Children of the Stars

Chapter Fourteen

Whatever words he said next were drowned out as I split from Rose and Maria and made my way with Skylark towards the sea of red and green that was moving back the way we came. Before long I was flanked by Kitch and Emma as the shadow of the underbrush swallowed us. We were led by Sky and Jason, who walked with a proud sort of confidence with the quiet Earth Heads just behind them. Before long, the undergrowth gave way once more to a sparse clearing where rocks of every sizes dappled the moon-brightened clearing. On the far side, a wall of marble rose from the ground, bleached bone white in the full moon and reaching high towards the sky. I needed to tilt my head back to see the top of it.

"Wow," I breathed.

"Wow," Emma echoed in agreement. Ahead of us we saw Sky and Jason stop in the middle by a horse-sized boulder, with the Heads of Earth circling around them. Kai ended up staying in Finn's Hollow to alert us to the five minute warning.

"Alright guys, gather up!" Jason called. Obediently, we created a large huddle, which fitted everyone from Earth and Fire. I looked across the group and caught Molli from Taurus's eye and waved. The girl with flashing pale eyes beamed and returned my greeting in kind. "Okay, here's the plan. Taurus, all those who can turn invisible, you're going to follow Britt to try to sneak across the line unnoticed." He glanced up at the dusty haired Head of Taurus who nodded her approval. She must be Britt. "Those who can't will stay behind as guards. Leo House, you're both our main line of defence and our main offense. Split yourself up evenly, half following Rowan and Kai on the attack, and half staying behind with Sarah as defence." He pointed to the auburn haired boy who almost attacked Ike, and a short, chestnut haired girl beside him, who nodded her head. "Virgo House, seeing you have power over the truth, I want you situated around the prison cage. Try to get the prisoners talking. Try to charm them into telling you." My Head's dark eyes flashed over to Talaiya, who replied with a flirtatious wink. I felt a small fire of jealousy spark in my stomach, and bit my lip in response. "Capricorn, I want you all on the front line. Your time changing abilities will come in handy for both defending and attacking. Aries, I want you to team up with the Leo's to protect them. You are ingenious crafters, and I know you won't let your Element down. And so that leaves Sagittarius."

Jason's eyes turned to me, and to my surprise, I saw Talaiya turn as well. A blush lit up my face as I struggled not to look too closely that her beautiful face. "I want Sagittarius to set up an ambush in Finn's Hollow. That way our attacking fleet can get by without being attacked, and we can get ourselves some prisoners. Sam and I will lead a small squad into enemy territory to draw them out. I want Freya, Eric, Jackson, Ross and Noaye with us. Jeff is going to lead a larger squad—composed of Jordan, Alex, Josh, Charlie, Zoe, Addison, Calypso, Roe, Aspen and Therrien—to sneak in from behind and attack from the back. Elizabeth, I want you to take five juniors and attack from the right side of the Hollow, and Wyatt, I want you to take five more and attack from the left side. Maera, I want you to set up a defence of five pairs of whoever you choose, positioned around the clearing with the flag. We are the runners, we can take on anyone who comes our way. But whatever you do, don't fall for a projection. Are we clear?"

A chain of "yes" rang out from the gathered students and Jason nodded, satisfied. "Alright. Let's go hide the flags."

We all split up to go look for hiding spots; Kitch and Emma went towards the Wall, Ember, Isobel and Skylark all headed straight for the woods, and there was no sign of the Leo's. I had caught a glimpse of Meg as a lion, peering out from under the shadow of a rock before she turned and I lost sight of her. Now I began to wander towards the wall of the ravine, examining the cracks and crevices of the aged rock for a hiding place.

"Hello," a soft murmur behind me, the whisper of leaves against skin. My hair stood on end and a chill rushed down my backs I turned to see the Head of Virgo standing behind me, her bi-colored eyes soft and curious. "What are you doing?"