Flight

by Jason Lethcoe

  He reviewed the strange words in the book, just to be safe. Then he concentrated, imagining himself the way he always appeared. Edward spoke the words and after the strange sensation of feeling like his bones were all pushed out of joint, was pleased to find himself restored to his old, gangly self. He ran his thin fingers through his mop of black hair and over his skinny face. He even flexed his disheveled wings, and sighed happily.

  It had never felt so good to be in his own body.

  There was plenty of firewood beneath one of the larger oak trees. Edward gathered as much as he could, toting it over to the spot that Bridgette had indicated would be a good place for a fire.

  “Here’s the w-wood,” Edward said.

  Bridgette was standing several feet away from the place she’d cleared and ringed with large stones. Edward set the wood down in the middle of the ring, unsure of what to do next.

  “There’re matches in the back of the wagon,” Bridgette said in a flat voice.

  “Is everything all right?” Edward asked, noticing her tone.

  “Yes,” she said. But Edward could tell that everything wasn’t all right. She was staring at the center of the ring, lost in her private thoughts. Even though Edward had never built a fire before, he could tell that the task was going to be left up to him. He sighed and walked over to the wagon, and, after a couple minutes of searching, found the matches.

  Edward guessed that Bridgette must be worried about Tabitha and Spines. Maybe the fight had affected her more deeply than he realized.

  After several burnt matches, Edward finally got the first spark to appear. Bridgette sat several feet away with her arms hugging her knees, staring into the flames.

  “Why d-don’t you come closer?” he asked conversationally. “It’s really warm.”

  Bridgette shook her head.

  “How come?” he asked. “What’s the m-matter?”

  “I can’t talk about it.”

  “Are you s-sure? I’m a g-good listener,” Edward said. He could tell that something was really bothering her. She’d always been so helpful and encouraging to him, he wanted to return the favor.

  After a few seconds, Bridgette took a deep breath. She gave Edward an intense look. “If I tell you about something, do you promise to keep it a secret? I’ve only told two other people since I arrived here and that was Jack and Joyce.”

  Edward nodded. “I promise.”

  Bridgette took a deep breath. “It’s . . . it’s about something that happened to me back on Earth. “Two years ago there was . . . an accident at my house. My parents had gone out, leaving me to babysit my little sister, Katie.”

  Bridgette reached into the pocket of her jacket and withdrew a small, black-and-white photograph. She handed it to Edward. He stared down at a girl close to his own age with her smiling parents and a little baby.

  To his surprise, the girl in the picture looked exactly like the Bridgette he knew here in the Woodbine. He was wrong about his suspicions about her looking different back on Earth. She looked the same!

  The baby in the photograph looked to be about a year old and was smiling widely, dimples dotting each of her chubby cheeks.

  Edward stared at the picture as Bridgette continued her story.

  “We didn’t have electricity at my house. We used kerosene lamps.” She looked up at Edward with a hollow expression. “Katie and I were playing in the living room. I was swinging her around and we were laughing . . .” Bridgette’s chin began to quiver, and Edward could tell she was trying very hard not to cry. “My arm hit the lamp near the window. It spilled kerosene everywhere. The whole house caught on fire. By the time my parents got there, it was too late. Katie was gone, and I . . .”

  Tears were streaming down Bridgette’s cheeks. She didn’t say anything else for a long moment.

  Edward moved closer and tentatively laid his hand on her shoulder. When Bridgette could finally speak again, her voice was thick with emotion.

  “K-Katie went straight to the Higher Places, of course. All babies do, you know,” she sniffed. “But I didn’t die. My face and body were badly burned and the doctors said I might never wake up,” her voice trailed to a whisper.

  “I don’t understand,” Edward said. “You m-mean you’re not dead?”

  “I’m in a coma,” Bridgette said quietly. “But they don’t think I’ll live much longer.”

  Edward didn’t know what to say. It was hard to believe that the same Bridgette, full of life and sitting right next to him, was also on Earth dying in a hospital.

  He thought about what her parents must be feeling and felt tears in his own eyes. So that was why she reacted so strongly when he’d mentioned how pretty she was. She had been beautiful once, but wasn’t any longer. And she must miss her family so much—definitely as much as he missed his mother.

  Bridgette glanced up at him with tear-stained cheeks. “Sometimes I can hear what the doctors say down there, even though I’m here. If I die, like they’re saying I will, then there’s only one thing I want to do. I want to travel the Seven Bridges up to the Higher Places so that

  I can see my sister again. That’s how I knew I was supposed to come with you back at my uncle’s house.”

  She looked up at him meaningfully. “I knew I was supposed to help you become the Bridge Builder. I knew it just as soon as Uncle Jack finished the story about you and your family.” She looked down at the ground, staring at the place between her shoes.

  “I know how terrible my parents feel, the guilt they feel for not being home when the fire happened. Even though I know it was my fault for breaking the lamp, they blame themselves for going out that night instead of staying home. I know how much they suffer, because I can hear them in my head every day, talking about it in the hospital room.”

  Edward could see just how difficult that was for Bridgette. She was carrying a burden much too heavy for anyone her age.

  “But that’s just because your parents love you. That’s w-why they feel so badly. Maybe if they w-would have stayed home the fire wouldn’t have happened, but they didn’t know that. Everybody m-makes mistakes,” he said reassuringly.

  Bridgette nodded her head slowly and said, “That’s exactly right, Edward. And it’s why I wanted to tell you my story. I know that you hate your father for what he did when he signed the contract with the Jackal. But, just like my parents, he can’t forgive himself either. He made a terrible mistake and has been trying to fix it ever since. He loves you, Edward.”

  As much as Edward wanted someone to blame his frustrations on, he couldn’t deny that what Bridgette said was true.

  His father had sacrificed himself so that he and Bridgette could get away. Back on Earth, he’d rescued Edward from Whiplash Scruggs and again from Asmoday and Lilith. His father had tried to hide him as a baby. Even though he had signed a contract with the Jackal, he’d done everything in his power to break it.

  Edward’s vision grew blurry and he turned away so that Bridgette wouldn’t see him cry. He quickly wiped a sleeve across his face and cleared his throat awkwardly. Bridgette placed her warm, small hand inside Edward’s own. They sat there in silence with their backs to the fire for several moments, staring outward at the shadowy hills. It felt good to let go of the resentment he’d been carrying ever since he found out that Mr. Spines was his father.

  Suddenly a movement in the shadows caught Edward’s attention.

  “Bridgette . . .” Edward whispered. The girl turned to see where Edward was pointing. Her eyes grew wide and they both stood up, staring anxiously at the approaching shadow.

  “Quick, get behind me,” Edward said, balling up his fists.

  “What are you going to do?” Bridgette asked, sounding afraid.

  “Just get back. If it’s Scruggs I’m going to say that Word of Power again.” Edward steadied himself. “When I do, you run and get the pony. It’s our only chance.”

  “No, don’t,” Bridgette warned. “You could really hurt yourself . . .”

>   But before she finished her sentence, the figure revealed itself by the light of the campfire. Both Edward and Bridgette gasped.

  Tabitha limped toward them, her face and arms covered with burns and deep scratches. Her wings were tattered in several places.

  Edward and Bridgette rushed forward to help her. They settled her next to the fire.

  “I tried to stop them, but I couldn’t. They were too strong,” Tabitha said in a weak voice, her large, green eyes turned to Edward.

  Her voice faltered. Edward watched as her eyes filled with tears. Edward didn’t know what to do. He’d never seen Tabitha like this. She’d always seemed so self-assured. So confident.

  “Edward . . .” she said in a plaintive whisper. “They took your father.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  PURPOSE

  “I’m not going to let them keep him,” Edward said grimly. He knelt down beside Tabitha and examined her wounds. Her face was badly scratched and her hair had been singed on one side. Tears streamed down her face.

  “You need help,” Edward said solemnly.

  “I’ll be okay, they’re just scratches,” she said, wiping away some of her tears. Then she looked up at Edward and added, “I was wrong, you know. It wasn’t right for me to treat you the way I did. I resented you because I was supposed to be promoted the night we met at Jack’s house. There was a ceremony planned at the Council chamber and all I could think of at the time was how angry I was that I was going to miss it.”

  Tabitha’s voice softened.

  “I can see now that it wasn’t as important as I thought it was. You were right Edward. I was acting arrogant and selfish. I think that’s why my master sent me on this mission. I don’t think I was ready to be promoted.”

  She looked genuinely sorry. “I hope you can forgive me. A true Guardian wouldn’t have acted like I did.”

  Edward nodded, feeling awkward. “Of c-course I f-forgive you. But the s-same thing goes for me. I sh-shouldn’t have called you a Groundling.”

  They really smiled at each other for the first time since they’d met. Then Tabitha said, “Your father asked me to train you and I’ll do it. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know if you’re the Bridge Builder or not. But I did see how you handled yourself against those Groundlings at Woodhaven. For someone with no idea of how to use a ring, you threw well.”

  She reached into a small pouch on her blue sash. Then she held out her palm, offering something to Edward. He looked at the slim, golden circle that rested on her hand.

  It was his father’s wedding ring.

  “You’ll need this,” she said.

  “You found it!” Edward cried, taking the ring. As he gazed at it he noticed an inscription inside of the band.

  He moved closer to the fire to get a better look. The words were tiny, but printed in simple block letters.

  Melchior and Sarah. Love never fails.

  Edward’s eyes burned. The inscription was so simple but the words were powerful. They echoed over and over in his mind. Love never fails. Love NEVER fails.

  His father was sorry. He’d made mistakes that Edward could forgive. When he’d chosen to fall he’d risked everything to be with Edward’s mother and even though he’d gone about it in the wrong way, it had taken a tremendous act of sacrifice. Suddenly Edward knew something that both he and his father had in common. Something he’d never realized before.

  They both loved his mother.

  He glanced back at Tabitha. “And I m-might not know how to sing one of those H-Healing Songs yet,” he said. “But at least I can help with s-some bandages. We need to get you f-fixed up as soon as we can. Only you can teach me the thing I want to learn first.”

  “And what’s that?” asked Tabitha.

  He smiled.

  “To fly.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  PURSUIT

  “Oh, my back!” Bridgette moaned. She stretched, and winced at her protesting muscles. “That was the longest night of my life.”

  “You should have come closer to the fire,” Tabitha said.

  Bridgette didn’t reply. Instead she set about gathering a few things for breakfast. The three had slept through the chilly night on blankets from the wagon. Edward and Tabitha had the advantage of wings, which had acted both as a second blanket and a mattress. But Bridgette had spent a miserable night huddled a considerable distance from the fire. Because of his promise to Bridgette not to say anything about her story, Edward hadn’t told Tabitha the reason why.

  “Wh-when do you want to s-start my training?” Edward asked Tabitha eagerly.

  She smiled. “We need a nice area with plenty of space—preferably a hilltop.”

  “How long do you think it will take to train Edward?” Bridgette asked. She looked anxious as she handed out the contents from a basket that Al had packed. Edward thanked Bridgette and unwrapped the waxed paper from a small packet and found a delicious looking ham sandwich and a hard-boiled egg inside.

  “Hard to say,” said Tabitha, unwinding the bandages from her wings. “Some students are quicker than others.” She gave her wings an experimental flex and the feathers flared out in response. Tabitha winced a little, still feeling the effects of yesterday’s battle.

  “I’m just worried about getting to Cornelius’s Valley without being discovered,” Bridgette admitted.

  “I’m not sure we can get there. Only Melchior knew exactly where it was. We haven’t any kind of map,” Tabitha replied.

  “He said it w-was over the border in the J-Jackal’s territory,” Edward mentioned.

  “Yes, but that could be anywhere,” Bridgette said. “The Woodbine is huge.”

  “She’s right,” Tabitha added. “I wouldn’t know the first place to begin looking. Until yesterday, I thought Cornelius of the Blue Snails was just a legend. Even now, I’m not so sure.”

  Edward frowned. There had to be a way to find Cornelius. His father had said that Cornelius could provide them with a key that would get them into the Jackal’s Lair. Suddenly an idea came to him.

  “What about my father’s w-workshop?” Edward asked excitedly. “He muh-mentioned that his apprentices S-Sariel and Artemis were hidden there. Maybe they’ll know about it.”

  Tabitha brightened. “That’s possible. It’s not far from here. When I was a cherub, my instructor took a group of us there during a music history class. It was pretty run down, but you could tell that it had once been magnificent.”

  “I really want to see it,” Edward said. Learning more about who his father had been before his fall had suddenly become more important to him. What kind of a Guardian had he been?

  “Sounds good to me,” Bridgette said. “I don’t feel safe here.” She gazed at the brown, rolling hills around them. If Groundlings were looking for them, they wouldn’t be hard to spot. The thicket where they’d set up camp was the most obvious place to hide. Everything else was open grass dotted with the occasional oak tree.

  “Let me check to make sure nobody’s around,” Tabitha said after swallowing a bite of sandwich. Edward studied her movement as she spread her wings and crouched. A second later, she was flying above the trees.

  Edward stared after her, watching until she was a tiny, black dot against the brilliant blue sky. She made it look so effortless! Would it be possible for him to do what she could do? Twenty minutes later, Tabitha landed gracefully at the edge of the thicket. She gritted her teeth against the pain as she hit the ground.

  “Are y-you okay?” Edward stammered.

  Tabitha nodded, her face pale. “Two troops of Groundlings,” Tabitha said breathlessly. “One was heading south. I have a feeling they’re busy delivering Melchior to the Jackal. But the other is heading in our direction. They’re only about a mile away and Scruggs is with them.”

  “Then wuh-we should fight!” Edward said, trying to sound braver than he felt. In spite of his fear of Scruggs, he was sick of running away. He couldn’t erase the image of his father risking his life when he
attacked Scruggs so that Edward could escape.

  Tabitha shook her head gently. “I admire your courage, Edward. But we’re in no condition to take on a whole troop of Groundlings.”

  “Then what should we do?” Bridgette asked anxiously. “If we stay here, they’ll find us!”

  Tabitha looked grave. “There’s not much we can do. Groundling trackers are relentless. Once they have our scent, they’ll follow us wherever we go.”

  “Isn’t there any way w-we can throw them off?” Edward asked. “You know, l-luh-like we did at the Lethye?”

  Tabitha thought for a moment. “We’d never make it back to the river in time. They’d capture us before we were even close. There’s only one possible way I can think of that might work, but it would be incredibly dangerous.”

  “What is it?” Bridgette asked eagerly.

  Tabitha paused. For the first time, Edward saw fear written on her features. She bit her lip and gazed at them with a hollow-eyed expression.

  “It’s a place even the Groundlings fear. Specter’s Hollow.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  SPECTER’S HOLLOW

  “Specter’s Hollow? You can’t be serious!” Bridgette exclaimed. She looked horrified.

  “It’s the only way,” Tabitha said miserably, clearly afraid.

  “But which is worse?” Bridgette asked. “I never thought I’d say it, but maybe being taken to the Jackal is better. At least then we’d know what we’re up against.”

  Edward gazed at both of them, looking confused. “I d-don’t understand. What are you guys talking about?” He couldn’t imagine any place being worse than the Jackal’s Lair.

  “It’s the place where people go if they die here in the Afterlife. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Guardian, Groundling, or mortal. Even the Jackal, if he’s ever killed, will have to go there. My uncle Jack told me that Specter’s Hollow is the place where a person faces his or her deepest fears. Those who can’t find the courage to move past them are often trapped there for eternity, endlessly facing the most terrible things they can imagine,” Bridgette explained.