Page 44 of Heart Shaped Wreckage
Within a flash, I brought the stones to life, and the beam that shot towards him was massive. I was angry, and the stones responded.
He caught the beam on his blade, and it ricocheted to the side, where it blasted the rock to pieces.
“That was… strong. I don’t wish to destroy you. Life will do that for me.”
“Life destroys all, asshole,” I seethed. “That’s part of being human. We live and we die.”
“Everything in its time.” He lowered his sword, which totally confused me. “You said he bled ichor? Are you lying to me?”
“No.”
“That should not be, but I believe you. I don’t think you're wise enough to lie about something you can’t understand.”
“What does that even mean?”
“Everything and nothing. What is it you need from me, seeker?”
“I plan to pluck a feather from your wing.”
“Do you?” He didn’t sound very surprised by the fact that I was here to pluck him like a chicken. “Only the one?”
“Yes.” I held up the stones and they glowed brightly.
“Peace, seeker. I don’t want to fight a human, even a magical one. Your stones are powerful, but they could never truly harm me. I am a part of the life force of everything. Your stones can cause me annoyances, but in the end, they are but a scratch.”
“You’ll give me a feather?”
“Can I?” he chuckled. “Or must you pluck it yourself? Prophecies are tricky and usually full of vague clues that lead you to your doom.”
“I have to pluck it.”
“If we have to fight, I will, but if a feather is all you need for your quest, I will allow it. Come, seeker, and pluck your feather from my wing.”
I started forward, and he unfurled his wings. They were so large that my feet felt like lead as I approached him. I walked up the stone steps and behind the altar until I stood by his wing. My knees were knocking together, being so close to him. I could feel the power that coursed through him like an electrical current.
I reached out and withdrew my hand.
“Do it,” he sounded bored. “What is a feather to one as I?”
I reached back out and grabbed onto one of his pin feathers and pulled with all my might. It came free, and golden ichor dripped from it.
“Go, child. I hope you find what you seek. Your life is already cursed, I fear.”
I held up the stones, and a portal back to the field opened in front of me. As I stepped through, I heard him whisper.
“All is as it should have been.”
Did I win, or did I just kill us all?
19
LANDON
The meadow was just as I left it. I hurried over to where Heath and Gula lay on the ground. Heath looked as if he were burning with a fever. Sweat covered his body and caught in his chest hair. His face looked ashen, and his breathing was shallow.
Gula licked at his face and whined.
I bent down and put my hand against his forehead. He was on fire, even for a shifter.
