by Turtle Me
“Wait. We came here with the portal pieces like you asked,” I said hurriedly, not wanting to wait. “I want to try and repair the portal with what we have now, so we just need your tribe’s piece and we’ll—”
“No.” Old Broke Beak clacked his beak sharply to cut me off. “You must provide the four, and we will provide the one. Right now, ascender only holds three. Rest for now, and we will together find a way to claim the final piece.”
With that, the chief hobbled away, leaving Caera and I alone.
Caera let out a sigh beside me as she sunk to the ground. “How frustrating.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” I said with a scoff as my eyes flickered to the bed of straw, feathers, and grass where Old Broke Beak usually sat.
“It’s unlikely the old bird left the one thing we want alone in the same room as us,” the Alacryan noble chimed in as I made my way toward where the portal piece had previously been hidden.
I rifled through the bedding, but only found the dusty floor of the chief’s hut. “Damn it.”
Caera remained silent as I took a seat next to her, tense and angry.
It hadn’t been that long since we’d first arrived at the Spear Beaks’ village, grateful for Swiftsure’s assistance and the village’s hospitality. But in that short time frame, a lot had changed… I had seen too much.
A part of me blamed myself for everything that transpired. I should’ve noticed it sooner: the facts that didn’t quite add up to what these tall birds had told us, the animosity that all other tribes had toward the Spear Beaks, the bird people’s eagerness to use us for their own purposes.
If it hadn’t been for the Four Fists chieftain’s challenge, we might have exterminated the entire tribe before realizing they were anything but wild aether beasts. If it wasn’t for the lingering doubt I’d felt after that battle, we might have gotten revenge against the Shadow Claws for their ambush.
I shuddered at the thought of Three Steps and the rest of her tribe’s corpses scattered about in a maelstrom of Caera’s soulfire and my aether blasts.
No. I did the right thing in following my instincts, and while lives were lost, much worse could’ve happened if I had trusted Old Broke Beak implicitly.
While the elderly chief and his tribe still thought we were on their side, I had to be patient and wait for the right moment.
“How’s Regis doing?” Caera asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“He’s using my aether reserves to recover while he rests,” I answered, turning to the Alacryan noble.
That was when I noticed that she was no longer shivering from the cold, or even wearing a blanket over her shoulders. “Are you not cold?”
“It’s a lot warmer here than before. Maybe because of the torches they have lit outside for the festival,” she said, shaking her head. “Anyway, do you know what caused him to behave so wildly earlier during our battle?”
“It had to do with him tapping into the Destruction godrune that I have,” I began. “It’s difficult to explain, but Regis is a lot more compatible with that specific type of magic than I am, even though I’m the one that technically has access to this magic.”
“So he wasn’t able to fully control it,” Caera said in understanding.
I looked down at my empty palm. “Basically. This magic is really harmful to the caster if they’re not compatible, though, which makes it hard for me to practice it. Because Regis isn’t limited like I am, I think he’s learning at a much faster—”
I stopped, realizing that I had begun rambling.
Looking back up, I could see the Alacryan noble watching me, her obsidian horns shimmering from the torch light.
I frowned. “What is it?”
“It’s nothing,” she said, revealing a faint smile. “I just appreciate the fact that you’re able to share these things with me. Even if I don’t fully understand, I doubt this was something you would have revealed to me when we first met.”
I cleared my throat before turning away from her scarlet gaze. “The fact that I could silence you at any moment hasn’t changed.”
Despite my threat, however, Caera let out a chuckle. “Yes, yes.”
“Elder Broke Beak,” Caera said, her voice clear and confident as we followed behind the gangly old bird. “You said earlier that your tribe would help us get the final portal piece, but we seem to be heading deeper into your village.”
We had waited in his hut for several hours before he finally returned with a group of battle-scarred Spear Beaks behind him, only for him to have us follow him back out. Now, we were walking on a well-lit path leading toward the steep cliff that sheltered their village.
“The Spear Beaks will help you hunt the Ghost Bears, yes. We will find, and you will fight.” His cracked beak nodded up and down as he spoke. “But first, you must join us for a feast. Very rare feast indeed.”
I began to think of excuses to make in order not to eat any of the food provided by the Spear Beaks as we ascended the steep cliff.
Two of the scarred Spear Beaks carried Old Broke Beak, since he was too old to fly. While I was tempted to simply God Step to the top, I didn’t want to waste any aether in case things went south, so Caera and I jumped up, using some of the jagged protrusions of the cliff as footholds.
We appeared on the ledge of a small, flat cliff overlooking the village. Tall torch lights were embedded all over the cliff, casting a warm glow over the crowd of Spear Beaks that were already there. A pillar of smoke rose from a fire behind the tall birds, which began to shuffle out of the way at the sight of Old Broke Beak.
The elderly chief of the village was waiting for us, his one violet eye glimmering in excitement as he motioned with one wing. “Behold!”
“Grey?” Caera’s voice was small and disgusted.
I looked from Old Broke Beak to her, then followed the line of her gaze to the “feast.”
Laid out on a wide, flat stone was the huge Four Fists chieftain. All four of his hands had been removed, as had both his eyes and the largest of his tusks. His once silver hide had been flayed, while a large gash on his stomach had stretched open and stuffed with more of the large, round blueberries as a roaring fire danced beneath the stone slab he was on.
“What the hell is this?” I asked, unable to hide my revulsion.
“A most rare feast!” Old Broke Beak exclaimed. He then turned toward the waiting Spear Beaks and began to clack and caw in their rasping, birdish language. The tribe listened, then cheered and crowed to the sky, a few even leaping from their perches to wheel around the high peak.
“I have told them,” Old Broke Beak said, turning to us, “of your victory over the brutish Four Fists clan, and how you killed their chief and left the clan weak and without protection.” He followed this proclamation with a little bow.
My gaze drifted back to the Four Fists’ body. “How’d you get this?”
“Raided the village after your battle,” Old Broke Beak answered proudly. “An honor to feast on a fallen enemy, yes.”
“Barbaric,” Caera muttered under her breath next to me. The chieftain’s purple eye flicked to her, though I couldn’t tell if he understood what she’d said.
“I’m sorry,” I said, dipping my head in an effort to hide my disgust. “In our cultures, we don’t eat… our fallen foes.”
Old Broke Beak let out a raspy gasp. “What a waste to leave strong enemies to rot on the ground, but we will not force you. Would the ascenders, perhaps, prefer another egg for energy?”
‘Did someone say egg?’ Regis chirped, his voice half groggy still.
I shook my head. “That won’t be necessary. In fact, we’d like to get on our way as soon as—”
Old Broke Beak squawked, cutting me off. He hopped a few steps away and held his wings out to his people, then burst out with a single sharp noise.
A cry went up from the Spear Beaks and they rushed down on the corpse, rending and tearing at the half-f
rozen flesh like a wake of vultures. I turned away, letting my gaze drift over the village below.
Two Spear Beaks had left the peak and were slowly wheeling down to the collection of huts.
Beside me, Old Broke Beak said, “Spear Beaks will celebrate in the enemy’s dead flesh for you then, yes? There has been another egg that is empty of a hatchling. We will bring it.”
“As I was saying,” I started again, my jaw clenched in frustration, “we would like to leave soon. My companions and I see no reason to hunt the Ghost Bears unless we can’t make the portal work with just the four pieces we already have.”
“Three,” the chieftain said, watching with apparent pleasure as his tribe devoured the Four Fists’ corpse. “Honorable ascender agreed to fetch four pieces, and we agreed to give the fifth. You only have three pieces.”
I let out a deep breath as I locked eyes with Old Broke Beak. My gaze was calm and level but the aether-laced pressure casting a palpable chill in the air made my intentions clear. Caera and the old bird stiffened, and the three scarred Spear Beaks stepped up to guard their leader.
“I’ve been civil up until now, but I’m at my limit,” I said, my voice icy. “We are not a weapon for you to point at your enemies. You can either help us of your own free will, or our time as allies will come to an end.”
A veil of silence fell over the proceedings as even the Spear Beaks feasting on the Four Fists corpse stopped to stare at us.
“As you say. Stay, at least, for this feast. Such victories are not enjoyed often by my people. Eat of the egg of Rising Wind and Thunder Cutter, let the tribe live this moment, while I retrieve you the piece. Yes?”
“I will decline the meal,” I said firmly, my gaze piercing through the gangly old bird.
Old Broke Beak clacked his beak in what looked like a display of frustration but quickly hid his emotions with a sharp laugh. “The heroic ascenders wish to fly as fast as Spear Beaks. Very well!”
The chieftain let out a series of sharp squawks to one of the Spear Beaks behind him before turning back to us. “Blade Wing will bring our portal piece.”
With a curt bow, the old bird shuffled back with his three guards. Despite their violet eyes boring holes in me, I finally thought we could relax.
That was when my body began to feel sluggish, like my very muscles had frozen. My breaths came out in haggard rasps.
“G-Grey.”
I felt Caera grab onto my arm for support as she stumbled. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Old Broke Beak’s only eye glimmering in excitement as he eagerly watched.
Caera fell to the ground in a fit of labored breaths as I buckled to my knees, heart pounding against my chest in fear for the Alacryan noble.
“What… did you… do,” I said in a forced voice, turning my gaze fully toward the chieftain.
The elderly bird let out a shrill laugh, which was echoed amongst his tribe members as they stared at us in delight.
“Old Broke Beak may not be strong as mighty ascenders, no, but he has the best of brains!” he said while practically skipping toward us. “You see, this one knew the ascender would not eat our food. Suspicious, yes! Obvious, yes!”
I fell to my side, one ear on Caera to make sure she was still breathing behind me.
The old bird remained a few yards away, safe behind his battle-scarred protectors, and continued to speak. “This is why Old Broke Beak poisoned the fires so that smoke would be breathed in by the ascenders. Not harmful to Spear Beaks, very bad for others!”
“C-Caera,” I mustered through gritted teeth.
“Poison will not kill. Ascender has to fight the Ghost Bears after all, yes! Ascender will give us four portal pieces, Spear Beaks will give back ascender’s mate,” the chieftain responded.
“Won’t… kill?” I repeated.
Old Broke Beak let out an impatient squawk. “Yes! Won’t kill, won’t kill.”
“Good,” I replied, no longer laboring to breathe.
Violet lightning crackled around me as I God Stepped behind Old Broke Beak and made a fist around his neck. “Then it looks like our negotiations are over.”
323
Misdirection
I could feel Old Broke Beak’s blood pumping frantically through the fragile neck I held in my grasp as he jerked in shock.
Two of the three scarred warriors that surrounded their chieftain immediately reacted, whirling so that their sharp beaks were aimed at my throat, while the largest of the three remained still.
A deathly silence descended on the cliff at the sudden turn of events, no one willing to make a move as I held their leader’s life in my hands.
I leaned forward to the quivering chieftain, my gaze locked on his guards. “Are you willing to gamble your life on the chance that your soldiers might be able to kill me before I snap your neck… or will you call them off?”
The old bird stiffened at my threat but remained silent.
“I thought you were smarter than that,” I muttered as I stamped my foot. An audible crack resounded as Old Broke Beak’s left leg snapped near his ankle. The chieftain let out a hoarse honk as he writhed in pain.
Panicked cries echoed through the peaks as the three soldiers brought their menacing beaks closer to me.
“Shall we try again?” I asked, voice frigid.
Old Broke Beak let out a pained caw while motioning the two guards away with his gray wings.
“Th-there! Old Broke Beak has told everyone to stay back, yes!” he squawked, hobbling on his good leg.
“Good.” Keeping my grip around my hostage’s neck firm, we slowly made our way to where Caera lay unconscious. “Now, you’re going to guide us to where you hid your tribe’s portal piece.”
The chieftain nodded his gangly neck fiercely. “Yes, yes! Then ascenders will let Old Broke Beak go?”
“I’ll let you go after we have the portal piece,” I confirmed as I picked up Caera’s limp body from the snowy ground. She was breathing much more comfortably now, but with Regis deep in recovery mode, I stayed on edge. “Where to?”
“B-back to this one’s home!” he stammered, his single violet eye shifting from me to his broken leg.
With a crackle of violet lightning, the three of us arrived in front of the chieftain’s humble straw hut. Above, I could see the tribe had exploded into a frenzy as they descended from the cliff we had teleported from in an attempt to follow after their leader.
I looked around at the empty village. “Where is it?”
“Down below, in a hollow beyond the village, yes!” Old Broke Beak squawked, his cracked beak chittering anxiously.
I God Stepped once more to put some distance between us and the crazed Spear Beaks, but with two passengers and an aether-hungry beast feeding off my core, I could feel my reserves plummeting with each use.
“I don’t see anything,” I said, my patience growing thin.
“Difficult to get into, yes! Need to go around that bend,” the chieftain said, pointing with a wing.
My vision swept across the narrow canyon, which was tucked into the steep cliffs at the edge of the Spear Beaks’ village, and after sifting through the information each of the aether paths had relayed back to me, I God Stepped once more.
I could see Old Broke Beak sneaking glances behind us to where the Spear Beaks circled in the sky, waiting for their chance to dive in.
Letting out a sigh, I gently placed Caera on the ground and wrapped my free hand around the base of Old Broke Beak’s right wing.
A clean snap echoed off the canyon walls along with the rasping squawk of the old bird as his wing jutted down at an impossible angle.
Bringing Old Broke Beak’s face next to mine, I spoke calmly. “If the piece of the portal isn’t within an arm’s length from me after your next set of directions, the next thing I break will be your neck.”
“Y-yes…” he wheezed before giving me a set of lengthy instructions. As I expected, the chieftain
had been trying to buy time and waste my energy in hopes that I’d run out of God Steps like the Shadow Claws.
The old bird’s instructions led us farther down into the canyon to a hidden cavern, which was covered by a woven net laced with feathers and layered with snow so that it blended seamlessly with its surroundings. If the chieftain hadn’t guided us to this exact location, I knew that it would’ve been near impossible to find the portal piece.
“Into the tunnel, straight ahead,” he said weakly, his broken left leg dragging in the snow.
Adjusting Caera, who was again slung over my shoulder, I walked farther into the dark, unlit tunnel until it opened up into a dead end.
Despite how dark the cavity was, I was barely able to make out the sight ahead, and what I saw left me speechless.
Piled up like a greedy king’s hoard was a collection of gold coins, precious jewels, and artifacts. And while it surprised me at first, the sight of this trove of priceless treasures made me even more angry.
How many ascenders had the Spear Beaks tricked and killed in order to get all of this? While the question hung on the tip of my tongue, another part of me didn’t want to hear the chieftain’s answer.
“G-Grey?”
My eyes widened. “Caera!” Abandoning Old Broke Beak, I lowered the Alacryan Noble to the ground and leaned her back against the cavern wall. “How do you feel?”
“Heavy and—” Caera let out a sharp breath as her eyes fell on Old Broke Beak. “He… why is he…”
“Someone needed to help us find the portal piece,” I said with a soft smile. “Don’t worry, he won’t be able to do anything.”
“The Creator’s piece is here, yes! But hard to see without light, hard to find,” the old bird said, gesturing to the pile of artifacts with his good wing.
Letting out a scoff, I headed toward the back of the pile, where a particularly strong aetheric presence glowed. Moments later, I had the smooth slab of white stone in my hand.
Caera let out a sigh as she sunk back into the wall. “Finally.”
