Chapter 4-Aitvaras

“Aitvareli.”

I sigh, nestling deeper into the green brush. The breeze whistles in my face as I tuck my head beneath my wing, longing to return to peaceful unconsciousness. Elena! For a moment, I do not need wings as my paws fly towards the sound of her voice. The sun outside brightens even as it filters in through the wooden blinds, and I run to her.

Then, a murky blueness shrivels up the sun, dampening the joy, slowing me down to a sluggish pace. My wings turn to lead and my breathing slows, but my heart races from anxiety. That light shining in is far too hot and bright orange to be merely sunlight…

“Aitvareli, come home!” Elena calls through the crackling flames. My body tires, growing raggedy with each step I take. I will not reach her in time!

The flames do not frighten me, but I remember what they do to mortals. My feathers are alight and aching, but all I want is to rescue Elena from the fire. Yet despite the searing heat, my girl remains still and poised as a Roman statue.

“Aitvareli, wake up! Someone is in your home!”

I burst awake, jolting out from my nest like a dragon from its hoard.

Crash! “God, damn it!” Fractured glass crunches like dancing ice beneath a human foot, followed by more cursing and thumps. Cautiously, I untangle from my nest of blankets and peek outside the bedroom.

Someone is in the house. A stranger, intruder, burglar. Someone who is about to wish he had never come here. Silent as a shadow, I tiptoe towards the kitchen, hiding behind the door frame as I observe the scene. Initially, I think I dreamt the crash until something in the living room clatters to the floor.

A man is stooped down by the fireplace, hastily picking up one of the framed photographs of Birute’s mother. Cursing while cradling a bleeding finger, he hastily replaces it on the mantelpiece before surveying the room. I duck behind the armchair as he sweeps the room, walking around cautiously, starting at a shadow. His boots are heavy, but they don’t make a sound. Finally, he takes out a small, handheld box and begins talking into it; my magic whispers it is a communication device known as a phone.

“There’s nothing here, boss, just some family photos. Damn, that woman was fiine! Yes, yes I know, inappropriate. Yes, I searched the kitchen! The fireplace is clean, there’s nothing here! I should go before there are any real surprises.”

I chuckle to myself- he is about to be truly surprised. I have dealt with far more intelligent intruders! I slowly slink my way through the shadows toward the front door.

Sweating, he hastily whispers, “There’s something about this house that’s… creepy. Like, haunted or something. I know, I know, you said the ghost stories aren’t real, but you try standing in her living room at two AM and tell me that it’s not spooky here!” Even had I not been in the doorway, I would have heard this man- his voice despite whispering echoes back to the bedroom!

“Anyway, I’m out of here, there’s nothing of magical value.” He begins stepping toward the front door, where I lie in wait. His phone transmits a jumble of muffled, angry shouts. His superior sounds ready to murder him, but he merely clicks it off, muttering about the waste of time. I am about to make his night more interesting, for certain. However, as his hand touches the doorknob, and I am readying to spring, an ear splitting howl reverberates around the house- the man jumps a hundred feet into the air, but I am shaking too much to give chase, my eardrums crying out in pain. What is that blasted noise?!

Completely disregarding my presence, the intruder leaps over me, pulls the door open, and bounds through the threshold out to the black forest. No longer crippled by the alarm, I dash outside to catch him, realizing belatedly he might not be intimidated by a domesticated bird such as myself. Well, no time for such a worry now, I have no desire to allow him to escape; I reach inward for my flames, but before I can change, someone yanks me upwards. Birute has caught me, bringing me back into the cottage, Staring after the intruder in sheer shock and horror. Rocking to and fro, she dials for emergency services.

I must have fallen to unconsciousness, for the next thing I see are red and blue lights outside.

***

Her adrenaline gone, the girl is barely awake; rubbing her eyes, she sways to the point of near collapse as the lone female officer questions her. I approach her and find myself perching beside her, pecking at her ankles until she picks me up again, cradling me in her arms and unconsciously stroking my back. I should offer her at least a little comfort, for I am responsible for the intruder escaping. If only that stupid howling had not occurred!

“And you woke up from the alarm going off?” The police officer asks.

“Yeah…” Birute mumbles.

“We’ll check the perimeter, but the suspect is probably long gone by now. Any description?”

“No, I only saw his shadow. My rooster was chasing him, but I grabbed him before he could really go after him…I didn’t know what the man would do.”

“So you know it was a man,” The officer said.

“Yeah, he looked tall…too tall to be a woman…wide shoulders?...,” Birute stares off into the woods, as if she were still able to see him. I wish I had caught him; had she not stopped me, I would have undoubtedly dealt with him! “Sorry I can’t give you anything else.”

“That’s all right, we’ll take it from here. For now, just go back inside and get some rest. We’ll leave a patrol car out here all night just in case he comes back. I take it you’re new around here?”

“Yeah.”

The policewoman gives a comforting squeeze to her shoulder. “Just to assure you, these sort of things don’t happen often around here. Once in a while, you’ll come across a random punk or petty criminal on the loose. We always catch them. If this guy’s still in the woods, we’ll find him, I promise.”

“Okay,” Birute replies, but she is shadowed by frightened uncertainty. I can hear the words with which her uncle admonished her earlier whirring around in her mind, urging her to leave, insisting it is not safe. He might be right, even with my presence here. Not that he knows about me, fortunately.

“We’ll notify you on any more leads.”

The officer turns to leave, only for us to be interrupted by an ever familiar voice. “Birute!”

“Uncle Peter! What are you doing here?”

“I came as soon as I heard! Are you all right?”

“How did you hear-? I’m fine, he ran away as soon as the alarm went off.”

“Ma’am, you’d better come look at this,” a policeman beckons the female officer over; she leaves niece and uncle alone to talk.

“Yes, fortunate you had that alarm to rely on,” but Peter looked quite concerned. I cannot fault him; she could have been robbed, or worse.

“Thanks for installing one for me,” she smiles wearily.

Uncle Peter looked down at her quizzically. “I installed one? My dear, I thought your mother had done so years ago.”

“Mom, install a security system? Are you kidding?” Birute looks wide awake now, fully alert. “The only security system she believed in was a gun and a guard dog. She would never have installed one here. I thought you’d have installed one here for me before I moved in; you were so worried about my safety!”

“Believe me, my dear, I wanted to, but I never was able to do so. I tried, but either the electricians never showed up, or if they did then they insisted the wiring was too old to incorporate one. After a while, I wasn’t able to afford constantly sending someone out here, so I stopped trying.”

If there was no security system, then what was the wailing we heard? I shudder at the kind of creature who could have caused it.

Another officer calls the uncle over. Curious, I jump out of Birute’s arms and wander closer as they both pull apart from the rest of the teaming group. “You know better than to contact me so blatantly!” Peter hisses. Shocked by his turn in demeanor, I duck behind a bush, eagerly eavesdropping for more.

The policeman bows his head in apology. “I’m sorry to be dragging you away from your niece, but there’s been some misunderstanding. Our agent acted recklessly tonight; he should not have called you until after the scouting was complete.”

“Had he done his job properly, no doubt he would have found that blasted Grimoire and we wouldn’t be dealing with this charade! Actual policemen, are here tonight because of your recklessness!”

“It won’t happen again.”

“It had better not. I appreciate it when both my niece and I get our beauty rest! How can she feel safe when on the first night she moves, she is almost robbed!”

“But sir, you told us to investigate as soon as possible!”

“Not with her still in the house! What would have happened if she’d seen him? How would your soldier have dealt with that?” When the man remained silent, Peter continued softly, “I know your methods; I’ve witnessed them several times. And I made it clear she is not to know about any of this.”

“With all due respect, sir, you were a participant several times as well. And your niece remains ignorant. We promise she always will be.”

I duck away as Peter looms over him. “See that you knights keep that promise. Oh, and here- your little apprentice dropped this.” He casually drops a silver, tiny trinket into the officer’s outstretched palm and goes to comfort Birute. I do not manage to see the object, but the tiny glimmer of silver is enough to set my feathers on edge. And Peter was referring to knights. Surely not the same ones who hunted me before!

Before returning to Birute’s side, he whispers to the officer. “Might as well be thorough: did your apprentice find anything?”

The policeman shakes his head. “He found nothing magical in the house, much to your relief, I’m sure! Unfortunately, the rumors continue to spread of magic and the supernatural.”

“You’re telling me that you endangered my niece’s life for rumors? This cottage has long been associated with magic!”

“The rumors have multiplied in their severity- one mortal actually saw a fairy spinning in broad daylight. One of our own knights reported a dryad dancing near the local river.”

“So deal with it, as you always have.”

“Sir, if these reports are true, and at the rate they’re spreading… We might be dealing with something beyond the local artifact you insist is here. The rate these rumors are multiplying is unnatural.”

Peter shrugs, clearly bored with the conversation. Every twitch, every movement clouds over the once peaceful-looking uncle. Now, he is annoyed by his companion. “My sister’s grimoire is behind all of this. It must be, for anything else would be unlikely. Find the book. We’ll discuss your transgression later.”

“My apprentice will be dealt with immediately.”

As I watch him return to my human, I realize I will not be getting enough sleep tonight, for I will be watching over both of our shoulders.