The Star Caster by Jamie Loeak

though, and I can’t do anything about it now. “They were my source.”
    But why had they been talking about their own wishes? Had it been wishful thinking? Or were they going to use me when Vick was finished? I shudder at my last thought, and hope that my first one is correct.
    Vick d oesn’t say another word. Instead, he just turns back around, silently instructing me to go – or else. I don’t want to stick around long enough to figure out what the “or else” is, because I’m sure it’s horrible. So, I leave the room.
    I’m in the hall for thirty seconds before Val barrels out angrily. “How dare you!” he says as he raises his hand to slap my face.
    I step back automatically and thro w my hands in the air. Val misses me, but barely. His hand flies past my face in a whirl of flesh and grey. I stand there, waiting for him to rear back up, to take another shot, but he doesn’t. Instead, he falls into himself and walks forward.
    Shocked, I turn to watch him walk away from me. His strength and self-control surprise me right now, and I bite my lower lip, confused. “I’m sorry about your brother,” I say as I move to follow him back down to the living area. I might as well tell him how I feel.
    Val shrugs, not wanting to talk about it. He just pushes forward, his dark cloak dragging across the smooth stone.
    “Why do you want me?” I ask before I can stop myself. Gosh, what’s up with me? Why am I being so bold today?
    Val stops. “ I told you why,” he says tiredly. Wow, he has changed. It’s almost like he’s dying right in front of me.
    I bite my lower lip, not wanting to push him.
    “I am no different than Vick. I was tortured and ridiculed. I was broken.” Val turns to face me then, and he looks up for the first time. I can see his real face, not just the bits and pieces that I caught beforehand. The scar is still there, along with the dry, cracked lips and the dark eyes. But there is something different, something that I hadn’t seen before: resign. “The world needs to be taught a lesson. The humans need to feel what I have been made and forced to feel. They need to be broken.”
    “Why everyone?”
    “I was bullied. I was kicked and hit every day for eighteen years. And no one did a thing. No adults looked, no administrator stopped it. Every day I was ignored by those who were supposed to protect me.”
    A fresh wave of sympathy flows through my veins, and I can tell that Val hears it. And I get it. He wanted to hear their thoughts of him; he wanted to know what they really thought. That was the reason behind his wish.
    “Yes,” he whispers.
    I swallow and nod once, understanding the truth behind both of these men. These men were tired of being outcasts. They were tired of people standing by and watching them suffer through their rough lives. They were ready to take action.
    Val turns, ending the conversation after listening to my inner monologue. He walks, much more quickly this time, and I am downstairs in a couple minutes. “I will gather you when we are ready,” he says.
    I nod and walk down the last few steps and into Sterren’s open arms. I feel his poor heart beating against my ear, and I know that he was worried about my safety.
    “What happened up there?” he murmurs. “You were gone for quite a while.”
    I pull away and look up at Sterren. “I wasn’t gone long.”
    Sterren smiles slightly. “You’ve been gone for over an hour,” he whispers shyly. I can see a slight blush rush across his cheeks, and know that he is embarrassed for thinking that I was gone longer than he liked.
    “Oh,” I respond. “I didn’t realize I was gone that long. I was talking to Vick. He told me about his past, about what he wants with my wishes.”
    Sterren’s hands trace down the length of my arms, and he pulls me away from the staircase when his hands find their way to mine. His hands are warm and soft. They fit perfectly with mine. I smile up at him when I spot the plate on the