Featherlight

Free Featherlight by Laura Fields Page A

Book: Featherlight by Laura Fields Read Free Book Online
Authors: Laura Fields
the people below. This time, I avoided their gazes,
choosing to look at the forest floor away from where they were all standing.
    “Well, that’s a relief,” John said.
    “I’m calling for a flyer,” Marshal announced before he spoke into a
device. He returned it to a pocket and addressed Peter. “You may leave.”
    Peter made no move to do so, simply replying, “I’ll be nearby. I know what you are planning, and
I won’t let it happen.”
    Marshal
glared back at him, unhappy at this turn of events.
    Peter gave me one last long glance, which I was careful to avoid, and
took off into the sky. His wingtip almost brushed me as he soared upward,
navigating the thick canopy until he reached the open air. He then took off the
way we had come. I couldn’t help but stare. This world was so different, its
people so dangerously beautiful.
    A plane that slightly resembled a helicopter came down and landed with
a soft thump. Four airplane-like engines whirred softly on each corner of the
machine, and it, like everything else, was dull silver.
    “Jacque, honey, why don’t you come on down here? We can fly up to the
city and you can get some sleep,” Samantha tried to coax me out of the tree,
but I wasn’t falling for it. Then she said the magic words, “We have food for
you back at the Tower.”
    She was right, I realized. It hadn’t been long since I’d eaten
(although my last good meal was back before those people swarmed my house), but
I suddenly felt ravenous.
    Besides, what other choice did I have? I couldn’t sleep out here, and
I didn’t have any food or water. I reluctantly climbed down the same way I got
up, and then dropped the last few feet. Sam beamed, knocking a few years off
her age. John was staring somewhere behind me, and I realized my wings were
still fully spread out. They were so light I had just forgotten about them.
What muscle do I use? I moved my shoulder blades, then my shoulders. I
concentrated and looked behind me. It took a few seconds, but I eventually
found it. My wings slowly retreated to the resting spot on my back. They seemed
to shrink; they were so thin when stretched. Samantha looked pleased and John
was gazing at me with interest, but I avoided his eyes.
     Making my way to the plane, I slowly entered the ‘flyer’. John and
Marshal followed, and I wasn’t too comfortable having them at my back. The
driver was staring at me, but I was too tired to care. The seats were cushiony
and soft, so I dozed off on the brief ride back to the city. This aircraft
being smaller, we were able to land right by the Tower.
    Upon exiting, Marshal gruffly handed me the trench coat I had
previously thrown off during my run from Peter. I put it on, mumbling thanks.
    Samantha led me to the Tower’s large wooden doors, her wings folded
tightly to her back. Glancing up left me speechless. The Tower… well, to say
the least, it towered. Over everything. The biggest city I had ever been
to was Dallas, but the Tower was nothing like the skyscrapers in Texas. The
only things I could compare to this massive building were the twin towers
before 9-11. The pictures, I’m sure, didn’t do them justice. Similarly, my
feeble description doesn’t do the Tower justice. Things like that just weren’t
describable. They can’t simply be observed through pictures, and they can’t be
adequately explained. They have to be seen with your own eyes. They have to be felt. And, standing next to the largest building I’ve ever seen, I felt small.
Oddly enough, I also felt powerful and awed. Still dazed, I followed Samantha
through the imposing doors.
    “Eyes down,” she whispered.
    I made an attempt, but my architecturally-sheltered brain wouldn’t
cooperate. My eyes begged me to let them absorb the inside of what could be
considered a dream-building.
    We were in a huge, open room that coupled as a living area and dining
hall, to say the least. Three walls with windows and balconies supported the
endless, painted,

Similar Books

Oblivion

Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Lost Without Them

Trista Ann Michaels

The Naked King

Sally MacKenzie

Beautiful Blue World

Suzanne LaFleur

A Magical Christmas

Heather Graham

Rosamanti

Noelle Clark

The American Lover

G E Griffin

Scrapyard Ship

Mark Wayne McGinnis