Planet of the Stars

Chapter 36: Grace

When she reached the ground she seemed to study me for a few seconds, almost like she was deciding if I was trustworthy.

"Who's with you?" The female asks her eyes snapping towards Felicity.

"This is Felicity. She's an android and my personal nurse. Wherever I go she goes," I say.

The girl seems to accept this answer. She gestures for the other females to come down. A bunch of movement happens as a bunch females descended from the trees. They were all incredibly agile and strong. When they were all on the ground I noticed they all wore similar outfits with a bit of change in them and they all carried bows.

"Welcome Skye and Felicity the sisters of Selene welcome you. If you follow us we'll lead you to our home and to mother," They say.

I nod. They turn and lead the way. I follow them with Felicity beside me. One of the girls dropped back and walked beside me.

"I'm sorry about all the formality. It's just they don't like admitting we need help," The girl says.

"It's okay. Not many people do," I whisper.

"My name is Grace," She says.

I nod.

"Skye," I say.

"I know. You're the crystal-user everyone talks about," Grace says.

I look down.

"Am I?" I ask.

"Yeah. You're one of the most powerful ones. Of course people talk about you," She says.

I just nod. Grace seemed to notice I had gone silent.

"So you must have questions," Grace says.

I nod.

"Then ask them. I can answer then," Grace says.

"What exactly are the sisters of selene?" I ask.

"We're an all female group that decided to live this way. We turned our backs on who we were and joined this society," Grace says.

"Why?" I ask.

"Everyone has a different reason, but in return for choosing this life we are granted immortality and magic by mother," Grace says.

My ears perk up at immortality and my brain starts turning, but I ignore it.

"Magic?" I ask.

"It's different to what crystal people have but it's still powerful," Grace says.

"Who is this mother?" I ask.

"She's our leader. She's the oldest and most powerful. You'll meet her soon, but she's the one who sent the distress signal," Grace says.

I nod.

"You didn't ask about immortality. Usually when people hear that they want to know about it," Grace says.

"Yeah well immortality isn't something I want," I say.

"Why?" Selene asks.

"Because living long after everyone I love has passed on sounds more painful than I can bear," I say.

"But you are curious about it. I can tell," Grace says.

"Not for reasons people think," I say.

"You don't want to know if this immortality can save you from dying soon?" Grace asks.

I freeze.

"How did you?" I begin.

"We're magic users we can sense it. When you first walked through the forest we all picked up on it. You're dying," Grace says.

I sigh.

"Yeah I am," I say.

"Where do you hurt the most?" Grace asks.

"I don't hurt anymore. I just feel numb," I say.

Grace stopped. She turned to face me.

"May I?" Grace asks and holds out her hands.

"I guess," I say not sure what she meant.

Grace rests her hands on the side of my head. I feel warmth coming off her fingers, then energy raced all through my brain. I seemed to jolt when she pulled away I felt more energized than I had in years. I felt like electricity was racing through my body and trying to shoot out of my fingers.

"What did you just do?" I whisper.

"I just passed some of my power to you. It'll help until this threat is taken care of and after that maybe mother will help you," Grace says.

"Maybe?" I ask.

"Well she has to like you to help you. You have to make a good impression on her," Grace says.

I nod.

"Don't worry. I'll help you," Grace says.

The group came to a halt. I stopped and Grace nodded at me before slipping back into her spot. We were in the middle of a village. Houses were sprouting up around a giant fire. There were some women walking around tending to the houses and village.

I saw no men and no children. The ladies who escorted me bowed and I saw an older woman standing on a stand and her eyes were focused intently on me. I wondered if I should bow. The woman seemed to read my mind, because she chuckled.

"You need not bow. You do not share our ideals. I do not consider it disrespect. Welcome Halia," The woman says.

I tense and my heart sank. How did she know my name.

"My apologies you go by Skye do you not?" The lady asks.

"I do," I say.

"Very well welcome Skye," The lady says.

"Thank you," I say.

She steps down and the girls created a path for her by moving. She came to a stop in front of me. Her eyes landed on my crystal but then they met my eyes but she seemed to be looking into me.

"I don't blame you for choosing the name Skye. It's a beautiful name full of possibilities. The name Halia brings up only pain," The woman says.