A place to be loved first

Julius

He could have evaded the punch, yet he stood his ground and let it hit him squarely on the cheek. Pain exploded where it landed. Julius did not know Bill had a heavy hand. His big brother must have been training for this. He knew Bill had been bidding his time for the opportune moment to finally strike him.

And it was this moment.

"I'm sorry," Julius said, shoulders caved in and eyes downcast.

"Don't you say sorry!" Bill yelled at him. "Tell me it wasn't your fault, huh, tell me!"

Julius could do nothing but shake his head. It was his fault, his fault alone.

"You're not worth her life! You understand me?"

And of course, Julius wasn't. Yet she threw herself in the way of danger to save his life. Now they did not know where she was. Or whether she was alive or dead.

He had never so much as wanted to kill anything before. He wanted to catch that stupid bird and roast it alive.

Bill was handling it differently. His eyes burned red with loathing, like he wanted to kill him. But Julius knew that even at this state of him, Bill was holding back. His hands hanged fisted at his sides, consoling himself with his own tears. Julius had never seen Bill cry before. And now he saw that it did not fit him. He emanated a strong figure. Now he was breaking.

They still had the storm to deal with. They had taken refuge under an abandoned garage after the birds attacked. The water was rising. And the giants were heading for them. It was safe nowhere.

When Julius closed his eyes, he could still see vividly the huge silhouette of the winged beast descending, and Anastasia jumping to shove him down. Then it snatched her. Huge black talons that gripped her mercilessly. He could still hear its wings beating, hear his mother screaming. It was a series of flashing images and sounds stuck in his head, replaying over and over without end.

"I'm not staying here," Bill said, full of scorn and spite. "I don't care where you go, whether you live or die. Just make sure to stay away from me. The moment I see you again, I'm slitting your throat." He said it like he meant it.

Before Julius could muster the courage to stop him, Bill had walked into the street, keeping to the safe shade of the houses and disappearing from Julius's eyes.

Now that he was all by himself, he felt the cold texture of the blue feather tucked in his waistband. And somehow it grew colder. And colder until he was annoyed by the mere touch of it that he grabbed it out and threw it to the ground. It fluttered down onto the surface of the unseen flood.

He broke into sobs. The way he used to do as a five-year old. He was a cry baby back then. But his father said he had grown up. Well, he was fifteen now. "Look at my big boy," he used to say. It was a praise in itself. Julius was supposed to have grown stronger. His father left him to take care of his family. And now look what happened.

He had been crying. He did not know that Bill's desertion could make him cry even more.

His eye caught the feather. A sudden deduction popped in his head. 'It came from the birds.' The kind that took his mother.

It was only to appease himself that he picked up the feather and tried to snap it in two; only that he couldn't. It was actually stronger than it let on.

He realized with awe that it was really shining. Albeit pale, it shone.

As he held it up, one of the birds flew down, stopping at the garage door and hovering over it. It was blue. He looked at the other birds and saw that there were few blue among them.

It was not attacking. It just beat its wings in front of him. His hair and clothes stirred with the gusts of its flapping. Then it cawed, not aggressively.

For some reason he could not get his mind around, he understood her. It was a she, he knew somehow.

It cawed. Come to me, it said. I am your wings and you are my rider.

She was gorgeous. She had a crest with feathers like the one Julius had in his hand. Broad wings complimented with a broad tail. Her beak ended in a sharp curve - perfect for biting off meat. Her blue plumage sparkled in the light like she was dressed in a million beads.

What are you waiting for? It cawed.

Was it never meant to be just a coincidence that this little feather fell out of her crest and drifted down to his shoulders?

Though hesitant, he stepped towards her.

It hovered nearer to him. Feel me, it said so softly.

She craned her head towards him. Feel me. He reached out for her beak. The second he touched her, an unbidden image flashed in his mind. It was red and blue, blood and the sky, a lofty mountain and the vertigo of falling.

He withdrew, startled.

"What did you do?" He said, nearly shouting.

You have to choose now, it cawed. This or that; no matter, it ends.

"Wait," he backed up a little, "Are you threatening me?"

No. Our lives are intertwined now and forever.

The other birds of prey have spotted Julius. They raced for him as if he were a prize.

He retreated back into the garage, stumbling in the flood.

The blue bird turned and faced the oncoming flock. It was a chorus of squawking and flapping dropping like a bomb out of the sky.

Now human, or else you will not make it, the blue bird cawed.

Julius did not allow himself to think. He ran and leapt for the bird's back, held onto its feathers and braced for the onslaught. But before the winged creatures could reach him and tear his flesh apart, Julius was suddenly up in the air, the wind brushing past his skin. They soared, far from the monsters.

He opened his eyes and intinctively tightened his hold. He was so high up that the houses were only the size of beads. The wind was stronger here, more violent as if it had the intention to throw him off his mount. With his life ever on the line, he held on.

"Where do we go now?"

Where do you want to go?

"To my dad." He missed him terribly, especially now that he had no one else left.

Then to your dad we go.

The bird made for the clouds. Julius was terrified for a moment that lightning would bake him alive but he emerged through the stratus without a scratch.

This is the Realm of the Unknown, the bird told him.

What was supposed to be behind the clouds was a sky and the glorious sun. But this time it was not of course. Instead it was an endless patch of a universe that Julius found hard to describe. It was beautiful and fearful at the same time. The two descriptions blended perfectly in this patch of reality. It was riddled with star-like orbs and clouds of a myriad colors. It extended as far as he could see in every direction and beyond it. He wanted to stare at it for a little while longer but his bird dove again for the same point in the stratus, faster than he can command it to take a stop right above the storm clouds.

What was supposed to be below the storm cloud was the ruins of his dear village but instead he was greeted by the verdant color of the fields. He had transported right in front of a mountain.

"What is this place?"

Bruthenim. A place you'd love and hate. But do not worry. You will love it first.