Chapter 22 Fight of the Feathers
Fight of the Feathers
There was nothing that Zachariel liked more than seeing Drew happy and content.
The sunlight trickled down through the dense canopy of trees above them, making it seem like the freckles painted across his nose and cheeks were dancing.
His pale blue eyes were almost dreamy beneath his mop of brown hair, and each time he looked over at Zach, he’d give him a sweet smile. He was absolutely stunning.
He was also absolutely clumsy. Tripping over a tree root that crossed the path, Drew tumbled to the ground, hitting it with a loud “oof.”
“Shit, are you okay?” Zach asked, hurrying over and pulling him to his feet.
“I think so,” Drew said.
Wanting to be sure, Zach began checking him over for injuries. He took Drew’s hands in his, checking his palms for scrapes and grazes before moving on. He winced as he saw the blood trickling down from the scratch on his knee and led Drew over to a tree stump so he could clean him up.
“Zach, I’m fine,” Drew assured him.
“You’re bleeding,” Zach argued, crouching down as he pulled a pack of wet wipes from his pocket along with a Band-Aid. He’d taken to carrying a few first-aid supplies whenever they went for a hike because it was inevitable that Drew would trip, stumble, or injure himself in some way each time.
“Not enough to require a transfusion,” he said, rolling his eyes. “It’s already stopped bleeding.”
“Just shush and let me fuss.” Zach gently cleaned the cut with a wipe and then blew on it to dry the skin. He looked up to see Drew looking at him with half fondness and half exasperation. “What?”
“Nothing. I just love you, is all.”
Zach’s heart thumped against his rib cage.
After all he’d endured, he had never even dreamed he would one day be this happy.
He felt his eyes crinkle as he smiled dopily up at him.
“Love you too, sweetness.” He peeled the backing off the Band-Aid and covered the scratch with it, smoothing the edges to make sure it was sticking to the skin.
Then he dropped a kiss to the top of it and stood up from his crouch.
He held his hand out to Drew. “Shall we?”
Drew took his hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, but before they could take a single step, there came the sound of furious flapping and then Drew was obscured by a wall of black feathers.
Zach’s own wings snapped out at the threat and he lunged forward to protect Drew, only to be forced back by a vicious assault from beak and feathers.
What the hell was this creature? It appeared to be slightly bigger than a crow or raven, but that was all Zach could determine as he warded off a brutal beak and sharp claws.
“Zach!” Drew cried. “What the hell is happening?”
“I don’t know!” Zach bit out, hissing as he felt a claw rip the skin open on his forearm.
The bird flapped its wings once more, all of its ire seemingly directed towards Zach, and he caught sight of an eye blacker than the inside of the Devil’s ass.
Then it was using its perch on Drew’s shoulder as a springboard and it launched itself at Zach, clawing and slashing.
It was tiny but feral, and Zach was definitely losing this battle.
The thing was too fast for him to catch, and all he could do was defend against the unprovoked attack.
“Enough!” Drew’s voice cut through the chaos, leaving only silence and stillness in its wake. Zach’s ears popped at the strength of the magic behind Drew’s command, but he, like their feathered attacker, was frozen to the spot.
Drew stepped around the feathery explosion that was hanging in the air like some sort of stupidly expensive, impractical lamp shade.
As soon as his hands touched Zach’s face, the spell was broken and Zach could move.
He pulled Drew into his arms, his own wings surrounding them in a protective circle.
They were both breathing hard, and Zach’s face and arms stung from numerous wounds.
“What the actual fuck was that?” Drew asked, pressing his face against Zach’s chest.
“I’m not sure,” Zach admitted.
“Do you think it was sent from Hell?”
“Possibly, but in all the commotion I didn’t get a good look at it.”
Drew raised his head and then turned in Zach’s arms. “Let’s figure out what it is.”
Reluctantly letting his wings fold back against his back, Zach stepped towards the creature. Its wings were a blur, frozen as they were mid-flight. He and Drew circled to the left and finally caught an unimpeded view of the creature for the first time.
“Is that . . . is that a chicken?” Drew exclaimed.
Zach furrowed his brows as he inspected the bird. “It kind of looks like one, I guess.”
Drew whipped out his phone and took a photo of the bird. He then did a Lens search before grunting in surprise. “According to Google, it’s an Ayam Cemani. A hen, I’m guessing?”
Zach looked from the results page to the chicken, noting the glossy black feathers, small black comb, and beady black eyes. The chicken may have been frozen, but it was still cognizant and Zach could see the malice in those eyes. “It does look like one.”
“It says these come from Java and are really uncommon. What the hell is a rare breed of chicken doing wandering around Collier Dam Park?” Drew mused.
“More to the point, why is it attacking us?” Zach asked.
“You,” Drew corrected. “It was attacking you. It didn’t seem fazed by me. I wonder what it’s doing here?”
Zach held up his torn and bloody arms and gave a feral smile. “Hell’s version of Uber Eats?” he suggested.
Quick as a whip, Drew snatched the hen from the air and cradled her in his arms. “You are not eating her!” he cried. The chicken, which had unfrozen as soon as Drew had touched her, bokked angrily at Zach.
“Why not? She tried to eat me!”
“She’s tiny! She wasn’t a threat to you,” Drew chastised.
“Exhibit A!” Zach exclaimed, shaking his wounded arms in Drew’s face to make his point.
“Don’t be such a baby,” Drew chided. “She was just scared.” He nuzzled against the hen’s feathered neck. “Weren’t you, girl? You were just scared,” he said in a cutesy voice. “Let’s get you home, get you something to eat, and see if we can find your owner on any lost pet pages.”
“Wait, what?” Zach frowned. “Why are we taking that thing home with us?”
“Because she’s probably a missing pet and someone might be looking for her,” Drew explained patiently, as if Zach was a little bit daft. “Besides, I don’t want her becoming cougar food.”
“She’s more than capable of defending herself,” Zach argued. He held out his arms once more, a little annoyed that Drew wasn’t taking his wounds more seriously. Zach had patched up his wounds, after all. “Once again . . . Exhibit A.”
“You’re just grumpy that you were beaten in a fight by a three-pound hen.”
Trying not to pout, Zach muttered, “Am not.”
Drew leaned in and gave him a kiss. “Come on, you sore loser. Let’s head home. The sooner we find her owners, the sooner you can go back to being the biggest baddest winged creature in town.” Then he turned around and started walking back the way they’d come, towards home.
Over his shoulder, Zach saw the hen give him a smug look before she settled down and snuggled against Drew’s chest.
Eyes narrowed, Zach stalked after them.
“I can’t believe no one is missing such a sweet girl,” Drew said, looking up from his laptop.
Zach grunted. “You didn’t find any ‘missing demon chicken’ posts on Facebook, then?”
“Maybe I’m looking in the wrong groups,” Drew drawled. “Perhaps you could look in your old groups for actual demons that are missing a pet chicken.”
The chicken—who was sitting on top of Zach’s favourite cushion on the sofa next to Drew—gave Zach a triumphant look and then began to preen the feathers on her chest. Drew absently reached down and began to stroke along her back, and much to Zach’s astonishment, the hen not only allowed the petting but seemed to enjoy it.
He glared at her, feeling strangely jealous of the attention she was getting from his boyfriend.
A few minutes later, Drew made a humming noise.
“Find something?” Zach asked.
“No, still nothing. It looks like we’ll need to set her up a perch and buy some specialised grain mix, as well as a waterer, but I guess a small container will do for now.”
“Excuse me?” Zach couldn’t possibly have heard that right.
“I mean, if we don’t find her owners, we’ll need to build her a pen outside, but I’m thinking for now she’ll be okay inside. We’ll just need to keep her away from the bedrooms that have carpet.”
“We are not keeping a chicken inside!” Zach protested.
“Why not?” Drew asked, frowning.
“Because . . . because it’s a chicken!” Zach sputtered.
Drew’s eyes narrowed. “And? She’s scared and alone and I’m not just dumping her back in the woods to be eaten by some predator!”
“I’m pretty sure she could take on the actual Predator and come out victorious.”
“She’s tiny! She’ll become something’s lunch.”
“Yeah, mine if I have my way!”
“Zach!”
He gave his boyfriend a serious look, but he could already tell that he’d lost this fight. “Drew.”
“Please, will you help me look after her?” Drew asked, his eyes wide and imploring.
Zach threw his arms up in the air. “Fine! What is it that we need?”