The Return (Haunted Series Book 21)

by Alexie Aaron

  “Thank you, your honor. Elizabeth, all birdmen have the power to scan a body but not necessarily heal, is that correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why then didn’t Victor pick up that I had a broken back when he transported me to the Aerie?”

  “You had a broken back caused by the absence of wings.” Elizabeth turned to the judges and started, “Michael tore hers off for being …”

  “That’s not the issue here,” Angelo spoke up.

  “Did you break my back so I would need wings? Did you break it so that you could elicit the sympathy from Victor, so he would give me a feather or, hope against hope, his heart feather?” Mia asked Elizabeth.

  “Why would I do that?” Elizabeth feigned outrage.

  “Because you hated his grandfather for taking Anat away from you. You devised a plan so that you could accuse Victor of the same crime as his grandfather. You harmed me so you could manipulate Victor. Is this not so?”

  Elizabeth stood in silence.

  “Answer Mia, Elizabeth,” Soren commanded.

  “Hero and Anat broke the rules. She died a human while he lives on. Where is the justice? His leavings spoiled her, and she refused to give up her child.”

  “I understood that she lived a good life. Eighty years is a good life,” Soren said, getting nods from the others.

  “She died a human. How disgusting for such a beautiful warrior. I loved her,” Elizabeth said.

  Hero croaked and shook his head.

  “What do you know of love? You just impregnated her and flew off.”

  Hero shook his head and croaked.

  Mia raised her hand.

  “Go ahead,” Soren said, impressed by Mia’s line of questioning.

  “If she didn’t want the child, you could have terminated the pregnancy. But she wanted Hero’s child. I think she loved that child and, in turn, loved her grandsons too before she died. I think that Anat did not come to a bad end.”

  Elizabeth sunk to her knees.

  Soren motioned to the group of Gray Ladies, and they lifted Elizabeth to her feet and walked her out of the tribunal courtyard.

  “Victor, do you have anything to say about the first charge of mating with a married woman?”

  “I did not mate with Mia. I think of her as family. She is the mother of my godson, the bearer of my dead brother’s soul and namesake. If she were not married, I would ask permission to court her. I can’t deny that she is beautiful and strong, but she loves a wizard and hangs around with that creature. That would drive me nuts.”

  “He means you, not Quentin,” Mia whispered to Murphy.

  Murphy didn’t say anything.

  “Thank you. We will retire and consider the first charges,” Soren said and nodded to the birdman in charge.

  “All stand,” he said.

  They did. The judges left. Mia got up and started to walk towards Quentin. Angelo caught her by the hood and pulled her back. “Don’t leave.”

  “I wasn’t.”

  “Are you taller?” Angelo asked her.

  “Two inches,” Mia said and continued her walk to Quentin.

  He was flirting with Idra. Mia slowed her step. She was going to turn back when he noticed her.

  “Mia, come. I think that went well.”

  “The court hasn’t come back with a verdict yet,” Mia said, worried.

  “What do you have to worry about? If you’re found guilty, you’ll just become human. No wings, no superhuman speed and healing, no feathers…” Idra said.

  “No way to protect my children, aside from Murphy. Not that he’s not up to the job.”

  “You can move in with me. I’ll protect all of you,” Quentin offered.

  Mia laid a hand on her uncle’s arm and said, “Thank you for the offer. You are such a kind and generous man.”

  Quentin beamed. Idra looked impressed.

  A chime sounded, and everyone rushed to their seats.

  Mia walked back to her spot before the bench. Murphy took Mia’s hand and refused to let it go.

  “All sit.”

  “Mia and Victor, come forward,” Soren commanded.

  They did. Victor made sure there was space between them.

  “We have found no evidence to substantiate the claims of your accuser, Elizabeth, that the two of you have broken the moral laws of the Brotherhood of the Wing. Mia, you may go.”

  “Thank you, your honor,” Mia said but didn’t leave.

  “I said you could go,” Soren said, his eyes boring into hers.

  Victor turned to Mia and said, “Go, Little Bird, the other charges are lies too.”

  “But you’re my family, and so is Hero. I’m going to stay and watch.”

  “No, you’re going to go,” Victor ordered.

  “Yes, Victor,” Mia said and walked over to Quentin with Murphy. The three prepared to go.

  Angelo sidled up to Victor. “How come she listens to you and not me?”

  “She knows you like her. She punishes you for it.”

  “Gee, maybe I won’t defend you on the conspiracy charges,” Angelo said.

  “I’m innocent. I need no defense.”

  “This is political. You need me.”

  “Then stay.”

  “I don’t know who is more frustrating, you or her?”

  “Me,” Victor said proudly.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Mia circled the island until she recognized the maze. She landed as close as she could get to the castle. The air was brisk, and she had no clothes to warm her. Murphy moved out of her body, and the two walked up to the front door and knocked.

  Ed opened the door and scooped up Mia and hugged her. “You’re so cold,” he said, taking off his shirt and wrapping her in it. “Come, we have laid a fire. Brian helped with it.”

  Mia and Murphy looked at each other.

  “He told me about the spanking. I would have hit him twice as hard, but I am a barbarian.”

  “Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel better,” Murphy admitted.

  The corridors were still cold, but they were well lit. Judy had set up small indoor plantings with growth lights inside each recess.

  “She tries to make it less gloomy, but it’s a castle. Castles are gloomy,” Ed stated. “I take it you were exonerated, or are you hiding out?”

  “The charges were trumped up by Elizabeth of all people,” Mia said.

  “Judy will no doubt have a few words to say about that.”

  Ed led them to the hearth room, and there Mia was reunited with her boys and Ted.

  Mia rushed into Ted’s arms, and he held her while she sobbed the stress away. He looked over at the children, and seeing the worry in their eyes, he motioned for them to come over. Dieter picked Varden up, and the three clung to Mia and Ted for reassurance.

  Mia stopped crying, and Ted released his hold on her. She allowed herself to be led to a chair by the fire, and a warm blanket was tucked in around her.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just that it was all so wrong.”

  “She was very strong. You would have been proud of her,” Murphy said. “She stood up to Soren.”

  “Soren!” Brian gasped. “Grandpa Orion says that he is the mightiest bird of all the birdmen.”

  “Glad I didn’t know it at the time,” Mia sniffed. “Murphy saved me by bringing Quentin.”

  Ted looked over at him. “Seems that you’re quite handy to have around.”

  “Who is?” Judy asked, entering the room, carrying a pile of clothing.

  Mia took a look at the condition of the Cahokian princess’s body, permanently inhabited by the soul of Refugia, an exiled Gray Lady who preferred to be called Judy, and squealed with joy, “You’re pregnant!”

  Murphy, who held a firm believe that lady things should not be discussed in the presence of males, looked uncomfortable.

  “Don’t get up. I found some of my things that may fit you. Although, you’re taller than I remembered.”

  “Two inches,” Te
d and Mia said together.

  “Komal will be with us as soon as he draws enough power to manifest,” Judy said.

  “Thank you for taking in my family and protecting them,” Mia said to Ed and Judy.

  “We were rather surprised when Brian was knocking on the door.”

  “You should have seen her face when Dad told her about you and Victor,” Dieter said. “How are Victor and Hero?”

  “Let your mother rest a moment,” Ted requested.

  “No, Ted, it’s okay. I think, though, I’d like to get dressed before Komal gets here. If you all would excuse me…”

  “Right this way,” Judy directed, putting a comforting arm around Mia’s shoulder.

  “I think the betrayal by Elizabeth has hit her hard,” Murphy said.

  “Elizabeth?” Ted asked.

  “She was the one who accused Victor and Mia of immorality. It hasn’t been proven, but she was the one to break Mia’s back, not the ghost.”

  “Why did she do it?” Dieter asked, horrified.

  “She knew Victor would act and give her a feather. He has long maintained that Mia was soiled by angel’s wings. He’s not a fan of our angelic friends. She knew that he wouldn’t give the mother of Varden just any set of wings, that he would give the best set of wings. Elizabeth has been plotting her revenge for some time,” Murphy explained.

  “I don’t understand. How could she hate Mia so?” Dieter asked.

  “Oh, Mia was just a casualty. It’s Victor and his grandfather she hates,” Murphy clarified.

  “She’s the betrayer!” Dieter exclaimed.

  Murphy nodded. “If it weren’t for me, not minding my business, and Quentin cruising the between witnessing Mia’s training flight, I’m afraid that there would have been a different result. We were variables that she couldn’t have anticipated.”

  “How could Elizabeth use Mia that way? She respects her,” Ed maintained.

  “The worst thing that could happen to Mia, if she was found guilty, was for her to be transformed into a human female with no powers. Which Mia would have been fine with. She’s always wanted to be normal.”

  “But I couldn’t let that happen,” Mia said, entering the room. “Because Victor would have been found guilty too, and that would have clouded the minds of the tribunal when they deliberated on whether Victor is guilty of planning a takeover of the Brotherhood of the Wing,” Mia said. “Besides, I’m going to need these wings to keep up with my boys,” she said, picking Brian up and flying him in a circle around her.

  He giggled.

  Ted looked on proudly. He knew that Mia, once again, had put her dreams aside for the safety of her family and the honor of her friend.

  Komal appeared in the center of the room. His orange robes flowed around his mystical body. He had lost his physical body when the previous owner of the island had tricked him into bilocating here, and once here, the collector killed Komal, forever trapping him on the hidden island. “Mia, I’m glad you made it through another adventure unscathed.”

  “Adventure? I would call it something else,” Mia said. “It’s great to see you.”

  “You have an object stuck in your spine,” Komal observed. “Does it hurt?”

  “I didn’t know it was there. The wings pushed it out of wherever it was hiding.”

  “May I?” Komal asked, lifting her hair and pulling down the back of the top Mia was wearing. “Gargoyle engineering,” he identified.

  “I can explain that,” Ted said and proceeded to tell all the story of Jeff and what was supposed to be a transparent locket.

  “Varden has a medallion inside him that keeps him from flying until he’s old enough,” Brian said. “Is it like that, Grandpa Komal?”

  Mia was about to correct Brian that Komal wasn’t his grandfather, but Komal smiled, enjoying the connection.

  “Brian, I’m not exactly sure. Gargoyles are a mystery because no one can figure them out in order to write anything down about them.”

  “I know they were fascinated with my nose,” Ted said.

  “Well, it is a magnificent one,” Mia said lovingly.

  “The girl’s gone blind,” Murphy said under his breath.

  “And that they invent things - or at least Jeff did,” Ted explained.

  “There was a gargoyle in the bookstore that Cid took us to,” Dieter said. “Would he have seen it? Could he bring it to the surface?”

  “I haven’t a clue. All I remember is putting the locket on before Murph and I reentered the pocket dimension. I forgot all about it until the wings were installed by Michael.”

  “Ah, the Prince of Angels has some explaining to do,” Komal said.

  “Let’s not press him,” Mia said. “I’m out of the doghouse, and I’m enjoying not being in there.”

  Komal laughed. “If you all weren’t so inhibited by your bodies, you would see that everything that has been put in all of your paths has led you to this moment. Your stories are interwoven. Your actions determine what happens to people and entities far from here in space and time.”

  Brian studied Komal for a moment. “Are you saying that when I’m bad, it causes other bad things to happen?”

  “May I?” Murphy asked.

  Komal nodded.

  “Let’s say your mother didn’t come upstairs when you were lighting matches and stop you. The house would have caught fire. You may have escaped and the family too, but what of the firemen who were called away from home? The woodland creatures that would lose their homes as the fire caught the dry grasses and raced along in the spring wind. Burt would have been inconvenienced to have all of you living with him. He and Mia would have eventually come to blows, and he would have left. PEEPs would have…”

  “Okay!” Brian said. “No matches!”

  “Very well done,” Mia said quietly. Her stomach growled loudly. “I’m sorry. I’m so embarrassed.”

  “No, it is I who am embarrassed. Come into the kitchen. I’ve prepared a feast,” Judy said.

  Murphy moved along the corridors with Komal. The two spoke of things that the others didn’t need to hear.

  “I’m worried about entering Sentinel Woods again,” Murphy confessed.

  “But you are stronger now. You know how to avoid her grasp. You won’t end up floating in the spectral breezes,” Komal said.

  “I worry that I will have to harm her. She doesn’t understand the value of human life.”

  “I see your point. The creature in the woods only sees the transition from flesh to spirit. It’s natural to her. She sees no harm in helping it along.”

  “She’s not a good creature,” Murphy said. “She punishes like a wounded animal. The boys who perished died horrible deaths.”

  “But were they not equal to the havoc which they brought? I think she weighs the soul, and if she finds it lacking, she punishes.”

  “It’s a different way of looking at things. Komal, do I have your discretion for another question?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are my feelings for Mia immoral?”

  “I’m not a man of the Christian idea of God, Stephen.”

  “But you are a wise man.”

  “You’re not the only being to feel like you do,” Komal answered. “Mia brings on emotions many have not felt in ages. Those who are not strong enough of character have left her orbit. Others are content to be there with her. Protecting her. Punishing her. She sees them as her friends and loves them with all her heart. The human heart can love infinitely. I think Mia would say that love never dies. She loves you. There is no denying this. Roumain and I hoped that when she broke the Cooper curse, you would have been released, but true love never dies, even for the dead.”

  “I don’t think I want to be released, but I don’t want to hurt Ted either.”

  “Then you must walk a careful path. Ted is an insecure man, confident of Mia’s loyalty, but very aware of those who covet her. How does Mia handle this with you?”

  “She verbally smacks me down when
I get too close. She calls it my spring thing.”

  Komal laughed. “How do you handle it when she tempts you?”

  “Not well. I spanked her for being bad.”

  Komal roared with laughter. The corridors echoed his joy. “Oh, Stephen, you and she may be in a painful relationship, but what joy you two have. There may be another classification made up to label the two of you. You’re not soulmates - I’m not sure what you are - but I, for one, am not going to tell you to leave her, nor her you. But I beg you to remember who you harm when the urge to be together gets too strong. Walk away even though it may destroy you,” he advised.

  “I will,” Murphy promised. “I hope to God I will,” he said to himself.

  Properly feasted, the Martins were ready to go home. Murphy hitched a ride inside Mia, trying hard not to nose around in her emotional memory. Mia opened the portal and promised to return when things were settled.

  Judy and Ed watched the portal close. Ed drew Judy to him and held her.

  “I know you’re lonely. We could try to live closer. We will need to when our child becomes school age.”

  “I would like that, Ed.”

  “How do you feel about Elizabeth’s betrayal?”

  “She’s capable. She always hid her feelings from the rest of us. To use Mia that way was horrible considering how the Council of Women have already used her. How can women be so cruel to each other when we need to unite and fight the injustices that are still happening to our sisters?”

  Ed looked at his mate. “You need to lead them, my love. You could do so much.”

  “I’ve thought about it. But how do I explain my existence? I have no papers. We have no proof our promise to each other.”

  “Don’t worry, if you choose to enter the society of man, I know a guy who owes me a few favors.”

  Judy smiled. “Seems to me, he owes me too.”

  Mia was on the phone to Orion as soon as they settled the boys down for the night. “What do you mean you haven’t heard anything?” she fretted. “You have spies.”

  “Mia…” Orion warned. “I do not. They are just friends who inform me…”

  “Spies. Have they said anything?”