by J W Murison
Gareth closed his eyes for a moment, ‘they are fine, the worst of the storm has passed them by. The winds and waves are beginning to subside. They believe themselves safe.’
‘That is good, I will return home, Amber will take you to where you need to go. I will see you soon son to be.’
They clasped arms and Grey Eagle guided them to the stream. He waved once and was gone. Amber reached out and grasped Gareth's hand and a moment later they were standing high up on a mountain. It took Gareth barely a moment to adjust. It was lighter up here and dawn was stretching out its fingers across vast plains below. They stood and watched it silently still holding hands. Amber’s knees trembled with anticipation but still she could not drag her eyes from the scene opening up below. She wanted to saviour every moment of it.
‘Have you ever been so high up?’ she breathed.
Gareth smiled and took a deep breath, ‘aye, many a time, this is but a foothill to where we come from Amber, our mountains are so high even the Eagle’s can’t survive; only we can.’
‘Truly!’
He nodded, ‘aye, yet I can’t deny you the beauty of this place, of all the places I've been married I think this is the nicest.’ She gave him a strange look and he realised maybe mentioning his other wives wasn’t the best thing to say at this moment. ‘Sorry, let’s just enjoy the view for a while.’
She smiled and leaned against him, ‘there was no rush now, she was here, this was her moment. They didn’t go into the small cave until the sun was fully up and Amber had just the place in mind for some privacy afterwards.
CHAPTER 44
Gareth woke slowly. The warm body at his side stirred in gentle slumber. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times. A small chink of light shone directly onto his eyes. He moved his head to the side a little and he became aware of the dark interior of the hut they lay in. It must have been built a long time ago. The mud that coated the outside walls had mostly fallen off and sunlight streamed through the hundreds of small holes.
It was a shit hole of the worst kind, luckily for them it hadn’t rained. This perfect spot was on the plains below the mountains. Normally the newlywed Eagles would have glided to the spot, while Amber had to transport him to another small stream a few miles away from it and they had walked the rest of the way. Gareth almost refused to step inside it so dilapidated was the small hut but the look in Ambers eyes kept his mouth firmly shut. That look had transformed into a long night of passion, she had been insatiable despite being it her first night and very tender. Her curiosity was boundless; she seemed to want to try out everything she had ever heard about. It had left them both exhausted and tender.
Gareth slipped from the pile of furs which were quite fresh, the only thing about the place that was. The sun was bright and he walked round the back of the hut to relieve himself. It was midday and he was very hungry. He went back in and gathered his cloths and weapons. Taking his bow from its watertight container he strung it and went hunting. Twenty minutes later he came across a small hog of some kind and an arrow through its heart killed it clean.
Back at the hut he quickly built a fire and soon had strips of hog roasting on a rack above. He sat on a log and took in the scene around him idly scratching his ring finger which had begun to itch. The forest behind him grew giant trees the grass before him was as green as he had ever seen and stretched for as far as the eye could see. To his right the mountains rose straight up out of the grass in the same manner as a tree. At home there were foothills that took a traveller gently upwards, but not here. It was awe-inspiring, almost like a cliff from the ocean but here there was no undercut by tide and waves. At places small piles of boulders sat at the bottom of the mastiff.
There was a groan from behind him, he didn’t need to turn around, ‘do I smell food.’
He smiled, ‘indeed you do.’ She fell naked into his lap and he was forced to catch her.
‘You didn’t tell me sex makes you very hungry, is it ready.’
‘It should be, how are you feeling?’
‘Sore but bloody marvelous.’
They laughed together; Gareth speared a piece of meat and offered it to her. She sat up on his slap and sank her teeth into the hot meat.
‘Good?’ He asked.
‘The best,’ she mumbled past a hot piece of pork.
They ate in silence until both were full then they walked to the stream for a wash. Invigorated she pulled him down on top of her on the bank. Despite her tender nature they made love again and then again once they reached camp. Gareth decided another night away from the ship wouldn’t harm them any.
When they reached the beach the following morning it was to be met by the sight of two ships hauling on the third. They sat and watched. It took another hour before the third ship was dragged clear and the admiral sent a long boat for them.
The seamen looked exhausted, ‘how goes it?’ He asked the admiral.
‘I’ll have a report for you soon sir.’
‘I will get out of your hair then.’
As hour later the admiral knocked on his door. He saluted briskly, ‘all three ships have sustained some damage sir but nothing serious, all hulls are sound.’
‘That’s good to hear. You did a bloody marvelous job admiral you and all the men, but you are all exhausted. Feed the men hot food and also a little grog. Minimum watch tonight, everyone gets a good night’s rest including you.’
The admiral smiled, ‘sounds good to me Sire.’
‘You can also tell the men I will show my appreciation when we get home.’
The admiral managed a smile, ‘I will let them know Sire.’
Within a week they were under way sailing south. By the time they left Gareth was in great discomfort. The itching on his ring finger had gotten steadily worse and had begun to swell. A few days later his whole hand had swollen up and even his arm was showing signs of it. His healers didn’t know what had caused it some believed it was an insect bite. The pain became excruciating then the fever hit him. As they sailed on into the unknown, Gareth slipped into unconsciousness.
CHAPTER 45
Teal soared high, higher than any eagle of his race had before and he knew it. It gave him a sense of joy he knew few could match. The air was so thin flying was a precarious business. He cried out in joy. Far below Alex and Brandi watched with something akin to envy.
Brandi held a hand up to his face, ‘man he’s getting awfa high.’
Alex snorted, ‘he’s going to break his fucking neck one day.’
Brandi nodded, ‘aye and nah doubt we’ll get the blame.’
‘Nothing surer,’ Alex agreed. ‘Still wish I could fly.’
Brandi raised an eyebrow, ‘thought you said it was the last thing you would ever want to do.’
Alex nodded, ‘I was lying.’ Both boys burst out laughing. ‘Admit it Brandi, you would if you could.’
Brandi sighed, ‘aye yer right man, but there was no way I was ever going to admit that to Teal, he used to be such a stuck up fucking prick.’
Both boys ginned at using the bad language which they were strictly forbidden to use at home. ‘He’s no so bad now though,’ Alex admitted.
In fact Teal was proving himself to be the best of the three of them at working metal. Brandi and Alex however were better at swinging a sword than Teal and were pretty evenly matched. Brandi was slightly lighter but a bit quicker something he tried to use to his advantage. Despite this they were all still weaker than the boys that were born here but taller. They were filling out fast though and the hard work from the forge meant that they were no longer at a serious disadvantage, in fact the three of them together proved to be quite formidable and none of the local boys tried to take advantage anymore.
They fought hard with each other. Alex and Brandi both had a head for tactics while Teal was the mathematician. He learned to read fluently long before the other two. He also had a good head for tactics but it wasn’t a part of his schooling he enjoyed.
Suddenl
y Teal let out a warning screech and something arched up into the sky. Teal took avoiding action as an arrow whipped past. He dived away accelerating as he went. More arrows followed him and he dogged them until he was out of range. It didn’t take him long to reach his brother and transform.
‘What the hell’s going on Teal?’ Alex asked.
‘It’s that three bastard we ended up having a fight with last week when we visited the girls.’
Brandi scratched his head, ‘their cousins. Teal nodded. ‘We kicked their arses.’
Teal grinned, ‘Aye well looks like they aren’t happy about it. Two of them have swords, the other has a bow.’
Alex shrugged and turned away, ‘better go home then.’
‘Hey wait, the bastards shot at me.’
Alex turned back for a moment, ‘we aren’t armed Teal, what the fuck can we do but try again next week but take our swords with us.’
Brandi butted in, ‘If we come back here with swords and someone gets killed all hells going to break lose, best tell grandfather, he will sort it out. We've all been warned, a fist fight is one thing but blades could start a clan war.’
‘I don’t give a shit,’ Teal growled, ‘I’m not letting those bastards away with it.’
Alex shook his head, ‘it ain’t worth it brother, let’s just go home.’
Brandi pointed, ‘aye and we had better do it fast, those bastards are coming after us.’
With a glance the three boys took to their heels. The three Fraser cousins were a fair distance away but they had laid their ambush well and were nearer Fraser land than Ogilvie. They began to gain ground fast.
Teal took to the wing and with a flick of a tail swept over his companions head. His sharp eyes spotted what he was looking for and without losing speed grabbed a rock sitting atop a boulder. He clawed for height and once a mile away turned back going into a shallow dive. He began to pick up a tremendous amount of speed. He shot over the heads Alex and Brandi and raced for the Frasers. The bowman stopped and took aim. Teal was able to avoid the arrows with ease, his aim was true and the rock struck one of the swordsmen a glancing blow with a rock on the shoulder.
The screaming teenager was spun off his feet. With a flick of his tail Teal swept down into some dead ground and out of sight of the bowman. Circling wide he clawed for height. The teenager had already regained his feet, but when they began to run he quickly began to lose ground.
Teal touched down beside Alex and they ran together for a moment. ‘I managed to clobber one with a rock, he’s ok but it’s slowed them down a little.’
Alex wiped his brow, ‘go let grandfather know what's happening Teal; he will meet us on the road.’
‘On it,’ Teal sprinted forward a few steps and launched himself into the air; it wasn’t long before he was lost to sight. Brandi and Alex, settled into a ground-eating pace that they could maintain for most of the day, but a glance told Alex that it wouldn’t be enough. He made swift calculations in his mind and realised the chances that the Frasers would catch them before help arrived was very good. Already the injured boy had recovered enough to catch up with his companions. Once they got within bow range they would be in trouble.
John Ogilvie was sitting outside his forge enjoying a cool skin of wine with his oldest friend when he saw Teal approaching at breath-neck speed. ‘That damn fool boy is going to kill himself one day.’ He growled to Hughie.
Hughie shook his head with a wry grin, ‘you have a grandson that can not only turn himself into an eagle but can blood fly as well. I don’t think you have a bloody clue as to what that laddie can or can’t do John. It’s not like a bloody mountain is going to jump out in front of him is it.’
‘Maybe no, but one day he will fly to high and lose consciousness and fall to his death.’
Hughie shrugged, ‘you may have a point, but he looks to be in a hurry. Do you think something might be wrong?’
John frowned, ‘aye maybe, they were supposed to be visiting those Fraser lassies today.’
‘Thought you warned them off.’
‘I did, but they took no head of me, so I sent a note to their fathers a few months ago. They thanked me and assured me they had no objections to my lads visiting their daughters and that they would make sure they were properly chaperoned while visiting.’
Hughie humph, ‘you never told me that. They’re still a bit young to need chaperoned though.’
‘I don’t have to tell you everything Hughie.’
‘Shite, you do have to tell me everything.’
John grinned, ‘aye well I’m telling you now. They might be a little young to be chaperoned but it’s good for them to learn our ways when they are young.’
They didn’t have long to wait. A naked Teal transformed and slid to a halt at his grandfather’s feet. John helped him up.
‘Whoa laddie, where’s the fire?’ Teal blurted out his story. John listened, his fear and anger growing. He quickly weighed up their options. ‘Teal, grab your swords and Targes, if you can manage, get them back to your brothers so you can at least defend yourselves.’
‘Yes grandfather.’
Teal rushed off to grab the weapons. He stuffed them in and old fishing net and was soon on his way back. John grabbed half a dozen men and within ten minutes they too were running to their aid.
By the time Teal returned with the weapons he was getting tired. The two boys still had a commanding lead but the few seconds they took to sort out the weapons cost them precious ground. They took to their heels again but the pace soon began to tell on Teal.
Alex noticed he had begun to slow down. ‘Teal take to the wing, catch a thermal or glide, try and catch your breath.’
Teal had wanted to face the danger with his brothers on the ground, but Alex’s tone left no room for argument and Teal knew he was near spent; so he took to the wing once more. He gained some height and floated lazily on a thermal above his racing brothers. From there he began to watch the drama unfold. Alex and Brandi were sure footed and fleet, but the older boys were just a touch faster. Three miles farther on the bowman tried an arrow. It landed a hundred meters short of the two running boys and Teal knew within another mile or so they would be in range. He swept round a bend and landed on a ledge high on a cliff face. With his talons he managed to work lose a solid block of rock twice the size of his human fist; then he waited.
It wasn’t long before Brandi and Alex appeared below and raced past. He sat deathly still as the Fraser boys sped past. They never seemed to notice him. When they were far enough he stretched his wings and dove of the cliff. He picked up speed quickly. Just as the Fraser bowman stopped to fire another arrow, Teal let go the boulder. The boulder whipped past him and struck the largest and fastest member of the group square between the shoulder blades. Teal screamed with triumph as the lad went down howling with the pain. The bowman jumped with fright and the arrow went wide of its mark. Teal raced to catch up with his brothers, flicking his tail and dodging any farther arrows that might have been fired at him.
He hit the ground laughing. It lifted their spirits and by the time Teal took to the wing again they had gained half a mile on the older boys. The race began again. Teal forged forward and located his grandfather and a small band of warriors racing to the boys rescue, and judged it might be a close run thing. He decided to take things into his own hands once again; he located a ledge and waited. When they passed he took to the wing again, following behind their pursuers.
The Frasers seemed to realise their time was running out and put in a supreme effort. They were catching up fast. Teal decided it was time to act. He swung towards the nearest cliff face and pulled free two fist sized rocks from a small slide. Gaining as much height as possible he began a long shallow dive, picking up speed as he went. At the last moment just as he released the rocks one of the pursuers snapped a look backwards and spotted him. He cried out and the Fraser boys dove out of the path of the falling rocks. Teal cried out in frustration as the speeding rocks zipped pa
st his foe without causing casualties.
Instead of staying low and jinking Teal swung high to get a better view of the Frasers. It was a mistake. The arrow caught him at the root of his left wing and went all the way through. With a scream of agony Teal fell from the sky. He hit the ground and rolled to a stop. With a roar of triumph the Frasers dashed forward to claim their prize.
Alex and Brandi heard Teal cry of pain and stopped their headlong flight. They saw him tumble to the heather and the Frasers shout of triumph. They didn’t even hesitate. They turned back and raced to his aid. They reached the crumpled form of the Eagle before the Frasers reached him and prepared to defend him with their lives.
The Fraser boys skidded to a halt a few feet away breathing hard, triumph in their eyes. The bowman looked as proud as punch and drew another arrow. Alex and Brandi stood shoulder to shoulder hunkering down behind their Targes. The first arrow smacked into Alex’s shield but didn’t penetrate. The second hit Brandi’s shield, it held also.
‘Stop fucking about with that bow and draw your sword.’ The oldest growled, ‘let’s take the little bastards.’
A war horn snatched their attention and to their horror a line of Ogilvie's appeared from a small dip in the ground a few hundred meters away. Their courage fled and as one they turned and ran.
John trotted up a few minutes later. Alex and Brandi were standing shaking over the crumpled body of Teal. John rolled the body of the Eagle over gently. Teal’s eyes flickered open.
‘Can you hear me Teal,’ John asked gently, ‘can you transform back into human form so we can access your wounds lad.’ A moment later Teal transformed and John inspected the wounded limb. He pulled a packet of salt from his sporran and a clean bandage.
‘This is going to hurt Teal but it will clean the wound and prevent any infection. You’ve been shot through the muscles between your arm and your chest. I don’t think it’s touched any bones. You’ve been very luck.’
But Teal felt far from lucky and when John poured on the salt, the pain was too much and he slipped into unconsciousness. John bound the wound and picked him up. The boys looked exhausted, but they got to their feet and hoisted their Targes and claymores. He nodded with satisfaction and pride, then turned to Hughie.