Wings of Boden (4 page)

“Yeah, yeah, just don’t let it happen again.”
He paused. “On second thought, maybe some other time. We could use
a little exercise.”

Mawlkon let out a chuckle.

Jaydenn snapped his gaze over, took a step
toward Mawlkon and said, “What was that? You have something to say,
drek?” I could see Mawlkon swallow the lump in his neck from here.
Jaydenn added, “That’s what I thought.”

Even as the drekavacs lifted off and
disappeared into the night, Jaydenn turned and pulled Vyn out of
his trance and guided him toward the house.

Angie spun around to the table. “Well, that
was no fun, dammit, Jaydenn. He wouldn’t miss that, now would he?
Plenty of energy for
that
, but can he help clean the house?
No. He’s too tired. Well.” She smirked, lifted her glass. “That’s
partly my fault.” And took a grinning sip.

Sitting back at the table, I noticed my skin
color had returned to the normal pale peach.

The door swung open. Jaydenn and Vyn walked
in, Jayden’s hand on Vyn’s shoulder. They had already put their
shirts back on, and Jaydenn’s white T-shirt stretched around his
shoulders and chest like it was screaming for mercy. They exchanged
a chuckle about something while they made their way to us, and I
noted the size comparison; big dog, little pup.

“Enjoy the show, angels?” Jaydenn
questioned.

“Well, we would have,” Angie teased, “but
you
had to go scare them off.”

Not sure how I felt about it, I couldn’t pull
my eyes off Vyn, and gave him a smile as if I had a schoolgirl
crush. For Source sake, my first year of college and I was filled
with thoughts like a ponytail teenager. I could almost feel the
braces on my teeth.
Get ahold of yourself, Elle
.

“You okay, Ellie?” Vyn asked.

“What? Oh. Yeah. Come sit by me?”

Angie glanced at me, up to Jaydenn. They
exchanged a silent mutual grin. They seemed to understand something
about the whole situation. While I swam around, grasping for clues,
trying to discover a new view at this relationship puzzle. With my
chin tilted down, I looked up at Vyn from under my lashes, folded
my hands on my lap. I noticed something different about Vyn that
was never there before; a shadow of stubble grew around his strong
jawline. His scrubby look oozed male hormones, and sent more
tingles through me.

Vyn gave me a pleasant expression, scratching
at his stubbled chin, then turned to Jaydenn and said, “Can you
join us? I need to figure something out and I could use your
opinion.”

“No problem, but maybe you need to get
cleaned up first. You got a little dirt on your face there.” He
reached over and swiped a fingertip over Vyn’s jaw, smirked. “Wait
a second. That’s not dirt, it looks like I need to teach you how to
shave now, huh, big guy?”

Vyn chuckled, smirked. “I think I can handle
it.”

They both pulled a chair and sat. Angie and I
got up and did the hostess routine: boiled water for herbal tea;
gathered utensils and dishes; cut some cake—all the while
whispering to each other. We set the plated slices and teacups out
and sat with the boys.

Forks went into cake. Chewing discussions
went around the table.

A few minutes later, Jaydenn
clanked
his fork to his cleaned plate, stretched and scratched his stomach,
then leaned back and hugged thick arms around twin-mountains of
chest. What are those muscles again, pecs? “That was pretty good
there, Ang,” he said. “You’re gettin closer.”

With a full mouth, Angie just nodded a grin,
and kept chewing, her thinking eyes rolling around in her head as
if she was trying to discern the ingredients with her palate.

The last bite of my cake sadly melted away in
my mouth. I set the fork to my plate, picked up my cup and took a
sip of warm tea.

Jaydenn tightened his face, said to Vyn, “We
need to take care of this. I don’t know what you’re workin on in
your lab, but if there’s any chance it could give hunters the
ability to fly in the daytime, we can’t let them get ahold of
it.”

“Yeah, but what can we do? The dreks can’t
get into my lab in the daytime. And it’s guarded at night. But,
somehow they found out about my work, so …”

Because Angie and I had already discussed our
ideas back when we were making tea and stuff, we exchanged nods of
agreement. I turned to the boys and said, “We could help.”

In unison, the boys both swiveled a couple of
those
yeah-right
looks at me. What did I have to do to let
them know I wasn’t some dumb girly angel? After folding my hands on
the table, I threw the idea at them, “You should build a lab.”

Vyn and Jaydenn paused, raised brows at each
other. Angie backed me up with a grin.

Jaydenn said, “You know what, that’s a great
idea, kid.”

Kid! Eventually that would wear off, if I had
to beat it out of him. And what’s with that tone, anyway? Like he’s
so much older than I am.
Please
. He’s only twenty.

Jaydenn swiveled his deep-green eyes to
Angie, back to me. “I meant, Ellie.”

He knew my name! I lifted a smile just for
him. Then, judging by the look on Angie’s face, I suspected she’d
been training him to learn my name. I’d never told anyone how much
it bugged me, but she knew, my sister, of course she knew. I beamed
a thank-you look to her, she accepted with a gentle nod.

“Well, what do we need to build the lab?” I
asked.

“Diamonds,” Vyn replied, “lotsa
diamonds.”

“Is that all,” I said. “It just so happens we
have quite a few of those.”

“We can’t ask yo—”

Angie interrupted, “Just get over it, Vyn.
It’s for a good cause. It’s not just for you, you know. The future
of angels is at stake.”

Jaydenn chimed in, “That’s true. Just think
about this. We could recruit the strongest angels. Build an army of
night flyers to get rid of the hunters for good.”

Well, not what I had in mind, but Vyn seemed
excited. I couldn’t let them know my disagreement, though. Angie
bent forward, reached over and laid her hand on mine, consoling me
with her palm, holding back my reins.

“We would need equipment, and concrete and—”
Vyn started to say. I cut him short:

“Have you forgotten what Dad used to do?”

Vyn took a moment, scratched at his chin,
before his eyes widened. “You’re right. He has all we need. Do you
think he’d go for it? If we explained it, I mean?”

“I don’t see why not. I’m sure he’d like
another chance to help a good cause.”

“Okay, well that settles it,” Jaydenn said,
unfolding his arms and clasping his hands on the table. “We’re off
to Boden tomorrow, right? Elle, I know you wanted to check out that
new fancy store that Ang loves so much. And we can have a talk with
your dad.”

“I. Love so much. Huh, Jay?” Angie said. “I.
Not you? You don’t seem to mind that new store either.” She
straightened her nighty with fingertips, lifted a little grin, and
added, “Dear.”

Vyn said to Angie, “We’ll just stay here
tonight, if that’s okay with you.”

Angie turned eyes on Vyn. “Well that was the
plan all along. Didn’t Ellie tell you we were having a sleepover?
Whoops.” That wasn’t the plan; she was toying with him.

“All right then,” Jaydenn said in a too-deep
masculine tone, “we’ll leave at sun up.”

“Sun up?” Angie snickered, gave Jaydenn a
funny look. “You mean in the morning, right, mister,
tough
male
.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get your little butt
outta that chair. I’ll show you tough.”

Angie grinned, rolled her eyes. Then
proceeded to finish her cake, sip her tea, and wait.

Jaydenn poked fun at Vyn, “We can pick up a
new razor for you too.”

Even as Jaydenn continued to talk, Angie,
with a sneaky face and a green-eyed twinkle, rose from her chair,
stalked behind him like a cat.

“This’ll be your first shave, won’t it? My
boy’s growin up. I think I feel a tear com—”

Angie smacked the back of his head with
playful fingers and bounded off like a bunny. Jaydenn lifted off
his chair and strode behind her, as Angie hopped on her tiptoes
across the living room, her furry socks slipping on the hardwood,
wings folded to her back and hair bouncing as she giggled away.

Stopped at the opposite side of the living
room table, Jaydenn gave her a devious look. Angie, in breathless
tittering laughter, moved to one side, her socks sliding as Jaydenn
reacted. She slid to the other side and he stopped her again with a
twitch and a grin. He bent over and moved the vase of daisies to
the floor, keeping his eyes on her as he said, “You might as well
give up, little one.” A beat … Then he launched over the table and
landed on the couch, the cushions crushed under his weight. Angie
squealed with delight when Jaydenn pulled her down with him and
snarled a kiss into her neck.

“Do they ever take a break?” Vyn asked
me.

“I think it’s sweet. After all those years,
they still play.” I smiled at my giggling sister.

Vyn watched them, while I had other plans. I
crossed one leg over the other, folded my hands on my skirt, and
just as Vyn tipped his cup back for a drink, I reached out and
flicked his ear. He let out a light choke. Tea dribbled off his
chin. He tapped the cup to the table, wiped his mouth with the back
of his hand. And threw a wide grin at me. His wings flittered
between his shoulders as he let out a sneeze,
Choo
. “Excuse
me,” he said.

I smiled, winked a look of, Whatcha gonna do
about it, mister scruffy male.

The game was on.

“Look, over there,” I called through the sky
while eyeing a delicious group of clouds. “Let’s fly through
them.”

Clouds hung like dollops of whipped cream,
and I just could
not
get enough of bathing in the luxurious
atmosphere. The mountain air was so fresh and crisp as I fluttered
my wings through the misted puff, at a height where the ground
seemed like a distant memory.

We were on our way to Boden, the city of
shops and shiny things, and the home of my parents, of course. Vyn,
Jaydenn, Angie and I drifted on thin air under the magnificent sun.
Our bodies soaked it in, our wings shimmering with opal colors on
iridescent feathers. Ecstasy seeped into my very being. I had to be
careful, though, since I’m prone to blacking out from too much
excitement. Vyn had to catch me one day. A month or so ago, while
flying, the excitement bubbled to extreme levels, my face numbed
and everything went dark. Vyn had caught me while I plummeted from
the celestial sky in peaceful slumber.

Lesson learned.

Now, Angie and I were flying in pastel
cropped pants and girl-cut T-shirts. Veering right, I pulled up
into a cloud, looked back just before I entered the cotton air to
see Angie breaking off from the boys to follow me. “C’mon,
Angie!”

In the clouds I rolled, flittered, bathed in
the mist while the wind washed through my hair and poured over my
skin. Sunshine beamed through open spaces, holding colors of a
rainbow like shimmering crystals.

On a glance, I noticed Angie behind and below
me in a casual drift, picking at her fingernails, the salon on her
mind, I knew, keeping the corner of an eye on me too, just like
always. The boys appeared below, materializing like ghosts pushing
through a fog bank, each wearing slacks and a polo shirt. The
cotton bag that held my purse and shoes dangled from Vyn’s hand.
Jaydenn carried Angie’s bag. Vyn thrust his wings with two long
pushes, caught up to me just as I swiveled my head away.

“Elle!” Vyn caught my attention.

Slowing, I drifted above him. Dropped down
and sat on his back, rubbed my hands between his shoulder blades
with a smile. Leaned to his ear and said, “Whatcha need,
gorgeous.”

Vyn’s hair fluttered against my cheek.
“Jaydenn and I think we should go to the crags.”

“Why?” I dropped a smooch on his neck.

“C’mon, Ellie, just a few minutes. I
promise.”

Yeah, I knew what that meant, his minutes
always turned into more like an hour. But I didn’t want to be
difficult, and the odd angel out. “Okay, fine.” I pulled my bare
feet over his legs, wrapped my arms around his chest and folded my
wings back. “Whattaya waitin’ for then, let’s go!”

He spun and we hurtled down as I squealed, my
hair trailing straight and legs clamped on like a vice. Air was
pulling out of my lungs and I laughed so hard nothing came out.
Eyes watering, I moved my face out of the wind to catch a breath,
light slobber from my mouth wetting Vyn’s neck …

Minutes later, the hysterics subsided enough
for me to breathe. As we slowed, the smell of the pine forest
lifted from the mountains below. Spent but satisfied, I squeezed my
eyes tight and gave Vyn a smiling hug.

Vyn touched down on the rocky ledge before a
cave. When I slipped off his back, jagged stones bit into my feet.
“Hand me my shoes, Vyn.”

He was one mental step ahead; my shoes were
already on the ground in front of me. I pushed tangled hair off my
face, and swiped tears from my cheeks and out of my windblown eyes.
Then brushed the shards off my feet and slipped my flats on.

Jaydenn was descending above us, but I
couldn’t see Angie … until her head popped up over his muscled
shoulders, a teary red look on her face, hair all mussed. Did my
hair look like that? I reached up, patted. Yep, pretty bad. I
finger-combed it … shook my head and straightened the best I
could.

“Hey,” Vyn said to me, “can you wipe off my
neck?”

“With what?”

He reached out my bag. “Use this. It’s your
slobber. It belongs on
your
bag.”

“
No
.” I cut a glare. “Just deal with
it. It’s not like it’s dirty or something. You don’t mind when I
slobber all over your face.”