The Fire and the Sky (Book 3 of the... - Chapter 13: Chapter 13

The sun had barely begun to rise when May and Welkin met Dom at his truck. Trina stood huddled, not quite awake, listening as Dom rattled off a few last minute instructions of things to be tended to in his absence.
"I got it dude. Fuck, it's not like you've never left town before," she complained between yawns.
"I'm just making sure my beloved teammates have everything they need while I'm gone," Dom replied as he hitched his pack into the truck bed. "Is that so wrong?"
Trina rolled her eyes and shoved her hands deep into her pockets. "I'm going to forget all of this as soon as I go back to bed out of sheer spite."
Trina was not a morning person.
Dom laughed merrily, more than accustomed to his colleague's sour attitude when roused pre-sunrise, and continued packing the truck. He reached out to May and motioned for her bag.
"Let me toss that in for you."
This jarred a memory in May.
"Hang on," she said, slinging the pack from her shoulder down to the ground. She rustled around inside, unearthing the Champagne bottle from the sweater she had wrapped it in for safe keeping, and secured the bag closed once more. "Here, now you can toss it in."
Dom did so, gleefully.
Meanwhile, Welkin peered over May's shoulder curiously. "What is that?"
"Actually," she replied, turning to face them. "I was hoping you could answer that. Emandi asked me to give it to you."
Now that they could see the old bottle clearly, Welkin's eyes grew wide with surprise.
"They remembered," the Star whispered as they gently took the bottle from May's outstretched hands. "How wonderful."
"Y'all ready to roll?" Dom called from the other side of the truck. He had his door open and had hoisted himself up so he could see them over the cab.
Welkin's head snapped up. "No."
"What?" May squawked in surprise.
"Not yet. Give me a little more time." Welkin shoved the bottle back into May's hands. "Hold onto that until I get back, and for goodness sake, be careful with it."
May, Dom, and Trina stared at one another in gobsmacked silence as Welkin raced back into the building.
"That's the liveliest I've seen them since they got here," Dom remarked as he swung his truck door closed again. "What's going on?"
"I'm honestly not sure," May replied, half curious and half annoyed. Every minute they weren't on the road made her anxiety intensify a little bit more.
Inside, Welkin had already woken Matti. With his help, the Star buzzed around the garage collecting bits and pieces of scrap metal and various tools. None of it made any sense to May, but within 20 minutes they seemed content with their haul and were finally ready to go.
"Many thanks for your assistance, Matti," Welkin called over their shoulder to the still-stunned and bleary-eyed mechanic, who offered only a mumble and small wave in reply before turning around and lumbering back toward the dormitories.
Welkin shuffled back to the truck, a box full of what looked like junk resting on their lean forearms. Dom jumped up and lowered the tailgate just in time for Welkin to drop the box into the truck bed with a calamitous clang. Immediately they began rooting through their spoils, plucking out various odds and ends and leaving the rest in the box.
"What in the world are you doing?" May questioned, watching the Star work with increasing concern.
"Just a small project for the road, that's all," Welkin responded, shoving the box further into the bed and raising the tailgate with a slam. "Shall we?"
For the first hour or so, the only sound in the cab of the truck was that of Welkin's work. They tinkered ceaselessly, fully focused on whatever they were building and taking up the entire passenger seat, dashboard, and floor to do it. May watched quietly from the cramped center bench seat, not wanting to interrupt their careful concentration. She played a mental guessing game, running through various ideas of what Welkin was up to and how the bottle still clutched in her hands had inspired it. Every so often she and Dom would catch each other's eye and shrug in mutual mystification.
"Would you be so kind as to hold onto these screws for me?" Welkin asked, holding a closed fist out to May without looking up from their project balanced on their knee.
"Only if you tell me what you're making," she countered.
Welkin didn't bite. "Not yet. Hand, please."
May sighed and opened her palm obediently. "Can you at least tell me what the deal is with this bottle?"
"Yeah," Dom chimed in. "Something you're saving for a special occasion?"
"In a manner of speaking." Welkin's enchanted eyes darted to the bottle cradled in May's arms like an infant. "Did Emandi tell you anything about it?"
"Nothing."
The Star smiled softly - a little melancholy, a little proud. "That very bottle is what I used to contain Audrey's life force. It was the only vessel at my disposal at the time."
Though it was likely her imagination, May could have sworn she felt a warmth radiating from the bottle. Carefully she held it aloft and examined the jewel-like green glass and time-worn label. How strange it was to imagine something so simple and commonplace once held the very essence of Em's existence.
"Who's in it now?" Dom asked. Taking one hand off the wheel, he pointed at the glimmering light suspended inside the bottle.
Welkin shook their head. "No one. That, my friends, is a spark. A concentrated sample of Star magic."
"Woah!" May looked back at the light with a respectful mix of awe and unease. Perhaps she hadn't been imagining that radiating warmth after all. "What was Emandi doing with that?"
"I gave it to them for safe keeping." Welkin was back to working on the contraption in their lap. "I'm no fool - I knew my crimes would catch up with me eventually, and when they did, I wasn't going to be of much help anymore. In truth, I thought I was going to be extinguished and so I left the spark behind just in case Emanthy needed it one day. But given the circumstances, I think we can make better use of it now."
"So, what do we do with it?" May asked.
"You'll see. Just be patient."
Patience wasn't May's strong suit these days, and she made it known with a disgruntled grumble. Welkin sighed.
"Ask me something else then," they said, signaling their need for a screw. "I suppose I owe you answers."
May chewed her bottom lip and flipped through the seemingly endless list of things she wanted to know. As she hesitated, Dom jumped in with a question of his own.
"What did you mean when you said you thought you were going to be extinguished?"
"It's the Star equivalent to death," Welkin replied curtly. "I assumed I would be executed. I still need one of those screws, May."
With a shudder, May dropped one in the Star's waiting palm. "When you were being held captive, could you tell that Em was trying to reach you? She called for you so many times."
Welkin paused in their work. A tremble shook their normally rock steady hand. "I could. I felt every call, but I could not answer. It destroyed me to know she was worried - that I had left you both the way I did." They met May's gaze. "Do you think she will ever forgive me?"
Surprised by the Star's vulnerability, it took May a moment to find her voice.
"Of course she will," she assured softly. "She's going to be so happy to see you."
Warmed by her words, Welkin gave a meek smile and went back to work.
"I have a question," Dom said. "For both of you, I guess. What is up with that Jeremy guy? I still can't believe Em decided to play along with this dumb plan of his."
Welkin squirmed. "I don't think it's my place to-"
May swiveled in her seat to face them. "No, I second the question. And like you said, you owe me some answers."
The Star glanced back and forth between them, shrinking back beneath their stares.
"Fine," they relented. "But I don't believe you're going to like what I have to say."