Wingless (7 page)

"What?" I ask back in amazement, despite the fact that I've seen this all on the television. I just thought it was fake, like cartoons.

"Yeah, and there's tons of boys and no restrictions to what you do. They don't choose mates or care about age; they just do what they want. They're very selfish. Plus, there are tons of sweets and food and drinks, but they're available all of the time—not just on birthdays."
 

"What about the people, though?" I ask her, my mother's suggestion ringing in the back of my mind. "My mother said I had to blend in, but I have no idea what they do or act like."

"Obviously, they don't have wings or powers. They have to eat and sleep every twenty-four hours. But wait until you hear this," she tells me. I pause, waiting for her revelation on bated breath. "There's halflings there."

"What's that?" I ask back, wrinkling my nose up at the foreign word.

"Half angels who are refused entry here in the Veil."
 

"Why would they be refused?"

"I don't know, Ann. I'm not a Cher—I don't know everything. But they might be able to help you fit in."
 

"What do I do?"
 

"I think you should meet up with them and make friends. They'll understand you more than regular humans and probably have some powers like you," she tells me. "I think that's your best bet to blending in. Plus, you can still be a Fighter. The job is a bit different there than here, but they still fight demons on Earth—or at least, that's what I've discovered."

"They fight them?" I ask back, still confused, but more interested than before.

"Demons are everywhere. You can still help the Angels, just in a different way." Perry grabs my shoulder and squeezes it. I lean into her familiar touch. I try to remember it, since it'll be a long time until I see her again.

"Do you know how to find the halflings?" I ask her.

"I could barely find much information on them at all. I'm sorry," she shrugs, defeated. "Just explore at night, and you might be able to find someone who helps. The Chers are hiding the information, it seems. I think something is going on. Something bigger than just us Angels."

"Thank you so much, Perry!" I tell her, wrapping her in a tight hug.
 

"Anything to make this easier for you." She holds me close as if she's afraid to lose me. "I'm so sorry this is happening to you," she whispers into my ear.

"Me too," I say back, trying to contain my fears and the flood of emotions that engulf me. I hate being emotional. I hate feeling scared and uneasy. That's all I've been able to feel lately, though, so I guess I better get used to it.

"See you in a year?" she asks me, raising her eyebrows.

"One year," I tell her back, nodding.
 

When she leaves the room, I can't control myself. I let myself cry over losing her. I know a lot can happen in a year and Perry is undoubtedly going to move on. She's a firecracker, easy-going, and loves to have fun. She'll have a new best friend in a few days, tops.
 

"Annie?" Tab's voice breaks through my crying. I quickly wipe my face and try to hide any evidence that I've been upset, but it's pretty useless. Tab strides right over to me and picks me up in his arms, holding me like a small Angel.
 

He's a large guy, and that was one of the reasons I didn't mind being chosen with him. I knew our children would be strong. But that's about as far as my glee over being chosen went. I wonder if they'll just keep the pairings at four this year or if he'll be matched with someone new. You would think I'd be jealous, but not an ounce of it runs through me.

"I'm going to stop this," Tab declares, pulling me back so he's staring right into me.
 

"It's okay," I tell him, stroking his face so he knows not to meddle. Tab is an Angel of determination, so if he really wants to, he could get himself involved. Though, I don't think he'd get far. The Archers are handling the situation, and they trump everyone else in this community. I think he'd only get himself hurt, and despite the fact that I don't love him, I would hate to see him in trouble.

"No, Ann. It's not. This is ridiculous. They can't banish you like this," he rants. He drops me to the ground and runs a hand through his unruly hair. His light brown eyes are filled with worry, and it kills me to see him like this.
 

"I guess I'm human." I shrug my shoulders because that's really the only explanation I can offer. I don't know how to fix it. I've never been good at consoling people either.

"You're not," he cries. "You're not. Don't let them tell you those crazy things." He grabs my shoulders, his fingers digging into my blades, and shakes me a little bit. I don't like the way he's acting. His rage turns him into someone I don't like, and for the first time in my life, I'm scared. I'm strong and all, but Tab is large and muscular. His angry eyes scare me, and I have to stop this before it gets further.

"Stop," I tell him, trying to wriggle out of his unrelenting grasp. "I'm leaving and there's nothing either of us can do. Stop saying you'll fix it. You can't, so just accept it. It's worse with you like this." My voice is hard so he knows to quit it. It's bad enough without him acting so enraged.

"I can fix it. I know I can," Tab promises, but his words fall on deaf ears. "Do you hear me, Ann? I'll get you back here!" he yells and grabs me again, pulling me towards him.

"You're hurting me, Tab." I again try to get away from him, but my strength pales in comparison. I'm sure it's just the shock at what he's losing, but I'm losing a lot more and still managing to deal with it, too. We had plans and goals we promised we'd accomplish together. And it's all kind of getting squashed in a matter of two short days. "It's okay. I'll be back in a year to see you."

"A year?" he questions back, his face scrunching up in disgust. "I can't wait a year!" he yells, spit hitting my nose. I wipe it with the back of my hand and step back. He's not in control and upset; that's a bad combo for anyone, let alone a huge Angel. He reaches for me again and clutches my upper shoulder, his fingers on the exact same spot as before.

"I'm not saying you have to wait," I tell him, leaning back in hopes that his hand will release me soon. "But that's what it is."
 

"Let her go," a booming voice demands from the entryway.
 

Tab and I both whip our heads towards the doorway in unison. Micha stands, taking up the entire doorway, hovering just a few inches above the white ground. "Do it!" he demands again, his eyes trained on Tab only.

"Sorry," Tab whispers. He inches backwards away from me like I'm on fire and drops his hands to his sides. I glance down at my forearms, noticing the small red marks he's left behind. I didn't realize he was holding me hard enough to do that. "I'm sorry, Annie," he looks right into my eyes and then runs from the room, ducking under Micha and never looking back. He never even said goodbye to me.

I look up at Micha; his searing gaze is focused only on me.
 

"Are you okay?" he asks me, concern in his eyes and laced in his voice. He comes towards me, and for a second I think he's going to hug me, but he doesn't. He just awkwardly stops a foot or so in front of me and rakes his eyes over my arms. When he spots the redness, his eyes harden and sharpen on me.

"I'm fine," I tell him sternly. "You didn't have to interfere. He's just scared and confused. He didn't mean to hurt me." I try to stand up for Tab, but I don't really convince myself. It's true that he's never touched me like that before; he's a bit passionate and sometimes it comes off in the wrong ways.

Micha shakes his head side to side in disgust, "No man should ever touch a woman that way." I can feel the power ripple off of him in gentle waves. "Come," he says, waving me towards him. "We have work to do before we go."
 

I follow behind him blindly.
 

CHAPTER EIGHT

Training

"Work?" I ask as I chase Micha down corridor after corridor. My body has barely moved in the last two days so with each step my knees ache, and my hip groans in protest. I feel weaker than before, like I'm slowly transforming into a human. I feel old, broken down, and vulnerable. My body shudders at the thought.

"We'd like you to feel as comfortable as possible when you get down there. They have certain, uh, tendencies that you don't. So, you'll have to study briefly before we leave tonight," he says, not taking a breath between words.

"We leave tonight?" I ask again, feeling like all I do lately is ask more and more questions that seem to only lead to more when answered. It's annoying to not know anything. I feel dumbed down despite being in the top of my class for every year.

"Yes," he answers.
 

I decide to shut my mouth, since it doesn't seem like he wants to talk much. He was like that in class, too. He'd only speak when he had something important to say. I felt like I was blabbering the entire time—similar to right now. But, he never really looked at me like a child. He always held me to high standards and treated me like an adult. It was something I always respected about him.

He stops suddenly just outside of a set of large, white doors. I almost slam into him, but because I've been so far behind, I'm able to stop before I make a fool of myself. He pauses as if he's deep in thought, and then the doors open in front of him. I wish I could use air to move things. Unfortunately, I missed out on that power, and doubt I'll ever get it now.
 

He walks right through the open doors, and I follow closely behind him into a room full of televisions. There are hundreds plastered on the wall and on tables. There are small hand sized ones, too. It's like the room is made of these skinny, blank screens. I've never seen anything quite like it before.

"I've set up some programs that will give you more insight on humans. Some are about pop culture, some on food. You'll be able to see their houses, as well as the things that humans use or do. Likewise, you'll be able to see the variety of color available on Earth. You'll probably learn most of what you'll need through being on Earth, but this should give you a quick idea of what to expect, on top of what you already know." Micha swings his arm out and all the televisions spring to life at once.

I bend at my knees and cover my ears at the competing noises coming from the black-boxed screens. Micha snaps his fingers and the noise ceases to exist. I peek up, and Micha's smiling down at me, humor playing around in his light eyes.
 

"Take your time," he says, trying to hide his laughter. "Here is a remote control. You can change channels, turn the volume up or down, and pretty much do whatever you want. Humans love these little things."
 

"Where are you going?" I ask him as I reach for the remote in his hand.
 

"I have to prepare to go down to Earth," he says. "I'll be back in a little while." He retreats through the door without another word, and I'm left alone.

"Thanks!" I yell after him.
 

I hear a slight laugh that I'm not sure is his, but I pretend it is just for my own satisfaction. I turn my attention back to the room I'm in. I point the remote at the screen, and it blasts to life. But, unlike before, the volume is at a normal level that doesn't kill my ears.

A television show is on inside of the black box. People that look to be around my age are on the screen. They talk with each other in what looks like the center where testing is done here. The walls are white, contrasting with the dark ground and garish red and orange tiled squares. It's unpleasing to my eyes, but it seems nobody in the television shares my disgust.

In the Veil, we're only allowed to wear white, unless we're in the training center. Then, we can wear different colors depending on what we're doing. I don't know if it's the colors or the adrenaline, but the training center has always been my favorite place to be. I feel free there. I feel like I don't have to try to be something I'm not.

The kids in this show are wearing a hundred different colors each from head to toe. This one kid has long, brown hair, almost down to his shoulders, but it's spiked in different ways and at weird angles. His hair is even streaked with white and yellow coloring.

His blue pants have white stripes down the side and around the waist. His first shirt, which tucked into his pants, is a vibrant red that I've only seen once or twice before in my life. The second shirt, which is over the first, is checkered in red, white, and black.
 

It reminds me of a jacket, but this child is wearing it wide open and loose. The sleeves are way too long on him, hanging past his wrists and almost covering his fingers. It makes me think he must have borrowed it from his much larger Guardian.
 

After I've looked at different clothing and listened to the way the teenagers speak to one another, I flip the channel to something completely different. It's hard to figure out how to use the remote. I look down at the skinny, black thing and try to understand what each button does. Even the buttons on this device are colored.

I click one with a plus sign, and the volume on the screen skyrockets. I quickly hit the minus to make it get back to a normal level. My ears ring a little, but after some fast rubbing, the ringing stops. I press a button that looks like an arrow and the screen changes, showing me a new show. This show isn't real at all, and I've seen it before.

During classes, we studied humans pretty frequently. Nothing in-depth enough to make me feel like I know humans, but enough to get a general idea of who they are, what they do, and, sometimes, why they acted certain ways.
 

For example, we read a novel that explained humans and their wars. Since Angels are mostly peaceful, I know students wondered why humans would attack other humans. I had trouble understanding it myself. But, humans aren't all treated equally. Their society isn't as advanced as ours.

Humans look like Angels, minus the wings, but their bodies are generally larger and thicker. We fly so we tend to be long and lean, with small frames. I guess I just missed out on the long part, since I'm shorter than most Angels I know.