by Devan Skyles
“But you let me come back now,” she pointed out.
“I knew I could not keep you from your home forever,” he reasoned, “and that place was no longer safe for you. If Corvus has his way, it’s about to get even more dangerous. But seeing you here now brings me joy I never thought I could feel again.”
“I’m so happy to finally be here.”
“It will not be easy for you here,” he cautioned. “Your green eyes are a mark you will always bear, revealing that you were born outside of Ilimíra, a changeling, as we call them.”
“A changeling,” she echoed.
A Friendly Foe
“So, we rescue your son and you agree to stop working for Corvus, is that the deal?” Rhydian asked.
Nicodemus nodded. “As soon as I see that he is safe, you can do with me as you will. But you must also keep my granddaughter from harm.”
“I intend do,” he replied, taking Ellie by the hand.
“The rift will be executed on the ground behind the city. Now, it takes about three days to prepare, so you’ll have that long to get it done. With a good tailwind, you can reach the Sandstone Spires in little more than a day. I will draw out the process for as long as I can, but I cannot delay it for long, you understand.”
“Three days,” said Auram. “The book we found in Redwing’s office says that you can trigger a rift just by destroying a master timekeeper.”
“Yes, that’s true, but that would be unpredictably catastrophic. It could cause the other side to collapse on Ilimíra, or the other way around. It could also break down the barrier entirely, devastated both worlds. To do it deliberately and correctly takes a lifetime of dedication and study. I am the only Gatemaker left who still possesses the skills and understanding to do so, and I will teach no others. It is a skill that should be lost to Ilimíra forever, for our own good.”
“Right,” said Rhydian, “so, how do we find your son? The Sandstone Spires form an enormous city. How do we know where this secret prison is? In fact, how do you know where it is?”
“I know where it is because I was held there once,” he replied. “And if I know Corvus the way I think I do, that is where he will be holding my son.” He handed him a folded piece of paper.
Rhydian unfolded it and saw that it contained a map of the Sandstone Spires. Somewhere in the middle of the map, an X was written in red ink.
“So, the X is where this prison is?” he asked, but when he looked up, the old man was gone.
“Well, I guess we’d better get moving then,” Auram said.
Ellie, who had never been afraid of heights before, clung to Rhydian’s arms and looked down into the vast canyon. “Um, should I just naturally be able to fly? Because I’m not feeling entirely confident that I know how.”
It was a problem they hadn’t anticipated. Ilimíri children strengthened and learned to use their wings within the first couple of years of their life, but Ellie, who’d never even been to Ilimíra, had no such experience.
“I was going to carry you before,” Rhydian said. “It will be even easier to do now.”
“It will?” she said, perplexed.
“Well sure, I mean, as an Ilimíri, you’re much lighter than a human. Our bones are light and hollow, and our body density is very different.”
“Doesn’t that make you— I mean, us— more fragile?”
Taya looked at her indignantly. “Look at me! Do I look fragile to you?”
“We should go,” Auram reminded them.
“I’m going with you,” came a voice from within the cave.
Everyone turned, and out of the shadows stepped Desmond, his face pale from loss of blood. Stunned, they all raised their weapons.
Desmond raised his hands, “Yes, I followed you. I was ordered to stay behind to make sure you didn’t try to come back to Ilimíra. And yes, I heard everything the old man said. I want to go with you.”
“Why would you want to do that?” Ellie shot back.
“Look, I know I’ve done some awful things, and you have no reason to trust me, but—”
“You’re right, we don’t!” she replied, pushing him back. “For all I know, you were the one who killed my mother and captured my father!”
“Look, I had no idea anyone was going to get hurt. My assignment was to acquire the timekeeper. I found your parents, yes, but I had nothing to do with what happened from there. If you don’t believe me, fine, but at least give me the chance to make it right. Let me help you rescue your father.”
“Why would you want to do that?” she repeated.
“I guess you wouldn’t believe me if I said it was just the right thing to do.”
Everyone stared at him with blank expressions.
“Okay, fine” he conceded, “fair enough. I want to help you because they also have my sister, Kora. That’s kind of Redwing’s M.O. If he can’t bribe you or motivate you politically, he takes someone you love and holds them for ransom. Where do you think Corvus got the idea for controlling Nicodemus? So yeah, I know I’ve done some horrible things, but everything I did was to keep Kora safe. And if this secret prison is where they’re holding your father, chances are that’s where they’ve got her, too.”
“No,” Taya replied. “Even if you’re telling the truth, you’re injured. You’ll only slow us down.”
“If I fall behind, you can leave me behind,” he replied. “But face it, you could use my help.”
“We have help,” Auram retorted. “Or maybe you haven’t heard of ‘Auram’s word’.”
He laughed, “Yes, I’ve heard. So, you really think you have time to sneak into town in broad daylight, find your followers, and hope you don’t get caught in the process? You heard what the old man said. It takes more than a day to reach the Spires in favorable wind, plus the time it takes to actually rescue him. The rift will be starting in three days. You need to leave right now.”
They all looked at each other, gauging each other’s reactions. No one had anything to say.
Rhydian finally broke the silence. “If you think we’re going to trust you with a weapon, you’re insane.”
“Fair enough,” he replied, pulling a dagger and a pistol from his waistline behind his back and tossing them over the cliff. “Any other conditions?”
“You fly in front where we can see you,” Taya said.
“What are we waiting for then?” he replied and took to the air, soaring out over the canyon. The sunlight glinted brightly off his russet feathers.
“I don’t know about this,” Ellie said. “I don’t trust him.”
“Good instincts,” Taya replied, taking flight as well.
Rhydian went up to Ellie and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Keep your wings tucked in tight,” he instructed.
She smiled as he held her close and started buffeting the air with his broad wings, her hair tossing in the wind they created. In an instant, they were lifting into the air and soaring over the open chasm below. She hollered, reveling in the thrill of flight. Nothing could compare to this, not even skydiving! This was true flight. She reached up and caressed the back of Rhydian’s neck with her hand, fingering his curls. This was like no joy she’d ever known.
They made their way up over the ridge of the shear canyon wall and flew out over flat, open ground. Near the horizon lay a blanket of lush, green forest, and Ellie became enthralled with wonder.
“Everything seems so grand here,” she said. “Will we be flying over the forest?”
“Unfortunately,” Auram grumbled. “If we go around the mountains past the city, we’re taking a risk of getting caught.”
“What’s wrong with flying over the forest? It looks beautiful.”
“Oh sure, it’s lovely,” said Taya, “but it’s nothing but dense, wet jungle. It rains nearly every day, and the trees are so short that there’s no place to stop and rest.”
“Can’t we rest in the woods? I’ve spent time in the rain forest before.”
“That’s the Grimwood,
” Auram replied. “Even if every mile of it weren’t full of the most violent ground-dweller factions in the world, nearly every creature down there is poisonous, venomous, or wants to eat you for breakfast. So no, we can’t rest there.”
“Got it,” she noted. “No landing in the forest of death.”
They were flying over the forest within the hour, and true to Taya’s word, it began to rain so hard that their feathers soon became saturated, making flight difficult. It also made it hard to see, for the torrent was so heavy that the horizon disappeared from view. Now and then, the trees below would shift and shake, as if something very large was moving between them below the dense canopy. This was enough to unnerve everyone. And as if the downpour from above and the monsters below weren’t bad enough, the heat was so intense that they soon couldn’t tell if they were more covered in rain or sweat.
Rhydian, who was still carrying Ellie, had it the worst. He had to flap twice as hard to stay aloft with the added weight, and his muscles soon ached from the effort. Taya passed around a bottle of ilïmbalm, making sure that Rhydian got the largest share. She and Auram both wished they could help, but he was the only one with wings broad and strong enough for the burden. He didn’t complain, even when his arms started to tremble. He wasn’t about to look weak around Ellie, though she could tell he was suffering.
“Maybe I could try and fly on my own for a while,” she suggested, hoping to relieve some of his burden.
“Not a good idea,” he replied. “Even with experience, it’s not easy flying in the rain. We can’t take the risk of you landing in the forest.”
They labored over the wild vegetation for several hours before the rain finally let up and a long mountain range appeared on the horizon.
“Finally!” Taya gasped. “I can’t wait to rest my wings and try some of that delicious mountain lümril meat! I haven’t had any in years!”
“What’s lümril?” Ellie inquired, curious.
“Oh, it’s the best!” Auram said. “It’s the meat from an animal that’s only found on the highest peaks of the Wingtip Mountains. So tender and savory, it doesn’t need any seasoning!”
“Better than chilidogs!” Rhydian added.
“What in Ilimíra are chilidogs?” Taya asked.
“Don’t ask me,” Auram replied. “He tried explaining it to me once. I’m not even sure he knows what they are.”
Ellie laughed. “I can’t wait to try it.”
Desmond, who up until this point had kept to himself, cut in. “Sorry to break up the party, but we might have trouble ahead. And seeing as you took away my weapons, I’d like to request that someone else take the lead.”
They all looked and saw what he was referring to. A squad of uniformed soldiers, lightly armored, was winging their way toward them.
“How many do you think there are?” Auram asked.
Taya squinted her eyes and peered out across the sky. “Ten, maybe fifteen. Hard to tell from this distance.”
“Any bright ideas, brave adventurers?” Desmond inquired sardonically.
“Yeah,” Auram retorted, “we could tie you up and throw you at them. It might not work, but at least we wouldn’t have lost anything worthwhile.”
“Maybe they won’t recognize us,” Rhydian suggested. “I mean, there’s no reason they’d expect us to be coming this way. Why would they be watching for us?”
“So, what, we just play it cool?” Ellie asked. “What if they question me? I don’t know enough about Ilimíra.”
“Just let us do the talking,” offered Taya.
They all fell silent and acted casual as twelve soldiers flew just overhead in tight ranks. Everyone’s hearts raced as the soldiers passed, realizing they just might get away unscathed. Then the leader of the ranks turned the formation in a tight circle to fly alongside them.
Everyone tensed up but tried to remain calm. Rhydian and Auram tried not to look the soldiers in the eye.
“Everything okay here?” the lead officer asked.
“We’re all just fine,” Taya replied.
“I was actually talking to this one,” he replied, pointing toward Rhydian.
Rhydian’s heart pounded. Without looking at the man, he said. “Like she said, we’re all fine.”
“Not you, the girl! You, miss, are you okay? Are these people giving you trouble?”
Ellie realized he was addressing her. “Oh, no sir! I’m just fine. These are my friends.”
“Why aren’t they letting you fly on your own?”
“Oh, you know, I uh— I hurt my wing. Cramped up on me.”
The officer looked at her suspiciously, then eyed the others. His gaze fixed on Auram.
“Hey, have we met before?” he asked. “You look familiar.”
“I don’t think so,” Auram answered nervously.
The officer fell silent for a moment, and then reached into a satchel he was carrying. Ellie’s first thought was that he was reaching for some sort of weapon, but instead he pulled out a bottle of rich, dark ilïmbalm and tossed it to her.
“That should help with the wing cramp,” he offered cordially. “Probably just a bit of malnourishment. Feel better, miss. You all fly safe.”
And with that, he led his squad back in their original direction and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“That could have gone worse,” Ellie said.
“I don’t know what you were all worried about,” Auram joked. “I wasn’t worried for a second.”
The closer they got to the mountains, the cooler the air became. They had to increase their altitude to clear the peaks, which took a concerted effort on Rhydian’s part, but when they finally reached the top, they could see for miles in every direction. They eventually came upon a small village on the peak of a rocky ridge and swooped in for a landing. Everyone was fatigued and out of breath.
As soon as Ellie’s feet touched the ground, she turned and embraced Rhydian in her arms, cradling his head on her shoulder. “Thank you. I’m so sorry to be such a burden to you.”
Rhydian forced a smile and kissed her just below the ear. “You could never be a burden.”
Ellie found it was harder to be discrete about her feelings, because now, whenever she blushed, her feathers ruffled a bit.
“Who’s hungry?” Auram asked enthusiastically, holding up the bottle of ilïmbalm the soldier had given them. “I’m going to go buy some lümril meat, compliments of the Fleet!”
Everyone laughed. While he was gone, Rhydian and Taya gave Ellie some tips on flying. They had her practice lifting off the ground by flapping down until her feet left the ground a few inches, something parents taught their children when they first start learning. This, naturally, attracted some peculiar expressions from passersby.
Desmond walked up and hissed, “You’re drawing too much attention to yourselves! You’re fugitives, remember?”
No one liked Desmond telling them what to do, but he was right. They couldn’t afford to stand out. Auram soon returned with four large pieces of steaming steaks on wooden skewers and handed them out to his friends. When he came to Desmond he shrugged his shoulders.
“Oh!” he said in feigned regret. “You know, I might have taken a sip or two of that ilïmbalm, so I didn’t have quite enough to buy you anything. My mistake.” He then took a sizeable bite out of his lümril steak and smiled, gratified with himself.
Desmond rolled his eyes and shoved his way past Auram, who continued to chew contentedly.
Ellie smirked at Auram’s slight, shaking her head, and took a bite of her own steak. Her eyes widened with delight at the taste. It was like nothing she’d had before, with a savory, almost spicy flavor that made her mouth water.
“Oh, my gosh!” she moaned through a mouthful of meat. “I could eat this for every meal!”
“It’s a delicacy up here!” Taya replied. “And it’s extremely nutritious, too. It’s got enough protein and vitamins in it to nourish you for a full day.”
“They marinate
it in rich ilïmbalm for a couple of days before they cook it,” Auram added. “I’ve never heard anyone say they don’t like this stuff. It’s a lot cheaper to buy here, too, because it’s harvested right here on the mountain. It doesn’t have to be flown elsewhere.”
“So,” Ellie said, changing the subject, “How much further do we have to fly?”
“Well, it’s just past noon now,” said Taya, “If we maintain the same speed we’ve been going, we might get there some time in the morning. But that’s only if we fly straight through the night.”
Ellie sighed. “I’m gonna have to learn how to fly. I mean, Rhyd’s strong, but there’s no way he’s going to be able to carry me that far.”
“Or, maybe we should have just left her on her pretty little farm,” Desmond chimed in. “That’s where she belongs if you ask me.”
“Well, nobody did ask you!” Rhydian rebuked.
Desmond threw up his hands impatiently. “Look, I’m not saying she doesn’t deserve to come. I’m just saying she’s never even been to Ilimíra before! Heck, this morning she didn’t even know she was Ilimíri! She’s way outside her zone here and she’s just going to slow us down! I think she needs to just stay here and we can come back for her later.”
“We’re not leaving her here!” Rhydian returned.
“As much as I hate to admit it,” Ellie said meekly, “maybe he’s right. I mean, I came here to save my dad, but I’m not doing him or anyone else any favors by slowing you down.”
“Ellie,” said Rhydian, taking her hands in his. “I’m not leaving you here alone. I promised I’d keep you safe.”
“Well, maybe I’ll be safe here. I have a sword, and Taya says I’m pretty good with it, right Taya?”
Taya’s eyes shifted uncomfortably. “She is pretty good,” she granted.
“There’s one thing you guys haven’t considered,” Auram chimed in. “What were the two conditions of Nicodemus’s deal? Rescue his son, and keep his granddaughter safe. If we show up without her, what’s he going to think?”
