PROLOGUE

1. Knowing…

I was sitting on a blue hospital chair. My grandpa was in his hospital room; his condition was something I never liked to speak of. It was our weekly visit; he’d been in a coma for more than three months after the car accident. He never spoke, he never moved, just lay there lifelessly, the slow movement of his chest was the only indication there was still a soul in his body.

We were allowed to go inside one at a time. I never went inside; I didn’t want to see him like that. Maybe it was because of the strong bond I had with my grandfather that I could not accept his condition. I didn’t want to think of him like that. I was waiting outside curled up on a chair, covered with a blanket, reading “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. It was distracting enough, enough for me not to think.

It was October in Wisconsin; St. George was dressed in white exactly like every other year. I was waiting for my parents for hours, it was getting dark outside, but I didn’t mind. This was hard on my dad, his father was in an extremely bad state of health and even though my dad never admitted it, he was very pessimistic about it. Everybody was. I refused to be anywhere near my family, I would isolate myself from everybody else; I would just hide in a corner and do anything that would take my mind off of things.

It was the only way for me to bear it.

That day though, for some reason I just walked to the glass; the blanket still around my shoulders and the book in hand; I stared at him, I hadn’t seen him in a while. He looked emaciated, his cheeks had sunk, his eyes were deep in their sockets, and he looked pale, dead almost. He was connected to beeping machines and an oxygen mask was over his mouth and nose. His chest rose slowly and dropped back down smoothly – he was still there. There was a soul in this functionless body – my only hope.

“Life is a very fragile thing, April…”

I gasped in surprise; there was someone next to me. Where had he come from? I turned my head to the side, an old man, a stranger. I stared at him in wonder. “No one seems to realize that until it’s too late…” The man continued in a very soft and gentle voice, turning his head to view my grandfather briefly. The brown of my eyes met the blue of his.

He stared at me intensely. I had never seen a blue so deep in my entire life… His face was folded with wrinkles, his talc-white hair came all the way down to his shoulders, but his eyes seemed so young, out of place on his weathered body. They were bright and shining and deep, a beautiful blue unlike anything I’d ever seen; almost not human…

“April, Josephine, Smith,” he murmured to himself, turning to look back at my grandfather. My name; how did he know my name? My heart raced immediately and banged against my ribs. He turned around and leaned in my ear, tucking a strand of hair behind it. I froze; the blood in my veins was running cold. He whispered in a calming, soft melody. “Only you can stop The Whispers…” he breathed. His eyes glimmered under the bright light of the hospital waiting room. The book fell out of my hands responsively, crushing on the hard tile with a loud thud; I was petrified on spot, scared now. “You should be just scared of yourself, not of anybody else…” he musically murmured in my ear and pulled away.

I stared at the floor, trying to find words to reply. I looked up again.

He was gone.

PART 1 – “The Difference between Illusion and Reality”

2. Lime to neon green

Saturday. Night.

Voices.

“Follow…” the voices demanded. Deep and unidentified. Hypnotizing. Maybe hinted to sound dark. But not very. Almost neutral. With no emotion.

“Move…” There was no echo; it seemed as if the voices were one. I was in bed, but awake, still turning from side to side, trying to find the perfect position to sleep. I kept my eyes shut.

My eyes fluttered open at the sound of it.

I had to move.

Everything else zeroed. Anything else in my mind lost significance, was erased, deleted. I lost the ability to wonder, to question, to find, to think. I couldn’t fear or feel anything, right there, at that moment, when I was staring at the ceiling, in the darkness of my room. The only thing I was aware of was the obligation.

“Walk…” the voice said sternly. I didn’t process anything, just obeyed. Unemotionally and mechanically, I slowly slid out of my bed covers. It was late. My parents were completely unconscious. Being as quiet as possible was my first priority. I pushed my feet into my shoes, slowly, quietly.

“Walk…” the voice repeated as I turned to pace down the hallway. I walked silently, every step I made had a lot of effort in it. My face was utterly blank and my eyes wide open – unblinking. My arms rested motionless to my sides. All I could think of was the obligation, the request of the voice. And all I could do was obey.

I stopped at the staircase, unsure of where to go. My face expressed no feeling and so did my body, I stood there absolutely motionless, waiting for the voice to tell me, to guide me in the dark.

“Follow…” the voice said, and for the first time the word came out expressing something. Approval.

With the same care and silence I walked down the stairs one at a time. My eyes stared at something, somewhere far away. I walked slowly, hypnotized by the voice. “Come…” The tone of it was impelling, made me want to follow even more. I walked to the door, and stopped, outstretching my hand to the doorknob, ready to twist it. “Open it…” the voice ordered me again. I obeyed – my eyes were vacant, empty.

I cautiously pulled the door open and a wave of cold wind slapped my face. I didn’t feel it though, I could feel nothing. I was completely hypnotized. I closed the door behind me as noiselessly as I could. “Walk away… Far away…” said the voice, harsh but soft at the same time. I walked down the porch, mechanically; no sentiment was mirrored in my face. It must’ve been cold… though, I’m not sure… I couldn’t feel anything at that moment.

I wasn’t sleepwalking, this was different. It was like someone had invaded my mind, in every single thought, in every single breath I took. Something in me urged to find that voice, to follow, to leave everything I knew behind. I forgot who I was, where I was, what I was doing – nothing registered, I realized nothing.

I didn’t even feel fear of walking in the woods in complete darkness, with the wind being strong and cold, and my feet sinking in snow… I kept on going, walked away… far away… My breathing was steady and a little cloud formed every time I exhaled.

The breeze carried snowflakes in it, made the trees bend and shriek. The smell of fresh pine travelled around me, I could listen to the lake nearby, to the waves breaking onto the shore. I was somehow alert, but not fully. The cold was severe, and after I’d walked what I now assume was a mile, my feet got numb and it wasn’t tiredness, it was the snow.

I collapsed, clenching my jaws because of the extreme conditions, although I wasn’t able to feel anything, my body responded to the cold, I was just wearing a long sleeved shirt, and was wet to the bone. I was shivering from head to toe. “Keep going! Don’t stop!” the voice was yelling, I could discern concern and anxiety. My eyes flared. I crawled on four, battling with hypothermia.

I didn’t feel pain despite the struggle. I knew something was wrong with me but didn’t know what exactly. Nothing would stop me from moving on, the voice’s words echoed in my head. “Keep going!” “Don’t stop!” I had to. I had to keep on going, move into the unknown of the forest, the part of the woods I’d never dared to explore.

“Come on! We can’t afford losing you! Do you understand?!” The voice expressed one thing intensively – agony. Why was it so agonized? Why would my loss affect it whatsoever? But I didn’t even question anything at that time, I just knew I couldn’t stop, I wasn’t allowed to stop. A while passed, to me though, it seemed like forever, a wave of icy wind peeled my skin off, immobilized me. I could feel my heart in my chest, beating so fast and hard it shook my entire ribcage. I was so cold, so cold I was unable to move, my system was shutting down.

“Come on, come on… you’re almost there!” The voice tried to sound reassuring, persuasive, but the concern was still there, hinting each and every word. I wanted to get up, to make myself move, but was completely unable. I looked up, only now did I realize I was climbing a hill, the terrain was uneven, rocks and projections stuck out. I must’ve travelled a decent distance from my house. I instinctively searched for light, I stared at the sky, but there was no moon, it was a moonless night. The stars provided light but it was trivial, insufficient, I was lost in the gloom.

Every move demanded so much energy – energy I did not have, even lifting my chest to breathe was a challenge. Every move caused me excruciating pain. I was slow, extremely slow, but I had to follow the voice’s instructions, I had to move! It felt like my limbs weren’t a part of my body anymore, I was so numb, and so cold my lips had turned purple. I somehow managed to extend an arm in front, to sink my fingers into the mud and drag myself forward. “Yes! Yes! Climb up. Come on!” the voice yelled, trying to push me, to help me.

I was quivering, my jaws vibrated. I kept on going though, pulled my functionless body forward with my hands, gripping on to the frozen mud. I started getting my senses back. I felt pain, unbearable pain, and I don’t know how or what made me clench my teeth and move on. It would be impossible to any ordinary person. I just kept on repeating the voice’s words in my disorientated mind. “You’re almost there!” I’m almost there, I thought to myself, over and over again. I’d covered a long distance, and this was a part of the forest I didn’t recognize even though I’d been running in these woods ever since I was a little girl. For the first time that night I felt fear. I felt something.

What was I doing? Why was I even listening to voices? Was I paranoid? Crazy? There was a decent chance I was mad. But I wasn’t.

I dragged myself forward. I was filthy, covered in mud, snow and greenery. The forest remained soundless, I could only hear myself, the dragging sound as I pushed myself in front planting my fingers in the dirt. My jaws vibrated uncontrollably, I was shaking. I suddenly stopped, unable to tolerate the iciness anymore. I slowly pulled my hand out of the soil. I stared at it. It was red and I couldn’t feel it. At all. Every part of me was shaking, blinking was hard, a great challenge.

“Don’t you stop… Please, we need you…” The voice was soft now, it had turned into a melody. A pleading melody. I couldn’t move, I could follow any more. “I can’t…” I weakly whispered, my eyelids falling shut. I couldn’t do it, I wanted to move so badly but just couldn’t.

I allowed my head to fall, my body to recoil, thinking that these were going to be my last moments. I was exhausted. I awaited death, I’d been exposed to the cold for too long, my body temperature had dropped dramatically, my body wasn’t responding. I was admitting defeat. Suddenly, I heard footsteps, heavy footsteps. I opened my eyes, lifting my head slightly. I couldn’t run away if someone was coming for me. I realized that, I realized I was trapped.

Then, I saw him. A young man, my age, pushing the snow covered bushes away. He extended his muscular arms towards me and grabbed me. He pulled me up. I hadn’t realized I’d managed to climb the cliff. I didn’t react to his foreign touch, I was too weak to.

He set me on my feet. Assuming I was stable enough, he let go of me and I smacked to the ground at once. “Woah, okay, you’re not walking tonight…” he murmured picking me up in his arms. I buried my face in his chest, touching my lips and nose on his shockingly warm body. A sound of relief left my mouth, the warmth soothed my pain.

Who was he? What did he want from me? What was he doing in the woods at night?

I didn’t bother questioning at that time, I was just so glad I wasn’t going to freeze to death. I was just so glad someone had found me even though I didn’t know his intentions. I found his heartbeat reassuring. His warmth soothing. He was well built, very muscular, his torso was rock hard. I could feel every sharp line of his body. Maybe that was why I had this feeling of security.

I opened my icy palms and touched them on his abdomen, a sound of relief escaped from my lips. “Little human…” I heard him commenting. Little human? Human?

He walked, his feet steady, his breathing even, and his arms securely around me. Where was he taking me? Fear started making its appearance. What was he planning to do with me? Even if I needed to run away I was incapable of it. If he wanted to harm me I had no strength to defend myself and I was so unable to flee. It scared me. The fact that I couldn’t do anything scared me. I relied on a stranger, a total stranger, and for someone like me, who never trusted anyone generally, it was a scary feeling, having to trust and rely on someone because of the circumstances.

I eagerly pressed my body against his absorbing the warmth, warmth I so desperately needed. His body radiated heat, lifesaving heat. I could breathe, I could breathe without any pain. My heart was still beating unnaturally fast but slower than before, before he had found me. Why did he even bother saving me? How had he managed to find me? Questions. Countless questions started forming in my head.

And suddenly, I realized something. Something that made my closed eyelids fly open. The voice. Where was the voice? Why wasn’t it talking to me? Why couldn’t I hear it anymore? I panicked and I started fighting his grip.

“What is it?” he enquired. He sounded confused.

“I have to leave! I have to go!” I squeaked. I was detectably nervous.

“Where?” he questioned sounding puzzled.

“The voice… I have to follow the voice…” I was murmuring at myself in that sudden rush of panic I was under.

“Oh, I can take you there…” he answered.

What? He could hear the voice too? I turned to look at him, shocked.

His eyes. In spite of the fact it was so dark, and even though the light was so poor I could see. They were green, but a green so unnatural. A green so… not human. The color of lime in the center and as you moved outwards neon green. The shock in my eyes must’ve been so obvious… Who was he? Or perhaps it would be better to say: What was he? Every joint in me tightened at that question and my heart raced immediately.

“Do you trust me?” he questioned. I swallowed hard while the picture of his eyes registered. What was he? I kept on asking myself over and over again, in fear of this… creature. Goosebumps travelled down my body and it wasn’t the cold… My breath had caught responsively, because of his intimidating green eyes.

I nodded, unable to swallow.

“I’m glad,” he said and turned his head in front, lifting me up in his arms again. “Because if you didn’t trust me I’d have to do this the hard way…” he muttered. I swallowed. The hard way?

He walked remaining silent. I’m not sure if what I felt was fear. I think my curiosity was greater. My interest and fear mixed together, creating an emotion I can hardly describe. I felt safe. For some inexplicable reason I felt safe being with a creature I couldn’t name. A creature I couldn’t label as “harmless” or “dangerous” and it was that that terrified me. On the other hand, I was so interested in knowing what he was; I wanted to determine whether he was harmless or dangerous for me. And in what way. A part of me screamed to run and another ordered me to stay.

My body was tight, it had instinctively tightened. He detected that. “We won’t harm you,” he reassured me, though I found no comfort in his words.

“Stop! Stop!” I said; my voice had returned, I could feel my lips; the words came out panicky.

“What?” he asked just sighing a little bit.

“I can walk. I can now,” I said, and pulled away, managing to jump out of his arms and smash into the snow with a thud. I figured out I couldn’t do it; I couldn’t trust him to carry me around.

He pulled me from my arm, setting me to my feet, lifting me with such ease as if I weighed as light as a feather. It was all so awkward, all so weird. “Walk. In front of me, don’t you run away,” he demanded and I obeyed. I hated it, knowing that he was behind me, that this creature might be planning to attack me and that I was unable to escape, that I was in such a frail position…

I wasn’t very happy about leaving his warmth but I felt better like this. I felt better being cold than to have him touching me. I preferred that. I breathed heavily and it wasn’t the wintry setting; it was because of him. I couldn’t help it. I was nervous. What did he want? Why was he following me so protectively?

I felt my heart beating wildly in my chest. Then I saw it. A glow. A blinding glow, just in front of me; a perfect sphere. The beautiful white light illuminated my surroundings. My breath caught in amazement. And suddenly my amazement gave way to fright; terror actually. I stared at the sphere as it rotated on spot, as it circled and circled unstoppably and realized that whatever was going on was completely unnatural. So eerie and mysterious.

I heard someone approaching, slowly and steadily. He stood beside me and only now did I realize how much bigger he was in comparison with me though I, myself, was a quite tall girl. He turned to look at me with those creepy, unearthly but yet attractive green eyes. His face once again mirrored no emotion, but wasn’t absolutely blank.

I glanced at the glowing sphere once again, it was slightly bigger than a car even though it sent out a pleasant wave of heat; I assumed being too close to it would be dangerous, the snow near it had melted forming little streams of water.

“What is this?” I asked in a mesmerized whisper, my eyes were out of their sockets. He turned to look at me again and I turned to look at him as well, the bewilderment was more than apparent in my gaze.

“If I were you I would try to make a run for it. Although there’s no point in that. It’s futile trying to run away from something inevitable…” he said, his tone – enigmatic.

There was a long pause. A moment of silence.

“You are the Chosen,” he said, his voice turned somehow melodic. I just stared at him. Confused, so totally confused.

Lost…

3. Lost

I stared at Him; the wonder was noticeable in my gaze. He did not open his mouth, just lingered there; staring back at me, the supernatural green of his eyes penetrating the brown of mine. There was some kind of flame in his gaze, there was unexplained concern in his eyes which alarmed me. I noticed he hadn’t blinked for more than three minutes, something that scared me to the bone. At that very moment I just wanted to run, to hide somewhere but was so immobilized by his eyes.

I ordered myself to move, to lift my feet, but couldn’t. I tried again, with no positive outcome. I turned my head around, pulled my limbs and stretched my muscles. I was trying so hard to move I was gasping. I looked into his eyes again which were still unblinking and unmoving. It was like… like he was using his eyes to keep me still. It was like he was using… magic.

I tried to break eye contact but found myself unable to do so. In just a second my heart beat frantically. My breathing became heavy and uneven. Pure fear overwhelmed me and forced adrenaline into my veins. I tried to swallow but had no drop of saliva in my mouth. “Please, not fear,” he whispered and moved closer. I would’ve instinctively pulled back but was absolutely powerless. “Fear is something you shouldn’t feel…” he went on in the same low voice.

How could I not feel fear? It was out of instinct, I had no control over my body… He was something… dangerous, and kept me still with that deep set of eyes he had. I’d lost my voice and kept on staring at him with that disorientated and terrified look I certainly had. That feeling of safety I had initially felt with him was long gone. “It is hard to understand… but you have to realize, we have no luxury of time…” he whispered and for just a moment his eyes darkened, almost predatorily.

Fear transformed into horror. He detected that. “Please, do not fear Us… We mean no harm,” he said, his voice softer, milder than before, as if to reassure. Us? We? Currents of electricity made me shiver. He suddenly blinked, freeing me. I dropped to the ground at once as I did not anticipate that unexpected release. I swallowed as hard as I could and prepared to scream for help – the only thing I could think of. He covered my mouth with his palm just on time. I tried to shriek, to shout but his firm hand muffled my cry. I opened my mouth and bit his flesh. He seemed completely undisturbed by that. He pulled me up, made me stand on my feet and held me tightly by the arm, so hard blood stopped reaching my fingers.

I fought for a moment and then gave up realizing it was pointless, he was much bigger and impressively strong. I was panicking; I couldn’t think clearly, I couldn’t make any sense out of this situation.

“Just let me show you,” he said, moving his hand off my mouth. “Just let me show you…” he repeated. The green of his eyes liquefied and his gaze softened. I opened my mouth but couldn’t form words. There was something in his stare, something that did not mix with that harshness of his eyes.

Honesty.

I looked at him for a moment, gave him a look of surrender. He immediately let go of my arm and allowed me to walk in front of him. I don’t know what made me gather myself up, control my anxiety, but I think it was mainly because of his eyes, that honesty I distinguished.

The breeze had turned into a mighty wind carrying snowflakes – a snowstorm.

“April Josephine Smith…”

It was the voice! I was so surprised my breath stopped. My name, how did they know my name? “Come…” the voice ordered, sounding so satisfied by my presence. I obeyed and walked closer towards the glow. I was hypnotized again, had no sense of my surroundings, and was unaware of anything else. Nothing else seemed to matter to me.

The circling glow sent out an intense wave of heat. From a distance it was pleasant, but from just two feet away where I was standing, it was insufferable. I felt myself sweating and my body temperature rising. My breathing had evened out and my pulse was much calmer than before though, and all because of the voice.

“The Chosen…” murmured the voice in apparent pleasure. “You are a creature of perfection. The three virtues in you are so perfectly balanced… It is so hard to believe something like you can exist…” the voice went on, now sounding admiring. What was it admiring? Me?

Impossible.

“Love, kindness and forgiveness. Things so simple, but yet so rare, and especially in the perfect ratio you have all three,” continued the voice. “Stretch your hand in front, April, allow the Powerball to be absorbed into you, for you are our only hope…” instructed the voice, any trace of harshness had disappeared…

I followed the instructions and stepped closer submissively. I hesitated for just a second, feeling the warmth, the heat which now seemed life-threatening.

“Do not fear destiny, my child…” whispered the voice, musically, giving me some courage. Courage enough for me to push my right hand all the way down the big rotating sphere.

At first, it was just a tickle on my fingertips and then it travelled up my fingers and then up my hand. Pain, excruciating pain followed making me scream desperately. He came up behind me and covered my mouth with his palm. He tried to murmur something to me, something reassuring and soothing, but I made no sense out of it as I was so taken over by pain.

I felt it. The energy of that golden glow travelled in my veins, it moved from my hand to my entire body eventually. There was a point when every cell in me was stung by pain, the more the glow got into me, the more I screamed. My cry was impossible to muffle, impossible to stop. It was the kind of pain that you never forget, the kind of torturous pain that scars your memories forever. I tried to move my hand, to pull it away, but he stopped me, he pressed it down again, deeper into the Powerball. “Don’t do this,” he said mildly. Another series of shouts came out of my mouth.

The pain felt like burning. It was like someone had thrown me in a fire, in a wild, huge fire. Every bit of flesh on my body burned. He was there, muffling my shouts with one hand and pushing my hand deeper in the glow with the other. His body kept me from dropping to the ground. Why was he doing this to me? Why? Tears travelled out of my terrorized eyes and down my pale cheeks.

And suddenly, just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped.

He slowly let go of me, first moving his hand from my mouth and then uncurling his fingers from my wrist, which had gone absolutely white because of his strong grip. He allowed me to fall to the ground making sure I didn’t hit it hard.

I stayed there, gasping; my heart kicked my ribs, so totally terrified.

What had just happened? What was that? What am I even doing here? I started questioning myself but was unable to answer. And as the night unfolded it got even more complicated, far more complicated than I could’ve ever imagined.

My body had instinctively recoiled, I was facing the ground trying to make sense out of everything but was disappointed to find out that nothing made sense. Absolutely nothing.

“I’m sorry you had to live through this…” he murmured, I turned my head around abruptly, so fast it wasn’t human. He was leaning against a massive pine tree, his eyes showing in the dark exactly like a feline’s. It was something so creepy and so interesting simultaneously.

“You see, I had no other choice, I just follow instructions…” He excused himself staring at me. Instructions from whom? And instructions for what? I was incapable of stopping my heart from pounding in my chest.

I feared him now, I feared him a lot. “Why would you fear me?” he asked, sounding so surprised and made a step away from the pine tree.

“How do you know that?” I enquired, astonished.

“You’re a human. Your heart beats fast, your eyes open wide and you have this light shaking. You sweat as well, you have trouble breathing and your body curls protectively… That’s how I can tell,” he replied emotionlessly, just stating the facts.

“I’ve been observing humans a while now… Intricate creatures…” he said walking towards me. It was so dark now, the only thing I was able to see was his eyes glowing as he approached. “I know you must be very confused.”

Confused was a very mild term. I was more than that; I was lost – in multiple ways.

He froze. Just like that, he stopped moving.

What happened? I could’ve sworn his heart stopped beating for a moment and then wondered if it was normal for me to hear his heartbeat from this distance. I turned my head around alarmed now, but just saw darkness stretching endlessly, saw nothing but that. His eyes had opened wide and focused on something far away.

“Can you feel that?” he asked. His voice was full of concern and his eyes did not move from that faraway spot he was looking at fiercely. I didn’t answer immediately unsure of what I was supposed to be feeling. “Stand up,” he said firmly. “Stand up now!” he ordered protectively and I knew I couldn’t argue. I managed to stand up, though my knees were still wobbly and unstable. “April, this will most probably freak you out. Don’t try to make sense out of it,” he said alarmingly.

And in that intimidating silence of the woods, in that veiling gloom he started uncurling a pair of fluorescent green wings, huge wings. So slowly, so amazingly slowly. I lost my breath at the sight. They glowed in the dark, exactly like his eyes. From that point on I was sure that something was terribly wrong, that nothing was normal that everything was just insane and crazy.

Out of this world.

“We need to leave…” he said walking towards me. I stepped back when he outstretched a hand to grab me. I was backing away instinctively, running away from a creature I didn’t recognize. “Listen, we have no time for this. If you want to stay alive, you’ll just give me your hand so we can get out of here. Okay?” he said and I could tell he was really agonized now, very impatient, he was almost growling at me. His breathing was heavy and his gaze concerned.

Stay alive? Is there a threat?

He just grabbed me by the wrist and tossed me closer to him. I didn’t fight back, still overwhelmed by shock. He started walking mechanically in front, towards the woods dragging me with him. “Damn it…” I heard him muttering. “Not now, just not now,” he said through a stiff jaw, pulling me with him in the woods.

“Where are we going?” I asked disorientated.

“Shut it,” he replied abruptly.

He stopped for a moment and just listened. His eyes scanned our surroundings, I couldn’t distinguish a thing; it was amazing, his senses were so sharp. He cursed, badly. “How did They find us? How?” he asked himself, so frustrated.

“What’s wrong?” I questioned in a terrified whisper. He didn’t answer my question maybe because he wasn’t sure himself. I started feeling weird, as if someone was following us, I felt exposed.

“Get on my back,” he demanded. I wasn’t sure if he was addressing that to me. I hesitated. “Get on my back now!” This time it was a yell, a deep yell.

“How am I supposed to do that?!” I retorted raising my voice. There was this panic I sensed between us.

“Just do it!” he shouted impatiently through clenched teeth. For some reason we were both breathing unevenly, fearfully. He knew, but I didn’t know what for. I just felt something, I felt being monitored.

Followed.

He kneeled down and I placed my body between his wings, I curled my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. “What do we do now?” I wondered, discomforted by the velvet texture of his wings.

“We fly,” he said and took off immediately. He was flying, his wings moved, slapping my body. I was scared like hell. He maneuvered mechanically avoiding the numerous trees surrounding us.

I was holding my breath, if I didn’t remember to breathe I would’ve suffocated. I held tighter, I remembered I was afraid of heights. Then I heard it, something was approaching. I felt him going faster responsively – slicing the air. He was running away from it.

Suddenly, I saw fire, flaring flames ahead of us. He didn’t stop, just kept on going, seeming to be unaware of the danger ahead. “We need to get out of here,” he said, taken over by panic and turning to fly towards another direction. His heart along with mine created a symphony of wild beats. Adrenaline ruled his actions and kept me on standby.

He flew a distance of a kilometer in less than a minute, there was fire again and flames eating up the trees creating dark smoke traveling up the moonless sky. The smell of combusting wood made me feel dizzy. In just an instant we were surrounded by flames and smoke threatening to burn us alive. “They are planning to kill you while you’re still human,” he said over the snapping sound of smoldering logs; searching for an exit.

“Who?” I asked, horrified, clinging on to the fabric of his shirt.

“Demons,” he said.