Octave of Stars Theme Song:
Welcome to the serial version of Octave of Stars! Episodes will release every Monday and Thursday. If you’re finding this story for the first time, be sure to start at Episode 01 for maximum comprehension, or check out The Index for all available Episodes.
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Ash opened his eyes and uncovered his ears. The lightning may have been silent, but the massive rending crash from the building below their feet hadn't been. He was still alive; Cascadia was breathing, crouched down where he had covered her with his thick coat. He helped her up, then took stock of the situation. Gayle and Azalea were with Lumina, who was shaking her head and dabbing at her eyes. Across the roof, Yin and Rand stood near Frost, picking him up off the floor from where the force of the binding had bowled him over. The clouds had arranged themselves in a halo around the top of the building, but only Gayle, with her keen sense of the sky, noticed they were actually in the shape of an octagon. The only sounds were their own voices, all other noises were stilled, even from the street far below. After everyone confirmed they were still whole, their attention turned to the thing they had brought about.
The Starlight Prism hovered above the remains of the central portion of the collector device, shattered metal arms and broken pieces of stone and crystal scattered around. It was an eight-sided shape, two square-bottomed pyramids fused at their base, rotating and spinning freely, one side representing each of their colors. It thrummed with energy, sending out waves of pure force they could all feel with a sense other than their touch or hearing.
Azalea crept forward to see the spectacle below, an abyss left behind by the lightning-like force. She saw the top of the floor below, and the one below it, and so on. It extended deep into the earth itself, which considering everything that had happened so far, was entirely possible. She retreated back to her friends, hopping over the fissures spreading away from the abyss. The entire building had been split a few inches apart.
Frost breathed deeply, feeling his back to see if he was still up to the task, but deciding he would rather end up crippled than lose this opportunity. "Rand, Yin, what does it look like?"
Rand studied the octahedron for a moment, his head tilted. "It seems to be giving off safe levels of radiation, Sir."
Yin piped up, smoothing back his hair: "Yeah, it has a weak magnetic field, nothing that'll be dangerous, I think."
"Good enough," Frost said. "Help me get up there, then."
Rand helped pile twisted scraps of metal in front of Yin, who formed a suspension bridge spanning the hole, a silver lattice that allowed his employer to step up and across to reach the object of his labours. The Prism wasn't very large, only a few feet across, something he could easily hold in his hands and carry off to whatever nefarious ends he was intending to use it for.
"Come on," Ash said. "We're done here, right? I wanna get home."
Cascadia stood firm. "I think we should wait. Just a little while longer."
"That seems wise," Lumina said. "We may be in the calm before the storm."
Gayle nodded. "Yeah, she's right. From up here we can see anythin' that's gonna go wrong, and deal with it quicker."
"Alright," Ash said, noticing Azalea, who hadn't contributed her own opinions, nervously glancing around instead. "You okay?"
Azalea shook her head. "No, that thing is just really scary…"
Ash regarded it again. "Yeah, I hear you."
Frost had nearly reached the Prism at the apex of the little bridge, and stood in front of it, revelling in the victory he had fought so hard to win. It represented the culmination of all his hopes and dreams, and would make everything right again. He could only guess what sort of power it contained, but it had to be worth all the trouble. There was no way he was leaving empty-handed now. He took a breath, galvanising his resolve, then reached out and placed a palm on the yellow face. The structure halted in its revolution, remaining motionless. It felt like glass, but also not, smooth and slippery but rough and textured all at once. When nothing appeared to happen, he tentatively raised his other hand and grabbed hold of the white side.
Where once everything had been still, now it was stirred. Frost cried out in pain as he felt the searing force of the Prism drive into his very bones, the heat and fury quickly overwhelming him. He vaguely registered Rand pounding up the walkway and pulling him off, carrying him limply back to the relative safety of the roof. Meanwhile, the winds roiled into a frenzy, the cloud-polygon above spinning with increasing force, the Prism itself resuming its rotation.
"Everyone, look!" cried the ever-observant Azalea, pointing toward the street below. Gayle and Ash ran to join her, Cascadia remaining with Lumina.
From the edge of the roof, they could see the chaos. On one section of the city it was raining, but not a gentle downpour, a driving monsoon. In a different sector adjacent, a terrible blizzard had sprung from nowhere, coating the streets and burying cars. The boundary between the rain and snow was abrupt; one lane of the same road was drenched, the other frozen. Farther on, the sun shone with multiplied force, the asphalt radiating heat as people ran for cover. A small tornado was ripping up trees and road signs, while closer to them the ground cracked open and jagged spikes of rock broke through the road. At a small city park near the library, every tree and blade of grass came alive, bursting forth with vitality and leaving the unsuspecting children not in a meadow, but a jungle.
Ash opened and closed his mouth. "How are we supposed to handle all of this at once?" It wasn't just one disaster, it was a veritable collection of them, a patchwork of destruction.
Azalea yelled over the wind. "It must be all the power from that," she pointed back to the Prism. "There's too much all in one place!"
"Yeah," Ash said. "Well, we made it, so maybe we can break it too!"
"C'mon," Gayle called, keeping the flying debris off of them as they ran back to the epicenter.
Lumina had been swiftly hobbling to Frost, aided by Cascadia, who helped her step over the fissure. Her allies joined her as she crouched down near Frost's supine form, his head supported by Rand's rolled-up vest. "Oh dear," she said, bending down near him. "What have you got yourself into now?"
"Yin!" Rand barked. "Bring the lady a chair."
Lumina straightened up as Yin hacked together an artistic rendition of a seat, which she settled herself into a few steps from Frost. "Thank you boys. Now Drake, do you need anything?"
Frost held his bright-red hands closed, attempting a glare at Lumina but failing. His voice was clipped. "Why are you so concerned about me? After all I've done to you?"
"Oh, Drake," Lumina said, shaking her head. "You may be an obstinate, terrible, selfish man, but you are still a child of God, and I will care for you accordingly."
"Hang on," Cascadia said, touching the tube of the hydration pack draped over her shoulder, and drawing out a handful of liquid.
"Here," Yin said, bending together a sleek cup.
"Thanks." Cascadia forced out all the impurities and debris in a scatter of flakes, then dropped the bubble of water into the cup.
Frost took a drink, aided by Yin, and Lumina waited for him to swallow it before continuing: "Also, I am obliged to say that I told you so, at least once."
Frost clenched his teeth, but said nothing.
Ash arrived, triaging Frost's hands in a moment. "Here," he said to Rand, fishing into his backpack. He pulled out a thin red and white pouch and handed it to his former foe. "There's some burn cream in there." Rand took it, his expression somber. "Okay, it's actually full of burn cream. I packed it for the hotel, you know?"
Rand nodded, his stony face much softer than usual. The Wood Star had supported the two of them instead of her own allies, Cascadia offered her enemy a drink right away, and now Ash helped the very man who had made his life so difficult. The last of Rand's resolve crumbled. He refused to regard them as opponents, regardless of what sort of deal Frost had made with them. They were just people, and just like him.1 "Thank you," he said, and turned to minister to his employer. "Yin, cut up your jacket and make some bandages."
"Aw, I like this jacket." He curled his lip.
"You could use your slacks."
"I have better jackets at home." Yin doffed his coat and shook out the collection of sharp metal pieces in the sleeves, selecting one to begin the baleful process of clothing surgery.
"Now what? We hafta hurry," Azalea said, pointing up at the Prism, still rotating peacefully while doom poured down around it.
"Well," Ash said, putting his hand to his goatee, which made him look rather wise. "If it was too hot for him to handle, maybe I can grab it, and pull it down here, and we can each try to smash it, or break it?"
"Worth a try," Gayle said, shielding her eyes from the bright sun. "If'n you fall, I'll catch you."
"Okay," Ash said, steeling himself. "I need a rope, so you can pull me back in case I drop dead."
Cascadia scowled. "Don't jinx it!"
Ash grinned, and she watched as he quickly stepped over to the foot of the bridge. He placed an unsteady foot on it, ascending carefully. Cascadia had her hands held in front of her, a stream of prayers sent up with her thoughts.
Ash reached the top, from this position his back was to the rest of the crew. He gingerly placed the fingertips of one hand on the surface, it stopped spinning. He ended up touching the red side, not on purpose, but he wondered if that was some kind of key to it. Each face was as large as a dinner plate, so he tentatively put the fingers of his other hand on the same face, and felt the heat. Normally heat was something that didn't bother him at all, but the sensation he felt was odd. It didn't feel like pain, but it wasn't comfortable either. As though the Prism was tiring of his impatience, the red face glowed brighter and a pulse of energy shoved his hands away from it, causing him to nearly lose his balance.
"That's not gonna work," he called back.
Cascadia had been running through the situation in her head, everything she knew about what was happening, how the colors and the elements all fit together. Frost had grabbed two different sides and got burned, Ash had chosen one face, his own color, and was pushed away. Physics class came back to her, circuits and electricity and magnetism. This thing atop the bridge was a pure form of highly concentrated energy, and energy had rules and laws. Frost touched the wrong wires and gotten burned, Ash had been grounded and survived. She snapped her fingers, startling Azalea, who had crouched down near Lumina.
"Whoa!"
"Sorry," Cascadia said quickly. "I just had an idea."
Lumina shifted in her seat. "Do tell?"
"It's not… anchored with just one person. It needs two, to balance it out. Okay, I'm just guessing right now, but it's worth a try, right?"
Gayle nodded. "Always worth a try."
Cascadia watched Ash, still standing on the bridge, puzzling out another attempt. "And the person who was opposite Ash on the circle is…"
"Just don't both fall at the same time, alright?" Gayle said.
Cascadia nodded. She turned to Lumina, who shook her head. "I don't have any secrets about this, dear. Do your best and trust in God, as always."
"Right," she answered.
"Go Cascadia and Ash!" Azalea called out, raising one fist in a cheer.
Ash heard the yelling, but wasn't sure what was happening until he saw Cascadia run around the other side of the chasm, her ocean-colored skirt flapping in the wind, braid trailing along behind her, and wearing his bright red jacket, of all things. She hopped over the fissure, then scrambled up the other side of the bridge to stand before him.
"What are you doing?" Ash asked.
"I have an idea."
He relaxed. "Great!"
"So, wait until the red side is in front of you, and the blue side is in front of me, and then we both touch it at once, with both hands. That might work."
"I hope so," Ash said, praying for the people involved in the chaos below. He looked at Cascadia, having missed her for so long, only to find her in a bizarre place like this. He prayed he would know how God intended to get them out of this, just as Cascadia called out.
"Okay… ready… now!"
Two pairs of hands reached out and touched their respective sides, Ash with his fingertips and Cascadia with her palms. This time he didn't feel pain, discomfort, or anything, just energy. His arms burned with power, coursing down to his feet. Cascadia had a similar experience, the force of tidal surf pushing and pulling at her.
"Alright," Ash said. "It looks like we've got it. I'll push, you keep it steady down the bridge?"
"Okay."
It was a good plan, but ultimately unfruitful. Ash pushed and shoved with all his might. "This is really dumb," he said, recovering. "It's floating in midair and I can't move it an inch! It must be really heavy."
"It is heavy…" Cascadia muttered, eyes down.
"That's what I just said."
"No, I know, maybe we can't move it though," she answered, gazing at him instead. "Maybe… it has to move itself…"
Ash glared directly at the Prism. "Hey, you, quit causing trouble and go down there so we can break you somehow!"
"Not like that," Cascadia said. "This feels really… familiar, it's hard to describe. It's like our talents. You know that thing, in your brain, the one you…" she wanted to gesture with her hands, but had to stop herself. "When you use your talent, you flex that muscle in your brain that turns it on or off, or makes it stronger or weaker, right?"
"Yeah, I know what you mean."
"This thing feels like that, like the brain muscle. It feels… like another Star entirely. If we can control our talents, maybe we can control this too."
"Good idea," Ash said, "but what do we do with it? I was thinking, if we can't break it, we need to get it out of the city somehow, but that'll cause chaos wherever we go."
Cascadia nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking that too. We need to get it away from the streets and the people, and…" Her eyes rose up, skyward, heavenward. "The fastest way to leave the city is straight up."
"Up?" Ash gulped. The very thought stimulated the Prism; it rose, from waist height up to their shoulders.
"Yes!" Cascadia said happily. "That's what it wants! Focus your talent on up!"
He did so, and it rose toward their heads. "It's a good thing I trust you so much, Cas."
"Why's that?"
"Because this is kind of crazy!"
"That's why I'm here, you know."
"Why—yikes!" Their feet had left the bridge surface, the Prism was pulling them upward with it.
Cascadia called out to him over the rushing winds. "Who balances you out better than me?"
Octave of Stars is currently airing on Substack for free, with two of the 45 total posts per week. It’ll be fully released at the end of April 2024. If you don’t want to wait that long, you can get the entire story right now, in either Ebook or paperback. Every purchase supports the ZMT Books mission of family-friendly entertainment.
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