Winged

Chapter Two

Cairo, Luc, and Angel stood in a tense silence.

Luc was watching Angel cautiously, as if he was going to jump up and attack them at any moment, while Angel stared sullenly at the floor, looking conflicted. Cairo wasn't sure what to do.

Finally, Luc spoke up. "Cairo, come with me. We need to talk, now that you believe me."

Cairo nodded. He felt like his stomach was filled with tiny little butterflies, each finding a place to settle inside of him. He still hadn't quite got over the excitement of he moment. Or the fact that angels existed, at least in some form. Of course, he was probably taking it a lot better than most would, he supposed.

Luc stepped into Cairo's bedroom, speaking in a hushed voice. "You realize what's happening, right? You claimed hegemony over the winged. You know what that means?"

"No. Not really," Cairo admitted.

"It means that you now own it. The winged. It's permanently yours. Until you die."

"No, I figured that. I mean the word hegemony. Where did that come from?"

Luc stared blankly. "It's just a word. It's in the dictionary. It means command, or something. But there's more to it then that. The fact that you have Jeroy's- this winged, means you're probably going to be targeted by a godling."

Cairo blinked. "A what?"

"A godling," Luc repeated. "I should probably start from the beginning."

"Yes, please. Full world explanation."

"It's commonly believed within... Our community that one someone takes, hegemony over all of the world's angels, they become God."

"God God or god, lowercase?"

"Singular, obviously. Godlings, lowercase, are people, owners, that are trying to become God. And the only way for them to do that is by killing the owners of all the world's angels, and taking hegemony of them themselves."

Cairo digested the information. "Oh," he said plainly, starting to feel light headed. "So, this is really dangerous, huh?"

Luc nodded, his expression grim. "We have to make sure they don't find you."

"Do we just stay here then...?"

Luc shook his head. "Of course not. Your angel flew here, right? That means someone most likely saw it. What we have to do is get as far away from here as we possibly can."

Cairo nodded again, frowning.

Luc turned to look at Cairo's dresser. "See if you have anything that'll cover the angel's wings," he said before stepping out of the room.

Cairo dug through his drawers until he found a long, white, wool sweater, probably one that one of his grandmothers had knit. He then pulled out his smallest suitcase and packed his notebook, pencils, a change of clothes, and a few other necessities. He had no idea whether he'd need them, but it was better safe than sorry.

Cairo walked back out to see Luc standing by the door, back to his normal habit of peeking out the window, watching for spies. Cairo got the feeling he'd been doing this for a while.

"Here," Cairo said, handing the white sweater to Angel. "Put this on over your wings."

Angel did so without hesitation, folding his wings in tightly. For some reason, Cairo felt slightly annoyed that the sweater fit Angel better than it did him, but he quickly realized that was most likely a good thing.

"Are you ready to go?" Luc asked. Cairo felt he was growing impatient, so he nodded, walking out the door with Angel and Luc right behind him.

"Where are we going?" Cairo asked, one they'd walked a little ways down the pathway.

"Your car," Luc responded, holding up Cairo's keys. Naturally, Cairo wondered how he'd gotten them, but he decided it was best not to ask. He wasn't in the real world anymore, as far as he was concerned. He was in fiction. And he didn't know the rules.

Cairo got into his car, small, light blue vehicle with four doors and five seats, on the passenger side. Luc sat down next to him, turning the key, and Angel got in in the back, watching them silently with a grumpy expression.

"So, now where are we going?" Cairo asked once they started driving. "Do you have a secret base or something?"

"No," Luc responded, slightly irritated. "We're going somewhere public. No one can attack us in public. They wouldn't ever risk giving the winged away."

"Oh."

They drove a while in silence, passing by trees and houses, until Cairo looked into the rear mirror, and remembered that Angel was there. "Can he talk?" Cairo asked Luc.

Luc glanced at him. "The winged? Of course. It can do anything that a human can do."

Cairo turned around, preparing to say something to Angel, but couldn't think of anything to say. "Um... Hi."

"Hi," Angel responded hesitantly. His voice was smooth, exactly how Cairo had imagined an angel's voice would sound, yet somehow unsettling.

Cairo could tell that Angel still felt begrudgingly toward them. Who wouldn't, really? But he did wonder... Why had he been trying to kill Luc? Originally, Cairo had assumed the winged were just inherently evil, as Luc had suggested, but Angel didn't really give off that vibe.

Cairo debated asking him, but one look at Luc's face told him he'd better shut up.

Luc may have been Cairo's ally, as far as he knew, but there was still something about him that scared him. He reminded Cairo of an army veteran, someone who'd fought in a war and never really recovered. Like part of him-his emotions-weren't really here.

Cairo waited in silence until the car finally stopped, parking in front of a small, family restaurant.

"Are we getting something to eat?" Cairo asked. He felt his stomach growl. He had been meaning to eat all day.

"Yes," Luc answered. Cairo wished he was in a better mood, but he was happy regardless. They'd actually only been driving for about a half an hour, but Cairo could already feel his legs cramping up. He wasn't used to long drives.

Cairo, Luc and Angel entered the restaurant, and Luc sat down at a random booth. Cairo and Angel sat down across from him, waiting for some sort of signal.

"What?" Luc asked, picking up a menu.

"Oh. Nothing," Cairo said, following his lead. He turned to Angel, handing him a menu. "You do have to eat, right?"

"Yes," Angel replied, scanning over the menu. He glanced at Cairo, who turned away awkwardly.

The waitress, whose name was something like Delia or Delphi, came to take their order, writing in her notepad with a bored expression. She walked back to the kitchen, leaving them with more uncomfortable silence.

"So..." Cairo began, attempting to start a conversation. Angel looked at him, waiting for him to continue, and Luc flashed him an annoyed glare. "Nevermind."

Cairo couldn't help but wish he was in better company.