Descending to the ground, Brenik’s feet hit a hardened gray surface. “What is this?” he asked Bray as her bare feet thumped down beside his.
Leaning forward to inspect the gray color, Bray crawled on the surface, as if she was trying to get a real feel for it. “I don’t know, but what are these white lines in the middle?” She bent her head down, letting her nose touch one of the white shapes, and breathed heavily through her nostrils.
Brayora wasn’t paying attention as a loud roar filled the air—a demonic black beast was barreling toward her. Brenik lunged forward as fast as he could and yanked Bray back before the monstrosity collided with her. They tumbled backward into the grass, and he released her to stand up. He was livid. If she had gotten herself killed, he would have been all alone because of her stupidity.
“What were you doing crawling on the ground like that? Not paying attention!” he spat.
“Calm down, little brother, I am okay.” Trying to appear unfazed, she tossed her long, black braid over her shoulder, and it fell back to her waist.
“You are only okay because of me! You could have died!” he yelled. “And what was that?” He had never seen something that stormed with such intense fury. The Jovkins were fast, but not quite like that.
“I don’t know, but it did not see us.” Bray’s breaths were slightly ragged, and Brenik knew she was as frightened as he was.
“Where have you brought us to? I want to go back home!” Brenik balled his hands into tight fists at his sides, staring hard at Bray, but she was looking at something else.
“Look over there, Brenik. Peaches!” His gaze turned to where she was pointing, and he spotted a tree full of the delicious fruit.
Bray kept her focus on the tree as she walked back to the gray surface. Her movements came to an abrupt halt, and she let out a loud wail.
Brenik’s body jolted, and he rushed up beside her, heart beating frantically against his lungs. “What is wrong?”
The color red. Her foot was dripping with blood. Bray lifted it off the ground, her blue eyes filling with tears as she and Brenik saw the small, clear objects embedded in the soft flesh. Horror struck him, not knowing what was attacking Bray’s foot or what it could do to her.
“Let’s head to a tree, and I’ll take a look at it there. I am fine.” Bray did not look fine, but she took off before he could get a word out.
As Brenik approached the tree, he noticed a row on the ground of what looked to be some form of enormous shelters, and not like the ones they had back in Laith.
Brenik’s focus fell to Bray when he landed down beside her, who already had her back firmly pressed against the trunk of the tree.
Tears slid down the sides of her face as she studied her foot. One of the tiny objects was poking out, so Brenik swiftly removed it. Bray let out a tiny gasp and pursed her lips tightly shut. Blood oozed out, and Brenik thought he may have made a mistake.
Out of nowhere, a shadow stretched over them. Brenik was scared to look up, but he did it anyway. The shadow formed into a body that was not a bat like them, and nothing like Junah’s horned kind, but it was distinctly female. The top of her ears had no pointed tips like theirs, but curved ones instead.
“Have I just entered the land of Thumbelina? I must be dreaming.” The female creature reached out to pinch her wrinkled wrist—the skin hung loosely, covered in spots of various shades of brown. Gray hair sat upon her head in short, tight curls, and she wore a white dress covered in daffodils.
Brenik was about to fly off, when Bray pulled him back. His sister straightened her spine, her voice calm and unafraid as she spoke. “I am Brayora and this is my brother Brenik. We came here from Laith.” Brenik could not bring himself to say a single word—his mind felt empty.
The female shook her head several times and seemed to come out of her trance. Her wrinkled hand gripped the front of her flowered dress, and she took several steps back. “This ain’t real. I’m just seein’ things. This happens when you get old, and by the light of day, I am old. Seventy-two to be exact. This is it. I’m gettin’ Alzheimer’s, ain’t I? Senile like Jimmy was before he passed.”
Brenik and Bray sat together, bodies pressed as far back against the tree as they could go. Something sharp jabbed Brenik’s shoulder, but he ignored it. All he could do was listen to the withered creature mumble to herself.
Slowly rising off the ground, Bray flapped her wings to approach the creature. “Hello, I am Brayora.” His sister had already told the female that, but he assumed she needed to repeat herself for some strange reason.
The female hadn’t responded yet, only stared at Brayora.
“What are you?” Bray asked.
“I—I am a woman, a human which you seem not to be. Yer a fairy.”
Brenik’s whole face contorted into a cringe because that was not what they were, and it was humiliating that she would think them to be such pitiful creatures. Junah had spun tales about fairies to them back in Laith.
“Close, but not quite. We are bats,” Bray said proudly.
Frantically, the human nodded. “Okay, then. Maybe a bat without hair.” Her eyes shifted to Bray’s injured foot. In a flash, the human’s face changed from nervousness to concern. “What happened?” Gasping, the woman reached out and snatched Bray’s foot. Apprehension pulsed at Brenik’s insides, but he did not move. Instead, he was thinking about a plan of attack.
“I don’t know—I stepped on something on the gray surface.” Bray pointed in the direction of where the injury occurred.
“You were in the street?” the woman shrieked.
“Maybe?” Bray did not seem to know, and Brenik was not sure either.
Inching closer, the woman pulled some form of instrument out of her shirt pocket and placed it over her eyes—the object seemed to help her see better. “It looks to be glass. We better get this out so you don’t catch anything. Not sure if you can get somethin’ like tetanus from glass like you could from a rusty nail. Can you wait right here? I’ll go inside and get some supplies, dearie.”
Trustworthy Brayora nodded without any worry lines on her face. The woman headed back inside, and Bray wiggled closer to Brenik. “She is going to help me, little brother.”
“How do you even know that? How do you know she is not just going to eat us?” He did not think the human would really eat them, since she had already held Bray and could have taken a bite of her appendage then.
Despite her being the injured one, Bray stuck out a hand and placed it on Brenik’s shoulder, giving it a soft pat. “I have a good feeling about her.”
“Is this the gift of survival the Stone told us about?” Maybe Bray could see who was good and who was not.
“Possibly.” She shrugged.
A squeak radiated outside when the old woman returned from her shelter with a handful of objects. Quickly, the human knelt on the ground, and Brenik clenched the grass in between his fingers to calm himself down. Brayora was already crawling across the grass to inspect the objects as the woman lined them in a neat row.
Pointing at each object, the woman told them what they were. “I’ve got a tweezer, alcohol, cotton balls, antibiotic cream, and some bandages. Ain’t nothin’ special, but it’s the best I can do.”
Brayora crawled nearer.
“You’ve gotta come closer than that, dearie, since yer foot is so small. Even with these glasses it’s hard to see at my old age. By the way, my name’s Ruth. I must have forgotten to tell you two that in the process of being scared to death. In fact, I think I might still be dreaming.”
Glasses. That was what the instrument covering her eyes was called. Brenik found them interesting.
Bray rolled onto her back and lifted her foot into the air as Ruth grabbed the tweezers. Steadily, she held Bray’s foot and right when the tweezers rubbed against the bottom of her heel, Bray let out a high-pitched giggle. “Aren’t you the cutest thing I ever did see.” Ruth laughed in return.
Frustration sewed its way through Br
enik’s bloodstream. Bray was already being favored once again. But then Ruth’s head tilted down, her big eyes meeting his, and she gave him a warm smile. “And you, aren’t you the most beautiful tiny prince I ever did see.”
“I am Brenik,” he said while tipping his chin up with pride at being called a prince, which would be considered on a higher level than thing.
With the tweezer still in her hand, Ruth pointed between Brenik and Bray’s foot. “Are you gonna sit over there all day, Prince Brenik, or are you gonna help me with this little lassie’s foot?”
“She is my sister,” he grunted as he flew and landed on Ruth’s wrinkled wrist.
“Well, tiny prince, I am gonna have you help me since I can’t see all that well. Point to all the pieces, and then I’ll dig ‘em out.”
Brenik didn’t have to be asked twice. He felt needed, and helped Ruth find each small fragment of glass. There were four in all, and one minuscule piece she had to scrape at several times to retrieve.
When Ruth was finished, she cleansed the area with the alcohol and a cotton ball, followed by adding the cream and strapping on the bandage.
Afterward, she took Brenik and Bray inside her home to give them a lesson on Earth, because Brenik told her they knew nothing. Ruth said she was going to teach them everything she knew—from reading to the world in general. But they couldn’t ever show themselves out in the open, and they were lucky to have stumbled upon her. She switched on a box she called the television, and that was their first lesson.
“Welcome to Texas.” Ruth grinned. “People love TV.”
4
Bray
Present Day, 1995
After scurrying out of Luca’s house, Bray sat inside the tree for a while, not knowing what to do. She wished Brenik were there—he would have probably had them abandon their home and find somewhere else to live, since Bray had been seen.
But Brenik was not there, and Bray was a much more curious person than he was. The night had already spread its dark blanket on the world when she peered out from the hole. Fluttering out of her home, Bray dove to a peach to get a few bites to fill her stomach. The fruit was not as juicy as the one from earlier, but she didn’t mind because the sweet taste still fulfilled her.
At the back of the house, a light shined from one of the bedroom windows. Bray angled her head to the side to try and see inside. The master bedroom’s lone window attached to the side of the house, so she assumed this one must belong to Luca. Ruth always said curiosity killed the cat, but Bray was not a cat, so she flew toward the lighted window.
There was a thin gap between the white laced curtains, and she could see Luca’s black head leaning over a book, reading intensely. No sign of his brother Wes.
Lightly, Bray tapped the window—he didn’t hear it. So she poked at the window again. Nothing. Harder this time, she struck the glass twice and that got Luca’s attention. He craned his fragile neck toward the window, expression blank.
Then she tapped it three times, and he slowly rose from the bed and walked to the window, tearing the curtains away from the glass. Giving a quick wave, Bray smiled at him, and Luca shook his head as he opened the window.
“What are you doing?” Luca whispered and closed the window as she flew in toward a tall wooden shelf, positioned against the wall across from the bed. Books of all shapes and sizes were neatly tucked in organized lines.
“I was hoping you had a TV in here,” she said while poring over all the book titles, her eyes roaming over each and every spine.
Ruth taught Bray and Brenik how to read, not that Brenik had enjoyed it much since he had struggled with the activity, but Bray loved it—still did.
Whirling around to find Luca watching her from the humongous bed, she rushed over to the book beside him. “What are you reading?”
“Peter Pan.” He lifted the book to show her the cover with a boy in green tights, flying through the air with specks of gold dust trailing behind him. She loved Peter Pan.
“Aren’t you a little old for Peter Pan?” she teased.
“What? Wes loves this book, and he’s the one who’s old.”
“Oh, right. I forgot I am ancient.” She smiled and wondered why it was only Luca and Wes living together in Ruth’s house. “What happened to your parents?” She didn’t know if he would feel uncomfortable about the question, but she had no filter when it came to asking things.
Luca didn’t even pause to think about it or seem bothered about her asking. “When I was four, my parents were visiting Mexico where my dad was from—they died in a car wreck. My grandpa who lived here took care of us after that—he died three years ago, so now it’s just me and Wes.”
Her stomach sank. “I am so sorry.”
“I don’t remember my parents much, and I do miss my grandpa. But, Wes is the one who’s been around the longest—he’s been like a dad to me.”
Bray was not sure what else to say because at least he had a brother who was around—hers was always gone these days doing who knows what.
Her gaze fell to the book now resting in Luca’s lap. “Would you want to read some of Peter Pan to me?”
With a huge smile, Luca snatched the book up and opened it to the beginning. “It’s pretty much like I’m Peter Pan and you’re Tinker Bell, since Tinker was, you know … old,” he taunted.
Stifling a laugh, Bray told him to open the book and just read. He propped his pillow up against the headboard of the bed and scooched back to a more comfortable reading position. Bray flew to his upper body, curling up on his shoulder while listening to his small voice read each enchanting line of the story. Bray and Brenik had always done the same thing with Ruth, except Bray would sit on one side of her shoulder and Brenik on the other while their caretaker read to them.
Yawning, Bray glanced up toward Luca’s face—he had fallen asleep, the book sprawled open on his lap. A small pattern of freckles spread across his nose and upper cheeks, and he appeared to be a lot younger than his ten years. She still wanted to say he looked six.
Bray was too tired to figure out a way to escape his room, and she didn’t want to wake his tired frame, so she folded herself up into a tight ball against his shoulder. Closing her eyes, Bray wished she had a little brother like him, along with Brenik.
“What the hell is that?” a loud voice yelled, disturbing Bray from her slumber. “Luca, stay perfectly still. I think there’s a bat on your shoulder.”
Keeping her face hidden, Bray stayed in statue mode as Luca stirred from his sleep. “What, Wes?” he asked groggily.
“Don’t. Move. Rabies.” Each word was slow and filled with paranoia.
Okay, before this becomes any crazier, Bray thought as she unfolded her stiff wings and adjusted herself into a sitting position on Luca’s shoulder. “I. Do. Not. Have. Rabies.”
“What the fuck?” Wes slammed his back against the wall, causing the bookshelf to wobble. Shaking away his surprised expression, he looked at Luca who was just sitting there on the bed rotating his head side to side between Wes and Bray.
“Luca, I’m going to knock the thing off your shoulder and then you hurry over here.” Wes took a few small steps toward them.
“Wes, she’s not a bat.” Luca held up both his hands. “I mean, she is, but she isn’t a bat like what we have here. Do you understand?”
“No! I don’t understand! It just talked. It isn’t a bat!”
Bray had heard enough of the conversation and flew off Luca’s shoulder toward Wes, staring into his dark brown eyes. “Yes, I am a bat.” She crossed her arms directly over her chest.
Wes pointed at Bray with his index finger. “You are not a bat. You have a face.” Bringing up his hand, he made a circular motion in front of his own face, attempting to emphasize his point.
It didn’t work.
Narrowing her eyes, Bray drew closer to the ridiculous human. “I. Am. A. Bat.”
His eyebrows furrowed, causing a deep crease to settle between his dark brows. “This is fuck
ed up.” Whipping his eyes over to Luca, he said, “I’m sorry, Luca. I shouldn’t be using this language around you, but what is seriously going on? Am I hallucinating?”
Wes moved closer to the bed and sat down by Luca.
“Wes, I met her this morning in the garden, swimming around in the new birdbath.”
“What?” Confusion crossed Wes’s face, and he slid a hand down the side of his head, turning his attention in Bray’s direction. “So, you’re a bird, then? Not a bat.”
Placing her hands on her hips, annoyed, Bray asked, “Is that sarcasm?”
“No, it’s not sarcasm, but if you say you’re a bat and then go parading around in a birdbath, what the hell am I supposed to think? Like I said, you have a face—a body—and wings.”
If Bray’s hand was large enough at that moment, she would have smacked the human across his face—hard.
“Then to top it off,” he added, “you were sitting on Luca’s shoulder, practically sucking his blood.” He placed his hands gently on Luca’s cheeks and tilted the boy’s head to the side, checking to make sure there were no bitemarks.
Bray rolled her eyes and inched closer to the bed. “I don’t have fangs—not long ones anyway.” She opened her mouth and tapped at a canine tooth. Wes’s scowl only deepened.
Luca looked at Wes. “Why are you even in here?”
“Because you left the light on, Lu.” Wes shook his head as if he just answered the dumbest question in all of Laith—no—Earth. “You aren’t the least bit freaked out about whatever it is that’s going on here?”
“No, Bray’s nice.”
Wes whipped his head over his shoulder to face her. “Bray?”
“I said he could call me Bray. You will have to call me Brayora.” She was finding it increasingly difficult to stay calm, her fingers and toes twitching.
“I won’t be calling you anything except for—you need to go away to wherever you came from,” Wes said hastily.
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