Page 3 of Feathers and Scales

She exhaled the thought of bone, tissue, and everything giving her physical structure, forcing her spirit to condense into its most basic form. She became an orb and raced into his chest.

Inside Daxton’s Spirit Cavity—another dimension within the human body—a chamber of luminous blue surrounded her. Tangles of blue light streamed from it like veins from the heart.

She faded into the warmth of a blanket of darkness. But her consciousness prickled with a suffocating awareness, as if a monster lurking in the closet was watching her.

University of Memphis

Two Weeks Earlier

Shuffling down the apartment building’s corridor, Izzy cursed her tired mortal shell as her heels dragged along the carpet. Her laptop bag strap dug into her shoulder as her restless mind cataloged how she would finish the research project that had taken long into the evening. A chime had her digging her phone from her jeans pocket.

The text came from her only other Fallen acquaintance she kept in contact with, Thea.I’m at the cave, and it’s a gold mine.

Izzy sighed. She’d forgotten that she’d made plans to hunt demons to gain more feathers. Although acquiring over forty thousand feathers to return to Heaven within one human lifetime was impossible, Izzy needed more feathers to continue her research in making that quota a possibility.

Her phone vibrated with another text.The petroglyph is still here, and it gives me the creeps.

From the tourist images of the carving in the cave, the feather-like characters were unlike anything Izzy had seen before. They didn’t belong to local tribes or known languages. Not even Angelic or Demonic. Local tribal folklore spoke of an immortal creature populating their land.

The writing was a mystery that might help her extend her life.

At the sensation of a smile taking her lips, she suppressed the excitement bubbling within her and quickened her pace. She reached her apartment door and fumbled to unlock it. Inside, the scent of garlic and marinara wafted over her.

“Late night again? I made pasta if you want any.” Simon’s British accent carried from their small kitchen table as he tucked his curly brown hair behind his ear. The unruly coil just sprung back over his eyes.

“I’m in a rush.” She headed for her bedroom.

“Too much of a rush to help me with the latest Bubblegum Bandit heist? I need your Sherlockian expertise.”

Her feet tilted toward her bedroom, but she paused, unable to help herself. She wasn’t nearly as interested in the notorious thief eluding the police as Simon, but figures that made history were like a new specimen for her to analyze. Biting her lower lip, she crossed the room and peered around Simon’s lanky form to view his laptop screen. He grabbed a breadstick from the plate in front of him and handed it to her. As she ate, garlic and butter were an afterthought compared to the mysterious figure in the news.

“What’s the latest?” she asked.

From Simon’s side profile, she could just make out the upward tilt of his mouth, and she wanted to sigh. He knew her too well, from her curiosity to the fact that he could get her to take in much-needed nutrients if he baited her with it. But as her Coheart, or human butler, taking care of her was part of his job. Nothing more.

“The bandit left her lip-print note on this football player’s Super Bowl ring to mark her next heist,” he said, leaving out details he knew she wouldn’t care for. “Security footage caught her like it did at all the other scenes, but I caught an odd detail on this one.”

He pulled up a black-and-white video from a camera angled downward at an entryway. One of the wrought iron double doors was propped open as a figure with a bob hairstyle and baggy clothing stood there for an extended moment before entering. Her movements almost felt ritualistic, but the image cut off around the figure’s waist, so Izzy could only guess what had caused her to stop.

“No one was at the residence, and she was pretty brazen to use the front door, but why the pause?” Simon asked.

“She could be removing her shoes or changing them.”

He leaned forward as if to catch the movement as he played the video again. “I didn’t think of that. But she’s never cared about leaving traces of herself before, so why change shoes?”

“If she’s from an Asian culture, it could have just been habit.”

“That makes sense especially given this is the first residence she’s broken into. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“You were too excited about catching the anomaly, and that emotion disrupted your logical reasoning.”

He swiveled toward her with narrowed brown eyes, as if he wanted to argue the point. But he sighed instead. “Speaking of excitement, I’m going on a date tomorrow morning.”

“Why do you even bother?” she asked, heading toward her bedroom as a deep-rooted tightness filled her chest, nearly threatening her ability to walk.You should save yourself from that devastation.“This fantasy of love is a weakness.”

“Just because you extend my life doesn’t mean that I can’t live it. Love is more powerful than you think.” He winked. “You’re looking into that cave with Thea tonight, right? Please be careful.”

Of course, he’d remember.“Always am.”