Stealing Starlight Read online

  Copyright © 2017 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

  All rights reserved. Published by Disney Press, an imprint of Disney Book Group. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information address Disney Press, 1101 Flower Street, Glendale, California 91201.

  ISBN 978-1-368-00179-3

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  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Have You Ever Wondered What Happens When You Make a Wish?

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Don’t Miss These Other Star Darlings Books

  Good friends help each

  other be great.

  Have you ever wondered what happens when you make a wish?

  When you blow out your birthday candles, or toss a coin into a fountain, or pull a wishbone apart, your wish goes out into the universe. But what you probably don’t know is that your wish turns into a glowing Wish Orb, invisible to the human eye. This orb travels from Earth on a one-way trip to the brightest star in the sky—Starland.

  Starland is inhabited by Starlings, who have magical powers that they use to make good wishes come true. When good wishes are granted, the result is positive energy—and Starlings need this energy. It’s what keeps their world running. There are different types of wishes:

  GOOD WISHES: Positive wishes that come from the heart.

  Examples: I wish to get an A in math; I wish I could get along with my sister; I wish to be a fashion designer.

  Good Wish Orbs are kept in Wish-Houses. Once the time is right for them to be granted, they begin to sparkle. When that happens the orb is presented to the appropriate Starling, who will travel to find the Wisher and help make it come true.

  BAD WISHES: Negative wishes meant for selfish, mean-spirited things.

  Examples: I wish my friend would fail; I wish I could control people; I wish my enemy would get hurt.

  Bad Wish Orbs are transferred to the Negative Energy Facility. They are very dangerous, filled with negative energy, and must not be granted.

  IMPOSSIBLE WISHES: These simply can’t be granted by Starlings.

  Examples: I wish for world peace; I wish all diseases would disappear; I wish my pet hadn’t died.

  These extra-bright orbs are contained in a special area of the Wish-House, with the hope that one day they might be turned into good wishes that Starlings can help grant.

  INSPIRATIONAL WISHES: Wishes for things that haven’t been achieved before.

  Examples: I wish to be the first female president; I wish to invent a new vaccine; I wish to be the fastest runner in history.

  Massive amounts of positive energy are released when these wishes are granted, but even better, they inspire countless other people to wish for things they thought weren’t possible. These wishes show us we shouldn’t let ourselves be limited by society’s expectations!

  Starlings take their wish granting very seriously, especially the twelve Star-Charmed Starlings—the Star Darlings—who attend a special school called Starling Academy….

  The glimmerdust had finally settled after the standoff between the Star Darlings and the evil Rancora, where they battled over the fate of Starland. Rancora had come incredibly close to turning Starland dark forever with her massive amounts of negative energy. But because the Star Darlings had secretly been visiting Wishworld (known to those who lived there as Earth) and helping grant good wishes, they had collected enough positive energy to overpower Rancora, reverse the damage she had done, and save their world.

  What the Star Darlings learned after the standoff was that Rancora had a troubled history with their beloved mentor, headmistress Lady Stella. The conflict between the two women had begun when they were teens themselves at Starling Academy, many staryears before. And it was clear to the Star Darlings that though Rancora may have been stopped this time, she would be back to seek out her revenge, no matter what it took.

  But for now Starland’s sky glowed with effervescent purple, fuchsia, and gold stars that danced their way across the horizon. The water surrounding Stellar Falls glistened with tiny silvery sparkles that burst through the rushing surface. All across Starling Academy’s campus, featherjabber and druderwomp blooms began to peek out, almost but not quite ready to blossom. The magical display could mean only one thing: the Time of Shadows was ending, making way for a new season. It was just a matter of stardays before the Time of New Beginnings started….

  “I’m ready!” Sage said, jumping off the comfy circular swing chair that hung from the ceiling in her room. She adjusted the headband in her wavy lavender hair, smiling as she stared into her dorm room mirror. “Let’s do this!”

  “Miss Sage, when you put your mind to something, there’s no stopping you!” Bot-Bot MO-J4 zoomed around Sage, admiring her determination.

  “Thanks, Mojay,” Sage said, playfully bowing to him.

  Unlike other Bot-Bots, who were simply guides and helpers to the Starlings at Starling Academy, MO-J4 had taken a special liking to Sage and they’d been friends ever since Sage’s first day at the academy. He had been assigned to support all the Star Darlings, but he held a special glow for Sage.

  Sage was only a first-year student, but her dream was to become the best Wish-Granter Starland had ever seen. It had always been in Sage’s nature to reach way beyond the stars, and she knew the key to being the best Wish-Granter was to gather more positive wish energy than had ever been gathered before.

  Even before Sage arrived at the academy, she had set her sights on wish granting and collecting positive wish energy for the good of Starland. Her mother, Indirra, one of the top wish scientists on Starland, was her inspiration. Indirra had raised the bar for any Starling, but it was especially high for her daughter. If Sage had another chance to go down to Wishworld and grant a wish the next day, it wouldn’t be soon enough.

  Sage adjusted her headband again, then picked up her star-shaped guitar and started strumming and singing. “Close your eyes, believe with all your might. Spark a dream, light it up till it turns bright. Nothing in the universe can knock us down…”

  MO-J4 buzzed around her. “Shall I bring you a cup of zoomberry tea before I attend to the other Star Darlings?”

  Sage stopped singing for a moment. “No need, MO-J4, I’ll get it. I need to practice my energy manipulation anyway.” She inhaled deeply and squinted. With perfect balance and not a single drop spilled, a cup of steaming zoomberry tea floated across the room and landed safely in Sage’s palm.

  “Bravo, Miss Sage! You truly are extraordinary.”

  Sage took a long, satisfying sip and then winked at the Bot-Bot. “Mojay, where would I be without you to cheer me on?”

  If it had been possible, MO-J4 would have started humming happily, but since Bot-Bots weren’t programmed that way, he replied with a cryptic “Of course, Miss Sage.” However, somewhere in his central emotions
processing unit, he felt something special for this Starling. He buzzed around Sage’s lavender room with the knowledge that he was not only performing the required task of helping the promising first-year Starling, but he was being a friend, too!

  While Sage savored her tea, she recalled her first day at the esteemed Starling Academy. How nervous and excited at once she had been! All Starlings, including Sage, arrived with something in common: they had nothing! They came without a single belonging, not even a toothlight. Everything was provided for them. Each Starling’s wardrobe was chosen based on her personal taste and style, not to mention her hopes, dreams, and wishes. Courses ranging from Astral Accounting (Sage’s least favorite) to Lighterature (Sage’s favorite) to Intro to Wish Fulfillment were carefully designed for the lucky Starlings. The girls were admitted to the academy by a select board of leading wish energy experts and top Wish-Granters. The powerful influencers and wise mentors challenged each Starling to explore the most positive side of herself.

  It was a secret, though, that among the many gifted Starlings who attended Starling Academy, twelve were part of an ancient prophecy tied to Starland’s fate. Their code name was the Star Darlings. Sage’s masterful energy manipulation and levitation talents had earned her a spot in this exclusive group of Starlings led by Lady Stella.

  MO-J4 zoomed toward the door. He maneuvered around in a perfect circle and beeped, “Anything else, Miss Sage?”

  “All good,” Sage chirped. She smiled at the cute little flying Bot-Bot. She couldn’t resist leaning over to give him a hug, then waved. “Bye, Mojay!”

  Unaccustomed to such affection from a Starling, MO-J4 practically short-circuited. “Exiting now, Miss Sage,” he replied quickly.

  As soon as MO-J4 left, Sage spun around in her swing chair. She concentrated with all the positive wish energy she could conjure. In an instant, she mentally changed the image on her holo-wall from the starry sky in Starland to an electric burst of all her favorite colors: purple, fuchsia, and gold. She sighed. “There! Now for a short nap. Then I can finally catch up on my reading.”

  Just as she closed her eyes, her Star-Zap pulsated with lavender light. A hologram appeared in front of her. It projected an image of the Star Darlings band onstage at the band shell, setting up for rehearsal. “Band practice!” Sage shrieked. “Starf! I’m late!”

  The Star Darlings band had landed a starmazing gig. They were going to play at an event for the upcoming holiday, Light Giving Day. That was the first day of the Time of New Beginnings, when Starlings exchanged glowing gifts with one another. It was only a week away, and they still hadn’t come up with a song for the festivities.

  Sage heard a light tap at the door. It was MO-J4. He had returned to remind Sage about band rehearsal, albeit a bit late. He zoomed into Sage’s room in a great rush, trying to make up for his momentary memory blip. He insisted, “You must be mindful of the time. You’ve got practice with the Star Darlings band in five starmins. Shall I pack up your guitar?”

  Sage said hurriedly, “I’m already on it, Mojay!” She put her energy manipulation skills to work once again, this time sending her sparkling guitar inside its case and snapping it shut with great precision. “Yes!”

  Her hidden dresser drawers popped up from the sunken floor, and with a swipe of her hand, out floated the most perfect outfit for just that kind of day—a day of sparkling starshine, new beginnings, and sweet music.

  MO-J4 cleared the way for Sage as she raced down the Little Dipper Dorm hallways, out to the Star Quad, and toward the band shell. Sage opted to fly to the band shell instead of jumping on the Cosmic Transporter. She was in a hurry, after all, and she had the energy manipulation skills needed for it! Hovering above the busy Starling Academy campus, she blurred past the other Starlings, leaving a sparkling lavender-scented trail behind her. She sped past Lady Stella, who turned and smiled at her star student.

  “Star greetings, Sage,” Lady Stella said softly.

  Sage waved to the headmistress as she continued on her way to the band shell. “Star greetings, Lady Stella. Gotta jam now!”

  She hoped she would get to practice before the rest of the band had finished tuning up. As she neared her destination, Sage thought about how, in just a few starmins, she’d be playing music with the Star Darlings band. She brightened, knowing that music always brought her comfort, sort of like sipping zoomberry tea or relaxing on the giant soft sofa in her parents’ house. Then she picked up speed and whizzed past a glimmerwillow tree.

  “La, la, la, la, la!” Leona warmed up her voice, stretching her mouth in all sorts of crazy shapes. She had always dreamed of being a lead singer, and now there she was in the Star Darlings band! “La-la-la-la-la-la-la. Me-me-me-me-me-me!”

  Scarlet, the drummer in the band, smirked. “Singing about you-you-you-you-you-you again, Leona?”

  Leona gave her a look, annoyed. She and the ultra-sarcastic Scarlet had very different personalities, to say the least. “Warming up, Scarlet….Me-me-me-me-me.” Leona counted her lucky stars every time she had the chance to stand in front of a microphone and sing for an audience. She wasn’t going to let one of Scarlet’s moods get in the way of her enjoying herself. Leona’s one big personal rule as a singer was never to sing without first warming up her voice. After all, her voice was her instrument and it needed to be treated with great care. “La-tee, la-tee, la-tee, tah!” Then she stopped herself. “What’s your secret to warming up, Scarlet?”

  “It wouldn’t be a secret if I told you, now, would it?” Scarlet retorted as she adjusted her drum kit, tightening the cymbals.

  Leona shook off Scarlet’s snarky remark. Scarlet was just being Scarlet. Leona knew her all too well, since they had been roommates from day one at the academy. Leona did sometimes think that if Scarlet would open up even just a little bit to the other Star Darlings, maybe she would smile more.

  Scarlet rolled her eyes and let her attention drift to the music she was listening to on her headphones. She picked up her shimmering fuchsia drumsticks and tried out a particularly difficult rhythm, but the beat escaped her. She just couldn’t get it right.

  Vega stood near the corner of the stage, methodically tuning her bass guitar with her brand-new Star-Zap holo-tuner. Finally, the tuner glowed an intense blue that matched the deep color of her bass. She pumped her fists in the air. “Awesomeness!” She turned to Leona and nodded. “I’m good over here. My new holo-tuner was seriously the most startastic purchase I have ever made. I swear I don’t know how I ever played without it.”

  Libby smiled. “Sweet, Vega!” She strapped on her keytar and warmed up her fingers on the keyboard. She grinned at the thought that the Ranker had actually chosen her to be in the Star Darlings band. She still couldn’t believe it. Libby was so pleased that all those years of classical piano lessons had led to her being in the stellar band. It made every awkward recital totally worth it.

  Sage arrived, out of breath, and slipped onstage, unnoticed by the four other members of the band.

  “Made it!” she whispered to herself, and used her energy manipulation to quickly tune her guitar. Then, pretending she wasn’t out of breath, she grabbed a microphone to check the sound levels on her mic stand. “Asteroid, asteroid, sparklebright, sparklebright, asteroid!”

  Scarlet adjusted her seat at the drums and twirled her trusty glowing drumsticks. She tapped out a few familiar rhythms, then again attempted the drum trick she had tried earlier, but she still couldn’t get it right. Frustrated, she stopped playing altogether. Scarlet couldn’t figure out why she was having so much trouble with that particular drum trick; she had thought it would be easy. Her mind-body-drumstick coordination must be off-balance. She reminded herself to focus and not let anything distract her. She tried the drum rhythm again, infusing a blast of energy manipulation that time, but for some reason, it still wasn’t coming together.

  Leona noticed Scarlet struggling on the drums. Now it was her turn to tease Scarlet. “You’re not dreaming about living on
Wishworld again, are you?”

  Scarlet lowered her head and didn’t say a word. She pulled her sparkling velvet hoodie over her pink-and-black-streaked bob, covering her eyes, and leaned back to wait for rehearsal to begin for real.

  Maybe Leona was right. Scarlet couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t thought about what it would be like to live on Wishworld. She even called it Earth, just like the Wishlings who lived there did. In the privacy of her dorm room, when she retreated to her private reading nook, she would often holo-project images from various locales on Wishworld. Sometimes they would be snowcapped mountaintops or deep blue oceans. Other times she would visualize busy city streets or miles and miles of green countryside. She had a restless feeling inside her that she just couldn’t explain, but she was convinced that it had to do with her belonging on Wishworld.

  Scarlet knew if given the chance, down on Wishworld, she could press the refresh button, so to speak, and her inner light would shine as brightly as the sun. She could be more herself there—not like on Starland, where she felt like an outsider. Lately, she’d been longing to escape there and finding it more difficult than ever to hide her feeling that she just didn’t fit in with the rest of the Starlings.

  All tuned up now, Sage called out to the others, “Ready to rock this thing?” Everyone nodded. She switched her Star-Zap to record mode for the session.

  “Here’s something I’ve been working on for the last few stardays,” she went on. “Join in whenever you like. Maybe we can spin it into the song for our Light Giving Day gig….” Sage began strumming the first few chords on her guitar.

  Libby added a musical layer to the song on her keytar. “How’s this?”

  Sage moved to the beat. “Yes, Libby! Love it!”

  Vega followed with a solid bass line, while Scarlet found a steady beat on the drums. Leona hummed along, throwing in some fun improvised lyrics here and there. They played for a few starmins, then Sage signaled her bandmates to stop. “This is sounding great!” she said. “And I don’t want to rush anyone’s creative process, but I think we have to get down to the business of actually writing a song.” Sage’s eyes widened. “Everyone at the academy will be at Light Giving Day, including Lady Stella. We’re going to totally crush it, I know it. We just need to come up with the right sound and lyrics for the occasion,” she added with a tinge of nerves and excitement. “Any ideas?”