Luka skystorm's Arc

Chapter 2 of 9

The great doors swung wide. Luka gripped the poisoned sword and readied a lie. But no one stepped out. Instead, something small shot from the shadows inside. It moved fast and low, close to the polished floor, then out onto the terrace toward the pool. Luka backed up. His falcon screeched and lifted off his wrist. The small shape stopped in the air, level with Luka's chest. It was a black cat, no bigger than a loaf of bread. A hooded cape wrapped its body. The hood covered its head, and the cape hid its paws. Bright green eyes studied him. The cat hung there without wings, without a saddle, without anything to hold it up. It just floated, the way Luka did. Luka stared. He had never seen another creature drift like him. "You've got no legs under that cape," the cat said. Its voice was small and sharp. "I know the look. I've got no paws under mine." Luka's grip on the sword loosened. "You float too." "Jaxon," the cat said. It drifted a slow circle around him, sniffing the green blade. "And you're bleeding trouble all over Greg's terrace. Stolen sword. Wild bird. Greg does not like guests." "I didn't choose to land here," Luka said. "A curse took my feet years ago. I want them back. That's all I've ever wanted." Jaxon stopped circling. The green eyes narrowed. "A curse took your feet." The cat lowered its voice. "Mine took my paws. Same night, maybe. Same magic. I've felt it on others." Luka's heart jumped. For years he had searched alone. Now a floating cat spoke his exact wound. "You know about the curse?" Luka said. "You know where it comes from?" Before Jaxon could answer, the terrace shook. A heavy thud, then another. From the side of the mansion came a huge black gorilla. Spikes ran down its back. A jointed metal tail curled over its shoulder, tipped with a spike like a scorpion's. It fixed small orange eyes on Luka and the stolen blade. "Greg's guard," Jaxon hissed. "It saw the sword. It thinks you're a thief. Move." The gorilla charged. The metal tail whipped down. Luka rose, and the spike smashed the stone where he had hovered. Chips flew into the pool. "Follow me," Jaxon said. The cat shot upward. Luka whistled. His falcon dove, and he caught the saddle straps. The bird strained and lifted him over the terrace, over the pool, after the small black shape climbing the sky. The gorilla roared below. Luka clung to the straps, the poisoned sword still in his fist. Beside him flew the only creature he had ever met who shared his curse. "You'll tell me everything," Luka called. "If we live," Jaxon called back. "Fly faster." They cleared the mansion and turned toward the trees. Luka had found a stranger who knew his curse. Now he had to keep them both alive to learn it.