“But what if I don’t trust my instincts anymore?” I lifted my hand to study my nails.
“Well, it’s a personal journey for all of us. No one can tell you what to do, or how to feel. Instinct is nothing more than a small voice in your head.”
A snorted chuckle, then I raised an eyebrow at Dad and said, “Just one?”
“I know what you mean. But this voice is different. Most of the time you don’t even know it’s there. In my experience, the louder the voice the less trustworthy it is. It’s more like a thought, a hint to guide you.”
A loud and rapid caaw-caaw-caaw from a crow perched atop a pine on the other side of the driveway caught my attention. I kept my gaze on it as I said, “Why does this purpose thing have to play games? Why can’t it just, tell us? I mean”—I turned my head to him—“does it have to be so confusing?”
“You sound like your mother. She asked the same question so long ago. She started out scared, timid, petite like you. She became one of the strongest female warriors we’d ever known.”
“Mom? You are talking about my mother, right?”
“Oh yes, there’s so much you don’t know. She settled down when you girls were born. She holds a drek kill record that may never be broken, over seven thousand.”
“No way. Mom?” I couldn’t open my eyes any wider. “The goddess angel sipping her tea by the pool, that Mom?”
“I’ll have to show you her—” He stopped short.
“Show me her what?”
Angry chatter of a bird came from the forest; it sounded as if it was irritated, probably with the pesky crow. Dad watched the commotion as he said, “She doesn’t like to bring it out, but, she has a special bow. She retired it. The day you were born, she held you in her arms and said, ‘I’m done, Phil. This is my little Ellie angel and I’m going to spoil her rotten’”—his face filled with reminiscence—“I’ll never forget that day. That was the day you came to us, sweetheart. The day we fell in love with life all over again.”
“Oh, Dad. That’s so nice. I love you.”
We met for a mutual leaning hug between our chairs.
Dad replied over my shoulder, a little choke in his gruff voice, “I love you, too, Ellie.”
After the embrace, I could tell Dad needed a little time to compose himself so I sent my thoughts off into the woods. The idea of my mother, out there, as a female warrior, was just, unfathomable.
Dad interrupted my wandering mind, “Now, Ellie, do not let this influence you and make you reckless. That was your mother’s purpose, not necessarily yours.”
“Yeah, I know, but what if this is part of my purpose. You telling me this?”
“One day at a time. If my visions are correct—” He stopped short again.
“Visions? What do you mean? You’ve had visions of my purpose?”
He slipped a grin. “Well, I shouldn’t have said that. We’re not supposed to share our visions. It would alter the course, give the ego a chance to influence. Just remember, everything happens for a reason.”
I turned and heaved a huge, lip-vibrating sigh off the porch. “Oh, great, more secrets.”
The house door opened. “Whatcha guys doin’ out here?” Angie asked behind us as Bub came running out, sailed off the porch deck and dashed into the forest.
“Nothing, just talking,” I replied.
Dad gave me his special “Ellie” smile, which included a little wink. I wondered if he knew that his smiles are different between Angie and me; he always gives me a left-eye wink, Angie would receive the right eye. It’s so nice.
“Well, you ready, Ellie? Let’s go kick some drek butt.” The chipper sound of her voice hinted at her full recovery. A look of ready confidence, dressed in jeans and a girl-cut T-shirt, glossy brown hair around her shoulders, green eyes glinting with purposeful intent. Looking at her, I began to realize that a certain innocence had left us the night Luca’s blood covered the living room floor, and I helped my sister mop it up in silence. That was the moment we knew things would never be the same, so we had toughened our hearts with purpose.
Angie pulled her bow off the wall peg, turned and said, “I wanna be back early,” then slipped the quiver over her head and crossways over her chest.
With my gaze into the forest again, I clenched my jaw, sniffed a sharp inhale of mountain pine air, and psyched myself up to follow the day. I rose with conviction. “Okay, let’s go.” I marched over, looped the quiver over my shoulder and chest, and grabbed my bow.
Dad had said not to let our conversation influence my decisions, but the thought of Mom’s past lit a pilot flame inside me, a guiding spark to help me through the dimness of destiny.
CHAPTER 27
Soaring high above the land, in the cool shade just below a single swollen cloud, I could smell the oncoming rain, the faint hint of ozone. It wouldn’t be a storm, I knew, just a brief sprinkle from a lone wanderer. Sunlight lit the edges to glow—a halo of white around a mass of gray. Rivulets of mist covered our wing feathers. My nose and cheeks were cold. Hands were numbing. The crisp atmosphere is just a fact of morning flight, so we deal with it. However, it’s different with a bow in hand, and a glove would be nice, but, whatever.
“Let’s go the other way,” I said to Angie as she flew beside me. “I don’t want to go below the Crags. Let’s go to the other side of the mountain.”
“Really”—a wing push—“It’s dark over there.”
“I know, but, I’ve never been over there. I wanna see something different this time.” Something dawned on me as I stopped pushing and drifted, then turned eyes on Angie. “You don’t think that’s what Dad meant by behind the house, do you?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
A few minutes later, we touched down into clearing of sparse bushes, twigs, layers of pine needles and cones. Drenched in shadow, the surrounding forest slept in musty silence—no birdsong, none of the usual squirrel chatter. Sharp beams of sunlight managed to cut through the treetops here and there. A cone falling through some branches caught my attention. Then some weird chicka-chicka sound came from deep within the dim.
I scrunched my face. “This is kinda weird, isn’t it? It’s so quiet.”
“I told you. Do you wanna leave?”
“No, it’s fine”—tracking my eyes through the forest—“Let’s just look around.”
“All right, but if you change your mind ...”
We hiked around bushes, boulders half buried in the dirt, and a mash of pines, our steps pressing the spongy ground and snapping twigs. One of the trees was lightning struck, broken in half and scorched black, the top half hanging and caught in another tree. An eerie feeling lingered through the forest, so silent, peaceful, in a creepy sort of way.
“Ang”—weaving around a tree—“did you know about Mom?”
“What do you mean?”
“She was a warrior, sis. Did you know that?”
“Oh, I guess Dad had the talk with you, huh?” She stepped over a rotting log that held clumps of green moss. “Yeah, I knew, sort of, but I didn’t really believe it until Mom picked up your bow and showed us a few things. Brings a whole new meaning to Mom, doesn’t it?”
“Sheesh, I guess. It blows my mind. Mom is like a—” I stopped, peered through the shadowed forest. “Look at that.” A shaft of sunlight like a spotlight beam through the treetops revealed a lush vertical embankment. “Let’s go check it out.”
We stood on a patch of scrabble and dirt, observing a veil of roots tangled and twisted over an earthen cave mouth, thick green sod all around.
“Wow,” Angie said. “Guess what?”
“What?”
“There’s no flappin way you’re getting me to go in there.”
“What do you suppose it is?”
She glanced around. “Probably a bear cave or something, I don’t know. I read somewhere they like to live in these dark places. And look around, those are berry bushes. They love berries.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
Taking a moment to observe, I scanned the surroundings. Blueberry bushes. Sparse weeds with little yellow buds. All the pine trees were bare up to maybe fifteen feet before the branches began to spread. Shafts of sunlight spattered the ground here and there. To my left, a patch of sunlight sparkled in a natural spring that trickled down the mountain on a meager streambed of pebbles. The chicka-chicka sound came from the shadows around us. Probably a squirrel, I figured …
“Ellie, what are you doing?”
“What do you mean? The same thing you are.”
“Not exactly. I haven’t been in a trance for five minutes. You weren’t listening to me. It was beginning to creep me out.”
“Really? I’m sorry.”
“You’re not thinking about going in there, are you? Because you—”
“No, no.” I stole a glance at her. And the movie cliché voice in my head returned, screaming at me from the audience, Don’t go in the cave you idiot! I couldn’t help it, my gaze went back to the mouth, and my curiosity squelched the voice. “Well, maybe just a peek.”
“What’s gotten into you? I’m usually the one talking you into something like this. And you know if I don’t wanna go in there, it must be off-the-charts creepy.”
I pushed some hair off my face. “Let’s just go in a little ways. Take a look around. You can wait here if you want.”
“Ugh,” she said on a sigh. “Okay, just a peek, that’s all.”
Two steps before I reached out and parted the veil with my bow-free hand. Leaning my head closer I squinted into the darkness. After a moment of indecision, I angled through the web and stepped into an earthy smell, stale, a mixture of dirt and wet dog. My heart should have been racing, yet it had slowed to a crawl. The slow rhythm of blood thump flubbed in my ears. Then a racing sound caught my awareness: Thup thup thup thup thup, fast and even, like a windmill blade in a windstorm, and I realized it was Angie’s heartbeat behind me.
“Are you okay back there?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you almost done? Um, I think I’m ready to go now.”
“Hey!” a drek voice yapped.
With one hop, Angie was next to me, trembling. I felt the same—for a moment. The cave was lit bright and I couldn’t understand why. Until I realized it was my body glow lighting the space, revealing subterranean earth walls, roots jutting out and bugs skittering to hide. The smirking drek stood on our side of the veil, blocking our exit. Bald head. Bulged eyes.
My bow arm eased up.
“Whattaya doin, Elle?” whined the drek. “Come for some, have ya?”
Oh, Source! It’s Mawlkon.
“You shouldn’t’ve come in here, Mawlk,” I said, attempting to throw a threatening voice, though it quivered in my throat.
Angie started to hyperventilate so I stepped in front of her.
“No,” Mawlkon said, “you have that backwards. You shouldn’t be in here. The war is on, pretty one, remember. We don’t have to hold back anymore, nope, no more. So, why dontcha show me what ya got under those clothes there, eh? And maybe I’ll let ya live. Maybe.”
I hissed, “We don’t have to hold back either, you pig.”
A ghoulish chuckle dripped. “How many arrows you got there, eh?”
“Enough to take you out.”
“Well, good luck with that.” His smirk showed teeth tips as he pulled a coiled whip out from behind his back and lifted it to his face. “I got something for you, Elle. And don’t worry, Angie, I’ll save some for you. Let’s make those faces even prettier, whattaya say? This should be delicious. I can almost taste it already.” He lifted his chin, sniffed. “And what’s that I smell? Oh, yes. Fear. My favorite perfume. They should invent that, yes. Name it, Angel Fear, a scent to tempt your taste buds.”
The sight of the whip rushed memories through my mind. In the whiteness of my vision, Mawlkon became a dark spot, a target. I lifted the bow with swift purpose, trained motions.
The whip cracked a yelp out of me, “Ah!” My cheek burned like fire, but it was too late for him. Mawlkon was a pool of melted muck on the cave floor and my arrow was outside. I felt a trickle of blood run down my cheek, searing pain behind it. Seconds later, my breathing pulled back measured and calm.
All the years of Mawlkon torment—snuffed with one simple arrow.
My gaze went down to Angie; she had huddled up on the ground behind me, trembling.
“It’s okay now, Ang.” I laid a palm on her back. “Let’s get outta here. You’re usually tougher than this, what’s going on? Are you okay?”
Hugging her knees, eyes on the cave floor, Angie gave a light headshake, then lifted and pointed a shaky finger toward the entrance.
Aiming my eyes through the veil, movement was evident—Shadows. Dozens.
Liquid knees struggled to hold my weight, a whimper slipped out … before a switch in my mind flicked on, Angie. I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up to stand, stared into her vacant eyes. “You have to pull yourself together, sis, now.” My sister was not home. I had no choice but to bring her back with a face slap. “Angie, I need your help!”
She shook her head, and again …“Yeah. Okay, yeah. What should we do?”
“Follow me. We’ll shoot through the roots.”
We didn’t make it two steps when a tall drek parted the veil with a coiled whip. It leaned its long neck under the cave opening, cocked its hairless head. A ghoulish sneer revealed rows of needle teeth, pointed tongue flicking over them. Black orb eyes peered in at us.
We shuffled back deeper into the cave.
Angie drew her bow and terminated the drek before he could take another step.
“Yeah, good shot,” I said, readying my bow. “We’ll just stay here and pick ‘em off.”
Another drek stepped in. I ended him. “See, Ang, this isn’t that hard.”
Realization dawned.
“Angie, cover me.”
“Where are you going?”
Before she could say another desperate word, I’d already returned with a whip in my hand. “We’re gonna run out of arrows. You don’t wanna know how ma—”
“What? Let’s run!”
“Where?” Another drek parted the veil, stepped in. I dropped the whip, pulled my bow and finished him. Dad’s previous words entered my mind, Bring a sword with you.
One after another, they came until we were out of arrows. I replaced the bow with the whip and snaked it out across the dirt floor. A drek stepped in. I lifted, swung and cracked the whip to its head, stunning it for a second.
Another swing. Wha-tish!
Nothing.
One more time. Please. Wha-tish!
The drek was gone. Another stepped in, another. And another. Fear pounced on me. I snatched my bow off the ground, turned to Angie. “We need to run, now!”
The tunnel lit with my glow as we sprinted down the cave in a half-crouch, my bow in one hand and whip in the other, lungs tearing oxygen from the dank air in heaving breaths. Angie squealed out frantic whimpers as she ran. My hair snagged on a root, or something, a sting of pain in my scalp as it ripped free. I ignored it.
We ran.
“Where are we going?” Angie pleaded in mid-stride.
My eyes swept the tunnel. “Just, look for light, an exit.”
Nothing.
We ran.
One at a time, we found fingers of tunnels branching off into dead-end rooms. Even as we descended into the bowels of the mountain, horrific cackles of laughter and sounds of cracking whips followed us …
We ran.
The end came into view. A solid wall. Attempting to stop my run, I stumbled into it, collapsed to the floor. Angie caught her balance and stood above, looking down at me, as I noticed her inner thighs, long areas of darkened jean fabric, urine stained.
“What are we gonna do, Ellie?” Her desperate voice shuddered in a traumatic whisper, eyes wide, tear- and dirt-stained face contorted with fear.
I pulled myself up on a reply, “I-I don’t know.”
Oh, Source, I got her into this. I have to protect her. Studying my terrified sister, I pushed out the words, “The only thing. I can do. I guess.” Pressure built behind my eyes. Sweat ran. Nerves fired fear through my body. I turned to peer up the tunnel, rolled out the whip. And waited.
Through watery eyes, I saw gray spots approaching like moving apparitions, snapping and cackling, pushing roots out of their way. I lifted the whip. “Get. Behind. Me.”
The first drek stood just across the way. I swung. Wha-tish! Missed.
Other dreks appeared, cracking nightmares, the cave awash with the din of death. A precise drek snap tore my whip from my hand and sent it tumbling across the dirt ground. I shot my eyes to it, and stared at my last choice … Wha-tish, came from the distance. I cowered down and curled up with Angie against the wall, pulled her into a tight embrace.
Smothered sounds of hopeless weeping came from Angie. She hiccup sobbed in my ear. “Ellie, I’m so, scared. I. Can’t. Breathe.”
With my arms around her, even as whips cracked behind us, I managed a whisper, “I love you, Angie.”
Fire cut into my back and my body convulsed on a yelp, “Owe, NO!” Wha-tish! “Ah, NO! Please, leave us alone!” Wha-tish! “Owe, NO!”
My bladder emptied, heat soaked my jeans.
Wha-tish! … Wha-tish! … Wha-tish! …
With my body canopying Angie, my back to the dreks and my head bowed … the whipping continued … and continued …
Visions of my life appeared out of the dark: Laughter. Friends. Family. Vyn’s smile …
Wha-tish!
Skin aflame with searing pain, I whimpered, “Daddy.”
****
Endless minutes later, numbness set in. The shock of realization began to slow my breaths. I had become a mere rock against the wall, covering my sister as she wept.
****
Peace began to emerge, sounds muffled beyond clarity. The whips were still there, nicking my clothes and popping new cuts to my skin. Wing feathers dropping to the dirt.
Warmth radiated off Angie.
Wings of Boden Page 21
