Chapter 1
The hours of night are always the worst for me. Deadly nightmares keep me from sleeping, so I do other things. My favorite thing to do is to go on long night flights. With the endless starry skies, the cool breeze, the peaceful silence. I let my mind wander, freeing my thoughts.
I was born in a small village in the forest of Australia, a village full of people like me who’ve evolved over the years to be more human-like. We have the appearance of humans, but we have large wings - much stronger and greater than any birds - that sprout from our shoulder blades. Over the years as humans got closer to our world, we’ve changed. Adapted. Our wings are able to be hidden, long dark scars on our backs are what are left when our wings are fully tucked in.
Some call us angels, if they ever saw us. But in my case, I’ve been known as a demon or angel of death. I am the only one of my kind with midnight black and fire red wings. My hair is a fiery red with black roots, it is naturally flowing and straight.
Everyone of my kind has different shades of whites and light browns for their wings and hair. Making them all seem light and angelic.
My father died when I was only eight years old, he protected my mother and I one last time before his death. The greed of my village forced us into hiding, they wanted either to use or sell me, so we hid among the humans. We almost completely blend in with their kind. Now for the twenty-seventh time, in the past three years, we’ve moved to a new town. It’s always hard to remember the many places we’ve been, but for once we found a small town that's easy to remember. Kuna, Idaho.
There’s a lot of open land out here, dirt roads, a small population. Perfect for me, I can take long night flights without the fear of being noticed among the clouds. The one place where I can be myself and feel safe, with the dark sky and twinkling stars.
After a long night of exploring the sleeping town, I climbed into my bedroom window around 5:30 in the morning. It’s been only a few days since we’ve moved in, boxes are scattered among the empty room. The walls bare, the closet only a quarter of the way full. My queen size bed sit’s dead center of the largest wall, facing the open window. As always my bed is neatly made, black silk sheets, and a dark green comforter.
I still have a few hours before my first day at a new school starts. In this town there is a high school and middle school, both are decently small compared to the other places I've been to. I'm not extremely ready for a new school, new people, and more rumors to deal with. I'm always singled out, being not only the new girl but the weird one too.
It’s now been an hour since I’ve come home, sitting with the boxes on the floor. I take a deep breath and spring to my feet, heading to the bathroom. I clean the long night away, preparing for an even longer day.
As I let my hair air-dry, I get ready. Doing light makeup and getting dressed in one of my favorite outfits. Black jean shorts, a white undershirt, and my favorite green, off the shoulder sweater. I throw on my white knee-high socks and my high top green converse.
Looking in the mirror I make sure my wing scars are hidden and that I look good. My long hair looks like fire against my tan skin, when people ask I always say it’s dyed since the color is so unnatural to both humans and my kind.
Everything about me is different from the rest of my people, my wings, my hair, but most of all my eyes. A dark red surrounds the black irises, splashes of orange lighten the color just a bit. The day I opened my eyes, I scared my parents. The village told them to be rid of me, they said I was a bad omen. All because of my appearance, I'm considered dangerous.
Before heading downstairs where the smell of hash browns is floating from, I put in my colored contacts. My eyes turned to a natural brown making me look just a little more normal. Grabbing my bag, phone, and keys, I bolt down the stairs. Using my wings to propel me down, my feet barely brush the wooden steps.
My mother stands in the kitchen in her work outfit, a plate of hash browns, eggs, and bacon before her. My mother is an absolute goddess. Most of our kind are more beautiful than any human, but she is beyond stunning. Strawberry blonde hair, that is always in perfect ringlets that reach the small of her back. Her tall, hourglass body, that is always so graceful when she moves. Bright, cyan blue eyes that set off perfectly with her tan skin.
She smiles when she catches sight of me, her pearl white teeth glinting off the kitchen lights. “ Good morning my little bird, how did you sleep?”
“ Good morning, mamma. I slept fine,” I give her a quick hug and brush a kiss on her rose pink cheek.
“Just fine? My sweet girl, please don’t tell me you were out all night.” She looks at me with what she thinks is a stern look, but is really just a look of pure concern.
“It’s okay, I got some sleep.” I lie.
My mother can always tell when I’m lying, though she never pushes me to tell her the truth. She knows I don’t sleep often and that I'm always out flying. At one point she used to go out with me, it’s been years since she last did that. Now she just seems so normal, like a real human. I haven’t seen her wings in so long I sometimes forget she has them.
“Are you ready for school? Got everything you need? Do you need any money? What about-”
“Mom!” I cut her off. “I got everything I need, don’t worry. I'm going to be fine.”
She looks at me lovingly and hugs me tight, “ I trust you. Have a good day, don’t forget to hide your wings.”
I nod and smile, hoping to leave quickly. I eat fast, barely tasting the food. Tucking in my wings, I go out to my white Audi R8. I like fast cars and my mom was willing to help me buy a really nice car that fits my expectations.
She’s always been more than a mom, she’s my best friend too.
The school parking lot is packed when I pull in, the quiet hum of my car drowned completely out by the blaring music playing through my subwoofer. When I find a spot I sit in my car, ducking down in the seat as students stare at my car with shocked and awed expressions. The warning bell sounds and everyone heads into the building quickly, I grab my things and follow slowly. I glance at my schedule, not wanting to have my nose stuck in the paper I shove it into my pocket. I head to the third floor looking for the room number I saw on the list of my classes. 347.
The late bell rings and fear creeps down my spine, I hate being late. I bolt down the hall in hopes my class is down here. Finally spotting the room, I open the door breathlessly. Heads turn to me, watching me with wide eyes. I try to keep the heat from showing on my cheeks as I walk to where the teacher sits at her desk. She’s typing on her computer, her class a rowdy mess.
She looks up as I approach and smiles sweetly at me. “Can I help you?”
“Uhm, I believe this is my class. I’m a new student here.” I say quietly.
“Hmm, that’s odd. I don't remember having someone new in this class. Let me see your schedule, sweetheart.”
I pull the paper from my pocket and hand it to her. As she looks over it, I look at her. She’s a pretty woman, young, petite, with auburn brown hair and green eyes. A small laugh escapes her lip glossed lips as she turns to me. “Oh honey, you have me for your next class. But that’s okay, we’ll help you get situated.”
She looks again at my schedule before handing it back to me and getting up. She’s a short woman, I’m a head taller. The teacher pulls me to her side and walks to the front of the room, her touch gentle as she practically hugs me.
“Spawn!” She says loudly.
A tall boy stands up and makes his way through the filled desks. His hair is a light brown, almost golden, and he has eyes that match the teachers. He must be her son, if the way she got him to come over wasn’t indication enough.
“Yes, ma’am?” He asks politely, though those green eyes are glued to me.
“Honey, will you show our new student, Miss…”
“Valina,” I pitch in.
“Miss Valina, to her class in room 129, please.” It’s not a question and her motherly tone adds to her demand.
The young man nods and leads the way out of the room, with me trailing behind. His hair is short and looks soft, it curls at the base of his neck and around his brow. He has jeans and a gray muscle tank top on, hands in the pockets of his jeans as he walks. I catch up to him and we walk side by side down the stairs.
“Lance,” he says, side-eyeing me.
“What?”
“My name is Lance.”
“Oh, I’m Valina.”
“Do you go by Val? Or just stick with your full name? Or maybe Valina is a nickname.”
I laugh quietly, “ no it’s just Valina. I’ve never had a nickname, other than the one my mom calls me.”
“Which is?” Lance pushes.
I hesitate, debating whether or not I should tell him. But for some reason I feel the need to be truthful with this handsome human boy. “Little Bird.”
“Oh there has to be a story behind that, you gotta tell me. Did you jump off the roof into a pool or something? Oh! I know, you’re a tree climber!” He smiles as if he knows he’s right.
Again I laugh, though it’s slightly forced this time. I love flying and I am basically a little bird girl. Though this Lance kid will never know that. “Yeah, you got me. I’m a tree climber.” I lie. “What about you? Any revealing nicknames?”
Lance laughs nervously, scratching the back of his neck. He looks as if he’s worried about answering the question, but then relief flashes on his face. “Well, here’s your class!” He turns to me, smiling again. “I’ll catch you later, Miss Tree Climber.”
I watch as he makes his way back to where we came from, slightly gawking. He is one of the nicest humans I’ve ever met, they’ve always been quick to judge me because of my looks and refuse to say a word to me. Much less walk so close to me. But he didn’t get bothered by me at all, at least not yet.
Or maybe I’m just hoping that this school will be different. I brush the thoughts away and enter my class. The teacher glares at me as I enter, fifteen minutes late.
And so the torture begins.
