The Star Caster by Jamie Loeak Page B

that they are true.”
    “Okay,” I say as I pull my hand away and stand up. “Let’ s start this training thing,” I add in mock excitement. I shrug and take a deep breath, waiting for him to stand up beside me. When he doesn’t stand, immediately, I look at him.
    Sterren smiles up at me and holds his hand out expectantly.
    I roll my eyes again but help him up, even though his smirk makes me want to let him go in the middle of it.
    “Thank you,” he says when he’s standing; it makes me take back my previous thought, and when he holds his hand out, I take it. “So,” he says as he pushes my hair behind my ear, exposing the star tattoos, “these are your tattoos. They are not only symbolic of the three wishes, Danika. They are the three wishes. That is why I don’t have any more.”
    “Oh,” I whisper.
    Sterren nods but stands tall. “I don’t mind,” he says with a shrug. Then, he sighs, further proof that he is lying. “Anyway,” he continues, “in order to grant a wish, you must cast a star. You do that by casting one of your star tattoos into the sky. Then, the human makes his or her wish.”
    “Whoa,” I interrupt. “You’re talking about shooting stars.”
    “Yes,” Sterren says matter-of-factly. “That was where the phrase was coined.”
    “I almost can’t believe that. This is just too weird.”
    “Let’s practice,” Sterren says. Then, he pushes away from me, ready to simultaneously show me and tell me how to cast stars. “First, you take your first star. To do that, you just touch your tattoo and drag it from your cheek.” Sterren shows me what this is like by touching his cheek and pulling his index finger down and across it, until he ends up at his strong jaw line. After that, he acts like he’s pulling the star from his skin by using his thumb to grab what would have been the underneath part of it. Then, he looks me in the eye and nods his head. “Your turn,” he says as he lets go of his imaginary star tattoo.
    I look into his eyes, noting the sadness there. He’s upset, sad that we can’t really share this moment. I bite my lower lip, feeling the need to comfort him with them, feeling the need to kiss him roughly. But, I swallow and push the emotion down, knowing that it’s time to focus; Ego and Val aren’t going to let me sit around here all day long.
    So, I nod my head instead of listening to my heart. I lift my hand up and touch the star closest to the outer corner of my eye. I swallow, thinking that it will tear my skin like a real tattoo would. But, when my fingers graze the edges and pull it to the side, it doesn’t sting. Instead, it tingles and burns slightly. It feels like a sparkler has just gone off next to my skin; the feeling is a mixture of pleasure and exhilaration. Slowly, I pull it from my cheek and into my hand.
    I glance up at Sterren’s excited laughter. His eyes are bright and happy. When I look down, I know what caused his mood change.
    In my hand is a sparkling and glowing ball of light. Tendrils and flecks are falling from it and dropping to the ground. The sparks cause the ground to burst into a thousand colors before fading into black once more, and I can’t help but let my jaw fall.
    “Throw it,” Sterren whispers. “Throw it and watch it fly across the room.” I look up to see his beautiful face filled with the light of my star. I feel another surge of desire pulse through my veins, but look back down so that I can focus.

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 6
     
    I concentrate and do as Sterren says. I throw the glittering star out into the dark expanse in front of me. It moves in an arch, trying to reach for the sky. The light follows it, trailing behind my star like a rainbow. I watch in sad emptiness as it fails to make it up into the night, where it belongs. I feel much lonelier without it. It tugs at my heart and soul, and I pull my hands into fists to keep from reaching out for it.
    “It’s a part of you,” Sterren whispers.
    I