Even as I descended, intending to circle and screech to tell them I had returned, I saw Raine’s big Rufus stumble and go to his knees in the nasty water. Out of his saddle in a blink, Raine bent to the stallion’s front legs. Urging him to walk forward, he checked the big bay over for injuries.
A sudden mischievous urge overcame my fears and worries. Like an addict needing her fix, I couldn’t help myself. I just had to. I lined myself up, winging up and around, and dropped toward the nasty water and evil trees with my wings folded. Coming in fast, flying low, I swooped over Raine’s head, screeching into his ear before flashing past him at an insane speed.
Taken by complete surprise, Raine jumped, reaching for his blade. Arianne screeched and Tor yelped. Kel’Ratan cursed as Witraz hollered an alarm. Yet, my boys subsided as the source of their fright swept up and past them at a breakneck pace.
I banked up and around, glancing back to see Raine grinning from ear to ear, Kel’Ratan pointing his finger up at me. I reckoned none of them had seen my arrival, so intent were they on putting each of their horse’s hooves into the tracks of the one before.
I climbed high. I coasted for a short mile, swiveling my head, dropping a wingtip, lining myself up for another run. This time, I flew low over the heads of my boys. To a man, every one of them ducked, as though fearing I would fly into their faces. I heard yells of fear, of humor, of joy. Tor laughed aloud, pointing his finger up and following my small form as I flew over their heads, Arianne shaded her eyes to watch. I couldn’t resist yet another diving run at them, my hawk’s voice shrill against their deep male laughter.
Nephrotiti has a very wicked sense of humor, I always suspected. While I taunted the warriors below me, I never thought to look to my own self.
Bar flew past me at a tremendous speed, catching my small feathered body in an incredible backwash of wind. Fortunately, this time, I had some altitude beneath my wings and a great deal more experience. While I still tumbled, helpless, beak over tail, I fell only a short distance before regaining control of my wings. This time, the experience failed to frighten me.
Laughing, I climbed skyward, following Bar, hurtling past his open beak. He chased after me, screeching, my own cries drowned under his. While I caught glimpses of the people and horses far below, I riveted my attention on Bar. Once more, I flew with my guardian, my confidante, my friend. Chasing each other across the sky, we danced the fluid dance of wind and air and feathers.
Folding my wings, I plummeted earthward, diving faster than I ever dared before. Bar stooped beside me, his yellow eyes laughing, his huge beak parted in delight. His own wings furled against his shoulders, they creating zero wind resistance, and lent speed to his fall.
Like rocks, we dropped from the sky. The deadly forest loomed closer, approaching at dizzying speed. The rushing wind roared past my ears. I heard nothing save its fury.
Approaching faster than the speed of thought, solid earth below us sought to tangle us into its mess of wood and floodwater. I recognized death within a heartbeat.
My wings snapped back. A dipped pinfeather wheeled me sharply right. A long, gnarled tree kissed my belly, seeking my life on its skeletal hand.
Matching me exactly, Bar flew wingtip to wingtip beside me. I met his eagle’s eye, his jubilant, excited, joyous expression. Together, laughing in pure unencumbered ecstasy, we flew a mere foot or so above the wicked, reaching tree branches. Leading the way, I sped over the heads of the earthbound men, their hair exploding with the wind of our flight.
Chapter 4
Gai’Tan
I watched Ly’Tana bank and wheel high overhead.
Gods above and below, she was beautiful. I sat in my saddle, Rufus shifting under me, restless, gazing upward. Rapt, I could not tear my eyes from the sight of her.
With the sun on her wings, she beat skyward. Only to fold them against her back and drop like a stone, Bar beside her all the way. Her hawk’s shriek sounded to my ears lovelier than any music. Even without her smile, her glowing eyes, I knew all the joy she felt in the world happened right now. As a bird small enough I could hold in my fist.
How did she do it? How could she find such happiness, such incredible joy in flying? I think I could have faced any enemy in this world without flinching, without trembling, without fear. Yet, the thought of all that air between me and the ground—Ye gods!
Held fascinated by the sight of her wheeling in midair, dancing with Bar, chasing him across the cloudless blue sky, I felt no little envy. Bar could share this moment with her. I could not. My heart ached with a yearning I could not express, never explain nor rationalize, even to myself.
Kel’Ratan’s grumble brought my attention from the pair in the sky above earthward.
“Where’s Rygel?” Kel’Ratan asked, clearly worried. His brow puckered over his fierce blue eyes, and his mustache bristled. “He left her alone to fly back? I’m not liking this. Not at all.”
As he pitched his voice low, I doubted anyone else heard him. I glanced back down the line, eyeing the savage Kel’Hallan fighters grinning, laughing, delighting in the sight of the heir to their country’s throne flying above them.
“They must have run into some sort of trouble,” I murmured, finding Ly’Tana after searching the sky for her. She was naught but a tiny dot beside a large winged spot, high above.
“Bad trouble, I’m thinking.” Kel’Ratan bit his lip. “For him to be missing and her to fly back, still a bird.”
“He’ll be here.”
Kel’Ratan opened his mouth to protest, but shut it when he caught my glance. “She ought not to be messing about up there. She needs to come down at once.”
“Let her be for a moment longer,” I told him, with a small smile. “Isn’t she beautiful?”
Despite his worry, Kel’Ratan’s chest swelled suddenly and I smothered a grin. “Yes, m’lord, that she is.”
I eyed him sidelong, taking full note of the pride Kel’Ratan felt in his younger cousin. The cousin he felt such a powerful need to protect, to shelter, to keep safe. I suspected now that Ly’Tana has flown the nest, literally, Kel’Ratan will find his duty in protecting her quite difficult. He turned to glance at me, before I could hide my amusement. Rather than the irritation I expected, he smiled. It was a sweet, gentle smile belying the craggy, fierce expression which usually occupied his face.
“That she is indeed,” he murmured, his eyes filled with the sight of Ly’Tana flying in low in another diving run over the heads of her people, Bar in hot pursuit.
The instant Ly’Tana buzzed past his face, almost clipping his mustache, he suddenly bellowed, “Damn it, girl. Get your ass down here and give us a report. Step on it.”
“Must you?” I asked, rubbing my ear.
He turned a sudden grin my way. “We can’t be letting her have all the fun, now can we?”
Ly’Tana banked around, her grace in the air once more made me envious of her joyous freedom, her wings slowing. Bar circled above, chirping, his tone happy and contented. Perhaps his previous ire with her had dispersed, I thought. I doubted he would land, given his dislike of the nasty flood we still waded through, step by slow step. I cast about, looking for a potential landing site for Ly’Tana.
Before I really realized what she intended, Ly’Tana backwinged toward me, her razor talons out. Hastily, after slamming home my sword, I held out my right arm. I knew why falconers wore heavy leather gloves when handling hawks and falcons. Those talons created to kill could rip a man’s arm apart without effort.
Ly’Tana knew her stuff. She landed on my forearm with a graceful drop, her talons tight enough to cling and keep her balance but not so tight she cut me. I barely felt her tiny weight. Her grip on me was as gentle as her human hand once was. She peeped up at me from piercing raptor eyes and chirped.
Her warriors went wild. Laughing, they cheered, they bounced up and down, they slapped one another on the back. All of them, warriors to a man danced like children, deliriously happy at their wild
princess’s performance. I stared like a fool, unable to move or speak. My chest suddenly ached.
“Damn, girl, aren’t you a one?”
Kel’Ratan’s love for his royal cousin glowed in his suddenly shining blue eyes, his bright and open expression. He brushed a finger down her feathers, his knuckle brushing her cheek in love and adoration. All I could do, bloody lummox, was gape, and struggle to draw in a breath.
“Where’s Rygel?”
Arianne’s panicked voice broke through my struggle to regain control of my emotions and Kel’Ratan’s admiration. The warriors grew silent. At my sister’s apparent panicked hysteria, Corwyn led the grey mare forward. Her midnight hair flung back from her face, Arianne clutched the saddle’s pommel with white knuckles, her glorious eyes streaming tears.
Where was Rygel indeed? Happily distracted, I searched the sky, as did everyone present, hoping to see another hawk, or at least a black raven, flying in, laughing, repentant and full of hasty apology. The sky above remained empty and lifeless save for Bar, still circling above.
Without Rygel’s presence, an evil pall fell over the group like a cloud hiding the sun. All eyes turned to Ly’Tana on my arm for the answer. Where was he and what happened?
For answer, she shrieked, a high-pitched ke-ke-ke, and flapped her wings in agitation. What the hell did that mean?
“What are you trying to say?” Kel’Ratan demanded. “We can’t understand you, Ly’Tana.”
Leaving their horses, the Kel’Hallans crowded around, standing in the stagnant water up to their knees. A few, Witraz, Rannon and Alun, alternated between watching the sky and sending worried glances toward the hawk on my wrist. The twins stood to either side of me, obviously trying to still guard her, should a threat, given Rygel’s absence, present itself. The young blonde brothers decided to split up, and each of them stood sentry, watching the sky, at either end of the group.
Ly’Tana didn’t calm at Kel’Ratan’s urging, but still squawked in sharp chirps, at times flaring her wings and bouncing up and down on my arm. I glanced at Kel’Ratan in dismay.
“Is he dead?” Kel’Ratan gasped, staring at her in sudden fear. “Did he get killed, Ly’Tana? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
Ly’Tana’s fear increased. She jumped from my arm and circled about my head, still crying, her voice shrieking in sharp ke-ke-ke cheeps. Kel’Ratan leaped up, trying in vain to catch her in his hands until I grabbed his shoulder. Arianne screamed, her fingers clawing at her face. Tor wrapped his arms about her from behind, trying to calm her. Corwyn, unused to female hysterics, patted her arm, his face a mask of helplessness and worry.
“Cease!” I thundered. “Rygel isn’t dead. Everyone calm down. Arianne, cease this nonsense. Rygel’s alive.”
At my words, both Kel’Ratan and Ly’Tana quieted. The warriors relaxed a fraction, sending each other glances of relief, and wry, sheepish grins. Arianne stared at me, finally allowing Tor to lower her arms, but he still kept his arms firmly wrapped about her.
Too far away to offer more than a quick smile and a wave, I sent her what reassurance I could. I didn’t receive one in return, but she did retreat behind her curtain of hair. Perhaps that was a good sign.
Ly’Tana returned to my forearm, her wings tucking over her back. Kel’Ratan blew a gust of relief, his red mustache blowing off his upper lip. His entire posture relaxed, but he restlessly walked about in the water, watching the sky. Ly’Tana chirped. It sounded, to me, like a question. I answered what I thought the question was.
“Yes,” I answered, stroking my finger gently down her feathers as Kel’Ratan had done. “The bond between us. I’d know if he was dead. He’s not.”
She shook herself, her feathers settling into place in what seemed like relief. I answered the next obvious question in Kel’Ratan’s eyes. “No, I don’t know where he is. Just my gut telling me he’s off to the northeast of us.”
Ly’Tana chirped. Kel’Ratan straightened, his fierce blue eyes intent upon her.
“Listen, girl,” he said, stepping closer to her. I held my arm out so the two might see each other better.
“I’ve an idea. We can’t understand a bloody word of yours, so here’s what we’ll do. We’re going to ask you some yes or no questions,” he said, his finger uplifted. “One chirp for yes, two chirps for no? Got it?”
She chirped.
I, and all the men present, sighed. Arianne came out of her fortress, her expression curious, her tears drying rapidly under the onslaught of the summer sun. Corwyn ceased patting her arm and Tor finally relaxed his grip. All leaned forward, expectant, hushed.
“Now then,” Kel’Ratan said, his finger and his blue eyes riveted upon the tiny bird on my wrist. “Did you find Brutal?”
She chirped, once. The feathers over her neck rose.
“All right, you found him and he pissed you off.”
She chirped.
“Did he see you?”
Two rapid fire chirps answered him.
“Was that devil-boy there? Ja’Teel?”
Another chirp.
“Did he see you?”
She chirped once, her wings returning to her back. Then she chirped twice, in quick succession.
Kel’Ratan and I stared at one another. What did that mean?
“Wait, wait,” Kel’Ratan snapped, touching his fingers to his brow and shutting his eyes. “Yes and no, what are you trying to tell us, girl?”
Ly’Tana repeated her chirps, and flapped her wings.
Understanding dawned on me. “Ly’Tana, Ja’Teel saw Rygel but didn’t see you? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
Her wings settled. She chirped once.
Kel’Ratan gave a sigh of relief and mimed wiping sweat from his brow. “All right, so no one saw you?”
Ly’Tana clicked her beak, uttering a series of half-chirps and squawks, as though she spoke in a strange dialect. In a way she did. Her head turned over her shoulder, peering up into the sky, then turned around on my arm. She repeated her hawk-talk, flapping her wings and still peering up at the sky. Turning back to face me, she looked at me from first her right eye, then her left, clicking her beak.
“I know she just told us what happened,” I said slowly. “But I’ll be damned if I know what she said.”
Kel’Ratan gazed fiercely up at Bar. “Can you bleeding understand her?”
Bar screeched, an obvious negation, in my uninformed opinion. Ly’Tana flapped her wings and nipped Kel’Ratan’s thumb. He jerked his hand back and scowled at her.
“Why the bloody hell did you do that?”
“She’s trying to tell us something.”
“I know that you—”
Kel’Ratan caught my eyes and swallowed the rest of his sentence. Glaring at Ly’Tana, he all but burned her in blue fire.
“Did Rygel and Ja’Teel fight?”
She vocalized again, a loud, anguished screech and rustled her feathers. Her hackles did not subside. So things did not bode well for Rygel. I caught the grim glance Kel’Ratan flashed me. Did we have to ride to rescue Rygel? I could not ask that one, as it was not a yes or no. I bit my lip instead.
“Was Rygel all right when you last saw him?”
Another chirp.
“Is he injured?”
Silence. Ly’Tana half-spread her wings, afraid and ready to fly. My fingers down her back soothed her, I hoped, for she relaxed a fraction.
“She doesn’t know,” I murmured.
“So here’s what we know,” Kel’Ratan held up his fingers and one by one folded them down. “One, they found Brutal. Two, Rygel fought a battle with Ja’Teel. Three, he took off to the northeast and Ly’Tana hasn’t seen him since. Am I correct?”
Ly’Tana chirped, her agitation still in full force. I’d have to calm her before she took off into the wild skies.
“He’s alive, dear one,” I murmured, lifting her to my eye level, still soothing her ruffled feathers. “He’s alive, and he’ll be back.”
A sharp screech made my ears wince. Yet, I knew what it was she demanded. I have no idea how, but I knew.
“Yes, I promise,” I murmured, rubbing my nose against the tip of her beak. “I promise.”
Ly’Tana calmed immediately, her feathered cheek caressing mine. With a quick, incredibly gentle move, she nipped my lip with her sharp raptor’s beak. I just received my very first kiss from a hawk. I couldn’t prevent the silly grin that spread across my face. Nor could I stop the rising blush from starting at my neck and moving north. Ly’Tana chittered, her feathers rustling. A very Ly’Tana giggle. My blush inflamed into a volcano.
“How in the devil do you know what she asked?” Kel’Ratan demanded crossly. “Nothing but chatter to me.”
“The language of love.”
Kel’Ratan, Ly’Tana and I slewed about, staring intently at Arianne. As did every warrior who heard the exchange. Even Tor leaned sideways out of the saddle to stare at her. Rather than hide, as I expected her to, under the scrutiny of more than a dozen eyes, she smiled. Another one of those I-know-more-than-you-do smiles. Apparently, Rygel gave her lessons.
“Language of love?” Kel’Ratan snorted, his mustache bristling. “Needs a bleeding interpreter if you ask me.”
“What the blazes is that?”
Witraz’s voice cut through our combined stares at Arianne, breaking the spell. Yet, no one thought to cuff him for his lack of manners. All of us, to a man, followed his narrow gaze as he stared northeast, his hand raised to shade his eyes.
What was that indeed? A chill cooled the hot volcano the blush created and crawled down my spine. What did I just say about fear? Gods above and below….
“What is that?” Kel’Ratan murmured, awed.
His fingers made the sign to protect him from great enchantment and evil. I forced my left hand, the one not holding Ly’Tana on my wrist, to my side to prevent it from making the same sign.
On the distant horizon, a great shape flew, dark against the bright sun’s rays. Huge wings beat slowly up and down. While the remainder of the creature remained fuzzy and indistinct, silhouetted against the sun, those tremendous wings held enough definition for me to see clearly. Something fantastic, something impossibly huge, flew towards us. If that wingspan was any indication, the creature put Bar to shame.
Catch a Wolf Page 17
