Page 12 of Cupid’s Flight

Leo turned to look at the nurse, about to ask if there might be a common area where Hei could have gone, but as he turned his movement made a piece of paper on the bed flutter. Leo snatched it up and unfolded it.

Since this environment is clearly unsafe for tennin, he will be returning home immediately where he can receive the care and comfort he needs. –Shen Shi

Chapter four

“Call—” Leo’s voice croaked, and he had to cough to clear it. “Call Elder Parnus and let him know Hei was kidnapped. I’m going after them.”

“Wh-What?” the nurse stuttered out, but Leo was beyond listening at this point. He slid the window open and jumped out, the same as Shen Shi must have done when he grabbed Hei.

Leo had no way to know where Shen Shi might have flown—although east was probably a good assumption—but Shen Shi couldn’t have much of a head start. Hei had just finished getting his cast put on, and it sounded like the nurse had left Hei alone in the room only for a few minutes. Shen Shi likely wouldn’t be more than five minutes’ flight away, if that, and he was carrying Hei, which would slow him. With that logic held firmly, desperately, in mind, Leo flew straight upward until he was high enough to be able to see a good distance in all directions without being blinded by the lights of the buildings below. He faced east first, squinting through the night-darkened sky, trying to see anything like a flash of darkness against the stars or the glow of the moon reflecting off metal. He, instead, saw a faint blur of burnt red, shimmering faintly off in the distance.

“Found you!” Leo said, his teeth bared in a grin.

He then flew faster than he ever had in his life, digging for air beneath his wings with every beat. Slowly, far too slowly for Leo’s peace of mind, that red smudge grew closer. They were still over the clouds the cupids called home, but the second Shen Shi reached open sky... Leo swallowed down that thought. He had no idea how to access the celestial realm or what other powers Shen Shi might be able to bring to bear, only that he needed to stop Shen Shi before it was too late for Hei.

Leo finally got close enough to see the red glow clearly, which only made him beat his wings faster. The glow was actually a transparent orb. Hei was inside, curled up with his wings wrapped around him the same as he had been when Leo first encountered him with the goblins. Hei was clearly hurting and scared, and Leo’s stomach clenched at the sight.

“Shen Shi!” Leo yelled the second he thought he was within earshot. “You’re not getting away! Hei doesn’t want to go with you!”

Shen Shi glanced over his shoulder briefly, but that was the only acknowledgment he made to show he knew Leo was behind him. His face didn’t change expression, nor did he speed up, as if he was so certain he was right that nothing could affect his plans. Well, it didn’t matter what he thought! Leo was damned well about to prove him wrong!

Leo wrung out his last ounce of speed to catch up, aiming not for Shen Shi, but for the bubble holding Hei captive. If Leo could pop it, Hei would be able to escape on his own.

He flew close, reaching out with his hands to grab, but then Leo’s fingers slid off the slick surface of the bubble as he shot past. Shen Shi merely sniffed at him, as if haughtily implying Leo was so weak his efforts didn’t matter to Shen Shi. Leo ignored him, spinning in the air and flying back toward Hei. This time instead of trying to grab the bubble, Leo aimed for center mass. He would hit it like a pool ball and send Hei flying away from Shen Shi. Leo lowered his shoulder and tucked his wings tight against his back, arrowing downward like a kestrel about to snatch its prey. He slammed into the ball at full speed, the impact jarring his shoulder, and then bounced off, careening away as he fought to get his wings to reopen.

Shen Shi looked down his nose at Leo, smirking, but then Hei jolted upward, his eyes wide and his mouth open on a gasp as if he had just woken from a dead sleep. Hei glanced around, and as he realized what was happening, he scowled. His eyes narrowed, the irises flashing silver, and he slammed his hand against the inside of the bubble.

It popped with a soft puff of air, freeing Hei, who quickly flew to Leo’s side before turning his glare on Shen Shi.

“I have put up with a lot of grief from you, Shen Shi,” Hei said, his voice the coldest Leo had ever heard him speak. “Since, up till now your actions were merely juvenile antics, I could ignore you. But this is a step too far. You dishonored my hosts and ignored my will, all for some sense of unwarranted superiority. I will not put up with you anymore,” Hei added. “You see, Shen Shi, I’m older than you and much, much stronger.”

Hei’s eyes glowed silver in the darkness and silver-colored lightning flashed across the sky. Instead of thunder, the lighting came with a gentle chime, as if Hei were strumming an instrument rather than threatening Shen Shi.

“You’re a measly tennyo just like me,” Shen Shi snarled at Hei. “We don’t have attack magic. Your pretty lights won’t scare me!”

“Magic of the heart always ensures the correct weapon will come to hand when it is most needed,” Hei replied, but he wasn’t looking at Shen Shi as he spoke. Instead, he was smiling slightly as he turned toward Leo.

Hei might not have attack magic, Leo quickly realized, but Leo did, and he could use it to protect Hei!

Leo let out a breath and called on his magic, directing it toward Shen Shi. Shen Shi didn’t notice, all his attention on Hei, and Leo directed his magic to sink into Shen Shi. He immediately found a steel wall encircling Shen Shi’s heart, which was spiraling with emotions and memories that flared up like a volcano erupting.

Warmth bloomed inside as the Buddha gently ran his fingers through Shen Shi’s hair, marveling at the color. The envy of the other tennyo bolstered that warmth. Shen Shi was the perfect tennyo, skilled in song, graceful in dance, and beloved of everyone.

A flash of silver lightning shone in the mid-morning sky, followed by shocked silence. A moment later a cheer went up. The Buddhas with their gentle hands and the tennyo with their envious glances rushed off, abandoning him. Shen Shi followed them to the room of rebirth, where new tennin arrived in the celestial realm. A young man stood inside, his hair short and the same shade of silver as his wings. A moment later, he opened his eyes and looked at the gathered crowd, their silver shade utterly captivating.

“Hei, you’re finally returned to us!” one of the Buddhas called out. “Welcome home!”

From then on, the gentle touches to Shen Shi grew fewer and farther between. Shen Shi was a showpiece the Buddhas wanted to gaze at from afar, not converse with or hold close. No, that affection was reserved solely for Hei.

Beautiful, elegant, and glorious, Hei was everything. Shen Shi loved him just as much as the Buddhas and the rest of the tennin but also hated that Hei had taken so much from him. Hated, hated, hated that he was alone. Alone. Alone. So very alone. Because he was nothing. Not in comparison to Hei.

Hei, wanted desperately to leave. But Hei couldn’t leave because if he left, then the loneliness Shen Shi endured meant nothing. Without Hei to excuse their abandonment of Shen Shi, without Hei for everything that mattered in his world, Shen Shi was less than nothing.

A useless being.

The magic released Leo. He missed a wing beat as he staggered, gasping. What he had just seen wasn’t jealously; it was deep, soul-consuming pain. Shen Shi’s inner turmoil felt much as Leo had once felt the day Ortho had revealed his evil, and Leo realized in his ignorance he had been complicit.

Shen Shi needed a chance to break free of those thoughts. He needed to see himself as special again. He might not ever be as beautiful or as loved as Hei, but that didn’t matter. Shen Shi had something within himself that could shine brightly too. He just needed the opportunity to find it, and Leo could give that to him.