Flying Without Wings

Lunch was over and so was the happiness that had permeated the room. Gomez was explaining to us what exactly Zenasia and the Zimrugh Saviors were up to and each of us was more outraged then the next.

“So let me get this straight, that blonder haired monster has got over 40 Angha locked up in a cave somewhere along that massive river, is capturing their cries for who knows what as we speak, and you’ve been helping her?!” Montgomery pounded his fist on the table

“No, well yes. But not really.” Gomez stuttered.

“Who let this clown in here?” Montgomery cried in disbelief. “And what about their people? What is happening to them, did you just drown them or something!?” Montgomery was shaking with anger. His ability to transform from sweet grandpa to menacing bloke was really quite tremendous.

“Oh no most of them are at the Secret Garden Party, all those people dancing and singing, doesn’t look like they are having such a bad time. Think of 36 Hyacinth Street as a sort of halfway house, the people are being weaned from their Angha whilst the life they chose is prepared for them. If Zenasia just let them free they would realize what was going on and fight back, like you two.” Gomez dark eyes looked to Audrey and Monty.

“And you’ve been helping her? You pig.” Audrey spat.

“Darling Audrey is that anyway to speak to your husband.” Gomez winged with a fly look on his face.

“Estranged husband and yes when he is a pig it’s exactly the way to speak to him.” Audrey shouted, Montgomery nodded ferociously beside her. I felt like punching Gomez too, the only person that was on his side, of course, was his brother.

“You are all missing the point, firstly Gomez has just told us what is going on, where the Angha are and who is guarding them. And secondly he is on our side, and you’re all carrying on like he is the enemy. He isn’t. He is my brother, your husband and more importantly he is back to lead the Angha Soldiers and to fight. I thought you all were too? Get over the fact that you feel betrayed, you weren’t.” Humphrey trembled with rage. “You act like you lot are the victims, well you’re not, if anyone here is it’s me and Gomez and we are the only ones not complaining so SHUT UP!” He slammed his hand on the table and glared at us all.

“Lead pfft I’m not letting that twit lead us, if anyone here is leading it is me.” Montgomery hissed rising to his feet puffing up like a bullfrog.

“Fine Monty you go out and round up all the Angha Soldiers that you can find, fill them in on what is going on, and recruit them back here. I’m sure you will have no trouble convincing them to return to the AS after all they have lost.” Humphrey rose to his feet as well ready to go head to head. Montgomery hesitated, he was all up for opposing Gomez in front of Audrey for leadership but had no intention of leading the Angha Soldiers himself, he sat down looking as deflated as a day old helium balloon. I had the feeling Montgomery was only challenging Gomez purely for Audrey’s affection, and from the look in Gomez’ eyes, he knew it too. He sat smugly at the table watching the quarrel erupt, I expected him to speak, say something, anything, but it was Bastian who stood up next, he was calm and by being so, his words were the most resounding.

“I’m sorry, come over did you say? As in here? How many people are you expecting? Not sure if you have noticed but the kitchen is already pretty full and most of the furniture is now broken. Where are you going to put all these soldiers this isn’t my grandfather’s house, remember which Chao you are speaking to. ” His dark eyes ran over everybody at the table except me, I wondered what he meant by his grandfather’s house, what did that have to do with anything?

“Yes dear up here it is too small, but I spent last night tidying up the basement and it will do us perfect.” Audrey cooed her face glowing. I turned to Audrey surprised, as did the rest of the group. I didn’t even know the house had a basement, actually I was pretty certain it didn’t and I wasn’t sure how in the few hours that the rest of us had slept off the haziness from the laced drinks and food Audrey had found the muster to get up, snoop about and find a basement. I had a sneaking suspicion she may have in fact conjured it up, although everyone kept telling me there was no such thing as magic. We followed Audrey as she led us through my own home to a trapdoor she had found at the bottom of linen cupboard. Not only had she found a basement (just like magic) she had proceeded to clean and decorate it. The windowless room was aglow with candles and fairy lights, giving it a warm welcoming feel. The space screamed Audrey, the walls were adorned with beautiful dark tapestries and the floor was covered in golden rugs and glittering pillows. The room was simply marvelous, and of course smelled like spiced cigarettes. “It’s not much, but I thought I would make it a bit warmer, war is no reason for sloppiness.” Her eyes twinkled and she beckoned us all in, as Bastian and I looked around stunned, Audrey calmly sat down amongst the cushions and tucked her feet up beneath her. Marvillo flew into the room and started to paw at the cushions. Audrey poured herself a glass of violet wine from a large bottle that came from who knows where and smiled at me. Humphrey and Gomez did the same, followed by Lydia and Montgomery. It was like a strange ritual or ceremony that they all knew would come. They each calmly poured the purple-red wine into crystal glasses and sat cross legged in a circle. Marvillo gave a little cry and went and sat in the middle of them, he curled up in a ball and stared at me. His big amber eyes pierced my mind, my heart, my soul. I was drawn to him. I went and joined the circle as did Bastian. In front of each puffy pillow was a wine glass, it felt somewhat eerie and pious. I looked around the basement, it certainly was large, it felt as big as the rest of the house did, if not even bigger, although I wasn’t sure how that could happen. “Don’t worry dear I haven’t laced it with anything.” Audrey laughed as the poured wine into my glass. I didn’t find it very funny. We sat and drank wine and lolled about in the pillows for what felt like hours, planning our attack. It was decided after some hours of debate (and many carafes of wine) that Zenasia shouldn’t be killed, and that Hyacinth Street shouldn’t even be our point of attack as most of the people there were innocent. We were going to go into the caves by the river, we were going to set the Angha free and hopefully by doing so their humans could also be free. If the people at the party decided to kill Bear, Zenasia or any of the other Zimrugh Saviors once their dreamlike hypnosis was lifted, then so be it. Monty had wanted to charge in with guns blazing and take Hyacinth Street by force, but Audrey, careful Audrey, knew the best way was by night, by surprise, by subtlety. Gomez was able to tell us where the entrance to the cave was, the shift changes of the guards and the weak spots. He knew how to get in without being seen and how to get out all at once. He already had the key to the cages where the Angha were and new when most would be left to rest. Gomez had insisted that some of us must go to the party whilst the other broke into the caves. Too many people trying to get into the caves would lead to no one getting out. Lydia, Audrey and Monty would go to the party as well as whomever else could be rounded up in the short time before then. The more people distracting Zenasia at the Secret Garden Party, the better, she loved to play host, put on a show and invite in new people, being so she was easy to befuddle. The rest of us would head into the caves the same evening, tomorrow evening and hopefully, if everything went according to plan, would be able to bring the Angha back to the basement safely.

“How are we going to move that number of Angha with nobody noticing?” Monty quipped, always ready to find the flaws in anything Gomez proposed. I was more worried about getting to the Angha. Gomez said we would go through the back entrance, a secret passage that only he and Humphrey new about. It was beside the river, Cullen's most toxic area.

“Easy.” Gomez laughed and held up a tangle of dog leads, each handle had about ten leads attached to it. “The simplest ideas are often the most effective, we just need to strap their wings down and walk them right on out of there, we will go ten at a time. If any people see us they will just think we are dog walkers.”

“And what about the ZS, they will know we aren’t dog walkers.” I pointed out, like Montgomery I was seeing a lot of flaws in the plan, and my motives had nothing to do with Audrey.

“They will be under control by then.” Gomez said aloofly before continuing. “But there is a bit of a problem. Some of the Angha have had a pretty rough time and might have some issues trusting new folk. But I figured they would know we were saving them pretty quick and come with us, especially with the Angha whisperer here.” He slapped Humphrey on the back, Humphrey gave a confident smile, they both were a bit full of themselves.

“This all sounds swell mate, but you have left something out, if the Zimrugh Saviors think you work for them, where do they think you are now?” Bastian asked, his voice was slightly slurred from all the wine, he had drunk a carafe to himself. Bastian had been distancing himself from me since the Secret Garden Party, I felt he was keeping things from me, things that maybe Audrey and the others new about. I had walked in on them a few times talking about the ZS, AS and more bizarrely Bastian's family, a subject he had yet to really share with me. He avoided my gaze and Gomez went on.

“Ah I was hoping this wouldn’t come up, don’t get upset. But Zenasia and Bear know that I’m here…”

“What?!”

The room erupted and everyone started shouting at one. Audrey was the loudest, “what do you mean here? You are jeopardising all of us! I knew you weren’t to be trusted.” Audrey’s eyes flashed just like I had seen Zenasia’s do the night before and she lunged across the cushioned floor at Gomez, she knocked over several glasses of wine and started to punch Gomez. “You pig, you swine, I’ll kill you!”

Marvillo had clearly had enough of all the quarrelling, he was dripping in wine from a falling glass and slowly uncurled from the centre of the circle. I watched him as he took flight, his long leathery wings started to beat hard and fast, he was doing more than flying, he was filling the room with wind and noise. He looked so big all of a sudden, the candles in the room flickered and Marvillo let out a high pitched howl. His beating wings started to make a haunting melody, it was enchanting, unlike anything I had ever heard before and I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I began to lose all sense of time and space, my arms felt heavy and I could feel myself falling backwards into the pillows. I tried to rise back up but felt weak and tired, my arms wouldn’t do what a wanted them too and I felt like I was in the stage between sleep and self-awareness. My mind didn’t know which one it wanted to be in, I was in consciousness limbo and could hear the others starting to fall backwards around me. I tried to reach for Bastian but could no longer move my arms. Marvillo hovered over my head and looked into my eyes; I couldn’t hold his amber gaze. The last vision I saw was his scruffy body landing between Bastian and I before I too fell unconscious.