Milo and the Dragon Cross

by Robert Jesten Upton

  “The Black Hawks are here,” Teryl said, with notably less confidence.

  “Who are the Black Hawks?” Milo asked.

  “They’re awesome,” said Beryl, his tone expressing dread.

  “We’ve heard of them everywhere we go,” Deryl added.

  “If half of what we’ve been told about them is true,” Teryl continued, “then they aren’t even human.”

  “What are they then?” Milo asked.

  “How should we know?” Beryl replied. “But they can do things that just can’t be done by humans.”

  “Unless you use some sort of magic,” Teryl added.

  “Is that allowed?” Milo asked.

  “It’s not fair, but if you get away with it, who can stop you from doing it?” Deryl exclaimed.

  “The question is, how do we play against it?” Teryl asked.

  “Where’s Savoy? Would he know what to do?” Milo asked.

  Before any of the boys could answer, Savoy stomped up to the fire and sat down, reminding Milo of a tree falling or an avalanche. “I’m here,” he stated. “Are you boys ready?” he asked, dishing himself a steaming bowl of stew. “Has the drawing been held yet?”

  The drawing was the first thing to be done to start the tournament. Each team that wanted to play tossed its marker into a pot, then each team drew in turn to determine who would play whom. The first team to draw a marker played the team that owned the marker it drew. That would be the first game to be played. The next team to draw would play the team whose marker they had drawn in the second game, and so forth. By the time all the teams had played once, and the losers were eliminated, the winners would toss their markers back into the pot and a new drawing would determine the order of games for the second round. The final round would be between the two teams that had won each of their games.

  “We play the Raging Rabbits first,” Teryl told Savoy. “We beat them when we played them at the...wasn’t that the Tomaine tournament?” he asked his brothers.

  “That was last year,” Savoy pointed out. “They’re better now, so don’t get cocky. There’s nothing to say they won’t eliminate you in the first round.”

  “We’re better than that!” Beryl insisted.

  “Those guys are good, I tell you,” Savoy said, shoveling in a spoonful of stew. “And they’ve got a grudge against you. They’ll want to kick your—”

  “Okay,” Teryl broke in. “Point taken. We have to win the first game before we think about the second. One game at a time.”

  “And when do the Black Hawks play?” Savoy wanted to know.

  “In the sixth game.”

  “You’re really worried about the Black Hawks,” Savoy said, sort of gurgling his words through mouthfuls of hot stew. “They use magic, you know.”

  “We know,” the three said in unison.

  “What if you could counter their magic?” Milo asked. “Could you beat them if their magic wasn’t working?”

  Savoy quit chewing and looked at Milo, as if he had seen him for the first time. “Who’s this?” he asked.

  Teryl explained how they had met Milo on the road and gotten to be friends. When Savoy started chewing again, the topic returned to the Black Hawks.

  “At least we would have a fair shot at beating them,” Teryl said in reply to Milo’s question.

  “Save the Hawks for later,” Savoy said, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

  Actually, Milo had a purpose in mind. After eating, he went off with Bori. “Let’s see if we can find Analisa,” he told the cat. “Maybe she can think of a way to counter the Black Hawk’s magic.”

  “And maybe we’ll come across a vole or two while we’re at it,” Bori commented. “They’re especially spicy here in this heather habitat.”

  The moon was full and it was easy to find the paths through the tangle of heather. You could see little fires here and there marking the campsites of pilgrims. Milo thought there were so many of them that it was almost like a mirror of the stars above down here on the ground.

  Instead of Analisa, they found Tivik. Milo didn’t really feel like asking him for help, even if he owed Milo for saving him from the lopers, but he didn’t mind asking him if he’d seen any of the other contestants. Sure enough, he knew where Analisa was camping, and gave Milo directions.

  First, they had to find a standing stone. After they did that, locating Analisa’s camp was easy. From the darkness looking into the ring of light from Analisa’s fire, Milo recognized her and felt a twang inside his chest.

  “Ahh...knock, knock?” he called, not wanting to barge in without some sort of invitation.

  “Hello, Milo,” she said without taking her eyes off the pot she was tending.

  “How are you?” he asked, coming up and squatting down, uncertain that she had actually invited him. Bori marched right over and rubbed against her leg. He got a pat.

  “I’m fine. And you?” Her tone was formal.

  “I was worried when I didn’t see you at the Glass Tower. With the harpies and all.”

  “A little late for concern, isn’t it?” she replied coolly. “Besides, I can take care of myself. When I saw the Pilgrimage Rainbow and then the butterflies, it was pretty obvious. What took you so long?”

  “I had to walk,” he answered.

  “We all had to walk, Milo,” she said in exasperation. “It’s the only way to get here.”

  Milo winced. Did she have to make him feel like a fool? On the other hand, he told himself, he was making it pretty easy for her.

  “I came,” he began, deciding to get it over with, “to ask a favor. Not that you owe me anything, and not for me. It’s for my friends.”

  “You mean those three ball heads you’re hanging out with?”

  “How did you know—,” he began, then dropped it. “Right. Teryl, Beryl, and Deryl.”

  “The Fish Sticks.” She rolled her eyes. “How clever.”

  “They’re good guys. But they have to play a team that uses magic, and I was wondering―”

  “If I could do a little spell to help out,” she completed his thought. “Why don’t you help them?”

  “I’m no wizard or anything,” he insisted. “You know I can’t do magic. But I was hoping you could. I mean, I know you can, but I wondered if you would be willing to use your ability to just cancel out the Black Hawks magic so it can be a fair match.”

  “Listen, Milo. The Black Hawks, or so I’ve heard, always use magic. So taking away their magic would be like making your guys play on one leg.”

  Milo had to think about that. He could sort of see how her logic was running about taking away magic from someone who always used it, but it still didn’t seem right to use an uneven advantage like that in an event that was supposed to be about athletics, not magic. He tried to explain his point.

  It didn’t work. Analisa stuck to her argument.

  “Listen,” Bori broke in. “Analisa, Milo’s your friend. It won’t hurt to do him a favor. If those other guys are using their own magic, that’s one thing, but what if it’s somebody else’s magic they’re using? By using something that isn’t their own talent, they’re not playing fair. If that’s the case, you should strip it away and let the match be played on even terms.”

  Milo had to think that one through, seeing a new idea in it about how the Black Hawks were cheating. Apparently, it made sense to Analisa, because she agreed.

  “Come and get me just before the Black Hawks play. I need to see what they’re doing, and whether Bori is right and someone else is doing the magic.”

  The next morning, the first game began as soon as there was enough light to play. Savoy and the boys were watching to study the teams in case the Fish Sticks met the winner in a future game. Milo told Savoy about the arrangement he’d made with Analisa while he watched the start of the game, but Savoy just grunted. Milo wasn’t quite sure that Savoy had heard him.

  Savoy sent B, D, and T back to camp at the end of the third game. “I’ll stay to watch the matches,
” he told them. “You rest and get ready to play. I’ll tell you what you need to know when the time comes.”

  Milo hung around until after the boys had gone. He wanted to ask Savoy a question. “Why is slinger such an important event at the End of the Earth pilgrimage?”

  “Because it always has been,” Savoy answered.

  “But why?”

  “How should I know?” Savoy answered gruffly. “It’s tradition. How do you explain tradition? People always do whatever tradition dictates.”

  It wasn’t much of an answer. Milo decided he would try to find Tinburkin and ask him. Even if Tinburkin’s answers were indecipherable, Milo was sure he would have one.

  He waited until the fourth game began before he went to fetch Analisa for the start of B, D, and Ts’ game, which was to come up next. He thought that if she saw the Fish Sticks play, she might be more sympathetic to their cause.

  She agreed to come, but she took her time doing it. By the time they arrived, T, B, and D were already on the court.

  “I don’t see the point of the whole thing, anyway,” she protested.

  “Well, it’s a major element of the whole End of the Earth Pilgrimage, isn’t it?” Milo insisted. “So it must be important.”

  “How so?”

  Milo didn’t want to be caught stumped yet again. “It’s tradition,” he said. He was relieved that she didn’t question him further on his answer.

  He explained to her what was going on down in the court, the object of the game, and what the rules were. That is, until she commented, “Nice pass off the rear wall. Beryl—Beryl’s the goalie, right?—used the rear wall cleverly to make the pass without giving away his shot.”

  “You...you know the game?” Milo asked in surprise.

  “Sure. I played it until I went to witches’ school. Didn’t have the time after that.”

  “Why did you act like you didn’t care for the game?”

  “Because I have something more important to do than play a sport that, frankly, I’ll never be really, really good at. But your guys are excellent. I like watching them. They deserve to win.”

  The Fish Sticks won the match. Milo introduced Analisa while the next game was being set up. She commented about several of the key plays of the match, things that Milo hadn’t even noticed, clearly making an impression on the guys. They were still talking to her when the next game started, and Savoy sent them away. Milo guessed he didn’t want them watching the Black Hawks, who would come up in the next game.

  Analisa stayed until the Black Hawks stormed into the court. Not only did they glower like television wrestlers, but they burned with malicious energy. The snaggle-toothed goalie snarled at everything through the gap in his grimace, and the runner whipped a long black topknot from his otherwise shaven head. The striker whooped and did salmon jumps down the court, shaking his bat like it was a club.

  It was obvious from the first instant when the play began that the Black Hawks were not content merely to score on their opponents. They wanted to destroy them. They ran the score up rapidly. It was already five to zero when Analisa whispered to Milo, “I see what they’re doing. Bori was right. Somebody else is creating opportunities for them with time management.”

  “What’s that?” Milo had to ask.

  “Have you noticed that when they’re running a play, there’s a sort of shimmer in the air? That’s from slowing down time. It allows them to do things that nobody else can see. That’s how they pull off their incredible shots. They know how to use the advantages of magic, but the things they seem to be doing are not possible, if you go by what you can actually see happening.”

  “Who’s helping them?”

  “I don’t know. Whoever it is has to be here somewhere, but he or she is doing a good job of cloaking him or herself.”

  “Can you counter the magic?”

  “I don’t know. First I have to figure out who’s doing the magic. Then I have to see if I can override it. If it’s someone really good, I may not be able to.”

  When the match ended, Analisa returned to her camp, and Milo sought out Savoy to tell him what Analisa had discovered.

  This time, Savoy was listening. “Dealing with a magician is no simple thing,” he told Milo. “They’re dangerous. You can’t just scare them off or drag them away. But I know some people here. If you can point out the Black Hawks’ ally, I’ll see if I can’t get the boys a fair chance when they play them.”

  Milo felt pretty good about the negotiation. He told Bori about how Analisa had warmed to helping the guys, and what she had discovered. Bori, however, was not quite as overwhelmed with this success.

  “This whole thing isn’t over yet,” Bori pointed out. “Analisa has to find the magician who is helping the Hawks, and then someone has to be able to deal with him—or her. And don’t think you can stay clear of that muddle, because you’ve put yourself into it. Now you’ll have to deal with whatever happens. Something tells me that there’s more to all this than a simple matter of what’s fair or not in a slinger match. And you still have to figure out what the next clue is.”

  That took the wind out of Milo’s sails. Why did Bori have to devour the Salmon of Wisdom, Milo lamented privately as his feeling of satisfaction dissolved into dread.

  The first round of play extended throughout the day before the winners drew markers for the second round. The Fish Sticks played early, and Analisa showed up for that game as well as later in the day when the Black Hawks played.

  At the end of the second round, both the Fish Sticks and the Black Hawks had advanced to play in the third round. Analisa had still been unable to identify the magician who was giving the Hawks their advantages, however.

  “I’m fairly positive it’s a man,” she told Milo, “but I think he’s on to me. I almost had him, then I felt something slip, and then a void. He may have caught me as I was zeroing in. If he did, then that’s it. I won’t get another chance.”

  “Isn’t there anything else you know?” Milo pleaded. “Something more than just that he’s a man? There are lots of men watching the games.”

  “No. Nope,” she asserted. “Old. I get old. Old and very mean. In fact, when I got the feeling of his meanness, it was so strong that I shuddered. That’s when he slipped me. I wish I could do better.”

  With the second round done, the order of play for the third round had to be decided. There were four teams left, drawing for the semi-finals. Teryl pulled for the Fish Sticks. It was the Black Hawks’ marker.

  That was a blow. After the drawing, the mood at the Fish Sticks’ camp was grim.

  “So we don’t know who’s helping the Hawks and we have to play them next?” Teryl asked Milo after he heard Milo’s report.

  “We have to play them with a handicap,” Beryl moaned.

  “Look at it this way,” Deryl suggested. “We play them in the first game of the day. That round will be over by noon. If we win, we play in the final. If we lose, then we’ll be free to enjoy the last game by watching.”

  It was a weak attempt to put on a good face. His comment just contributed to the atmosphere of gloom.

  “Whatever happens,” Savoy ordered, “you three must play your best. Let Fate take care of what you can’t. Win or lose, you’ll be remembered by how you play.”

  Milo gave Bori a pat. “Come on,” he told the cat. “Let’s go see somebody.”

  As they left the somber camp, Milo was thinking about talking to Analisa again. Maybe she would be able to learn something more during the game that could help T, B, and D in time to save them. But as soon as he left the light of the fire, he had changed his mind.

  “Let’s see if we can find Tinburkin,” he told Bori.

  The cat took the lead. Not only could he see in the dark, he could smell and had a superior sense of direction.

  “How’s Tinburkin to help?” he asked Milo.

  “I don’t know. It’s just a hope, I guess. Tinburkin told me to trust myself, and right now I feel like I need to
talk to him.”

  Bori found Tinburkin’s camp, even though it was not at the same spot as before.

  “Good evening, Boriboreau, Milo,” Tinburkin greeted as they entered his circle of light. “I’ve been expecting you. How are you?”

  “Not so good,” Milo said, then explained the situation with the Fish Sticks, and about Analisa’s failure to identify the magician to interrupt his unfair help for the Black Hawks.

  “Have you figured out the next clue?” Tinburkin asked without commenting on anything Milo had said.

  “No. You advised me to watch the tournament. That’s what I’ve been doing.” On an impulse, Milo reached into his pocket. “And I found this.”

  He pulled out the jade cross and held it out on his palm to show Tinburkin. Tinburkin startled, then looked away.

  “Put that away,” he ordered, looking elsewhere. “Where did you get that?”

  “I found it.”

  “Have you shown it to anyone?”

  “Only to you.”

  “Then don’t show it to anyone else. Not to anybody. Don’t mention it, and don’t take it out where someone could see it even fleetingly. You never know who might be watching.”

  “What is it?” Milo wanted to know as he stuck it back into his pocket.

  “I can’t tell you. You’ll have to figure it out for yourself. I can warn you though. It’s more profound than meeting the Grail King. And more dangerous, as well. Guard it with your life. That goes for you, too, Bori.”

  That was bad news—and nothing like what Milo had been expecting by coming to Tinburkin. Bori’s prediction of going from the frying pan and into the fire seemed to be coming around.

  “Is there anything I can do to help out Beryl, Teryl, and Deryl?” Milo asked listlessly.

  “I have no idea,” Tinburkin said. “Be very careful, Milo.”

  Although the next morning was bright and sunny, it might just as well have been an overcast day with the threat of rain. Milo tried to act cheery, but it fell pretty flat. Savoy was all business, and B, T, and D said almost nothing at all. Analisa showed up hoping she would be able to locate, and perhaps to distract, the sorcerer who was helping the Hawks, but it was clear that she was less than optimistic about her chances.