Featherlight (25 page)

Whispers started up, but we
ignored them and hurried through. Didn’t this place have some kind of back
passage? We reached the stairs, and I started hearing more and more footsteps.
The back of my neck prickled uncomfortably.
Don’t turn around. Don’t look
up. Keep walking. Keep breathing.
John shifted closer to me, and we picked
up the pace. I hated this fearful running, but I had no choice.

Just before we made it to the
seldom-used staircase, a voice called, “Jacque, don’t we have unfinished
business?”

A chill traveled up my spine
and lingered behind my neck. Peter was here. My heart started thumping loudly
and my stomach dropped. My palms were sweaty, my adrenaline was pumping, and my
ears were ringing.
Don’t panic. He can’t Chase me. Keep walking. Keep
breathing.

From behind us, another man
yelled, “John! Stop running and hiding. You’ve had your chance.” The man’s
voice was deep and commanding, like an army general. After we ignored him, he
continued, “I am King and I will be heard, boy!”

Oh, brother. The man was
Peter’s father. By the sound of him, the apple actually didn’t fall far from
the tree. My stomach dropped even lower when I realized that Peter’s father
could still start a true chase if he wanted to take me. Hopefully he already
had a wife.

Like a saint, John’s father
forcefully replied, “You will be silent, Sumner, King of
Commons
, or you
will be removed from this place.” Marshal practically spit the word commons,
and I held back a smile. I was so grateful that he was here to help back us.

Suddenly, there was the sound
of sliding feet and a small grunt. It was time for me to stop submissively
keeping my eyes down and hoping to travel through unseen, because someone was
having some kind of scuffle behind us.

“Screw this shit,” John
muttered from beside me. He stopped and, before I realized what was happening,
scooped me into his arms and jumped off the ground. As he lifted us into the
air, the six Sentinels immediately followed suit.

I wanted to look behind John’s
shoulder to see what was happening, but I was too afraid that a chase would
start. John soared to one of the balconies that overlooked the middle of the
Tower, and we landed inside the railing. I couldn’t be sure without looking
down, but I knew we were at the top of the building because only two balconies
rose above us.

John quickly placed his hand on
a glass panel outside the sliding doors and a light scanned his fingers. I
stood impatiently on the balcony while the Sentinels hovered in the space
around us. Their enormous wings sliced through the air and ruffled my hair
gently.

With a beep, the doors slid
open and John pulled me inside by my waist. As soon as we were inside the doors
shut, and the room was plunged into the safety of privacy and darkness. I
dropped to my knees in relief and listened to my pounding heart. A wide grin
stretched across my face as I realized that we had finally made it. My night
vision had improved since my change, so I was able to stand and throw my arms
around John’s silhouette.

His shoulders didn’t feel as
broad as before, and he didn’t smell as fruity. Actually, now that I thought
about it, I was pretty sure he didn’t have boobs either. Oh. My. Gosh. This was
awkward. Who in the world was I hugging?

I quickly dropped my arms and
shuffled backward. My wings brushed against someone’s chest, and I realized
with a start that John was behind me. He wrapped an arm around my stomach and
pulled me next to the wall to turn on a switch. I blinked in the sudden
brightness. After my eyes were adjusted, I gazed at the woman who I
hug-assaulted.

“Cynthia?” John asked in
astonishment.

Cynthia? Who was Cynthia and
why was she here?

“John. You… I thought… Who is
this?” She caught a glimpse of my white wings over my shoulder and her eyes
widened. “It’s true.” Her gaze flickered back to where John’s arm crossed my
stomach. “I see. Oh, so this is where you’ve been. I should have figured.
What’s your name?”

“Jacque. I’m Jacque,” I
responded, flustered.

Should I extend my hand for her
to shake? Did lullary
even shake hands like on Earth? I knew that some
cultures didn’t shake hands, so it was plausible that lullary didn’t either. She
gave me a full body scan with indifferent eyes.

I said, “And you are Cynthia, I
assume?” I allowed a little venom into my voice. See? I could be snobby too.

She was wearing a short white
outfit that fit her body snugly. Behind her back were two glistening wings the
color of puke. If puke were golden, that is. I refused to be jealous of her
wings, because mine were the only white wings in existence right? There was
nothing of hers to be envious.

“John and I know each other,”
she glanced at John and smiled slowly. The fakeness oozed out in between her
perfectly white teeth.

“Nice to see you, Cynthia. Now,
if you’ll excuse us?” John gestured to the side with his free arm.

“Oh, I had no idea I would be
intruding,” she said with her fake smile. I kept my eyes on Cynthia as she
walked across the room to the door that opened into the hall.

She turned her blue eyes on me.
“Maybe we can chat together one day, hm?”

I nodded and she left the room
with only a small slam. Immediately I turned to John with a raised eyebrow. He
glanced at me and strode to lock the door.

“Did you and Cynthia… We’re
yall…?” I let the question hang in the air for him to answer.

“No, she is an acquaintance. I
guess being taken by the Marshal’s son is an appealing thought to her, because
she has always been very… blatant with her wishes for the future. You’d be
surprised to know that the only time it is socially appropriate to touch
another lullary
is during or after a chase. We do not have casual
‘flings’, Jacque.”

John wasn’t happy that I had
assumed he had been intimate with Cynthia, but honestly? What did he expect me
to think? She had magically been in his rooms, waiting on him to return from
somewhere, and I was supposed to just think that she had wanted to have a small
chat?

“I apologize for assuming. I am
still accustomed to promiscuous men and women, I guess.”
And you haven’t led
me to believe any differently,
I wanted to say.

As if reading my mind, John
replied, “No, I am sorry. Your perception of our culture has been completely
warped by me. I’m afraid I have been selfish with you, Jacque. Trust me that I
have been more intimate with you than with any other, and I hope that fact will
remain the same for the rest of our lives.”

Not knowing what to say after
his admittance, I nodded and glanced down to hide my blushing face. John
stepped closer to me and slowly lifted my chin with his hand. Small bolts of
nerves shot through my body, and I had trouble concentrating on his words.

“Take your time, Jacque. I’ll
be here when you finish sorting everything out.”

I gave him a small smile while
his hand dropped back down to his side, hoping he’d understand my reluctance to
make any major decisions regarding men.

“Would you like to see your
room?” He asked while his eyes sparkled with excitement.

I smiled. Now that I was paying
attention, I took a glance around the room. It had a tremendously high ceiling,
and the overall theme would most likely be grand elegance, with its masculine
dark wood furniture. There was a spacious bedroom loft on the second story, but
no staircase. I looked around quickly for one and then flushed with
embarrassment.
Duh.
Why would John ever need stairs?

John took me to an adjoining
door and turned the knob. Knowing that my rooms were directly beside his made
me slightly uneasy and annoyed. I guess that the people in charge of the Tower
assumed that John would come home with a taken folium
on his arm. The
thought that I had made it this far still a free woman cooled my temper.

I
followed John through the doorway and stared in amazement.
The rich colors completely spoiled my eyes.
The huge blue loft oozed comfort and sophistication. Two blue couches cornered
a white table and a royal blue chaise lounge beckoned me over for a long nap. Like
John’s room, the ceiling rose high in the air, at least 30 feet. The floor was
smooth and white, and a small staircase, obviously newly-made, led up to what I
assumed would be my bedroom.

The best part of all was the view. This room must have been on the
edge of the building, because one entire wall was made from glass, with glass
doors opening onto a generous balcony. The glass doors towered over my head,
and, with great care, I turned the handles and opened them inward. They slid
easily, beckoning me, inviting me, tempting me outside.

I stood there for so long, gazing outside. John came to stand beside
me and asked with a smile, “Do you like it?”

Without waiting a second longer, I threw my arms around him and
exclaimed, “Yes! Yes, thank you!”

I had never been given something so amazing.

“John, why is this not your room? It has such an amazing view, and you
could probably get any one you’d like.”

I turned back to the world outside and gazed around hungrily. One sun
sent golden streaks across the sky, and the dark outlines of lullary
soared
around the city.

“It was mine, but I really only needed one. I’ve been able to enjoy
this world for my entire life, and so I decided you’d appreciate it more.”

My eyes were about to start watering, and I didn’t want anyone to see
me cry.

“Can you leave me alone, for just a minute?” My voice broke on the
last word, but I forced my tears back. Few people had shown me such kindness
before, and it made me feel so strange. It made me feel… loved.

The adjoining door shut quietly behind John as he honored my request.
I felt like I was finally home. Deep down, my soul knew this was where I was
meant to be. Tears started slowly rolling down my cheeks, but this time I did
nothing to stop them.

Part XXIV

I had fallen asleep on the chaise lounge while my tears were drying.
My mind woke cautiously, and it took me a minute to realize where I was. It was
perfectly silent, which was why I faintly heard John’s balcony entrance slide
open. After stretching, I tip-toed to the adjoining door to see if he had left.
Just as I reached it, however, a man’s voice stopped me. The Marshal was in
John’s room.

I was not a good enough person to refrain from eavesdropping, so I
pressed my ear against the door to listen to their whispered conversation.

“We need to show her that video, John.”

“No,” John replied adamantly.

“It will hurt, but it will help in the long run.”

“Damn it. No! She’s still a child.”

Marshal whispered fiercely, “It is not your choice.”

I pressed my ear closer to the door, and it creaked. I was so busted. Both
father and son fell silent. The conversation’s importance was so great that
they didn’t hear my heartbeat or breathing, and I could tell that they were
uncomfortable with their mistake. I backed away quickly, but the damage was
already done. Marshal opened the door to see me standing in the middle of the
room, wide-eyed and guilty.

He pretended not to notice. “Jacque, will you come here for a moment?
We have something that you need to see.”

Before moving, I looked at John over his father’s shoulder. He was
angry, his mouth set in a thin line. Curiosity made me follow Marshal, even
though I knew that whatever it was he wanted to show me would not be pleasant.

“Lead the way,” I murmured. I was sure my cheeks were red with
embarrassment. John’s eyes followed as I walked through the traitorous door and
into his room. Standing next to the balcony was Rene, and next to her was
Samantha. Their faces were sad as they looked at me with pity.

Instantly, I was on alert. What was happening? What did I need to see
that was so terrible? Marshal strode to the large screen on the wall and
plugged in a small device. The screen shined with life before going dark again.
“We didn’t want you to see this so soon, Jacque, but if you are going to the
festival, then you need to know what the kiren
did many years ago.”

I was full of curiosity, and the suspense was not helping. “Just show
me. I’m sure I can handle it.”

“Sit,” John commanded, taking my hand and pulling me down to the couch
beside him.

My heart beat nervously. What was so special about the video?

Rene sat down on my other side, and the Marshal started the tape.

A beautiful beaten woman stared at the camera. Her eyes were white
with a dark ring, like mine. She gazed at us with intimate knowledge. Her
wrists were bound by bloody rope and her face was beaten almost beyond
recognition, but I somehow felt this strange connection with her. She brought
out my mothering instincts; she needed my help, but I was helpless here,
trapped behind the screen.

One
fingernail was pulled halfway off, and I couldn’t stop staring at it. Blood
rolled down that finger to her elbow and then fell on the floor with an audible
plop. Her light eyes held a passive glaze, and dark brown hair fell over the
front of her face in clumps. With sudden slowness, she brought her dead gaze to
the camera.

A
final inner spark lit her spirit as her voice halted the silence. "The
Kiren are slowly corrupting Earth, and it is our duty to protect it. We do not
regret our sacrifice, nor was it made in vain. You must continue our battle,
because we are no longer here to fight.”