Metamorphosis (Breaking Free, book 2)

Chapter 6-Rosy

For what felt like an eternity I was still, the wind howling in my ears and blood dripping down my face and onto my eyelids and matting my eyelashes. Forcing my eyes open, I nearly screamed at what I saw. The world lay beneath my feet, tiny and insignificant and I was simply hovering in the air above it all, powerful gusts of wind swirling around me.

The muscles on my back tugged and I squeaked, shock rippling through me. The feeling repeated, pulling and tugging behind my shoulder blades and I slowly turned my head to look behind me, apprehension pooling in my gut at what I would see. A pair of shining, white, feathery wings thumped behind me powerfully, the feathers swaying in the huge gusts of wind they created. The tips of them were silvery grey and I gazed at them in awe. These things were attached to me. To me. They were mine.

Shouts rang out from behind me furious and frustrated, and I knew I had no time left to lose. If I wanted to escape I had to leave now. There was no looking back. Looking back meant death and that wasn't an option for me. Taking a deep breath I prayed that something in my body knew how to operate the gargantuan things on my back. Doing a silent Hail Mary, I hoped I wouldn't plummet to my death the moment I tried to operate them.

"Hey, get back here!" Someone cried and I gulped, pushing myself to move. There was no looking back now. With one strong stroke of my wings, I was flying away, the wind pulling and tugging incessantly at my skin. I shivered beneath the freezing gales of wind, pushing myself further into the air.

I had to get away. I had to leave and never look back or else I would never make it out. I could hear my blood rushing in my ears and I beat my wings a little bit faster, my entire body stiffening. Dogs barked somewhere far below and men screamed inaudible things at me, fury shaking their voices. Something primal pulled me to the horizon, tugging incessantly at my gut and pulling me along the wind currents. I had no clue where I was supposed to go, but I hoped it would be somewhere safe.

My mother always told me to follow my gut. She would always kiss the top of my head, smooth my hair back and pull me into a gentle hug as she told me that I had angels watching out for me. That I would be ok just as long as I followed my gut. She always said it was a message from the angels watching out for me, and to never ignore it.

Something hissed near my ear and a small pinprick of pain shot through the tip of my ear. An arrow whizzed just past my line of sight. Whipping around I saw the fat man from earlier jostling a horse along as he grinned at me from below. A lump formed in my throat as I watched him notch another arrow into his crossbow.

My wings groaned under the weight of my struggle to get away and I grit my teeth, narrowing my eyes in determination. A mix of terror and adrenaline pushed me farther and faster than I had ever done before. Another arrow flew by and I squeaked. The dogs bayed and whined below. My heart jumped in my chest. Six more arrows flew, scraping my skin and whizzing by my face, each just barely missing their mark.

A hawk screeched to my left and for a split second, I saw the terror in my eyes reflected in his. He eyed me warily and the sounds of the men below drowned out, leaving just him and me high above the clouds. Cold drops of water dappled my skin and I marveled at the sight of being above the world. I felt weightless and untouchable and alive, every inch of me tingling with the sensation.

Then the hawk screeched again breaking my reverie as he banked quickly to the left. The whistle of an arrow hissed in my ear moments before it struck, digging into my leg. Screaming, I felt my body writhe and convulse in pain, my wings twitching curling in on themselves.

Wave after wave of pulsing, blinding hot torture ripped through my body. The wind screamed in my ears along with me as the world rapidly drew closer. The dogs cried just below and the men hooted alongside them. The stars seemed to cry out for me and I wasn't sure if it was me screaming or the hawk. They had caught me, and they knew it and I knew it, and the hawk knew it. I was helpless.