Bone and Blood Volume I

30 - The Nest, 1927

Torani tripped over a stray raised root in the darkness. He caught himself, but only barely. Walking all night after a week of hiding in his cramped den was murder on his legs. What he would have given for working wings. It would have been so much easier to find the spot if he could fly. Panting, he leaned against a tree. A break. Just a short—

"I've waited long enough, Torani."

"I know, Ilen. It's just... just..." He pointed weakly ahead. More trees. Identical to the one he leaned on. Identical to the forest behind him. Her judgement filled the silence. He pushed away from his resting spot and trudged forward. A light beam panned through the scrub, momentarily blinding Torani. "That! See that! I told you!"

Stumbling faster. Crunching leaves turned to hard asphalt underfoot. He skidded to a stop and back peddled off the road. That long, black expanse wended for miles in either direction. "This. Everything you need, we can get here."

Directly to his right. "Is this a joke?" Torani turned to face her, but only saw air. "There's nothing here!" She was above him. In the trees. It was unfair that she could fly.

"Zehra's family won't come here. It's off-limits. Food drives by regularly. Cars are filled with resources. We're close enough to the city to benefit from it, but far enough away to be safe. It's everything you need."

"And where exactly am I going to build the nest, Torani? In the dirt? Does that sound safe to you?"

"The cars are made of metal. We can—"

"Dig a little hole that will collapse on us? Pass. What's your next idea?"

"But... It's... This..." He scanned the canopy for her. Her voice sounded so close to him. She had to be—

"NEXT. IDEA. TORANI." Tree leaves ruffled with her voice.

He approached her. Head down. Shoulders sunk. Wings clenched as tightly as his balled fists. "This was my idea. My only idea."

The entire tree shook with Vaeilentha's bitter laughter. "So. You've failed me. AGAIN." Her robust form dropped from the branches. Wait, her body was supposed to be thinner. Shorter. Her hair should have been longer. It was too blonde. She was wingless.

"Se-Ser—?"

The body hosting Vaeilentha's voice jabbed a finger at Torani's chest. "To think, I believed you were capable of something! I always make that mistake, don't I?"

He threw his arms around her. "STOP! I'll find someplace else! Just give me a chance! I can do this!"

"A lowly grub has no right to touch me." Her nails dug into his face like a vice grip, peeling him away. Blood raced down his cheek. "Don't you know? Your everything will never be enough."

Her vicious smile widened unnaturally. The skin at the corners of her mouth cracked. The crinkles by her eyes cracked. Dust puffs escaped as each fissure deepened. Spread. "I've come to realize... it wasn't a joke on me. Your failure. No. It was a miracle. Because, now, my children won't be yours."

As she laughed, the cracks expanded and met. Pieces of her cheeks fell away like broken ceramic, leaving behind dark holes that hemorrhaged sand. She seemed oblivious. Torani snatched the pieces and tried to put them back in place. As he pushed, her face shattered. The damage reached her neck. Her shoulders. More pieces falling. Gushing sand.

"STOP! JUST STOP LAUGHING. STOP TALKING!" He wrapped his hands around her shoulders to hold them together. He jutted downward. His weight was too much for her fragile frame. Her shoulders crumpled in his grasp. Dragged further down. His hands clutched for any solid part of her. Everything he touched fractured, fragmented, disintegrated. "I CAN'T LOSE YOU AGAIN!"