Page 45 of Bound By Fury

The power that now flows through your veins.

I’m sure you must feel it, though I suppose I haven’t ever felt it myself…

Her handwriting has grown shaky—or maybe that’s just the tremble in my own hands blurring the words between them.

And I know you must be overwhelmed, though you’re used to my stories by now. I’ve always made it a habit to tell them, can’t you remember? The stories of the stars that become us. These stories will help you now more than you’d think. And if you feel lost, it’s okay, I’m right here with you, always. We’ll figure it out together.

I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you that you were magic. And now that magic will be the very thing to save us from the rot. It grows from the shadows. Slithers through the cracks in the mountain. Infects the land.

If we do not stop it, it will poison us all.

Listen, I don’t want to scare you before we get a chance to talk, but I cannot help but emphasize how different your life will be now. The universe has tasked you with a great responsibility, one that will not come without sacrifice of your own.

All right now, I think that’s enough of my blabbering.

Happy sixteenth birthday, my little firefly baby!

All my love,

Gigi

I sit, stunned as the song of the forest comes back with a vengeance.

I’d thought for sure I’d cry again, but instead I find that my cheeks are dry even though my chest is heaving unsteadily, and my vision is dotted with something white hot and roaming.

Flopping back against the forest floor, I stare into the sky. Confusion and sorrow press angrily against my chest, cementing me to the earth.

Above me, Polaris continues to flare, a reminder of all the nights Gigi pointed up to it wistfully, like the star was a friend and not a ball of hot gas. A reminder of the stories she used to tell me about how the stars are a part of us. From the guiding of enslaved folk through the underground railroad, to how their placements can predict revolution or chaos, healing or an untimely death. But now more than ever it feels like they’re mocking me.

And what did that letter really confirm anyway? That Gigi was just as batshit as my mom claimed? That she relied too heavily on folklore and family stories and woo-woo nonsense?

Still, Gigi wasn’t a liar. I can tell by the conviction of her words, by the imprint of the pen against the page, that she believed what she was saying.

But what was she truly telling me—that I have powers? I kinda figured that already. That I come from a long line of magic? That doesn’t do me any good when my only connection to that line is dead. There’s not enough information in this letter to tell me what to do next, to guide me in the right direction—or really any direction at all.

“Pointless,” I mutter, though I know I don’t mean it. No amount of anything from Gigi could ever be pointless. I’m pushing up on my elbows when somewhere in the depths of the woods, a twig snaps.

Immediately my shoulders fly up to my ears as I startle and freeze, straining to listen for more rustling. When nothing comes, I slowly sit up, still hesitant to move too quickly. Afraid to spook the monsters lurking in the shadows.

The white flashes among the trees… I’d somehow forgotten the whole reason for coming out here, too caught up in my own internal drama.

Daisy’s words from the tour play in my mind.

They stalk the forest, looking for souls to eat.

A shudder courses through me as I brush off my legs, moving to my hands and knees in an effort to stand.

If you hear them, then you’ll see them. And if you see them, you’ll never leave this campus alive.

It can’t be true, and yet I did see something, didn’t I?

Out of the corner of my eye, another blur of white whizzes past. With a panic, I whip my head around. After scanning the surrounding woods, a crazed chuckle bursts from my lips. There’s nothing here. Everything’s fine, and I’m crazy just like my grandmother.

Leaning over the creek, I dip my hands in and rinse away the grime that’s accumulated. My shirt is soft against my skin as I dry them. I peer into the water, my eyebrows pinching together as I sink closer to it. In the murky depths, far deeper than what should be possible, something shines. Like the glittering of stars.

I reach down, my movement rippling the surface. Halfway to my elbow, I feel the slime of algae and silt.

“Ugh,” I groan, pulling my hand back on instinct.