The Third Star

Prologue: New York

"You got everything?"

"Yup."

"Books? Homework? Gym clothes?"

"Got it all."

"Alright, kid, here's your lunch," Emma said, handing Henry his small metal lunchbox. She pulled him into a quick hug and planted a kiss on his head. "Have fun in school. I love you."

Henry grinned at his mother. "Love you too, Mom." He disappeared down the stairwell.

Emma watched out the window as Henry boarded the school bus with his backpack sagging over his shoulder. As the bus turned the corner and out of sight, she felt that familiar ghost of loneliness appear in the absence of her only son. She turned around to clean up breakfast, but suddenly found herself flying through the air.

Emma cried out as she crashed against her apartment wall, knocking over the potted plants nearby. She looked around frantically as she sat in the pile of turned over soil and leaves.

"What the hell?" she muttered, rising quickly to her feet. The whole apartment was silent, as if nothing unusual had occurred at all. Emma snatched a knife off of the kitchen table and warily stepped forward into the open. She jumped as Henry's bedroom door slammed shut, whirling around and pointing the jam-covered knife towards the sound.

"Who's there?" she demanded, her eyes flickering around the room. She spun around as the curtains suddenly drew closed, casting the room into darkness. Emma squinted her eyes to see in the dim light, and to her horror, she could see a silhouette slowly reveal itself.

"Stop. Don't come any closer," Emma commanded, raising the knife. The figure continued to approach her, as silent as the shadows themselves.

"Don't think for a second I won't use this knife, I don't care who you are," Emma threatened. The silhouette waved its hand, and the knife flew from Emma's hand and clattered onto the kitchen floor.

Emma stared wide-eyed at the figure and slowly edged backwards. "What do you want from me?" she said, carefully watching the intruder.

Suddenly, the shadow was bathed in a pale yellow fog, and Emma was once again shoved against the wall. There were no hands pushing her, no weapons of any kind, and no explanation of how she ended up bruised and forced against the side of her living room.

Emma began to feel icy terror flush through her body. What was all that yellow fog? This wasn't happening. It was the stuff of crappy sci-fi movies and fairy tales-- like magic, which obviously didn't exist. This couldn't happen.

Magic? Really? Emma's cynical conscience weighed in to the situation. There had to be some logical explanation; magic was for stories, not reality.

That didn't really matter, though, because whatever it was had her pinned helplessly in her own home.

"Show yourself!" Emma growled at the shadow. Surprisingly, it obeyed and stepped into the light. And it didn't stop there. The shadow very quickly had its arm crushing Emma's throat and a knife resting on her cheek. Not a butter-knife, like Emma's makeshift weapon, but a real serrated dagger. Emma found herself staring into vivid, golden eyes.

It was a girl. She seemed young, only seventeen or so, but her eyes carried pain and knowledge beyond her years. Her dark hair hung down her back in knotted waves, and she was clothed in patched, savage rags. But the wildest thing about the girl was the maddened expression on her face, one of rage, borderline insanity.

"Did you kill him?" the girl hissed at Emma, pressing the knife tip into her cheek.

"What? Kill who? Who the hell are you?" Emma sputtered angrily.

"I said, did you kill him?" the intruder roared, shoving her arm even tighter against Emma's neck.

Emma gasped for air. "I don't know what you're talking about," she choked.

The savage girl glared at her. "They said you were one of them. One of the ones who murdered him," she spat.

"Killed who?" Emma managed.

The girl leaned forward until she was almost nose to nose with Emma. Her golden eyes flashed and she clenched her teeth.

"Peter Pan," she hissed.

Emma stopped squirming and stared at her captor in disbelief.

This had to be a joke.

"Peter Pan? Like, Disney movie Peter Pan?" Emma said incredulously. No way was this happening. Not only was the girl violent, but she also was apparently a fan of children's movies. For some reason, it was hard for Emma to imagine this vicious nutcase watching animated musicals.

The girl stepped back, releasing her hold on Emma. As much as she tried, however, Emma still found herself unable to move as the yellow fog glued her to the wall.

"You're useless!" the girl said, frustrated, and she angrily waved her hand. The yellow fog swelled to double its original volume and enveloped Emma in a hazy glow.

Emma's eyes fluttered against her will. She tried to speak, but she couldn't muster up the strength as that wretched fog weighed her down. The last thing she saw was the girl retreating back into the shadows before she blacked out.