The harpie disregarded her statement, eyes still out on the woods, until he felt done with his search.
“I hear people. Laughing. Yelling.” He made the observation aloud.
“Yeah, people live here year round.” Avery said, making a vague gesture towards the grey brick buildings half a mile to the north. Those buildings made up the Academy, Avery’s school, and were well within earshot of a good listener. They’d landed far enough that the harpie’s wings wouldn’t actually be seen and walked from there on. It had been a brisk and fairly relaxing stride until now.
“They live here?” he parroted with his confusion evident.
A harpie named Patrick had once called Mayweather a prison. Its wrought iron gates and thick walls were nothing the harpies had ever seen so the definition wasn’t insane. This harpie would never grasp the idea of high school or why people would live in such a place willingly.
“Yeah. I know, humans are crazy,” Avery said, letting the exhaustion play into her voice as sarcasm.
“That’s fine. Humans are definitely not my area of expertise.” He had stiffened with that characteristic arrogance and they walked in silence towards the gates.
When they arrived, she expected a brisk goodbye with the same version of professionalism he’d demonstrated so far. But rather than a stiff farewell, she got a question instead. “Does it always do that? The magic?”
She blinked, noticing for the first time that his eyes did not rest on her but in the space around her form. The Willow magic gave off a colored aura—or at least that’s what she’d been told. She couldn’t see the energy, but could feel it radiate from others and knew it well.
“Do what?” she proceeded slowly.
“The magic appears to be flickering. It’s like a light…but one that’s about to go out. Sometimes I see it shine brightly. Sometimes I can’t see it at all.”
Confused, she said, “No. I mean…I don’t know what you mean.”
The harpie took her dead panned face as the new cue to leave. He headed back for the woods and some unseen location wide enough he could take off in flight. Venturing forward alone, she crossed onto the campus a few moments later. It appeared he had heard the school’s early birds. Mayweather, even for Alaska, was a massive academy. Probably the only size boarding school of its kind in the entire state. It had well over ten dormitories for students and staff, full dining hall, a recreation hall, and half a dozen school buildings. The space Mayweather was strewn over was what really gave it the large appearance, crawling down the side steep hills and finding its base in the valley. Most people figured it made Mayweather difficult to find, but the acoustics probably made it easy to hear. People strode throughout the in the brisk cold weather of morning and hurried to some unknown destination.
Avery’s feet touching the school grounds, she traversed the area she’d known for almost four years of her life. Avery arrived at Mayweather’s main office shortly. The smallest brick building on campus was the home of the staff that would have to reenroll her. She’d disappeared in a hurry weeks ago and didn’t exactly master her classes. She knew it wouldn’t be the easiest thing in the world to reenroll and graduate on time but if they’d float her all of the credentials, she’d be fine.
Sliding into the warmth of the office, the secretary called her out before she even reached the desk.
“Avery Zane,” the old woman snipped, apparently awaiting the nightmare of paperwork. “I heard you were coming. Sit.”
Avery twisted to plop down on the couch when she spotted a man nearby.
“Nate!” she exclaimed before she caught herself. He sat in the corner of the room, splayed across three of the stiffest chairs in the world. His boots were in the air but he’d lost the typical leather for a rich hue of brown. With his hair much longer now, he’d also lost the traditional playboy look for that of a well-dressed hippie. His sideways smirk was what really grabbed her attention.
“Miss me?” he croaked.
“Hardly.” Avery didn’t actually hate Nate. Their situation was complicated at best. He was the ex, the best-friends new lover, and the friend. They’d bonded over a harpie attack last year and even though they weren’t wearing BFF charms, Avery had regained a fair lot of respect for the guy.
“It’s okay. I hardly believe you’re actually alive. I thought Leela was lying to me for a while there.”
“Oh gee, thanks.” Avery stole a glance down at herself. She hadn’t seen a mirror since they landed but she’d taken pains to braid her hair and cement coat her foundation so she wouldn’t look like a zombie today. And her clothes didn’t make her look half bad.
“You were gone so long, there was no reason you needed to come back. You can get these same credits online, you know?” Nate reasoned outside of her appearance. As her best friend’s boyfriend, he’d finally quit sizing her up.
“I can’t get the whole senior experience online though.” Avery cringed when she said it. Somehow that spiel sounded so much better when it came from Leela’s lips. The senior experience wasn’t exactly all it was cracked up to be unless you were a nerd and an extracurricular queen like Leela. The honest reason Avery had given in wasn’t just because this would be the last part of her human life. She’d also be eighteen before she jetted off with Mason, thus finishing her obligations to her mother and to society.
“Experience? Huh.” Nate grunted as if he suddenly remembered he sat waiting for a faculty scolding. Rather than griping or revealing exactly why he was detained there, he changed the topic. “The parties will at least be fun. You’re joining for the senior’s last bash?”
She didn’t need to ask to know it wasn’t school sponsored.
The secretary returned and made a grunting sound from the back of her throat. Avery shut her mouth before something else about school parties managed to slip out around the staff dedicated to stopping them. Nate stood and leaned forward. In a more hushed voice, he added one last thing.
“I know Leela will be happy to see you, despite how she’s acting. But at least do her and me a favor by heading straight back to your dorm, would ya?”
Avery double-took. Did Nate seriously just try to mother her on Leela’s behalf? Did Leela tell everyone that Avery was dying or something? She didn’t have terribly long to shake it off. The old woman engaged her in conversation and Nate was taken off to detention. She eventually left the office with a stack of paperwork that she leafed through as she walked.
Only when she reached the winding path that lead to Crepuscule Hall Dormitories did something pull Avery from her daze. The distraction manifested in the form of knots twisting tightly in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t place the sudden ill feeling but it demanded attention. Her eyes lifted from the printed schedule in her hands and landed on the damp sidewalk before her. There weren’t any students out here, the area empty and quiet. To her left, the sidewalk ended with the entrance door. Before her sat the forest that snaked around the building.
Then movement stole her eyes away.
“Hey,” she called, feet moving as quickly as the words escaped her lips. Sheets crumpled in her fists, she jumped from the path and went straight for the tree line.
The delivery harpie stood just beyond the first tree. His wings hadn’t been concealed and he faced away.
“You can’t be here. You can’t…” She reached out when he swung around. He snatched her forearm in a flash, nearly wrenching Avery from her feet. She let out a broken cry.
“Move! We need to move!” he shouted. With a rough tug, he started running and dragging Avery into the woods. The branches thrashed at them both, and the roots made her stagger painfully with each step.
“Lemme go!” She threw up a hand to break his grasp but her palm landed in something wet and sticky. Drawing her palm, she spotted the flash of crimson smeared over her fingertips. She wrenched him back long enough to properly see the blood covering his chest. The unseen wound bled profusely. Avery’s breath left her. “Stop! Stop, you have to s
top!”
The harpie listened to her for the first time. He stumbled slowly into a tiny clearing and collapsed to his knees before Avery could intercept the fall. She dove to her knees by his side. When he rolled onto his wings, the gashes across his chest showed. He’d been struck at least half a dozen times, each gash deeper than the last.
“What happened? Who attacked you?” Avery hurried to ask.
The full weight of the incident hadn’t struck her yet, but Avery knew one thing—he hadn’t done this to himself.
“Tell them. Tell my family that I did it to protect our monarch. Don’t let this be in vain!” His chest heaved up and down but it didn’t sound like much air was reaching his lungs.
“Are you serious?” Avery gasped. “Don’t die! Don’t—you’re gonna be okay, just quit talking like that.”
Her own breath came quicker and her words stumbled over each other. She pressed her hands to his chest but there were too many wounds to cover—too much blood.
“Let him be. He bought me time,” a female’s voice spoke. Avery froze. Remembering the rest of the world, she turned to where the voice had sounded. She recognized the person before she even spotted her, but this didn’t make the sight of the harpie any easier.
Perched on the highest tree stood the female harpie. Beige wings hung from either side, encompassing her tall and lean figure. Avery didn’t even need to look towards the blue eyes.
Adalyn, a six foot blonde harpie, was Mason’s ex-fiancé. Avery knew her voice, her beyond beautiful face, figure, and intricate makeup and hair. Avery knew her attitude, her dangerousness, and her deadliness too. She hadn’t seen the woman since she’d taken a violent swing at Avery before their final battle with Mikhail began. But she recognized her immediately.
“Adalyn,” she whispered.
Adalyn didn’t reply at first, glowering downward before maneuvering to the edge of the branch. The harpie’s movements were stiff and blocky. The once beautiful blonde’s hair had hung flat and dirty in front of her face. Her red cheeks were pale and decorated with bruising. Feathers torn, her wings hung crookedly. The delivery harpie had apparently put up a fight.
“I need to talk to you,” Adalyn suddenly gasped out. The voice wasn’t angry but broken, and something about it made the ill feeling double.
“No way, back off!” Avery snapped.
“I need you to listen,” Adalyn insisted.
“What?” Avery prompted while sparing a quick spastic glance to the woods. Her escapes were limited. She could run, the dense forestation making it difficult for a human but even worse for a harpie. She just had nowhere to run to. Campus? The open space would make her a target and endanger other humans. The forest? She couldn’t stay in it forever. Avery had to fight.
Raising her hands, she struggled to feel for the Willow magic. It burned in the center of her chest—painful, not familiar and warm. Avery’s hands quivered at the lack of response. Adalyn suddenly moved, dropping from the tree. Avery flinched violently when the harpie feet cracked into the ground.
“I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to warn you. You have no idea what’s coming.” The woman staggered forward—the movement not strong but still uncomfortable. Adalyn may have looked injured, but she was still very much deadly. And Avery couldn’t trust Adalyn so she stayed stiff and one step back.
“It’s not safe anywhere anymore so I came here for you. It took so long to find you. It’s almost too late. But I couldn’t reach Mason—Mason, I couldn’t reach him!” The woman was heaving for air making her words nearly indiscernible. Her hair covered even more of her face and her bowed head. She kept lurching closer. Avery was cold and frozen. This wasn’t right. Avery just couldn’t put her finger on exactly what made her skin crawl.
Forcing herself to keep her brain moving, she urged Adalyn.
“Explain it to me. Why do you need to warn me? About what?” she mustered the words.
The harpie woman’s blue eyes shot up suddenly, darting through the area behind Avery’s back in a frenzy. Avery stole a desperate glance backwards but saw nothing.
“No—shut up! Run now! Run now, you can’t be seen. Time! I have no time!”
“What is it? Time for what?” Avery barked, but Adalyn didn’t respond. In the second Avery had been distracted, the harpie woman expanded her wings. In the next moment, the harpie took off into the sky and disappeared without a trace.
Avery didn’t wait to see what had startled the woman. Putting as much distance between Adalyn and herself as possible, Avery darted for the school.
Three
Avery barreled out of the woods. She reached the concrete path and slammed into something with a deafening crack. That something bounced away and let out a gargled cry. Off balance herself, Avery staggered backwards and hit the pavement with her backside. She blinked until her vision cleared and saw the person that she had run into.
“Leela!” She gasped, recognizing the small form of her friend. The brunette had also been knocked backwards, much farther than Avery had been. Her books had scattered all over the concrete and the expression she wore proved she hadn’t seen it coming either.
“Adalyn’s here!” Avery blurted.
“Adalyn,” Leela echoed. The girl sat up and repeated the name a second time. Leela blinked rapidly as if she’d been completely struck dumb by the blow. She finally managed to form words.
“No. Oh no, I knew I shouldn’t have let you come back. I didn’t think they’d find you so quickly. Avery, you shouldn’t have come,” the girl whispered.
Avery heard every syllable clearly but didn’t respond immediately. Her mouth flopped and a free hand pressed to her forehead. She pieced it together aloud.
“You knew she was here, Leela,” Avery said. “You knew that there were harpies! Leela, that’s why you told me to stay with Mason! No frikkin way, Leela!”
“Avery, it’s not like that. I meant to explain—I told you I wanted to talk to you. I just wasn’t sure about everything...not until just now.” Leela defended herself but didn’t let her voice rise. Leela apparently was the only one who remembered they still stood outside and in the vulnerable open. She made a violent gesture for them to go inside. Avery didn’t take the bait.
“The harpie that brought me here is injured. I had to leave him…” Avery whispered. Her eyes went back to the woods. “Maybe I can help him. I may have to go back.”
Leela’s hand found Avery’s arm and gave her a firm tug.
“We’ll get help, Avery. But you can’t help him now… Please, come inside. You can’t fight this!”
“Adalyn didn’t charge me. Maybe if I…” Avery’s thoughts still wondered, and she flexed her arm. She couldn’t feel the magic react.
“No, Avery! You don’t know what you’re up against!” Leela’s voice cracked when she caught a volume between a yell and a harsh whisper.
Avery double took again. “What am I up against? Leela, what’s going on?”
Leela pressed her hands to her mouth and didn’t answer. Silently beckoning Avery, she went for the door. Avery followed like a drone. Her mind wasn’t on her feet that led her back to the dorm. Leela animated enough to pull out her phone and dial it—Nate no doubt. But what she said in a flurry of hushed voices, Avery didn’t know. They cleared the door to their dorm room when Leela ended the call. She turned on Avery again.
“I have something to show you. I think it’s best you see it…it’s better to figure it out for yourself than listen to me trying to explain it. Sit…” Leela waved at one of the twin beds pressed up in the corner. Unable to obey or do anything besides an anxious dance, Avery hovered until Leela returned with something.
“Here,” Leela said as she handed over the large paper that was difficult to hold. Avery took on a different approach and spread it out on the bed. Once opened fully, she could identify the paper as a map of Alaska. The names of the cities were printed in bold. Anchorage, Wasilla, Juno. Mayweather didn’t quite make the map but the city nearby
, Seward did. Scattered around the map were small orange stickies that didn’t pin to any city but exact coordinates. Avery could tell by the brutal life of the fraying map and crumpled stickers that Leela had beaten it down for precision.
“What is it?” Avery asked for details that weren’t quite obvious. She didn’t recognize anything marked there but for the fact that it was somewhere in the wilderness. A few bordered Seward but even those weren’t very close.
“Check this out too.” Leela pushed another messy stack of white paper at her. The stack made up at least sixty sheets, most with text and some laden with photos. Nothing stood out to her. They showed pictures of men with bushy hair, sullen eyes, and unrecognizable faces. There were empty woods, scraps of remaining buildings, and twisted metal that once had been cars.
Windswept (The Airborne Saga) Page 2
