Feather Dark

Chapter 11

It has been just shy of TWO YEARS since my last update on this title.  I'm so sorry - I know the Feathers series isn't as popular as some of my other stories, but the people who love this tale are very passionate and I owe you a big apology for the delay.

So, why two years?  Part of it has been general complacency with my writing; I've been knocked back so many times by publishers and agents, it can be painful rising from the ashes for yet another round.  And when I did think about writing, it had to be something with a shot at getting into print - which sadly, isn't Feathers.

But I love this story.  These are the first characters I ever wrote that I fell in love with completely.  I owe it to them and my die-hard readers to at least complete this part of the tale.

I've been binge watching Lucifer lately, and every time I see those damn wings, I shiver in longing, and a pang of guilt shoots through me that I have left my winged friends alone for so long.  So if you need someone to thank for the return of this story, it's a shirtless and winged Tom Ellis.  Mmmm...

In good news, I have chapter outlines for all the way to the end of Feather Dark, including an ending that gives a resolution and only a small cliffhanger to leave the world of Feathers open for another tale down the track.

I recommend a reread of the chapters before this one, but if you're too keen to go back and start the story again, I'll quickly recap:  Leigh has entered the facility where Keira is being held captive.  

Shall we...?

Leigh

The moment I watched the light in Keira's eyes dim in hurt and confusion at my casual dismissal, part of my soul shrivelled up and wept, as tragic as a final horcrux beneath a bench on an illusory Kings Cross platform.

Please understand. My slightly psychic connection only ever worked with Noah, but I tried anyway, pushing the message at her with my mind while striving to keep my facial features neutral. You know how I feel about you. Please play along. Please understand.

I didn't look back as Sevic and I walked away. Part of me knew that if I glimpsed Keira's face again in that moment, I'd be as lost as Orpheus. It had taken every ounce of my very limited willpower not to rush towards her and wrap my arms around her slender waist, to kiss and pour into her my agony at being parted from her, to whisper in her ear how much I loved her, that my life was a flaming garbage heap without her in it.

A deeper and more primal urge lay just beneath the noble one: to feel her skin against mine, to run my fingers over her wings and draw out her shiver, to lay her down and hear her moan as she moved against me. Reign it in, Leigh...

She was safe. Right now, that had to be enough. Using a supreme effort, I forced myself to sigh in a bored fashion and ask Sevic, "What's the other girl like? If I'm going to manage a team in the field, I need to know what their weaknesses are."

Sevic's nose screwed up. "Blue is difficult. Truculent. Entirely too independent. She responds to motivation better than punishment, but you'll need the stick to keep the carrot attractive."

"Any dudes on your radar? Much as I love the thought of operating my own harem, I need a few wangs to keep the balance, you know?"

"We have several male operatives in the field already, but no one new that we're actively targeting. We almost located one with the blonde a few weeks ago. He eluded us."

Me. She's talking about me. I was in an alternate universe, where the person I was from a few weeks ago watched from beside Keira atop a cell phone tower as people in black suits raided a small town movie theatre, and simultaneously, a person not so different from me hunted them. I sniffed, feigning disinterest. "If he reappears, let me know. I'm sure I can bring him in for a discussion."