Until We Fly

Chapter 11: Surrender

"...ah...ow...damn it..."
As my blurred vision and dizzy mind adjusted to the room, I quickly noticed something very wrong.

My hands were bound above me as my body hung loosely on the wall!

Then...

"Köleil! Oh my god, Köleil! Can you hear me?!"

"...mm...mmmmnn...."
Köleil was sprawled out on the ground on her front. So it didn't take me long to notice blood on the floor.
"Köleil...you okay?..."
I asked as she slowly sat up, hand wrapped around her stomach.

"Mmn...James...what..."

"Good, you're alright. What happened?"

"The...the dark man with the red eyes...he found Köleil on the beach...he had...scissors...he..."

As Köleil moved her hands, I saw the blood that covered her.

"Oh god...he...I'll get him for this, Kö. He can be sure about that. But first, I need you to help me down so I can help fix you up. I bet that hurts."

"He...he didn't hit anything important...Köleil will be fine..."

"Still, we should bandage it up. Where are we?"

"A...cell, maybe? Don't worry. Köleil can get us out quickly."

"Um...Köleil, I'm glad you've got confidence...but I don't think it's that easy."
Köleil grinned, light shining from her back as she summoned her soft, velvety wings again.

"Okay. And how are wings going to help us-"

By merely raising her arm and reaching towards the ceiling, a blast of wind crashed through the roof, smashing a large hole in the thick concrete.

"...oh..."

"Köleil has said before that Köleil can do a lot. But it is still only with her wings."

"That's...wow..."

"Köleil will free you now."
She grinned, summoning some sort of fireball in the palm of her hand and melting the iron chains that held me.

I'll admit, yeah, I was struggling to understand. It just didn't sink in for a moment.

"The queen from Kakadelia taught Köleil how to use the fire. It is cool, yes?"

"Yeah...it...it really is..."
Köleil stepped forwards, grasping my hand in hers.

"K-Köleil!"
I blushed.

"Köleil and James need to go now. But Köleil will have to be careful because...if she didn't hold on...she'd have to fly down and catch you again!"

It was impossible to not blush violently as Köleil stood behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"Ready, James?"

"Nope."

"Let's go!"

With a harsh flap of her wings, Köleil sent us zooming through the hole in the roof and out into open air.

And there we went again...

*****

"Hey...James?"

"You know how Köleil can do Guardian stuff?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know what Charlie, Myrora or Nim can do?"

"No. Why?"

"James should ask them. It could help James."

As we glided across far, endless oceans, I felt something strange.
An uneasy feeling somewhere deep down inside.