Page 20 of Heart Shaped Wreckage (standalone)

LANDON

The meadow was just as I left it. I hurried over to where Heath and Gula lay on the ground. Heath looked as if he were burning with a fever. Sweat covered his body and caught in his chest hair. His face looked ashen, and his breathing was shallow.

Gula licked at his face and whined.

I bent down and put my hand against his forehead. He was on fire, even for a shifter.

“Gula? The prophecy doesn’t say what it is I have to do with the feather.”

“It doesn’t, does it? Huh? If there were only a bird that could help you with this somewhere? Maybe you met one?”

“Thoth. We met Thoth in the desert.”

“I’m a being of the ground, even if I am a healer. I am helping him, young one, and keeping him tethered to us. But this is a healing borne of the oldest magics. We need Thoth.”

I held up the stones, and a portal opened in front of me. I was getting way too used to this. I walked through and found myself back in the desert. Thoth stood on a rock and stared at me.

“You came back? Is that a good thing, or is it time?”

“I think it’s time.”

“You have no idea what has happened, child. The changes that are afoot because of your silliness. If you hadn’t forgotten who you are, none of this would have ever happened.

Heath would be going about his normal business and living the life he chose.

Now, the choices become ones that are unbearable.

But it is what it is. It was always foreseen. ”

He hopped down off of his rock and stood in front of me.

“What do you mean?”

“Do we have time for me to give you the thesis on chaos theory? A choice is made, and that choice ripples across the universe. You made a choice that changed an essential part of you, and now that change has caused all of this to happen. Of course, you did have a little help.”

“The cat?” I hissed.

“He likes to help, in his own way. Chances are it would have happened anyway, because when fate decrees something to happen, it always does.”

“I need your help. I have a feather.”

“Is it a magical feather? Does it sing and dance?”

“I plucked it from an angel.”

“Did you? Huh? You have more meddle than I assumed. You might be the first human to ever… No, there was one other. He’s very dead now.”

“Will you come? Heath needs you.”

“I have always been destined to be there. Step through your portal and you will see.”

I raised the stones, and the portal appeared. I stepped back through to find Moon Cat sitting on Heath’s chest. Gula stayed curled next to his side, and at his head stood Thoth as he fluffed his feathers with his beak.

“We’re all here, except for one. Where’s Morganna? It’s her essence and the moon tides that will help him the most as she helps to heal the beast inside.” Thoth quacked at me loudly.

“I know…” I sighed.

I raised the stones, and once again a portal opened. Morganna stood in the moonlight, waiting for me beside one of the trees that we had destroyed in our fight with Aurelius.

“I shouldn’t let you back into my forest. I protect this sacred realm above all costs. It is one of the last magical spaces left in this world. Humanity has destroyed the rest with their fear and religious fervor.”

“We did not come here of our own volition, good lady. The sand portal brought us here.”

“But you used fire in my forest. It is the one thing that all growing things fear. This tree was once majestic, and now… No matter how old and long it had survived, all it took was one blast from you, boy witch.”

“I am sorry. I did not think about the consequences.”

“No, you only thought about your love. It’s the reason I have allowed you to return instead of closing Eire to you. I, too, must see through my end of the agreement.”

“What do you mean?”

“Fate calls all, child. I have had a part to play in this farce from the beginning. Take me to him, and I will help him heal. I hope he is strong enough to do what must be done, or this has all been for naught.”

“What does that mean?” I demanded. I had no idea what was happening, but I was starting to feel like I had been totally set up from the start, as was Heath.

“It means that we should go. If we don’t save his life now, it will be too late.” She strutted over to me and changed from her wolf form back into the young maiden with long hair. “Let’s go, child. Let’s save your love and hope that in the end, all is as it should be.”

I pulled the portal back up, and we walked through it together. The others were as we left them, but the moon was rising in the sky. Portals and places were starting to freak me out. Time felt meaningless, and I was humbled by all I had seen.

I just wanted to be home with Dandelion and to hear him tell me what a shit show I was.

Unlocked another memory, but I didn’t have time to unpack it right now

I froze as Morganna walked over, and together the four of them surrounded Heath. She offered her hand to me, and I knew what it was she needed. I placed the feather in it. She shook her head sadly and handed it back to me.

“What do you mean? It’s not too late. I know it’s not too late!” I started to freak out, and tears streamed down my face. I had just found him. How could I lose him? He was all I wanted, and I knew he felt the same way, even if he hadn’t said it. I loved him.

“No, seeker. That is not what she means. You have to be the one to place the feather within his wound. Only then will it take. It can only be healed and its magic unleashed with the tears of a loved one. That is you.” Thoth said kindly.

He spread his wings, and once again, the cat, bird, dog, and wolf all touched.

I stepped over them and knelt by him. His color had completely drained, and his wound had already oozed through the bandages and turned them golden. I took the bandages off as fast as I could, worried about causing him pain. He didn’t move. He was at the point where he could feel nothing.

“Like this?” I placed the feather with the golden ichor still clinging to it at the edge of his wound.

“Push it all the way in until the hollow tip can be seen no more.” Gula sighed. “I did like him like this. He felt like one of us, somehow.”

“It is as it has always been meant to be,” Thoth answered sadly.

I pushed the feather as far into his wound as I could, and Heath whimpered in his sleep. “It’s hurting him.”

“It’s changing him.” Morganna nodded.

“Your tears. They must fall into his wound, seeker. Only then can the magic work. Only then can he be truly healed,” Gula whined.

I bent over and took some of my tears on the top of my finger and placed them against his hot flesh next to the wound. It slid down, and the wound began to knit itself back together.

“More. Add another,” Thoth barked loudly as he flapped his wings.

I did as I was told, and Heath’s eyes fluttered. His body began to faintly glow as if he were being surrounded by the golden ichor itself.

“Back now. It’s happening,” Morganna whispered and grabbed me by the shoulder. Moon Cat stepped away and turned back to watch.

Heath’s body levitated off the ground, and he began to tilt until he was vertical. His toes pointed to the earth, and his eyes looked toward the heavens.

Then he screamed. I had to cover my ears and close my eyes at the sound of it. Such pain emanated from him. What had I done? Had I been a fool this entire time? It was there in the prophecy, wasn’t it? Right at the beginning. A foolish witch who seeks himself, tears would be the key.

I had played into all of their hands.

I stepped back to raise the stones and try to help him, but as I stood there, a miracle happened.

Wings sprouted from him ever so slowly and unfurled in the night sky, backlit by the full moon. Wings as white as snow. I didn’t understand.

“Thoth? What is happening?” I cried.

“He is being reborn. Your quest is almost at an end. But there is still more to come. It could not be finished until he ascended once again.”

“He’s an angel again?” I could not believe what the fuck was happening. This was about to tear my mind apart. It was too much.

“Yes, young one. The real question is, will he stay that way?” Gula whined again and covered her eyes with her paw. “That has to hurt a lot.”

Beams of golden light shot from his eyes and into the sky. His arms raised, and the same beams of light shot from his arms and held him in place as his body convulsed.

“Will it take. Will he survive?” Thoth sounded sad as he watched my love transform.

“The beast inside is fighting the change. The wolf needs to rest.” Morganna stepped forward and raised her hands. “Sleep, my creature. Sleep and subsist. You are still a part of him, as he is you. Sleep, creature of the night, and rest within his golden aura. You have done your duty.”

Heath screamed again as his wings spread out widely and they pulsed with a life of their own as the feathers sprouted as if by magic. Well… it was magic.

“It is almost done,” Gula came over and sat by my side. “But will he be the same Magnus we knew, or will he go back to the old ways he once left behind?”

The light stopped suddenly, and Heath plummeted to the ground, but with a beat of his wings, he froze in midair and slowly lowered himself.

“What has happened to me?” He seemed dazed.

“You were wounded by the blade of Aurelius. Young Kevin did the impossible and plucked a feather from him to save you.”

“You did this for me?” He asked with wide eyes. His face was even more beautiful than before. His skin glowed with an unearthly heavenly light as if he were lit from inside. “That was a foolish thing to do.”

“You were going to die,” I wept as I stared at him. No being should be so beautiful.

“You saved me. Did you find out your truth, Kevin? Is our journey over? What am I supposed to do?” Heath looked at me, confused. “Am I Heath or am I Magnus?”

“You look like Heath. How do you feel?” I took a step forward, but my feet felt as heavy as my heart. Was I going to lose him right after I found him? Why did everyone leave me?

“I am… I guess I am me. I’m still me. But how can I live a normal life? I remember everything. I remember the fall and the reason I rebelled. I remember how I felt alone in the world until Lamass found me. I remember the life I built and still want.”

“MAGNUS OF THE LEGION, I HAVE COME TO brING YOU HOME.” Aurelius slowly descended into the meadow.

“Home? I have a home, old friend. I did not ask for my grace back.” Heath turned and embraced him. “However, it is good to see you when you’re not trying to kill me.”

“It was ordained,” he said in his normal voice. I hated it when he sounded like he was blaring from a giant speaker in the sky. It gave me a headache.

“But was my choice? I am so confused. I can feel our father again, and it… I don’t want to go backward. I want to go toward my future.”

“I was afraid you’d say that.” Aurelius looked at him sadly. “But God gave free will, didn’t he? You have yet to ascend to heaven. You can decree a meeting with the Fates themselves.”

“It is right there in the prophecy,” Thoth looked annoyed. “You have one more journey left.”

“A journey I cannot attend. I am being called back. Good luck to you, my brother. If we meet again, I hope it is as a member of the horde. But I fear I shall never lay eyes on you again.” Aurelius soared into the sky and disappeared within a blink.

“Seeker. The stones will know what to do.” Morganna came and stood beside me. “Here is where we part. Our roles in this play are over.”

Heath walked over and folded his wings behind him. “Are you ready to finish this?”

“With you by my side, I will be ready for anything.” I smiled. But my heart was heavy with fear.