Grounded

by Constance Sharper

  “Okay.” Avery agreed and then Leela walked away, leaving Avery to follow.

  Twelve

  Leela led them down the shoreline with a leisurely stroll, only stopping occasional to playfully kick up the waves that swept up to their feet. The girl’s behavior wasn’t bizarre enough that Avery suspected magical influence in her mindset, but Avery couldn’t understand the exuberance in her personality either. She studied Leela intently until they turned towards a building just at the other end of the island. This building wasn’t concrete like Mikhail’s place but was stitched together out of bamboo with an old cottage feel. There were large, glass free windows that were open to the shoreline and revealed some of the house inside.

  It looked ordinary and harpie free so Avery didn’t resist following Leela inside.

  “Okay, I know you have questions.” Leela tossed her sandals in the corner and filed through the room to reach a wooden table. “So go ahead.”

  The girl gestured toward a seat next to her but too disturbed to sit, Avery hovered in the corner.

  “How long have you been talking to the Band? How long has this been going on?” Avery asked first and foremost.

  “Not very long. A few months maybe? He was looking for me before then. He really wanted to see me.” She looked a little too dreamy when she said that.

  “He’s lying to you, you know. You can’t believe anything Mikhail says.”

  The dreamy look left her and was replaced with a heavy scowl. Leela’s narrowed her brown eyes and she protested loudly.

  “Don’t talk to me about lies. You never explained to me once how I ended up at Mayweather with a two week hole in my memory. You never told me about harpies or what they’d done. You didn’t even let me meet Mason and lied to me six ways from Sunday about his true identity!”

  Avery snapped her mouth shut, too surprised to even respond. A mix of emotions spun through her head but Avery could only pinpoint the ugliest feeling—guilt. Some part of her knew that lying to Leela had been exactly what had gotten her here. Rather than continue to muse on regret, Avery forced herself to stay calm and go to the next logical approach.

  “I should have told you.” Avery said, needing a surprising amount of nerve to stutter out the words. “But I was trying to protect you, not hurt you.”

  The tension had grown thick and uncomfortable, the air hard to breathe. The beauty of the beach cottage was lost to the painful conversation and no amount of focusing on the water made it easier. Leela broke her gaze and looked toward the ground. Wringing her hands, she shrugged lightly.

  “Mikhail was the first one to come to me and tell me anything. When he brought it up, all these dreams and feelings I’d been having clicked. I remembered it. I remembered the harpies, their world, their frikkin’ island!” She then spoke more quietly. “I remember what their government wanted to do to you... to us.”

  Avery wouldn’t deny that the harpie government was fairly shady, but Mikhail was just using that to influence Leela.

  “Did you remember when Mikhail compelled you with magic to jump off a roof?”

  Leela visibly stiffened but still held her chin up persistently.

  “He knew that I wouldn’t die.”

  Groaning loudly, Avery pressed a hand to her temple. For the first time, she took a scrutinizing look around the room. She’d initially thought the place was a spare house but the cottage was loaded with tidbits of Leela’s personality. Half empty coffee cups sat by the sink and chocolate wrappers were stacked up in the trash. A bottle of red wine sat near the cabinets and was adorned with a pretty red bow. This wasn’t a spare room, Avery realized. This was Leela’s guest house. She knew then that every break from school and weekend trip that “Leela went home” Leela hadn’t gone home. She’d come here and Mikhail had clearly been working her over for awhile.

  “Okay, you’re not going to change your mind no matter how much I warn you. You never do.” Avery voiced the foregone fact but didn’t end there. “And it doesn’t really matter if you like him. But this is bigger than us. Mikhail is attempting to make an amulet that he’ll use not just to kill me but Mason too.”

  “I know all about it but Mikhail agreed not to hurt you. He’s not a bad person.”

  “You don’t know him! He’s a murderer and an anarchist!”

  “I know him a lot better than you do!” Leela shot back. “And he’s the good guy. He’s the one battling the corrupt government—the same government that sentenced you to death once upon a time. He’s the one taking back what belonged to him before Jericho stole it away! You know Jericho backstabbed him! Everyone knows it!”

  Avery opened her mouth to shout back but something stopped her. A glint of silver reflecting the fading sunlight caught her eye. Avery recognized Leela’s flip phone and forced herself not to gasp. The Band had kept Avery away from a phone but didn’t take the same precautions with Leela. Avery put her attention back on Leela before the girl could notice Avery’s revelation.

  “What do you mean?” Avery prompted this time keeping her voice very calm.

  “You know that Jericho and Mikhail once studied that magic together. And then Jericho got greedy and wanted Mikhail banished to keep the Willow magic for himself.”

  That didn’t sound like the Jericho that Avery knew even a bit. Avery made a face, not willing to believe it. She wasn’t there a hundred years ago, so rather than debate the hearsay history, she went for a different approach.

  “It doesn’t matter. He’s evil now, Leela. And he’s going to kill me.”

  “He’s not going to kill you. I’m not going to let him. Avery, I did this to protect you because you put yourself on the wrong side! You’ve allied yourself with Jericho’s children and Mason’s cause.”

  “I’ve allied myself with Jericho’s children? What about Eva? Does she not count now?” Avery urged, waiting to see if any of the discrepancies clicked for her friend. Listening to harpies was like listening to the most jaded news reporters in the world. Leela only shrugged.

  “Eva will be moved out soon. Mikhail doesn’t see her as in our best interest anymore. But maybe she doesn’t even know that.” Then Leela made a pleading face. “Please Avery. This is the point at which you can come across the veil. Get on the winning team. Get on my team.”

  “You shouldn’t even have a team! You’re not a harpie, Leela. You’re not even magical. You are just a plain human and you shouldn’t be here.” Avery shouted back when the anger that had seized her chest got the better of her attitude.

  The lashing remarks clearly landed hard and likely harder than intended. Leela wrapped her arms around herself and sent a chilly gaze to the floor. Realizing she might have locked Leela out for good, Avery hurried to remedy the situation.

  “Look, I’m sorry alright.” Avery said suddenly. She needed Leela to cooperate if they both were going to get out of there, even if Leela didn’t know she’d be cooperating. “I just don’t know how to take these rumors that everyone is spreading about Jericho.”

  It seemed to work and after a moment, Leela glanced back up.

  “It’s a hard pill to swallow, I know. We’d like to think our heroes are good people but there is a reason we never meet them.”

  Avery didn’t open her mouth for fear of contradicting her. Mikhail, who they’d both met, was openly violent and what kind of hero was that? Avery wouldn’t buy into the propaganda about the older harpie.

  “Okay. I just need time to think. I don’t...I don’t feel so well.” Avery said and it wasn’t a complete lie. Carefully calculating her movements, Avery buried her face in her hands.

  She heard the chair scrap across the floor as Leela stood up and came to her side.

  “Do you need something?”

  “Do you have... do you have water?” Avery croaked.

  “One second.” Leela left her side and hurried out of the room.

  Seeing her opportunity unfold instantly, Avery stood and made a grab for the phone. She got it and jammed it in her
pocket half a second before Leela returned to the room. The girl offered Avery a cold bottle of water that Avery accepted half heartedly. The rush had made her heart jump into her chest. Squeezing the bottle before her hands could visibly shake, Avery thanked her.

  “And a bathroom? Do you have one in here?”

  Leela rolled her eyes over dramatically and pointed down the hall. Avery made a bee line that way. The cottage was actually beautiful upon further inspection. Though small, it was quaint and though warm, it was cozy. The smell of salt and sand was thick inside and the overhead twirling fans gave the room a gentle breeze.

  She reached the bathroom. The door was created to leave a gap between the ceiling and the door top, probably for better wind circulation, but it also allowed someone to hear inside.

  Avery shut the door slowly, freed Leela’s silver phone from her pocket, and slammed in Mason’s digits. The phone rang for an agonizingly long time before Mason ever picked up on the other line.

  “Hey.” She whispered and pressed the metal close to her cheek. She’d made a cup with her palm but still had to be careful.

  “Avery! Where are you?” Mason’s voice ripped loudly over the line and she moved the phone away from her ear.

  Lowering the volume with a few clicks, she whispered into the mouth piece again.

  “Island. Like small island.”

  Mason let out a breath that hissed across the line.

  “Where? I lost you outside of Alaska but there are hundreds of islands in the Pacific. I need a hint. Any hint.” He demanded.

  “I don’t know.” She shot back, blood pounding in her ears. She knew how frustrated he felt but she couldn’t do anything. The fact that she’d even been able to call him was miraculous.

  “Are you okay?” He asked softly, tone changing dramatically for concern.

  “Yea, for now.” Avery admitted, watching the door. She knew she was taking too long—at least five minutes had passed since she enclosed herself in the room. Leela wasn’t a suspicious girl by nature so Avery would have some time but every extra second was risking it.

  “Whose phone is this? How did you even get away from them?”

  Avery suddenly heard footsteps outside the door. Flinching violently, she fumbled with the phone and finally shoved it up against her chest. The footsteps had stopped but Avery couldn’t be sure if they passed the door or hovered in front of it. She waited, holding her breath.

  There was nothing outside the door but silence. Avery slowly brought the phone back to her ear.

  “Hey.” She croaked but it came out barely audible.

  “Look, I know you can’t talk but I can’t find you unless I get some hint. Can you call me back when you get a detail? It’s absolutely imperative. You need to find a way.”

  The bathroom door snapped open and it happened in a flash. Before Avery could even drop the phone, a hand caught her shoulder and yanked her outward. Losing her footing, Avery slipped into the hallway wall. She slammed into the plaster with a crash. The phone dropped from her fingers and skidded across the floor, ignored. Avery whirled to face her attacker head on but she wasn’t expecting to see Eva.

  The female harpie lashed out for Avery again, her long limbs and agility an advantage in the tight hall, and she knocked Avery sideways. The crippling blow sent Avery onto her backside and she slid into the living room. Her cheek burned but the pain only made Avery move quicker. She sprung to her feet but Eva had turned away.

  Leela came from the kitchen during the fight but stood immobilized in the corner. The female harpie snatched up the disregarded phone with one swift movement.

  Turning her jade green eyes back on Avery, she pressed the sleek metal device to her ear.

  “Hi Mason.” She purred into the phone.

  Eva was Mason’s sister but the two siblings were estranged as best, enemies at worse. They’d viciously fought the last time they’d seen each other and Avery knew that kind of harpie resentment didn’t fade. Mason didn’t answer on the other line, probably unsure if he’d blow Avery’s cover. It didn’t matter.

  “I know it’s you, idiot.” Eva said.

  She cradled the phone with one hand while she prowled around the room. Feeling the sharp eyes on her, Avery shifted uncomfortably. They waited for Mason to make the next move. His smooth voice finally floated over the line.

  “Eva, it’s not like you to hide from a fight.” His baiting taunt didn’t work. Eva snapped the phone shut and then crushed the phone beneath her boot heel. She shifted her flaring anger on Avery next.

  “He hasn’t gotten any smarter has he? Why he was Jericho’s favorite I’ll never know.” She sneered.

  Avery couldn’t think of an answer so she stayed quiet. Her eyes shot around the room, sizing up her exits. She could get away—it was easy to out maneuver a harpie when their bulky wings made them ungainly—but she had no where to go. The island was tiny and ridden with harpies.

  “And you,” Eva’s snapped at Leela. “Get out of my house.”

  Leela stiffened, recoiling into the fridge.

  “Mikhail said I could stay here.” Leela protested but her words fell short. The coldness in Eva’s stature obviously making her reconsider, Leela dashed for the door and disappeared onto the beach. The door slammed shut in her wake sealing Avery and Eva alone in the room.

  Eva took the opportunity to turn the full weight of her stare back on Avery. The cottage suddenly seemed tiny and the berth between them disconcertingly tiny. Avery backed toward the wall, a small effort to put space between them but the few feet were not far enough. A few months ago Avery could have summoned the magic in her body and destroyed Eva. But currently, she grasped at the feeling of magic in her chest and came up empty. The magic wasn’t apparent and this time, Avery found herself at the harpie’s mercy.

  Eva paced, making a predator’s circle.

  “So…Avery…” She started. “Word has it you have all of my father’s memories. Do you remember how he feels about his children? Do you see why Mason truly gets under my skin?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Avery said but some part of her did.

  After having the amulet of Willow magic infused in her body, she gained some of Jericho’s memories. Particular to those memories was the vividness of Jericho’s children. When Eva’s name was mentioned, she could remember Jericho’s anger. Avery never thought about it but she couldn’t deny it either. Eva continued raging.

  “I hate Mason. I hate how he reminds me of my father.” She shouted and the raw emotion in her voice was startling. But then Avery saw it, just for a second. She saw an opening.

  “You think Mikhail is better? Have you seen the way he’s cozying up to Leela. He has you playing second fiddle to a human. This is your place isn’t it?” Avery gestured to the cottage.

  She was stepping on thin ice now but Eva’s commitment level wasn’t where it should be. It could be shaken. Determined to do just that, Avery’s mind spun with ideas and she kept her chin up persistently. “They’re already talking about moving you out. You know for the record, Mason still wants to help you. He’s afraid Mikhail will kill you when his use for you is up.”

  The lie slipped into the air before Avery could regret it. A lull of thick silence followed, Eva’s face failing to betray her emotions. The harpie woman’s wings shuddered and drew into her body before she answered shortly.

  “No. My brother never cared about anyone but Adalyn.”

  “He’s changed.” Avery snapped back.

  “He’s not. He’s just like my father!” Eva lost her composure. She lunged for Avery, her talons making contact with the human’s shoulders. Avery backpedaled, sending them both off balance and they collided with a shattering force into the wall. Eva’s talons were deadly sharp but didn’t make their intended target. Bringing her knees up into the harpie’s chest, Avery fumbled the attack.

  Eva naturally corrected but Avery didn’t let her have the upper hand twice. With adrenaline kicking throu
gh her veins, she felt a flair of the magic spark in her chest. Grabbing for the tight internal sensation, she summoned the magic. The rest was practice. She forced the crackling sensation through her arms and out through her hands. The Willow magic manifested itself as an electric current. Avery lunged back for Eva this time, and the magic made contact. The harpie gave a shriek of outrage but the magic wasn’t strong enough.

  Eva recovered from it and stood, half crouching, in a warrior’s posture.

  “Don’t do this! I’m not here to fight you!” Avery shouted, trembling with the energy and anxiety.

  “Why, because you’re here to save me? My dear brother wants to help me?”

  “Why is that so hard to believe?” Avery asked and the female harpie flinched.

  Her cheeks were red and her chest was heaving too fast. Avery knew her point had landed hard. The harpie just didn’t seem to know what to do with the revelation. Avery didn’t expect lovely dovey knowing Eva’s cut throat lifestyle but the harpie girl surprised her with a single, probably insignificant statement.

  “Don’t call him here. That magic you’re using will lead him here and Mikhail will cut off his head. There, that’s my sisterly advice.” She snapped and then abruptly stormed for the door.

  Thirteen

  Avery had to be crazy. She had to be, because otherwise she couldn’t explain what she was doing standing in front of Mikhail’s door again. She had a plan and she tried to remind herself of that while her white knuckles hovered an inch from the varnished wooden door. She’d been hesitating for awhile now and a few more rays of sunlight crept in through the window to light the hallway with an orange glow. Night had passed fairly quickly after the encounter with Eva and unable to sleep, Avery sat herself under one of the palm trees to think.