Tawera thought back.He’d felt fine earlier in the day—this afternoon.Yes, it was only this evening when sluggishness had crept upon him.At first, he hadn’t noticed or recognized the signs.It was when he’d shifted the full effects had struck him over the head.
Instead of worrying, he focused on each wing beat.Not much farther to go now.To his left, he spotted three lights glowing from the settlement.The rest of the island lay in blackness, the wind and the sea creating the only sounds.The waves whooshed to shore, curling and crashing against rocks.One more wing beat.Another.
Exhaustion turned his limbs and body to onerous weights, and he struggled to continue.
“Tawera, keep going.We’re almost there.Another five minutes at most.”
Apprehension carried in her voice, spiking his own anxiety because he didn’t think he’d make it.They skimmed the landscape, barely clearing the peaks.
“Keep flying,”Nyree said, her voice calmer this time.“I can see the spot where we took off.”
Tawera strained to exert force with his wings.He remained in flight but barely cleared the craggy rocks littering the landscape.He couldn’t avoid the next pile of stones, and he grunted as they gouged his stomach.For an instant, his wings ceased flapping.
He struck the ground and landed in a heap, too stunned to feel anything except shock.
“Tawera, are you okay?”Nyree landed beside him and shifted.“Turn over.No, even better, try to shift.”
“Can’t.”
“You haven’t even tried,”she snapped.“Shift right now.”She pinched the tender skin under his belly hard enough to make him groan.“Move now.”
He tried to push past the pain, but the fiery agony robbed him of his focus.
“Tawera!I will not lose you.You will not die while I’m here.I saved you from the curse, and you have to get past this.You have an entire life to live.You have an opportunity—a second chance—and if you do nothing, you’re throwing it away.”She kicked him in the ribs as if to emphasize her point.
He grunted.“That hurt.”
“Then you know you’re still alive.”
Excellent point, and she was right.He couldn’t lie here like a rock.Nyree had to return and rest before work the next day.
When the pain evened out to a tolerable level, he visualized his two-legged form and locked onto the image.This time pressure pushed at him, and he almost lost his focus.A bit longer.Holdit for a little longer.Once you return to your human form, you’ll be okay.Nyree can help you get back to her place.
Nyree placed her hand on his back, and her touch centered him.The pain receded enough for him to concentrate on his shift.Suddenly, he was more human than taniwha, the more troublesome part of the change done.He continued to pour his will into the transformation, and his form condensed, morphing into his human body.
“Great job,” Nyree said.“Here are your clothes.You’d better dress fast before you shiver again.”
His hands shook so badly that Nyree helped him to stand.Once again, her proximity aided him to stabilize, and when her palm cupped his shoulder, his throbbing faded.
This time, his groan was one of pleasure.“Your touch makes the torment vanish.”
She cocked her head.“Are you certain it’s not the shift giving you relief?”
“Stand back.I can manage my clothes on my own.”He stepped into his trousers before she released her grip on his shoulder.
Nyree backed up, and the explosion of pain took him out at the knees.
She frowned as she rushed to his side.“You know what this reminds me of?”
“No.”Tawera panted out the reply.
“I once saw a woman with an extreme case of moonlust.She refused to masturbate for relief, and because of her religious convictions, she would not have sex before marriage.Flying wasn’t possible for her, and she suffered in the same way as you.”
“But I flew,” Tawera said.“It was painful, so much so that it was difficult to remember to move my wings.Shifting should counteract the moonlust.”
Nyree grasped his arm, and the warmth emanating from her body eased most of the agony.She helped him pull his T-shirt into position and continued with the physical contact while he laced up his shoes.“Perhaps the curse has interrupted how moonlust affects you?”
Tawera scowled.“You think Rawiri’s curse is clinging to me?”
