Wasteland (Flight) (12 page)

“Looking for these?”

I whirl around, dropping my Harpy in the process. In front of us, our “informant” has David and Rassler bound and gagged. I gasp. David tries to signal me with his eyes to leave, but I can’t. I can’t just abandon him.

“What the hell is going on?” Essa asks.

The informant, a slim Harpy with mousy wings, just laughs.

“Did you really think I’d betray my own kind for the Corp? Are you all really that stupid?”

“You’ve been with us for ten years. You’ve led us to kill hundreds of
your kind
. Why the sudden change of heart?” I growl. This guy isn’t smart enough to be a double agent. My bet is that he’s trying to get back in, and what better way to show his allegiance than bringing in some Ace Hunters?

“Your government thinks they control the minds of its people. But a revolution is happening. Once Gabriel takes the throne, none of you will stand a chance.”

I signal Essa behind my back, then lunge toward the Harpy. He comes back at me, set on a collision course before a tranq dart lodges in his neck. He goes down in seconds.

I give Essa a thumbs-up and then rush to David, slicing off the ropes keeping him bound. As soon as his gag is removed he leans close to me.

“He’s got reinforcements coming in. We need to get out of here,” he whispers harshly. I glance at Rassler and at Essa. There’s no time for the mission. We need to escape.

We run together down the street toward the safehouse. Shit.

“We can’t get out the way we came in. That place will be crawling. We need to hit a gate.”

But where can we find one not covered by Harpy soliders?

Our direction is decided as a group of armored Harpies fly up on our right. We dodge left into a thinner alley, one they’ll have to fly above or chase us on foot.

But they’ll be waiting for us on the other side. I look around as I run, and spot an old fire escape.

“Let’s hit the roof. If we need to fight, we fight, and then we spot our exit up top.”

I make my way up the ladder first, ignoring its rickety wail. Rassler fires some bullets below. The Harpies decided to proceed on foot, then. I keep climbing. Rassler will hold us off for now.

Reaching the top of the building, I look down the ladder. David is a few steps below me. I reach my hand out for him, but then the ladder wails, the rust crackling.

“Grab my hand! It’s going to fall!” I shout, but it’s too late. David’s hands reach for me as the ladder breaks off and free-falls to the other side of the alley. David lands with a sickening
thud
. I try not to scream. I can’t get down from here, not without the risk of dying.

Essa reaches David’s body, and by some miracle, he gets up slowly, dusting himself off.

“Go, Pie!” he shouts at me. I really have no other choice. Harpies are swirling through the air, ready to attack. I spin around, and run into a hard body. His hands hold my torso steady. His touch is so familiar.

“Asher?” I whisper as I look up at his determined face. He quickly slices his hand with a talon and rubs his blood over my collarbone.

“This means you belong to me. Hold on tight. I need to get you out of here.”

“What?” I stammer, but I have no time to repeat. Asher grips me hard and jumps from the building, his strong wings lifting us high over the city.

“What about David and the others?” I ask, breathless. The air is frigid on my skin.

“They’ll be safe. I have people on it,” Asher says. And I believe him. I trust him. I’m safe, and so are my team. For now, at least.

I let myself look over the city. It’s breathtaking. Buildings exist on top of buildings, and Harpies that aren’t a part of the mob in the center of town fly from one crow’s next to the next. Adrenaline keeps my heart pumping. This doesn’t even feel real.

“Where are you taking me?”

Asher looks down at me, his smile a little more gleeful than it should be, given the situation.

“I’m hiding you out in the palace, of course. Welcome to Ehvelar.”

Once night falls, I slip away from my bunk. Thankfully the guards let me out of the cave without any questions. I’ve never felt so useless. Everything is under control. Without me. My friends are really making it work, but there isn’t a place for me. Except to find him.

I wander through lands of petrified trees, trying to ignore the smells of fire burning and death-rot not so far away from me. The moon shines bright, leading my path. My feet take me to where I need to be.

He’s waiting for me, sitting on a massive rock. His hair has grown longer, and his wings nearly shimmer in the moonlight. When he sees me, he smiles, but it isn’t real.

“Ash,” I whisper. I want to run to him, to feel his touch, just to be in his arms. I want him to tell me everything’s okay, even if it’s not. He motions for me to join him. I sit between his legs and he wraps his arms around me, clasping my hands and burrowing his face in my hair.

“You smell like home.”

His skin is freezing cold, and paler than it should be. He’s sick, I know, but I didn’t expect it to show on him. I didn’t expect it to start rotting me to my core.

“Cab we just stay like this for a while?” I ask. All I want is this, for as long as I can have it. He clutches me tighter as we look up at the stars.

“You know, when I found you in Central, I was so afraid they’d gotten to you, brainwashed you. I was terrified you wouldn’t remember me again. But then you looked at me that way that you do, and I felt so stupid for doubting you,” he says. His breath against my ear feels so good. I turn myself around so that I’m facing him.

“I told you I would never forget you again.” It was my personal vow. “Just knowing you were out there kept me sane. You save my life every day.”

A sad smile tickles the corners of his lips.

“That makes me so happy, Red. There were so many times I just wanted to storm in and bust you out of there to be with me. I wish we had more time,” he says.

“What do you mean?”
Just pretend. Just pretend it’s going to be okay
.

“Eventually you know what’s going to happen,” he says.

“But not now.”

I push myself forward, pressing my lips into his. Just his smell drives me wild. He pushes back, wrapping a hand around my neck, pulling me overtop him.

He moves his lips to my neck, to my collarbone, down the hem of my shirt. A sigh escapes me as I run my fingers through his hair. I feel him harden beneath me.

He returns his lips to mine, hungry for me. I press my hands over his strong chest, gripping his shirt, biting his lip.

His hands slide up my shirt, pulling it over my head impatiently. The cold breeze hardens my nipples, and he leans forward, using his teeth and tongue to play with the barbells I have there. My body screams for him as he growls softly.

I reach my hand to the hemline of his pants, unbuttoning the front and dipping my hand below. He bites hard on my nipple as I take hold of him, wrapping my fingers around him.

“I fucking love you so much,” he whispers. I’m about to wrestle his shirt off when he suddenly recoils. He backs away from me, sweat pouring from him. His eyes have turned pitch black, and his wings tremble.

“Shit. Ash. What’s wrong?” I hastily slip my shirt back on, horrified as he holds his head in his hands. His skin is literally crawling, like something is about to burst from his veins. Thick, metallic feathers burst from his shoulders, and his teeth grow long and sharp as his hands morph into talons on steroids.

It has begun. The ultimate goal of H000, Asher’s father.

“Come back to me,” I say soothingly. I reach for his hands, cautiously holding their monstrous form in my suddenly miniature fingers. “Don’t let it beat you, Ash. You’re stronger than this.”

He looks up at me, his noir eyes menacing, but as I rub my thumb along his hands, his breathing slows, his hands slowly return to normal, and he’s left panting heavily, head hanging low.

“I’m sorry. So sorry,” he grunts. I take his head in my arms and push him to lie on my lap, where I can stroke his hair and wipe away any sweat and blood.

“How long has this been happening?” I ask. His wounds heal in front of my eyes, faster than ever.

“About a month. It’s getting harder to control. I remember… I remember this happening to my dad. He would lock himself in his study until the fit left him,” he replies.

We don’t talk about the obvious question. How long before Asher can’t fight it off anymore?

“I’m going to find a way to save you,” I say, determined. “There has to be a way.”

Asher lurches up, his body completely healed. “What if there isn’t a way? We’ve been searching and searching. The only way to get rid of it is to transfer the power.”

“Then let’s do that,” I urge. “We need to do whatever it takes. I’m not going to let this beat you.”

Asher looks away from me. “It isn’t that easy. It can only be transferred to my first-born son, which will never be born, and even if we could transfer it, I think it’s too late. This is the final stage. My father made sure it would be me to have it. He wanted me to be the most powerful Harpy, even if it means war and death to everything else.”

How do we even move on from this? I bite back tears. I’m not going to let him go.

“I’m going to save you.”

“No you’re not!” he snaps. The pure volume of his shout nearly knocks the wind out of me. “Look at me, Piper. My normal body is wasting away. I can’t control this. You can’t control this. I am death. Once this takes over me, there will be no survivors. That’s it. That’s the truth. You need to accept it.”

“But I won’t.” My voice is tiny, just like a mouse. I reach out to him and he tenses, though he lets me stroke his skin, run my fingers across the scar on his back.

“We’re going to get through this,” I lie.

“Oh, I wish. You don’t know how much I wish for you, with all of your beauty and complexities. I want that forever. I want you forever. Just know that.”

He grabs my hands, holding them in between our bodies. Tears stream down my face even though nothing has been said.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because I have to. It’s not fair to you or anyone else. We need to say goodbye,” he whispers. I can feel my entire body shaking.

“You told me there were no goodbyes between us,” I murmur. He clenches my hands harder.
Please don’t let go.

“I’ll always be with you. Right there,” he says, placing his hand on my chest, next to my heart.

“That’s not good enough,” I sputter. The moonlight glints off his own tears.
Just don’t let me go
.

“Red, you know I don’t want to do this. It’s the last thing in the world I want to do. If life were grand then we could run away and live by the sea and hold each other forever and that would be pure, perfect happiness. But this world is cruel. The war is only getting worse, and I need you alive. Without you alive there is nothing anymore,” he says.

He draws me close, kissing me softly, deeply, and sadly. His tears mix with mine.

“I can’t do this,” I plead, lips just inches from his. He turns up my chin with his finger.

“You’re the toughest person I’ve ever met. I love you. I love you with everything I’ve got.”

“I love you,” I whisper. He kisses me again, then spreads his wings.

“If I don’t leave now, I never will. Don’t come looking for me. I’ll always have you here,” he says, holding his own heart. And then he’s gone.

I curl into a ball, trying to hold on to the touch of his lips, knowing I’ll never look at the stars the same way again.

Twinkling chimes caress me awake. My body has sunk into a luxurious feather bed, and the shiny wooden walls around me are covered with wood carvings and painted murals. Feathers and metal wind chimes hand by the open window.

Asher sits there, straddling the opening, looking out on to the city. Shit. I bolt upright, remembering yesterday. I’m still in the freaking Harpy palace.

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t freak out,” Asher says as he rushes to me. “You’re safe.”

Right. I’m totally safe surrounded by thousands of Harpies. I let myself sink back into the bed, where I can hard. Then I realize this is
Asher’s
bed, and this pillow is his pillow.

“What about the other?” I ask, adjusting my thoughts. Asher sits on the bed next to me.

“They’re back in Central, safe and sound.”

“So why am I here?” Did you kidnap me?” I ask. He scrunches his eyes and then launches into a hearty chuckle. I try to ignore the fact that he’s topless and his tight muscles gleam in the sunlight.

“No. I want to show you some things, things about the Corp, and about me. But first, I want you to relax, and have some breakfast. What do you like?” he asks.

I stare at him. “Anything not Human.”

He rolls his eyes playfully, then lightly steps to another section of the room cordoned off by cabinets, revealing his serpentine scar. “I’ve got some fruit I found down south, some cabbage, and water,” he announces.

“Fruit is good,” I reply. He bounces back with an armful of tiny oranges. He looks so proud of himself, I can’t help but smile. I take one, peel back the skin, and take a bite. It is beyond delicious. Better than lab-grown fruit by a mile.

“So this is your room?” I ask between mouthfuls.

“Since I was little. I don’t think I’ve ever had a real girl in here before.”

“What do you mean, real girl?”

He inches closer to me. “I mean a girl without wings and sharp teeth,” he clarifies. I let my hand wander up his arm, feeling the hardness of his muscles. I wonder how many Harpies he’s had up here. The Prince must be quite the celebrity around here.

“Thank you for saving me,” I say.

“Don’t mention it,” he replies.

I take my arm back to my side. Tor pops into my mind. I’ve been so far gone I’ve barely thought of him. It makes me sad, drilling a hole through my gut.

“What’s wrong?” Asher asks. I laugh to myself.

“What isn’t wrong? Being here with you, lying to everyone, even him,” I say. He bristles at the word.

“Your lover?”

“My boyfriend,” I clarify. I can’t help but wonder, is Asher my lover now?

“But you love him?” Asher looks at me, and in his eyes I know I’m the only person in the world. Nothing is awkward, nothing is forced. I feel equal. I feel excited like I’ve never been before, like Shelley looks when she’s about to go on a date.

“I don’t know. I thought I did, but everything is different now. I don’t even know how I could go back to him. All my life I thought we’d end up together, be this super couple of Ace Hunters, but I couldn’t even move in with him when he asked me to…” I trail off. My feelings for Tor seem eons away. “Can love just shut off, just like that?” I snap my fingers.

Asher lies next to me, looking up at the wood-beam ceiling. “Not real love. Real love is agonizing and cruel, beautiful and destructive. Real love never leaves you,” he says.

“Have you ever been in love?”

“Not real love. Not yet,” he says. The words trickle from his mouth and float above us, waiting for us to reach out and grab them.

“What is it like? For Harpies, I mean,” I say, breaking from my thoughts.

“Complicated, but simple at the same time. Once you meet your mate, then that’s it. You belong to one another. No one else exists anymore, at least not in that way. I was betrothed once, but we weren’t meant for each other. There was no spark, nothing. Both of us decided it wasn’t right to live without love.”