黄昏之星 The Twilight Star

作者：Ariel Lawrence

我有太多问题想问她。我走在她身旁，偷瞄了她一眼。她正直视前方。我看到她的视线来回扫过这座公园的四周，她每走一步，红彤彤的头发都在反射着夕阳的余晖。她看到什么了吗？她平时就是这么巡逻的吗？她有没有觉得无聊？她为什么会来？我简直不敢相信她同意了。她为什么会来？我加快脚步跟上她的速度。

I have too many questions I want to ask her. I sneak a side-glance as we walk. She’s looking straight ahead. I watch her gaze sweep back and forth across the far perimeter of the park, her red hair catching the last scraps of the afternoon light with each step. Does she see something? Is this the way she normally patrols? Is she bored? Why is she here? I can’t believe she wanted to come. Why did she come? I quicken my pace to keep up.

“厄运——我是说，莎拉。”我想起来她那时说的。

“Fortun—Sarah,” I say, remembering.

她依然看着前面的路，我也没有停下脚步。

She doesn’t look away from the path ahead, so I keep going.“Thanks for coming. I know this was a kinda last-minute ask. Lulu draws weird stuff sometimes. A lot, actually. And the other Star Guardians from your team—”

“谢谢你能来。我知道这个请求很唐突。璐璐有的时候会画一些奇怪的东西。其实是经常画。而你队伍中的其他星之守护者——”

“Ez really does have detention, Lux,” she says.

“伊泽真的是被留在学校了，拉克丝。”她说。

“Oh,” I stammer. “It’s cool.” I can feel the pink in my cheeks. I tug on the tips of my gloves. She turns to look at me, a smug grin softening her face.

“噢，”我结结巴巴地说。“好厉害。”我感觉脸颊发热。我拽了拽手套的指尖。她回过头看我，一丝得意的嬉笑缓和了她一脸的严肃。

“He wanted to be here,” she says. “Soraka too, but Pantheon’s was short staffed. And tonight is Syndra’s astronomy class at the university—”

“他也想来的，”她说，“索拉卡也想来，但潘森店里缺人。然后辛德拉今晚有大学的天文课——”

“—And Ahri?” I blurt out too quickly.

“——阿狸呢？”我脱口而出，立刻后悔。

Sarah’s smile tightens. “She’s been busy.”

莎拉的笑容僵住了。“她一直很忙。”

“No worries,” I say, looking for a way to change the subject. In the middle of the park, Janna pushes Poppy and a free-loading Jinx on a squeaky merry-go-round. Lulu sways idly in a close-by swing set, its metal chains clang softly, like lonely windchimes. There’s no one else in the park besides us. “It’s pretty quiet.”

“别担心。”我想着如何换个话题。在公园中央，迦娜正在推着波比和大摇大摆的金克丝玩旋转木马。璐璐在旁边的一架秋千上荡得像飞一样，铁链发出的碰撞声像孤独的风铃般轻柔。公园里除了我们以外一个人都没有。“好安静。”

“Like you said, it’s probably nothing,” she says casually.

“你说得对，应该不用担心。”她轻松地说。

I take the folded slip of paper out of my pocket. The frayed edge where I tore it out of Lulu’s notebook flutters in the breeze. The shapes of the playground equipment and power lines surrounding Valoran City’s metro park were clear enough, but it was the dozens of circles in the sky that worried me. Poppy said that it was too warm in physics class, and Lulu was just doodling to stay awake.

我从兜里抽出一页对折的纸。我从璐璐的笔记本上撕下这页纸时留下的毛边在轻风中拍打。上面画的游乐设施、瓦洛兰城市地铁公园以及周围的电线都足以让人辨认出来，但让我感到担心的是天空中的几十个圈圈。波比说当时是物理课上太热，璐璐为了不犯困所以随手涂的。

“Look!” Lulu shouts from the swing, snapping me out of my thoughts. She is at the top of the swing’s arc, gesturing excitedly at the horizon. A bright spot has risen just over the silhouette of the skyline. “Twilight star! I saw it first.”

“快看！”秋千上的璐璐大喊一声，打断了我的思绪。她荡到了最高点，正在兴奋地指着天边。天际线的剪影上方升起了一个光点。“黄昏星！我第一个看到的！”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. It’s just a star. Stars can’t hurt us.

长吁一口气以后，我才意识到自己一直提着一口气。只是一颗星星而已。没有危险。

“The twilight star is not a real star,” Poppy groans. “Technically it’s a planet.”

“黄昏星和启明星是同一颗行星，并不是恒星，”波比严肃地说，“它本身并不发光。”

“Janna said everything has starlight in it,” Lulu argues back.

“迦娜说过世间万物都蕴含着星光。”璐璐反驳道。

Janna nods her head in agreement.

迦娜赞同地点了点头。

“What are you gonna wish for, Loops?” Jinx juggles Shiro and Kuro absently as the merry-go-round spins. Lulu pumps her legs on the swing, pushing it higher.

“你许个愿吧，小璐。”金克丝心不在焉地逗弄着小黑和小白，旋转木马依然在转。璐璐在秋千上探出双腿，让自己荡得更高。

“More stars!” she shouts. “I want to see more stars.”

“更多星星！”她喊道，“我想看到更多星星。”

“But it’s not dark yet,” Jinx says. “The other stars aren’t out yet.”

“可是天还没黑呢，”金克丝说，“其余的星星都还没出来呢。”

“Doesn’t matter.” Lulu pumps her legs harder. “The other stars are always there no matter what. Even if you can’t see them.”

“没关系，”璐璐把腿伸得更直了，“其余的星星一直都在天上。只是你看不到而已。”

“Rocket-breath is right,” Poppy says, hiding her reluctant agreement with Jinx by examining a non-existent scuff on her hammer. “It needs to get really dark before you can see the stars in the city. It’s not like at the camp.”

“炮筒子说的没错，”波比说道，为了不让自己显得十分赞同金克丝，她正在检查战锤上不存在的伤痕。“在城市里需要等到天完全黑透以后才能看到星星。这和露营可不一样。”

I cup my hands together and shout back to them, “You’re all right.” Jinx opens her mouth to argue, but shrugs and takes the win.

我把双手拢在嘴边对她们喊，“你们说的都对。”金克丝想张嘴反驳，但耸耸肩接受了这次胜利。

I turn back to Sarah.

我回过头面向莎拉。

“Are they always like this?” she asks. I’m sure she’s thinking about us compared to her own team. How this kind of talk would never happen if it was only them. They would just get right down to business. Search the park and be done. I can’t tell if she’s disappointed or annoyed or both.

“她们一直都这样吗？”她问道。她一定是在拿我们和她自己的小队作对比。如果换成她们的小队，这种对话根本不会发生。她们会干脆利落地完成公园的巡逻然后收队。我不知道她是感到无聊还是头疼还是二者都有。

“You mean are they always this argumentative?” I offer. “No, I mean, well, yes… sometimes—”

“你是说她们总这么拌嘴吗？”我找了个台阶。“也不算，只是，偶尔……吵一吵——”

“This innocent,” she says, quietly.

“我是说这样天真无邪。”她淡淡地说。

“Well, you have Ahri to lead you. Of course you always know what you’re doing. Us, well… All they’ve had is me.”

“嗯，你们有阿狸的带领。当然总能目标明确。我们嘛……她们只有我这样的队长。”

“Innocent isn’t always a bad thing.” She has that faraway look on her face again, like she’s trying to remember a dream she had a long time ago. She nods her head slowly as if agreeing on the memory. “Yes, that’s who you remind me of.”

“天真无邪并不一定是坏事。”她又是一脸失神的表情，就像是想要回想起某个很久以前的梦。她慢慢地点了点头，似乎是与自己的回忆达成了一致。“是的，你让我想起了那个人。”

“Me? Remind you of Ahri?!” I ask, trying desperately to not sound desperate. Does she really think I’m like Ahri? Which part? Maybe a younger Ahri? I mean, she should know, she’s Ahri’s lieutenant. Did Ahri have multiple lieutenants on her old team? Maybe if our teams join, I can be another one, like Sarah?

“我？让你想起阿狸？！”我手足无措地想要掩盖自己声音中的手足无措。她真的认为我像阿狸吗？哪里像？可能是像阿狸小的时候？嗯，她们应该小时候就认识，毕竟她是阿狸的副队长。阿狸上一个小队里有多名副队长吗？或许如果我们的小队也加入，我也可以成为另一个副队长，和莎拉一样？

“No.” Sarah lets out a sharp laugh. I don’t know if she can read minds, but my hope deflates like an untied balloon.

“不。”莎拉突然大笑一声。我不知道她是不是有读心术，但我的希望就像没扎口的气球一样泄了气。

“Someone else. You remind me of someone else,” she says, softening. “Someone I lost a long time ago. She had pink hair too.” She looks me over again, and I try not to squirm under the scrutiny. “Come to think of it, you’re also too loyal for your own good… and such a dreamer. You’re kinda a mix of all of them,” she says.

“是别人。你让我想起了别人。”她的语气柔和了下来，“某个我在很久前失去的人。她也是粉色头发。”她再次打量我一番，我努力让自己不在审视的目光下扭扭捏捏。“说起来，你也是把对朋友的忠诚放在自己的安危之上……而且还是个大梦想家。你几乎是他们所有人的融合。”她说。

Them? The team you lost? Is this a bad thing? Who were they? I add ten more questions I want to ask her to the list running constantly in my head.

他们？是指你失去的小队吗？我做错了吗？他们都是谁？

How did it happen?

“Lux! Sarah! Look.” Lulu yells happily, interrupting my thoughts before I can get any further. “My wish!”

We look back at the distant playground. I run through a quick check. Lulu. Jinx. Poppy. Janna. Still safe and sound. The twilight has softened all of them, making them seem younger than they really are. The street lamps in the park click on in an unsettling coincidence. Hovering above the team are a swarm of twinkling lights. The team looks like they’re caught in a magical dream.

“Loops, It’s like Short Stop said, it’s not dark enough…” The creaking of the merry-go-round slows to a stop as Janna, Poppy, and Jinx look up as well. It’s getting darker fast. Too fast. I can barely see the trees around the edge of the park. Sarah and I start walking back toward the playground more quickly.

“Those aren’t stars,” Sarah says. I squint to get a better look. The points of light waver, almost glistening. As we get closer I can see what Sarah means. Dozens of thin translucent spheres reflect the light from the street lamps. Bubbles? They were… bubbles? I stuff Lulu’s drawing into the cuff of my glove.

“I don’t think the twilight star heard you right, Lulu,” Poppy says. “Those are bubbles.”

They aren’t just bubbles. One of them floats down toward Poppy, almost as if it was following the sound of her voice. Poppy steps back, letting it drift toward the metal railing of the merry-go-round.

The hushed silence is interrupted by a snort-laugh from Jinx. “C’mon. They’re harmless—”

A trail of bubbles begins to close in on her. I reach for my wand as I start running. “Jinx!”

I throw the staff out ahead of me. It and a prismatic rainbow of starlight just graze the top of Jinx’s pigtails before returning to my hand. A sphere of multicolored light covers Jinx and Poppy. A few bubbles bounce off the barrier and pop against the swing set leaving behind a swirl of dark mist, fluttering black shapes—bugs perhaps, or moths?—and a long, high-pitched laugh, like the delighted cackle of a child.

“That can’t be good, right?” Jinx whisper-yells. “Let’s pop these bad boys!”

“My thoughts exactly.” A double shot of Sarah’s twin pistols fire before she can finish her sentence. A wave of bubbles pop in a shower of black haze and twisted butterflies.

“What’s inside doesn’t look that great either,” Poppy says.“Don’t let them touch you.” Janna’s eyes glow lavender. A breeze picks up in the park as she begins to rise off the ground. The air current gathers fallen leaves as it begins to draw the bubbles together. Janna corrals them and the darkness they contain into a dense pack. Each of them pushes against each other, almost as if they were annoyed at being restrained.

The high-pitched laugh stops short and is quickly replaced by an annoyed groan. The noise echoes around us, setting my teeth on edge. In the center of the pack of toxic bubbles that Janna gathered, a thin circle takes shape. The circle opens into a portal, letting long tendrils snake out from some dark dimension. One unsettling squid eye opens, followed by a second. The gelatinous blob unfolds into some cross between an evil octopus and demonic jellyfish.

“Take it down,” Sarah yells. Shiro and Kuro fire eagerly. Poppy twists around, pulling her hammer back for a long, arcing hit. She growls through the effort as the hammer swings around. In a resounding smack, it connects with the bubble mass, knocking the now angry and disoriented jellyfish out of the center. The malcontent blob drifts for a moment, but collects itself and the scattered bubble pack. They move purposefully toward Sarah.

“Sarah, get down,” I yell. I can feel the heavy power of pure starlight channel through my staff, vibrating the bones in my fingers and arm. The creature darts around, hiding behind bubbles. I fire in a beam of white-hot light. The little jellyfish slips between the bubbles and I miss. I try to get closer, but it feels like time is standing still.

“Loops, no!” Jinx yells.

It’s too late. From out of nowhere, a tiny Lulu pushes Sarah out of the way. Sarah lands hard, but rolls onto her back, both barrels blasting above her.

One bubble escapes the pack above. It floats down, straining to get closer. It breaks against Lulu’s cheek in a wet pop. The darkness seeps out, expanding, and in the space of two heartbeats, Lulu is enveloped by an inky cloud. Her eyes close as she crumples to the ground in a small heap. I dive for Lulu, scooping her up in my arms. More bubbles pop above me as Sarah and Jinx finish off the last of them. A portal opens above the dark jellyfish. The maniacal laughter gets louder and the little beast floats toward the opening, almost as if was buoyed by the sound. As it crosses the portal’s threshold, it disappears, taking the remains of the dark magic with it.

I bring my ear down to Lulu’s face. She’s breathing, slow and even… is she asleep?

“Lulu!” I shake her by the shoulders. Lulu lets out a soft moan and her eyes flutter for a second. I bring my wand up, the brightness is near blinding. Lulu’s closed eyes flinch. “Lulu, by Starlight, wake up!”

“Lost. They were lost.” Lulu’s voice is barely a whisper. Her eyes close tighter against the light, and her lip quivers. It’s as if she’s stuck in a nightmare. “Dark now,” she says.

Lulu sits bolt upright, her blue eyes wide open now. She looks past all of us, like we’re not there, like she’s seeing through us to somewhere else. Like she’s somewhere else.

“She’s on her way,” Lulu says.

“She? Who, Lulu? Who’s on their way?” This is big. One blaring thought shuts out all the others in my brain. Could it be her? Is Ahri on her way? I bite my lip. I look around at Janna, Poppy, Jinx, and finally Sarah.

“Ahri!” I say. “Ahri will know.”

“No,” Sarah says.

“Of course she will.” I push off her muted reply, trying to keep a smile of optimism for the others. “Can you call her, Sarah?”

“I can’t.” Sarah won’t look at me.

“Wait, why?”

“We’re not talking right now,” she says quietly.

“Sarah, I think this is more important than—”

“—The slumber party.” Sarah interrupts looking me straight in the eye. “That night. She was supposed to come. At the last minute, she said there was something she had to take care of. Something she wouldn’t let me help with. I thought she was just being…”

“Ahri,” I finish as she nods her head in confirmation. “You haven’t seen her since?”

Sarah shakes her head no, tightening her grip on the pair of pistols in her lap. Just before Sarah looks away, I see it—a flicker of panic. I can feel my heart thump harder in my chest.

A hundred more questions flood my brain. My stomach tightens.

What could make Sarah panic like this? Where did Ahri go? What’s coming?

Are we strong enough to face it?

Am I strong enough?

I want to ask her, but I can’t.