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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She wasn't sure if it would work, but it was worth a try. Cascadia had finally broken down and changed out of the outfit she had been wearing since her capture, which by now was not only three days old but also pretty permanently stained with ink. In the bureau by the bed, she had found clothing that suited her style surprisingly, and fit her disturbingly well too. No time to worry about that, but at least the undergarments were still in sealed plastic bags. She slipped on the long-sleeved, sea-green dress over the dark gray leggings she had found, and zipped up the black ankle boots from the bottom drawer. It felt like giving in, like admitting to defeat. But what else could she do? As she re-braided her hair in the mirror, checking over her face and hands to make sure she had scrubbed off all the ink stains, she said her prayers and reviewed the plan. Time to keep working.
After Mr. Frost had left and things had settled down, she had inspected the room again. The books on the shelf were still blank, maybe they were letting her deal with the natural consequence of her actions. The only reading material she had was the Bible, since she couldn't bear to desecrate Scripture. The maintenance crew that had cleaned up after her first escapade also removed the plug from the bathtub, forcing her to take a shower when she wanted to freshen up. The bottles of shampoo they had provided her earlier got replaced by a bar of soap, no hiding extra water in that. But otherwise, the room was mostly unchanged.
Cascadia opened the inner door and knocked on the outer one. She couldn't see any seams in the metal; no evidence of the previous night's destruction. After a few moments, she heard movement in the hallway and footsteps toward the door. The speaker in the room clicked to life.
"Hello Miss Dewlenser," a deep voice spoke. "Please enter the suite and close the door if you'd like to chat. New protocol," it added, almost apologetically.
She did as she was told, then went to the speaker in the wall. "Hello, are there any… female guards or employees I can talk to? I have, kind of a lady question."
Rand considered this. There was that lady Yin was always going after, Leanne, but he was sure she was gone for the day, he had supervised the shift change. "Unfortunately, there aren't," he spoke into the mic on the wall. "I can still try to help you if you'd like."
"Well, alright, you're the taller guard, is that right?"
He smiled. It was nice to not be categorized by his skin color for once. "You're correct. I'm Rand Stonearm. Nice to formally meet you."
"Oh… you as well. I'm glad it's you, though, I wouldn't really be comfortable asking the other one about this."
Whatever she was going to say, Rand silently agreed.
"I couldn't help but notice the ring on your finger, so I hope that means you're married."
He gazed at his hand, at the symbol of his union. "You're correct again."
"I only ask because you've likely heard this question before, from your wife."
Rand waited. He had to hear this.
"See, I'm in need of some… feminine hygiene products? There aren't any in the bathroom cabinets in here."
He chuckled. "Of course, I'll try to get some from downstairs. What kind do you prefer?"
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With shopping finished, the trio made their way to the library. Azalea showed them through the exterior access door, so they didn't have to carry armfuls of groceries through the middle of the main rooms. No one bothered them as they descended into the safety of Lumina's dwelling.
Ash set to work right away while the girls were still putting away groceries. The kitchen was quite small; there were only two burners on the stove, and the prep area could hold one large glass bowl. But, the ancient cast iron pan was well-seasoned, and after a good sharpening, the worn knives were keener than anything he had at home.
"So we'll boil the potatoes, then find a way to mash them," he said to his audience, who was currently just Azalea; Gayle and Lumina were off confabulating in the other room. "I don't know if she's got a real potato masher, but a big metal spoon can work too."
"But you didn't take the skins off," she said, both wary and curious.
"Don't need to," he said. "They add a lot of flavor, as long as you scrub them off well enough first."
"Oh believe me," Azalea said, tilting her head, her curls falling down to her shoulder. "I know all about what's on the outside of veggies."
"I bet. Now that those are going, we can start the mushrooms, to make the gravy." Azalea watched as he diced the washed fungi rapidly but surely. "The smaller the pieces, the quicker they'll cook." He carefully pushed them off the well-loved cutting board and into the hot pan.
"You sound like one of those TV chefs," Azalea noted, examining a small bouquet of multi-colored flowers in her hands. "Explaining every step as you go."
Ash paused in his stirring for a moment. "Yeah, it's how I do it with Cas."
Azalea put the flowers in the empty vase on the table and arranged them, adding new ones as she saw fit. "Well, I think it's neat."
"Thanks," he said, continuing his work. "It's been one of my dreams, too…"
"What has?"
"To have my own cooking show," Ash said, drawing himself up a little taller. "That's one of the reasons I wanted to go to school for culinary arts, actually."
"That's even neater, I think you'd do great," Azalea said, standing up from her arrangement and walking toward the stove. She grinned. "Don't Forget to Burn Yourself, with Ash Grisarco!"
He chuckled. "Yeah, that would definitely get people's attention."
Azalea leaned in to smell the sweating mushrooms as Ash added some pepper and salt to the pan. "It's kinda like how Cascadia writes about herself and you, but does it out in the open. I'm trying to decide if I should be a botanist, or just buy a big greenhouse and sell veggies to restaurants that aren't in season."
"Huh. You could probably make a lot of money that way."
Azalea stopped for a moment, her brow furrowed. "Yeah, I could." She shook her head. "But I don't want it to be about money. I wanna do whatever God wants me to."
Ash nodded. "Yeah, I hear you." He gave the contents of the pan a stir. "Well, these are done. Can you get me that bowl over there?"
"Sure," Azalea said. "That didn't take long."
"Nope, they cook quickly. Now I'll drain off the water for the gravy, but I need to get the sausages going next…"
"I must say, dears," Lumina said, "this is quite the delightful surprise." Ash set the steaming plate on the table in front of her. "It's not every day I get a hot meal, especially one like this."
"I hope you like it," Ash said, assembling another portion with mashed potatoes, sausages, and gravy poured on top. "I know it's not fancy, but even simple foods can be made into something great with the right ingredients and attention."
Gayle nodded at this kitchen wisdom. Azalea was already creating a landscape of potatoes with lakes of gravy. Ash set his own plate down on the empty quarter of the table, then considered the assembled ladies before him. His sense of peace evaporated as his brow furrowed. "You can all eat this, right? Gayle, I've seen you eat meat, Azalea, you had bacon that first night I was here, I think?"
"Yup!" Azalea answered.1
He put the towel from his shoulder over the back of the wooden chair before he sat down. "Okay, sorry, I'm just so used to making things vegetarian, and I kind of forgot. Never mind, let's eat."
Ash and Azalea led the others in saying Grace, then the feast began. Azalea had prepared a quick salad using mostly store-bought ingredients. Gayle was happy, Texans and the British didn't differ much in their culinary habits.2 Lumina sliced her sausages in half, then took a bite of potatoes.
"Oh my, the flavour in this is wonderful," Lumina said. "What did you use to season it?"
The chef answered: "Oh, just salt, pepper, a little thyme and basil. Nothing fancy."
Lumina looked amused. "I had no idea I even had those."
Azalea winked at her. "You didn't!"
Gayle gestured at Ash. "With the two of y'all around, we ain't goin' hungry anytime soon."
"Thanks," Ash said, confident.
"Wonderful," Lumina said, setting down her fork. "Now, to the major topic of the evening. Jonathan already gave you the basics. You'll both be in attendance for the social event tonight. Drake has invited all sorts of nobs and executives from energy companies around the country for business deals and whatever else they do at drinks parties like that."
Gayle supported: "If we mingle and whatnot, we might find some information about what Frost is up to. I doubt someone'll up and say where Cascadia's bein' held, but we might luck out and learn somethin' important. We still gotta try to bust up as much of their operations as we can."
"But just the two of us?" Ash said. "Azalea won't be there too?"
The girl slumped in her seat. "No…"
"It's an adults only affair, love." Lumina gave her a compassionate smile. "An open bar and a sixteen-year-old girl do not go well together."
"I can still be useful, though," she said, pleading. "If Gayle and Ash distract Frost at the party, then I can go sneak up through the hotel and see if Cascadia is somewhere in there!"
"You cain't go by yourself," Gayle said firmly. "It ain't smart."
"But I'll be really careful—"
"Please dear," Lumina said. "It is very noble of you, but I need you here helping me with the radio. You have so much experience with it, after all."
"Alright…" Azalea sighed, then went back to sculpting her mashed potatoes.
Ash had been absently chewing on his fork, and stopped. "Do you think there's any chance Cas is there?"
"It is a possibility," Lumina answered. "One that I have not ruled out yet. Unfortunately, it would be much harder to infiltrate than a disused warehouse. There is security on every floor, and a great deal more surveillance, which would be a boon to me but also to them. Since Drake owns the entire building, he controls every aspect of it. It would be very easy for him to hide someone away there. But again, it would be difficult to get very far in."
"Okay," Ash said, nodding. He thought back to the wrist-mounted lighters he had been wanting to tinker with. Better equipment would definitely be needed. Lumina was continuing, though.
"You will be on the ground with Gayle," she said to both of them, "and Azalea and I will be with you via radio. You'll be able to hear us both discreetly and communicate back if needed. I will be watching as many cameras as I can, so I will warn you of any hostiles that might be approaching."
Ash was glad that Jonathan had already mentioned Lumina's apparent military background, otherwise her precision and efficiency would have been rather odd for someone of her demeanor. He didn't notice he was staring at her until she looked right at him and blinked expectantly.
"Sorry," he cleared his throat, unsure of what he was apologizing for. "This is still a lot to get used to, all this sneaking around and stuff."
"I understand," Lumina said, leaning back in her chair. "But believe me, this is not a situation that calls for a frontal assault. If we are to make any progress, we must rely on this chicanery."
In the same moment, Gayle picked up her teacup and took an exaggerated swig, while Azalea blurted: "Chicanery is a fancy word for sneaky stuff!" Gayle smiled. The girl's mood was already recovering.
Ash shook his head, but smiled. "So what do we do now?
"We prepare," Lumina answered. "If you need any clothing or other supplies, now is the time to obtain them."
Gayle pushed her empty plate away. The advantage to being quiet in a conversation was you were done eating first. "I still need to get myself a dress, it ain't a costume party so I cain't go as a waitress. Azalea and I'll go out and do a little shoppin', probably get our hair did too."
"I'm so excited." Azalea practically bounced in her seat. "There's this salon in the mall, my friend Marie went there for homecoming, and they did such a good job with her, and then we can get food, and hang out!"
"Yeah, let's do that," Gayle said.
Ash enjoyed seeing people happy, especially Gayle. "I'll work on my project and keep Lumina company then."
"Oh," Azalea said. "That stuff with the lighters you bought?"
"Yup, I'll show it to you when I'm done."
"Great," Gayle said. "Meet y'all back here tonight then." She made to stand up.
"Tonight, huh?" Ash said, cutting one of his sausages. "How come everything we do is after dark?"
Gayle looked down at him and smiled her lopsided grin. "That's 'cause Stars only come out at night."
The ladies had left in a whirl of flower petals,3 leaving the bright and warm members of the team in the snug little domicile. Lumina remained at the table with her teacup while Ash did the few dishes in the small, bucket-like sink. At least it had a faucet and a drain.
"This is a pretty interesting little setup you have here," he said, gesturing to the room around him. "All of it, I mean."
"Oh, thank you. I've done my best to make it feel like home, despite the limitations of being several metres underground. It is quite cosy in the winters, though."
He turned off the faucet and faced her, drying his hands with the dishtowel. "Are you hiding from Frost down here?"
"No, he knows full well where I am. This is mostly to keep away others who might be too inquisitive, and to take advantage of the infrastructure of the library. The television and Internet signals go unused much of the day, so why not put them to use?"
Ash nodded. "But… if he knows you're here, why hasn't he come after you? I mean, no offense, but if I was a crazy tycoon trying to capture all the Stars, you'd be my first target."
Lumina chuckled, a dry sound. "Drake knows to leave me alone." Her glasses glinted in an odd way, almost menacing. "I would imagine that has contributed to his new directive to abduct young ladies. Since I will not simply join him outright, he feels the need to coerce me."
"I thought it was to get to me," Ash said soberly.
"No doubt he planned on you being so desperate to free her that you would try to convince me to surrender." She shook her head. "But we are quite safe here, I assure you. There are some defences in the hallway to protect the girls, or anyone else who might be here also, but thanks be to God we haven't had to use them yet."
"More than just the door lock?"
She smiled. "Oh, you noticed?"
"Yeah," he glanced at the panel set above the doorknob, three pieces of colored glass. "Every time we come here, either Gayle or Azalea opens the door before I can, and the piece lights up that matches their color, the ones you showed me the other day."
"That's correct," she said happily. "A very old system, colour glass, but one that still works. I suppose I shall have to add a red piece fairly soon, so you do not keep relying on one of the girls to let you in."
"That'd be great," Ash said, turning back to the sink to drain it, watching the water swirl around. "Also, maybe you could put in a blue one too?"
Lumina was quiet for a moment. "I'd like that very much."
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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It is Saturday, after all. Meatless day was the day before
Meaning meat and potatoes, not that everything Texans eat is bland and/or boiled to death
Figuratively or literally? You decide