CHAPTER 33: FATE OF A FALLEN STAR

The starlit sky took over the land of Wales as Markl approached the end of the letter's direction. A home matching the exterior of each and every house on this block, it didn't quite fit the picture of a mastery magician. Although, even from his days in Howl's castle he remembered the bland guise he used for their various shop locations.

It was always the inside that sparked a magical touch.

He followed the light to the front door and inhaled a deep breath. This was it; beyond this door were the answers he yearned for and would finally have. Markl would finally receive everything that Howl refused to offer.

He knocked on the door three times. Part of him expected an elder wizard, one with age and experience and a wealth of knowledge he would willingly pour out to an inexperienced, novice wizard like Markl. Part of him even expected to see the wizard Ben Sulivan from the shop in Kingsbury, revealing that Markl had passed some sort of test and that he was indeed the sender of his mysterious letter.

Markl stared wide-eyed as all of his predictions were false. Rather, the magician who opened the door was a strangely peculiarly version of Martha Hatter.

Markl gawked. He was at a loss for words. Thankfully, she had many to speak. "Welcome, Markl. My name is Lily. It's a pleasure to officially meet you."

While they had a nice conversation about the youngest Hatter sister that she resembled, Markl walked into her home feeling more welcomed than ever before. Well, maybe not more than Ben, but she was a close second. Something about the kindness in her voice and the sweet hospitality she had shown - it had surprised him that Lily was the one who knew about his past.

Markl cleared his throat. "Not to sound rude, but I was expecting someone… different than you."

Lily waved her hand with a smile. "No offense taken. Actually, it's not me who knows your past. I'm just the one who wrote and sent the message."

Markl crinkled his brows. Before he could ask who the real sender was, she pulled out a cigarette lighter - without any cigarettes - and pressed on the little wheel to spark a flame. This was no ordinary flame, however.

This flame burned a bright green.

A whirlwind of green flooded out of the lighter and burst onto the fresh logs in the mosaic fireplace. Such a beautiful display of lights and colors danced in the movement of the flames. After a while, though, it no longer remained as an odd-colored fire.

Two purple eyes and a set of purple teeth formed in the flimsy figure - another fire demon.

Having only known of Calcifer his whole life, this journey alone had introduced him to two other fire demons. If this one were anything like Vega or Calcifer, Markl felt safe in his presence.

The demon's eyes sparkled with delight at the young, promising wizard before him. "Welcome, child. I have been waiting quite a long time to see you."

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As Calcifer broke the seal and finally opened the letter given to him by Vega, he felt its curse in effect. It was a strong force, like heavy winds from a storm causing chaos in every which way. Curses were an obscure form of magic, and he had cast enough of his own to know the inflictor's feelings.

He'd had been the victim of enough curses to recognize the feeling of a new one all too well.

The letter floated to the ground, swaying like as a feather, and the inscription inside burnt itself on the wooden floor. Everyone stared at its words, silently reading the message on their own. While Sophie was unable to read such a cryptic and ancient language, Calcifer and Howl stared stunned at Vega's letter.

Their hearts dropped; their minds warped in puzzled understanding of the curse and the ultimatum presented to Calcifer. How he wished he had revealed its contents the same day he received this letter, now knowing what was in store this very night.

How fate might not have been so cruel to him had he just faced reality sooner.

Sophie tapped Howl's shoulder. "What does it say?"

Howl was at a loss for words, so Calcifer answered instead. "Oh fallen star, how you've fallen time and time again. This is your final testament to change the world's fate. A star born human, with powers unleashed and unhinged, will soon choose his destiny. Toward darkness, you shall fall with him. Toward light, you shall join."

"It rhymes if you read the original language of scorch markings." Vega chimed.

"A star born human?" Sophie asked, turning to her dear friend. "Is that referring to you, Calcifer?"

"No." Howl said, his mind completely and utterly open to the possibilities now. "It refers to Markl."

Calcifer, for as much of a shock as this was to him, was in complete agreement with his friend. This truth that Vega revealed, the greatest and most awe-stricken epiphany he'd ever witnessed, was the impossible possibility he could never have imagined.

He turned to Howl, speaking slowly and bitterly. "You knew all of this and never told him?"

Howl shook his head. "I never knew before reading this… I mean, I knew Ben was his father, or at least I thought he was, but this… this is just unbelievable."

Ben sat in an armchair across from the couch. "I believe it's time for a further explanation." He straightened his black spectacles and stared off to the ground. "Howl, you remember that night fifteen years ago when I relinquished Markl into your care?"

Howl nodded. "I wasn't there to physically collect him at the time, but yes. I found him sleeping on my doorstep the next morning with your letter."

"I obviously hadn't been fully honest with you in the letter, yet I forced a wizards' pact for you never to mention to anyone, not even Markl, where he came from. I apologize for any inconvience I caused you during that time."

Howl sighed. "I probably wouldn't have told him, anyway. I was scared of him knowing you for some reason."

"But how was Markl a star born human?" Calcifer interrupted. "How had he been a star in his life? In all my years in the sky, I have never seen him, never felt his presence in the cluster. Even if he had been in another form, any well-respected magician would be able to sense this."

Ben shook his head. "It has to do with my ability as a Lunar source, such as your son, Howl. While we start off having the ability to communicate with the stars, with enough training and honing our skills, we are able to even replicate the powers of stars."

Howl and Sophie shared a glance. Since it had only been recent that Morgan revealed his ability to communicate with the stars, thus confirming his source as Lunar, they both had been hesitant on how to proceed with his line of training. Howl, though sourced with darkness, had some connection to the night sky, yet he had no skill in communicating with the celestial beings that resided there. While it pained him that he and his son were distanced by sources, he only wanted the best for him to explore the power that fueled his magic.

Ben continued. "Almost twenty years ago, there was a Night of Falling Stars, but not the typical one we see each year. Rather than thousand year old stars dying at the end of their term, these were newborn stars who had populated the sky too early. Markl had been one of those stars, and I was too heartbroken by the loss of life that I felt compelled to save one, even if it was just one life."

"That's exactly as we saw a week ago," Calcifer said, "Newborn stars fell toward your summit, yet the true Night of Falling Stars is expected tonight."

Ben sighed. "I was tempted to save another, as I had two decades ago, but Vega convinced me not to. We are already in the midst of history as it is, and we're still unsure how it will all play out."

Howl scratched his head, trying to wrap his mind around all that was confessed to them tonight. "But when stars fall into the hands of a human, they present a sort of contract. Humans give a piece of themselves to provide a pseudo-life for stars to become demons. It wouldn't be possible for a newborn star with no understanding of building contracts to commit to one."

"I thought so, too." Vega said, hoping to alleviate some of their burning questions. "But Lunars have such abilities that mimic those of actual stars. That's why Ben and your son are able to communicate with stars like us. He was able to go so far as to save Markl from his death in the sky. I told him there was no way to save even just one, and yet he proved me wrong."

"But," Ben added, "like every decision we make in this world, it came with a price. Markl was supposed to die the day of his birth, yet I altered the course of events by doing so. Saving a star with no idea how to contractually bound to a human was quite… complicated."

"It was a forced contract." Calcifer said, connecting the dots.

Ben paused, then nodded. "It was one that the sky wouldn't be able to refuse. Having already given a piece of myself to Vega, I was torn at what else I could offer this child to grant him life." He fumbled with his glasses once more, this time removing them entirely so everyone could see the grey film that covered his eyes. Vega nuzzled deeper into his cane, her eyes a vibrant colossal against her blue flame.

As with all contracts between stars and their human compatriots, Ben could not directly speak on his shared pact with Vega. However, it seemed this restriction did not apply to the forced contract he made with Markl. "In return for granting life to this newborn star in the form of a human, I had to wager my own human soul."

Ben's recounting of Markl's birth was both fulfilling and tragic. All those answers they had wondered over the years - Markl more than anyone - finally had some semblance of understanding. He truly was one in a million. Not born human to parents who simply abandoned him after a few years, not Ben giving up on his fatherly duties and transitioning them to a flimsy wizard like Howl, but a star with every notion of being a human.

Either way, Calcifer didn't know which was worse - forcing a contract on a star or letting Markl die the day he was tossed from the sky. Neither seemed beneficial, and he was glad that Markl had been in his life all these years.

"I raised him until the time he turned four," Ben said, "At that time I realized I couldn't continue being his father without him asking questions in the future. I was bound through the contract never to sway his decision for when his time would come - his time to decide whether saving him would result in pure evil or pure goodness. That's when I brought him to the only other wizard I trusted."

Howl chuckled. "Considering I never returned your cloak, I'm surprised you felt I was the right person for the task."

Ben shrugged. "Considering you were the only one of Suliman's students to leave her apprenticeship, I knew I choose right."

The clock on the wall rang in a series as the new hour commenced. Ten rings. Their time was limited before the true Night of Falling Stars would begin.

Ben leaned forward, filling himself with this urgency. "If Markl chooses evil, if he follows the path of selfishness and wrongdoing, my life will no longer exist as I know it and our contract is broken. The same, unfortunately, will happen to you as well, Calcifer."

Calcifer scoffed. "That's a lot of pressure for someone who's already lived a thousand years or more in selfish conceit. A demon like me can't convince Markl to choose the side of goodness."

"You are by no means a true demon." He turned to Vega, her glowing blue flame a sense of hope he desperately needed. While her time came decades before his own, they had grown very close in their star cluster. Vega, though possessing her own sense of entitlement and disdain for humans, had truly shown her change of heart being connected to Ben Sulivan.

Maybe stars were not always meant to be demons, but could transform and become better versions of themselves. A little help from others never hurt, either.

"Calcifer," Vega continued, her voice pleading with him, "We knew when Markl came to Ben's shop those weeks ago already straying from the right path that you were our best hope. You and Markl have a strong connection, stronger than any Ben or I could have created in his early childhood. You, Howl, and everyone else in your family need to convince him not to enact the transformation curse."

"The transfor-" Calcifer began and stopped himself immediately. Vega's eyes pleaded with him as the memory of spells and curses created eons ago in the expanse of their star cluster resurfaced for the first time in centuries.

All eyes darted for the front door as a dial with eight color choices switched upward to the ocean blue. The door unlocked easily and a new figure entered the room. Ben smiled lightly, yet their guests were unfamiliar with the woman who walked through the door.

She carried a heavy bag over her petite body, brushing her long, blonde hair to the side to view their guests. Calcifer knew her the moment he recognized Lona's eyes and Gwenda's dimples connected to this singular person.

She was Serena Maguire.

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Markl listened. He sat patient and quiet, only asking questions at appropriate times and nodded slightly over the course of Perseus' speech. At times, he bent his head into his palms and cried, and Lily sat next to him, offering some semblance of comfort.

Markl spoke softly through the slits between his fingers. "I can't believe it… my whole life has been an absolute lie."

Perseus' fire sparked. "I know it's a lot to take in, but you deserve to know the truth of your past and how you came into apprenticeship with someone like Howl Pendragon."

Lily nodded in agreement. "I remember hearing of his wondrous feats, but this was so beyond anything anyone could ever believe. But there's no changing the fact of the matter."

Markl cried in his hands. "He took me in after all that… after he killed my parents."

Perseus held the facade of remorse. "There was no way you could have ever known, and I doubt Howl would have ever admitted to it. What you do have, however, is the potential to enact vengeance."

Lily snapped her fingers and a heavy tome floated in their direction, turning page after page on its descent to the velvety red couch. "There's a spell I've been studying for years now, and it did wonders for me to discover the lost powers of my family lineage. I gained so much power and enhanced my strength when I was able to fully enact this curse."

Markl dropped his fingers from his reddened eyes, just enough to glance at the foreign words on the page before him. Though he only briefly touched on the Elven language, he knew enough to understand the contents of the curse.

"You have a choice," Perseus spoke, his voice commanding and comforting all at once, "And we respect whichever way you so choose. Howl has taken advantage of your youth and power for too long. He stole your parents; he stole your childhood; and now, he's restricting your full potential. This spell, this curse against Howl will fulfill the justice you so desperately deserve. It can rewrite your future and regain your stolen past. If you so choose."

Markl shook his head. All that he imagined, all the reasons why Howl refused to tell him of his past - it was a knife in the heart to finally hear the truth. Howl was truly a monster, and he had been living under evil his whole life. Suliman was beyond evil, but Howl was no better.

He had lived under lie upon lie for far too long.

"Fuck that shit." Markl stood up, his voice spitting with malice. "Howl can rot in a grave for all I care."

Perseus smiled, his teeth curling from each end of his green flame. "Now that's some vengeance I can work with. Ready, Lily?"

Lily stood next to him, a reassuring hand resting on his shoulder. "Let's begin your new training."