The Stargazers Read Free Page B

for them in the woods when a knock sounded at the door, followed by her mother carrying in a stack of folded clothes—the too-tight pants and close-fitting shirts that would be Aster’s wardrobe on the other side. Apparently the homespun shirts and long skirts would not do where she was headed. Dahlia and Nanny Lily had spent months making the clothing on a new enchanted loom that had cost the family a small fortune. Oh how Oleander had gnashed her teeth at that! But after Nanny Lily had offered Aster up for double duty in the potion room to make up for the expense, Oleander relented.
    Dahlia’s heavily-lined face oozed with worry and fatigue, and strands of her curly gray hair fell loose from her bun. She placed the items on the bed and then sat down next to them with a huff. “You’re moving slower than me, Aster. Tomorrow night will be here before you know it, and we can’t be late. The magic needed to open the door will be at its lowest point on the New Moon, and your Nanny... Well, she’s getting older and older, isn’t she? We’ll need every bit of help we can get.”
    Aster sighed, picking up one of the new shirts. It was black with short sleeves and streaks of silver glitter splashed across the front. It looked like something made for a child half her size. Is this how girls her age actually dressed over there?
    “Mother, I would be moving faster if I didn’t have to burn practically everything I owned. I would rather just pack them away for safekeeping.”
    Dahlia rubbed her face. They’d had this argument about the burning several times before, and Aster felt bad about bringing more stress on her mother, but she couldn’t let it go. “Leaving your girlhood on the fire is one of the oldest rituals in all of Ellemire. Not just for our family, but for all people. When you return, ripe with child, this will be a woman’s chamber. These dolls and stuffed animals will be of no use to you.”
    “But what about for the baby? Wouldn't it be nice for the child to have something of her mother's life?”
    “The baby will get her own things, just as you did, just as I did and so on and so forth.”  Dahlia had hesitated before speaking, and Aster could swear her mother was hiding something. But one look at the woman's drained face was enough to dissuade her from pursuing the matter. All things would be revealed in time, wouldn't they?
    “I just wish there was one part of this that was easy or painless.”
    “A woman’s duties are never easy, witch or not. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wish you were born with different blood so you wouldn’t have to bear this. But it isn’t all horrible, you know.” She pointed one of her crooked fingers at the pile of stuffed animals and smiled. “You can pick whichever one you want, though I’m pretty sure I know which it’s going to be.”
    Sunlight burst through Aster’s gloom and she shot up to her feet. “Really? It's time?”
    Dahlia smiled, and in it Aster saw relief. “It is, dear flower. It finally is.”
    Aster had been dreaming of this moment since she was a small girl. Her mother would use her special ability with animal spirits to summon Aster's familiar, and she could choose whatever form for it she wanted. It seemed the only part of this business she had some control over.
    But Aster didn’t have to decide, for she’d known since she was six. She picked up the gray cat with the blue eyes and the stubby tail that she’d cuddled down to bare thread in some parts. “This one. Larkspur. You’re going to do it now? Right here?”
    “As long as you’re sure this is the one. Hand him here.” Dahlia examined him briefly. “He’s worn down to practically nothing. I sure hope this works.”
    Aster knew her mother was teasing. Even after childbirth had deformed her, Dahlia’s power with animals remained unmatched. “I have faith in you, Mother.”
    Dahlia tipped her a wink and brought Larkspur’s crudely stitched mouth to her own.