Airborne (11 page)

“It may not be that easy anymore, Rafael. You should know that.” Eva hummed quietly. Moving again, she walked around Avery’s chair until she reached the one spot that Avery couldn’t see her.

“I don’t know what to do with you.” She said slowly, this time directed at Avery.

“What do you mean?” Avery’s voice had twisted with panic but she was kept forcefully still. The blood pounding through her veins only made her wrists and hands tingle with numbness.

“What’s wrong, Eva?” Rafael piped in as well.

“Somehow this human filth has managed to absorb the magic not only into her body but have it grow there. Never in my life have I seen humans used as vessels, nor am I entirely sure to reverse it.”

“And that means?” Rafael kept prompting on the exact same thoughts Avery shared.

“That means we must find a way to free the magic from her, find a way to use the magic within her, or cut our losses and kill her.” Eva’s silky voice made everyone in the room shudder down to the core.

Rafael then piped in something that Avery didn’t see coming.

“This is why you told us not to kill your brother. Mason might know how to free the magic.”

“Wait, Mason’s your brother?” Avery’s voice spiked with her abrupt shock. Struggling once again to move, she tried to get a glimpse of Eva’s face.

Eva moved again, heading for the cabin door. Hovering by the knob, she looked straight toward Rafael with the sharp green eyes that suddenly seemed so reminiscent of Mason’s.

“Yes, and if Mason knew enough to track her to Alaska then he’ll find us again. But this time, we’ll be ready for him.” Eva opened the door. She glanced toward Avery this time and said, “Oh and Rafael, bring our company. We’ll have to deal with a few things before my brother arrives.”

Ten

The world bounced from Avery’s skewed vantage point and though she could see her surroundings, they only resembled an obnoxious blur of blue skies and grey gravel. Spitting out the feathers that poked in her mouth, Avery wiggled and tried to see past Rafael’s wing mast. He’d pulled her out of the chair, threw her over her shoulder and carried her like a rag doll out of the cabin. And on a harpie, the ride wasn’t a pleasant one.

“Stop moving girl.” Rafael warned her and squeezed his arm around her waist until she squeaked.

Avery debated on complaining when she heard something over the crunch of gravel beneath their feet and then she stayed quiet to listen to it. At first the swooshing noise sounded too vague to identify until she heard the characteristic trickle of a stream. Avery wrenched her body to glance in the correct direction just as Rafael stepped onto paved ground. They weren’t in the middle of the woods, Avery realized rapidly.

Nearby, a collection of two-story wooden buildings sat. In the middle of the tiny town, some of the buildings had toppled and only remained as piles of jagged wood and scraps of metal. Except the destruction there didn’t exactly resemble remains from a blast site or a charring fire. Nearby it, the buildings remained untouched, shinning, and new with recent coats slick paint and varnish. Avery squinted at the odd picture. It struck her then. No lights were on inside nor were there any cars nearby.

Her thoughts landed on an answer fairly quickly, and she turned her body to correct location for confirmation. The stream ran nearby and above it was a concrete path up the mountain side. Visible from the top was a set of treacherous and rotting suspended train tracks that circled around down the mountain side. From here she could even see the rusted silver box cart affixed at the track’s onset. She recognized it now.

“We’re at Hatcher’s Pass.”

Hatcher Pass was an old gold mine turned tourist spot near Palmer Alaska. She used to come here as a child. The vivid memories of it came back to her. She’d splash through the cold water stream, panning for tiny specks of gold and ruining her overpriced fur boots. Even though it seemed so distance in the past, the memories returned with such striking clarity that her eyes stung.

Avery began to wonder if she’d ever get to make anymore stupid memories like those again. Mason had been her last hope to survive and he was on his death bed a few hours ago. Avery’s thoughts darkened. She didn’t know how to get out of this one.

“Up here, Rafael.” Eva’s voice led them back off the path and though the dirt. Rafael finally stopped short and rolled Avery off his shoulder before she’d gotten the chance to brace herself. Smashing into the floor sent a sharp jolt of pain throughout Avery’s skeleton but she ignored it. She wasn’t tied up anymore, wasn’t trapped, and was ready to escape. Rolling to her feet, she stood only to freeze because of what she saw.

Lingering around the old wooden wreckage stood more harpies than she had seen before. Every one of them wore the familiar brass plate with the same swirling insignia on it. The mere sight made her back into Rafael’s hard chest and he used it to bounce her back into the center of the circle.

Mason had once referred to the members of the Band she’d encountered as children. At the time it seemed foolish but now it rang as absolutely true. The new harpies she hadn’t seen before had at least ten years on the others. Even Eva slunk behind them and disappeared into the background. The new center of focus revolved around one man who rested on the wood ceiling of a dilapidated building. The harpie’s black eyes crawled over her a few times over before he spread his massive wings and leapt down to the floor with a sweeping gust.

Like all other harpies, the man stood head and shoulders above her and had never ending limbs. His claws caught the light and his wing mast spread out far. Unlike other harpies though, he didn’t wear the brass chest plates or any familiar insignia. His cloth clothes had been tattered showing off the long scars over his neck and chest. With graying hair and drooping eyes, age and experience showed in his face.

“This would be the girl that I’m foretold about?” He asked the crowd but no one answered him. Avery was willing to bet they were afraid too.

The harpie then walked up to Avery. She recoiled, but he didn’t let her get away. Reaching out, he touched her cheek with the back of his hands. The movement hadn’t been harsh but quick, and Avery jumped. Reflex kicking in, she raised her hands to knock him back but he was undeterred.

“My name is Mikhail. Now don’t fight me.” He said calmly.

His touch then trailed from her cheek to her jaw and he grabbed her chin to force her head upward. Eyes rising, she looked at him. His eyes were cold and empty, but looking at them made some strange feeling seize her body. Her heart began to pound and her stomach fluttered. Her skin began to tingle and her head began to float. Avery wanted to fight the unnatural feeling that flooded her body but her eyes stayed focused on his. Her rational mind began to leave her. She suddenly noticed how pretty he was. His skin was porcelain and perfect, and his eyes were large and beautiful.

“Don’t fight me.” He parroted and she went limp, obeying him. “Trust me. It’s just easier this way.”

Avery nodded. Of course, she thought, it was easier this way. He gave her a crooked smile and his hand drifted from her chin. Landing on her shoulder, he let his hands wander down the side of her arm and his fingertips left a hot sensation in their trail. His hand finally took hers and pulled it out between them.

He broke his gaze to look down at her hand where the magical mark had tattooed her skin. Carefully, he ran his thumb over the marking with clear concentration. Avery didn’t fight him. She trusted him at that moment with absolute sincerity.

“Have you been using the magic lately? Have you been able to harvest its energy?” He asked quietly.

“Yes. I have.” The words spilt from her lips before she even realized she said them. Unable to stop herself, she kept talking. “It’s been keeping me warm and keeping me moving. Mason said that my body is absorbing the energy.”

“You see these marks?” He asked while traced his fingers over the wiry markings. His skin was so warm that the sensation made Avery’s knees weak.

“Yea.” She answered him breathlessly and eagerly.

“This means that your body isn’t just holding the magic anymore. This means your body has bonded to the magic. This means you might be able to use it.”

She obeyed, focusing on the warmth of her chest. Mentally willing it, she pushed the feeling through her veins. The warmth suddenly felt like an electric current that tingled through her blood and she pushed it down her arms, down to her fingertips.

Then she actually saw something that took her breath away. She had felt the electricity that ran through her veins but seeing it was a whole different matter. A tiny visible electrical current darted between her fingers like they were conductors. The current was blue and didn’t hurt, but Avery didn’t want to see it anymore. She tried instantly to shake the feeling off, let the warmth go back into her chest. Mikhail took this moment to intervene. Grabbing her chin again, he forced her eyes to meet his.

“Keep going, I want to see how much you can actually manage to manifest.” He demanded.

Avery shook her head. She didn’t want to, but she felt forced when Mikhail’s black eyes were on her. Muscles aching, she obeyed until the magic actually hurt. The electricity grew stronger, bigger, but never made it beyond her wrist.

“Does it hurt you?” Mikhail asked but it sounded more like curiosity than concern.

“It does! It hurts!”

Suddenly he let her go and Avery fell back, smacking the ground hard. The electrical current vanished but her arm still stung. Some part of her heard every harpie in the immediate area ah and oh at the spectacle. But at the moment, she found herself desperate and panicking when the pain grew worse. Her eyes watered and she held the infected arm away from the better half of her body.

Eyes snapping upward, she quickly scanned the crowd just as her world began to blur in and out in masses of blinding color. Her body reacted before she did. Dragging herself, she reached the dirty slush that had collected just off the pathway and plunged her hand into it. The slush actually sizzled and popped, steam puffing up from the impact zone. The burning began to fade, slowly and agonizingly.

Avery let out a hissing breath as the last of the pain slipped away leaving her a welcome numbness. She turned back towards Mikhail but he suddenly looked different. She swore a moment ago he’d looked beautiful and had been inviting. Now he just looked ugly and vicious. Confusion sunk in quickly but her eyes dropped down to the necklace he wore. It was a glass amulet with a bright orange hue. That’s when it sunk in. He had used magic on her. He had made her listen to him. Feeling sick, she kept back but he didn’t seem to want to grab her again.

“Sir, the magic is all still there. We can make it manifest.” Eva tried again, this time desperate to keep her words clear. Her shoulders had slumped, wings folded, and she suddenly looked smaller than ever before.

The boss harpie paced.

“It’s moved into an unusable source. Don’t you understand, Eva? Don’t you understand that killing Prince Jericho will once more bring the wrath of the entire monarchy on our heads? They can’t so easily look away anymore. We took the risk because you promised results. And this is not results.” Through the swagger of sophistication in his words, his voice dipped low with a clear dripping tension. Even Avery heard it from where she stood. The spare harpies became engrossed in staring at the floor, and Eva stood dead still and unmoving.

“Give me time. Give me time and I can make it work again.” She finally whispered, licking her dry lips and wringing her clammy hands.

His threat was clear but he gave a reassuring smile anyways.

“Punishing you would do no good now. Their soldiers will be after us soon and it will not make them go away. Now do something with your new pet Eva, I grow tired of looking at her.”

After being dismissed with that short statement, Eva hurried into action. The other harpies began to part and scatter. Eva slid to her knees just to yank Avery back into her feet. Avery could barely stand and staggered when Eva hauled her away.