Gabriel Finley and the Raven’s Riddle

by George Hagen

  “But why did they make the staff?” asked Abby.

  “Actually, the staff was created by Muninn. He made only two wishes. The first was for a sturdy defense against valravens—a staff that destroys them.”

  “And the other?” asked Gabriel.

  “Well, the valravens kept coming for the torc, and over the years, poor old Muninn became weary of defending himself,” explained Mr. Finley. “So he wished himself to some faraway place safe from valravens.” He shook his head. “Sadly, he was buried alive in a tomb along with the torc and staff. That’s where I found his skeleton, a thousand years later.”

  “Yuck,” said Pamela.

  “So you see, no wish is foolproof. Even the torc’s owner isn’t safe from its mischief,” said Mr. Finley. “Now, Gabriel, we must go before your uncle makes it impossible for us to leave.”

  Escape from Aviopolis

  Gabriel still felt that something important had been left out of his father’s explanation. There wasn’t time to ask because Mr. Finley began hurrying everybody out of the room.

  “Remember,” he said. “If Corax doesn’t learn the truth about the torc, he won’t be able to take it from Gabriel!”

  They joined the immense crowd of creatures hurrying along the corridors of the citadel. These were the flightless birds—bustards, geese, dodoes, and emus. Many seemed unafraid of speaking, which accounted for the noise as they apologized (or complained) when they collided with the children in their frenzy to escape. A deep voice behind Somes said, “Pick your feet up, sonny! We haven’t got all day!” Somes turned to see an ornery pelican snapping its bill at him.

  As they ran through the bustling hallways, Abby took Gabriel’s hand tightly in her own. “What’s wrong?” she whispered.

  “What if we don’t get out in time, and Corax asks me a riddle I can’t answer?” he replied. “That’s the end of it. He’ll have the torc, and we’re done for.”

  Abby squeezed his hand. “Maybe he won’t get a chance. Maybe we’ll escape before Corax finds us. But if he does …” She paused. “Well, you won’t have to worry about answering a funny riddle, and those are the hardest.”

  “Why not?”

  “Corax is just a big valraven, and they don’t get jokes,” she replied.

  “Oh, yeah.” Gabriel nodded, wishing this was more of a comfort.

  There was a massive traffic jam at the entrance to the bridge. Cries of frustration rose from the waddling, flightless penguins, coots, grebes, cassowaries, and kiwis as they jostled and poked their way in front of the dodoes and ostriches, who were making a great fuss to get across first.

  “This is crazy,” said Pamela. “I can’t imagine these silly birds getting across the Chasm of Doubt without forgetting themselves in the middle of the bridge.”

  “They seem to be moving along just fine,” said Abby, looking ahead.

  Indeed, the birds kept a surprisingly good pace across the bridge. The confused birds got bumped ahead by the ones behind them. Septimus, of course, had cut in line way ahead of everybody. The children could see him past the halfway point with the raven Burbage sitting on his shoulder.

  “I hope your friend Paladin catches that robin,” Mr. Finley remarked to Gabriel. “A lot depends on it.”

  Gabriel peered at the vast cavern, wondering where Paladin might be. His gaze settled on the uppermost battlements of the citadel, where he had first seen the dark figure. “What’s Corax planning?” he wondered.

  “I don’t know, Gabriel,” his father replied. “The sooner we cross the bridge, the better.”

  They were held up, however, as a huge group of penguins scuttled ahead of them.

  Pamela sighed. “Well, I’m ready to get home,” she said to Somes. “How about you?”

  “Home?” His large eyes became sad. “I don’t have much of a home to go to.”

  Before Pamela could answer, Abby let out a cry. “What in the world is that?”

  She pointed upward. A churning, billowing black cloud surrounded the top of the citadel tower. Swelling to ominous proportions, it slowly drifted downward. Gabriel recognized the sickly glow coming from thousands of yellow eyes.

  Valravens.

  Hundreds and hundreds of them. Swirling around each other in eddies and whirls of black feathers, thick with fury and malice, snapping their skeletal beaks and jagged claws, hissing and screaming. Their tattered wings beat the air, stirring up a horrible stench of rancid meat, rot, and death.

  When they were overhead, the valravens began darting at the children.

  “Quick, Gabriel!” cried Mr. Finley. “Use the staff!”

  The moment he spoke, a flurry of valravens converged on Mr. Finley, surrounding him and hissing their fury.

  Gabriel pointed his staff at the nearest ones. Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Five valravens vanished in an explosion of feathers.

  “Quicker!” said Somes. “Look! More are coming!”

  Indeed, another cloud descended from the top of the citadel, this one bigger than the first.

  “I’ve never seen so many birds!” added Pamela.

  Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Gabriel spun about, picking them off as fast as he could, but the harpies darted at the children, gagging and screeching like a devilish thunderhead. No matter how many Gabriel destroyed with the staff, they were replaced by twice as many ghouls who were even more determined to keep the children from stepping upon the bridge.

  And then it got worse.

  “Oh, Gabriel, help!” cried Pamela. A group of valravens clamped their beaks and talons on locks of her hair, pulling at her hood, her sleeves, trying to lift her into the air.

  Gabriel pointed the staff at them, destroying twenty in quick pops, but they were swiftly replaced. Pamela fought them off, swinging her violin case until one bird pulled it from her fingers and flew off over the chasm, then clumsily dropped the case when it collided with another bird.

  As her precious violin vanished into the darkness, Pamela went limp.

  The ghouls took advantage of her distraction by hoisting her up above her friends, then over the chasm. Fearful of falling, Pamela stopped struggling. The valravens swiftly carried her off.

  “Can’t you do something?” Somes shouted at Gabriel.

  “Like what?” Gabriel snapped back.

  “Make a wish!” suggested Abby. “Wish they were butterflies or something!”

  “Butterflies?” Gabriel repeated.

  “No!” shouted Mr. Finley. “Butterflies couldn’t support Pamela; she’d fall into the abyss!”

  “Wish them to vanish, or die!” cried Somes.

  “She’ll still fall!”

  “I don’t know what to do!” said Gabriel. In frustration, he looked at his father. “Can’t I just wish everyone home?”

  “And arrive surrounded by all these valravens? Don’t expect magic to be precise—especially black magic!” warned Mr. Finley.

  Now the attackers swarmed like hornets around Abby.

  She tried to defend herself by swinging her backpack at them, but one valraven seized it and flapped away. A second bird attacked the first, and a third pulled the bag in the opposite direction, splitting it down the middle. Viv’s candies and several of Abby’s colorful bandannas dropped into the chasm and were swiftly snapped up by passing valravens.

  One valraven landed on Abby’s head and clawed off her spectacles. Abby grabbed them back but found herself rising from the ground, pulled by thirty valravens, their talons tugging at the mesh of her four layers of cardigans.

  “Abby!” cried Gabriel, popping off valravens left and right, but the birds were simply replaced by more, who circled Somes next.

  Somes put up a brave fight, swinging his fists and kicking as hard as he could. He managed to grab one valraven, swinging it fiercely against the others. After he threw the valraven into the chasm, it swiftly became food for the others. Then Somes felt himself hoisted up.

  “Somes, look out!” warned Gabriel.

  With claws gripping Some
s’s sweatshirt, the valravens rose in a flock, but the boy cleverly unzipped himself and slid out. He meant to land upon the bridge but misjudged the distance. Gabriel gasped as Somes dropped below him into the darkness, only to reappear moments later, held aloft by valravens gripping his hair, shirt, jeans, and sneaker laces. It was difficult to know whether he had been saved or preserved for an even worse fate. In either case, he looked as if he was in a lot of pain.

  Why are they taking my friends? Gabriel wondered.

  Mr. Finley seized this moment to speak urgently to Gabriel. “I must tell you something important before the valravens come for you.” “What?”

  “Listen carefully, Gabriel,” said his father. “There is one other way to get the torc back if Corax should take it from you. You have to challenge him to a duel.”

  “A duel? You mean with swords or pistols?” said Gabriel.

  “No, nothing like that! The dwarfs dueled with wit and cunning.”

  “Oh!” Gabriel said. “A duel of riddles?”

  “Exactly. If the challenger demands a duel, the torc’s power will cease until the duel is won.”

  “Dad,” said Gabriel, “why didn’t you tell me this before?”

  Mr. Finley looked at his son with tender regret. “Because the duel offers no second chance, Gabriel. The winner claims the torc … but the loser forfeits his life. I wanted to be Corax’s challenger, but I see now that Corax has plotted carefully. He took your friends for a reason.”

  “I’m not afraid of him,” Gabriel replied.

  Mr. Finley looked proudly at Gabriel. “Yes, I realize that. You, Gabriel, are the torc’s owner and guardian now.” He squeezed his son’s shoulder. “One more thing: try not to use wishes for yourself. Remember Muninn’s fate—”

  Before Mr. Finley could finish, there were screams behind them, and more valravens arrived in a fresh attack. Gabriel tried to disperse them with the staff, but a dozen birds wrenched it free of his grip with triumphant cackles.

  Gabriel reached out.

  Zoom! The staff flew back to his hands. The confused birds squawked and hissed with frustration.

  Pleased by this small victory, Gabriel whirled around to help his father, now engulfed by the phantom birds. Suddenly, a great horned owl swooped overhead, snatching and ripping at them, sending feathers and bones in every direction.

  “Caruso!” cried Gabriel with relief.

  “Ghoulish weather we’re having lately, eh?” quipped the owl. “Don’t worry about your father, young Finley! I’ll take care of him.”

  This was just as well, because a cluster of valravens had alighted on Gabriel’s staff. Although his fingers held on tight, the birds began pulling upward, drawing Gabriel and the staff with them until he found himself dangling far over the chasm.

  What do I do now? he wondered.

  Never mind about the staff, you can get it later, said a voice in his head. Jump!

  Paladin! Gabriel replied. Where are you?

  Above you. Just jump!

  Gabriel released the torc and staff, which were quickly borne away by two cackling valravens. It was useless to struggle now. Gabriel felt himself drop deep into the chasm. The rock walls became a blur around him. Something was wrong. Where was Paladin? Was this the end? The air turned deathly cold, and as he shivered, his bones suddenly shifted position, and his arms—no, his wings—gripped the air!

  The Unanswerable Riddle

  Phew! gasped Paladin. You dropped so quickly I lost you for a minute!

  Glad you found me, replied Gabriel.

  But his relief didn’t last long. As he listened to the mocking jabber and squawk of phantom birds echoing throughout the cavern, Gabriel’s heart grew heavy with regret at losing both his father and his friends.

  It was Paladin who cheered him up. We’ll find them, the raven assured Gabriel. Together, they veered and looped through the clusters of valravens with almost careless defiance. Cunning, graceful, and swift, Paladin kept his head averted so that the lack of a yellow glow in his eyes wouldn’t arouse suspicion; and when a curious valraven did glance at him, Paladin burst into such a convincing fit of hissing and shrieking that the ghoul was dutifully impressed.

  Eventually, they spotted a curious grouping of valravens venturing much higher than the others. These creatures were making a course for a place far above the citadel, in the upper caverns of Aviopolis.

  Meanwhile, below them, the towering fortress that once imprisoned Adam Finley glittered like a beautiful lantern in the darkness as a few last stragglers made their escape over the slender bridge.

  I hope Caruso and my father escape up the staircase, thought Gabriel.

  The valravens carried three hostages high among the hundreds of simple dwellings carved into the sandstone walls until they arrived, at last, at an ornately sculpted ledge at the very top of Aviopolis. It must have been built by the dwarfs for their own leader; it supported a grand chamber with vaulted ceilings, polished floors, and windows with gold shutters. The brightly lit interior glowed enticingly. One of the window shutters was open, and it was through this opening that the valravens carried their captives.

  Gabriel and Paladin landed moments later on the ledge. Padding carefully along the windowsills, they peeked through the shutter slats.

  The chamber was full of oddly familiar furniture—cabinets with animal feet, lamps with fringed shades, armchairs and sofas with tasseled pillows. Corax had furnished his lair to resemble the house he’d fled as a boy. Sitting upon a leather quilted bench, the half man, half valraven tapped his taloned fingers impatiently. He wore a black velvet suit like the one in the painting. Poised and powerful, his great silken wings flexed gently behind his shoulders.

  There he is! said Gabriel. But I don’t remember the wings the last time I saw him.

  He can probably shift from human form to half human, half valraven for flying, replied Paladin.

  Gabriel tried to pull at the shutters, but they were carved out of stone and alabaster, and impossible to budge.

  Abby, Somes, and Pamela stood before Corax. Faces scratched and bruised, clothes rumpled and torn from being wrenched aloft by the sharp talons of their captors, they trembled before the demon.

  “It is an honor indeed to meet the valiant friends of my nephew,” said Corax.

  Bristling, Abby glared at him. “It’s not an honor to meet you!”

  “There, there,” Corax cooed. “I apologize for your rough treatment, but I was afraid you were going to leave without our getting acquainted. I rarely receive visitors here. It’s a grand occasion for me. Please have a seat.”

  “I’ll stand,” said Pamela, her eyes flashing.

  “Me too,” said Abby.

  Grimly fascinated, Somes looked around the grand chamber. Aching from his struggle against the birds, he chose a very plush sofa and sank into it.

  “Nice digs,” he remarked with a grunt.

  “I’m glad you like it,” said Corax. “You’ll find that I can be very agreeable to those who tell me what I need to know.”

  “Like what?” replied Somes.

  “I am particularly interested in a necklace called the torc.”

  “Oh, I know all about that—” said Somes.

  “Somes!” said Abby angrily.

  The boy shrugged. “I’m just saying that I know what it is.”

  Corax nodded. “A smart boy. Perhaps you are also aware of its extraordinary properties. Your friend Gabriel, I believe, knows how to use it.”

  “He’s not the only one,” said Somes with a trace of irritation—after all, he had saved Pamela from the valraven.

  Pamela shot Somes a worried glance.

  “Join me,” said Corax to the children. “I’m going to change the world. You’ve all proved yourselves to be remarkable. Be remarkable with me! You deserve more than to go back to those miserable homes of yours. Back to being … nobodies. No one will admire you as I do—not your sisters, your mothers or fathers. They can’t imagine how special you a
re!”

  When the children didn’t reply, Corax continued. “Help me harness the power of the torc. I’ll share my victory with you.”

  He focused his gaze on Abby. “You … you’re the unusual one, the one your sister told to be normal? Now, surely you don’t want to go back to that!”

  Tears filled Abby’s eyes. “I’ll never help you,” she sobbed. “You’re a monster!”

  “Then what about you?” Corax said, turning to Pamela. “A gifted musician. What will your mother say when she finds you’ve lost your violin? When I claim the world above, you can have any instrument you want.”

  “I wouldn’t need one if your awful birds hadn’t stolen mine!”

  The demon’s eyes lingered on the boy the longest. “Well, Somes?” he purred. “Look around. Wouldn’t this be nicer than sleeping on the cold floor of a mausoleum? You’ll eat well here, and there would be no school if you joined me.”

  Somes sat up, appearing to give this some consideration. “Join you?” he said. “And do what?”

  “Somes!” cried Pamela.

  “Please, Somes, don’t give yourself up to him!” said Abby.

  Corax stepped closer, blocking the girls’ imploring looks. “Tell me about the properties of this necklace and share my power,” he said. “I’ll be fair. I can assure you of that, because most of all, I know how it feels to be betrayed by a father.”

  Somes looked at Corax with surprise. How could he know?

  “Alone. Unloved,” Corax continued. “I understand these feelings better than your friends do.”

  Somes averted his eyes from the girls, then raised his chin stiffly. “If you want the torc, you have to make a blood sacrifice.”

  “No!” cried Abby in dismay.

  Through the slats of the shutter, Gabriel couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He tried to pry the window open again, wedging his fingers under the shutters and pulling until his face dripped with sweat.