“He’s not human? And he’s not an Angel?” I looked to Seth for an explanation; he was just getting his laughter under control.

“Can’t you guess where he’s from?” Seth smiled down at me. I was really starting to grow attached to the way his eyes sparkled with life when he looked at me, and how he gave me his absolute undivided attention. “He’s from Jupiter. Before the Darkness took his home, that’s where he lived.”

“He named himself after his dead planet?” I held back my own laughter.

“Something about humans not possessing the right vocabulary to pronounce his real name,” Seth laughed and then answered Jupiter’s incessant demand for help on the other side of the Jeep.

I jumped out of the way when I realized they really were going to try to right the Jeep and drive it home. What a night! My whole life had just changed in the matter of forty five minutes and as I watched my new tutor and Counterpart resurrect my Jeep, I couldn’t help but shiver at the reminder of the new path my life would now take.

I knew this day was coming.

I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

----

I pulled into my long gravel driveway still a little amazed, but mostly amused that Seth was able to right the Jeep and get it running again. The antique rumbled unhappily along the quiet country roads, but it managed to make it all the way home without completely falling apart. Although, I couldn’t even pretend I didn’t hear pieces of my beloved vehicle dropping off along the way.

At least the Jeep was ruined because of a near death experience…. that at least gave me some explanation to offer to my frugal father.

I hopped down from the cab and walked quietly to the back door of the old farm house I called home. In my parents attempt to blend into humanity, my father had taken up farming a long time ago. So like most families in this particular middle of Nebraska region, we lived on acres of property, miles from our neighbors and even farther from town. Well, we lived miles from the one stop light, bank and bar we called town. We lived a full hour from real civilization.

Oh, there was a gas station too.

That had to count for something.

Seth and Jupiter followed me inside the house, careful to remain silent. They had both stayed relatively quiet after the Jeep was righted, the fatigue of battle and the late hour wearing even the strongest men down.

“I should tell Annabelle you’re here, so you don’t give her a heart attack in the morning,” I whispered.

I led them out of the mud room into the kitchen and turned on the light. Seth’s eyes immediately fell on the refrigerator and he took an excited step forward before stopping himself.

“Stella?” I turned from the staircase that led up from the kitchen, an old servant’s hall from back when this farm had things like…. servants. “Do you mind if I….?” he gestured to the refrigerator and widened his eyes in anticipation.

“Help yourself,” I smiled down at him, happy he wasn’t awkward about the new arrangement. His grin spread across his face and his honey colored eyes sparkled with gratefulness.

I climbed the steps wearily, wondering how I would explain this to Annabelle. Wondering how I would explain it to anybody! I knew what this meant. I knew that the death of the Protector meant it would be my turn to step up. That also meant that Seth would become a permanent, every day fixture in my life.

I didn’t necessarily mind that, we seemed to have the natural, friendly chemistry that was born between a Star and Warrior. We had been destined to get along before either of us was even born, chosen by the Elders to protect this planet together. We didn’t have much choice, or say in the pairing. Our personalities would complement each other the same way our fighting skills would, the same way our unique, supernatural powers would.

Still, there was supposed to be years before we met, before I had to face the promise between us. I had a life to live, high school to finish. And as solidly as my destiny was rooted in my heart, so was the desire to be a normal, carefree teenager for just a few more years.

Evil always got in the way.

Standing in front of the guest bedroom, I shook my head and squared my shoulders. I was complaining, whining about circumstances that couldn’t be changed. The truth was I wasn’t a normal anything. I wasn’t even a normal Star. I was the Protector of Earth and wanting and wishing were not going to get me anywhere.

I twirled a loose end of hair around my pointer finger for a few seconds; still trying to shake my head right and then lifted my arms to jerk them across my chest, successfully popping my shoulders. The movement felt good, an old habit from volleyball and something I was positive no other Star in the entire universe practiced.

Another quick breath and I knocked quietly on Annabelle’s door before turning the handle and letting myself inside. Annabelle had watched me from my first year of life, every time my parents went out of town. She was as much a part of my family as anyone else and the main reason Tristan and I had become such good friends.

“Annabelle….” I whispered, knowing the old woman was a light sleeper. She stirred under a heavy quilt that she, herself, had made for my mom, and groaned something indecipherable. “Annabelle….” I whispered louder and this time Annabelle lifted her head off her pillow and brushed gray curls away from her face.

“What is it child?” Annabelle asked, immediately concerned. Her soft, wrinkled face peered at me through the dark, her gray eyes filled with caution.

“I’m sorry to wake you,” I tried to quickly explain so I wouldn’t worry the elderly woman. “I’m late coming home because some old friends of our family surprised me tonight by coming to town and I had to meet them so I could bring them here,” I explained, using half lies and rambling. I generally didn’t like to hide any truth, lying was one of those things I just could not stand. I had even explained to Tristan a long time ago exactly who I was and why, at certain times…. I glowed, just so we could continue our friendship without any secrets. “They are staying with us for a while. There are two of them, Jupiter is your age and Seth, his uh…. grandson. He’s my age. Anyway, I’ll let you get back to sleep; I just didn’t want you to freak out in the morning.”

“All right, child. Get to sleep now,” she admonished before rolling over in bed. Her robust frame caused the double bed to creak beneath her and as I slipped out the bedroom door I could hear her mutter, “What kind of name is Jupiter?”

I laughed to myself as I made my way back down the servant stairs. I paused in the hallway to adjust the heat, noticing how cold Annabelle’s bedroom had been. My parents and I had to be particularly careful about the temperature of our house when human guests were over because when our powers were not restricted, our internal warmth kept us comfortable. Sometimes, in the winter, it would be several nights in a row before we noticed the frost on the inside of our windows and not just on the outside. My father loved how low we could keep our heating costs.

In the kitchen Jupiter and Seth sat eating left over potato cheese soup Annabelle made for dinner making happy murmurs of approval for the skill of my guardian. I got myself a glass of water before joining them at the table. As much as I longed to find my bed right now, I knew there were still things that needed to be discussed.

“This is so good!” Seth declared, lifting his eyes from the soup to mine, proving how in love with the soup he really was. “Usually we eat…. I don’t know what we eat, but it is never as good as this!”

“You’re certainly not starved, boy,” Jupiter grunted. I laughed at what had clearly been an insult to Jupiter’s culinary skills.

“Annabelle is an amazing cook,” I agreed, knowing what it was like to not eat this good on a regular basis. Stars weren’t exactly born domestic and although my mom tried to familiarize herself with the kitchen, things usually ended…. interesting. And since we lived so far out in the country, take-out was almost never an option. Although the gas station did have hot pizza. Not good pizza. But at least it was hot.

Jupiter made another grunting nose, but continued to shovel the spoon from soup to mouth without slowing down. I sat quietly while the two of them finished their late night meal. They stayed absorbed in their soup, so I had the opportunity to study them under light.

Jupiter was old. Not just by human standards, although I knew the human eye wouldn’t place him later than seventy, but old…. really old. I could tell. I could also feel how other-worldly he was now that I spent some time with him.

As if the fact that he could fly wasn’t a big enough tip that he wasn’t from around here….

My ability to detect the nature of someone’s essence had been with me since birth, but this was really the first opportunity I had to use it other than the every once in a while Shadow that crossed my path. I couldn’t place his exact age, but it was definitely old, hundreds of years old. And he definitely wasn’t human, although other than the dull red of his eyes, he appeared to be Homo-Sapien in every other way. His tanned skin was wrinkled and weathered and his gray hair fell in disheveled short tufts of rebellion.

Even without ever hearing him talk, I could have assumed he was a tough man, and that had nothing to do with my ability to feel out the foreign. He had deep frown lines, and his permanent scowl wouldn’t invite any stranger into a random conversation. He wasn’t exactly an imposing man, just a few inches taller than me and probably barely making six feet, but his very presence was intimidating. I could bet most humans ran from him as quickly as they could, and suddenly I felt a deep pang for the humanity I had come to love. Whatever happened to Jupiter’s home planet, I wasn’t sure Earth deserved him as punishment.

Seth on the other hand was the very opposite, and not just in age. He was the kind of guy that strangers would trust to hold their babies or the police would ask to be a witness in a crime even if he were holding a gun and covered in blood. His dark hair was unruly and wild, but his amber colored eyes were inviting and soulful. His smile reached from ear to ear and the angular shape of his face didn’t exactly scream out trustworthy, but it did cast him in such a way any woman would toss caution to the wind and throw themselves at him.

I couldn’t help but smile at him. His golden-toned skin, his muscular body, his carefree recklessness…. I didn’t have many feelings for him yet, but one that shone brighter than the others resonated as pride. I was proud to have him as my Counterpart. Already I could tell that I could trust him, and not just in battle. Plus, saving my life once already definitely spoke volumes about our future together.

Our, uh, professional future together. Not the other future…. that I wasn’t exactly ready to think about yet.

“So, when your parents get back, we will discuss finding our own place,” Jupiter broke the silence after scraping his bowl clean and giving a tentative glance back at a Tupperware still half full of soup. “Until then, I think it will be safer if we stay with you. If more Shadows come to find you, it will be better if we’re with you, especially with your…. questionable training.”