Eros' Angels (Sparks of Darkness Part One)

11: Austin Spreads his Wings

Health experts wouldn't recommend learning to fly with a broken arm at night when the only help was streetlights you couldn't see from the air, but Austin kind of had no choice.

The four of them stood in a line in front of Eros as he tried to teach them to fly as quickly as possible. He already had his wings outstretched, the colour a blinding white, beautiful feathers, almost five metres wide each. Eros' wings were twice the size he was. And to Austin, he appeared a flawless version of himself, taller, eyes greener, features sharper.

Eros looked like everything Austin wanted to be.

"Now, the first thing is to summon your wings. Don't be alarmed by size or colour, everybody's wings are different. Close your eyes, children." Eros' voice sounded the same as Austin's, at least in Austin's head.

"Now imagine the wings materializing on your back. Not how they'll look, but how they'll feel. Visualize the weight, and feel off the feathers. Give it a try."

Austin scrunched up his eyes, trying hard to imagine. Imagining, however, is like sleeping. If you try too hard, it doesn't work.

A quiet cry of surprise came from Austin's left. He opened his eyes to Andrea standing in the dim light, her wings outstretched. She had medium-sized wings, roughly three metres across, striped like a Barred Owl's wings, grey and black. Then from Austin's right, Zoe too made a sound of shock. Zoe's wings were a little smaller, maybe two and a half metres in wingspan. They were butterfly wings, the monarch kind, orange and black dotted. Austin closed his eyes and kept trying. No wings were appearing. "Well done Andrea, Zoe. Austin, Mallory, keep trying, you're doing well."

Suddenly, Austin almost tripped. His back suddenly weighed a lot more than it had before.

Austin turned his head to look at his wings. It took no effort to move them, to outstretch them. What he'd been told in Pre-Flight was true- they were an extension of him.

Austin's wings were like white, transparent bat wings. He had the wings of an albino bat, he thought, grumbling a little. They were massive, a good four metres. Austin slowly moved them up, then down. Up, then down. He wasn't going anywhere, but he could feel the rush of the wind and the slight lift.

"Great, Austin. You have a very rare kind of wing," Eros commented. "I haven't seen very many bat wings in my time. Usually wings look like a bird's or insect's," he said.

Eros moved on to Mallory. "C'mon, Mallory, you can do it. Summon your wings."

And just like that, Mallory's wings appeared out of her back. She was the first one whose wings Austin actually seen grow. They grew right out of her back, ripping her shirt, growing to fill up a two metre span. The wings were clear, shaped like a dragonfly's, in two sets.

Eros clapped to see us all finally winged. "Well done, kids. You guys were all fairly quick for normal. I think your elemental power is stating to connect to each other and strengthen," he grinned. "Now.... for flight."