by Nancy Gray
Mercy didn’t have to read their emotions or understand their language to know what they were thinking. They were trying not to kill her or Mirilee since they were valuable to use as bargaining chips against Erebus. However, they had no such reservations about Kylas. The guard saw an opportunity and took it, not thinking that Mirilee would take an arrow for her friend. That at least meant that they were going to try to take them alive. It would buy them some time.
“They’re not going to kill us. We need to protect Kylas as best as we can. Kylas, stay between the two of us and stay low. How’s that shoulder, Mirilee?”
Mirilee looked pale with pain but she said, flatly, “I’ll live. Do what Mercy said, Kylas. Crouch down.”
Kylas did as he was told. Mercy could feel his desire to fight. Mercy watched as two of the guards began to stretch a net out between them. Mercy grabbed the short sword from Kylas’ side and, just as the large net was about to hit them, she slashed the sword in a large arc over their heads. It became tangled in the net, but they were easily able to push the bundle of rope off of them.
Meanwhile, Mirilee loaded her dart gun and blew three darts up into the group of beast men. Three of them fell from the backs of their mounts. Three others darted away from the attack to catch their fallen companions before they could crash into the canopy below. Mercy grinned as she watched the three carrying their sleeping companions away from the group. That left only five to contend with, which meant they might just have a chance.
Mercy glanced away for a moment to load her bow with another arrow. Before she could even aim the bow upwards, she suddenly felt as though several knives were digging into her shoulders. She looked up but everything was obscured by the body of a large brown bird. The long talons were wrapped around her shoulders and beneath her arms. Five inch long curved claws were digging into her flesh.
Mirilee shouted something, swiping at the talons with her dagger, but the knife seemed to just glance off every time, barely even cutting the bird. Mercy struggled, but the grip on her shoulders was as immobile as stone, and she felt her feet leaving the ground. Dust swirled around her in a mini-cyclone, whirling painfully into her eyes, and then she was in the air looking down as her friends got smaller and smaller.
The guard on the back of the child stealer said in the common tongue, “Nice try. Don’t worry. You’ll see your friends back in prison, well one of them at least.”
Mercy had never felt such raw fury as she stared up at the smug expression on her captor’s face. She had come too far to let some arrogant guard carry her all the way back into her prison cell. Even though the bird had her by the shoulders, she had somehow kept a hold on her bow. One arrow was still nocked and ready, but she couldn’t aim straight upwards. The talons were curved, serrated knives in the flesh of her shoulders, so she couldn’t reach all the way up. However, seeing the serration on the edges gave her an idea about how she could get an arm free to stab the bird, but it was going to hurt.
Mercy began to swing her body back and forth, using the motion of the bird and kicking her legs out every time that it thrust its wings forward as though she was on a swing. Mercy fought against the pain as she felt the talons scraping against the bones in her upper arms but continued the motion. She could feel the cut becoming deeper, and the deeper the cut became the more she was able to feel the strain against the skin and muscle that was between her and freeing herself of the bird’s grip.
The guard looked down at her and shouted, “What are you doing? Stay still!”
She rocked back and forth again, and right when she was up far enough that she could see the bird’s chest, one of the talons ripped through her flesh entirely. One hand was free. She took the arrow and slammed it as hard as she could into the creature’s belly. It shrieked in pain and the other talon came free, as well. Mercy felt a sickening sensation as she began to fall.
Even though she knew that being free of the creature’s talons meant falling, she didn’t realize that the bird was so high in the air. She reached up for the child stealer’s feet, but they were already beyond her grasp. Mercy saw the guard trying to dive off of the child stealer to reach her, but he was belted tightly into the saddle. She was going to fall, and it was very likely that she was going to die.
33
Mercy felt the wind stinging her face as she fell. It was odd that even though she was falling so fast, her mind was working far faster and she was able to relive the events of the last several weeks in only a few mere moments. She thought about Erebus and wondered what he would do if she died. Would the Stealer Wings kill him, or would he escape? Would the Blood Wings and the Stealer Wings end up in a war? Would her quest end, or would Mirilee and Kylas finish it for her? As she thought about everything Mered told her, she had an idea and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate.
She imagined wind swirling around her and cushioning her fall. She imagined sprouting wings like one of the beast men and riding the breeze down, like a leave swirling from the top of the canopy.
An updraft started to push up against her, but it wasn’t nearly enough to slow her fall as much as she needed. Even if it did somehow cushion the blow, it would still be enough to break every bone in her body. Mercy nearly started to cry. She could picture Green Arrow laughing at her, as she became an invalid just as easily as he did. It made her concentration lapse, and she felt the breeze pushing against her dissipate immediately, and she began to fall faster.
Kylas and Mirilee were still on the ground. Kylas was no longer crouching down and hiding. He had recovered his short sword from the net and was battling one of the Stealer Wings. One of the guards was trying to crawl away, and there were two dead child stealers on the ground around them. It looked like it was down to only three capable guards left and that meant that Mirilee and Kylas had a very good chance to survive. The thought gave her a little peace of mind. Mirilee pointed at Mercy and a look of horror spread across her face. It was more than just horror; it was pure terror.
As the ground loomed closer, and Mercy knew she was about to hit it, she thought, “So, this is it. I was hoping that I wouldn’t die just by some stupid accident on my part, especially since I’m dying the same way that Wind Runner did. I told you, father, recklessness runs in our family. I wanted to die protecting someone; I think that’s why I hated that guard so much. ”
She wanted to land on her head so her neck would be broken cleanly, but instead she landed on her back. The pain was so intense that Mercy thought that Mirilee’s “Fallen One” had slammed his sickles through her body and split it apart, and for some unforeseen sin, her soul was being harvested like wheat. The sounds of her bones breaking was a series of loud cracking pops that seemed to echo in her ears long after they stopped. She couldn’t breathe, but her body was still trying, in shuttering pained gasps. The only thing she could move was her neck, but she felt like she was dying a little more with every motion. So she stayed completely still. Blood was pouring from her mouth and she was terrified she would gag on it, dying of asphyxiation instead of bleeding to death from her wounds.
After the initial explosion of pain, she couldn’t feel anything below her waist. However, she could still feel the sharp, stabbing pain in her arms and ribs, especially her back. It almost made her laugh to think of how much she thought the fire spider venom hurt in comparison to what she felt now.
She was only vaguely aware that her skin was cold. The ground that she had fallen on was moist and muddy and her body had made an imprint around her as though she had sunk into a feather cushion. She tried to lose herself in that illusion, but it wasn’t long before waves of pain wracked her body, shaking her from the thought. She shivered and tremors of agony ran up her back, and on top of everything, she felt queasy as she noticed the way one of her arms was bent completely backwards.
Mercy heard the sounds of battle close to her. Mirilee and Kylas were still fighting, but it seemed that their battle was almost over. Mercy stared into the forest next to her since the only thing she could do wa
s loll her head back and forth, and then she saw something that snapped her out of her thoughts. There was a green woman walking towards her from within the canopy of trees. Mercy wondered if it was the great spirit of the oasis coming to claim her soul.
She hoped that she had lived an honorable enough life to return as something human, but as the woman got closer, her skin turned from green into a tan brown. Her hair was tawny, her eyes were dark brown, and the hue of her wings matched her hair. There was something oddly familiar about the woman’s face and Mercy realized that other than the billowing wings, she looked almost exactly like an older version of Mirilee.
Mercy tried to speak, to ask if she was Mirilee’s Mother, but the woman motioned for her to be silent and crouched by her side. She put her hands on Mercy’s injuries, and Mercy suddenly felt blissful relief as her pain subsided. There was some discomfort though, as she felt many of her bones moving of their own accord, but it was immensely satisfying as they audibly clicked back into place. The woman sang silently in the language of the People of the Air and Light as she fixed Mercy’s broken body. When the song was over, Mercy found that she could move again, but the woman motioned for her to stay still.
She whispered in the common language, “You need to rest. Your bones aren’t broken, but you’re going to be in pain for several days.”
“You’re Mirilee’s mother.”
The winged woman nodded.
“Mirilee and Kylas, are they okay?”
She said in the common language, “They’re hurt, but my husband is helping them right now, and so am I.”
With that she stood up and left Mercy’s side. Despite what she had said, Mercy sat up and looked in the direction of the battle. A man with dark skin and blond hair that was almost white with matching wings was yelling in the language of the Stealer Wings at the last two guards. Eventually the two guards nodded and flew away in the direction of the prison. Mercy noticed that the man’s eyes were the same strange golden color as Mirilee.
Mirilee and Kylas were lying on the ground but watching him in bewilderment. Mirilee’s mother walked up to them and examined their injuries. Mercy noticed she fixed Kylas with a cold stare and began to treat the wound on his head. There was no singing, but she did put her hand on his head and muttered something that made Kylas relax a little.
Mirilee was staring at her mother, and Mercy couldn’t help but feel as though she was intruding on something very intimate, something that was none of her business. She could feel Mirilee’s anger and hurt but also a longing that overpowered all of her other emotions. They began to speak in hushed tones, but in the end, Mirilee flung her arms around her mother and began to cry. Mercy tried to get up to walk to them but found she didn’t have the energy and that her body was just too sore.
When Mirilee saw Mercy waving pathetically in her direction, she stood up. She looked angry but Mercy could feel the relief washing over her as she fixed her with a harsh stare.
She stalked up to Mercy. “Don’t you ever do anything like that again, or I won’t be your friend anymore. That was the most hot-headed thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Well, coming from you, that is quite an insult.”
Mirilee hugged her hard enough that Mercy gasped in pain.
She was surprised as Mirilee began to cry. “Please, please don’t do that again.”
“I won’t.”
Mirilee turned to her Mother and said, “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome, Mirilee. I hope one day you’ll forgive me. I wanted to come to you sooner, but if I left here to tell you, then I wouldn’t have been the only one punished.”
Mercy flinched at the word. She knew she meant executed.
“I understand. It’s just not easy to see you after so many years of thinking you were dead. I need some time to think all of this through.”
“Take as much time as you need, Honey. You know where to find us now. After what’s happened, I think we can convince the others to let you come back here.”
Mirilee’s father was shaking with rage as he spoke, “They went too far this time, attacking my own daughter and treating her like a criminal for coming here on a diplomatic mission. I’ll be speaking to Lord Radian about this personally. He could’ve killed you all. They will be more hospitable the next time you come.”
Mirilee suddenly hugged her father, and he became silent closing his eyes and holding her closer. He began to cry.
Mercy cleared her throat and said, “I hate to interrupt, but what about Kylas? Have they decided not to kill him?”
“That’s what I was arguing with the guards about. No, they haven’t.”
Mirilee muttered, “But we know the secret now, too. Why would they spare us and still want to kill him?”
Her father sighed. “Because he spied on the Stealer Wings to get that information. They still want to make an example of him.”
Mercy cursed under her breath.
He continued. “You all probably need to get going. We can fly you down to the base of the cliffs, but you need to hide until your friend Erebus comes back. We’ll get back to Lord Radian as fast as we can to try to convince him to let you go.”
Mirilee frowned at her father but didn’t say anything. Mercy could feel her disappointment. She wanted to stay with her parents longer, but Kylas’ life depended on all of them acting fast. Mirilee’s mother walked over to one of the wounded child stealers, pulled the arrow from its flesh and began to chant. Her father did the same. Soon both of the birds were back on their feet and Mirilee, Kylas, and her Mother got on one bird. Mirilee’s father picked Mercy up and got on the other.
Mercy clung tightly to him as they took off, remembering all too well her last experience with one of the beasts, but she was surprised at how freeing flying on the birds actually felt. It made her secretly want to sprout wings of her own. The flight was short, and Mercy watched Mirilee clinging to her mother’s back, burying her face into her tunic. She felt for her, probably more than Mirilee realized. It made her think of how much she wished she had known her own mother, but she wouldn’t be coming back. Mercy pretended to be staring at the scenery on her other side, hiding her tears from Mirilee.
They landed next to the rocky outcropping, and Mirilee exchanged a tearful goodbye with her parents. Mercy could feel her confusion and pain, but also there was some relief and closure. She knew the feeling. Mirilee was overwhelmed. Mercy would have to wait to tell her what Mered said on the trip back to Concord.
Mirilee’s Mother said, “Remember, don’t come out from behind these rocks until you see Erebus return. Right now, the search party hasn’t seen you, but if they take you back, it won’t end well for Kylas.”
Kylas flinched but nodded.
“Remember, we love you, Mirilee. We’ve never stopped thinking about you.”
“I love you, too.”
With that, Mirilee’s parents mounted the child stealers and flew away. Mirilee watched them until they were a speck in the distance and then sighed heavily and sat down, her back sliding down the smooth surface of the rock. Mercy sank down in exhaustion, as well. Even though she was feeling a little better, she felt completely drained of energy. She secretly wished she had some vigor ash root so she could stave off the pain for a little while longer. It wouldn’t be long, and it would be dawn. She hoped that Erebus would be back by then. She couldn’t help but worry, wondering if the Stealer Wings would keep their end of the bargain.
Mirilee seemed to read her mind. “He’ll be okay, Mercy. My parents will make sure of that.”
“I know. I don’t mean to worry, but I’ll just feel better when I see him.”
Kylas said, “I don’t know about the two of you, but I really need some sleep. Who should take the first watch?”
Mercy sighed. She wrapped her arms around her body. The oasis was mostly warm at night, but now that they were beyond the plateaus, the cold was biting. There was no way she would be able to get to sleep especially since they couldn’t build
a fire, and for some reason she felt so exhausted that she was having trouble trying to rest.
Mercy groaned. “I’ll take the first watch. Hopefully, there won’t be more than one.”
Kylas frowned. “Are you sure, Mercy? You were the one who was the worst off out of all of us.”
“I’m sure. I can’t sleep until I know Erebus is safe anyway.”
Mirilee grinned and began to chant in a singsong, teasing voice about Mercy and Erebus kissing behind a tent.
Mercy couldn’t help to chuckle and playfully kicked some sand in her direction. “Go to sleep, Mirilee.”
Mercy stared at the bluish horizon until the sun began to rise. At first, it was obscured by the dust clouds, but eventually they began to dissipate. Every now and again she would hear the sound of a child stealer screeching somewhere close by, but there was only one close call when a child stealer passed over the rock. Mirilee and Kylas were asleep under their sand colored traveling cloaks, and Mercy just pulled hers closer and concentrated hard, trying to make her body invisible. However, now that she was outside of the plateaus, it didn’t work. It seemed that the camouflaged cloaks were enough, though, because the patrolling beast man didn’t turn around.
Just as she thought that exhaustion was finally going to overtake her and she needed to wake someone else up to take watch, Mercy heard something that gave her a much needed burst of energy. She could hear Erebus’ voice echoing across the canyon walls close to them. Mercy shook Kylas and Mirilee awake but quickly made a motion for them to be silent. It seemed that Erebus was coming down the narrow trail that they had bypassed on the child stealer. She could also hear that Lord Radian was with him. Their discussion was heated and Mercy rarely heard Erebus sounding so mad. His voice reminded her of him flinging curses at the Blood Wings that tried to kill her in the cave.
“You nearly killed them all and you treated me like a criminal. I should tell my people that your kind don’t deserve peace.”
“You were the one that meddled in our affairs. If you had just allowed us to kill the spy, this never would’ve happened.”
