The Falling Stars of Mooncrest Bay, By Makaila Odoom, Part 4

The Falling Stars Of Mooncrest Bay, By Makaila Odoom

Part 4

The night air was unusually cold, despite it being the end of summer, and I shivered as a breeze ruffled my hair. The closer we got to the beach, though, the air became warmer.

My friends all took off, heading to the beach except for Esme, who stayed with me.

She hooked her arm around mine as we slowly made our way down the patio steps.

"I think I'm going to stay out of the water," I said. "Just in case."

Esme rolled her eyes as our feet hit the sand. "Just in case what? The star monsters come out and eat you?"

I gave her a look. "Ha, ha. Very funny."

She smirked. "Well... if you're not going in, neither am I. We can collect shells instead."

Esme pointed to a small conch shell sticking out of the sand. I reached down and pulled it out. "Sounds like a plan!" I said.

A few feet away, Diane and Madelynne were splashing each other in the shallow part of the ocean, doing a good job of keeping quiet.

Mila, Jasmine, and Freaya, on the other hand, were throwing sand at each other and being very loud.

Seriously, why would anyone think getting sand thrown at you is fun?

Just then, a faint blue glow caught my eye.

I stopped.

There was something glowing beneath the sand.

I knelt down and brushed the sand away until my fingertips hit something smooth.

Carefully, I pulled out a glowing, pale-blue orb.

I thought it would burn me... but it didn't.

Definitely not a star, then.

"It's awfully late for you girls to be at the beach... don't you think?" a boy's voice said behind me.

I startled, tossing the orb into my pocket and covering it with my oversized T-shirt.

I turned around to see a guy Chrystie's age walking toward me, followed by two younger boys. One looked about my age, maybe a year older, and the other looked about eleven.

I took a cautious step back. The oldest one noticed and chuckled.

"No need to be scared... I'm one of Chrystie's friends."

I smirked. "Awfully late for you to be visiting my sister... don't you think?"

At this point, Esme had noticed we weren't alone and took a position at my side. Was this the mysterious "he" Chrystie had mentioned in her phone call?

He smirked right back at me. "Actually, I'm not here for Chrystie. I was simply taking a midnight walk with my brothers." His smile grew. "Running into the famous Lila Estelle was just a lovely bonus. And her friends too, it seems."

He shifted his gaze to Esme, then behind us to the rest of our group.

"Famous? I doubt Chrystie talks about me that much," I scoffed.

"You'd be surprised," he said, extending his hand for a shake. "My name is Kaspar. These are my brothers, Orion"—he pointed to the older of the two—"and Seren."

Esme gave Orion a small wave.

I turned my head slowly to glare at her.

She gave me a look that said, What?

I elbowed her in the stomach, and she scowled.

"Well... I think you guys have walked far enough. Time to turn around now," Esme said.

Kaspar's eyes widened in amusement.

"Wow. She speaks! For a second, I thought all you were capable of was staring at my brother," he said, looking at Orion, who was running a hand down his face.

Esme’s face turned as red as a cooked lobster.

Orion sighed, finally speaking. "Come on, Kas. Leave them alone. Let's go."

"Ori! You know we can't leave yet!" Seren said, punching his brother lightly in the arm.

Kaspar gave both of them a look that could wither forests.

"Since when did you become soft, Orion?" he asked before looking back at me.

"I just have one question," he said. "You two haven't seen anything... weird on the beach, right?"

Despite him addressing both of us, his narrowed eyes were pinned directly on me. I gulped, my hand automatically moving to cover my pocket where the glowing orb still rested.

Kaspar's eyes followed my hand.

"Nope," Esme declared. "You can leave now."

He ignored Esme and asked me directly. "What about you, Lila?"

He spoke as if he would know if I lied to him, and honestly, I didn't really care.

"Nope. I haven't seen anything either."

Kaspar stepped back. "Hmm. Well then, you girls should probably head inside before someone else not so nice comes out for a midnight walk."

Esme laughed. "Ha! You think you're nice? Besides, we don't take orders from you."

Kaspar raised an eyebrow.

I grabbed Esme's shoulder gently. "I'm ready to go in, Es. Chrystie will probably check on us at least once tonight. Will you go round up the others and take them inside? I just need to collect my shells."

In reality, I wanted to inspect the orb again, alone.

She sighed. "Fine, but they have to leave first."

She nodded toward Kaspar, Orion, and Seren.

Kaspar shrugged. "Sure."

He looked at me for a few more seconds before turning on his heel. His brothers followed.

Esme rolled her eyes at them before reluctantly walking off to gather the others.

"It was nice meeting you... Lila Estelle. Hopefully, we'll be seeing each other a lot more in the near future," Kaspar called over his shoulder.

Hopefully not.

I sighed, still a little in shock over what had just happened. I made my way over to the porch steps, sitting on the lowest one.

I pulled the orb from my pocket. It was still glowing as brightly as ever and was as big as the palm of my hand.

I stood up, walking back onto the sand.

What is this thing?

Suddenly, I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye.

I looked up.

Nothing.

My heart felt like a jackhammer in my chest as I scanned the beach.

Another flash burst directly in front of me.

Orion appeared right where there had been empty sand half a second ago.

"AAH! WHAT THE—"

He covered my mouth with his hand at the same moment I accidentally tossed the orb in surprise. He caught it in his free hand.

I didn't think.

I bit the hand covering my mouth.

He scowled, finally moving his hand away to shake it.

I lunged for the orb at the same time he took a giant step back. I tripped but managed to regain my balance.

"Hey! Hey!" Orion grabbed my arm before I could get to the orb. "Stop. I'm trying to help you."

I scoffed. "By stealing from me?"

I reached for it again, but he held it away from me.

Ugh, why did he have to be so tall?

"I'm not stealing it." He hesitated. "I need to tell you something about your family."

I froze.

He sighed and let go of my arm.

"They don't want you to know this, but you are very powerful."

I stared at him.

Then I burst into laughter.

I couldn't help it.

"You are freaking insane," I told him, still cracking up.

His expression was unchanged.

My laughter fizzled out.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my stomach churning.

"My brother also does not want you to know. In other cases, I would agree, but..." He grabbed my wrist, raising it so that my palm faced upward. With his other hand, he placed the orb in my palm. "You deserve to know. Watch."

Before I could ask what he was talking about, Orion pressed his hand over mine.

I gasped as the orb flashed.

Blue light spilled between our fingers as the smooth surface of the orb seemed to melt under his hand.

Then it was gone.

Into.

My.

Hand.

I ripped my hand away.

What the heck?!

My palm was glowing.

He gave me a cocky smile, then took a few steps back.

"Be careful."

That was all he said before disappearing in a flash of light right before my eyes.