The Stelter City Saga: Ultranatural (16 page)

Lee was hypnotized by his words and
enchanted by his face, but even then she managed to nod.

“
Now let me see you smile.”
He insisted.

Lee gave a slight smirk, but even that
grew into a radiant beam. “Why are you the best thing this world
hast to offer?”

“
I ask the same question
about you every day.” He whispered.

Lee nibbled on her lip as her eyes
remained lost in his. Her fingers traced his jaw and when she
closed her eyes his lips were there to meet her.

“
I love you.” His voice met
her in the dark.

“
I love you
too.” She replied then nestled against his chest and listened to
the
steady
beating of his heart. “What time does the plane leave?” she
asked.

As if to answer her
question, the engine ignited and the whole jet vibrated with
energy. Above their heads a light flashed:
Please fasten your seatbelt!
Lee
hopped of Ace’s lap and sat back in the co-pilot’s seat. She had
just strapped herself down when a headphone crackled with the voice
from the control tower.

Dohnatello had already
solved that issue. As if the plane had a voice, a series of clicks
and whistles fluttered into the speakers. There was a pause from
the other end then finally, Lee heard the control tower give the
OK. With a gentle jerk, the plane drove itself forward. Lee
squealed with thrill and grasped onto Ace’s hand. Together they
watched as the plane drove down
one
lane, then another, then another.

Eventually after a maze of turns, the
jet stopped at the end of the runway. There was nothing ahead of
them but the long shadow of the aircraft against the stretch of
asphalt and the West Side skyline. The plane waited there for a
moment and Lee watched as lights on the dash board flashed
indicating that the plane was checking its wings. The anticipation
was swelling up in her chest until finally all the lights stopped
and the roar of the engine grew louder.

The acceleration started off
slow with the stripped yellow lines disappearing one by one
beneath
the
jet.
Then the craft began to pick up speed. The yellow lines had morphed
into one solid line and the speed had sent her back pressed flatly
into the seat. She felt the tires leave the ground once, then
twice, and then they were soaring. The view was spectacular. As
they climbed over the scrapers she felt as if she could reach out
and touch them. The glass buildings were so close she saw the
reflection of the jet sliding across the wall of towers. Then with
a whoosh, everything was gone and what took its place was the
glistening ocean.

The morning sun reflected off its
uneven surface igniting the ocean into a sheet of silver. What
spots that weren’t touched by light were black as coal and seemed
to stretch on forever until it disappeared over the edge of the
world. Like the first time she set eyes on Ace, she felt as if she
could never grow tired of the scene.

Her ears popped as they continued to
rise. Tarrillian City was completely gone now and she swiveled
around in her seat to look back at it. Instead her eyes fell on the
first aid kit nailed into the cockpit wall. Gone. The city that she
grew up in. Gone. Her heart panged with the lost as her mind
reassured her that she would be back. Ace squeezed her hand
comfortingly and she spun back around.

She had just gotten the last peek of
the never ending ocean when it was obscured by a blinding white
wall. For less than a second they soared through the clouds. Lee
had no idea she was about to be transported into a world unlike
anything she would ever see again. When the white wash slid from
the window, everything was either baby blue or the purest white. As
they soared above the clouds, the rolling scene stretched out like
a snowy wonderland blanketing high above the ocean like the world’s
largest comforter. She wanted to jump on one of those
marshmallow-like clouds so badly even though she knew she would
sink right through.

Her eyes scanned the vast blinding
surface as her jaw sat agape. Somehow through the wondrous
amazement, Lee caught sight of Ace. He had been smiling at her from
the beginning of the flight. It was undeniable that the things out
the window were amazing, but the expression radiating from Lee’s
face was one he treasured so much more.

Lee smiled back and squeezed her
fingers in his. “This is amazing!”

He nodded as her eyes flew back out the
windshield. “Yes, yes it is.”

The endless wonderland slowly
diminished beneath them until it had vanished all the way. Now
there was nothing but the endless expanse of blinding ocean. When
Lee looked out in any direction, she saw that the horizon wasn’t a
fine line, but a misty mash of water and sky. Eventually the plane
leveled out and there was nothing more to see for the next several
hours.

“
That was amazing!” she
exclaimed pulling her fingers back so that she could unbuckle her
seatbelt.

“
Now we just have to kill
six hours.” remarked Ace rising from his own seat. “I don’t know
about you but I’m starving.”

“
I know, I
didn’t eat breakfast either!” Lee responded. They ducked through
the door of the cockpit and instead of an empty jet to great them;
Lee’s eyes fell on two people sharing a couch and a bottle
of
champagne
.

No one said a word. Four pairs of eyes
danced back and forth. Lee to Ace, then August to
Michael.

Finally August turned to his friend and
asked quietly, “Dohnatello said Hanger 4, right?”

~Larissa’s head rolled onto Ammon’s
shoulder as the plane slowly tilted to the side. The sliver of
light cast from the crack in the window climbed up her shirt until
it landed directly in her eyes. With a groggy gasp she sat up and
blinked for the first time that day.

Ammon chuckled, “Finally, you’re
awake!”

Larissa rubbed her eyes. At first she
noticed the low rumbled of the plane’s engines, then the sound of
Caring Diaz bleeding through Cassie’s headphones. Josh was snoring
softly with a lob of drool staining his shirt, and up ahead the
airline attendant was coming around to order the first class
lunches.

The plane tilted some more and once
again the beam of window light stung Larissa’s eyes. With a grunt
she slammed down the blind and burrowed her cheek against Ammon’s
shoulder. “Don’t wake me up.” she grumbled.

Ammon shook her softly, “Nope, you’ve
been asleep all flight I think it’s time you wake up.”

Larissa gritted her teeth. “Ammon,
leave me alone. I’m tired.”

“
That’s because you just
woke up.” he insisted, “Here’s some coffee. It’s probably really
cold.”

Larissa didn’t move. She inhaled deeply
and at first she considered ignoring him and falling right back to
sleep. Then she recognized the tone in his voice. He was himself.
No sarcasm, no faint mumble; there was life once more in his words.
Slowly she creaked one of her large almond eyes open, then the
other.

“
Are you smiling at me?” she
asked sitting up all the way.

Ammon handed her the cold drink.
“Maybe.”

Larissa took a sip of the
bitter brown liquid. “You
are
smiling. What makes you so happy?”

Ammon shrugged and glanced
away. There was a businessman in the row beside him who might have
been a college professor in disguise since there were chalky
fingerprints along his nice pants and his nose was buried in a
highlighted copy of
The Universal Study of
Mathematics.
“It’s just nice that you’re
finally up.” he replied.

Larissa narrowed her eyes. Ammon had
always been a pretty good liar, but this time he seemed more
convincing than ever. “Uh-hummm… How much longer is the
flight?”

“
Five hours.”

Coffee sprayed from her mouth when she
gasped. “Five hours?! You’re joking! I’m going back to sleep.” She
set the coffee cup back in the holder and was about to recline in
her seat when Ammon caught her hand.

“
I want to talk to you.” He
whispered.

Larissa studied his eyes. They were
almost a colorless green in that lighting and his lashes fanned out
like shells. He hadn’t looked at her like that in a while, yet
Larissa couldn’t help but to find it odd that one short
conversation from a week ago had brought him back. He leaned in and
for one moment she thought he was going to kiss her. Then his lips
sailed past hers and stopped at her ear.

“
How about that secret?” he
asked.

Larissa wriggled away and her lips were
in a fine line. Their conversation back at the Elite condo had
ended in an agreement. Ammon would return to being the nice
charming guy and Larissa would confess. So far Ammon had been
keeping his end of the bargain. He hadn’t had an angry outburst,
but at the same time he wasn’t 100% Ammon yet. She knew he was
trying and that alone was praiseworthy. But she wasn’t quite ready
to speak up. Not yet.

“
Maybe later.” She finally
whispered back.

“
But I’m being myself aren’t
I?” he protested.

Larissa scoffed and sat up all the way.
“Yes, you are.” She took his hand and laced her fingers with his.
“And I see that you’re trying. But it’s only been a week. I need to
know that the old Ammon is back to stay.”

The boy glowered then leaded back in
his seat. His fingers were still tangled with hers and his thumb
began stroking the back of her hand tenderly. “I hope you know that
you’re killing me slowly.” He muttered.

If it weren’t for her supernatural
hearing Larissa might not have heard him over the rumbling of the
engine. “If that’s the case, then I just might have to tell you
when you’re on your death bed.”

Ammon gave her a crooked smirk. His
eyes fell on her once again and this time he said nothing. He just
studied her big brown eyes and the way the silky auburn hair ran
down her chest.

“
What?” she asked after a
solid minute of staring.

Ammon shook his head as the smile
remained. “We should take a picture.” He stood up and let his
fingers slide from hers so that he could rummage through Cassie’s
bag. She had fallen asleep and was now drooling on Josh’s shoulder.
Apparently, she was a sound sleeper because she didn’t stir
once.

Ammon flopped back down beside Larissa
and held the camera out. She squeezed her head beside his and
smiled for the picture.

“
One step closer to Hawaii.”
He said in Cassie’s voice then pressed the button. When nothing
happened, Ammon cocked his head and pulled the camera close to his
face.

“
Oh, wow,” Larissa giggled,
“Maybe you should have turned the thing on!”

~Lotus Stelter straddled her surfboard
and laid her stomach down flat. The noon sun had warmed her board
and as she set her cheek on the heated surface, she felt as if her
face were being fried. She gazed out at the endless stretch of flat
water. There wasn’t a wave in sight. Even as her feet dangled in
the cool water, she couldn’t sense an approaching surge.

Kasper’s left foot collided with her
right one and she glanced up at him. “I can’t believe there aren’t
any good waves.” He said as his foot hooked around her heel beneath
the water.

Their knees were touching now and as
the waves bobbed them about the water, their boards clanked
together. Lotus sat up and sighed. He had just barely gotten off
the plane an hour ago and had insisted they go surfing in Oahu.
There was so much she had already told him. Mostly about Michael
and the break up even after he confessed that he wasn’t just a
supernatural, but the leader of the entire race. At lease Lotus
knew why Michael seemed so busy at the time. And so did Kasper,
considering that she told her manager everything. But it was still
nice to talk to him in person.

She stared past his dry curly hair at
her city in the distant horizon. It looked absolutely beautiful
with its enormous towers protruding from the water like silvery
spears. Then she adjusted her eyes to meet his. They were crinkled
to keep the sunlight out, but even as he squinted she could see the
deep emerald color highlighted by the sun and how much it
contrasted with the blue ocean. His hair had darkened near the
roots so that his familiar golden blonde looked as grey as an ash
tray. He just needed more time out in the sun to highlight his
hair. Already the sun had turned his cheeks pink and freckles had
begun to sprout across his built shoulders and his small
nose.

He hadn’t shaven in a while and when he
scratched his chin it made a dry scraping sound. “Talk to me Lotus.
What all did Michael tell you?”

She felt like she had
already told Kasper millions of times. Michael is the King and
Mirage and Shadow weren’t his cousins, they were members of his
Council along with August
Matthews
and a person Lotus might have met on occasion
named Ithaca Iglesias.

“
He’s supposed to be in
Italy today to deal with some other gang stuff.” Lotus finished,
“But I have no idea when he’s getting back. I don’t see how he can
do that. How in the world does he balance his life out like that? I
mean, he’s probably been my closest friend- well aside from you-
for like, four years now? And I never would have even guessed
it!”