by Dale Furse
‘It's nothing. Just give me a sec.’
Sam let out a yelp.
The snake had elevated his head between them almost to the height of their eyes.
A whooshy noise sounded above and Nell glanced up. Two Wintars bore down on them through the forest's canopy. She managed to duck out of the way but Sam fell face first on the ground.
‘Run!’ Nell shouted to the others, and bolted. She supposed her companions followed. Not wanting to slow to look, she hoped they were keeping up with her.
The crashing of broken branches sounded high behind her and she began to weave in and out of the trees as often as she could, her encounter with the thorny vine upper most in her mind. The vegetation was much denser and Nell wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Although she healed quickly, she still felt pain. The many branches clawed and scratched her as she pushed through them.
Being caught again was the last thing she wanted. Her heart, just like in her dreams, threatened to leave her chest. Chancing a quick glance behind, she ducked as the skinny Wintar's talons searched for her. She turned and squatted behind a leafy shrub. She had to fight for every breath as she watched him clumsily turn towards her once more. Sam and Cay-Meka. She had to make sure they were okay. Without thinking, she pushed hard against the shrub's thick trunk and gained the momentum she needed to run back under the Wintar.
Even as she ran and weaved, she tried to find Cay-Meka and Sam. The ground beneath her disappeared and she cried out, landing in a crumpled mass at the bottom of a small gully. Wings flapped above her. She cloaked her head with her arms.
‘It's me, Tanat.’
Nell was about to say that it was about time but the air whooshed again. A blur of orange feathers pushed Tanat into the dirt on the other side of the gully. He slid down the small embankment, but had kept a firm hold of the big Wintar's neck. Once on firm ground, Tanat managed to get on top of the attacker. Nell gasped as Tanat raised one leg, his sharp talons ready to strike his captive.
He was going to gore the fat Wintar’s stomach.
‘No!’ Nell shrieked. She rushed over and tried to pull Tanat away. Both Wintars had stopped fighting and were staring at Nell in bewilderment as if goring people's stomachs was an everyday occurrence. Tanat tightened his hold on the Wintar's neck with his hands and his leg hovered closer to the man’s stomach, waiting.
Nell stood over them, panting. ‘You can't kill him. That’s murder.’
Tanat appeared to weigh her words. He lowered his leg and re-positioned it so he could press his knee hard into the Wintar’s diaphragm. The Wintar, obviously thankful for the reprieve, started struggling.
Tanat pushed his knee down so hard, his opponent expelled what air he had left in his lungs. ‘I don’t call it murder,’ Tanat snarled at him.
‘Wait!’ she shrieked.
Tanat looked like he was losing patience.
Frantically, Nell tried to focus her racing thoughts. After a moment, she clicked her fingers. ‘Hold onto him, I'll be back in a sec,’ she said, and climbed the small embankment.
When she'd found what she was looking for, she heaved on the heavy vine draped over a tree. ‘This should hold him for a while,’ she said aloud.
Once she hauled the vine back down into the gully, Tanat understood her intention immediately and helped her tie the Wintar up. ‘Be careful of those thorns,’ Nell said, raising an eyebrow at the fat Wintar. ‘If you don't move or struggle, you won't get too hurt.’
She left Tanat to finish tying the parcel and climbed out of the gully.
Sam was coaxing the older scrawny Wintar away from where Cay-Meka stood, frozen.
‘Sam!’ The cry caught in Nell’s throat.
He backed slowly away into an even more impenetrable part of the forest. The Wintar had to land, his wings too large to fit between the trees, and hobbled after Sam on his claws.
‘Howzat!’ Sam exclaimed.
‘Aagh!’ the Wintar hollered.
Nell and Tanat looked at each other before rushing forward. She had to catch her breath as they stared at the Wintar hanging by his ankles. Sam had used the vines too, making a snare out of them. He stood beside his captive with arms folded across his chest and a self-satisfied expression as if he was waiting for a photograph to be taken.
‘Good one, Sam,’ Nell said. ‘Those vines should keep them both occupied until we can tell the police where they are.’ She cocked her head at Tanat. ‘Do Corls have police?’
‘They have authorities who do the same job, yes. Because their crime happened on Corl they will stand before the Three World Council to explain their activities.’ He checked the would-be kidnapper was trussed up tight. The skinny Wintar's face distorted as he released a loud diatribe in his own language at all of them.
Nell could tell it was full of threats and, she suspected, quite a few swear words. Tanat stood back and laughed.
They had been so busy celebrating the capture of the kidnappers, they had completely forgotten about Cay-Meka. Nell was the first to think of her. ‘Hey, where's Cay-Meka?’
‘Don't know.’ Sam looked mystified. His expression turned to alarm as he said, ‘Uh-oh, she can't see in the dark. She might have dropped into a hole or something.’
A rustle sounded behind Nell. She spun around. A sharp pain, like a cut of a knife, ripped into her abdomen. She closed her eyes and rubbed at the wound. The pain ceased as quickly as it began. As Cay-Meka pried her way out of a bush, it occurred to Nell the pain was some sort of warning. Was her body trying to tell her something in the future involved Cay-Meka and a pain in the gut? Huh. That could apply to the past and present. Cay-Meka was a pain in the gut sometimes. Although she tried to make light of what she assumed was some sort of premonition, deep down she knew it meant something a whole lot worse. For Cay-Meka or her, she didn’t know.
Sam said, ‘That'd be right. Make an appearance when all the fighting's done.’
‘I was hiding in that bush and … oh, shut up,’ Cay-Meka said, and pushed her way past them to stare at the packaged captive.
With her stomach growling from hunger, Nell began to feel faint. Holding out a hand, she found a tree to lean against. She thought she might get another vision but all she saw was blackness as she crumpled to the ground.
‘She's waking up,’ Cay-Meka said, as Nell opened her eyes.
Sam broke open a fruit and handed the pieces to Nell as she sat up. Thankful, she ate all of the juicy flesh. It was muddy brown but tasted similar to a pawpaw. The nourishment of it coursed through her veins. With every pulse her strength increased.
‘Oh, hurry up,’ whined Cay-Meka. ‘We have to reach the city before the other one finds us.’
Sam turned on her. ‘It's all right for you, we ate before. Nell hasn't had anything since we had dinner at her place. We're not going anywhere till she rests.’
‘Where's Tanat?’ Nell asked.
‘He said he would watch over us while we slept,’ Sam said. He looked at Cay-Meka. ‘We'll go when it's light enough for all of us to see, and then the one that can't, won't slow us down.’
Cay-Meka mumbled something and plopped onto the ground. Her whole body appeared to relax and she stretched out on her side and shut her eyes.
When Sam fell asleep, Nell took a moment to become aware of her body. Her feet and back no longer itched. They tingled like hundreds of tiny electric shocks were continually discharging. She remembered her father saying something about how much more difficult it would be to transform into a Wintar and wondered if it would hurt. She listened to her body and knew that was exactly what was happening, maybe not at that precise moment, but sometime in the near future. Knowing that, but not knowing how hard it would be, made her anxious but she wasn’t scared anymore. It was other people's reactions that worried her. The blood in her veins was stronger as if the liquid was thicker somehow. Although tired, she wasn't exhausted anymore. Nonetheless, she fell back and slept.
Being the first to wake up, Nell immediately
found the pawpaw tree. It didn't look like a pawpaw tree. It was a low thick shrub. The many fruits hung out of the dense foliage on thick stems. She picked a few ripe ones and took them back to the others.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
AS NELL SAT AND ATE, SHE NOTICED A smaller version of a pterodactyl had taken roost on a high branch of a nearby tree. No. It couldn’t be a pterodactyl because it had shiny blue-grey feathers and as far as she knew, pterodactyls didn’t have any sort of plumage. With his head leaning to the left, he seemed to be surveying the situation with his black eyes.
‘Hello,’ Nell said, smiling as he flew to a lower branch. ‘Do you want me to touch you?’ She moved quietly towards him and stroked his feathers. ‘You're beautiful,’ she said, looking directly into those familiar eyes. That’s strange. Although his eyes were smaller, they looked the same as her crocodile’s black orbs in Cape Hollow. It had to be more than coincidental that the kookaburra at home and the snake in the forest had those same eyes. Settle down, girl. She was getting jumpier by the second and looking for conspiracies in every corner. She giggled. Well … every eye at least.
Closing her eyes, she rested her hand gently on the bird’s neck and scratched with one finger. She felt at one with the raptor. After some minutes she could see herself as if looking in a mirror. She stood, face on, eyes shut tightly. Her singlet top was as dirty and torn as her cargo pants. The right leg side pocket was torn off and her matted hair hung in clumps around her face and although her skin was grimy, slight red sunburn spread across her freckled nose. Startled, her eyes popped open. She had seen herself through the bird's eyes.
The bird flew off, soaring in a wide circle above her.
Something inside her told her the connection she had with him remained. Taking a deep breath, Nell thought she might as well try to see if it was still there. She closed her eyes again. Within a few seconds she was in the air, heading for a distant, rocky outcrop.
Sam woke up and moved close to her. ‘Nell? What are you doing?’
‘Shh!’ She tried to hit him away with her hand. ‘I'm trying to concentrate.’
One minute, Nell was looking at a mountain of rocks drawing nearer, the next, all she could see was blue clear sky. Was he flying upside down? Changing direction, he began circling above the rocks.
She could make out what looked like a crate. There was only one Wintar. Thank goodness. She had thought there might be more than the three of them out in the forest.
The bird circled lower and lower, until finally, he landed silently on the crate. Dar-Seldra. She smiled at the bird as if they had already met.
The next instant, Nell was looking at the Wintar. He was the same one that had Sam. Was he Brarb? She bit the inside of her cheek. Was he her mother’s murderer? He looked even stronger. With no shirt, his giant muscles were a stand out. He wasn’t going to be as easy as the other two to overcome. But she held no admiration for the man who killed her mother and she knew in that instant, Brarb took Asisa’s life. Snuffed it out at what should have been the happiest time in her existence. Heat filled Nell’s chest then blazed throughout her body.
The contempt in the Wintar’s eyes when he looked at Dar-Seldra fed the fire in Nell’s stomach. If she could touch him from where she stood, she would take his life without remorse.
‘Murderer,’ she hissed aloud, losing the connection with the bird.
‘What?’ Sam asked.
‘What did she say?’ asked Tanat, who just that moment had joined them.
Cay-Meka woke and rubbed her eyes. ‘What did who say?’
Shaken and struggling to be coherent, Nell pointed past Sam. ‘Dar-Seldra's there, on a mountain of rocks. She's locked in a small crate of some kind.’ Sam looked like he wanted to interrupt and she was grateful he didn't. If he had, she was sure she might have lost control. As it was, every word she uttered diminished the blaze within her. ‘There is only the one Wintar guarding her, but he looks like a strong one and won't be too easy to get past.’ She inhaled deeply. ‘He's the strong one who had Sam.’ With another breath and although the sizzling fuse remained, her heart steadied and her muscles relaxed. ‘He is Brarb and he murdered my mother.’ Her eyes rested on Tanat.
‘How do you know all this?’ he asked.
‘A bird showed me,’ Nell said, and instantly wished she hadn't because Tanat didn't look the least bit friendly anymore.
The rosy pink Corl morning paled. Nell moved her eyes to the ground. A row of long-legged red ants scurried under a rock. She felt Tanat tower over her and she waited for whatever cursed child comments he might say.
Tanat leaned close to her ear. ‘You must be careful who you tell of your growing abilities.’ His voice was low but harsh.
His words sounded like he was worried about her but his tone held menace. The last of the ants disappeared under the rock.
‘Do you hear me?’ Tanat continued and raised her chin up to his face.
She peeked and only saw concern in his eyes. He was warning her, not condemning her.
Tanat took his hand away from her chin. ‘Do you hear me?’ he asked again in a gentler tone.
‘I hear you,’ Nell said.
‘Good. You three will stay here until I return with Dar-Seldra.’ Tanat looked at each one in turn.
An image of the Wintar who guarded Dar-Seldra erupted in Nell’s mind. He was big and strong, much more so than Tanat. If it was Brarb, he had already killed. Tanat needed help to free Dar-Seldra. That would mean risking showing her abilities to the Wintar. Not too many people would believe a girl her age would have her strength. She frowned then smiled. Ah, but there are other ways to catch a murderous bird.
Tanat unfurled his wings and was about to take off, but she quickly intercepted him. ‘No, we’ll all go together. You'll need help with this one,’ she said.
‘No.’
Sam stepped forward or did Cay-Meka step back?
‘Nell's right,’ Sam said. ‘I know. He didn't even feel anything when I pulled out his feathers. I had to push my thumbs in his Achilles tendon to make him let go.’
‘What does he look like?’ Tanat asked Nell. ‘What colour wings?’
She pictured him in her mind. ‘He was large, but not fat. He has really big muscles and light blue wings.’ She shook her head. ‘I can't remember if they said his name while they had us, but those other two mentioned Brarb more than once in the forest.’
‘Yes,’ Cay-Meka said in a small voice. ‘That is what the other Wintars called him.’
Tanat thought for a moment. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘I'll fly low and slow. Follow me; and Nell, try not to do anything out of the ordinary in his view.’
She smiled and nodded. The smell of faint musk-lolly scent floated over her as he flapped his wings and sailed into the sky. She liked him and kept her smile for Sam and Cay-Meka. ‘You coming?’
‘Yep. Let’s get going,’ Sam said.
Cay-Meka backed away from Nell. ‘You are cursed. No one can do all that you can.’
Nell's smile broadened as she said, ‘It's your choice to feel that way, and you never know, maybe I am.’ She offered Cay-Meka her most innocent expression. ‘You can stay here if you like, but those other Wintars might escape and come after you.’
Sam laughed and started following Tanat.
Nell caught up with him and smiled again as Cay-Meka flounced noisily after them.
The mountain was more like a hill of rocks when they finally reached it over an hour later. Tanat joined them and they rested, eating blackberries that tasted more like strawberries. Nell munched the berries and thought about what they should do next.
Disregarding Cay-Meka, she decided to discuss her plan with Tanat and Sam. She was ecstatic when they agreed with her.
When Cay-Meka and Sam looked rested enough, Nell told Tanat to go. His look was one of admiration as he nodded agreement and left. She signalled to Sam to mount the hill from the other side and told Cay-Meka to wait just below the top until it was safe. It
amused her that a nearly seventeen-year-old girl could give such instructions, and even more so that the others listened to her. Especially instructions to enter a most dangerous situation. She sighed. Might as well start. She clambered up and over the rocks.
She wasn't surprised at the sight of the sneering Wintar hovering above her as she climbed over the top, because they weren't trying to be quiet. Sam huffed, puffed and moaned as he scaled his side, and she was sure she had grunted more than once. Although only a hill, it was still a steep climb.
Coming face to face with the Wintar, a new confidence bloomed within her. She narrowed her eyes at him. He wasn’t ever going to hurt anyone else.
The Wintar’s scorn increased. ‘Cursed child.’
‘Are you asking a question or making a statement?’ she asked with a little smirk, as she wound her way through the clutter of junk spread over the site towards him. The thought crossed her mind that he was trying to build something with all the bits of metal. ‘You know, you should really have better manners.’ No. She realised he had already built something. The crate. Barrelling straight past him to Dar-Seldra’s prison, she stroked the bird perched on top, and asked, ‘Dar-Seldra. Are you all right?’
‘Yes,’ said Dar-Seldra. Her eyes looked over Nell’s shoulder.
A snigger sounded behind Nell. She turned. The Wintar seemed to be trying to make up his mind about something. When he curled up his legs and bent forward, she realised what that something was.
She fell flat on the ground as Brarb whistled past. A dull thud sounded above. She risked a look and spied Tanat and Brarb fighting, dislodged feathers floating about them.
‘Wo!’ Sam gasped, coming to a sliding stop beside Nell. ‘They're going hammer and tongs, aren't they? My bet's on Tanat, he's—’ Before he finished the sentence, the Wintar sliced into Tanat's stomach with his claw. Dar-Seldra screamed.
Drops of blood plopped to the ground. Tanat fell back and looked at his stomach. Brarb's laugh was pure evil as he lunged forward, one claw raised ready to strike. Tanat twisted and caught the outstretched leg. He continued twisting and Brarb was forced horizontal to the ground. His blue wings quickened, pushing the top of his torso aloft. When he was close enough, Brarb punched Tanat in his right kidney. Tanat gasped and let go of the leg. The bird joined the fray and snatched at the Wintar's full head of dark brown curls, forcing Brarb lower. Recovering, Tanat spun and crashed the side of his leg into Brarb's chest. The oaf looked surprised. His wings stilled and he fell, but soon regained their use and ascended once more into the bird’s path. The bird managed to cut Brarb's face with his claw. The Wintar's hand reflexively flew to the wound and Tanat hovered above, driving him lower.
