Airborne (26 page)

Coming too completely, she searched out Mason. They hadn’t left the beach where they’d landed. Mason said something about resting for a few hours. She knew why now. While she’d napped, he crouched over a familiar blue mist and broken glass. Putting two and two together, Avery stayed silent. Mason spoke into the mist, using a harpie communication amulet to commune with someone who wasn’t on the beach with them.

“We’re off of the north coast of California right now. I can’t give you a city name.”

“Mason, don’t do this to me.” Adalyn’s clear voice returned to them through the harpie telephonic device.

Her tone gave away that she was desperately upset. The air grew thick with palpable tension. Avery couldn’t see Mason’s face but his muscles had tightened considerably.

“You’re actually thinking about running off for the human’s sake? You can defend yourself at trial but you can’t if you run away.” Adalyn whined again.

Feeling like too much of a voyeur now, Avery glanced for a new place to go. She would happily die before getting involved in a harpies lovers’ quarrel. This side of the beach was calm, too close to rock lines for swimmers to enjoy and too small a beach for sun bathers. She could probably walk through the thicket of trees behind them and stumble upon civilization. Unsure, she stayed still before gaining any undesirable attention.

“You know I can’t go back there either way!” Mason shouted into the fog.

“I don’t care. The murder trial doesn’t mean you’re guilty! It’s a trial. But if you run off now, then there will be no hope.” Adalyn’s voice hissed with heavy agitation. “You’re just feeling guilty about your father. I get it. But she isn’t him and this won’t bring him back.”

His attention finally shifted and he noticed Avery for the first time. Eyes catching with hers, he gave her a long, blank look. Then, after a moment, he rattled off a few coordinates into the fading mist.

“Inland. Somewhere with a bunch of people. It’s harder to track down a single person, especially if they have to get into the city on foot. Come on.”

She’d swung the coat over her shoulders. If Mason was really considering going to the heart of some human city in mainland America, they’d need to hold on to his only disguise. Mason opened his wings to full mass.

“Aren’t we waiting for Adalyn?”

“Yea. Apparently we’re all gonna run away together.” He laughed though the statement was far from funny. Twitching his wings, he performed the familiar procedure of readying himself for a long flight.

She lingered off to the side with a rush of mixed thoughts. Though she didn’t savor the idea of having Adalyn anywhere around, it would help prevent the other harpies from getting a drop on them again. The plan was already formulating in her mind. They’d take to a city where harpies couldn’t outright fly and they’d be harder to pick out of the crowd. She had half a college fund in her name but she didn’t have the account numbers. That was only the beginning of the complications. She was still a minor and if she never showed up, a missing person’s report would be filed. Humans would be looking for her too. They definitely couldn’t stay in California. Getting a headache, she pushed the details to the back of her mind. One thing at a time.

“Are we flying or are we walking?” She asked Mason. “We could get a car but I’m technically not old enough. Stealing one would be too dangerous.”

He reached out and touched her forehead without warning. Fingers molding over the bandage on her head, he felt the white cloth. His hands dropped down through her curls and down to her shoulders.

“Are you feeling well enough to fly?” He asked, clearly concerned.

“Great.” She whispered.

For the first time, she realized how utterly close he stood. She could smell the peppermint on his breath and feel the distinct heat of his skin. His hands lingered on her shoulders and his eyes studied her face. A startling tender feeling stirred from inside Avery’s chest and her heartbeat sped up. Her throat went dry but she licked her lips wet.

The rational part of Avery’s mind disapproved instantly. She should have backed up and put a hearty berth between them. Mason had a fiancé, her mind told her. But then she began to think. The guard in the prison had said he’d read Mason well. He’d said that Mason liked her and Mason continued to risk his life to help her.

Her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt. She wanted to kiss him but the height difference was noticeable. Instead, she turned her cheek and leaned into his chest. Her arms went around his neck like they were going to fly but lingered in his hair. Though she couldn’t see his face, she knew that he had no intention of pushing her away. His arms looped behind her back and drew her closer. One of his hands slipped onto the small of her back and the other into her hair.

They’d held each other once in the prison when Mason had his break down. But this was different. This was absolutely different. Close together, their combined body heat grew hot and their individual scents mingled. Avery’s mind threatened to go blank in the moment. She finally drew her head back and tilted her chin up to look at him. On her tippie toes, the height difference wasn’t so severe. His lips were mere inches from hers. She let out deep breath, ready to take the chance.

Mason’s head suddenly snapped to the side. So jarred from the moment, Avery didn’t understand. Only after a minute did she notice that the sun light flickered with shadows, and she looked towards the horizon. Then she heard the flapping of wings before she saw the specks on the horizon, but knew that no single harpie could make that roaring sound. Gut already sinking, she didn’t need to see the mass descend on the horizon. A hoard of harpies headed directly for the beach line without a moment of hesitation.

The harpies descended, dropping onto the beach line like comets. Avery didn’t watch them come, instead caught staring at Mason’s face.

“She lied to me. We might die because of her.” Suddenly, his lips twisted into a bizarre, sad smile. Heartbreaking at his crippling expression, she wanted to reach out and touch him. The harpies beat her to it.

A police harpie choose the moment to wrestle Avery backwards. With practiced skill, he spun her with barely a touch. Then from behind, he latched on heavy metal cuffs. She didn’t fight anymore. They sprung on Mason and he went down in a mass of shrieking bodies.

“Ease up!” She groaned when the police harpie jerked her off the floor, going airborne. The launch of sudden height left her heart in her stomach.

With limited mobility, she hung with reluctant obedience all the way back to the prison island. Avery eventually found herself in a dimly lit damp cell reminiscent of the one Mason and she had first stayed in. This time was different though, Avery was a prisoner. She was on the basement floor and placed far away from Mason. When she’d demanded to know where they’d taken Mason, the guard gave her a shove backwards into the concrete wall. Avery didn’t protest again.

The guards had since left her alone but she’d naturally assumed they hadn’t left the hall. Cautiously, she crawled on her knees over the wet ground and pushed her head up against the rusty iron bars. The lights were kept so low that she could only see vague silhouettes. Other prisoners paced in nearby cells, muttering and hissing nasty things, scaring Avery more by the second. The tiny dorms of Mayweather Academy were luxurious compared to her current circumstances. She couldn’t live in a cell like this the rest of her life-- especially when she hadn’t done anything wrong.

What would her mother or brother think of her missing? And Leela, what would become of her? Avery tried to control her thoughts. The threat of hysteria still loomed above her but she refused to cry.

Her fingers curled around the bars and lingered there. The magic still hummed in her chest and she could feel it giving her strength. Avery had to wonder if she could break her way out. The bars would give easily but even if she got out, she’d have to get past the guards posted on the corridors. Then she ran the risk of getting captured again, if not killed on sight. How would Avery explain attacking the guards twice? She needed to get out of here but forcing herself not to react prematurely, she released the bars and waited.

In a few minutes, sharp footsteps echoed down the hallway until they were just outside her cell. Avery looked up to find Adalyn, standing at six foot something, towering above Avery. Avery jumped to her feet and pressed against the bars again. She never would have thought she’d be happy to see Adalyn, but there she was.

“Hey, what’s going on?”Avery rushed to ask but Adalyn didn’t rush to answer. The harpie female gave her the stare down before looking back at her face.

“Yes, I’m looking forward to it as well. All of Mason’s problems gone after just one trial.” Adalyn said coolly, her attention turning down the hall momentarily.

Avery followed her gaze. Maybe Mikhail and Eva had been housed on the same floor as Avery all along. The thought made her shudder and she pressed herself back against the wall. She knew they’d be out to get her if they could. Avery was the primary reason they’d been caught, not to mention that she lost Mikhail’s allure amulet.

“I’m not here to save you. You deserve what you get. You’re the one that attacked the police officer. You’re the one that made your dangerous presence so utterly apparent to the government. Humans are foolish.” Adalyn spit out.

Avery rocked back on her heels. Light headed, confusion struck her first. Avery opened her mouth but couldn’t find an appropriate response. She’d expected Adalyn to be rude but this was different.

“If they charge me, they might sentence me to death! I can’t die here!” Her voice echoed off the closed in walls. Eyes burning, Avery didn’t care. “Mason wouldn’t let me die.”

“Of course. Mason is putting himself in danger to help you. Haven’t you ever thought about that? The last thing he needs to do is to run off with some human girl. Besides, I helped you get Jericho’s book under one condition-- you would leave my fiancé alone. And running away with him isn’t doing that.”