Wings 2

Sage grabbed Valerie's arm and yanked her down into the tall grass. Valerie let out a gasp at his abruptness and fell awkwardly beside her friend. She was about to yell at him, and then noticed the alarm in his coppery eyes. She tapped him on the shoulder and mouthed, What is it?

Sage answered with a shake of his head, signalling he wasn't sure, but to be quiet anyway. Valerie followed his intent gaze above the grass. He was staring at Valerie's cabin. She figured there was no way they hadn't been spotted by whatever or whoever Sage had seen. So why hide?

Valerie nudged her friend and tried gesturing that they should crawl around the edge of the grassy slope to the back of the cabin and just climb in through a window. That way, they could take the stranger by surprise. Sage just stared at her blankly. Valerie rolled her eyes and began crawling as low to the ground as she could, motioning for her friend to follow.

The grass rustled painfully loud as the two dragged themselves toward the rear cabin windows. Sage wondered at how they hadn't been caught yet. Or maybe the stranger was just planning to trap them inside the cabin. Once below the windows, Valerie slid one open, wincing as it squeaked from little use. She placed one foot in Sage's cupped his hands and he helped hoist her up inside. Beneath her cape, the tip of Valerie's wing caught on the window frame and she tumbled through the opening, landing on the floor with an earth-quaking thump.

Sage, much more carefully, climbed inside. Okay, he thought, someone must have heard that.

Valerie got to her feet, mouthing, Sorry, a half a dozen times. The two teens stood listening for ten heartbeats. No one came. No one kicked down the bedroom door, no guns went off, no one yelled Freeze! Nothing.

Valerie exhaled sharply and turned to Sage. "Are you sure you actually saw someone?"

Sage nodded, but seemed unsure. "I'm so positive I did," he whispered, angry at himself.

Valerie groaned loudly and walked toward the door of her bedroom. She swung it open. And lost her grip. The door banged against the inside wall and Valerie stood frozen in place.

Sage strode up beside her. "Val, what..?" But he froze, too.

In the shadows beside the front door was a tall person clad in a cloak, leaning against the wall. The person's face was half concealed behind a hood, but the teens could somehow feel the eyes were staring at them. The three of them stayed like that for what seemed like hours, not one saying a word.

Then, the stranger let out a low chuckle. "You should have seen yourselves," he said. His voice was low and had a slight English accent. "Looking like two camels trying to hide, but forgetting they have humps on their backs."

Valerie stiffened at the stranger's strong emphasis on the word humps. Sage, noticing his friend's discomfort, gently pushed past her to stand in front protectively of her. He crossed his arms and tried to appear foreboding.

"Who are you and what do you want?" he demanded of the tall stranger.

The person laughed again. "No need to be so tense," he said. His hand went up and pushed back the hood from his face.

Sage recognized the blond hair, dark eyes, and sharp nose immediately. His eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing here," he asked flatly.

"Not welcome, am I?" The strange shook his head in mock sadness. "And I thought after three years..."

Suddenly, Valerie spoke up. "You two know each other?"

"We do," the stranger answered at the same time Sage said, "We did." They glared at each other.

The stranger broke his stare and looked past Sage. "I'm called Drake," he said. Valerie thought he must be a year or two older than Sage - maybe seventeen or eighteen - but the low, accented voice kept throwing her off.

"And who are you?" Drake asked her.

Valerie almost answered, but Sage cut in. "That's none of your business," he told Drake fiercely.

"Who's to say that?" Drake asked.

"Me," Sage said in a solid tone.

"Um...hello, I'm still in existence," Valerie said, stepping out from behind Sage. "What's the deal between you two? You obviously hate each other."

Sage rolled his eyes. That was Valerie - always speaking her mind. Here he had tried to act all brave, and maybe cool, in front of her, but she didn't even care.

"Yes, we've had our...differences," Drake said.

"Differences?" Sage retorted. "Is that what you call them?"

Drake went on, ignoring him. "Three years ago, something caused him to turn on me. I'm still not altogether sure what I've done to make him quite so angry."

Sage wasn't angry. He was seething. Valerie saw his wings quiver beneath the cape, and he squeezed his hands into fists. Valerie never seen her friend so mad in her life. But there was something else that didn't make any sense. Valerie had known Sage since she was too young to remember. She had been his only friend. So where did this Drake person come from?

"Who else knows we're here?" Sage asked through clenched teeth.

Drake half-smiled. "Just me."

"Oh, right," Sage replied sarcastically. "You just booked a flight to a place that doesn't exist. Oh no, wait...did you figure out a way to walk across the ocean?"

Drake raised an eyebrow and said, "You want proof that I've come alone?" Still wearing that smug half-smile, he stepped a few feet forward and untied the cloak at his throat, dropping it at his booted feet.

Sage sucked in a breath and Valerie stared.