The Weight of a Wing (The Stolen Wings Book 1) (4 page)

“What’s a Guardian?” A voice tickled Alise’s eardrums,
coming from a great distance.

Was that Cassie? It had to be. Alise’s brain stirred, trying
to decide if it was a dream. The girl was talking to someone, the clanging of
pots and pans echoing in the background.

“Guardian of Balance,” came Vale’s slightly irritated voice.

“It sounds like a character from a bad video game,” Cassie
said. “I mean, what do you do besides killing monsters and saving … Fairies? Is
that what she is?”

“Yeah. She was…,” Vale said.

Was?
Alise’s brain protested. But she wasn’t dead
yet. Oh, wait. He meant she wasn’t a true Fairy anymore, not after the …
incident. Rafe had mentioned something about Vale not liking Fairies, although
she couldn’t be sure if he had been serious. Did that mean he disliked her less
now?

“So?” Cassie wouldn’t leave a question unanswered.

Alise silently wished Vale good luck with keeping secrets
from her inquisitive roommate.

“We go after monsters, demons, the occasional rogue Wizard,
and all kinds of evil things… We’re basically the keepers of justice in our
world.”

There was a pause while Cassie digested the information.
“Who decides who’s evil and who’s not?”

While she kept her eyes closed, Alise’s lips curled up a
little. Leave it to Cassie to fight for justice. All of her international law
studies were being put to good use.

“The Council.”

A frown creased Alise’s forehead. Where had the Council been
when
she
needed it?

“So you’re basically hired guns,” Cassie said.

“No!”

The protest was accompanied by a muffled chuckle coming from
nearby. Alise’s eyes blinked open. This wasn’t a dream. Across the small coffee
table, Rafe sat in an armchair with his legs crossed, holding up a newspaper.
He wasn’t reading, though. He was staring at her over it. The lingering eyes
gave Alise the chills.

“Shh…” He pressed a finger to his lips and whispered,
grinning, “This is fascinating.”

Alise twisted her neck to look over the back of the couch.
Cassie sat at the kitchen island while Vale cooked breakfast on the other side.
Was he making pancakes?

“We’re not hired guns,” Vale said in a more even tone. “It’s
an honor to be a Guardian.”

“That’s why you chose to be one?”

“We don’t … choose. We’re born with all the required
abilities for the job. It would be stupid not to do it when this is the one
thing we will always be best at.”

“I don’t know…,” Cassie mused. “What if you don’t like it?”
In answer to Vale’s puzzled look, she slapped her forehead. “What am I saying?
Men and disembowelment… What’s not to like?”

Vale glared at Rafe from across the room, as if saying
I
told you she wouldn’t understand.

The blond Guardian grinned back and whispered towards Alise,
“If she gives him a major breakdown, she’ll be paying the therapy bills.”

Alise had never heard of Guardians suffering from emotional
breakdowns, even if they weren’t necessarily sane … or healthy. They had to be
a little nuts to put up with that kind of life. Her neck ached so she sat up on
the couch. She tugged at her shirt, which had slipped down during the night,
exposing a shoulder.

“Don’t do that on my account.” Rafe watched her, smirking.

She ignored his remark. “What did you give her this time?
She’s way too cheerful.”

“She was terrified when she woke up, so we gave her a
spoonful of long-lasting courage and obliviousness elixir. She’s not afraid
anymore, but now she won’t stop talking.” For some reason, that seemed to amuse
him terribly. “Humans are so weak.”

At the kitchen island, the conversation continued.

“Is Alise on your hit list?” Cassie asked.

“No.” Vale sounded bothered by that accusation. “We’re not
murderers. She declined her status and left of her own free will. She’s not
part of our … jurisdiction anymore.”

“But she can still do stuff, like that thing with the
monster? I’ve seen it,” Cassie said.

Unconsciously, Rafe scratched at his shoulder where the scar
had been.

“She’s still a … What did you call it? Magic user?” Cassie
asked.

“For now. But, with no source to refill her magic, that will
soon run out,” Vale said. “She’s not one of us anymore.”

“So she didn’t
have
to help you locate that creep.”
Cassie’s voice had taken on a certain tone Alise recognized. Heads were about
to roll, metaphorically speaking.

“No one forced her,” Vale said. “She did it willingly.”

“And had her back split open? Why would anyone agree to
that?”

“Because she wants him caught just as much as we do.”

He was wrong. No one wanted Gorem dead as much as Alise did.

Cassie went quiet, but only for a moment. “You took
advantage of her.”

Vale didn’t look disturbed by that idea, but a muscle
twitched on Rafe’s face.

“Will you protect her now that you got her in trouble?”
Cassie asked.

“We don’t have to, but we will,” Vale said with a pensive
glance in the direction of the couch.

“Because you plan to use her as bait.” Cassie shook her head
and blew at the copper curl that fell on her forehead. “You sure are some piece
of work.”

“He’ll come after her whether we’re here or not,” Vale said.
“She’s got better chances with us around.”

“But why? Why is he coming after her again? And why did he
take her wings?”

“
That
is a good question,” Rafe said aloud, and all
three pairs of eyes turned to look at Alise. “He’s coming after you because
you’re a witness of his crimes and you can testify against him in front of the
Council. But
why
did he take your wings in the first place?”

Alise shrugged. “I don’t know. I was in too much pain to
ask.” And what she
did
know, she wasn’t ready to tell them yet.

Rafe failed to look convinced by her answer, but he didn’t
push it.

“You’re up!” A big smile lit up Cassie’s face.

Alise answered with a faint smile of her own. The wave of
relief washing over her at the realization that Cassie still considered her a
friend took her by surprise.

“We let you sleep in,” Cassie said. “We thought you needed
it.”

Alise didn’t know how to answer that, especially the part
where Cassie included both her and the Guardians in the “we” part. She didn’t
like that. Cassie shouldn’t fraternize with the enemy.

“Breakfast is ready,” Vale announced with no sign of
enthusiasm whatsoever. The early morning interrogation had exhausted him.

“Great!” Rafe grinned widely. “I’m starving.” He put the
newspaper down and got up.

Alise’s eyes moved from the newspaper to Cassie, who had
dropped the jeans and navy T-shirt in favor of a pink top and white skirt that
Alise didn’t recognize. She winced and looked back at Rafe. “Have you been
out?” she asked, getting off the couch. She frowned and stretched. Her back
remained a little sore, but other than that, she felt fine.

“Yes,” Rafe said. “I bought coffee, since we were running
low, and a few other items.”

“And?” Alise watched him intently. “How are things?”

“I’m happy to report that everything went back to normal,
and we encountered no sign of monster activity in the daylight.” While
pleasant, his tone was slightly patronizing. “And your apartment is still a
mess.” He didn’t try to apologize because there was nothing to apologize for.
After all, the Guardians
had
saved their lives.

“The food is getting cold!” Vale huffed from his place near
the stove.

“And we wouldn’t want that.” Rafe smirked, straddling a
chair next to Cassie.

Alise sat on her other side.

Cassie bit her lip and asked with a small voice, “You do
like pancakes, right? You weren’t just saying that…”

“Yes, I like them.” Alise smiled, and Cassie let out a
relieved sigh as if that simple admission validated her condition as a decent
human being.

“Eat up, everyone,” Rafe said, the cheerfulness in his voice
going up a notch at the sight of the pancakes. “We don’t have much time.”

The pancakes looked good so Alise piled her plate. Next to
her, Cassie drenched hers in chocolate sauce. Alise reached for the sauce
bottle when a whiff of strong, sweet scent made her nostrils vibrate. Her head
jerked up. At the end of the table, Rafe was opening a jar filled with a thick,
sparkling golden substance. Alise’s mouth watered. She hadn’t had a taste of
lotus honey in ages.

Rafe looked up. “What? You want some?” He shook his head as
if in doubt. “I don’t know. I’ve heard Fairies get high on this stuff. They get
up and dance naked on tables after only half a jar.” He grinned, held her gaze
a moment longer, then slid the jar across the table. “Here. Knock yourself
out.”

Alise grabbed the jar, her fingers clutching it tightly. She
hated him for teasing her, but the honey smelled divine. She took a spoonful
and let it melt on her tongue. Her toes curled with pleasure. The last time
she’d had some… No, she wasn’t going to go there.

“Is that true?” Cassie whispered.

“They wish,” Alise muttered and dumped a good amount of
honey on her pancakes.

“
That
is true.” Rafe gesticulated with his fork
before shoving the pancakes into his mouth.

 Cassie looked from one to the other. “You don’t like each
other much, do you?” she said to no one in particular.

“They’re a big pain in the ass,” Vale and Alise said at the
same time.

Rafe laughed.

Silence filled the room as they ate, focused on the food.
Then Vale said, looking at Rafe, “We need a plan.”

“Indeed,” he agreed. He turned to Cassie. “We don’t need
you, and Gorem doesn’t need you, either, so you’re off the hook. Just to be on
the safe side, I wouldn’t go to the apartment, but you should be okay. Do you
have another place to stay?”

“I could stay with my uncle,” Cassie said, her forehead
scrunching. “He has a house on the upper east hill. He’s away on a business
trip this week, but he wouldn’t mind me staying at his place. He always invites
me to drop by.”

“Good. That’s one problem solved,” Rafe said, although why
he cared what happened to Cassie, Alise had no idea. “Now what are we going to
do with you?” he turned to ask Alise.

It took her a second to decide. “I’m going with her.”

“Not a good idea,” Rafe said. “If Gorem comes after you,
you’ll be putting her in danger for no good reason. I thought you wanted to
protect her.”

“I do.” Alise held his gaze. “There’s nothing smart in
letting her go somewhere on her own, unprotected. Gorem isn’t dumb. It won’t
take him long to figure out he can kidnap her and force me into coming to him.
When he does, who will be there to protect her?”

“You?” Rafe’s eyebrows arched up. “You can’t even protect
yourself.”

“True.” He was obviously missing the point. She had the
perfect solution. “But you can.”

“You want to trick us into protecting both of you?” Rafe was
too stunned to laugh.

From his seat, Vale frowned at them, unhappy with the
suggestion.

“What else can you do?” Alise countered. “You can’t take me
back. If you cross over without Gorem, you have no case, and you would be
dragging me there against my will. The Council wouldn’t like that.”

Rafe grimaced.

“You can’t cross over to The Mists—that would make the
Council even less happy—and you can’t force Gorem to come here. You have to
wait for him to make the next move.” Gorem would come when he was ready, and
although the idea of such a meeting terrified her, she couldn’t hide for long.
“Where else can we go until he does? To a hotel? The apartment is ruined, and
we can’t stay here…”

“Why can’t we stay here?” Cassie asked, her bottom lip
trembling a little.

“Because,” Vale said before Rafe could open his mouth, “this
is our safe place. He can’t find us in here. Nothing can enter unless we want
it to. If we allowed Gorem access, it would defeat its purpose.”

“And,” Alise added, “they can’t keep the protection up that
long. The walls are getting thin already.” She pointed at the ceiling.
Pinpoints of light had appeared around the top corners of the room. “Soon,
we’ll be able to look outside, and people will be able to look in.” The
Guardians were supposed to have better control over their hiding place. Maybe
they had stretched out too much. The place was too big for two people to hold
it up.

“And none of us wants that,” Rafe said. “Thank you for
explaining it.” His smile was thin, then his face turned serious. “We need to
move.” He tapped his fingers on the countertop.

Vale spoke next, looking at Rafe. “It’s not a totally stupid
idea. If it’s a larger area, we can control it better. We can set up some
traps… You said it’s a house, right?” he asked Cassie.

“Yes. It’s a two-story mansion up the hill with a big garden
outside,” she said with a nod.

Vale glanced at Rafe and started gathering the dishes. “We can
take a look at least.”

“Okay.” Rafe let out a defeated sigh. “You have five minutes
to change,” he told Alise. “There are some clothes over there. If they don’t
fit, it’s not my fault. He picked them.” He pointed at Vale.

A quick check in the mirror revealed no signs that Alise had
been involved in a monster attack during the night, which was a good thing.
People weren’t supposed to know. She didn’t look or feel any different. Her
back, while still wingless, felt the same. So why did she feel like her entire
world had shifted a little? Must be because of knowing that Gorem was on her
trail once again. This story was never going to end. She would never be free.

She sighed and finished brushing her hair. She had found a
hairbrush and an extra toothbrush inside a cabinet, and she had taken the
liberty of using them. In fact, there were more beauty products in this
bathroom than she had expected. For people who spent more than half their lives
covered in blood, the Guardians sure did know how to take good care of
themselves.

The new clothes fit her well, even if they weren’t her
favorite color. The light green made her look ghastly pale. She shrugged and
started to put her hair up when the door opened and Rafe walked in. He silently
closed the door behind him.

“Wow, you must really be desperate…,” she murmured, glancing
at Rafe’s reflection in the mirror, her hands still dealing with her hair.

“I thought it was better for Cassie not to see this,” he
said, stepping closer.

He moved too fast for her to react. His hand snuck
underneath her top and slid up her back until it reached the sensitive area
between her shoulder blades where he stopped and pressed. Power surged through
her, marking every cell of her body, claiming her as his. Alise gasped, her
head flying back as her spine arched to the point of breaking. Rafe’s left arm
automatically went around her waist to support her.

“What … did you do?” She panted, collapsing against his
chest. It hadn’t hurt, but she could have sworn she’d seen light coming out of
her chest for a brief moment there.

“I put a sigil on you,” Rafe said. “We sometimes do it when
we take prisoners.”

As far as she knew, those cases were rare.

“We extend our protection over them, like an umbrella. It
messes with your signature, so you will be harder to locate. When Gorem does
try to find you again, he won’t know if it’s really you. He’ll have to come in
person to get you. It’s what we want.” Rafe waited until she regained her
balance before he removed his hands from her.

“So you
are
going to use me as bait, like Cassie
said.”

“I never claimed I was playing fair.” Rafe brushed away a
lock of dark hair that tickled her cheek and grinned as she swayed away from
him.

“Right. Who’s going to protect Cassie?” With all the talk
and legends about Guardians, their dedication and honor, could she trust them?
At the end of the day, Cassie was not one of them.

“She’s human,” he said. “Gorem is not interested in her.
She’ll be fine.”

The look Alise gave Rafe clearly said she didn’t believe
that.

His eyes softened as he gazed down at her. “As long as she’s
around, we will protect her. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

Cassie had helped her when she needed a place to settle down
after crossing over, and Alise owed her, but it was more than that. She
genuinely liked the girl. They were friends, which wasn’t a concept the
Guardian would understand. Guardians had no alliance, other than to the
Council. It was the best and only way to keep them impartial and subdued. She
settled for a nod and left the bathroom.

Rafe emerged a few moments later, making a big show out of
shoving his shirt down his pants. Vale rolled his eyes. No one would believe
anything improper had happened between them in that bathroom.