Chapter 6

I woke up to find Lexus almost draped over me, face staring directly into mine. The unexpected site made me jump and startled Gabe awake.

“You are a bitch.” I laughed once my body had calmed down.

“You just don’t want to admit that it’s the best sight you’ve ever woken up to.” She moved so she was sitting cross-legged at the end of the bed.

“Sure! It was up there with cat butt in the face.” I replied.

“You are so lucky that it’s against my moral code to slap someone that’s hurt.” She glared at me with fake indignation. “How are you anyway? That throat looks nasty.”

“Huh?” I reached up to touch my neck and winced. Every inch of me was sore, especially my neck, my leg (which I was having trouble even straightening out), and the cuts on my arms. Even breathing sent waves of pain through me that I had blissfully been able to ignored in my sleep. “It looks as good as it feels?” I added.

“Bruised, blue and painful.” She nodded. “We almost match.” She held up her head to reveal her neck covered in angry red marks tinged with blue. The bruising didn’t look severe, but there was no doubt that something had tried to break her neck. The turn in conversation had me staring blankly at the wall behind Lexus, remembering all too clearly the events that had led to us being battered and bruised. I may have committed to believing this whole other realm theory, but that didn’t mean I was totally okay with it.

“How’s Sebastian?” I asked shaking the thoughts from my head.

“Still sleeping like the big baby he his… not that I could blame him. He did take a beating. Might’ve even broken a rib.”

“Don’t you have doctors… or healers… or something we could take him to?” I asked. I flinched as I brought my sore leg further out and tried to sit on the edge of the bed. Somehow, it hadn’t even hit me just how badly hurt Sebastian could have been. Yeah he’d been limping, but for the most part he’d never said a word. And he’d had no problem keeping up with us, so he couldn’t be that bad… right?

“He’ll be fine.” Lexus reached forward and put a hand on my shoulder. “And there are healers here. In fact…” she stopped mid-sentence a confused look crossing her face.

“What?” I frowned. The bed creaked beneath me as I adjusted my position again. I could see Gabe out of the corner of my eye inching closer until he put his head under my hand. I began petting him absentmindedly feeling the soft fur beneath my fingers.

“Nothing. I’m sure we can call on someone when Xavier gets back. How much did Sebastian tell you by the way?”

“Well, he told me that we’re in Jadenel. That the cat is a sort of shape shifter and that a psychic demon is after me.” I ticked each of the points off on my fingers.

“That’s it? Crap! We’ve got a lot of work to do.” She rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Lots of work? I thought that was a pretty good start, I mean-“

“A good start? We haven’t even scratched the surface of what’s going on here and what you need to know.”

“What I was told was good enough for me. And even that was too much to believe.”

“And here I thought you were perfectly fine with it given the whole running off like a moron bit.”

“Admit it, you wouldn’t have believed any of this yourself at first.” I shot back.

“Maybe not, but I would have trusted my family and the people that were loyal to me.”

“You mean like Violeta.” I almost wanted to shake her. How could she actually know what she would have done? It wasn’t like this was a typical situation to be thrust into. Granted, I knew I’d acted irrationally and regretted it more than they knew. But what was I supposed to do, just sit there and nod my head? Then wait around to be whisked away somewhere else as tons of nearly impossible facts were thrown my way. Was I just supposed to except everything without question? Without being given time to process anything?

“But she wasn’t us-”

“Because you’re so special? You may not have liked her. I may have always been closer with you, but I still considered her a friend. And you trust friends. You tell them the truth and don’t lie to them!”

“We didn’t lie to you! We just didn’t tell you everything. Do you think it would be easier to have known the whole time that you were a freak among humans? That you had a whole other side to you that you couldn’t access? You didn’t know what you were. We had to hide it from you and everyone else.” The corners of her eyes tightened as she looked at me. I could see every muscle in her body tense as she sat up straighter.

“What are you?” I blurted. I’d been wondering it earlier although I didn’t want to admit it. However, if this was another realm, a place where creatures existed and we belonged here… I had a bad feeling that meant none of us were “human”.

“Werewolf.” The answer was hard and blunt as she lifted her chin.

“Like the wolfman kind of werewolf? Or-” I distracted myself by fluffing the pillow behind me. Whatever was coming I wanted to soften the blow as much as possible by distracting part of my mind. Getting away from the hot glare in her eyes, that had me feeling like a spoiled immature child, didn’t hurt either.

“No,” she said with a snort. “More like… well, I hate to reference bad teen fiction, but…”

“Four legs and hates a particular thing that sparkles in sunlight?” I guessed feeling the corner of my lips tug upwards. Now I got why she hated that movie.

“Yeah, basically a giant wolf, not a freaky dude walking on two legs with horrible old makeup on.”

“And you’re the best looking wolf right?”

“Hell yeah! Nice shiny red coat… want to see?” She made to stand up, but the look on my face stopped her.

“Sorry, still kind of weird. Not used to things… shifting… or staring at my friend naked.” I apologized and looked over at Gabe.

“It’s okay. I understand, I’d be too awesome for you to handle.” She smirked, but I could see a touch of hurt deep in her eyes. “We really do need to talk. There’s things you need to know about all this.”

“Look, I just need time to learn things when I’m ready. Not all at once.” I admitted. “I know there are things I need to know, like… well, like what are me and Sebastian? Wait do I want to know? Yeah, I guess I do… just don’t tell me I’m some relative of Frankenstein’s monster or something.”

“For one thing just listen and let me explain. You can ask questions later. For another, that’s kind of complicated.”

“Complicated? Oh God I am aren’t I?”

“Let me put it this way. Family history is beyond my duty to talk about.” She shifted on the bed until she was sitting beside me, leg sticking out and swinging back and forth. The movement of the mattress made me hiss in pain as my leg smacked against the bed.

“So… does that mean you don’t know-” I looked over at her, trying to see if I could guess what the answer was, based on her expression. She didn’t appear to be scared, or anxious, so I was guessing it couldn’t be too bad. Right?

“Oh, I know. Alright, you’re a mutt.”

“A mutt… really?” My eyes widened in shock. Not what was I expecting at all.

“Well yeah. I mean technically. I’ll try to make this as easy as I can. Okay, so there are pure,” she made quotation marks in the air, “and hybrid races. Hybrids are made of two or more pure races and have developed over the years to become their own race. Mutts are a combination of either two pure races or a pure and hybrid that don’t fit in with the other hybrids.”

“So… what am I a mixture of?”

“Psychic demon and angel. Psychic demons are part psychic vampire, part demon. You see they were very creative with their names.” She let out a little snort at the end. “Of course you being part angel shows just how clueless humans really are about them.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I gently bumped my shoulder into hers’, then remembered that I had a bite mark there. Oww.

“Honey, there isn’t anything angelic about you.”

“That’s why there’s demon mixed in,” I said in a bad attempt at defending myself. “So Sebastian-”

“Like I said that’s a story for him to tell.” She shifted and refused to look at me. I let out a small sigh.

“I guess the only other real question I have for now is, why? Why were we there and why did we come back now? Why are they after me? Whoever they is? Is it one person or a lot of different ones? Is there like, some army out there after me or…?” I began rambling, my mind jumping from possibility to possibility.

“I thought you didn’t want to know too much at once? And this was supposed to be my story, but to answer some of your questions. We don’t know who, exactly. Why? Well that’s a long story. I’ll leave it at that for now. Here’s a quick synopsis. There was a war. It was an uprising that led to the enslavement of the entire realm. Any government or race that opposed them, was eliminated or forced into submission. You were taken to the human realm with Sebastian to protect you from all of that. Your parents were not on good terms with these people.”

“Oh great. So my parents had lots of enemies. And we’re in a world that’s in turmoil. It still is isn’t it?”

“From what I’ve heard, yeah. There’s a rebellion forming to overthrow the current powers that be and try to put things back to how they were. Think of it like the Soviet Union in the human realm. There was no central leader for the whole world, but there were people that sure as hell wanted to make one. Some thought it was a good thing though, so there was constant tension among the certain races. Hence the somewhat ease of their takeover.”

“So how do we fit in?”

“We exist.” When I gave her an odd look, she just shrugged. “There isn’t a part for us to play. Not in this. No special reason for saving you or bringing you back. We’re only here to protect you from whoever is after you. Once that’s over it’s your choice of where to go. Just be warned that nowhere here is safe for anyone right now.”

“But will I ever go back to being normal?”

“Not that you were ever normal, but no. The magic in this place will bring out everything in you that the human realm suppressed. And while you can hide it, there will be no changing you back. The changes that happen here will always be with you.”

“So its not like Vegas?” I asked meekly. What was this place going to do to me? Were these the last times that I would ever be me? Or at least the me I knew. My stomach churned and my chest felt tight just thinking about it. Did I even know who I was anymore? I didn’t know my family. I didn’t understand my “race”. I didn’t know where I was from or anything about it. I didn’t know what I was capable of. Or who my friends really were. Hell I didn’t even know what my cat was.

“What happens here doesn’t stay here. All you have to do is look at the abundance of myths and legends the humans have come up with. Of course, some of them think they just have amazing imaginations, when really-”

“So everything is true?” I asked, paying more attention to my clenched hands than her. Gabe was still at my side, tail flicking against me as he curled up by the pillow. Were we boring him?

“Well not everything. Some of them did get creative. By creative, I mean paranoid and stupid. They came up with rituals and facts to demonize us so that way they could sleep better at night. Imagine thinking that vampires couldn’t suck their blood if they hung up some garlic. Or any of the other idiocies like silver bullets and werewolves. I’ll tell you right now, shoot one of us and we’ll die. Or be badly hurt depending on how good of a shot you are. Doesn’t take a special bullet to do it. Of course you have to catch us first.”

“What about bigfoot?”

“Probably just a really hairy giant that snuck through the portal.”

“Chubacabra?”

“Some dude that had a little too much to drink and smoke? Or an inbred deng’bo depending on the description you base it off of. Most likely both.”

“Deng’bo?” Well that was new one.

“Dog people. Think Gabe, but you know… dogs.”

I was about ready to ask another myriad of questions when a groan came from down the hall. A couple of thuds and some swearing later, Sebastian could be seen heading past the door and down the hall.

“The man listens as well as you do,” Lexus said with a growl. She jumped up to her feet and stalked out the door, still muttering under her breath.

“I hope he’ll be okay,” I murmured to Gabe as I sat still, waiting to hear the series of arguments that were bound to ensue. Gabe turned to look up at me, his little head cocked to the side and his tail twitching slower and slower.

“I wish I knew a way we could help him.” I said. Before I could say anything else Gabe was jumping down off the bed and streaking out my door and through the house.

Chapter 7

We didn’t see Gabe until late into the night. He’d gone running into the room he was sharing with Sebastian, put on some clothes, (after he'd changed into his human form), then left the house before anyone could say anything. I’d asked Sebastian if we could go after him, but was shot down immediately. While they didn’t know what he was up to, they knew he’d be back. It wasn’t like it had been with me just running into the unknown. Gabe knew this place and they didn’t want to risk leaving me unprotected. Sebastian was in no shape to go anywhere so Lexus was our only real means of defense. I tried telling them that I wasn’t that helpless, but I was reminded of Violeta and how we didn’t know what would be after us next. So I sulked in my room, refusing to give in to the temptation to go after him myself. Because I knew they were right. I didn’t know this place and I didn’t know the first thing about tracking and I didn’t know where to even begin. All I could do was hope he would return safe and unharmed. Even if he was something I didn’t understand, I cared about him. He wasn’t anything like Violeta so there was no reason that my feelings for him should change. No one, but me, had trusted her. But they trusted Gabe and if they could trust him, then so could I.

I’d been sitting on the couch, a plate of barely eaten food on my lap, when the front door creaked open.

“Gabe!” I set the plate down before jumping to my feet and taking a couple of hurried steps forward. I was ready to give him the biggest hug that my injured arms would allow. Instead, I stumbled back, my calves hitting the front of the couch forcing me to sit again. What I was looking at wasn't Gabe, or at least it wasn’t just Gabe. What had entered through the doorway was a rather tall, thin female with cascades of soft brown hair flowing down her back and over her shoulders. Gently fluttering through the hair were a pair of wings, proportionate to her size and shaped like those of a butterfly. However, they were iridescent and so thin they were barely visible in the light. The lamp light that glowed through her wings, cast shades of pinks, greens, and purples onto the wall and floor.

Her deep purple eyes widened when she saw me and I swear her jaw literally dropped open. The squirming and small squeak of protest made me realize that Gabe was clutched rather tightly in her arms, as she had nearly dropped him and the mass of other things she carried in her surprise at our sudden meeting. I noticed that Gabe’s clothing was among them.

“Hi,” she rushed forward, setting Gabe down along the way. “I’m Sandra, a fairy. It’s so nice to meet you. Gabe told me all about you when he... um... visited. He’s really good friends with my people. And so sweet. You really are pretty. I love your hair. I wish mine could be that interesting. All I got was this brown…” Her words were a rush of excitement and wonder. I could barely process what was going on much less the stream of words pouring out of her mouth. She kept going on as I stared at her unblinking. The back of my mind was hoping someone would come out and save me from this overly perky, extremely talkative fairy. The rest of it was wondering if she was really supposed to be here and if she was going to try to kill me too. Of course she’d have to stop talking long enough first or maybe that was her strategy, jabber me into a coma, then strike. I couldn’t help but envision her as a villain in an action movie, one that gives a super long monologue until the hero (in this case, me) escapes... hopefully. Then again she was probably more of a danger to my ears than my body.

“Oh god, what are you doing here?” Sebastian asked as he slowly maneuvered across the living area. Sandra stopped mid babble and blinked up at him her lips pulled down.

“Gabe asked me to come. He said you needed help,” she held up an intricately woven basket that was resting on her arm. “He didn’t say what happened though. Not to be rude, but you look bad. Like real bad. I’ve seen pixie attacks that look better than that.” Her eyes landed on my arms, and the part of the wounds that weren’t bandaged. “Did one get you guys? Those things are nasty.”

“No!” Sebastian cut her off as she did a dainty shudder. “We don’t know what it was, but-”

“Werewolf? No not shredded enough. Vampire? No these are too perfect. Much more like claws, not fingernails.” Without warning, she placed herself on the sofa next to me and unbandaged my left arm. Her narrow finger poked and prodded the skin lightly as she turned my arm this way and that. Her lips were pursed as she studied the wounds.

“Some of these look infected. Have you been changing the bandages? Eww. I guess not.” She answered her own question as she peeled another bandage off. This one was full of yellow puss and blood that had once been red, but was now a rusty brown. I wasn’t horrible with looking at injuries, but that sight made my stomach do little flips. With the realization of the inflammation and growing infection, I began to feel the heat and pressure that radiated from the deep red surrounding my cuts. My poor arms would never be the same again.

Sandra continued on, trying to deduce what the marks were from, as she rubbed salves and ointments on my arms. As each ounce of liquid entered my wounds, I hissed in pain. Sebastian watched silently, his eyes on Sandra the entire time. I could see the muscles in the corners of his eyes tick and spasm as he listened to her go on and on. Did he even hear any of the words? Because after a while I didn’t. I could hear her voice, the high pitched drone of it etching into my mind, but the actual content was lost on me. Most of my time being “treated” was spent watching the hilarious expressions that were crossing Sebastian’s face and trying not to squirm. The pain wasn’t intolerable, but it stung like hell.

Each bandage she applied seemed to trap in an immense amount of heat that made sections of my arm feel like they were pulsating. Almost as if my heart had moved from my chest to my limbs.

When she’d finally finished both arms she gave me an ointment for the swelling in my leg and throat before turning to Sebastian. I took my time getting up, wondering if I could sneak away and get some time to myself. She didn’t seem to care that I was moving, her focus now entirely on Sebastian.

“Come on. Your turn.” She waved at the spot where I’d been sitting.

I was making my way down the hall, but looked back briefly to see Sebastian shake his head. “No, that’s okay. I’m good.” He said even though every step he took trying to follow me looked painful. His face was covered in a fine sweat, the muscles pulled tightly downward giving him a drawn and haggard look.

“No you’re not,” a sigh left her lips as she turned him around and forced him to sit down. “Just look at all that bruising. What did you do? Make a giant mad?” She lifted up his shirt until his entire lower torso was visible. The front and right side were painted with purples and blues. The colors weren’t nearly as vibrant as the ones that marred my neck, but they were still visible. Especially against the swollen lump that was his side.

“Do you think something is broken?” I asked biting my lip.

“Hmm,” her fingers poked at the skin, attempting to feel the area beneath. Sebastian’s face contorted as he stifled a groan low in his throat. “I wouldn’t think so. But it looks bad. A very fine fracture maybe. You guys need to be more careful-”

I left them, although I didn’t know if her diagnosis made me feel much better. She’d seemed to do a good job with me, but she wasn’t an x-ray machine. Or at least I didn't think so, how was I supposed to know what fairies were capable of doing. Then again I didn’t really know injuries either, so who was I to comment. Either way I couldn’t be in there looking at him. Every second of that image in my mind, was another second I felt like even more of a shit for running off and causing this. Especially when there wasn’t anything I could do to fix the damage.

I found "cat" Gabe laying on my bed fidgeting. His tail flicked back and forth restlessly and he jumped up when he heard me enter. He let out a high pitched mew and tilted his head to the side.

“All better!” I told him and I did feel better. I wasn’t healed and the pain still radiated, but somehow it felt better. Like it had been cleansed and was finally on the path to healing.

“Why don’t you go change into… well, you know, human form… and clothes. I want to talk to you and have you be able to talk back” I said. He tilted his head to the other side, but jumped down and hurried off. I sat on the side of the bed, playing with my fingers until he came back.

“We really need to go find you some clothes,” I remarked. He was wearing the only outfit I had seen him in while in human form and it didn’t fit him any better this time.

“Sorry… I… well this wasn’t planned.” He stumbled over his words.

“I know,” I let out a small laugh. “Doesn’t change the fact that you need something that actually fits… but I didn’t want to talk about your clothes. I just wanted to thank you for going out and getting us help. Even though I think Sebastian wasn’t too happy with your choice of helper.”

“I’m glad I could help this time. I’ve never really been able to do much…”

“You put up with my endless rants. You kept watch over me when they couldn’t. Made me smile when I wanted to cry. I call that something.” I watched as Gabe took a few tentative steps into the room. He kept inching forward as he talked.

“Really? I thought… I thought you hated me.” His ears were slightly turned down as he gingerly sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I’ve been weirded out. Okay I’ll be honest about that. But… I don’t think I could ever hate you. I was shocked and scared and didn’t know what to think. After Violeta… I just need time to get used to all of it."

"So, are we going to be okay then?" he asked hesitantly. I stood up slowly, holding my arms out wide. "Come here you...." I got out, before Gabe launched himself at me from the bed almost knocking the breath out of me. "Okay, okay. I'm still the walking wounded here." I laughed as I gingerly hugged him back.

He dropped his arms to his sides immediately and he stepped back looking stricken. "Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry Jade, I never meant..."

“Gabe stop." I interrupted him. "There's no need to apologize, I'm fine." without even thinking, I reached out and scratched him behind the ear.

"I'm so glad!" he said through the widest smile I'd ever seen.

"Uh, I could tell." He gave me a questioning look. "You were purring... in human form... sounded kind of weird." I chuckled. The concern that I might have hurt his feelings disappeared quickly as he gave me a look that could only be called proud.

"I've never done that before." he beamed.

Feeling suddenly overwhelmingly tired, I yawned, stretching my arms out behind me.

“Maybe it’s time for you to go to sleep,” Gabe offered.

“I think you’re right.” I bit my lip, but nodded.

“Do you… do you want me to stay here with you… As a cat, of course!”

“Yeah,” I gave him a half smile before shooing him out of the room so I could change. Once I had, I opened the door, to find his clothes laying in a heap on the ground and a tawny colored cat on top of them.

“Couldn’t even be bothered to put them away?” I asked with a shake of my head. He mewed at me as I picked up the clothes. With little furniture in the room I set them on a chair that was shoved in the corner of the room, all by itself. What was the point of the chair? So someone could watch you while you slept. If there was a desk I would have understood, but… Gabe meowed again and brought me out of my inner ramble. With a tired sigh I crawled into bed, letting Gabe settle in next to me.

Chapter 8

Steam filled the bathroom and fogged the mirror as I got out of the shower. I was beyond glad that, even if I couldn’t use it properly, there was still plumbing (or something similar) in this realm. Unfortunately though, the only thing I could do, was get the room steamy and then rub myself down with a wash cloth. I was more than a little ready for my arms to heal so I could actually use them again, instead of avoiding water at all costs so I didn’t have to change bandages 24/7. My hair was trickier though, requiring way more effort and almost impossible bending and angles than I wanted to remember.

When I was finally done I got dressed and wrapped my hair in a towel, not wanting to drip water everywhere. I had begun leaving my bedroom when I heard yelling, or at the very least a voice that was way too loud to be considered conversational. The voice was unfamiliar, but definitely male. I marched out to the living room and looking through the window saw a male figure. My brain told me that I should be avoiding confrontations with strangers, but the other part (the less sensible part) said screw that. Especially when I heard Gabe’s name enter the rant.

I yanked the door open to find Gabe cowering against the side of the house, almost hidden in a bush. His ears were pinned back, his back arched and low. In a moment of slack jawed horror I scooped Gabe up and turned towards the man. The finger he’d been pointing at Gabe dropped as he studied me.

“I don’t care who you are, or what you are. What gives you the right to yell at a poor little cat? Who the hell do you think you are? Do you have that little in the way of testosterone that you have to yell at a cat to feel macho? Unless you have a right to be here, I suggest you back the fuck up and leave. Go find someone your own size to pick on.” I was almost yelling, my face feeling more flushed and heated by the second. With every syllable, I was taking a step forward, forcing him further and further back.

As my rant stopped so did he. His already straight back, straightened even further bringing him to his full height. I caught a sudden movement out of the corner of my eye and it was then that I noticed the black wings protruding from his back. He must have had them tucked further behind him earlier because I hadn't noticed them at all till that moment. I stared, totally enthralled as more and more of his wings came into view. They shook slightly as he slowly flexed them. He suddenly spread them completely as if he was going to fly away at any second. The noise he made deep in his throat, immediately drew my attention back to his stony face.

“Not only do I have full right to be here, but I was sent by the owner. Now you, what right do you have to be here? Who are you?” He demanded, his voice as gruff and stern as a drill sergeant.

“Since you seem to have no manners and are incapable of being polite, let me make the introductions. Jasper this is Jade. You remember, the chick that we’re supposed to protect. Jade this is Jasper, Xavier’s lackey.” Lexus suddenly popped in beside me, the door slamming shut behind her. When I looked back at Jasper, a strange expression had crossed his face. His mouth was slightly agape as he looked back and forth between the two of us.

“I apologize. I did not realize you had brought her over.” He said with a slight bow of the head. He’d managed to eliminate the confused expression quickly and returned to his (what I assumed was normal for him) serious, stick-up-the-butt, look. His eyes were intense and hard, their dark color making them seem even harsher, and his lips were set in a straight line.

“It wasn’t exactly planned,” Lexus said. “Get inside, we can fill you in once I get Sebastian…. Oh and I should warn you we have a visitor.” There was a smirk hiding beneath her serious expression, the little muscles twitching itching to pull up, but she controlled the urge.

I could see Sandra’s head peeking out around the kitchen doorway, her eyes and top of her hair the only things visible. At least until she bolted out and rushed us like a hyperactive puppy.

“Jasper! You’ve finally showed up. Where have you been? I keep checking up on the garden. You really need to pay attention to it. Those poor plants are starving. Good thing you don’t have a pet. Well unless you count Gabe. But he can take care of himself. There’s Gabe! Was he outside again? I swear he’s always in the sun-” Sandra, the queen of the one sided conversation, babbled. I wondered if there was ever an actual point to her dialogue, or if she just said everything, she thought. I'd heard the phrase "verbal diarrhea" before, now I knew what it meant.

“I didn’t know you were still here.” I said, briefly interrupting the oncoming storm of words.

“You might need me. Wounds don’t heal in a day. Well most. I remember…” she began to trail off again even as we went back inside and made our way down the hall to where Sebastian was supposed to be.

I quickly glanced over at Jasper, wondering if his eyes were twitching yet, but his face remained a mask of seriousness. If I hadn’t seen the brief look of shock earlier, I would have questioned whether his face was even capable of expression.

“Is it still out there?” Jasper asked. Everyone’s eyes turned to look at him. "Whatever did this." He said, almost as if he were being forced to point out the obvious. He motioned first to my arms then to Sebastian’s battered body to make sure he got his point across.

“Yes and no,” Lexus replied. “No because what did that,” she motioned at Sebastian herself, “is dead. Yes because what did that,” now she pointed at me, “is still out there.”

“What was it?”

“First one, no clue. We were thinking about bringing the body back. See if it had any clues, but it's too big for one person to handle and no one else is in shape to help me do it. The second, we're certain is a psychic demon. No ideas as to whether its connected or not.”

“Where is it?”

“Several hours out in the forest.”

“Once we’re done here, we can head out.”

“Looking for alone time?” Lexus winked at him. Jasper just scowled with arms crossed in front of him. This guy was going to be in for a rough time with us if he couldn’t take a joke. I suppressed a slight giggle and made my way over to the bed, sitting gingerly at the end.

“You’re here because?” Jasper asked when silence fell over us. His back was leaning on the door frame, arms crossed and back straight.

“The psychic demon must have found us in the human realm. It had been stalking her for a while, then attacked. Whoever it is, must be one of the most powerful psychic demons out there. I know some have waking dream abilities, but this surpassed any encounters I’ve heard of.” Lexus said.

“And you didn’t realize she was being stalked because?”

“What am I supposed to be, a mind reader inside her damn head? Not one of my talents. It’s not my fault she doesn’t open her mouth. And honestly I can’t blame her in that case. They were bad, but she didn't have any reason to think they were more than bad dreams.” Lexus placed her hands on her hips and stared Jasper down. She may have been nearly a foot shorter than him, but she had a way of making herself more than a match for her opponent’s regardless of their size.

“Isn’t that why you brought a-”

“Human realm. What part of that don’t you understand? Things work differently there.” her words felt rushed as she cut Jasper off. Her eyes flicked over to Sebastian before continuing. “We handled it. She’s safe. And now we need to figure out our next move. So, unless you're volunteering to take over twenty four seven guard duty, I suggest you bite me.” Lexus' tone sounded sweet, but the hard glint in her eye was not.

“Unlike you I didn’t train for years to play pretend and babysit a pint sized prin...”

“I’m sorry, I forgot you were the star pupil." Lexus interrupted him again. "Mister know-it-all douchebag that got the most important job of all... watching over a house. You’re right you didn’t train to play pretend, you trained to be a house bitch.”

Jasper began sputtering, his composure briefly falling away. He leaned forward, moving himself away from the wall, and stepped forward until he was directly in front of Lexus. “I do not have to take this from you. I won’t. Have you-”

“That’s it, just brush it off and it’ll be all better. Words don’t suddenly stop being true just because you won’t listen to them. Now what you need to do is get a message to Xavier. Be a good little lackey and ask him what he wants us to do. After all, you’re not the one in charge.”

“Neither are you.” He looked down at her, eyes intense, before he stalked off. It was then that Sandra popped her head into the room, Gabe’s tail tracing a design in the air beside her.

“Uh-oh,” Sandra whispered as Jasper pushed past. “Hey,” she yelled after him. Her bottom lip was sticking out as she made another attempt to enter the room. This time Lexus slid past her, almost as gently as Jasper had. Sandra threw her hands in the air and made a “humph” sound.

“What’s wrong with them? Jasper can never play nice. Always has to boss people around. He needs-”

“To get laid?” the question echoed down the hall to us. The sound of a violently slamming door immediately followed and Lexus' she-devil laugh gave away her delight at Jasper's reaction to her words. I could feel my head grow heavy, a headache beginning to beat against my temples. I flopped backwards onto the bed not considering how much the bed would shake. Sebastian groaned as the movement shook him.

“Wow! You really went all out on the help,” I joked.

“Blame Xavier. He’s the one that picked them.” Sebastian’s words sounded slightly slurred and were more of a mumble than anything. I didn’t quite catch what came after, but it sounded like, “doing just fine on my own.”

"Is he okay?" I asked Sandra as I closed my eyes and wondered what would happen next.

"He'll be fine... I think. I gave him a red fox nettle broth to help him sleep and...." Sandra’s voice washed over me filling the room. She managed to keep the place from being silent for longer than a minute. By the time the sun was starting to set, a series of bangs alerted us to the possible return of Jasper. I began to sit up, my back and limbs feeling numb from laying in one position for hours. We really needed to find a slightly more active hide out. The dull existence here sounded good when I was sleep deprived, but now it was beginning to wear on me.

The sound of voices reached me as I made my way slowly toward the hall. My leg had fallen asleep from having had it bent for so long and I couldn't feel my foot at all. Tiny prickles of pain shot up and down the entire length of my leg threatening to stop it from working altogether. I could hear the amusement coursing through Sebastian as he unsuccessfully attempted to stifle a chuckle while watching me hobble, limp, and one-legged hop towards the doorway using every piece of furniture at hand to help keep my balance.

“This is a very serious matter,” I said, the break in concentration forcing me to stop my forward progress. My body tilted one way, then the other, momentarily turning me into the Leaning Tower of Pisa before I managed to grab the corner of the dresser and stabilize myself.

“I always knew there was a reason you weren’t named Grace,” Sebastian said not even trying to stop his chuckle this time. I made an annoyed grunt as I finally grabbed hold of door handle.

"Maybe I should ask Sandra about more of that broth stuff... you were much nicer when you were passed out." I threw over my shoulder as I finally made it into the hallway. My leg was beginning to regain feeling allowing me to walk somewhat normally down the hall toward the living room. I could the see a shape that had to be Jasper, wings loosely tucked behind his back, standing by the couch. A wolf with a reddish colored coat paced near him its paws hitting the floor hard with each turn.

“What’s going on?” I asked eyeing the wolf. I assumed (well, hoped) this had to be Lexus, but knowing that this majestic animal was my friend wasn’t enough to make me feel totally safe from the potential danger of her bared teeth.

“Nothing. This is for us to deal with,” Jasper snapped. A sword, resembling the one Sebastian had used on Violeta, rested in his hands.

“Well that statement is definitely wrong, but we'll forget about that for now. Were you at least able to tell what it was?”

“No.”

“Did you bring it back and where did you put it?” my nose involuntarily wrinkled at the thought of a dead body rotting away outside.

“No.” Came his clipped response.

“So what’d you do? Just stare at it and then leave it there?”

This time silence was my only answer. Lexus tossed her head, looked up at Jasper and growled. He simply stared down at her for a few seconds before setting the sword down on the table and stalking off down the hall. Another low growl was immediately followed by a dive behind the couch and Lexus’ head peeking over the top. When she stood up, she had the plaid blanket Gabe had used wrapped around her and a steely look on her face.

“What the dumb ass couldn’t be bothered to say is that she... it…. was gone when we got there. The only thing we found was the sword. Violeta was nowhere and there was no sign of what happened to her. No drag marks, no tracks, nothing.” Lexus said.

“What does that mean? Is she… is she still alive then? Is she dead and someone or something took her?” I could feel my heart pounding now. My eyes found the window and studied the shadowy shapes beyond the glass, expecting to the see the creature looking back.

“We don't know. We’ll have to wait to find out.” Her lips were turned down into a grimace.

“Shouldn’t we leave then?”

“Jasper is sending word to Xavier through Sandra. She has a few bird friends willing to help apparently.”

“Bird friends?” Even in such a serious situation a statement like that had to be called out.

“Fairies have an affinity for animals, even though some of them are meals to, um others, who shall remain nameless.” She giggled. “You know small animals, birds, insects, yummy stuff like that. They like plants too, but those taste like ass so plants are safe from me. No animal should be forced to suffer eating greens, which is why I eat them. To end their suffering, because I am sooo considerate like that.” Lexus explained, trying to lighten the mood as a look of disgust slowly grew on my face. Did she seriously eat animals like squirrels? Those poor fluffy suicidal little things. I shuddered, thinking of one of their little bodies clutched in her wolf jaws.

“Hey! At least I actually put them out of their misery and eat them. Unlike Gabe, I don’t torture them for my own amusement.” She added.

“True,” I shuddered again remembering when Gabe (Gabby at that time) had found a mouse hiding in my house. He (or “she”) had chased it around, batted it a few times, picked it up and dropped it on my face while I was sleeping. I’d woken up to mouse claws about to gouge my eyes out and urine pooling on my face. Gabe had cowered and hid from me for the rest of the day once I’d released the creature outside.

Lexus began to duck back down until the couch hid her. The blanket began crawling across the floor until wolf Lexus pushed it up over her giant head. I watched her as she went over to the door and stood in front of it. She pushed herself up standing on her back legs until her front paws could land on either side of the knob. With a swift motion, that I didn’t know was possible for a wolf to do, she opened the door and nudged it until she could squeeze through the opening.

“Wonder if she realizes how easily we could have been overrun while she was talking,” Jasper noted as he moved through the living room and closed the door behind Lexus. His voice was more condescending than scolding.

“Weren’t you supposed to be busy doing something?” I asked.

“I was,” his voice was as flat as his unblinking expression. “I suggest you get some sleep. Tomorrow may be a long day.”

“It’s not even totally dark!” I protested before thinking better of it and clamping my lips shut. What was I, a child fighting my bedtime? Jasper continued to look at me, blinked once, and then moved towards the kitchen. I stood there sulking for a few moments.

Then I went to my room.

Chapter 9

My fingers ran lightly across the pair of pants, feeling the roughness of the fabric as they moved over the grooves and seams. The tip of my finger nail hit the metal button, cold and hard, just like the person who’d worn them. At least that’s what I’d assumed seeing as how they were in the dresser in his room. Either that or he was like those women that went out and bought fifty million pieces of clothing and only wore about five of them.

I sighed and closed the drawer before gently opening the next. My eyes were focused on the door as my fingers sifted through the fabric until they scraped against the wood beneath. Drawer two down, one more to go. Come on Jasper, don’t let me down. There had to be something interesting in here, a diary maybe. But, if it was something hidden in his sock and underwear drawer... well, I didn't think I really wanted to know. I carefully opened the next drawer and glanced inside, empty. I should have known that his room would be just as boring and bland as the man himself. I knelt down and craned my head to peek further inside, but only found the dark, shadow covered, wood of the drawer. I closed it and moved to stand in the middle of the room. I’d searched every area in the tiny almost barren space that I could, but it was still as uninteresting as it’d been when I’d first entered. Considering it was the same room I’d been sleeping in since we got here, I didn’t know if I should be relieved or not. I'd been so bored, I'd hoped to find something interesting, but guessed I really was glad that there was nothing freaky in this room hidden or not.

The time waiting for the mysterious letter was the most uneventful time for me, but a fairly frantic time for the others. I was stuck in the house, not allowed outside by anyone. I had little to do but play with cat Gabe, when he wasn’t frolicking outside with Sandra that is. Sometimes I watched my brother pass out from the drugged tea that Sandra fed him daily. I’ll admit that watching him mumble, drool, and snore was mild entertainment at first, but now it was more of an annoyance. A sad annoyance. Lexus was patrolling most of the time, keeping close to the house, but not stopping long enough to spend any time with me. Jasper was out being Jasper. He was efficient but sullen, or stoic, I couldn't decide which. He’d gone to efficiently fetch horses, then supplies, then… well I didn't know what, but he really wasn’t around much. And when he was around, he wasn’t much company.

So I’d taken to searching the room on one particularly empty and boring afternoon, after figuring out that where I’d been staying used to be his. Now my stomach rumbled reminding me that I hadn’t bothered to eat earlier in the day. I turned my attention to thoughts of scouring the kitchen for something to eat. I made my way through the living room and quietly entered the kitchen. I was startled to find the shadowy shape of a male there, his naked back to me. There was almost no light in the small dark windowless space. The darkness made it hard to see any details outside of the fact that whoever it was only had on a pair of jeans that hung low on his hips and tight against his legs.

Great, a strange half-naked man in the kitchen... and he had a knife. The sound of metal against the hard counter top rang through the space. I inched silently forward, but something alerted him to my presence. As his head slowly turned toward me, I could see the dimly lit profile of Jasper’s face. He gave a slight nod of his head to acknowledge my presence before moving the food in his hand over to a plate.

“Do you need something?” He asked after several moments. As if I’d momentarily forgotten that I was supposed to move and not just stand in the doorway like a moronic statue, I gave myself an internal shake and entered the kitchen.

“Uh no… I just need something to drink,” I lied. My body didn’t want to cooperate with this lie however. Instead, my stomach released the most unlady-like growling, rumbling, sound imaginable. I thought I heard Jasper chuckle, but that was impossible since the man didn't have a sense of humor.

“Want a sandwich?” He quickly glanced up at me, but didn’t hold eye contact for long.

“No,” I shook my head. “I’m… I’m fine.” My hand reached out to rub my arm, the nails biting into the skin despite the fact nothing itched.

“I’m already making one.” He frowned down at his own food.

“Okay… just don’t poison it,” I tried to joke. A deepening frown creased his forehead as he looked at me. I opened and closed my mouth, tempted to try to explain myself, but instead settled for a question. “Have you seen Lexus?” I asked waiting for the silence that was likely to follow.

“No, she should still be out patrolling. You have nothing to worry about.” He said.

“I’m not worried.”

“Then why do you always ask?”

“Because I'm going crazy here doing nothing… and no one will tell me what's going on.... and I want to know and since no one will tell me anything-”

“There are some things you don’t need to know. There are even more that you do, but you don’t need to deal with them right now.” He pushed a plate across the kitchen island at me. “What you need to worry about is eating.”

“What about Xavier. Behind the scenes mystery man. Are we ever going to hear from him?” I’d meant to move towards the food slowly, but my body had other ideas.

“Should be soon.” Was his only reply.

“So I take it he’s not close by.” I concluded through a mouthful of sandwich. Jasper raised an eyebrow at me, but nodded. His bites were a little more delicate and deliberate as he started on his own. My eyes couldn’t help but linger on him. Being as short as I am his toned torso was directly in my face unless I ducked my head down to bite my sandwich. To be honest, only one of these was a particularly appealing site. Especially since I didn’t really know what I was looking at with the other.

The muscles of his stomach were tight and well defined, creating lines that led the eye up to the even harder muscle of the arms. I could feel the weight of his stare on me and immediately ducked my head down, face red.

“What happened to your wings?” I asked trying to mask my embarrassment. Because that’s what I’d been studying... really. Yep, I'd been trying to figure out why I couldn’t see a hint of the black wings that were the most fascinating part of him. And I definitely was not looking at his body. Although, now that I’d thought about it, I really was curious. I didn’t remember seeing any sign of them when his naked back was facing me.

“Huh?”

“Your wings, you know the black feathered things you flew in here on? Are they like detachable or something? I've never seen you without them.”

“You don’t know about wings?” His head was cocked to the side as he studied me.

“Well I know you use them to fly,” I replied. “But I don't know much about them besides that."

“There are several races here that have wings. Some have them all the time like fairies. They are born with the wings ready to use. Others, like demons, don’t get theirs until puberty along with other abilities that begin and develop during maturation. Some of us have the ability to fold them within ourselves. We don’t lose them they just are put away until they are needed.” He explained.

“Oh… Do angels have wings?” I bit my lip and kept my voice low.

“Yes.”

“What about psychic demons.”

“Yes.”

“Does that mean…” I let my voice trail off as I remembered the conversation Lexus and I had the morning after Violeta attacked us.

“Just because I have them doesn’t make me an expert on every situation. I assume though that your time in the human realm contributed to your lack of... wings.”

“Do you think I’ll get them?”

“Although they are not ready to use we all have them. That means you do too. They may or may not come out however. I'm no expert on your situation. There are others that will know far more than I do.”

“Does it hurt?” I could feel my muscles tense as if I could already feel wings erupting from my back.

“It isn’t the most pleasant experie-”

“We have a reply. Pack up, we leave now.” Lexus’ voice rang out as her footsteps marched hurriedly towards us. Her flushed and serious face appeared around the kitchen door. She stopped for a moment, her eyes landing on me then on Jasper.

“I hate to cut the bonding time short, but-” she said a small smirk tugging on the corner of her mouth.

“Bags have been packed. They’re stored in the living area. Grab the others, I’ll get the horses.” He downed the last of his sandwich (while mine was only about half gone) and wasted no time leaving the kitchen

"Cozy." Lexus drawled with a waggle of her eyebrows.

"Oh shut up!" I threw at her as I brushed past, hurrying toward Sebastian’s room, followed by her gleeful laughter. "You really are a bitch." I mumbled, my words turning to a chuckle as I realized how literal the statement truly was.

Sebastian was awake, and thankfully undrugged, when I entered.

“Suddenly acquire a sunburn?” he asked. I puffed my cheeks out and narrowed my eyes.

“Need me to get you your walker?” I shot back watching him struggle to stand.

“No but you can get a muzzle,” he responded. I rolled my eyes, but moved to stand near him. Holding out my hand, I attempted to help him to his feet until he could steady himself.

“Pain any better?”

“A lot,” he nodded. His face wasn’t as scrunched up as it had been the last time he tried walking so I took it as a good sign. But he was still weak, his feet nearly turning in on each other every time he moved them and my supporting hand the only thing that kept him from tipping over. The hand that wrapped around my forearm seemed strong, except that I knew it was weak compared to its usually strength. His skin was also several shades paler than normal. Were we really expected to just leave like this?

My question was answered as the sound of pounding feet echoed off the hall walls. Sandra nearly barreled into me as she rushed in, Gabe clutched in her arms. Her eyes were wide, further bringing attention to their vibrant violet hue.

“We’re leaving,” her high pitched voice sang. “I wonder if he wants us at the Council? I’ve never been to the Council. Xavier never seemed keen on having me go there. But it sounds so amazing. And cold. The mountains are always so cold. I'm not sure how much I like the cold... even plants don’t like it.” a little frown marred her delicate face. “Or maybe he wants us at the summer palace! It should still be together. That would be amazing! Its so big and pretty. I remember the gardens that surrounded it…”

Sebastian and I shared a look as we tried to move towards the door. Of course, my face was more a mask of confusion compared to his annoyance. Why would we go to a palace? Why would I want to go to a palace? I quite liked the idea of not getting lost in a maze of stone and unnecessary rooms. Not to mention did they really have summer palaces? Who the hell owned it? Was it Xavier? Maybe he was some type of magic royalty. Or maybe it was the Council. Which brought another question to mind: what the hell was that?

My head hurt as I realized just how much I still couldn’t figure out. That and Sandra’s voice was drilling into my head, trailing after us as we slowly inched down the hall and eventually outside.

In a display of speed and efficiency, Lexus and Jasper were standing outside by the horses in a silent standoff. While I didn’t know exactly how many bags there were, each horse had a sizable load attached to its saddle already.

“So…” I began once we reached the horses. The midnight black one stared down at me and snorted. “How are we doing this?”

“Okay I’ll make it simple. This is a horse. You ride it. They walk from one place to another carrying you.” Lexus turned to motion towards Jasper, “That, is an idiot with wings. Idiots with wings can fly. They fly from one place to another. I am a werewolf. We go wolf and run where ever the hell we want to. Any questions?”

“What bit you on the ass?” I asked eyebrows raised.

“Thankfully not Jasper. Though I’m sure he’d love to… Now to make things simple you’ll ride with Gabe. So…” her body suddenly knelt towards the ground as her hands secured my waist. With a grunt of effort, she heaved me upwards, my body wobbling one way then the other. My hands frantically grabbed at the horse and saddle in front of me.

“What are you doing?” I asked between panting breaths. Lexus’ response was to shove me up even higher giving me no choice but to slip my foot into the stirrup and hoist myself up the rest of the way. It took me several attempts to swing my short leg over the horse and straddle it. All the while the horse beneath me stood still. Snorts of displeasure the only sign that it felt me desperately trying to mount it. I wondered if it was rolling its eyes at me as it shook its head. The mane swished back and forth, the coarse hair brushing over my knuckles.

I wanted to glare down at Lexus, but her back was to me as she freed Gabe from Sandra’s embrace. By the time she turned to face me I was too busy trying to catch the cat to even give her a dirty look. Gabe gave a frantic cry as he buried his claws into my thighs spreading sharp bursts of pain through them. My throat vibrated from the groan of pain I couldn’t quite stop.

I carefully picked Gabe up, thankful that his body was small enough to fit well in my hand, and lifted him until he was forced to detach his death grip from my leg. With minimal effort I got him seated in front of me, my legs providing walls for him to lean against.

Another struggle ensued on the horse next to me. Jasper was helping Sebastian mount his horse, wings spread so he could lift Sebastian beneath him. The black feathers appeared almost opalescent in the diminishing rays of the sun revealing brilliant shades of scarlet that were streaked throughout. My mouth must have fallen open because I could hear Lexus do a little cough. I narrowed my eyes as I turned back to look at her. She was actually a distance away, much closer to the house than to us.

“I’m going to close up. You guys get started. And Jasper, don’t forget, if Sandra gets too tired you can always carry her. You are the big strong man of the group after all!” Lexus called out while making her way to the house. Jasper made a grunting sound before lifting off into the air, Sandra immediately following suit. I noticed that Sebastian had finally gotten settled on his beautiful silvery grey horse, although I wondered how long he was going to be able to stay upright.

My fingers reached out and gingerly took the reins. I’d been riding a few times in my life and thinking about it now, it must have been another one of Sebastian’s life skills he’d tried teaching in me (much like marital arts). Of course, it was also something that came naturally to him. It didn’t come naturally to me though and unfortunately we’d never had the finances or the time to invest in full time lessons. I remembered the basics: keep your leg still above the knee, use your calves to direct the horse to go, keep a firm but easy grip on the reigns, sit evenly and relax. However, each horse is different. The fact that this one hadn’t bucked me off the second that Lexus shoved me atop it, made me feel slightly better, but that didn’t mean I understood its temperament entirely.

Following Sebastian’s lead, I urged my horse forward, gently squeezing its sides. Make it easy on me and just follow the other horse, I thought. Just follow the other horse. Stop when it stops, turn when it turns.

A startled cry forced its way out of my throat, echoing through the open area as my horse unexpectedly bolted forward, rapidly taking the lead. I clutched the reins tighter than I knew I should, in a desperate attempt to try to keep my balance. Poor Gabe was nearly thrown off, when my body did a little lurch. I could see his claws digging deep into the saddle, eyes wide and startled.

“Whoa!” I tried pulling the reins back. The horse didn’t pay any attention. Its feet pounded the ground harder and harder until a line of thick trees forced it to come to an abrupt and nearly disastrous stop.

The hind end of the horse lifted up as it dug its hooves into the ground. The sharp angle had me sliding forward, the lip of the saddle unable to hold me back. I could feel my butt rise leaving the saddle, my arms prepared to propel my body over the horse’s head as momentum took hold. My eyes landed on the large tree directly in front of me and I could almost feel the impact of my body flying against it with damaging force.

Just when I was considering how much more pain I was going to be in, hands suddenly clutched at my hips and butt. I found myself flipped around, my face colliding with a firm muscular chest, giving me a far too close-up view of his clean shaven chest than I (verbally) would have liked. My eyes blinked rapidly from sheer surprise, eyelashes fluttering across his skin. Pressure increased painfully mashing my face into his chest almost sticking the eyelids in place before he pushed me back. The hand that had been on my behind was removed the fastest. Abruptly I landed back where I had been originally, the force jarring my body up and down. If there was any time to have a good bra, it was now.

Jasper looked down at me, wings spread wide practically hovering directly before my horse. From the angle I was sitting in, it looked quite inappropriate, how close to the horse’s head his lower body was. However, I didn’t let the thought sink in too much as my attention shifted back to the memory of his recent hand placement on my lower body. With eyes narrowed, I slapped him on the arm, since that was all I could reach. He blinked at me, eyebrows drawn down.

“What was that for?” he demanded. Instead of verbally answering his question, my narrowed eyes flicked down to his offending hands. He sighed deeply.

“I apologize. However, it was either that or let you go head first over your horse’s head. Would you rather I let you smash into the tree?” He asked when I’d crossed my arms, hands reaching down to hug my waist. Like always, his voice had a flat, stern, feel to it that matched his hard set eyes. I was about to make the argument that even though I was small, that didn’t mean that there weren’t plenty of other less sexual areas he could have grabbed, when I heard meowing next to me.

Gabe was hanging off the side of the saddle. His claws the only things holding him up as he scrambled to find footing for his back legs. With a sigh Jasper reached over, grabbed Gabe by the scruff of his neck, and put him back in front of me. Gabe nearly cowered against me, eyes even wider than normal.

Of their own will, my arms unwrapped from around myself and reached down to scoop Gabe up, holding his small trembling body close to my chest. He shook against me, sending small vibrations through my chest that mingled with my own increased heartbeat.

“Will you be alright?” Jasper’s question forced my focus back to him.

“I would be if you didn’t get me such a psychotic horse,” I replied. I could see the muscle in the corner of his lip twitch. His eyes lingered on me for the briefest moment before he was up in the air again.

“This time follow Sebastian,” he advised cutting a path through the air until he was high above the tress.

“Tell that to the horse,” I mumbled. With a shaking hand, I reached out to stroke the horse’s neck. Maybe if I sucked up to it, it would listen. The little bit of TLC seemed to pay off. This time when I urged it to go towards the right and back to Sebastian it had no problems listening. Trotting off, head in the air, the horse rejoined with the silvery mare.

Gabe still shivered against me. Exactly what we needed an equinophobic cat, when that seemed to be the only way to travel.

Even after several hours of travelling, with no more “incidents” he was still acting nervous. I tried patting his head, too afraid to let go of the reins for long, but it was about the only thing I could do. He calmed down slightly when Sandra landed to ride behind Sebastian. Her continuous babbling must have lulled him into a sense of security, or at least distracted him from potentially being thrown off.

When we’d finally stopped to set up a sort of camp, Gabe hopped down the second he could and ran off towards Sandra. I was about to struggle down on my own, fearing breaking my legs by landing wrong, when Jasper swooped down and offered his arms. I looked from him to the drop I had to make and shoved myself down. My face smacked against his stomach thanks to his inability to back up like an intelligent person.

“I was going to help you,” he said. I rubbed my nose trying to tone down the stinging and glared at him. Bumping my way past him I had gone to speak with Sebastian when something caught my eye.

My horse’s tail was swishing back and forth, the hair nearly hitting me in the face. But through the hair I could see a prominent lump on its hindquarters. Slowly moving forward I studied the area with a frown.

“What is it?” Jasper asked.

“Looks like something stung the horse,” I ran my fingers near the area, taking note of the small puncture mark that dotted the center of the swelling.

“That would explain why it ran,” Jasper nodded. He went on to oversee Lexus as she put together a small campsite for us, complete with tents. I stayed by the horse, petting its sides and playing with its mane feeling guilty for calling it psychotic. A small burst of pain shot down my back, most likely a product of riding for so long. I wondered just how long have to travel for. And if my body could take it. Would it be merely hours? Days? Weeks? What complications would we run into? People? Creatures?

Of course, the last thing I expected to slow us down, half way into our travel, was me.

Chapter 10

Parallel lines of pain burned down my back and seared the area near my shoulder blades. It came from deep within the muscle. The pain was a shock to my system, a pulsating burn that had me bending over and breathing deeply. My stomach twisted and turned in knots that threatened to make me lose my latest meal if left alone. Every time the pain washed over me, I was forced to stop breathing and just focus instead on not screaming out-loud or crying from the agony.

I stretched my back, nearly folding myself in half as I laid my upper body across my thighs. My eyes were squished shut, white spots dancing across the blackness behind my eyelids. It was hard to keep back the hisses of pain that wanted to slip through my tightly clamped mouth.

The pain continued to wax and wane. One second it would flare into existence and pound down me then it would fade away leaving me trying to take as many breaths as I could. But soon the cycle stopped all together and was replaced by a sensation that ripped through my entire body.

The skin and muscles felt like they were shifting and rippling, as something tore at the inside of my back. It was almost as if the middle of my back were undergoing an earthquake. The muscles acting like tectonic plates and my skin like soil that shook with each tremor.

Hot tears streamed down my face despite every effort to control them. I clutched my waist, hugging myself tight as if I could use the force to keep myself together. I didn’t hear him enter. I didn’t even hear the breathy moans of pain and cries for help, that had escaped my traitorous throat.

Breath washed over my face as he grabbed my shoulders and forced me upwards. Jasper’s face loomed over me, urgency deep within his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” His voice was harsh, urgent, as he studied me.

“I… I…” I shook my head violently and shuttered with the attempt to suppress another moan. “Don’t know,” I finished. I couldn’t look at him. Not because I couldn’t face him while crying, although I’d regret the weakness later, but because the pain was too intense for me to focus on any one thing. It drew my eyelids closed, held them together as if the pain was forcing me to be its prisoner through blindness.

“Jade?“ he demanded.

“Back… it’s my back,” I choked out. The rustling sound of denim on denim entered the fringes of my consciousness. Footsteps, that seemed to come from a distance, circled around me. Warm hands inched up my back, pushing the fabric of my shirt higher and higher. His fingers softly caressed the skin on my back as he searched for the cause of my anguish until they hit the area near my shoulder blades.

I gave a cry of pure agony as his fingers slipped over the area of broken skin. Blood. I could feel the sticky wetness of blood as it trickled down my back in waving shapes.

“I’m going to need to remove your shirt.” His words took a few moments to sink in. A bubble of outrage tugged at the corners of my mind, as I realized that his actions were following his words, but the pain was too prominent for me to tap into that emotion for long.

“What!”

“Congratulations, it appears that you’re getting your wings.” His voice was slightly pitched higher than normal. He sounded like one of those people that tried sounding happy, when really they were anything but. Guess that’s what happens when you’re stoic most of your life.

The fabric tugged and pulled over my head, sending sweaty hair flying into my face. I could feel my breasts swing against my arm, lavishing in their new found freedom. I silently cursed myself for removing my bra earlier when I’d first felt the radiating pain. Thankfully, he stayed behind me, only able to view the naked skin of my back.

“I’m going to get Sandra” his voice was a shock to the system and pulled me out of the pain now racing through my back. I was going to nod, but instead found my hand shooting outwards to grab his arm as he passed. I could feel the muscles in his arm stiffen, but he didn’t move. Once the tremor was over I released his arm, fully expecting him to go. Instead he moved back behind me.

His hands gently touched the center of my back. Circles of soft pressure shifted the skin, massaging out the knots forming in my muscles.

Pain continued to tear me apart (quite literally) until I heard a wet flopping sound. It was like one large tear as something exploded from my back. As, I assumed, the wings burst out they landed next to me in a heap. Tears were pouring down my face now as my breath came and left in ragged pants. I moved back down until I was folded up in a type of fetal position.

It was as if a flip had switched and the unbearable pain that had once resided in my back was gone, replaced by a slight throb that emanated deep within my back. I could feel the wings against me, wet and warm. They clung to the sides of my back, sticky and thick goop adhering them to the skin. I kept my eyes closed and focused on beating back the residual pain, and its effects, that left me immobile.

I’d probably only been laying there for several minutes, but it felt like hours. When I could finally pull myself together I sat back up grimacing as the wings slid across my back. Gingerly I turned my head trying to see the wings that I supposedly now had. However, they escaped my vision.

“Where are they?” I asked. The muscles in my faced pinched tightly as I strained to see my back. The most I could get was a black blob in my periphery.

“They are there. They’re just shriveled.”

“Shriveled. Oh god are they deformed?” Panic inched its way into my voice.

“No. It’s completely normal. They will be fine once you let them dry out.” Jasper moved to stand in front of me. The second he turned his face to look down, he immediately turned away. Pink slowly crept up his face as he rushed to take his shirt off. In a swift motion, he handed it to me.

“You may want this,” his voice was stiff as he tried to train his eyes on the top of the tent. Embarrassed I snatched the shirt out of his hand and clutched it against my chest. My face felt hot as I hugged the shirt against me, suddenly remembering that I was topless.

“So…” I began biting my lip.

“I’ll send in Sandra. She can clean your wings and back. Are you okay if I leave?”

I nodded in response though I refused to look at him.

Sandra came in moments later oohing and ahhing over the mysterious wings. Somewhere among the babbles that streamed from her mouth, she insisted that we walk down to the small river we were camped near so she could wash me up. I stared at her for a moment.

“Maybe if I had something to wear… you know so I didn’t have to flash everyone.” I finally replied.

“Flash? Have you finally started getting your powers? You must have gotten it from your dad. Angels certainly can’t do that. Well neither can psychics… that’s weird. What happens? Is it like lightning? Or-” her words rushed out. I could feel her fingers wrap around my arm as she pulled me to my feet.

“Uh… I meant so they didn’t have to see me naked. Is flashing a power?”

“I don’t think so. Why would that matter? The body is completely natural. And I’m sure they’ve seen it anyway. How else would they bathe you?”

“Wait what?” my voice rose several octaves as I stared wide eyed at her. My mouth was hanging open as I tried to decipher just what she meant. She blinked at me several times.

“Certainly you don’t bathe with your clothes on. They-”

“If we’re doing this can you please make sure they’re not out there,” I asked not even wanting to know where the conversation was going. She stumbled with her words for a moment before nodding.

“No one is out there,” she reported after sticking her head out of the tent. I inched forward and peered out between the folds of fabric. Unless they were waiting to ambush me, she was right. Moving as quickly as my unsteady feet would allow I darted through the camp and towards the stream. Sandra giggled behind me, chastising me for my “modesty”.

With a stream of words and comments, she settled me down onto the grass and began splashing water over me. I refused to let go of the death grip I had on the shirt, insisting that all the damage was on my back.

Though she worked quickly (at least for someone that was expending a day’s worth of energy on talking alone) and gently, I still had to hide small hisses of pain from the tugging my wings went through. Part of me refused to think of them as my wings. The notion of what I was still didn’t want to sink in. but there was definitely something protruding from my back. I wondered if they were like pure black, and feathered, like Jasper’s.

The wet feeling of feathers slid across my back, smacking against the skin with a disgusting squishing sound. Well, the feathers seemed to be a good guess, at least.

“There, all gunk is off. They still need to dry and settled though.” She stated happily. I could hear her getting to her feet behind me, but I stayed on the ground. I was afraid to move, afraid to feel the weight of the feathers slid against me. The water had weight them down more, and the shriveled effect had begun to wear off slightly thanks to the removal of what had been on them. I shuttered to think about the gunk that had covered them. all I could picture was a newborn covered in bits of amniotic fluid and such.

“Try moving them.” She urged and yanked me to my feet.

“Shouldn’t they… I don’t rest?” I asked.

“If you want them to properly develop you need to get them in use.” She said.

“But they’re not ready to fly this wet!” I protested. Flying in an airplane was fun. Flying by myself with no protection, and without knowing what I was doing didn’t sound fun.

“I’m not telling you to fly silly. Just flutter them a little. Like this,” She spread her wings out fully. They gently moved behind her sending currents of soft wind towards me.

After nearly 30 minutes of trying I think I managed move the left one an inch.

“I thought I was supposed to just know how to do this,” I complained before sitting back down.

“It just takes practice. You’ll get it, don’t worry,” Sandra chirped. I reluctantly agreed, but decided I didn’t particularly feel like doing all that practice now.

“I’m going to go back and rest now. Thanks for… um you know,” I motioned behind me.

“Any time. Maybe we can practice tomorrow. You can start flying with me now! Won’t that be fun...” We marched forward to the beat of her chatter. Once we got back to the tents I ducked inside and told her that I wanted a few moments to myself. She slightly pouted, but left me alone to come to terms with the strange process I was undergoing. I didn’t see her or any of the others the rest of the night.

*******

Light streamed into the tent as Sandra peeked her head in. With a brilliant smile on her face, Sandra silently placed a small bundle of shimmery cloth into my hands.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Open it.” she breathed. Her eyes were wide and eager as she stared down at me. A smile spread across, so wide it almost took up her lower face. So with some reluctance, because Sandra was acting pretty weird, I unfolded the cloth. I looked at… it whatever it was, for several seconds, unable to tell just what I was looking at. I glanced up at her, giving a puzzled smile in return.

Sandra quivered from the effort not moving or gabbering cost her. Her hands were shaking by her side, slowly increasing the intensity by the second. When I didn’t make any other response she lunged forward grabbing the thing from my hands.

“It’s for you to wear on your, you know, for your…” she gestured animatedly toward my torso, swinging the fabric about in an arch that nearly hit me. She kneeled in front of me and laid the fabric out on the ground, arranging it carefully so that the ground didn’t harm it. It turned out to be a halter top, of sorts, made of the most beautiful fabric I had ever seen. I reached out my hand, curiosity driving me on. The fabric felt like the softest most expensive suede, but with none of the nubbiness of it. I slipped my fingers in between the pieces of fabric amazed at how lightweight it felt, despite it not being the least bit sheer. Turning the small piece of fabric back and forth, I noticed that it had an iridescent shimmer that made it difficult to tell its exact color. In one direction it looked pink, yet in another it was purple. Yet still I could see green, then blue.

“Oh… um… how do I wear it?” I asked hesitantly. The top looked beautiful, but the practicality, and use, of it was lost on me.

“Let me show you,” Sandra said. She made to remove my shirt, but I held up a hand opting to do it myself. When I was down to my bra I stopped, but she still stayed where she was. With some reluctance I took that off as well, fighting the urge to cover myself with my arm.

Bouncing like a hyperactive animal, she pounced forward slipping the garment over my head and settled the halter around my neck. The back was open and the front had a gentle scoop neck. There was a wide piece of material on each side of the garment that Sandra criss-crossed just under my bust and firmly wrapped around me to tie in the back just above my waist.

“No need for your under garment with this,” she said “And no need to remove it before you unfurl your wings!” She looked about ready to burst from excitement. The smile on her face increased in size, although thankfully looking less psychopathic killer now.

I tugged at the bottom, making sure it wasn’t riding too far above my pants before turning to her.

“It’s gorgeous,” I admitted. “I wish I could actually see what it looks like. What is it made of?”

“Flowers, of course!” Her eyes danced with excitement. “Come on we should see how it works!” She held out her hand, beckoning me forward.

“How it works?” I asked, but followed behind her.

“With your wings silly! Let’s test them out.” We walked until we were in the middle of the camp. Sandra stopped and looked at me expectantly.

“I don’t how,” I admitted. I didn’t think I wanted to know either. If I brought them out, I’d have to put them back. And that was a hell of a time before. I remembered the struggle I’d endured just trying to get to sleep, the feathers protesting the weight of my body lying on them. I’d finally given up and tried putting the back “in”, but the only thing I’d managed was to force them in odd angles that riddled my back with pain. So I fully gave in and fell asleep on my stomach, only to wake up to them being folded inside my back. I’d spent several minutes before Sandra had come in poking at my back trying to feel them with no success.

“Focus,” Jasper’s voice sounded behind us. I turned to see him emerge from the tent next to mine. “It’s just like how you folded them in. If you force it, you’ll only struggle harder.”

“Except I don’t know how I did the last time,” I explained, but I still closed my eyes and tried to relax my muscles. I imaged the wings coming out, spreading towards the sky. Nothing. I looked behind me only to see Sandra grinning at me. If it had been Lexus, I would have said it was a grin of mockery, but knowing Sandra it was probably just sickening optimism.

“Don’t force it,” Jasper was now in front of me, hands firmly on my shoulders. “Relax. Feel the muscles in your back. Target them. Move them.”

We stood there for several minutes, his mantra dancing through my head. I could hear Sandra bouncing impatiently behind me. I internally thanked her for the help, but my focus had already been shaken. I was about ready to call it quits, deam my body a worthless traitor, when I could feel a pressure in my back. A pain, no more than a mild slap, travelled down my back. The sensation was followed by a soft, light, tickle. The rustling of feathers sounded behind me.

“You did it! See we knew you could! And they’re even more pretty than they were before. Look at the floral designs. Are you sure you don’t have any fairy in you!” Sandra nearly shrieked as she hugged me.

“Florals?” I looked over Sandra’s shoulder to see Jasper raising his eyebrows.

“Of course silly! What else has petals?”

“Certainly not smoke.” He began circling me, eyebrows knitted together. “The design is clearly wispy like smoke.” He confirmed.

“No it isn’t,” Sandra backed up and place her hands on her hips. She pursed her lips and threw him a glare. I had to hold back the giggle that threatened to climb out of my throat. She looked like one of those child pageant divas that just got told “no”.

An argument ensued as each tried to persuade the other of their positon. Fingers poked at my wings as each traced patterns into the feathers to emphasize their points.

They were too busy arguing to notice Sebastian coming to stand beside me.

“What is going on?” He asked.

“Tell him they’re flowers,” Sandra nearly shouted. I almost ended up with a finger in my ear as she added some gestures to her words.

“But they’re not,” Sebastian replied.

“See,” Jasper said while Sandra pouted.

“I don’t know how you could confuse skulls and flowers,” Sebastian added. Jasper gave him an odd look.

“Skulls?” Jasper asked. Sebastian nodded.

“Okay, what the hell is going on? Why is it that no one knows what the pattern is?” I finally asked.