The Stargazers Read Online Free

The Stargazers
Book: The Stargazers Read Online Free
Author: Allison M. Dickson
Pages:
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Cupping her hands around its small head, she took a deep breath and blew into the animal the way one would a horn. A moment later, Larkspur’s legs and body began to puff up and elongate. Real fur, lush and shiny, sprang forth from the patchy velvet, in the same pattern her beloved stuffed companion had—smoky gray with faint white stripes on his flanks. White fur covered his belly, complete with the black spots she’d always loved. He was the largest cat she’d ever seen that wasn’t wild.
    When Dahlia pulled her mouth away, an alert and blue-eyed Larkspur, as real and breathing as Aster herself, sat on Dahlia's lap, purring and docile. Its nub of a tail moved in circular motions like a much longer tail would. He jumped down to rub his head against Aster’s legs. “Oh, Mother, he’s perfect! Just like I always imagined it.”
    “He’s a hair cross-eyed I think. But he should still see just fine. I’d say with the stubbed tail, it adds character. He’ll never be confused for another cat, that’s for sure.”
    Larkspur would be her only real friend in that lonely and mysterious other world. Of course, he was the only friend she had here as well. She picked him up and cuddled him close, breathing in the clean scent of his fur. It was as if he had always been real. “This is the best thing anyone has ever done for me.”
    Dahlia’s face was both satisfied and sad. It was an expression she wore often. “He’s a good animal. He will be useful to you.” She got up and walked toward the door. “We’d better head down and help Oleander set the table, before she decides to poison our food.”
    “I don’t know why you don’t just put her in her place. You and Nanny Lily. And me.”
    Dahlia sighed. “It’s family, Aster. The ties that bind us together are forever, whether they’re strangling us or not.”
    Aster didn’t agree. Family or not, it shouldn’t be too hard to cut ties with people who are terrible to you, but she didn’t want to spoil the beautiful moment her mother had created for her. 
    After situati ng Larkspur on the bed, they headed down the stairs, Aster holding Dahlia’s hand to stabilize her. Oleander gave them a contemptuous glare as she slapped chocolate frosting on the cake in hasty globs. “It’s about time you got down here. I’ve been slaving in that potion room all day and now I have to frost this cake. All I want to do is eat and stop herding you goats around all day.”
    Angry words trembled on Aster’s lips, but she bit them back. For Dahlia. “What can I do, Aunt O?”
    “Just put your rear in a chair. It’s what you’re best at. We can’t have our precious Great Mother get her pretty little skirts dirty for her own party.”
    Aster stared at her purple hands and bit back her mounting rage. Why did Oleander have to ruin everything that was supposed to be good?
    “Oh and keep that flea-bitten beast out of my way.” Oleander pointed a chocolate-coated spoon at Larkspur, who had decided to follow them down after all and was sitting on the bottom step. “Last thing I need is for it to get tangled around my feet while I’m bringing this cake to the table.” 
    Aster rolled her eyes and watched Dahlia, Nanny Lily, and Holly scurry around their cramped dining room and kitchen, distributing plates and dishes under Oleander’s specific direction while Papa Quercus stirred a giant pot of soup on the stove.
    After a mile-long spread consisting of stuffed goose, roasted vegetables, apple soup, sweet and salty breads, and a towering chocolate cake were laid out on the table, the women and Quercus gathered around. Everything smelled delicious, but just as Aster had expected this morning as she was shopping for the ingredients, she didn’t have the stomach to eat any of it. She would fill her plate nonetheless, just to keep the peace.
    Nanny Lily took her usual seat at the head of the table, flanked by Quercus and Dahlia. A nimbus of glowing silver hair framed the elder
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