The Ladder: Part 1

by David Hodges

  Now here he was, in the middle of some forest, searching for the man’s daughter. No. That was casting himself in too favorable a light. He was only waiting idly for something to happen while Alexandra was out there, alone with some lunatic.

  Cameron was clenching his bow tightly. He thought back to Alviva’s words. Prove yourself. Without another thought, he loosed an arrow with as fast a draw, nock, and release as he had ever taken. The arrow struck the target dead center.

  He quickly let off another shot, this time at the one hundred yard target. The arrow struck dead center again.

  He focused on the two hundred yard target, took a deep breath, and loosed an arrow. He watched as the arrow descended into the center of the target.

  He lowered his bow, his heart was pounding. Something tickled his neck. He reached back behind him and felt a tuft of feathers. Instead of trying to change back, he left them. He let himself relax, and focused on the tiny target in the distance, then focused even harder on the miniscule bull’s-eye painted in the middle of it. He focused on the breeze flowing softly over his neck, then raised his bow and arrow, making the appropriate adjustments.

  Just before he was ready to let the arrow off, he noticed a bird flying straight toward the target, not far above it. It continued straight forward, directly toward him.

  Cameron sighed and quickly took aim at one of the nearer targets before letting off a lazy shot. He watched the bird that was still flying straight toward him. He realized it was the white tailed eagle, he could feel him. There was something different about him this time.

  The enormous eagle landed in front of Cameron with a heavy flap of his wings and squawked at him, relentlessly. He flapped his wings at him and continued forward toward Cameron, he seemed aggressive almost.

  “What do you think you’re playing at?”

  The eagle continued forward, squawking louder. Cameron fired a quick warning shot a few inches in front of the eagle. The eagle stopped flapping and went silent, staring directly at Cameron with his yellow eyes. He abruptly took off toward the filled stands.

  Cameron watched until the eagle landed near a woman. Alviva, he realized. The eagle flapped at her, just as he had in front of Cameron. Alviva approached the eagle, and slowly touched her hand to his wing. She left her hand there for a moment, then sent him away.

  Cameron decided it was worth asking Alviva what was wrong with the creature. When he arrived at the contestants’ pit, he asked Alviva, “What did the bird want?”

  “Oh, it was nothing. I think he was just curious about all this ruckus,” said Alviva.

  Cameron had not noticed earlier that the stands were on wheels. Sections of the stands were being dragged inward by several dozen bulls and horses. There were even a few bears helping. A couple dozen larger and much hairier than average men were working as well.

  The stands ended up arranged as a hexagon. Cameron looked around at the impressive, makeshift arena. The audience was flowing back up into the stands to take their seats. All eyes would be focused on the center ring.

  Daniel had joined Cameron in the contestants’ pit.

  “I assume Hazel and Fergus are watching?” Cameron asked.

  “Aye, good seats with the guard actually... probably a bit safer than down here.” Daniel looked over at Alviva who was suiting up with a jerkin and a fencing mask. “Do we need to look out for stray arrows?”

  “No, most of the arrows will be deflected.”

  “Deflected by what?”

  “Other arrows.”

  Daniel looked at Cameron with a look of incredulity and shook his head.

  Alviva walked into the ring, and the crowd went wild.

  Daniel was beaming.

  Alviva’s opponent entered the ring to a more subdued applause. They bowed, then went to opposite ends of the ring. The noise in the stands faded to silence.

  The scorekeeper spoke loudly, “Three, two, one... go!”

  In one swift movement, Alviva drew her arrow, fired it at her opponent and just as her arrow smacked against his chest, she stepped and turned sideways as her opponent’s arrow went into the empty space beside her. It had all happened within a single second.

  One of the two scorekeepers raised his flag, and the crowd roared.

  Daniel and Cameron turned toward one another with wide eyes that conveyed their mutual bewilderment.

  Alviva and her opponent readied themselves for the next round and the scorekeeper raised his finger to his mouth. The crowd hushed, and the round commenced.

  Alviva fired a quick shot. Her opponent barely managed to deflect her shot just a few yards in front of him, sending the arrows spinning apart. Alviva had already loosed a second arrow by the time he was reaching into the quiver hanging from his hip and he could only try to turn away from it. He was too late, the arrow smacked against his chest.

  Her defeated opponent hung his head and gave it a quick shake.

  The crowd cheered as Alviva approaching her opponent and shook his hand.

  The rest of the contestants went through their rounds, then after a break, the semifinals took place.

  Alviva scored the first point against her next opponent after deflecting a pair of her shots. Her second point was hard earned, she spent half her quiver before she was able to hit her opponent who had played the point defensively.

  Alviva returned to Cameron and Daniel after her round. She looked more forlorn than either of them were expecting.

  “You okay?” asked Daniel.

  “I’m fine.” She paused and spoke almost to herself. “I’ve never made it this far, it would have been nice if he was here.” Her eyes were watering.

  Daniel hugged her and rubbed the back of her neck.

  The remaining semifinal round began. Cuyler and a younger man entered the ring. The round proceeded and Cuyler scored the first point in two shots. When the next round began, Cuyler let his opponent fire first and dodged his opponent’s shot, simultaneously letting off a shot. His arrow struck his opponent square in the chest. One shot for the winning point.

  As the audience cheered and the scorekeeper raised Cuyler’s hand in the air, Alviva stared intently at her opponent for the final. Her sadness had turned into an intense focus.

  After a short break, the final was about to begin. The crowd hummed as Alviva and Cuyler waited for the scorekeeper to begin the round.

  Cuyler was opening and closing his hand. Alviva was still.

  The scorekeeper commenced the round.

  Alviva and Cuyler each loosed a lightning fast shot, their arrows impacted in the middle of the ring. They let off most of their quivers as they orbited the center of the ring until one of Alviva’s arrows hit the side of Cuyler’s mask. Two points Alviva.

  The crowd was in a frenzy.

  The next round began.

  Cuyler dived into a roll toward the center of the ring, avoiding Alviva’s first shot. Alviva barely managed to deflect his shot with her second arrow, the arrows colliding only a foot in front of her. Cuyler’s second shot hit Alviva in the chest before she could nock her arrow. Two points Cuyler.

  Alviva paced as the crowd settled.

  The next round began, and Alviva bounded quickly to the side with her fist shot. Cuyler did the same. They deflected or dodged all of each other’s arrows as they darted throughout the ring, relying more on their feet than either had all day.

  When they were both down to their last two arrows, they held their arrows drawn and aimed each at each other. They were both breathing heavily. Alviva broke the pause by walking slowly toward Cuyler.

  “What’s she doing?” shouted Daniel over the deafening crowd.

  Her upper body did not budge as her legs carried her smoothly forward. When she was nearly dead center of the ring, Cuyler let off a shot. Instead of deflecting the shot with her arrow, she swiped it to the side with her bow. She kept her arrow nocked.

  Cuyler loosed the last of his arrows. Alviva deflected it, and a split second later, she had her re
maining arrow aimed at him while she walked toward him. Cuyler looked stunned as she approached, then he lazily dropped his bow to the ground when she was only a few feet in front of him. The crowd went wild.

  Alviva collapsed to her knees and took off her mask before burying her face into her hands and lap. The scorekeeper crouched beside her with a hand on her back and she rose. He held her wrist and bow up overhead. With her free hand, she was wiping tears from her face.

  She walked back toward the pit, and Daniel met her halfway. He gave her a big hug and a kiss before walking back with her.

  Alviva’s mother had come down to the pit from the stands and she embraced her daughter. Alviva wept in her arms.

  Cameron felt his eyes getting hot and struggled to hold back his own tears. She had been through so much, and somehow she pushed through it. He wished he could say the same for himself.

  When Alviva settled down, she went to Cameron and gave him a hug. She looked up at him with a serious gaze. “Your turn.”

  Cameron looked to the stands and spotted Ayalon sitting with several Laochra. He was staring straight back at him.

  Cameron looked to the opponents at his left and right. They were the last four competitors of the day. All of them were changed to some degree with tufts of feathers on their necks, backs, or arms and their eyes engulfed by varying shades of brown and yellow.

  Cameron did his best to relax and focus on his targets and the air around him. He let himself change.

  He reviewed the rules. Three shots per target, five seconds per shot, only the best shot on each target counts. There would be a short break between each target.

  The wind had picked up in the afternoon.

  The announcer started the round, and the contestants began shooting at the fifty yard target.

  Cameron’s first shot hit the bull’s-eye for maximum points. He was not alone in his feat. After the scorekeepers moved farther down the edge of the field to the one hundred yard targets, shooting for the next round commenced. Cameron was one of two contestants to hit the bull’s-eye on the first attempt. The other two contestants only managed the two point rings. The wind was already taking its toll. The two hundred yard target was next. Only three competitors had hit the bull’s-eye that afternoon.

  Cameron thought of Alexandra as he waited for the shooting to commence. He thought of his duty to General Marlow. He thought of Ayalon, doubting him, treating him like a child, standing in his way. It was time to push him aside.

  The shooting began, and Cameron rushed his first shot. The wind shifted, and the arrow missed left of the target. He stayed calm, and was patient this time, waiting for the gust to weaken as he aimed his arrow.

  “Scratch two,” his timekeeper said quietly behind him.

  Bollocks. He was too patient, five seconds had passed on the shot. Last chance. He held his breath, focused on the air flowing over his neck and shoulders and made a quick adjustment. He let go of his arrow just before the timekeeper behind him said “time,” and he watched.

  The arrow sank into the bull’s-eye of the target. Cameron exhaled deeply.

  His scorekeeper down range signaled three points, and the crowd cheered. He was in the top four of the day. None of the other contestants in his heat landed a shot on the two hundred yard target.

  All he had to do was hit the three hundred yard target to tie for the win. Cuyler had set the mark earlier that day as the only contestant to hit the farthest target.

  Cameron was left standing alone on the range, staring at the miniscule target in the distance. He was not content to tie for the win. He was going to take it. He could leave no doubt in Ayalon’s mind, no point of contestation. He needed perfection.

  Cameron readied his shot and focused hard, making sure he could see the bull’s-eye.

  Then he saw something, no someone, crawl up over the edge of the cliff just behind the target. A girl, with blonde hair and a white dress blowing in the wind. She stood up, still. Then a man in dark clothing rose up behind her.

  It was her. It was Alexandra.

  Cameron ran. He ignored the gasps in the crowd. He ignored the shouts behind him telling him to stop. He ignored the burning that was taking over his lungs and legs and kept sprinting. As he got closer, he yelled out, “Alexandra! Run!” Why isn’t she running!

  The man behind her led her back toward the edge of the cliff, then held her by the waist with one arm as she held on to him around his neck. He looked back at Cameron, then stepped off.

  “No!” Cameron screamed. He kept running and finally arrived at the edge of the cliff where he slid to a stop and peered over.

  More than half way down the four hundred foot drop, he could see the pair of them clinging to the rock. They were descending ten feet as the man let go off the rock face then grabbed back on with ease.

  They were moving too fast with a saddled horse waiting for them at the bottom of the quarry. Cameron clutched the ground as he watched her slipping away from him. He could not lose her again. There was only one way. He felt a chill shoot down his back, then his whole body ached, and he felt a searing pain on either side of spine.

  A moment later the pain subsided. He opened his eyes and saw two enormous shadows on either side of him. He stood and felt the weight of his wings at his sides, two masses of feathers, each at least ten feet long.

  Below him, he saw Alexandra and her captor staring up at him next to their horses.

  Behind him, he heard Alviva’s voice shout, “Cameron, wait!”

  He ignored her and leapt off the cliff.

  A rush of wind went by him as he plummeted. He felt his wings catching some of the air, but he quickly lost balance and began to tumble through the air as one of his wings folded. He was accelerating now, facing up toward the sky. He saw Alviva in a dive coming straight for him. Behind her, Cuyler was gliding out from the cliff.

  Alviva caught up to Cameron and quickly flipped him over as he plummeted and yelled, “Ppread them!” before she pulled up away from him.

  He felt himself slowing down just as the ground was coming up beneath him. He was still going too fast. He collided with the dirt, his right leg making first contact. He felt and heard a snap in the leg and the rest of his body tumbled over the ground.

  He screamed in agony as he clutched his leg. When he looked down at the bloody, crooked mess that was his leg, he felt nauseous. His field of vision began to narrow as he looked up at Alviva and Cuyler who had landed ahead of him.

  Cuyler was taking aim at the galloping horse. He loosed his arrow. Beside him, Alviva quickly loosed a second shallower shot, which barely deflected Cuyler’s shot before it reached its target.

  “What are you doing!” he yelled at her.

  “It’s too dangerous, she could be hurt if you missed.”

  “I wasn’t going to miss,” said Cuyler.

  The galloping horse went out of range.

  Alviva ran back to Cameron. “Stay calm, Cameron. We’ll sort all this out, just breathe,” she said as she stroked his hair with a comforting touch while she sat beside him.

  “He needs help,” she said to Cuyler.

  Cameron watched as Alexandra disappeared into the distance. Not again... please... not again. He heard something flapping above him, then the white tailed eagle landed in front of him. The bird looked straight at him.

  Cameron reached out to him and touched his wing.

  He was soaring through the air now. He saw Alexandra and the man at the bottom of the cliff. The man covered Alexandra with a cloak, then hoisted her onto his back. As he began climbing up, the pair of them all but disappeared. They looked like a boulder that was shifting itself of the mountain.

  Cameron let go of the bird. He would have hit himself if he could move. Instead, his consciousness drifted away as the eagle continued to stare at him. He did not need to touch the bird again to know what it was thinking. Should’ve listened.

  28

  HAZEL

  Hazel remembered the words, I’ll
make sure I’m seen. It was not a dream. “The Sphere, the Ladder... we have to go!” shouted Hazel.

  Daniel and Fergus were distracted by the commotion. Laochra were streaming toward the cliff of the quarry from which Cameron had just plummeted. She had no time to worry about Cameron. She got up and shook Bjarke’s shoulder. “It’s a diversion!”

  He looked to her, confused.

  “They’re taking the Sphere and the Ladder! We have to go now!”

  “How do you know?”

  “Just trust me!”

  Hazel ran through the stands with Bjarke, Uschi, and Coinín, and down to the range. Daniel and Fergus followed behind. They reached a group of Laochra mounting their horses, including Aatu and Bjorn. Hazel explained what she had seen in her Léamhmothu with Ollie.

  Aatu nodded, his face badly bruised from the beating Faron had given him. He did not ask any questions, and after gathering his sons and Tod, he led them all to the village center.

  Hazel struggled to keep up with the furious galloping that carried the group of Laochra toward the Nest and the Ladder.

  Aatu’s wolves raced behind him in full stride. As they drew nearer, Aatu said, “Bjorn! Take Bjarke and Uschi to the Ladder!”

  They split off, and Hazel and the others followed Aatu to the Nest.

  As they approached the Nest, they found the door wide open. Outside, two Laochra were lying still. They had an odd color about them, their eyes still open. Each of them had a pair of puncture wounds in the sides of their necks, rings of red and purple bruises surrounded the holes.

  Hazel looked down at one of the dead men. He looked back at her, his eyes darting to the side. She gasped.

  “Get them help!” Aatu shouted to Coinín. Aatu had his sword drawn as he entered the door to the Nest.

  Hazel filed in behind him with the others. Four more Laochra were sprawled about the room. Faron was standing inside beside the Sphere, alone. “They fled.”

  Hazel watched as Bjorn held the man firmly in place on the steps of the Roman building. She had recognized him as Fíodor’s friend with whom he had left dinner with when Hazel had dined with Elisedd’s family.