Nonetheless, Abeke steadied herself and prepared to fire.
Until Rollan lunged upward, thrusting his dagger at the crocodile and bringing himself into the shot.
Abeke cursed. She lowered the bow and stole around to the crocodile’s flank. With the disadvantage of coming in from below, Rollan was probably hoping to knock Shane off his mount. And since Rollan’s sword arm was his right, Abeke thought she had a good idea where Shane would fall.
She and Uraza would be waiting.
Somehow, Rollan got to his feet astride the crocodile, crouched low and balancing, like he was surfing the bucking beast. Abeke was impressed — when had he become such a capable fighter? Maybe he could take Shane down in one strike. Still, Abeke readied the bowstring again, drew it back so her thumb was tight against her cheek. Whether from Rollan’s strike, Uraza’s bite, or Abeke’s quarrel, this battle would be over soon.
And then the room went black.
Abeke lowered the bow in confusion, blinking her eyes. What was happening?
The sunlight returned, then it vanished again. Astonished, Abeke looked up to the circle of sky, flickering at the ceiling of the hall. An absolutely enormous creature was hovering in the open space, at moments blocking it entirely and eclipsing the sun. Then it lowered, and Abeke realized she was seeing some kind of giant bird.
In the eerie flashing darkness, the room went still. Shane, Greencloaks, and spirit animals all froze, staring up at the massive bird. It had a sharp, noble prow and hooked beak, and with a start, Abeke realized what she was seeing: Halawir the Eagle. He was enormous — whenever he flapped, Halawir’s wingtips grazed opposite walls of the massive hall.
It took a few moments for the gusting of Halawir’s wingbeats to make its way down to the floor. The moment it did, Abeke was off her feet. The wind was so fierce that it sounded like the air itself was panicked and screaming. The squall blew her toward the wall, and out of the corner of her eye she saw even large Briggan lose his footing under the blast of wind, despite how ferociously his claws dug into the stone floor. Abeke could see Conor shouting where he was pinned against the wall, but she couldn’t hear a word of it.
Only the giant crocodile was massive enough to resist the blasting wind as Halawir descended. Shane pressed himself flat on its back, gripping the reptile’s scales as his body shuddered under the gusts. Poor Uraza tried to take shelter against the crocodile’s side, but finally lost her grip, claws leaving great gouges in the stone floor as she skittered across and came to rest on her side between a bench and the wall.
Abeke wanted to look away, her eyes tearing and screaming under the wind. But she forced herself to watch.
Once he was near the floor, Halawir folded his great wings and landed. The giant eagle, handsome with gray-blue plumage, stared at Shane with black and emotionless eyes. His beak was at least two feet long, and curved down into a sharp point. One strike with it would end anyone.
Abeke got to her feet and saw the others and their spirit animals do the same. Essix shrieked, and Halawir cocked his head toward her, listening. Then the eagle turned his attention back to Shane.
Abeke expected Shane to shrink away in fear, but he was unperturbed. He tapped his chest, and the crocodile disappeared into dormant form. Rollan plummeted to the floor, striking it with a loud thud, but Halawir caught Shane in his beak before he fell, and set him gently on his feet.
Why would Halawir do that?
Halawir was supposed to be guarding Kovo’s prison. Why was he here? And why would he catch Shane to prevent him from falling?
The answer was obvious, and felt impossible.
Halawir was on Shane’s side.
Without pausing, Shane lunged for the talismans decorating the end of Tarik’s sarcophagus. As soon as he had their ribbons under his fingers, he lifted them into the air victoriously.
Uraza was the first one to arrive. A frenzied blur of yellow, she leaped for Shane. But before she could get her jaws around Shane’s thigh, Halawir had unfurled his wings again and beat them once, sending the leopard skittering across the hall under the roaring wind.
All Abeke could do was watch, numb.
Shane was knocked off his feet too, but managed to keep his grip on the talismans. Halawir dexterously lashed out with one foot and caught the boy’s waist in his talons. Then the other foot was around Shane’s torso, cradling his body tightly, and with a victorious shriek Halawir beat his wings, rising into the air.
Abeke could barely muster the strength to face into the eagle’s powerful thrusts, but she forced herself. She let loose a quarrel, but it shuddered and stilled in the screaming typhoon wind, clattering to the ground. Gritting her teeth, Abeke struggled to fit another quarrel to the bowstring. She saw Halawir give one mighty thrust and then furl his wings, shooting up out of the great hall. The Great Beast disappeared into the sky, along with Shane.
And the talismans.
Essix tried to launch after Halawir, but the falcon must have been wounded in the fight. She managed to get a dozen feet into the air, but then had to come back to the ground, one wing dragging.
There was a long stretch filled only with the moans of wounded Greencloaks and the cries of their spirit animals. Then, slowly, the surviving Greencloaks got to their feet. Olvan was bleeding from a blow to the head, and brought his moose back to passive form rather than have him suffer with a broken ankle. Uraza limped, one paw held tenderly in the air. Briggan shook his head, as if to clear it of some pain inside. Conor clutched his neck. Rollan was stunned, staring down at the dagger that so recently had been lodged in the giant crocodile’s hide. Then he looked over at Abeke.
She’d never seen an expression of such defeat. Even now, after the shock of Halawir’s rapid entrance and betrayal, she knew that it was all her fault.
Abeke put her face into her hands.
Olvan was the first to speak. “Halawir has betrayed us. That means we must fear the worst: Kovo is free, or soon will be.”
And Abeke, Abeke thought. I betrayed you as well. If it weren’t for me, none of this would have happened.
Olvan had never been one to dwell on losses, instead always pointing them toward the next fight. But tears were pooling in the elder Greencloak’s eyes. Abeke had never seen him anywhere close to crying. The sight of it set her own heart breaking.
“That’s it,” Olvan said. “The Conquerors have all our talismans. Nothing can stop them now.”
BACK WHEN HE’D BEEN NO MORE THAN A SHEPHERD BOY tending his family’s flock, Conor used to sit on a ruined wall in the meadow near his home, spending his moments of boredom turning over stones and seeing what lay beneath. This night was like the underside of one of those misty meadow stones: moist, deep gray, craggy.
He and Abeke stood at the parapets of Greenhaven Castle, staring out over the darkened shoreline. Moonlight played on distant wave caps — somewhere out there Shane’s boat was still moored, derelict. He had no need of it, not with Halawir to carry him away. The battle had taken place that morning; the Devourer was long gone by now.
Conor massaged the spot where his neck met his skull. His head was still throbbing from being knocked hard against the flagstones of the great hall. Abeke noticed Conor rubbing his head and sighed, staring glumly into the night. She’d spent the afternoon and early evening apologizing. Clearly she was sick of her own voice.
“It could have all gone worse, you know,” Conor said. When she didn’t respond, he continued, “I mean, the ground could have turned into molten lava or something.”
Abeke smiled, but there was no joy in it. Her eyes looked red and tired from crying.
“From what you’ve told me,” Conor said, “it sounds like you were a huge help to Meilin. After everything that happened in Oceanus … it was big of you.”
Abeke sighed. “She’s my friend. I had no option but to love her, whatever she did.”
“Exactly. I guess all I’m trying to say is that there are worse things than trusting people, you know? Sh
ane tricked you, but that’s about him — not you. Your heart isn’t hard, and I count that as a good thing.”
“You’re being nice to me. I don’t deserve that.”
“Shane tricked all of us, Abeke. He brought Gar’s wolverine with him that first time we fought Arax, and again at Dinesh’s temple. And Gar meant for the Greencloaks to believe that he was the real Devourer. If he hadn’t died, we would never have realized that the wolverine was actually his spirit animal. Gerathon probably killed Drina in front of you precisely to get you to trust that Shane had a good reason to leave the Conquerors. We all fell for it. All of us. Not just you.”
Abeke remained silent, her face impassive. Conor picked a stray pebble on the battlement and pitched it into the night. “Of course, if you want to wallow, please wallow away. Don’t let me stop you.”
“Thank you,” Abeke said. Then she gave a long, guttering sigh. “Thank you for telling me about my family too.”
“I’m sorry,” Conor said. “I really am. I feel like you and I have always put a lot of faith in our families, and yours … It can’t have been easy growing up alongside people who didn’t value you. It made me so angry, Abeke. For your sake.”
Abeke shut her eyes for a long moment. “I can understand why you’re angry, but Pojalo is still my father. It’s hard for me to feel mad at him. All I feel is confused. But if there’s one thing I’m coming to realize, it’s that some bonds aren’t unconditional. Sometimes the family you find can be better for you than the one you grew up trusting.”
Conor slid closer and gently put his arm around Abeke’s shoulder. “I think of you as family too,” he said.
The torchlight flickered, and Conor turned to see Uraza standing in the doorway, her fur spotted orange in the ruddy fire glow. Abeke’s back straightened.
“What is it?” Conor whispered.
“I think someone’s in the great hall,” Abeke answered. And then, noiselessly, she and Uraza were off.
Conor struggled to keep up, his booted feet clomping as he bolted after the silent pair. Briggan joined him on the way, and the four were soon standing at the entrance to the great hall.
Abeke held a finger to her lips and eased the door open, wincing when the hinges creaked. They crept into the cavernous space as quietly as they could, two humans and two animals, all alert.
A cloaked figure leaned into Tarik’s ceremonial sarcophagus, trying to climb inside, one foot on its carved edge. Conor had his ax on him — no way was he going to let it leave his side after the day’s events — and quietly eased it from his belt.
Abeke had her bow out and nocked an arrow. While Uraza stole forward, she drew back the string.
At the sound of the creaking catgut, the figure whirled to face them. Abeke’s fingers trembled, and the surprise of seeing Rollan’s face made her let go of the string. She fell as she did, sending the arrow flying safely into the sky.
Rollan had a hand over his mouth, shocked at how close he’d come to death. Then his face shifted into its usual mocking smile. “Don’t you think you have enough to feel guilty about without killing me too?”
“What are you thinking, sneaking around like that?” Abeke hollered, leaping to her feet. “When we’re all on edge … I could have killed you!”
“Not with aim like that, you couldn’t.”
Briggan whined, and Conor shook his head. “Enough, guys.”
“I thought you went to bed right after dinner,” Abeke said.
“I did go to bed,” Rollan said. “And then I got right back out. You think I could sleep after a day like today? Come on over, and I’ll show you what I was doing.”
“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Conor asked as he approached. His hand shook with nerves as he placed the ax back into his belt.
“After everything that happened today, I wasn’t sure who we could trust. I didn’t want to do this in front of everyone, but I have complete faith in you two, of course. Give me a boost and I’ll show you.”
Conor held out two interlaced hands, and Rollan placed his foot in them. After Conor had boosted him up, Rollan clutched the edge of the sarcophagus. Leaning in deep, he fished around.
“What are you doing?” Abeke asked.
Finally Rollan emerged and leaped back to the floor. He lifted his hand into the air. Two items dangled from it, clattering together.
The Granite Ram of Arax. The Coral Octopus of Mulop.
“We still have two of the talismans!” Conor said, clapping in joy.
“So all’s not lost,” Abeke breathed. She threw her arms around Rollan. “You’re amazing!”
“That’s what I keep trying to tell you guys,” Rollan said with a grin.
“Just think!” Abeke said. “We still have a chance. If we can manage to protect these two talismans, the Devourer can’t complete his plan.”
“Nilo and Zhong are overrun,” Rollan said, sighing ruefully. “Kovo will be out of his prison soon, if what Mulop told us is true. Halawir is a traitor, and the Devourer — the real Devourer — has twelve talismans. Even if Tellun himself bounded in here with party hats, I’m not sure there would be any reason to celebrate.”
“I don’t care,” Abeke said. “Seeing those has me feeling good for the first time today.”
Conor looked at the two talismans in Rollan’s hands. They were such small things, and yet essential to the very fate of the world. The moonlight streaming in iced their edges, its gleam reflecting in his friends’ eyes.
He put one arm around Rollan and another around Abeke. Together, they stared through the open ceiling of the great hall into the night sky, where a splash of stars winked through the clouds.
To Conor, they almost looked like an arrow pointing the way south, to Stetriol. The Conquerors’ home.
“We have two talismans,” he said. “And we know who has the rest. So let’s get moving.”
Eliot Schrefer is the National Book Award finalist author of Endangered, about a girl surviving wartime in Congo with an orphaned ape. His research for his Great Ape Quartet books has led him to a bonobo sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo and on a boat trek through the jungles of Borneo. He once worked as a sea turtle research assistant and had many fish while growing up, of which only the catfish survived.
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Book Seven
The Evertree
By Marie Lu
IT WAS A COLD, DRIZZLY MORNING AT GREENHAVEN CASTLE. Rollan wrapped his cloak — Tarik’s old green cloak, rather — more tightly around his shoulders and wandered out to the main entrance, where he’d seen Abeke surveying the overcast landscape with Uraza at her side. The Coral Octopus hung heavily around his neck, bumping against his chest with every step he took. He found himself reaching up frequently to touch it. After all that had happened — Shane’s betrayal, Meilin’s turning, Tarik’s death — he couldn’t afford to lose one of their two remaining talismans.
How long had it been since Shane escaped with the talismans? A few weeks? Somehow, the whole thing felt like it’d happened yesterday. And here they were, still gathering Greencloaks from around the world, building up their forces to face the Conquerors. Rollan’s mouth tightened in frustration. If Tarik were here, he would tell Rollan not to worry, to calm down and think clearly, to let himself grieve and then move forward with a clear, patient head. But all Rollan could do these days was pace restlessly in the castle, waiting for the word that they could head out to retrieve the talismans, stop Kovo the Ape, and rescue Meilin.
And rescue Meilin.
His fingers stopped fiddling with the Coral Octopus for a moment, suspended by the weight of the thought. Rescuing her felt impossible. Sometimes, when he chatted wit
h the others, he found himself looking for Meilin so that he could tell her the newest joke in his head. He would yearn to make her laugh, only to realize that she wasn’t there. She was far away.
Rollan sighed. He couldn’t afford to keep thinking about all that had gone wrong. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to pretend that Tarik was still wandering around somewhere in the castle, that Meilin was asleep in her chambers upstairs. He knew neither was true, but right now, he could force himself to believe, and it kept his darker thoughts at bay.
The weather. That was a much safer thought. I’ll think about the weather.
For the fifteenth time that morning, Rollan considered how odd the weather had been. This was supposed to be the dry season, but for the past week, as Olvan organized their forces in preparation to leave, they’d gotten nothing but gray skies and steady rain. Even the animals were behaving oddly all of a sudden. The birds were migrating early, for one, and when Rollan looked overhead, he could see another flock heading south in two giant V formations.
“Go ahead, Essix,” he murmured to his gyrfalcon, who sat perched on his shoulder. If she kept putting her full weight on him like this, he was going to get a sore back for sure. “I know you want to hunt.”
But even Essix seemed out of sorts. She chirped a little, fluffed her neck feathers to shake out water droplets, and settled in even more. She seemed completely content to stay put, instead of heading out for a good hunt. Rollan watched her for a while. When she just went back to preening her tail feathers, he tried to ignore his aching shoulder and decided he’d better leave her be. Far be it from him to judge her sullen mood.
Maybe she loathed waiting around just as much as Rollan did.
By the time he reached the castle entrance, the drizzle had turned into a steady rain. The water beaded on the fabric of his cloak before soaking through. Uraza watched them approach. Her tail swished back and forth. Even though she wasn’t his spirit animal, Rollan guessed she probably felt a little impatient with all the waiting too.
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