Wings, Chapter 8

By: Raevyn Maxwell

"Here you are."

Long hours had passed since the initial destruction of the AIA headquarters and Liz's reincarnation. Liz and Arianna were sitting half asleep against a wall with only a small dimly lit lightbulb on nearby. Arianna jerked awake at the voice, immediately on guard. She reached into herself to try and control this new magic she had discovered, just in case. While doing so, she could sense someone nearby using earth magic, moving dirt and rocks to travel through the ruins of the base.

"Took me forever to find you, the AIA certainly can hide themselves. Thanks to that magical shockwave, I was able to find you." A young black haired man kneeled before the two girls. He set his flashlight on the ground and offered them each a blanket in the cooling underground ruins. Now Arianna could see more of him; he was dressed in dirty jeans and an equally dirty shirt. His face had dirt on it and next to the flashlight was a pick-ax. He looked upon them with kind and worried eyes.

"Who are you?" Ari asked, the more conscious of the two. His expression allowed her to relieve herself from straining to control magic.

"The name's Leo." He smiled at her. "Lady Lao saw great things in you Arianna." Ari stared up at him, confused. "I was one of the Lady's attendants. After she was shot, she told me to find you, to tell you she was sorry."

"Sorry? For what?"

"For not telling you of your uniqueness; she saw that you had something no one else has. So, she gave you that spell to help you unlock those powers."

Ari blinked, staring up at him. She was about to inquire more about all that had happened when a second voice interrupted her.

"Man, its dark! Leo, have you found her yet?"

"Yes sir, I have! She has a friend here also." Leo called towards the voice.

"Where are you? These flashlights really are not enough-YAH!" Fire suddenly lit up the ruins of the base, floating in balls all around.

"Thank you Ari!" Leo said to her, but she just looked confused.

"I didn't do anything . . ." She said as a new man came up.

"But . . . who would have?" The new man said as he stepped over rubble. "Neither Leo nor I have much skill in fire . . ." Liz yawned, reaching up and grabbing one of the balls, holding it close in the cold air, completely oblivious to those around her.

"It's cold . . ." She said to herself, hugging the flame.

"Who's this?" The new man said, looking closer at the red haired girl.

"This is Liz . . . and who are you?" Arianna looked up at him, taking in his brown hair and cobalt eyes. His eyes and face were lined with the beginning of wrinkles, and his hair was just beginning to gray.

"Hiro. I was K'lani's husband . . ." He fell silent for a moment, gazing to the side, then looked back at Arianna. "So you're the one she was so excited about having met. She wouldn't stop talking about finding the perfect spell for you to try, and wondering how it would turn out. She almost expected something special to happen . . . and I guess it did."

"Mr. Hiro, we need to get these two up to the ambulances, we don't know what they've been through, and they should get to a hospital."

"Gotcha. Come on you two."

~*~*~*~*~*

"M'lady, are you sure?"

"Of course she's sure Leo!" The flame-headed girl stuck her tongue out at the attendant, responding for her friend. With a sigh, Arianna's charcoal wings spread out, flexing their feathers as the lady stretched. She smiled at her friend's comment. Fire mages, though very temperamental, were very protective of their friends, and if Liz said it was alright, it was alright.

~It had been about five years since she had cast the 'Wings' spell, and so much had happened. Arianna and Liz had had to go on independent study for a few months. They had already missed two weeks of school, and there was a long stay in the hospital for the both of them. They came back for the fall semester, with the excuse that they had been studying in Great Britain.

Even though it'd been months since the destruction and the wildfire of news reports on the series of unknown explosions, there was still talk of it. The United Nations gave the explanation that an anti-magic organization had undergone an experiment failure. They used this to try and persuade magic users to learn more about their abilities. "You'll end up like the anti- mages if you don't learn" was a popular joke line from parents to stubborn kids.

Because of the UN explanation, Arianna and Liz were saved from the brutal media and unwanted popularity that would probably come with their faces if the true story were told.

They had been awarded their high school diplomas with the rest of their class, and both went to study at one of the new Magic Universities where mages of all sorts were being trained.

Arianna had learned it all quickly, soon becoming a teacher there, Liz following a year or two later. Because of her teaching rank and knowledge in the area of magic, Arianna was now the head of the magic society as well, recognizable everywhere by the tattooed wings on her back, which were now completely visible. They were almost a mark of pride for her, so she rarely went out without a halter-top on.

Since the discovery of magic, the world has become much different than from what it once was, but most likely for the better.~

Arianna grinned, getting a running start as she flapped her way up into the clouds, leaving a few charcoal feathers behind.

~end~

~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: Well, here it is. My best and favorite story I've ever written. Thank you for sticking with me and reading it; any and all comments appreciated, I may go back and edit bits that need editing.