Feathermore

I flew as fast as I could, moving my wings with long, powerful strokes. It wasn’t my first time flying solo, but I had never tracked anyone before. And the one I must track was the one I loved—the one who had kept me sane through it all, who had made my life bearable. But with no idea how to find him, all I could do was follow my instincts, just as I had that night in town, when I allowed my being to lead me to him. And if that didn’t work, the pull between us was too powerful to ignore—even with my eyes closed I could see my way to him.

  A low fog blanketed the town, making it harder to know which way I was headed and whether it was safe to descend. Suddenly, my whole body urged me to land, and like a hawk stooping on a rabbit, I dived. It was an eerie sight. I was behind Bruno’s, the only supermarket in town. The fog was thicker than I had expected, so that I could barely see the dark bulk of the building ahead. I quickly realized that this was no ordinary fog—it had been created to obscure whatever was happening, to keep evil deeds hidden from any who might try to interfere.

  Retracting my wings from view, I began to walk toward the street. I felt fear creep up under my skin, but I knew that it wasn’t mine. It was his fear I was sensing, which only made me more anxious to get to him. I ran the block to the alley where he had been taken—I could see him clearly in my head now. Scanning the street as I drew near the alley, I saw no one around. I jumped, letting my wings deploy and fly me to where he was. This time, my descent trajectory was steeper, so that I landed hard on the ground, crouched like an animal ready to attack.

  Before rising to my feet, I lifted my gaze to the person in front of me, shrouded by the fog but still barely visible. I shot up and turned to see Avan, with his back against a fence, terrified. The moment he saw me, his eyes widened. Oh, well, so much for the subtle approach.

  His eyes went from my face to the wings. He was probably more frightened at seeing what I was than at whatever had gotten him into this predicament. My wings were out and ready for a fight. I smiled—in the moment, it was the best I could do to try to calm his boggled mind. I had thought a thousand times about how to tell him, how to ease him into the shocking truth of what I was, and when it finally came time, I had done the same thing Claire and Nate had done: showing instead of explaining.

  I turned and looked behind me at who had dared to terrorize my beloved. This time, she was perfectly visible. I almost fell down laughing. It was Amy who stood behind me.

  “Oh, come on! What, is she flirting you to death?” I laughed at my own lame joke.

  Avan shook his head and pointed toward Amy. I turned around, expecting her to make some snotty remark about what a loser I was, when I caught a glimpse of her eyes. No longer their usual brown, they now were a glaring, incandescent crimson.

  Lilith, I thought to myself. I had no real proof that she was the one behind this, but something in me told me I had nailed it.

  “What do you want?” My voice was as flat as my expression.

  She didn’t respond. I watched her move closer and suddenly realized that Amy wasn’t there anymore. Instead, her body moved woodenly, as if its legs were numb. Her lips were parted slightly, making her look hollow, vacant. She lifted her index finger and pointed straight at Avan, mirroring exactly his own movement from just seconds ago.

  “Yeah, well, there is a problem with that. He’s not going anywhere with you.”

  She slowly withdrew her eyes from him and looked at me. Her face and body language were unreadable. She closed her mouth, her expression darkened, and she took a few more steps forward. As she grew closer I stared into those crimson eyes and saw a flash of Amy in them. It came and went so fast, I couldn’t even be sure I had seen it, but in that instant I felt terrible for the girl. I hated witnessing what this being was doing to her and her body.

  I must admit that I played with the thought of letting her stay possessed. After all, she was awful and arrogant and did deserve some retribution for all her meanness. I knew I wouldn’t, though—never mind that if it were the other way around, she would have reveled in my helplessness and done nothing to help me.

  “Be careful, Jade,” Avan said from behind me.

  His voice was much closer than I expected. I needed to get Amy away from him. I couldn’t let her get physically close enough to be able to hurt him or do God knew what to him.

  I took a few steps forward, hoping that she would back up, but she didn’t cede an inch of ground. She sprang and was almost on top of me. I shoved her backward. She stumbled but quickly regained her balance and raised her arm, palm out toward me. She flung what I can best describe as an energy ball, hitting me in the chest and throwing me against the wall behind me. A mortal would surely have died from the impact. I really needed to get Avan out of here.

  He tried to help me get up, but I put my hand up to stop him. I could do this on my own. I was here to save him, not the other way around. I got up and came at her once again. This time, I wouldn’t be the one flying around. The thought stopped me in mid stride. It lingered in my head as I realized that if I were to use my strength or any other power on her, I could really hurt her. After all, Amy’s body was still mortal—if I really unloaded on her, I would most likely kill her.

  I tried to scare her off, first by creating balls of fire on my hands. And then, when that failed miserably, I let her have it with my sonic scream—at least, that’s how I had come to think of it.

  “Cover your ears, Avan,” I said. “You don’t want to hear this.”

  The ravens came first. They flew in a tight pattern above me as I held my hands above my head, making them wait for my command. I had never actually given them an order, but I figured that since they always did what I had been thinking, they may actually listen if I spoke to them under my breath. “Do not harm her,” I murmured. “Keep her entertained while we make our escape. I’ll be back for her.” I lowered my hands, and they went for her, wings flared, driving her to the ground as she batted in vain at them.

  I walked up to Avan and grabbed his hand and, without giving him any warning or mental preparation, transported us right into my living room. Claire was sitting on the couch. She gave a little jump when we appeared. Nate rushed in from the kitchen. “What happened?”

  “Amy happened,” I said. “She’s been possessed or something. I’ll bet you anything Lilith is behind it. The birds are keeping her busy, but I have to go back. Should I bring her back here? I can’t just leave her on the streets like that.” I ducked into the garage and came back with a coil of rope around my shoulder.

  “What do you care?” Claire said. “Let her be miserable for a while. See if she’ll bother you then.”

  She had never liked Amy, not as a human and not as an enemy. Claire thought the evil in her was too acute and she was a lost case, but I couldn’t just turn my back on her. This time, at least, the evil wasn’t her doing.

  “She can do a lot of damage if we don’t contain her, Claire. That isn’t Amy right now. We don’t know what she’ll do, and I can’t use my powers on her.” I lowered my voice, not wanting Avan to hear. “I would just kill her if I did.”

  Claire’s exasperated sigh let me know she agreed with me.

  I looked at Avan. He was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. “Avan?”

  He didn’t look up, but just shook his head.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I know it’s a lot for you to take in. Trust me—it was hard for me, too.” I sat on the coffee table in front of him. “I’m sorry you had to find out about it this way. I meant to tell you; I really did, but . . .” I let my head fall. “I was afraid you wouldn’t accept me.”

  I wouldn’t blame him. All I kept doing was bringing more trouble down on his head. I put my hands around his face. “You shouldn’t be in the middle of all of this.” I let my hand fall to my side, and he took it. I didn’t dare look him again, “I have to go now, but stay with them, and you’ll be safe.”

  In that very moment, I understood just how selfish I had been all along. He deserve
d better than me. He deserved a shot at a normal life. I wanted to slide my arms around his neck and pull him to me and kiss his lips, to feel the energy coursing between us and get lost in our touch. Instead, I was back in the alley.

  The birds had ceased the attack but stayed close by, perched on the, the power lines and the fence across the alley, keeping a clear view of the two of us. I wasn’t too sure what to do with Amy. After all, she did have powers, and all I had to bind her with was this stupid rope I had brought.

  “So now that he’s gone, anything else you want?” I asked hesitantly. I really didn’t care what she was after. Ultimately, although I really didn’t understand why Lilith was so dead set on me in the first place, I knew that her intentions came down to one thing:

  Me.

  Dead.

  Amy crumpled to the ground, hitting her head against the hard concrete pavement with an audible thunk. Instinctively, I urged her forward and pulled her limp body into my arms and checked her throat for a pulse. She was breathing. A thin line of blood flowed down her cheek. I traced it back to its source: a pretty big a cut on her scalp. I was no doctor, but it looked bad. She needed help, and she needed it fast.

  I cradled her in my arms and stood up. I was about to transport us both to my house when a dark silhouette appeared where the alley met the street. It made its way toward us. I froze, knowing I had been caught. I couldn’t project myself. The voice in my head went on a wild rampage, telling me to run, that I wasn’t safe. And then it said that familiar name: Ki-sikil-lil-la-ke. I wobbled backward, almost tripping over my feet. Amy gave a soft moan.

  “Your skills are better than I had expected.” Lilith’s voice floated on the breeze to my ears. “Nothing I do seems to hand me what I desire.”

  “And that would be what, exactly?” I looked around for a way out, silently alarming the flock of birds and making them shuffle restlessly back and forth on their perches.

  Her laugh was so beautiful, it was a wonder to me how such an evil person could make me feel so… calm.

  No! I told myself. I wouldn’t let her sway me.

  The moment she saw that she was not controlling me, she spoke. “You.”

  “Then why did she want Avan?” I nodded down at Amy, not liking it one bit that my all-too-mortal boyfriend was now in dire danger.

  “If she had been able to capture the boy, then you would have come running to save him, and I’ll bet my immortality you would rather die than see the boy get hurt.” She moved forward. I stayed put, looking at her in silence. “And if she wasn’t able to capture the boy, well, you would have come to rescue him anyway, just as you did. You know, you are very predictable, Jade.”

  I didn’t like that she could read me so easily. In fact, it infuriated me. I held on tight to Amy and pushed off the ground, but Lilith caught my ankle and pulled me down, making me lose my grip on Amy. She landed mysteriously in Lilith’s arms, and I fell with such force, the concrete beneath me cracked.

  I felt the anger build inside me. “I’m here, Lilith, so what are you going to do now?” I said, goading her. “You want me? Come get me!”

  I waited, ready to materialize behind her or even across the street, but again she just laughed at me.

  “I’m glad I amuse you,” I said. I was starting to hate the way no one seemed to acknowledge me or what I could do. They either laughed at me or dismissed me.

  “I will, child—when the time is right.” And with Amy in her arms, she vanished.

  I stood still for a few minutes, trying to compose myself. After all, I really had thought I was going to battle Lilith right there and then. When I felt as though I could move without my legs giving out on me I walked out of the alley and searched for Avan’s car, which I quickly spotted in the parking lot across the street. Once I reached it, I tried the handle, but it was locked, I willed it open and willed the engine to start. The car smelled like him and made me long to feel his arms, his lips. I gently ran my fingertips over the rim of the leather stirring wheel, feeling the faint energy that lingered there. Then I drove away, back to him.

  Another problem that needed to be resolved: Amy. I saw two possible outcomes for her: either she was as good as dead, or she would wake up and tell everyone what she had seen, exposing me for what I was. Neither scenario worked out well.

  24. HISTORY LESSON