Winged (Aetharian Narratives)

by Sofia Vargas

  Emma Larnex feels that there is nothing special about her or the small-town life she is leading. She's not captain of a sports team, she's not top of her class and she’s not popular. As a matter of fact, most classmates go out of their way to completely ignore her. All of that changes, however, when she meets the new student in school. Viper Amest is one of the most beautiful people Emma has ever seen, and is shocked when he seems to be unusually drawn to her. As they spend time together she gets the feeling that he knows her better than even she does.

  Emma’s once normal life is shattered when she discovers that she can form Dragonfly wings to her back, learns of another world threatened by war and is told about a civilization of people that have astonishing abilities. Oh, and everyone seems to think that those Dragonfly wings means it’s her destiny to save them all from pending devastation. Her journey begins when she finds herself having to decide if she is ready to let go of everything she knows and trade in her painstakingly dull life for unimaginable adventure.

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for picking up my book. The fact that you are holding this book in your hands is nothing less than a dream come true. Thank you for being a part of it.

  I am very excited to introduce you to this world and these characters that have become such a big part of my life. This book has been a very long time in the making. It is not autobiographical, but you will see a shift in opinion. I started writing this story when I was in the 6th grade; a small fact that I believe is a big part of the end product.

  The shattering of innocence is something everyone will experience at one point or another in their life. You may be able to pinpoint the exact moment your rose-colored glasses were lifted. The great thing about creating something like what you are holding is that you can make sure that the loss of innocence is for the best. That it helps shape people into better, stronger, more enlightened beings; for if this world needs anything, it needs more heroes.

  That is what I present to you within these pages, heroes. Heroes fighting on different sides; against each other, for each other, all in an effort to preserve what they believe in and the things they love. This world is very seldom black and white, so who can truly judge what is right and what is wrong. All we can do is stand strong and hope that change will always be inevitable.

  Affectionately,

  Sofia

  Prologue

  I was tossed into consciousness by a sudden jerk. My whole world lurched with the movement. What was happening around me? It seemed like I had a blindfold over my eyes and ears. I saw and heard nothing, but I could feel all of it. Her movements were my movements. And at that moment, we were running.

  She held me to her as her legs worked. Now I could hear a light pounding against a gravel path. She normally moved more swiftly than she was presently and I was sure I’d heard a heaving sound. Was there something heavy on her back?

  I was not sure how long she ran, but after the initial shock her movements became rhythmic and soothing. I may have fallen back to sleep at some point, but what else could be expected?

  If I did fall asleep it seemed to last a few seconds only, until the running came to an end. We or at least I came to an unexpected stop that awakened me once more. I could hear the pounding of a fist against wood, after which we waited.

  The wait was relatively short considering how late it must have been, but eventually I heard the scrape of a metal bolt being dragged out of its holder, then heavy wood sliding against stone. The sound didn’t last long enough for the door to have been pulled open completely—only a sliver to peek through.

  “Who’s there?” a woman’s hoarse voice asked once the scraping noise had ended.

  “Celeste,” said the voice I knew so well. She said it barely over a whisper. “It’s Cordelia. I apologize for the lateness of the hour. May I please come in?”

  “Cordelia?” the woman’s voice said.

  There was more sliding of wood and my vision was flooded with red. I squeezed my eyes shut, but that only made white and black bursts of light join the sea of red.

  “Cordelia, what are you doing here at this time of night?” Celeste said once the door was fully opened. “And what is that on your back? Come in and put that down. You shouldn’t be straining yourself while in your condition.”

  “I know,” she said, moving forward into the doorway. “I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t stand it anymore.”

  There was a slight lean to the left and I heard the thump of something dropping on the floor.

  “Can’t stand what anymore?” Celeste said.

  “Any of this,” she said. “I’m tired of living this way. There is talk about them packing us up and moving us out.”

  “What? Why?” Celeste said. “What reason could they possibly have to do so?”

  “I don’t know,” Cordelia said, taking a step back and having a seat. “Whatever it is, they’re not going to tell me, and that only makes me madder.”

  There was silence and I turned over away from the light. She put her hand on the area above me and rubbed it with a tenderness only she could give.

  Celeste broke the quiet. “Where are you going?”

  Her hand stopped. “Away.”

  “You haven’t the slightest idea,” Celeste said. “Do you?”

  “No,” she said. “But I have to go. I cannot live like this any longer. And I don’t want her to be brought up in it either.”

  “One cannot escape fate,” Celeste said. “Believe me, I’ve tried.”

  She moved her hand a few more times and stopped. “I have to try. All of this may not be a part of her future.”

  “There may be a slight chance that it is not,” Celeste said. “But something tells me that you will be very disappointed to find that all of it indeed is.”

  “Well, it won’t be due to my not trying to release her from it,” she lifted herself from her seat. “She might find freedom Elsewhere.”

  She bent over and started to lift the pack she had put on the floor.

  “Leave the Star Stone, please,” Celeste said.

  She stopped. I could hear footfalls come toward us.

  “If you are leaving this place you need to leave all of it behind,” Celeste touched the area above me with her hand. “You are already taking something far too precious with you.”

  “Fine,” she said, straightening her body.

  I could hear the movements Celeste made while she took something from the pack on the floor.

  “This is truly your plan?” Celeste said. She walked across the room and set down something that sounded heavy. “Flee into the night through the great divide, never to be seen again?”

  She leaned over and picked up the bag with more ease. “That’s the plan.”

  There was a beat of silence.

  “I can’t help but think that we’ll need her one day,” Celeste said.

  “You won’t,” she snapped.

  Another silence.

  “I’m still here for a reason, Cordelia,” Celeste said. “I should have gone long ago.”

  She sighed. “I’ll stay close.”

  “I will be keeping an eye on you. I am too old for any of this. And that house can use some upkeep.”

  “Celeste,” she said. “I care for you deeply, but I will not have you interfering in my daughter’s life and crushing the chances of her being a part of something normal and safe.”

  “I can assure you that she is not meant to live a life that is either normal or safe,” Celeste said. “But you have my word that I will not be the one to trigger this revelation.”

  “We’ll see about that,” she said. She walked across the room and opened the door.

  “Do you need help
crossing?” Celeste said.

  “No,” she said. “Thank you, but I should be okay.”

  “Does he know you’re leaving?”

  She stopped in the doorway. “It’s been a long time coming. He shouldn’t be shocked.”

  “Even though that’s his daughter you’re taking?”

  “She’s my daughter, too,” she said. “And I seem to be the only one that wants to keep her safe.”

  “You cannot believe that to be true.”

  “I’ll make myself believe anything to actually be able to go through with this.”

  “If you didn’t want me to stop you, why did you come here tonight?” Celeste said.

  She took a few more steps then turned to face Celeste again. “Because I knew that if anyone should know where to find me, it should be you.”

  “I appreciate that.” Celeste walked to the door and wrapped us tightly into a hug.

  She patted her on the back and they parted. “Goodbye, Celeste.”

  “Goodbye, Cordelia.”

  She turned and started down the path once more. The night was significantly colder than it had been on the first leg of the journey. I turned again.

  “I know,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

  She walked. This time it seemed to take forever for her to get to where she was going, but eventually she did. I was surprised when she finally came to a stop. Wherever we were, it was colder yet.

  “We’re going to take a little swim, honey,” she said, patting me again.

  Even if I could object I didn’t have time. The moment the words were out of her mouth she took a deep breath and jumped. Water swirled around us and we were engulfed in warmth. While swathed in the warmth I lost track of time. We could have been in it for eternity.

  But then she moved. She whipped her arms and legs up and down swimming until she was able to plant her feet on the ground. She walked out of the water only to be met by the freezing cold again. She slid her backpack off her shoulders and let it fall. Bending over, she put her hands and knees on the ground and lay on her back.

  She shook lightly. I couldn’t see them, but I knew tears were rolling down her cheeks. She put her arms around her belly and squeezed me to her.

  “We made it, Emma,” her voice caught in her throat. “Be born here, free of any burdens.”

  I

  An introduction

  I watch the figure fall from the sky. After everything I have seen up to this point, I still can’t believe this is really happening. I don’t want to imagine what the body will look like when it hits the ground so I push that particular thought out of my mind.

  I run forward, wanting to do something—anything at all to help.

  When did my life come to this? I can pinpoint the exact moment my world changed into the freak show it currently is if I had a fraction of a second to think about it. But I don’t. Now is not the time for thinking. Now is the time for action—drastic action, to be exact.

  I can only hope that whatever my body is doing of its own accord will turn out all right in the end. I arrive in the exact spot the figure will land on the ground, void of grace and dignity.

  I hurl myself into the air.

  * * *

  “Is this seat taken?”

  “Not in the slightest,” I said, shifting my books away from the open seat.

  “Emmeline Larnex. That’s an unusual name.”

  I gathered all the hair curtaining my line of sight and tucked it behind my ear. I lifted my eyes to meet the light blue ones of an unfamiliar boy. His eyes were so captivating that I probably wouldn’t be able to recall the color of his hair an hour later. Well, that was if his hair didn’t happen to be the most brilliant shade of blond I had ever seen in my life. I shook my head to gather my wits again and gave him the apathetic stare I had perfected in my one and a half years of high school.

  “How did you know my name?”

  “It’s written on your notebook,” he said, pointing at the red spiral under my MP3 player.

  “Oh, right,” I said, blushing. “If you want to take a shot at it, go ahead. Though, I have to warn you that I’ve already heard it all.”

  The smile on his face disappeared. A tiny scar above the right corner of his upper lip became visible. He looked confused.

  “No,” he shook his head. “No, I don’t want to make fun of it. I was thinking that you don’t hear a name like that … around these parts.”

  Now I was the one confused.

  “These parts… Of Maryland?” I really had no idea what he meant by that.

  He cleared his throat. “Let me try that again,” he said, again putting on his smile. “Hi, I’m Viper. Viper Amest.”

  He said it exactly like that. I would have been more disoriented by the sudden subject change if I hadn’t been so distracted by his smile. It took me a few seconds to realize that he was waiting with his hand out for me to take. I eventually got there and extended my own to grasp his in a shake. I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but his skin was paler than mine.

  “I know, I know,” he said, interpreting the look on my face. “My name is just as unusual as yours.”

  I shook my head and smiled. One that was far less striking than his, I was sure.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  Viper looked at me. “Don’t worry about it. I get those looks all the time.”

  “But I really shouldn’t be the one giving it to you,” I said.

  “Well, I don’t mind it.” He got up from his seat. “It was very nice meeting you, Emmeline.”

  I turned over my wrist and looked down at my watch. As I did, the warning bell rang down the long white hallway. Although it was something it did every day without fail, that day it caught me off guard.

  I gathered my things. “Please, call me Emma,” I said.

  I unfolded my legs and placed my feet in the saddle shoes sitting to the side of the wooden table my things were on. They blended too well with the black and white checkered floor. I might have lost them if it weren’t in my routine to place them exactly where they were.

  “I’ll see you around, Emma,” Viper said with one last parting smile.

  “Bye,” I said.

  He turned and walked down the hallway.

  “I highly doubt you will,” I said under my breath. I stood up and smoothed my hands over my pleated black skirt. I tugged at the blossom of white shirt that flowered out of the top to make sure it was still tucked in well enough.

  I looked down to make sure I had gathered everything and placed it in my black backpack. I couldn’t help but glance in his direction again. I did a double take. A sliver of red sock could be seen between the cuff of his black slacks and the top of his dress shoes. I couldn’t help but laugh. It was a welcome change from the uniform black and white palette that plagued the school’s interior. I shook my head, smiled, and turned to walk up the stairs to the mathematics rooms on the second floor. The administration was going to think it absolutely sinful.

  * * *

  I would have bet money on Viper never talking to me again. I kicked myself all the way to class for not coming up with better parting words.

  Geometry managed to push it out of my head. I had the Pythagorean Theorem to keep my mind off things. Well, that was until someone said something that dragged me back.

  While concentrating on my worksheets I heard the sound of fabric sliding against plastic. It wasn’t louder than the murmur of classmates being tutored, but it was loud enough that it caught my attention.

  I assumed it was Emily turning to her other neighbor for help. My assumption was confirmed when her feet adjusted to the new positioning of her body. There was a clicking sound when her heels hit the tile floor.

  The world had been ruined the day she’d stuck those noisy tacks into the soles of her shoes. She apparently thought that she didn’t get enough attention without them—something I found very hard to believe.

  It was really too bad my guess on the subject matter of her c
onversation was wrong.

  “Have you seen the new guy?” she said. The question was barely audible over the other discussions taking place.

  Madison was the lucky crony sitting next to her. I never understood why Emily was the head of their little group and not Madison. She didn’t alter one thing about her appearance aside from a little makeup, and she was so much prettier than Emily for it. She probably would be just as tyrannical so it didn’t make much of a difference.

  Madison’s dark eyes swiveled under her black eyebrows to look at Emily’s face. Her glossy brown lips curled in a smile. “Oh, my God, yes. Is he hot or what?”

  “Tell me about it,” Emily said. “He’s in my first period history class.”

  I looked over at the big wooden desk at the front corner of the classroom. Mrs. Moyano didn’t look up from her gradebook, oblivious to the inappropriate conversation taking place right in front of her. She rubbed a polished finger across the edge of her bottom lip. I was pretty sure that she was looking into a compact under her desk and adjusting her lipstick. Which was probably a good thing since it was indeed outside of her lips in a few places.

  “You are so lucky, Emily.” Hannah was sitting in the desk in front of Emily. She turned to the pair to join the conversation. “I haven’t had him in any classes yet, but I saw him in the hallway this morning. What’s he like?”

  I had known it would be only seconds before Hannah jumped into the conversation. I had always been jealous of how well she wore her light brown, pixie haircut. I never knew what it was that made short hair not look good on me. It might have been that I was too tall, or that my nose was too big, or the fact that short hair didn’t cover the big mole under the corner of my right eye like longer hair was able to do. Whatever it was, I had learned to live without short hair, which was fine. Long hair served its purpose for me. And I was always glad that at least my mole didn’t stick out like the one on the chin of our next-door neighbor, Mrs. Trocki.

  I placed my right-hand knuckles under my cheekbone and glanced at the girls through the corner of my eye. My hair slid from its place on my back and draped the side of my face. I normally would have flipped it back out of the way, but at the moment I figured it would help make my staring less obvious.