voice called again, seeming to move further away.
My feet then began carrying me towards it, further and further from home.
I followed it further and further, ending up deep in the woods.
"This way!" The voice called from my left.
I frowned before moving in that direction, coming across a small opening that led into the rockface.
"Skylar." The voice called softly, echoing off the rocks.
I glanced behind me before crawling into the opening.
It was a tight fit, causing me to shrink into myself as much as possible.
Eventually, I had to resort to the army crawl.
I huffed, the air growing denser the further I went in.
It felt like I was going down into the earth, further and further.
Even if I wanted to turn around, there wasn't enough room to do so, and I was not crawling backwards in this position.
There was nowhere to go but forward.
"Quickly!" The voice called, seeming louder than before.
I huffed, trying to move faster within this cramped space.
Eventually, the cave opened up and I sighed heavily, standing up and dusting myself off.
Usually, I wouldn't follow strange voices into a deep dark cave.
But as I looked around, it was beautiful.
Glowing algae hung from the ceiling above a large lake in the center of the cave.
"Skylar..." The voice said softly, though it was close by.
"The water... Skylar. The water." It then spoke.
Slowly, I walked towards the edge, peering into the surface.
My reflection stared back at me, however... there was something behind it.
It was glowing, much like the green-blue algae, but in a different color.
I glanced around before rolling up my sleeves and reaching into the depths, my fingers barely grazing the surface of the glowing object.
What was it?
I leaned further towards the water when suddenly, a force pushed me in.
My senses were enveloped by the cold rush surrounding me.
I could no longer tell what way was up or down as a force pulled on me.
My lungs were on fire, begging for air.
Was this it?
Was this how I die.
I allowed my body to relax, opening my eyes to see the murky water surrounding me.
"Skylar." The voice called again.
Something warm touched my face and the glowing object floated towards me before it all went black.
"We're here to help you." Was the last thing I heard before a buzz filled my ears.

A searing pain caused my eyes to fly open, my body turning to the side as I coughed violently, emptying my lungs from the water.
My body shivered from the cold as I sighed, flopping onto my back to stare at the ceiling.
How did I get out of the water?
The pain caught my attention again, causing me to wince as I sat up, my hand moving slowly to the back of my neck.
The flesh their was tender, raised slightly.
My fingers trailed along it, my eyes widening as I felt something cold and smooth.
Whatever it was, wasn't supposed to be their.
"I know, it's worrying. Trust me when I say it was necessary." The voice spoke, more clearly then before.
"What did you do to me?" I asked aloud.
"What was necessary. You are far from unlocking your full potential." The voice replied.
"What do you mean?" I asked, looking around.
"Messing with time, no matter how powerful you are, has its consequences. The amulets were never meant to fuse together and the one of Merlin's creation is hindering your own power. You are far stronger than this. You're meant for great things, not to play as Merlin's puppet." The voice replied, causing me to grit my teeth.
"That doesn't explain what you put into my neck. What is it anyway?" I replied with, trying to keep the anger from my tone, though the venom still laced my words.
"It is tradition among our species. It took so long to find you, but after the time spell, we were able to find you." The voice spoke again, this time seeming to be everywhere at once.
"Hell no. I am not dealing with more predecessors dictating me for everything I do. Take this thing out." I ordered, standing up.
I wobbled slightly, my wings catching me.
I gasped, staring at my black feathers.
They now had small, glowing white specks, much like a starry night.
I looked down.
I wasn't wearing my armor.
"Do not fret, young one. It is all part of the process. With the amulet now connected to you, we had to improvise. Your power will come to you, with time. You are the strongest of us, and I fear the road ahead is much more dangerous then you know. We are not the only ones who know of the time lapse." The voice warned.
"Wait, you haven't answered my questions. Who even are you?" I spoke.
There was no response.
Only the sound of water trickling and my steady breaths echoed around me.
I grit my teeth, my hand moving to the thing in the back of my neck before I readjusted my choker, hoping to cover it.
I sighed.
There would be no putting my hair up during gym anymore.
I groaned to myself before moving over to the entrance.
It was getting late, my phone was waterlogged, and I was freezing.
When I got home, it was far past midnight.
The entire group was sitting around the living room, Jim pacing back and forth while Arya stared at the ground.
Claire tried to console Jim as Toby did the same.
Arrrgh, Blinky, and Draal were all talking quietly amongst themselves.
"Hey." I greeted, catching their attention.
"By Deya's grace, where have you been?" Blinky spoke.
"I don't know." I replied, moving past him and towards the kitchen.
"Are you kidding me? We're a team and that's the best you can come up with? You were gone for hours and you didn't even respond to my calls or my texts." Jim spoke.
I took my phone from my pocket, throwing it onto the counter as water still leaked from the casing.
"Where's the rice?" I asked in response, looking through the cupboards.
Jim stared at me in silence.
I eventually found the rice, grabbing a bowl and pouring it in before dumping my phone into it.
"It'll work or it won't. Either way, I'm done for the night." I stated, beginning to make my way to the stairs.
"We had to go to Gatto's keep without you." Jim stated, a glare covering his features.
Shouldn't I be the one that's angry.
"And?" I asked, raising a brow.
He stared at me, lips parted in both shock and disbelief.
"You got the job done, I'm not worried. I have other things to worry about right now, and that doesn't include you." I stated, my hand moving to the railing.
"You don't get to do this. You don't get to shut down. I'm sorry for the way I've been acting, but that is no excuse for you to go back to this." Jim stated.
My blank stare morphed into a glare.
"You're screwing with my life, Jim. Don't tell me what I can or can't do when you're the one messing with everyone's lives. You didn't want to be the trollhunter anymore and you intended for the amulet to chose Toby. It didn't, and it didn't chose you either. You don't get to mess with people's lives like that Jim. You don't get to say who belongs with who. Sure they were together in your future, but people have to make their own choices. Stop dictating. Stop pushing. Just. Stop." I spoke, getting in his face at the end.
"Face the fact that I am the Trollhunter now. If you can't, then I don't need you here." I added lowly, narrowing my gaze.
The tension was thick enough to be cut by a butter knife as Jim stared at me.
He was hurt.
I couldn't find it in me to care at that moment.
"You're right." He stated softly.
"You always are." He added on before handing me a small pyramid-shaped thing.
I frowned at him.
"You're the trollhunter and I haven't been respecting that. I'm sorry." He stated.
"It's hard knowing what is going to happen. I understand why he would want to push for the best outcome." Blinky then spoke up.
"Things have changed. As he said, Arya wasn't here when he was the trollhunter. The same with Alden. Things are not the same as they were in his timeline. There's something big coming. The faster we deal with Gunmar, the faster we can deal with the bigger threat." I stated, setting the Kiarosect down for a moment.
"What bigger threat?" Blinky asked.
"I don't know yet." I replied.