Broken (Broken Wings)

by Sandra Love

  “Leave our town now!” one screams at me. Tears fill my eyes.

  “Yes, Mother, that’s the freak who attacked me.” I look over to the voice to see it is Kelsey, standing with a tall lady with short blond hair. It is obvious that she is her mother; even if she hadn’t said it, I would have easily guessed..

  She grabs my arm, and yells in my face. “You bitch! You hurt my sweet girl! You will pay for that!”

  She lets go of me, and I hit the payment hard. My bum will be bruised now. Then, all of a sudden, I am getting attacked by tomatoes. I get up and run as fast as I can. My legs hurt so badly, but I am not going to stop until I get to the cabin. When I get there, my bag rips and all of my groceries fall to the ground. I sit there on the doorstep and cry my eyes out, and then I know what I have to do to end this pain and darkness that consumes my life.

  Chapter Twelve

  Cameron

  I can’t believe how ignorant I am. How could I have said those things about Cordelia? I was just trying to “fit in” so that my cover wasn’t blown, but I never should have said those things. It wasn’t fair to her. I bet Cordelia hates me now, and that’s got me worried that she will hurt herself; especially after happened with Kelsey and everyone accusing Cordelia of attacking her. I run as fast as I can home. I need my sister’s help right now. I run into the kitchen and stop to catch my breath.

  “Cam, aren’t you supposed to be in school right now?”

  “Kaleigh, something horrible happened at school. Cordelia was confronted by Kelsey, and that upset her. She electrocuted her.”

  Kaleigh mouth dropped, eyes bugged out. “Oh my! What happened after that?”

  “She was accused of being a witch and a freak. The gym teacher stepped in and took Cordelia to her office. I haven’t seen her since.”

  “We need to find her right now, or I have a feeling that this will be too much for her and we will be too late to save her.” We both start to go out the door. “Cam, I know she has been staying in a cabin in the woods,” Kaleigh informs me. “I have checked in on her, without her knowing of course. Follow me.”

  We start off into the woods, and the sense of peace that immediately rushes over me as the birds fly above and little critters skitter along the ground makes me realize why Cordelia seemed to like the woods so much. We approach the cabin. It is just as beautiful as Cordelia; it suits her. But when we step on the porch, something feels wrong.

  “Cam, look, her bag and groceries are out here, and her door is slightly open.” I open the door slowly and don’t see anything. Kaleigh and I start into the house and search every corner of it. No one is there.

  “Where could she be?” I say out loud, not necessarily speaking to my sister. I am so concerned right now. What if she is in danger?

  “Close your eyes, Cam,” Kaleigh instructs me. “If you have any emotional connection with her you will sense where she is. You need to concentrate. Trust me; Kale and did this a lot.”

  I do as instructed, thinking of how much I care for Cordelia. Please be okay, I whisper through my mind, and then I fall to the ground, screaming from the horrifying pain that is spreading through me. It feels like my heart is going to explode. I get on my hands and knees, and my wings spring to life.

  “Help me, Kaleigh.”

  “Cam, what’s going on?”

  “She…. my love is in danger; she needs us..”

  I start out the door, without even seeing if Kaleigh is following me or not. My heart is in such pain. What if I don’t make it to her in time, and am doomed to repeat what happened with Anna? I shake that negativity from my head and fly into the sky, looking for her. When I come to a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, I see her standing on the edge, but she is not alone.

  “Amelia.” I pick up speed and fly right into her. She screams as I toss her into a nearby tree. When she makes contact with the tree it cracks in half. The sound is so loud, it makes an echo.

  “Cam!” Cordelia screams. “Nooo! She will kill you.”

  “Keep quiet, child. Until you are told to speak, you will not usher another word.”” I look over at her to see Abem holding onto her with a tough grip.

  Kaleigh walks toward them, and I feel a slight sense of relief that she had followed me. “Abem, how could you? You are sworn not to take sides. You are the oldest one of the council. How could you betray us?”

  “If you come any closer, I will throw her off this cliff. She is an abomination to all creatures. I have seen what will happen. The seer had come to me telling me this child will do atrocious things. I will not allow it.”

  “Abem, silence!” Amelia shouts. “We don’t want to know about your precious seer. I sent that seer to you to see if Dean lied to me about my daughter. I trick you, old man. Now, hand me my daughter so these two can see the death of Cordelia.”

  I step in front of Cordelia and the traitor. “You will have to go through me first, witch. I am in love with your daughter, and you will not hurt her, without killing me first.”

  Everyone gasps. “Cameron, that’s against the law of the coven. You will die,” Abem said. “Oh, I can’t wait to get back to my brothers,” he continues with a snicker. “That will be three down, and two to go.” He sounds a little too pleased for my liking, and I don’t know what he means about three down and two to go, but it’s not important right now; I have to save Cordelia.

  “Abem, you are truly an amusing man. You see, with your help in all this—tricking your brothers into saying poor little Cordelia is a threat—they will have your head. You see, the Prophet states that there will be a mutant creature that will hold all the power, and with that she will rule Ithaca. Well, if you all use your thick heads, you will realize that Cordelia here is the mutant. I don’t like the fact that she could be my ruler. So, blah blah blah and all that jazz, I want to kill her and take in her powers so I can rule you all. I don’t think we need fallen angels. They are a waste of time. Cameron, isn’t this your second charge you have fallen for? What happened to poor Anna? That’s right, you drove her insane. You, boy, are pathetic.” She starts to walk toward Cordelia.

  But Kaleigh stops her. “Don’t you dare lay on finger on her! You are nothing but evil. You were my parents’ good friend. I saw a photo of you four together. You are the true reason my parents are dead, and I have to live this life as a fallen angel; cursed for eternity. You are nothing but a sad woman that wants everything. Well, I have news for you. You will not touch Cordelia.” I’ve never seen Kaleigh like this. She is very pissed and looks about ready to attack. Her wings sprout from her shoulder blades: black with pink on the tips.

  My eyes are on her as she charges for Amelia. She hits her hard and they roll over the cliff.

  “Kaleigh! No!”

  I run to the edge of the cliff, and they are nowhere in sight. My heart is pounding in my chest. I can’t lose my sister! I’ve lost too much already. I need her; she’s my rock. I look into the sky and see a storm is heading in. The waves look to be 10 feet high. The wind is picking up; the trees are creaking and crying out, as if in mourning of a lost loved one. My heart constricts, praying they are not mourning my sister. The rain and lightning come next, drenching me. As a bolt of lightning streaks through the sky, I look around for my sister. She’s nowhere to be found, but I notice that Cordelia has somehow gotten away from Abem’s grip, and is now standing on the edge of the cliff with me.

  She looks at me and starts to sob. “Cameron, I know you really don’t love a freak like me. I’m the reason all of this is happening. Please let me do what’s right. Let me go.” With that, she stepped off the edge of the cliff.

  “Cordelia!” My wings come to life and I fly off the cliff, so fast that I worry the winds from the storm might create an updraft beneath my wings and take me away. But I get to her in time and catch her and hold her tight to my chest.

  She opens those beautiful gray eyes and looks up at me. “Am I in heaven? If so, I can live like this,” she says as she snuggles up to me.
<
br />   The rain is coming down in sheets. I look down at the spot where I had last seen my sister and am torn between getting Cordelia safe and finding Kaleigh. As my heart thumps against my breast-bone, a particularly warm breeze kisses my wings and a light, soft voice drifts to my ears. Save her, Cam, I hear Kaleigh whisper. I don’t know if she is alive or if it is her spirit directing me, but she has never steered me wrong in the past, so I follow her instruction this time as well.

  I decide to take Cordelia back to the cabin. I don’t want to let her go. I want her to be in my arms like this for the rest of our lives. Deep down I know that is impossible, but I am going to take advantage of this moment for as long as I can. We make it to the cabin, and I look down to see she is fast asleep. I retract my wings, carry her into the guest room, and lay her down. I covered her with the quilt and sit by her side.

  I stare at this girl who truly holds my heart. I have no knowledge on how long I sit with her, but I hear the door slam, and then the sounds of Kaleigh mumbling to herself drift through the crack in the door. I get up and walk to the kitchen to see her making coffee. She is dripping wet and her hair is matted against her face, looking like a drowned cat, but, to me, my sister has never looked more beautiful.

  I rush to her and wrap her in my arms. “Kaleigh? Are you alright? I was so worried about you.”

  She returns the hug, though I can tell she’s visibly irritated. “That stupid witch. I almost had her! Did you know she could teleport?” I open my mouth to speak, but she cuts me off. “Wait, how’s Cordelia?”

  “She’s sleeping, but she stepped off the cliff. Good thing I am a fast flyer, or she would be dead. Honestly, if she did die I couldn’t go on. I meant what I said on that cliff. I’m in love with her. I want to be with her, and it kills me to know I will never be allowed to. My heart hurts, Kaleigh. It feels like I can’t breathe.”

  “I know, Cam; I feel the same with Kale. You know what? The Old Ones are jokes. If what Amelia said was true, then let’s help Cordelia rule Ithaca. Let us help her with her powers. She will need us, with Amelia lurking around trying to be ruler of the world.” I chuckle a little with that statement.

  “But what if it’s not true and they kill her? I don’t get how they say she is a mutant. She has only showed her witch side.”

  “It would be badass if she had wings also. I would be so jealous of her.” We both laugh. Then a knock at the door surprises us both.

  I look at Kaleigh and whisper, “Who the hell is that?” I grab the baseball bat we have hidden behind the refrigerator, and walk to the door. I open it and get the shocked of my life. I drop the bat and look at Kaleigh.

  “Well, who is it?”

  “Umm… Kaleigh, you will never believe who is here.”

  Kaleigh walks over and gasps. “Oh my god, why are you here?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kaleigh

  “Well, who is it?” I ask Cameron.

  “Umm… Kaleigh, you will never believe who is here.”

  I walk over and gasp. “Oh my god, why are you here?”

  I can’t believe my eyes. I am face to face with Kale, and he is just as handsome as ever. He is about 6’6”, muscular, has spiky brown hair and the most stunning green eyes. His strong jaw and high cheekbones make him exquisite. He is the love of my life, and all I want to do is kiss those perfectly shaped lips of his, but I know I can’t so I hang back. But, seeing him and not being able to show him how much he means to me just breaks my heart all over again.

  “Hello Kaleigh,” he says, his deep voice washing over me like a wave of pleasure. “I am here, because we all need to talk. It’s an emergency. We are all in danger.”

  My brother must notice that I’m a bit speechless, as he speaks up. “Hey Kale, why don’t you come in and we can talk about what is going on?”

  “Thank you, Cameron,” Kale says as he walks over the threshold. His eyes stare into mine for a moment before he turns to my brother, and in that small second I swear I can see an emotion that I recognize all too well. “Like I was saying,” he continues, “Ithaca is in serious danger. Amelia has returned and has set fire to the White City of Ithaca.” The White City is where the Old Ones reside. It’s beautiful there, flowers bloom all over and it never gets dark there. The streets are silver; the houses are enormous. I really miss living there.

  “I don’t understand. Why she would do that? She was just here! How in the world….” I stop, remembering our struggle and her sudden disappearance. “Wait, she teleported there didn’t she?”

  Kale nods. “Right in the middle of The White City. She sent fireballs flying; she has killed a lot of the white angels. I was, thankfully, on the outskirts of town to get away safely. I knew you were here protecting Amelia and Dean’s daughter, so I thought you might have some insight. Do you have any idea on why she is destroying our country?”

  I sit down and drink some of my black coffee. “She just tried to kill Cordelia, to take her powers.” I make the mistake of looking into his eyes. The stunning green color momentarily paralyzes me. This is so hard, but I know that Cordelia and the future of our country are more important than my attraction right now. I look down into my coffee and watch the amber liquid swirl around the cup before I speak again. “What is this about the prophecy? Is Cordelia supposed to run Ithaca?”

  “The prophecy states that a female that consumes powers of two magical creatures will overtake The Old Ones and rule the country. She will bring peace to us all, allowing all to have night and day. So, therefore, the Dark City will see light, and the White City will have night.”

  “That sounds wonderful.” As much as I loved the light when I had lived in the White City, something about the night intrigued me.

  “Kaleigh,” Kale continues; his voice saying my name sends shivers up and down my spine like a caress, “that’s not all. The prophecy also states that this female can lift your curse.”

  I look at Cam, and he snaps his head in Kale’s direction. “Really? Is this all true.” Kale nods in answer to Cameron’s question. “It sounds too good to be true. What’s the catch?”

  “Well….. There has to be a battle to overtake The Old Ones. This female will have to kill all of them with her powers. It won’t be pretty, and many of the creatures will die. Also, there is Amelia. We will have to kill her, as well.”

  Cameron starts to pace the kitchen. “Let’s do it, Kaleigh. We can finally be happy. You can have Kale back.”

  “Cam, she doesn’t have angel powers, though. We only saw her witch powers.”

  “Maybe she does,” Kale says. “Dean is the most powerful angel. He has powers that are way more powerful then Amelia’s. He entered her mind to make her believe Cordelia was dead. What are her powers now, Kaleigh?”

  Cam doesn’t give me a chance to answer. “From what I’ve seen, she can electrocute and she has a force field.”

  “Two powers?” Cam nods. “I definitely think she is who the prophet is speaking of,” Kale admits. “It is said that the one to takeover will have numerous powers, and she sounds like the one we are all looking for.”

  “Kale, why is Abem working with Amelia?” I say, finally finding my voice again.

  “The Old Ones are working with her; Abem is the one that was chosen to come here with her.”

  “How do you know so much?” I ask him, almost afraid of the answer.

  “Well, they think they can trust me. But I’ve been spying on them for a while now. When I found out they were working with that evil witch, I did some research. That is when I found out about the prophet. With Amelia blowing up the city with her revenge, I thought it was safe to come here and tell you everything I know that can help you.” He stands up abruptly. “Well, I guess I will head back and help with the city.”

  I jump up from the table with a pleading look in my eyes. “No Kale, don’t go; stay and help us.” I don’t want him to leave me so soon after seeing him again after so long.

  Cam clears his throat and stands up
as well. “I will leave you two alone and go check in on Cordelia. She had a rough night,” he says before walking out of the room.

  Kale turns to me with his own pleading look. “Are you sure you want me to stay?”

  I walk over to him and look up at him, hopefully conveying how much I want him with me. “Of course,” I say. “Kale, if this is all true and my curse is lifted, what will happen with us?”

  What happens next takes me by surprise. He grabs me into a tight hug, rubbing his hands in my hair and down my back. He pulls back and brings his hands to my face, stroking my cheeks. Then his lips land on mine, and I swear I hear birds singing and bells ringing. He lifts me up and puts me on the counter, sliding his tongue into my mouth. We play with each other for a bit, like two frantic first-timers; in many ways, it does feel like a first for us. I put my hands in his hair and pull him closer to me, but he pulls back and I feel disappointed.

  “Kaleigh, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that. Breaking up with you was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I still love you.” He strokes my arms as tears spill over, each droplet healing a small piece of my broken heart.

  “Oh, Kale,” I say through sobs. “I love you, too. Let’s do this. Let’s find out if Cordelia is the one that could release us from this excruciating pain.”

  “I will stay, if you would like me to. I will help bring down The Old Ones and Amelia. Then we can get married and start a family of our own, just like we had planned 5 years ago.”

  I bring him into the tightest hug and sigh. I hope this is not a dream, because if it is I don’t want to wake up.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cordelia

  I can feel the warmth of the fire on my back as I run. The screams are coming from all directions, and I’m afraid I am the one that caused it. I am running so fast that I keep running into tree branches, scraping my face. I can feel the warmth of blood flowing from the cuts, but I try to ignore it. I try to run faster from the burning city, but I have no shoes on and I am stepping on rocks and sticks. My feet were killing me and I can tell they are bleeding as well. I hear a high pitch laughing, and I know it’s Amelia. I am terrified; I knew she wanted to kill me, and I knew what she was capable of. My own mother wanted to end my life. Suddenly, I trip on a tree stump and roll down a hill. Rolling through leaves and falling tree branches, I knew I was going to be injured. When I stop, the pain in my left ankle is so intense that I want to scream, but I hold it in so she won’t find me. I notice a small cave to my right and crawl for it. When I am safely inside, I hear voices.