Abigail and the Angels

Chapter Ten

Abigail held onto Chase tightly as he flew. His way of flying was different to that of Jasmine and Nate’s. He wasn’t rough (like Jasmine) or elegant (like Nate), but rather, he flew with gentle ease. He had a more natural, soft way of flying. His wings moved as if on a cog and he held her in such a way that she felt secure as well as comfortable.  Abigail had her eyes shut most of the time until Chase said,

“Open your eyes. You’ll miss the view.” She hesitantly opened them and looked around. The sky was a deep blue and the trees below were a dark green. She felt him slow down and fly up. She tightened her grip around and after a few minutes of quick flapping, he stopped flying up and flapped his wings quickly, not moving. Abigail looked around and realized that he was staying in the same spot, slowly bobbing up and down to keep them in the sky.

“What now?” she asked. He thought for a moment.

“Now I take you to destination number one,” he replied, flapping his wings again. He flew back towards the cave where they lived but instead of landing on the cliff, he flew all the way up to the top of the mountain. He landed on the top, which was surprisingly warm for somewhere so high up. He gently put Abigail down and landed next to her. He took her hand and walked towards the front of the mountain. In front of them was a nest. She realized that this must have been where the phoenix roosted. Abigail stopped before Chase turned around to face her.

“It’s okay. We’ll be okay. It’s still very young and it won’t hurt you,” he said in a gentle voice. Abigail nodded and slowly stepped forward. He led her into the nest, which was the size of a normal bedroom. He stopped in front of the bird, which lay sleeping. It was surprisingly large for a creature so young and it had feathers of bright orange and scarlet red. A few downy orange feathers were scattered around the nest and there was a slight stench of fire, ash and raw meat.

“You can touch it,” he said softly, placing his hand on the sleeping head of the bird. Abigail wearily extended her hand and touched the phoenix’s head as well. It was soft and warm and the creature didn’t stir. She smiled slightly before turning to Chase.

“It’s magnificent,” she said quietly. He smiled at her and took her hand, leading her towards the edge of the cliff. He sat down and beckoned for her to do the same. As she did, he said,

“That’s only the first pretty thing. The second is this.” He pointed toward the view in front of them. The blue waters of the ocean were illuminated more than what they were on her first night and the stars danced on the surface of the water. The trees glowed brighter and the moon, which was now on its’ last night of being full, shone brilliantly in the night sky, emitting a gentle warmth.  Abigail looked at it with a fixed expression of curiosity and wonder. She sat down, dangled her legs off the cliff and picked up a phoenix feather.

“It’s amazing. It’s even prettier than my first day here,” she said. He watched her and smiled quietly, sitting down beside her.

“So are you,” he said softly.

“Huh?” she asked, feeling her face grow warm. He turned away swiftly.

“Nothing! Don’t worry about it,” he said quickly.  Abigail nodded silently and continued staring. After fifteen minutes of doing so, Chase got up.

“Let’s go,” he said, offering his hand.

“Huh? Why are we leaving?” she asked, taking his hand.

“Well, I want to show you one more thing before we go back,” he said with a secret smile.

“Wait, there’s more?” she asked. He nodded.