Flames and Starlight

43🌘

Peter

"Dude," Kendrick yelled at me, causing me to snap my eyes open. "Wake up and don't fall!"

Despite being in my bird form and flying, my eyelids were still drooping and it'd been twice now since I'd faltered and nearly fell through the air. Not getting any sleep from the night before was getting to me. Maybe I should've let Kendrick get the second watch after all.

"Sorry," I called back.

We'd been flying since dawn and my wings were growing tired. I desperately wanted to land and rest for a little bit but we had to keep moving and pause only when absolutely necessary, though as I caught myself from faltering again and wondered if we should stop before I fell and broke my neck.

The sun rose high in the east, indicating it was midafternoon. We'd been flying for hours and hadn't taken a break to rest or eat food. I was tempted to ask Kendrick to pause and rest for a little bit, but the fear of Caius and those people in black armor overrode everything else.

What I saw in the cave, those humans in black armor with an aura of magic in their souls still puzzled me. How the hell was that possible? How was Caius able to find the hybrid compound and attack? Eason and the older hybrids had built several barriers that prevented outsiders from getting in. Maybe Caius was powerful enough to get through the barriers and launch an attack, unless. . .

Cold dread formed in the pit of my gut as the other possibility filled my mind, a possibility even more terrifying than Caius getting even more powerful. 

"Kendrick," I called out to him. "We need to land. Now."

He groaned. "Just a little more further -"

"No, we need to talk. This is important."

I flew down without waiting to see if he was following. I landed on the forest ground below and shifted into my human form. I saw Kendrick hesitate for a second before flying down after me and landing a few feet in front of me.

He shifted back into his human form and scowled at me. "Okay, what's so important you're making us land when we have a cold-blooded asshole chasing after us?"

"How do you think Caius managed to find the compound in the first place if the others had it guarded so well?"

He shrugged, a perplexed expression crossing over his face. "I don't know. I've been too busy making sure my ass doesn't get killed to really think about it."

"I think someone betrayed us and let Caius in."

He stilled, staring at me hard. I stared back, unflinching.

"Dude," he said. "Before you say anything else, think very carefully about what you're implying."

"Think about it," I said. "It was in a place where no one else could find except for someone who helped create the place or helped protect it, and no one could come out except for those who actually played a hand in helping the compound run."

Kendrick looked away. "In all honesty, the people there didn't seem like they had the people's best interest at heart. Even if they thought Nicole and I were going to try to leave and expose the place, they still deprived us of food and hygiene. There would be days when they wouldn't even bring us anything to eat and left us there. For people who wanted the best for us, they sure as hell didn't act like it." 

"No," I drawled, thinking of Corny and Lydia. I couldn't imagine them letting anything like that happen to them. "No," I said again. "Lydia and Corny wouldn't let that happen."