But Ode did not care, and he went on running. He did not want to return to the Wild Lands, and he did not want to take the fate of the realm on his shoulders. He just wanted to be in the mountains with Briar. If he could reach her, then together they would find Arrow and retreat to their cave. He did not want to let go of his dreams.
Ode could barely see in the faint moonlight and he almost slipped off a ledge as he ran. Finally, panting and damp with sweat, he reached his and Briar’s old meeting place and with a surge of relief, he came to a halt. Dumping the heavy sack of provisions on the ground, he looked around, expecting to see a silver shadow lurking between the rocks.
“Briar?” he called softly. “Briar?”
He hoped she had not been waiting long. Perhaps she was on the other side of the mountain pass. Ode clambered across the rocks, but still he could not see her. He went back and doubt began to creep over him. He did not know what he would do if she had been caught leaving the temple.
“Arrow?” he called instead. “Arrow?”
Cala had said that his companion was safe, and Ode hoped that meant the wolf was nearby on the mountainside. When he found Briar, they would both go looking for Arrow.
Ode paced back and forth, trying to push all thoughts of Cala from his mind. Then he saw something that made him pause. A print in the mud. Spring rain had fallen the night before, turning the dusty ground soft, and stamped into the earth between the rocks was the indent of a snow leopard’s paw.
Ode looked around again, but he could still see nothing.
“Briar?” he called louder this time. “Briar!”
He heard a click behind him and turned to see the barrel of a rifle pointed between his eyes.
“Stay where you are,” growled a state official.
Part Five
A Kiness waited beside the mountain pass, crouched between the rocks. Her clothes were worn and tatty, and her hands were muddy and scratched, but she smiled into the darkness. Beside her sat a mountain lion with large, watchful blue eyes and a tail that flicked impatiently back and forth. Above them, the sky was vast and black, punctured with tiny, pale stars.
“Where is he, Jet?” whispered Briar, fighting to keep her voice light.
She had expected Ode to be here by now. What if something had gone wrong? Her own escape from the temple had been quick and easy, but maybe one of the officials had caught Ode. Maybe he was in danger.
The Kiness stood and peered into the valley, but she only saw the flickering lights of candles in the workers’ huts. Her cloak slipped from her head and revealed her long, golden hair, which glowed like a summer moon. Despite her thin, weak body, her hair remained lustrous and bright. All her life it had seemed as if it almost had a Magic of its own.
“Ode?” she tried calling softly. “Ode!”
There was no reply, and she sank back to her knees, biting her lip. Her snow leopard nudged at her arm and she cradled its head, running its silky fur between her fingers. She wanted to escape with Ode so much. Too much. Now, she was worried that her desire for it was making everything go wrong. She wondered if the gods were angry with her for turning her back on her vows. She did not want to upset them, but she could not go on living locked in the attic of the Room of the Gods. She could not go on hiding forever.
She had fallen in love with Ode, and there had been nothing she could do to prevent it. She had tried to resist, but it had been pointless; it was like trying to stop breathing. For a while, she had been afraid that he loved her in the way other men seemed to love her. They looked at her like something possessed, but Ode was different. Or she hoped that he was. When he was around she no longer felt lost and lonely. He made her feel at peace.
“Briar?”
The Kiness started at the sound of his voice and her full, red lips broke into a wide smile. She climbed from between the rocks and waved to the familiar figure standing nearby.
“I am here,” she whispered. “You had me worried that you would not come. I thought something terrible had happened.”
Ode looked as strong and handsome as ever and her breath caught in her chest. Maybe when all of this was over they could return to the temple and marry. Then they could live in the mountains like Kayra and her yak and have a family of their own. It seemed almost too good to be true. Right now, she was simply content with a summer spent living in a cave with Ode, talking and laughing with each other every day.
“I am sorry to have kept you,” said Ode. “I was held up.”
The snow leopard bounded across the rocks and sniffed at Ode’s feet.
“It has been so long since she has seen you, she has almost forgotten who you are,” giggled the Kiness. “Jet, it is just Ode, silly.”
Ode put a hand on the snow leopard’s head and the animal stilled.
“Do not fear,” he said. “She knows who I am.”
The Kiness smiled and scrambled across the rocks to him.
“Where is Arrow?” she asked, scanning the mountainside.
“Oh, he is waiting to join us later. There is something we must do first.”
“But we must leave right away—”
“We need to go to the temple.”
Briar frowned.
“The temple?” she said. “We cannot go back there now. The officials will see us! We have only just escaped unseen.”
“I know a secret entrance. Come, we must go.”
Ode took hold of Briar’s arm and his grip pinched her skin.
“All right,” she replied faintly. Below she saw shadows moving in the distance. “The officials!” she hissed.
“Do not fear,” Ode replied. “They will not see me.”
He pulled on her arm and led them onward. In the dim moonlight, his eyes flashed and they might have been silver or gold or violet. Or, maybe it was just the light.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The Official
Ode stood staring down the barrel of a gun. The small, black “O” gaped back at him and twitched in the official’s hands.
“Where is the girl?” the official growled in broken mountain language.
Ode tried not to look relieved. This must mean they did not have Briar. He hoped that she had escaped.
“Hey!” the official yelled, thrusting the barrel into Ode’s face. “Where is the girl? She was just with you.”
Ode frowned. “What girl?” he asked, trying not to look at the rifle.
“Do not fool me!” said the official, his lip curling. “I saw you both running over the rocks. Why did you come back? And where is that …” He screwed up his face, struggling to find the right word. “Where is that animal?”
Ode stared at him.
“Well?” yelled the official, jabbing at him. “I saw you all just now. Where have they gone?”
“I–I don’t know what you mean.”
The official chuckled and shook his head. “Answer me or I’ll shoot.”
“But—”
“I saw you leave the temple and I saw you meet up here. I thought I had lost you, but you came back.”
“No, you are mistaken. I haven’t—”
“Tell me where she is!” the official roared. “Tell me or I will shoot!”
The rocks around Ode began to lilt and blur. Something was happening to him and he could not stop it. He threw out his arms to steady himself and the earth swirled and rolled beneath his feet. His shoulders were tingling and it almost felt as if he were about to shift.
“What are you doing?” snapped the official with a hint of worry in his voice. “Stand still!”
Ode felt his body begin to shudder and change. His bones snapped and reformed, his muscles twisted and adjusted.
“What—” began the official, but his words ended in a cry of revulsion. “A Magic!” he yelled.
Ode’s clothes fell away in a heap and he stretched out his large, white wings. He had not shifted against his will in a long time and he felt frustrated and panicked. He squawked.
“A Magic!”
the official yelled again in Pervoroccoian. “Men needed over here!” He turned back to Ode, his face screwed up with disgust. “I knew this place was not what it seemed,” he said, switching back to mountain language. “I knew there was evil here.”
Ode flapped his wings, but the official lifted his rifle.
“Don’t move!” he cried. “My comrades will arrive, and we will arrest you. No more tricks or you will make it worse for yourself.”
They waited in silence but no one came.
Ode wondered if he could fly off before the official had time to shoot. If he were an eagle he could launch himself into the sky, but his bird form was awkward and clumsy. He could not risk it.
The official stepped forward and prodded Ode’s feathered chest with his rifle. Ode stumbled back and the man laughed.
“They tell us Magics are dangerous,” he said. “But this is foolish. Am I supposed to be afraid of you?”
A shadow fell across the crescent moon and the mountainside was plunged into darkness. Even the stars seemed to disappear.
“What was that?” growled the official.
A wind began to blow and it grew stronger until it howled. The earth beneath them shuddered and shook, and a scream sounded across the valley.
“What is going on?” shouted the official. “Stop it!”
I’m not doing it! Ode wanted to cry, but it came out as a squawk.
The wind tugged and pulled at his wings, threatening to throw him off the mountainside. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw that the official was also struggling to stay on his feet.
“Where are my men?” the official yelled above the roar of the air. “Stop this Magic now or you will die!”
He fumbled with the rifle in his hands, fighting to aim it at Ode. He hooked his finger around the trigger and closed one eye.
A dark shape soared from the shadows and landed on the official with a snarl. The shot exploded in a bang that was lost in the screeching of the wind and the bullet bounced off the rocks. Ode honked in surprise and watched as Arrow sunk his teeth into the official’s arm.
The official shrieked in agony and shook the wolf off, reaching for the rifle that had been knocked from his hands. He stumbled back, trying to find his footing on the rocks again, but the wind grabbed hold of him and hurled him off the mountainside. In a moment he was gone, tumbling down into the valley and vanishing into darkness without a sound.
Arrow almost fell after him, but the wolf stuck his claws into the rock and flattened himself to the ground. Ode wanted to shout out to his companion, but all human words were lost to him. He knew they could not stay on this mountain. Whatever was happening, he had no control over it and he did not want them to suffer the same fate as the official.
Arrow began crawling toward the mountain pass, keeping his body low and out of the wind. Ode tried to transform, but it was futile. He could barely manage to stay upright, let alone shift back into his human form.
I will follow from the sky, he tried to say, but no words came from his beak. Still, he thought he saw Arrow prick his ears as if he heard him.
Ode opened up his wings and let the wind launch him into the night. Immediately, he was flying and battling against the great gusts that tried to push and shove him. He beat his wings desperately, attempting to fly away from the sudden storm, but he could feel something dragging him backward.
Behind him, he thought that he could just about make out the Castle Temple shrouded in clouds and covered with black tendrils. He did not know what was happening, but he struggled away from it. He needed a moment of peace to understand it all. He could not think in this whirlwind. He flapped his wings and prayed to be free, his body shuddering with the effort.
Suddenly, he broke through it. Like a stone spat from a mouth, he lurched out of the wind and away into the surrounding mountains. Dizzy with relief, he flew as far as he could, followed by a wolf on the ground.
CHAPTER THIRTY
The Curse
Ode lay shivering, naked and lost. The night was dark and calm here; there were no strong winds or black clouds. After the storm on the mountainside, Ode had flown for as long as he could. Finally, he had plunged from the sky in exhaustion, landing with a thump against a rocky crevice. Arrow found him soon after and Ode clung to his companion, barely able to comprehend what had happened. Now he rested, curled on his side with his wolf’s warm shoulder against his back. He waited to die because he wanted it all to end. Everything had been ruined, and he could not face life anymore.
Ode did not know how long he lay there. He closed his eyes and drifted in and out of consciousness, his body numb from the force of his Magic. Images of Briar and thoughts of his friends back at the temple flitted through his mind. Something had gone wrong, and he had a sinking feeling that it was his fault. He sensed that Briar was lost to him and he felt the temple was in danger. He could not bear the thought of either.
Erek said that the gods had chosen Ode for great things, but Ode knew his friend was wrong. The gods had rejected him. He had worked at the temple for seasons, waiting for them to call him to vows, but it had never happened. It had never happened because he was nothing but a worthless, strange birther boy. His Magic was useless and ineffective. The official had laughed at him and he had been right to laugh. What good was a white bird? It would not help anyone. It would have been better for everybody if Ode had wandered the Wild Lands forever and had never come to the Scarlet Isles. It would have been better for Briar if she had never met him and for that reason, he wanted to die.
Tucked into the jagged face of the deserted mountain, Ode lay in darkness. He considered throwing himself off the edge and imagined his body squashed on the rocks in the valley below. He thought that he would probably do it, if he could convince Arrow not to follow. Before he had a chance to think further, a fur cloak landed with a thump by his side.
Arrow yapped and wagged his tail. Ode opened his eyes and looked up at the familiar figure in the faint starlight.
“Come on, little man,” said Cala. “You were difficult to find, but I am glad to finally see you. I was worried you had been caught in the enchantment. Now we must hurry and be on our way.”
Ode clenched his teeth. If he did not feel so weak and wretched he would have attacked his auntie, for she surely had something to do with all of this.
“Get away from me, you evil thing!” he hissed.
Cala’s face remained still, but her eyes betrayed her sadness. “I am not evil. I am here to help you. Come with me, and I will explain.”
“You have explained enough!” Ode kicked away her fur cloak and coiled back into himself.
“I did not raise a man who would give up like this,” said Cala. “I did not give you some of my powers for nothing!”
“What you gave me is useless,” Ode growled.
“That is where you are wrong. Your gift is important, Ode, and you must not underestimate it. There will come a time when you will need it dearly—there will come a time when only you will be able to save us all.”
“You’re lying!”
“No!” shouted Cala. “I am speaking the truth!”
Arrow whined, and the air seemed to tremble at the timbre of Cala’s voice.
“I know where your Briar is, little man. She is in great danger. If you will not get up for me, then get up for her.”
There was a pause.
“I can barely trust you,” said Ode.
“The way I see it, you do not have much of a choice. You are helping no one hiding here.”
Ode shivered. “All right,” he said. “Turn away and I will get up.”
Cala rolled her eyes, but she faced away from him.
“I changed your swaddling when you were a baby, little man,” she muttered to herself. “I have seen it all before.”
Ode slung the fur around his shoulders and for the first time, he noticed how icy his skin had become in the chilly night air. His teeth started to chatter and his hands began to shake.
>
“We must get you to a fire,” said Cala. “Follow me.”
Ode stumbled after her across the rocks. His bare feet tripped on the uneven, stony ground, and he had to lean on Arrow often to stop himself from falling. They walked for some time through valleys and up cliff faces until they came to a small cave. Cala led him inside where the embers of a fire were burning and a bed had been laid in the corner.
Ode settled before the fire while Cala muttered to the growing flames in her own language, just like she used to when Ode was a boy. If he closed his eyes, Ode could imagine himself back in their tent in the Wild Lands again. Outside their home, the rest of the Taone would be relaxing after the evening meal, while Gray Morning practiced fighting drills with Blue Moon beside the settlement. It was all so distant now that it felt like another life.
“How did you escape the enchantment?” Cala asked.
They had been sitting in silence, both gazing into the flickering fire.
“What do you mean?” Ode asked.
“An enchantment was conjured back there, did you not see it?”
“I saw the dark clouds, but I didn’t know it was an enchantment,” said Ode, stroking his wolf’s silky ears. “An official tried to shoot me, and I would have been killed if it weren’t for Arrow. After that I felt something trying to pull me back, but I broke through it.”
Cala nodded and stared at the shadowed walls of the cave.
“Was it your sorcerer?” asked Ode after a pause.
“Yes, it was Abioy. And he is not my sorcerer—not anymore.”
“Who is he? How do you know him?”
“He is a powerful man and very greedy,” said Cala, standing up. She walked over to the bed in the corner and began rummaging through a bag there.
“But how do you know him?” Ode persisted.
When she did not answer he sighed. It was all mysteries and lies again. This is what he had hated and he would stand for it no longer. He was about to tell her so when she threw a leather bundle into his lap.
“My old tunic!” said Ode, holding it up. “The one you made me when I was a boy. It was always too big but you said I would grow to fill it one day.”
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