Poppa let a guffaw slip through his lips, and Reecah burst out laughing.
Grammy stared at them, shaking her head. “There isn’t a lick of sense between the two of you.” Her chair scraped the wooden floor. “Come on, Vili, walk with me.”
Reecah watched them leave. What were they going to talk about this time? Her probably, but she hadn’t done anything wrong. At least not that they knew of…or did they?
Reecah tiptoed to the door and listened. Nothing.
She pushed it open a crack, cringing at the squealing hinges, but Grammy and Poppa weren’t on the porch.
Gravel crunched down the path toward the main trail. Searching the shadows to be sure neither one had remained behind, she slipped through the door, careful to shut it quietly behind her.
Slinking down the path, she couldn’t help wondering if Grammy knew where she’d been earlier. She didn’t think so. Grammy wasn’t one to hold back. If she knew, she would’ve yelled at her already. She swallowed. With Grammy, no one could ever be too sure.
Lost in thought, she almost yelped. Out of nowhere, Grammy stepped into the open in front of her. Luckily, Grammy faced the other way.
“I don’t like it, Vili. You’re getting too old.”
Poppa stepped into the open beside Grammy, his hands on his hips as they glanced at the sparkling night sky. The ocean lay unseen over the crest of the hill, but even from this distance, the rhythmic slap of the surf carried on the breeze.
“I don’t like it either. You know my feelings.”
“It’s a wonder they asked you at all.”
Poppa ran his hands through his thick, grey hair. “Because I know how to find them.”
“Tell them you can’t handle the journey anymore.”
“You know I can’t do that. If Jonas suspects me of lying… Well, you know. Besides, if he thinks I’ve become weak, he’ll let me go, and then where will we be?”
Grammy sighed. “Where will we be if something happens to you? What about Reecah? Who’ll look after her?”
Reecah swallowed. Who’ll look after her? Why? Where were they going? She wanted to let them know she was listening and ask but thought better of it. She’d be in trouble for disobeying, and Poppa would take the brunt of Grammy’s wrath.
Poppa shook his head and threw his arms in the air. “I don’t know. That’s what scares me the most.” He turned his head, seemingly looking straight at Reecah.
Reecah held her breath.
Poppa stared a moment longer before turning away. “We should get back. The season has started. We shouldn’t leave her alone after dark.”
Reecah’s eyes grew wide. The season has started? She backstepped several paces and fled up the trail.
By the time Poppa and Grammy came back, the interior of the hut smelled of dust as Reecah furiously plied the corn broom. She smiled up at them.
Grammy studied the interior, espying the dirty dishes. She glared at Reecah, poised to say something, but thankfully changed her mind and went to sit before her loom.
Poppa latched the door behind him and sat down on the edge of the rickety pallet he shared with Grammy.
Reecah watched him until she caught his eye. When he smiled at her, she knew it wasn’t genuine.
Reecah kept an eye on him as she bustled about the hut, churning the dust to fall in other places. Something was wrong. Poppa wasn’t his usual, happy self.
Grammy must’ve noticed she’d stopped sweeping.
“Keep your mind on what you’re about, child. The hut won’t clean itself.”
Reecah’s broom jumped into action, but she kept her eyes on Poppa until he glanced up at her again. She gave him one of her heart melting grins and skipped away.
Poppa’s melancholy noticeably lifted.
The Day the World Stood Still
Several days passed since Poppa had departed dressed much differently than normal, a rope over his shoulders, his old sword buckled to his belt, and a black quarterstaff in hand.
Reecah studied Grammy sitting before her loom in the flickering candlelight, never once pushing down on the foot pedal to operate the cumbersome machine. Grammy’s faraway gaze told Reecah her mind was elsewhere.
“Where’s Poppa?”
Grammy looked up and blinked a couple of times. A grim smile fluttered amongst her wrinkles. “He’s off hunting with the villagers.”
Reecah frowned. Poppa often hunted for food, but he usually took his bow. “He’s been gone a long time.”
“Come here, flower bud.”
Grammy held her arms out for Reecah to climb into her lap.
“Remember when we told you about the seasons?”
Reecah put a finger to her lips in thought, her hazel eyes searching Grammy’s face. “I think so.”
Grammy kissed Reecah’s forehead and gave her a patient smile. “Let me remind you. Every three years around this time, we must be extra careful with the dragons. Fishmonger Bay has the biggest population of the beasts anywhere.”
“Why Grammy? What happens?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure how to explain it so that you’ll understand. You see, every creature, be they mice or people or dragons, find someone to love. When a couple loves each other, they become close and, um, well, they mate. And then they have babies.”
Reecah frowned deeper. “What does mate mean?”
Grammy’s face reddened. “Well, heh, let’s just say they snuggle close.”
Reecah had no idea what mating meant. She wrapped her arms around Grammy’s thin body and hugged her tight. “You mean like this?”
“Yes, something like that.” Grammy cleared her throat. “But that’s not what’s important here. The point I’m trying to make is that during the dragon mating season, the beasts become overly protective of their territory. Fishmonger Bay lies within a major dragon territory and that means other animals, including people, must be extra careful.”
“Is Poppa hunting dragons?”
Grammy didn’t respond right away. “Poppa is with a bunch of men trying to keep the dragons from encroaching on our village.”
Reecah nodded, not really knowing what that meant either. She did, however, understand Grammy’s serious tone. “Is Poppa going to die?”
Grammy pushed Reecah to arms length. “Gosh, child, no. Don’t ever think that.”
Reecah smiled and snuggled into Grammy’s bosom. “I like it when we mate, Grammy.”
Grammy stiffened and began to stutter, but the sound of boots clomping on the porch had them gaping at the door in anticipation.
Reecah flew off Grammy’s lap as the door banged open and Poppa stomped inside. “Poppa’s back!”
Poppa’s glum face brightened. He caught Reecah in a huge embrace and lifted her off the floor.
Reecah kissed his face all over before she leaned back with a wrinkled nose. “You’re stinky, Poppa.”
“Hah!” Poppa put her on the floor and hugged Grammy who had walked up behind them.
Lying awake in the dark cabin, Reecah hugged her wooden dragon, stroking its scaly spine and listening to snatches of her grandparents’ conversation from their pallet on the far side of the hut.
Grammy’s voice sounded sad. “Why must you go back out again? I thought you showed them where to go?”
“Aye, but Jonas is afraid there’ll be trouble. He wants as many swords as possible.”
“He can’t be serious. If he provokes them, he’ll risk bringing the entire dragon community down on us.”
“I agree. Told him that, too, but you know Jonas. You can’t tell him anything.”
Silence settled over the hut. Reecah’s thoughts drifted. She wasn’t sure she dreamed her grandparents next words or not.
“I don’t like it, Vili. What would we ever do without you?”
“Shh. It’ll be okay Lizzy. I won’t let that happen. I promise.”
Early the next morning, Grammy hugged Poppa by the door, tighter and longer than usual; her face damp.
Reecah pulled on Grammy’s apron
. “What’s the matter?”
Grammy let Poppa go and forced a smile, sniffing. “Nothing, child. Just saying good-bye to Poppa.”
Reecah looked from Grammy to Poppa, confused. When her eyes met Poppa’s, his face broke into a wide grin.
“Come here, poppet. Give Poppa a big hug.”
Reecah held out her arms and was whisked off her feet in Poppa’s loving embrace. He opened the door and walked outside into the cool morning air with Reecah proudly sitting in his arms. Without looking back, he strolled down the path
“Viliyam!” Grammy called after them.
Poppa said loudly, “It’s okay. I’ll send her back when we reach the trail.”
Reecah watched Grammy over Poppa’s shoulder—her grandmother didn’t look pleased.
At the end of the trail, Poppa put her down. Reaching inside his tunic, he pulled out a walnut sized, crimson gemstone and crouched down to her level.
“Wow.” Reecah accepted it in her small palm. “For me?”
Poppa smiled. “That was your mother’s. I need you to take care of it for me until I come back. Can you do that?”
Reecah nodded.
“Promise me you won’t tell anyone else about it.”
“Not even Grammy?”
Poppa’s response surprised her. “Especially not Grammy.”
Reecah turned the multi-faceted stone over in her hands, running a finger along its one flat side. “What’s it do?”
Poppa swallowed, his eyes on the verge of tears. “There’s no time to explain it to you. When the time comes, it’ll all become clear, okay?”
She nodded.
“Promise me. No one.”
“I promise, Poppa.”
Viliyam knelt on one knee. “Good, now give me a hug. It’s time I was going.”
Reecah hugged him around the neck so hard she heard him gasp. “When are you coming back, Poppa?”
She felt him tense, but his soft voice calmed her.
“I will always be in your heart, little poppet. Don’t ever forget that.” He held a hand over her chest. “As long as I’m here, it’ll be like I never left.”
Six days passed until the sound of heavy boots clumped upon the porch. The sun had lost its grip on the land while Reecah and Grammy were having supper. As one they turned expectant eyes on the door but it never opened. Grammy held out a hand to keep Reecah in her chair.
A heavy knock rattled the door.
Grammy’s brows knitted. “Now who could that be?”
Reecah didn’t miss the fact that Grammy clutched her meat knife as she stopped behind the door. “Yes? Who is it?”
“It’s Jonas Waverunner, ma’am,” a deep voice answered. “I need to speak with you.”
Grammy’s shoulders slumped. For a moment, Reecah didn’t think she was going to open the door.
A hulk of a grizzled man stood on the porch, his great, blonde-bearded head hung low—Poppa’s sword belt and quarterstaff clutched in filthy hands.
Where was Poppa? And why was Grammy suddenly leaning against the door, crying?
“I’m sorry, Lizzy.”
Grammy glanced at Reecah sitting in the chair watching. At once she pushed by Jonas and closed the door behind her.
Reecah stared at the door, not knowing what to do. The big man had upset Grammy.
The sound of Grammy’s raised voice brought Reecah to the doorway.
“There was nothing we could do.”
“Damn you, Jonas. There was plenty you could’ve done. Why did you have to involve Vili in the first place? He’s too old to be prancing around the heights chasing monsters.”
Reecah’s eyes went wide. Poppa was chasing monsters?
“No one tracks like Viliyam. Without him, we’d have spent weeks trying to find the colony.”
“Weeks!” Grammy was never a mild-mannered woman, but Reecah had never heard her speak harshly to a head villager. “To find creatures bigger than my hut? You must be as blind as you are stupid! Who’s going to look after me and Reecah now?”
Reecah frowned. A sudden feeling seeped into the pit of her stomach and twisted. Her throat tightened and her round eyes teared up. They couldn’t mean that. They just couldn’t.
“I will send one of the boys up to stay with you. At least until the season passes.”
“You’ll do nothing of the sort. I don’t want your charity. You can bloody well shove it up your ass. Look what it has done for us so far. You’re a bigger fool than everyone says. Shame on you.”
Reecah put her hands over her face and backed away from the door, trying hard to hold onto the tears dripping down her cheeks.
Suddenly, nothing seemed real. She couldn’t focus on the conversation outside—the words meant nothing to her anymore. It was as if the world stood still.
She stumbled to her blanket in the back corner, unable to breathe. Though they never said it, Reecah pieced together the meaning of their conversation along with Jonas’ presence carrying Poppa’s weapons.
She stuck her fingers into a hole in her ratty, feather pillow and fished out the crimson gemstone Poppa had given her. A tear splashed on its surface as she cupped it in her shaking hands.
Poppa wasn’t coming home. Not tonight, or any other night. Her best friend was gone forever.
The Package
During the ensuing years, Reecah withdrew into herself, shunning everyone who tried to speak with her—except Grammy. But Grammy had her own concerns to deal with and Reecah made a point of not making life any harder for her.
Six years passed slowly in the deteriorating hut on the hill. Grammy tried her best to keep their home in good repair but her advancing age and years of tending the family gardens had taken their toll.
Reecah did her share, but nothing she did lifted the bitterness from Grammy’s heart. Many nights she heard her grandmother sobbing—mumbling in the dark about how someone needed to take action against the tyrant, Jonas.
Through it all, Reecah kept her deepest desire closely guarded. Only once, in a moment of weakness while thinking of Poppa, did she let it slip to Grammy how wonderful it would be to fly. The dark look Grammy gave her convinced her never to bring it up again.
The spring of her twelfth year found Reecah yearning to spread her wings. She loved Grammy but she was suffocating being isolated on the hill. Her secret treks to the Summoning Stone no longer filled her with the joy they once had.
“Grammy, do you need anything from the market?”
Grammy, at her usual place in front of the old loom, squinted—her failing eyesight painful for Reecah to see. “What’s that, my flower bud?”
“I was thinking of going down to the village to stretch my legs.”
Grammy’s scrutiny made Reecah uncomfortable. The old woman had the knack of seeing through her. Knowing how Grammy felt about the villagers, Reecah feared she would forbid it, but Grammy surprised her.
“Actually, there is something I would like you to deliver for me.”
Reecah’s face lit up. “Really?”
Grammy struggled to her feet. Using the loom for support, she pushed off and hobbled, stoop-shouldered, to her pallet. With a great deal of effort, she pulled open a sticky drawer of an old cabinet by the footboard and rummaged through its contents. “Now where did I put that blasted thing?”
“What’s that?” Reecah asked but Grammy didn’t respond.
Grammy pulled open another drawer. “Ah, yes.” She tucked something under her arm and straightened up the best she could.
“Come here, child.”
Grammy stared at Reecah standing eye-to-eye before her, seemingly considering her next words. Finally, she held out a small package wrapped in an old cloth. “I’ve been meaning to take this to Grimelda ever since Poppa died. I’d forgotten about it until now.”
If there was one name that instilled more fear into Reecah than Jonas Waverunner, it was the village witch.
Grammy patted Reecah’s hand. “It’s okay, child. Grimelda and I go way back
. She won’t harm you.”
“But. She’s a…a—”
“Witch?”
Reecah nodded.
“She’s been called worse, but I guess that’s what people call her now. Regardless, Grimelda will not harm you. Take this, and be careful. Whatever you do, I need you to promise me you won’t look inside.”
Reecah went to grab the package but Grammy pulled it back, lifting her eyebrows.
“I promise.” Reecah laughed, accepting the bundle. It was heavier than it looked.
“Good. Now, turn around. Let me braid your hair. Can’t have you going to town looking like a ragamuffin.”
Reecah winced and grimaced as Grammy used a bone-toothed comb to tug at her tangles.
“My, how long your hair has gotten. It’ll be at your waist before long,” Grammy said as she separated three equal amounts of hair and intertwined it.
“That’s better.” Grammy smiled at her and shuffled to the door. The hinges squealed. “Be quick about it. I don’t want you out after dark. With the snows freshly gone, dragon season will soon be upon us.”
Reecah paused to kiss her wrinkled forehead, the skin cool on her lips. “I’ll be as quick as a hungry troll.”
Grammy gave her a playful shove. “See to it that you don’t fill the hungry troll. Now be gone. I’ll have supper ready when you return.”
Reecah bounded down the faint path, a renewed spring in her brown suede boots, but when she hit the main trail she stopped, hesitant to visit the witch on her own.
The south end of Fishmonger Bay lay visible far below through newly budding trees. In another week or so, the derelict buildings would be hidden from view.
She gazed longingly at the Summoning Stone in the opposite direction. It reminded her of Poppa. How she wished he were here to accompany her. Poppa wouldn’t be afraid.
Poppa’s memory provided her with the courage she needed. The sooner she got it done, the sooner she would be back on the hill.
Stepping off the trailhead onto the gravelly main street of Fishmonger Bay, she was greeted by the mournful clanging of Father Cloth’s service bells.
Reecah's Flight Page 2