Soul of an Eagle

by Edwin Skinner

Jaron sighed heavily and rubbed his hand across his forehead. "I don't know how to tactfully say this so forgive me if I step on your toes. Am I right in assuming that you believe that Kit tried to steal Flash from Heron before they went off to the games?"

  "That is so," Daron replied. "Kit, himself, confessed that he had spoken to Flash on at least one occasion. When he showed up at the Aerie ten days ago on Flash's back, the guilt was written all over his face. I need no other proof than that of his complicity."

  "In spite of what you may believe, Kit made no attempt to steal Flash and he only made the one mental contact with the bird before Heron's death." Jaron sighed once again. "He told me what you said to him when he landed at the Aerie. It was one of the worst moments of his young life. Yes, he looked guilty. It was because he felt guilty, guilty because his best friend was dead and his happiness was brought about because of that death. Now, his happiness is shattered because of a thoughtless statement by you. Somehow, he thinks that Heron's death is his own fault even though he had nothing to do with it. He also never betrayed his friendship to Heron in a knowing way. Heron understood this and so did he until you heaped the entire load of guilt onto his shoulders with one thoughtless phrase. I believe it is you that is in the wrong. At the least you owe him an apology and, if you are truly a fair man, you should also accept his nomination."

  "I believe that is all bull manure," shouted the Falconer. "Flash developed a secondary bond to Kit and that could not have been done in one short contact. It takes days of constant training to impress an eagle and everyone knows it. I will thank you to leave with your accusations and lies."

  Jaron turned to the Falconer's guest. "Ganton, I have heard you are an honorable man. Your father knows of this situation, I'm told. Could I have a word with you about it in private before you leave the area?"

  The young man looked embarrassed but smiled. "Most certainly, I will be around for a few days. Where can I find you?"

  "My pear orchard is just upslope from the Guardsmen's barracks about a mile and a half. I am there most of the time during the days except for Thursdays when I go to town for supplies. Good day sir." He bowed to the young man and then to the Falconer's wife. "I apologize for the scene, madam, but remember what I said about civility."

  When the farmer had exited the room, Daron turned to his young guest. "He said that your father knew something of this affair. Why don't you fill me in on what you know about it?" His expression was frosty, to say the least.

  Kit looked down at the barrier rim as it passed some two hundred feet below him. He was still using his circuitous route into the crater even though everyone knew about his bond with Flash. The cold attitude of the Eagle Riders he met whenever he was in the town had prompted him to avoid contact with them at all times. Helvon, Chan and Tunia had preceded him into the crater some twenty minutes earlier and would meet him at the upper field about the time he landed.

  Suddenly, something caught his eye coming from the direction of the pass. It was a young Eagle Rider, a girl perhaps a year older than he, flying across in front of his flight path. Kit stared at her in her crisp white and brown uniform and thought ruefully of the old buckskin clothes that he wore. Then she caught sight of him and did the most curious of things. She waved at him.

  Kit lifted his hand and watched her fly past on a direct route to the Aerie. He was mystified. Perhaps she had not recognized him. That could be the only explanation. Minutes later, Flash landed by the old barn that they used as a roost. The other three hunters were waiting patiently for him with Satan already saddled and ready. Kit got out two buckets of meat for the bird and bade him good night.

  It was about a half hour later that unexpected guests arrived at the farmhouse. The whole group was sitting down to supper when a knock sounded at the front door. Jaron got up to answer it and a moment later his voice called out from the living room. "Kit, you have some visitors"

  Kit looked quizzically at his companions and they all rose to see who had arrived.

  The first person Kit saw was Ganton McAllister. He remembered the young apprentice Falconer from the one, glorious night that he had spent in an Aerie. A grin spread across his face to match that of his young visitor. Suddenly it turned to a frown. Behind the young man stood Washington's Master Falconer, Daron. Once again, at the sight of the man and the memory of his accusations, the unreasoning guilt returned to haunt him.

  The Master Falconer stepped forward. Kit had a hard time reading the man's face. Instead of the anger that should be there, he could see embarrassment and contrition. It was very confusing.

  "Kit," the man began, "yesterday, your grandfather came to the Aerie to speak in your behalf. I told him I would not accept your nomination to the Aerie because of what I believed that you did to Heron. He told me that you had only talked to Flash just that one time before Heron's death. I called him a liar and ordered him out of the Aerie, much to my dishonor." He turned to Jaron and bowed.

  "You served honorably in that Aerie long before I did and deserved more respect from me, as my wife pointed out after you left. I humbly apologize for my rudeness and temporary ignorance."

  Jaron bowed in return. "I will accept the apology in the manner and spirit in which it is given." The look on his face was both ironic and quizzical.

  Daron turned back to Kit and cleared his throat. "It happened that when your grandfather arrived, Ganton McAllister was present and heard all that was said. At first, I thought it unfortunate but, eventually, I realized that it was a happy circumstance that brought him into this for he told me of your visit to his Aerie earlier this summer. What he told me of that visit shed a new light on my perception of your impression with Flash. I think it best that Ganton, himself, should relate that story as he told it to me."

  Ganton stepped to the forefront and told his story. "On the day you visited Meron at McAllister, my brother, Piperon, became aware of your presence when Flash, out of sheer boredom, began a conversation with Fury, Pip's mount. Pip learned in that way that Flash had been saved from self-destruction by the secondary bond which you had established with him before Heron's death. You were subsequently invited to spend the night at the Aerie and told us your version of the story yourself.

  "My father, Master Aferon, was very intrigued by this concept of secondary bonds and wished to get as complete a picture as possible of what actually happened to create it. As most of you know, my brother, Pip, has a very unique bond with Fury in that their mental communication is entirely two way. They can have as complete a conversation with each other in their minds as we could have orally and Fury, in turn, can talk to any mature eagle within a reasonable distance of him. My father merely asked Pip to use Fury to interrogate Flash about his impression with you.

  "Your bird had no reason to lie and was quite candid about the whole thing. His bond with Heron, being the first to happen, was the stronger and, when Heron had died, the loss was so traumatic that his first instinct was to self-destruct as most birds do in such a case. Later, after time had passed, he began to detect another bond which existed. He could not tell from whence it came and therefore did not go in search of you but when you contacted him again from that mountainside outside of Washington, he became fully aware that it was your bond that had kept him sane.

  "It was due to the fact that he was already a fully trained bird that he impressed so effortlessly with you. He already knew the joys of full communion and cooperation with a Rider and needed no convincing or training to complete it. He simply cooperated in everything that you asked of him and never regretted it a moment. He misses Heron but is happy to have his relationship with you if Heron can no longer be experienced.

  "When my father asked Pip to question Flash, there was one thing that he wanted to establish. Fury asked Flash directly about how many times and for how long you had spoken to him prior to Heron's death. Flash stated that you had established only one mental contact with him during that time. You asked him to lower his head so you could scratch it and he
had said, 'itches.' It is certainly a minimal contact that you made and it matches exactly what you have always maintained were the facts in the case."

  The silence in the room was palpable. Finally Master Daron broke it in a soft voice. "Kit, I have wronged you greatly. When I heard those facts from such an unimpeachable source, I realized that you had never been less than a true friend to my son. Instead of being angry at you for taking over Heron's eagle, I should be grateful to you for saving something that was so much a part of what he was. When I spoke to you the morning you so unselfishly raised the alarm, I spoke out of ignorance, anger and grief at the recent loss of my son. I did you a great injustice in making you feel that you were somehow at fault for Heron's death. Can you forgive me?"

  It was like a huge burden had been lifted from the boy's shoulders. "What do I have to forgive?" he asked. "You just made a mistake the same as I did when I bonded with Flash. I'm only glad the truth has come out. I was beginning to believe that I was somehow guilty, myself."

  The Falconer turned to address Jaron again. "In the light of this new evidence, if you are still prepared to nominate Kit to the Aerie, ex-Rider Jaron, I am more than willing to accept him."

  "All's well that ends well," quipped the older man. "I am delighted that things will turn out well for my grandson. When will he begin formal training?"

  It was Ganton who answered. "He'll be part and parcel with the next class at McAllister Aerie. After all, Flash is still a McAllister bred bird. It's only fitting that his rider be given the full course at the place where it all began. Also, Master Aferon wants to try an experiment. Kit, you will be asked to form a secondary bond with every bird that is impressed or stationed at McAllister while you're there. That will be a considerable number of eagles. Statistically, it's almost a sure thing that one of those birds will lose a rider at some point during your career. We'll be looking to see if you'll be able to save that bird too."

  "But what will I do with two eagles?" asked the boy. "I really don't want any bird except Flash."

  Ganton looked surprised at the question. "Why, train him as a tow eagle, of course. We can use your impression to open him up to general impression and, if successful, put him to good use. Personally, I think it might work. If so, you'll be tapping a whole new source of well-trained birds for us in the future."

  EPILOG

  The day of parting came almost two weeks later but it had come all too soon for Kit. Finally the time came to pack his clothes and say good-by to all of his friends. He spent one whole day saying farewell to the men of the Home Guard. Most of that day had been spent at the barracks, some in friendly sword drill, but he also flew to each of the passes to speak with those who were on duty at the time.

  For two days he hunted with his partners in the wilds and it was there that they parted ways.

  "Ain't got nuthin' 'gainst yer grandpappy nor his grand house," said Helvon. "Hit's jest thet I don't dare ta get t'gether with Deena no more. Thet woman's d'termined ta hogtie an' brand me afore th' week's out. Ain't no way I'll stand still fer thet."

  Tunia stepped forward to mediate. "You have to understand, Kit, that you are being torn from our group. We all love you and we're all happy for you now that your dream is finally being realized but we have to learn to deal with the loss of you from our number. Helvon and Chan are wanderers by long habit and, I guess, so am I, for that matter. Helvon has his reasons for leaving, although I never thought I'd see signs of cowardice in him." She smiled fondly at the old hunter, alleviating the sting of the words. "Chan and I also have reasons to leave. I want to see those northern lands he has told me of and he wishes to track down the history and people of his mother. Helvon has decided to join us because of friendship and curiosity. The only sour note is your absence from our midst but that is something that cannot be prevented."

  "But what about me?" Kit asked. "The three people who mean most to me are going away forever. What can I do to fill the empty place that leaves in here?" He placed his open palm on his chest. "Will I ever see you all again?"

  "Some things are forever and some are not," replied Chan. "It is not always up to us to know or determine which are and which are not. You will be very busy for at least six to eight years in your new position in life, too busy to miss us very much. You will make new friends some of which may be as important to you as we are. That is understandable and even desirable. If we find ourselves within a hundred miles of Washington sometime in the future, rest assured that we will come and look you up. Old friendships seldom die and ones like ours never do. It is not up to us to know the future but we will always have our past together. Our common experiences will constantly work to shape our futures. You are a part of us as we are a part of you no matter how many leagues separate our bodies."

  Kit had opted to ride back to the crater with his three friends. He trotted along on Paint as Flash flew overhead. Most of the trip was made in silence but when they approached Maryland Pass, there was a commotion there that caught their attention.

  Kit was approached by the Captain who was in charge of the pass detail that day. "Kit, we found a body outside the pass this afternoon. One of the men said he saw you and your partner with him a few times. Could the two of you have a look and see if you can identify him? I'm afraid that it's quite a grizzly sight. The nomads must have gotten ahold of him."

  The two friends stepped forward, followed closely by Chan and Tunia. One of the troopers squatted down and lifted the tarp from a body which lay on the ground there. A collective gasp was torn from the four comrades and Tunia turned away to prevent herself from being ill.

  "Hit's Goovon all right," Helvon commented. "Guess he learned thet ya don't disappoint a nomad Chieftain. His body's a mess. D'ya know what they done to 'im Chan?"

  "He was tortured long and hard," commented the nomad, "and then he was boiled in oil. It is one of Silar's favorite entertainments. The victim is always alive and aware. His wracked body is lowered into the oil while it is cool and the fire is lit underneath. It usually takes an hour or more for the man to die. The more he screams, the more Silar enjoys it. I have seen no harder end for a man. I feel sorry for him no matter what he has done."

  "How long ya figger he were tortured afore hand?"

  "The battle was over three weeks ago," said Chan slowly. "It probably started several days afterwards. The Silarites were too busy getting away from your bombs to start right away. It looks like he's been dead for four or five days now. It probably took them that long to bring the body back so that we could see it. I'd say he was tortured for nine or ten days and then put in the pot. It couldn't have been at all pleasant for him no matter how much the Silarites enjoyed it."

  The death of their former partner had put a further cloud over the parting. None of them had any reason to remember the man fondly but they were still aghast at the manner of his passing. Their final good-byes were made in muted tones not long after. Kit passed through the gap in the rim and the three remaining partners returned to the wilds. They picked up their pack ponies in the canyon where they had been left and headed toward the north and east.

  An hour later, they were alerted by the loud "karee" of an eagle. Looking up, they saw an Eagle Rider overhead. The Rider was dressed in buckskin and slowly waived at them. They lifted their hands in silent farewell.