Hidden Wings (6 page)

“We did some hiking and fishing on our vacations, but I’ve never been on skis, or a snowboard, because my mom didn’t like to take road trips during the winter.”

“So you’ve never been on a snowboard? I guess I’ll have to teach you,” he grinned.

My heart skipped a beat.
Maybe he would be sticking around.

“So, do you live near my Aunt?” I asked.

“Yes,” he answered. “I live in the guest house at the back of the property.”

Whoa… He lived closer than I thought.

“That’s cool,” I tried to say with an even voice, but I didn’t want to face him. My cheeks were hot and flustered and were now probably a bright shade of pink.

“Maybe you should get some rest,” he said. “We’ll be in flight for a few more hours.”

“I wish.” I wanted to rest, but my mind was wide awake.

The stewardess came by to collect the trash, so Kade asked her for a pillow. She quickly left her spot and returned a few seconds later with two.

“Thank you,” he smiled. She smiled back and sighed softly, her eyes lingering a little too long on him. Boy, would I give a penny for her thoughts. Then again… maybe not.

Kade pressed the button on the armrest between us and lifted it.

What’s he doing?
My pulse began to race.

He fluffed the two pillows and arranged them comfortably on his lap, and then patted them. “Come Emma. Lie down and get some rest.”

“I can’t,” I breathed. My stomach danced with butterflies.

“I bet you can,” he chimed.

“No. I can’t,” I insisted. I wanted to. I really did. It was tempting and totally enticing, but I couldn’t bring myself to lie on his lap. I mean… I barely knew him, and given the fact that I’d never really had a boyfriend before didn’t help. I’d feel majorly awkward, and would not get a second of rest. I mean… my insides were already twisted in knots with him just mentioning it.

“Fine,” he said with a grin. “We’ll do it your way.” He put the armrest back down, arranging the pillows on it instead. “There… now will you rest? That’s the only way you’ll be able to heal and build your strength. Alaine will kill me if you arrive weak and tired.”

I was tired, weak, and still very sore, so I situated myself comfortably in the chair and laid my head on the pillows. There was no way I’d be able to do this in coach. First class was awesome. And even if I couldn’t sleep, I’d at least be able to rest in comfort.

A sudden a surge of warmth cascaded over me, as Kade placed his hand on my forehead. I looked up and his hazel eyes were smiling down at me.

Holy hell, he was so damn handsome.

I smiled, while my heart hammered against my chest. He leaned over, close. Much too close. My breath ceased.

Was he going to kiss me? I’d never kissed anyone before.

I closed my eyes, feeling his warm breath on my cheek, and then he whispered softly in my ear. “Sleep.”

My brain immediately became numb and tingly, and my eyes became overwhelmed with heaviness. I fought to open my eyes.

What did he do to me?

“Rest, Emma. I’ll be right here when you wake,” he whispered.

My eyes became too heavy to keep open, and I soon faded into sleep.

Chapter 5:

“Emma. Hey, Emma…it’s time to get up,” a melodic voice whispered, gently nudging my shoulder. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the most beautiful face just above me.

Was I dreaming? Nobody pinch me, please…

“We’ve just landed in Seattle.”

“Oh, okay,” I said sitting up, trying to straighten my hair with my one, good arm. It wasn’t a dream. “Whoa, what happened? I was out cold,” I said as I peeked out the window and saw us taxiing to the ramp.

“I told you, you were tired,” he said with a crooked grin.

“Yeah, I guess you were right.”

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Good,” I said quickly assessing myself. I felt completely rested, and didn’t ache as much. “Actually I feel awesome, like I slept a whole eight hours.”

“Well, that’s great to hear, because we have to run clear across the terminal to catch our next flight. We’re a bit behind schedule.”

“Wonderful,” I sighed, grabbing my carry-on and placing it on my lap. As soon as the seatbelt light clicked off, Kade jumped up and grabbed my luggage from the overhead compartment. Malachi was up against his back. Kade let me go first, and as soon as they opened the doors, we hurried out.

Although we were running a little behind, we managed to make it through the terminal and to our next gate just as our next flight was boarding. This time I didn’t notice if there were any Watchers around. There were way too many people, and most of them turned and looked at us as we walked by. Malachi was extra close, right at my side, and Kade was just a few steps behind.

We immediately boarded our final flight and were seated in the third row of first class. This time, Malachi was in the aisle seat directly across from us. That sucked. Now he’d be able to hear our conversations and keep a close eye on what we were doing. Not that we were doing anything wrong, but it was uncomfortable to have him there, especially with those mysterious eyes, hidden behind extra-dark shades.

Kade let me have the window seat again. We had another three hours to kill before we reached Anchorage, and this time I wasn’t tired. I’d promised myself to keep the conversations simple and legal, whatever that entailed, especially with the extra set of ears across the aisle. I didn’t want to find out what would happen if he really became mad.

After we took off, I glanced over to Malachi, who was reclined and seemingly sleeping. Kade’s eyes were closed, and he was listening to music on his iPod. He turned to me, opened one eye and smiled.

“Can I get you anything?” he asked, tugging out his right ear bud.

“No. I’m good,” I said smiling back. I seemed to be getting used to Kade’s closeness. The intense feelings I had before were dulled. It was probably because we were constantly close to each other.

When dinner was served, I tried to eat as slow as I could to kill the time. After dinner, Kade rented a DVD player with two sets of earphones. We chose from a list of movies, and decided on
Legion
. It was his choice, and I just went along with it.

Malachi refused the device, and reclined his seat with his arms folded over his chest. He was probably going to sleep the next few hours away. I didn’t blame him. I wished I could do the same. This time his companion was a tall, thin businessman tapping away on his laptop.

After the movie, which I thought was pretty cool, we still had about a half an hour to kill. I didn’t feel like reading, and I didn’t want to sit in complete silence either.

“So, how are the schools up in Alaska?” I asked. I knew this
had
to be a safe question. He didn’t say anything and flashed me a look of concern. “What? What’s wrong?”

“Actually, where we’re going, there aren’t any schools around so you’ll be homeschooled,” he mumbled, with an exasperated look of sorry.

“Homeschooled?!” I gasped. “You’ve got to be kidding me! I can’t be homeschooled my senior year! That is so not fair…actually it’s completely wrong!” I was appalled. First, because every homeschooled kid I knew was like super weird and super brainy, and second, I wouldn’t make any friends, or get to walk with my class. No graduation ceremony? That royally sucked!

“Alaine is a nurse, but she’s also a teacher. She’s been teaching for the past few years. It won’t be that bad,” he said in a hushed voice. “And you won’t be alone.”

Oh great.
“What does that mean?”

“Alaine has taken in two other children whose mother passed a few years back. She was Alaine’s best friend, and her dying wish was for her to take and care for her children. Shortly after Alaine promised her, she died. It was pretty tragic.”

“Oh,” was all I could say. That was a lot to swallow in a few sentences. My Aunt seemed like a good-hearted person. I mean, for someone to ask you to take care of their children… that was a huge undertaking. And I guess I was glad that I wouldn’t be alone. These kids also lost their mother, so they could empathize with me.

“How old are these kids?”

“Courtney’s thirteen and Caleb’s sixteen,” he said with a smirk on his lips, dragging Caleb’s name a little too long.

“What? What’s wrong with them?”

“Nothing’s wrong. They’re actually great kids…most of the time. You’ll love Courtney… and Caleb… well, let’s just say he’ll definitely love you,” he chuckled.

“Oh god,” I sighed. I was guessing that with the lack of teenage girls, plus raging hormones, I’d be the prime target of this Caleb dude.

Kade laughed.

“What?” I asked sarcastically.

“Nothing. Seriously. You don’t have anything to worry about.” His words were NOT reassuring, especially since he was still laughing and had a huge smile plastered on his face.

“Yeah, right,” I breathed.

The stewardess told everyone over the loud speakers that we’d be landing shortly. Thank God! I just wanted to get to wherever I needed to go, meet my long-lost Aunt Alaine, and hopefully get some answers.

I glanced out the window and through the dim light saw my new home. Actually, it was my new place of residence. It would never be home without my parents.

The land was expansive and the scenery was beautifully painted with golden and orange autumn leaves. Mountain tops were brushed with white snow, and large rivers snaked through wide open landscapes.

It was breathtaking from the air, but that was only one view. Getting down to it was another thing. People got lost or eaten in those seemingly beautiful woods, froze to death on those majestic mountain tops, or had fallen into those icy rivers or lakes. I’d heard some of the horror stories. And yes, they were all told to me by Mr. Jeremy Needles. He painted a scary world, which I hadn’t even experienced yet.

I shook my head.
Thanks, Jeremy.

Then, hundreds of tiny sparkling lights glistened below. It must’ve been the city of Anchorage, and I was surprised to see more lights than I’d ever expected. The butterflies in my stomach began to do their crazy dance as we made our descent. My face must have mimicked my uneasiness because Kade leaned over and whispered, “Hey…It’ll be alright.”

I hoped and prayed he was right. I took in a few deep breaths and tried to settle my nerves. It was the unknown that was getting me all twisted.

As soon as the doors opened, we quickly exited the plane and made our way down towards the exit. I began to notice that Kade and Malachi were beginning to act a bit edgy and paranoid. They looked uneasy, glancing in all directions, each one glued to my sides. Malachi tensed as his cell phone rang.

“Kade, keep an eye on Emma. I’ll be right back,” he said in a low, frustrated tone. He was arguing with the person on the other line. It must have been our ride, and it sounded like they were running late.

Kade and I kept walking slowly, until I noticed a sign to the restroom.

“I’m gonna run into the bathroom,” I told Kade, whose eyes were intently on Malachi, who’d just rounded a corner. I needed to freshen up.

“But, I—I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he stammered.

“Why? It’s right there. And, you can stand right outside the door, if that’ll make you feel any better. I’ll be right out. I promise.”

“Alright, just hurry,” he breathed nervously, running his hand through his hair.

“Yes, sir!” I said with a salute.

He didn’t find that funny, and answered with narrowed eyes and a smirk.

The bathroom was surprisingly empty. All the stall doors were wide open, so I decided to snag the middle one. I hung my carry-on on the hook and locked the door. Just as I was about to unbutton my jeans, one of the stall doors squeaked open and slammed shut, shaking the joining stalls. I could have sworn I was the only one in the bathroom. Maybe I was hallucinating, but I didn’t hear any footsteps enter either.

And then, I heard the most disturbing sound; a sound that sent a cold shiver up my spine.

“Eeeeemmmaaaa,” a low voice hissed. It sounded more like a wicked whisper. “Eeeeemmmaaaa. Coooomme ooooouuut.”

A chilled wind blew through the bathroom and all the lights began to flicker. A strong stench began to permeate the room. Ugh! It smelled like something just crawled in that had wrestled with rotting corpses and rolled in year-old trash.

What the hell? If it was Kade, he was gonna get it!

But then it hit me. It couldn’t have been Kade. Whenever he was around I felt warmth and tingles. The feelings I was getting were cold, horrifying, and literally hair-raising. It felt like something evil was lurking in the bathroom, just outside my stall.

My heart pounded frantically against my chest, and I began to feel nauseous. I wondered if I should take a peek to see if there was anything there, but I was too terrified. What if I saw something horrifying or completely creepy? But, one thing was for sure. I couldn’t stay in this stupid stall forever.

I finally convinced myself, and built up enough nerve to take a look. I placed my eye near the crack and glanced around. Suddenly, a dark figure shot across the space in front of me. I stumbled backwards and gasped.

What the hell was that?

Whatever it was…was fast. Super fast.

Okay… it had to be someone I knew because they knew my name. It was probably a prank, or just someone just trying to scare me. Well, whoever it was, was doing a damn great job. Maybe it was Malachi. He seemed like the type that would do something evil like that.

“Kade!” I shouted. “Kade!”

He didn’t answer.

Where the hell was he? He was supposed to be standing right outside the door!

I waited. Seconds felt like minutes, and all my senses were on major alert. I listened. No sound or movement was outside. It was quiet. Eerily quiet, but the horrible smell still permeated the bathroom. I peeked through the crack again and didn’t see anything. It seemed to be clear, so I strapped my carry-on over my shoulder.

My cast was solid, and thank God was on my stronger arm, so it made a fairly good weapon. Jeremy’s bright, orange sun smiled at me, but it didn’t make me feel any better.