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time to see Ariel's head bang into the side of the cockpit with a resounding
crack. A trickle of blood blossomed on her temple, but she wiped it away with
the back of her hand and began checking the plane's gauges.
"We've lost the left engine," Ariel yelled over the noise. "We'll have to
jump."
"Can't we restart it?" His voice sounded far away as if he was on the outside
watching this happen instead of here in the thick of it.
"Lost as in it is no longer attached to the plane," she yelled over the din.
"Someone must have planted a remote detonator."
"Shouldn't we start calling mayday on the radio?" he asked, swallowing his
panic.
Ariel only shook her head. "No time." She unbuckled her belt and he followed
her toward the back of the plane as quickly as he could. Logan couldn't
understand why they couldn't still fly on one engine, but then another
wrenching sound convinced him Ariel's course was the only way.
The scene in the back of the plane filled him with horror. There was a small
hole in the side of the plane, the edges charred and black. Wind rushed past
them whipping his hair and clothes against him in painful slaps. The plane
lurched again and he realized they were in a steep dive. He stepped toward the
compartment where the parachutes were kept, but Ariel shook her head and
pulled him toward the hole.
"Hold on to me tight," she demanded.
Before he could let himself think about what he was doing, he threw his hands
around Ariel's waist. Ariel threaded her hand through his back belt loop and
jumped out through the hole taking him with her.
Icy air surged past them stingingLogan 's face and arms, and then he made the
mistake of glancing down. The ground sped toward him and he tasted bile and
panic in the back of his throat. Then suddenly, he saw Ariel's wings
materialize on her back. He breathed a sigh ofrelief, the impact of the
resistance of the wings against the air jarred him so hard his teeth clacked
together. But once he recovered, he realized that their descent had slowed.
"Are you hurt?" Ariel asked against his ear, her voice soft and tentative. He
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shivered at the feel of her warm breath caressing his skin.
Loganshook his head and reached up to check the cut on Ariel's temple. Blood
coursed in a steady stream down the side of her face and he pressed his hand
against the wound trying to staunch the flow. "You've lost a lot of blood. We
need to land somewhere and get you medical attention." She nodded and he
noticed her face looked pale and white. Blood continued to ooze through his
fingers and he wished he could maneuver enough to pull off his shirt to press
to the wound, but any movement he made seemed to require her to correct their
course, so he tried to stay still.
An ear-splitting explosion made them both jump and he almost lost his grip on
Ariel. He anchored his arms around her neck, careful not to limit the motion
of her wings and craned his neck to try to see the source of the explosion.
In a valley between two large mountains, the remains of their plane still
blazed.Logan swallowed hard as he realized that without Ariel he'd probably be
down there with the wreckage. He breathed a sigh of relief as Ariel continued
past the wreckage and finally set them down in a small clearing surrounded by
pine trees.
"I never thought I'd be so happy to have my feet on firm ground again," he
said.
Ariel smiled up at him weakly and then panic shot through him as her eyes
fluttered closed and she sagged against him.
*****
Ariel woke to the smell of pines and a crisp breeze caressing her face. The
tittering of birds and skittering sounds of small animals sounded softly all
around her.
Hazy light filtered in through her closed eyelids, letting her know it was
either dusk or dawn. She took mental stock of herself and realized she wasn't
in any pain, other than a headache, and was lying on a soft, cushiony bed
of pine needles by the feel of them through her shirt.
She reached out instinctively to her sisters, but her head pounded and she
winced, the connection never completing.
Where isLogan ? And how did I get here?Wherever here is&
She slittedopen her eyes and saw a cerulean blue sky through a maze of pine
tree branches, which swayed gently in the wind. The sky to the west was
brighter, telling Ariel the sun was setting not rising.
"Ariel."
She turned her head in the direction ofLogan 's voice and smiled as relief
washed over her, even as her head protested the sudden movement. What kind of
protector was she if she passed out and left her charge vulnerable? But at
least she apparently got him to the ground safely and he didn't look any worse
for the wear.
Loganknelt by her side and helped her sit up. "How's your head?" he asked,
examining her temple.
She hissed as he touched a sore spot. "It was a dull roar before you touched
it," she snapped and then instantly regretted her outburst. Apparently, plane
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crashes left her a tad cranky.
Regardless,Logan 's face blossomed into a blinding smile. "If you're that
feisty, it looks like you'll live. It could have been worse," he said
gesturing to her temple. "I kept pressure on it until the bleeding stopped.
But I was really worried." He handed her a silver beer can. "It's all I could
find to put water in, drink it. You need to hydrate."
Ariel took the can and sipped so she didn't make herself sick. She looked
past him and realized they were sitting on the edge of a small clearing. Her
earlier deductions had been correct they were in a forest.But where? Her
memories of the explosion and their flight to the ground were hazy. A few
snatches flashed through her mind of explosions,Logan 's face, and the ground
hurtling toward her. But she had a hard time putting them in order or making
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