Winged (Aetharian Narratives) (11 page)

“Okay,” Mom said. “I didn’t know what you wanted, so I got a variety of stuff. We have pizza, enchiladas, hamburgers, ham and turkey sandwiches, fried chicken, and fruit salad.”

Mr. Amest came in and placed a tray with plates, some silverware, napkins, and a glass of water on my bed. He put his arm around me and pulled me to a sitting position. Viper pulled my pillow up from under me and placed it behind my back. He took four of the plates and handed them to Mom and his parents and kept one.

“Any preferences as to what you want to eat?” said Mrs. Amest.

“Anything,” I said. “Everything. I’m really not picky right now.”

“All right,” Mom took the plate in front of me and started piling food on it.

“I’ll go get us some drinks,” said Mr. Amest.

“Oh, that’s all right,” Mom said. “There’s a little refrigerator in the corner.” She nodded to my side table. “The one with the blanket draped discreetly over it. I restocked Emma’s secret supply of soda while she was passed out.”

I stared at her. She smiled at me and put my plate back down.

“You know you can’t keep secrets from me, Emma,” she said with a wink.

“
You
were the one eating my cookies, weren’t you?” I said.

At least some things were starting to make sense.

* * *

“How are you feeling now?” Mom said. She picked up my tray when everyone was done eating. I felt a lot better with a full stomach. It took a while but my muscles felt better, too, while they were getting used to movement again.

“Much better,” I said.

I kept my glass next to me. I had never been so thirsty in my entire life.

“Well, Emma,” said Mr. Amest glancing around the room for an objection. “We hate to do this so soon, but we need you to tell us what happened out there.”

All the dishes and food had been pushed out of the way. Everyone stared at me like I had been dead and was about to explain what it was like on the other side.

“Well…” I said. “I actually have no idea what happened to me. I’m guessing I had a vision of some sort before I passed out.”

“What did you see?” said Mrs. Amest.

I thought back and remembered what I’d witnessed the best I could. “I saw fire. There was fire everywhere engulfing everything: the lake, the bridge. I could hear screaming. It started off as a light ringing in my ears, but it got so loud I could barely stand it. It sounded like a thousand people were screaming right into my ears. Then a pair of big blue eyes appeared.” I paused.

I didn’t know if I should tell them about the voice I heard. If I told them about it I might have to admit that it wasn’t the first time I’d heard it.

“Is that all, Emma?” Mr. Amest said.

“Was there anything else, dear?” Mom said, trying to hide the worry on her face.

I thought about the fire; I could feel the warmth I felt that night flooding into my mind. I was pretty sure I was going crazy, though I didn’t know if I wanted to admit it. But I knew that I needed to tell them everything.

I looked at Viper. He smiled and nodded.

“I—I heard a voice,” I said.

I looked at the three parents in front of me. They exchanged looks.

Mom forced a smile onto her face. “A voice, sweetie? Whose voice?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know whose voice it was.”

“Was it a man’s or a woman’s voice?” Mrs. Amest said.

“It was a man’s.”

It seemed that with every word that came out of my mouth, Mom’s and the Amests’ faces looked increasingly more troubled.

“What did he say to you?” Mr. Amest said. He seemed to have stopped breathing.

“He said he wanted me to come home. That I was needed.”

Mom put her hands to her face.

“He called me his daughter,” I added.

The situation couldn’t get any more bizarre so I figured it would be stupid of me to hold back anything. That was the part that I had been dreading telling them the most. When I said it Mom turned whiter than linen sheets.

“Okay,” said Mrs. Amest. “Thank you for sharing, Emma.”

“Yes,” Mom said. She seemed to realize how she must have looked so she lowered her hands. “Just stay up here and continue to recover.” She got up and walked to the door. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out.”

I didn’t know if she said those things for my benefit or for hers. I watched her and Mr. and Mrs. Amest leave the room. I looked at Viper. He was staring at something on the ground.

“Viper?”

It seemed to take all his effort, but he put a small smile on his face and looked at me.

“Yes, Emma?”

I didn’t know how to ask the question that was plaguing me.

“What is happening to me?”

I mostly hoped that his amazing ability came with insight about the world that I seemed to be entering.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t know.”

I wanted to cry. The look on his face was as hopeless as I felt.

“I have to hear what they are saying,” I said, pushing the covers off me.

“What?” Viper said, looking at me like I was crazy.

I swung my feet to the floor. The cold wood made my warm feet ache a little, but I pushed myself out of bed nonetheless. I stood up but my knees wouldn’t stay steady and I fell back onto the bed.

“No,” said Viper, getting up and blocking my way. “You need to stay here. You don’t have all your strength back yet.”

“I have to hear what they’re saying, Viper,” I said again. Panic was rising in my mind. As much as I fought with myself to tell them everything, I still hadn’t done so.

“No, Emma,” he said, holding my shoulders still. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“Viper—”

“Do you know what
I
saw that night, Emma?” he said to me, holding my shoulders even tighter.

I looked into his eyes. Now it looked like he was the one that wanted to cry. I shook my head.

“I saw you screaming and writhing on the ground,” he said. “It looked like you were either in pain beyond belief or possessed. You wanted to jump into the water, for Christ’s sake. That necklace of yours was floating off your chest. It looked like it was leading you to the water. I tried to take it off of you, but it burned me.”

He showed me his left hand; there were red welts on his fingers and palm.

“Viper, I know you’re scared,” I said. He didn’t object so I continued. “I’m scared, too, but you don’t understand. That voice I heard out there—I’ve heard it before.”

He looked like I had slapped him in the face. “That voice talked to you before Monday?”

I nodded.

Viper sat next to me on the bed and rubbed his eyes.

“Well, then, they probably need to know that,” he said, letting his hands drop and looking at me. “Okay, let me help you out of bed.”

He took my wrist and pulled my arm around his neck.

I smiled at him. “Thank you.”

He bumped the side of my head with his and smiled, too. “You’re welcome.”

He put his arm around my waist and pulled me to my feet. It took me a moment to balance myself on my weak legs. We made our way out the door and down the hall. When we got to them, Viper very patiently helped me take the stairs one at a time. That was the first time I’d used the railing since I was about seven years old.

I could hear Mr. Amest talking in the sitting room when we finally reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Well, if this is the first time Javid’s contacted her he will try to do it again. Next time she might end up in worse condition than she did this time. We’re dealing with things no one has ever dealt with before. All of this is beyond our knowledge or reasoning.”

“But that wasn’t the first time,” Viper said when we entered the room.

Mom got out of her chair and came to me. “Emma, honey, what are you doing out of bed? You haven’t fully recovered yet. Please go back upstairs.”

“Mom, this is important,” I said.

Viper walked me over to the couch and helped me sit down.

“Monday night wasn’t the first time I’ve heard that voice.”

Mr. and Mrs. Amest looked at each other.

“You’re sure it was the same man’s voice, Emma?” Mrs. Amest said.

“Yes,” I said. “I’m sorry, Mom; I wanted to tell you. I didn’t want you to look at me like I was crazy.”

Mom’s hand fished around in the air for something to her right. She found the rocking chair and sank into it. Her eyes fixed on me.

“It said the same thing, telling me to come home,” I said, deciding to make sure I told them everything this time around. “When I hear it my necklace vibrates.”

Their eyes dropped to the necklace sitting on my chest. It glowed blue.

“I know it looks normal now, but when I hear the voice the stone turns purple,” I tried to explain.

Mr. Amest walked toward me not taking his eyes off the crystal. “That looks like Star Stone.” He reached his hand toward it. “May I?”

I nodded, picked up the chain, and laid the charm in the palm of his hand. He rolled it between his fingers. There was recognition in his eyes. He knew exactly what it was he was looking at.

“That
is
Star Stone,” he said, after he felt he had examined it thoroughly enough. “Where did you get such a necklace?”

“I gave it to her,” Mom said.

Everyone looked at her.

“Well, I gave it to her … but Celeste made it.”

The name seemed to be recognized by everyone but me. I had never heard that name before that moment.

“Um, who’s Celeste?” I said.

Mom smiled at me. “A very dear friend.”

She looked over at Mr. and Mrs. Amest. They nodded encouragingly.

“And it’s about time you met her,” she said, looking back at me. “We’ll go tomorrow.”

* * *

Mom and I said goodbye to the Amests and walked them to their car. The snow was a lot deeper than the last time I’d seen it. Viper and I walked to the passenger side of the car while our parents chatted on the porch.

“I think it’s time she was told everything, Cordelia,” Mrs. Amest said. “This cannot wait any longer.”

“I know, Corinne,” Mom said. “Will you and Arian go with us?”

“Of course,” said Mr. Amest. “We will meet you here in the morning.”

“Thanks for everything, Viper,” I said.

He opened the car door.

“It’s not a problem at all, Emma. I figured you could use a little looking after,” he winked.

“Normally, I’d argue with that. But at this point I’d actually have to agree with you.”

His mom walked past us and got into the front passenger’s seat. He put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“You’ll be fine,” he said, getting into the car as well.

Mom and I walked back into the house after they drove away.

I watched her walk into the sitting room and sit on the couch. She flipped on the TV without really seeing what she was doing. I sat on the couch with her. I could tell that she wasn’t taking in anything that she was seeing. Her mind was working extremely hard on other matters.

“What’s up, Mom?”

She sighed and patted my leg. “Nothing, dear, I’m really tired. You’ve put me through a lot this past week.”

“I’m really sorry I’ve caused so much trouble,” I said. “I suppose I’m becoming a little too interesting for my own good.”

“Oh, honey,” Mom said, looking at me. She rubbed my cheek with the side of her thumb. “You’ve always been interesting to me.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her. She smiled back.

“I do fear that things are going to change for us. Dramatically.”

There was more knowing in her voice than she was letting on. But I didn’t push the subject. I seemed to know that I was going to get more information than I could handle the next day.

She leaned over and gave me a hug. “I’m glad to have you back safely.”

“Me, too, Mom,” I said.

She let go of me and got up. “Well, I am really tired. I’m going to bed. Goodnight, sweetheart.”

“‘Night,” I said.

She walked into the hallway. As soon as she left I realized how tired I was, too. I picked up the remote and turned off the TV. I turned off the lights and climbed the stairs to my room. I changed into my pajamas and slipped under the covers of my bed, settling in for a night of restless sleep.

V

A peculiarity

I make another feeble attempt to do something. His weight and the gravity of the earth work together to bring me back to the ground. If I am not able to stay in the air I at least want to soften the landing we will have to make. There is an explosion of grass and leaves behind me when I attempt to do so.

I squeeze my eyes shut and wait for the impact with the ground below me. It seems to take hours for me to fall. All I know is the wind rushing at my back and the weight of my unconscious companion at my front.

* * *

“Emma,” I heard a distant voice. “Emma, wake up; it’s time for you to go.”

I opened my eyes and was pierced by Viper’s painfully blue eyes.

“What?” I said dumbly. “Go where? What’s going on?”

“Emma, you have to get up; your father’s waiting for you.”

I snapped up. “My what?”

I didn’t recognize the bed or the entire room I was in, for that matter.

“Where am I?”

“Come on, now really isn’t the time to joke around,” he said, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the bed. “It’s almost time for your flight. I know you’re excited so stop acting so stubborn.”

He yanked me out of the mess of blankets. “Viper, what are you talking about? What flight? Where are we going?”

“Ha ha, very funny,” he said, pushing me across the stone floor of the big bedroom.

I barely had a chance to look around before he pushed me out a huge, intricately carved mahogany door. As soon as I was out the door I stepped onto a balcony.

“Okay, don’t be scared, you’re going to be fine,” he said from behind me.

I looked down from the balcony and saw hundreds of cheering people below.

“What’s all of this about, Viper?”

There was no answer.

“Viper?” I turned around to find that he was gone.

I turned forward again and looked down at the people below. The balcony had railing running all along it except for a three foot gap a few feet to my left. I walked over to the edge to see how far of a drop it was.