Star Eater
Chapter Ten

Mason sat on his bed, ignoring his phone. He was trying to meditate but even on silent, the screen kept lighting up and distracting him. He wanted to throw it out the window. It was blowing up with concerned texts from the karate club guys. He didn’t really think of them as friends. Most of them were human. A few were daemon, but not the same family as him. Some daemon families were normal, or tried to act normal, except when they were with him and they tried to act tough. The Wrights were the only daemons in this city that stuck to the old ways. Mason hated it.

His bedroom door slid open and Ava walked in. She closed the door behind her and sat down at his desk.

“Are you okay?” she asked, studying his face.

Mason shrugged. He didn’t want to tell her that a huge part of him was relieved their father had been arrested. He didn’t want to tell her he was afraid of what that might mean for her. He didn’t want to say that he didn’t trust their uncle Joseph to take any better care of them than their father had. And he wasn’t going to say any of it out loud for fear of hidden ears.

“Why did Father want to speak to you this morning?” she asked.

Mason wasn’t surprised she knew about that. Ava paid far closer attention than anyone gave her credit. He supposed she had to in order to survive. He wondered how much she thought of her future here.

“To tell me that I needed to put away childish things like the karate club and start in the family business,” he said.

Her face was unreadable as she asked him what he thought of that. He didn't answer. He certainly wasn’t going to open up about that out loud. The truth was, he had no real interest in illegal arms dealing. He had no loyalty to this family outside of Ava and their mother. The other daemons could pledge loyalty and call it an ‘organization’ all they wanted. They were a bunch of thugs, and Mason wanted nothing to do with them.

His only priority was finding the black case. He didn’t think about his future because having dreams was dangerous. They would be crushed sooner or later by moments like the one from this morning. Ava’s dreams would be crushed if he didn’t find the black case.

Mason wasn’t sure if his father’s decision still stood—if Joseph knew about it. He would find out soon. The fact that he was now the heir apparent to a throne occupied by his uncle hadn’t escaped Mason’s notice. Daemon males didn’t always survive to adulthood. Mason’s brothers were a testament to that. So was his cousin. Then again, the daughters of daemons had it worse.

“What do you want to do after high school, Ava?” Mason asked. “Have you thought about it?”

She shook her head. Mason sighed. It was probably smart of her not to have thought about it. He wanted more for her.

“Will you take me down to the flower store?” she asked.

“The entire compound is surrounded by press,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t know why you like hanging out at that place, anyway.”

“They don’t treat me differently,” she said. “And Mother likes the flowers.” That shut Mason up. Any mention of their mother shut him up. “Please,” she said. “Your car windows are tinted. They won’t be able to see us.”

Mason hesitated. Now was not the time to draw attention to themselves.

“Come on, we can go out the back way,” she pleaded. Her expression, so fleetingly like the helpless one their mother wore during one of her meltdowns, tore at him and he caved.

Ava pulled him up and Mason grabbed his keys and his wallet, following her out the door.

The trip only took twenty minutes. And, he admitted, he was happy to get out of the house. But as he turned onto the Ocean Park Boulevard, he saw a number of police cars parked around the building next to the flower shop—the building that his father owned. He slowed, but did not stop.

“This must be where they did one of the raids,” Ava said, softly.

Mason didn't answer.

“Do you think the flower shop is still open?” she asked.

He glanced at her incredulously. “You are not going there now,” he said. “The place is crawling with cops.”

“I haven’t done anything wrong,” she said.

“No, Ava,” he said, shaking his head.

“Mason, I promised Mother—”

“No,” Mason said firmly. “Joseph is going to remember that we exist eventually, and I’m not going to have it that we were both spotted near the crime scene on the day Father was arrested.”

He kept driving. Ava sighed and settled back into the seat.

“Fine,” she said. “But can we not go home yet?”

That Mason didn’t argue with. He turned southwest and headed towards the beach.

The next day, Kai felt a hand shake him. He blinked awake and found Ava looking at him. She nodded subtly to the front of the class. Kai turned his head and found Mr. Rump glaring at him. Apparently, energy drinks were no match for Mr. Rump’s monotone voice. The science teacher had not said anything snarky when Kai came in that morning, which was unusual. His experience yesterday with Akuma’s claws had made him wary. Kai wondered if the touch had left cold burns.

I hope so, Akuma said.

Me too, Kai admitted, yawning. He was going to get back at Mr. Rump. Maybe tonight.

Tonight is a good idea, Akuma agreed, grinning viciously.

Meantime, Kai needed a way to stay awake. He hoped the caffeine pills would arrive by the time he got home. Rump wasn’t going to let it go for the rest of the year. Kai sat up and stretched, fighting back the lulling warmth and call of sleep. He was exhausted and Akuma hadn’t even gone that far the night before. Kai’s Fitbit had tracked him at just under two hours, which meant Kai had gotten almost six hours of sleep.

“What is he talking about?” Kai asked Ava quietly. Sᴇaʀ*ᴄh the FɪndNøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Radiation,” she said.

Mr. Rump continued on with his lecture. “Other forms of radiation include the sun and stars, also known as cosmic radiation, which the Earth is exposed to constantly. The Earth gives off radiation in the form of terrestrial radiation. Anyone else have an idea of what else could give off radiation? Anyone?”

One kid raised their hand. “Extra-terrestrial radiation?” he asked. There was a flutter of laughter around the class.

“That would be cosmic radiation,” Mr. Rump said.

“No, I mean like…” the student continued as Mr. Rump raised one eyebrow dangerously. “Falling stars,” the kid finished timidly.

“I think you mean meteorites,” Mr. Rump corrected. “Yes, meteorites can give off small doses of radiation.”

“Wait,” the kid said. “So falling stars don’t…fall?”

“Stars are burning balls of gas,” Mr. Rump said. “They’re too big and have their own fields of gravity. Meteorites, however, are made of solid minerals. Most of them break apart upon entering the atmosphere, but sometimes a chunk survives.”

He’s wrong, Akuma commented.

Obviously, Kai said, rolling his eyes.

“So meteorites aren’t, like, super glowy and green?” another kid asked.

“No,” Mr. Rump said. “Most meteorites give off less radiation than rocks on Earth. There are extremely rare cases—”

“Like what?” someone else asked.

Mr. Rump paused to think. This was the most class participation he’d had all week and he was loathe to give it up now that the kids were engaged. “There is an anecdote in your textbook that we can talk about.” He went and took a textbook off one of the kid’s desks, flipping through it. “Turn to page 263.”

Kai flipped through his book disconsolately. Ava poked him and then smiled gently. Kai smiled back and rolled his eyes at the teacher. He sat up because if he didn’t, he really was going to pass out again. Then he looked at the page Mr. Rump was talking about.

It was a sidebar, talking about some myth where a star fell and took the form of a woman. She went to the local king, and demanded all the gold in his kingdom. He refused her and locked her up. Because she was from Heaven, she passed right through the walls of her jail and went back to his throne room, once more demanding money. When he refused her again, she blew the palace up.

Sounds like a treat, Akuma thought with amusement. Kai yawned.

“Now scientists in China claim to have found this palace,” Mr. Rump said, tapping the page. “As you can see from the picture, a meteor fell creating a significant impact crater, destroying an entire portion of this ancient city. The area is still uninhabited today. The Chinese believe the land is cursed because of this heavenly being, and they may be on to something. Scientists have found a large amount of radiation in the area, which is still breaking down. They measured the breakdown of the isotopes, and it’s dated to 200 BC, that’s twenty years before China was unified and work on the Great Wall started. Which leads us to believe, this particular meteor was very irradiated, struck this city, and then probably caused a similar effect as Chernobyl to the residents that survived.”

“Like birth defects and stuff?” one girl asked. Mr. Rump nodded.

“Birth defects, bad crops, tumors, killer mushrooms, poisonous water. Sounds like a curse, right? So, yes, a meteorite can have lots of radiation. Most times it’s the normal amount. Do you know what else has radiation?”

Mr. Rump searched the class hoping someone would raise their hand. Everyone avoided eye contact. Akuma snorted and said, his bald head? Kai smiled and looked down at his book.

“You,” Mr. Rump said. “Everybody was born with elements that slowly break down over time. Some people are naturally more radioactive than others.”

“Awesome,” Kai muttered. Ava giggled. Mr. Rump continued to lecture but Kai was officially lost. He glanced over to Ava. Her nails were painted bright pink today. There was no evidence of what had made her run out of the class and yet he sensed tension in her that wasn't usually there. “What happened yesterday?” Kai asked.

 Ava’s smile slipped. “Nothing,” she said uncomfortably.

He studied her, wondering why she was making that face. “As long as you’re okay?” he pressed.

 She nodded, but not convincingly. Kai dropped it.

“Did you take notes after I left?” she asked.

Kai shook his head. “I fell asleep and baldy sent me to the principal’s office. Sorry.”

Ava shrugged. “I’ll get them from someone else.”

“So listen,” Kai said, “do you want to hang out later? Maybe I can copy the notes you get?”

He didn’t know why he’d blurted it out. Maybe it was because he’d been thinking about Link a lot since yesterday, and it was freaking him out. Maybe it was because she looked so sad and unhappy and he wanted the opportunity to make her laugh without a teacher hovering nearby. All that time worrying about risk and reward and he’d just blurted it out like a moron.

“I can’t,” she whispered.

“Right,” Kai said, immediately feeling stupid.

“No, it’s just, I have to go help out at the flower shop today.”

“I didn’t know you worked at a flower shop,” he said.

“I don’t really,” she said. “It’s owned by some family friends. It’s right next to one of my dad’s stores, so I’ve been going there since I was a kid. And I go to…help out sometimes.”

“Oh,” Kai said. “Cool. Maybe some other time, then,” he said, realizing that was the gentlest way she could let him down. Ava nodded, looking as uncomfortable as Kai felt.

Well, he thought, now I know.

She wants to hang out, Akuma said.

Yeah, and Mr. Rump wants me to nap in class, Kai added sarcastically. It’s fine. It’s for the best. Maybe I’ll just turn to guys entirely. According to Google, I’ll have a pretty good shot at landing one.

What does that matter? Akuma asked. Link is the only one that you want.

Kai sighed. The demon was right.

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