The Hybrid (32 page)

“Who?” Tru asked, trying to sound somewhat confused. She knew full well who Bethany was referring to,
but Tru didn’t want her to know that she knew.

“Declan!” she shouted, pointing over Tru’s shoulder.
“He couldn’t take his eyes off of you the whole time he
was up there! Don’t tell me you didn’t notice!”

Tru looked back over her shoulder at the sliding glass
door. Declan had told her to meet him out front, but she
had no idea how she was supposed to get away from
Bethany. Tru had a feeling that no matter how much Declan liked her, he probably was nowhere near the type of
guy that would wait around forever for someone to show
up.

“No, I didn’t notice. I was just dancing.” Tru replied,
coyly shrugging her shoulders. “Well, I’m getting kind of
hungry, so I’m going to go inside and get something to
eat.” She pointed over her shoulder toward the house,
and then slowly turned around to push her way to the
sliding door.

“Alright!” Bethany shouted. Tru could barely hear her
as she shoved through the crowd that had invaded the
entire living room.

Tru thrust her way through the house and into the
kitchen as best as she could. When she got there, she
could see that the chips that the girls had put out earlier
that day were completely gone. Fortunately, Tru knew
exactly where Bethany had put the backup chips, so she
walked over to the cupboard above the fridge.

Tru hoped that Declan would appreciate the fact that
she had brought him
something, though she knew it
wouldn’t fully make up for making him wait so long. But,
as she reached her hand up to the cupboard, someone
bumped her from behind, forcing her body into the closed
refrigerator door. The handle jabbed into her ribcage violently. And though she would have normally cried out in
pain, this time was different. She hardly felt a thing.

“Hey! Look at that freak!” the guy that had bumped her
shouted.
Not even a second later, Tru’s body whipped around so
that she was facing the young man in an instant panic.
“It’s not what you think!” she shouted.
But, as she finished her sentence, Tru realized that the
guy wasn’t even looking at her at all. Instead, he was facing the kitchen window, pointing at something in the
front yard. Then, the young man began to laugh. It was
obvious that he had been drinking something more than
just soda. But Tru was still shocked that he wasn’t laughing at her.

“What does she think this is? A costume party?” the
boy shouted, still laughing. Suddenly, he pushed past Tru
again, and ran out to the front yard. Tru watched carefully as four more young men quickly followed after him.

Hurriedly, Tru ran to the window, and looked at the
front lawn as more and more people piled outside, filling
the grass entirely within seconds. But as Tru lifted her
head and looked out at the street, where everyone was
pointing, she saw the one person she had ever truly been
afraid of. And before she knew it, people from inside the
house were running out of the front door, cramming
themselves into the tiny open spaces left on the front
lawn, driveway, and even the sidewalk. Tru could hear
people laughing and shouting out at her, but the girl in
the street still did not move.

Tru quickly followed a large group of girls out to the
yard, hoping she wouldn’t get trampled along the way. It
was hard to see over the heads of all the students, but she
pressed on, all the way up to the edge of the street, as fast
as she could. It was mostly boys who lined the sidewalk,
trying to put the girl on edge by shouting sexual slurs at
her. But she did not move.

Standing silently in the small halo of light from the
street lamp above her, was the faint figure of Airi. Her
short and bright, fiery, red hair was unmistakable, even
from across the street. Her two, very large, and also very
red, wings that emerged from her spine, just between her
shoulder blades were obvious in the light, making Tru
wonder what people must have been thinking when they
saw them.

The rain from earlier that day, still glimmered in puddles on the paved street and cement sidewalks, and the
air outside was cool. Airi didn’t seem to notice. Tru, on
the other hand, had completely forgotten how cold it had
been now that she was no longer surrounded by dancing,
sweating bodies.

Airi’s bare feet were firmly planted on the ground. Her
fists were clenched tightly at her thighs. Her face looked
angry, but Tru could also sense a hint of excitement in her
eyes, like she was waiting for this moment since the first
time she had met Tru.

At least it’s not going to be me giving up the secret
,
Tru thought.
“What do you want, Airi?” Tru shouted out to her, taking a step forward, separating herself from the rest of the
students. But Airi still did not move.
“If you ever want to see your boyfriend or Edyn again,
you
will
come with me.” She raised her arm and pointed a
single finger at Tru. Tru continued looking at her, waiting
for her to speak again.

Suddenly, the young man
⎯ the same one from earlier
in the kitchen⎯ to Tru’s left began laughing hysterically
in her direction. He was tall and burly, possibly a member
of the school football team.

“They’re both crazy!” he shouted, pointing at Tru, as he
looked back at the rest of the crowd. “They’re not even
speaking English!”

More young men in the crowd began laughing. They
appeared to be some of his friends⎯ they started highfiving one another as they cackled loudly behind Tru. Tru
watched them for a few minutes, immediately annoyed.

But she had also become instantly confused. It had
sounded to Tru like she had been speaking English, and it
had also sounded like Airi had been speaking English as
well.

Instantly, Tru remembered how Edyn had told her
about the night that she had found out about his arranged
marriage. Edyn and Airi had been speaking to one another in their language, and Tru had understood every word.
But here and now, Tru didn’t care what language she was
speaking or how she had picked it up so quickly. She was
more concerned with the fact that Edyn and Declan had
been kidnapped and were possibly being tortured, all because of her.

“Look! They’re speaking gibberish! Lees na neft caan?”
he imitated. “Okay, you guys can give up the act. We’re
not buying it,” the first young man said. It became obvious that he must have been the group’s leader, because he
seemed to be the only one who wasn’t afraid to say what
was on his mind. Tru turned away from them, ignoring
his comment just as easily as the words flowed from his
mouth.

“Tru? What’s going on? Do you know her?” Bethany
asked as she quickly pushed through a small group of
freshman girls, ending at Tru’s side.

Tru turned to face Bethany, grabbing the girl’s shoulders in her shaking hands. She looked at Airi, and then
back at Tru. Her eyes were scared.

“Bethany, listen to me carefully, okay?” Tru made sure
she was looking her straight in the eyes before continuing. “The myth is true. She’s a fairy, and I am too. And,
she has Declan, and a very good friend of mine. If I don’t
go with her, she might kill them. Talking to you now is
putting you in danger, too.”

Tru waited a few seconds for some kind of reaction
from her, but she did not move. Instead, her eyes grew
wide. She slightly made Tru think that she was still speaking in another language. Bethany looked like she was going to laugh, cry, and possibly pass out all at the same
time. Tru was partially expecting her to laugh, but the
other part
expected
her to
run
away
completely. But
Bethany did neither. In fact, she didn’t even move at all.

“Bethany!” Tru shouted, shaking the girl’s shoulders in
her hands. “This isn’t a joke, Bethany! That girl over there
looks young and harmless, but she’s a powerful and dangerous fairy!” Tru paused, remembering the large crowd
of people behind her who had just heard everything she
had said to her. But she didn’t care anymore.

If dying meant that Declan and Edyn were safe, then
Tru would accept her fate willingly. Tru looked back over
at Airi, who still hadn’t moved.

“Bethany, you need to get away from here. Please,” Tru
pleaded, looking back at Bethany, gripping her shoulders
so tightly under her fingers that she could see the imprints of her hands on Bethany’s skin.

Bethany’s face was more frightened now than it had
been before. “What are you going to do?” she asked, finally blinking her eyes, her voice quivering as she spoke.

Tru’s anger raged like a wild beast inside of her chest.
“I’m going to kill her.”
Quickly, Tru pulled her blue, long sleeve shirt over her
head. A few of the boys at the front of the crowd hooted
and whistled, but Tru ignored them completely. Carefully,
she unraveled the ace bandages beneath the sports bras,
making sure to keep her almost non-existent chest covered.
“Stand back!” Tru shouted at Bethany as she pushed
her behind her body, closer to the rest of the onlookers.
In that same instant, Tru was in the air, lunging toward
Airi. She could hear the crowd on the ground behind her,
gasping in shock. But as she shortened the distance between her and Airi, the redheaded girl rose from the
ground as well.
She was a much better flyer than Tru was⎯ agile and
fast. It took Airi mere seconds to wrap her arms around
Tru’s waist. But before Tru could lift a hand for her counter attack, Airi reached a hand out toward her, grabbing
her throat. It was hard to breath, but somehow, Tru managed to stay awake this time.

Quickly, Tru made a fist with her right hand, and made
a forceful jab at Airi’s ribcage. Airi instantly released her
grip around Tru’s neck as she grasped at her injured side,
falling back, with her wings fluttering furiously in the air.

Tru had never been in a fistfight before, but something
about hitting Airi made her feel good. It made her feel like
she finally had power over her. Tru knew she was stronger now, but she was still much weaker than Airi. It would
take much more than a few simple punches to knock Airi
out, and Tru worried that she would grow tired before she
could even come close to doing any real damage to her.

Before Airi had time for a thwarting attack, Tru struck
at her again, this time, hitting her in the face, followed by
a swift kick to the stomach that knocked her all the way to
the ground. Airi looked like a small child the way she had
crumpled up into a ball on the wet cement. It made Tru
wonder if this was how she had looked to Airi when she
had attacked Tru before.

When Airi finally rose from the ground, she rubbed her
nose with the back of her forearm. The blood that had
started to flow from her nose, had smeared across her
cheek, and almost completely covered her hand and arm.

“No one makes me bleed!” Airi shouted, looking down
at her hand as she flew back into the air. “Especially not a
dirty half-breed like you!” She flew so fast that Tru almost
couldn’t see her.

Airi’s fist felt like a brick of lead as it hit Tru’s side. Tru
reached down, feeling the cracked rib. She could hardly
move, but as she looked up, trying to raise her arm to
strike at Airi again, Airi’s heavy fist hit her face, knocking
her out entirely.

There had been many times in the last few weeks
where Tru had been trapped in the darkness of unconsciousness. But this time was different. It lasted a lot
longer than usual. And all she could think about was Airi.

Did she hurt anyone else after I passed out? Did she
kidnap Bethany too?
Tru tried to remember, but she could only feel Airi’s
fist hitting her face before she fell to the hard pavement
below. Tru searched her memories, hoping to find something more, but when nothing else came to mind, she decided all she could do was listen. For a long time, the only
thing she could hear was the sound of her own breathing.
But then, there was a voice. It was the voice of a man. He
sounded young, but very familiar at the same time.
“Make sure she does not wake up!” the male voice
shouted.
“Yes, sir,” another⎯ possibly older⎯ man replied.
“Airi!” the first man shouted.
“Yes, your highness?” She sounded even more vile than
before, but vaguely submissive, and maybe even a little
afraid.
“Tie down the prisoners. We do not want them escaping. And dump this one in the river. He is almost gone
anyway.”
Suddenly,
there was
a thumping
noise,
like
someone had kicked an old tree stump, followed by a
faint groan.
“No,” Tru said, barely audible.
“Did she just speak?” the first man shouted, angrily. “I
thought I told you to keep her unconscious!”
“My apologies, Sir. I am trying, but it is not working,”
the second man replied.
“No,” Tru said louder, “it’s
not
working⎯ at all.”
Tru’s eyelids felt heavy as she slowly opened her eyes.
She could feel the dull pain where Airi had struck her
face, but she tried not to focus on it. Instead, she continued opening her eyes, looking around once they were
completely wide open.
Standing on a very large tree branch in front of her,
Tru could see two dark figures, both male. And hovering
in the air to the right of them was Airi.
When Tru tried to move, she quickly realized that both
her hands and feet had been bound to the tree. Her wrists
had been tied together, above her head, making her fingers tingle from the lack of circulation. Her feet had been
tied at the ankles, and were laying flat against the tree
branch in front of her. Tru felt as though her body would
be permanently stuck in the shape of an
L
if she stayed in
this position any longer.
Tru looked around, trying to see where exactly she was,
but it was too dark. To her left, she could barely make out
the outlines of two figures. She could only guess that they
were the unconscious bodies of Edyn and Declan, and
that the thumping and groaning noise from before had
been the sound of one of them getting kicked.