The Fire and the Sky (Book 3 of the... - Chapter 19: Chapter 19

May let the words hang in the air. For the first time since he arrived, Grant emoted; his face fell, his eyes widened in shock.
"I don't get it," Lety said, looking back and forth between May and her boss. "What's a wishing star?"
Grant dragged a hand down his face and gave his head a shake. "That can't be right."
"You said it yourself – they were the best at what they did." May shrugged. She walked around the table until she stood at his side. "I have no reason to lie to you, Grant."
He sat in silence, eyes flickering as his mind churned through this new information. May looked around the room. Dom sat patiently while Lety seemed to burn, desperately needing to be filled in on the pieces she was missing from the story. But Welkin never took their eyes off Grant. They watched his reaction to the news with a quiet curiosity.
"I take it you're familiar with the item in question?" Welkin asked, their voice controlled; borderline serene.
Grant took a deep breath, tapped his chin and looked back at May. "What happened to them?"
"Dawn and Oliver?" May shifted. The question surprised her. "They were captured by the Loyals shortly after I was born."
"And how old are you? Twenty something?"
"Twenty five."
"Sounds about right." Grant sat back and crossed his arms, looking like himself again. "All this time I figured they were either dead or in prison. And you're sure they didn't have the star on them when they were captured?"
"If they did, I would have heard about it," Welkin cut in. "Trust me."
In her seat, Lety twisted and peered up at them. "Okay, what are you?"
"A Star. One of the fallen variety."
Grant let out a soft, incredulous chuckle. He scratched his chin with his thumbnail. "Well shit. So what's the plan then? You track down the wishing star and do what with it?"
"We put it back where it came from," May replied. "I don't know about you but I think it's done enough damage for one lifetime."
"It wasn't all bad, but I agree that it's time to put this thing to bed," Grant grunted. He pushed himself up from his seat and looked at each of them in turn. "I have an idea. When the sun comes up, I'm gonna make some calls. I don't know what Oli and Dawn did with that wishing star but I know some folks who might be able to point us in the right direction. Stay tuned."
With that, he grabbed his helmet and strode from the room without so much as a goodbye.
"Well, that sounds promising," Welkin said, sliding into Grant's vacated seat. They peered into the half-full mug of coffee he left behind, gave it a sniff, and pushed it away with a scowl.
Lety waited a beat before throwing her hands up in frustration. "Will one of you please explain what just happened? What's a wishing star and why does Grant give a shit?"
May drummed her fingers on the tabletop, trying to decide how best to succinctly describe the wishing star's origins and tumultuous history. "Basically it's something that gives the Stars–" she pointed at Welkin "–the power to grant wishes."
The shifter looked at Welkin with wide eyes. "That actually happens?"
"It is exceedingly rare," Welkin replied, gesturing vaguely. "But, yes, it does happen."
"Right, and this one accidentally fell to earth," May continued. "Long story short, a bunch of people used it to grant their own wishes, but the Loyals – people who are really strictly loyal to the Stars – had a problem with that. Insert decades of death and destruction here."
Welkin clicked their teeth. "That's an extraordinarily reductive way of putting it."
Dom pressed his lips tightly together to keep from laughing while Lety mulled this over.
"I see why Oliver and Dawn thought it would be a good score. But why does Grant care about it?"
"Maybe because he knows how much trouble it's caused?" Dom ventured.
"Or perhaps it's because some of the wishes that were made on the wishing star were for people," Welkin explained, their golden eyes narrowing into a meaningful gaze at her. "And Mr. Parker happens to know some of them."
"Like who?" Lety cocked her head curiously. Her eyes landed on May and grew. "You?"
May was about to answer when a thought crossed her mind. The revelation nestled itself into her brain like a bird in a nest.
"Yes," she said. "And Jeremy."
She looked to Welkin for some sign of confirmation that she was on the right track and got an unwavering look in return. The time Jeremy spent with Grant and his team, and the reason for it, was still a mystery to May. But as the person Grant still affectionately referred to as 'the kid', Jeremy had pull with the Murder. He also shared Grant's last name. The more she thought about it, the more May realized Welkin was probably on to something – and that they knew more than they were saying on the matter.
"Ah," was Lety's response. It apparently rang true to her too.
"What's the deal between those two anyway?" May asked.
Lety shrugged. "Beats me. The kid predates my time with the Murder. But I do know he's sacred ground where Grant's concerned – good luck to anyone who utters a bad word against him."
"We'll keep that in mind," Welkin mused. They were looking right at May.
"Anyway, we've got some time to kill." Lety stood, grabbing her empty mug. "Anyone down for more coffee?"
As it turned out, coffee wasn't enough to keep May awake. She was roused by the sounds of the garage opening for the day; the rumbling of the large bay doors and voices shouting to one another across the shop floor. Stiff from having curled up in a threadbare armchair in the corner of the command center, May rose gingerly and stretched as she wandered from the room. From the catwalk she could see Dom and Lety talking by the truck, where May assumed he was filling her in on how his connection with the potted tree in his arms helped him appear human. A few familiar faces down on the floor noticed her there, nudged one another and jutted their chins in her direction. Rather than get reacquainted, May trudged down to the office Welkin had been napping in – the same one she and Em once commandeered as a makeshift bedroom – in search of the Star.
She knocked tentatively at the door.
"Come in." Welkin sounded positively bored.
When she entered the room, May found them laying on their back on the bench seats, arms folded behind their head and staring at the ceiling in the dark room.
"Has Grant come back yet?" she asked. "And can I turn on the light?"
"No and yes," Welkin replied without so much as sparing her a glance.
She leaned on the doorframe, bouncing the heel of her shoe off it. "I hope he can help us. We haven't heard anything back from Sean yet and it's making me anxious."
"You're doing as much as you can," Welkin said, dragging themself up to sit. They patted the seat next to them and she took it with a wan smile.
"Are you doing okay?" She caught them staring at their hands, examining them with a look of mild disdain.
"Adjusting," was Welkin's quiet reply.
It was difficult to know what to say when she saw them this way, so clearly struggling with their new human body. She couldn't begin to fathom what they were feeling – the profound grief that must have come with such an unwilling transition. So she dipped her head and rested it on their shoulder, felt them tense for the briefest of moments before relaxing into the gesture.
"You'll be okay," she whispered. "We're all going to be okay."
In acknowledgment, Welkin gave a nearly imperceptible nod, their cheek brushing against the top of her hair.
There was a sudden commotion down on the floor. Footsteps clanged up the staircase. May sat up just as Grant barged in, Lety and Dom on his heels.
"You're in luck, kiddo," the man announced with a triumphant smile. "I hope you brought something nice to wear because we're going to a party."