Chapter Three

 

THEA

 

Thea was weightless.

Her bed had somehow become a cloud. And she was floating. It was a surreal feeling—no spiraling springs carved into her back, no lumpy pillow under her head, no rock-hard headboard to whack her arm on.

She tried to snuggle up against her comforter, to burrow back under the sheets, before she realized that nothing was there but air. Confused, she blinked against the light streaming in from her windows and peered down to see that her bed was way beneath her—about five feet away.

She gasped, forcing herself awake, and crashed down onto the bed. A pain shot through her arm and she mumbled a curse, her arm twisted beneath her, wondering what the fuck had just happened. Sitting up, she shook her groggy head, before realizing her alarm was going off. She breathed a sigh of relief. It had just been a dream.

She had to get a grip; she was sleeping too heavily. If anyone broke into her studio apartment, she wouldn’t be able to wake quick enough to protect herself, although maybe catching her floating in the air would scare them off. She chuckled to herself and got out of bed to start her day.

As she showered, she tried to scrub away the strange niggling feeling that seemed to have nestled in her stomach. She couldn’t place it, and didn’t recognize it, but it had been plaguing her since her birthday, a week ago.

She dried herself, wondering if it was about Amber. She had rushed home the night of Thea’s birthday because of a call from Leo, and Thea hadn’t managed to speak to her much since.

As she glanced in the mirror and noticed the dark circles under her eyes, she credited them to stress. She’d been worried about so much lately; security, strangers in the neighborhood, money, the vandalism of the apartment next door, and the disappearance of a few of her connections. She didn’t have much lined up in the way of work and she’d been hesitant to go back and do another drop-off for Chad after what she’d seen the night of her birthday. Though she knew it had probably been an illusion, it had disturbed her, despite all of the strange, dark things she’d already seen in her lifetime.

Thea dressed quickly and snuck out of her apartment building through the fire escape, careful not to run into her landlady on the way out. She owed back rent and the owner of the building had been trying to get a hold of her. She wouldn’t be able to put it off much longer, no matter how often she manipulated the woman’s emotions or avoided her. Eventually, everything would catch up to her. The new job she had gotten the day before might help her scrape up enough to keep her landlady off of her back for at least another month, if not more.

She headed down the street and a few blocks over to a bar she’d been hired to clean before opening time. The manager of a number of bars in the area had kindly given Thea the job for a little money under the table. She was relieved to have the work, not only because of the money but also for the chance to do something mind-numbing, to keep herself distracted from over-thinking.

As she swept the floor, she heard an odd noise outside, like loud flapping.

Thea moved to the window and peered out to see two men—no, not men—two winged creatures standing just outside of the bar. They were gorgeous, massive, with sand-colored skin and gigantic wings. They looked like normal men in all respects except for the wings and a faint, pale glow that surrounded their bodies, illuminating the dim, densely populated street. Thea glanced around and saw that nobody else seemed to notice them; everybody was going about their business, as usual. Everybody except for Thea, of course, who was gaping openly out the window, wondering if she had lost her goddamn mind. What was wrong with her?

A harsh rap made her jump out of her skin. She closed the curtain and quickly made her way across the bar, swinging open the door to yell at whatever drunk was trying to get in before opening time. Instead, she swallowed her words in fear.

Outside the door stood three creatures—hideous, horned, and glowing red—the same horrifying things she thought she’d hallucinated at Chad’s. Thea froze, her breath caught in her throat, her heart beginning to race. No. They can’t be here. They can’t be real. They watched her; hard, black eyes among the mass of bulging blood-red skin that made up their heads. She inched backward and they stepped toward her with a grunt, breaking her out of her trance. She spun on her heel and took off through the bar, knocking over stools as she went.

She glanced back, panic and fear coursing through her as they chased her.

One of the creatures howled obscenities when he tripped over one of the stools, causing a pile up with the other two that slowed them down long enough for Thea to climb out of a window near the cash register. She jumped out and sprinted away, but to her dismay, the three beings were right on her tail. People glanced at her strangely as she darted by, weaving in and out of the strolling public while trying to escape the things that were after her.

She refused to peek over her shoulder, knowing it would only make her panic more, but she could feel them closing in and almost hear their rasping breath.

She risked a glance back and one of them was reaching out to grab her by the scruff of the neck. She ducked, darting around the corner and into an alley. Her stomach sank when she realized that it was a dead end. She didn’t have time to find an escape before they were on her, gripping her with sharp talons that dug into her arms and then throwing her to the ground.

Thea yelled. A rush of fear and shock took over as her skin tore, ripped by something sharp. Pain stabbed her in the arms and legs and streaked across her back when she rolled over to protect her face. Hot, sticky blood ran slick over her skin.

Suddenly her mind cleared and the pain dulled, the realization hitting her. She was going to die.

That understanding helped her decide what she would do next; she would be damned if she’d go out without a fight.