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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**** Floor 1 ****
The piercing wail of the fire alarm cut through the party goer's gaiety quicker than one of Yin's knives. Conversations ceased, some of the ladies covered their ears. A hotel employee instructed guests to make their way out through the lobby. They didn't get very far, as seconds later the sprinkler system in the ballroom came on.
The band tried to protect their instruments. The food line attendants attempted to cover their delicacies. Any guest who had been seated was on their feet now, unwilling to let their expensive suit or dress get ruined by the spray of water from above.
Frost rose to command the situation at once. Small ice crystals were already forming on his suit. "Please stay calm everyone, and proceed to the exits. There must be some issue in the kitchen," he directed this last word to Yin, along with a chilling glare.
Yin shuddered, only needing a second to put fire alarm and Fire Star together. He swore, then dashed toward the kitchen through the drizzle, leaping over a table to avoid a slow-moving guest. He reached the door in seconds, but hesitated before swinging it open, expecting to see a massive blaze. On the other side, he saw a tall lady in a shimmering golden dress running down the hallway, much faster than someone with those kind of shoes should be able to. He snarled, then threw four thin darts out of his sleeves, whistling toward their target.
Gayle, behind you! Azalea cried.
A rush of air filled the narrow corridor, blowing the water from the sprinklers back at Yin and sending the darts scattering harmlessly to the floor. Gayle reached the door seconds later and slipped outside.
Yin didn't follow her, she was probably airborne. He stuck his head into the kitchen, but the well-drilled staff there had already evacuated out the back door to the parking lot. If the salamander was hiding there, it was a dumb place to be and he would get caught when the floor was swept anyway. That left the slightly ajar door to the stairwell across the hallway. Yin rubbed a knife along his fingers as he ran to the lobby elevators.
**** Floor ??? ****
Rand heard the distant keen of the alarm, pulling him out of his book. He waited, expecting the upper floor system to go off too. When nothing happened, he reached for his earpiece, but didn't need to ask anything as Yin's voice crackled to life.
All personnel, we've got a split-shift situation. Bravo team, help with evacuation of guests on the lower floors. Alpha team, get to the muster points on your floors. This is a code thirty-six, I repeat, code thirty-six, hostile Star is in the building, headed for containment floors.
Rand was on his feet in a moment, doffing his jacket and slipping the shoes off his bare feet, expecting Ash to come barreling out of the stairway, or Gayle through the window. He grabbed the fake plant out of the urn nearest him and tossed it to the floor, kicking the container over and spilling the rich, powerful dirt. Now he was especially glad he had declined Yin's invitation to go downstairs.
Hostile is a twenty-five-year-old Hispanic male, Yin continued, a verified Fire Star. Subject can heat up his body to a high degree, and is unaffected by fire or heat himself. Subject is wanted by management, so subdue or capture if possible. Proceed with extreme caution!
Rand shook his head. "And he's desperate."
**** Floor 3 ****
Ash regretted choosing this week to start smoking again. He made it up one flight of stairs just fine, but by the second he was flagging. The door to the third floor stairwell opened while he was halfway up, and a female concierge with long black hair directed guests down toward the service hallway. He didn't want to get caught in the press of people, so he fired a few small jets of flame upward.
The panic he generated was predictable: all the nightgown and smoking jacket-clad guests retreated into the hallway, allowing him to continue his ascent unhindered. As he climbed, he heard both Lumina and Azalea talking to each other, and presumably to Gayle, as they kept referring to areas outside the hotel. Azalea was beside herself with excitement, while Lumina sounded much more worried. Ash knew he had a lot of apologizing to do when this was all over, even if he ended up succeeding.
Alright sir, Azalea's chipper voice sounded. It's just you and me now! Gayle needs Lumina's help so I'll be your spotter this evening. You should see the mess you made down there, it's awesome! Everyone's running around getting all wet, Frost looked really mad before he left the ballroom.
"I'm not really proud of this," Ash said as he powered up the steps.
Well, you will be if you can get her out of there!
"Assuming she is up here…"
First things first!
Ash paused on the section of stairwell underneath the fourth floor landing. If it opened, no one could see him, and he could try his trick again if needed. "I just thought of something, before I forget." He crossed his arms behind his head, allowing himself better breathing space. "This is important, write it down, okay?"
Umm… ready!
"If I don't make it out of here… call Aidan, he's Cas' brother. I'm sure Lumina can find him. He'll get worried if I don't get a hold of him tonight."
Aidan, Cas…ca…dia's brother, wow her name is really long… sorry. Got it!
Ash wiped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his dark gray suit, loosening his tie and then just pulling it off altogether. He was glad he had chosen this outfit to wear tonight; it was made of tightly woven wool, breathable and flexible, lots of pockets, and perfectly suited for what was likely to happen. He took another ten seconds bent over to recover.
Ash, I want you to know I support you all the way on this, I totally think it's the right idea. I know I'm the youngest and don't really have a say in mission protocol or whatever, but it just makes so much sense. Why would they try and kick you out if she wasn't up there?
"I know," Ash panted. "That's what I thought too. Can you see the cameras in the hallways up here?"
Um… wait… no, they're off.
"Okay. I need to concentrate, alright? Let me know if something important happens."
You got it!
"Oh, and one more thing," he wheezed.
Yeah?
He coughed. "Don't start smoking."
Will do!
He looked up. The fourth floor was the end of the road for him, the stairwell ended at the doorway. He would have to leave the relative safety of the stairs and try to find another set going farther up. He trotted the last few steps, then took a deep breath, said another prayer, and carefully opened the door. No need to bust through if it wasn't required.
**** Floor 4 ****
It wasn't, as the corridor facing the stairwell was filled with slightly panicked guests. They weren't looking his way, apparently their hotel guide was leading them to the other stairwell next to the elevators. The crush of people was also preventing him from cutting to the front of the line, and he couldn't see if Yin or Rand or any other uniformed guards were in the group as well. He ducked into the entrance of an open room to plan, thinking of his favorite way to cause a scene when he was young.
Ash took another deep breath and held it, then pointed his launchers at himself and sprayed flame up and down his suit. In a few seconds, the durable wool was burning, but very slowly. He had held his breath, however, since the air in his lungs was the perfect candidate to fuel the initial blaze, and he needed it for what he was about to do next.
The guests in the hallway were already having a frustrating evening, and that frustration turned into terror when they heard a scream from behind them, and a flaming phantom running around the hallway. There must be a blazing inferno below, they thought, and some unfortunate soul escaped, but at what cost? Panic struck the group as they scattered, some into the nearest open room, others into the stairwell and downward. None of the employees could corral them, and within moments the hallway was free and clear.
Ash ran forward, extinguishing himself as he went, wiping away the flames from his clothing. By the time he reached the next stairwell, he was put out in more ways than one. Instead of running downward like the terrified guests below him, he turned the other way and went up.
He took the next set of stairs at a slower pace to maintain his endurance. He mustered as much strength as he could, but felt his resolve wavering. Then he pictured Cascadia's face, smiling at him. He wanted to hug her, to tell her she was safe. The purity of her blue eyes bolstered him even further.
He felt an itch at his ear, and scratched it. "You still there?" he asked the empty air.
Sure I am! What was all that yelling about a minute ago?
"Oh, I just set myself on fire to scare people. I wasn't sure if the earpiece would still work afterwards."
Ash, you're so cool… but, don't worry about it, those things are indestructible. We ran one over with Gayle's car and it still worked fine!
"Did you do that on purpose? Wait, don't answer that."
Right-o!
**** Floor 5 ****
At the fifth floor door, Ash heard a voice on the other side, deep and nasal. "Any updates from the bosses?"
A higher pitched, younger voice answered him. "No, not in a while. Ugh, that alarm is getting on my nerves. Why haven't they shut it off yet?"
"It'll probably stay on until the hostile is apprehended, so get used to it."
Definitely not this door. Ash looked up, two more floors before this stairwell ended too. Time to get to it.
"Azalea?" Step after step.
Gosh, for needing to concentrate, you're awfully chatty.
"Did Gayle make it out alright?" Step after step.
Oh yeah, she's fine. She can run really fast when she needs to.
"Good. I would hate for her to—"
His next word was interrupted as the door above him clicked and swung open slowly. Not the way a panicked hotel guest would do it.
"Do a sweep of this stair," came the gruff voice. "I'll check the other hallway."
"Roger that."
**** Floor 6 ****
Mercifully, Ash had been underneath the door when the security guard had slipped in, so he had a few precious seconds to decide. This was where Ash's plan fell a little short. He couldn't just blow the guards aside or clobber them with vegetables. He might be able to threaten them to drop their weapons, but if they tried to take him on barehanded… He'd win, but at what cost?
"Jesus, help," he whispered. That was when he noticed the paint.
The walls were painted white stone, and the riser of each stair step was coated in the same material. He knew paint would only burn when exposed to a direct, concentrated flame, and he had brought some with him. But, the sprinkler heads right above would foil his plan right away. He followed the sprinkler pipes with his eyes and saw they ran right beside where he was standing. Vaguely remembering some general knowledge about plumbing, he grabbed the pipe with two hands and burned through it. The soft, galvanized pipes melted almost right away. He cupped his hands to stop the flow of water, and shape the hot metal into a cap on both ends. He dropped the slag to the floor and was left with a missing space in the line, No water supply for his unsuspecting target.
Now protected, he sprayed flames up the walls to the side and the stairs in front of him, making sure they were very hot. The paint flared up and the fire spread, while the guard yelped in surprise. The sprinklers came on, but robbed of water, they dripped into uselessness almost instantly. Even with this momentary respite, the guard continued to swear and turn himself back up the stairwell. Ash walked right through the blaze he had just created.
While he had cleared the path above, he would still have to deal with the security personnel on the other side of the door. When he peered up over the bottom step, he saw two uniformed men like the ones that had fallen before Azalea's produce at the warehouse.
"It doesn't make sense, Mr. Yin said he could heat up his hands, not spew fire," the shorter, black-haired man said, gesturing to the burning stairwell. They had left the door open, but were standing a distance away. He could make it past the door easily enough, but they would definitely see him and pursue. But maybe not, if he made it more difficult for them. Ash waited until they were talking again, then scrambled up the last few steps and grabbed the door, slamming it closed. "There he is!"
Against two fit security guards, Ash didn't stand much chance of keeping the door shut. But when the handle of the door was heated to hundreds of degrees, he had much better odds. The guard who had been muscling it open yowled in pain and the other was smart enough to not grab it as well. "I'll get the first aid kit," he yelled, while the other called for the floor's fire hose, but Ash was already up and away.
**** Floor 7 ****
The words of a hymn he had heard a while ago came back to him, and he sang along quietly. "We are, climbing, Jacob's ladder." His legs were burning with fatigue now, but he wasn't about to stop. "Every round goes, higher, higher…" His hand slipped on one of the rails, and he wiped the sweat on the side of his jacket.
Soldiers, of the cross… Azalea finished the verse. I'm praying for you too, sir, don't worry!
"Thanks," Ash said quietly. "I definitely need it."
The next door had no voices behind it, but that could have been a sign of an ambush. After waiting a few moments, he unlatched the door, then kicked it open, launchers ready. But there was no one for him to avoid torching. He took a few cautious steps, expecting guards to spill from the side doors at any moment.
This floor was laid out just as the previous one, except the ceiling was made up of tiled squares, about a foot across, instead of the large rectangular panels of the lower floors. The apparent absence of people didn't stop him from warily passing each guest room, arms raised and ready to fire. Hopefully, his previous performance would lend weight to any threats he had to make.
He was so focused on the doors, he didn't notice the lights blinking near the floor, and the almost inaudible beep signaling his passing. An odd popping sound came from all around him, and across the ceiling, myriad of the square tiles swung open like little doors. Next came a whirring, buzzing noise, like insects.
Ash stared at the closest tile as a small object fell out of it and hovered in the air near the ceiling. It was a fist-sized metal orb, with four tiny propellers attached to the top. The orb whirred and spun around under the prop blades, and a camera lens focused on him.
"Oh great," Ash said aloud, as the drone floated toward him. The camera didn't frighten him as much as the two nasty prongs that popped out underneath, electricity sparking between them. He raised his launchers and fired, the small robot melting away quickly. Whether it was mostly plastic or thin metal, it didn't take much to bring it down.
What's wrong? Azalea piped in. And what's that buzzing noise?
Several dozen robots deployed in formation. Ash actually grinned, he didn't have to worry about hurting anyone now. "Just a little distraction," he said aloud. "Everything's fine."
Okey dokey!
He was surrounded, but torched a group of drones in front of a room door and ducked into it, keeping his back to the open space. One sped closer to him, and he remembered Gayle's training. He raised his hand and heated the air in front of it, causing the updraft to throw off the propellers while it melted.
Heartened by this, he swept one launcher close to the ground while covering the air with the other, creating turbulence. The farthest drones drifted off their precise course toward him, and shortly, he had an open path to the end of the hallway he had initially been headed for. He took it, ducking his head in case any drones decided to buzz him.1
Now better positioned, Ash picked off each remaining contraption as they flew toward him, then waited for a minute in case any others appeared from above. He slumped against the wall for as much of a rest as he could get, checking his fuel levels.
The ceiling was still and so were the nearby elevators, so he pressed on toward them. After a few steps, he heard another strange noise from the ceiling. This one was different, and hard to describe; crashing, wrenching, twisting of metal. The ceiling panels burst, spraying pieces of foam and drywall everywhere. Ash raised his arms to protect his face as a large shape thumped to the ground, then straightened itself out into the form of what it really was. A man, dressed in a black suit with a dark silver ponytail.
"Whew, that was fun," Yin said, smoothing out his hair. "I hope none of those pipes or wires were important, they were just so in the way."
Ash took stock of the situation. Yin stood between him and the next stairwell, along with the elevator, but he wasn't counting on being able to use it. Thick metal doors wouldn't help against someone who had just carved his way through the floor of a building. Behind him was the large glass window, but he was seven floors up. Nope, no choice now but to press on.
"Get outta my way!" Ash yelled, sending gouts of flame toward Yin's feet.
The smirk on the sharp fellow's face never wavered, in fact his eyes grew wider with excitement. He defended himself by executing a perfect backflip, in the middle of the hallway, while also throwing several whistling darts at his opponent. Ash was ready for this, and raised the arm that wasn't covering the floor, nailing each dart with another sweep. The thin pieces of metal curled up into slag within seconds.
Yin laughed, a surprisingly immature giggle for someone of his adult stature. "Yes! Flamethrowers, I love it."
Ash was still in awe of his opponent's agility. "What are you, some kind of ninja?"
He grinned wider, hands on his hips. "Sure, why not? What does that make you then, a pyro?"
"No," Ash said gravely, sure as anything of what he was at this moment. Reaching under his jacket from the back, he undid the strap and the heavy weight fell into his hand. He pulled out the long metal pipe covered with holes, the fuel tank built into the handle. He held it like a baseball bat, or a sword. Flames erupted down the length of the firebrand, reminding him of the Confirmation name he had chosen. Ash Dominic Grisarco, who wasn't much of a hound for Christ but definitely had a torch in his mouth from birth. And here it was in his hands at last. With complete conviction he spoke:
"I'm a protector."
Ash charged at Yin, swinging the flaming club, memories of Cascadia singing during Mass spurring him on. Yin dodged, then ducked, as Ash clumsily took to him. He tried a fiery overhead swipe, but got pushed back by a sudden gleam. Yin held a weapon of his own, an actual short sword. Ash backpedaled from a swipe at his middle, sending Yin to the side with a jet from his free hand's launcher.
"I thought Frost wanted me alive," Ash yelled.
"Oh he does," came the reply. "But this isn't even sharp, see?" Yin ran his fingers along the edge of the blade he held, then showed Ash his whole, uncut digits. "If you do get cut, don't worry. When a wound is filled with liquid metal and hardened, it doesn't hurt that much afterward!"
Ash's resolve wavered a moment. Not only was Yin dangerous, he was actually crazy. They stood off for a few moments. In a larger arena they would have circled one another, but Ash could have just bolted for the stairwell. Yin feinted, moving to the left and causing Ash to move his firebrand in that direction. After he did it again, Yin leaped forward with a downward slice. But it was slow, Ash could tell. He was being toyed with.
The firebrand sparked as it blocked Yin's attack. The heavy metal of the pipe held, but Ash didn't notice a new hole left behind by the strike, extra flames spurting from the opening. Yin hopped around, light and fast, but still strong. He swung again, and Ash stepped to the side, knocking it away with his weapon.
On a back step, Yin raised his other hand and threw a sharp disc, gleaming in the overhead lights. Ash had been keeping his hands warm but now turned up the heat, the projectile's aerodynamics ruined as it fell to the floor. Too late, Ash realized this was another ploy, as Yin darted in close before he could pull away.
"Surprise!" Yin shouted. The flashing blade2 nicked Ash's forearm. He winced as he swung with one arm and blasted Yin's feet with the other, forcing his retreat. The thick wool of his suit had been torn right through, and Ash felt the warm stinging on his sleeve.
"I thought you said that wasn't sharp!"
Yin gleefully snarled at him. "I lied!"
Ash! Azalea yelled in his head. A bunch of guys are coming up to your floor, you need to get out now! Ash's eyes went wide despite his best efforts.
Yin shuddered a little, then grinned even wider. "I'm expecting company, hopefully you can stay."
"So lame," Ash muttered, backing away while ignoring the pain in his arm.
Yes, go through the window, Gayle's right outside!
"It's been fun," Ash countered, moving backward into the corner with the window, setting the carpet on fire as he went. His legs ached, his right arm was weary and his left one stung, but he had to keep going.
"Oh no you don't!" Yin yelled, throwing more knives his way, but Ash heard the whistling noise they made and ducked in time; they embedded themselves in the window, cracks splintering the glass.
Ash kept Yin at bay with one launcher, and with his other hand he used the extinguished firebrand to smash out the window. Fortunately it was safety glass, no jagged edges remained around the frame. He poured the rest of the fuel in his launchers into the hallway, even as the sprinklers came to life and fought valiantly against him, the alarm finally coming on to herald their activation.
Yin sneered, turning to the wall and slapping his hand against it. A metal rod emerged from beneath the paint, and at Yin's touch, several more erupted from various angles. Ash stepped back, not wanting to see what happened next. No sooner had he turned around than a great force pulled him forward, like a rushing wind. In seconds he was sucked out of the new hole in the wall, out of the hot, oppressive air of the hallway and into the cool night.
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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Did drone technology even exist in 200X? I don’t know it’s a made up story okay
Hmm… that sounds familiar…