Dark Wings - Prologue

He stood, stunned, watching his world slip away from him on a day that should have made his world bigger and more complete. The hardest thing to swallow was that he could do nothing to change things. He could only look on in horrified disbelief and stand with his arms hanging limply at his sides. His slack face contradicted his mind which was reeling out of control.

Disconnected, he vaguely saw the doctors panicking around his beloved wife lying on the birthing table that was about to become her deathbed. How horribly ironic. He saw the blood. Spirits, there was so much of it! It just kept coming; it wouldn’t stop. They couldn’t make it stop, couldn’t keep the life from pouring out of his love, life, and soulmate. He saw her face, so pale, drenched with sweat and tears, and her eyes that had once been filled with such sweet life slowly dulling and losing their vibrant luster. Her once stunning mocha colored wings hung ruffled and limp over the sides of the table, never to give flight again. He saw the doctors shaking their heads in remorse, and that was all the sign he needed.

A female nurse with warm brown doe eyes and plain white wings walked up to him and placed a slim, comforting hand on his arm. Her eyes were full of regret and sorrow. "I’m sorry," was all she said. The stale, medicinal smell of the infirmary room began to turn his stomach.

In a daze, he stumbled to his wife’s side, the doctors now giving full attention to the newborn baby wailing and kicking on a small table. The little girl, he knew, must be prepared for the final step in completing her birth: when her wings came. When he took his wife’s fragile hand, her eyes slowly opened and focused weakly on him.

"Peiton."

It sounded like it drained her to just say his name, and the weak smile that followed appeared even more strained. The doe eyed nurse was on the other side of the bed pressing a warm rag to his wife’s face and neck to try and give some comfort.

Peiton swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the heavy lump forming in his throat so he could form some words. "Jayci, love, I..." his voice cracked with emotion. Tears began to pool in his eyes, but he was determined to not let them fall. The last thing he wanted was to distress his wife.

"Shh, don’t cry, you big oaf."

The weak words prompted a strangled laugh that was soon cut short by a sob. He couldn’t stop his tears then. Bringing her fingers to his lips, he shakily kissed each one and then placed a loving kiss on her pale lips.

A small smile, and, "C-can I see her?" The doe eyed nurse smiled sadly, so kind, and placed a hand on Jayci’s cheek. "Of course, dear." Then she disappeared out of Peiton’s sight. His wife took a shallow, wavering breath and let it out slowly. Peiton reached up and brushed a stray lock of mocha colored hair away from her face, feeling the wetness from her perspiration. She gave his hand a slight squeeze, and the fact that she could barely grip his hand combined with the way the simple task made her whole arm shake startled Peiton greatly.

The kind nurse returned with a bundle cradled in her arms. Since Jayci was too weakened to hold even the light weight of her own child, the nurse leaned over his wife and uncovered the baby to reveal a beautiful little pudgy face and a head with dark strands of hair. The little girl was writhing slightly in the nurse’s arms. Jayci’s eyes were wide with love for her baby, and she raised a shaky arm and hand and touched her daughter’s face. The baby reached up and latched on to her mother’s pointer finger, surprisingly strong. Then Jayci’s arm fell to her side, not having the energy to hold it up any longer. Her eyes closed and the small smile returned to her lips.

"She’s...beautiful." The last word trailed off into a sigh. The little smile that had formed unknowingly because of his wife’s delight vanished as he felt and saw her relax back into the pillows that were supporting her. Desperation overcame him, showing clearly on his face. Sky blue wings fluttered in panic and nervousness.

‘No...not yet. This can’t be it. She can’t go…she can’t leave me. Why is this happening to me? Why, why, WHY?!’ He grit his teeth against the oncoming tears. When he had saw his wife’s happiness, seen some life return to the oceanic eyes he adored so much, he had forgotten the reality of the situation for those few sacred moments. But now it all came crashing down on him and the weight of the realization tore him from the inside out.

He let his head fall onto the crook of her shoulder, sobbing freely, trying to muffle his cries of anguish against her shoulder. In between sobs and gasps he mumbled, ‘I love you’ and an occasional ‘Don’t leave me’ over and over, desperate. Jayci smiled a sad, sorrowful smile. Peiton now held her right hand with both of his and had it pressed to his tear-soaked face, so she slowly brought her other arm over to rest on the back of his neck, kneading lightly. She turned her head slightly so that her chin rested atop his.

"Peiton, darling, please don’t be sad. I have brought a life into this world, and even though I will not get to lead her through life and help and watch her grow, I leave this world content."

She reached to her neck with both shaking arms, tugging at her necklace. Peiton gently drew her hands away and unclasped the necklace for her, pushing it into her hand. Pushing back, she closed his hand around it.

"Give it to her. It will protect her."

Her breaths were becoming increasingly labored and shallow, her skin deathly pale and balmy. Peiton became frantic. He took her hand again, and she brought her arm back up around his neck.

"No, Jayci no, please, don’t go, you’re going to be okay. Hold on, please!" He lifted his head and searched her eyes, eyes that weren’t really focusing on anything.

"Love you...always...Pei...ton..." He watched as she drew in her last breath and released it slowly. He saw her eyes close, felt her hand slip from around his neck and fall gently over her chest. He felt her limp hand in his. She was gone. His heart shattered into a million jagged pieces. Breathing became a struggle; it felt like his lungs and heart were folding in on themselves.

Before he could further mourn the loss of his beloved, machines that were monitoring his baby started beeping and flashing wildly, signaling a rise in blood pressure and heart rate. The once quiet baby began howling, her face turning a light shade of purple. One of the doctors picked up a large shot filled with amber liquid. He carefully flipped her over onto her stomach and injected the shot into the little girls back. The baby let loose a loud cry.

Peiton was immediately beside his daughter. "H-hey! What are you doing? What was that for?" A doctor with patient eyes put an arm across his chest and moved him back a few steps. "Please, sir, step back. I assure you your daughter will be fine. The shot was merely to numb her upper body to lessen the pain when her wings come through."

Peiton’s eyes grew large. He had heard that watching wings form was truly an amazing thing to witness. Wiping tears from his eyes, he took a hesitant step towards his wailing daughter. "Can I...watch?"

The doctors patient gaze was upon him. "If you wish, sir." Peiton mumbled a ‘thank you’ and stepped next to the table his daughter was on. Three doctors gently held the baby down to make sure she wouldn’t roll over onto the fragile wings after they came through.

They waited. Peiton was agonized by his baby’s obvious suffering and prayed it would end soon. He couldn’t remember what it was like when his wings first came, and he was thankful he couldn’t remember. He clutched the necklace to his chest.

The baby gave a sudden piercing scream and then two wings ripped from her back near her shoulder blades, causing blood to ooze freely from the fresh wounds. The wings ruffled slightly, stretching, before settling against the baby’s back. The doctors all gasped, horrified, and Peiton stood frozen in terror. The baby continued to scream as they all stood completely still, none able to react. Then slow tears made their ways down Peiton’s cheeks. His baby...she had black wings.

The doctors all started moving at once as if someone had pushed the play button. "Nurse, bring another shot." The doe eyed nurse flinched at the terse, uncaring tone. She turned to Peiton. The look in her eyes was one of deep regret. Then she turned and retrieved another one of the large shots. After handing it to the doctor who requested it with a trembling hand, she pulled off her gloves, tossed them in a wastebasket, and fled the room, leaving the door swinging in her wake. She knew what was coming - so did Peiton. Whispers of evil sounded through the room.

Peiton stood numb for the second time in an hour, feeling detached from his body and mind. He watched as the second shot was injected into his baby. Her wings were absolutely gorgeous, darker than the night with feathers that practically shone.

The doctor who administered the shot picked up a decent sized scalpel that gleamed lethally in the fake light of the room. Peiton felt the blood rush out of his face. Pushing past doctors he pleaded, "No! Don’t hurt her!" The doctor turned angry eyes towards him. "It’s generally unavoidable. Now, move back, sir!" Peiton was roughly pushed aside by the other doctors. Anger flared inside him. He wanted to grab their wings and break them.

He had to turn away when the doctor brought the scalpel down to his child’s lovely wings. Then he brought his hands up hard to cover his ears when he heard the infant's screams. The wings were set aside on a tray. A healer used light healing spells and medicines to close the wounds as best as they could be, but Peiton knew the scars would remain there forever, a constant reminder of what she was to her own people.

The baby was quickly cleaned off, her wounds dressed, and then wrapped in a simple white blanket. Peiton still had his hands clasped over his ears and his eyes shut tightly, wet trails evident on his cheeks. A hand was placed on his shoulder none too gently. "You best be careful with your child. Unfortunately, we cannot just be rid of her. But if there’s any threat, there are people who have the power to do so.” He wrinkled his nose before continuing, “And get rid of those wretched wings.”

Then he heard shuffling feet and the doctors left him with his sobbing child. He glanced over to see a nurse pulling a blanket up over his wife’s lifeless body. Not able to bear being in the room any longer, he pocketed the necklace and picked his baby up gently in his arms as to not put pressure on her fresh scars, leaving the infirmary with a watery look at his wife and flying to the only cliff on the small peninsula, cradling his child in one arm and holding the severed wings in the other.

He couldn’t think right, didn’t know what to do. His world had been shattered and turned upside down within an hour, and the crushing pain he felt physically in his chest and also in his soul was breaking him.

He landed gently at the cliff's edge. Looking down at both the blessing and the curse nestled in his arm, he released the wings and let them drift down to land upon the waves where they were tossed about violently before swallowed by the current.

The baby then reached up blindly and grabbed hold of his long brown locks, pulling on them with shocking strength, and she let out a little giggle. A smile broke upon his face. She was strong, and pride swelled in his chest, along with love.

He knew then that he would love her always with all of his heart, and he would do everything in his power to protect her from the world. A slight pang shot through his chest. But could he? Could he raise her all by himself? He thought of his dear wife, and a confidence spread through him that he felt in his mind but not in his heart. He’d do his best for her, for Jayci. He tightened the hold on his child slightly. Looking at her long and hard, he thought of a name.

"Keira."

The baby giggled happily, and he smiled through his heart-wrenching sobs.