This is a book of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

 

Kindle Ebook Complete 2^nd Edition

 

Copyright © 2011 by Constance Sharper

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permissions.

 

 

 

Airborne

 

 

 

 

One

She fled, tearing into the dark forest with only the dim moonlight as her guide. She burst through the first layer of trees and her sprint died. The icy air of October had frosted over the huge treacherous roots that covered the forest floor and each step farther, the path grew darker. The terrain from there was too dangerous to keep running and Avery reluctantly slowed to an agonizing crawl. She held out her hands to map out her surroundings before she took another careful step. Her fingers met rough bark and she lifted her boots over another root.

Maneuvering carefully, she cast a hurried glance backwards. Beyond the forest itself, she could see the hint of artificial fluorescents lit up on the hill. The faint smell of rich redwood smoke from the huffing chimneys even reached her. Her home, at the top of the hill, now seemed so far away as compared to the bitter cold and dry air in the forest in which she stood now. She never got the chance to become absorbed in the nostalgic image. The sharp crack of a twig breaking nearby sent her back on edge. She was supposed to have more time than this. She was supposed to have a head start.

Heart clenching, she kept moving, delving farther into the woods until the canopy took away the moonlight and she had been swallowed by complete darkness. Only her firm grip on a nearby branch gave her any sense of placement. The vertigo was actually welcomed. If she couldn’t even find herself, no one else could either.

Suddenly an explosion of noise ripped through the woods. Branches snapped and trees cried out as something slammed into them. The canopy parted and just for a second let in a splash of blue moonlight. The movement caught her eye and saw a flicker of white crash down a quarter mile away from her position. Avery didn’t hesitate. She ran for it, leaping over the tangles of roots and dodging branches before her moonlight faded away.

The image waiting in the newly formed clearing made her slide to an abrupt stop. Laying limp over muddy snares of weeds and chipped branches was a man. Brown hair covered his glassy green eyes and scratches marred his porcelain smooth skin. Massive white wings, strewn to either side of him, rested crookedly under a fresh layer of falling snow.

“Mason!” Avery dove to her knees beside him, careful not to make contact while he looked so fragile. “Are you okay?”

His entire tan shirt was splotched red with blood. Eyes darting over him, she sought the origin of his most grievous injuries. The lack of light made it difficult, but gently tracing her hand over his limp wing, she found the source of the hot liquid near the wing base. He’d been sliced badly and the wound hadn’t even remotely healed. Crimson blood continued to steadily soak his white feathers. She swallowed before any bile threatened to rise in the back of her throat.

“What do I do?” She asked desperately.

Mason shifted to life and unexpectedly jerked forward. Lashing an arm out, he dragged her down to his hard chest. Long fingers clasping over her mouth, he forced her silent. Mason didn’t need to say anything. The distinctive flapping of wings sounded overhead. She shut her mouth, pressed her cheek to his chest, and stayed quiet. The flapping continued, forming circles in the sky above the clearing with some persistence.

Anxious, she wanted to move right then and there but knowing she couldn’t lift Mason, she was forced into a silent submission while waiting for the danger to pass. Her mind spun, only landing on the same repetitive question: how exactly did she end up here?

She remembered it now.

She had clasped her hands together tightly as the car’s tires lumbered over another thicket of rocks and twigs. The paved roadway had ended long before the school’s entranceway had begun and the taxi’s low clearance wasn’t up to take the terrain’s beating. Avery waved the driver to just stop there. She could already see enough of the gothic brick spires belonging to Mayweather Academy to know that she’d arrived.

She slid out of the cab just hearing the gruff annoyed mutter of the driver before the door swung shut. Even though she’d tipped him well, she couldn’t exactly blame him. While the boarding school sat within Seward city borders, the trip here brought them through a desolate road after it seemed that all civilization had long since ended. Tucked into mountains and hidden by hundred year old trees, no one would find the Academy by accident. The taxi driver had sworn she was just getting them lost until they reached the only sign a mile back.

The cab then took off in an explosion of dirt. Eyes burning, Avery dredged forward through the heavy iron wrought gates and to the stairs that led up the hill side. She’d barely made it halfway up the staircase when she heard a howl that made her stop short.

“Avieee!” Avery turned to spot the source at the top of the stairs.

Her one and only friend at the school, an auburn haired girl small enough to disappear into her hoodie, sprinted down the stairs at light speed. Before she even cleared the final step between herself and Avery, she opened her arms and leapt forward. The combination of extra weight and radical sideways movement almost knocked Avery off her feet. The girl then closed her into a tight hug.

“You know you like this place more than that.” Leela had to tease, knowing full well they looked forward to senior year as one step closer to freedom.

“Because everyone just lovessss high school.” Avery said. Half smiling, she looked back toward the man hesitating by the stairs. He’d walked with Leela only a moment ago but now waited cautiously in the distance. He wore a parka from his neck to his knees that managed to block out any details of his person. The weather wasn’t cold enough to warrant it. The odd scene irking her, Avery found herself staring.

“Who’s your friend?” Avery asked while glancing back toward the Leela.

“Friend?”

“That guy with you.” Avery indicated but looking back, the man had gone. “Uh…never mind.” Avery amended, and she shook off the bad feeling as quickly as she could.

“Okay, stop distracting me and tell me how your summer was. I’m still jealous you got out of Alaska.” Leela changed the topic.

“Yea, staying at my brother’s was pretty awesome.” She didn’t want to sound like she was bragging but it had to come out that way. Everything that busy urbanized California was, their small section in the woods of Alaska wasn’t. She then filled Leela in, adding a few things about the surfing, heat, and traffic as they worked their way back up the stairs and through the heart of campus.

They finally reached their destination, a circular brick courtyard in the middle of the school, and the distractions came quickly. Today, the courtyard was home to an array of wooden booths, sorted by last names, to hand out class schedules and room assignments. Freshman panicked and raced back and forth while seniors in her class floated around to socialize, making the courtyard painfully packed. She nearly lost Leela in the tall body of students, but they both already knew where they were heading. They made for the booth for “Z” names in the back.

“Hi Avery. Leela.” Ms. Morrison, the staff member at the table, greeted them personally. “How was your summer?”

Avery gave the same great review she’d given to Leela.

“Avery’s rooming with me this year.” Leela piped as Morrison began shuffling through her blue index cards for Avery’s senior year assignment.

“Oh. I see you’ve already picked up your card.” Morrison had finished the stack and leaned back.

Avery shook her head. Leela had an assignment card that listed Avery as her designated roommate so she knew already her room, but Avery always was supposed to be given a card too. Morrison thumbed through the entire stack of blue index cards a second time around. Brows pinched, she looked over the papers on her clipboard.

“I’m not sure why but I don’t have you here. You’re registered as a student…” She flipped through a few more papers before giving up. “And you’re certain no one else picked it up for you?”

Avery nodded. Short of Leela, her friends at this school were nonexistent. Not that she wasn’t popular… she was just in more of the outcast crowd.

Frowning, Morrison finally said, “I suppose it could have gotten mixed up courtesy of first day chaos. I’d say you should check the other tables.”

Without another word, Avery slid free of the crowd and followed Leela up the nearest grass hill. Seniors were placed in the oldest and coincidentally the best dorm. Crepuscule Hall had been built next to the river. Immersed in woods at every other side, it sat the farthest back from the center of the campus. Almost like its own entity, the brick building had gated doors and its own kitchens. Outside was a long balcony that was home for crazy parties. Also, this hall was the only one on campus that could be coed.

They descended the last set of stairs that led to the main gate. Students congregated just outside by the concrete picnic tables. More uncomfortable by the second, Avery began to wring her hands. Leela glanced her way and the girl noticed something.

“What happened to your hand?” Leela asked abruptly, successfully reminding Avery of something she had nearly forgotten.

Avery flexed her right hand that had been bandaged in ace wrap from fingers to wrist. The wrapping already loose, Avery unraveled it to show her palm in the light.

“I went looking for seashells on the beach and picked up glass or something.” She showed Leela the purple and black bruising. There was no visible cut and the nurse at the walk in clinic had shrugged off Avery’s worries.

“You probably picked up a crab or something.” Leela said, dismissing it too.

Her attention soon drifted to congregation of students nearby. Avery scanned the crowd over for anyone familiar. She’d gone to school with all of these students for years but she wasn’t exactly friends with any of them. Then, out of the mass of colorful faces, a familiar person surfaced. Avery groaned when she recognized it. Nathanial walked out, slicking back his black hair greaser style and wearing a sideways smirk. Nathanial, resident slacker, acted as the campus pretty boy. Dressed to crisp perfection with big price tags, he flaunted his parents’ money more than not.

Sensing the situation grow awkward fast, Avery backed to the very edge of the sidewalk. Nathanial absorbed the extra space in seconds and posted himself between the girls. His eyes never once left Leela even though he spoke more than loud enough for both of them to hear. Avery didn’t know which bothered her more, Nathanial’s interest in her friend or his point to make a show of it. She twitched in spot, mind rolling over potential ideas to force Leela out of the situation. The only one she could come up with would involve dragging, kicking, and screaming.

“Sorry, select invites only.” Nathanial finally acknowledged Avery’s existence only to give her a cool glare through pretty boy long lashes.

Face heating, Avery clenched her fists before she could overreact. Turning back to the man behind her, she gave him a stiff glare.

“I’ll see you tonight Leela.” He said.

Avery rolled a few choice words around in her mouth but ended up swallowing them. She nodded as politely as her tight muscles allowed. Without another word, Nate turned on his heels and headed back for the gaggle of congregating students. Shifting the heavy duffle bag over her tense shoulders, Avery turned her attention back to the dormitory.

“Forget about it.” She told Leela grudgingly while knowing full well this was a battle just beginning.

Her friend rejoined her side and then together they walked through the last gate into Crepuscule Hall and began the year that’d change her life.

Two

“Party that lame or did you just forget something?” Avery swung her dorm door open mid-rant and abruptly froze.

Rocking back on her pink slippers, she looked over her unexpected guest. Where she’d been expecting Leela, a tall man stood. At least six foot seven, he barely would have fit through the door frame. She didn’t recognize the face beneath the mop of brown hair, but she recognized the heavy parka and the wide shoulders. It was the man from the top of the stairs. Closer up, she could see distinctive details. His skin was soft but his jaw line was sharp making him look both young and old at the same time. She couldn’t peg his age. His jade green eyes studied her in return.

“Uh. Hi.” Somewhere in the surprise, she’d almost forgotten her manners.

“This yours?” He slid a card out of his jacket’s pocket and handed it over. Avery took a moment to identify the blue index card with her name printed in bold.

“My assignment.” It clicked in her head. Shutting her open mouth, she nodded gratefully and put it on her nightstand. “Thanks. I forgot that Morrison would have it brought down.”

It’d become so late that she hadn’t expected anyone but Leela. In fact, she suddenly regretted answering the door in her pajama slacks, oversized t-shirt, and bunny slippers. Subtly losing the slippers, she kicked them to the corner.

“So you’re Avery Zane? I’ve seen you before. My name’s Mason, I’m new here.” It sounded forced like a practiced line for a shy person and characteristic of a painful conversation, he smiled but refused to open his mouth all the way. Not that Avery felt offended. So far, he seemed more like a kindred spirit.

“Yea, at the stairs earlier today. So you’re on as staff here?”

“Uh, something like that.” He paused for a moment of thick silence. Before she could think of anything else to say, he asked, “So your roommate’s gone?”

“Oh yea. She’s at…” Avery stopped herself. Leela was at the party but that wasn’t exactly a detail she’d tell to a staff member. Worse yet, he was new and would likely sell them out in a heartbeat. “She’s just out. She’ll be back before curfew.”

They both glanced at the wall clock in the same moment. Leela had exactly fourteen minutes to book it across dorms.

“Well thanks for bringing my assignment by. If you see Morrison, thank her for me too.” Avery leaned back, changing her body motions stiffly to end the conversation. While any other time, she wouldn’t mind having a nice chat with a pretty boy, tonight friends came first. She wouldn’t let Leela get busted and blame her for it the rest of the year.

Feigning a yawn, she murmured, “Nice meeting you. Have a good night.”

“Wait.” He held his hand out to stop the door from shutting. “Would you mind taking a walk with me?” He asked in the next second.

“What? Like a date?” It slipped before she could stop it. With her face flushing, Avery mentally cursed herself for being so tactless. “I don’t think we can date staff.” She said immediately in the best joking tone she could. Whether or not he bought it, she couldn’t tell. His face hadn’t changed much from the same placid stare.

“Just like a walk. We won’t get caught. You won’t get in trouble being out after curfew.” He said.

Her face still hot, she nodded. A walk with a staff member, cute or not, couldn’t hurt.

“Okay, just uh gimme one minute.” She stuck a single finger in the air until he backed up to clear the doorway. As soon as she closed it for him, she rushed for her phone. Ripping her sheets apart, she snatched up the blue device from its hiding spot.

Leela was on speed dial and the phone started to ring before Avery even brought it to her ear. With her free hand, she dug through her duffle bag. With advanced notice, she would have laid out something alluring, but with thirty seconds or less, she had to settle for her nice dark jeans and a black tank top.

“Stupid girl, answer your phone.” She hissed a second before Leela’s voicemail came on. Something this cool never happened to Avery, and Leela would pick this moment not to pick up. Giving up, she tossed it back on the bed.

Stripping off her pajamas, she changed and threw her hair up in a messy bun. Most days, she’d have stared at the mirror for an hour trying to cover up the freckles on her cheeks. Today, she embraced them reluctantly and focused on framing them with her bangs.

He had posted himself up against the opposite wall when she came out. From here, he looked even lankier with his legs stretched out and folded. She did a quick check of the hallway before announcing her presence. This late at night, the corridors were empty and only the staff would eventually meander through the halls. Morrison always wore thick heels that would clack on the carpeted floor so that any student would have to be stupid to not hear her coming. Idly thinking, Avery began to wonder if Mason would be the same. So far, he wasn’t scolding students but inviting them out to wander around.

“Yea, you and everyone else.” She rolled her eyes over dramatically. “I can’t have been the only person outside of Alaska before.”

The first official day hadn’t even started yet and she was already sick of talking about it.

“No, I’ve been to California too. In fact, I was there this very summer.”

“Seriously? That’s awesome… Wait.” She paused, distracted, before they reached the end of the hall. In front of them was the fire escape door. The hot red letters adorned on it reminded everyone it couldn’t be used except in emergencies.

“We can’t go out this way.” She told him.

While the door wasn’t hooked up to an alarm, no one would ever sneak out this way. Outside were steep blocky stairs that led down straight into the forest. From there, the campus was a good twenty minute walk back after having to twist up the hill through the woods first. This exit never had any lights either. At night, the path was pitch black and treacherous.

“You want to get caught?”

“I’d sooner get caught than die.” Her voice broke and she turned away. An ugly feeling crept up her spine and she watched the empty hallway. Avery wasn’t afraid of the dark but there was also no way she’d take a creepy trip out at night either.

“I’ll make sure nothing gets you. Come on.” He said but his voice sounded anything but reassuring. In fact, he bit off the words harshly. Muscles drawing together tightly, his entire posture changed. The transition happened in a heartbeat. Avery never got a chance to properly react.

He abruptly lashed out and caught her shoulder. Spinning her, he whirled her towards the exit and with a sharp push, knocked her forward. She stumbled into the door and it tipped open from her weight.

“I had to follow you all the way to this bloody place, you stupid thief. You understand how much time this cost me!” He roared.

“Stop it!” She hollered when he pushed her again.

Outside, her heel slipped on the first blocky step and sent her sprawling. No railing to brace herself, Avery landed on her elbows hard. She struggled to stand, panic making her clumsy. Her thoughts were minimized to two simple sentences: Bad situation and must get out.

“Where is it?” He demanded. “I’ll tear apart your whole room if I have to. Where is it?”

Somewhere in his rage, he stopped paying attention. She got her balance, stood up, and bolted down the stairs. Gravity and momentum helped. By the time he began to pursue, she’d reached the last step and ran into the forest. The thick roots threatened to knock her over again but adrenaline kept her on her feet. His footsteps finally thundered down the same path but he didn’t follow her into the forest.

“You can’t run. Hear me out.”

The absolute firmness of his words made her slow. She slipped behind a tree and slammed her back up against the rough bark. The moonlight didn’t shine through the thick canopy and the visibility where she stood dropped to zero. Unsure if she should even take her chances with Alaskan wilderness over him, she gave it a minute. Common sense telling her that he would get her to talk to locate her position, Avery stayed quiet. He waited a moment before speaking again while indicating he’d probably thought of the same thing.

“This is about when you were in California. I told you before. I was at the very same beach, the very same night. The fourth of July.”

At first, Avery spit out a confused “what?” before she thought about it. She had been in California all summer, not just Fourth of July, but she couldn’t deny that night had been particularly strange. That was the night she was on the beach and collecting sea shells. One specific shell had caught her eye as it washed up on the foamy waves during high tide. Driven by an unusual impulse, she’d snatched it up. Once the odd looking shell touched her palm, it’d stung. She’d dropped it quickly only to find that it’d injured her right hand and left a bizarre bruise. It was the same bizarre bruise she still had. Other than the sole instance, nothing else about the night stood out. She didn’t meet anyone, she didn’t see anything, and she definitely didn’t take part in something strange.

“So what?” She asked, at least giving him her full attention again.

“That night my boss dropped a pendant. It was a shiny black pendant off the coast. This pendant has a particular way to be found again. I tracked it to the where it washed up in the surf and then I tracked it to Seward, Alaska. I tracked it back to you.”

Her mind processing slowly, she took a minute before she drew her hand up to her face. The bandage had partially unwrapped to reveal her palm. Before Avery even considered the possibly, she curled her hand back into her chest.

“I need it back, and I won’t be the only person looking for it. I’ll take it from you nicely but these other people will hurt you for it.” Mason had kept talking.

She didn’t believe her own ears. It sounded like a line from the movies after she just stumbled upon the mob boss’s family brooch and now became a mark. The seriousness of the statement didn’t escape her either. She let out a deep breath.

“I don’t have it. Even if I picked it up I don’t have it. I left everything at the beach.” She wouldn’t be above begging him to believe it.

He didn’t answer. Only the quiet rustling of the forest filled up the silence. The wind picked up off the water and blew through the trees. Growing cold, Avery wrapped her arms around herself. She listened for the crunching of leaves or the snapping of twigs. While she’d picked a disadvantaged point of view from which she could only stare in front of her, she could hear him if he got closer.

“Then come out of the woods and prove it. I’m not going to hurt you.” He said after a tense moment.

“No way.” She said promptly. She may have been naïve, but she was not insane.

“If you just give me what I want, then I’ll leave. Believe me. If I wanted to do anything, I could have done it before.”

The rational part of her brain held out on believing him, but then she also knew it’d be a nightmare staying in the forest. If she had any intention of crawling out back towards the school, she’d be doing it in the dark. Opting to cooperate, at least temporarily, she called out.

“I’d help you if I could. But I don’t have it.”

“Then show me. And I’ll leave. Or are you planning to rot to death in there?”

She struggled to draw her shaken nerves together. “Okay.” She announced at last. “At least talk to me so I can find my way out of this forest.”

Brushing her fingertips over the tree, she stepped carefully to avoid protruding roots. In her last kicks of summer, she’d opted to wear a pair of thong sandals. Knowing she just needed one misstep and a firm knock into a rock to be in serious pain, she moved slowly.

“You have my word, I won’t hurt you. I just have…temper problems.” He admitted the last part as an afterthought.

Avery could have hysterically laughed. Temper problems? Is that what they called psychotic rages now days?

“In fact, my only intention here is to get what I’ve come for and leave you in peace.” He kept talking and she focused on following his voice.

The moon came out again, and it lit up the clearing in front of her. Mason stood in the center and behind him was the steps back up into the dormitory and back home. Happy to see it, she rushed forward but only managed to catch a root and stagger. Hands flailing in the darkness, she threw herself off balance. Hitting the ground, she kissed the dirt. Avery couldn’t get up quick enough. Only she, in the presence of a psychotic raving man, would still be clumsy.

A shadow fell over the ground. Glancing up, she saw him towering above her. With deliberately slow and gentle movements, he offered a hand.

“Uh hi.” She greeted him meekly. Already too close to him to escape again, she didn’t fight it.

Crawling to her knees, she nearly handed him her right hand—her dominant hand—before realization made her switch it out. Lightning fast, he snatched her right wrist mid-motion before she could properly offer him her left hand. Wrapping his long fingers around her right wrist, he yanked her up in one swift effective movement. The quick motion jarring, old adrenaline spiked again and she pulled away from him. He held her wrist with a steel grip.

“Wait. What happened to you?” He demanded to know.

The bandage had already come loose from her rough fall and the black bruise peeked out from beneath. The moonlight made it glow. She gave a stubborn yank on her wrist.

“Lemme go. Lemme go or I won’t show you.” She hissed, still attempting to tear away from him.

Frowning, he released her but beckoned her to keep her hand up. After giving him a sufficient suspicious glare, she unraveled the bandage in a few quick rotations. To her surprise, the mark had grown worse over the daytime. Instead of the charred black that covered the side of her palm, the black had turned purpleish and reached from her heel to her thumb. She grew sick looking at it. Mason didn’t shy away from it. Tentatively reaching out, he brushed his thumb over the mark. Something under her skin abruptly pulsed in response. Jolted by the sensation, she yanked her hand back into her chest.

 

Three

“Look, I’m sorry if I picked it up, and I’m sorry if I broke it. But believe me, I don’t have it anymore.” Avery said.

She might as well have been talking to herself. Mason wasn’t listening. Shortly after his cryptic declaration, he’d fallen into a silent thought train that left his green eyes staring at nothing and his hands wringing. Worry seeped off of his taunt body but none of his agitation was directed toward Avery any longer.

Even though the situation had calmed remarkably, Avery still didn’t trust it. She trekked back towards the stone stairway and created a berth between them. The clearing just outside the building’s emergency exit was far from being in the wilderness, but she was beginning to feel the effects of being outside too long. Without a jacket, it was getting cold and without real shoes to traverse the rough ground, she’d beaten her toes bloody.

“I know you don’t have the actual pendant.” Mason said suddenly, earning her full attention once again.

“You believe me?” She double took, surprised.

“I believe you don’t actually have the glass pendant. But you don’t understand.” He marched a few steps forward, and closer now, he lowered his voice as if someone in the woods could hear them. “That pendant was an amulet, and that amulet was very special. It was filled with magic.”

She stared at him blankly, waiting for the punch line. When it never came, she shook her head and stepped back.

“Are you nuts?” She asked carefully. She eyed her exit, one quick sprint up steep stairs and though it was dangerous, she certainly wasn’t going for the woods again. He didn’t make any quick movements so neither did Avery.

Instead, he slowly raked his hands through his mop of brown hair and let out a frustrated growl. “It makes sense doesn’t it? The amulet broke from the fall and when you picked it up then that magic inside of it then jumped straight into you. How else do you think I tracked you all the way to this god-forsaken place sixty miles north of nowhere? The magic in your body left me a trail.”

She let the words process for a full minute. His expression didn’t waver once while waiting for her reply. Humoring herself, she reasoned it aloud.

“You still lost me at the magic part. I mean...magic. Do you really believe that?” She spoke delicately too, waiting for him to flip out again anytime.

Mason gave her a long look and then in a sudden flurry of motion, he tugged his oversized parka off. The fabric dropped to the floor, forming a puddle at his feet, and then she was able to see something white twitch behind him. That something white spread out on either side of his body in the next second. She’d known his coat was unusually heavy for late fall, but now she understood that it had been hiding something. Wide angel wings, made up from thousands of short feathers, now surrounded him.

“Uh. Bird?” She pointed dumbly, unable to form a single coherent thought more.

“Harpie.” He gave her a glare that could have killed. “You don’t need to understand. You need to come with me.”

Still in shock, she forgot about her getaway plan, and walked towards him. Avery then circled around him needing to see the entire phenomenon in detail. He twisted to face her a few times until he let her behind him, groaning from deep in his throat.

“This is… unreal.” The whisper left her before she realized it. The moonlight cast a hearty blue glow on them both and let her see clearly.

Hands tentatively reaching out, she lightly brushed her fingertips over the feathers. Stiffer than they looked, they were still soft. She could feel the hardness of bone over the arch of his wing. He wore a shirt so she couldn’t see how they were directly attached to his skin, but Avery didn’t need any more convincing. His wings were hot, twitching, and very very real.

“You’re a harpie. Like a legit harpie.” She put a hand on her forehead while still having trouble wrapping her mind around the concept.

He nodded again.

“I thought harpies were actual birds.” She thought of the pictures from her mythology books. Most were small white creatures with beaks, long feathered abdomens, and talons. The man that stood before her was just that—a man.

She studied him head to foot, one last time. She’d known him to be tall, but that fact combined with his long lanky limbs suddenly took on a new significance. His entire body stature, most importantly his broad shoulders, must have been used to balance out the weight of his wings. His thin body probably kept him light to fly. His nails were a little sharper than they should be too-- not just for a man but for any human.

“Hardly. Harpies have naturally become more humanoid in recent centuries to blend in with bloody humans.” He snapped the last part, tilting his chin up with a blast of superiority.

“And you have bad tempers.” She remembered, absolutely ignoring his attitude now. With some effort, she recalled her old school lessons on Greek mythology. “Harpies are notoriously bad tempered. We even derived the term harping from them...uh you.”

She used to draw her mother as a half-human half-harpie nagging about her homework. Of course, even that version of a harpie came nothing close to the one that stood before her now.

“You believe me now?” He asked dully like she’d just caught up with the news flash.

Catching his eyes, she paused.

“You were serious about the magic?” Letting out a gasping breath, she shook her head. “No way. This just isn’t real. This just doesn’t happen.”

“Well then I have a rude awakening for you. You, in your human curiosity, picked up a harpie amulet and became the home to harpie magic. Now believe me or don’t, but it’s the truth.”

She opened her mouth to speak but couldn’t think of any words. Her mind finally grasped the full situation. Unable to control her twisting facial expressions, she turned and faced the woods. Her right hand itched at the revelation. The black smudge she’d gotten back in July still marred her palm like she’d burnt it yesterday. That combined with the unbelievable evidence that stood a few feet away left her reeling.

After moving closer, he reached out and touched her hand. The jolt of warmth made her flinch. He wrapped his fingers around hers until he pushed her palm closed and hid the black mark. It hardly felt reassuring. His rough skin stung, and he squeezed her hand too tight.

“Come with me, and you’ll be fine.” He said.

Abruptly, his wings snapped open. He used his grip on her to twist her around quick enough to make her dizzy. From there, she saw his wings clearly. Almost over ten feet they nearly touched both the tree line and the staircase.

“What are you doing?” She gasped.

His wings began to flap. The dirt kicked up and the wind dropped the temperature. His long arms looped around her waist and he pinned her to his broad chest. His wings caught enough speed to begin to lift them from the ground.

Ignoring her completely, he kept his grip tight. The ground disappeared below her feet. Just an inch up, the cloud of dust nearly made the rest of the world disappear.

“Stop it, you stupid pigeon!” She screamed.

Arms abruptly going lax, he let her go. Unbalanced, Avery fell back and landed on the ground painfully hard. She didn’t complain though. Adrenaline still pounding in her veins, she used the opening to run towards the stairs. His large wings made it impossible for him to fly without a clearing so she dashed up to the top step where there was no space. The dust fell away revealing his face. Lips drawn back, he glared at her sharply.

“Pigeon?” He hissed.

Pride was a fall point, Avery realized quickly. Even though the anger radiating off him grew suffocating, she kept her chin up resiliently.

“I don’t know how harpie mechanics work but I’m not going in the air on that. You’re not a plane!” Her last words grew so high pitched, she stung her own ears. Still shaking, she gripped the door knob.

“Did you not hear me earlier? People will be coming for you if you stay here.”

Thoughts swirling in a million different directions, she hesitated. Maybe there would be bad people after her but he could just as well be one of them. Any bird that would try and take her out of here would have to do it while she kicked and screamed.

“I’ll take my chances.”

Yanking the door open quickly, she jumped inside while half expecting him to follow. The door swung shut and he never made chase. Avery was relieved until she noticed someone else standing before her in the hall.

“Morrison.” Avery said, immediately recognizing the new problem. She was caught out after curfew. The staff woman saw Avery and immediately shook her head.

“You know I have to put you on notice now.” Morrison sounded about as bummed out as Avery felt. Morrison always wore the pumps so everyone would hear her coming and no one would get caught. Of course, a student wouldn’t hear the pumps if they were outside being chided by mythological creature. She seemed to expect Avery’s excuse just as much as Avery expected her own excuse. But in the moment, Avery couldn't think of a single lie.

“Okay. That’s okay.” Avery settled for instead.

Morrison took the omission of guilt without admonishing her further. With the initial confrontation over, Avery sent a quick look behind her at the door. It remained both shut and silent. Mason wouldn’t be dumb to charge into a crowded room apparently.

“By the way,” Morrison began as she stepped to the side and guided Avery back to her room. “I couldn’t find your assignment anywhere. It must have fallen out and I’m going to have the office print up another one.”

Avery walked to her door and knocked on it twice to wake Leela up.

“It’s alright, I have it. Uh, someone found it on the floor and brought it back to me.” By the floor she meant probably straight off of Morrison’s desk. Mason had probably stolen it.

Morrison’s brow still pinched at her explanation. Looking significantly older than she ought to have, she gave Avery one last speech.

“Okay. Just be careful. This curfew isn’t in place because the faculty is bored. The Alaskan wilderness come nightfall isn’t the place for a student. The danger is very real. Please keep that in mind.”

The door swung open and before Morrison could get in another word, Avery charged forward and nearly toppled Leela out of the way. The heavy wood slammed shut behind her sealing them inside the dorm room. Avery did nothing until she could hear the last clacks of Morrison’s heels echo down the hallway. She then shifted her attention back towards the room.

Leela stood before her, fully dressed in fashion wear. Pumps, leggings, and the denim dress gave away that she hadn’t been home long. Avery prepped herself to explain everything that had just happened, but she never got the chance. Someone else in the room spoke out.

“Look what the cat dragged in.” The familiar ring of Nathan’s voice made Avery flinch.

He’d stretched out on Leela’s bed, ankles crossed, showing everyone the bottom of his expensive leather boots. Black hair slicked back and leather jacket adorned on his shoulders, anyone else in the world would have looked like a cheap imitation of a movie icon. Not Nathan though. Nathan pulled it off in his own individual way. Had Avery not hated him so much, she could have admired it.

“What’s he doing here?” Avery asked.

“Calm down.” Leela stood between them. “We were just hiding out until Morrison dipped.”

Avery noticed first and foremost that Leela only directed that towards her and never once admonished Nathan. Secondly, she noticed the rest of the room. Leela’s sheets on the bed sat perfect, starch, and undisturbed. The television sat in a mess of unhooked wires and the only light on was the painfully bright overhead fluorescent. Leela, for the first time, unstrapped her heels and kicked them to the corner. Avery surmised they hadn’t been in here long and definitely not long enough to get into trouble. Still, the thought nearly made her shudder.

“I heard her catch you. You’re lucky I let you in, bringing her over here like that. Do you have any idea how much trouble I could have gotten in?”

“One week grounding?” Avery tried for a joke but Leela’s scowl grew darker.

“Little Avery just wants company since she’s too deaf to avoid trouble.” Nathan brought every bit of attention back to himself.

Before Avery could even respond, he stood and moved between her and Leela with agile quickness. Standing directly in front of her now, he popped her personal bubble and then some. This close she could smell his minty aftershave and the hot spiciness of his cologne. Just a few inches taller than her, he leaned forward until their foreheads touched.

“Don’t worry girl, I’ll come visit you if you want.” He whispered just to Avery.

“You should be leaving.” She snapped at him. He made a hurt face just for theatrical effect, and then slinked out the door. Once it closed firmly behind him, Leela turned on Avery.

“That was so rude. He was just here to see me! What do you have against Nathan?” Leela, even though not included in the initial exchange, had been clearly embarrassed.

“I- nothing. I mean, I just know he uses girls. I don’t want you to get with him.” Avery rubbed her arms, feeling unsettled enough already.

“N-no.” Avery found herself stuttering worse in front of a tiny girl than she had with a crazy harpie. “No. I just know Nate through school.” Avery finally amended, firmer this time. With the sheets on the bed fixed, she climbed beneath them, dirty jeans and all. Curling the unsightly black mark on her hand back into her chest, she stared at the wall.

As expected, Leela didn’t let it go.

“You’re lying to me. He says that you guys have met before. You said you only knew him through school.” She marched right up to Avery’s bedside. “You know I like him.”

“I told you. I hate Nate because he’s a jerk to me period. There isn’t anything more.” The familiar tightness of guilt weighed on Avery’s chest but she stuck to her story.

Though she couldn’t see Leela’s reaction, she could certainly picture it. Cheeks red, Leela marched away and threw herself onto her bed hard enough that the springs cried in protest.

Four

The winter crept closer stealing away the few hours of daylight Seward had left. Even with the school’s fluorescent light display, the fade to darkness was never welcome. The inevitable cold, black ice, and frostbite would come with the winter. Even though Avery had lived in Alaska most of her life, the winter this year seemed less appealing than ever.

The teacher’s chemistry set abruptly popped and fizzled, bringing the entire class’s attention to the smoking test tubes.

“Are we clear?” The teacher asked. “We’ll all be performing this experiment next Monday and I don’t want any problems.”

The class gave a chorus of uncertain mumbles. At the front, people like Leela nodded confidently. Avery watched the back of her pony tail bounce with her symbolic agreements to the teacher’s lecture. As expected, Leela had said nothing to her but the mandatory hello and goodbye. Even then, she’d spent most of her time out of the dorm where Avery couldn’t follow while still on probation. Leela may not have wanted an apology but she wanted an explanation and that was more than Avery was willing to give.

“Refer to your notes for guidelines on how to do the pre-experiment. I want no excuses.” The teacher continued, raising his voice just so the slackers in the back could hear her every word.

Before Avery could be incorporated into one of those slackers, she flipped back through her notes to seem busy. The pages were littered with crooked handwriting, arrows, and lines but Avery’s attention still fell to the drawings in the margins. She had doodled feathers and traditional harpie birds from her Greek mythology text books. Her eyes lingered on the depiction. Worse than the issue with Nathan, Avery still had no idea what to make of her encounter with Mason.

It’d been almost a week and with every day, the vividness she’d felt that night became surreal and she could have convinced herself it didn’t happen. Only the throbbing black mark on her palm kept her from thinking she was crazy.

Avery looked back up to the front of the class, determined to distract herself with chemistry, when she caught some people staring. The girls in the front of the class quickly turned and acted nonchalant. Their attempt at normalcy was horrible. They exploded into a chorus of whispers and stared at their notebook too hard. Avery knew they’d been talking about her. Mayweather Academy wasn’t a big school and news got around the student populous fast. Combined with boredom and little else to do, fellow students had already heard about Avery’s grounding and started spinning the rumors.

Avery knew the type. They’d say, “I know she wasn’t at the party. I think I saw her smoking out back.” One girl even dropped the “I heard that she waits until everyone leaves and digs through their rooms.” The rumors got stupider and stupider every year. If she had to stay in the school any longer, they’d be calling her an axe murderer next month.

Avery made a point to glare when one of the gossiping girls risked a quick backwards glance her way. The girl paled and swiveled in her seat, burying her nose into a book. Letting out a deep breath, Avery leaned back in her plastic chair. The teacher gave the class a knowing look before dismissing them. She shut the cover of her book and stood to stretch when someone came up behind her.

Leela nodded and for a moment, an awkward silence developed. Leela twirled her hair and bounced from foot to foot while Avery drew a blank on what to say. The teacher happened to pass by the two and cleared his throat to remind them to leave soon.

“Well, we can walk and talk.” Leela suggested. The whole post fight conversation was developing painfully.

Taking the option, Avery took the first step towards the door and Leela followed. Outside, light snow fell. She slowed, letting the last few lingering students pass them and disappear down the sidewalk. Leela didn’t seem to mind the stalling.

“Life’s boring without you.” Leela then mentioned. “I want to believe you, you know. That you and Nathan are nothing. I’m just worried you know. This thing with me and Nate is too good to be true.”

Avery clenched her teeth and had to force herself to be civil. She hated Nate but Leela was her friend and she wasn’t about to cause another fight if she could avoid it.

Avery couldn’t share the excitement, but she swallowed her discomfort quickly. She needed to break them up before Leela got hurt but she needed to wait until her friend would at least listen. Launching into the anti-Nate speech this early would have Leela lock her out completely.

“That’s cool. How intense in the relationship?” Avery hated herself for asking but the details would be important if she had to form a plan.

Leela held a hand to her heart and swooned.

“Geez, Avery. I’m not that close with him yet. We just started dating. I’ve barely kissed him.”

“Good.” Avery was relieved but quickly added, “Jumping into that too fast is always trouble.”

“Tell me about it. I’m ready to kill you for keeping secrets. How come everyone in the school knows about it but you haven’t told me?”

“Cassie from the third floor said she saw you with this tall brunette kid that doesn’t even go to school here. She’s been telling everyone you got busted sneaking out to see him.”

Avery’s jaw dropping, she turned her head away to hide her reaction. The clock in the center courtyard rang with the daily reminder her probationary curfew was approaching, but Avery ignored it to press for more answers.

“Wait, is that all she said?” She asked. She knew absolutely that Cassie was referring to Mason. There weren’t many tall brunette guys at Mayweather, much less one that didn’t go to the school. More so, Cassie even knew it was the night that Avery got busted after curfew. Avery panicked.

What else did Cassie even see? Maybe the girl had looked out the window at the wrong time and had seen Mason’s wings in all their glory. Mason hadn’t exactly been hiding and Avery had been screaming to attract attention. Avery pinched the bridge of her nose and tried not to lose control of herself. Wings weren’t exactly details that would be left out. If Cassie saw something supernatural that night, that should have made the gossip chain too, right? The logic wasn’t full proof. Maybe Cassie did see something but thought that it was too unbelievable. She could have been in the same state of doubt that Avery was in now.

Leela crept closer in the spare moment.

“What else would she say?” Leela’s need for gossip apparently completely overshadowed the awkwardness of their fight.

“Nothing. It wasn’t anything.” Frazzled, Avery shook her head. “You know Cassie’s stories are half crap.” She added as an afterthought.

“Then what exactly did you get busted sneaking out for?”

Avery had forgotten to fill in the technicalities. She weighed her options. On one hand, she could sound absolutely insane with the harpie story that Avery wasn’t even sure she believed. On the other, she could lie. Avery struggled with the options. Leela knew her too well to outright lie but she wouldn’t drop the crazy idea about harpies either.

“I did get sneaking out to see a guy technically.”

Leela’s smile widened and she bounced from foot to foot, waiting for the scoop. Avery made a pained face.

“But it definitely wasn’t a date. He just brought me my assignment card from the office and I got caught up talking. We didn’t want to get caught so we walked outside and then... then I snuck in and Morrison caught me.” Avery said.

“Ohh. Was he cute? I’m not a big fan of tall guys but he sounds cute.”

“No. Turns out he was kind of a jerk. Mostly a jerk. Anyways, I’m sure I won’t see him again.” Avery confessed, thinking back on it.

They’d been lingering outside for awhile now and it had began to get cold and dark. Most other students had left the courtyard, hurrying indoors, and left the place quiet. Avery finally realized what time it was.

“It’s almost seven.” She said.

Leela’s smile didn’t diminish but she did glance towards the clock in the center of the courtyard.

“Yea, you’re gonna get in trouble if you get caught. Better book it home. I’m gonna go to the library now, but maybe we can raid the dorms kitchen tonight and talk about boys?”

For the first time, fairly happy, Avery nodded. “Absolutely. See ya at ten.” She said.

Leela took off down the right path, opposite of Crepuscule dormitories. Avery waited until her friend’s figure disappeared in the darkness before turning down the path home.

“Shit.” She exclaimed to herself and paused mid-step. Glancing down at her empty arms, she swirled back toward the hall. In the rush, she’d forgotten her books. Quickly, Avery turned back and jogged back towards the classroom building.

By the time she had backtracked to the stone steps of Callaway hall, the lights had been turned off and the building had gone dark. The unusual silence was just enough to make Avery hesitate by the door. No one was allowed here after hours but if she was alone, she wouldn’t get caught. She tugged on the cold iron handle until the door creaked open. Inside, the hallways were draped in darkness. The alcove windows let little of the moonlight inside.

Avery knew the building well and memory guided her effortlessly down the hallway. She took a left at the intersection and headed to the last room on the right. Her shoes clicked on the tile and the sound of every step she took filled the entire hallway.

Reaching her destination, she pushed the heavy door to her classroom open. Inside, that darkness was worse and the shadows gathered thickly in the corners. Avery crept forward, careful not to catch her foot on some unseen obstacle while making her way to the spot where her books waited.

Just as she reached her them, a chill raked down her spine. Before she even moved, the door slammed shut. Heart skipping a beat at the sharp sound, Avery dropped her things and glanced around the room. It was too dark to see anything.

“Hello?” Her voice broke. She couldn’t help it. Her feeling of unease tripled within the minute and she didn’t ignore it. “Nathan, I swear if this is you, I will kill you personally.” She whispered without force in her words.

Taking a deep breath, she crept back for the door. That’s when everything happened in a second. Something hit her, hard. Losing her footing, Avery fell backwards and bounced off the floor. The lights snapped on and someone else was in the room. She never got to move away because rough hands snatched her and guided Avery to her feet. Before she could even gargle in shock, what met her eyes made her freeze.

In front of her there stood three people. Their tall bodies pushed their heads against the roof and their outstretched wings crowded out among them. Harpies—of that Avery had no doubt, but these harpies were different. Their wings were grey and tattered with ripped feathers hanging like they were ready to fall. Over their chest they wore bronze plates etched with gothic spirals. The two harpies standing at the edges of the group were men. Both had bulging arms, sharp jaw lines, and scrappy hair. In the middle there stood a girl and though she didn’t look nearly as large as her companions, the men gave her a wide berth even in the cramped room.

“What do you want?” Avery’s stuttered out though she dreaded the fact that she already knew. Mason had said that people would be coming from her in only a matter of time.

When she first saw Mason, she was much more concerned with the wings and danger than the names and identities. On that train of thought, she tried to channel as much real emotion as she could like shock and confusion. These harpies were freaky looking enough she didn’t have to act.

“I don’t care to answer your foolish questions.” The woman ticked off with bitter superiority.

She lashed out and caught Avery by the arm. Somehow knowing, the harpie pulled Avery’s injured hand forward and looked straight for the black bruising. The harpie even smiled like she’d been expecting it.

 

Five

Without waiting any longer, the male harpies grabbed a hold of Avery and hoisted her to her feet. They knocked the desks out of the way, sending the tables up against the wall to shatter with a thunderous bang. Partially dragging her, they made their way for the exit. They burst through the first door and went out into the hallway. Avery’s eyes searched desperately. The halls were as dark and empty as she’d initially left them. She let out a breath of disbelief. There had to be a janitor somewhere. Why couldn’t anyone hear the clatter?

The harpies kept on toward the final door. Avery rapidly understood that once outside, the harpies could take her up in the air and any chance to escape she had would be gone. She immediately began to struggle.

They smashed through the exit door to the Hall and dragged her down the steps. The temperature dropped and it had begun to sleet. Avery’s feet slipped on the icy front steps. The harpie tried to yank her up to keep her in place but Avery didn’t put her feet upright beneath her. Then luckily, the harpie didn’t find the point in dragging her. Loosening his grip, he let her fall back to her knees.

Avery’s looked for help, but the outside was just as desolate as inside the Hall. Hope threatened to leave her until her eyes landed on the front office in the middle of campus. The lights remained on. Someone always had to be there. Fueled by desperation, Avery went for it. Surprise working on her side, Avery jumped to her feet and as soon as her boots met the ice, she ran.

The biggest harpie was clumsier than the rest and he made a wild futile grab. Avery dodged away from it, bounding off the last step. They chased but the sound of footsteps thundering behind her only drove Avery to run faster.

“Company!” A screech rang out from behind. Avery didn’t get a chance to understand before impact knocked her back off her feet.

“Come on!” The familiar voice made Avery snap her head up.

“Mason!” She recognized the harpie with a surge of relief. Without a second more of greeting, he snatched her up in his long arms, kicked off the ground, and sent them airborne.

Feet abruptly dangling, she panicked. His arms had her under the shoulders but the grip wasn’t a sturdy one. He flew upward and cut a sharp left. The world spun, blurry with his aggressive flying. She saw the white topped trees one moment and the stars in the night sky the next. The movement kept her barely aware of their pursuers’ exact location but she could hear the high pitches screeches as they chased.

A shadow flashed in Avery’s peripheral. In an instant, that shadow became a harpie and that harpie sprung for them in a bounding motion. Mason lurched back, legs kicking up to counter the attack. Mason’s embrace loosened as he fought and that’s when the attacking harpie lashed out. The harpie’s talons missed Avery, apparently aiming for the interior of Mason’s wings. The attacking harpie made his target with a sickening crunch.

Shaken backwards, Mason staggered in the air and accidently dropped her. Avery screamed before she fully realized she was falling. Her world swirled in a mass of white and black coloring. Then she saw the grassy ground below her approaching at full speed.

Her breath left her and heart clenching, she braced for impact. Just before she smacked the ground, a hand tore at the back of her shirt. Plummet slowed, she landed in a rolling thump instead. Mason fell to the ground besides her in a crouch.

Snapping back to the present, Avery shuddered while remembering exactly how she’d arrived to this moment. The Band of Thieves had chased them into the forest and she hid with Mason wounded at her side. Mason and Avery had been quiet, waiting for the harpies over head to pass, and using the precious moments to regain their strength. It had finally gone silent and stayed silent for some time.

Avery snuck a glance at Mason. He looked worse than ever. Crimson soaked his feathers and his skin had turned a pale white. Surprisingly though, he looked completely conscious and sharply aware.

“They know we’re here but they’re regrouping to come up with a plan.” He whispered raggedly.

“What do we do?” Her voice began to wane on her. Forcing herself to swallow, she leaned forward and repeated herself. “What should we do?”

The dense forest had slowed the other harpies down as they were unable to land with the trees packed so closely, but they’d hurry in on foot shortly. Avery knew they had little time left to escape.

“We need to run. I can’t fight them on the sky with a bloody human on my back.”

She agreed, not willing to take another plunge to the ground. When he sat up, her eyes flickered to his wing. The red gash had begun to close but still raw, they risked that running would make it open again.

“Can we even do it?” She asked.

“Yes, but Avery,” He said pointedly. “Listen, you need to stay with me this time. You can’t run away again.”

“I know.” She made a face, more offended than she should have considering she’d run from Mason once before. Circumstances had drastically changed and she repeated herself. “We’ll stay together.”

Hearing what he wanted, Mason nodded. Avery suddenly went still, hearing a sound just a few feet away. She listened for it again. The forest always made some noise. The wind would rustle the leaves and the snow would weigh down on the branches until it plopped on the ground. Small forest creatures would run over the wood and scratch at the bark. Holding her breath, she listened for something out of the ordinary. Then she heard it--the unmistakable crunch of leaves and twigs that meant something heavy treaded over the forest floor. And it was coming their way. Trying not to whimper at the horrifying realization, she turned to him.

“They’re in here. We have to go.”

Without a word, he gripped her elbow with his tight claws and pointed north. She didn’t budge. Breath still held, she only focused on crackles and pops growing closer.

Then he held three fingers in the air that were just visible in the very faint light. Taking the unspoken message, Avery readied her muscles for all it was worth. The tell tale sign of steps grew close and now Avery could tell there was a number of people. The mix of noises from all around the forest scattered her attention. They were surrounding the area. They were closing Mason and Avery in.

Mason’s fingers dropped, one at a time, at an agonizingly slow pace. When the last one fell, the pent up energy in her muscles exploded. They sprinted forward, tearing through the woods quickly. A tree came between them and they split up. Just as Mason slipped from sight, an unseen grip lashed out and caught Avery’s shirt. Before she even realized it, the fabric wrenched her back and sent her twirling into the dirt. Eyes snapping up through the wave of vertigo, she spotted another harpie. One of masculine males leered down at her.

“Don’t touch me!” She screamed but he grabbed for her anyways. The harpie’s claws whipped out and caught her shoulder, lifting her off her feet. His grip was tight enough he could have snapped her neck but he only let her dangle. Avery choked and thrashed. Pain shot through her body. His grip tightened. Eyes closing, hot fear washed through her veins. He was going to kill her, Avery thought. This was it. She readied herself for something that never came.

Half a minute later, he still held her the same. Avery’s eyes opened and it dawned on her slowly. The harpies weren’t trying to kill her just yet, Avery realized. Seeing it as an opportunity, she brought her boot up and made impact with the harpie’s rib cage. When it worked, Avery was quick to slam another foot into him, and this time she aimed for his kneecap. The sole of her boot and the center of his bone collided with a shattering force. The harpie stumbled backwards, angrier than ever, but he never made a second charge. Mason finally reappeared and hit the harpie from behind. The lumbering male attacker went down, and Mason stepped over his twitching body.

“Come on!” Mason jarred her back out her stupor, hauled her back to her feet and shoved her forward before she could react.

“Move!” He ordered.

Furious footsteps pounded behind them and Avery didn’t need to hear it twice. They slid past the last of the tree line when one of the chasing harpies screamed.

“Mason, don’t you dare run away from me!” A female shouted.

Mason stopped so abruptly that Avery crashed into his back. He whirled, grabbed her shoulders, and pushed her behind him. Together they faced the forest from which they’d just come.

“Why are we stopping?” She squeaked.

The other harpies caught up to them quickly and burst through the tree line. The girl emerged first, raven black hair framing her pale face and ugly glare. Her fingers clasped a silver knife tightly and she held it just before her bronze chest plate. Next to come were the two cronies. The one Mason had struck already had purple and blue bruising discoloring his face and shoulders. He shot them a particularly nasty look. Mason didn’t panic.

“This must be a joke.” She said coldly. “Your wings are nearly torn to shreds, you’re outnumbered, and you’re still fighting with us. It’s foolish, not bold.”

Mason stiffened but stayed in place. He subtly offered Avery a free hand that she clasped willingly. His wings twitched and Avery spared a glance at the feathers. The girl spoke the truth. Mason’s wings probably couldn’t open all the way, much less fly.

“Leave us alone Eva.” He said instead.

“Leave you alone?” She threw her head back and cackled in a high pitched chirp. “Leave you alone? You started this Mason. Now just give me the girl and we will all be on our merry little way. Keep this up and you’ll die too.”

“Then don’t and leave us be.” It seemed bizarre but Mason was actually reasoning with her. Avery kept looking between them, desperate that whatever friendship they seemed to have would work in her favor.

“Look, my boss is expecting the amulet and if I don’t bring him the girl then I will be punished by death. So, which side do you think I’m going to take? You can find another way to redeem yourself to society Mason. Give me the girl.”

Mason didn’t answer at first and for a horrifying moment, he looked like he actually considered it. But finally he shook his head.

Mason chucked what he held towards the dirt and it shattered like glass upon impact. A blinding flash of neon green blew up in the air. The other harpies let out a piercing screech that echoed off the trees. She felt Mason spin her and guide her into another run. They began to dash but Avery only made it about ten steps before the ground gave out below her feet. She didn’t understand why until her right ankle hit water. Alarm shot through her body when she realized they’d run straight into a river. She grabbed out from Mason but he’d fallen in too. The momentum of the movement prevented any chance they had to regain balance on the soil. He splashed into the river behind her.

Her entire body slipped in and she struck the ice cold water like a brick wall. Avery tried to swim but the cold shocked her nerves. Her body wouldn’t perform the necessary movements. Every reaction came a second too late. Every motion didn’t act right. The current continued to pound on her. With her feet unable to touch the ground, she was at the river’s mercy. Her world swirled blue. Water washed over her face. All the while, the river kept pushing them downstream. The familiar tree line rapidly disappeared behind them.

Avery then collided with a protruding rock on the river’s side. Knocked askew, her limbs flailed and a strong current pushed her under. Her head below water, her lungs burned. Blackness crept up on her vision’s edge.

For the briefest moment, a new sort of desperation struck Avery. The water beat her down farther. She couldn’t even see the surface anymore. Before the entirety of her world slipped to darkness, her body collided with something else in the river. That something yanked her upward. Face reaching open air, Avery took a clumsy breath. The water kept moving them but she was barely aware. She only felt something warm and clawed grab her hand and hold on tight.

The river knocked them downward. Weak and cold, they were at the mercy of the current until the water pattern slowed by a blockade of stones ten feet downstream.

Barely coherent, Avery still spotted the opportunity and swam for the shoreline. Rocks biting at her knees and ankles, she used the ground to boost up. Snow covered the grass making it impossibly slippery. Digging her fingers down to the roots, she grabbed and held on. Current still working them over, her grip loosened. One last wave of adrenaline washed over her. Clawing at the dirt, she hauled them up just an inch off the shore. Mason rolled away from her, slamming into the ground with a wet thud. Free of his weight, she pulled and yanked her feet free of the freezing water. Crawling an inch more on wobbling limbs, she collapsed hard.

Every nerve in her body went numb. Muscles giving out, she stopped moving .The last of her subconscious screamed at her to budge. She lay on the snowy grass, sopping wet, and chilled to the bone. Soaked to the core was a one way ticket to hypothermia and death. The rational part of her mind went ignored, favoring primal desire to relax. Her eyelids grew heavy and she shut them. She felt sleepy. Just as her world threatened to slip away into a blissful but lethal sleep, something strange happened.

Six

Somehow, she felt tingles of feeling return to her fingers. Certain she was hallucinating, Avery twitched her limbs. They all reacted. Blood pumping, her body lit up with energy. She didn’t hesitate any longer. Sitting up, she surveyed the world around her and located Mason nearby. Mason sat on his backside, legs strewn in front of him. Dirt and mud caked his face and littered his hair. His wings had more tattered feathers than before. Still, he looked surprisingly alright with all things considered.

She turned away from him and focused back on herself. Confusion sinking in, she rattled her limbs. Her nerves reacted. Strangely, she didn’t feel cold. Warmth wound up in her chest and her skin felt hot. Avery couldn’t prevent the inevitable frenzy of emotions that followed.

“This isn’t possible. I must have died.” She said, panic growing. When did she die? She died. She had to have. People just didn’t feel like this after swimming in a freezing river.

It took another moment for the situation to sink in. Her eyes trailed to her right palm and what she saw almost made her heart stop. The black magical mark had stretched down her forearm and reached toward her elbows. Avery scrubbed at the black like it’d come off. The mark remained.

“Be glad. You shouldn’t have had the strength to pull us out. Either way, I told you we’d be okay.” Mason said.

“We almost died! How is that okay?” Wrapping her arms around herself, she shot him a dark look. “They’re going to come after us again, right? How are we supposed to fight them off twice?”

Avery knew she was on the verge of a panic attack now. Her breath came too fast and her hands shook. Eyes burning now, she looked away before he could see it. They hadn’t washed up near anything civilized. A clearing had been carved out by the river but the massive trees in the area still provided a canopy overhead. The river would most likely end up in the Bay of Alaska. They’d climbed out of the river before it did, but then they could be anywhere. Her stomach plunged at the thought.

“These people aren’t run of the mill criminals and we did well considering.” Mason sounded exasperated. “And this is your fault anyways. I told you they’d be coming.” His comment landed particularly hard, probably because it was true.

“Not helping now!” She shouted at him, eyes glistening so much he just looked blurry.

Mason leaned away from her making a face she couldn’t distinguish. In the next minute, she heard his tone change.

“Okay, I’m sorry. I know this isn’t your fight.” Mason was trying to sound gentle. He wasn’t good at it, but she tried to calm herself down in return. She wiped her cheeks clean and blinked the wetness out of her eyes. It may have been the because of the magic in her body but Avery felt alright physically. Her muscles only ached a little bit. Also, she hadn’t gained any wounds and they hadn’t died. She knew she shouldn’t be that upset.

“I suppose you did the smart thing anyways. You don’t know me. I could have been one of them just trying to trick you. Hiding away and staying around people was probably the right thing to do.”

He kept consoling her and it sounded both awkward and painfully forced. She decided that harpies weren’t good at being nice which would only add more credence to that nasty vicious reputation they had. Mason made an attempt though, and she appreciated it. She looked at him this time and gave a weak smile.

“Thanks.” She’d take credit for being smart even if she had technically just been grounded. “And thanks for saving me.” She added.

She stuck a hand out in the air.

“We never did actually get to know each other properly. Hi, I’m Avery. Resident human.”

He quirked a smile at the last part but only glimpsed at her hand instead of shaking it. Probably not a harpie custom, Avery decided. She tucked her hand away before the wind chill could properly get to it.

“Mason. Harpie.” He repeated her greeting and stretched his feathers in what Avery assumed was the harpie version of a handshake. It reminded her of her old parakeets.

“So, would you like to fill me in on who exactly is chasing us? You knew them right?” As much as she’d wanted to chat about anything carefree, she knew the situation called for more serious conversation.

Mason’s smile faded when he heard the question.

“I did know the girl once… Her name was Eva and I knew her before she became a fugitive. Those harpies together are called the Band of Thieves. And they had originally tried to steal the amulet from our prince, Jericho.” Each quiet word he spoke made his face grow pinker.

Sensing the tension around the subject, she changed the topic a bit.

“You said you were trying to recover the amulet for your boss. Does that mean your boss is the prince?”She asked to put the information together.

“Yes but he wasn’t just the prince. He was my father.” Mason clarified and continued with, “You have to understand that the Band of Thieves is legend in my world. They are considered some of the most deadly and dangerous fugitives. And those back there? They were just the youngest ones. We wouldn’t have escaped from their superiors.

“My father both created and owned the amulet. It was called the Willow amulet and it carried strong magic. One night he was traveling with the amulet when the Band ambushed him off of the California coast. Somewhere in the fight it fell and the amulet was lost. I scoured the coast and found nothing. Nothing but you.”

That brought up another subject.

“Okay, walk me through this magic thing.” She begged him, knowing it was probably lowering his opinions of human brains, but she still had a problem wrapping her head around this. “You said that I picked up the amulet and that it broke. Then the magic slipped into me.”

He nodded for confirmation so she went on.

“And that magic is just chilling there. Keeping me warm.” It sounded more bizarre. Was she actually tapping into the magic? And how exactly did it just chill in someone’s body?

“Consider yourself like a vessel. Just like an amulet. The magic will reside within your body like an energy signature. The energy will give your body some strength just by being nearby.” He wrapped his hand around a closed fist as an example. Avery wasn’t going to pretend she understood that fully.

“I’m not personally sure how yet.” He said. “But that shouldn’t be impossible to find out.” He added hastily, apparently more than embarrassed to show a lack of knowledge.

She frowned, unable to hide her disappointment.

“Well, your father created it, right? Then he’d be the one to know how to get it out of me. We just need to find him before the Band of Thieves finds us.”

Mason didn’t answer at first, opting instead to stand and walk closer to the woods. He disappeared behind the trees and returned with dry wood. Avery took the hint and followed him over. It was cold next to the river and unprotected from the falling snow. By the trees, it was a bit warmer and more out of sight. He put a make shift fire together quickly and Avery happily sat next to it.

“Okay, now where do we go? They’ll obviously find us here if we linger.” She pointed out.

“We have some time before we have to move. Dry your clothes and get some sleep.”

Avery cast a look up toward the sky. Though darkness in Alaska didn’t always mean pitch black, she couldn’t even see the stars. That also meant no one flying over head could see them well either. Maybe a few hours wouldn’t hurt. They wouldn’t be making good progress this tired anyways.

“Alright.” She finally agreed.

Rest didn’t come particularly uninvited. She curled up on the grass and finally allowed herself to relax. Avery didn't even realize she dozed off until she recognized the hot sandy shores of her dream. It reminded her of California down to the salty air and sparkling blue water. Wrapping her arms around herself, she peered down the shore line from where she stood. The beach sat dead quiet with only ghostly remnants of life. Empty tan chairs angled around a pile of charred ashes in the fire pit. Pacing around, she remembered it. This was the campsite she’d been at for the Fourth of July.

White flashes lit up the sky and drew her attention upward. They came from the farther down the beach, down by the pile of shoreline rocks. She strode toward them without thought. Each step she took turned into a mile in her dream world and in moments, she had climbed to the top of the rock pile. The flashes in the sky came closer and became distinguishable as figures. Both figures had long lanky limbs and large wings. They clashed sounding like fire crackers. Avery covered her ears.

 

The battle came closer until it raged just off the shoreline and Avery finally recognized the harpies. One wore bronze armor with a gothic spiral insignia, and she identified the wearer as Rafael. He gave his trademark ugly smile, even as he clashed in battle. She looked at the other harpie and knew his face.

 

“Jericho.” She identified him aloud.

 

Jericho, the harpie Prince, didn’t look much like his son Mason. He had black hair instead of brown and was shorter and slimmer. Considerable lines etched his face showing his age and his slow reflexes showed the toll that age had played on his body. The only way he resembled Mason was the pale green eyes and the way he held himself with indestructible pride.

 

Jericho’s eyes past over the beach and over her but looked on blindly like Avery wasn’t there.

Rafael continued to lunge at him but Jericho danced away gracefully. A shiny marble caught her eye next. The shiny marble was the amulet which dangled from Jericho’s neck almost mockingly, glowing with a faint blue and staying always one inch out of Rafael’s reach.

 

Suddenly she spotted a flurry of other winged figures join the fray. Each moved so quickly that it difficult was to distinguish their faces. The unrecognizable harpies flew at Jericho and the four of them circled him with a systematic formation.

 

The sound of shifting sand on the beach caught Avery’s attention and she glanced away from the battle. Behind her stood Mason, except Mason didn’t see her either. Wings tucked in beneath his oversized trench coat, he walked to the end of the beach like she had. His eyes watched the clouds and Avery followed his gaze. Jericho had staggered back in the air. Wings spiraling, he didn’t fly but plunged. In seconds, Rafael made a grab for Jericho. Rafael caught the amulet, ripping it clear off its gold chain. The amulet fell free and spiraled down towards the waves.

 

Avery instantly lost interest in the fight. Some unknown urge driving her, she raced down toward the waves where the amulet had fallen. Ankle deep in the water, she dug for it, fingers clawing through the sand until she held the hot broken glass in her hands.

 

Avery woke with a stir. A strong breeze brushed at her face and she blinked the dust out of her eyes. Mason stood back in the clearing, airing out his open wings. Sometime since she’d fallen asleep, he scrapped the blood splattered shirt completely and stood with his chest bare. The lack of wardrobe did him justice at least. Even while thin by human comparisons, his chest was flat and defined with muscles. He’d cleaned the mud out of his face and hair with the river water. Together, Mason resembled a male model without the steroids. Avery had to scold herself quickly before her body reacted to the inappropriate thought train. It stirred a feeling in her that she wasn’t exactly okay with.

“Come on.” He beckoned, seeing her awake.

“Where are we going?” Using the ground to boost herself, Avery came to a wobbly stand.

The sleep had helped but it was by no way a miracle. She massaged her special hand, willing it to give her some strength. Mason finally circled back away from the fire and joined her near the tree line.

“We need to leave before they find us here. Besides, bad weather will be moving in. We need to reach the southern coast by the end of the day.”

He beckoned her closer with an open hand. She took it and let him guide her out into the clearing. Mason’s nails seemed sharper now and looked more like talons. Maybe he’d filed them down before coming to her school. Maybe most of what she saw was an illusion. Shoving the possibilities in the back of her mind, she glanced at the sky. As promised, clouds had formed in the horizon but the darkness hid the extent.

“The southern coast is a long walk away.” She pointed out blatantly.

She wanted to protest but one wearily glance around them stopped her. They were probably miles from the next town. A quick way of travel would be preferable. She looked at him again. He seemed confident in his flying ability, but maybe harpies always did that confidence thing. Giving up, she agreed.

He pulled her to his bare chest and angled her arms to reach around his neck. Scolding herself mentally for flushing, Avery stared towards the ground. The stance looked awkward. Avery barely made it above the five foot range so Mason had some serious height on her. He didn’t find it important once they would be airborne.

His face became morose and Mason looked as if he seriously debated telling her a thing. The ground disappeared below them as he began to hover. Avery squirmed but Mason’s arms around her waist held her still. Moving a hand, he pressed her face back into his chest. Before she could protest, a rumbling stirred deep in his chest.

“You must understand. The Band of Thieves didn’t just attack my father Jericho. They killed him.”

 

Seven

A hundred feet in the atmosphere became absolutely deafening and yet Avery found herself screaming above the wind ringing in her ears.

“How much farther?” She questioned increasingly impatiently.

Muscles trembling, she struggled to draw herself closer to Mason who seemed like his own personal heater. She’d never put much thought into why harpies ran twenty degrees hotter than humans but this stood as the best explanation. A few hundred feet in the air, it got cold. And her human body wasn’t happy about it.

Mason took a long time to answer as he stared down at the one place Avery refused to look. This far in the air, she couldn’t imagine what the ground looked like. She could see the mountains in her peripheral vision, and at this altitude, they were crisp white and covered in glistening snow. Any remaining green life sat so far below them, it couldn’t be very visible. Even the highest canopy of the giant trees probably resembled weeds. Avery wouldn’t look down to confirm her sneaking suspicion.

The state of Alaska was massive and most of it was rural, unused lands of icy or forested masses. Even if they had a distinct altitude advantage, they weren’t a plane and wouldn’t be making great time. Thoughts straying, Avery shifted her head to glance at the gash on Mason’s left wing. The wound on the base of his wing had started to show all over again. The feathers that had once covered it began to part revealing the raw red gash. Fastening her left arm tightly around his neck, she moved her right hand to finger the wound. His wing snapped hard in protest.

No matter how much he shushed her about the subject, Mason’s wing clearly hurt him. He flew at a crooked angle and his wing refused to open completely. They whirled through the air, controlled but increasingly uncomfortable.

“It wouldn’t kill you to rest it awhile.” This time she didn’t shout but he heard her anyways.

“Avery,” Mason interrupted, “shut up.”

She opened her mouth to protest and never got the chance. His wings abruptly shifted and they lost altitude. The nauseating displacement of height left her stomach in knots.

“Harpies?” She squealed. Mason’s grip tightened and he lowered them again with a single twitch of his wings.

“Worse, storm front. Hold on!”

A crippling gust hit them right at that moment. Mason’s injured wing went askew first and sent them spiraling backwards at an awkward angle. The entire flight pattern ruined, they began to plummet. The world spiraled and Avery suddenly saw what they were facing. They’d flown right into a blizzard. Fear kicking in, Avery screamed. Mason’s wings beat in a last ditch attempt to upright them but the wind made him reel.

“Mason!”

She lost her grip and plunged downward. The world spiraled in a blur of solid white. Her limbs flailed as she flopped through the air. The drop wasn’t a long one and her shoulders made impact with the ground first before her head snapped back on the hard packed snow. Even if the fall had been shortened by Mason, her body still went into shock from the impact. The storm kept raging above her. Hurricane force winds bit at her skin and snow packed down on top of her body. Forcing herself to roll to her knees, Avery’s body ached but obeyed.

She scanned the spiraling white horizon as the wind and ice dried out her eyes.

“Mason!” Her throat had gone hoarse from her earlier screaming and her voice barely made a sound above the thunderous storm.

She couldn’t spot anything but the snow and the white capped hills. She squinted desperately but no speck of brown, tan, or black ever caught her eyes. Dragging herself to her feet, she pushed herself forward. Buried to her knees, she couldn’t walk right. Every muscle in her body protested as she hauled her ankles up and forced herself to take another step.

Her footing slipped and she waivered before sliding down the slick terrain on her backside. Striking something rock hard, she stopped. With no visibility, Avery ran her hands over what she’d landed on. She vaguely recognized it as the side of a mountain. Bracing her hands against the wall, Avery held it as she trudged sideways. The bumps of the mountain shifted and she led herself right into a cave. The wind let up and the air calmed. Avery blinked, heart pounding in her chest, as she glanced around. The cave delved deeper into the mountain and though musky and dark, she welcomed the sight.

The mark of magic in her hand rhythmically pulsed with her own heart beat. The magic not only warmed her but kept her body always one step up from total collapse. Not wanting to think about it anymore, she glanced back outside.

“Mason!”

She hollered again when flicker of movement caught her eye. She curled her fingers around the rock, hesitating. While ironic that she’d ever find a damp, harrowing cave more appealing than what played out before her, she couldn’t find it humorous at the moment.

Avery slowed her spinning thoughts to pick at them one by one. She hadn’t exactly seen Mason but the clunk she heard could have easily been a body coming down. Avery took a deep breath, steadying herself. The movement she’d seen originated from only a few feet away, but the weather made it a virtual mile. Too, leaving the cave now may mean she wouldn’t find her way back in the absolute confusion.

“Suck it up girl.” She told herself with a fair lot more audacity than she felt. Reaching for her cotton scarf, she unraveled the stark blue fabric until it bundled in her hands.

“Hansel and Gretel left themselves a trail of bread crumbs.” She parroted the old child’s rhyme idly.

The snow would cover it within a few minutes but so far it stood as the best idea she had. Readying herself in a hurry, she stretched out the cotton to its full three feet and walked back into the stormy weather. The gusts threatened to take it away but she dropped the front end and packed it down into the snow with the heel of her boot. It stood out harshly against the white snow. Done with that, she turned her attention outward and began to walk.

“Mason!” She yelled.

Just as she took another step, she stepped on something hard and bumpy. Looking below, she saw the figure lying in the snow for the first time. Mason’s face and straggly brown hair stood out above the snow.

“Come on, wake up, get up.” Avery dove to her knees as her hands scrambled to brush off the rapidly piling snow. It fell as fast as she cleared it off.

“Get up!” She demanded again. Taking on another strategy, she grabbed for him. Snatching up his hand, she stood, put her weight into it and tugged. Surprisingly light, Mason’s body budged and curled up. He let out a choking sound from deep in his throat.

“There, come on.” She dragged him up and over to the cave.

The blue of her scarf led the way, though it’d been blown unruly by the storm. One last wave of adrenaline racing through her veins, Avery tugged him into the cave. The wind slowed inside. The snow still piled in the front of the cave but not high enough to interfere with movement. She led a stumbling Mason in farther, collapsing when she reached the end.

Little light reached inside the cave and even less during the storm. Still, the cramped walls were near enough that she could chart the entire place by touch alone. Mason had fallen below her, using just enough energy to roll onto his back and fold his mangled wings beneath him. Hands moving quickly, Avery brushed the last snow off of both of them. When it would melt, they’d be wet again. This time, they would likely freeze to death. Mason stirred when she touched him.

She couldn’t quite see him so she leaned in carefully. Then his hand came up behind her and pulled her close. Avery jumped at first when he pulled her tight to his bare chest but she put it together quickly. He’d combined their body heat-- something that was especially useful when one of the persons ran hot all the time. Immediately feeling the difference, Avery leaned into him to warm up. She maneuvered her face into the crook of his neck and let out a breath. She couldn’t lie, squashing so close to Mason-- even in life or death scenarios-- seemed a little too personal. Unsure of what to make of it yet, she didn’t mention it.

“Will this kind of storm pass?” He asked.

“It should clear up in a few hours.” That was if it didn’t cause an avalanche and bury them alive in the cave. Avery didn’t add that part.

Mason actually acted like he liked her more. Avery had to admit, they hadn’t ever gotten off on the right foot so Mason liking her at all was an accomplishment. They’d still be squabbling in the forest if it wasn’t for mutual survival. At least this was a step in the right direction.

Mason stretched and she could feel the outline of his body as he pressed against her.

“We should rest.” He mentioned.

“No, we can’t.” Moving quickly, she nudged his chest before he even acted on sleeping. “Stay awake. Just trust me. You don’t want to fall asleep when at risk for freezing to death.”

He made a grunting sound of discontent.

“Trust me. Just talk to me.” Her mind spun to think of a subject. “Well, I’ve never met a harpie before you, right? So are there any other mythological creatures other than harpies?”

“If they are mythological, they don’t exist.” No matter how exhausted he was, Mason was quick to point out the flaw in her logic. “But no. Just us really. And that’s boring anyways.”