Wings of Boden (15 page)

On the return trip, we noticed a group of
drekavacs hiking through the farm fields. Bobbing heads and upper
bodies were all we could see as they pushed through the tall
vegetation. A few minutes later, they stopped us on the road, a
group of around ten. Did they have families? Drekavac wings only
come out after the sun goes down, so they were still wingless. All
wore tight black shorts and T’s over pale gray bodies of skin on
bone, the females wearing wigs of various colors. The horses
stomped the pavement with impatient blows, wound tight. Squawking
magpies landed near the ditches, hopped along the shoulder of the
road. Those black-and-white scavengers always follow the dreks
everywhere, hunting for scraps.

“Whattaya need, Mawlk?” Jaydenn wanted to
know.

Mawlkon’s eyes glinted like black onyx as he
replied in his nasal voice, “We noticed you going the other
direction, eh. We figured you’d be back, so we thought we’d say
hello, eh.” He smirked. Teeth tips showed. The females let out some
kind of raspy giggle. Magpies squawked.

I leaned forward and said to Jaydenn, “Can we
just go, please.”

“Oh, Elle,” said Mawlk. “Well isn’t that
nice, a princess in our presence.”

“Get out of our way,” Vyn growled.

“Calm down, calm down,” Mawlkon said. “We’re
just curious whatcha have in the cart. Whatcha got there, eh?” He
started to make his way around the cart. “Is that your secrets to
the light stuff, Vyn? Is that whatcha got there?”

Vyn jumped out and stood firm in front of
Mawlk.

Angie wrapped an arm around me and said,
“It’s all right. They’re just being dreks. You know how they
are.”

Jaydenn angled out and made his way to stand
beside Vyn. He folded his arms over his muscled chest, his wings
twitching, eyes hard as steel as he forged a warning look.

“C’mon, Jay, Vyn,” Angie called out, “let’s
just go. They’re not worth it.”

“We don’t want any trouble, eh,” Mawlkon
chirped. “No trouble at all.” Yet his smirk said differently.

“Leave,” Jaydenn said, sharp as a dagger.

The smaller dreks were inching their way
toward the back of the cart. As I watched them, phantom images of
angels flickered in their place. Dreks, angels, dreks, angels.

Angie pulled away from me, hopped out of the
cart and stood before the females. One looked up, burnt-yellow eyes
glowing as she smirked at Angie. “Oh, hi,” she squeaked. “You’re
such a pretty angel, aren’t you?”
Giggle
.

Even as the other small dreks were making
their way around Angie, out of her sight, the horses blew a blast
of air and stomped hooves to the pavement. Magpies chattered all
around. A putrid smell hung in the air; the musky scent of excited
drekavacs.

“Angie,” I called out, “over there!”

Jaydenn vaulted over the cart to Angie.

A small drek startled me as she climbed in
and sidled up next to me. Red wig hair framed her bony gray face.
She pealed her lips back, showing rows of needle-like teeth as she
studied my hair. My heart scrambled to my throat. Her eyes were
empty, without pupils like lifeless yellow orbs. Until they flashed
into angel eyes and her hair became blond … then went back to
normal. Flickering apparitions threatened to push away my
sanity.

I looked over to see a tall male making his
way to Vyn. Peels of drek yapping rang out; a sound that reminded
me of a pack of hyenas from a nature show I’d once seen. What was
happening? Trembling, I buried my face into my cupped hands. It was
my fault. It was my choice to take the cart. It was my idea to
return to the mountain. What have I done?

The cart shook and I lifted my head to see
Angie climb over me while pushing the female drek out. They faced
each other on the road.

Angie steamed, “Leave her alone, now and
always, do you understand?” Angie flung a push into her. “Don’t
ever come near us. Do you understand, you little bitch?” The drek
sputtered a female giggle. Angie pushed sharply again, which sent
the drek tumbling back and off the road even as my hand clapped
over a gasp.

I got to my feet, held wide eyes down at the
motionless drek that lay tangled and twisted at the bottom of the
ditch. The wig had come off and now lay in the weeds beside the
body like some kind of red pelt. Her hairless head was losing its
form, ears sagging. Glassy eyes stared large into the sky, and
started to shrivel like rotting pears. Her lips shrank back from
her pointed teeth. Something strange, well, more strange—a dark
liquid streaked the stone that held up her head. Her skull must’ve
cracked; it bled black syrup down the rock.

Mawlkon paced forward, looked down at her,
and started clapping his hands like a happy little girl.
Smiling!

Another female drek, mouth gaped wide showing
rows of needle teeth, began to let out a yowling siren. The
piercing sound made me slap my hands over my ears, clenching my jaw
while holding a face-cramping wince. The horses stirred, clomped
and kicked. Angie’s horse lunged toward the source of the sound,
yanking the cart forward and throwing me back into the seat.
Giselle reared up, brought both hooves down into the female drek’s
skull.

The siren snuffed out with another bleeding
drekavac on the ground.

Angie and I both uncovered our ears.

Staring at my terrified sister I said,
“Angie, what have we done?”

She just stood there … panic-filled eyes
fixed on the dead drek.

Time froze, in shock, deliberating the
consequences. The dreks stood around, giggling, mumbling,
chatting—having a bit of social time.

Horse hooves clopped to the road, their
twitching muscles sheened with sweat, nostrils flared and blowing.
Excited magpie chatter filled the air as they skipped and flapped
around. The cart jounced when Jaydenn hopped in. I snapped my head
around to see Vyn was already standing in the cart-back, on
guard.

The other male drek walked over and stood
beside Mawlkon. They both eyed down at the female in the ditch for
a moment, as she melted away into a dark liquid stain on the rock.
The male drek walked over and dragged the dead one in the road away
from the horses. He knelt down, then angled a look back at Mawlkon,
nodded a grin as if to say, No, she’s gone.

Mawlkon had his back to us, looking across
the field, considering, when he spoke the nasal words, “Yes, that
is the question. What have you done? What a momentous day this is
turning out to be.” His gaze slid up over the mountains to the
dimming horizon. He said with a head tilt over his shoulder, “It’s
getting dark, angels. Guess who’s coming to dinner. It should be a
wonderful buffet.” He turned and shot his swollen black eyes at me.
“Do you think they heard the yell? Do you, well do you,
Princess?
”

“Get in, Angie,” I yelled. “Get in the
flappin cart, now. We have to go!”

Angie snapped out of it, dashed into the cart
and slid up next to me.

“
Hah!
” Jaydenn commanded the horses
and cracked the reins.

The cart lurched forward. Hooves beat out a
clapping rhythm. Horse muscles heaved. Ropes flailed and wheels
chattered. I turned to look back at the group of dreks all gathered
together on the road as they watched us leave. Mawlkon, with his
long arm reaching high, and a smirk I could see from here, waved
bye to us—the image burned into my mind. Angie pulled me back
around, wrapped her arms around me.

Jaydenn voiced over the racket, “Ang, Elle,
go, fly back. We’ll meet you there.”

What? Leave Vyn behind?

Angie began to prepare her wings. I swiveled
my head around. Vyn was crouched and using his legs as shock
absorbers, his wings were vibrating and hair tousling in the wind.
He simply nodded at me. I replied with narrowed eyes and a clenched
jaw, shook my head NO. At which Vyn returned a snarling look of
intense demand.

“Go,” Jaydenn yelled, “Now!”

His tone forced the decision out of me. In a
few motions, Angie and I were out of the cart, pumping our wings
over the racket. While Angie gained altitude, my gaze went down to
Vyn. Am I ever going to see him again? The thought slithered into
my mind.

Those eyes—Oh, Source, there was love for me
in Vyn’s blue eyes, for a moment. He waved his arms, shouted, “Go,
don’t worry. We’ll be fine!”

Did I really have a choice? Even as my heart
vomited a feeling of dread, I took a last look at Vyn, at Lady, and
back down the road to the disappearing dreks.

Purpose flashed; warn the others.

With the rush of wind pulling my hair back
and forcing me to squint, I thrust to top speed, climbed and caught
up with Angie.

Angie and I bolted through the thick front
door, running through the house. “Dad, Dad!” At our burst into his
den, his head snapped up. He lifted from his chair, deep creases of
concern on his face. “What’s wrong, girls?”

We dashed over to stand before his desk, and
my breathless words spilled out, “We have to warn everyone.” My
stinging eyes wouldn’t stop blinking.

Angie said with a catch in her dry voice, “I
didn’t mean to, Dad.” She cleared her throat. “We killed two dreks,
and they told us—”

That was all Dad needed to hear. He ripped
the satellite phone off the charger and punched one number. His
wings pulled tight to his back as his face turned to stone. In a
few seconds he was speaking, deep and official, “This is Phillip
Soepheea. Set off the air raid towers.” Pause. “No, this is not
some test! Listen, I’m guessing we only have ten minutes.” Pause.
“No buts, do it. Now!” His volume shook the desk lamp and rattled
the ice in his empty drink glass. He slammed the phone down. Papers
slid off a pile on his desk.

Angie and I stood in shock. Dad just looked
at us for a moment, his mouth firm, brows dropped over an intense
green gaze, deep creases on his face. He finally lowered into his
chair, began straightening the papers. “Tell me what happened,
girls … Girls? Snap out of it!”

Angie dropped a sob into her cupped
hands.

“The dreks, Dad,” I began. “They. They were
ganging up on us. We just, Angie just— it was an accident. It was
just an accident. We just pushed her, that’s all, and she fell and
hit her head. Then another one yelled, and, Giselle stomped on her.
Giselle killed another one. She didn’t mean to. Please don’t be mad
at her. Then Mawlkon said—”

Dad stopped me with a lifted hand.

“I should have known Mawlkon Boshaunn was
involved. He’s nearing that age now. He’ll be a hunter soon. They
probably planned the entire scenario. It’s not your fault.” He
dropped his brows at Angie. “Either of you … Angie, do you hear
me?”—She lifted her red-rimmed eyes to him, brushed some tangled
hair off her face—“It’s not your fault, sweetheart.”

Dad pushed off his chair, walked back to his
bar, began pouring a drink. “I suppose it was just a matter of
time.” He came back to his desk, sat, took a drink and set it down
as Angie and I stood stiff. “We’re not the first city, you know.
I’ve heard it’s been happening everywhere. They’re planning,
finding ways to make it happen. Which is why, Vyn—” It dawned in
his narrowed eyes. “Where are the boys?”

Air raid sirens began to wail outside, loud
and drawn out, echoing in the most monstrous sound I’d ever heard,
sending a wave of panic to roll through me as I managed to say,
“They told us to go ahead of them and warn you. They’re still out
there.”

After racing to the windowed wall, I looked
out across the distant landscape, and just caught sight of the cart
as it entered the twilit forest. Dad said ten minutes, didn’t
he?

“They did the right thing, Elle.” Dad raised
his deep voice across the room. “They’ll be fine. Don’t you worry
about them.”

As I wheeled back around, Angie crumpled to a
chair.

Mom came in. “Phillip, what’s going on? Why
are the sirens going off? The test isn’t—” Her eyes flicked to us
girls. “What’s going on, girls? Are you okay?”

I dashed and vaulted into her arms.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Dad. “It’s taken
care of.”

Mom’s dress muffled my words, “This isn’t a
test. It was an accident.”

She pulled back, grasped my shoulders and
looked into my stinging eyes. “What are you saying?” Fear twisted
her face. “Where are the boys?”

“They’re on the way, Celeste. Let’s all just
settle down now, enough drama. We knew this was coming, eventually.
Now pull yourselves together.” He raised his voice, pushing
authority out, “Elle, you wanted to be part of the team. Well here
it is, enough blubbering. It’s time to grow up. Time to fight.”

“Phillip,” Mom barked, “don’t be so
mean!”

The words stung me, but he was right. Rage
churned in my gut. At him? At the harsh words? Clenching my jaw, I
stomped over to him. “Don’t talk to me like that,” I hissed through
my teeth with a biting glower.

He just smirked. “There’s the fire, right
there in those blue eyes. Hang on to that, you’re gonna need it.
Time to save the children.”

Gonna, Dad, don’t you mean
… wait, the
children?

He knew the button to push.

Even as I boiled in the feeling of fight, a
breath dumped from my lungs. Images of children displayed in my
mind. Thoughts of Vyn crashed like lightning as the storm of sirens
and emergency announcements echoed and wailed outside:

“This is not a test, everyone please go
indoors. This …”

Mom’s voice behind me as I rushed out of the
room, “Ellie, where are …”

****

The dirt road trailed off into the shadowed
forest. With my gaze off the porch deck, I stood hugging myself,
tasting the bile in the back of my throat.

C’mon, Vyn, hurry.

“They’re not far,” Dad said behind me. “I can
hear them now. They’ll be fine.”