“I couldn’t take you very far away.” He said and she could hear the rawness in his voice.
“What do we do now, Mason?” She lowered her voice, losing her energy quickly.
Without the magic in her blood, every sore joint and cramped muscle rekindled. She hadn’t tried standing up yet, but she already knew how that would end. Toes frozen and feet numb, she’d end up face flat in a hurry. He sat at the foot of her bed.
“Well, they don’t seem to be in any hurry to kill us.” He said.
The door opened and two more harpies entered the room. The first was the frail, skinny judge, with his skeleton hands clasped tight and shedding wings wrapped around his own shoulders. The second was a more recognizable face.
“Samuel.” Mason greeted the second harpie but Avery’s parched throat kept her quiet. Neither of them looked happy. Faces grim they filed toward the corner where the judge opened his black hooded gown and produced a yellowing scroll. By the crinkles and tears, it was probably the same used in the original sentencing.
The judge came forth.
“The high juror does inform me that many of the sentences carried by Ms. Avery Zane have officially been changed.” His monotone voice managed to keep their distinct attention.
Digging in his pocket, he removed a clear amulet and held it in the air. Avery’s heart could have stopped when she recognized what kind. The amulet was another magic detector, designed to glow a fiery red when magic came too close to it.
Mason tensed besides her, waiting for the detector amulet to go off. To everyone’s surprise, the amulet didn’t light up at all. The judge’s foggy eyes scanned the amulet and then he retired the amulet back into a pocket.
“As the magic no longer resides within the body, the information we used at the sentencing was incorrect and the sentence shall be over turned. I hereby relinquish the charges and the sentence.” He clapped his hands loudly like a gavel, and then he turned and left just as quickly.
Disbelieving, Avery caught Mason’s eyes with a confounded expression. Samuel lingered, demanding their attention before Avery could fully grasp what had just transpired.
“We’re not all evil and I do remember what you’ve done for me.” Samuel said pointedly to Avery. “I’ve marked in the official books that you are dead. So it would be highly unwise to show your face in our society again. You may not get the same mercy the second time around.”
Mason nudged Avery to draw her out of her stupor.
“Of course, I’m gone.” She did the strike out motion with her hands for good measure.
Samuel nodded and his eyes flittered to Mason and stayed, darkened with an indiscernible emotion. Avery could guess what he was feeling. The only son of his dead friend sat in front of him, the son his friend had asked him to protect. For that reason, she had no doubt that the judge’s decision had been influenced.
Finally, Samuel spoke to Mason.
“And you. Your fate remains in your own hands. Adalyn’s fiancé was a noted citizen. Conviction in such a murder case could lead to hanging.”
“Wait, you’re still going on trial. We saved his--” Avery started but Mason shut her up, slapping his hand over her mouth. She growled but it went ignored.
“I know.” Mason said, seeming less distressed than he should have been.
Samuel shot him one more despondent look before leaving the room. Mason waited another minute before he let go of her mouth. She spit at him, annoyed, but couldn’t muster a physical fight. She raised her voice to make the same point.
“What was that? Mason, you’re still going on trial for murder?”
He shrugged.
“It’s complicated, Avery. If I do petition to remove my banishment then I once more fall under their laws. And if I go on trial and am found guilty...well, you heard what he said.”
She gave a hiss of frustration both at his careless tone and at the situation.
“Are you going to turn Adalyn in?” She asked.
She couldn’t exactly compare to ‘eternal harpie love’ but it seemed stupid to her. Adalyn had done him no favors. Killing her own fiancé, she put Mason on trial. Then she turned him in to the authorities. At best, Avery could see Adalyn’s actions as good intentions paving the road to hell. But, at worse, Adalyn was just a bitch.
Mason made the same twisted pout as he’d done the first time she’d mentioned it.
“I don’t think you understand. You’ve never...” He started slowly, clearly preparing an explanation of carefully calculated words but Avery cut him off at the first one.
“Never been in love. Got it.” She blurted out, feeling dirty again.
“You’ve never been stabbed in the back by someone you love either.” He slumped forward and let out a breath. The dejected look he’d put on shut up any more bitter comments she’d had in mind.
“I’ve got time anyways. And I need time to think far away from my kind.” Mason said.
“So how much did we actually achieve. You’re still banished and waiting for the axe to fall.” She worded it carefully but honestly.
“It’s not all bad. I saved my father’s amulet and had it returned rightfully after all. I still feel like...like I have the last piece of him with me now.” He clenched and unclenched a fist marred with the magical mark for reference. “We didn’t die either. And I’ll have you home safely. So yes, I’d say we did a lot.”
“Well, what are we gonna do about you know, that?” She whispered cautiously. “You must have it. That magic detector wasn’t working.”
Mason wore long sleeves but she would bet her life that the mark already showed on his arm, just like it had with her. It would start slow, on his hand or his wrist. In a month’s time, depending on how much he used the magic, it would snake outward and upward into a bizarre spiral.
“It’s because I just got it. It won’t give out an aura. Not yet.” Mason mused. “We know more about it. I think I know how to prevent it from becoming a problem. After all, it worked for you months on end. And maybe I’ll find a way to put it back into an amulet where it belongs if given more time.”
Not that they’d hold out much hope on the last option. Still, the plan was good enough for now.
“So what are you going to do now, mister banished harpie?”
She leaned forward to get a better angle but the movement surprised her with a burst of pain. The wound in her abdomen lighting up with agony, she doubled over. When she went down, the sheets on the bed slipped and she almost fell off of the mattress. Mason’s hands caught her, probably with practiced ease at this point, and drew her back upwards.
A cool embarrassment washing over her at the situation, Avery waited for a mocking comment from Mason. Mason didn’t say anything and she looked up. Finding herself surprisingly close to the boy, her heart skipped a beat. His face, within centimeters, was so close she could feel the heat radiate off his skin. Mason didn’t move away immediately either. His hands, which had caught her hip and shoulder, still rested firmly in the same spots. The position was too close and far too intimate. Soaking in the situation, her attention flickered down to his pink lips.
Mouth halfway parted, he let out a warm breath that tickled her cheeks. He smelt like cranberries and spice. Avery couldn’t help but wonder what he tasted like too. The thought in her head, her heart suddenly pounded, and her mind blanked.
She acted blindly on the impulse. Leaning in, she touched his lips with her own. Shockingly softer than expected, his lips molded to her own. The kiss lasted almost a minute before Mason abruptly pulled back, ripping her from the moment.
“Avery.” He said her name in husky whisper.
The spell broken, she rushed to untangle herself from him completely. Face burning, she scooted backwards and wrapped her arms around herself. It was worth the eruption of pain from her abdomen.
“Avery,” He tried again, this time clearing his voice to sound more normal.
“Sorry.” She felt dumb now. Mason was engaged. Absorbed in
the moment, she forgot to mull on that little detail. Mood going south fast, she glowered.
“Don’t be sorry. It’s not- Avery, just…” He stuttered for words and then went quiet for a moment to revise. His hand reached out and wrapped around hers in an unspoken gesture.
Avery desperately tried to regain her composure. He had kissed her back. Of that, she’d had no doubt. The kiss had lasted too long to be accidental. But whether or not he’d reciprocated, the situation remained complicated. Accepting that, Avery didn’t overreact. He’d kissed her back, Avery kept reminding herself and that meant Mason liked her also.
Mason’s face flickered with emotion but Avery couldn’t pin point exactly which ones. After a short lull of silence, Mason went back to talking about their original conversation, uninterrupted.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. Mikhail’s still out there somewhere.” He said.
Avery gratefully took it as an opportunity to clear the suffocating awkwardness from the air momentarily and put the kiss behind them.
“So what, is he gonna come back all mad?” She said more casually than the issue deserved. Mikhail, at best, was psychotic. At worse, he was deadly. The fact that he’d almost killed her should have been proof enough. Plus, Willow magic or not, he’d come after her out of sheer revenge.
“Of that I have no doubt. If he does come after you, you’ll be in trouble. You don’t have the Willow magic anymore.”
She knew what Mason was getting at. She’d be in danger. She shouldn’t go back to the human world unprotected. Her thoughts strayed back to her school.
“I gotta go home Mason.” She objected quickly. It’d been almost a month with the entire incident after all. “And Leela. What about her? She’s gotta come home with me.”
“Leela’s already there actually.” He piped in. “No memory, like I’d figured. Allure amulets can do that. They took her home this morning.”
Avery let out her own relieved breath knowing that Leela was safe. She didn’t know how to explain Leela’s time missing from school yet, but she’d worry about it later.
“What about me? When do I get to go home?” She asked.
“Soon.” He said and squeezed her hand, forcing her to look at him. As mortified as she’d been earlier, Avery was grateful for it now. Then he brought up something she hadn’t expected. “…but you don’t have to go home alone, right?”
Twenty-eight
Mayweather Academy looked better the second time she returned to it. The harsh chain of weather had broken into something beautiful. The air, fresh and crisp, remained just warm enough that no more snow fell but collected in soft piles on the roof tops and patches of yellowed grass. Bits of sun pierced through the long darkness and made the campus shimmer.
She walked up the smooth, salted pathways with more appreciation than ever before. Her days of rough climbing, crawling, and straining would be out of the picture for awhile. Her lower abdomen still ached from time to time, but elation kept her moving.
She trailed after Ms. Morrison, the staff member, who was assigned to catch her up on the school time she’d missed. The school recognized her absence as stemming from a medical emergency-- the official story-- an exploded kidney. She had a scar to prove it even though she didn’t relish thinking about it. When Mikhail had nearly killed her, he left quite a mark that stretched almost from hip to hip. The scar would probably never heal right either, leaving Avery with the permanent reminder that Mikhail still wanted her dead. Avery refused to get caught up in morbid thoughts and was happily distracted. Ms. Morrison blazed ahead, even in clunky high heels, leaving Avery straining to keep up.
“I’m afraid some of your classes can’t be caught up this semester. The state dictates that we have a certain amount of seat time for the core classes. Otherwise, you can get the homework for your electives and finish those credits.” Morrison lectured. “You may have to stay for the summer semester.”
“She might as well stay. I’ll be here.” Leela commented from Avery’s other side. The only person in the universe smaller than Avery herself managed to blend into the background.
“What I want you to do and what I’m supposed to recommend are two different things.” Morrison laughed. “But you can decide that when you revisit the workload.”
“Alright, will do.” Avery nodded the staff member off. She’d already gotten her assignment and decided that summer school would probably be necessary. Avery wasn’t that far behind but her fall semester had been completely shot. She’d have to make up the hours.
“Did you get your assignment yet?” She asked Leela, wondering if they’d have to struggle through the same classes together.
Leela paused and looked into space. Her brown eyes glazed over and her lips mouthed words without speaking. Before Avery could voice any concern, Leela became alert again.
“No. I didn’t realize they were out.” She said blankly.
Avery opened her mouth to say something but Morrison piped in first.
“The schedules are waiting in the office to be picked up.” Morrison said.
“Oh yea.” Leela said slowly, the thought clearly having difficulty sinking in. “Yea, I’ll go get that.” She finally said.
Morrison led the way and Avery didn’t feel obligated to follow Leela. Instead, she headed to the courtyard, ready to wait by the water fountain. A few other students mulled around, basking in the unusual beauty of the day. Her eyes past over them until she caught a familiar face at the other end of the courtyard. Just seeing Nathanial made her stomach turn. Avery couldn’t slip away quick enough. Nate made a bee line her way and in seconds, he was on her.
“Can’t say I was hoping to see you resurface.” He said smoothly, quirking an ugly smile.
Avery became distracted with her thoughts before she retorted. Nate was always the cute boy, and even today he looked striking. His leather jacket perched on his shoulder with the collar popped and his perfectly messy hair disturbed by the wind. She’d already accepted the fact that he wouldn’t change from being full of himself or particularly annoying, but a few weeks ago she had worried that Mason was the same. They did share a number of disturbing similarities. Both were the prideful, cute guy that used his confidence and looks to make any girl swoon.
She’d been one of the girls that swooned for Nate and gotten kicked in the teeth over it. Avery had feared that Mason would be the same way. In light of recent events though, it seemed silly that she’d even drag Mason down to Nathanial’s level. Underneath all of his bravado, Mason had proved he could care about others more than just himself and that put him worlds above Nate.
“Earth to Avery.” Nate said, upset that she’d ignored him.
“It’s okay. I can’t say I was hoping to see you at all.” She shot back finally.
“Hey girlie, you still owe me.”
Confused, she asked, “Owe you for what?”
“You called me and made me go check on Leela.”
Remembering her frantic phone call from California, she shook her head.
“She’s your girlfriend. I shouldn’t owe you just for getting you to check on her. Besides, I was right.”
She knew Nate wouldn’t give up that easy. He never did, but when he took a single step forward, something fell from the sky. A wood chunk shattered on the sidewalk with a heart stopping pop. Avery nearly jumped out of her own skin and put five feet between them in the process. Her first reaction was to follow it upwards. The sky was dark but she swore she saw a shadow flicker over the starlight. Nate had also panicked. With ruined composure, he sputtered and fidgeted. Clearly realizing his infamous attitude was failing, he hurried away before he could embarrass himself. Left alone for the moment, she bitched upwards.
“You can’t do that.” She said, possibly to an empty sky, but more likely a nearby harpie. The tree line a few feet over was thick and probably a perching stop.
She waited for a response but got one only from behind.
“What are you saying
?”
Leela had come back up from behind wagging a blue index card in her fingers.
“Talking to myself. Is that your new assignment?”
“Yea, I got physics and chemistry back to back. I can barely handle one.”
Leela kicked the dirt in disgust. Avery shrugged, having the same miserable schedule, but was determined to see the upside.
Airborne (The Airborne Saga) Page 23