"Did he hurt you?" I asked Miss Peregrine as we flew.
"Nonsense," she replied. "I'm just a little shaken."
It was dark and it was hard to fly. I kept right on Miss Peregrine as she wove through the trees. Somewhere back I could hear the men as they grouped together. They would come after us; that I knew. I didn't know how much time we had before they caught up. What advantage Miss Peregrine and I had would be at a loss if the men decided to sprint after us.
We flew for a bit and Miss Peregrine's dress grew heavy in my grasp. She insisted to know why I had bothered to bring it. I told her that she'd be needing it. I had to admit, after being abducted, smacked, bound and had a gun put to her face, Miss Peregrine was in quite the phenomenal mood. She flew with a will, showing no signs of pure terror, but of anger. I think she knew that they'd come after us, or worse, hunt down the children.
"Will they go after the children?" I asked.
"They have to find them first. When I knew it was Wights that were about I misled them away from the homestead," she explained.
We flew for what seemed like hours, but was only about thirty minutes or so. I noticed that Miss Peregrine's flapping became labored.
"I'm much too tired to fly a distance like that," she finally said. "Let us land and rest ourselves."
Miss Peregrine swooped down and found a decently tall tree. She landed with ease. I dropped her dress at the base of the tree and landed beside her. The moon was bright enough that trees could be made out in our vision. Had we been real birds, we'd be snuggled up in our nests for the night. But we were not real birds, we were ymbrynes and we had to deal with what we had. Miss Peregrine must have been cd because she fluffed up her feathers so she looked like a poofy ball of fray fur rather than a feathered bird. I cooed at her, not particularly saying anything. She cooed back then went back to snuggling up in her feathers.
Off in the distance, I saw five yellow spots through the trees. I couldn't tell what it was, in truth, I thought it was the spotlight from the lighthouse. I stayed close to Miss Peregrine as I could without being too touchy- feely. I was there for a sense of comfort and protection. I didn't want to make my departure to attend Miss Avocet's school any harder that it would be by being too involved now. Miss Peregrine was more of a mentor to me than a headmistress, and soon, she'd be a friend. Just a friend, and she would probably act as if we had never spent so much time together. I did know that if I ever had any trouble with my children in the future, I could always call upon her for guidance, though.
I began to hear the group of men shouting through the trees. I recognized Caul's voice but I couldn't quite make out what he was saying.
"We must go," I suggested to Miss Peregrine.
She sighed. "I am tired." It wasn't a statement, it was fact. She was tired.
I stepped over to her and began to rub my head on her. I was hoping that a little stimulation would arouse her enough so we could flee. She did nothing but sit there. She made no attempt to move. I saw the look in her eyes and knew what was wrong.
She was thinking.
About what, I did not know. I could only speak to her, not read her mind.
They began to appear in sight. The yellow dots were torches they held high above their heads.
"We shall split up our alliance for a few moments," said Miss Peregrine finally. She straightened herself and turned her head toward me. "We must both avoid that weapon of his."
I agreed. I did not answer though.
"On my squawk, we shall both fly in different directions. We shall rendezvous a mile ahead. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Miss Peregrine."
"Good. Now, wait for my signal."
She inched farther down the branch from me, so when she sounded the signal, we could both swoop down and split up. As they emerged from the trees, I could see the metal of Caul's gun glisten in the light of the torch he held.
"Here birdie, birdie, birdie," he called. He then began to whistle like an idiot. As he neared the trunk of our tree, he noticed Miss Peregrine's dress at the bottom. As he bent down to examine it, Miss Peregrine screamed.
And we were off!
I threw myself down toward the ground. I curved around Caul and grabbed Miss Peregrine's dress with my talons. They were so close to his face that he gasped and fell backwards. I laughed to myself as Miss Peregrine began to circle one another. From the ground, Caul became enraged, he cocked his pistol and began to shoot blanks. Realizing that he forgot to refill the chamber he thrust the torch at the nearest man and began shoving in the bullets.
Miss Peregrine screamed again. I did the same as we began to inter-twine our flight paths. Miss Peregrine was the master of illusions- for her loop was nothing but a grand illusion. And this was one illusion that the men couldn't follow. As Caul got straightened to take a shot, we made one last loop and broke away from one another. I was flying so fast that my wings felt numb as they glided through the air.
I began to head west, toward the house, and she east. We'd fly until we lost the men and meet somewhere along the way.
Gripping tightly to Miss Peregrine's dress, I began to ascend high above the trees. I was black, anyway, and the darkness would conceal me enough to escape.
Caul began to fire shots again.
One shot.
My wings made a whistling noise as I flew.
Two shots.
I trusted that Miss Peregrine could take care of herself.
Three shots.
I began to wonder if the children were safe.
Four shots.
It truly didn't matter, for Miss Peregrine and I were on our way to protect them.
Five shots.
In truth, I was so tired from flying all day that my wings were numb from exhaustion.
The sixth shot rang out, sounded by the most blood-curdling noise I had ever heard in my life. It was worse that nails on a chalkboard. Unable to figure out what it was at first, I turned myself around.
There, off to the distance, was a gray speck hurdling toward the ground uncontrollably.
Miss Peregrine!
I began to flap my wings as hard as I could. I flew right past the men, as they continued in my direction. I scanned the ground until I could see the same gray speck lying upon the ground. Instead of bothering to gradually make my way toward the surface, I dipped my wings down, and headed head-first for the vicinity. When close to the ground, I released Miss Peregrine's dress.
I had to change back.
It was the only coverage I had. So, as the dress began to sail toward the ground, I flew into it.
I landed on my hands and knees in a hard fashion. It was a hard fall. I sat still for a moment as I got used to being a homo sapien again, and I took many deep breaths. Miss Peregrine's dress felt odd to me. Quickly I buttoned up the collar and crawled to her side. She greeted me with a quiet and labored coo.
She lay on her back, wings sprawled, her chest covered in fresh blood.
That bastard had shot Miss Peregrine! His own sister.
"Miss Peregrine?" I asked.
She was in too much pain to answer.
Tears filled my eyes. No! No! No! This was not fair! Miss Peregrine had done nothing to harm anyone in the world, and this is how fate repaid her. I knew that I had to get her back to the house for help. But she was much too heavy a falcon for me to carry in my bird-form. I would have to carry her on the same two legs I had been born with.
I knew some things about first aid. I needed something to wrap around her to stop the bleeding. Regrettably, I had nothing and had to rip a piece of material from the bottom of her dress.
"Miss Peregrine, I'm going to wrap this around you to stop the bleeding."
As much as it must have hurt her, she made no attempt to peck at me or do anything that would break my concentration. When I got her wrapped, I gently slid my hands underneath her and scooped her up. Being as careful as ever, I held her to my chest. My knees were weak when I stood up and I was beginning to feel lightheaded again. I had to keep myself going, no matter what. My headmistress was in fatal condition and I would stop at nothing to get her to safety.
I had no clue what could possibly happen to me, but I had to try. For my headmistress.
I began to walk in the direction of the house. I held tightly to Miss Peregrine as if I were a child and she my favorite toy. I had a protective hold on her and no one would make me break it.
I felt every breath of Miss Peregrine's as I walked along. I was as careful as I was as I walked not to trip over tree stumps. I had no shoes and the wet dirt felt disgusting on my bare feet. I could feel Miss Peregrine's dependency on me as I clung to her. She began to tremble.
I had walked for miles without stopping. I was so hungry that my stomach pained me and so thirsty that my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. My hair was matted and I was wearing a dress that did not belong to me. It was better than being naked, though. I trudged on without a complaint in my mind, though. For once someone depended on me heavily and I would not set myself up to fail.
After a few hours, I could see the house from a small hill I was on. I began to stroke Miss Peregrine with a finger.
"There's the house," I pointed out. "Hang in there, headmistress, we're almost home."
When I felt my feet touch the soft grass of the terrace, I began to feel relieved.
Instead of waiting for someone to come out and see if we were all right, I walked right into the house.
"Emma!" I screamed,. "Come quickly."
All of the children heard my shout and all came running into the room. I did not remove my hands from Miss Peregrine. They kept her well hidden.
Emma came rushing down the stairs. "Did you find her?" she demanded. She paused when she saw my appearance and my hands held around the bird.
All of the children began to whisper.
"Miss Peregrine is badly hurt, children," I explained. I faced Emma. "You've been here a hell of a lot longer than I have. What do you suggest?" I asked.
Emma began to stammer. "I will summon Miss Avocet," she said. "She lives over in London and it shouldn't take her long to arrive." She began to jog down the hallway. "Don't let go of her, Minnette," she said quickly. "Your ymbryne power will keep her alive until Miss Avocet arrives!"
The children, of course, began to ask questions. I calmly explained what had happened. As expected, they all began to cry and demand to know if she would live. I said that she would but she need rest. I asked Bronwyn to put them to bed. She agreed and began to usher them up to the second floor.
Before she made her way up, Claire walked up to me, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.
"Can I see Miss Peregrine before I go to bed?" she asked between sobs.
My heartstrings began to feel broken. Claire was the youngest ward. She was special to me. I knelt down and, gingerly, removed Miss Peregrine from my chest. She cooed. Her breathing was still hard. She wiped her eyes again and took one good look into Miss Peregrine's black eyes. The, without saying anything, she leaned over and kissed Miss Peregrine on the head.
"I love you, Miss Peregrine," she sobbed as she slowly began to climb the stairs.
That alone was enough to make me shed tears. I held the bird to me again. I made my way into the drawing room and I set Miss Peregrine on the settee. She squealed in pain when I set her down.
"I'm sorry, Miss Peregrine!" I cried. "I did not mean it!"
She calmed herself again and rustled her feathers.
Emma came into the room.
"I sent a telegram to Miss Avocet. She should be here in a few hours," she said.
I began stroking Miss Peregrine's back with my fingers. "Pray she has that long," I replied softly. Tears were falling from me. Emma took a seat in the nearest chair.
"Jacob is helping Bronwyn calm the children for bed," she said. She sighed. "Who shot her?" she finally asked.
I sighed. "Her own brother. His name is Caul. He's a Wight."
Emma got up and went to the bookcase and began tracing the bindings of the photo albums with her finger. "Yes, I remember her mentioning that to us." Without seeing her facial expression I knew that she was upset about the headmistress just as much as the rest of us, perhaps even more. I could only imagine what she'd do to Caul if he ever showed up at the house. Burn his whole face off, most likely. "How many were there?" she asked.
"There had to be twenty," I pointed out.
She sighed. "Jacob won't miss a group that large. We must be ready for their arrival. They had Miss Peregrine once, they'll surely come back for her a second time." She began to pace. She took a good look at Miss Peregrine. "How foolish of you, Miss Peregrine!" she cried. "You had us all worried sick!" Miss Peregrine cooed a little. "You can't just go on and leave us like that. We need you!" Emma opened her hands and went for Miss Peregrine.
Quickly I snatched her wrists. "No, Emma! Don't! You'll hurt her! She was only trying to prevent them from finding us and you know it!" I hissed.
Emma ripped from my grasp. "I'm going to go find Jacob," she hissed through clenched teeth.
She slammed the doors on her way out, stirring Miss Peregrine. I cooed at her and began to stroke her once more. She finally settled. I knew that such a long day had to have left her hungry. Thinking it would do her some good, I figured I'd venture into the kitchen and find something proper for a falcon to eat.
"I shall return shorty, Headmistress," I said softly.
She lifted her head. "I'll be all right."
That was all she could get out before she dropped her head and attempted to sleep.
In the kitchen I dug through various things in the old ice-box that served as an old-fashioned refrigerator. What I found handy was a few scraps of goose meat. Falcons were meat eaters, and I knew that if I pressed the subject on her, Miss Peregrine would nibble at it at least. I thought about water, too. I knew that she was much too weak to drink as birds drank. Luckily, I knew where she kept all of her cooking tools and whatnot. I found an old glass eyedropper and I filled a small container of water and carried it into the drawing room.
I carefully scooped her up, sat on the settee, and curled her in my lap.
I offered her a piece of meat. She turned her head.
"Miss Peregrine, how do you expect to reclaim your strength if you will not eat?" I asked her. It was more of an order than a question. If I had refused to eat, she'd be on my case about it.
She did not answer. She just blinked her eyes.
I kept offering it to her, but all she did was turn her head. Upset that she wouldn't eat, I reached for the eyedropper. I filled it with some water.
"If you would like to presume being stubborn, that is fine. At least accept this water," I said.
She opened her beak and I began to squeeze the water droplets into her mouth. She drank five eyedroppers full before she would not accept anymore. A little satisfied, I allowed her to go with just the water, though I was torn she wouldn't eat. I began to yawn. Figuring that I had a while before Miss Avocet arrived, and that it was nearly dawn, I held the bid to my chest as I retrieved a blanket that was draped over a chair. I lowered myself onto the settee gently, and set Miss Peregrine on my chest. I covered us both with the blanket, and with both hands encasing Miss Peregrine lightly, my head fell back and I was asleep.