The Weight of a Wing (The Stolen Wings Book 1) (12 page)

Cassie fanned herself with one hand and wiped her forehead
with the other. As the sun rose higher in the sky, the air became increasingly
hot inside the car. Her small Toyota fared well on the narrow and winding road
that separated the mountains. Vale had turned out to be a less suicidal driver
than Rafe, and aside from keeping under the speed limit, he also made sure to
stay behind Mark’s Audi that led the way. This behavior had brought some
grumbles on Rafe’s part at the beginning of their trip, but he had gotten easily
distracted by Alise’s presence sitting next to him in the back. She represented
such a good distraction that he listened with an amused smile to Cassie’s
lecture.

“So no fighting and no spell casting. I mean it. Do
not
spook them. They’re good people, and I have to live with them.” She turned in
the passenger’s seat so she could look at both Guardians.

“I thought you couldn’t stand them.” Rafe smirked.

“That doesn’t make them bad people,” Cassie said. “Don’t
mess with them. My family is complicated enough as it is, and I don’t want to
spend the summer with a couple of zombies.”

Her remark brought a quiet laugh from Rafe. “Roger that.”

Vale nodded, keeping his eyes on the road.

“We won’t be there long,” Rafe said. “We’ve got a job to
do.”

“Yes, but you at least have to stay until the barbeque is
ready. Uncle Mark bought tons of meat, and he’ll be disappointed if you miss
it. And Sarah might start to wonder…”

In the last big town they passed through, they had stopped
to buy supplies for their weekend away. While Mark pushed the shopping cart
loaded with various pieces of meat, and Sarah ran around like a busy bee,
bringing more stuff they didn’t necessarily need, the Guardians had stopped by
the soap aisle, debating the properties of each bar in particular, guided by
their scents. It didn’t help that Alise had remained stuck by a shoe rack. Mark
had to be wondering already.

“All right. We’ll eat first.” Rafe glanced at Alise, who
stubbornly refused to participate in the conversation and kept her thoughts to
herself.

“Good. After lunch, Uncle Mark will probably go fishing,
which we can easily skip, and Sarah… Well, whatever she’ll be doing, she won’t
need us,” Cassie said.

Since she knew them better, they left it at that.

Four hours after their early morning start, they left behind
the last sign of civilization, a small village where they stopped to buy water
and ice. The temperature had taken a pleasant drop compared to the city heat,
but they still needed ice for their drinks. Besides the non-alcoholic drinks, two
cases of beer and three scotch bottles rested inside the Toyota’s trunk.

“Okay. Five more kilometers and we’re there.” Cassie could
hardly contain her excitement.

The thick forest along the road gradually opened until they
reached a wide plateau and, right there, the wooden cottage waited with its
back planted in the rocky slope of the hill.

They spent the next few minutes airing out the rooms,
setting up the patio furniture and the grill. The Guardians turned out to be
handy when it came to moving the heavy stuff and, more importantly, they didn’t
complain. Soon, the chores were split among them. Sarah wanted to make a fire
in the evening to keep the insects away, so Rafe and Vale went into the woods
to chop down some dead trees. Mark tended the grill, Alise set the table, and
Cassie fetched drinks. Sarah bossed everyone around when not cursing under her
breath because her high heels stuck in the turf. The dogs got in everyone’s
way, making them stumble. It wasn’t easy to avoid a sixty kilo mass that refused
to budge unless fed. Most people caved in rather than try to move them.

Regardless of the small impediments encountered along the
way, everything was going fine until Mark stopped Cassie to ask her quietly,
“What’s wrong with your friend? She used to be more vocal. Is it because of the
new boyfriend?”

“What? No.” She froze, a little surprised that Mark had
noticed. “Alise is fine. She’s feeling a bit under the weather because all of
her shoes got affected by the flood, that’s all.” She wasn’t lying. The
apartment had been badly damaged, and Alise had always liked to dress well. He
would buy that.

Through the curtain of smoke rising from the grill, Mark
watched Cassie with narrowed eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. She’ll be fine. Nothing a drink won’t fix,
right?” She grinned and thrust a glass in his hand. “Don’t worry. She’ll be
turning you down again in no time.” Cassie strolled away, a knowing smile on
her face. Ben took her place, staring at the grill as if he could make the
sausages levitate and jump into his drooling mouth by wishing it.

“Nice save,” murmured Alise, stepping closer to Cassie. “So,
now I’m supposed to flirt with him?”

“Nah, that’s his job!” Cassie laughed and elbowed her
playfully. “He won’t push it while Sarah is around. You’re safe.”

That failed to bring a smile to Alise’s face. Mark had been
right. Her friend was acting strange. There had been no bickering with Rafe in
the car, and she hadn’t bothered to frown when Mark held the car door open for
her. It worried Cassie. She had always felt her friend could conquer the world
if she put her mind to it—it was probably the use of magic that gave her the
extra confidence, even after she had stopped using it—and seeing her depressed
made Cassie’s heart ache. They had many things to worry about at the moment,
and she didn’t know which was worse.

“Did anyone see where we put the paper towels? I can’t find
them!” Sarah yelled from the kitchen.

The Guardians returned with the chopped wood, and then
everyone was busy searching for the stupid paper towels.

As expected, the food was good. Cassie wondered if it was
because of Mark’s cooking skills or because of the spices sprinkled on the meat
by Alise. It was definitely not thanks to Sarah, who hadn’t done a thing. Rafe
and Vale appreciated it, too, considering their healthy appetites. Alise, on
the other hand, picked at the food. With little enthusiasm, she ate no more
than needed to sate her hunger. The rest of the food, she fed to the dogs. They
wolfed down the meat, swallowed the potatoes, and sniffed at the vegetables.
Ben even chewed on the tomato slices, just to be polite.

The amount of drinks passed around the table kept everyone
entertained and in good humor.

“What’s good to do around here?” Rafe asked when they
started on dessert, a wild berry cake bought from the village store.

“Not interested in fishing, huh?” Mark sounded disappointed
but not surprised.

“We’re more the sporty type.” Rafe grinned. “Lots of energy
to burn.”

The grin turned a little tense. Alise must have kicked him under
the table.

“There must be something more about this place other than
the view.” Vale gestured towards their surroundings. “Otherwise, why would
someone build a house so far from civilization?”

“Don’t let this fool you.” Sarah pointed with her fork at
the house. “Mark has had it rebuilt and remodeled, but the house is very old.
His grandparents owned it, and it was in the family long before that.”

“Well, we don’t know how this place was at the time when the
cabin was first built,” Mark said, “but over the years, it has developed into a
touristy area, so there are a few things worth seeing. Hmm…” He paused while he
took a swig of beer from his glass. “Cassie, you could take them to the
waterfall. It’s not big, but it’s nice. And there’s Eagle’s Peak. Also nice. If
you feel adventurous, you can climb to the Mouth of Madness.”

Vale’s eyebrows rose. “The Mouth of Madness?”

“It sounds scarier than it is.” Mark smiled. “It’s a cave up
the mountain, a few hours from here. It’s quite high, and it has a strong echo.
When the wind passes through, it makes an interesting noise. It’s a bit of a
climb, though, I’m afraid.”

“We don’t mind a bit of hiking.” Rafe grinned and looked at
Alise. “Do we, honey?”

“No, honey,” she replied, “as long as I get to wear your
boots.”

Mark laughed. The girls hadn’t come prepared for any serious
climbing activities, so going up to the Mouth of Madness was out of the
question.

Cassie saw an opening and charged in. “Or we could go look
for that lake grandpa used to tell us about.”

“Oh, the Mermaid’s lake, you mean…” Mark nodded. “I don’t
know. You’d risk returning with sunburns, muscle aches, and starving … and
nothing else.”

Next to him, Sarah chuckled. She had heard the story before.

“Even so,” Cassie said, “do you have any idea where it might
be located?”

“The lake? According to the legend, it should be somewhere
close to here, but you won’t find it on any existing maps.”

“What if you really want to find it?”

Mark thought some more. “The best chance would be to go up
to Eagle’s Peak and look from there for what might once have been the bottom of
a lake, but not the lake itself. Or you could hire a helicopter.”

“I don’t suppose you’ll rent one for us?” Cassie batted her
eyelashes at him.

“Your mother would kill me if I let you get into a
helicopter without her written permission.” He pretended to frown. “Even then,
she might still kill me if anything happened to you. So no. But you can try
that trick,” he imitated the eyelash batting, “on the local rangers. They must
have one in their inventory. Then we’ll both make it out alive … possibly.”

Having pushed her luck far enough, Cassie left it at that.

“It’s all right. We don’t mind walking,” Rafe said.

“And we’ll keep her safe,” Vale added, his arm resting on
the back of Cassie’s chair.

Alise and Cassie exchanged a glance. Could they truly
promise that?

“Don’t stay out too late! You can get lost in these woods
after dark!” Mark waved from the riverbank. Three fishing rods, leaning over
the water, were beside him. He hadn’t caught anything yet, but it had only been
a few minutes since he had thrown out the bait.

Sarah cracked an eye open and weakly waved her hand at them.
She was lying on a lounge chair, covered in sunscreen from head to toe. No one
had dared ask her why she was trying to get tanned at all.

Up the road, Alise, Cassie, Rafe, and Vale prepared to start
their journey. At Cassie’s insistence, the girls had changed from shorts into
long pants and put on running shoes. With apples and water bottles in their backpack,
they were ready for a long hike.

Stay,
Alise ordered the dogs, which looked after them
mournfully, eager for a walk in the woods and a chance to chase some
squirrels—typical dog stuff.

“We should have taken the car,” Rafe said, once the cottage
was out of sight. The road spread long and narrow ahead of them. “We would have
covered more ground.”

Cassie shook her head. “It wouldn’t have helped. I’ve been
up and down this road many times. The lake couldn’t have been near it. No, it
has to be somewhere in the woods.”

Vale looked to the left and right. “Which way?”

“Well…” Cassie stopped with her hands on her hips and drew
in a breath. “Grandpa and I have checked the right side and part of the left
side, too. We managed to narrow it down to two places the lake might have been
located, but then he got sick and…” She shrugged her shoulders, her tear-filled
eyes saying it all.

“You were serious about finding it,” Rafe said, sounding
impressed.

“I was a kid with a rich imagination and a lot of free
time,” Cassie said. “I have less time now, but the same amount of imagination.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m not imagining you all being here.” She chuckled, but
her smile was strained.

“You’re not imagining any of it,” Alise said in a soothing
voice, stepping closer to brush a reassuring hand against Cassie’s shoulder.
She was rewarded with a grateful smile.

“These two places you narrowed it down to… Where are they?”
Vale asked.

“On the other side of this mountain, either at Wolf’s Creek
or Old Man’s Log.”

“Interesting names you’ve got around here,” Rafe said.

“Well, at least we can cross one out,” Vale said. “No way
it’s at Wolf’s Creek.”

Cassie frowned. “Why not?”

“Wolf?” Rafe smirked. Seeing she didn’t get it, he added, “
Were
wolf?”

“Now you’re going to tell me Werewolves are real, too?”
Cassie pursed her lips and feigned a bored look.

“They and their Vampire cousins, too,” Rafe said.

Cassie was unable to suppress a shudder.

“Half-breeds,” Alise said disdainfully, rolling her eyes.
“Just like Guardians.”

In a flash, Rafe had the side of his blade pressed against
her throat. “Only we’re faster, stronger and—”

“Better-looking. Yes, we know,” Vale said in a condescending
voice. For someone who had fought by his side for an eternity, Vale must have
known his entire repertoire by heart, and Rafe could be annoying even without
repeating himself thousands of times. He was a master at that. “Now, let her
go.”

Rafe didn’t move. He was peering down at Alise’s face, not a
muscle flinching on his.

She stared back and said between gritted teeth, “Now you’re
just showing off.”

He gazed into her eyes for a moment longer and then released
her, an odd smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He had made his point. He
could get to her in the blink of an eye. “Where to?” he asked Cassie, making
the blade disappear, but the girl had other things on her mind.

“I don’t get it. Why can’t a Mermaid be at Wolf’s Creek?”

Rafe had started walking towards the left, but he stopped.
“Mermaids are poisonous. Werewolves are hungry, greedy beasts, but they cannot
eat them. They’re also morons. Many moons ago—though not nearly enough, in my
opinion—Werewolves used to die because of that. Hence the bad blood between
them.” He trailed off and blinked, as if surprised he had revealed that much
information.

“How do we get to the other side?” Vale asked. “On the map,
the road goes parallel to the mountain for several hundred kilometers, and I
don’t remember seeing any passes nearby.”

“Oh, there is a path not far from here,” Cassie said. “The
shepherds use it to bring their sheep over to this side. It’s not frequented
often, but the children from the village used to go that way to pick berries
from a clearing on the other side. I bet they still do, so it should still
exist. This way.”

She crossed the empty road and disappeared between the
trees. Vale rushed to catch up with her, and they walked in silence for a
while.

“He never grew up, did he?” Cassie whispered. “He’s like a
schoolboy, constantly picking on the girl he likes.”

“Something like that,” Vale muttered but didn’t elaborate.