Dark Wings - Chapter Five

I’m going to die…

The moment was a blur to Keira, some surreal thing that might happen in her dreams where she was falling and got that maddening tightening feeling in the pit of her stomach and deep in her chest, but she knew that when she landed she would be unscathed. But this was far from a dream.

No…NO!

A curdling scream ripped from her throat. The next instant she was sprawled on soft, muddy earth, stunned and unable to comprehend what she felt. She ran her hands along the earth to convince herself that it was real.

Am I dead?

No. She could still feel the rain on her skin and the chill of her body. Lifting her head, her eyes widened as she realized she was suspended over the violent sea by a block of land jutting from the face of the cliff. What…

“Keira! KEIRA!”

The brunette craned her neck heavenward and through the blur of rain she could see a yellow halo of hair and a glowing brown orb. An icy gust pummeled her shivering form and she realized how deathly cold she was. She tucked her head against her chest and brought her shoulders up to shelter it. Her hands were clenched tightly and her arms locked around her, unmoving. Teeth chattered wildly in her mouth while the rest of her body shook hard, clothes drenched and clinging to her.

“Keira, please! Say something!”

Looking up again, the yellow halo seemed to be glowing, blurred around the edges but still beautiful to her. She smiled dreamily, letting her head drift this way and that because she couldn’t muster the energy to support it. The bitter cold and her unstable state of mind were a disastrous mix.

The voice sounded hysteric now, cutting through her foggy mind, “Keira, if you don’t do something you’re going to die! That platform won’t hold much longer! You can’t possibly survive the fall!”

Die? Hearing that word threw her sharply back to reality; the reality where she was seconds away from plummeting to a very painful death against the rocks far below. She uncurled her body, again looking up to where the voice originated from. Her vision sharper now, she could easily distinguish Chale gazing down at her, his face stricken with urgency and horror.

Hardly thinking, she felt for the magic she possessed inside, connecting it to the light blue stone dangling from her neck. Thick icicles burst into shape in her palms. Rising shakily to her feet, she leapt into the air and lodged both icicles into the side of the cliff. The one in her right hand caught on a rock in the earth, but the other sliced down through the mud, ineffective. The muscles in her right arm strained under her weight.

“Good, Keira! Keep going, come on,” Chale encouraged from above, feeling useless, his heart drumming against his chest. Forming another platform could be fateful, what with him not being able to judge distance accurately in the heavy rain. He could end up pushing out a piece of earth right in front of her and send her hurtling towards the sea.

Keira had managed to find purchase for her left hand, and relief started to spread in him. She was strong, and Chale knew that she could scale the cliff without falling, not considering any other elements, of course. But he had to be hopeful.

The blonde watched her struggle up the side of the cliff, slowly and painstakingly. In her weakened state, her muscles trembled violently with the effort. Her hands were numbed from clutching the icicles. She realized too late that the icicles were melting down from the slight warmth and heavy pressure of her hand. They snapped in half, and she was once again falling. In a last ditch effort, she formed another icicle and speared the earth with it, but it didn’t get a grip in the mud and it slid down the cliff with her, leaving a thin trail. She couldn’t even scream.

Chale’s body reacted without his accord. He dove off the cliff head first, arms outstretched, wings tucked tightly against his body. The wind and rain whipped against his face painfully, but he ignored it, eyes squinted and locked on to Keira who he was rapidly approaching.

Well if this isn’t just the stupidest thing you’ve ever done, his mind chided. He knew it was rash, knew it was beyond dangerous, but his body had just reacted. Never mind his wings being wet which meant it was going to be a real struggle to fly – maybe even an impossibility. Maybe we’ll land in the water and not on something hard and pointy if we’re lucky. Yeah right, who am I trying to kid…“lucky.” We’re gonna die either way if I can’t fly.

He snatched Keira from the air, holding her tightly to his body. When she finally felt him, her icy arms locked around him like a vice. For a moment they were careening towards a watery death together. Chale’s golden wings suddenly flared open, flapping downwards powerfully. Keira could feel the hard muscles in his back flexing and tightening with each downward thrust of his wings. He battled against the wind and the rain, his grip on her not faltering once.

We’re gonna make it…

Almost to the top, Chale started to slow down significantly. His breathing was extremely labored, and she could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage. The golden wings were drenched, making it nearly impossible to fly, especially with her added weight dragging him down. Keira felt an awful resignation spread through her. They weren’t both going to die, not if she could help it.

“Let me go,” she whispered. It was muffled against his chest and drowned out by the wind and rain, but Chale heard it with his special gift of unnaturally heightened hearing. He gritted his teeth, furious at her. He hadn’t come this far just to let her go.

“Not a chance,” he growled, flapping his wings more vigorously, feeling adrenaline rushing through his veins. He was exhausted, his muscles burning and aching, and his wings felt like they were going to tear right off from his back. But he wasn’t going to die, and he wasn’t going to let her die.

“You can’t make it, not with me weighing you down,” Keira murmured remorsefully, releasing her grip around his back and letting her arms drop to her sides. His muscles tightened to support the dead weight. “You shouldn’t die because of me. Just let me go.”

“Never.” The word had so much conviction in it that Keira’s head snapped up to look at him. His teeth were gritted together in a fierce grimace in his concentration, neck muscles taut and bulging. His eyes were fixed on his destination, determined beyond all rationality. Her stomach clenched with something she couldn’t make sense of. But she was filled with new resolve. They were both making it to the top of the cliff.

With all the power left in her, she summoned her magic to the luminescent white stone around her neck. Forcing her concentration, she closed her eyes, trying to tame the violent winds. With a low cry, she managed to push the current underneath them for a brief moment before the wind ripped itself from her magical grasp. She slumped against Chale from the effort, but the force had propelled them upwards enough for Chale to grab onto the top edge of the cliff, one arm still wrapped securely around her.

“Keira,” the blonde said, his voice forced and weak, “you have to pull yourself up. My grip is slipping.” His fingers dug into the wet earth, tendons straining in his hand and wrist. Keira gripped his shoulders with both hands, pulling herself up with much effort and reaching for the edge. She hooked her elbows over and managed to drag herself up and over, rolling onto her back and panting heavily.

Chale threw his other arm up and latched onto the edge, but his muscles were failing him and all he could do was dangle helplessly. Every muscle in his body felt weak and rubbery. Just as he thought he was going to slip from the edge, he felt two small hands grip his and pull. With the help he was able to use what was left of his strength to haul himself to safety, slumping haphazardly across Keira.

After a moment of regaining her bearings, Keira finally took notice of her surroundings. There was an unfamiliar but not unwanted smell all around her; a musky pine scent. It left her feeling pleasantly lightheaded. The heavy weight on her was becoming constricting, making it hard to take in air. There was his head in the crook of her neck, warm breath ghosting across her skin, and his broad chest heaving against hers.

He was so warm, a severe contrast against the icy wind and rain. She didn’t want to move. It scared her.

Pushing him off presented a frustrating difficulty; he was a great lump of muscle lying limp on top of her, and her own muscles felt numb and useless. She tried slapping his chest and shoulders lightly, but he just grumbled incoherently into her ear, sending shocks down her spine.

Keira gritted her teeth. “Chale. Chale, can you hear me? Get up, you’re crushing me.” There was a grunt next to her ear and the blond dragged his arms up next to his sides and pushed weakly against the ground, lifting himself a few inches before his arms buckled and he dropped back down on Keira. Her air came out in a rush at the impact, and a mumbled “sorry” was her apology before he rolled himself slowly off of her and onto his back beside her with a wet thump.

For a while she laid there, her thundering heart gradually slowing to a steady beat. The rain tapered off into a light drizzle before ceasing completely. The sun began to push it’s way through the retreating gray sheet of clouds, warming her face. Chale’s breathing was a constant in her ears, calming. Their hands were almost touching where they rested in the grass. A scene invaded her mind; one of the sun, innocence and childhood naivety.

She turned her head to look at Chale and in her mind she saw him as a skinny ten-year-old boy with platinum blonde hair and an angel’s smile, his emerald green eyes shining at her. There was slight pressure in her hand, and she looked down to find her own tiny ten-year-old hand interlocked with Chale’s slightly larger one. The lush green grass was dry and framed their hands, cradling them, the sun beamind down around them.

“Keira?” the ten-year-old Chale inquired.

“Yeah?” she heard her tiny voice reply.

“I’ll always protect you. Promise!”

“Hey, Keira. Keira? You okay?” a deeper voice sounded, scattering the vision. The grass was wet again. She was still lying in the grass, looking down at her fingers which were wound through Chale’s. She pulled it away like she had been stung, eyes widened in something between shock and disbelief. Raising them to look into Chale’s concerned ones, she attempted to figure out if her vision was valid or just something shaped in her mind.

Chale’s eyes lit with recognition. “You remember.”

Keira nodded slightly, eyes still large. “Yeah. I mean, maybe. Is it real?” she asked, voice slight.

The blond sighed and pushed himself up into a sitting position, bringing his knees up and resting his crossed forearms on them. He stared ahead contemplatively, the sunlight shining off his golden hair and melting his eyes into liquid emerald. Keira followed and sat upright cross-legged, watching him carefully. She noticed how his lips pursed slightly and his eyes became soft and somber. It made him look wiser, aged; someone who’s been through many an ordeal.

“I did make that promise, if that’s what you remember. It was right here, too. I can recall every detail.” His voice was gentle, full of melancholy, so uncharacteristic of him. Keira wasn’t accustomed to this Chale, this serene, prudent, breathtaking being. She wondered what had happened to him to bring about this change in him from his usual arrogant, self-assured, egotistical demeanor. Or had this always been under the surface, hiding beneath his proud veneer?

“But what did you mean by saying you’d protect me? Protect me from what?”
The blond picked at a couple strands of grass, his expression pained and tight. “I don’t know. Anything and everything. Our people, yourself. I wanted you to be safe. Most of all, though, I wanted you to be happy. I wanted to make you happy. I failed. I used to get picked on for talking to you, being your friend. One day I couldn’t take it anymore and said something I shouldn’t have to make them stop. You heard me and distanced yourself from me. It was like you never knew me,” she watched as his eyebrows drew together in pain, “It was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.” His voice sounded hollow to her ears. It was very faint, but she could hear the undertone of sorrow in his voice. She couldn’t accept that it was because of her. She didn’t even know it has caused him such anguish. His wings sagged, defeated, but still glimmering gold in the light.

Keira couldn’t find any words to express the emotions raging inside her. The only word that seemed appropriate was, “Why?”

He laughed then, but it was shallow and dry. “Why what? Why do I feel like I need to protect you? Why am I here right now? Why is the sky blue? Why does Mrs. Kisling have that awful growth on her face that looks like--”

“Chale…”

The blond chuckled, and the warmth and familiarity of the sound made her head spin. Feeling airy and light-headed, she drifted sideways onto Chale’s shoulder. She felt him jolt slightly in surprise before relaxing noticeably.
He cleared his throat before starting, “Well, you see…”

His words began to fade away into a rush of sound and the world began to turn on its axis, transforming light-headedness into crushing vertigo. Sizzling white-hot pain lanced through her head, pulling a choked cry from her throat. Her eyes squeezed shut, tears leaking from the corners. Through the haze of pain she could dimly feel and hear Chale near her.

Images formed before her eyes. A man kneeling. Forest rushing by her. A small, dilapidated building. Blurred faces of humans. Something shining an opalescent blue. The same face she had seen before, only when their eyes opened, they glared at her with such burning hatred that she felt her insides twist with it. Her world then slipped away into sheltering darkness.

Chale, who had been desperately trying to get Keira to respond to him, caught her as her now limp form slipped backwards. She was only trembling slightly whereas just seconds before she had been shaking feverishly. Light glinted off the fresh tears on her now slack face.

“K-Keira?” He brushed his hands along the sides of her face and across her forehead, but there was not even the slightest indication that she had heard or felt him.

Confused and beyond frightened, the blond picked up Keira, his muscles screaming in protest. Telling them all to go to hell, he trudged towards the dense forest at the fastest speed his body would allow. There was no possible way he could fly: his wings could only hang lifelessly behind him. Within seconds he was short of breath and his muscles were ready to give out on him. Somehow managing to transfer Keira to his back between his wings with her arms over his shoulders and her legs around his waist with his hands clasped back around her thighs, he started off into the damp forest.

Water from tree branches dripped into his eyes and he stumbled quite a few times into the scratchy bark of trees, gaining numerous scrapes, but he plowed on determinedly. Sweat mingled with the water on his face, plastering his hair to his forehead. Colorful birds sang sweetly from the high branches, mocking him. Trip, stumble, barely catch himself. Stagger into an obtrusive tree. All the while his muscles buckled and gave way on him, but somehow he kept Keira on his back.

The edge of the forest didn’t come soon enough. He could see the oranges and yellows of the fading daylight in the gaps of the trees, could see the outlines of houses silhouetted against the sky. When he reached the last tree he all but fell sideways against it, breathing like he had just run the length of Iba. Keira’s faint breathing blew across his neck, which was dripping from his efforts. Her hair tickled his cheek. Pushing off from the tree, he took a shaky step towards home…

And promptly fell to his knees. Legs now shaking violently, he couldn’t even manage to bring one out from underneath him. Shifting the unconscious brunette carefully sideways and onto the ground, he heaved a relieved sigh, feeling the tension take hold of his spine ruthlessly before ebbing away to a more bearable level.

The edges of his vision were becoming increasingly dark and fuzzy. His head felt entirely too heavy for his neck to support. He managed one last look at the brunette sprawled on the grass before he, too, succumbed to the embracing darkness.