💫 Starburst ⭐️

Starburst; Part 14

Author's Note:
Hi reader! I know the books kinda taking a different direction and maybe it's starting to be... how do I say this? Boring. But don't worry, it's getting there! Anyways, hope you enjoy the book!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lies
Lacey was scared, oh yes. She had been walking for hours, searching for Astiana and Katherine but finding them was like finding a needle in a haystack. She crept past the people who looked very much like the woman in the hospital. And then, somebody burst from an alley on the side of the apartments and raced to Lacey.

Nobody really seemed to notice the panting woman, who, now as Lacey saw her, looked extremely familiar. "Thank god I found you!" the woman exclaimed. The woman in the hospital. Just what Lacey needed. "Keep away from me..." she backed a little.

The woman shook her head. "I'm sorry for the way I acted before... but listen! We really are the good people. I just wanted you to know that... but what else I've come to tell you is that the Fiery Sapphire is gone!"

Now, many gasps could be heard around Lacey.

"Gone?!"

"But it's the town's most prized possession!"

"Oh no!"

Lacey backed up more, deciding that even without Astiana and Katherine, she had to run. "The sapphire was an ancient stone that was protected by our ancestors. It is precious to this town because it's the very thing that caused lives to disappear..." the woman explained.

Lacey processed this. People died for the sapphire? "It must've been very rare then..." she murmured. She thought about herself. Coming through every obstacle that was thrown at her, being the 'prophesized' one. Her heart was too compassionate, and she had to help.

"I'll go find it," Lacey announced. The crowd of worried people erupted to cheers, and the woman smiled. Lacey decided to go look around close to Rimester. The one who had stolen it just right now probably wouldn't have gotten far.

She walked around the town, found the exit, and left. Her legs shuddered, tired of walking. Suddenly, she squealed. She had fallen down a sand pit. Sand? Where did sand come from? Lacey thought. And then, she remembered something. Astiana could talk to her!

Astiana? Where are you!? Lacey wondered. Help... mind... gone... a strained thought  reached to Lacey. It seemed like somebody had captured Astiana and pulled her mind reading power away.

Lacey looked around in the sand pit. There was a lever, which Lacey was very tempted to pull but she decided it might be a trap. She sat down and stared at the ground, on the walls, anywhere to see signs of a trap.

There was nowhere to go, so Lacey decided to pull the lever. As she did so, the ground opened beneath her, sending her tumbling down and sucked in by a pipe.

The pipe slid her down until she reached a place. What kind of city was this?

The houses were short and made out of clay. The trees were grey, like the ones in the farmhouse. Lacey walked towards the centre of the town.

There in the middle, a white pedestal stood. On top of it, a beautiful sapphire lay, shining and sparkling in the sun. She crept towards it, then lunged at it and pulled it off the marble pedestal.

Immediately, an alarm buzzed through the city. "Burglar!" Someone yelled.

"Thief!"

"Get her!"

People streamed out of the houses, running to her. Lacey was tired and her legs just wouldn't cooperate, so there she stood, her hands frozen upon her head to protect her.

Just as they reached her, a man stepped out of the shade. His long flowing beard trailed along behind him as he walked to Lacey. His steel eyes glared around at everybody. "Now now, she is just a girl," he said.

The man turned around to look at Lacey. "Although, what purpose is our sapphire to you?" he implored. "I... you stole it from Rimester!" Lacey accused. The man looked taken aback, then stared right into her pupils, making her feel uncomfortable.

"What makes you think we stole it from that corrupted place?" A woman piped up. "They told me..." Lacey murmured. She didn't trust these people as much as she trusted Rimester.

"You are the malicious ones!" She shrieked and ran away from the sandy city. The cave from where she had entered was right ahead. She ran into it and turned around for one last look. The sand had fallen behind her, causing dust and rocks to cover around.

Lacey reached the sandpit and started quickly wondering how she would be able to escape. "Stop her!" Voices echoed from in the cave. Lacey jumped up and down, trying to figure out, and fast.

The people quickly came into view, causing Lacey to dig her fingernails into the gritty sand and start climbing. Clamours of who got to kill Lacey shrieked into the cave. The man reached up to grab Lacey, who kicked out and managed to escape up.

Then, an idea popped into her head. She grabbed a handful of sand and threw it on the people, causing them to scream in pain. "My eyes! They burn!" The man moaned. Lacey ran to Rimester and to the town square.

She looked at their boring stone pedestal, hesitating, then placed the sapphire on. The town suddenly started laughing and closing up on Lacey. Sinister smiles, malevolent laughs.

What Lacey thought she had done was nothing compared to what the town people actually knew she had done. She'd given them the last thing they needed... for something very important.