Chaz Fallinger's Arc

Chapter 1 of 3

Chaz Fallinger clutched the golden sun pendant at her throat and stared up at the clouds. Her purple wings twitched. Somewhere above LumineAcropolis floated the sky-realm, where winged beasts once ruled. She didn't know why the old locket pulled her eyes upward every night. She only knew she wanted to reach that place, and she meant to fly there before the season ended. Beside her, a bright pink creature coiled around a fence post. Its snake body rippled while a dozen spider legs gripped the wood. This was her pet, and it hissed low, watching the shadows. Chaz scratched under its jaw. "Easy," she said. "Nobody wants trouble tonight." The creature was right. Three figures stepped from an alley and blocked the road. One held a sack. Another held a curved knife. The tallest smiled with too many teeth. "Nice feathers," the tall one said. "Nice necklace too." Chaz spread her wings to lift off. The knife flashed. It nicked her left wing, and pain shot down her back. She dropped hard onto the stones. Her pet lunged and bit an ankle, but the third thief kicked it aside. It struck the wall and went still. "Don't," Chaz said. Her voice shook. She pressed a hand over the pendant. "That belonged to my family. It's all I have left of them." "Then it'll fetch a good price." The tall thief ripped the chain from her neck. The gold gleamed once in his fist. He shoved her flat and the three ran. Chaz pushed herself up. Her torn wing dragged. She couldn't fly, so she ran on foot, slow and limping, following their footsteps through the dark. Blood dotted the stones from the ankle her pet had bitten. She followed the trail. It ended at a shop with boarded windows and a weathered sign. Faded letters read Creature Bling and Things Pawnshop. Through the cracked glass she saw pinned feathers and dull trophies of winged beasts. Her stomach turned. This was where thieves sold their kills. She crept to the door and looked in. The tall thief stood at the counter. He set her sun pendant down. The shopkeeper lifted it, pressed a hidden catch, and a tiny compartment popped open. Inside sat a folded scrap of something old. The shopkeeper's eyes went wide. "You know what this crest is?" he said. "This is a royal mark. From the old sky-throne bloodline." Chaz froze. Royal. Her family. Her. The thief laughed. "Worth more than I thought." He named a number. Coins changed hands. The locket vanished behind the counter, into a locked case. Behind Chaz, small feet skittered. Her pet limped to her side, alive, one leg dragging. She gathered it close and stared through the glass at the case. The locket was gone, sold and locked away. But now she knew the truth it hid. She had royal blood, and the road to the sky-throne started behind that door.