As the grade steepened, so did the required effort. Cold air scratched his aching lungs with each raspy breath. So often before had the old man walked the meandering trail, he knew it by heart, and the deepening snow cover didn't matter. While his core grew warm from the exertion, his feet grew colder, numbing and prickling at the same time.

The falling snow rate increased, and a quickening wind blew it into chaotic frenzy, nearly a blizzard. Tiny ice-daggers stung his exposed face while the wind fluttered the lantern candle flame, threatening darkness. Winter, it seemed, conspired against him, another cruelty from an uncaring universe.

And he knew some things about the universe that nobody else did, scary things.

✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩✩

After carefully placing Celesta within his bed, Levi descended the stairs, coming into the shop workroom, where he found Ezra leaning on his cane, face painted with concern.

"Is she well?" Ezra asked.

"Just exhausted," Levi replied. Then his eyebrows shot up. "You saw?"

"Yes. Most of it. Quite the show." Tightening his lips, he continued, "If I may ask, and you need not answer, who is Celesta?"

Levi plopped down on a wooden bench and leaned forward, elbows on knees. "I risk disbelief to answer truthfully, but she is a star, or rather, the soul of one. One night, she fell into my arms."

"Like that book, Flare in the Night?"

Levi looked up, raising an eyebrow. "You read it?"

"You loaned it to me one time, remember? A good story, by the way."

"So, it is. But yes, there are similarities."

Ezra rolled his eyes and huffed out a breath. "By the Creator, Levi, when I said you should find a good woman, I didn't mean to pluck her from the sky."

Levi paused, staring, then a grin came to his lips. "When you put it that way, it does sound strange."

"But seriously, what are you going to do now?"

Too many people witnessed the incident, Levi realized, for there not to be repercussions. But for Celesta, such a thought likely never crossed her mind. With her last ounce of strength, she helped those afflicted by the Shadows — such was her heart. That had to count for something. He rubbed his temples and let out a sigh. "I don't know. Maybe go on a picnic?"

*****

"Where are you taking me?" Celesta asked, sliding closer to Levi.

Star plodded along the tree-lined winding road, pulling a borrowed wooden wagon on which Levi and Celesta rode. The iron-lined wooden wheels jolted the passengers with each pothole or rock, only slightly dampened by the coiled iron frame that supported the wooden bench seat. But for the distance, it was more comfortable than horseback. A picnic basket, an old blanket, and a few other items bounced along behind them.

"A favorite place of mine," Levi responded. "I think you will like it."

Celesta had slept much of the remaining morning. When she awoke, he suggested they get away for the afternoon after the earlier incident. An unpleasant tingling came to Levi's gut as suspicious eyes tracked their ride out of Gilmoor. No doubt, they would face town scrutiny, but not yet.

The road followed the River Lud, a clear stream that flowed down from distant snow-capped mountains. The burble of falling water and gentle rushing of a warm breeze through the pine trees soothed Levi's anxious spirit, although not as much as Celesta's close presence. Siting hip-to-hip, she leaned against his shoulder, wearing the shirt and trousers purchased yesterday, a casual look that fit the wild scenery.

The road narrowed, becoming two faint tracks across the gravelly soil, then descended to a rocky river crossing. There was no sign of anyone else, just as Levi hoped.

He halted the horse just before the crossing, and announced, "Here we are."

Celesta jumped from the wagon and spun around, lips turning up and eyes widening to take in the scene. Upstream, the stream bounded down over granite steps, emerging from a narrow gray-rock walled gulley shaded by tall pines, then sloshing into a wide crystal pool. Downstream, the water widened into lazy curves, making its way across an expansive green meadow marked with colorful wildflowers. Towering white-topped mountains in the distance framed the scene.

"Not bad, huh?" Levi said with a grin.

"Truly a magical place," Celesta replied, smiling.

After Levi unfastened the horse from the harness, he handed Celesta a small burlap bag containing apples, explaining, "A treat for Star. Give him a couple and you will be his best friend forever."

Celesta giggled as, one by one, Star snatched the fruits from her hand and munched contentedly.

A blanket spread on rounded river rock hosted a picnic lunch of bread, cheese, dried beef, and apples. To drink, Levi uncorked a bottle of blackberry wine, which they drank by turning the bottle up to their lips.

But when the bottle neared half empty, Celesta swayed slightly, and remarked, "This drink has a peculiar effect."

"That, it does," Levi responded, trading the bottle for a corked metal canteen of water. "Best we do not drink too much."

Celesta sat close to Levi as they ate, sometimes casting glances and coy smiles his way. Desire moved within him, and her proximity was far more intoxicating than the wine. Through their link, he knew she felt much the same. Dare they act on these feelings?

Or dare they not?

With two fingers, Levi turned Celesta's face toward him, then leaned in until only a breath separated their lips. She didn't resist, lips parting and eyes widening. Those starry eyes, so impossibly deep.

"May I kiss you?" Levi whispered.

Celesta pulled in a breath, then whispered back, "I know not how to kiss."

"I shall not claim expertise, but the concept is simple enough."

"Show me."

Levi closed the distance, tenderly brushing his lips against hers, lingering there. His arm looped around her shoulders, pulling her closer. The kiss was more gravity than supernova, becoming an inevitability that pulled hearts together.

Sweet euphoria claimed Levi's mind, and he gave in to the sensations. So soft, so perfect.

Celesta followed his lead, lips dancing with his — opening, closing, and moving in synch. Her hand cupped the back of his neck, locking the kiss and pressing in. A shimmer engulfed her, starlight reaching out, connecting.

For these moments, the universe folded in on itself, comprised only them.

When Levi's lips pulled back, the warmest of smiles brightened hers. Celesta's eyes dipped down demurely, but then lifted to reconnect, becoming a visual caress. "I like this kissing," she purred.

"It helps when you have the right partner."

"May we do it again?"

A second kiss led to a third as they laid back in mutual embrace. From the fourth on, all sense of hesitancy faded away. Bodies and passions intertwined while hands explored. Levi's heart soared, and through mental link to his willing partner, he knew her heart soared with him.

For an extended time, Levi and Celesta snuggled on the blanket, accompanied by the burbling stream and birdsong. But the cooling breeze faded away, and Sol blazed all the more, warming the air beyond typical for an autumn day. Combined with Celesta's body heat, Levi sweltered.

"Care for a dip in the pool, my lady star?" he asked, placing a kiss on her forehead. "The afternoon has become quite warm."

Celesta lifted her head. "Won't the water be cold?"

"Bracing it will be. But I sometimes come here to bathe."

"Very well," Celesta responded, as a sly grin came to her lips. "But only if you shall kiss me more."

Levi stood and bowed elegantly, sweeping out an arm, "A price I am willing to pay, my dear lady."

After Levi retrieved a towel and soap from the wagon, they shed clothing and his glasses, then tip-toed hand-in-hand across smooth pebbles to the water's edge. The cascading water that dumped into the round pool created fluttering ripples across the clear surface. Shafts of sunlight that passed between tall trees created shifting patterns of light across the rocky floor.

Fixed were Levi's eyes on the nude woman at his side, and no force of will would have budged them. By the Creator, she is enchanting.

Celesta dipped a foot in the water, then immediately withdrew it with a gasp. "Bracing it is, Levi." Releasing his hand, she stepped back and lifted her hands. A swarm of tiny stars emerged from her fingertips, then plunged into the water. Surface ripples fluttered the light from below.

While Levi looked on in awe, Celesta dipped her foot again, then pronounced, "There, much better. Cool, but not cold."

Levi grinned. "Amazing, my lady star."

Levi settled into a natural depression he knew well, sitting where the water came up to his chest, then invited Celesta to join him, facing away. After paying a kiss, he leaned her head back to dunk thick silver hair. Then with his fingers, gently massaged her scalp while drawing soap through her hair.

Celesta closed her eyes and purred, "I like this bathing."

After rinsing, they traded places, and Celesta washed Levi's hair. Warm contentment flowed through him.

Levi sat back in the depression and held out a hand, prompting Celesta to take a place on his lap. She leaned back against his chest while his arms circled her waist. When her head turned sideways and up, lips met again for an extended kiss.

Desire flared within Levi's core. She had to know, he reasoned, if not through their mental link, then from a physical manifestation that pressed against her back. Conflicting thoughts rose, present insistent desire versus a lifetime of embedded moral teachings. And Celesta was innocent.

If she asks, he resolved, then so.

"Touch me," Celesta pleaded, breaking through his thoughts.

"Where?"

"Everywhere."

His fingertips traced her body, touching lightly, teasing. Tiny sparkles of starlight erupted from soft skin where he touched. Celesta's breath quickened and her eyes closed as she pressed herself back against him. The touches increased Levi's mounting desire, and as clearly expressed through their mental link, hers as well.

When Levi's fingertips drew a line up Celesta's legs between her thighs, an airy moan escaped her lips and her back arched.

Levi stopped, drawing a faint whimper from Celesta. "Shall I continue?" he whispered.

"Please," she responded in an airy voice. "Levi... I want--"

Sharp thunder, rolling through the hills made them both jump. And simultaneously, they groaned with frustration. Only now did Levi notice the dark western cloud bank that soon would cover the sun.

Does the universe conspire against us?

"Best we return now," Levi sighed. "Warm autumn days sometimes trigger powerful storms, and the road is prone to flooding."

Another round of booming thunder added an exclamation point. Levi and Celesta scurried to put on clothes, load the wagon, and hitch Star. With Celesta clinging to his side, Levi urged Star faster, but being careful to not overtax the horse. The skies darkened and a stiff west wind rose, bending the trees. Just as they reached the cabin, the storm hit. Levi dodged cold raindrops as he ran from the barn, where he left Star with a few extra apples as compensation for the hurried return. Dark clouds roiled overhead.

Levi pulled the cabin front door closed with two hands against a sudden howling wind that insisted on leaving it open. Rain patted against the roof, sporadic at first, then increasing to a steady drum roll.

Breathing deeply from the exertion, Levi turned to find Celesta at his side, gazing up with those deep eyes. With a relieved breath, he remarked, "We just beat the storm--"

Celesta stole his words by wrapping arms around his neck and drawing his lips down for a deep kiss. Levi pulled her tight against him with arms around her waist. Hearts reconnected, and passion came home.

"What storm?" Celesta mumbled after breaking the kiss and nuzzling against him.

Within minutes, the storm's fury passed them by, leaving behind gentle rain. But it also brought chilled air. Levi lit a fire within the iron stove while Celesta laid out what remained of the picnic lunch.

"I thank you for this day," Celesta said after eating. "Much did I enjoy it."

"As did I."

"You showed me the best of your reality, now, allow me to show you what was mine among the stars."

At Celesta's invitation they sank together to a rug, sitting cross-legged, facing each other while interlocking fingers.

"What do I do?" Levi asked.

"Close your eyes, relax, and let me guide your spirit."

With a deep breath, Levi focused on their mental link, letting Celesta take control. He gasped as his mind jumped from his body, lifting above. He nearly lost the link while looking down upon himself and Celesta, as if a bird perched above. Vertigo seized him.

"I have you," Celesta said through the link, mentally grasping when he stumbled. "Stay with me, Levi."

"What is this, that I see above myself?"

"An astral projection of sorts. A way to experience afar without being there. It is how Deus gather, although most choose not to." Her feelings expressed concern for his disorientation. "Shall I continue, Levi? Perhaps, the human mind is not capable--"

"Only an initial shock. Please continue."

Their linked minds zoomed above the Earth, passed the red planet Mars, the swirling colors of Jupiter with its moons, and the silvery rings of Saturn. Levi marveled, having only seen them before as points of light through his telescope. And beyond, there were other planets he had not known existed.

"So beautiful," he mumbled. Celesta projected a mental smile in reply.

Then they burst from Sol's domain into an abyss that Levi's mind could not comprehend. But even within the vastness between stars had a presence, an indescribable thrum of consciousness that soothed his soul.

"It is the spirit of the Creator," Celesta responded to his unasked question. "The Creator and Creation are inseparable."

They flew past stars, blazing orbs casting light into the cosmos, and the surrounding planetary bodies they warmed.

"What life might these worlds hold?" Levi thought to himself.

Celesta heard. "Much life is there among the cosmos, but none like humanity."

As the astral journey continued, Celesta stopped within a dark space, and Levi detected a deep sadness within her spirit. "My star once existed here," she whispered, as if in reverence, "until the Void took it."

Celesta once said that it was not her nature to grieve what has passed, but she did. Through their link, Levi detected a mourning buried deep within her mind.

Her mood brightened as she remarked, "But then you saved me, Levi, and I am with you."

"I know not how I accomplished that, but I am most happy that I did."

"As am I. Within your soul is a spirit of Deus, a kind of star sense I understand not. It is how our minds linked."

"Perhaps, that is why the stars have always fascinated me."

She directed attention to several planets flying off into the darkness without a star to hold them, cold and lifeless. "Once, some of these were vibrant with life."

Icy dread rose within Levi's mind. "Could that be the fate of Earth?"

"I see no reason the Void would choose to consume Sol. But certain, I am not." She turned away from grief, saying, "Let us continue our journey."

They passed many more stars, some giant and blindingly bright, and others small and dim, most in between. Levi marveled at them all. Then, Celesta settled within an expanding cosmic dust cloud, although far less dense than any earthly cloud. Parts of the cloud clumped together, swirling in on themselves. In his astral vision, it glowed in a rainbow of wispy colors, backlit by several new stars.

"Beautiful," Levi whispered.

"A favorite place of mine, this nebula," Celesta responded, mentally sweeping her view. "Within the remains of an old star, new stars are born. Like a nursery, it is. Most of these are not yet claimed by Deus."

Levi let his mind drift, undoing focus to simply drift among the cosmos. After several moments, he said, "Thank you, Celesta, for sharing these wonders."

Celesta's spirit surrounded him in an astral version of an embrace. "I am happy to--"

A distant wail pierced their minds, terror-stricken with panic, reminding Levi of a lamb's final death cries within the jaws of a wolf pack. He mentally shuddered.

"No!" Celesta cried out.

"What is it?"

"The Void takes another star and its Deus."

Celesta sped across the cosmos toward the cry, inducing vertigo that nearly overwhelmed Levi. A star shone before them, but dimmed and reddened. Although as Darkness against the black of space, yet Levi somehow observed the Void as it stretched wide around the star in deadly embrace, like jaws of swirling, thick smoke.

The Void, he realized, was an extension from another reality, a universe of Darkness beyond his own. Much like the Shadows, a desolation, but on a far greater scale. The Darkness fed on both stars and Deus.

The Deus cried out again with a mournful desolation that shook Levi's soul. But to Celesta, the anguish was greater, reminding her of her own star's consumption. But there was more than remembrance in her pain — she knew this Deus.

"Leonus," she said to the suffering Deus in broken mental speech. "I am sorry."

The Deus ceased its wail, apparently surprised at her presence. It appeared before her in the astral likeness of glimmering starlight. "Celesta, is that you?

"It is so." Sorrow colored her aura.

"How? The Void took your star as it takes mine now. How is this possible?"

"I linked with a sentient creature and have taken new form," she replied. "I know not how or why, but still I exist."

Levi stretched his mind, seeking to connect with the Deus, perhaps to save Leonus as he once saved Celesta. But he could not connect, as if reaching toward a drowning victim too far away. And it seemed the Deus did not even sense him.

"No such fortune have I," Leonus mourned. "So many of us have the Void taken. Yet, I am grateful to not perish alone. Celesta--"

Leonus' words abruptly ended, and his starlight form vanished. The Void engulfed the star, leaving only cold emptiness in its place.

In a burst of sorrow, Celesta's astral projection collapsed and Levi found himself back with her in the cabin, sitting before her, hands linked. With heaving sobs, she collapsed forward into his arms, trembling.

"I'm sorry, Celesta," he whispered, pulling her head against his shoulder. Salty tears dripped onto his chest. The woman in his arms, also Deus, truly grieved.

The fears that lingered in Levi's mind, Celesta put into words. "Uncertain is our future. Shadows came for me twice, and likely will again. And what if the Void takes Sol? The end of all..."

Sitting together on the floor, Levi squeezed her tighter against himself and spoke as bravely as he could. "We will face together what comes."

"Much do I love you, Levi," Celesta whispered within the embrace.

"And I, my lady star," he whispered in response, "much do I love you."

Celesta wiped water from her cheeks and lifted moist, yearning eyes. "Levi, I know desire burns bright within you, as it does for me. Let us allow full expression."