CHAPTER 18: REWRITE THE STARS

Night Raven College was in a panic.

When an unknown threat breaks into school and takes away several high-profile students, of course there would be an uproar. Faculty was contacted, the government was called, Kalim Al-Asim even tried to use his family's lengthy connections to find the culprit, but all of it came up at a dead end. Styx seemed to be on a level all its own, and the kidnapped students may as well have been swallowed up by the earth itself. All of Night Raven was upset, furious, and completely baffled.

Diasomnia was the sole dorm with no losses; it was left completely untouched by Styx. Even if those strange soldiers burst into Diasomnia, they would have had to fight a small army of trained students, and that wasn't even counting Malleus himself. But no—Malleus was out of the loop until it was too late. Lilia informed him of the situation, and Silver and Sebek made sure that their prince was protected, but it was a frivolous gesture now.

Charon working under Styx, or the Ferrymen working under the Watchmen… terminology had shifted over time, but it didn't matter. Whoever this threat was, Malleus wished that they had stepped foot in Diasomnia, to give him a reason to fight. He wanted to cut through the soldiers like a knife through butter. He wanted to stop them from taking anyone away, regardless of their reasons. If there was one thing he hated more than anything else, it was saying goodbye. And in this case, not even saying goodbye, just having people leave against their own will.

He had a certain fondness for all his classmates—even Leona Kingscholar, who certainly wasn't his friend, was fun to fight with. The other housewardens had a more cordial respect for him, and most other students fell into line, especially those in Diasomnia. There was really only one exception to the rule, someone who both respected and disrespected him in the same breath with a warm smile…

But Jill Bones was gone, too.

Being in his dorm was suffocating, so Malleus went to the Hallowgrim graveyard. The ghosts shyly peeked out of their windows, but they didn't bother greeting him; they were trying to repair the house's damage. The trio of specters hung onto the hope that their housewarden and vice would come back, and Malleus didn't blame them a bit. The horned fairy stared up at the sky, noting all the stars shining like diamonds in the night.

On a good evening, he could pick out the constellations, but now he just scanned the sky and saw nothing. He couldn't focus. He couldn't even—

"Malleus?"

Couldn't even have time alone.

"Lilia." Malleus finally lowered his head.

The bat fairy lacked all his usual energy and cheer. He sat on a grave, letting his feet dangle over the ground, and looked up at the starry sky. "I knew this is where you'd be," he said quietly. "…You miss Jill and Grim, don't you?"

"Of course," Malleus said. "The little direbeast grows on you over time. As for the human girl…" He fell silent.

He remembered the first time he met Jill Bones face to face. He was taking a stroll through the graveyard like usual, and she suddenly appeared and offered him a snack. As thanks, he allowed her to call him a name… and she came up with 'Steve'. Such a common human name, the opposite of Malleus Draconia, and it made him laugh. That nickname summed up their friendship, in a way. Jill Bones didn't fear Malleus like a monster, or worship him like a god. She just treated him like anyone else… as if he wasn't royalty or a fairy or one of the greatest mages in the world.

"I miss Jill and Grim, too," Lilia said. "And the others, of course. We can only hope that the Watchmen will be merciful with them. Maybe they'll let the students go…"

"No mage ever comes back from the Isle of Woe," Malleus recited. "You told me that long ago, Lilia."

"I know that… but times do change," Lilia said. "I hear they call themselves Styx instead of the Watchmen now. And they'll have new management, of course. It's not much hope, but it's better than none."

"…Why were they taken?" Malleus finally asked. "The Watchmen deal with blot, yes? Mages consumed with blot who are a danger to their surroundings. But none of those students have that issue."

"I've been wondering about that," Lilia mused. "Remember when Grim injured Jill and ran away for a time? He had some sort of blot issue, and he was taken. Maybe the others had a similar problem…?"

"Overblots?" Malleus asked. "You really think so many overblots would happen within a few months?"

"I'm only 'spitballing', as the kids say," Lilia said with a shrug. "I wish I could be more helpful, but alas…"

Malleus stared off into the small graveyard, still lost in thought. Could Jill Bones have overblotted? It didn't seem possible—she was a first-year with a basic magic pool, and only powerful mages could even come close to overblotting. Maybe she was more powerful than he suspected, or maybe her negativity was just that strong…

As impossible as it was, Malleus could imagine the scenario. Jill had been feeling homesick lately, asking everyone she knew for help, only to come up empty-handed… yes, if she had the power, that could have caused blot. What form would she take? How would she act with her emotions running wild? How would she be stopped?

It wouldn't have been a problem for Malleus to defeat Jill's overblotted self. Then he could heal her, and help her… if this did indeed happen, why couldn't he be there for her?

"Malleus, look," Lilia urged.

Malleus gazed up to see several large stars all in a straight line. His eyes widened at the sight. He had been stargazing since he was old enough to look up, yet he had never seen this before.

"I know these stars," Lilia went on. "They only align every few thousand years. After tonight, it will take a few thousand more years for them to line up again. This is a once-in-a-lifetime night. And most people on campus likely don't even know about it."

Malleus nodded, not taking his eyes off the stars.

"We fairies live much longer than most other creatures… especially humans," Lilia continued solemnly. "As you go forward, you will have countless moments just like this. People that you never see again, events that only happen once, places that will cease to exist. It's important to cherish every moment while you can, Malleus. Don't take anything or anyone for granted, because if you do, it will be too late."

"I know." Malleus let his eyes close briefly, remembering goodbyes he had to endure in his youth. His family…

"Maybe our classmates will come back… and maybe they won't," Lilia said. "Either way, make sure you had good memories with them."

"You know, this isn't the first time you've told me something like this." Malleus managed to pull his mouth into a small, rueful smile. "How long will you keep treating me like a child?"

"Sorry. Old habits die hard." Lilia looked up at the night sky, then closed his eyes. "You want to be alone."

"I apologize, Lilia. I don't mean to push you away."

"You're grieving. I understand that."

"I just… hate feeling so powerless," Malleus confessed. "I can do so many things that even mages call 'impossible', but I can't bring back anyone. I can't do the things that I truly wish for. It's like… trying to change the alignment of these stars." He reached his hand out, using his finger to draw a vertical line through the column of stars. He wanted to sew them together, hold them in place forever so they'd never be apart…

"You'll have to deal with that feeling, too," Lilia agreed. He jumped off the gravestone and landed deftly on his feet. "I'll finally stop pestering you, Malleus. See you back at Diasomnia in a bit?"

"Of course." Malleus nodded. "Thank you, Lilia. I mean it."

Lilia looked back at the line of stars and blinked once, committing it to memory. Then he vanished. This left Malleus to stare at the night sky and imagine Jill's reaction if she came back safe and sound tomorrow.

"Whaaa?" Her mouth would fall open, and then she'd pout. "You mean I was stuck at Styx, and you got to see a super-cool star alignment that only shows up once for a few thousand years? That's not fair!"

And then Malleus would chuckle and tease her with, "Sorry. Maybe you'll see it in a few thousand years."

But she wouldn't live that long. There were so many things that Jill Bones would never get to see or do, so many things that Malleus wanted to share with her… but they were all just distant stars out of his reach forever.

If only the cosmos would shift in a way that made everyone happy…