Wings - Chapter 13

Hopper50 10/28/17

Read Chapter 12 here!

Read Chapter 14 here!

My first thought upon seeing the animal who was supposed to be my mother was one that shamed me: Dean’s uncle lied. My mother's eyes were nowhere near the clear turquoise of mine; they were a deep, inky purple that faded to black at the edges.

I probably shouldn't have been surprised that her eyes were nothing like I expected. Dean's uncle had described her to me as timelessly beautiful, but it certainly looked like time had caught up to her. She sat slumped in a plush chair, her fur ragged and matted. She had dark, tired circles under her eyes, and I could see her bones jutting out from under her pelt. The worst part was probably her wings, which flopped limply on her back. They were almost completely bare of feathers with gray, lifeless skin showing from underneath. The few feathers that still clung to her wings were ruffled and grayed with dust.

“Saena,” I said, my voice catching as I greeted her. This was the mother I had grown up without, and the name “Mom” felt awkward on my tongue.

“Cassiell. How you've grown,” Saena said, rising with difficulty from her chair and hobbling over to me. She pulled me in for a frail hug, and I had to be careful not to squeeze too hard.

“It's been so long, my daughter. I was afraid something terrible had become of you,” Saena croaked as she settled back onto her chair.

“I could say the same for you,” I replied, looking her over. “Old age doesn't do this to people, and besides, you're plenty young. What happened?”

Saena gave a deep sigh, a few milky tears crawling slowly down her cheeks. “The night I was forced to abandon you, I was captured by the Phantoms. They did things to me, terrible things, to try to understand where I got my powers from. I was held by them for years until I was able to escape. Luckily, a Guardian who was visiting Jamaa found me and brought me here, where I could receive help from my own kind.”

I swallowed hard, trying to force down the guilt that was rising in my chest. All those years I had blamed her for leaving me, all those years I had imagined that she was off somewhere enjoying a life without me when she had been forced to endure pain I could barely imagine.

“Isn't there anything we can do about your condition?” I asked. “Guardians are terrific healers; have you tried having someone use magic?”

Saena nodded sadly. “I've had the best healers in the city try to help me, but to no avail. I'm afraid what the Phantoms did was irreversible, and chances are I don't have much time left.”

I rustled my wings anxiously, keeping my eyes turned to the floor as I tried to stop my eyes from welling up. I felt like this was somehow all my fault, and I hated that I was powerless to stop my mother’s slow death. Glancing up with a start, I realized that the winged lynx and Arctic fox from earlier were both still in the room with us. Blushing, I suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious.

Saena must have picked up on my awkwardness, and she carefully pulled herself to her feet. “Why don't we go for a walk, just the two of us? I'd like to continue getting to know my daughter.”

I nodded, giving Saena a grateful grin as I followed her out the door. She silently led me through the gleaming marble streets of the City of the Guardians, taking so many turns that I soon lost track of where we were in the massive city. We only stopped when we reached a massive oak door set into a tall marble structure. Saena pushed open the heavy door and led me up a spiraling marble staircase, and as we climbed higher and higher, I grew more and more excited. I had always been at home in high places, just as I assumed most Guardians were, since they built their city on a mountaintop.

We finally burst through a hole in the ceiling and found ourselves on top of a large tower overlooking the city, the rest of the mountain range spreading out around us. We were far above the clouds, and the whiteness that surrounded us made it feel as if we were in some kind of heaven.

“Beautiful, isn't it?” Saena asked, walking over to lean on the railing on the side of the tower. “I haven't been able to fly for years, but when I'm up here, it feels like I'm soaring through the air again.”

I walked over to lean on the railing next to her, taking in the amazing view of the snow-covered peaks stretching out into the distance. I could understand why the Guardians rarely left their city; it was perfect here, almost like a dream.

“So… what happened to Caspian, my father?” I asked. I had felt too awkward to bring it up earlier, but now that we were alone, it was a different story.

“Your father died the night I was kidnapped. He was crushed by a Phantom, and I had no choice but to run away with you or suffer the same fate.”

I choked back a few tears, knowing that I was pushing my luck to hope that both of my parents were still alive. I was lucky to even have Saena here, especially after all she had been through.

“I guess all that's left of him is that cloak of his,” Saena said wistfully. “Where did you leave that, by the way?”

“Uh…” I stammered. How had she known I had the cloak? “I left it in the medical cabin. Figured I didn't need it here.”

“You're right,” Saena said with a warm smile that almost cured my sense of unease. “It's served it's purpose.”

I studied Saena curiously, trying to figure out how to question her about the cloak. Was she using some sort of Guardian magic? As I watched her, something in the corner of my eye grabbed my attention, and I whirled around to look at the side of the mountain that the city was built upon.

“What are those things?” I asked, squinting to make out the small black specks that were marching up the side of the mountain. “Are those… Phantoms?”

“Indeed they are,” Saena said, her voice eerily calm. “And thanks to you, they've been led right to the city. You've served me well, my daughter.”

“What?” I asked, stumbling backwards. “What do you mean? We have to warn someone!”

“I always knew you'd run across that blasted cloak,” Saena said, her violet eyes taking on a malevolent glint. “The tracking device attached to it’s brooch has worked wonders with sending information back to the Phantoms. I'm glad to see that they work quickly.”

“You're mad,” I stuttered, backing slowly toward the stairs. “We have to alert the citizens!”

With unnatural speed, Saena dashed between me and the stairs. She gave me a wicked grin, and I watched in horror as inky purple tears began to leak from her eyes.

“You're not going anywhere, Cassiell.”

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Hi everyone! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter of my new story, Wings. If you'd like to read the other parts of this story, be sure to check the official wiki entry that is linked down below. I'll be posting links to any chapter updates in there. Also, feel free to comment down below on what you thought of this chapter, I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading!