I waved in acknowledgment, before stuffing my hands in my pockets and moseying toward a bench.
I took a seat, stretching one arm across the back and waited. Natalia could ignore me or she could be prompt. It was always hard to say.
While I waited, I watched Natalia and her companions converse. She nodded. Seconds later she and another split from the flock, arrowing toward me where I waited.
Natalia landed in front of me, wings flared. Her companion did the same a few feet away.
"Do you have it?" Natalia straightened, her wings snapping out of view as she quirked an eyebrow at me.
I dipped my chin once.
She inhaled before slowly releasing the breath. "That was quick. I thought you'd be at least another week."
I lifted a shoulder. "I'm good at what I do."
And I was. Surprisingly. A lifetime of searching and this was what felt right. Now, if it only came with health insurance and a fat paycheck.
Her companion stepped forward; excitement, hope, and challenge mingling in her expression. "You're not lying? You really found it?"
Natalia shot her an irritated glance.
Her companion grimaced before sending an apologetic look at Natalia.
I smothered my smile as I studied the other woman. Younger than Natalia, I'd have placed her at eighteen or nineteen had she been human. With spooks it was hard to tell. We rarely looked our age.
Even without the wings, I'd have described her features as vaguely hawkish, carrying only the faint remnants of youth. She was African American with wings that I itched to touch—soft looking and brown with white spots that reminded me of a speckled owl’s. They were beautiful, even though a few downy feathers were trying to work their way free as if she was a hatchling just finishing up her molt.
"Rose," Natalia warned.
Rose spread her hands, adopting the innocent expression of teens everywhere who knew they had overstepped.
Natalia's look sharpened. "Don't even try it. You were warned to let me do the talking. If you can't obey, you have to go back to the flock."
At that, Rose looked suitably chastened. She bit her lip as her gaze fell.
Natalia's attention swung to me, vexation on her face as I tried to hide my laugh. It seemed a teen's ability to irritate the adults who looked after them was universal and not only confined to humans.
"You don't have to worry," I said on a slight snicker. "I really did get it."
Rose hopped forward a step, the movement birdlike. At Natalia's hard look, she cleared her throat and took a step back, mouthing an apology at the older woman.
Natalia crossed her arms, barely restraining her snort.
Where Rose still held the slightly awkward long limbs of youth, Natalia was entirely at home in her body. Long and lean with a scary sort of beauty that said she could fuck you up and smile while doing it, she looked like the sort who'd walk out of a bar fight carrying the heads of her enemies.
I never could tell if she was the flock's leader or just the spokesperson they'd elected to deal with me. Either way, she'd been my contact from all the way back to my messenger days.
Natalia lifted her chin, asking without words to see it.
I reached into my pocket, withdrawing the bracelet and holding it up for them to see. To the average person, it would seem ordinary, maybe even cheap and slightly tacky. Nothing in its design seemed to warrant the attention its loss had caused.
Made from a thin silver chain, the bracelet had a series of charms similar to those you’d find on a little girl's bracelet. They clacked and rattled against each other as if chattering to themselves.
To humans, its only value lay in what nostalgia its owner would feel for it.
But I could see the power infused in each link, lighting up my magic sight like the fourth of July. Whatever this thing was, it was important enough for the harpies to threaten war and pay me an arm and a leg to retrieve it.
Natalia exhaled, something like relief settling on her face as her shoulders loosened.
A weird cawing sound came from Rose. Seconds later there was a rustle of feathers behind me. I held still as the teen peered over my shoulder from her perch on the back of the bench, her balance perfect.
Her head canted to the side in a move reminiscent of an owl. "That's it!"
"Rose," Natalia warned.
Rose wasn't listening. She snatched the bracelet from my hand, holding it up to eye level. She treated the bracelet with the sort of reverence and gentleness I'd have expected from a jeweler handling the Hope diamond.
I glanced at Natalia to find her eyes trained on the bracelet.
Noticing my look, Natalia's walls slammed down.
Rose took the hint, the bracelet disappearing into one of her pockets. The teen's wings flared. She pushed off, the bench vibrating from the force. Seconds later I spotted her winging for the top of the climbing wall.
Natalia waited until she'd rejoined the rest before asking casually. "Where'd you find it?"
I shook my head. How did I know that was going to be the next question?
I propped my elbow on the back of the bench. "You know that wasn't the agreement."
Natalia stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Then let's change the parameters."
I didn't speak for several seconds.
"We'll pay extra," she offered.
I scoffed. Was she kidding me? Did she really not know me at all? I wasn't going to help them start a war, not for any amount of money.
That had her smiling. "Yeah, I told them you weren't going to go for that."
That pacified me somewhat.
Natalia sighed and took a seat beside me. She withdrew an envelope, handing it to me. I took it and stuffed it in my jacket, not bothering to check the contents.
I knew the harpies were good for it. Some considered them untrustworthy, but when they gave their word, they kept it.
"Strange days, Aileen," Natalia finally said.
"Oh?"
The harpies were a little wild and rebellious, but they also tended to get the juiciest gossip. They'd make pretty good spies if they ever found an outsider they could respect.
Natalia grunted. "Word is there are a couple of heavy hitters in town."
The encounter with the umbrella man came back to me. What did I want to bet I'd already run into one of those heavy hitters?
"Any idea who they are or what they want?" I asked.
Natalia shook her head. "But it might be a good time to lay low."
"Isn't it always?" I grumbled.
Natalia's smile flashed as she clasped me on the shoulder. "Be careful. We don't want to have to train anyone new to fulfill your role."
"Thanks," I said dryly.
Natalia stood, her wings unfolding. "I thought you should know, there's someone watching you from the trees."
I slanted a glance at the woods lining the trails. There was no movement that I could see. Nothing stirred in the deep shadows.
That didn't mean there wasn't anything there, just that they were better at hiding than most.
If Natalia was right and I was being watched, I could think of only one person who had admitted to being a stalker of late.
Connor.
I shook my head and groaned.
"Don't die, Aileen. You're a source of endless entertainment for the flock." Natalia sprang into the air, winging her way back to the others.