A Duck In Her Pond » Wings

Wings 20

Blond Duck — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:00:09 +0000

For previous editions, go here.

Pushing myself off the cold, hard ground, I shook off Gabriel’s hands. ”I don’t care if you’re an angel, you’re a jerk.” Brushing back the white frizz dripping into my eyes, I avoided his pained blue gaze. “That’s the second time you’ve lied to me.”

“I’ve never lied to you,” he protested, grabbing for my arm as I stormed off the bridge.

“You told me you loved me when you shoved me off that cloud.” I hopped down, glancing around in the falling dusk. Trampling through the woods at night was not my idea of fun, but whatever.

“I didn’t”–

“Then you don’t tell me your ex-girlfriend wants my soul.” I rubbed my arms, scowling. “If it’s so old, why does she want it anyway?”

“Because you have memories she wants.” Lucky bounded before me, sniffing the sidewalk. ”You’ve seen what she’s never seen, done what she’s never done. If she has that, she’d be…”

“Unstoppable.” Gabriel finished, floating down next to us. “And no one will be safe. Including your mother and Delaney.”

“And you,” I muttered under my breath, praying it was too low for him to hear. The way his eyes narrowed, I doubted it. ”I don’t care.” I raised my voice. “I’m going to go get Delaney, no matter what Samantha wants.”

“You’re just going to march down to the creek and get her?” Lucky glanced toward the woods, a whine edging his voice. “In the dark?”

“Scared?” I twisted my arm around, scratching the base of my wings. “Why didn’t you tell me these itched so bad?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “I didn’t think it was that important. What is important that you don’t go into the forrest.”

“Why not?” I ambled past the sidewalk, my boots crushing the dry grass. ”The creek isn’t that far.”

“But it’s dark.” Lucky shuddered.

“So?” I took another step.

“Samantha’s power grows in the dark.” Gabriel’s voice was as dry as the leaves tumbling past my boots, crackling as the cool wind whipped through the trees. “Hence the term dark angel.”

“So she expects us to wait until morning?” I crossed my arms. “After she’s had time to move Delaney and cause more mischief?”

Gabriel’s face was the only answer I needed. Flouncing my feathers (one of the only benefits I’d seen to these heavy wings), I marched toward the trees. ”Don’t worry, boys,” I called airily, turning my grin toward the budding stars. ”I’ll bring you a soveiner. A black feather on a chain. Or Samantha’s head. I haven’t decided.” I’d barely reached the edge of the oaks before the hurried after me, a blur of feathers and snarls.

“Are you crazy?” Gabriel shouted.

“You could get killed!” Lucky howled.

“You’ll get us killed if you don’t shut up,” I informed them, glaring the two angels into sputtering silence. “Haven’t you ever heard the term fake it until you make it?”

Lucky gagged. ”That’s not that fake bacon, is it?”

“Ariella, please.” Gabriel’s fingers brushed across my arm, icy tendrils as soft as the feathers rising above his shoulders. “You don’t understand what Samantha can do. You don’t understand her power.”

His blue eyes glowed in the thickening dusk. A twinge twisted in my heart and I turned away, bitterness curling my lips. “Why does she wear your feather around your neck?”

“To torment me.” His answer was soft and brief. “And you, now.”

I nodded, nibbling on my lower lip. ”I’ll get that too.” Turning, I crept deeper into the forrest, my stiff wings gathering closer, a shield against the cold and darkness.

“Ariella…please.” Gabriel’s whisper echoed around the dark trees as I ran through the leaves, stumbling down the the ravine. Even in the darkness, I could hear Delaney’s terrified whimpering. Holding my breath, I crept closer. Strong fingers wrapped around my arm and I turned, incandescent blasts of angry blue slicing through me.

“I can’t let you do this.”

“But you can help me.” I stared at him until his eyes dropped, his shoulders sagging. Locking his fingers around mine, he followed, Lucky padding behind us. ”I can help too,” he grumbled, snorting and sniffing in my path.

“You can do the most important thing of all.” Stopping, I squatted down, my right hand still entwined with Gabriel’s. ”Listen, I’ve got a plan. You can shield Delaney from evil with your wings, right?”

Lucky cocked his head. ”Yes, but I need to protect you.”

“If you want to protect me, protect her.” I tickled his chin, whimpers vibrating in his throat. ”Promise me?”

He sighed, his hot breath warming my wrist. ”I promise.”

“You’re the best.” Ruffling his ears, I let Gabriel pull me up. I looked at Gabriel, and he nodded. As one, we stepped forward, an army of trees flanking us. Sucking in a final gulp of air, my hoarse voice rang through the air.

“Hey Samantha! I’ve got a riddle for you!”

She stepped out at the shadows, Delaney pressed in the crook of her arm. A black knife glinted at Delaney’s porcelain throat as Samantha’s eyes darted around, searching. ”What’s that, Old Blood?”

“What do the stars do?”

Gabriel shook his head, his fingers cracking around mine.

“I don’t know.” Samantha pressed the knife tighter and Delaney whimpered. ”What?”

I grinned, my voice barely above a whisper. ”Shine.” Closing my eyes, I turned my head and pulled Gabriel closer, planting his lips on mine.

White blasted around me, warmth brushing across my lips.

And over the pounding of my heart, a faint scream whispered in the night.

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Wings 19

Blond Duck — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:00:15 +0000

Love is complicated. Even for guardian angels.

I backed away, shaking my head. ”No. No. Tell me it’s not true.”

“Ariella”–

“Oh, poor baby.” Samantha pursed her lips, snickering spilling between them. ”Did your angel boyfriend not tell you we were in love once?”

“Samantha”–

“You remember, don’t you?” Scarlett nails raked down his arms, tracing the rippling biceps slowly. ”After all, you never forget your first love.”

Gabriel’s pale face blazed with light, twisted in a snarl. ”You don’t know what love is, you heartless harpy.”

“How original.” She snorted, drawing her finger up his arm, crawling up his neck. ”You’re why I left heaven, you know. All talk and no action.” She turned to me, lowering her voice to a near whisper. “So boring, these good boys.” Raising an eyebrow, her tounge flicked across her lips. ”You, however…there’s hope for you, yet. Despite what Gabriel’s told you, you don’t have to do this, you know. You have choices. Every human does. You’re just privileged to see the side most people don’t want to see.”

Swallowing the bile eroding my throat, my wings constricted, raising as high as my chin. ”Give me Delaney.”

“She doesn’t mess around, does she?” Samantha tossed her dark hair, the red orbs in her eyes smoldering as her gaze swept over me. “That’s all right, Old Soul. I tell you what. I give you your friend and you give me what I want, agreed?”

“She’s not doing that.” Gabriel shoved me back behind him. Lucky growled and circled Samantha, but she didn’t even glance at him.

“What do you want?” I asked.

She flicked one nail to the sky, her smile twisting to a sneer. ”So he hasn’t told you that either? Boy, Gabriel, you’ve been guarding her well. I shouldn’t be surprised, I suppose.”

“What do you want?” I raised my voice, trying to past Gabriel’s outstretched wings. ”I’m tired of playing games. Give me my friend back. She hasn’t done anything to you.”

“But she can, don’t you see?” Samantha stepped around Lucky like a spilled drink, her nose crinkling. ”She can help me so much, in so many ways. Would you like to see?”

“No!” Gabriel shouted. But it was too late.

Samantha’s arm shot out, her fingers locking around my wrist. Flames licked over my skin, images burning into my mind, slamming one after the other.

Delaney smiling at a dark haired stranger….Smiles turn to screams, she’s twisting, running, gasping…pain, sharp searing pain as the ground opens, swallowing her whole…

My mother, standing in the middle of her shop, surrounded by shattered windows and shredded Christmas trees. Tears stream down her face, her eyes hollow…

Gabriel, pale lips cracking and bleeding in a smile. Ragged words jerking from him, every breath a monumental effort. ”I…Love…You.”

“NO!” Gabriel wretched Samantha’s arm off me and I jerked back, gasping for air. Panting, she stared at me, red eyes beady in the falling dusk.

“Three choices, three destinies. Which one do you choose, Ariella?” Without waiting for me to answer, she twisted her hair up, smirking as the dark curls tumbled around her fingers. ”Or you can just give me what I want. Then everyone’s happy, right?”

“That will never happen.” Gabriel’s wings bristled.

“Suit yourself.” Samantha grinned. ”Let the games begin.” She rubbed her hands together. ”Third time’s the charm, right?”

“Go to hell,” Gabriel snarled.

“Always do.” Her grin grew wider.

As her head swiveled toward me, all the rage in my body shattered, bursting from my fingers of toes. In a blur of white, I blasted toward her, my shoulders screaming as my wings fluttered in a frenzy.

“Give me back Delaney!”

I reached out for her, clawing towards her face and hands, but my fingers grasped only shadows. Falling to the ground, I twisted, groaning under the weight of my wings. Opening my eyes, I stared at a leaf on the sidewalk.

“This means war,” I informed it.

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! We have a new recipe mañana!

Wings 18

Blond Duck — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:00:55 +0000

My guardian angel fell in love with me. And then my best friend was kidnapped by his ex-girlfriend. To learn why, go here.

“How long do I get to keep these?” I peered over my shoulder at my wings, rising and falling as they gently lowered me to the ground. ”That’s so much better than having a driver’s license.”

“Speak for yourself,” Lucky grumbled, his own wings sputtering as his paws pedaled above the stone bridge, his tail tucked to his rear.

“Do dog wings not work as well?” I stifled a laugh as he flopped onto his front paws, his furry chin crashing in the ground. His rear followed soon after, his wings shimmering in a blur of feathers and wind.

“Dog wings work fine. Old wings don’t work fine. Gabriel’s only been an angel 100 years, which is why he can get around a lot easier than a 500-year-old like me. And since your wings are made of his feathers”–

“You’re 500?” I blurted out. ”Whoa!”

“Angel years, not dog years.” Lucky sighed as his wings whirred, his paws rising off the pavement. He bobbed a few inches off the bridge, a growl rumbling in his stomach. ”Gabriel, would you”–

Without a word, Gabriel plucked a feather off his wings. Lucky crashed to the ground, a sprawled mass of fur. ”Thanks,” the muffled reply came.

There was no humor in Gabriel’s eyes when he turned towards me. ”Ariella, is this the creek you saw her at?”

“It’s further down, where we used to play when we were kids. That’s where I…” I trailed off, widening my eyes. ”You saved me then too, didn’t you? How many times have you saved me?”

“I’m your guardian angel,” Gabriel replied shortly. ”It’s what we do.”

“But I’ve had a lot of accidents.” I shivered as the sun dipped below the trees. ”How many times”–

“We need to hurry.” The ice blue orbs melted, his hard lips smoothing as a soft sigh escaped them. ”I’m sorry,” he said. ”But once it goes dark, I won’t be as strong. And Samantha will be stronger.”

“That’s the woman’s name?” I rubbed my goosebump-pricked arms. ”How do you know her?”

“We’ve long been acquainted.” Every word chipped from his lips like a brick of ice. Lucky snorted. ”You can say that again.”

I raised an eyebrow. ”I sense a story.”

“A story we have no time for telling.” Gabriel cut off Lucky, snapping his fingers. ”We need you to feel them out, figure out where they’re hiding. Like you did before.”

Helplessness clawed at me as I shook my head. ”But I don’t know how I did that. I thought you did it.”

“My job is to protect you from them, not seek them out. You might say that I’m blind to them, unless they’re near you.” Gabriel shrugged.

“So then why are you helping me find them?” I asked.

“Because as an Old Soul, you have a destiny, a path you were made to walk on. All humans do, but their path is defined by free will. Yours is defined by servitude. And that means saving certain people.”

“And I don’t have a choice on whether I save them?” I shuddered. My toes curled into my boots, numb and hard.

“You do. But I know you. And you don’t want to know what happens if you don’t.” Gabriel’s eyes softened and he stepped forward, cupping my chin in his hand. ”I hate it when you look like that.”

My breath stuck in my throat. ”Like what?”

“Like you just lost your dog.”

“I’m right here,” Lucky cracked. We both ignored him.

“Gabriel, I can’t do this.” My voice cracked, my bravado shattering around me without the familiar comfort of my mother’s Christmas trees and displays. ”I’m just a girl, a normal girl. I can’t save Delaney from that–that thing! I can’t save my mother. I couldn’t even save Lucky from getting hit by a car.” I shook my head. ”I couldn’t save you.”

“But you tried.” He lifted my chin, his thumb trailing down my cheek. ”Do you know how rare it is for people to care about other people? You don’t just care about other people, it’s all you care about. You’re always trying to save everyone but yourself.”

My lips cracked, drawing apart. ”I guess it’s good I have you.”

Two dimples etched in porcelain cheeks. “So you’re not mad at me anymore?”

I blinked. ”For lying to me? Nah, I guess I understand your reasoning. Top secret angel code and all that.”

“No for…” He sucked in his breath, pain blazing in his cerulean eyes. ”For saying…for not saying…”

“Oh, don’t lie to the girl even more Gabriel.” I started to whirl around as Gabriel grabbed my arm, yanking me behind him. The woman from my mother’s shop stood inches away from us, her core of her eyes blazing red. Lucky growled and she laughed, flames licking her neck as her hair smoldered around her. ”Take it from me, honey, all men lie. They’ll say anything to get you in bed, isn’t that right?”

“Don’t.” Gabriel’s wings flared up, a shield of blazing light.

“Well, darling, you know it’s true.” A sinister sneer slithered across her blood-red lips. ”After all, you told me enough sweet nothings back when we were young.”

“That was before you went to him,” Gabriel spat. ”More than one hundred years ago.”

“What can I say?” Samantha shrugged. ”I was bored. It’s no fun being good all the time.” She licked her lips. ”I could show you what you’re missing out on. I’m a lot better than I used to be.” Her red eyes bored into mine, her mocking laugh ringing in my ears. I clutched Gabriel’s wing, my fingers clutching onto his feathers.

“Gabriel, what is she talking about?”

“Don’t”–

“What, you think you’re the first girl Gabriel’s ever loved? The first Old Soul to steal his heart?” Samantha cackled. ”Get real, honey. I stole his heart a long time ago. Would you like to see it?” She grasped the edges of her button-down shirt, ripping it open. Gabriel howled, a trumpet of fury and rage. Lucky snarled, rushing toward her. All I could do was stare. A single feather, glowing and pulsing with light, hung on a silver chain around her neck.

The same feathers on my back.

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! A new recipe tomorrow for our furry friends!

Wings 17

Blond Duck — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 09:00:51 +0000

Love. Angels. Heaven. Hell.

I used to want to kiss Gabriel. Now I wanted to kill him.

“You jerk,” I hissed, darting away from his hand. My back throbbed, my shoulder blades smoldering with a dull ache. ”You just stood there!”

“I didn’t”–

“You could have saved her, but you didn’t!” I shoved him back as he started toward me, my throat choked with fury. ”I wish you’d just left me alone! I wished you’d never saved me!”

“Don’t say that.” His icy blue eyes sliced through me, his fingers wrapping around my wrist. ”Never say that.”

“Let me go.” I thrashed in his grasp, glaring. ”That woman’s got Delaney. We’ve got to help her.”

“And we will.” His fingers tightened, white imprints speckled across my porcelain forearm. ”But Ariella, you have to listen to me. You have to trust me.”

“Why should I?” I twisted away, scowling. ”How do I even know you’re a good angel? What if I’ve got it all wrong?”

The door burst open and Lucky scrambled inside, yelping as the door clipped his tail. ”Sorry. Had to scare off a cat.”

“What’s wrong with cats?” I demanded, automatically turning toward the window. A grey tabby glowered from across the street. Its yellow eyes glowed in the falling dusk, flashing red. I yelped, stumbling back as a car flew by. ”Did you see that?”

“See what?” Gabriel whipped his head around as the car passed. The sidewalk was empty.

“Told you.” Lucky’s hind leg scratched behind his ear. ”There’s a reason witches like cats. And the ancient Egyptians.” He shuddered.

Shaking my head to calm my swimming thoughts, I slid my hand from Gabriel’s. ”I don’t have time for this. I’m going to save Delaney.”

“How?” Gabriel’s empty voice echoed after me as I turned towards the door, starting up the stairs. ”How are you going to fight something you don’t understand when you barely understand who you are, what you can do?”

I crossed my arms and scowled. ”I…don’t know. But I’ll figure it out!”

“As much as you may dislike the fact, you need us.” Gabriel’s eyes locked on mine. ”But if you want our help, you’re going to have to listen to us.”

I narrowed my eyes. ”The only thing I’ve gotten from you is trouble. Why should I trust you?” I glared. ”You’re only here because it’s your job.”

“It’s not my job,” Gabriel muttered.

“You’re a guardain angel, aren’t you?” I pointed out. ”My guardian angel?”

“Yes, but…” Gabriel trailed off. ”It’s not my job.”

“Then why are you here?” I demanded.

“You don’t know?” Lucky dropped his leg, mouth agape. ”She doesn’t know?”

“Know what?” I turned to Gabriel. He stared at the ground, his face hidden in the shadow of his wings as they rose and fell with his every breath.

“Know what?” I repeated, stepping closer. ”Tell me.”

“Tell her, Gabriel.” Lucky’s tail swept across the floor, an ornament scuttling by my foot. I reached down at the same time Gabriel did, our foreheads nearly colliding. He scooped up the ornament and placed it in my hand, his eyes never leaving mine.

“I will,” he murmured. ”But I can’t. Not yet.” The pain in the pools of icy blue washed over me, pangs of sorrow making me gasp. His fingers wrapped around mine, entwining.

“You can’t catch me!” Delaney laughed, bolting across the park. Her pigtails smacked against her shoulders with every step, beating in rhythm with her feet.

“Can so!” I darted after her, leaping over clumps of weeds and misplaced rocks. ”You’ll never be as fast as me. I’m super girl!”

“I’m wonder woman!” Delaney crowed. She dashed through the trees, winding down the hill to the creek. Grabbing an old rope, she cackled, swinging across the bubbling waters to the other side.

“That’s not fair!” Panting, I pouted on the water’s edge. ”You know I’m scared of water!”

“Then I win after all!” She giggled, throwing leaves up in the air. ”I told you you couldn’t catch me! I win, I win!”

I never could stand to lose. Gritting my teeth, I grabbed the rope. Pulling it back to the ridge, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and jumped.

And fell. Hard.

Cold sucked me down, darkness enveloping me. Delaney’s screams blended with the roaring waters, rocks slicing across my feet and hands. I flailed and twisted in the murky darkness, my lungs screaming when my lips couldn’t.

Strong hands grabbed me, warm arms wrapping around me. I sucked in air as I flew to the other side, landing on a pile of leaves with a gentle thump. Coughing and gasping, I opened my eyes. Delaney stared down at me, her mouth open. Behind her, a glimpse of gossamer winked, a flutter on a ribbon of sunshine.

“How did you do that?” She whispered. ”How did you get out?”

I stared past her. The trees didn’t stir, the creek burbled quietly in regret.

“I have no idea,” I whispered. ”I have no idea.”

My eyes flew open. Squeezing Gabriel’s hand, I whispered, “She’s at the creek. We’ve got to get to the bridge. The one you…” I trailed off as he nodded, knowing what I couldn’t say.

His crooked smile made my heart flutter. ”Then let’s go.”

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! We have a new recipe mañana!