Girl Enchanted (Book 2 of The Girl Trilogy) (2 page)

My eyes fixated on the highland before
us as I grabbed Shaul’s arm out of fear. It was happening so fast,
I could only brace myself for confrontation. But, to my surprise,
the sounds stilled when the seeming aggressors stopped upon the
mountain tops.

What are they? It wasn’t an army—at
least the creatures weren’t human, that is. They looked like metal
figures. I squinted my eyes and looked closer. The sun was in the
way. Quickly, I blocked the eclipsing light with my
hand.

Ah—I could see. Standing regally upon
the blackened ridges were mechanical unicorns! At once, their
thoughts imprinted in colorful words and swirls upon the faded sky
with phrases like this:

“
Welcome to Aurora Springs,
home to the faeries.”

“
My purpose is to decorate
your mind with fanciful thoughts.”

“
The horn in the center of
my head is useless.”

“
Free rides.”

“
Popcorn.”

“
Nay, nay, nay…”

Suddenly, there was an amusement park
in the sky. The Ferris wheel and merry-go-round spun around much
too fast and popcorn fell from the clouds. And then, as quickly as
it was there, it was gone.

The sky was still and the unicorns
stopped moving and imprinting upon the horizon. It appeared as if
they had finished their absurd presentation. Now their heads hung
down like they had fallen asleep.

“
How odd,” I whispered to
Shaul.

Then I looked down and noticed our
fish tails were transformed back into legs. And I was completely
naked! I should have realized this already, but the strange scenery
was consuming all of my attention.

Blushing, I tried to cover my naked
body with my long, wet hair. For some reason, maybe because nudity
is natural for a mermaid, I wasn’t self-conscious of my bare
breasts while under the water, but now I was!

Shaul laughed and arched an eyebrow. A
crooked smile lifted on his face that reminded me that he was the
devil incarnate. Oh, he was wickedly handsome.

Really he had nothing to laugh about
because he was as naked as naked gets and he didn’t have long hair
like me to hide himself. I think this embarrassed me more than it
did him. But, in a flash of a second, he chanted something in Latin
and “wahla” he was clad in leaves and animal pelts. It was an odd
choice for attire, but he looked as sexy as hell in it.

And of course, with the next spell out
of his mouth, I was dressed in something too risqué and provocative
to describe. But, as usual, he smiled facetiously at me, reveled in
his creation for a moment, and then with a snap, I was
dressed.

When I looked down, I was surprised to
see I was wearing the most stunning red gown I had ever seen in my
life with snake patterns embroidered on the skirt. It was the kind
of dress that said, “I’m as mean as the devil,” while portraying an
understated elegance. He had remarkably good taste for a
snake.

I looked at my reflection on the
glassy surface of the pond and noticed that he had artistically
adorned my upper body with delicate vines and water lilies that
wove around my chest and torso, covering my nakedness. It was a
stunning creation.

In awe, I ran my finger over the soft
petal of one of the water lilies. I was moved that he remembered my
favorite flower. “It’s beautiful,” I said, trying to hide the
internal thrill I was experiencing.

He studied me for a moment and then
smiled. “Damn. I’m good.” He ran his finger across my
cheek.

I blushed and tried to change the
subject so that I wouldn’t have to think about how wild and out of
control I felt around him. The music was blaring in my mind. “Those
sci-fi unicorns said this is the home of the faeries.”

He laughed. His voice was
playful—sarcastic. “Yes, they did.”

I noticed the unicorns had woken up
from their slumber and were staring at us intensely now which I
found very strange.

“
We went through a porthole
that brought us here. The porthole is an alternate
route.”

“
What do you mean?” I was
confused.

“
Aurora Springs is just
past the forbidden lake on dry land.”

“
Huh?” I just wasn’t
getting what he was saying. Probably because I was thinking about
kissing him madly.

“
There are two routes that
lead here. You don’t have to get here through the underwater
porthole. You can also go directly on dry land. We’re actually not
far from the community in the Seneca Mountain woods.

“
Really?”

“
Yes.” He smiled and flared
his nose a little like he was finding my confusion
humorous.

“
If we’re near the
community that means the community leaders and their army could
still be looking for us.”

“
I’m sure they
are.”

I thought about my mother and how she
betrayed me. After escaping from prison, we went to see her, but
because of her disapproval of Shaul, she tried to turn me into the
community leaders. My mind filled with despair. “We must hurry,” I
said, my words catching in my throat.

Just thinking about being caught and
put back into prison upset me. If they found us, they surely
wouldn’t let Shaul and I stay together. They would either kill us
or imprison us again for life. Either way, they would separate us.
And now I knew I didn’t want to live without Shaul, not after
everything we had been through. He was me and I was him. We were
one. I would rather die than be alone without him.

“
What are we going to
do?”

He stretched his arms overhead. “You
think I’d come here without a plan?”

I shrugged as I twisted a strand of my
hair looking around anxiously. “I guess not.”

“
Remember I told you I have
a surprise for you here.”

My face lit up. “I did remember how
you said that after we escaped from the dungeon, but I didn’t want
to say anything.” I looked at him carefully. “I guess I was afraid
because you said you didn’t know if I would like the
surprise.”

“
First of all, it’s about
time we get some good use out of your wings.”

“
I like the sound of that.”
I raked my fingers through my wet hair trying to smooth any
tangles.

He smirked. “Ok. Let’s go.” He was
chuckling to himself.

At first, I didn’t know why he was
laughing, but then I realized he was probably laughing because even
though I had wings I didn’t know how to fly! Other than jumping off
the cliff in flee of Aver, the last time I tried was in the dungeon
cell I was locked away in after being caught crossing the boundary
line that separated the community from the forbidden lake and that
attempt was utterly hopeless.

“
Well, I don’t know how
we’re going to get anywhere if I start trying to fly…” I said with
an ironic smile, “… because the last time I tried, I was just
barely able to lift off the ground.”

“
That’s where my wings come
in handy.” As he stepped closer to me, his hand brushed against
mine and my thoughts got all jumbled up.

“
What do you mean?” I think
I was blushing because my face felt hot.

He was looking at me now.

My throat grew tight.

He was so close that I could feel his
soft breath on my shoulder. “You don’t have to do much but flutter
a little…” he said, “…until you get the hang of it because I can do
the rest for you.” His silver eyes gazed at me through his thick
lashes.

I was so distracted from his
electrifying stare, that I hardly heard what he was saying.
“Really?” I finally managed to respond. Oh, I felt so
stupid!

He nodded as he stepped away
slightly.

“
How?” I wondered why he
moved away. Did he feel the same strong connection between us that
I was feeling?

“
It’s easy.” He shook his
head in amusement. “Just bring out your wings and we’ll be off and
on our way.”

He must think I’m silly. I hoped I
didn’t make too much of a fool of myself in front of him while
trying to fly. It didn’t matter really, I told myself. At least I
looked good in my mean snake skirt. I dropped his hand. “How the
hell am I going to fly in this thing?” I pointed at the
skirt.

He laughed. The dress was absurdly
tight. “It stretches,” he said humorously.

Shaking my head in playful
exasperation, I touched the hump on my back and then commanded the
wings to come out. To my great thrill, they did. And now I was able
to see them for the first time in the natural mirror of water
before me. They were magnificent. For the moment, I forgot all
about my desires for Shaul.

He was right. The wings looked like a
huge exotic red flower, with lovely sheer petals. I couldn’t see
the lit stars in the back, but I sensed the power exuding from
them.

After some more chanting, Shaul
sprouted his enormous black feathered wings. He looked regal and
powerful like the angel of death. His silver eyes shined like
headlights.

“
Ok. Let’s go.” Looking at
me with smoldering eyes, he took my hand.

I started to feel those butterflies in
my stomach again, but I quickly calmed myself, only releasing three
fluttery insects into the air above.

Shaul smiled wryly. “I guess you like
me.” He chuckled lightly as he looked up at the colorful
butterflies fluttering softly overhead. He released my hand and
gently positioned my wet long hair over one of my
shoulders.

My body trembled lightly at his touch.
I just stood there for a moment wondering what he was going to do
next, yearning to touch him, but then I remembered the task at
hand.

I was glad to be out of the water and
away from the light and the intense erotica of the music where my
lusts were unbearable. Now, though my yearning for Shaul was more
than strong, I at least had some control, even if it was very
little.

Redirecting my focus, I got my wings
moving pretty easily and was already up and down, on and off the
ground when he took my hand again. But, immediately after I was in
his grip, before I had a chance to get aroused all over again, he
pulled me way up high into the sky with him.

“
Whoa!” I yelled as the
ground left me.

When I looked up at Shaul holding my
hand above me, he looked omnipotent and transcendent with his dark
wings spread out in the grey-blue heights. He really was a master
aviator of his own body. He chuckled lightly as he looked into my
wide eyes that were filled with shock and wonder.

This really was thrilling and I knew
that once I got the hang of it, Shaul wouldn’t be able to keep me
out of the sky. But, for the time being, I was an awkward buffoon
in an elegant, daring gown dangling in his grip. Quite the
contradiction was I. But, I just had to laugh and not worry about
my absurdities because this was way too exciting to
care.

“
Let’s go!” he called out,
and we flew up higher.

I giggled as the open air rushed over
me like a big wave. What a feeling. I felt so free.

The brisk morning air felt wet and
refreshing against my skin as we flew through a puffy white cloud.
It was like swimming through a big bubble bath. As we made our way
out of the cloud and back into the grey expanse, I looked down and
saw tiny distant figures of deer in the grassy green field below.
Then we soared over some woodsy terrain. But, Shaul slowed down as
we came to a field of many flowers.

“
This is where I’m taking
you,” Shaul hollered as he pulled me close to him.

My heart raced when my body pressed up
against his. “The flowers are so bright and dynamic. It’s hard to
believe they are actually real.” I had never seen so many blossoms
in one place. The colors seemed more vibrant than anything I’d ever
experienced.

We lowered gently out of the sky and
onto the ground. The floral scents were splendorous. A mix of
yellow daisies, purple snapdragons, and red tulips surrounded my
legs. It seemed like every type of flower was in this field even
though the combinations seemed impossible. We walked through an
odd, but beautiful mix of roses, orchids, and daffodils until we
came to several hedges of honeysuckles that joined to make a
wall.

I noticed the sky had a sparkly
quality like someone had thrown pixy dust into it and it just
floated in the air, flashing and twixing in twinkly light. It was
beautiful.

“
You should see the sky at
night,” Shaul said seemingly enamored with the setting as well.
“The stars are brighter here and they fill the sky like a million
diamonds.”

He shook his head as if pleased with
the thought and picked some of the tiny cone shaped flowers for me.
“Taste this.” He handed me some of the honeysuckles. His silky
voice was like music to my ears.

I sucked the nectar from the tubular
end of one of the flowers. “Yum. It tastes like honey.”

“
You bet it does.” Slowly,
without averting his eyes from mine, he leaned toward me. I could
feel his breath on my neck. “It tastes like you,” he murmured in my
ear. His hands touched my waist.