Featherlight (16 page)

“No. The suns are too far away to do much harm,” he said. Then,
looking me over, he told me, “Let’s be finished with the physical training for
today.”

I would have hugged him, but I was completely sweaty. Judging by the
two suns directly overhead, it was only midday.

Omar must have seen me glance up, because he said, “The days here are
longer, and so are the nights. It’ll take you a while to become accustomed to
staying awake and sleeping longer.”

My sleeping pattern was completely screwed up anyways. Why not just
add another change that I’ll have to get used to?

“Jane will help your new senses after we eat,” he said, walking to the
building.

Right on cue, Jane walked outside carrying a tray full of bread and
fruit. She sat it down on a table next to the house. The table was in the
shade, thanks to the huge balcony on the third floor. I gratefully sat down in
a carved wooden chair and snagged some bread.

“When the Marshal said for you to give Jacque military training, he
wasn’t being completely literal,” she chided Omar with amusement in her eyes.

Jane flashed me an apologetic smile.

I said, “It’s okay, I needed to get in shape.” Getting in shape wasn’t
as much of a concern as beating other lullary
in the chase. If it took
this training to outrun them, then I’d do it.

            The fruit was delicious, as always. It practically melted
on my tongue, but still paled in comparison to the water. I downed a glass
within seconds. Nothing like a good old workout to make you appreciate that H2O.

            After I had cooled off in the shade and restored some of
my energy, work continued. My muscles protested when I stood up, but I ignored
them.

            “We don’t have to go far,” Jane said.

Omar had gone inside the lodge after our meal, leaving Jane to take
over training. We walked inside the cool covered carport. There was enough room
even with the imposing black jet, and I vaguely wondered why Omar and I hadn’t
started flying lessons in here. He probably thought that some sun would toughen
me up. Ha! I felt like a cooked noodle. Enough said.

 “Take a deep breath,” she told me.

My lungs filled with crisp, dry air.

“Now close your eyes. Figure out where I am.”

I lightly pointed to the direction of her voice. Air brushed my arm
and I realized that she wanted me to point while she was flying. This was
impossible. All was calmly silent. I strained to hear even the slightest noise.
A light breeze kicked up, making listening a bit harder.

“I can’t,” I said, giving up and opening my eyes. As soon as I did it,
I winced. Those words sounded childish, even to my ears. I hadn’t even tried the
exercise for long (although, in my defense, I was exhausted).

She was silently flying to the right of me, and I couldn’t help but
stare at her wings. They were a golden brown, and reminded me of an eagle. The
petals shifted with the wind and shimmered with each turn. Oddly enough, she
was so small that her wings barely stirred the air around her.

Jane didn’t sound angry when she replied, “You can. We’ve just begun.
Try again.”

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly.

“It’s quite alright.”

If she believed in me, the least I could do was to give it my best
effort. I shut my eyes and focused for round two.

All was silent. Far off, I could hear an insect buzzing.

“Don’t listen… Feel,” she instructed. Her voice came from my left.

I
relaxed and stopped straining for the slightest noise. My instincts took
control, and I could suddenly sense a presence directly behind me.

Tentatively,
I turned around to face it. The presence shifted to my left, and I turned with
it. The instinctual feeling was akin to the chills you get when someone was
watching without your knowledge. How did I know where she was?

I
focused on my instincts and thought for a moment.
There.
A heartbeat.
Very, very faintly, it thumped. Quiet and fast like a hummingbird. I could feel
it as much as I could hear it, but I’m not sure how.

“Very
good,” she told me as I opened my eyes.

Jane
walked over to the jet and picked up a wrench. She casually discarded it, and
it clanged against the ground. An oil-stained cloth was next to the wrench, and
she picked it up.

“Catch
this with your eyes closed,” she said, tying it into a ball.

“What?”

Did
I hear her correctly?

“Give
it a shot. You’d be surprised.” She smiled encouragingly.

I
closed my eyes again and stood, ready to catch the cloth. I was too distracted
by the craziness in this lesson to focus on my instincts. Needless to say, the
cloth ball nailed me in the head. I threw it back at Jane, who was flying
nearby, and closed my eyes again. This time I would be ready.

First,
I located Jane. She had moved over to my right. The cloth blindsided me, but
time I had noticed a flicker of feeling before the impact. I threw her the
cloth ball.

I
managed to deflect the ball before it hit me. By the fourth round, I could
almost catch it.

“Excellent,”
Jane said, pausing a moment and returning to the ground. “I’ll put some
exercises together for tomorrow. Why don’t you take a shower and relax? I’ll
get some clean clothes.”

Completely
exhausted, I followed her back to the lodge.

The
cool air was refreshing, and all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch and
read. John was seated at the large kitchen table with papers spread out all
around him. He glanced up when we entered and smiled at me.

It
wasn’t meant to be a friendly smile; he was simply amused at my exhaustion.

I
glared back at him, making sure to keep my eyes on his mouth. I shoved the new
faint feeling of instinctual fear and excitement down along with all thoughts
pertaining to his perfect lips. Oh, goodness. I was a mess.

“I’ll
put the clothes on your bed once I find some,” Jane told me, suddenly flying to
the second floor. Her words allowed me to rip my eyes from John. That man made
me extremely uncomfortable.

“Okay,
thank you,” I replied casually, acting like I had been around flying humans my
whole life.

It took every ounce of control to turn my back on John to return to my
room. My new body could
feel
that he wanted to chase me, and my
instincts screamed at me to not turn my back to a potential opponent.

An image of me being suddenly tackled and pinned to the ground
appeared. What if that happened? What if he forced me to look at him? What if
the chase were started, but I couldn’t run? It would be over in less than a
minute, and I’d be bound. Helpless.

Hush… no one can hear you.

Even though I never turned around, I could feel his eyes on me as I
slammed the bedroom door. Safe in the room, I flicked on the light and leaned
against the wall. Deep breaths. It’s okay. I’m okay.

Slowly, my frantic heart returned to normal. I went inside the
bathroom and gratefully peeled off my dusty, sweaty clothing.

The shower was large and welcoming at the end of a hot day. After
wrestling with the odd gadgets to get the perfect temperature, I let the cool
water slide over my skin and tried to forget about things too easily
remembered.

Part XVI

Twenty minutes later I was squeaky clean and sleepy. My wings had
returned to their perfect white color. The shade suited me much better than the
tan hue from the outside dirt.

Jane had placed a white jumpsuit-like outfit, yoga pants, white
shirts, several bras, and some underwear on the bed while I was in the shower. White
must be the new black. Even though Auro’s slim-fitting outfits make me look
awesome, I missed my jeans and hoodies. I threw on the yoga pants and white
shirt, thankful that Jane gave me enough clothing to last a while.

I ran my fingers through my hair, noticing that it had finally reached
my chin. As soon as I realized that I might have been subconsciously grooming
because of John, I left the room.

Although only five people inhabited it, the lodge was homey. John and
Rene were playing an odd board game in the living room while Omar cooked. Jane was
wiping off the table and keeping Omar company with light chatter. If I didn’t
pay attention to the style of the building and the fact that each person had
wings, I could almost believe that I was back in America.

Actually, oddly enough, all of their wings were casually opened. Jane
was the only lullary
who had brown ones. Needless to say, John’s were
the most interesting to me. The colors were rich and exotic and… I really
needed to stop thinking about him. It took a conscious effort to make myself
not stare at their wings, but I did it. I could tell they were watching me,
even though they tried not to make it obvious.

“The food smells delicious,” I told Omar to break the awkwardness.

Even though he was across a large room, I knew he could easily hear
me.

“Thank you. We are having roasted kowhi,” he replied, waiting for me
to wonder what ‘kowhi’ was.

“What is kowhi?” I predictably asked him.

“It is a large, muscled grazing animal that lives on the border of the
full dark.”

“Yum,” I said.

Rene chimed in, “It is where your word ‘cow’ originates.”

I wasn’t really sure if I believed her, but I didn’t say anything.
Instead, I moved on to a question that had recently appeared.

“Why do y’
all hide your wings
from me?”

My
question was met with silence. Surprisingly enough, silence holds a lot of
answers. I had noticed that while my attention had been with Omar, John and
Rene had slowly made it so that their wings were less visible. Instead of
trailing out behind them, they now pressed against their backs. While Rene told
me about the word ‘kowhi’, Jane and Omar had subtly retracted their wings until
they were barely noticeable from the front.

I
might not be the smartest human out there, but I was observant. Also, I had
been studying John’s wings from my peripheral vision and had noticed the change.
Okay, I’m guilty as charged. But come
on!
His wings were amazing. I
can’t be blamed if it happened to catch my attention when they were suddenly
less visible.

Four
pairs of eyes turned towards me, and I avoided them all.

“We
know that you’ve been around humans your whole life, so we felt that it would
help you adjust.” Rene sounded slightly guilty.

“I
had assumed that lullary
just held them half hidden like that.”

Just
like a duckling mimicked its mother, I had mimicked them. It now felt natural
to tuck my wings tightly into my back. I was slightly embarrassed, even though
I couldn’t be blamed. Indignantly, I flared them out behind me. It was like
going commando. Or, well… you get the picture.

“I
don’t want you to hide your true nature from me,” I told them all. “Just
because I’m new to this doesn’t mean that I need to be babied. I can manage
whatever comes my way, trust me.”

Didn’t
I prove that to them already? I finally accepted that this place was real, and
then I embraced it. Accepting Auro’s society and customs was tough, but I did
it. Slowly, a goal was forming. Life finally felt like it had purpose and
meaning.

Since
it was random questions from Jacque time, I turned to John.
“Aren’t you somebody important?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation while I kept my eyes on his
forehead.

“So don’t you have important matters to attend to?” I tried to keep my
voice from sounding snotty, because I was genuinely asking.

“This is an important matter. In fact, guarding you has been one of
the most important things I’ve ever done.” He was completely serious, and I
tried not to feel flattered.

“I don’t need guarding out here because no one will find me.”

“That’s a risk I’m not willing to take.”

Since I’ve never been one to ignore the elephant in the room, I asked,
“Are you planning on chasing me after I’m trained?”

 “Yes, I have every intention of doing that.”

If I had thought the room was quiet before, it had nothing on this
moment. All eyes were on John and me. I lowered my gaze to his, and we stared
at each other for a long moment. John sitting down was just as threatening as
John standing. Even though I was half-terrified that he’d start the chase right
here, right now, I refused to show fear.

His posture seemed relaxed, but I could see the muscles in his jaw
flexing. Both hands were clenching the table. His wings rustled impatiently. With
painstakingly slow steps, I walked over to him. He stood, keeping our gazes
locked in a dangerous cat and mouse dance.  An evil thought snaked into my
mind, whispering to me,
this fear would all be over… all it takes is a chase.
John is attractive. John is powerful. Would it really be terrible to be his?