The Call of Monsters (My Beautiful Monsters #3) - J.B. Trepagnier Page 0,11
way of knowing I had wings. I didn’t even know what I was when he called me that. I’d met a bat shit crazy oracle, but Kimon didn’t get visions like that. I’d always liked his pet name for me, but now there was something serendipitous about it. I didn’t have a single feather on me, but I had wings, and I really hoped he didn’t change his name for me because my demonic form was a little cat and a fairly large bat.
“I don’t even know where to start.”
“Flap your wings hard and get a running start. Your wings will do the rest. I’ll join you.”
Demos burst into flame, and I looked at his phoenix, easily beating his wings in the air. He made it look so easy, but I was half wondering if I could run and flap at the same time without tripping and ending up eating pavement. How embarrassing. Everyone was watching, and Charley made a bag of popcorn with magic that she shared with Finn.
Here goes nothing. It was utterly awkward trying to run and flap wings I didn’t know I had for the first time. It was like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. You could do it once you found your rhythm. I hadn’t found mine yet, and I stumbled a few times. I hadn’t completely fallen on my face, but I still wasn’t managing this whole up in the air thing.
“Use your wings for balance, River. That’s what they’re for.”
Easy for him to say. I still wasn’t sure how I was supposed to run and flap them simultaneously, much less use them for balance. This was more awkward than my first school dance when my entire school thought I was weird and no one would talk to me, so I sat on the bleachers all night and got a stomach ache from the sugary punch. I never went to another dance after that.
I ran the courtyard's full length without face planting, but I also never left the ground. I placed my paws on my knees and tried to catch my breath.
“Well, that didn’t work.”
“It was a good first try, River. When I was a baby phoenix, my parents told me I used to fly into the wall all the time. You didn’t even fall. Do you want to catch your breath and try again?”
The Demos I met in the jails that first day would never have admitted he’d done anything like flying into walls when he was a kid. But he was doing it now to make me feel better, and I appreciated it. He’d been doing this since he was born, and even he had a learning curve.
I turned around and squared my shoulders. Even if I didn’t end up in the air, I was going to run the entire courtyard without tripping. I could do this. All these abilities might be magic, but I still had to learn to use them. Just because it was magical didn’t mean I’d instantly be able to do all this. I’d seen Charley do some unique spells, but she had to learn all that, and I had to learn this.
I took off running again. I was steadier this time. I never took flight, but I stumbled much less when I made it to the other end this time. I was thanking my insane devotion to my spin instructor and his killer workout because I could be here for hours, and I was already sweating.
“That was better, River. Do you want to stop for the day?”
Stop? I’d only run the courtyard twice, and I was better the second time. I might have the upper body strength of a toddler, but my cardiovascular system was in excellent shape. I was out of breath and sweating, but no one needed to stick a fork in me just yet. I could run the courtyard a few more times.
“Again.”
“That’s my girl, but it’s okay if you don’t end up in the air today.”
“No, it’s not. I’m going to need to be able to fly when we get to Olympus.”
“Hephaestus probably knows where to hide there. We can continue in Olympus. I know you want revenge, River, but maybe Hephaestus needs to be the one to kill Zeus. He was the one hurt the most by him.”
“I can’t see Hephaestus killing anyone.”
Demos just laughed.
“He snapped his ex-wife’s neck, River, and she didn’t throw him all the way to Earth. Hephaestus may surprise you.”