Chapter Six

“Orla, wake up.” Yesoff’s voice was near her.

“Oh. Okay. Why?”

“Because you have places to go and people to meet.” He smiled. “And you need breakfast.”

She sat up and pushed her hair out of her face. “Right. Who?”

“Ask Lord Winter.”

“Sure.”

She stretched and looked at Yesoff. “Wait. Why are you seven feet tall and hairy?”

“I am a yeti, Orla.”

“Oh. Of course.” She flipped her bedding back and walked past the talking column of fur that was Yesoff. “Why are you hairy this morning?”

“I had to deal with a few things for Lord Winter. This form gets things across that my other one does not.”

“Right.” She headed into the bathroom and attended to nature.

When she emerged, she blinked as Yesoff, still tall and hairy, finished tidying the dress and robe from the night before. Orla looked past him, and he had laid out a very fancy-looking outfit for her. Wide-legged trousers, a cream silky blouse, chemise, lacy bra and panties, and some puppy socks with zipped calf-high boots.

“Um, did someone throw water on a stylish witch?”

He chuckled. “Funny. You will be visiting a lot of elders today, and they want women to dress elegantly.”

“What about what I want?”

“If this isn’t comfortable, I am sure you can negotiate.” He chuckled as he made the bed, pulling out the book on sex. “Research?”

“Yeah, it has pictures.” She went to the closet and found the ugly sweater. She stroked it, smiled, and then turned back to the clothes. “I will try and get dressed now. Those boots look dangerous.”

“I will leave you to it. Shall I put the books back in the library?”

“Sure. I can find them later.”

He gathered them up and lumbered out.

She cocked her head. He was furry, but she didn’t want him. Interesting. It wasn’t just the fuzz.

* * * *

Yesoff chuckled as he finished putting the books in the library when Lord Winter came in. “It isn’t the fur. It’s you.”

“What?”

“I was in there for five minutes chatting with her, and there wasn’t a flicker of interest. So, the attraction to you is definite.”

The look on the Lord of Winter’s face was surprising. There was a slow blush on his cheeks.

“She’s getting dressed for your travels today.” Yesoff chuckled. “And she isn’t just after your fur.”

His boss rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks for checking.”

“No problem, boss.” Yesoff shrank back to his human form. “Do you need a driver?”

“No. I will drive us, thank you.” He looked toward the stairs where the steady clack of heels was making their way.

Yesoff had seen his boss with dozens of women over the years, but after his celibacy for the last five years, he had thought that that was it. Suddenly, his area of interest had switched, and it was amusing to watch.

* * * *

Orla walked into the kitchen and found both men waiting for her, sitting in silence. She paused. “Is there coffee?”

Yesoff turned with two cups in his hands. “Of course. You two are having breakfast in town, so have your coffee and a lovely day.”

“We are having breakfast in town?” Orla looked at Hunter.

“There are some people you need to meet and some questions that need to be answered.” He smiled. “And one of those people is making waffles. Drink your coffee, and we will hit the road.”

Orla stared, shrugged, and sat down. Her coffee was set to her liking in a moment, and she drank it in one long draught.

Hunter blinked. “Didn’t you burn your throat?”

“No. I don’t burn. I also don’t freeze anymore.”

He nodded, cooled his coffee slightly, and drank it. “Let’s go.”

Yesoff smiled. “Have fun and enjoy yourselves. I will be here, eating my way through the fridge.”

Orla nodded and got to her feet. Hunter got up and went to a coat rack near the back door, getting a ladies’ coat for her and a long wool coat for him. He was dressed in a vest, long-sleeved shirt, and trousers. “Why are we travelling in office fancy?”

“Because we will be meeting with a variety of people today, and some require this attire so that we blend in.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Yesoff took the coat from Hunter and held it out for her. She got her hands into the sleeves, and it was heaved over her shoulders. Hunter turned her and did up the buttons, scowling at Yesoff.

Orla looked at an amused Yesoff and back to Hunter. “What’s going on?”

Hunter muttered, “Nothing.”

Yesoff smirked.

They left the house, and the very snazzy silver four-by-four was waiting for them. She sighed. “Right. I don’t have a license because other me has a license with her right now. I am in between realities.”

“You are fine. This is your reality.”

“Hm.” She buckled up and sat there. “This feels weird. I am always the driver, and I always have a phone or a purse, but I lost all of that in the crash.”

“You didn’t lose it; you didn’t need it to live, so you didn’t take it with you.”

His car crept past his house, and she smiled at the ski chalet vibe that his house had.

“It’s pretty here.” She smiled as they drove through the snow until they reached a main road.

“I think so. I chose it carefully.”

“Where are we going?”

“We are going to visit one of two stellar beings that I know. Strella will be able to tell us more about the night you arrived.”

“Oh. That will be helpful.”

“It will. Strella loves company since her husband passed.”

“Oh, that’s sad.”

“Well, her kind outlives warlocks by a lot.”

“Huh. Where does she live?”

He chuckled. “Whehel.”

“Oh. I hear it is lovely.”

“It is. I am gratified that she took my call so enthusiastically.”

She smiled. “This is going to be fun, but I feel kind of fancy. Run a tab for how much you are spending on me so I can pay you back.”

He snorted. “I won’t be doing that.”

“Why not?”

“I am guessing that you have had little enough in your life. Clothing to suit the season is the least I can do, considering that I am the season in question.”

“Oh. I forgot about that. At least I am not wet.”

He sighed. “One can hope.”

“So, how does it work with my other self living her life right now?”

“She will continue, and you will let me know if we are close to interacting with her at all.”

“What will happen if we do?”

“Her life will change, and you will fade. I don’t want that to happen.”

“Ah. Well, I am more fun this way. And I want her to go through it and for you to remove the curse so she can feel herself again, but what happens when we sync up?”

“You blur into each other.”

She grimaced. “I don’t want to consume her, but I don’t want to disappear myself.”

“Discuss it. Talk to her. Explain where you are and where she is.”

“Right. This is odd no matter how you look at it.”

“You are correct, but this is where we are.”

Orla watched as they drove around the city and into the hills toward Whehel.

She rode in silence as she tried to calculate what her other self would be thinking when they came out of the arena dimension. She guessed it would be something to do with soft white fur and nachos. She was really craving nachos.

The drive was forty-five minutes, and she was hungry when they pulled up at a cute bed and breakfast in the hills.

Orla unbuckled and opened the door, hopping to the ground as Hunter walked to her side and smiled. “I was going to help you out.”

She cocked her head. “Maybe next time.” She closed her door.

He held out his hand, and she took it. “I am only holding on because the heels are high.”

He nodded and tucked her close to him. “I will take it.”

She cuddled up next to him, and when they reached the porch, the front door opened, and a woman with golden grey hair appeared and smiled. “Come in. Everything is waiting.”

They entered and wiped their feet, and Orla bent to remove her boots and put on some of the slippers from the basket nearby.

Hunter asked, “What are you doing?”

“The slippers are here for a reason.”

He paused and sighed, following her lead.

She picked a set of slippers for him with puppy dog faces, and she wore kittens.

He shook his head. “You have a fetish.”

“I like order. I first saw you as a wolf and then a wolf-person and then human. So, anything I give you will have a puppy theme.”

“And you like kittens?”

“Yeah, but they are so helpless. I can love them, but I worry about them.”

“You can just love them immediately?”

They followed the scent of food to a large dining room, and there was a table with dishes on it, obviously left by guests. Their host was bringing out a fresh carafe of coffee.

“Sit, sit. It is so nice to see another one of my kind out in the world.” The woman paused. “Oh, so sorry. I am Strella. I fell from the sky a hundred and fifty years ago.”

“Hello, Strella. I am Orla.”

Strella set the coffee down and came over to hug her. Orla imagined it was how a hug from a grandparent would feel. “Oh, you look so bright. I remember when I was that bright. It feels like thousands of years ago.”

Strella urged her to the buffet and nodded to Hunter. “Thank you for bringing her here. I have felt another star moving around, but it didn’t feel like her signature. I am still delighted that you woke up, dear one.”

Strella sat and poured coffee. Orla picked up waffles, butter, syrup, and bacon before heading back to the table.

The older woman sat with a thick braid going over one shoulder, and her clothing looked elegant and timeless. Orla looked at Strella and cocked her head. “How many children did you have?”

“Two. They are still in the area, but neither carried much useful magic, so they got into civil engineering.”

“Oh, that is amazing.” Orla smiled and ate her breakfast. “This is wonderful. Thank you.”

“So, Winter here brought you to find out a bit more about you. What would you like to know?”

Orla said, “What can you tell me about why stars fall here?”

Strella smiled. “They summon us. We can’t always arrive in a timely manner, but they call for us, and we show up. Even one of the dragon stars came when called, though apparently, it took sex magic to bring him in.”

“Oh, well, that is sort of how I ended up here.” She finished her meal and set her utensils on the plate.

“Is it?”

“Yes, there was a Yule orgy where wives were exchanged for power and money. I found my mother that night and developed from there.”

Strella nodded. “What about your sister?”

“What?”

“Two stars fell that night. One was cool and bright, and the other was sweetness and fire.” Strella smiled. “You just appeared this week. She is still silent.”

“But... she is here?” Orla blinked slowly.

“She is. Once you use more of your light, you will feel other stars when they are coming.”

Orla frowned. “I am less light, more stabbing.”

“You have a weapon?”

“Yeah.”

“It comes when you want it? Emotional or angry?”

“Yes.”

Strella chuckled. “That is your light. It is your weapon and your treasure.”

“Wow.”

“It does change. For me, it was a lump hammer and turned into a frying pan and then a set of brass knuckles, but when my husband died, it became this house.” Strella smiled. “I rarely leave the area, so it makes sense for me. I can still call pure light, but it isn’t as strong as when I was younger.”

Orla asked, “Do your children still visit?”

“My great-grandchildren are regular visitors. They don’t believe the old stories, but they come for holidays, and I shut down the bed and breakfast for family time. The little ones love coming and riding the horses.”

Hunter asked, “What are the life spans of the fallen stars?”

Strella smiled. “We aren’t fallen; we are summoned. There is a difference. A vast difference. The stars that fall are at the end of their lives. We are bright and strong and give part of our futures to our children. When we decide we are done, we surrender our bodies and return to the stars.”

“Oh. But what about our loved ones?” Orla didn’t look at Hunter.

“They are safe, and we keep them safe until we no longer need to.” Strella smiled. “We just know when it is time.”

Hunter asked, “Did you lose your power with age?”

“No, it depleted when my husband passed. He was over a hundred before we met, and I got another one hundred twenty years out of him. He was content to go, and all of our family was around. Some are magical, some are not, but we love them all.”

“We?” Orla cocked her head.

“My husband may be dead, but he isn’t far.” Strella smiled. “When I return to the stars, he will be with me. Daimor would be so happy that I have finally met one of my kind.”

“You haven’t met other stars?”

Strella laughed. “We don’t arrive often, and when we do, the warlock councils immediately throw males at us to get us to stay.”

“Always males?”

“The stars are female, for the most part. There are a few exceptions, but they are descended from the stars, so their mothers were the true stars. The boys are just knockoffs.” Strella chuckled. “Cute, though, but I am glad I stopped at two.”

Orla smiled. “Do you have pictures?”

“Of course. Hunter, have you had enough?”

“I can remain here, Lady, if you two would like to wander off and come back when you have had your chat.”

Orla looked at him. “Are you sure?”

“I am sure. Go and play.”

Orla got to her feet and followed Strella to the private wing of the house, where the walls were covered with her history and the family that received love from a summoned star.

“Strella, do you really think there was a second when I arrived?”

“Yes, Orla. There was. Did you have many friends when you were a child?”

“A few, at school. And one girl that I met on the school grounds after kindergarten when I waited for Mom to pick me up.”

“Did she remain a friend?”

“Yes. She went to a public school, and I went to a private school. She didn’t have parents from what I can recall.”

“Hm. That is unusual. The magic of both parents makes for an easy birth.”

“Well, then. It wasn’t her. Oh, she was also born in the middle of summer, not autumn.”

“Ah. Well then, think and see if you can remember anyone who always showed up when you needed them.”

Orla nodded and listened to Strella’s story while she tried to remember if anyone had ever come running when she needed help, but Emery was always the woman in mind. They were still friends, though Orla had cut back on visits because she felt she was putting Emery out. Taking advantage of a friend became nerve-wracking after a while.

Orla sighed.

Strella nodded. “You keep coming back to one person.”

“Yeah. Always the same person, but she is definitely human.”

“You are sure?”

“Yeah.”

“And you were known to have magic?”

“Well, my brother bound it when I was a teen.”

“And before that? How did it show?”

“It didn’t.” She paused. “Oh.”

“Indeed. It is worth checking on her just to see if she knows what you are. She might be your companion star, after all.”

Orla thought about it. “I guess I am just going to have to ask her.”

Strella hugged her. “That’s the spirit. Usually, a set of stars remains close. Things have gone slightly askew with you, so you are going to have to push them into position.”

Orla nodded. “I can do that. I couldn’t before, but now I can.”

They returned to the dining room, where Hunter was leaning back and scrolling on his phone.

Orla blinked. “Oh, darn. I need a phone.”

Hunter smiled. “We can do that. Was it an interesting chat?”

“It was the start of something. I think I can build on it.” She looked over at their host. “Thank you, Strella.”

“It was no trouble. You now know what being next to another star feels like. Go and find your companion. You won’t be able truly to enjoy life without her.”

Hunter asked, “Why is that?”

Strella faced him. “To sum it up, they fell together, so they rise together. I was a wandering star. I was alone for my entire existence. You are different. To be at your best, you need your companion. Lovers come and go, but your twin star is for eternity.”

Orla nodded. “Then, I had better go find her.”

Hunter looked at her and nodded. “Where do you suggest we look?”

“I have a few ideas.” Orla smiled. “We need to get back to the city.”

Hunter smiled. “Let’s get you a phone first, and then, you can hunt for another summoned star.”

“Great.” She hugged Strella and then pushed Hunter to the entryway, where their boots and jackets were waiting. There was an excitement building, and she wasn’t sure of the source, but it felt right.