Starseed Read Free

been thrown from a cliff into space. She transformed into an eagle and flew with spread wings over canyons and rivers and rock, free to glide in the wind. He, too, had opened wings and glided through the canyon beside her high above the earth.
    Then, the spell broke. He tapped her head while knitting his brows, a perplexed expression in his large golden eyes.
    Before Kaila could react, he pushed two long fingers to the side of her face and then under the plastic.
    Kaila’s cheeks grew warm.
    “Why?” he asked. There was no mocking in his tone, only curiosity.
    He lifted the plastic and exposed her real hair. She felt the cool of his long fingers on her warm, damp scalp. His huge eyes locked hers. She was again completely paralyzed.
    Her brain rushed with memories—riding the horses, watching TV with Mom and Nan, fishing with Mike, grilling sausage and chicken with Paw Paw, throwing a Frisbee for Lucy, feeding the ducks stale bread in the pond. He peeked through a window into her mind.
    The bell rang. He removed his fingers from under the black plastic.
    The others stood silently, like silver statues with big, seeing eyes. Kaila stared back, speechless.
    “You. Please. No worry,” he said in a mechanical foreign voice. “Go in this door.” He pointed a long slender finger. “Down the hall, turn right, and homeroom there. I see you again.”
    Then, he turned.
    “Wait,” Kaila stammered. “What’s your name?”
    “I am called Jordyn Stryker.” He looked at her as if absorbing her essence, his eyes like the suns of a forgotten planet. His gaze felt warm and all encompassing. Her heart skipped a beat.
    “I’m Kaila.”
    He nodded, then rejoined his group. They walked in a straight line toward the modular units in the field, the rising sun glinting on their silver overalls.
    Kaila was so shaken she couldn’t move. She had never in her life been so blown away meeting a person, ever. Who was he? The strange outfits they wore could have been something out of an old black-and-white science fiction show and their eyes, the last time she’d seen eyes like those were on department store mannequins—huge, round, and nowhere near normal. Though hot and trembling, the hairs on her arms stood up. She swallowed, realizing her body confirmed her intuition that he had just swept onto the stage of her life theater and that his role would prove life changing. The bell rang again. She straightened her wig, trying to calm her breath and mind. She hurried into the school, raced down the hall, and found her homeroom just as Jordyn Stryker foretold.

Chapter 2
    I n homeroom, Kaila tried to concentrate. The whole encounter with Jordyn seemed like a dream. She was dazed, like her mind had been submerged in a swamp. Numbly, she followed two girls in the hall, cursing herself to pay attention. She dropped her things in her assigned locker, then trailed the other students into the gym for an assembly.
    A teacher made announcements about the school year. The gym buzzed like a threatening beehive. But all Kaila could think of was Jordyn. She had liked his touch, had never felt anything like it. In fact, it felt like he was still with her, in her head. She couldn’t shake it. Plus, he hadn’t laughed at her wig or hand. She hugged herself, barely able to sit still on the bleachers.
    The principal stood in the center of the gym holding a microphone. “You have heard on the news about the cult in New Mexico, where authorities took into custody several youths,” he said. “We here, at Bush High, took some of them in. Last semester, they were taught privately in the modular units in the back field. This year, they will be integrated in regular classes.”
    Kaila had never heard of any cult in New Mexico. Of course, she wasn’t big on watching the news. Her family watched, but she found stories of war, murder, and disasters depressing. It was positively medieval. Kaila preferred peaceful things like listening to music on her iPod.
    “These