“He saw Hawk as weak and cowardly for not stopping Cane. And when the masking rituals were put into place, he saw an opportunity for revenge,” I fill in the remaining details.
“There’s still more for you to see, Iris,” murmurs the Carreglas, and immediately I see Cyrus in his condor’s mask on the roof of the House of Vultures. I remember this place, recalling in perfect clarity the argument I had with Cyrus up there on the night of Warbler’s wake. Though I am unsure of the time frame for this vision, I can tell it is after a beating. Falcon stands inches behind Cyrus, her bloody whip in her hands. Her eyes are wild with fury. Cyrus leans over the railing, staring off over the treetops, clearly bored with this fight.
“Why do you protect her so? Mynah hates you, yet you tell me to be easy with her, to keep the strikes on her back only. ‘Barely leave a scratch, nothing that will scar terribly,’ that’s what you demand, and I try to obey. You protect her, and I want to understand why,” Falcon demands, rage making her quake.
“I don’t have to explain anything to you. You just follow my orders. And when I say that Mynah gets some leeway, you give it to her. If I tell you that Mynah gets to walk out the front door unscathed, you will allow it!”
“But when she steps out of line, or goes against the rules—”
“She gets a minimal punishment from you. Every time, Falcon. If your whip ever shows her bones, or if you are cruel, I swear to you that I will kill you. I may taunt and tease her, but I will not see her broken. Are we clear?” Cyrus’s voice is cold as he watches the stars, ignoring Falcon’s very presence.
“But why, Cyrus?” Falcon snarls, cracking her whip on the roof. The snap of the weapon releases a marginal amount of her frustration. She raises her arm again, her jaw clenching as she eyes her leader’s back. “Tell me why you protect her!”
“I provoke her because it is the only way I can get her to talk to me! I madden her because I enjoy seeing the fire light up in her eyes. I crowd her space because I long to be near her. I endure her punches and kicks just to feel her touch.” Cyrus whispers the words like they are a secret only to be shared with the stars. “I take her hatred and loathing because in her mind I have earned it. And I bear it without punishment because it is interaction. Biting words, hateful glances, sniping and snarling—all of it is the best conversation I can hope for right now from her.”
“You…you love her?” Falcon whimpers, her lip quivering as she begins to cry. “But I thought….” Falcon’s words falter. “I thought you and I were—”
“We’re nothing, Falcon. I play a part downstairs with the rest of the House, but when we’re alone, you mean nothing to me. I told you that from the very beginning, didn’t I?” He does not continue speaking until Falcon nods her head. “I mean it just as much now as I did when we first planned to overtake the House. I told you that I would use you to kill Hawk, but that there would never be anything romantic between us. You’re a fool if you’ve allowed yourself to hope.”
“I hate her!” Falcon shouts, her whip flicking around her feet. She doesn’t even notice when it bites into her own flesh. “I hate that little bit—”
“Don’t ever let me hear you slander her!” A resounding pop echoes through the night air as Cyrus slaps Falcon hard on her mask. Even though the blow did not directly touch her skin, the force of the strike jams the edges of the mask hard against her bones. “Mynah is worth ten thousand of you! I will do whatever I must to keep her safe, even if that means playing the monstrous leader of this gods forsaken House! But everything I do is for her, always! I would cross the Devil’s Spine or swim the River Sangre if she asked it. Because to me, she will always be the only good thing I’ve ever known in my life. And you—I wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire. You are nothing more than a means to an end! Now, go downstairs and sleep,” Cyrus growls, unswayed by the hurt choking Falcon as she runs away.
Next, I see the day when I brought Creeper’s mask home in pieces. I was a mess, I note grimly as my furious eyes and bloody hands catch my eye. After learning of my actions, Cyrus scurries up to his roof hiding place, his own mask clattering to the rooftop. He screams and throws the shards of Creeper’s mask in all directions. “I never wanted this!” He wails to the stars, his breathing becoming shallow and labored as he paces. Panic makes his eyes widen as he spills his secrets to the moon. “I never wanted to harm her, but that’s all I have managed to do since I found her. My brother was right—I should have died all those years ago! It was worthless to dream and hope in this gods-forsaken place. If I was gone, she’d be happier. I didn’t know Creeper was such a monster! Nor did I see that Falcon was using him. How can I make her see that? Oh, Child of the Moon, I am sorry.” He repeats the last words again and again, his head thumping softly against the railing as he slumps.
“He has made mistakes too, Iris,” the Carreglas whispers beside me, yet I am unable to look her in the eye for the weight of my feelings. “He must atone for his failings, but everyone has motives for their actions. Even people like Cyrus.”
Broken. We are all broken messes. I am a glued together porcelain doll with cracks and scars exposed on my skin. All of us are shattered glass. Cyrus has just as many pains to bear as me. He blames himself for things that were never his fault, and I…I’m guilty of that too, aren’t I? It is a bitter realization, as I recall all the hateful things I’ve said and thought about him. Mynah is worth ten thousand of you, he had said. How can he still believe this?
“He loves you, Iris. In his heart, he will always see you as that little girl by her window.”
“Anything else I need to know? How about the future? Can you tell me that?” My voice is lifeless to my ears, this new knowledge deadening my nerves.
“I can see only where your path will lead you,” answers the Carreglas, and I feel my eyebrows raise in surprise. I had not expected a legitimate response. “Unless your current decisions vastly impact your future, you and the Ddraigs are doomed to destruction.”
“I can understand why the Déchets king wants you,” I grumble under my breath. With a fountain of information, including the ability to predict the future at his fingertips, Cassé would never stand a chance against him. “I will do what I can to protect you.”
“Then you’ve seen what you needed. Our business is done. Trust Cyrus, Suryc, and Siri.” The image of Warbler reappears in the milky light and demands, eyes growing alarmed as it begins to dissipate into a cloud of opaque blue and purple smoke. “Only them, Iris.”
When I finally emerge from the lair of the Carreglas, I feel my entire body quaking in shock. How can I look Cane in the eyes now, knowing he tried to kill his brother? Everyone has warned me against him. Is it because of this incident, or is that still more that I do not know? What about Cyrus—how am I going to deal with him? The very idea of putting faith in Cyrus goes against every fiber of my being. Despite the wedge of empathy driven into my mind, I cannot yet acknowledge for him anything more than pity and a healthy amount of distrust.
“Siri, you knew all of this already,” I both question and accuse my Ddraig. “Did the Carreglas show you everything about my life before it revealed its secrets to me? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I learned everything that I knew about Cyrus from Suryc, and I can review any of your memories at my leisure. I am sorry that you are distressed by what you learned,” Siri answers, smoke billowing around me as she snorts. “I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t disturbed myself. Windwalker.”
Blood drains from my face as I recall Siri’s impression of Antero. “You hate Windwalkers, don’t you?” Siri eyes me carefully, as if she is sizing me up as her next meal. So much for your fine, tender words about our bond.
“Windwalkers are unpredictable, but I already knew you were trouble,” Siri cracks, a small smile lifting her mouth at its corners. “Perhaps I can make an exception. After all, you are a child of this land, not filled with Déchets’ cruelty.” Siri nuzzles my chin gently as she continues. “Beside
s, I am bonded to you, Iris. I know what’s in your secret heart, even if you do not say it aloud. I will always be proud to belong to you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about Cyrus’s past? Surely you knew those things about him. Didn’t Suryc tell you anything?”
“But would you have believed me if I had showed you his story myself? Your trust in me is not complete, Cadogan.” Siri stamps her front foot to interrupt my indignant response, scattering bits of rock along the cavern floor with the force of her impact. “I do not hold your misgivings against you. It is natural that you should still question me; everything is still so new for you.”
That is putting it mildly; everything is happening so fast that I can barely catch my breath. “Take me to the meeting place for the Ddraigs. We will leave with the ones that are waiting there for us. I do not wish to tarry here any longer.” I cannot pull myself out of the shadowy corners in my thoughts. Everything about the Carreglas overwhelms me. You and the Ddraigs are doomed to destruction—not exactly the future for which I was hoping. I need to get as far away from this place as possible.
Wordlessly, Siri carries me into the sunlight. Only the sound of fluttering wings draws my attention. They came; all of them, by the looks of the many brightly scaled beings before me.
Their support gives me a shred of hope to cling to after the Carreglas’s depressing prophecy. “Lead their flight, Siri,” I answer as I stifle a yawn. “Take us to find the other Cadogans.”
Coming Soon
Book 2
About the Author
Maggie Claire gave up a career in education to pursue her dream of becoming a published author. In addition to House of Vultures, she is the author of Attila the Hummer, a chapter book for middle grade readers. She is also a freelance photographer who regularly posts her photos on her website and social media. She lives near Waco, TX.
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