A Gift of Wings (22 page)

Then, with a wave toward Josh, he turned and left the room.

***

Aidan wasn’t sure why he had followed the impulse to seek Lucky out. After his dream-filled night, he had awakened feeling restless and worried. He had decided to take a walk to Navy Pier to clear his head, to stop the mental hamster from running round and round the wheel of his thoughts. Once he had reached the Pier, he had felt the pull of the amulet and had known the girl was nearby. Although he hadn’t sensed that she was in any danger, he had been helpless to resist the desire to go to her.

She had seemed so fragile standing in front of the Tiffany Annunciation, the colors of the stained glass reflecting on her delicate skin. And, although he knew from experience that she was a lot stronger than she appeared, when she had looked at him with the jade green eyes that had haunted his dreams, it was all he could do not to pull her into his arms and fly away with her to somewhere he could keep her safe.
And just where would that be?
he thought.

Enough of this. He had to get out of here. Fly, train, something. He needed physical exertion to burn off the excess adrenaline pumping through his veins. Stepping to the edge of a crowd of people near the Ferris wheel, he made sure no one was paying any attention to him before he dematerialized.

He reformed outside the training center. Pressing his palm against the security panel, he felt the familiar burn as his sigil was activated. Once inside, he headed toward the weapons room, his long strides making short work of the distance. He was gratified to find Malachi and several other members of the Forces donning guards and gathering weapons.

“Are you joining this morning’s session, Commander?” asked one of the men, a huge Naphil named Gareth.

Aidan was taken aback by the unaccustomed title, but he recovered quickly, responding in the affirmative. While he had no doubt that Malachi had noted his momentary surprise—the man was preternaturally aware of almost everything that went on around him—he didn’t think any of the others had noticed.

“Tell me where you want me, Captain,” he said to Malachi as the geared-up group headed out to the training field. “Make me earn my place.”

Malachi clapped a hand to Aidan’s shoulder with enough force to knock him slightly off balance. “As you wish, Commander,” he said. “As you wish.”

***

“Tell me again I have nothing to worry about.” Josh scowled after Aidan’s retreating figure.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Lucky sighed in exasperation. She took her cousin’s arm and pulled him toward the exit. “What is wrong with you?”

“I saw the way you looked at him—as if he were an angel sent from heaven specially gift-wrapped for you. And he looked at you like—I don’t know—like you were the last chocolate in the box. He’s going to break your heart.”

“No, he’s not,” Lucky said with more force than she felt. She realized that her cousin was probably correct. She was falling for the handsome, young angel-man, and while his actions toward her led her to think he was developing feelings for her as well, she knew better than to think anything could ever come of them. She was connected to his world by her newfound abilities, but she would never be of that world in the same way he was. She was human, and he most definitely was not.

Before it was out of sight, she turned her head for one final look at the Annunciation. She wanted to hold on to the image of Mary turning toward the angel’s golden light for a little while longer.

After exiting the museum, Lucky and Josh headed toward the Fun House, where they laughed their way through the strobe-lit maze. Lucky felt somewhat disoriented by the time they reached the end and came back out into the mall—but not so much that she was willing to give up on the Ferris wheel. When she asked Josh if he was ready to face the ride, and he responded with a reluctant “I suppose,” she dragged him outside to the huge, circular contraption.

“This one isn’t so bad,” she said, giving his arm a reassuring pat. “The seats are big, and they’re all enclosed. It’s not like the little ones, where there’s nothing to save you from a sudden plummet toward death.”

He pushed her hand away. “Lucky, that’s not helping.”

“Sorry?” she said, the word less an apology than an amused question.

“I really don’t think you are.”

“You don’t have to go up with me,” she offered. “I can do it by myself. I just want to see what everything looks like from up there.”

Josh’s face brightened. “Are you sure? You don’t mind?”

“Well, I’d rather you went up with me, but I know you don’t want to, so I’m okay going alone.” Eyes twinkling with mischief, she added, “Scaredy cat.”

When her cousin responded equally maturely by sticking his tongue out at her, she laughed.

“You know, the original Ferris wheel was introduced here in Chicago in 1893 at the Columbian Exposition,” Josh said, as they waited in line. “It was meant to compete with the Eiffel Tower, which had been built for the Paris Exposition a few years before.”

“You’re such a geek,” Lucky told him.

“I know; it’s part of my charm,” he replied, continuing undaunted. “The Museum of Science and Industry is the only building still left from the Exposition. The other buildings were just made out of plaster, but that one was built with a brick substructure.”

“It would have been pretty amazing, wouldn’t it, to have seen everything set up on the Midway like that?”

“Mm-mm. The White City, they called it. Have you read that book about the serial killer,
The Devil in the White City
?”

Lucky shook her head.

“It’s really interesting—and creepy. All the time the architects and planners were setting up this amazing display for the Exposition, there was this guy taking advantage of the presence of a lot of strangers in town to find and prey on these poor women. It’s like the story of good and evil living and developing side by side.”

“Okay, stop now,” Lucky said. “You’re creeping me out.”

As if the story about the serial killer wasn’t enough, Josh’s words made her think of the shadow creatures at the country club the night before. She shivered as she recalled the feeling of the cold, hard arms holding her so tightly she could barely move. And Aidan had said the things hadn’t even been real, that they had been created by that levitating man who made her head hurt. She could hardly wait to begin her studies with Zeke and her training with Aidan and Malachi. She didn’t like feeling this helpless against whatever was after her.

They had reached the front of the line, and Josh stepped to the side to wait for her as Lucky handed the attendant her ticket and stepped into the empty car alone. She waved to Josh as the Ferris wheel moved her forward to load the next car. Looking out over the crowd as she was raised higher in the air, Lucky realized that she hadn’t been troubled by visions of angels or demons all day. Funny, she would have thought her experiences would have been even more pronounced today, given that her birthday was tomorrow—and from everything Zeke and Aidan had said, it was likely to be intense.

She scanned the people below her, trying to open her mind to her new abilities. She caught the transparent shadows of a few glimmering wings and the deeper, more opaque shadows of some that seemed more leathery and bat-like. As best she could tell, none of the people she saw resembled the man from the night before. At least, none of them seemed familiar from this distance or caused her pain when she looked at them.

Then the Ferris wheel started to turn in earnest, and she was caught up in the views of the city and the lake as she was raised high in the air. How beautiful it all was! Aidan had said he lived not far from here. She wondered which of the many buildings was his. She wondered if she’d ever get the chance to visit him in his own place.

As the wheel descended, she looked for Josh, trying to pick him out of the crowd. She thought she caught a glimpse of him talking to someone, but she wasn’t sure. Up, up, she ascended again. She looked down at everything spread out before her, from the huge white canopy over the Skyline Stage all the way to the end of the pier and Lake Michigan beyond. Too bad Josh wasn’t up here with her to see the views. She didn’t understand why it scared him; the wheel turned slowly, and each car was completely enclosed.

She looked for him every time the wheel descended, and she was almost sure she was looking in the right place, but she couldn’t find him. She told herself he had probably just decided to get a Coke or something while he waited, but she couldn’t suppress the niggling fear that something was wrong.

By the time the Ferris wheel stopped and Lucky exited the car, she was feeling almost panicky. She raced around to the place where she had left Josh, but he was nowhere to be seen. Shrugging her backpack from her shoulders, she rummaged through it with shaking hands, searching for her cell. She found Josh in her contacts list and punched the button to dial the number. After several rings, the phone went to voicemail.

“Josh, it’s Lucky. I just got off the Ferris wheel, and I can’t find you. Where are you? Call me.” Her voice was as shaky as her hands.

This was all her fault. If she hadn’t left him alone…. If she hadn’t been so insistent about going up in the stupid Ferris wheel…. It was little comfort to tell herself she couldn’t have known that
he
would be in any danger. She studied the people all around her trying to catch a glimpse of him. Nothing. Keeping her phone in her hand, she slid her backpack over one arm and jogged through the crowd, focusing her mind, searching for something that might help her find her cousin. Still nothing. She swore.

After several minutes, she made her way back to the spot where she had last seen Josh, in the futile hope that he had returned. Her hands shaking so badly she could barely punch the buttons, she dialed him again. Again, she was dumped into voicemail. She left a second message, hung up, and then, pressing the button for contacts, she located the number Aidan had programmed into the phone. When he didn’t answer either, she almost threw the phone against the pavement in frustration.

Tears filling her eyes, she tugged on the chain around her neck to lift the dragon medallion out from under her sweater. Clenching her trembling fingers around the amulet, she pictured Aidan in her mind and concentrated as hard as she could, focusing all her fear and frustration into a silent scream, praying he’d get the message.

CHAPTER 15

Aidan was thoroughly enjoying demonstrating combat techniques. His adrenaline was running high, and he was more than holding his own against Malachi. He was about to bring the other Naphil to the ground, wings pinned, when he felt Lucky’s scream. The non-sound went through his body like an electric shock, causing him to loosen his hold on Malachi for just an instant, which was all the other man needed to break his hold, execute the same move Aidan had just used against him, and drop Aidan to the ground, his wings pinned and useless. He must have realized something had happened to cause Aidan to fumble the maneuver, because he shot his second a questioning look as Aidan got to his feet.

“I have to go,” Aidan called over his shoulder as he ran into the training facility, stripping off his guards and weapons as he ran.

He flung them all aside except for the short sword that was strapped to his left thigh. Then he was out the front door, where he could dematerialize. Lucky was still at Navy Pier, and he was back there in an instant, cloaking himself as he materialized, so as not to frighten any innocent bystanders. He let the glamour fade in such a way as to make it seem as if he had just stepped outside from one of the many shops. He kept the blade at his thigh masked. No need to scare the natives.

There she was. Aidan located Lucky where she sat slumped against a short concrete wall across from the Ferris wheel. He was relieved to see that, though she looked upset, she appeared to be unharmed. Closing the distance between them, he crouched down by her side.

“Hey,” he said softly. “What happened?”

Lifting her tear-stained face, she launched herself into his arms.

“Josh is gone,” she said through her tears. “I went on the Ferris wheel, and he didn’t want to go, so he waited for me. And when the ride stopped, I couldn’t find him. I’ve called and called, and he doesn’t answer. I tried your phone too at first. When you didn’t pick up, I didn’t know what else to do.”

***

Lucky felt some measure of relief as Aidan’s arms closed around her. At least, she wasn’t alone anymore—and he’d be able to help her find Josh. She knew he would.

Drawing away from him, she sniffed. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have left him alone. I had the amulet and the statue.” She paused as she indicated her backpack. Then, her eyes again filling with tears, she added, “I just never thought anything could happen to him. It didn’t even occur to me that they’d take him.”

“Did you see anything? Anything at all?”

“That’s just it. Mostly I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary today. When I was up on the Ferris wheel, though, I concentrated, and I could see that some of the people here had wings, and a few—a handful maybe—had leathery ones. But even then I didn’t think Josh was in any danger—not until he wasn’t there, and I couldn’t find him, and he didn’t answer my calls.”