Page 55 of Claim the Light
I watch the movement, peering hard.
A second later, a swarm of creatures bursts from the water up into the air, filling the space in front of me.
I jolt backward, ready to spread my wings, but the swarm hovers and doesn’t make any further sudden moves.
Their wings and bodies are a blue-and-purple blur. Fine droplets of water spray around me like a cool mist as countless little wings beat so fast that they hum like a soft melody.
Taking a deep breath, I look more closely. Each creature is bigger than my hand with a slender body and two gauzy wings on either side.
They’re dragonflies.
Hmm… maybe?
My forehead creases as the swarm edges nearer to me and I take a closer look.
They’re certainly shaped like dragonflies, but their bodies are covered in tiny scales and, if I’m not imagining it, I think I can make out gills on their sides between their heads and wings.
In unison, several of them tuck their wings and dive back into the water, swimming just beneath the surface before they pop back up again, spreading their wings and hovering once more.
“Beautiful,” I whisper as I dare to lift my hand toward them. It would be unwise to touch them—my body oils could disturb their skin or harm their wings—but the mist they’re creating as the water evaporates off them is like diamonds in the air.
I wave my hand through it while another group of dragonflies plunges back into the water and emerges again. They do this in turns and my guess is that they need to stay cool and damp.
“Micah,” I call softly. “Come see this.”
The forest is quiet behind me. I turn, expecting him to be approaching as silently as I know he can.
I don’t see him anywhere.
“Micah?” Quickly, I scan the trees, unease growing in the pit of my stomach.
I listen carefully, wishing I had the ability to hear faraway things like he can.
A moment later, a low, keening cry echoes through the forest.
At the sound, the dragonflies jolt backward, their wings beating faster, the collective hum they’re making rising in pitch. A second later, they scatter across the air and plunge back into the water, disappearing beneath the suddenly churning swill.
Whatever that sound was, it startled them.
I jump to my feet, listening and waiting.
The cry echoes again.
I can’t tell for sure if it’s Micah, but I know pain when I hear it.
CHAPTERTWENTY
Isprint toward the trees, fully retracting my wings to avoid wind resistance.
I fight the regret that’s threatening to flood me. Maybe I should have taken Isaac up on his offer to come with us, but I thought I was making the right choice, and it’s too late to change it now.
Navigating a path between the low branches and thick bushes, I keep my sense of the lake’s location firmly in my mind. If I get lost, I’ll be able to make my way back to it.
I want to call out for Micah, but the forest is hushed. It’s only now that it’s so quiet that I’m fully aware of just how many bird calls filled the air only moments ago.
The cry sounds again, this time louder and sharper.
I’m close enough to identify that it isn’t Micah’s voice, but it’s filled with pain and fear.
