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Authors: Zetta Elliott
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Mercy when she’s getting all of Mrs. Martin’s attention. “It’s true!” I yell at him. “You think I’m making this up?” I grab my pant leg and lift it to show the bandage on my ankle. “You think that… thing was after me ? It was after the bird!”
“Right—the bird that’s not a bird. I think you need to take your meds, D.”
Nyla flies to her feet. “You know what, Keem? Just go. I thought you were someone decent—I thought you weren’t like all those other guys.”
“I am decent—but I’m not crazy! You believe this crap?”
Nyla puts her hands on her hips. “I was there , Keem. Something tried to get D.”
Keem can’t deny that, so he tries to come up with something else. He turns to me. “OK, so where was this bird while you were getting dragged across the park?”
“It flew away just before the thing grabbed me.” Keem rolls his eyes, so I rush on and add, “But it knew something was wrong!”
“So it flew off to safety and left you to fend for yourself? Some friend,” he says.
I don’t have an answer for that. Nyla sits down on the bench and starts rubbing my back. Even she’s at a loss for words. Then I hear a familiar voice in my ear.
“He’s right. It was a foolish mistake—they set up a decoy on the far side of the meadow. As soon as I got there, I realized what I’d done. I’m so sorry, D.”
I spin around and find the bird perched on the top rung of the bench. Her feathers are changing color again, but I’m too relieved to care. I pull her to me and hold her close to my heart. “You’re safe! I was worried about you.”
“The nether beings cannot harm me. They hunt me only so that they may keep me from my mission.”
“ Our mission,” I say and lean down to press my lips against the bird’s head. I’m filled with such joy that I forget Nyla and Keem are watching me. “Uh—I want you to meet my friends.”
Keem and Nyla are staring at me with their eyes open wide. At first I wonder if maybe I’m the only one who can hear the bird speak. Then the bird turns to face them and says, “I must thank you two as well. You made a valiant effort to save my host.”
At first, Nyla and Keem are too shocked to say anything. I try to reassure them that what they’re seeing and hearing is real. “I know it must seem weird, but…”
Nyla reaches out a hand and touches the bird’s orange feathers. “Is it—a parrot?”
Instead of answering, the bird silently morphs into a purring orange tabby cat. Nyla freezes, then lets her fingertips trails across the cat’s soft fur. “How’d it do that?” she asks me.
“It can tell what you like and don’t like,” I explain. “You try, Keem.”
He steps forward and reaches out his hand to pet the cat, but it shape-shifts into a basketball.
“No way,” Keem says softly. He raps his knuckles on the ball but doesn’t try to take it from me.
“D prefers this form,” she says, turning herself back into a bird. “Do you need further proof of my abilities?”
Keem frowns, still unconvinced. “If you’re so special, why didn’t you help D when that… thing was trying to drag him underground?”
The bird turns to look up at me. “Did you see anything remarkable while you were in the park?”
To my surprise, I laugh a little. “Aside from the crazy trap biting into my leg?”
“And the creepy smoke thing crawling toward us?” adds Nyla.
The bird nods solemnly. “The earth—and all that lies above and below its surface—that is their terrain. My domain—”
“Is the sky!” I exclaim. Suddenly it all makes sense to me. “It wasn’t a hawk we heard—it was you, wasn’t it?”
The bird nods and modestly lowers her eyes. “The nether beings detest light.”
Keem speaks up. “Wait a minute—you were that flash of light in the sky?”
“So you did try to help D,” Nyla says, relieved.
The bird looks at Nyla. “He is my host,” she says simply. “If I lose D, my mission will
“Right—the bird that’s not a bird. I think you need to take your meds, D.”
Nyla flies to her feet. “You know what, Keem? Just go. I thought you were someone decent—I thought you weren’t like all those other guys.”
“I am decent—but I’m not crazy! You believe this crap?”
Nyla puts her hands on her hips. “I was there , Keem. Something tried to get D.”
Keem can’t deny that, so he tries to come up with something else. He turns to me. “OK, so where was this bird while you were getting dragged across the park?”
“It flew away just before the thing grabbed me.” Keem rolls his eyes, so I rush on and add, “But it knew something was wrong!”
“So it flew off to safety and left you to fend for yourself? Some friend,” he says.
I don’t have an answer for that. Nyla sits down on the bench and starts rubbing my back. Even she’s at a loss for words. Then I hear a familiar voice in my ear.
“He’s right. It was a foolish mistake—they set up a decoy on the far side of the meadow. As soon as I got there, I realized what I’d done. I’m so sorry, D.”
I spin around and find the bird perched on the top rung of the bench. Her feathers are changing color again, but I’m too relieved to care. I pull her to me and hold her close to my heart. “You’re safe! I was worried about you.”
“The nether beings cannot harm me. They hunt me only so that they may keep me from my mission.”
“ Our mission,” I say and lean down to press my lips against the bird’s head. I’m filled with such joy that I forget Nyla and Keem are watching me. “Uh—I want you to meet my friends.”
Keem and Nyla are staring at me with their eyes open wide. At first I wonder if maybe I’m the only one who can hear the bird speak. Then the bird turns to face them and says, “I must thank you two as well. You made a valiant effort to save my host.”
At first, Nyla and Keem are too shocked to say anything. I try to reassure them that what they’re seeing and hearing is real. “I know it must seem weird, but…”
Nyla reaches out a hand and touches the bird’s orange feathers. “Is it—a parrot?”
Instead of answering, the bird silently morphs into a purring orange tabby cat. Nyla freezes, then lets her fingertips trails across the cat’s soft fur. “How’d it do that?” she asks me.
“It can tell what you like and don’t like,” I explain. “You try, Keem.”
He steps forward and reaches out his hand to pet the cat, but it shape-shifts into a basketball.
“No way,” Keem says softly. He raps his knuckles on the ball but doesn’t try to take it from me.
“D prefers this form,” she says, turning herself back into a bird. “Do you need further proof of my abilities?”
Keem frowns, still unconvinced. “If you’re so special, why didn’t you help D when that… thing was trying to drag him underground?”
The bird turns to look up at me. “Did you see anything remarkable while you were in the park?”
To my surprise, I laugh a little. “Aside from the crazy trap biting into my leg?”
“And the creepy smoke thing crawling toward us?” adds Nyla.
The bird nods solemnly. “The earth—and all that lies above and below its surface—that is their terrain. My domain—”
“Is the sky!” I exclaim. Suddenly it all makes sense to me. “It wasn’t a hawk we heard—it was you, wasn’t it?”
The bird nods and modestly lowers her eyes. “The nether beings detest light.”
Keem speaks up. “Wait a minute—you were that flash of light in the sky?”
“So you did try to help D,” Nyla says, relieved.
The bird looks at Nyla. “He is my host,” she says simply. “If I lose D, my mission will
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