Featherlight (24 page)

When I was standing before the
dapplegrey, my head was only level with his chest. I lifted my hand up, and he butted
his dog-like face against it. My fingers sank into soft grey fur to reveal the
yellow undercoat. The creature’s sigh ruffled my hair, and I giggled.

“You remind me of Balto,” I
told him with a smile.

His nose nudged my chest with a
snort and I laughed again. The animal left the clearing, immediately
disappearing into the forest.

“Okay,” I said. “Now that was
freaky.”

We stood silently while the
creatures climbed and played.

I asked suddenly, “Where do we
get other types of meat? Do you kill the animals after they walk trustingly to
you?”

An image of a cow crossed my
mind, and I realized that I shouldn’t be accusing him of anything.

“Not all animals are good,
Jacque. Some are quite harmful and dangerous… They are also the tastiest,” John
winked at me to show he wasn’t insulted at my accusation and I blushed.

That was completely pitiful.
All it took was one wink and I was blushing. We were even talking about killing
animals! What was wrong with me?

Speaking of which, was there
anything morally wrong with these people? They only eat bad animals, they never
harm women, they help guide humans…
Stop it, Jacque! Of course there is. For
instance, a man forces a woman to be his wife after catching her.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t
entirely convince myself of this wrongness. Very slowly, John was reworking my
moral compass to face away from Earth and towards Auro. If I didn’t remember my
values, I would soon be in big trouble.

The walk back to the cabin
allowed me time to think about my place in this world and my duty to Earth. My
life was meaningless if I stayed hidden away, unable to make a difference for
someone else. I finally knew what I had to do.

Part XII

 “I want to go back.”

From the tone of my voice, he
must have known what I meant. John’s blue eyes locked with mine and I felt the
chase creep into my system like a wonderful poison.

Yesterday I accepted the fact
that I was flirting with danger. I had no true idea of who John really was. How
did I know that it was only with him that I felt those crazy stirrings? What if
I could feel that with anyone and he was just the first person who happened to
whisk me away? Sure, I didn’t feel that with Peter, but he was just one guy.
I’ve met a total of two single men since I’ve been on this planet, so I
shouldn’t throw everything out the window just because my body’s responses have
fooled me into thinking I was in love. I never tried asking to go home since I
always believed that I was kidnapped. Since my captor and I are now apparently buddies,
I decided to make a request to leave.

John gazed unblinkingly at me.
The chase waited anxiously in the background to be unleashed. He blinked, and a
pre-chase rush ran over me. My palms sweated and my heart rocketed.
I am a folium.
I am one-of-a-kind. I will not be controlled.
I tried to build up my
resistance, but it seemed futile. The need to run nearly overpowered me, but I
suddenly remembered my childhood.

Whispered memories of my
father, the man who enjoyed listening to my cries for help, leaked into my
conscious thought. His voice rasped in my ear, and instead of shoving it aside,
I welcomed it. Ice from fear and hate chilled my fiery veins. The coolness
destroyed the Chase instincts like an antibiotic.

I would not run from my past,
and I would not run from John. With a gasp, I ripped my gaze from John’s and
covered my head. The need to run faded with cool victory on its heels. Accepting
the memories from my childhood inside my defenses caused my stomach to roll and
my muscles to shake with fear and anger.

There was a high price, but I
had won. I stopped it.

“Yes!” I shouted to the
heavens.

“Good job, Jacque.” John hadn’t
moved a muscle since my victory.

“Get me out of here, please.”
It was time for me to grow up and stop this romantic nonsense before it
spiraled out of control.

“As you wish.” His voice was
laced with a hint of disappointment, but I didn’t care.

This whole event had been
anticlimactic, but I didn’t care about that either. It had all happened so
quickly. Between one second and the next, I was returning to the Tower.

John hit a small device that
was sitting on the counter, and Samantha’s voice split the air. “John? How is
she? What is happening? Are you okay?”

“Fine, mother. We’re coming
home, so send a jet to the woodland cabin and make sure our arrival is
private.”

“Okay, honey. See you soon,”
Samantha answered.

“See you.” John clicked the
device off and turned to me. “Gather your things, Jacqueline.”

He turned and strode into his
bedroom without looking back. Oh yes, he was definitely angry.

Part XXII

John glared at the bed as if it
were at fault. He had lost control earlier with Jacque, so he was the one to
blame. He had restrained himself from a true chase, but just barely.
Regardless, he had scared her away. Life would be much more difficult without
her being tied to him, but he knew that not forcing her into being his mate was
the best choice. Of course, once the deed was done and the bond complete, she
would not be upset with him. Her bound emotions wouldn’t let her feel anything
but glee.

This was not how things were
supposed to happen. They were supposed to stay here for a few weeks until he
gained her trust and affection, and then he would complete the Chase. He had no
idea she would learn how to resist so quickly.

He slammed his fist down on the
wooden dresser.
Damn it!
Why did he have to be so concerned with these
moral questions? He should have given chase when he had first laid eyes on her,
just like his father had wanted. He should march into the living room right now
and finish this whole mess. She probably couldn’t resist him again if he caught
her off guard, especially if he triggered a true chase. He could do it, and
after it was over she would love him unconditionally. She would have no choice.

||||

I was staring at the bathroom
counter and trying to decide what to pack away when a loud noise made me
flinch. John being upset unnerved me. What if he changed his mind and came
running in here and… The room was too little, too enclosed. I needed to get out
of here.

I ran out into the hall and
halted. A humming noise started growing louder and louder. The ground vibrated
slightly, and my heart began hammering. What was happening?

“Jacqueline, the plane is
here,” John said from his bedroom across the house.

His voice was flat with anger,
and I flinched and whirled around when he spoke before realizing he was in a
different room. I really needed to get used to my improved hearing, because my
listening perception was so distorted.

“Plane? Oh, yeah. The plane is
here. Let me just…” I ran into my bedroom and soon realized that I had no
belongings to pack. A slap of loneliness hit my gut, but I ignored it.

Rene came running through the
front door at the same time I entered the living room. She took one long look
at me and then threw her arms around my neck in a hug.

“Jacque… I’m so glad to see you
new. Thank goodness.”

I patted her back awkwardly,
not knowing what to think or do.

“Of course, Rene. I’m glad to
see you too. Is everything okay?”

“It is now, dear. It is all
okay.” She stepped back and smiled at me while I simply stared at her.
What
the hell?

John came walking towards us,
looking slightly calmer than earlier. “What happened, Rene?”

Rene glanced at me before
saying, “The common will declare war if you take Jacqueline. They made that
threat right after we took her to Omar’s home, but no one knew because all
outside contact had been cut off while we were there. I’m afraid Marshal and
Samantha knew when they arrived, which was the reason your father was so
adamant about taking Jacque; he knew you would be more likely to do it while
you didn’t know about the threat of war.”

John looked at me for a long
time while I kept my eyes on the floor before he asked Rene, “What else do you
know?”

“The King and Peter are furious,
and I believe they have every intention of following through with their threat.
We have been discussing Jacque’s situation, but it has been difficult due to
our ignorance of her current state. Since I can see she is still new, we can
keep her in the Tower until the festival.”

“Festival? You’re not referring
to the midnight festival, surely,” John said, his voice quiet and low.

“I am, John. After more than
100 years, they Kiren have extended an invitation to us. If we were to accept,
they would continue the annual festival. It is set to start in three days.”

“Because of Jacque? Three days?
Rene, you know we can’t deny their invite, as much as we might want. This is
completely outrageous.” John turned and ran his hand through his hair in
frustration.

Rene must have seen the
confusion in my eyes, because she took my arm and gave me an encouraging
it-will-all-be-okay smile that I didn’t believe for one minute.

“The black winged are holding a
festival in your honor. The courts have learned of your existence and they want
to see you- taken or new. It’s public knowledge by now that you and John are
together in hiding. It is constantly debated whether or not he has Chased you,
and if not, then when.”

She patted my arm consolingly.
“Most high-ranking lullary
men were angry that John and the Marshal kept
you hidden because they had obvious access to you. After Peter’s first Chase,
it became a contest between the two winged groups. Whichever side takes you
will have obvious power. Now, apparently, the black winged kiren
are
going to fight over you too. You should be flattered.”

John glared at Rene and she
hastily continued, “I have a feeling they are doing the festival to see if you
are taken, and if you are not, then they will try and chase you.”

“Oh, great! How kind of them.
Good thing I know how to resist then, right?” My question was directed at John,
and I saw Rene’s surprised face out of the corner of my eye.

“Right,” he answered me dryly.
“This is also a wonderfully opportunity to reestablish bonds with the kiren
,
except for the fact that it is such a blatant trap for you.”

“A trap for me? Then by all
means, let’s go! We have a party to attend,” I said with a wink while my mind
already started to plot its own scheme. What if I could help Earth from this
planet? I had a lot of power here, right?

Even though I was no longer
human, I still had a duty to my people. “From everyone who has been given much,
much will be demanded,” I mumbled. The more power I had over these people, and
it seemed like I had a
lot
¸ the more changes I could make to this world’s
antiquated social system.

I followed Rene onto the sleek
jet, and we all sat down in the plush white seats. The jet’s rumble was making
me sleepy as I ran my hand along the soft white fabric. It was the same shade
of my wings, and that made me feel oddly proud. John was sitting next to me and
watching my hand intently. My eyelids started drifting closed, and I placed my
head on his shoulder.

“Jacque? I’m not letting you
out of my sight. I will be with you every second of the day, no exceptions.”

I was too tired to be annoyed,
so I simply smiled.

            Part XXIII

My body spirals downward
from the sky, and Peter is laughing from high above. I land with a silent splash
in a deep black lake. I suck in a lungful of water. My lungs burn…

I gasped and jerked awake. Deep
breaths. It was just a dream. Breathe.

My heartbeat finally slowed
into the realm of normal. John placed a warm hand on my knee and gazed at me
with concern.

“Just a bad dream,” I
whispered.

He nodded and opened his mouth
to say something, but Rene interrupted us. “John, Jacque, we are about to
arrive. We will land in the hangar, and the Sentinels will escort you to your
rooms. Remember, Jacque, head-”

“Head down, eyes down, don’t
look up, got it,” I interrupted. This no looking around protocol was starting
to but me, but I knew it was for safety.

“I can resist now, Rene. Why do
I need to keep from making eye contact?”

John reminded, “You can resist
pre-chases, not true ones. They are much harder to ignore, so we aren’t taking
the chance.”

“Fine,” I muttered. The jet
banked suddenly, and I clung to the seat in surprise while my stomach dropped.

“Sorry,” Rene said. “We are
under a time crunch, because your arrival will spread quickly. The faster we
can get you to your room, the better.”

Rene handed me the same trench
coat I had worn on my first day on Auro. The sight of it brought back strange
memories, and my gut twisted with fearful anticipation while I put it on over
my wings. This time, I wouldn’t be as helpless as before. No chase would take
me by surprise.

The jet straightened, and I
looked out the window in time to see the hangar entrance fly past. We landed
smoothly before coming to a blissful stop. A relieved breath escaped my lungs.

“We must hurry,” Rene told me,
taking my hand and leading me to the exit. John followed, and I was surprised
to still feel uneasy with him at my back. Stupid instincts.

Six Sentinels stood silently
outside the jet. Their faces were stone-like and solemn as we approached.
Immediately they surrounded Rene, John, and me. We briskly strode across the
hangar and into the all-too-familiar tunnel. I kept my gaze down as we entered
the main foyer. I could here other lullary
inside the room. Their wings
made a light swish through the air, and soft conversation echoed endlessly.
Ever so slowly, the conversation died down until the only noise left was our
group’s soft footsteps across the clean tile.