halo 'n horns [klance au]

4. The Plan

https://pm1.narvii.com/6568/92188ea9b40e0ccc16bf98ad61afffc897b6f8e0_hq.jpg

Keith

I woke up with a pounding headache and no recollection of why the hell I was sleeping on a pile of hay. Pushing off the scratchy horse blanket, I yawned, stretching out my arms, and blinked hard. Was I at home? Sure was dark enough to be.

Standing, I felt wooden floorboards creak beneath my bare feet. Not home, then. Home was just rocks. I squinted through the darkness for some light and realized that I was on a large platform. Looking down, I saw the scene below me and immediately remembered the events of the previous night. Groaning, I glared at Lance.

He was splayed out on a pile of hay, surrounded by blankets, white wings outspread across the floor as he snored quietly. The feathers twitched every so often. I scoffed. He looked stupid.

Climbing down the ladder, I surveyed the large room, looking for any food Lance might have brought. He'd said that he was going up to the Upperworld to talk with Missus, and that she'd be the one to decide what would happen with me, but if Lance was back here, she must have decided on elongated torture.

Ruffling my hair to get the hay out of it, I looked through the barn for the source of light and found it at a crease in the door where it wasn't quite closed. Heaving, I pulled the sliding sheet to the side.

Sunlight streamed into the barn and I immediately recoiled at the brightness, bolting to the far wall of the barn to get out of the sudden exposure. Lance stirred, the bright light falling over his face, and sat up. He yawned, smiled at the sunlight, and then stood, slumping outside. "Come on, devil!"

Shaken, I followed him out, tail thrashing behind me. The sunlight was blinding as my eyes adjusted and I blinked rapidly at our surroundings. "Oh, that's right," Lance said playfully in front of me, "You've never seen the sun before."

It was true. I mean, how was I supposed to see it if I literally lived under a rock? I wasn't. Squinting, I glanced from the bright green grass beneath my feet to the sky above us. Clouds- white and puffy, floated lazily across the dome of blue and the sun was so brilliant that I didn't dare look at it straight on.

Lance was scrolling through something on a phone, murmuring to himself, wings outstretched to catch the breeze. I just hoped that he'd made us invisible- or whatever it was that he did- so that none of the residents of the houses that lined the small street to our right would see two boys with some interesting characteristics.

"How'd you sleep?" Lance called absently, still looking at his phone. I stalked over to him and jabbed his chest with my finger, frowning.

"Why was I so tired? I almost never had to sleep in the Underworld," I accused. Had he drugged me? Lance regarded me, amused.

"You're in the Midworld now, bud. You're gonna be affected by it just like everyone else. You're gonna need to sleep and eat and stay healthy just like everyone else," he explained serenely, blue eyes twinkling happily. I was so sick of his happy bullshit. Could I have any other angel? Please?

Turning away, I surveyed the quiet neighborhood. "I'm hungry," I informed him dubiously.

Lance waved his phone at me, "What do you think I'm doing? Sit down and be patient, little demon."

"Don't tell me what to do, Halohead," I retorted, then marched back to the barn. The sunlight was making me queasy.

...

I wouldn't say I was afraid of heights. In fact, I think my fear was completely logical- I was afraid of being dropped from hundreds of feet in the air by a loopy, air-headed angel. I had to give it to him- for looking so incredibly slender and frail, he was surprisingly strong. That didn't make me feel any safer though.