“Yes.” James lifted his chin. “It is my job to know the land.”
“Impressive.” She stood up as well.
“Not really, but thank you.” James circled the clearing.
“Ok. So not Energo, and I assume you would know if this was where you are from.” Ainsley looked at me.
“By the height of these moraves, the positon of the sun, and this dry soil,” I dug into the dirt, “My guess is we’re in Kenset.”
“Yes.” James nodded. “That would make sense.”
“And can you travel from trees in Kenset?”
“With permission.”
“And how are you going to get permission?” Ainsley asked.
“We are not.” We lacked the time necessary for anything like that. We had wasted enough time already.
“Um…” Ainsley wrinkled her forehead.
“That would take far more time than we have,” I explained.
“Then what are we going to do?” She put a hand on her hip. “We can’t just sit here.”
“This land is also home to other creatures.” I met James’ gaze. “I can call one.”
“What are you calling exactly?” Ainsley eyed me skeptically. “Not a dragon or anything. Please.”
“You think you can call a Dragon like that?” I chuckled. “Not a chance.”
“Oh. Then what are you calling?” Her shoulders relaxed.
“You will see.” With all the stress we were facing, a little surprise might be enjoyable for her.
“Great.” She rolled her eyes. “Let’s hope this is a better surprise.”
“It will not be a tiki bar.” James nudged her shoulder.
“A tiki bar?” I looked between them. “Do I want to know?”
“No. Nothing you need to know.” Ainsley shot James a look.
“I need you both to stay completely quiet while I do this.”
“Ok.” Ainsley nodded. “But this creature you are calling isn’t dangerous, is it?”
“It is,” I admitted. “But only if you approach it the wrong way.”
“And what is the right way to approach it?” She clasped her hands in front of her.
“Follow my lead,” I instructed. “But only when I tell you. The calling has to be left to me. We do not want to confuse it.”
“Ok.” Ainsley backed away from me. “I’ll leave this to you.”
I began with a low whistle. It was barely audible, but it would be heard by a pelagorn. That was all that mattered. I stopped for a moment and started the whistle again, this time adding in an extra note at the end. I heard the rustle of the tree leaves. We had gotten lucky there was a pelagorn close by. I whistled again and waited.
“What happens—” Ainsley started to ask.
I gave her a stern look. We needed to do this right. Pelagorn were wonderful creatures, but they were dangerous if you weren’t careful. I knew of an Elf who made the mistake of approaching one without notice. He took years to recover. We could not go down that path.
There was another rustle of leaves and an intense wind before the glistening red feathers of a pelagorn came into view.
In my peripheral I noticed Ainsley jumped back behind James, but I focused on the pelagorn. It was all about eye contact.
The pelagorn was male. I could tell by the iridescent quality of his feathers. He flapped his wings at me, his expression anything but friendly.
“Calm. I called you for help.” I took a few tentative steps toward him. He raised his beak. I bowed my head to let him know I had no interest in challenging him.
I took a step closer, and he flapped his enormous wings. It created such a burst of wind, the trees rattled.
I fell down to my knees. Maybe I needed to show even more deference to this magnificent creature. I bent my head low, waiting a few moments before making eye contact with the bird again.
He stopped flapping and lowered his beak to the ground.
I stood up. “We mean no harm.”
He looked up.
“We need a ride. Would you do that for us?” I needed the pelagorn to agree. I had no other plan.
The pelagorn did nothing, so I stepped closer. He lifted his beak and pointed it up. I expected him to start flapping but he did not. He did let out a long low whimper, and he inched forward toward me.
“Are you hurt?”
He made a noise and pointed his beak up behind me again.
I looked behind me. Ainsley had stepped out around James.
I considered my options. “Ainsley, come here please.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“Please, come here.” I kept my voice even and calm. Yelling might startle the pelagorn and cause even more problems.
“Ok.” She took a few tiny steps in my direction.
“You are going to have to do better than that.” I could not keep the pelagorn waiting forever.
“Oh.” She looked at the bird. “Fine.” She walked slowly and then ran over to me.
The pelagorn put his head down pointed in our direction.
“He wants you,” I explained.
“Me?” She put a hand to her chest. “Why?”
“I cannot know for sure. Maybe he likes your appearance. Or he prefers females?” I understood. I preferred females too.
“So what am I supposed to do exactly?” She eyed the pelagorn nervously.
“Walk over and pat his head.” The instruction was simple, but that did not mean it was easy. She needed to trust the bird. That was the only way this was going to work.
“Pat his head?” her jaw dropped.
“Yes. He has his head down because he wants you to pat it.”
“Me specifically?” She touched her chest again.
“Yes, Ainsley.” I was losing patience, but I tried not to show it.
“And it isn’t going to eat me or anything like that?” Fear crossed her face.
“Pelagorn do not eat people.”
“Then why did you warn us to stay calm and everything?” She crossed her arms.
“Because they can hurt you. Not eat you.”
“Great. So I’m supposed to go up to something that can hurt me.” Her lips pressed into a firm line.
“Everything in this world can hurt you.” James walked toward us slowly. The pelagorn raised his beak.
James noticed and stopped. “You can do this, Ainsley. I know you can.”
“Ok.” She nodded.
I tried not to mind that she was willing to do it once James told her to, but when I said it she had ignored me. We had bigger problems than whether a human girl trusted me as much as another. Plus, it was only natural with the kind of bond they shared.
She took tiny steps toward the bird.
The pelagorn let out a low whimpering sound again. Ainsley startled and glanced at me.
I nodded in encouragement.
She moved closer and tentatively reached out to pat its head. He let out another little whimper, but it was a happy sound.
“I think he likes you,” James called.
As if to prove his point, the pelagorn rolled over onto his side.
Ainsley couched over so she could pet his side. “Good boy.”
He let out another whimper. I had never seen a pelagorn act this way.
“He’s kind of cute.” She continued to pet him.
“See, he is not eating you.” It was nice to see her relax with the bird. I felt bad making her approach him when she was clearly nervous, but it was our only ticket to Mount Majest.
“What now?” She continued to pet him.
“Now you ask him to take us where we need to go.” And hope his like for her was enough to get him to fly to such a dangerous place.
“And he will understand me?”
“Yes.” I smiled. “Make eye contact when you ask him.”
She patted his side again and looked into his eyes. “Would you please take us to Mount Majest?”
The bird sat up and straightened its back. Ainsley stepped back.
“I will take that as a yes.” James headed toward the pelagorn.
“So now what?” Ainsley stood frozen in place.
“Follow his lead.” I pointed at where the bird was positioning himself to make it easier for her to climb on.
She tentatively tried to climb, but even crouched down he was too tall.
James hurried over and helped her up. He hopped up behind her.
I sat behind James.
“How do I do this?” Ainsley called back.
“You do nothing but sit and wait. He does everything.”
“Oh.” She rested her hands behind the pelagorn’s head.
“But hold on,” I said just in time before he took off.
He shot straight up through the trees so fast I thought we might get thrown off by the branches, but the pelagorn cleared the trees with all three of us clinging on.
He ascended slower once we were in the sky, but It wasn’t long before the trees disappeared below us. He headed north and dove down toward a winding river.
Ainsley screamed, but the scream turned to delight when his wings touched the river just enough to send a cascade of water over us. He returned to the sky, and I realized he was showing off for her.
The rest of the flight was less eventful, and I allowed myself a few moments of contemplation. We would survive this, and in the end the lost time would be completely worth it.
An hour or so later, the pelagorn landed in a valley below a snow-capped mountain with its peak shrouded in the clouds. He had saved us days worth of travel over rough, largely impassable terrain. I eyed the peak of Mount Majest with reluctance. I had never planned to journey here to begin with, let alone with a request. But it was not to be helped. I was part of this whether I wanted to be or not.
“Why did he stop here?” Ainsley asked.
“My guess is he wants to be sure this is where we want to go. The Elders are dangerous. Even pelagorn know that.”
“I would rather fly with him all day.” Ainsley rubbed the pelagorn’s neck.
“I am sure he would prefer that too, but if Monty is right, this is our only chance.” I was nervous about what they would have to say, but I did not worry about Ainsley’s safety. Monty would have never sent her into harm’s way.
“I know.” Ainsley rested her head on the bird and then lifted her head again. “Ok, take us up there.”
The pelagorn took off again, soaring up higher into the clouds. I thought about our situation as the ground disappeared below. It was hard to believe James could ever turn evil when watching the way he was with Ainsley. Even compared to the last time—or the future time. I no longer really knew what time line we were on. What I did know was we had to get rid of the darkness, and if seeing the Elders was a required step in that process, then I was all in.
15
Ainsley
Everything felt lighter when you were flying through the air on a giant bird. The future of life as I knew it might have been hanging in the balance, but somehow it didn’t seem quite so bad while viewing the ground from thousands of feet in the air. I could almost pretend none of it was happening, and all that mattered was the sky. I felt freer than I had ever felt in my life.
I felt James’ arms around my waist and pelagorn feathers under my hands, but otherwise it was just me and the sky.
There was no question I had a new favorite animal and a real appreciation for birds. The pelagorn was the coolest creature I had ever met. Although I’d been afraid at first, his reaction to me had quickly turned my fear into awe. I felt as if he knew me— he understood my turmoil and was trying to soothe me. I also knew I was going to have to say goodbye to him, and I wasn’t looking forward to it. I was tired of goodbyes. I wanted to fly off into the distance and pretend none of my problems existed.
All too quickly, we landed near the top of the mountain. I didn’t jump off right away. I felt safe on his back, even if when we flew I could have easily slipped off. Reluctantly I let go and jumped down onto the ground.
I looked off the edge of the mountain side. The pelagorn followed me as if worried I was going to fall. I patted his left wing to let him know I was fine.
We were really high up. We were surrounded on all sides by clouds. It was as if we were literally inside a cloud.
My breathing was labored. It freaked me out at first until I remembered that the higher the elevation the less oxygen there was in the air. I needed to stay calm. The pelagorn nuzzled me with his peak. I really loved that bird. He needed a name. Skyborn. I would call him Skyborn.
“There is supposed to be a fountain up here with water that heals altitude sickness.” Elron walked toward me. “But then again, I have never heard of a human drinking it, and it could theoretically kill you.”
“Let’s skip the fountain.” Theoretically kill me? Was he serious?
Skyborn nuzzled me again.
I patted him on the head. “Thank you. I hope we meet again.”
He let out his little whimper. This was a sad whimper, not the happy sound he made earlier.
“You need to send him off.” Elron spoke softly. I wondered if it was the altitude bothering him, or if it was because he knew how little I wanted to say goodbye to my feathered friend. “It is not safe for him to stay here.”
I nodded even though I wanted to shake my head. No matter how much I wanted Skyborn to stay close, I wasn’t going to sit back and let this beautiful creature get hurt. “Off you go, boy.” I gestured off the mountain side. “Thank you.”
He lowered his head. “I will miss you too, Skyborn.” I wasn’t sure what he was saying, but I wanted to think it was about missing me.
He didn’t move.
“You have to go.” I gestured again.
He whined.
“Now. You have to go now. I will see you again.”
That seemed to make him feel better. He moved to the edge of the mountain side and took off. I watched his bright red scales disappear into the clouds.
“Beautiful creatures.” Elron stared out at the clouds where Skyborn had disappeared.
“Yes. Are they are they all so gentle?” I remembered Elron’s earlier warnings. Had I really feared that Skyborn would eat me?
“No. And my guess he is not either, but you had an effect on him. I wonder if it was just this one pelagorn or if it is all creatures. Do animals usually like you?”
“Not any more than normal.” I never had the Disney princess, animals following me around thing going for me.
“Perhaps it is only birds,” Elron said in an off-hand way.
“The birds back home don’t flock to me.”
“But have you ever tried to befriend one? Sometimes you have to make the first move.”
“I can’t say I have ever tried.” I wasn’t afraid of birds like some people were, but that didn’t mean I’d ever wanted one as a pet or anything.
“You should sometime.” Elron still stared out into the clouds as if he could see through them.
He couldn’t, could he? I wanted to ask, but I didn’t. It would make it even harder to think of Elron like a human.
“Maybe I will.” I doubted any bird could be quite as cool as Skyborn.
“My guess is he will stay fairly close.” James put an arm around me. “He is protective of you. Just as I am”
“Do you really think the Elders would hurt him?” I didn’t know anything about these creatures, but would they really hurt an animal for no good reason? If they would, then I was even more afraid of them than I already was.
“They are very defensive of who comes near. I am sure they already know we are here.”
“Then why aren’t they out here?” I glanced around, wishing the cloud cover wasn’t so thick.
“Because they want us to go to them. At least that is my best assumption. It is a good sign in theory. They did not immediately kill us.” Elron managed to sound upbeat talking about our possible death.
“Funny you didn’t mention that possibility before.�
�� I was feeling jealous of Skyborn. I wanted to be out flying instead of discussing my death.
“Not funny. Strategic.”
“I realize that.” I sighed. “I remember you having more of a sense of humor.”
“I generally do.”
“But this situation is so bleak you lost it.”
“That just about sums it up.” Any trace of his upbeat attitude disappeared.
“Ok. Then I’m done waiting.”
A loud horn blew somewhere in the distance.
“What was that?” I glanced between James and Elron.
“What was what?” James asked.
“Elron, please tell me you heard that.”
“Heard what?”
“Come on, this isn’t funny.” Great. Now on top of everything else I was hearing things.
I heard the horn again. It was low and long.
“That horn. You guys had to have heard that horn.”
James furrowed his brow. “You heard a horn?”
“You wouldn’t mess with me like this.” I closed my eyes. Fantastic.
“What kind of horn are we talking about?” Elron asked.
“A horn. How am I supposed to know what kind it is?” Was horn distinction a skill people were supposed to have? Maybe in the places where these guys were from.
“Ok. What did it sound like?” James rubbed the back of his ear.
“A horn. It sounded like a low, deep, horn. Does that help?”
“Marginally.” Elron rested his chin on his fist. “But it would be better if I could hear it myself.”
“It would be way better if you could hear it because it would mean I’m not crazy.” And that would be a fantastic thing to know. In the back of my head there was a voice asking if all of this was a dream—an elaborate dream. The only thing making me ignore the voice was the need and desire I had for James. There was no way I could dream that part up.
“You are not crazy. If only you hear the horn it is because whoever is blowing it only wants you to hear.” Elron gave me a stern look.
“A self-selected audience? How is that possible?”
“How is anything possible?” James traced his fingers over my hand. “I have finally stopped letting anything surprise me.”
Forged in Light (The Forged Chronicles Book 4) Page 10
