“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 behindDrew’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,bokkedangrily 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.
***
