slightly and her lower lip stuck out in a
pout. She was pretty, even among the lullary , but John was not
interested. Nevertheless, his instincts stirred slightly when she suddenly dove
down in an attempt to force him to chase her.
John ignored his body and continued the journey to his father. He was
getting tired at all the ceaseless insisting women and their antics. It had
only gotten worse now that he had turned 21. While all of his childhood friends
were out choosing mates and having the time of their lives, he was training to
one day become Marshal.
For a lullary , young adulthood should be filled with spirits,
parties, and pre-chases. After a few weeks, John had grown quite bored with it
all. The main cause of his boredom had been the fact that he had never enjoyed
drinking. Since he was so highly ranked, John had been more susceptible to
losing control and accidentally starting a true chase than his friends.
Another detail that worked against him was the fact that way too many
women would try to entice him into a chase if he got too drunk. Some women
would kill to be the mate of the future Marshal, so he had to be constantly on
guard. Although he envied his friend’s carefree lives, John knew that he had a
duty to his people to choose the right woman.
As for the Chases, John had incited many practices and had a record of
never losing one. John could always catch the women within minutes; therefore,
he had no true competition. If anything else, John wanted a mate who could hold
her own during a chase.
After living for over 200 years, John’s dad learned patience, and it
was slowly rubbing off on his son. Ironically, just before landing on the
field, John swore to himself that he would wait an eternity for a woman worthy
of him. After all, he was going to be the Marshal one day, and he deserved no
less.
Part VIII
Deep breaths, Jacque, I told myself. We landed on the end of a cleared, flat field. I turned
around as Marie offered me a dark brown trench coat to put over my wings. Since
I didn’t want to attract unwanted attention, I gladly accepted. It tickled as
the material brushed my wings.
The door to the unknown outside world opened, and Samantha jumped out
without hesitation. I ran across the room. Surely the drop was far! I leaned
over to look. The ground loomed below, so how was she just standing there? She
should have a broken leg, at least.
Samantha beckoned me down. “Come on! Gravity doesn’t pull as hard
here!” She grinned and I saw a spark of joy. She was home, where she belonged.
I felt a pang of homesickness but quickly shook it off and focused.
Was she testing my faith? Maybe she knows I won’t survive a jump like
that. It sure would be a convenient way for me to die. Freak fall from a spaceship.
My aunt told me they wouldn’t hurt me, and I trusted my aunt. Besides, everything
else Samantha said had seemed to be the truth. Taking a deep breath, and going
against my rational mind, I jumped off the ship. The two story drop made my
stomach flip. The ground stopped rushing up to greet me, and I was relieved to
notice that I was alive, even if I had landed on my butt. Shutting my eyes and
taking another deep breath, I put my head on my knees to slow my pounding
heart. The cool wind blew on my body softly, a heavenly temperature compared to
the Texas summer heat.
There was a thump, and then a male voice spoke, “Who’d you bring?”
Samantha answered, “Move along.”
It wasn’t a suggestion. Her voice was hard and clipped. The man softly
whistled, ignoring the order. My eye opened a fraction of an inch, but I
figured Samantha didn’t want anyone to know my wing color, so I shut them
again. See? I was not as dumb as I looked.
I dug my fingers into the soft grass, feeling like a blind bird. There
was another thump and a whoosh. My eyelids twitched. What was going on?
“Leave, now,” A man demanded, and I heard a slight whisper of wings
flying away.
“Is this her?” The same man
pout. She was pretty, even among the lullary , but John was not
interested. Nevertheless, his instincts stirred slightly when she suddenly dove
down in an attempt to force him to chase her.
John ignored his body and continued the journey to his father. He was
getting tired at all the ceaseless insisting women and their antics. It had
only gotten worse now that he had turned 21. While all of his childhood friends
were out choosing mates and having the time of their lives, he was training to
one day become Marshal.
For a lullary , young adulthood should be filled with spirits,
parties, and pre-chases. After a few weeks, John had grown quite bored with it
all. The main cause of his boredom had been the fact that he had never enjoyed
drinking. Since he was so highly ranked, John had been more susceptible to
losing control and accidentally starting a true chase than his friends.
Another detail that worked against him was the fact that way too many
women would try to entice him into a chase if he got too drunk. Some women
would kill to be the mate of the future Marshal, so he had to be constantly on
guard. Although he envied his friend’s carefree lives, John knew that he had a
duty to his people to choose the right woman.
As for the Chases, John had incited many practices and had a record of
never losing one. John could always catch the women within minutes; therefore,
he had no true competition. If anything else, John wanted a mate who could hold
her own during a chase.
After living for over 200 years, John’s dad learned patience, and it
was slowly rubbing off on his son. Ironically, just before landing on the
field, John swore to himself that he would wait an eternity for a woman worthy
of him. After all, he was going to be the Marshal one day, and he deserved no
less.
Part VIII
Deep breaths, Jacque, I told myself. We landed on the end of a cleared, flat field. I turned
around as Marie offered me a dark brown trench coat to put over my wings. Since
I didn’t want to attract unwanted attention, I gladly accepted. It tickled as
the material brushed my wings.
The door to the unknown outside world opened, and Samantha jumped out
without hesitation. I ran across the room. Surely the drop was far! I leaned
over to look. The ground loomed below, so how was she just standing there? She
should have a broken leg, at least.
Samantha beckoned me down. “Come on! Gravity doesn’t pull as hard
here!” She grinned and I saw a spark of joy. She was home, where she belonged.
I felt a pang of homesickness but quickly shook it off and focused.
Was she testing my faith? Maybe she knows I won’t survive a jump like
that. It sure would be a convenient way for me to die. Freak fall from a spaceship.
My aunt told me they wouldn’t hurt me, and I trusted my aunt. Besides, everything
else Samantha said had seemed to be the truth. Taking a deep breath, and going
against my rational mind, I jumped off the ship. The two story drop made my
stomach flip. The ground stopped rushing up to greet me, and I was relieved to
notice that I was alive, even if I had landed on my butt. Shutting my eyes and
taking another deep breath, I put my head on my knees to slow my pounding
heart. The cool wind blew on my body softly, a heavenly temperature compared to
the Texas summer heat.
There was a thump, and then a male voice spoke, “Who’d you bring?”
Samantha answered, “Move along.”
It wasn’t a suggestion. Her voice was hard and clipped. The man softly
whistled, ignoring the order. My eye opened a fraction of an inch, but I
figured Samantha didn’t want anyone to know my wing color, so I shut them
again. See? I was not as dumb as I looked.
I dug my fingers into the soft grass, feeling like a blind bird. There
was another thump and a whoosh. My eyelids twitched. What was going on?
“Leave, now,” A man demanded, and I heard a slight whisper of wings
flying away.
“Is this her?” The same man
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