Flying by J. Bennett

Author:J. Bennett [Bennett, J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Endeavor Reads
Published: 2016-07-28T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 30 – Maya

They take Gem’s body away, but not his blood. It settles into the wooden floorboards, brown like an oil spill. Flaky on the side of my leg. I lay on the ground, not thinking. Not feeling. Not anything except the hunger. It cries out of me, the song turning into an endless howl.

Think. Remember.

Rain’s sweet chuckle.

Tarren’s pale, serious eyes.

Gabe’s elfish grin.

Fireflies.

But they all shatter against the noise of the hunger. The window is dark. I keep raising my head to look, hoping that the light will come again.

Sometime later, the door to my room slams open. The room is dark. Still night. A figure stomps toward me. When I recognize War, I order my body to rise. It doesn’t.

He threatened me last time. Rape, I think. And I can’t lift a finger to stop him. Worse, I don’t even care. He can do whatever he wants.

I keep losing time. War is past the white line, staring over me. His eyes are puffy.

“What’d he say to you?” War growls. His hand holds his head like he needs help keeping it upright on his neck. I gaze at his body, longing to see the bright shine of an aura. My palms split open painfully.

“What’d he say?” When I don’t respond, War turns his head and bellows behind him. “I need Max!”

“Still weeping in the corner. I think Gem broke him.” Heeled shoes enter the room. Long, supple fingers wrap around each of War’s arms, and a woman props her head on his shoulder from behind. “Oh, she looks terrible.”

Heather! Hope bubbles in my chest. Heather is nice. She visits me every day and tells me stories from the Bible of pharaohs and plagues and Jesus who loved everyone, even the crowds who demanded his execution. But no, not Heather. I focus my blurry gaze on the woman. Long, dark hair. Not pretty blonde.

“She’s gone retarded or something,” War groans. He leans closer to me, so that I can smell his minty breath. “Did. He. Say. Anything. To. You?” He stamps out each word.

The words echo in my hollow brain.

“Why does it even matter?” The woman sounds bored.

“That bastard tried to kill me!” War replies. “If Max hadn’t been shielding my mind, he could have turned me into…into her.”

“To be fair, you tried to kill him first from the accounts I heard.”

War grins. “Didn’t try.”

Silence.

“What? You pissed I killed your little friend? He wasn’t with us. Who knows what he plucked out of my brain? He could’ve tipped off the government or rounded up his little vegans to oppose us. We couldn’t afford the risk. Not now.”

Another short silence, then the woman says, “I hardly knew him.” Her voice is light, unconcerned. “I came here to see you, anyway. Wanted to know if your holiness had taken a vow of celibacy.”

“I’m a prophet, not a saint.” War smiles, and then his face changes as he looks at me. I’d hoped he’d forgotten about me. I want them and their chattering, useless words to go.

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