by Abra Ebner
Like Sam had always said, I needed to rise to the task of being her soul mate, and be proud. Become the one thing in the world that could hold her up, and keep her going. I sat up straight on the log. Another gust of wind blew hard at my back, my wings extending as my arms erupted with goose bumps. There was a scent in the breeze that I recognized, even from this distance. I closed my eyes and breathed deep, my wings relaxing to the ground.
“Estella,” I whispered. The corners of my mouth curled and I exhaled, blinking a few times.
It was getting late and I knew that tomorrow was going to be a big day. I slid from the log to the ground, propping my wings behind my head and allowing them to finally come of some use. I yawned, thinking that soon my love would come back to me; soon the fun would begin.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Edgar
The fire burst to life in a ball of flames. I laughed, never finding it got old to start a fire with such magical fury. A few fat drops of rain fell from the sky, filtering through the canopy from one maple leaf to the next, reminding me of how much I hated the outdoors. The ferns bowed toward the dirt, lower than usual, but it was to be expected. I looked up at the maples, an idea coming to mind as I remembered Elle’s trees up the hill, where I took her on the snowmobile.
I put my hands up toward them, and for a moment, I saw them lean away from me in fear. “Hush,” I told them, smiling. “You know who I am. I will not harm you. I need your help.”
I rolled my eyes, thinking to myself that it was a bit silly to talk to trees, but I needed them. I began to concentrate. They tried to hesitate, but began to move as I continued to coax. Clenching my teeth and shutting my eyes, I tried harder—imagining what I wanted them to be. The image on my mind was presumptuous, but I had faith that they could do this, as a challenge perhaps?
I heard the crackling of the branches as they intertwined, leaves grazing my shoulders, but I refused to let it distract me from my imagination. I saw a table and chairs, bed frame and fire pit, drawing across my mind like a scroll pen on white paper. Soon the sound of crackling subsided, and I slowly opened my eyes.
Rain continued to fall on my face, dripping into my mouth as I licked my lips. I blinked away a few drops, my eyes falling on a small cabin that was rooted to the nearby trees, the leaves stretching to form a roof. I bowed to the trees in thanks before allowing my excitement to take over. I would finally be able to escape the rain.
“Ha!” My voice echoed through the forest, but my happiness was short lived as a figure emerged from behind a nearby tree, catching me off guard as I jumped, embarrassing myself.
My eyes snapped from that of my new residence to the figure, finding myself frozen. I took in the familiar outline of the figure, watching it’s every move, feeling it as though it were my own. The figure stared back at me like a mirror, darkness filtering across its eyes—my eyes. A smile grew across my face then, laced with a hunger to kill.
“You.” I laughed.
The figure smiled back with a vindictive glimmer in his eye. He nodded.
“Don’t you remember you’re no more than air? You cannot be me,” I yelled across the clearing that had been made by the moving trees. I stepped toward the hologram as it took one step back, remembering how fragile it was compared to me.
I froze, but the figure inched back again. As he did this, I lunged, my large black wings filling his eyes with shock. My heart was racing with the thrill of the hunt, forgetting about the rain and the chill in the air. He twisted into a raven then, taking off toward the upper canopies of the forest as he left a trail of smoke behind him. He tried to use his small size against me, dodging through tight spaces as I struggled to keep up.
“I see you’ve learned a few tricks since you’ve been here. Been reading my books, have you?” I was close at his tail, nearly over him.
The raven looked up at me, his eyes beady but blank. He had no soul, but I could see he had evolved, left to his own devices for too long. He let out a cry and I used the moment to throw myself at him. His body dissipated like black smoke then, eluding me and making the anger inside my heart grow stronger. My laughter echoed off the soggy trees as I looked around, finding this little sport invigorating, and a test of my once dormant agility.
I grabbed onto a branch and swung myself around in the other direction, scanning the trees with my sharp sight, catching the glimpse of a man running a few yards ahead. I clenched my jaw, no longer noticing the way my heart pounded in my chest. I reached down and removed my shoes before jumping from the canopy, floating down until my bare feet met the wet forest floor, mud and needles squishing through my toes.
I whistled, calling to the hologram like a dog and loving every moment. I could feel his presence in my heart. He was just up ahead now. I knew where he was headed, thinking that the shelter of the school would stop me, but he was mistaken. His black hair was bobbing as he ran, my feet not too far behind his.
I readied myself, rubbing my hands together as I summoned the warmth of magic from deep inside my heart. The trees began to thin, and I leapt off the ground, allowing my wings to pick up the pace as I overcame him.
He looked up at me, feeling my fury as his image began to flicker like a television with poor reception. An electrical charge ignited in my now-warm hands, and I reached down to grab him, feeling not only his body, but also the feeling of fabric—of his clothing as the air solidified. Confidently, I commended myself for creating something so real, that it could mimic human emotion so well.
He looked up at me, and it was like looking in a mirror. It felt as though I was killing myself, but it was a thought that wasn’t foreign to me. I tightened every limb around him as we fell to the ground like rocks, breath releasing from both our lungs.
I laughed. “You believe you can breathe now, too?” I kept a tight focus on the magic in my hands, not wanting it to fade or give him a chance to escape.
I saw fear in his eyes, a great play but not convincing. I tilted my head and smiled at him as my hands came to his throat. “You were so perfect.” I looked him in the eye and grunted. “But unfortunately, you were too perfect.”
The hologram made a move to speak, but I knew that if I heard his voice—my voice—it might throw my concentration. I was quick to destroy him, squeezing my hands as he began to deflate like a balloon. I balled the hologram up in my grasp, continuing to shrink him until he was no more than the size of a golf ball. With one last clasp of my hands, I felt him disintegrate into my palms, the magic returning to where it came from.
I took a deep breath and sat back, my body hot as sweat beaded across my skin. I felt intense warmth inside my heart, filtering a powerful blood to every limb. My power returned then, faster then it ever would around Elle. I laughed to myself between heavy breaths, feeling alive for the first time in a long while. It had been too long since I had taken a life, magic or not, and it felt good, like a drug. I felt my pupils dilate. The need to binge was strong, but I forced it back as always, reminding myself of my duty and my oath.
I tried to distract myself as I shut my eyes, thinking of the greater tasks ahead. An image of Estella came to my mind, smiling, finally coming into her own and learning so much. I felt the urge inside me subside, a cool feeling washing over me as each muscle began to release. You would think that thinking of her would make the feeling worse, but it never did. It was those notions that lead me to hope that we could have a normal life together.
Opening my eyes, I stood and brushed off my clothes, finding that now I needed a bath as well. I looked toward the sky as I filled my wings with air, pressing myself upward and back toward camp. I flew high over the forest, toying with the possibility that perhaps I’d see home in the meadow. The clouds overhead were growing dark and angry, the wind picking up as I squinted to see. The trees parted ever so slightly to my left, opening onto an expanse I had all but forgotten. I felt the desire for home tug at my heart, the desire to be with Elle so great it was hard to hide.
I blin
ked a few times, thinking I had seen something moving in the opening, not sure what it was. I brought one wet hand to my face to wipe the rain from my eyes, seeing now that there was something there, moving toward me in a frantic manner. I ducked down into the trees, the meadow disappearing and the faint smoke from my now dying fire rising from the trees. I landed on the forest floor, looking skyward as I heard a sharp cry cut through the wind and rain.
Remembering the noise, I smiled, letting out an excited hoot as I looked between the branches. “Henry!” I yelled, calling him to me. I heard another cry, followed by the sound of flapping coming from just over my shoulder. I quickly turned, just in time for him to land on my arm. He looked at me as he chattered, telling me how much he missed me. His claws dug into my shirt as he twisted about, unable to stand still. I ran my hand across his brow and down his back, rain trickling from his sleek feathers.
“Henry, old boy, how are you?” I turned and walked toward the small cabin, still suspended by the trees—their branches strained. Henry looked at the cabin, inspecting the strange structure and continuing to chatter. There were no windows, but it didn’t matter. As I came close to the front, a door opened for me, the trees still working in my favor. I stepped in as they braided back together behind me, setting Henry on a branch that protruded from the wall.
I shut my eyes and focused on my wings as I once again felt them get sucked against my spine, and out of the way. Opening my eyes, I looked back on the space, finally feeling content with the idea of living in the woods. There was a small hole cut in the ceiling of the structure, where smoke from a fire pit, just below, could escape. In the corner, a few branches reached from the wall and down to the ground, creating a small table, or perhaps desk. Another branch reached from the earth, flattening out into a chair that did not necessarily look comfortable, but at least had its use. In the opposite corner, branches had created a frame in which vines had woven a hammock. I thought about how uncomfortable my back already was with the addition of the wings and cringed, figuring I’d grow used to it.
It was dark, so I walked over to the fire pit, placing my hands above it as I conjured a fire out of nothing but air. The trees had done me enough service already, so to burn their own kind would be cruel. A blue light lit my face and Henry’s, my stomach now growling from the hunt, but I knew I was unable to eat. It was a curse of the guardian angel that food lost its appeal, and our hunger was never satisfied. Henry let out a cry that pierced my ears, as though thinking exactly what I had, except for him, there was something he could do.
“Do you want to go hunting?” I asked. There was no reason why I should still deny myself the pleasure of the hunt, even if it couldn’t be enjoyed.
Henry shifted his weight from one foot to the next, agreeing.
I nodded. “Well, then—let’s go. Darkness is coming, and now is the best time.” I walked toward him and put out my hand for him to climb on. “Like old times.”
THE PURPOSE
Edgar
It had been nearly a month now, and I was growing bored of the same routine. A rabbit hung in the smoke from the fire, cooking as it filled the small cabin with a delightful smell. I was spoiling Henry, and torturing myself. Soon I figured I’d grow out of my hunger, and get used to the feeling. Henry stood on his perch, leaving only to hunt but always returning. Since he’d been back, I saw that something was different with him. There was a look of guilt in his eyes, and I wondered why that was.
To my surprise, there was a knock on the side of the cabin, and it echoed in my head. I had become so accustomed to the silence of the woods that my hearing had heightened, looking for anything to entertain it.
“How does this work?” I heard an annoyed, but familiar voice from outside.
I shook my head.
Sam snorted. “Hey, I know you’re in there, and I heard that.”
I let out a contented laugh. “Well, you’re right, I am in here. And you’re an idiot.”
There was a sharp pound against the wall as the branches tightened, refusing to allow such abuse, and rebelling against letting him in. The pounding stopped.
“Fine. Have it your way.” Sam was talking to the trees now, and trying to convince them. After one last moment of resistance, they gave and the door formed, revealing my visitor.
“Hello, Sam.” I sat at my desk in the corner, my watch in hand.
“Sweet little set up you have here.” Sam waltzed in as the branches poked at him—still offended by what he’d done.
“Thanks.” I rolled my eyes and turned away from him, looking back to the book that lay open on my desk. After I killed the hologram, I had gone down to the college to gather a few of my things to help pass the time.
Sam poked the rabbit, making it swing and spread smoke into the air.
“Could you please,” I began.
Sam laughed. “What are you doing with this? Wishful thinking?”
I shot him a cold stare. Sam continued to poke at the rabbit, making Henry anxious as he began rocking from one foot to the next on his perch. “Sam—”
“Yeah, yeah. I heard you the first time.” Sam stepped back, sauntering over to the desk area and looking around for a chair. Finding none, he looked toward the ceiling. “Please?” He said it as though the word pained him, but the branches listened, and a chair formed. He plopped down, the chair pinching him in one last attempt to pick a fight, though it did little to affect Sam.
“So what brings you to my humble part of the woods?” I looked up at him under my eyebrows, acting as though his visit was an inconvenience, and hoping he couldn’t read that inside, I was actually excited to have the company.
Sam chuckled to himself, revealing he’d known. He looked at Henry. “So that’s where you went.” Henry looked away, ashamed.
I laughed. “I knew he was hiding something. It was the fact that he had become your pet in my absence.” I paused, looking at Henry and tilting my head. “Good to know you’re a fair-weather pet, Henry.”
Henry let out a cry in his defense.
Sam waved him away. “Anyway, so I’m back.”
I nodded. “I can see that.”
Sam smiled and sat up straight, lacing his fingers in front of him. “How are things?”
I shook my head, my eyes fixed on the page in front of me. “How does it look?”
“Okay, let’s cut through the formalities.” Sam gave up and got to the point. “Have you controlled yourself?”
I looked up at him. “You’re the one that can read minds. I’m sure you already know the answer.”
Sam nodded. “So you have. Good. And the hologram, that was brilliant. Well played.” He commended me.
I pursed my lips, knowing I’d slaughtered better.
“So, I can expect you back soon, then?” Sam tried to be nonchalant.
My attention perked. “Oh, so I can come back now?” I tried to seem annoyed.
Sam nodded.
I looked him in the eyes, feeling as his thoughts massaged mine, looking for answers. “Why can’t I read your mind?”
Sam let out an arrogant sigh that angered me. “Because that was my power. Yours is something else.”
“Strength?” I added.
Sam nodded, leaning back and testing the power of the branch.
I watched him, seeing he was trying to act tough, because he knew that now, I could beat him. His little act of strength when I had first come back was the last chance he’d have to flex his power over me, but now it was gone.
Sam rolled his eyes, admitting his weakness as he heard my thoughts. “There is much to do when you come back, much to plan for,” he tried to change the subject. “It’s on our doorstep.”
“So you’ve noticed it too?” I leaned back as Sam had.
Sam licked his lips. “Yes, I’ve noticed the change. Elle’s seeing it too, but she hasn’t yet asked me about it. I don’t want to be the one to deliver her the news, either. I figured that was your job.”
A half smile lit
across my face. “Too chicken?” I asked.
Sam defended himself. “I’m not too chicken. This just isn’t my war.”
“It was once,” I chimed.
Sam’s expression became bitter.
I lifted one hand in apology. “I was joking, Sam. Didn’t you get that?”
“Well, this is no joking matter. Things are dying, and the end has begun—thanks to your kind,” he stabbed.
It was annoying that he no longer saw himself as a human, though he once was. “It’s not their fault. They didn’t know. The humans are so manipulated by the gods, that they’ve never been trusted to take care of things on their own. If the gods know what’s good for them, they’ll let Elle fulfill her prophecy, and they’ll get out of our world. The humans could use to manage this world alone for a couple thousand years.”
“You mean shut off the bridge between Heaven and Earth?” Sam looked shocked.
“Yes, I mean a separation. That is, if we survive this thing. That’s up to Elle.” I looked down at my hands.
“Why does she get to choose? And what is this power controlling our fate?”
I laughed. “Fate is controlling fate. You know that.”
Sam didn’t believe in Fate as a being because he’d never seen her first hand. “I thought the gods controlled everything about this world.”
“Clearly, they don’t. Fate does.” It was like beating a dead horse. “The humans are the ones that have polluted it to the point that the delicate balance of nature is deteriorating. The gods didn’t have control of that, she did. And besides, who do you think gave the gods the world to begin with? Clearly it was given to them with the understanding that they would care for it, not allow their creations to kill it. This is their punishment. I think Fate wants this world back.” I shook my head. I was amazed that I had finally found clarity and reason for all that had happened, and it felt good to know. The gods were losing their world because they could no longer control it. Things had gotten out of hand.