She landed on her apartment’s roof, grabbed her clothing, and raced around to the opposite side of an air-conditioning unit. One of the birds dropped out of formation and landed on her roof. The others flew to the next building. As soon as she’d hopped into her clothing, she ran back to where Jayce stood, holding the FDNY sweats she’d given him.
His brother-phoenixes landed in two straight lines, holding the sheets in their beaks, and then they rose up as full-sized men, covering their nakedness with the black sheets held between their smiling lips. Jayce waved to them, and they waved back. They shifted again, dropped the sheets, and flew off.
As soon as Jayce and Kristine were both dressed, they made their way to the rooftop entrance and quietly jogged down the stairs to Kristine’s apartment on the third floor. The fanny pack had served her well, holding her keys and phone.
“I take it those were your brothers.”
“Yup. You guessed it,” Jayce said.
Kristine fiddled with the lock until the door opened and they were able to scoot inside, closing it behind them with a soft click. She threw herself in Jayce’s arms and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
“I can’t believe we got away with that. At least Ihopewe did,” she said.
“Do you mean as long as nobody saw a group of weird-colored birds flying in formation and thought it was strange enough to take a picture…”
She leaned away and stared into his eyes. “That’s exactly what I mean. I couldn’t see anything except the sky in front of me. Did you notice anyone staring out their windows or grabbing their cameras?”
“I don’t think so.” He gently rubbed her arms up and down and then escorted her to the couch.
Kristine sank down, and he sat opposite her on the coffee table, holding her hands. “So what happens now? Do you wait for the kidnapper’s instructions, or do you already know what he wants you to do?”
“I’m supposed to wait for him to call.” She bit her bottom lip and avoided his gaze.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Jayce asked.
“Nothing!” Kristine took a deep breath and let it out. She let go of his hands and flopped against the back of the sofa. Closing her eyes, she mumbled, “I didn’t tell you this before, but they said they were watching me. That makes me nervous as far as what they’ve seen. Like…have they seen you?”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know.” Kristine sat up and faced him. “If they have seen you or they saw the little stunt up on the roof, I imagine I’ll hear about it.” She rubbed her temples, as if she had a headache.
Just as Jayce was about to say something, her phone rang. She dug it out of her fanny pack and answered with a nervous “Hello?”
“Did you get it?”
Kristine straightened and seemed to be pulling herself together. “Yes, I have it. It’s in the murse. How do we exchange this for my mother?”
After a brief hesitation on the other end of the phone, the monster said, “Not just yet. We’ll talk about that in the morning.”
Kristine shot to her feet. “Tomorrow? Do you mean to tell me you’re going to hold onto her another night?”
Jayce watched her pace past the windows. If anyone was watching, they’d see she was obviously upset.
The voice on the other end of the phone just said, “You’ll receive instructions tomorrow.” And the click on the other end signaled he had hung up.
Kristine threw the phone on the floor. Fortunately, it hit the thick rug and not the hardwood.
Jayce rose and approached her slowly, until he remembered he had to stay away from the windows. “He didn’t say anything about seeing you with a bunch of birds and sheets.”
“That’s right, but he didn’t say where my mother was either.”
Jayce stood with his hands in his pockets, unsure if he should reach out and comfort her or stay back. He waited a few moments, and eventually her posture sagged. She picked up the phone and returned to the couch. When she sat in the middle, she left enough room for him to join her. So he snuggled next to her and put his arm around her shoulders.
“I just wish this would end.” Kristine laid her head on his shoulder.
“I agree. You’ve done what he asked you to do. There must be a reason they have to wait until tomorrow.” He began rubbing her arm, trying to soothe her.
“I can’t imagine why. What if something’s wrong with my mother?” Kristine leaned over and dropped her head in her hands. “I feel so awful. The last words I said to her were not very nice.”
