Hidden Wings (12 page)

“Does she have a lot of parties?” I questioned.

“No, not really. Maybe one or two a year,” she noted. “But kids aren’t allowed. Adults only.” Her mouth turned down as she continued down the hall.

I’d seen a few ballrooms in the Hollywood Hills, homes which my mom and dad listed. They were pretty spectacular. But this house, from what I’d seen so far, surpassed the homes I’d stepped into; those million dollar mansions that only the rich could enjoy. I hoped my aunt wasn’t a rich snob. She seemed nice, but then…I’d only talked with her for about five minutes.

“So what part of Alaska are we in?” I asked.

“We’re somewhere near Delta Junction. If you go up from here, you’ll see the North Pole. I’ve been there dozens of times. Mile marker 1422 is down a ways. It’s supposedly special because it’s the end of the Alaskan Highway. Tourists drive there to take pictures at some lame sign they posted. So, we’re kind of in the middle of nowhere. The boonies. There’s like miles of nothing but trees around us. And like I said earlier, our nearest neighbor is like ten miles away,” she exhaled, with widened eyes.

At least I had some sort of direction now. The area actually had a name that I could look up on MapQuest. I knew Jeremy would want to know that. He’d probably try and look me up on Google Earth, but I doubted if he could see my new home out here in Boonie Ville.

“So how long have you known my aunt?”

“Ummm,” she hesitated, stopping and turning toward me. “Practically all my life, I guess. She was my mom’s best friend. My mom died of cancer about six years ago, and your aunt took us in,” she breathed. Her eyes started to pool with tears. I felt for her; empathized with her. We both shared a similar path, orphaned and taken in by my “Saint” Aunt Alaine.

“I’m sorry,” I said resting my hand on her shoulder.

“Thanks. And, I’m sorry about your parents, too. That was a pretty bad accident,” she sniffed, wiping away a few stray tears.

“How’d you find out…about my parents?”

“Alaine told us the other day. Someone called her while we were eating dinner, and told her about the accident. She was on the phone the rest of the night and early the next day, trying to get everything situated so you could come here.”

I sighed and stood in silence for a few seconds, wondering who might have called her. Who knew she was related to my mom if I didn’t even know?

“Come on!” Courtney huffed, grabbing my hand and dragging me back down the hallway.

We entered a large empty room with a ceiling over thirty-feet high. The walls were a rich golden color with elegant, curved sconces evenly placed between white marble pedestals. Each pedestal held a beautiful, life-like statue of an angel, each in a different pose. It was completely breathtaking.

The floor was a beautiful golden marble. At the center was a large white marble circle with a mosaic of a single red rose and angel’s wings spread out along the sides. Within the mosaic were shimmering golden flakes speckled throughout. It was surrounded by golden tiles that were so shiny you could literally see yourself in them. Above the circle was another huge chandelier, which looked like it belonged in a palace. Thousands of glistening crystals were exquisitely suspended from graceful, golden curved arms. It was literally dazzling. I could only imagine what it looked like on.

“Wow,” I said out loud as Courtney whirled in the center of the floor.

“I know. This place is pretty awesome, huh?”

“I think awesome is an understatement. It’s totally amazing,” I breathed, as I walked past each pedestal, studying the exquisite details of each angel. They were perfectly detailed and beautiful, all resembling gods, with large wings protruding from their backs.

As I came to the end, the last statue caught my attention. I studied the contours of the face, the nose, the defined muscles in the arms and chest, and the shape of the eyes. It was an unremarkable resemblance of Kade. I was entranced, my gaze fixed upon this oddly familiar and perfect statue.

“Boo!” Courtney screamed, grabbing my shoulders and scaring the crap out of me. I jumped, turned and swung at her, whacking her in the shoulder. It was a natural instinct. I couldn’t help it.

“Ouch,” she laughed, grabbing her arm.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “Reflexes.” She was lucky it wasn’t my casted arm.

“It’s alright. At least now I know…don’t ever surprise Emma,” she grinned, still rubbing her arm, and then glanced up towards the statue. “You have a crush on him, don’t you?”

I felt my face flush with heat, and then attempted to swallow the large lump in my throat before I could answer. “What are you talking about?”

“Kade. You like him. I can tell,” she said, her eyes studying me. She’d totally caught me off-guard with that random question.

“Why, is that really Kade?” I asked, pointing to the statue, averting her attention from my flustered face.

“Yeah. Your aunt flew someone in from another country…Italy or some faraway place like that. He was some kind of master stone carver, and his specialty was angels. I guess you’ve already noticed that your aunt has a major obsession with them.”

“Um, yeah. I can totally see that,” I whispered, still gawking at the statue. “So, how does she know Kade?”

“Well, Kade and the others moved in right after Alaine’s husband passed away. I guess they were hired as security guards or something. Her husband was really rich.”

“But Kade actually left us about a year ago. He said he had to go away on some kind of work related thing. I’m glad he’s back. He’s the funnest.”

I laughed, but was curious to what Kade had been doing for the past year. Was his job one that would take him away for long periods of time? Was he in the military?

“So anyway,” Courtney interrupted my thoughts, “Alaine asked the carver if he would make one that resembled Kade, and so he did. He’s pretty handsome, isn’t he?” She turned to watch my reaction.

“Yes, he is very handsome, and
no
… I don’t have a crush on him. I don’t even know him. I mean… I just met him yesterday,” I said in a calm and collected tone.

“Haven’t you heard of love at first sight?” she giggled, looking back at me.

“Yeah, that’s just a myth. It’s really more like lust at first sight,” I blurted. I turned and noticed that her face was all scrunched up, and remembered that she was only thirteen, homeschooled, and kept away from the general perverted public. “Well, I believe you can’t really love someone without truly getting to know them first.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she said with a sigh. “Well, promise me that I’ll be the first to find out when it happens,” she said, staring at me through wide eyes.

I rolled my eyes and exhaled loudly. “Sure,” I answered, just so she wouldn’t bug me anymore. She smiled and tugged at my arm again.

“I have to show you this amazing place outside next,” she said dragging me back down the hallway. “Caleb and I have this super-secret area that no one else knows about, and I have to show you. But you have to promise, promise, promise not to tell.”

“Okay,” I answered.

“Promise,” she huffed, with her hands on her hips.

“Alright, I promise. But I’ll need to put something warmer on first,” I insisted.

She gaped at me with an exasperated look. “Fine.”

“I need to put some things away too.”

I wanted to kill more time, and knew that putting my things away would waste a chunk of it. Plus, venturing out into the freezing cold wasn’t something I was looking forward to.

We made our way back upstairs, and stopped in front of my room.

“I guess I should clean my room too, so just knock on my door when you’re ready,” she said before prancing down the hall to her room.

I agreed and deliberately unpacked my suitcase very, very slowly. Everything that could be folded, fit into a single drawer. Two hoodies, two sweaters, and a rain coat looked so lonely hanging in one tiny area of the huge walk-in closet. I’d have to get more clothes because that was just pathetic.

I made the bed and then unpacked my carry-on, shoving the rest of the snacks, my new camera, and my Kindle in the nightstand drawer. I leaned the photograph of my parents on the lamp next to the bedside.

I missed them so much, but I knew I couldn’t dwell on the fact they wouldn’t be around anymore, so I decided to throw on an extra hoodie and get Courtney.

As soon as I knocked on her door, she flung it open. Her room was girly; hot pink and black, but I didn’t get to see it all. She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me down the stairs and out the front door. As soon as we stepped outside, the cold wind seeped right through my clothes, like I was butt naked.

“Holy HELL, it’s freezing out here!” I shivered, pulling my sweater tightly around me. I tucked my hands into the pockets, which didn’t offer any warmth at all. Courtney didn’t seem fazed by the cold one bit.

“You have to keep moving, Emma. The more you move, the warmer you’ll get,” she said running along the front of the house. When she reached the end, she disappeared around the side. “Hurry up, Emma!”

I picked up my pace and rounded the corner to find her standing, hands on hips, at one of the entrances of the hedged labyrinth. From the third floor the maze looked tiny, but as I made my way towards it, it was well over ten feet tall.

“Wow, you could really get lost in this thing, huh,” I huffed, trying to catch my breath.

“Yep,” she confirmed. “I did actually get lost the first time I went in. Thank goodness Thomas heard me screaming and found me. Now, I only go in with Caleb. He knows this place by heart. He used to sit in his bedroom and study it, even made drawings so we wouldn’t get lost. But I still don’t like to come in here alone. It’s kind of creepy.”

“Well, I’d get pretty creeped out if I went in alone,” I admitted.

“Let’s go!” She smiled taking hold of my hand, pulling me into the maze.

“Wait! Do you know where you’re going, and how to get out?”

“Of course I do! We come in here almost every day. Well, we used to during the summer.”

She guided me left, then left again, then right and left. Before long, I was all turned around. It felt like we were walking in circles, but Courtney kept on like she had a purpose. She finally halted at a corner, pulled apart some of the hedges and stepped inside, completely disappearing into the leaves. I stood, uncertain, until Courtney’s head popped out between the bushes.

“Come on, Emma!” she urged with raised eyebrows, and then disappeared again.

I walked closer, pulled the branches apart, and stepped through a small hollowed out area. It was pretty cool, a small space about six feet by six feet. A perfect secret place to hideaway from the world. It reminded me of the
Secret Garden
, and the hidden entrance to a wondrous place. I wondered if there were other spots like this within the labyrinth.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Ready for what? Isn’t this it?” I asked.

“No, silly,” she said, bending down and yanking open a small, wooden door on the ground.

“Where does that go?”

“It’s a tunnel…a
secret
tunnel that leads under the fence to the other side. It was already here when we moved in, and Caleb found it while we were exploring one day. We’re the only two who know about it…and now you, of course. So, you have to promise not to tell anyone.”

“I thought you weren’t supposed to leave the grounds.”

“Well…we’ll still be close, and we’ve never been in any danger. Ever. There’s nothing around here except trees and squirrels. Caleb and I do this all the time, and we even have a box hidden away on the other side, with some snacks and things inside.”

“Really? Well I guess that’s pretty awesome,” I said. “And, I already promised you I wouldn’t tell.”

“So, you wanna go?” she asked. “We won’t stay long. I just want to show you, and then we can come right back. I promise! Please…” she begged, holding hands together.

I stared down into the dark abyss. I didn’t like the dark. Scary things happened in the dark, and after what happened in the bathroom the other night, I was a bit terrified about the whole thing, especially knowing that Kade was still eating breakfast, and had no clue where we were. But I didn’t want Courtney to think I was a scaredy-cat. Plus, I was curious. And even though curiosity-killed-the-cat, I decided to go against my better judgment.

“So how will we be able to see? It’s pitch black down there.”

Courtney smiled and reached into some nearby shrubbery, yanking out a huge flashlight. She then reached back in and pulled out one more, and waved them both in front of me.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got this covered.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?” I asked, my stomach twisted in knots.

“Of course it’s safe. Caleb and I go all the time. We’ll be quick.”

“Alright,” I said, giving in. “You go first and I’ll follow.”

“Fine!” she said enthusiastically, practically diving feet first into the dark hole.

I climbed down, slow and steady, having a hard enough time trying to grip with my casted hand. I couldn’t afford to fall and end up in a body cast.

I heard a loud thump as Courtney jumped to the ground.

“You’re almost down! About ten more steps,” she shouted.

“Okay, thanks.” My feet finally hit the ground and I turned, her flashlight was shining directly in my eyes.

“Hell-ooo! You’re blinding me,” I said, trying to block the light with my hand.

“Oops, sorry!” she said, directing it to the floor and handing me the other one. “Follow me.” She turned and faced her flashlight down a dirt tunnel. It was narrow, dark, and confined; the perfect recipe for claustrophobia. The air was thick and stale from the lack of air flow, and smelled like moldy dirt.

“How far is it to the other side?”

“Not far. Maybe a couple of minutes,” she said.

I took in a deep breath. “Alright, let’s get going.” I knew if we waited any longer, I’d change my mind.

We had to bend forward to fit through the tunnel and it was tight. Both of my arms rubbed against the sides of the walls. Just a few seconds in and I caught myself breathing heavy, and could hear my heart beating loudly. It felt like the whole cave was going to topple in on top of us.