Dela sunbeam's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Dela Sunbeam pressed a hand to the markings on their arm and felt them warm. The lines under their purple skin glowed brighter near the old well behind the market. Dela had covered these markings since childhood. Now they wanted to know what the markings meant, and what power slept inside them. But every place that made the lines react was a place full of watching eyes. Merchants glanced up. Children pointed. Dela pulled their long hair over one shoulder and hid the glow with a sleeve. They needed a private place to test the reaction. A place with no crowd, no questions. Dela remembered the cottage at the far edge of the settlement. It sat empty for a season now, its smooth curved walls dark, its round windows dull. No one went there. Dela walked out past the last stalls with their pet trotting close behind. The pastel fox had three eyes, and all three watched Dela with steady trust. It had followed Dela since they were young. The cottage door opened with a low hiss. Inside smelled of dust and cold metal. Dela shut the door and breathed out. Alone, at last. They rolled up both sleeves and turned in a slow circle. Nothing. The markings stayed flat and dim. Dela frowned. The well had worked. Why not here? Then the fox growled. It stared at a corner where a squat storage crate sat against the wall. The crate had a weathered wooden face and heavy metal latches. Dela stepped toward it. The markings on their arms flared bright, brighter than at the well. The glow lit the whole room blue and gold. Dela knelt and pulled the latches. Inside sat a small alien cat, gray with pale markings of its own. The cat's markings matched a pattern on Dela's wrist, curve for curve. The cat looked up at Dela and blinked one blue eye. It was not afraid. Dela lifted the cat out. The moment they touched it, both sets of markings burned hot. A sound filled the cottage, a deep hum with no source. The round windows flashed. Then a voice spoke, not from any mouth, but from inside Dela's own head. "You found the first key," it said. "There are more." The hum stopped. The cat sat calm in Dela's arms. The fox pressed close, all three eyes wide. Dela had wanted a safe place to test the markings. Instead they had woken something. The voice knew them. It waited for them to move. And now the empty cottage no longer felt empty at all. Dela stood, held the cat tight, and understood that hiding the markings was over. Someone, or something, had been counting on Dela to open that crate. The next key was out there. So was whatever had spoken.