Children of the Stars

Chapter Five

I sat still for a moment, heart hammering in panic at the thought of going up to face the deepest part of myself. I stared at Mr. Rivas as he calmly observed me back, a patient smile on his lips. Whispers began to arise from the four tables of students as they followed his line of sight and stared at me. I heard an accented voice call softly, "I think that was your name called there, mate."

I gulped and then my eyes scanned the large group of people. I locked eyes with the small figure sitting beside Nacht—a bronze skinned girl with brilliant blue eyes that didn't match her dark complexion. She stared at me with such an expression of curiosity, that I felt by sitting at the table I was letting her down. I looked down at my lap, took a deep breath, and stood up finally.

Instead of the snickers I was expecting to hear, a soft round of applause went around the room, like the students were rallying behind me in support of choosing to go up. Mr. Rivas stood at the edge of the platform and held out his hand.

"I've looked forward to this since the day I met you, Amythest," he whispered as I accepted his hand and stepped onto the platform. "I am glad you have decided to come after all—I know how difficult a choice it was for you."

I nodded my head, mouth too dry to speak, and walked over to the mirror as he motioned. I stood at the mirror and stared hard at my reflection, wondering what would happen. At first, I was left staring at my face; my ivory skin with the dash of freckles across my nose, the scar on my chin from falling off my bike when I was seven, my long, jet black hair tumbling in a wave over my shoulder, and then I met my reflection's eyes. Delicate black lashes framed greyish-green irises, the color of a rainy morning in a pine forest. But suddenly, the room behind me began to shift and change.

My back straightened as the warmth of the dining hall faded away, replaced with the chill of the large, yawning cavern that appeared in place of the homey school in the mirror. Too scared to look around and see if the place was real, I continued to stare at my eyes, noticing the wisps of breath leaving my nostrils as my heart beat wildly in my chest. I became aware of whispering voices moving all around me. Shapes writhed in the shadows, but none came into the watery grey light that surrounded me. Even though my mind screamed at me that there was danger and I needed to leave, I couldn't move, nor could I feel anything besides a cold tingling sensation in my limbs. Even my throat had closed up.

"Look at what we have here, Cancer," I heard a soft female voice murmur near my ear, so close I felt her breath on my cheek like a warm summer breeze. A hand drifted across my back and set my heart fluttering, but not out of fear. "She has so much pent up emotion deep in her heart. Can't you feel it?"

"Yes, Virgo, I can," replied a raspy male voice, that despite the harsh hiss to it, didn't sound foreboding. "But she is not of the Cancer House. Her emotions are of passion, not something I help with."

"She is too turbulent to be of the Taurus House," came a deep bellow, echoing from further in the cave. In my peripheral vision, I saw twin jets of breath gleam in the shadows at the same time a snort sounded. "And look. She so desperately yearns for something. Perhaps she is of the Scorpio House?"

"She is not of my house," came another reedy voice with a harsh snap to it. "She is addicted to something far greater than what I can help with."

"Her star-energy is bright, like those of Fire. But I haven't seen so much light in one person in the longest of times!"

"She has the same gleam of pride in her eyes as any of the Leo House. Don't you see what a magnificent addition to my House she would be?" This time I saw a golden tail dip into the light before being retracted again. Finally breaking eye contact with myself, my eyes drifted to where the tail disappeared. A pair of reflective golden eyes stared back at me with the light of the stars in their depths. There came a low growl and the being stepped back further into the darkness before continuing.