Ash:

Squinting against the sun, Ash turned her head and peered down. It was like the world was speeding below them. Suburbs came and went. Cars on freeways honked their horns as Keenan and Ash flew overhead. His wings fanned around her, pushing gusts of air into her face, blowing her hair in unruly directions. She wasn't about to complain, especially while he was staring up a plane as if he'd discovered a potential threat. A growl came from his throat. Ash clawed his coat as he flew faster, so fast that the plane was soon a distant memory. Looking past Ash, he studied the scenery below.

"Where are you taking me?" Ash shouted.

"A place you have forgotten."

"How could you possibly know what I've forgotten?"

"It's all in here, Little Star," he said, inclining his head towards hers. "Your mind is a labyrinth of half memories, pain, and black gaping holes, but I found a way through."

"You did?" she whispered, feeling more fragile in his arms. "But people forget things. That's normal."

"Most people don't have their memories adjusted."

"You're lying."

"Am I?" He grinned.

Ash suddenly wished she had wings of her own. Keenan already had too much control now that her life was in his hands, but to know her every thought better than she did... "What did you find?"

"Answers."

"Prove it."

His brow raised, and Ash swore she was having a moment of déjà vu, but his hair should have been sandy blond not black. "Patience, Little Star."

Ash huffed. This was not a time to be patient. More like a time to scream. Maybe Lücan or Will will come to rescue me?

Nobody's coming for you, Keenan said in her mind. Just as well. We are here.

Ash peered over her shoulder. They were speeding over grassy plains that would soon lead to a sharp drop of cliffs and ocean. Every so often a house dotted the land, and to her far left a small town, with ferries docked along the pier. None of it seemed familiar. Keenan had to be lying, and that made it harder to hold onto him.

The air skimmed over her skin like ice. Below, a tourist center was bustling with visitors walking along zigzagging boardwalks that sloped down grassy hills and rose to a cliff. They flew over beach and volcanic rockpools that led out into the calm waters, and still kept flying. Ash squirmed against him, fearing they would never stop. At this rate, they'd end up in Tasmania or the Antarctic or circle the world for the rest of their hour. But Keenan's wings broke into a glide and he descended towards a small rock island where hundreds of seals lazed under the sunshine. He lowered Ash onto the top of the rock, giving her a view of the seals on the lower rim. As Keenan hovered in the air, she turned on the spot, taking in this little piece of the world he'd chosen just for her. The wind blew, carrying the smell of seawater and fishy seals. She frowned. The seals reeked, but there was something comforting about it.

Walking from one end of the rock to the other, she carefully inspected its bumps and colors, feeling as if she was should be searching for something. She stood at the edge, looking over at the tourist center and the people walking along the ramps up the side of the hill, wondering if they thought Keenan was a huge eagle with black wings circling the island or whether they stared in wonder at the boy attached to those wings. Cars had already spotted them on the freeway, so the secret was out. She pulled out her phone and checked the local news. It was worse than she'd imagined. Every article had big photos of Keenan flying over the freeway, taken through somebody's windscreen. Her multi-colored hair was as clear as day and her school uniform was rising too high. She was just thankful that no one could see her face. She gulped at the headline: 'Flying boy and girl seen over Melbourne freeway. Elaborate hoax? Angel? Or a feat of advanced technology?'

A breeze swept over her back. Keenan pointed over her shoulder at their photos. "What is this?"

"I think we could have been more careful. We're all over the news. Father is going to go crazy when he sees this!"

"Probably," Keenan agreed. "What is the news?"

"Better if you see for yourself," she said, passing the phone over her shoulder, but he never took it. She turned, wondering what he was up to. He fanned his wings to maintain his hover and drew his hands to his chest. "It's just a phone."

"I'm not scared of the phone, whatever that might be. I'm scared of what I'll do to it."

"I doubt you could kill a phone. It's an object."

"Shall we test that theory?" he said, swaying side to side.

Ash smiled and tried passing it again. The second he touched the phone the screen blurred and went blank. "My phone!"

He shrugged. "I did warn you."

"You did." She put the dead phone in her pocket. She waved at his hovering. "You really can't land, can you?"

"Unless I want to be struck down by a bolt of lightning by The Fates for breaking my oath to you, then no."

"But you haven't harmed me?"

"I have theories about that." He cocked his head, looking her up and down as if deciphering certain mysteries. Ash didn't feel like a mystery, and that made her more curious as he reached out for her. With trembling fingers, she took his hand. He lowered himself through the air until the tip of his boot touched the rock. She was surprised to see someone like Keenan holding his breath, watching the ground for danger. He lowered his heel to the surface, then placed down his other boot. Gripping her hand tighter, Keenan swiped his hand over the ground and smiled up at Ash. "I knew it! I always had a feeling ..."

Ash smiled in confusion. "What is it?"

"You... You are the counter to my killing curse."

"Me?" Ash laughed. "No way."

"Am I killing anything now?"

Ash studied the rock beneath his feet. She couldn't see any new cracks. "Well, it's kind of hard to tell. You've only had your feet on the ground for a few seconds. Even if you were killing it, I wouldn't know what to look for."

"Poison should spread like veins cracking the earth, destroying everything on it."

Help. That's scary. Not that I'm about to point that out to him. He's so happy. I want him happy. Scary Keenan would be bad.

"I agree. You do not want to see Scary Keenan, Little Star."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Ash snapped.

He stared at her with pity in his eyes, then laughed right in her face, close to snorting. Ash was seriously questioning if he'd gone mad. Composing himself, he flicked back his hair and glanced over to the mainland on their left, where beachside motels sat alongside the small community of shops not far from the boardwalk. "We should go there..."

"Um..." Ash winced. "Really?"

"Why not?"

"Have you been around many people before?"

"Sure." He shrugged. "They always tend to run from me. I don't know why..." His eyes glinted fondly with the memories. It did not put Ash at ease.

"I like our rock. I think we should stay. Didn't you want to talk?"

"Talking can be done in the air." Keenan swept her up by the waist and took flight. "Or here," he said, placing her on the boardwalk, right in the middle of a group of tourists boarding a ferry ride. About fifty cameras and smart phones began flashing at Ash and Keenan. Ash tried to shield her face, but it was probably already too late. Her face would no doubt be in the headlines along with Keenan's. The headline would not be a positive one. Keenan was glaring at the tourists like they were a swarm of insects, destined to be swat.

At the front of the group, an elderly woman clutched her walking stick as if she might swing it at Keenan at any moment. Ash smiled nervously at the woman, showing that they'd come in peace. Beside the woman, a young couple held their two little boys tightly. As the smallest boy broke free, his father screamed, "Joshua!" Joshua's hat fell from his curls as he darted forward and grabbed a handful of Keenan's wings. Keenan snapped his wings behind his back and crouched down, growling at the child.

"Stop growling!" Ash hissed, tugging Keenan backwards as the boy squealed and ran to his daddy. Making sure she could still feel Keenan's hand in hers, she rushed them off the boardwalk and up the road. "What did you do that for? He's just a little child!"

"He was touching my wings. Nobody touches my wings."

"I will never touch your wings. I promise," Ash said quickly.

He gave a short nod, striding faster. As he stared off into the town ahead, the color of his eyes seemed darker, almost black instead of blue, and she feared what he might do next.

"Is there any way you can hide your wings?" she asked.

He stopped and peered down his nose at her. "Why would I do that?"

"I think the wings might freak people out. Plus, you're really not into people touching them."

There was a quick snap of air and the wings retracted up into the slits in his jacket at his shoulder blades. "Better?"

She nodded weakly. It was a shame about hiding the wings. Ash did like them, and he seemed less like Keenan without them. Now he resembled a gothic Rockstar strutting down the street, glittering dirt over his chest and his jacket of leather patches blowing in the wind. His lips were pressed tight as he observed the passing shops and the people sitting under café umbrellas. Most people looked away and took extra care of their coffee cups, the exception being a pregnant woman with her feet up on a seat. Seeing Keenan gaze at her belly, the lady smiled, mistaking his interest for joy at her impending arrival. Scared that he might stop and inspect the lady's belly—or worse, touch it—Ash pulled him faster along the footpath.

"There is something abnormal about that woman's torso," he said, glancing back. "Is she carrying a defective gene or a mutation?"

Ash snorted a laugh, then turned serious as he raised a brow. "Sorry. How can you know things like defective genes, but not know the lady's condition?"

"If it's so obvious, tell me."

"She's pregnant."

He shrugged, staring at his reflection in the shop windows. His chin was held higher than usual, a muscle flickering in his jaw. She swore it was a look she'd seen on him many times before. Impossible. They'd only met today.

"They don't have pregnant women where you're from?" she asked.

"No."

"Then how do your kind have babies?"

"Babies?!" He peered across at her, walking in longer strides that Ash struggled to keep up. "There's a baby in that lady's torso?"

"Um..." Oh, save me. He doesn't know about pregnancy. This might lead to all kinds of awkward conversations. The guy's supposedly a big-time bad guy in the universe, judging from Will and my father's reaction, and he may not know about the birds and the bees. Maybe that's just as well. Best not to give him ideas.

"Give me what ideas?"

"Stop reading my thoughts!" she snapped, about to shake her hand from his grasp. He clutched her fingers tighter and let out a breath.

"Try letting go of me again and I will make sure The Fates punish you instead of me."

Ash stopped, clenching her fists and his hand. "I'm not responsible for you!"

"No. But if you let go of my hand you will feel responsible if I let the entire planet and its people die. Without you, I will not be able to stop myself from consuming everything. One taste of this planet is all it takes."

He sounds like an addict.

"What's an addict?" he asked.

"You don't know what an addict is or what a pregnancy is. Are there no people on your planet?" she asked jokingly.

"No."

"Oh."

"Just me and my father."

"Oh." Never joking with Keenan again. They began walking past a café and the smell of coffee beans became too hard to resist. "Have you tried coffee?"

He shook his head, blue eyes darkening as he looked at the café. Keenan was looking more out of place by the second. She tugged him towards the door, but he tugged her towards the shiny motorbike parked out front. Ash stood behind him, afraid that the owner would catch them veering too close to their beloved bike. Keenan ran his hand over the front mud-guard and then the leather seat. He leaned down and licked the handbrake. Ash tried not to think of the germs and residue of dead skin on that handbrake. He turned, licking his lips, his brow furrowing as he came to grips with the new taste.

"Keenan!" Ash hissed. "Please don't do that again."

"Why?"

"Kind of weird," she whispered.

"This planet of yours has too many rules. I'm not partial to rules."

"I noticed."

Keenan ran his hand over the bike's body and was just about to walk away when three guys in tank tops and board shorts ran out of the café, swearing obscenities at Keenan.

Ash winced at the guy in front. He had huge biceps and the odd tattoo here and there, and his voice was hoarse from the screaming of F words that flew from his mouth.

Keenan just stared at him, his blue eyes darkening. Ash tried to pull him away, but there was no moving him. The dark mist in his spirit spun with glee at the prospect of fighting a human. The tattoo guy swung at Keenan's eye. In a blur of speed, Keenan ducked his head to the side, not moving any other muscle. The guy's mouth dropped open before he recovered. "Did you lick my bike?" he yelled, spitting in Keenan's face.

Keenan smiled a bright white smile that Ash quite liked, but would have irritated anyone during a conflict. "Yes. I classify the taste as a Level One, the lowest form of bodily waste. Sometimes I get a hint of it through the soil. Leaves a bad aftertaste."

Eew! Ash tried not to think about other things Keenan had consumed at a Level One. It was surprising he didn't smell that bad, just like minerals from freshly dug dirt, forest and ocean.

"You're effing bizarre, man!" Tattoo Guy shouted, looking back at his two friends who had their arms crossed, poised to attack. Tattoo Guy gave them a nod, and Ash moved further behind Keenan. Then she remembered his oath not to harm anybody. Squeezing her eyes shut for a second, she let out a tiny squeal, bounced nervously on the spot and swung around him. It just happened to be when the three guys ran at Keenan with fists raised. Ash gripped one of Keenan's shoulders and launched herself into a roundhouse kick that hit three objects, or three dazed faces to be precise. Blood poured from Tattoo Guy's cheek. Ash wanted to apologize—to his friends, too. One had a puffy eye, the other blood gushing from his nose. But now they were even more angry than they were about the bike!

Keeping her eyes trained on the three threats, Ash leaned back against Keenan, and whispered, "Run!"

"I do not run from danger."

"You do now," she said, dragging Keenan and running up the street at full speed. She peered back, seeing the guys running towards her. The guys stopped suddenly, looking winded, hurling abuse at her and Keenan between breaths. Keenan flashed them a smile as she dragged him around the corner. They ran down a street lined with beach houses. Keenan kept up easily, almost as if he was going for a leisurely jog. Several streets later, Ash grabbed at a stitch in her side, puffing. He seemed to find this amusing.

"What?!" she shouted, waving her tired arms.

"Your lack of stamina is baffling to me."

"Why?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

Ash huffed and looked around the neighborhood. It meant nothing to her. It wasn't home. It still wasn't familiar. "Where to?"

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The final part of Chasing Starlight, Book 1, is coming soon....