by Auryn Hadley
"This is how it is on the outer worlds. We're at a grove on Uriel's lands. He's the only person I know who won't turn us in on sight. Now you want to tell me what we're doing?"
With a devious smile, I pointed at the tree. "I don't want to kill anyone. I don't want to hurt any slaves. My butterflies have probably fucked up most of the angels around here, so I can only think of one viable power source I won't feel bad about killing."
"The trees?" he asked. "Sia, those things are thousands of years old, like giant redwoods."
"And not exactly native." I took a few steps down the middle of the very straight alley. "So no one can get close to them at all?"
"Supposedly there's a front and a back side, but I've never been able to tell which is safe. Sia, you can't just kill hundreds of trees."
I spun back to face him. "Watch me, Luke. This world, in case you forgot, wasn't supposed to look like this. Everything here, from the trees to the grass, I'm betting, was pilfered from another plane to make yours better without a single care about what happened to wherever they came from, right?"
"Yeah..."
"And it's not like I can just uproot these things and move them, so guess what. A big ol' Sia vortex is going to wipe them out. Now, you can go back home and wait for me, or you can stay here and take some of this aether so we'll have more than enough to put Nick back together since I fucked him up."
His mouth slowly fell open. "Sia, you didn't fuck him up. Mike did that, not you."
"And why did Mike find us? You said it yourself. I dropped my shield. I told them exactly where we were, and Nick paid for it." I sucked in a breath and started walking again. "I just want to leave one standing so I can make a diversion."
"What are you even talking about?" he demanded, hurrying to catch up.
But I'd just found the exact tree I wanted to use. The thing was much bigger than all the rest, standing over them like a proud queen overlooking her subjects. In all honesty, I had no clue if the trees even had sexes, but this one just seemed like a queen to me, and if any of them could survive what I was about to do, I had a funny feeling it would be her.
The trunk was the color of a winter sky on Earth and its leaves were a deep royal blue. Variations in shading traveled up the bark, separating the new growth from the old. Then there were the flowers. Tiny orange blossoms were nestled in between the stalks that held each cluster of leaves, barely big enough to see if it wasn't for the color. The whole thing was warped and twisted like something I would expect to find in the middle of a desert, except for the size. This tree was big enough it would take at least four angels to reach around it, wingtip to wingtip.
It would make the perfect distraction.
"So do they bite?" I asked, taking one single step closer.
"Yes!" Luke snapped. "Somewhere in that trunk is a mouth, and the branches will herd you into it if you get in range."
"Efficient." I stepped back, making sure I was squarely in the middle of the aisle. "So let's get the aether first."
"Right. Sure." Luke sighed. "And please don't forget we're on a timer. If anyone bothers to look at a map right now, it's not exactly a long trip to come catch us."
"And they won't expect me to be dumb enough to come here. I have a feeling the confusion of seeing my peak pointing at Angelis will be enough for us to slip back home." I waggled my brows at him. "But fine. You keep the trees off me and an eye open for anyone passing by. I'm going to see how much aether a forest holds."
I closed my eyes just in time to hear Luke mumble, "One little victory over the angels and she thinks she's unstoppable. Nick's going to pull out all my feathers for this."
"Shut up, Luke."
He mimicked my tone. "Pull aether, Sia."
So I did. With no shields to block me from the world, it was easy. Out here on the angel home world, there wasn't a mass of life around every corner to identify and discard from my choices. Nope, the only aether I could "hear" was humming inside the trees around me, the grass at my feet, and the man beside me. The pitch was different from what I was used to, but the theory was still the same, all I had to do was want it bad enough and it should come.
Lifting my lids, I looked at one of the smaller trees beside me and pulled. For a moment, nothing happened, but when it did, I almost stopped. Suddenly, the placid tree writhed. Yes, writhed. Long branches began to thrash like something out of a horror movie and the mouth opened in a silent scream. I honestly felt bad, that is, until the tendril of power hit me. Feeling the emptiness inside me begin to fill, I realized that trees had more aether than I'd expected. At least as much as an angel, and Nick needed this.
But I wasn't used to killing things with my power. I hated the idea and, as the tree's reaction grew weaker, I decided that maybe I didn't have to. Breaking off the pull, I focused my attention on the next. Just like the one beside it, the tree tried to fight me off, but it couldn't reach me.
The first one, however, didn't look so good. Its leaves were wilted and a few had fallen during its panic. I felt bad, but that took a back seat to my guilt over what had happened to Nick. These were trees. Ones that ate people. I figured they owed it to us all to give a little of their bounty back, and if I kept thinking that, hopefully the sinking feeling in my chest would go away.
Over and over, I drained the trees down halfway. The shocking thing was how fast I was filling up. As the influx of life began to grow sluggish and my body began to feel a bit bloated, I stopped and turned to Luke.
"Ready for a refill?"
He held out both hands. "How much can you hold, Sia?"
I wrapped my fingers around his. "A lot. I'm an aether magnet, remember?"
He nodded. "Then hit me."
I pushed, but it wasn't as easy to do in a quiet fantasy orchard. There was no desperation, only the smallest sense of urgency, and no pull from him using it as fast as I could offer. If I wanted to get this aether across, I had to relax like Nick had taught me. I had to give in and let it happen. But it wasn't.
"I suck at this," I grumbled.
"You're doing it wrong," Luke explained. "Relax, Sia. Don't try to force it. That would be an attack. You have to give, not force."
"Yeah but..." I sighed released his hands. "We need this aether, and I need to get more. Can you pull it from the trees?"
"Nope. Angel, remember? That's why Mike used sprites to drain us, because we can't just yank it through the air." He smiled and caught my waist. "But I can pull it from you another way. Look in my eyes, Sia."
Without hesitation, I did. Here, in his natural form, they were even more mesmerizing. His pupils were like a portal into an inferno, the flames all emanating across his eyes from that dark center. Yellow at the base, green at the tips, and they danced, lulling me to look just a little harder.
"I can take that excess aether from you," Luke whispered softly. "You want to give it to me. I'll take it to make room for you to have more so we can help Nick. Do we have a deal, Sienna?"
"Mhm."
"Then relax, hun, because I don't want to hurt you."
His palm pressed against my cheek and he leaned just a little closer. Then I felt it. Like a gentle caress, he coaxed the excess from deep inside me, carefully pulling it into him, and I gave. I did nothing to fight the loss because it felt good. I couldn't have stopped him if I wanted to, just like I couldn't shut up the first time he'd controlled my mind, but this was ok. My problem was that I was afraid of how good it felt, how easy it was to rely on these guys and trust them, and how much I wanted this to really mean more. That's the gate I hadn't been able to open, but with Luke's suggestion, my fears had become no more than a memory in the back of my head.
And I gave. A little sound came from the back of my throat as I pushed a little harder and his fingers tightened on my jaw. Standing there, staring eye to eye, we kept leaning just a little closer, pressing more of our bodies together as he took what I offered until our lips were almost touching. Letting his eyes close, Luke tipped his head and pul
led his mouth away, gently ending the transfer.
"I'm full," he said, but his voice was just a little too rough. "And I'm not going to kiss you when you're mind-fucked."
"Probably a good idea," I mumbled, hoping I didn't look as distracted as I felt. Then, "Wait. Are you saying you wanted to?"
"Yeah, uh..." Luke stepped back. "Aether, Sia. We need to get out of here. They may be distracted, but that won't last forever."
"Right. Um, is there any way you can disappear for a minute or two?" For some reason, I had to fight the urge to smooth my hair into place. "So I can just vacuum up all of this?"
"Not happening," he said, stepping back to raise a dense shield around himself. "Just do your thing. I'm full enough that even if you do rip at my shields, I'll be fine."
"Ok," I said softly to myself, "just the trees. No people, just aether from the world." Then I threw my head back and pulled.
I pulled from the air, from the trees, and even from the grass under my feet. Just like I had with those angels in the corridor, I pulled as hard as I could, trying to ignore the sounds of the branches thrashing much too close to me, but whoever had designed this orchard had done it well. No matter how hard they tried, the trees couldn't reach and the grass wasn't the kind to fight back.
I was almost done, but for every good thing that had happened in my life, something bad always tried to ruin it. This time, it was the sound of screams – and they were getting closer.
"Sia," Luke hissed. "We gotta go!"
Wrenching my eyes open, I stopped the drain and looked back to see the first person run into the orchard. She wasn't human, but I had no idea what race she was. All I knew was that no one had told her about the trees because she was weaving right through the middle of their trunks.
My drain had stunned the trees, but while I watched, one of them swiped a branch out and knocked her closer to the base. That's when I saw the butterfly. Flittering around as harmlessly as any other on Earth, it seemed to be the source of her panic.
"Oh, hell no," I growled, focusing my pull on the tree. "Luke, we have to help these people!"
"No, we need to get you safe."
He grabbed my arm, intending to pull me back, but I yanked free. If there were butterflies here, then the angels wouldn't come after us. They'd keep me safe for a second longer. Long enough to help these slaves.
"Damn it," Luke growled, trying to grab me again. "They aren't your problem."
I took off down the aisle, pointing at the trees. "They are now. Help me or I'll send your ass back to Earth."
That woman wasn't the only one, just the first. Dozens of people were headed right toward me, and most of them were yelling in a panic. If I wanted to keep them from becoming a meal, I had to pull the trees down far enough to make them comatose.
"It only eats angels," I yelled, hoping they understood me. "Don't be afraid of the butterflies, they only eat angels!"
Before I could say anything else, a man grabbed me and shoved me against the trunk of the closest tree, straight through all the branches. "Hush," he whispered, pressing a lavender hand over my lips. "It's not the flitters we're afraid of, it's the angels trying to refill faster than those things are draining them." Then he leaned back and looked at me again, blinking pastel pink eyes. "Kacira?"
"What?" In the background, I could hear Luke calling for me, but I ignored him.
His pointed brows shot up high then crashed down in confusion. "Never mind. You look just like her, except for the hair." The man leaned out and looked across the orchard. "Whoever you are, we need to stay in the trees. There are angels out there."
I jerked my thumb over my shoulder at the trunk I was leaning against. "Rumor has it these things like fresh meat."
The guy chuckled, revealing teeth that were a little sharper than I expected. "I asked them to hide us. They asked me to..." He stopped. "You are the one hurting them?"
"What?!"
"The tree says you are the pain."
Holy shit. So this guy talked to trees? "I had to," I insisted. "We need aether, and I didn't want to hurt the slaves, but I didn't kill them."
His eyes grew even bigger. "You're a Muse?"
"And I'm going to guess you're a fairy. Yeah. Can you get me to the big tree?" Hopefully, he wouldn't be too pissed about the draining them thing.
A million expressions flashed across his very expressive face and he tried to hide none of them. "Why? I won't let you keep hurting them."
"I want to show that big tree how to pull her own aether. I dunno, maybe it will help the rest?"
He followed where I pointed, then nodded. "Come, Muse."
Grabbing my wrist, I wasn't exactly given the option. This guy was willowy and lithe, but much stronger than me. As he towed me through the branches, across the aisle and right at the queen tree I'd picked out, I saw his wings. Tiny little things, clearly not big enough for flight, but they looked like something that belonged on a dragonfly. Kinda. Even more impressive was the way his shirt was cut low in the back to make room for them.
I also saw Luke grappling with another angel. He didn't say a word, and he was clearly winning, so I decided to just get this done. Then we'd leave and I'd let him scream at me as much as he wanted to.
I was distracted enough by Luke's fight that I didn't even protest as the fairy led me right to what could possibly be my death. Thankfully, the trees seemed to like this guy, because they didn't move at all. Not even when we both thumped up against the side of the massive one and peered around it to check on the stampede of people still seeking cover.
Yep, I'd have nightmares about this place for a long time, but first thing first. This monster tree was about to get a real nice boost. Reaching down, I rubbed my fingers in some of the dirt at the base – refusing to think of what had made that compost – then used it to draw on the bark. Just a little tornado symbol. That was all I needed, but as I created it with loose dirt and my imagination, I envisioned it as a black hole for the aether in this world, sucking up any loose in the atmosphere but doing nothing to the people and plants around it.
If this worked, the queen tree would become as strong of a pull on the world as me. Hopefully, it would be enough to confuse the angels for a while. If not, then at least she'd be draining their resources. I figured it was a win-win, and worth the risk of staying here long enough to make it happen.
This tree would be stronger and more powerful than all the rest. A safety net for the people enslaved on this world. As I pushed my desires into the art, I felt it happen. The image began to move, slowly at first, and the tree shuddered. It was working!
"She likes that," the fairy said. "She –" He yelped before finishing the thought and ducked away just as a breeze hit me.
I turned to see white wings through the branches. "Luke?" I asked, stepping away from the trunk.
The man landing before me was definitely not Luke. This guy was very, very copper. Not the pretty green patina kind, but the brand new penny color, all shiny and sparkly. Something about him seemed a little too familiar, but he also looked pissed, and from the bites on his arms and shoulder, I had a funny feeling I knew why.
"Why are you here?" he demanded, storming closer.
"Get back," I warned, pointing to the tree. "She's my friend." Then I screamed out, "Luke!"
The angel before me didn't seem to care. "If that tree dares to touch me, I will uproot her and leave her to rot." He didn't bother slowing down. Even worse, the branches actually lifted to move out of his way. "Why in all of Heaven are you here?"
"Shit!" I yelped, ducking around the trunk and preparing to slip back to Earth.
Just then, a voice I did recognize called out, "Uriel!" Luke was running to my rescue, his hands engulfed in aether glow. My hero was about to save me.
The copper man didn't stop. He just changed direction and grabbed my arm, jerking me to stand before him. I slapped my other hand over his and braced to pull but didn't get the chance. "Don't ever come back here again, you stupi
d little girl." Then he pushed, and I felt the veil wash over me.
Chapter 42
The colors moved backwards, but a lot faster than they had on the trip here. The problem was I couldn't stop. I couldn't change direction. For all I knew, I was lost in a corridor somewhere, tumbling around until I was torn apart. Even worse, Nick wasn't exactly in the right shape to come save me, but maybe he'd tell Sam.
I managed to grab the necklace just as I crashed into something very solid, bright, and completely normal. With a gasp, I looked up at blue sky and the front of a lovely green Victorian home. Nick's place. Shit, I was on Earth!
Rolling to my feet, I hurried up the stairs to the porch. I tried the door but it was locked. Luckily, I knew where they kept a spare key. Just as I grabbed it from under the fake stone, I realized I probably could have magicked it open, but this was easier. Either way, I wanted to be inside, and then I had to figure out how to get in touch with Luke. Maybe once he knew I was gone, he'd check here? It was our arranged meeting place.
Out of habit, I locked the door behind me and raced upstairs. Everything looked exactly like we'd left it, right down to my dirty shirt on the floor. I'd give Luke ten minutes to come back. If he wasn't here, I would go face down that copper colored freak and find out what had happened to my friend. Worst case, he'd been drained, but I had enough aether pumping through my body to fix that and still make Nick better.
I hoped.
It wasn't like I'd done this before, but if I had to guess, I thought I'd managed to get enough before my stupid-ass butterflies chased everyone into the orchard. Talk about Murphy's Law. My distraction ended up getting me caught. Regardless, right now, I needed to pack a few things for a long stay on a world that wasn't used to women. Most importantly, I needed some god-damned underwear, because mine was still on a beach somewhere on Vesdar.
Yanking the filthy dress over my head, I rushed around the room. First, I found a ponytail holder and tied my copper hair back while I headed to the dresser. I'd just pulled the drawer open when I heard the front door.