Welcome to the cereal 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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The elevator door opened, and a very sharp individual stepped out of it. He was wearing one of his favorite three-piece suits, dark gray with silver pinstripes, who cared if pinstripes weren't in fashion this year? His tie was nearly mirror-like in its sheen, his black leather shoes were similarly reflective. On the ride up, he had made sure his naturally dark gray hair was pulled back tightly into a ponytail, the end of which was just under his shoulders. He ran a hand over his tanned face, checking for any signs of stubble, in case he needed to have a quick shave before the big moment.
As soon as he stepped into the hallway, he saw her. His light brown, almond-shaped eyes wandered over her: the only female security guard on this shift, and the reason he always stopped one floor below his actual destination. He approached her station by the large window and the firehose reel, she put away the book she had been reading under the desk.
"Evening Leanne," he said alluringly, showing his whitened teeth as he grinned. "How was the shift?"
Leanne knew a blush was creeping over her fair skin, but wasn't too worried about it anymore. "Just fine, Mr. Yin," she said coyly. "A quiet evening so far, nothing to report." She pushed a strand of her short, dark brown hair over her ear and winked back at him.
Yin stopped in front of her and admired. The standard uniform of the security team, dark blue slacks and long-sleeved shirt, wasn't particularly flattering, but he didn't mind at all. He raised a pointed eyebrow and continued to give her his sharpest smile. "Keep up the good work then," he said, rakishly grinning and continuing on as Leanne gazed after him.
The stairwell up was on the other side of the hallway; since it wouldn't do for him to walk back to the elevator, he just stepped inside. He thought about moving around the handrails to push him up to the top quickly, but then he would have to come back and put them in the proper place again, and that was so much work, especially this late at night. Not to mention the last time he had done that, the guests complained about the noise.
Yin's blood was pumping from his encounter, so he jogged up the stairs. His ponytail swayed and moved behind him as he entered the upper hallway with a flourish. "Hey, how's it going?" he said, but no one answered. He looked around the narrow room; the carpet was still clean, so Rand must not have even gotten in yet. "Huh," he said aloud, and went over to the control panel by the door.
After a few failed attempts to log in from forgetting the week's password, Yin was finally able to read through the access logs for the secured suite. "Rand hasn't been in since… Wednesday afternoon," he read aloud. "Must've gotten stuck in traffic." Another anomaly, after the last food delivery. The outer door had been opened by one of the other guards, but the inner door hadn't opened afterward. She had definitely been eating, every tray of food had come back empty so far. But if she hadn't opened the door to get it… He decided to at least check.
Yin unlocked the outer door with the keycard in his pocket, discovering a tray of wild rice, steamed carrots and sautéed tofu, gone cold and smelling a little sour. Turning up his nose, he took the food out to the trash can in the hallway, next to the potted plant in its enormous terracotta urn, and just dumped the whole thing inside.
He stood facing the closed door again. "I probably shouldn't go inside without Rand," he said, then checked his expensive watch. "But it's been a really long time since she got that food… And Leanne is leaving in fifteen minutes…" He went over to the window between the potted plants, gazing out at the nighttime skyline of the city. A knife slipped out of his sleeve and he played with it idly, handling it by the edge instead of the handle. He balanced the pointed tip in the palm of his hand, then grabbed the blade with two fingers and held it. Yin got his phone out with his free hand, but there were no calls or messages from anyone important. "Alright," he said, stowing the knife away, deciding it was up to him.1
He tapped some more controls on the panel, and a green light lit up. "Evening, little naiad," Yin said. "I'll be turning on the camera in thirty seconds, so cover up if needed." No scrambling noises or protestation came from within, which was slightly odd. Usually, she didn't hesitate to scream at him when she knew he was there.
Yin fiddled with his tie until the time was up, after which he pushed another button, the top half of the control panel displaying the interior of the room. No overturned furniture or major destruction, no gaping holes in the wall, which was good, but she also wasn't passed out on the ground either. No visual meant no confirmation, so he knew what had to be done.
Inside the tiny airlock room, he closed the outer door and swiped the pad for the inner door, waiting for an eternity before it opened. He played with the card in his hand while he checked around the room, to see if she was behind the bed, or even under it, or if she was actually unconscious and he needed to call for the doctor downstairs. The books on the shelves had been read and rearranged, the bed was unmade, but otherwise nothing was out of place.
"Oh undine, where have you gotten to?" he called. Every corner of the room was clear, so she must have been in the bathroom. He thought of getting out a mirror to check around the corner, but they took so long to polish, so he said: "I'm gonna come in the bathroom, fair warning!"
There was the toilet, the sink, and the bathtub, but the tub was full of water. Or what looked like water, it was much darker than it should have been. As he approached, he saw himself reflected in the murky black liquid. "What the heck?" he pondered aloud.
Then the bathtub exploded. Cascadia shoved the board-like mass of water she was holding forward, spraying out and covering Yin with some of the dark ink. He yowled in surprise and pain as he got a face full of it, dropping the keycard.
Cascadia got herself upright from where she was lying in the bathtub, grateful it had a non-slip surface, and that she had knotted her skirt around her knees for convenience. She snatched up the keycard, the ink flowing around her other hand in a tight bubble, ready for more action. After escaping the bathroom, she turned the lock switch on the handle before kicking the door closed. The guard continued to yell, but she whirled around, her braid pinned up against her head.
She dashed to the door, checking the bubble of diluted ink for leaks as she squeezed into the small closet space, elongating its shape to conform with the tight walls. Yanking the door closed with her dry hand, she waved the card around the general area of the doorknob, hoping she would find the pad. Mercifully it was there, and she continued with the constant stream of prayers she had been maintaining since she had heard the guard arriving.
The outer door opened. She bolted into the hallway, then drew up again, casting her worried gaze around. Right in front was a darkened window, and even from where she stood, she could tell she was high up. To the right was another doorway, to the left was an elevator. She probably couldn't use it, but if she called it to this floor and then wedged the door open with the small book she had in her hoodie pocket, she might be able to buy herself a few extra seconds. The elevator lacked buttons, but there was a keycard reader. When she swiped it, she got a red light in return. The numbers were increasing; it was already on its way.
Breathing hard, she turned to the stairway nearby. Running down would be a lot easier than running up. Opening the door, however, she met with another obstacle.
"Two floors up, go!" came the battle-ready voices from below.
"Be careful, Mr. Yin said she had some kind of liquid weapon."
Cascadia abandoned that door, starting toward the other end of the hallway. Her planning was cut short by the tone signaling the elevator's arrival. She jumped back a few steps, hoping she could hide behind one of the huge potted plants.
The elevator door slid open, and the taller of her two captors stepped off, red stains on his yellow shirt under his dirty vest. Rand had his eyes closed and was rubbing them with the hand adorned with a bright silver ring. "You'll never believe the fun I just had…" He trailed off as he opened his eyes and saw ink stains on the carpet and the Water Star girl attempting to conceal herself behind a pot. "Or maybe you will," he said, unzipping a hidden pocket on his vest and spilling dirt out to pool on the floor.
Cascadia didn't want to let him do whatever he did, so she reached around and sprayed some of the ink at his face, coating his raised arm. Across from her, the door to her prison shook and trembled, and what looked like an ax blade broke through the metal exterior.
She scrambled away from the door as it collapsed and Yin emerged, furious. "I just got this dry cleaned," gesturing to his stained clothing.
Unfortunately, she was now between both of her opponents, but wasn't about to give up yet. She sprayed more ink toward both men at once. Rand turned his head away but kept his firm footing, while Yin raised up a rough saucer of metal to deflect the stream. Faster than she expected, her bubble was spent, and with a pop, she was out of options. Or, almost.
Behind her was the firehose reel, with a large inviting knob and plenty of ammunition. As soon as her eyes settled on it, Rand yelled "No!"
Everything happened at once: Rand lunged for the potted plant while throwing the dirt out across the ground, Yin reached into his jacket, and Cascadia dove for the knob. She was only a step away before she saw a glint in the corner of her eye and heard a whistling sound. She blinked, and the knob was not there. It clattered to the ground, a wicked crescent of metal embedded in the wall beside it.
Cascadia took a deep breath. "Lord, help me," she whispered, then crouched down where she stood, wet hands over her head. "I surrender!"
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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Yin may not be the brightest bulb in the box, but he’s definitely the sharpest knife on the rack!