Page 24 of Wings of Lies
“I could say yes to help your fears, but it’d be a lie. Remember, we made a deal,” he called back, noticing my lack of movement. Bitterness tainted his helpful reminder.
What was his problem?
But damn, he was right. I needed to get to Elora. If going through the forest Marcus recently chased us out of was the only way, then I had to. My prickling fingers and squeezing lungs utterly disagreed.Did I want to do this?
“It’s for mom,” I whispered to myself.
It helped—only a little.
I dropped the last bite of my sandwich onto the ground, no longer hungry, and jogged after him. “Fine. But actually, slow down this time! I can’t keep up.”
“We’ll fix that in a second,” he said, striding forward with his long legs. I scratched my arms and followed yards behind.
Ass.
I almost teared up once we walked a bit into the thick trees, and the landscape changed to a more uphill terrain.
Uneven pants forced their way out of my mouth. My stamina, though better than yesterday, wasn’t enough. The speedy angel healing wasn’t some fairy godmother granting me muscle in all the places I lacked.
“I suppose we are far enough in now,” Oliver said, returning to where I stopped. “It’s time you use some of that power of yours.”
My brows caved in. “What?”
“You have angel blood. Which means you have speed, or what we call lusceler, and we already know you have some burn-metal-door-knobs power.” He rolled his eyes. “So, let’s go. Stop acting like a baby.”
“I don’t know how.” A pout threatened to form, but I reined it in.
“No worries. I’m going to give you a crash course.”
The invisible irritants were back. I scratched my arm and narrowed my eyes at his stupid, playful smirk.
“You need to find your need. When you wanted to fry off my neck, or when you flung a ball of flames at my head, why? What caused it? Jealousy?” He winked. I scratched. “Joy? Anger? Fear? You need to tap into a small part of that power and use it differently.”
Oliver blurred as he moved from one side to the other instantaneously. “Why do you think we got out of those woods so fast? We covered miles, Lucy. That’s why they didn’t find us.” He laughed, blurring in circles around me.
Streaks of vibrant green appeared randomly in the circuit he ran, but every time I reached to poke him, my finger brushed air. My eyes couldn’t keep up.
“I know, pretty cool, right? I told you there were perks to being an angel. Or part.” His eyebrows danced.
“So, all angels have this lusceler?"
“As long as they have enough angel blood in them. Try it.”
I figured the best way to start was to choose a spot to run to. Near the hill stood a gnarled tree, dark and broken like lightning hit it. It was a short distance away and a good stopping spot to attempt this angel speed.
“So, just have a need to go fast and run?” I cast a glance at Oliver, seeking confirmation.
He shrugged, jutting out his bottom lip. “Sure.”
What a wonderful teacher.
Focused on the burnt tree, I pushed my shoulders back and sighed.I can do this.
Oliver interrupted my internal pep talk. “Any day now.”
I shot him a glare, scratching my hands, and ran.
But that was all I did.
