Airborne Saga: Grounded Part 6

"Do you think Samuel will let us have the book? Or will we have to do another break in?"

Mason's eyes dropped to the floor and he unraveled his arm from Avery's shoulders.

"It's more complicated than that." He admitted.

"Adalyn will be there, won't she?" Avery asked.

It made sense considering that Samuel was Adalyn's father. Mason had flown from Portland instead of California which explained how quickly he'd arrived in Moose Pa.s.s. Before Mason could even get the idea, she commented, "Don't ask for her help. She just tried to kill me."

Mason scooted away to break their closeness and pushed his hands into his hair.

"She'll know we're there. Even if we do cloak and dagger, she'll feel the magic from that close." He pointed out.

The magic in their bodies, Mason's more than hers, did have a way of radiating out an energy signal. Though weak, select harpies could sense it a mile away.

Especially those who had spent time with them-- especially harpies like Adalyn.

Avery groaned, thinking of the dooming complications. Mason and her relations.h.i.+p aside, she refused to even acknowledge Adalyn after the Patrick hit man experience.

"What do you plan to do about her then?" Avery asked but her question came off harsher than intended. Mason still had feelings for Adalyn and at the end of the day, those feelings would ultimately skew his better judgment.

"I can go without you. I never told her why I left so I can go, sneak in and get the book."

Avery took a breath to resist going overboard. She suffered through with logic.

"What if Patrick comes and kills me while you're gone?"

Mason shot her a calculating look.

"We'll both go to Portland. You'll house up somewhere not far away and wait. It's our only choice. If Mikhail gets that book, then there's nothing stopping him from making another amulet and coming back at us full force."

He stood up and went for the doors. Avery bit her lip and managed to stay quiet. Though she still had a number of discrepancies to work out, Mason had a point. They needed to move quickly and she'd pick apart the problems later. Avery headed back for the hotel room. She needed to tell Nate she was leaving. She needed to tell Nate to cover for her and protect Leela. He would do that, he had to. He was at the edge of Harpie world, and she was being pulled in deeper.

Eight.

Avery let out a deep breath. Only ten minutes in Portland and they were already having problems. It wasn't the current situation that had her on edge. She was still unsettled from the choppy flight into the city, the lack of sleep, and the pain medication sitting in her empty stomach. Her wound still stung but she had it properly wrapped and hidden underneath a jacket.

Though Moose Pa.s.s was barely a day past, it certainly seemed far away now.

"I'll need your identification with the credit card." The hotel clerk across the wooden bar got her attention. For the second time in two days, she was trying to get another hotel room. This time, she wasn't with Nate and she absolutely lacked the confident swagger he had. Worse, Mason had also picked one of the cla.s.sier hotels in Seattle, located near the very edge of the city and immersed in a more rural, wooded area. To Avery, that meant only one thing: more scrutiny to her ident.i.ty. She was waiting for the clerk to call her out on being under-aged.

"This isn't going to work." She hissed to Mason when her harpie companion strolled back to her side. His eyes were on the crimson carpet and his mind clearly clicked over something else. He did focus a bit more at her words.

"It will. I'm not under-age." He mentioned. Avery wasn't entirely sure how old Mason was but this wasn't the time or place to quiz him on it. She rubbed her arms, despite not being cold.

"Then cough up some harpie ID with a picture and a number or I'm gonna be busted. Or worse, my mother will find out and that means my brother Chase will kill me." She hissed. The clerk had disappeared into the back room with her driver's license and her credit card, presumably making photocopies. Every second the clerk lingered was another second he had to figure it out.

"If we picked a cheap hotel I wouldn't be having this problem. They'd take ten bucks and shoo me off. But nice hotels care about age." Avery reminded him of the logic. While the interior of the hotel was beautiful, equipped with a fireplace and golden chandelier, Avery would have gladly given it up to feel more comfortable.

"It's the only hotel close to Samuel's compound. I can't put you across town in case I need to get to you quickly. Patrick would have had enough time if he decided to come straight here. We can't take that chance."

Avery opened her mouth to respond but the hotel clerk finally shuffled out of the backroom. He gave them a long look.

"Avery Zane." The clerk slid her identification card back over the desk. "And Mr. Zane," He nodded toward Mason, "Enjoy your stay."

"Whoa, wait. Mr. Zane?" Mason lifted his eyebrows. Avery elbowed him before he could get out another word. She hit his ribs hard enough to earn a gasp. Reaching across the table, she s.n.a.t.c.hed the papers from the hotel clerk and grabbed Mason. Giving the harpie a rough shove, she sent him down the hallway.

"Trying to bust our cover?" She griped. Her face still burned pink and she couldn't help but be more embarra.s.sed than mad. It wasn't an unfair a.s.sumption for the hotel clerk to make when two people showed up renting one room. But knowing Mason, he wouldn't let it go.

"Mr. Zane? Is that some human custom? Like we are married?" He said as expected.

Even though Avery knew the awkward onslaught was coming, she couldn't deal with it. It felt like all the air had been sucked from the room and Avery struggled to breathe right. She'd have given anything to have Mason leave the subject alone. She needed a distraction and she needed one quickly.

"You know what, we should get food. I'm hungry. Food. That's right." Her eyes went to the rotating gla.s.s doors of the hotel and she hurried for them. She remembered a coffee shop across the street.

"Even if we did get married, I wouldn't be taking your surname. That's not how it works with harpies. Besides, you would be Mrs. Mason--"

"Are we really talking about getting married right now? That guy just made a stupid a.s.sumption."

"We're not talking about getting married. But it was better than focusing on the a.s.sumption that we were shacking up. And you have to learn not to be so jittery about things. It's a compliment if he thinks you're actually my wife."

He cracked a c.o.c.ky smile and Avery couldn't look at him any longer. Mason got too much enjoyment from messing with her head. Cheeks still on fire, she refused to look at him.

"I hate you." She shot at Mason, sticking her tongue out for a fleeting second, and then she turned her attention back to the street A cozy coffee shop sat on one side of the street. Hopping jazz filtered from the shop's speakers along with the rich scent of coffee and cinnamon. Despite her vertigo, Avery's stomach grumbled and called out for sustenance.

"There. Let's grab something." She didn't ask but told him and pushed him into the coffee shop.

Eyes bigger than her stomach at the moment, she ordered the biggest m.u.f.fin on the rack and settled in at a table in the back. Mason slid in next to her.

"I can't wait too long or our cover will be blown. And I'm afraid Patrick will likely be looking for you."

"He's probably still looking for me in Alaska." Avery paused mid-thought and stared down at the table. "Did you take my m.u.f.fin?"

The table was empty. Her eyes went straight up to him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He tried to defend himself, but by doing so, condemned himself. When he opened his mouth to speak, Avery caught on immediately. Mason hadn't just s.n.a.t.c.hed her food but he'd done it quickly and nearly swallowed it before she realized.

"You totally s.n.a.t.c.hed it from me!" Her voice hit a higher pitch than she'd intended and her stomach churned violently. "You're such a- a-- you're such a harpie!"

When Mason's only response was half a smile, she sunk back into her seat and glared daggers. The harpie's face sobered up and he directed her back to the topic at hand.

"Seriously Avery. I have to go now. I need to meet Adalyn again before she realizes I'm with you." He said slowly, doing well to carefully measure his words.

It didn't matter how nicely he said it. His comment brought back up a sensitive subject. Avery found herself afraid to approach it but unable to stop herself.

"I thought you were just going to steal the book and get out. Why do you have to buddy up with Adalyn? Are you still... are you still in love with her?"

Mason didn't lift his head to look at her. He didn't answer right away either. The atmosphere thickened with agonizing awkwardness. After a full minute, Mason answered softly.

"You can't possibly understand."

That one hurt. Avery tried desperately to control her emotions and go for the rational approach. Despite what Mason wanted to believe, Avery was involved now and Adalyn in the picture very much affected her.

"Try me. I'd rather know what I'm dealing with."

He groaned before answering.

"I do love her. It's not a choice of mine, Avery. And despite what I continue to do, I continue having to deal with her again and again." He looked up and held both hands out in a helpless gesture.

Mason's emotions, though usually guarded, played over the shadows in his face. Avery bit her lip.

"So I did interpret that kiss the wrong way then. If you're not ready to move on, then don't. I'd rather not get stuck in the middle of this if you can't pick one of us." She pled through a whisper.

Mason pushed back into his seat "It's not like that. I'm not trying to be with Adalyn. It's not about me choosing. I already did that when I stayed with you. But until I can break it off with Adalyn for good, you and I are just a side note. She was here first and I have to do what's right by her. And then by us."

Avery couldn't have asked for much more of an answer, pleasant to hear or not, so she accepted it with a tiny nod. If he broke it off with Avery again, she wasn't sure how low her heart could sink into her stomach. She let the conversation die. It wasn't hard when Mason had lapsed into a deep thought.

Avery jumped when her pocket rattled and the unfamiliar cell phone jingle rang loudly. She scrambled to jimmy the phone from her pocket and hit the silence key. Since Patrick had destroyed her phone, she had to buy a contract free replacement to recover her number and finally receive the missed voicemails. Mason hadn't agreed with her on the importance of such a thing, but he also didn't understand the human world. If she went missing again, the police would be called. Or worse, her brother Chase might find out. Chase, the single most over protective guy in the world, would be hunting Mason down with a gun if he thought she might be in danger. He'd already threatened Mason more than once. Unwilling to risk the trouble, she'd gotten the phone and was still getting used to it.

The screen lit up blue displaying a text message from an Alaskan area code and she clicked read. In blocky blue digits, the text said one line: "Where r u??" Avery's eyes flickered to the number only now recognizing it. The text was from Leela.

"Alright, I gotta go." Mason suddenly said and stood from the table, drawing Avery's eyes up to meet him.

Shoving the phone back into her jacket pocket, she stood to walk him out. The coffee in her hand had already gone cold but she clasped it anyways.

"Have fun on your date." She said but her mind had already gone elsewhere.

Mason gave her another sharp look.

"Don't be like that. You're worse than a harpie sometimes."

Knowing she had to amend herself Avery shrugged and tried for a carefree tone.

"For the record, your race can't have dibs on being b.i.t.c.hy. But do what you got to and don't get caught."

Mason finally smiled slyly and actually reached down to hug her. The embrace was quick but the reluctant flicker of elation in Avery's chest jumped up anyways.

"You shouldn't lecture me on attracting trouble. Anyways, go straight back to the hotel."

He gestured toward the gla.s.s entrance doors across the street. Unable to stall much longer, Avery gave him another nod and headed off. He trekked down the street the other way and she headed inside. Once she knew that she was alone, she pulled the silver phone from her pocket and stared at the text message from Leela again.

The message brought up more questions than Avery was willing to consider but she did think about one fact. Leela hadn't known about Patrick and hadn't known why Avery disappeared. Also considering she didn't even know Avery was on to her, the question was probably innocent probing.

Avery's fingers hovered around the keys for a full moment. After an agonizing mental debate she texted back, "Family emergency. Had 2 skip town but will b back." The yellow envelope icon disappeared before Avery could regret sending it. Part of her knew that she wasn't ready to treat Leela like an enemy but she knew Mason would consider this dangerous and stupid.

Slipping by the front desk, she made her way for the room in the back. The phone buzzed again and Avery clicked the message open.

"Omg! R Chase and ur mom ok? I tried calling u yesterday but ur phone was out of service 4 some reason."

"Yea we're all fine." Avery had been so focused on her phone, she almost missed her room. Jingling the k.n.o.b with her free hand, the door gave surprisingly easy and Avery never broke her focus from the phone screen. Walking in, she only looked up when she heard the sharp female voice speak up.

"She would be dumb enough to book a room under her name."

Avery backpedaled but her feet got tangled and Avery smashed into the door hard. Before her sat both Adalyn and Patrick splayed out on the bed. The damage done to Patrick during their early encounter was painfully obvious. His left wing didn't stand up all of the way and the feathers were frayed and torn. Bruises marred his face and his lip had been split leaving a b.l.o.o.d.y reminder. He held himself up right but Avery could tell that he wouldn't put all his weight down on his legs. His black eyes stared straight through her.

Adalyn sat next to him, her long legs folded and her curly blonde hair expertly tied up behind her head. She looked just like Avery remembered with the body tight black and white clothing, stiletto heels, and hot red lips. Though Adalyn had the looks of a movie star, the danger never quite escaped her features. She tapped her deadly sharp talons on the bed side. She watched Avery like a predator watching its prey.

"How'd you know to look for me?" They'd only just arrived in Portland meaning Patrick or Adalyn had to be following them from minute one. Adalyn corrected the theory when she coolly said, "I figured you'd come down here to find Mason. So we waited for you to show up. Called the nearby hotels and when the clerk confirmed you were booked, we showed up."

Avery's mind spun and she looked between the two. They thought that she was here to find Mason and that Mason hadn't ever picked her up. Though they were on the wrong up take, Avery didn't correct them. She kept her eyes forward but her hand slipped behind her for the k.n.o.b.

"He already knows that Patrick tried to kill me. If I show up dead, he'll know." Avery attempted to distract them as she struggled to find the k.n.o.b.

It didn't work. Suddenly Patrick stood and crossed the room in a flash of movement. Avery sprung to avoid him but only successfully put herself farther away from the door. Patrick spread out against the wooden exit and gave her a lazy smile.

Heart pounding now, Avery's mind went to her phone. She could call Mason but she'd never get the chance to explain. Her luck would be better set with utilizing the magic in her body as a weapon but that was a long shot too.

"Well if he's already going to be mad at me then I might as well get something out of it. Double jeopardy. Besides, dead girls tell no tales." Adalyn said coldly and stood up.

The room was barely ten by ten making Avery confined close to the two harpies. Her eyes slid between the two when they advanced a step forward. She clenched her right hand, willing the magic to stir in her chest. A cold wash of fear slipped through her when the attempts continued to fail and Avery backed against the night stand.

Adalyn offered a show of her brilliantly white teeth.

"Patrick," She called out to her companion. "Be a dear and make this problem go away."

Patrick suddenly kicked into motion. Launching himself forward, he swung for Avery. A scream ripped out from her throat and she jumped backwards. Tripping over the desk behind her, her body lurched backwards and she dropped into a ball. Patrick came around the side of the desk and Avery wildly kicked at him. Harpies didn't have strong bone density and usually could be taken off their feet, but a few kicks didn't do that. Patrick grabbed her ankle and dragged her out to the center of the room.

Avery rolled to her feet but he caught her just before she stood. Long arm roping around her neck, he yanked her back into his hard chest. Squeezing the arm around her neck, he managed to cut off her air.

Avery's world became fuzzy around the edges and she clawed at the arms that held her. Patrick was stronger than most harpies, built more like a man than a bird, and his grip never loosened. He pressed his free hand up against her back until she could feel the distinctive sharpness of talons behind her spine.

"Sorry girlie, but this will be quick." He almost sounded sorry when he whispered into her ear.

Avery swung her body, desperately clinging to her remaining energy, and managed to get a gulp of air. In the moment of absolute panic, she finally felt the spark of magic in her chest. Forcing it out through her hands, the energy escaped her body and gave Patrick an electric shock.

He stumbled back, but the magic hadn't done enough damage. Before he could charge at her again, she held both hands up.

"Wait! Wait! You can't kill me. Mason's life is depending on what I know." The plea went out to Adalyn but Patrick scoffed it off.

"Come here." He hissed and launched at Avery again. In the second before he made contact, Adalyn's hand swung out and intercepted the blow.

"Wait!" She shouted at Patrick before her blue eyes slid back to Avery. "Let me hear what she has to say."