Sticks and Stones

by Alexie Aaron

  “Mine were armored.”

  “Yours were the best, and I will miss them. These are the ones that grew out of me,” Mia said. “I don’t know what’s going on. I’m confused.”

  “Soren is pushing for you to go before a review board, a tribunal if you will.”

  “Why?”

  “He says you’re no longer loyal.”

  “Didn’t I just successfully complete a mission with Enos?”

  “Yes.”

  “Didn’t I obey your orders and leave the school when you told me to?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me what I did wrong?” Mia pleaded.

  “You sterilized yourself without permission.”

  Mia’s eyes flashed. “How barbaric is the Brotherhood of the Wing? I’m not a slave. My body is my own!”

  “They invested a lot of resources getting you through your pregnancy.”

  “Enos’s spit. They invested nothing. They can’t claim my daughters, can they?”

  “I’m not sure,” he answered honestly. “Before you say another word, I agree with you. Your body is your own. These are old men with ancient ideas.”

  “I’m a hybrid. The demons and angels aren’t calling me disloyal because I helped the Brotherhood out from time to time. I’ve received no compensation. I’ve followed the Brotherhood’s code of ethics.”

  Lucifer’s words filled Mia’s head. When you have had enough of trying your best, being betrayed by beings you have saved and admired, come and see me. “This must be a test of some kind…”

  “I’m sorry, Mia, what are you talking about?” Victor asked.

  The door opened. “Victor, I’d like to speak to you,” Nicholai said and closed the door after Victor stepped out.

  Mia gathered her things and opened the front door, walked over, and rang for the elevator. She needed clarification, she needed sleep, she needed Ted. She walked out into the lobby and pulled out her phone and called home.

  “Mia!” Ted said happily into the phone.

  “Ted,” Mia said and started crying. “I don’t know what is going on. I need you. I’m afraid to fly home. They may pick me out of the sky.”

  “Who’s they?” Ted asked.

  Mia told him what happened.

  “Go to Ralph’s… No, go to Quentin’s, Baxter can protect you. I’ll use the charm and meet you there.”

  “But the kids?” Mia asked. “What if they come and take our kids?”

  “They can’t. Murphy and Altair arrived a few minutes before your call. I’ll have Altair stay.”

  Mia realized that she didn’t have money for a cab. She walked to the gargoyle district and entered the bookstore. The proprietor in his human glamour looked up and recognized Mia. “Mrs. Martin, it’s good to see you.”

  “I have no right to ask, but can I borrow cab fare? I’ll pay you back right away.”

  The proprietor not only immediately clicked open the cash drawer but stood with her to wave down a cab. “Just pay me when you next come in again. Or tell me how you got in such a state. Either way, this is a good investment.”

  “Thank you.”

  Angelo walked into his apartment. He thought maybe Mia was in the bathroom, but he found that she had left. He wanted to explain what had prompted the grilling she and Enos had gotten when they arrived. He called the Martin home, and Lazar picked up.

  “May I talk to Mia, please?”

  “No. She isn’t home yet. I’ll let her know you called.”

  “Wait! Let me talk to Ted.”

  “Ted’s not available right now. He’s rushing to Chicago because, for some effing reason, his wife was sitting in your lobby crying her eyes out. She was afraid to fly, Angelo. What did you goons do to her?”

  “It wasn’t me, and it’s a big misunderstanding. I’m going to see if she’s still here.”

  Angelo called down, and the doorman said that there was a pretty blonde lady who walked out of the building who seemed quite upset.

  Angelo called Ralph’s but got the answering machine. He called Bernard.

  “Hello, Angelo.”

  “Is Mia there?”

  “No.”

  “Is she coming there?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “If she does, call me, please.”

  “You better explain yourself,” Bernard said.

  “I will, but I need to find her.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ted stood on the porch waiting. The cab pulled up and he rushed to the door. He gathered his wife into his arms. The driver put the forgotten backpack on the porch and drove off. Mia clung to Ted. He backed into the house and into Baxter’s office.

  “Set her there,” Baxter said. “I’ve secured the building. Mia, may I read you?”

  Mia would not let go of Ted. Ted sat down and nodded.

  Baxter read Mia and had to take a moment to get control of his temper. “I don’t think we have all the story.”

  “We don’t,” Ted said.

  Baxter repeated what he had learned.

  “They are our children. How dare they threaten her this way?”

  Mia sniffed.

  “I’ve never seen her like this,” Ted said.

  Baxter patted him on the back. “I’ve never seen her put herself completely in anyone’s hands before. She’s tough. Mia, you’re in a safe place. Ted’s not going anywhere. No one can hurt you here,” he said gently.

  Mia still didn’t move.

  “She hasn’t been this bad since Lucifer mind-tortured her. Strangely enough, earlier, Lucifer predicted this would happen. He said to her, ‘When you have had enough of trying your best, being betrayed by beings you have saved and admired, come and see me.’”

  “It’s a test,” Mia said, raising her head. “I’m sorry for freaking out.”

  Ted and Baxter locked eyes for a moment. The relief on both faces was very apparent.

  Mia tried to get off Ted’s lap.

  “No, you stay right here,” Ted said. “You’re overtired and thought you would probably be getting a pat on the back; instead, you were treated like a criminal. What did Angelo say?”

  “I didn’t see him beyond me running to the bathroom.”

  “Do you think you could speak with him, or are you too upset?” Baxter asked, looking at his security monitor.

  “Why?” Mia asked.

  “He’s outside.”

  “I’ll talk with him.” Ted said. “You stay with Baxter.”

  “Are you going to punch him in the nose?” Mia asked.

  “Maybe…” Ted said. “Baxter, you’re a plastic surgeon.”

  “I could be.”

  Mia got up and shook her finger at Baxter. “Don’t encourage him.”

  “I’ll tell you what, why don’t I show him into the library? Come in when you feel up to it,” Baxter said and left the office, closing the door behind him.

  Angelo rang the bell again.

  “May I help you?” Baxter asked, playing the butler.

  “May I please speak with Mia? I need to explain what I think is a horrible misunderstanding.”

  “Why do you think she’s here?”

  Angelo pointed down to the forgotten backpack on the step.

  “Come in.”

  Angelo picked up the pack and set it on a table in the hall.

  Baxter opened the library doors. “Please come in. May I fix you a beverage, or would you like a glass of wine?”

  Angelo looked around and sighed. “Just seeing these books calms me. It’s like being surrounded by friends.”

  Baxter was a bit taken aback. Surely this wasn’t the brute who tried to force Mia into the Brotherhood before she even had wings.

  Baxter needed a drink. Seeing one’s nemesis in a new light was hard on the nerves. “Quentin is away this afternoon, thank god. I fear that when he learns of Mia being treated this way, he will not be happy.”

  �
��Last time he was upset with me, he almost killed me. Mia saved me. Poured her blood into my open heart. You can drop the butler role. I know you run the place,” Angelo said. “More importantly, she has your ear. And I can see that you have her back.”

  “Mia, as you know, has had more than her share of physical transformations. Ted accepts them with grace and enthusiasm, and I help her to adjust to what the universe has thrown at her. I’ve lived a long time. I have a certain perspective that only time can give you.”

  “I see a group of ancient sages who reside in the Italian Alps. I’m so messed up inside, it takes four of you to help me adjust.”

  Baxter studied Angelo. “You don’t appear to be unstable.”

  “Neither does Mia.”

  “I am,” Mia said, standing in the doorway with Ted. “I can’t seem to do anything right.”

  “You’re with the right man, much to my disappointment,” Angelo said honestly. “I’ve come to terms with that while Ted lives there will be no other male in your life. I’m sorry, Ted, for talking about you like you weren’t standing there with your fists clenched.”

  Ted’s face lost the glare, and he smiled. “I don’t like it when my wife is abused. You asked her at the last moment to help you. She didn’t have to. She’s not bound to you in any way.”

  “I know and I’m grateful. There was no one else who could have handled that situation and come out with the best result.”

  Ted and Mia walked in and sat on the couch. Baxter handed Mia a large scotch and Ted a beer.

  Mia sipped silently for a few minutes before she said, “Why was I chastised by Victor? Although, I think I got off easy. It looked like Enos was getting grilled.”

  “They ambushed me. I didn’t expect either one of them. I was looking forward to your report. I was already informed that the children had been found and they and their teacher were doing well in the hospital despite having no memory of the last few days. First, Nicholai arrives. He tells me that he needs to hear the report with me. I welcome him into my home. The two of you arrive, and Mia, you run off to the bathroom. Which is normal. Not typical, but normal for you.”

  “I hate to sit through a lecture on a full bladder,” Mia confessed.

  “So, you knew you were going to be lectured?”

  “I saw Nicholai’s face. Excuse the language, but it screamed, ‘What the fuck did you do?’”

  “Anyway, he suggested we step outside. As we went out, Victor landed and walked in to wait for you. What happened?”

  Mia told him. “What happened to Enos?”

  “He received a lecture about not following orders. He was supposed to check in periodically with Nicholai or Victor via the birdman channel.”

  “I didn’t know this,” Mia said. “The birdman channel worked short range, but with those canyons and old giant trees, it may not have connected with the network.”

  “Enos said it didn’t occur to him to try because the two of you were never in danger.”

  “We weren’t, not once Enos started speaking Danish and won the hearts of three hundred tree-bark demons.”

  “Nicholai was told that the two of you were seen flying the spiral over Lake Superior.”

  “An obvious lie,” Mia said.

  “But enough to push Nicholai over the edge,” Angelo told them.

  “Altair and Murphy can verify where we were.”

  “You don’t have to. I know you well enough to trust you with the mission I gave you,” Angelo said. “I’m just trying to paint the scene that you walked into.”

  “I’m lost. Why would them flying the spiral be a problem? Nicholai himself practiced it with Mia,” Ted asked.

  “It’s more than a weapon. It’s an ancient mating spiral,” Angelo said.

  “I know this. Mia and Enos are like siblings. Anyone who’s spent any time around them can see this. He’s an adoring little brother, and Mia may have on occasion overstepped herself and parented the kid,” Ted said. “Neither of them are attracted that way.”

  Baxter was amazed at how perceptive Ted was.

  “Who would lie to Nicholai like this?” Mia asked. “Who hates me this much?”

  “You have started a movement within the birdman society,” Angelo answered. “Birdwomen are wanting their say, their vote, and control over their lives. As it is now, in our culture, a male of your family is in control of your future. If no male lives, then the council decides. The council presently is made up of three birdmen. The council sees your sterilization as being the last straw. They are tired of your rebellion.”

  “It’s barbaric,” Baxter said.

  “Orion is my guardian.”

  “Did you ask Orion?” Angelo asked.

  “No. Why would I? Ted and I discussed that we weren’t going to have any more natural children before I was offered a swim in the Second Day Sea. I knew he would support my decision. He was planning on having a vasectomy. I thought that it was my choice not to give birth, so I’m responsible for my body. Also, I saw the writing on the wall. They were going to force me into a situation to either mate with Victor or another candidate as soon as Ted was buried. That’s slavery, and I am not okay with it.”

  “It wouldn’t have worked anyway,” Baxter said. “Your children are special because of their joint DNA and the way both of you nurture them.”

  “Mia was afraid that someone would hasten my demise to get on Soren’s good side,” Ted said. “I’m sorry, Mia, I didn’t believe you at first. The more I think about it, it makes sense in a comic book way. Soren has shown up in our lives frequently. He may have been wooing you into being his mate.”

  “He went out of his way to tell me how he learned to love his second wife and the children she gave him. Before that, there were all these odd reasons given to me to declare Victor as my after-Ted mate. I could control him. He could protect me. Our children would be dynamos. Idra, and even Judy, pushed that it was expected that a birdman or woman marry again to continue the species. I’m not a petri dish. I’m a woman who loves my existing husband.”

  “Soren wants to breed an army of super birds. But it seems that now he wants his, not Victor’s, children leading it,” Angelo said. “Mia, you have distinguished yourself in battle. With Victor’s wings, your strength rivaled most of the warriors. When you successfully gave birth to twin daughters, the royals became interested in you for breeding purposes. I suspect, prior to this, one of them has been trying to take Brian because of the possibility that he is the Chosen One. He would have been forced into marriage with a royal daughter, securing their hold on the Brotherhood of the Wing.”

  Mia shuddered. Ted put his arm around her.

  “The Brotherhood has good birdmen and birdwomen in it. But because we live so long, it is hard to break with the old ways,” Angelo explained. “There is always someone who swears the old ways are better. I, myself, tried repeatedly to take you when I saw your worth. It was wrong, and had I waited, you may have come to us naturally because of the person you are. You’re responsible and heroic. I’m trying to make changes, but with every step forward, there is resistance. I suspect the Royals, who have the most to lose, employ Others and perhaps Quazar to do their dirty work.”

  “The royals want your children to beef up their bloodline. I’ve taken on Brian as my ward, and Victor will die before the council gets their hands on Varden. They are protected.”

  “But the girls are vulnerable,” Baxter said. “But not if Mia is still revered.”

  “That’s why the campaign of rumors,” Angelo explained. “A campaign of rumors brought Victor and Mia to trial before. The birdman society is small and close. If Mia is seen as a lecherous megalomaniac and discredited by the council, then social services will come for your daughters in order to protect them from your influence. It doesn’t matter that you saved the world. The battle will be seen as: you saved the world to rule it, taking the strongest young birdmen as your lapdogs.”

  “Gee,
pumpkin, I didn’t know you were so infamous,” Ted teased.

  “I’ve contacted The Twelve. They are like the congress of the birdman world,” Angelo said. “I’m going to present my findings to them. I was going to add the preschool and the tree-bark demon situation to the examples of how you have unselfishly aided our community. The community you weren’t born into.”

  “I didn’t do it alone,” Mia said.

  “Enos helped,” Angelo confirmed.

  “And Lucifer,” Mia said quietly.

  “Pardon?” Angelo asked, leaning forward. “Lucifer?”

  “There are only three beings on earth that can mass hypnotize successfully and completely. He was handy.”

  “How does Michael feel about this?”

  “I literally haven’t had time to tell him. The result would not be the same had he done it, or Roumain for that matter. They would have extracted more than copper out of the tree-bark demons for the service,” Mia said. “This is hindsight. The truth is, I would have seen no other way but having the tree demons keep the kids for life had he not arrived to torment me.”

  “I understand. I’ll just gloss over, you availed yourself for the mission and it was successful and not go into details.”

  “Did Enos say anything?” Ted asked Angelo.

  “He said he witnessed the mass hypnosis but didn’t know how it came about because he was otherwise occupied.”

  “Which is the truth,” Mia said.

  Angelo studied Mia’s face. “You’re holding something back. Please be truthful. Trust me to know what the right thing is to do.”

  “Enos was high on a combo of mushrooms and pot. The elders imbibed after feasting. He joined them. It took Murphy hours to sober him up. It’s why we ate before we left for your place.”

  Angelo shook his head. “A youthful mistake, nothing more.”

  “During this time, I visited the prisoners, healed their wounds, helped with a dislocation and healed ribs before Lucifer showed up in my accommodation. Enos was absent for all of this.”

  “Did Lucifer hurt you?” Ted asked.

  “He didn’t touch me. Remember, I’m a primal demon. He wouldn’t dare.”