by Jo Michaels
*****
A cage. I was in a freaking cage. One glance around the room also hinted I was in some kind of castle. Rough stones were stacked on top of one another, and the arched windows had no glass. I shifted my eyes to the right to find Hyacant in the container next to mine.
Hers was smaller; barely big enough for her to stand up in.
“Wh, what happened?” I asked.
She was gazing at the floor of her cell, her wings drooping behind her, humming.
“Hello?”
Eyes full of sadness were suddenly staring into my own. I was still trying to figure out how I ended up there, and hoping there was some way out.
Hyacant’s face turned red. “You told her! You told the Queen our plans. What were you thinking?”
I put my hands up in surrender. “Whoa. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t talk to any fairy but you.”
“Remi.”
“But she’s a girl. Like me!”
Jingles filled the room as she laughed with what seemed bitter humor. “She can appear in any form.”
I felt like a complete bonehead, and I slapped my palm to my face and groaned. Remenditia—Remi. How did I miss that one?
“Yes. So, you see, you told the one person who could imprison us all our plans.”
I’d promised myself I wouldn’t cry again—no matter what—so I sucked up my feelings and settled down to do some thinking. Examining the bars, I saw they were solid pieces bent to form a box. There was only one way out: the door. But I didn’t see the key anywhere.
“You can stop trying to find an escape. Once the Queen locks you up, you’re never heard from again.” Hyacant sighed and put her hands over her face.
“We’ll get out of here.”
She threw her little body on the floor of the cage and shook.
A loud banging announced we were about to have some company.
I lay down and closed my eyes, hoping to hear something we could use to our advantage.
“You cannot keep a human in here. You know we are not supposed to lock them up like this! He will be furious.”
My feint almost took a turn at the sound of an older male’s voice. I quelled the urge to sit up and plead with the speaker.
Remi’s voice was barely a whisper when she spoke. “Shh! No one even knows she’s gone. Unless you tattle, no one will find out, either!”
“I cannot stand by and allow something of this magnitude to take place. There is no way to avoid telling him. He will find out anyway.”
“How?”
“I do not care to think of how. There are methods.”
I sat up and looked at the newcomer. My heart thudded in my chest, and I felt my face grow hot.
He was magnificent. Long, black wings that brushed the ground and sparkled all around him, a porcelain face with perfect proportions, and muscles that outlined through his shirt and pants. His crystal clear eyes found mine, and he stared back.
When he finally spoke, his voice was melodious and smooth—like water bubbling over stones in a creek. “Hello, human.”
There was no way my tongue would move because it was stuck fast to the roof of my mouth. I wiggled my fingers in his direction.
“They do not speak?” He moved closer to me and squinted his eyes.
“Of course they speak! She just seems to be in a stupor.” Remi poked me in the ribs. Hard.
I let out a squeal, jumped, and grabbed my side, banging my head on the bars in the process. “Ouch!”
She laughed, and it caused me to reposition my gaze on her. For the first time, I was seeing her in fairy form. It made my breath hitch.
Her body looked sculpted to fit the Gregorian style dress that cinched perfectly around her small middle. Fire red hair blazed from her head, falling all the way to her waist. Her brown eyes—not sure how I didn’t notice before—appeared to be made of molten metal, rolling and swelling like the tide; the color in constant motion. But her wings. Those were the most fantastical things I’d ever set eyes on. To this day, I can’t really describe the color. It was as though they were constantly changing—shimmering between hues. Brilliant wings, shaped like hearts, attached at the points between her shoulder blades before cascading to mid-calf. A thin gold band sat on her head.
Apparently, she found my trance funny. Her hand waved in front of my face a couple of times. “Are you alive?” She chuckled.
Her friend lifted an eyebrow at her. “You cannot keep her here.”
Like hot wax, her smile melted from her face. “I can, and I will, Bastion.”
“Then suffer the consequences.” He curled his lip, turned, and left.
Remenditia stomped a foot and balled her fists. “That man!”
“Who was he talking about?”
She whirled around, her eyes flashing red that outshone her mane. “You. Nothing but a troublemaker.” Then, she spun around and fled.
Hyacant let out a little hiccup, and I turned to her.
“Bastion works for Gunnar—master of the fairies, lawman, and terror.”
I swallowed. “Terror?”
She nodded. “He keeps order. You’ll be free soon.”
“What’s gonna happen to you?”
Tears filled her eyes. “She’ll keep me here forever. Until the end of time. Or, she’ll feed me to the crows. Or…” Another bout of hiccups hit her.
“I’ll find a way to get you out and destroy Remi.”
More laughter. “You can’t destroy Remi.”
“Watch me.”
