Featherlight (12 page)

Flipping
to the first page of text, the book began with the different shades of wing
colors.

“Turn
to the seventh chapter,” Samantha told me.

I
found it. The chapter title was, ‘Instincts and the Change’.

The
font was small and hard to read. Luckily, Rene was going to summarize it for
me.

She
said, “The change is triggered by the proximity of the different sex. Whether kiren
,
lullary
,
or folium
,
it doesn’t matter. Most of the time, this
isn’t an issue. With you, the change came late because you were around humans,
not your own kind. With the change comes new instincts and, of course, your
wings.”

Rene
looked uncomfortable, “Also, the Change indicates that you are ready for a
partner.”

Oh
boy, this was starting to sound like a Junior High sex education class. Shoot
me now.

Rene,
ever the brave soul, marched on, “This happens in a variety of ways. First, any
woman without a partner has a certain smell. That smell is very appealing to
the opposite sex.”

I
couldn’t help it. I squirmed. This was getting to be extremely uncomfortable,
and some small part of me knew where this was headed.

Samantha
took up where Rene left off with ease, obviously more comfortable with the
topic, “Young men go through the same thing, and, when they see a woman they
like, they give chase.”

There
it was. She dropped the bomb. I wasn’t prepared for this. I somehow knew this
information, but my brain refused to acknowledge it. The elephant in the room
that I had been so dutifully ignoring was now giving me no option other than to
look it in the eyes. Now what was I supposed to do?

“Why?”
I whispered.

It
was more of a question like, ‘Why was this happening? Why me? Why now? Etc.’

Unfortunately,
Samantha answered literally, “Once two people of the opposite sex and correct
type make eye contact, an undeniable chase-and-flee reaction can occur.”

My
breathing quickened, and I sank to the floor. After all this time, I was going
to have a panic attack.
Deep breaths.
My panic brought memories. I was in
an unavoidable cycle. Panic brought memories that brought more panic that
brought worse memories…
Shhh. It won’t hurt.

I
gasped and clutched my chest. My fingers still held something solid. The book.
It yanked me out of the past and into the present. I could handle this. I had
to handle this. I had no choice.

I
looked down, hanging on the solid proof like my life depended on it. This
couldn’t be true. But how could it not? I felt it yesterday.

“Why
the book?” I asked the two concerned women kneeling beside me.

Rene
said, “You wouldn’t have believed us otherwise.”

She
was right. Books were concrete, and even though I had felt what they said
yesterday, it wasn’t nearly convincing as reading it out of a book. I nodded
shakily.

“You
said ‘can occur’. What did you mean? It’s controlled?” I asked. Even though I
was on the floor and had just barely avoided a panic attack, my brain was still
functioning like a pro.

“The
man starts the Chase. The woman has no choice.”

“So
a woman has to run?” My voice was getting stronger.

“Yes,”
Rene replied gravely.

“What
happens if he catches her?”

“Then
the woman is his.”

“That’s
bullshit!”

Both
women blinked at me.

“You’re
telling me that I’m gonna be getting chased for the rest of my life on this godforsaken
planet!?” My Texan was showing. And to think that I had been doing so well.

The
thought of a man I had never met before suddenly owning me was disgusting. “So
any man I look in the eye can make me run?”

Samantha
said, “Well, there are a few limitations. The man must be greater than the
woman in the hierarchy.”

“Who
determines the hierarchy?” I asked.

“It’s
something one is born with… Almost like a dominance level.” Samantha was
serious, but I had to stop myself before rolling my eyes. Forget a sex ed class.
This was a werewolf training class. Just call me Alpha.

Relieved
that I was back to my normal self, more or less, I remained silent.

Samantha
informed me, “The highest man may choose any woman, but the lower men may only
choose women who are less dominant than they are.”

A
piece of the puzzle clicked into place. “So that’s what Marshal wanted John to
do when we first met,” I said. The conniving bastard.

“And
he is terribly sorry for that. He only wanted to protect you from others,”
Samantha explained.

I
didn’t argue with her, knowing that she would only side with her husband. Instead,
I asked, “What else do I need to know?”

Samantha,
relieved with the dropped subject, replied, “There are two different types of chases.
The first is more of a recreational chase. It is a test for the two
participants. A man is able to see how skilled the woman is at flying and how
clever she is at hiding. If he catches her during this practice round, then he has
the option to do a real chase.”

An
imaging of me butterfly hunting in the backyard popped into my head. I always
tried to catch the prettiest and fastest butterfly. Except in this world, the
women were the butterflies. That’s what these Auro men were: Women Hunters.

Rene
continued where Samantha left off, “During the true chase, instincts are more
overwhelming. For a woman, the ability to resisting running is much harder, and
the man gains a physical boost. Also, some men are able to immediately engage
in a true chase without the pre-chase, although there are not many who can do
that.”

“How
do you resist?” I asked, eager to find a loophole.

“We
will teach you,” Sam promised.

“How
do you know if it’s a practice chase or a true chase?”

“You’ll
know instinctually. It’s a true chase if the man’s eyes and wings become dark.
Then you know he’s playing for keeps.”

An
image of Peter’s eyes changing from brown to a deep black surfaced from memory.
Where would I be right now if I never climbed that tree? Where would I be if he
had caught me?

And
what about John? His eyes and wings turned black when he was chasing me in the
gym. It’s just my luck to immediately meet two men who could jump straight to a
“true chase” without giving me a practice round. Another question popped into
my head.

“Why
did Peter and John chase
me
?” I was always the plain brown-haired girl
(At least, that was before I became the girl-with-cancer). Receiving this much
attention was slightly startling. Not wanting to sound surprised and
undeserving of attention, I rephrased my question.

“
Why
did Peter and John chase me?” Just enough anger and exasperation gave my
voice a demanding edge. I was proud of myself.

Rene
said, “You, Jacque, are one-of-a-kind. Peter could tell by your smell that you
were new and unclaimed, so he immediately took his chance. John, on the other
hand, didn’t mean to activate the chase, but it was out of his control.”

“How
did he lose control?” Okay, I think I knew the answer to this one, but I just
wanted to hear it. I wasn’t
exactly
fishing for a complement… but it had
been a rough few days.

Rene
said, “It’s just like when a woman has no choice but to run during a true chase.
When a man sees a new woman that his instincts tell him he must have, it is
very difficult to resist the urge to chase. And, Jacque, I’m sorry to say that
you are the grand prize.”

Great.
Just call me a trophy wife.

“What
does new mean?” I’ve heard that word several times today, so I was beginning to
get a general idea of its meaning.

Samantha
said, “Being new is a term given to a woman who is, as you would say, ‘single’.
A new woman has never been caught in a real chase, so she is considered
untaken. New women trigger the instinctual need to chase in men while taken
women do not.”

I
said, “I think I’ve had enough explanation for one day.”

“You
really are taking everything well.”

“I’m
pretty adaptable…” I murmured.

At
that moment, I swore to myself that I would become the fastest being on this
planet. No man would catch me because I was Jacqueline Winters, and I wasn’t
going down without one hell of a fight.

“Teach
me how to fly.”

The
two women looked pleased. Samantha nodded at me. “We will begin your flight
training tomorrow.”

Part
XII

Rene,
Samantha, and I walked back to the basement hallway. Rene carried a few texts
that she said I might want to read one day. I clung to my
Evolution of the Folium
and Beyond
book like it was my ticket home. The Marshal and John were
standing guard at the door and murmuring in soft tones when we arrived.

Marshal
immediately straightened. “We have company.”

“How
many?” Samantha asked.

“Almost
half the city. I’m calling in an aircraft.” Marshal flipped out a device that
resembled a TV changer and spoke into it. Actually, a more accurate statement
would be that he spoke
at
it.

“We
need a flyer. Now. Yes, I am aware of that. Yes, I am also aware of that. I.
Don’t. Care.” With a satisfying button mash, the Marshal ended his call and
yanked the door open.

Light
spilled into the dim hallway and carried various voices with it. I would have
to be completely ignorant to think that they were not out there because of me.
My stomach flipped.

Rene
and Samantha exchanged glances while John cleared his throat and followed his
father out the door. After receiving so much knowledge about Auro’s male race,
I didn’t even feel like looking at him. What if we locked eyes? What if he
chased me down the hallway? Could I outrun him? And if I couldn’t, what would
happen afterwards? I already knew that he didn’t have to engage in the practice
round thingy.

Samantha
briskly walked off and, as if my thoughts had summoned him back, John returned.
I stared at the ground, refusing to admit to myself that I was afraid of him. I
would not be afraid of any man. Those days were over.

Breaking
the silence and trying to show courage, I asked the floor, “Why does everyone
speak English here?”

Rene
released a quick sigh of relief at what I assumed was my nonchalance after
receiving all of that awful information (Yeah, Rene, I was worried about my
mental state too), but it was John who answered, “Why do people on earth speak
English?” He continued without waiting for a reply, “We are the core of the
English language. From Old English to your Modern English. Your phrases stem
from us. Your ideas from us. Your inventions from us.”

“That’s
not right- we can trace back phrases and inventions. They can be traced to
real
people.” Even my ears caught my ornery tone. I needed something normal in my
day, and if that normal thing were an argument, then so be it.

 “We are there, helping. Our
people write, invent, become famous, and then stage a death. We are the protectors
of the Earth. We assist humans and guard them from self-destruction. Some of us
guide them through technology from here on Auro, and others guide them directly
on Earth, like Henry. Without us, humans would fall.”

John’s speech was quite
magnificent until he added, “You didn’t really think that humans could have
advanced this far without our help, did you?”

He
was baiting me. He wanted me to argue. I couldn’t ignore the stab of
indignation that shot through me. No matter what I was now, I would always
sympathize with humans.

Instead
of being baited, I gave a sharp laugh. “Of course. Just look at how far you
angels have advanced me. Why, I’m practically non-human!” My voice rose with
mock-surprise.

John
breathed out a laugh and said, “Ah, so there
is
a fighter in you. I
thought so.” I could practically taste his smile when he told me, “That’s good,
because you’ll need it. And, speaking of angels…”

I
groaned. “You are not about to ruin my view of angels. I was just kidding, you
know.”

He
smiled at me and admitted, “I’m afraid that angel stories originated from us. We
are the guardians of humanity, just so you know.”

“Jacque?”
Samantha asked, breaking our odd conversation. She had reappeared at the end of
the hallway.

“Yes?”
I replied, still distracted by John’s words.

“Would
you mind giving your jacket to Rene? We’re going to make a distraction.”

Wordlessly,
I removed my coat and handed it over. Rene slid it on and put up the hood,
hiding her features.

My
wings were glad to be free of its confines. I slowly stretched them out a bit,
only flaunting just a little. Hey, you can’t exactly blame me; I had never
owned something as completely unique and extremely valuable as my wings.