Page 72 of Curse of Immortality
“I don’t have an exact number. Hundreds.”
Her eyes expanded. “Hundreds? Are you jesting with me?”
“No. I can shift into any animal or person that I’ve…” He stopped talking and frowned.
“That you’ve what?”
Slowly he explained, “That I’ve killed.”
Althea opened her mouth and then closed it again.
“You didn’t know that about Faders?” Damon asked.
“No. I always knew you were bad people, but…” She looked down. “Are there any animals that you haven’t killed?”
“Yes, but not many. I’ve been around for two hundred years, Althea.”
“What animals have you spared?”
“Ehm… mostly sea animals. I haven’t killed every type of fish, whale, or shark in the ocean.”
“Have you killed a peacock?”
Damon scrunched up his face and gave her a funny look. “You mean those flamboyant birds with large colorful feathers?”
“Yes. I saw some at the botanical garden in Oxford. They are the prettiest birds I’ve ever seen,” she said while studying his face closely.
“Right, but they don’t even fly, Althea. What would be the purpose of shifting into one of them?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Maybe to spy on people, which seems to be your specialty.”
“Oh, I see. Did you confess something special to a peacock in Oxford and now you’re mortified it might have been me?” he teased.
“No.” Her body language betrayed her, and it made Damon laugh.
“You did! Aww, that’s sweet.” While talking, he put on the jacket that he’d been carrying in his hand.
“Good day, Damon Bradshaw,” Althea said dismissively before turning and walking on.
“Won’t you let me buy you a meal and talk to me without your anger?” he called after her, but Althea didn’t reply.
Watching her walk away, he buttoned his jacket and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He felt frustrated and embarrassed over his painful attempt at trying to seduce Althea. Surely Charles would punish him for his failure. But as his hands brushed the soft pockets of his jacket and he realized they were empty, his whole body froze and his heart skipped a beat. There hadn’t been anything on the table when he left the tavern. He was a hundred percent certain of that but searching all of his pockets, there was nothing. Pivoting, Damon looked back to the tavern but the street was empty.
“Bloody hell!” Tightening his jaw, he set off at a fast run and chased after Althea, shouting for her to stop.
When Althea looked over her shoulder to see Damon sprinting towards her, she set off in a run as well, and the Earthen was a lot faster than he expected. Taking a sharp turn into an alley, Damon shifted to his black eagle shape and set in pursuit. Never had he imagined that Althea had it in her to steal from him or anyone. She’d always seemed to be the purest and most naive person he’d ever come across. The picture he’d had of Althea in his head seemed to vanish and he was beginning to hate the new version she was painting.
Rising above the houses, he followed her running down the street pushing at people to get by. She kept looking over her shoulder until she felt sure that he wasn’t there. Slowing down to a walk, she entered Hyde Park, where Damon landed on a branch and watched her from above.
Looking around over her shoulders, she made sure no one was close before she exhaled and raised a hand. He stared in disbelief as from the ground, twigs, leaves, and stones rose into the sky where they floated to make the shape of a doorway.
Understanding that he needed to act fast before she was gone, Damon took off from the branch he sat on and flew down to stop Althea from leaving with the compass.
Althea heard the flapping of large bird's wings but didn’t turn her head in time to stop the attack. She only just turned her head to see a scary black eagle swoop down and grab her by the hair. As she shrieked and raised her arms to protect her face, the portal collapsed. She was on the ground with her eyes closed and her face scrunched up when the claws in her hair were replaced with strong hands. Damon’s dark eyes, which had been flirtatious and inviting, were now dusky and angry. Lying on top of her his lips were tight and his eyes were even scarier than the eagle swooping down to attack her had been. He stayed on top of her for no more than a few seconds before he rose to his full height and yanked her by the arm to get her to her feet.
Althea’s hair was always a mess of wavy curls, but after having a bird claw its way through it, it was almost as wild as her large, frightened eyes.
Still holding a tight grip around her arm, he lowered his voice and locked his jaw before he hissed, “Give me the compass.”
