Grounded (3 page)

“Who was that? And what was up with him?” Leela demanded to know.

“He’s just a friend that’s visiting for awhile.”

“While Mason is out of town? Wow, what are you doing?” She pressed a hand against her painted lips but Avery could tell she was grinning.

“It’s not like that. Anyways, I’m going to have to skip out on the movie. Nate will appreciate it.”

Leela shrugged, uncaring. She kept pressing for

answers.

“Okay. But will you tell me more about the new guy? I’m in the need-to-know.”

Avery glanced behind her. Outside the doors, he hovered by the benches. His wings twitched making his trench coat shake conspicuously as he paced around the giant trees.

“I don’t know much about him myself. He’s just visiting while Mason’s out of town.”

Leela pouted but fell back a step.

“Okay, fine. Talk later?”

Avery nodded and then split off, hurrying outside to where the new harpie hovered. Luckily, the courtyard remained desolate. The air was chilly but not too cold. Avery drew her cotton jacket around her shoulders.

He’d finally settled in the corner of the courtyard, head tilted upward toward the sky. The Northern Lights, vibrant colors, danced and twisted in the dark sky. Usually too polluted by city lights to be visible, it was the first time they’d shown up in awhile and likely the first time the harpie had seen them.

“This place is strange. It’s strange to really be outside again after so long.” He admitted after finally dragging his eyes away.

“It’s different, but you’ll get used to it. Look, I didn’t mean to make our first meeting awkward but humans aren’t too keen on the whole harpie thing.” She stuck a hand out. “My name’s Avery.”

He eclipsed her hand in his own and squeezed.

“My name is Patrick. It is a pleasure to meet you.” He dragged out the word “pleasure” a bit too much. Swooping down, he shifted her hand and kissed her open palm. In romance books, that gesture was endearing but in reality it played out a bit creepier.

Avery finally took her hand away and quickly stuffed it into her pocket.

“I didn’t have high expectations for this job. But now it seems like a shame that I won’t be able to stay here longer.” Patrick said.

Avery tried to ignore the continuous undertones. Rather, she focused on the first part of his statement.

“How long are you going to be here for?”

He shrugged.

“Two weeks tops.”

Relief washed through her body.

“Mason’s coming back in two weeks?”

A shadow flashed across his face but was gone before she could study it. His posture suddenly altered and he shifted foot to foot. The entire change was small and virtually unnoticeable but something about it caught Avery’s attention. Concern mildly piqued, she waited for him to answer.

“I don’t like the snow.” He said, changing subjects. The white flurries falling from the sky had increased in number. Avery let the bad feeling go. Instead, she jerked her head towards the center of campus.

“Come on. We’ll go inside.”

Three

Avery crossed the campus in a hurry with Patrick by her side. The wind picked up and the temperature had inevitably dropped. Students still lingered by the marble water fountain and the wrought iron gates of her dormitory, Crepuscule Hall. Patrick already stood out and she didn’t like attracting more eyes. Drawing the hood of her jacket up, she pointed him down the long staircase that led to the entrance of her home.

“Down there, to the left. The staff shouldn’t be around so we can warm up inside.” She said though strongly suspecting that Patrick didn’t care either way.

Since they’d left the theater, his eyes picked out every aspect of the campus. He particularly seemed to enjoy the massive mountains in the back drop and the green ivy that crept up the walls despite the frosty season. The place was extremely different from the harpie home base-- a place that Avery had the pleasure of seeing a few months back. Where Mayweather Academy had bomb shelter worthy brick buildings, the harpie island had tropical huts and little roofing to block out the sky. Where the harpies valued openness, Mayweather Academy harvested gates and locked doors to keep them cut off from the world.

They made it down the steps in a hurry. Patrick’s long strides made Avery jog to keep up. They crossed over the lawn and reached the door. Inside the halls remained silent and thankfully empty. Avery snuck in quietly but Patrick couldn’t manage to keep his mouth shut.

“What’s the deal with the gates? Are you guys locked in here at night?” His voice cut sharply through the silent halls.

“It’s not a prison.” Avery said while jimmying the knob. Patrick fidgeted oddly, despite what she’d said. Trying to force a reassuring smile, she finally opened the door to her room, ushered him inside, and hit the light. The room illuminated and the heat pumped through the vents. Avery gestured to the desk chair but Patrick sprung onto her bed. Folding his legs, he sat contently.

Avery knew Leela would be at the movie for at least a few hours so they had time to chill. Letting him have the bed, she sat by her desk.

Patrick suddenly spoke.

“So, what is Mason to you?”

Taken off guard, Avery double took.

“What?” She spit out as an instant reaction.

“Don’t stress. I’m not going to tell Adalyn.” He held his hand to his heart and gave her a sideways smile.

“I’m not worried about that. Mason and I aren’t anything.” She said immediately. She managed to keep her tone down but didn’t care to look at Patrick anymore. Eyes floating toward the right, she spotted some overdue homework. Grabbing a pen, she began to write out a few absent thoughts-- honestly anything to keep busy. She could feel his dark eyes flutter over her form and see his broad shoulders draw into his body.

“So you’re telling me he stays here with a pretty girl like you and you guys are just friends. Really really?” His tone remained high with some hint of amusement and intrigue weaved into his voice.

Avery refused to look at him, hoping he’d stop if she continued to ignore him. She’d had people ask her a million times about her relationship with Mason. She hadn’t grown used to it, just sicker of it. Scrawling on the paper, she gave the weakest and most unconcerned shrug she could.

“Really really.”

“Are you sure you’re not holding out to be something more?” He abruptly got off the bed and inched closer. So close, she couldn’t ignore him. Avery finally looked up at his towering form.

“Why won’t you get off this?”

“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to embarrass you, girl. I’m just trying to see if you’re available. I’ve been out of the game for a long time and now I’m testing my options. Interested?” He smiled again, more slyly. Lowering his eyelids and giving her a stare that cut all the way down to her bones, he posed his body forward until every one of his muscles became apparent against his tight shirt.

She didn’t need a psychology degree to do a quick evaluation of his character. Patrick didn’t know her but hit on her relentlessly. He even eyed Leela in the theater with the same appraising look he gave her now. Major playboy, Avery decided, and she wouldn’t go for that type.

“Look, I think you’re getting the wrong idea here. I’m not, this isn’t-” Avery forced herself to stop and take a breath before she could stutter more. “No thanks.”

“So you just don’t date. Saving yourself or just crushing on another guy?” Patrick was quick to question her logic.

More flustered than she would have liked, Avery turned away and kept at her paper. The black pen she wrote with began to dry up. Knowing it wouldn’t last her another second, Avery stood and trashed the pen.

“Hey, I don’t know you well enough to have a moment here! Anyways, it’s neither!” She said to him, having to maneuver swiftly so she wouldn’t bump into him.

Reaching for her desk, she dug around for a pen. Her desk had been stacked high with paper, broken pencils, and empty soda cans. Hands shaking, she shifted chaotically through the mess. Cursing her luck, she backed up. Her eyes shifted toward Leela’s desk and she acted on it without thinking. Leela’s wooden desk remained spotless. Papers had been filed carefully with blue and purple paperclips to divide up the stack. Avery couldn’t spot pencils on top so she went for the drawer. Grabbing the handle, she yanked.

“If you can’t give me a good answer, then I don’t have to leave you alone about it.” Patrick said childishly.

Avery didn’t answer, frozen. Completely forgetting about Patrick, she stared before her. Inside Leela’s drawer, dead set in the middle of the organized paper, rested an amulet. It had an iridescent blue fog twisting just below the glass surface. Avery finally twitched. Reaching out, she gathered the warm amulet in her hands.

“This-”she stopped short, unable to finish that thought.

He peered around her shoulder, reached out, and fingered the angled glass.

“It’s a communication amulet. Why are you freaking out?”

Moving stiffly, Avery dropped the amulet back into the desk and shut the drawer with a firm click. She backed into Patrick, the impact helping her stir from the daze, and then twisted around to face her bed.

“You don’t understand.” She said, face white and body cold. “Leela shouldn’t have that.”

Patrick looked around the room for some clue. Finding none, he looked back toward Avery.

“Why not?” He asked carefully.

Avery let out a gasping breath. Pressing her hand to her heart, she forced herself to breathe. Blood still pounded in her ears and her shoulders trembled.

“Look, a few months ago harpies kidnapped Leela. She was compelled and she shouldn’t have any memory of it. She shouldn’t even know what harpies are! So why does she have a harpie amulet? Who could she be talking to?” Avery was trying to whisper but failed when hysteria crept into her voice.

Leela hadn’t mentioned anything to Avery and it seemed like harpies would be a big detail on her mind. Avery couldn’t grasp the idea. Patrick, on the other hand, didn’t look as surprised as he should have.

“Did you ever consider the chance that they left it with her but she doesn’t know what it is?”

Avery wrapped her arms around herself.

“Maybe.” She admitted after a moment. “Why would they want her to call them? Especially if she doesn’t know how to use it.”

“Then why are you whining? Confront her on it.”

Patrick’s tone dropped and he strolled to the corner of the room next to the half open window. His muscles tensed and his smile had long since faded. Avery knew she may have ruined the moment, but this was more important.

“I should call Mason. He’ll need to know.” Avery decided.

Patrick suddenly turned and was on her in seconds. Towering above her, he snatched Avery’s phone from her fingers before she had a chance to react.

He held the metal tightly until it squeaked in protest. Talons now visible and full height intimidating, he looked down on her.

“No.” He licked his lips. “No, no calling Mason. I don’t need trouble.”

Thrown by the abrupt change in events, Avery held her hands up as a sign of innocence.

“Hey, I’m not saying that it’s your fault or you failed. I just need to talk to him.” With quite a bit of effort, she kept her voice at bay. Harpies had notoriously bipolar tempers and she wouldn’t bait him.

“Have you ever considered that he doesn’t want you to call him? He’s a fugitive in our world and he doesn’t need any attention drawn to him while he’s over there. Consider that girlie.”

“Okay.” Avery measured her words carefully, and her hazel eyes kept studying his ever changing posture intently. “I won’t. Please just let me have my phone back. You’re going to break it.”

His eyebrows lifted an inch.

“I’m not stupid. The second I leave, you’ll dial him.”

Avery stayed immobile. The atmosphere had already filled with thick tension and she was witnessing a short fuse. His hand still held her phone tightly, far above where she could reach it. Her hand twitched and she felt the familiar simmer of magic beneath her skin. A few months ago, after she accidently gained the magic of the Willow amulet into her body, she could actually use the magic as a powerful weapon. She’d taken out harpies twice Patrick’s size and with practice, survived an all out harpie massacre. Times had changed since then. The magic still pulsed beneath her skin but it hadn’t grown much inside of her body. Mason also harvested half of the magic-- if not more. Avery knew using it was risky at best. Options raced through her mind, but none of them good, she didn’t fight.

“Okay.” She whispered.

Patrick smirked and twirled the metal device in his hands. In a quick motion, he dropped the phone into his pocket and the device disappeared. Avery watched it go. She knew Mason’s number by heart. But that wasn’t a detail she’d mention to Patrick.

“I’m trying to be nice to you.” He said after a moment. “I’m trying to be friends with you. Shoot doll, I wouldn’t mind being more than friends with you. But I cannot, I will not, fail at my job because of a human girl’s stupid actions.”

Avery nodded. Throat closing, she backed up a step. The tiny and slow motion didn’t make him react. Clenching her fist, she forced the magic simmering beneath her skin to calm and dissipate.