Candi sighed.

She couldn’t blame them for being suspicious and thinking she was pulling stuff out of her ass to make it look as if she was really reading the words.

The strange curlicue writing was so foreign and alien, it even surprised her that she was able to make anything of them.

The reason why she had been able to read up to that point was that it had taken her a painstaking ten months to learn enough from a type of ‘Rosetta Stone’ tablet she had found within the ruins of the grave to begin the arduous task of actual translation.

Byron stood up. “Well, I think I’ve heard enough.”

“Why? I like the sound of her reading voice. It’s so sweet and calm.” Leonardo gave a smile filled with mirth.

“It may be sweet and calm but we don’t exactly have a lot of time to sit here and listen to this entire boring book being read in halting English.”

“He’s right you know. You boys have only a short amount of time to do what needs to be done.” Ray Torra waved a dismissive hand. “No time like the present.”

Byron clapped his hands together a couple of time.

“Alright men. Let’s go.” He turned back to Slate. “Give her a ride, Little Brother.”

Everyone stood up, including Ray Torra.

He stuck his hand up in the air and waved as he headed out the door.

“Bon voyage.”

Beside her, Slate was already putting away the book and gemstone.

“Let’s go.”

“Wait,” she held out her hand. “Where are we going?”

“Home.”

“You’re letting me go home?” Her eyes held a glimmer of hope.

Slate didn’t even glance in her direction.

“Not your home, Candace. My home.”

The hope died in her eyes.

“Wait. Please let me go.” She clutched at his arm.

Slate turned back to her.

“At this very moment, your boss has sent people to comb through your house looking for the book and the gem. If you return to your home, they will kill you.”

“But, but I don’t have the book or the gem. You took them!”

“They don’t know that. All they know is you successfully stole the gem last night, and today, there is a photo that’s been circulated with you, the book, and the gem in the same image.”

“You did that to me!”

He nodded. “That’s right. If you want to survive, stay by my side. I will protect you.”

He took hold of Candi’s arms and led her towards the doorway. The rest of the motley crew had already passed through.

“Ready?”

Candi frowned. Ready for what? They were just going to head on out to the hallway.

The double doors opened up.

Candi looked out onto a bright blue sky without end.

“Wait…where’s the hallway?”

“Come.”

“What?” She poked her head through the doorway opening. It was as if she was in a hot air balloon, looking down at small green carpet squares of agricultural farmland!

Even the large puffy whitish grey cumulonimbus clouds were billowing up from below them.

“No! I don’t want to die!” She cried, grasping with desperate hands at the side of the door.

“You can’t die with me here. Come.” His strong fingers pulled her from the edge of the doorway and with no advanced warning, Slate stepped through the double doors.

“AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!” She screamed, climbing onto his torso as she felt gravity pulling on her body. They fell straight down without any resistance.

As they fell, tears sprang from her eyes, flying back with the strong wind gusts. She clutched his head and whimpered with fright as she buried her face into his neck.

Slate laughed and folded her body into his chest.

With a whoosh, his large dark wings unfurled.

FWOOMPH!!!

Now that it was daylight, she could see the true extent of his transformation.

His wingspan was double his height on either side. It was leathery looking, without any hair growing on it. Up close, she could clearly see the details, warts and all.

His face was masked in a dark brown leathery covering that covered everything except two eyeholes and his nostrils.

They began gliding on the wind, soaring through the skies as Slate flew through the air.

“You can open your eyes now,” he murmured. “I won’t let go, I promise.”

Candi opened one eye, peeking out. Immediately, she closed it again. “I can’t look. We’re so high up. If your wings fail, we’re toast.”

Slate laughed. “Why do you underestimate me so badly? These wings are just to take advantage of the wind gusts. We’re levitating on my powers alone. Open up your eyes.”

She opened her eyes and tried not to look down. She didn’t realize she was that afraid of heights. “How is it you’re able to talk to me with your mouth covered in that mask?”

He laughed. “I’m not actually talking through my mouth. You’re hearing me from your mind’s ear.”

Candi nodded and cautiously lifted her head to peek out at her surroundings. It looked as if they were heading for the distant mountains ahead, but just when she thought they were getting closer to the mountain ridge, he shot upwards, past a bank of clouds.

Her heart shot into her mouth as she realized where he was targeting.

There was a small spaceship hovering above the lenticular clouds around the mountain top and the spaceship was hidden within the cloud layers.

Slate headed for the side of the ship and it opened up, as if ready and waiting for his arrival. He slowed his speed and hovered through, still holding onto her.

The door sealed shut behind him leaving no trace of a seam. He landed on the floor of the ship and eased up on his grip of her body.

She gasped as she looked around at the pristine white interior that was devoid of anything that looked even remotely like furniture or even a place to sit. It was quite sparse.

“Is this your home?”

Slate laughed as his wings retracted and then shrank away to nothing. His leather mask melted away to once again reveal his handsome face.

“Why would I live in this tiny transport vehicle? We are just using it to get to my home.”

“Where are the others?”

He waved a dismissive hand. “They have their own transport vehicles. This is my personal pod.”

She opened her mouth. “You have your own spaceship?”

He smiled. “I have several.” He turned towards the interior.. “Come. Let’s get out of the ‘parking garage’ and into the living quarters, shall we?”