FALLEN STAR | OLD VERSION | BL ✔

CHAPTER 26 | the sniper

KILO'S POV

Castyr? I stop in my tracks and sniff the air. A gust of wind swooshes past me, carrying more of the warm, airy scent I have been longing for. I turn and peer around the side of the building. I do not spot anyone in the surrounding streets, so I turn my gaze up.

A sniper lies positioned near the edge of the roof on the building across the street. His gun hides his face, and his head is capped, so I cannot see if his hair is silver. My thoughts drift to the happy hums Castyr would make when I would run my fingers through his soft, silver hair. An ache creeps into my heart as my longing grows.

I focus back on the sniper after a few seconds. His face is turned away from his rifle. I study his body as he looks down. The sniper is definitely more muscular than Castyr and about nine inches taller than Ithyos' star. Unless... Castyr grew...?

Hmm...Is it just wishful thinking? What would Castyr be doing on Earth and as a sniper at that? He should be in his warm residence, not in this cold, war-torn city. At least, I pray he is not here.

I lower my head and back away from the corner of the building. Instead, I focus on the reason I came out: to make it to the transport tower. The tower is the tallest building around, and, thus, is the easiest point from which to fly to Heaven. But, first, I have to practice flying and get familiar with the feel of my wings.

I find a smaller building and make my way to the roof. I stand in the center of the square roof and bring out my wings. They remain folded at my back until I slowly open them. Wow! It strangely feels so good to stretch them. I open them to their full extent and stare in awe. How did I get such beautiful wings?

I slowly bring them down in a single flap. My body lifts into the sky about twenty feet. I slightly flail my arms and legs with the sudden rise. My wings turn downward and ease my landing.

"Oh, so you can act on your own?" I say to the black wings as I safely land. "That's handy. But I still need to know how to fly properly." I let out a huff and rest my hands on my hips. After taking a moment, I try again.

After a few hours, I have gained pretty decent control and can fly without plummeting to the ground. So, next is teleportation. I start from the center of the roof and run to the edge. My aim: to teleport successfully to the roof of the building across the street. I come up about fifteen feet short on my first try. I pull out my wings and catch myself as I fall.

I need to learn how to gauge the distance I want to teleport. I fly back to the roof and practice over and over and over. Two hours pass, but I eventually get the hang of it. Okay, next is telekinesis.

By morning, I have decent control over all my new abilities. Out of curiosity, I lift my shirt. Yep, healing is a nice bonus. My senses are heightened. Is that how I could pick up the sniper's scent? My mind goes back to the sniper from last night. He smelled an awful lot like Castyr, but something about the scent was off. Almost like it was being dampened. So, I cannot be sure that the sniper was Castyr.

Ripping myself from my thoughts, I fly down from the building and find a secluded place to catch up on rest. My healing body is still sore from all the years in Hades. Using my arm as a pillow, I lie down and close my eyes. An itch on my back keeps me from falling asleep, however. Why won't it go away? I scratch the spot, but the itch will not be satisfied.

I sigh as I realize the itch is the spot where my wings are. I let them out, and they wrap around me, trapping my body heat and protecting me from the cold.

"Oh. Thank you."

I let my body relax and fall asleep.

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My wings fold back as I wake up and stretch. Sitting up, I shake off my drowsiness. I walk to the building's entrance and look outside. I slept the day away; it is now night again. My body feels well rested, so I do not mind wasting a day.

I zip up my jacket and begin walking towards the transport tower. I practice my teleportation by skipping through a few blocks. Occasionally, the rustling of stragglers and survivors reaches my sensitive ears, but they are usually a few blocks away.

The tower steadily grows taller as I near it. The sound of bullets and bombs drag my attention to the base of the tower. A battle has broken out on the smaller buildings surrounding the transport tower.

I rush to the edge of the battle. Who is fighting over control of the tower? I spot demons and angels fighting in close-distance combat and realize Heaven is trying to take back the tower from Hades.