Steven Santos - The Culling

I inhale cool saltiness. “I’ve never been away from all that cloud cover in the Parish. This is the first time I’ve ever gotten a really good look at the constellations.” I lean forward on the railing and point toward a particular cluster. “See there, I think that’s the one the ancients called Taurus.”

His shoulder grazes my own, his eyes following my finger as I trace an invisible pattern in the night. “ Tau-rus ? What’s that mean?”

“The legend goes that Taurus was a god disguised as some kind of animal-not sure what it’s called-a bull , I think. You see that outline that looks like a beast?”

He nods.

“Anyway, this Taurus fell in love with a beautiful princess while she was playing on the seashore and literally swept her off her feet, carrying her away and making her his lover.”

Digory turns and his eyes penetrate mine. “Leaving their symbol for all to see until the end of time. I like that.” He smiles again. “I don’t think I ever heard anything like that at the Instructional Facility. It’s one of those banned fairy tales the Establishment’s always going on about, isn’t it?”

I shrug, expecting him to bring up Cole’s story of the Lady, the story that Cassius used to damn us. He doesn’t. I exhale, plunging ahead before thoughts of Cole’s plight shut me down. “Apprenticing at the library and sneaking into the restricted section does have some advantages. The funny thing is, no matter how hard the Establishment tries to hide literature it doesn’t approve of from the world, the sky’s full of stories for all to see.”

Digory steps onto the lower railing, hikes a leg over the upper railing, and raises himself into a sitting position. “Like what else?” He holds out a hand to me. “Show me another story, Lucian.”

It’s as if one of those gods of the constellations is beckoning me, ready to sweep me away from the earth to live out the rest of my existence in the heavens.

I take his hand and allow him to haul me up beside him. “Let’s see.” My eyes scan the sky. “Ah, yep. That’s Orion.”

“Who’s Orion?” Digory’s face is lit up like Cole’s when I tell him about the Lady.

“Orion was a hunter.” I connect a group of stars with my finger. “You see how you can make out his bow and arrow?”

Digory laughs. “Yeah, I can see it. That’s incredible.”

“According to the restricted books,” I continue, “Orion hunted with two faithful beasts … now let’s see if I can … oh yeah … there’s one.” I trace another pattern in the sky.

Digory’s eyes squint. “I’m not sure I can make that out.”

“Of course you can. Here.” I take hold of his hand in mine and make the outline again.

“Oh, yeah. Now I see it, Lucian.” His smile fades. “Wait a minute. That looks like a Canid.”

“Very good, Mr. Tycho. You’re looking at Canis Major. And that”-our hands map out another cluster-“is Canis Minor.” I wink at him now. “Or the smaller Canid, as you’d call it. These two aren’t as visible this time of year as their master.”

“Hmm.” His brows knit in mock annoyance. “I’m not sure I like this guy Orion so much if he hangs out with Canids. Are you sure his name’s not really the Imposer ?”

I actually laugh out loud this time. “It’s not like that at all. The hunter was actually in love with one of seven sisters known as the Pleiades.” Once again I guide his warm hand in mine, indicating six bright lights.

“That’s only six,” he says, his breath hot in my ear. “What happened to the seventh?”

I purse my lips. “Alas, she didn’t return his love and went far away, never to be seen again.”

He shakes his head. “Poor guy.”

“That’s not the worst of it, though.”

He scoots closer. “What could be worse than having the person you love not want to have anything to do with you?”

My pulse gallops. “The poor, heartbroken Orion, wandering around in search of his lost love, stepped on Scorpius”

— I guide Digory’s hand toward another distinct pattern-“and died.”

Digory flinches. “Ouch! Not the ending I was hoping for.” He chuckles. “I think I like the Taurus story better.”

The salt air stings my eyes. “Not every story has a happy ending, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth telling.” I turn away. Concentrating on the brightest star I can find, I hope he won’t notice I’m doing everything possible not to give in to the ache I feel for my brother.

“I wonder what it would be like, Lucian, to love someone so totally, so … you know, so powerfully , that even the stars can’t contain themselves from proclaiming that love for everyone to see,” he says softly. “It must be the grandest feeling in the world.”

I shrug. “They’re only fairy tales. You said so yourself, Digory. ”

His eyes return to the sky. “They don’t have to be.” He squeezes my hand.

Neither of us says anything for the next few minutes. We just stare out to sea, listening to the waves crash in the distance, harmonized by the mourning wail of the wind.

“So tell me,” Digory says at last. “What story are you looking at now?”

I’m losing the fight against my emotions. “I’m not looking at a story. I’m just thinking how far away these stars really are. By the time their light reaches us, the stars could have been dead thousands of years.”

He brings my hand to his knee and holds it there. “Don’t worry. Cole’s all right, Lucian. I know he is. You have to keep believing that.”

My eyes burn. “But he’s a prisoner in that awful place-what did Cypress call it? Purgatorium.” I swipe at my eyes but the wind has already dried them. “He may as well be one of those stars.”

“But he’s not alone, Lucian. Look. Look up there.” Now it’s his turn to guide my hand in the sky. “You see that bright star up there?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Let’s just say that’s Cole for a minute. Well, look around, Lucky. He’s not alone. There are millions of other bright lights out there, and one of them is you.” He moves my hand to another star twinkling in a different area of the sky. “And as you just showed me, they’re all connected.” He begins moving my hand from star to star. “Sooner or later you’ll find the path that connects you to each other again.” He traces the final point until it interconnects with the bright star representing Cole. “I promise you.” He adds his other hand and completely envelops mine in his.

My sadness boils over into liquid heat stinging its way down my cheeks. I wrench my hand away. “How can you promise me something like that? You know what we’re up against, what’s about to happen. It’s an impossible situation, barring some unlikely miracle. The only way Cole and I can both survive this is if I can somehow make it through to the final round and win the Trials. In order for that to happen, everyone else’s loved ones will have to die in the Culling. Do you get that, Digory? Including the people you love, who, by the way, you’ve never told me a thing about. So unless you and the others are prepared to sacrifice your own just so I can see my little brother again, I’d refrain from making promises that will be impossible to keep.”

“I know how hopeless it seems, Lucian. Trust me. And I’m sure the other Recruits do too. But the moment you stop believing that it’s possible … well … that’s the moment that it’s not.”

Waves of confusion rock me. It’s hard enough living and training with Digory. But being alone with him-it stirs up too many conflicting emotions.

All that time at the Instructional Facility, he hardly ever spoke to me-barely even looked at me. What if all this newfound concern during our training is part of his strategy, making me … like him, rely on him … just so he can crush me when I least expect it, the way Cassius did?