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You are out during the daylight—not usual, my friend.
He tipped, wing to ground, as he turned and I followed suit. I kept watch for you. It’s dangerous out here for young owls. I would not have you get hurt.
Who are you? Are you one of the Cambyra—the Uwilahsidhe?
There was a silence. And then: I will teach you to hunt now. You may never need this skill, but if you get stuck in your owl form, you should know how to take care of your needs.
Inside, I grimaced. I didn’t really relish eating a mouse or rat, but then something in my blood stirred and I followed him without protest as we headed over the yard. Not that I really expected much prey to be out—the snow had started to fall more thickly and the flakes were sticking to my wings.
As we glided over the backyard, the great horned owl suddenly made a slight motion with his head and turned sharply, homing in on a movement on the snow. Two rabbits were there, beautiful and white against the ground, hidden by the camouflage of their coats. I stared in horror as the owl began a hunting pass, but then my blood stirred and all I could see was a red haze and the hunger hit me.
I targeted the smaller of the rabbits, who suddenly looked skyward and then started to run, but we were faster and I flew low over the smaller of the pair, instinctively bringing my feet forward and extending my talons. With one swipe, I grabbed the screaming rabbit by the scruff of the neck and powered myself back into the air. Exhilarated, I rose and followed the owl as he flew to the great oak.
There, he led me to a hollow in the tree, where he dropped the rabbit and began to feed. I could feel his ravenous hunger, and my own rose up. I stared at my prey—now dead and glassy-eyed—and suddenly it seemed a beautiful feast. As I held it with my claws and began to rip into it with my beak, the hunger grew and the taste of blood and meat raced down my throat as I swallowed strips of meat. We fed in silence, and all felt right with the world.
I ate for a while, then stopped, satiated. As I gazed at the horned owl, I knew he was more than he seemed. No regular owl would let me share his nest without wanting to mate. But he seemed to cut off my questions too quickly. A sneaking suspicion began to form in the back of my mind, but I didn’t want to say anything prematurely. Maybe I just didn’t want to be disappointed. I decided to let the matter drop for now.
I should get home. I have to get ready for the vampires’ party tonight.
You should be wary of vampires, Cicely. They are dangerous, far more predatory than our own kind. Owlfolk love the hunt. Vampires revel in it. His words carried an air of disapproval behind them.
I take it you don’t like them?
Vampires are parasites. Ultimate hunters, but parasites nonetheless. And they are unnatural to the world. No, I don’t like them. Look at what they did to the Vampiric Fae. Myst did not start out the madwoman she’s become.
You sound like you knew her before she was turned.
Again, silence. I did not press. I will be careful.
Good, we cannot afford to lose you. Not to the vampires. Not to the Shadow Hunters. And then he hopped out on the bough near his nest. You should go now before the snow gets too thick for you to fly in. Warning: The rabbit may not settle well once you return to your two-legged form. Be prepared—the results won’t be pretty, but you don’t have time to wait for regurgitation.
That sounds delightful. But thank you, for everything. I hopped out behind him onto the branch and sprang off, soaring toward the house and the open window in my bedroom. As I landed on the sill, then hopped to the floor, I let out a soft shriek and let go of my winged form, and within seconds I was sprawling forward on the floor.
I always came out of the transformation shivering and icy cold. As I lay there for a moment, gathering my wits about me, my stomach began to churn and I scrambled for the bed, pulling myself to my feet. I staggered slightly, still dazed, but there wasn’t time to grab my robe as my stomach lurched again. I rushed out into the hallway, naked, and ran into the bathroom across the hall, slamming the door as my gag reflex lost it. I barely had time to lean over the toilet when the rabbit came spilling out, bits of fur attached.
As I heaved up what would have become my first owl pellet, I felt a perverse sense of pride, as if I’d just been initiated into a secret society. Finally done—and realizing I’d eaten far less of the poor decapitated bunny than I’d thought while in owl form—I flushed the mess and slid down on the floor.
The owl didn’t like vampires, that much was certain, and I sensed a slight empathy for Myst in his words. Which told me . . . not much, since Myst hated owls and he was always warning me against her. But it did bring up questions: Had he known her before she was turned? If so, then whoever he was, he was several thousand years old, which would make sense if he was Cambyra Fae.
And thinking about that brought up a sudden thought—I was part Fae, as well as half magic-born. Being magic-born, I’d have a life span longer than most of the yummanii—or humans—but since I was half Cambyra Fae, was I going to live for a thousand years or more?
Wishing I could talk to Lainule, I brushed my teeth and swished mouthwash around in my mouth, then filled the tub with vanilla-scented bubble bath and slid into the embracing warmth. So much to think about, but in the forefront, the image of Lannan danced in my head, with Crawl sneaking behind him like a spider, desperately gaunt and dangerous. A sense of dread overcame me as I tried to wash away the fear of Lannan’s hands on my body.
Chapter 10
As we were dressing, Rhiannon and I remained quiet, letting the stereo do the talking for us. “Around the Bend” by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour was playing, and I head-bopped to the beat as I thought about my flight with the owl, and how each time, I went further into the life and didn’t want to come back. Though I loved Grieve and my cousin and friends, everything seemed so dark that it would have just been simpler to fly off to a distant wood, to live out my life on the wing.
But that’s what your mother did. She ran away from her life, ran away from her fears. Though she ran from her powers, retreating into one facet of your life would be akin to the same thing.
Ulean danced in tune to the music, the air sweeping this way and that. Though I couldn’t see her from this plane, I could feel her. And I knew what she looked like—a pale being, sparkling with light, the currents of the slipstream like a wild head of hair that moved as she moved. Even her gender was a misnomer—I assigned it to her because she reminded me of a woman, but Elementals had no real gender like people.
My mother was afraid of her powers, not her life. Don’t lie to me—or yourself. Your mother was afraid of everything. Do you really want to follow in her footsteps? If you retreated into owl form and stayed, you’d be turning your back on every challenge coming your way. And you’d be leaving Grieve behind forever.
I hate it when you’re right. Frowning, I slid into the tight dress I’d bought at Slither, tugging it down to hug my body and curves. As I smoothed it over my belly, my wolf let out a low moan and I could feel him—awake and in pain.
Grieve . . . where are you? What’s going on?
But all I could see was my prince’s face, tormented, as a wave of pain slid over my back, and then another and another. The stinging blows raced through my body and I sank to the floor, curling into a ball, whimpering. The hail seemed never-ending and Grieve let out a howl, my wolf echoing back to him. And then Rhiannon was shaking me out of the haze of pain.
