1st 5 Pages October Workshop- Zhu Rev 1

Name: Mayee Zhu

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Title: THE DREAMWALKERS

Traveling by star was a sweet but sour treat. Fourteen-year-old Ari Pippin could see the universe zoom by and get to her destination faster than a speeding bullet, but hearing the mouthy stars insult her, and everybody under the sun dear to her, left a lot to be desired.

Leaning back so she wouldn’t be repeatedly smacked in the face by the star Pyxis’s billowing, platinum hair, Ari watched Earth shrink further away. Other stars sped by, their fused legs humming.

“What’s the deal with your mannish eyebrows?” Pyxis asked as they hurtled past Jupiter. “They’re like two fuzzy, overfed caterpillars.”

Stars could have passed for wingless angels if it weren’t for their smack talk. At least here in the Core dimension, stars wouldn’t flash-fry bystanders like the flaming space farts in Ari’s world.

Pyxis screeched to a halt so sudden, Ari was nearly thrown off the star’s back. The only thing that saved Ari from falling was her firm grasp on the stretchy starbone attached to Pyxis’s bicep like a horse’s rein.

Pyxis caught her breath. Silver light streamed from her mouth when she exhaled. “Twenty-seven dzaras. Cough up, ginger pits.”

“Whoa there, glitterbomb. Last week, Yesi took me twice as far for eighteen.”

“Price hike. A black hole might as well have swallowed my bank account with all these new taxes.”

“And these taxes were created between last week and now?”

The star’s golden lip curled. “Do you want proof, cheapskate?”

Impatient to see Mintaka, Ari didn’t argue further and rummaged in her knapsack for the money she had earned from foraging plants. She pulled out the glowing dzaras. The neon blue jellyfish floated dreamily in small circles above her hands.

Taking off the curved bone, Pyxis pummelled it as easily as it was pizza dough. She swept the dzaras into the makeshift bag, tied it up, and fastened her rib-rein back to her side.

Pyxis saw Ari’s brooding expression. “Don’t worry. Mintaka’s only the second most awful being I know. You’ll get along like me and your money.”

Before Ari could sarcastically thank her, Pyxis zipped away as fast as Superman on steroids.

Sitting on top of Melon Moon, Mintaka’s home loomed over Ari. A behemoth made out of rare jewels twinkled. Curved towers created serpentine shadows onto the stairs.

Ari stared. The castle then preened like a prize-winning, purebred Siamese cat. The balcony curved into a smug smile, and one of the two windows’ blinds above it shut and open, like a coy wink. Ari waved, immediately felt stupid, and began her trek up the winding, moonrock steps.

Mintaka was the youngest triplet in Orion’s Belt. Even though being Orion’s daughter made her unofficial star royalty, it was rumored she had an inferiority complex towards her two siblings.

Wheezing once she reached the top, Ari thought, ‘No one’s calling me Ari Swolzzenager anytime soon, that’s for sure.’ Though she looked asleep back in her bed on Earth, she still felt effects from dreamwalks, or as the professional lingo called it, worldhops. One time, a star didn’t dial down her rib’s heat all the way before Ari grabbed it. Ari’s hand came away with a severe burn that still ached after she woke up.

Ari rolled her eyes at Mintaka’s platinum door knockers, which were carved in the striking likeness of Mintaka, and banged both against the why-not platinum double doors. The knocks echoed throughout the house. One mini-Mintaka’s eye whirred and opened, revealing a camera microlens. It zoomed in on Ari.   

The doors opened soundlessly. Ari blinked. The interior obviously didn’t want to be upstaged by the exterior. Expensive-looking artwork decorated the walls. A jeweled chandelier sparkled from the ceiling. Ari wiped her feet on the welcome mat. It purred.

Mintaka’s satin voice slithered out the sound system: “I await you in the parlor, little one.”

“I need help finding that as this place is a tad big.”

Mintaka whistled. With a rattle, a gaunt man with a gold collar around his neck and a ball and chain around one ankle appeared so close to Ari she took a step back.

“Hello,” she greeted politely.

The man glared at her and opened his mouth. He had no tongue.

Tempted to say ‘Doooope’ instead of ‘Sorry,’ Ari settled on: “Hey, silence is golden.”

Grimacing at Ari's cheesy crack, the tongueless man turned away from her and slowly walked forwards. His iron ball and chain dragged behind him. They walked through many hallways and rooms. Ari stopped counting after she reached fifty. Two perfectly good parlors passed by.

There were absurd rooms with no clear purpose. One had two voodoo dolls in the middle of the floor. Another had only a painting of a macho star in uniform. A third had a customized dartboard that was the current US president’s face. Ari didn’t know what Mintaka’s beef with that president was, but she hoped by the end of their meeting that her face wouldn’t be used for target practice, too.

Mintaka’s slave stopped. He gestured to a room that Ari could partly see through an arched entrance. As Ari turned to thank him, he vanished.

“Don’t mind him, Oliver resents anyone young and hopeful.” Mintaka chuckled.

Stars were a diverse bunch. There were some, like Pyxis, who squeegeed through their lives by being glorified taxi drivers. Then there were high-born stars like Mintaka who foresaw the future. Whenever they had a vision, it had to do with desire or death. Mintaka gave Ari a prophecy last week.

Ari stepped over the threshold and into a room larger than her entire house. A marble fountain spewed stardust and the walls were embedded with glass displays filled with bobbing dzaras. Ari shielded her eyes when she saw Mintaka. The willowy star sparkled much more violently than Pyxis.  

“My fault.” Mintaka dimmed herself enough so that Ari could comfortably look at her chiselled face, but still be awed by the flecks of diamond light she scattered on the walls. Her robes flowed and shimmered like silk, but was opaque like frosted glass. Her pearly hair and clothes fluttered gently, though there was no wind. “Have a seat, child.”

Ari sat in an identical recliner opposite Mintaka’s. “I’ve thought about your warning since you sent it to my Core mailbox yesterday.” She pulled out a slip of paper and read, “Beware the forbidden fruit you seek, for its guardian snake lies on its cheek. Mintaka, smiley face." She looked up. "Care to explain?”

“Stars are forbidden from interfering with fate. This is even more so for me, as I need to set an example.”

Ari crossed her arms. “So you’re just going to torment me with cryptic warnings of doom and gloom.”

“I already wasn’t supposed to tell you anything. But now that you’re here…” for a second, Mintaka’s amber eyes gleamed like a polished knife, before it was replaced by her standard pleasantness. “I want you to get something for me.”

“Another palace, my queen?”

“The Heartsword from Centaurus.”

“...I understood only half the words in that sentence.”

“You haven’t heard of the Heartsword?”

“It’s hard keeping track of everything in the universe."

“The last time the sword was seen was when the hero Titus was drowned with it bound to his back, in Europa’s subterranean sea. The Heartsword was believed to be lost forever. But my source told me Kaosian Centaurus has it now."

Kaosian. Kaosian. The familiar word spun around in Ari’s head like a hamster on a wheel.