Wings

Prologue

Eliza looked down at the egg that had come from her body.
An egg! Humans weren't supposed to have eggs. Rrr, she thought. I really need to stop classifying myself as human. 

She stroked her winding horns and looked over her shoulder at her leathery, bat-like wings. The egg's father, Matthew, wasn't human either. Sure, he could make himself look like one, but he wasn't one; he was a shapeshifter. He could shapeshift into any bird in Hyswæ.

The swirling colours of the egg enchanted her. Purples and blues, greens and a silvery colour she couldn't identify. Matthew was busy preparing a room for it. Her, she thought. She knew that whatever came from that egg would be female, and she would be beautiful. She would be special.

She picked up the egg and took it to its room she tucked it into a nest of blankets on a soft mattress. It was warm in her hands she could feel the pulse between her fingers. She wanted to hold it until it hatched.

"Matthew!" Eliza called. "When will this room be finished?"

"Skwaaaaaaaaaark!" he shrilled back.

"Speak Hyswæn please!" she demanded. "I don't speak Powk!"

"A couple of hours," he replied.

"Does 'Swaaaaaaaaaak!' mean 'a couple of hours?' I must remember that."

* * *

Eliza was nestled near the egg to keep it warm. Matthew was snoring softly behind her. Then she realised that she didn't know what to name their daughter yet!

Abigail? she thought. Or maybe Lavender?
No, those names were too common, she needed something original.

Just then, she heard creaking and whispers. She shook Matthew awake. 

"What is it Lizzy?" he asked drowsily. 

"There are people in our house," she spoke quietly, not wanting to attract the attention of the strangers.

"Why would people want to be in our house?" Matthew asked. Eliza wondered the same thing. Why would there be people in their house? What would they want?

She thought for a moment. Then it struck her. The egg, she thought, we have to hide the egg! 

The whispers were getting louder and the creaking was getting closer. Eliza silently hopped out of bed and dashed into the bathroom, while Matthew knotted their sheets and rearranged the duvet to make it look like they were still sleeping in bed, before entering the bathroom after her and locking the door.

The room was pitch black. Eliza huddled the egg closer to her. Her heart was racing one hundred miles an hour. 

"Matthew," she whispered so quietly that she could barely hear herself, "I think they're after the egg." 

"Well, they won't take it!" he whispered back. 

They heard the people fling back the sheets of the bed they had been sleeping in only seconds before, talking and muttering quietly to themselves. One cursed, and then they were silent. Eliza held her breath.

Rattle, rattle, rattle.

The lock clicked out of place and the door swung open. Light flooded the room, and there, of all people, was her sister; Gretta.

* * *

Her sister's evil smile had always scared Eliza. But now she was more terrified of her sister than she'd ever been in her life. 

She slipped the egg behind her back, not that it would do much good; Gretta already knew that the egg was with her.

"Gretta," Eliza said shakily, "what are you doing here?"

"You know why I'm here, and I would like you to hand it over, no delays, and there will be no bloodshed," Gretta smirked, flashing her gleaming white teeth.

"We will never hand it over. No matter what!" Eliza hissed.

At just that moment Matthew turned from human to eagle and ripped out a chunk of Gretta's hair. She howled in pain. Eliza kicked out at her. Matthew started giving Gretta's thugs the same treatment he gave Gretta.

Meanwhile, Eliza and Gretta were attacking each other. Kick, punch, dodge. Then Gretta swung her leg, aiming high. Foot and head connected with a painful crack!

Eliza felt herself falling, 

falling, 

falling.

The egg was taken from her grasp, and with the last of her strength, Eliza whispered, "Don't let them harm you... stay safe, little Heather."