Angels of Darkness

heavy burden, and it was all I could do not to bury my face against his chest so I wouldn’t have to watch as we tumbled headlong to the ground. But the powerful wings drove down, sending great gusts of air all around us, and suddenly we were clear of the roof, we were suspended above the dark sprawl of the school, we were high over the narrow snake of the road, we were flying.
    I wrapped my arms more tightly around Corban’s neck and gazed around in rapt astonishment.
    The world had never seemed so strange or wondrous. The ground below was a patchwork of variegated textures—corrugated forest, silky sand, a linen weave of grass. Everything was shadowy and mysterious, only half illuminated by the spectral moonlight. It was a landscape from a dream, unreal and beautiful.
    â€œOh, Corban,” I breathed.
    â€œNot so terrifying after all, is it?” he replied.
    â€œIt is terrifying—but in a wonderful way,” I said. “I can’t explain it.”
    â€œYou don’t have to,” he said. “I know.”
    He canted to one side, dipping his left wing, and suddenly the winding ribbon of the road disappeared. “Wait,” I said, slightly panicked. “I haven’t been paying attention. Don’t go so far. I have to keep track of where we are.”
    He leveled out, lower to the ground, and spoke in a soothing voice. “We haven’t gone very far yet. Even if we had to land and try to get our bearings, we would only be a mile or so from the house. Do you see anything you recognize?”
    â€œTurn around. Back that way. No, that way. If I could find the road—”
    In less than a minute, it reappeared and I let out a sharp sigh of relief. “All right, let’s go back to the school so I’m sure I know where we are. And then we can set out for someplace else. The wreck of the old mine?”
    â€œThe ocean?” Corban said.
    â€œNot tonight,” I said. “It’s too far away, and I’m still getting used to this.”
    He seemed disappointed. I waited for him to try to cajole me, but he had promised not to disregard my comfort, and so he acquiesced. “Some other night, then,” he said. “Where are we now?”
    â€œBack over the school. Turn to your left and you’ll be facing straight north. Can you find the mine from here without my assistance?”
    â€œYes,” he said and plunged through the unresisting air.
    For this short flight, I didn’t need to watch for landmarks. The northbound road stayed always on our left, a comforting and reliable presence. Faster than I would have believed possible, we were close enough to hear the eerie, intermittent sound of the old windmill slapping against the broken roof of the collapsed mine. Corban hovered directly above the wreckage, and I peered down in fascination at the angles and splinters of the abandoned buildings.
    â€œSo when you’re here, you can still catch my voice from the roof of the Great House?” I said.
    â€œI can’t actually hear you this far out,” he admitted. “But I know the approximate direction I have to go to return, and once I’ve flown for about five minutes, I can pick up your voice.”
    â€œHow do you know which way to come back? I would be wholly turned around if I couldn’t see the ground.”
    I felt his shoulders move in a shrug. “It’s automatic, I suppose. I’m always aware of which direction the wind is blowing. If it’s at my back when I fly out, I know it needs to be in my face when I return.”
    â€œBut the wind shifts.”
    â€œIt does, but the general pattern is stable enough to steer by.”
    â€œWe should put something on the roof of the Great House that makes noise all the time,” I said. “Bells, maybe. Chimes. Something that could guide you back if I wasn’t there.”
    â€œWhy wouldn’t you be there?”
    â€œI’m just trying to give you more options. Something else to rely on.”
    He didn’t answer, but I could tell he didn’t like the idea. It was odd to think he trusted me so much he was not interested in investigating substitutes.
    â€œShow me how well you can get back without any direction from me,” I said after a moment of silence. “And let me know when you think we’re close to the house. I want to see how accurate your sense of distance is.”
    â€œNot yet,” he said.