Table of Contents
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
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THEN WE FLY
_______
REBECCA SALAS
© COPYRIGHT 2021 REBECCA SALAS
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
NO PORTION OF THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED IN WHOLE OR IN PART, BY ANY MEANS WHATSOEVER, EXCEPT FOR PASSAGES EXCERPTED FOR THE PURPOSES OF REVIEW, WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER.
ISBN-13: 978-1-0878-9060-9
ISBN-10: 1-0878-9060-9
FIRST EDITION.
PRINTED IN THE USA.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
CREATED BY JUTOH - PLEASE REGISTER TO REMOVE THIS LINE
Chapter One
The image of a calcified skull being crushed beneath Fynn's toes wouldn't leave my mind. Sure, it wasn't happening now, it may never actually happen, but as I watched his tan feet seek out the soft path through the thick forest underbrush, the memory of the dream was all that I could see.
Fynn led me through the jungle of trees and vines, pulling me along by the hand. We hadn’t been walking for long, maybe ten minutes. I didn’t know where we were going, somewhere new, again. Everything in this world was still so new. He moved quickly, trying to hide the smile that had been sneaking across his face all morning, threatening to give him a face cramp.
I had trouble focusing on just one thing; there was so much to see. An iguana scurried along at the edge of my vision and multicolored birds took flight as we passed. Vines hung from the moss-covered trees. The humidity made my skin sticky and my hair was plastered to my neck. Fynn looked at home, his brown hair going wildly in every direction, a pack hung easily on his back.
We were passing deep into the interior of the small island today, and to my delight the island held more than simply the castle and a few trees, it held an entire jungle. Beams of light found their way to the ground as the trees thinned, and then dissipated entirely to reveal a bottomless blue-green, pool of water.
“I should have guessed water would be involved.” I smiled, but the area had a strange, almost ominous feeling to it.
“Yeah, you probably should have seen that coming. Sea people...” he said, wagging his eyebrows and gesturing to himself. I stuck my tongue out at him, and he let his jaw drop open in pretend shock.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen next, do you?”
“No.” I frowned. He was unaware of how much I was desperately avoiding seeing any part of the future.
“Good.” He raised his lips in a half smile before dropping my hand and walking to the edge of the water.
“We’re going in?” I walked up to the edge of the pool and looked in. The water was crystal clear, but the bottom wasn’t visible, and the same feeling of unease prickled my skin. Something about this place made me uncomfortable. Like a memory of something awful that happened here before. Though I was sure I had never been there before that day.
“I am going in. You are going to wait right here.” He pointed to a large stone at the edge of the pool. I sat obediently, happy to avoid going into the water that was inexplicably eerie. He dropped his pack onto the ground and dove into the pool, headfirst, splashing me. I gave him a dirty look as he popped back up. His response was to smile bigger than he had all morning.
“Now what?”
“Now you wait. I’ll just be a few seconds. I don’t even need to change.” He swam to the edge of the water and pointed to the pack that carried his seal skin. “Keep an eye on it for me?”
“You might not get it back.” I leaned over, picking it up. “I think I might hold it ransom.”
“What will I have to do to get it back?” He smiled wickedly.
“I’ll have to think about it. Make it worth my time guarding it.” I raised my eyes, and he kept smiling.
“I knew this trip was a good idea.” He said, and he pulled himself half out of the water toward me. With my foot against his chest, I pushed him back into the water.
“Well, go.” I said, shooing him with a wave of my hand. He pushed back to the center of the pool and faded beneath its surface. The pool was deeper than I had guessed possible. While it was only a few yards around, it was deep enough that I couldn’t see him anymore.
Opening his bag, I inspected the seal skin, turning it over in my hands. It was smooth and almost rubbery. My attention was pulled from the skin to the circle of trees around me as the birds above me grew louder screeching out, and then they abruptly fell silent. The whole jungle around me fell silent, even the wind seemed to have stopped blowing.
Nervously I turned, looking around in every direction. My heart began to race. The wind picked up again and with it came the sound of wings beating, it was a familiar sound. Not the sound the birds had been making a moment ago, but of something much bigger. Instinctively, I looked up.
Two sets of white wings were descending from above me. I looked back down into the pool, desperately searching for some sign that Fynn was on his way back up. The beating of wings stopped, and a cool hand rested lightly on my shoulder.
“Hello, pet.” Violet cooed.
“Hello, Violet.” I turned to see her standing just behind me, black hair smooth in spite of her flight. She looked exactly like I remembered her, like I had seen in my dreams so many times since that day months ago when she had helped me to rescue Fynn and my grandfather. She even wore what appeared to be the same tight white pants and shirt, the effect of so much white contrasted by her dark hair and eyes was striking. Beside her stood another siren whose name I did not know, but she was almost as familiar. I had met the platinum blonde siren the same day I met Violet. Her short hair was smoothed around her face and she eyed me cautiously. She wore a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans, her hands twitched as she held her arms half extended.
I looked back at the water; still I saw no sign of Fynn’s return. The water was unnaturally still, no breeze came to break it from its eerie stillness. I spoke without looking back at her.
“How are things?” I took a cautious step backwards, uneasy with the sirens ahead and the pool at my back.
“Not good at all pet, but you must already know that. Can’t you feel it? Haven’t you seen it?”
In the past few months, I had made minimal progress with my dreams. It wasn’t that I didn’t have them, I saw things all the time, but that didn’t mean that I understood any of it, or even remembered most of it.
Her mention of it made me feel a little guilty, because If I was being honest with myself, I hadn’t even been trying. I had grown complacent. I was happy to spend my days exploring with Fynn, and my nights dreaming of him, when I could find him. My visions had been an annoyance. When they came, they overpowered my control and took me away from time I would rather spend with Fynn. In truth, they scared me. The visions were outside of my control and were perpetually dark and
unnerving.
I had been expecting Violet or some other siren to show up for a while now, flight was often the only element of the disturbing dreams that stuck with me.
“I see you have your pet’s collar still. I’m glad that you’ve decided to keep it close, you wouldn’t want him to run away.” Violet said. I looked back at her to see her watching the pool of water where Fynn had disappeared. What was taking him so long? “But for this conversation I think we should go just a little further off.” The blonde siren walked lightly to my side, hardly making a noise as she moved.
“I think I should stay here.” My eyes flicked between the water and Violet’s face.
“I would rather have only your ear and not the king’s as well.”
The king? I folded my arms and returned to looking at the water, I wasn’t going anywhere. The sirens wrapped their hands around my arms.
“Now, you hold still pet.” Their wings extended, reflecting the light of the sun and glowing in the rippled reflection on the water. I thought I could make out the hint of a dark shadow moving up through the pool.
I couldn’t breathe with the sudden rush of wind that passed as they shot into the sky, pulling me with them. The ground and Fynn’s pool quickly disappeared below me as we rose higher. I wrapped my hands tightly around Fynn’s seal skin, afraid to lose my connection with him. I wanted to speak, to ask her what was going on, but I still couldn’t breathe.
We flew through the sky so quickly that I had to close my eyes, my stomach lurched, and I gave up on asking any questions until we landed. Happily, I didn’t have to wait long. Once I felt solid ground beneath my feet, I opened my eyes again.
We stood on a small rocky island, only a few yards across. The sirens stood in front of me, uncomfortably close, and I took a cautious step back.
“You can sit if you need to.” The blond siren spoke. I was feeling defiant, so I stayed standing, despite the fact that the world was still a little wobbly.
“What’s going on, Violet?” I asked. She stepped closer to me, resuming the awkward closeness. She twitched her head at an angle, like a curious bird.
“What have you seen Cora?” She leaned even closer, looking into my eyes, like she would find the answer in them, like she could see through my eyes if she were close enough. Goosebumps raised on my arms.
“I don’t know. Wings and flying, I guess.” I felt compelled to answer.
“I need you to look for me.” She spoke softly only inches away from my face.
“For you?”
“On my behalf.” She spoke louder, but held steady, unmoving.
“What am I looking for?”
“I need you to see Naida and tell me about it.” Her voice returned to a whisper. Her gaze was steady, unblinking. I stepped back again, but my foot only found air. The rocks descended in a short drop into the water behind me, the sound a soft plunk of pebbles falling down and into the water. Violet grabbed my arm, her eyes never leaving mine, and pulled me closer to the center of the rocks. I took a breath to steady myself. I stared back into her eyes meeting her intensity.
“Why?”
“Because I asked you to, pet.” She held her place unflinching.
“Why do I need to see her?” I asked.
“Because I cannot.” She spoke softly and worry entered her voice.
“What’s wrong Violet? No riddles, just tell me and I will try to help.”
“Naida’s gone.” She sighed. “Missing since shortly after you came. I can’t find her, pet. I need you to find her for me.”
“She’s not a prisoner anymore.” I said, and I relaxed a little. “Maybe she just wants some freedom, now that Blake is gone.” I remembered Naida, held captive on a small island and I felt pity for her situation. I felt like I understood it even more now that I was being held captive on this tiny island. Violet narrowed her eyes and turned her head at an angle slowly, the motion looking almost human.
“Have you gone blind?” She sounded worried.
“I can see you just fine.” I laughed uncomfortably.
“Don’t be stupid. Blake is her captor as much as he ever was. Why haven’t you seen? Even I can tell that bad things are coming.”
“Maybe, I don’t want to see.” It was as much to me as it was to her. I wanted to ignore my nightmares.
“Want to or not, you need to. Your abilities are responsibilities, not toys.” Her voice rose as she spoke. “It is time to grow up, pet. It is time to accept that you are different and become something, and if you don’t decide what you will become, then someone else will decide for you. Indecision is a decision.”
“How does Blake still have control over her?” I asked, not wanting to hear her council.
“Just because he has forgotten you, doesn’t mean that he is gone for the rest of us.”
“He isn’t gone?” My heart rate began steadily to increase.
“In what way?” She asked slowly.
“In the dead way.” I answered flatly.
“Hardly.”
I decided now was a good time to sit down. For the past nine months I had been under the happy delusion that Blake was dead, and no one had suggested otherwise. They had encouraged the belief. I hadn’t even heard his name spoken in… months.
“Are you worried that Blake’s done something to her?”
“If he hasn’t, he will.” She squatted down, looking intently at my eyes again. “Find her, and then, find me.” She stood up and took a step back, unfurling her brilliant white wings. The blond siren followed suit. Wind blew, tossing my hair around my face as the sirens rose off the ground. They left without another word.
When they were out of sight, I looked around with some anxiety. I could see Ellinghead Isle not too far behind me, the top of Muria Castle peeking out above the trees. Now that I had gotten the hang of breathing underwater, the swim back would be time consuming, but manageable. Holding Fynn’s seal skin, I dove into the water and began the long swim back to the island.
When I got back it took me a few minutes walking along the shore before I could reach the castle grounds again. I was annoyed that Violet hadn’t dropped me off back where she found me. I walked into the cool shade of the castle and almost ran into Oran while my eyes adjusted from the light outside. Oran held my arm, steadying me.
“Sorry,” I said, taking a step back. Oran didn’t let go.
“No problem.” He looked me over, assessing me. “Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Because you don’t usually go swimming fully dressed.” He smiled. I realized that my shorts and shirt were still wet from my swim.
“Oh, I do. All the time. You just didn’t notice.” I answered sarcastically.
“I notice everything you do, Cora.” He didn’t smile. How many times had I felt his eyes watching me while I swam? While I walked? While I slept? Oran was always watching me. He had been more open about it lately; he had taken to staring at me openly whenever I was anywhere within his sight. It was unnerving. His hands slid down my arms and took hold of my hands. “What’s wrong?” His sea green eyes were intense.
“Don’t worry about it.” I half pulled my hands away, smiling. I felt bad for him.
“You’ll tell him though won’t you?” He hardly masked his animosity as Fynn walked up beside him. Oran released my hands but didn’t turn away.
“What happened, Cor?” Fynn spoke, breathless.
“I’m not sure.” What could I tell him?
“What’s wrong?” Oran asked again, concern darkening his eyes.
“I’m not sure, but it’s something I’ll have to sort out by myself.” I wanted to talk to someone about what had happened, but Violet clearly didn’t want anyone to overhear our conversation, Fynn in particular. Still, I couldn’t leave him hanging. “I had a surprise visit from some old friends.” I hoped they wouldn’t notice the raised pitch on the word friends. I wasn’t so lucky.
“Friends, in the middle of the jungle?” Fynn raised
an eyebrow. Oran broke his eyes from my face to look at Fynn for a second and then back to me.
“Cora didn’t come from inland.” Oran said, forcing more information into the conversation. “She came in from the sea.” His expression was almost hateful.
“Yes.” I looked at Oran. “We moved further off… for privacy.”
“Well, that was a quick trip then.” Fynn spoke lightly. I looked back at him and sighed.
“Flying is a lot faster than walking.”
“Ah.” Fynn was looking past me now. “Are you hungry?” He turned back to me.
I laughed, appreciative of the change in topic.
“Starving.”
Oran turned sharply and walked off. I still had no clue what to do with him.
The rest of my day was fairly normal. At least as normal as you could expect considering the fact that I now lived on an island full of mythical creatures. Fynn didn’t bring up what happened that morning; he didn’t even reschedule our trip to the pool in the forest. I was curious about what I had missed, but I didn’t want to ask and chance bringing up the visit from Violet.
When night came, I was apprehensive as I returned to my room. I had been thrilled to explore my newfound abilities during my time here, I had even discovered an appreciation for singing, but there was one ability I avoided.
Still, the dreams came, and they filled me with fear. They were laden with pain and hunger and longing. They left me sweating, curled under my blankets, and afraid to move.
One night had been so bad that I actually woke myself up from screaming at the blinding pain found in the dream, and Oran was there. I wondered later where he was that he heard my screams, why he was there to comfort me, but at the time I cried while he held me. It was, tragically, one of my best moments with Oran. For once he wasn’t trying to seduce me, or watching me like a creepy stalker, he didn’t even speak. He simply held me and hummed in my ear until I fell back to sleep. When I woke up a second time, he was gone. He never spoke about that night and neither did I. It was one more confusing piece to our puzzling relationship.
Then We Fly Page 1