moon seemed to wink at her from between a gap in the clouds, she watched the figure of Navin Sharma raise his hands above his head.
“I’m the king of the world!”
Donna was so busy watching what was left of her friend, and wondering how the hell she was going to fix it, that she didn’t notice the huge shape swooping down on her until it was too late.
Nineteen
Strong hands hooked beneath her arms and lifted her up—then kept on lifting. Her whole body rose into the air. Donna froze, holding herself rigid for several moments before her instincts kicked in. She shrieked and thrashed wildly, watching in horror as the cold earth became more and more distant. Newton-Navin seemed very far away, and it had all happened so quickly she could hardly even begin to process it.
“Stop struggling,” a familiar voice said in her ear. “I’ve got you.”
Xan?
“But … how?” She could barely speak as the wind rushed past her face and froze her cheeks. Her mind seemed stretched too tight, almost as though it might snap. She honestly believed she was good at handling crazy shit, but this could be one step too far. One giant crazy leap too far, even for her.
Her legs swung out and hit tree branches, and she gasped.
“Hold still. I’m not very good at this yet.”
“Xan, what happened to you?” Her teeth hurt in the cold air each time she opened her mouth, but she couldn’t help it. Xan was flying!
“What do you think?” he asked.
“I … I don’t know. I can’t see you.” She tried to twist in his arms, but it was impossible.
“Just turn your head to the side.”
Donna glanced left and then right, very carefully, trying not to break Xan’s concentration. She could see the arc and swoop of wings as they gained altitude, moonlight flashing on the metallic edges and razor-sharp tips.
They looked beautiful. But they also looked deadly, like weapons.
Xan wrapped his arms more firmly around her. She could feel the warmth of his chest pressing into her back.
His voice was filled with joy. “I’m flying!”
Confusion made her head spin, adding to the sense of unreality that already had her off-balance. Not to mention the fact that she was flying above Ironbridge. “How did Maker do something like this so quickly?” It didn’t make sense; her own operations had taken weeks. Even months.
Xan held her more tightly. “They’re not real, not yet. This is just a prototype that Maker’s working on. They’re not organically attached or anything, it’s just a harness—but it’s a step in the right direction.”
Donna knew she should feel happy for him, but she’d just lost Navin and there was still so much to do.
“Where to, my lady?” he asked.
“Take me to the Frost Estate,” she said. That was where she could confront Simon—and hopefully find a way to get Newton out of Nav’s body. After all, he was the Magus’ pet demon. Surely he’d know what to do.
“Your wish is my command,” Xan said.
She gritted her teeth against the cold air rushing at them. She would make Simon free Navin.
They began to fly lower, heading back into the tops of the wintering trees. Donna’s heart lifted even as their altitude dropped.
“Thank you,” she breathed, thinking that Xan wouldn’t hear her.
“You’re welcome,” he replied, his lips so close to her ear that she felt the warmth of his breath.
She could hear the smile in his voice. This was just so incredibly … wild. She couldn’t comprehend it. How could she? They were holding a freaking conversation while flying over the Frost Estate.
They landed after what seemed like only minutes, and Donna wished they could have flown forever. This was one of those times when she knew it was totally inappropriate to be focusing on how romantic something was—what with the fate of world hanging in the balance and all—but, honestly, how could it not be considered romantic?
Xan had literally swept her off her feet. Swooped in at the last moment and whisked her out of harm’s way. Not that she’d really needed rescuing. For one thing, she believed she could take care of herself. For another, she didn’t truly think that Newton would have hurt her. It wasn’t just that the demon was wearing Navin’s face, or the hope that Nav could influence Newton’s actions in some way. Donna just had a feeling that, for all his bluster and bravado, the demon wasn’t all bad.
For a demon.
Xan took her hand and they knocked on the door