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.
Hey, this is exciting! It isn’t every day that I can post something on February 29th, and yet here we are. Too bad this wasn’t Episode 29, that would be even cooler! Happy Leap Day to everyone who cares about that sort of thing, and happy True Birthday to everyone who was born on February 29th. You’re now officially a year older!
Here’s another neat thing: Apparently you can directly message other users on Substack now. This could be useful if you want to chat with me but don’t want to use the regular Chat space, I guess? Anyway, you can find it from my Substack Profile if you like!
Very finally, a quick reminder that if you don’t want to keep getting emails and updates for Octave of Stars, you can very easily do that without removing yourself from the list for Extraordinary Seasons entirely. Just go to Manage Subscription and deselect that box under Notifications. Easy!
I highly recommend you read this on the Substack website or app, as this serial is a multimedia experience. You’ll find many audio embeds below that score the story, and they won’t function as intended in your email client. Only one track can be playing at a time, so when you reach the next one just start it and they won’t overlap. If you like the music you hear, please consider supporting the artists as well.
____********____
Here I am again, in a new unknown place. This is getting old. After Ash tried to break me out of the hotel (since I know that it was him, Rand never said no, that he wasn't there, so that all but confirms it)1, I gave it another shot myself, but Rand buried me up to my neck again and I was carted off to who knows where. They put that heavy, smelly cloak over me, in addition to disabling me in nearly every other way. Wearing it reminds me of that time Aidan and I went out to the desert to go stargazing, I immediately feel so… dry. Like, all the water around me and on me is just sucked right up. That was the idea, of course. They didn't want to risk me even picking up on a patch of humid air in the room and trying something. But it would have been really hard anyway with my hands behind my back.
Anyway, after the helicopter ride (which wasn't any fun at all, knowing that Frost and the creepy guard were in there with me and I couldn't see them), they marched me through a building and into the cell where I am currently. My new jailer is actually a woman, her name is Juliet. She was very curt when freeing me from my restraints, she didn't really smile or want to talk to me or anything. She dresses like a soldier, all in black, so maybe she's just really disciplined. She brought me some toast and peanut butter before bed and that was it.
But that was all last night. I tried to sleep and I think I might have gotten a couple of hours? There's no clock in here at all, and I can't adjust the lights. That will take some getting used to. Apparently the cloak wasn't enough, because the entire room is drying me out now. There are tiny vents all over the walls and floor, and I can feel the lack of moisture, if that makes sense. Hang on, consider your audience, which is me, so that means… of course it makes sense. It's really dry in here.
Oh God, help me to persevere. Help me to keep my head above this water. I'm up to my neck, which, in non-metaphorical language, has never been a problem before. Help me see what I need to do. If I need to try to escape again, or just wait and pray. Thy will be done.
The bed is less comfortable than it was at the hotel, but I don't mind anymore. So many saints had to go through so much mortification during their lives, I shouldn't be complaining about still having a mattress and a blanket. The toilet in this room is like one on an airplane, it uses suction instead of water. It's in the corner of the room, but there's still a curtain I can pull around it. I've stopped trying to make sense of anything this week… The sink is also really strange. It's more of a drinking fountain, and I can get about a cup of water out of it at a time. After that, a timer starts ticking down and an hour later I get one more. Ironically, it’s actually easier to get water in this room than in the last one, but I'm not going to stockpile it again. That could be disastrous.
Because of the low humidity in here, I can't drink the air like I can everywhere else.2 I have to actually drink liquid water, which is an odd habit for me to pick up. And I get thirsty much faster than usual, meaning, I actually get thirsty. I can't even remember the last time I was actually, truly thirsty. So, I have to drink all the water I get or risk dehydration, which is just so funny! And I'm being so sarcastic right now too!
I admit, I'm starting to feel a little crazy. Part of me just wants to tell Frost that I'll go along with his stupid plan, so I can get out of here. But then what would happen to me? Would I be stuck in his machine for ten (10) years awake the whole time? Or would I be asleep? Would I age? (I would ask Frost or someone else these questions, but I get the impression that they don't really know either)
What would 35 (thirty-five) year old Ash be like? Would he still want to be with me, or would he have moved on in the new utopia of the future? Would he settle down with someone else? Would I be weird old (young) Cascadia who knows nothing about the new world? But knowing him, he wouldn't. He would be waiting outside the machine, coming to visit me every day. My stubborn, courageous best friend who tried to rescue me from my captivity at least once.
No, that's wrong. I mean, he is my best friend, but he's so much more than that. He always has been…
____********____
Ash awoke to a screeching, buzzing noise, and thought he had somehow ended back up in Cascadia's apartment. But it didn't sound like that when it was raining, they could barely hear it with an entire floor above them. He rolled off his face and silenced his phone's alarm. Getting up was difficult, even more so with his arm still stinging. The bandage would need to be changed after his shower, but he thought he could manage it without anyone's help this time. His watch read nine a.m., not a bad amount of rest, but it didn't feel like enough.
He left the small, sparsely furnished room, containing just the bed, side table, and lamp. Guests here probably didn't stay long. The gray hallway was lit only by the cloudy sky outside. He saw the kitchen and porch door to the right and a sitting room to the left, where he spied Gayle on the couch, her feet propped up on a footstool. Cartoon characters inflicted mayhem on one another on the television, which was an odd choice of viewing for Gayle but not for Azalea, who sat right beside her, popping up over the back of the couch. The girl muted the sound as he stumbled around the corner.
"Where'd you come from?" Ash said, his mouth dry.
"My parents, silly.3 But right now, I'm here because you asked me to be, remember?"
Gayle turned around as well. "Mornin' sunshine." Today's outfit was jeans and a blue western-style shirt with shiny buttons, while she had pulled her hair back into a curly ponytail. "Lumina brought her a while ago. She's downstairs plottin' somethin' with Douglas."
Ash grinned. "She brought you in her little car?"
"Yup," Azalea said, "it fits the two of us just fine."
"I bet," Ash replied. "Well, I was so tired last night I didn't think to say that noon Mass is in Spanish. We can try to go somewhere else if you want."
"Nope, that's muy bueno!" Azalea said. "I'm taking Spanish this year, it'll be super fun! Plus, Gayle needs more Spanish culture than taco night."
"Hey, I like taco night."
Ash stumbled away. "I'm gonna go get ready."
Azalea turned back around to the TV. She nestled up against Gayle and hugged her arm as she restored the sound to the television. "Ahh, Sunday morning with my second favorite person watching TV and relaxing before going to church. What could be better?"
"You keep sayin' that, 'second favorite person,' but not just me, about everybody. Who's your first favorite person?"
She rolled her eyes. "Tsk, silly. Jesus, of course."
Ash shuffled off, his stomach rumbling all the while. Gayle had joked he would make breakfast, but he was on schedule for lunch at this point. He also didn't feel up to cooking, but would probably do it anyway, especially since they had extra company. Or he could go on strike and just eat cold food out of the fridge.
During his shower, he scoured his memory for anything that might prevent him from receiving Communion without going to Confession first. He reasoned he had been trying to do the right thing since finding out Cascadia had been kidnapped, fighting back against an evil force who threatened not just them but the world too. He had successfully avoided lying to anyone about what had happened to Cascadia, which really benefited them more than it did him. Other than burning the guard with the door, he hadn't directly harmed anyone he could remember, or allowed anyone to be harmed. The guards at the warehouse probably woke up with headaches after their coworkers untied them. If Yin had sustained any burns during their fight, well, that was on him. He had warned him to get out of the way first thing.
But there was the matter of starting the fires in the building. Frost's arson charges weren't a baseless attempt to hinder them, he had actually done it this time. It came back to the justification that Frost had started it, if he hadn't taken Cascadia then none of the above would have even happened. He was pretty sure it wasn't a mortal sin to use any means possible to rescue someone. In fact, it was even a corporal work of mercy: visiting the imprisoned. And then, breaking them out.
Ash felt pretty confident about his examination of conscience by the time he was done. He put a new, clean bandage on his arm, then dressed in a white button-up shirt and fresh slacks. The vest from last night was mostly clean, so he decided to add it as well. The jacket was definitely out of commission.
Douglas and Gayle were sitting in the kitchen, just like the night before, but someone else was sitting between them. It struck him as slightly odd to see Lumina somewhere other than her home, but she fit right in, even with the ornate teacup on a saucer in front of her, a stark contrast to the coffee mugs held by her contemporaries. He heard the television in the other room, and Azalea giggling periodically.
"Good morning Ash," Lumina said, as proper as ever.
Ash felt himself shrink, awaiting the scolding he likely deserved. However, she didn't rise up to yell at him or blast him with light or anything, she just smiled at him and sipped her tea.
"Hey, good morning," he said tentatively in return.
"Aw," Gayle lamented, "I thought you were gonna wear the whole suit to church."
"It needs to be dry-cleaned, at least," he replied. "Wool burns slowly, but it smells pretty bad afterward. And the jacket has a rip in the arm."
Douglas regarded him with an approving look. He was still wearing the same clothes and appeared to have not slept at all. "I heard you were up to trouble last night."
Ash wanted to boast about his narrow escape, but wasn't sure how much it would be appreciated with Lumina sitting there, still just smiling. "Yeah, that's right," he said. "I couldn't leave without knowing for sure if she was there or not."
Lumina nodded, but said nothing. Douglas continued to speak, while Ash went to the refrigerator. "See, this is what I was talking about. The other groups try to stay away from Frost, and with good reason, but if we could coordinate multiple teams at once, people like Gayle and Azalea and Ash all working together, we could really change things. We've got to show him people aren't just means to his ends."
"I understand completely," Lumina replied, "but the more activity we mobilise, the more we put our own in danger."
"For sure," Gayle added. "Azalea shouldn't even be out there anyhow, she's too young for all this."
Douglas shook his head. "Alright, that's true. But what can Frost really do with only two other Stars on his side?"
"You ain't never tussled with either of 'em, and nobody's ever gone up against Frost that we know of. Rand and Yin are enough trouble for a bunch of other teams put together."
Lumina set down her teacup. "Gayle is correct," she said, as if making the matter final.
Ash had been gathering ingredients on the counter: a bag of corn tortillas, fresh-looking cheese and a package of sausage. It wasn't chorizo, but it would do in a pinch. "Hey, I was gonna make chilaquiles, does anyone else want some too?"
"Don't know what those are," Gayle said, "but anythin' you make is fine by me."
"Anything I don't cook is fine by me," Douglas seconded.
"Ooh, do you need salsa?" Azalea called from the sitting room, padding down the hall to appear in the doorway. "I've got tomato seeds, and a couple of onions too. There are some planter pots on the back porch!"
After breakfast, Gayle and Azalea offered to do the dishes, while Douglas went down to the basement. Lumina relocated to the sitting room, a large blue upholstered chair by the rainy window, after asking Ash to join her. He walked from the kitchen like he was headed to the principal's office, still not sure what kind of conversation he was going to have.
He sat in a smaller wooden chair beside her and just waited. She turned to him and smiled, her hands in her lap. She didn't make him squirm, she just said in her kindly voice: "So, what did you learn yesterday?"
Ash still wasn't sure whether to relax or not, so he was just honest. "Not to try and run through a building full of guards and Stars by myself. And, to talk things out with the team first."
"Marvellous," Lumina said, then leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
He waited a few moments, looking out the window at the wet grass. "That's it?"
Lumina opened her eyes and shrugged. "What more would you like me to say?" She met his eyes again, different functions of gray colliding like lightning. "You are not allowed to participate in the effort to liberate your dearest companion? You must stay here with Douglas while we sally forth and fetch her?" She smiled in her grandmother-like manner. "I have no such authority over you. You understand the gravity of the situation yet, and you have already apologised to Gayle, to whom your actions made the most impact. I have nothing more to add to that."
Ash relaxed now. "Okay. Yeah, I won't be doing that anymore, trust me."
"Like I said earlier, you don't have to make promises to me. Who has the real authority over you?"
He nodded. "I get it." He checked his watch. "In fact, I have an appointment with Him in a little while."
Lumina nodded at him as he stood. "Do your best, Ash, and trust in His will." These last were the words that stuck with him as he gathered his other companions and got ready for the highlight of his week.
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.
Like the story so far? Let me know either with a comment here or in the official chat thread. Subscribe, share, do what you like!
Rand isn’t very good with subtlety, that’s true
When she wants to relax, she reaches for a cup of fresh air!
He was asking for that one