Wings

Chasing Surtan (Or Not)

Lokiheku! You stole my feathers?! ... Okay, okay, I'm done now. Well, what Lo didn't tell you in the last chapter was that my father's original bondmate was his own sister. Before you get disgusted, remember that this was thousands of years ago and we weren't known as Altheans back then, just as Sun Wings. Anyway, my mother died shortly before we joined the Cloud Wings and Sky Wings in an effort to build Althea, so that left my father free to bond again. Orvin thought it would be a good idea to bond him with Sjanka, who was left distraught when her father was killed in an assault on Althea. It was a pretty good political move, but neither of them were too pleased with the other. They're just too different. And Sjanka's kind of mean, but then again she's an Ice Wing. It's probably normal to them.

- Felicity

***

Two days later, there came a knock on my door. I rolled my eyes. "What is it?" I asked. I was in the middle of wood burning and I wasn't happy at being interrupted.

"Orvin requests your presence in the council chambers," came Hierodule's voice, a faintly hostile tone threaded through it.

I sighed. He trusted me even less than all the others, so much so that he didn't even bother to hide it. "Coming," I replied, putting away my half-finished piece of wood. I then stood and brushed myself off, wondering absently if I wanted to incur his wrath by shape-changing into my Trueform, but I decided it wouldn't be worth it because I wouldn't be around to watch him fume and try to forget that I can gender-change. I then went and opened the door to find him glaring at me. "Elements, I swear I haven't done anything to deserve this," I grumbled, brushing past him to head down the hall towards the council chambers.

Hierodule snorted and followed me. I could sense his far-seeing gaze boring into my back. I really didn't like him, especially since he used his powers to spy on me whenever possible. I didn't know how much he knew of my activities, but I was willing to bet that it was more than I wanted him to know. I wished for the millionth time that Fire Wings had some sort of shielding that could hide them from Sky Wings, but nobody did and that was sort of the point. Very little was hidden from Sky Wings when they are determined enough to find things out.

When I entered the council chambers, I saw that Orvin was seated on his throne with his gray wings outstretched, and Felicity and Thom were standing on either side of him. I took my place in the middle right in front and Hierodule placed himself behind me, one hand most likely on his sword. He had absolutely no trust in me.

Orvin rolled his eyes. "Hierodule, you can let go of your sword. Loki is not going to hurt you or anyone else in this room."

Hierodule scowled at Orvin, but did as he was told. Felicity was watching with some amusement and Thom didn't look like he was paying attention. However, he quickly snapped to attention when Orvin cleared his throat.

"I have thought over what information Loki has provided," Orvin said. "And I have determined that Surtan is a very real threat that needs to be dealt with immediately. Loki, did your source tell you where Surtan is located?"

"No, but he shouldn't be that hard to find," I replied, running my fingers through my red hair. "He's basically a fire demon. If he's after Wings, he'll need to gather his power and that takes an enormous amount of energy. He'll be someplace that either has strong ley lines or is filled with thermal heat. I'm sure we can rule some places out because they are strongholds of various magical entities who wouldn't stand for a fire demon taking over their territory."

"Thank you, Loki," Orvin said. "There you have it. Felicity, Thom, I am relying on you two to find and subdue Surtan if you can. If you run into any difficulties or complications, I need you two to report back immediately."