Star changed into the clothes they had given him, a simple medieval tunic that made him look like an ordinary village boy.
Zuru and Sarah were dressed in the same black leather outfits they normally wore for their robberies, complete with belts, pouches, and dark cloaks.
However, they had gone through their plan once more and were now heading toward the village.
Star hadn’t understood what they meant when they said they lived far away from the main village until his legs began to ache from the walk.
The cabin stood at the edge of the forest, and the village lay just beyond the trees.
As they made their way through the forest, Star couldn’t shake the uneasiness weighing on him.
He still couldn’t stop thinking about everything he had lost; His family, his kingdom, his future, and the terrifying truth about what he had become. To make matters worse, his new so-called friends gave him the creeps. But as far as trust can go they were all he had.
Sarah, however, noticed the way he kept glancing at them. Deliberately slowing her pace, she allowed him to catch up beside her.
"I was wondering," she said gently once he drew near, "how exactly did a kid like you fall out of the sky?"
Star’s brows furrowed. "I did?"
"Mm-hmm." Sarah nodded with a frown.
"Ooh?" Star murmured. At least now he understood why her brother kept calling him Fallen Star.
"Uhm..." he mumbled as a lie quickly formed in his head.
Of course, he wasn’t going to tell them he was now a demon. It was obvious that wouldn’t end well.
"My kingdom was attacked, and a mage saved my life. He wrapped me in a protective spell and sent me as far away as possible."
Star’s face twisted with genuine guilt as the real memory played through his mind, how he had cruelly killed High Mage Mausack.
Tears slipped down his cheeks, unintentionally making the lie seem painfully genuine.
"He sacrificed himself for me," he whispered, quickly wiping away a tear.
Tears gathered in Sarah’s eyes as well, but she quickly composed herself.
"I’m sorry," she said softly. "But just know this. We’ll take good care of you, okay?"
Star gasped.
That was the last thing he had expected to hear. Yet it was exactly what he wanted to hear.
He was about to reply, when—
"Get ready, guys," came Zuru’s voice. For the first time, it sounded cold and serious. "It’s about to begin."
Sarah nodded at Star. "Ready?"
Star clenched his teeth in determination.
"Ready," he replied firmly.
Sarah smiled and hurried forward, with Star close behind.
Up ahead was a narrow trail leading into the backside of the village. Few people ever used it, making it quiet and isolated most of the time. However, just as they had anticipated, four different carts were traveling along the path, each pulled by a pair of horses.
Their plan was simple; Reach the trail before the carts arrived. Star would create a distraction while Sarah and Zuru slipped into one of the carts.
The carts contained empty barrels. Earlier, they had delivered train coal and were now returning.
Sarah and Zuru would hide inside the barrels and allow the carts to carry them directly into Mr. McCoy’s compound, bypassing his heavily guarded perimeter.
The problem was that Star had intended to create the distraction using his Mattersmithing ability.
But.
It wasn’t working.
"Come on," Star muttered in frustration as he tried to form his intended ninja stars, but only crimson embers sparked from his hands.
"I thought you said you had powers," Zuru complained.
"Yeah, I do," Star replied irritably. "It’s just... it’s not working."
"What do you mean it’s not working?" Zuru shot back. "Our ride is almost here."
Star’s frown deepened. "Maybe I’m still weak from what happened last night, but I’m trying," he replied honestly.
"Trying?" Zuru barked. "All you’re making are Cinderella sparks!"
Star’s frustration boiled over. "I SAID I’M TRYING!" he roared as he punched the tree beside him.
His fist tore straight through the trunk.
A loud crack echoed through the forest as the tree shuddered, bent, and came crashing down.
Sarah’s eyes widened.
Even Zuru stared in disbelief.
Star might have been struggling to use his mastered abilities, but whatever had awakened inside him had given him an absurd amount of raw strength.
"Did... did he just bring down a full tree with one punch?" Sarah stuttered.
Zuru couldn’t still believe what he just saw. "No Sarah." He answered. "He just brought down a full tree with just one punch."
Sarah frowned despite her bewilderment, "that’s what I said, you id—
"Halt! Someone’s in the woods!" a voice called suddenly from one of the carts.
Sarah and Zuru froze.
"Well, that’s your distraction," Star nodded at his two accomplices.
They nodded back, Zuru grinning proudly.
As the guards jumped down from the carts to investigate, Sarah and Zuru quietly slipped toward the nearest cart.
They had barely climbed aboard when one of the guards stopped.
"Wait." He called at the others
Sarah and Zuru’s heart skipped wildly.
"What now Simon!" The others asked.
The guard glanced back at the carts, his eyes narrowing.
"I think I heard something."
Zuru panicked, but Sarah quickly shoved him into a barrel and immediately dived into another as quiet as possible.
The guard walked back, when he approached he opened the curtain and looked into the cart.
"Anything?"
"Nothing here," he replied.
But just then his eyes landed at one barrel that wasn’t covered properly.
His eyes narrowed as he reached for the lid.
But just then, Star’s scream rang through the forest.
"Aaaaaah!"
The guard immediately turned. "Someone’s really in the woods!" He abandoned the barrel and hurried after the others.
Sarah slowly exhaled. "That was close."
Zuru was already sweaty. "Really close."
Meanwhile, when the guards finally approached, Star leaped from his hiding place and sprinted away, laughing like a mischievous child.
The guards stopped in embarrassment.
"It’s just a kid," the first guard grumbled. "Come on, let’s get out of here."
Star stopped when he heard the squeaking of wheels. The cart had resumed its movement.
Slowly, he raised a hand and stared into his palm.
"So... I really am a demon."
His gaze shifted to the golden ring around his finger.
"But I thought the ring was suppressing it."
He remembered the strange strength that had surged through him when he punched the tree.
"Maybe not everything."
The demon vial was already inside him. Perhaps some of its power was still leaking through.
His eyes narrowed. "Then... could this be why my Mattersmithing isn’t working?"
When he had saved Zuru from the teleporting guy, he had formed that dark red rod without even thinking. But when he tried to strike the boy, the weapon had suddenly vanished into tiny embers.
Star frowned. "So the demon’s power is interfering with my own? Was that why my summoned weapon was crimson instead of its usual golden?"
He knew plenty about demons, monsters, and beasts. Back at Noble I.Vs Academy, they had been taught extensively about them, especially since the I.Vs existed to protect the Seven Kingdoms from the darkness that constantly threatened them.
Still, in as much as he hated to admit it, these demon abilities could be useful.
The second part of the plan wasn’t simple; He had to reach the McCoys’ bell tower and take out the guard stationed there.
Then he was to cause another distraction so that Sarah and Zuru could crawl out of the barrels.
He lifted his head. The nearest route into the village was beyond the fence.
"Okay, Demons possessed enhanced strength, agility, speed, reflexes, jumping power, and an unnaturally powerful grip. Well, this wasn’t true for the larger demons, but luckily enough... I’m small."
He glanced at the tree he had just punched down, then at his fist.
"Okay..." he muttered. "I punched down a tree." He rolled his shoulders and looked toward the top of the forest. "Let’s see if I can do this."
He bent his knees, took a few quick breaths, and gave himself a little warm-up shake.
"Alright. Nothing can be crazier right"
He crouched, then gathering what he believed was enough boost... he jumped.
WHOOSH!
His eyes shot open.
His body was thrown upward far harder than he’d expected, sending him several feet into the air.
"WHOA!"
He flailed his arms as the ground dropped beneath him.
"Okay, okay, okay! Too much! TOO MUCH!!" He yelled as a branch rushed toward him.
But before he even willed it, his hands shut out and grabbed it just before he could slam into the trunk. His body swung around the branch, nearly sending him spinning.
"Whoa...!" He gasped, holding on tightly, until his motion came to a stop.
He stared at the ground below. "HA HA." He laughed triumphantly. "That definitely wasn’t normal."
He then looked toward the trees ahead. Climbing, jumping, balancing, even using branches to gain height were things he’d done countless times during his training.
The only question was how much stronger his body had become and then how fast he would adapt to it.
"Alright," he said. "Let’s find out."
He took a few steps back, then jumped toward the nearest tree.
WHOOSH!
His body soared upward.
"WHOA!"
He had expected to reach the next branch, instead, he’d nearly cleared it.
His hand instinctively reached out and caught the branch quickly. His body swung underneath it, and with that momentum he flunged himself forward.
He flipped through the air and landed on the next tree.
"That’s more like it." He murmured gloriously as he went on.
His body flew from one branch to another, moving faster than before. His feet barely touched each branch before he launched himself toward the next.
Star began adjusting his movements.
He shortened his steps when approaching a jump, used less force when pushing off, and shifted his weight more carefully when landing.
It didn’t take long and he reached the top of the estate’s outer fence.
He crouched on the nearest branch and looked across at the zinc rooftops.
His eyes narrowed. "That’s a pretty big jump." He whispered to himself, "Can I make that?" He rubbed his chin. "Only one way to find out."
He took a few steps back. "Alright, Star... You’ve got this."
Taking in a deep breath Star sprinted forward and leapt off.
His body sailed over the fence.
For a moment, everything seemed to slow down.
He could see the rooftop approaching beneath him, the wind rushing past his face.
"I’m making it!" he shouted, watching the zinc rooftop rush toward him.
"I’m making it!"
He stretched his legs forward, expecting them to land safely on the
rooftop.... But they didn’t.
Rather, his feet swept right past the edge of the zinc.
Star’s eyes widened.
"Uh-oh!" His stomach dropped. "I’m not making it."
The wall of the next building was getting closer.
Much closer.
Star covered his face.
"NOOOO!"