Violet took her hand. “You’re
nearly an Allure.” She looked into
Daisy’s eyes. “You’re feeling all the
emotions of the people who were
once here.”
Tears streamed down Daisy’s
face. “I can feel the pain and
anguish. It hurts so bad.”
“That part will go away. You
won’t be able to feel it soon.”
“She’s not becoming an Allure.” I
pulled Daisy into my arms. “Let’s
get out of here. You heard her, it’s
hurting her.”
“One day we’ll tell you the
story,” Hugh spoke softly. “It’s not
one we have time for now.”
“No, not if you want to get her
to the Elders in time. I can barely
sense the human in her anymore.”
Wyatt started to move down the
deserted street.
I followed with Daisy tucked
securely under my arm. She sobbed
lightly, and I would have done
anything to stop her pain.
“Remember these feelings are
old. They aren’t happening right
now.” Violet kept pace at Daisy’s
side.
“That doesn’t matter. They feel
real right now.” Daisy buried her
face in my side.
“Eventually you will understand
time for what it really is. The pain
you’re feeling won’t be there
because you can’t feel it in that
way. It’s a totally different
sensation.”
“But someone felt it. Someone
felt this way.”
“A long time ago. Way before
your time.” Hugh caught up.
“That means nothing to me.”
“Then fight through it. Getting
upset isn’t going to help anything.”
“I’m trying.”
“You’ll be fine once we enter the
tunnel.”
“Violet.” There was a warning in
Hugh’s tone. “Don’t promise her
that. The tunnel might be worse.”
“Worse?” Daisy pulled her head
up. “No. I’m not going through it
then.”
“We have to. There are no other
entrances near here.” Wyatt’s tone
was cold. From what I knew of
Dragos they could feel, but then
again I didn’t even think they
actually existed.
“Let’s get it over with.”
We continued down the worn
stone road until Troy turned down a
small alleyway.
I sincerely hoped they knew
what they were doing. We moved
down a sharp decline and walked
underneath a bridge. Troy led us
into what looked like an old storm
drain. Wyatt and Hugh followed.
Violet hung back with us.
“Are you ready for this?” I
brushed some hair away from
Daisy’s face.
“Yes. We have no choice.” She
marched into the storm drain, and I
followed holding on to her hand.
Violet followed right behind me.
The pipe was dark, but there
was enough light inside that my
night vision worked. That was a big
plus. The Dragos had no problem
finding their way, so evidently they
had night vision too.
Daisy whimpered.
“Are you okay?” I tightened my
hold on her hand.
“It hurts.”
“I told you.” Hugh sighed.
Violet nodded. “I didn’t think
they’d be as strong in here, but
they are.”
“Think of all the people who
tried to escape…” Hugh called back.
Daisy slunk down the floor, and
I fell to my knees next to her. “Are
you all right?”
She started to sob. I picked her
up in my arms. The only thing that
was going to help her was to move
forward. The rest of the group
seemed to understand, and we
moved twice as fast the rest of the
way through the pipe. We turned
and entered a slightly wider tunnel.
“What was this tunnel for?” I
hurried along behind the Dragos.
“Originally to move supplies,”
Troy explained.
“And later?”
“Escape and smuggling.”
“I really wish someone would
tell us where we are.”
“Considering Daisy’s condition, I
wouldn’t worry.” Violet’s words
were pointed.
“Agreed.”
We continued down the tunnel until
we reached a floor to ceiling gate
that completely blocked our path.
“Please tell me one of you has
your key.” Violet pointed to the
large padlock.
“I do.” Wyatt inserted a small
crystal key in the lock and pushed
open the gate. All I could see was a
hazy light, but I followed them
through. As soon as Violet stepped
through, she closed the gate behind
her. We were still in a tunnel, but it
had light seeping in through small
cracks in the surrounding pipe. I
already felt more comfortable, and
Daisy’s body felt less tense in my
arms.
We continued through the
tunnels until more and more
sunlight filtered in. We finally
reached the end and walked out
into a valley full of bright green
grass. We were surrounded by
mountains, but one stood out from
the rest. I craned my neck to take
in the massive mountain that was
so tall the peak was obscured by
the clouds.
“It’s 30,000 feet above sea
level.”
“That’s twice as high as the
highest peak in Colorado.” My brief
stay out there had made me
appreciate mountains more.
“It’s taller than Mount Everest.
We weren’t joking about this being
a tall mountain.” Violet looked up
and smiled. “It’s beautiful.”
“It is.” Daisy looked around. I
still held her firmly in my arms. I
didn’t want to put her down until
she was ready.
“We have to leave you here,”
Violet spoke carefully and directly
to me. She did that a lot, but it
wasn’t going to help her this time.
“No. I’m not leaving Daisy.” I
hadn’t come this far to be left
behind.
“If it helps, I’ll stay with you,”
Hugh offered.
“That doesn’t help. I’m staying
with Daisy.”
“You can’t.” Wyatt transformed,
his large wings spanning out behind
him. “You must be invited first.”
“Get me invited before she
goes.”
“Owen,” Violet touched my arm.
“Look at her.”
I gazed down at Daisy’s tired,
yet absolutely beautiful face.
“She’s running out of time.”
“I can’t trust you.”
“You have to right now.”
“You can put me down.” Daisy
ran her hand over my chest. “I can
stand.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
I set her feet down gently on
the ground next to me. “I don’t
want to make you do this on your
own.”
“She won’t be alone. I’ll be with
her.” Violet caught my eye.
“I can do this.” Daisy seemed to
be telling herself.
“Of course you can.” Violet
nodded. “But we need to go now.”
“She’ll be safe.” Wyatt gestured
for her to move toward him.
“One minute.” She slowly
walked toward me and kissed me
lightly on the lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” Tears welled in
my eyes and threatened to fall. I’d
never felt so strongly about anyone
or anything in my life.
“Always and forever.” Tears
streamed down her face.
“Always and forever.” I forced
myself to stay strong for her.
Fighting and insisting I go would
only slow things down. Violet was
right. She was running out of time.
Wyatt and Troy took off with
both of them, leaving Hugh,
Glendale, and me in the valley.
Watching Daisy fly off with Wyatt
was one of the most difficult things
I'd ever done. I was supposed to be
with her, to protect her, but instead
I was helpless.
"She's tough," Hugh glanced up
to watch them fly off.
"Did I ask for your opinion?"
"No, but you should have. I have
plenty of advice to give."
"None that I want."
"If things don't go your way
today, you'll need it. I know how
you can move on."
"I'm not moving on. Daisy is
going to be okay." Losing
confidence wasn't an option. She
was going up there to face powerful
creatures like none we’d ever seen.
If she could do that, I could stay
strong.
"You are not as bad as I
originally thought." Hugh sat down
on a boulder that stuck out of the
thick grass at the foot of the
mountain. Another one stood next
to him.
"Is that because your
expectations were low or because
of something I've done?” I stayed
standing.
"A little of both." He patted the
boulder. "You should sit too. We are
going to be here a while."
“That's just another reason to
stand. I can't sit for long.”
"We'll see what you are saying
in a few hours."
"Hours? You think it's going to
take that long?”
"Absolutely. Just hope it’s not
days."
“We don't have days."
"Exactly." He looked off into the
distance.
19
DAISY
Flying with Wyatt was terrifying. I
always felt safe with Owen, but
Wyatt didn’t put me at ease in the
same way. He kept flying higher
and higher, and all I could do was
close my eyes. Owen was down
there somewhere. He was waiting
for me to come back to him as a
human. I could do this. Everything
would be fine if we could stop the
change. We’d make it back home,
and I’d see my family. Owen and I
would make a life together.
I opened my eyes again,
expecting to be close to the peak
already, but we were only about
halfway up. My ears hurt and my
eyes burned, and I was already
having difficulty breathing the thin
air.
“You alive?” Wyatt asked over
the wind.
“Kind of.”
He laughed. “At least you still
have your sense of humor.”
“Just barely.”
“It’s something.”
I closed my eyes again and
thought of Owen. Soon I’d be back
in his arms, and this experience
would be a distant memory.
Thankfully Wyatt didn’t talk to me
again. I could barely breathe, so
talking wasn’t going to work well.
Finally, what felt like hours later,
he landed. I stumbled out of his
arms, and nearly fell to the ground,
but he caught me at the last
second. “Take a moment. Regain
your equilibrium.”
“You make that sound easy.”
We were surrounded by clouds on
all sides. I could barely see
anything other than what was right
in front of me. My breathing was
labored.
“You’re mostly Allure, so it
should be easy.”
“Mostly, but not completely.”
“Things will be easier for you
after the change.”
Troy landed with Violet beside
us.
“So I’ve heard.”
“Daisy, you stay here with Troy
and Wyatt. I’ll be back.” She started
to walk away.
“Wait!” I followed after her.
She turned back around.
I stared at her with my mouth
hanging open. “You’re just going to
leave?”
“I have to get us an audience. It
will be easier this way.”
“So what are we supposed to
do?”
“Wait.” She headed toward a
spiral staircase that wound further
up the mountain. I guess we
weren’t fully at the peak.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be
alone.” Troy smirked. He really
wasn’t my favorite person. Wyatt
had been standoffish in the
beginning, but I liked him a whole
lot more.
“Great.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Violet hurried off.
“So, what should we do?” Troy
kicked a rock off the side of the
mountain. An image of him kicking
me off the mountain ran through
my head, and I stepped further
away from the edge.
“I’d never hurt you.” He looked
at me funny. “Don’t be so
dramatic.”
“I never said you would.” I
straightened up as tall as I could.
“I’m not worried.”
“You were thinking about how
I’d want to toss you off this
mountain.”
“I was not.” I crossed my arms.
What the hell? Was this guy reading
my mind?
“Ok, sorry. More specifically you
were worried about me kicking you
off the mountain.”
“How?” I was at a loss for
words.
“Did you have to tell her
already?” Wyatt groaned. “Now
she’s going to be all paranoid and
try to hide her thoughts, which will
only make them louder.”
I rested my forehead in my
hand. “I already had a headache.”
“Get her some water,” Wyatt
instructed Troy. “Use the fountain.”
“You get it yourself.”
“She likes me better. You heard
it as well as I did.”
I was mortified. They’d heard
me think that too? I felt blood
rushing to my face.
“Don’t be embarrassed. It
happens.”
“I’ll be right back.” Troy walked
off the same way Violet had gone.