Airborne (The Airborne Saga)

by Constance Sharper

The battle came closer until it raged just off the shoreline and Avery finally recognized the harpies. One wore bronze armor with a gothic spiral insignia, and she identified the wearer as Rafael. He gave his trademark ugly smile, even as he clashed in battle. She looked at the other harpie and knew his face.

  “Jericho.” She identified him aloud.

  Jericho, the harpie Prince, didn’t look much like his son Mason. He had black hair instead of brown and was shorter and slimmer. Considerable lines etched his face showing his age and his slow reflexes showed the toll that age had played on his body. The only way he resembled Mason was the pale green eyes and the way he held himself with indestructible pride.

  Jericho’s eyes past over the beach and over her but looked on blindly like Avery wasn’t there.

  Rafael continued to lunge at him but Jericho danced away gracefully. A shiny marble caught her eye next. The shiny marble was the amulet which dangled from Jericho’s neck almost mockingly, glowing with a faint blue and staying always one inch out of Rafael’s reach.

  Suddenly she spotted a flurry of other winged figures join the fray. Each moved so quickly that it difficult was to distinguish their faces. The unrecognizable harpies flew at Jericho and the four of them circled him with a systematic formation.

  The sound of shifting sand on the beach caught Avery’s attention and she glanced away from the battle. Behind her stood Mason, except Mason didn’t see her either. Wings tucked in beneath his oversized trench coat, he walked to the end of the beach like she had. His eyes watched the clouds and Avery followed his gaze. Jericho had staggered back in the air. Wings spiraling, he didn’t fly but plunged. In seconds, Rafael made a grab for Jericho. Rafael caught the amulet, ripping it clear off its gold chain. The amulet fell free and spiraled down towards the waves.

  Avery instantly lost interest in the fight. Some unknown urge driving her, she raced down toward the waves where the amulet had fallen. Ankle deep in the water, she dug for it, fingers clawing through the sand until she held the hot broken glass in her hands.

  Avery woke with a stir. A strong breeze brushed at her face and she blinked the dust out of her eyes. Mason stood back in the clearing, airing out his open wings. Sometime since she’d fallen asleep, he scrapped the blood splattered shirt completely and stood with his chest bare. The lack of wardrobe did him justice at least. Even while thin by human comparisons, his chest was flat and defined with muscles. He’d cleaned the mud out of his face and hair with the river water. Together, Mason resembled a male model without the steroids. Avery had to scold herself quickly before her body reacted to the inappropriate thought train. It stirred a feeling in her that she wasn’t exactly okay with.

  “Come on.” He beckoned, seeing her awake.

  “Where are we going?” Using the ground to boost herself, Avery came to a wobbly stand.

  The sleep had helped but it was by no way a miracle. She massaged her special hand, willing it to give her some strength. Mason finally circled back away from the fire and joined her near the tree line.

  “We need to leave before they find us here. Besides, bad weather will be moving in. We need to reach the southern coast by the end of the day.”

  He beckoned her closer with an open hand. She took it and let him guide her out into the clearing. Mason’s nails seemed sharper now and looked more like talons. Maybe he’d filed them down before coming to her school. Maybe most of what she saw was an illusion. Shoving the possibilities in the back of her mind, she glanced at the sky. As promised, clouds had formed in the horizon but the darkness hid the extent.

  “The southern coast is a long walk away.” She pointed out blatantly.

  His wings snapped open with an unspoken suggestion.

  “Oh no! How do you know you can even fly on those?” She backed away without giving up his hand.

  “We’ll make it but I need you to trust me.”

  She wanted to protest but one wearily glance around them stopped her. They were probably miles from the next town. A quick way of travel would be preferable. She looked at him again. He seemed confident in his flying ability, but maybe harpies always did that confidence thing. Giving up, she agreed.

  He pulled her to his bare chest and angled her arms to reach around his neck. Scolding herself mentally for flushing, Avery stared towards the ground. The stance looked awkward. Avery barely made it above the five foot range so Mason had some serious height on her. He didn’t find it important once they would be airborne.

  “Where do we find your father then?” She muttered into his chest as his wings began to pick up speed.

  “We’re not looking for him. We’re going to the harpie court.”

  She forced her head back at an odd angle to look at his face.

  “I thought it was your father that could help us.”

  His face became morose and Mason looked as if he seriously debated telling her a thing. The ground disappeared below them as he began to hover. Avery squirmed but Mason’s arms around her waist held her still. Moving a hand, he pressed her face back into his chest. Before she could protest, a rumbling stirred deep in his chest.

  “You must understand. The Band of Thieves didn’t just attack my father Jericho. They killed him.”

  Seven

  A hundred feet in the atmosphere became absolutely deafening and yet Avery found herself screaming above the wind ringing in her ears.

  “How much farther?” She questioned increasingly impatiently.

  Muscles trembling, she struggled to draw herself closer to Mason who seemed like his own personal heater. She’d never put much thought into why harpies ran twenty degrees hotter than humans but this stood as the best explanation. A few hundred feet in the air, it got cold. And her human body wasn’t happy about it.

  Mason took a long time to answer as he stared down at the one place Avery refused to look. This far in the air, she couldn’t imagine what the ground looked like. She could see the mountains in her peripheral vision, and at this altitude, they were crisp white and covered in glistening snow. Any remaining green life sat so far below them, it couldn’t be very visible. Even the highest canopy of the giant trees probably resembled weeds. Avery wouldn’t look down to confirm her sneaking suspicion.

  “As far as we can get.” Mason finally announced.

  “Do you even know where we are?” She whined again, knowing it was a bit childish but she was sick of the position.

  “No, but I know where we’re going. Consider it an internal compass of sorts.”

  The state of Alaska was massive and most of it was rural, unused lands of icy or forested masses. Even if they had a distinct altitude advantage, they weren’t a plane and wouldn’t be making great time. Thoughts straying, Avery shifted her head to glance at the gash on Mason’s left wing. The wound on the base of his wing had started to show all over again. The feathers that had once covered it began to part revealing the raw red gash. Fastening her left arm tightly around his neck, she moved her right hand to finger the wound. His wing snapped hard in protest.

  “Sorry.” She muttered and recoiled. “But it’s getting worse.”

  Mason hummed, his chest vibrating.

  “Says the girl who knows nothing about harpie anatomy.”

  “Hey, I said I didn’t know if you could fly. A gaping wound is a gaping wound.” She said undeterred.

  No matter how much he shushed her about the subject, Mason’s wing clearly hurt him. He flew at a crooked angle and his wing refused to open completely. They whirled through the air, controlled but increasingly uncomfortable.

  “It wouldn’t kill you to rest it awhile.” This time she didn’t shout but he heard her anyways.

  “Avery,” Mason interrupted, “shut up.”

  She opened her mouth to protest and never got the chance. His wings abruptly shifted and they lost altitude. The nauseating displacement of height left her stomach in knots.

  “Harpies?” She squealed. Mason’s grip tightened and he lowered them again with a single twi
tch of his wings.

  “Worse, storm front. Hold on!”

  A crippling gust hit them right at that moment. Mason’s injured wing went askew first and sent them spiraling backwards at an awkward angle. The entire flight pattern ruined, they began to plummet. The world spiraled and Avery suddenly saw what they were facing. They’d flown right into a blizzard. Fear kicking in, Avery screamed. Mason’s wings beat in a last ditch attempt to upright them but the wind made him reel.

  “Mason!”

  She lost her grip and plunged downward. The world spiraled in a blur of solid white. Her limbs flailed as she flopped through the air. The drop wasn’t a long one and her shoulders made impact with the ground first before her head snapped back on the hard packed snow. Even if the fall had been shortened by Mason, her body still went into shock from the impact. The storm kept raging above her. Hurricane force winds bit at her skin and snow packed down on top of her body. Forcing herself to roll to her knees, Avery’s body ached but obeyed.

  She scanned the spiraling white horizon as the wind and ice dried out her eyes.

  “Mason!” Her throat had gone hoarse from her earlier screaming and her voice barely made a sound above the thunderous storm.

  She couldn’t spot anything but the snow and the white capped hills. She squinted desperately but no speck of brown, tan, or black ever caught her eyes. Dragging herself to her feet, she pushed herself forward. Buried to her knees, she couldn’t walk right. Every muscle in her body protested as she hauled her ankles up and forced herself to take another step.

  Her footing slipped and she waivered before sliding down the slick terrain on her backside. Striking something rock hard, she stopped. With no visibility, Avery ran her hands over what she’d landed on. She vaguely recognized it as the side of a mountain. Bracing her hands against the wall, Avery held it as she trudged sideways. The bumps of the mountain shifted and she led herself right into a cave. The wind let up and the air calmed. Avery blinked, heart pounding in her chest, as she glanced around. The cave delved deeper into the mountain and though musky and dark, she welcomed the sight.

  The mark of magic in her hand rhythmically pulsed with her own heart beat. The magic not only warmed her but kept her body always one step up from total collapse. Not wanting to think about it anymore, she glanced back outside.

  “Mason!”

  She hollered again when flicker of movement caught her eye. She curled her fingers around the rock, hesitating. While ironic that she’d ever find a damp, harrowing cave more appealing than what played out before her, she couldn’t find it humorous at the moment.

  Avery slowed her spinning thoughts to pick at them one by one. She hadn’t exactly seen Mason but the clunk she heard could have easily been a body coming down. Avery took a deep breath, steadying herself. The movement she’d seen originated from only a few feet away, but the weather made it a virtual mile. Too, leaving the cave now may mean she wouldn’t find her way back in the absolute confusion.

  “Suck it up girl.” She told herself with a fair lot more audacity than she felt. Reaching for her cotton scarf, she unraveled the stark blue fabric until it bundled in her hands.

  “Hansel and Gretel left themselves a trail of bread crumbs.” She parroted the old child’s rhyme idly.

  The snow would cover it within a few minutes but so far it stood as the best idea she had. Readying herself in a hurry, she stretched out the cotton to its full three feet and walked back into the stormy weather. The gusts threatened to take it away but she dropped the front end and packed it down into the snow with the heel of her boot. It stood out harshly against the white snow. Done with that, she turned her attention outward and began to walk.

  “Mason!” She yelled.

  Just as she took another step, she stepped on something hard and bumpy. Looking below, she saw the figure lying in the snow for the first time. Mason’s face and straggly brown hair stood out above the snow.

  “Come on, wake up, get up.” Avery dove to her knees as her hands scrambled to brush off the rapidly piling snow. It fell as fast as she cleared it off.

  “Get up!” She demanded again. Taking on another strategy, she grabbed for him. Snatching up his hand, she stood, put her weight into it and tugged. Surprisingly light, Mason’s body budged and curled up. He let out a choking sound from deep in his throat.

  “There, come on.” She dragged him up and over to the cave.

  The blue of her scarf led the way, though it’d been blown unruly by the storm. One last wave of adrenaline racing through her veins, Avery tugged him into the cave. The wind slowed inside. The snow still piled in the front of the cave but not high enough to interfere with movement. She led a stumbling Mason in farther, collapsing when she reached the end.

  Little light reached inside the cave and even less during the storm. Still, the cramped walls were near enough that she could chart the entire place by touch alone. Mason had fallen below her, using just enough energy to roll onto his back and fold his mangled wings beneath him. Hands moving quickly, Avery brushed the last snow off of both of them. When it would melt, they’d be wet again. This time, they would likely freeze to death. Mason stirred when she touched him.

  “You alright?” He softly muttered.

  “More so than you. I’m frikkin’ immortal this week.” She gave a hoarse laugh even though it probably wasn’t funny.

  “You’re not immortal.” He said, seeming more alert now. “Come here.”

  She couldn’t quite see him so she leaned in carefully. Then his hand came up behind her and pulled her close. Avery jumped at first when he pulled her tight to his bare chest but she put it together quickly. He’d combined their body heat-- something that was especially useful when one of the persons ran hot all the time. Immediately feeling the difference, Avery leaned into him to warm up. She maneuvered her face into the crook of his neck and let out a breath. She couldn’t lie, squashing so close to Mason-- even in life or death scenarios-- seemed a little too personal. Unsure of what to make of it yet, she didn’t mention it.

  “Will this kind of storm pass?” He asked.

  “It should clear up in a few hours.” That was if it didn’t cause an avalanche and bury them alive in the cave. Avery didn’t add that part.

  “That was brilliant you know.” He commented.

  “What?”

  “Getting us in here. You’re a credit to your race.”

  Avery’s face burned, thankfully hid by the darkness, and she shrugged.

  “It wasn’t that big.” She said.

  Mason actually acted like he liked her more. Avery had to admit, they hadn’t ever gotten off on the right foot so Mason liking her at all was an accomplishment. They’d still be squabbling in the forest if it wasn’t for mutual survival. At least this was a step in the right direction.

  Mason stretched and she could feel the outline of his body as he pressed against her.

  “We should rest.” He mentioned.

  “No, we can’t.” Moving quickly, she nudged his chest before he even acted on sleeping. “Stay awake. Just trust me. You don’t want to fall asleep when at risk for freezing to death.”

  He made a grunting sound of discontent.

  “Trust me. Just talk to me.” Her mind spun to think of a subject. “Well, I’ve never met a harpie before you, right? So are there any other mythological creatures other than harpies?”

  “If they are mythological, they don’t exist.” No matter how exhausted he was, Mason was quick to point out the flaw in her logic. “But no. Just us really. And that’s boring anyways.”

  She let out an aggravated breath.

  “Fine then, pick a subject. Just stay awake.” She said.

  “Okay.” Mason shifted a bit, pulling away from Avery. If it was a traditional situation, he would have done it to see her face. The darkness in the cave didn’t allow that, so he touched her face instead. His fingers traced over her cheek, her lips, and downward off of her chin. The movement wasn’t inherently sensual,
but Avery couldn’t help but react to it. Heart skipping a few beats, she shifted uncomfortably. Feelings were stirring in her chest that she definitely knew she shouldn’t be feeling. Especially not when they were trapped in a cave, pressed to close together and absolutely alone.

  “Are you single, Avery?” Mason asked.

  Avery froze, certain she must have heard him wrong.

  “W-what?” She cursed herself for stuttering but this wasn’t exactly her version of flirting.