by Lola StVil
“We might be desperate, but we’re not stupid,” Quinn says. “Tell us the full terms, and then we’ll decide.”
Valerie considers her words.
“The full terms are as follows. You get Dax’s location when you bring me a Gardu bird tail feather and two other things of my choosing to be revealed at a time of my choosing. Now you’re all starting to bore me. Choose.”
“Deal,” I say.
Everyone in the room swivels their heads to stare at me. The team looks at me, incredulous. Valerie, on the other hand, smiles at me and claps her hands.
“I like this girl,” she says.
She claps her hands together one more time.
“You better get moving. You have twenty-four hours. Tick tock.”
At her words, a digital clock face appears in the air, the seconds already counting down.
“What the actual fuck, Atlas?” Quinn rants.
We took the clock beginning its countdown as our cue to leave Valerie’s house. I didn’t wait for any discussion; I just transported us to the Italian island. We now stand on a small pebble beach facing what looks like a tropical jungle.
“What? You heard her. We were waiting too long. If I hadn’t agreed when I did, the deal would have been made even worse or taken away entirely.”
“You have no idea what you’ve done,” she snaps.
“We have no idea what she’s going to ask for next,” Remy adds.
“We’ll worry about that when the time comes. For now, let’s find this damn bird.”
Quinn throws her hands up in frustration. It’s obvious that the rest of the team thinks I’ve made a mistake too, but I’m getting sick of us falling from one failure to the next, and I want to get on with this mission. The sooner we find Dax, the sooner we find the second object and the closer we get to completing the real mission.
We head off into the jungle before us. Langston erects a shield around us.
“What’s the shield for?” I ask.
“To stop the witches from attacking us,” she says. “They are not going to be pleased that we’re after the Gardu birds. And if they see us, they will attack.”
I take a moment to digest this. Langston’s shields are good, so I don’t think the witches will be a problem. Our issue is going to be finding the actual bird and getting a feather from it.
“Does anyone know what this bird looks like then?” I ask.
Remy pulls her cell phone out and taps a few keys. She shows me her screen.
“That’s a turkey,” I say.
Remy nods. “Yup. The Gardu bird looks almost identical to a turkey. The only difference is the feathers on its head are green.”
“Okay. That doesn’t sound so bad,” I say. “We should be able to spot it easily enough.”
“Just remember not to get in its line of vision,” Regal reminds me.
“We have plenty of time left. Maybe we should wait until nightfall. Then we won’t have such obvious shadows,” I say.
“Won’t work,” Saudia says.
“When the witches enchanted the Gardu birds, they enchanted the island as well. It’s always noon here, and it’s always blazing hot. Because the sun is so high, the shadows cast are bigger and darker than anywhere else. It means that we have to be super silent because as we approach the bird from behind, our shadows will be in front of them. It’s another layer of protection the witches built to ensure only they are granted immortality.”
“Wonderful,” I say.
We continue to walk through the foliage. The heat from the sun beats down on us. I can feel rivulets of sweat pouring down my back and soaking into my T-shirt. Perry and Regal have already removed their shirts, and part of me wishes I had the balls to do the same.
I would kill for an icy cold bottle of water right now.
“There,” Perry hisses suddenly, pointing to the left of the trail we’re following.
I follow his finger, and sure enough, I spot a flash of black feathers through the leaves.
I hold up my hands for silence, and we huddle closely together.
I wish I’d been able to relay my plan to the team earlier, but it’s just come to me, so now I have to get them to understand with gestures and frantic pointing. I bend down and gather a handful of stones from the path.
I mimic sneaking up on the bird, and the team throwing stones to either side of it. If we can keep it focused on its sides, then we’re good from the front, and all I have to do is grab a feather.
Saudia shakes her head when I reach the point where I sneak up on the bird. She points to herself. I shake my head. She nods again. She points to me and mimics a hard tread, then points to herself and makes a gliding motion.
I get what she’s saying. I’m not exactly graceful. I reluctantly nod my agreement.
We split into two groups. Regal, Remy, and I take one side, and Perry, Quinn, and Langston take the other. Saudia hangs back, hidden by bushes.
We creep into place. My eyes never leave the bird. For something that can cause such an awful fate, it really does look like a harmless turkey. The green feathers on its head are so beautiful you would never associate them with danger. I guess that’s nature’s way of giving the bird some defenses being as it’s blind.
Perry raises his hand into the air, giving us a thumb up. I nod and put my thumbs-up to signal I’m ready. We’re all in place. Saudia gives us a thumbs-up, and we’re ready to put our plan into play.
I throw the first stone, and the bird swings its attention in our direction. We stay frozen still, not moving so much as an eyelid. The bird’s head stays focused in our direction for a moment, then it goes back to pecking at the ground.
Saudia inches forward. The bird’s head comes up; it was alerted by a noise so quiet I didn’t even hear it. A stone flies through the air from the other group, and the bird swings in their direction. Saudia creeps forward again.
I’m starting to think we’ve got this. Saudia is almost close enough to reach out and touch the bird. But suddenly, things go terribly wrong.
We hear something behind us. Crap. The witches are here, and they don’t look happy. The Gardu bird swings in the direction of the noise they’re making, its head only a quarter of an inch from Saudia’s shadow.
Langston’s shield stops the witches’ spells from harming us, but the noise startles the bird. It squawks, a crass, ugly sound, and swings in Saudia’s direction. She freezes, but it’s too late. The bird isn’t stopping, and its head is getting closer and closer to her shadow.
One peck, and it’s over for Saudia. She’s going to be sucked into her worst nightmare within seconds if we don’t do something.
“Hey, ugly. Over here,” I shout, getting to my feet.
I stomp my feet and clap my hands. The bird squawks again and spins towards me.
“No. Over here,” Langston shouts, following my lead.
The bird frantically spins this way and that, squawking its alarm. I almost feel sorry for it.
The witches aren’t done yet. They cast spells into the air, spells that make huge, booming sounds that drown out the noise we’re making.
The bird pauses and listens. The only noise it hears now is from the witches, and it turns towards them again.
Saudia takes her chance. She leaps into the air and dives over the bird, doing a flip above its head. Her shadow is out of range of the bird.
The witches see what’s happening and stop casting their noise-making spells. Saudia is on the ground in a half crouch behind the bird, no longer able to move freely; there are no sounds to cover those of her movements.
Regal is the first one to snap out of the panic that’s consumed us, and he throws a stone, distracting the bird again. Saudia creeps forward.
“Who dares to come here and have the audacity to try to take a feather from one of our birds?”
One of the witches steps forward. I assume she’s the coven leader.
She raises her hands, and Langston’s shield shreds and evaporates,
leaving us exposed. The bird swivels quickly at the tearing sound.
Her shadow falls within its range, and with a caw sound, it pecks at the ground encased in the shadow. She screams, an awful sound filled with pain. Her knees buckle, and she falls to the ground.
“We have to get out of here. Now,” Remy says.
She grabs me and pulls me to my feet. Regal jumps to his feet, and we run to where Saudia now stands. The other group runs towards us.
“The feather,” Perry shouts.
“Too late,” Langston says.
Quinn reaches us. She doesn’t give us a chance for any more discussion.
The witch lies sprawled on the ground, and the coven directs their attention back to us, their faces clouded with anger. The bird begins to turn in our direction.
Quinn waves her hands, and everything blinks out.
We land in a twisted heap of limbs in Valerie’s garden.
“We failed,” Remy says in shock as we begin to untangle ourselves from each other.
“We still have time. We have to go back,” I say.
“No way,” Perry says.
“You saw what the witches did to my shield. We wouldn’t stand a chance against them,” Langston adds.
“We could come up with a plan,” Regal interjects. “Quinn could make a mixture that could render the witches powerless or something.”
Quinn laughs. It’s a bitter, humorless laugh.
“Do you have any idea how long it would take to make something like that?” she demands.
Regal shakes his head.
“Neither do I. Because it’s impossible,” Quinn fires at him.
“Pest might know something,” I interject.
“Yeah, Pest is pretty smart, isn’t he?” Saudia says.
I nod.
Saudia grins as she pulls a Gardu tail feather out from behind her back.
She laughs at the surprise on our faces.
“I got it when I dove over the bird.” She grins.
“And why would you tell us right away when you could drag it out and toy with us? I, for one, am offended,” Perry says, mocking insult.
“Exactly,” Saudia agrees.
I roll my eyes.
“Nice job,” I say. “Now let’s go and see what death mission we get sent on next.”
We all pile back into Valerie’s house and take our places. Valerie looks us all over and consults the timer.
“Well, well, well,” she says. “You know, I honestly thought at least one or two of you wouldn’t make it back. And certainly not this quickly.”
According to Valerie’s clock, we still had just over eighteen hours left to complete the mission.
“Hand it over then. I need to make sure it’s real,” she says.
“It’s real alright,” Saudia says as she hands Valerie the feather.
Valerie clicks her fingers, and a small sandy-colored Chihuahua runs into the room and jumps onto Valerie’s lap.
“Say hi to the nice people, Sam,” Valerie coos at the dog as she scratches behind its ears.
She waits a moment.
“No?” she says to Sam.
She looks up at us with a laugh. “He never was one to be social.”
She places the feather under Sam’s nose. His snout wrinkles and he makes a low growling sound, showing his white, pointy teeth.
“I think so too,” she says to him, moving the feather away.
Sam goes back to his less grouchy self and settles down on Valerie’s lap. She fondles his ears as she talks to us.
“It’s real. I’m impressed. Are you impressed, Sam?”
Sam doesn’t move or give any indication as to whether or not he’s impressed by the feather.
“I guess I’ll have to make the second quest a bit harder,” Valerie muses, “being that you found that one so easy.”
“Or you could stop playing games and just help us,” I snap.
“But where’s the fun in that?” Valerie says.
She sits pondering our fate, her chin resting on one hand. Her fingers drum out a gentle rhythm against her cheek. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. She knows exactly what the next object is. She’s just playing with us.
“Ooh,” she says, her eyes lighting up. “I could ask for a giant’s eyelash.”
“What on earth would you want a giant’s eyelash for?” Remy asks.
“Oh I wouldn’t, but it sure would be fun watching you lot trying to climb the beanstalk.”
I no longer know if Valerie is serious or not.
“Or I could ask for the golden egg of a dragon. But I suppose I have to make it fair and give at least one of you a chance of coming back alive. Otherwise, I’ll never get the third object. And the third one is always the best. Don’t you agree?”
No one answers her, but it doesn’t seem to bother her.
“Or how about a werewolf cub? Do you think that would be a good playmate for Sam?”
“I think it would probably eat him,” Langston ventures.
“Ahh, I guess you’re right. So what can I ask for?”
She pretends to think a moment longer. I’m just about to lose patience when she finally speaks again.
“Oh, I’ve got it,” she says with a wicked grin. “A few years back, I got into a bit of a fight with the warlock Davis. You know him?”
We all shake our heads.
“Yeah. He’s pretty unforgettable. He took something from me. A vial of fairy dust. He placed it inside the branches of a tree on an island in the middle of the ocean. He enchanted that island, heavily. I mean, who does that? Who takes something that doesn’t belong to them for their own purpose?”
The irony of her words is not lost on me, but I decide against pointing it out. I get the feeling it was a rhetorical question.
“I killed Davis, thinking that would be the end of the enchantment. But no. He was a little bit more powerful than I gave him credit for, and his enchantment still exists. Now for you, it won’t be a problem. All you have to do is solve the riddle, and you can walk right on up to the island. The problem is finding the damn thing.”
“You mean you don’t know which island the dust is on?” I ask.
Valerie shakes her head.
“Oh no. I know exactly which island it’s on. It’s on the Lost Island of Kavan. But the lost part is literal.”
“So, we have to find the island? And then solve the riddle and get the dust?” I clarify.
Valerie nods. Her smile tells me there’s more to it, but I sense she’s told us everything she’s willing to tell us.
She waves her hand towards the clock face, which still hovers in the air counting down the time for our last mission. The dials reset to zero.
“Now I’m not unreasonable. I appreciate that you’re looking for something that no one has ever been able to find. So, I’m giving you a full seventy-two hours for this one.”
At her words, the timer displays seventy-two hours and immediately begins counting down.
Our first stop is naturally the bookstore. I remember the pile of books Sadie left there, the ones that gave me the answers I needed the last time I had to find something no one else could.
We sit scattered around the now closed bookstore, flicking through the pages.
“Oh, this is hopeless,” Remy says, slamming the book she’s looking at closed.
I know what she means. I’m getting mighty sick of having quests within quests within quests.
“It’s not hopeless,” Perry says. “There’s always hope, Remy. We can hope we die of boredom quickly.”
“You know what? Screw it,” I say, closing my book too.
“We can’t just give up,” Saudia says quietly.
“I’m not giving up. But it’s been a long day, and I think we all deserve a break. Take the night off. What’s left of it. And we’ll meet back here in the morning and brainstorm a way to find this stupid island.”
“Is that a good idea?” Saudia asks.
I shrug.
; “I don’t know. But it’s the best one we’ve got.”
Langston stands up, not wanting to hang around and give me a chance to change my mind.
“I’m going to go see Drew then. If you’re sure.”
I nod.
“I’ll come with you,” Perry says.
Langston shakes her head.
“I want to spend some time alone with him. Do you mind?”
Perry studies her for a moment.
“Honestly, Perry, I’m fine. I just want to have some alone time.”
Perry seems to accept that.
“Go ahead,” he says. “Call me if you change your mind.”
“I will. Thanks,” she says.
She hurries away.
Remy stands up and stretches.
“See you guys tomorrow,” she says.
“Where are you going?” Regal demands.
“Somewhere you aren’t,” Remy fires back.
Saudia pulls her cell phone out and types out a text message.
“We all know where you’re going, Remy,” Regal snaps. “Just sit down. I don’t have the energy to follow you tonight.”
“So, don’t then. I’m going for a walk, and then I’m going home. Okay?”
Quinn speaks up. “Regal, let her go, you have to trust her. She’s a grown woman.”.
“Whose side are you on? Like it’s not obvious,” Regal snaps at Quinn as Remy throws her a grateful smile.
The three of them are still arguing when Saudia gets a text message in return and stands up with a grin.
“Well, I’m off to see Tracey. Catch up soon,” she says.
“Really?” Perry demands.
“Really. Why do you have such a problem with this? Tracey has changed.”
“Once a junkie, always a junkie,” Perry says.
Saudia’s mouth drops open.
“How dare you? You don’t know the first thing about addiction, so just get off my fucking case.”
“It ruins lives, Saudia. It almost ended yours. Please don’t make the same mistake I made,” Perry says softly.
Some of the anger drains out of Saudia. Her face softens a little.
“What are you talking about?” she asks.