Free Fae Star by Sara Brock Page B

right turn lane and earned some well-deserved honks as I pulled into an empty parking lot. I was so startled, I thought about jumping out of the car.
    “Sorry about that,” the voice said, sounding sincere, “You didn’t seem like the type to scare easily.”
    I spun around and looked at him. Black hair. Dark eyes. A complexion most people would kill for.
    “You’re the guy from the coffee shop!” I shouted, “You snuck into my car?!”
    “It wouldn’t be much use to deny it, I suppose. My name’s Ian.”
    “I would say it’s nice to meet you, but I’m not a great liar,” I said, “So far you’ve done nothing but cause me trouble.”
    Ian had the nerve to laugh, and it really ticked me off.
    “Trouble?” he said, “I’m trying to save your life.”
    “Funny way of doing it since you nearly made me get into a car accident!”
    “No,” he said, “You don’t understand. There are people after you. Lots of them.” Ian looked around like he was afraid someone might find us at any second.
    “What on Earth are you talking about?” I asked him, “No one’s after me. I’m a nobody.”
    “No, you’re wrong. This is going to sound crazy…”
    “Well, can’t argue with you there,” I said, “Why don’t you get out of my car before I call the cops?” I unbuckled my seatbelt so that I could turn around better and give Ian what I hoped was an intimidating stare.
    “I’m serious,” he said, “These people want to kill you.”
    “You’ve got the wrong girl,” I said, and if these people are so dangerous, why don’t you go to the police?”
    “They’d never believe me,” he said.
    “Well, let’s call them and find out,” I suggested, taking out my cell phone, “I have a stalker problem that I need to talk to them about anyway.”
    “You know what?” Ian said, “I give up. There’s nothing I can do to help you. Don’t say I didn’t give you fair warning.”
     

 
     
    Chapter 4
     
    I was sitting on my bed staring blankly at my homework when I heard it. Thunk. My parents were both working late again and my siblings were asleep, so who was making that noise? The doorknob to my bedroom turned and a tall man with white-blonde hair and a sinister expression entered.
    “Ah, so this is the fabled Erica that everyone’s been talking about,” he had a strange, not-quite-British accent.
    “Who’s been talking about me?” I asked, numb with panic.
    He shrugged, “Who hasn’t? Look, it’s nothing personal, but I have to do this. If you hold still enough, you may even live.” The man pulled out a silver dagger.
    I gasped and backed away, but he came closer. The man raised his dagger, but before he could swing down, he fell to the ground. Ian was standing behind him with a heavy bookend in his hand.
    When I looked down at the man, he had disappeared. Had he run away that fast?
    “Did he hurt you?” Ian asked, looking concerned. He picked up my hands one by one and looked at my fingers, as if checking to see if they were all there. Then he grabbed my hair and examined the tips of each strand.
    “Who was that man? What did he want?” I asked.
    “Your hair, your tears, your blood, who knows?” he said, “He may have even wanted your fingernails.”
    I shuddered, “But why?”
    “Your whole body holds a tremendous magic. Any part of it could give the owner great power. In fact, that’s how we can find you, by following the trail of power that’s leading to you.”
    “Who’s ‘we’?” I asked, “and what do you mean by magic? It’s like you’re speaking another language.”
    “Let me start at the beginning,” Ian said, “Both the man who attacked you and myself are not quite human. We’re fae. We live on the same planet as you, but in a different realm so we normally can’t interact. The only way to cross realms is to find a jumper, and I happen to be one. You are what is called a “Star.” There is only one Star in each generation in the human world, and they hold