Immortal Becoming by Wendy S. Hales Read Free Book Online Page B

other in a controlled way. Shane pivoted them backward at a forty-five degree angle. The outer shell of his ear lifted from his head, similar to what she had seen from horses when they heard something behind them, or a cat twisting one ear back while the other remained forward.
    “What are you?” She whispered under her breath. He heard her question anyway.
    “ I am of the species Volaticus. It means ‘winged man.’ My race is Elven. We are ninety eight percent genetic kin to Homo Sapien … Human. The two percent differentiates my kind from them as drastically as the two percent differs them from apes.”
    His answer didn’t surprise her. He could have called himself a snuffaluppogus and she probably wouldn’t have been surprised. It wasn’t what he called himself that was amazing, it was that he existed at all. Her fear had given way to incredulous, excited curiosity the second she saw the back flaps.
    “Elven. Like fairies and elves in the North Pole?” She was trying to wrap her brain around everything she was seeing and hearing. She felt like jumping up and down, clapping her hands like she was watching a magic show.
    There was humor in his voice “ We are most likely the source of those myths, too. Our other two close genetic kin species also make up some of the human myths. Human kind does like to take small grains of truth and embellish it into something altogether different.” He spoke of humans with affection and tolerance in his tone, like they were beloved friends or children.
    “Aren’t you supposed to have pointy ears?” She was trying to remember anything she may have heard about Elves. She could come up with a cute blonde guy who had played an elf archer in some movie she watched once. What was the name of that movie? She couldn’t remember, but she distinctly remembered he had pointed ears.
    “ I am loving your enthusiasm, Jess, but we are not elves and I am not an elf. We are Elven. I am Elven. It is singular and plural.” Jess could tell Shane was finally starting to relax. She was sure he had been afraid she would freak or something. His voice resounded in her mind with humor and relief. “ No, we don’t have pointy ears. Our hearing is directional. We can hear great distances in the direction that we aim our hearing. At some point someone utilized the term ‘point’ rather than ‘direct’ or ‘aim.’ Over time the ‘point’ terminology was taken literally: ‘pointy ears.’” He laughed, “ That is how myths and legends are made.”
    “Well, that’s just plain stupid. If you know that the myths and legends are wrong, why doesn’t ‘your kind’ correct the errors?” Seemed like a simple solution to her.
    Shane took on a much more serious tone. “Jess, you are taking all of this rather well. You are amazingly smart and resilient. This is the first time I have ever explained our existence to anyone. There are stories of Elven who have, and most entail screaming, fainting, weeping, and uncontrollable fear. Humans sometimes even urinate on themselves. Those are the good stories. Many times the two races of the Volaticus species have been forced to explain after having been captured under torture. Humans treat us like a science project at this point of their evolution. They are a fear-driven species. They believe the solution is to destroy anything they don’t understand. They are not advanced enough at this time to understand us.”
    She was sure he wasn’t giving the human race enough credit. Most people were good, but she bit her lip. This wasn’t the time to start a political debate with him. There were far more intimate things she wanted with him right now.
    “May I touch you?” she asked hesitantly. “Not like a lover,” she corrected quickly, wincing. He probably thought she was pathetic at this point. He’d said he desired her. Was he being truthful in that?
    Shane lifted his chin, fully extending his wings for her. “Of course.” He had a slight lisp from