by Kirk Watson
They waited a couple minutes more.
“Oh, this is bollocks,” Rollie said. “Even haakönen aren’t that stupid. No one’s gonna fall for this lame—”
A screech pierced the air.
“Look!” Cecil said, pointing to the white haakönen approaching from above.
“Well, I’ll be…” Rollie said.
It was Magdeleija, queen of the haakönen. Cecil gave the rope another tug, and the haakönen drew nearer, circling the tree.
“We only get one shot at this,” Cecil whispered. “Everyone get ready.”
The squirrels firmed their grips on the rope. It ran through a pulley hidden near the “body,” then back through a ratchet attached to the brambles.
Magdeleija swooped down, beautiful and fierce. With a triumphant screech, she landed on top of the decoy, her talons piercing through the jumpsuit. Seeing no blood, she suffered a brief moment of confusion. Her eyes widened as she recognized the faded number zero on its back.
“Now!” Cecil ordered.
The squirrels pulled, and the snare sprang up from the grass, snagging Magdeleija’s leg. The white haakönen screeched in surprise and took flight. The rope pulled tight, dragging the squirrels towards the clearing. The ratchet groaned at the strain, threatening to let loose.
“Hold steady, squirrels!” Cecil said. “Give me everything you’ve got!”
The squirrels dug their feet into the dirt and clawed for traction. The ratchet held. Magdeleija screeched in fury as she soared back and forth overhead, tethered like a kite.
“Man that ratchet!” Cecil ordered. “Reel her in!”
John and Rollie gripped the handle and cranked; the ratchet clicked as Magdeleija was reeled in inch-by-inch. Slowly, the haakönen descended lower and lower, until she was only twenty yards above the ground.
“Keep that line tight, squirrels. I’ll go charm her the rest of the way down,” Cecil said with a wink. He grabbed his shotgun and calmly strolled into the clearing, keeping his gun trained on the haakönen.
Magdeleija spied the old rabbit approaching. “You! That’s impossible. You’re dead.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, m’lady,” Cecil said with a mock bow, “but rumors of my death are pure rabbit pellets.”
“Where are your clothes, you foul rodent?” Magdeleija asked with a look of disgust.
Cecil spat on the ground. “First of all, I’m not a rodent. As for my clothes, you just shredded them, Your Highness.”
“You tricked me!”
Cecil chuckled. “You of all people should know rabbits are out of season.”
“I’ll have your head on a stake!”
Cecil patted his shotgun. “Not if my little friend here has anything to say about it.”
Magdeleija narrowed her eyes. “Where did you get that gun?”
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that, Your Majesty. Now, come on down so we can talk.”
“It was you! You killed Alvíss.”
“That’s right, and I’ll do you the same if you don’t come on down.”
Magdeleija’s eyes burned indignantly. “How dare you speak to me in that manner! The haakönen’s days of cowering from rodents with guns are over.”
“Not from where I’m standing.”
“I am a member of the royal family; I’ll not be intimidated by a common rabbit.”
Cecil racked the shotgun.
Magdeleija cleared her throat. “Perhaps if you put the gun away, as a sign of good faith, we can talk.”
“Lady, ‘round here, faith is in short supply. I know who you are, haakönen, and I know what you do. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. You and your kind, you’re killers. Killed some good friends of mine, as a matter of fact. It’s taking all the restraint I can muster not to end you right now, and that’s a whole lot more than you deserve. So, why don’t you come on down before I change my mind?”
“Never! If I am to die, it will be in the sky—a most honorable death befitting a haakönen. I’ll not be smitten on the ground like you vermin.”
“Suit yourself. I’ve waited all these years, I can wait a few more minutes.” Cecil lit his pipe and blew a smoke ring up at the haakönen. “Say, those wings of yours must be getting awfully tired.”
Magdeleija considered her options. The constant tug of the rope was wearing her out. She was about to concede defeat when another screech pierced the sky.
Magdeleija smiled at Cecil. “I think the rumors of your death were just—premature.”
Cecil turned his head and looked into the sun; the pipe fell from his lips.
It was the red haakönen, Magdeleija’s personal guard, diving from the sky. He was nearly on top of Cecil.
Cecil spun and fired, but the shot went wide. The diving haakönen sank his talons deep into Cecil’s chest and lifted him into the air. Cecil cried out as the shotgun fell from his paws.
“Cecil!” Lisa screamed from the brambles.
“Hold steady, squirrels!” he shouted back down, coughing on his own blood. “Don’t you let go that line!”
Cecil’s life was draining fast. He hung suspended from the haakönen’s talons as it carried him into the sky. He reached for his harness.
“Finish him, Tjørn!” Magdeleija called to the red haakönen. “Drop that filthy rodent from the sky. Make it rain rabbit!”
“Yes, my lady,” Tjørn replied, taking Cecil higher. The haakönen had not noticed the pin falling from Cecil’s paw three seconds earlier.
The grenade detonated, turning the haakönen into a ball of red feathers. Chunks of bird and rabbit rained down on a stunned Magdeleija, followed by a mist of red down and grey fur floating gently from the sky, sticking to the formerly white haakönen.
“Oh, Cecil,” Lisa whimpered, but Cecil was gone.
“Hurry!” John said. “We have to reel her in!”
Rollie and John worked the ratchet furiously. Magdeleija provided little resistance in her current state of shock. The squirrels soon had her pinned to the ground, where she lay half-heartedly flapping her wings. Lisa sprung from the brambles with her rifle slung over her shoulder and pistol in paw, sprinting towards the fallen haakönen.
“Lisa!” John cried, running after her.
Lisa stood in front of the massive haakönen and leveled her pistol. “You will pay for what you did to Cecil, haakönen.”
“You arrogant rodent,” Magdeleija said, snapping out of her stupor and spreading her wings. “How dare you address me like that! I am a queen. I should eat you alive for this insolence.”
Lisa cocked the hammer of her pistol. “Eat this.”
“No!” John said, placing a paw on Lisa’s arm. “We need her alive.”
Lisa hesitated.
“Remember Cecil’s plan,” John said. “We need the haakönen to get us back to Highcastle. Your sister is counting on us.”
Lisa slowly eased the hammer back down. She narrowed her eyes at the trapped haakönen. “All right, but one move, and you’re pillow stuffing.”
“Clever,” Magdeleija said. “But I don’t understand. What is it you’re asking of me?”
“We’re not asking,” John said. “You will take us back to Highcastle.”
“But this is your chance to escape. Why would you want to return to Highcastle? Unless this is some sort of—rescue attempt?” She laughed, slowly at first, then breaking into hysterics. “All this trouble for one measly rodent?”
“She’s my sister,” Lisa said.
Magdeleija looked down at her with disdain. “I can see the resemblance; you’re both in desperate need of some manners.”
“Then she’s still alive?” John asked.
“Yes, she’s alive, but you will never rescue her. My family will kill you before you ever set a foot on Highcastle.”
“We’ll just see about that. Now, if you would please lie down, Your Majesty, we’ll be coming aboard. Lisa, if the haakönen moves, shoot her.”
“With pleasure,” Lisa said, re
-cocking her pistol.
“And why should I help you?” Magdeleija asked. “What’s to stop you from killing me anyway?”
“We just want Violet back,” John said. “Help us, and no one else needs to get hurt.”
“So you say, but why should I take the word of rodents?”
“Because we’re well-armed rodents, Your Highness.”
Magdeleija contemplated this for a moment. She tucked her wings and lay prone on the field.
“Rollie, get on board,” John called to the brambles.
“Oh, bloody hell,” Rollie muttered, then ran into the clearing. He climbed Magdeleija’s tail feathers and made his way up her back, then kneeled down and grabbed hold of her feathers.
“Ow!” Magdeleija cried. “Careful, you fat vermin!”
Lisa stepped forward and pointed the pistol at Magdeleija’s head, staring into her giant blue eyes. “That’s my friend you’re talking about. I’d choose my words more carefully if I were you.”
Magdeleija scowled, but kept her tongue.
John climbed aboard and took his place next to Rollie. He drew his pistol. “Lisa, I have her covered. Cut the rope and get on.”
Keeping a close eye on the haakönen, Lisa severed the rope from Magdeleija’s leg and joined the other squirrels on her back.
“Ok, you hussy,” Lisa said, “let’s go.”
“You heard the lady,” John said. “Up!”
The haakönen stood and spread her wings. Despite the extra weight, she took to the air with ease. The squirrels gripped her white feathers tightly with their paws and feet.
“Take us up over the clouds,” John said over the rushing wind. “We don’t want your feathered friends to see us coming.”
Magdeleija soared higher, passing through the clouds.
John looked over at Lisa. “Are you sure you’re ready, Lisa?”
“Let’s do this,” Lisa replied, her jaw set firmly as she stared out at the horizon. Gripping the haakönen with her knees, she pulled her knife from its holster, ran her thumb along the blade, then shoved it back in. “For Cecil.” She drew her revolver, swung out the cylinder, then snapped it back shut. “For Billy.” She pulled the clip from her rifle, blew it clear, and popped it back in with a click. “For Violet.”
John nodded at her, his eyes filled with a combination of awe and fear. He turned to Rollie. “Are you ready, Rollie?”
Rollie clung to the haakönen’s back, his face buried in her white feathers. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…”
“Right,” John said, pointing to the horizon. “To Highcastle!”
Chapter 23
RETURN TO SENDER
fell
/fĕl/
verb
1. To strike down.
2. To kill.
The three squirrels soared high above the clouds on the back of the white haakönen Magdeleija. Her mountain home of Highcastle lay hidden in the clouds just below. John craned his neck, searching for any signs of pursuit, but the skies were clear. He tapped on the back of Magdeleija’s head.
“Take us down,” he said, pointing to the clouds below.
The haakönen descended, and for a brief moment, their world transformed into a white fog. John found the sensation unsettling; he could sense the terrible speed with which they were traveling—the roar of the wind whistling past his ears, his bushy tail blowing straight back—but without any visual reference point, the whole experience seemed surreal. Soon, the clouds grew patchy and sunlight burst around them. The rocky mountain revealed itself below. John spotted the platform from which they had disembarked; it appeared to be uninhabited at the moment.
He pointed down. “There. Land us on the platform.”
“And no tricks,” Lisa said, keeping her pistol trained on the back of Magdeleija’s head.
The haakönen began her descent. As they drew near, the ermine, Ernie, emerged on the platform alongside the black haakönen Geirleif. Ernie looked up at the approaching haakönen and waved.
They don’t see us! John thought. He worked the bolt of his rifle, loading a bullet into the chamber. Just a little closer…
As Magdeleija approached the platform, she betrayed the squirrels:
“Geirleif, it’s an ambush!”
“I warned you,” Lisa growled.
John looked over at her. “Lisa, no!”
Lisa fired her pistol. Magdeleija’s head slumped forward, her body rolling sharply to the right. The squirrels spilled off her back and tumbled onto the platform. John’s eyes grew wide as he and Lisa slid towards its edge.
Just before they plummeted over the side, Rollie reached out his paws and snagged their tails. His ample bulk brought them to a quick stop.
Magdeleija nosed hard into the platform. With a sickening crack, her head tucked awkwardly beneath her body. She slid across the platform on her chest, coming to a stop at Geirleif’s feet. Her wings twitched for a moment, and then she lay still.
Ernie shrieked, his black-tipped tail standing straight up behind him, before he fled back into the corridor.
Geirleif knelt down by his fallen sister and brushed her cheek with his wing. “Magdeleija?”
She turned her blue eyes up at her brother. Her beak opened and closed, but no sound came out. She blinked twice, and then her eyes closed for good. Geirleif held her head in his wings.
The squirrels lay on the other side of the platform, watching in stunned silence. As they scrambled to collect their weapons, Geirleif raised his head to the sky and emitted a screech of such anguish that John’s fur stood on end. The deafening cry echoed through the mountains, then slowly faded away, leaving only the sound of the wind.
Geirleif turned his gaze towards the squirrels. “You filthy vermin!”
He spread his wings, his eyes blazing with fury, and with two quick steps, he launched himself at the squirrels.
Lisa fired another round from her pistol, hitting Geirleif in the wing. He lost control, skimming right over the squirrels’ heads before careening over the side of the platform. John ran to the edge and watched as the haakönen plummeted in a ragged spiral.
Geirleif managed to regain control just before hitting the ground. Leveling himself, he swooped back up at the platform.
The squirrels fired at the rising haakönen, but Geirleif was moving too fast. The crack of the rifles, however, caused him to reconsider his attack. With an ominous screech, he turned sharply and soared into the clouds.
“Is he gone?” Rollie asked, looking up after him.
John scanned the sky. Geirleif was nowhere to be found, but high up in the mountain, a pair of amber eyes stared down at them from a darkened window. For an instant, John and the eyes locked gazes, and in that brief second, he could feel their immense sorrow: a sensation he knew all too well. John dropped his own eyes as a lump formed in his throat. After a long moment, the giant eyes blinked twice, then disappeared back into the mountain. A chill ran down John’s spine. He turned away from the window and looked back at Magdeleija’s twisted body, his rifle dangling limply in his paws.
What have we done? After all, she was somebody’s Sharon…
Lisa placed a paw on his arm. “John, are you okay?”
John snapped out of his stupor, shaking his head. He readied his rifle. “Yes, I’m fine. But you can be sure the others heard those gunshots. They’ll know we’re here. Everyone inside, quickly!”
The squirrels ran into the dark corridor and down the sloping path. They came to the dungeon where they had been held captive, and Lisa flung the door open.
Inside, they found Ernie holding Violet with a knife to her throat.
“Lisa!” Violet cried, struggling against the ermine’s grip.
“Violet!” Lisa aimed her pistol at Ernie, then cast a quick glance down at her sister. “Are you okay?”
Violet looked at the knife against her neck. “Sort of…”
“She’s fine,” Ernie said, “but not for long if you don’t put down your weapons.�
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Lisa cocked her pistol. “Let her go.”
“Easy now, little girl,” Ernie said, his tail twitching behind him. “You’re making me nervous. And when I get nervous, my paws shake.” He pressed the tip of the knife against Violet’s neck.
Lisa narrowed her eyes. “Do it and you’re dead, ermine.”
Ernie snarled, pressing the knife a little harder. Violet shrieked as a trace of blood appeared on her neck.
“Okay, you win!” John said. “Everyone put your weapons down.”
“Are you nuts?” Rollie asked.
Lisa kept her pistol trained on Ernie, but as she looked into Violet’s frightened eyes, her paw began to shake.
She uncocked her pistol. “Do it, Rollie.”
The squirrels slowly placed their guns on the ground.
“Good,” Ernie said. “Now, everyone into that cell.”
The squirrels backed into the open cell. Ernie approached the door, still clutching Violet from behind. He kicked the cell door closed, and it locked into place.
He smiled at Lisa through the bars. “See? That wasn’t so hard, now, was it? You sit tight in there. I’ll take care of your sister first, and then I’ll be back for you.”
“You touch her and I’ll kill you,” Lisa growled.
Ernie laughed. “Touch her? You mean like this?”
He licked one side of Violet’s face while his tail stroked the other. Violet began to cry.
Lisa grabbed the bars of the window and bared her teeth. “You bastard…”
Ernie threw his head back and cackled, but his laughter came to an abrupt halt. His eyes grew wide and his black-tipped tail slumped behind him. With a gurgle, he fell to the floor, blood running from his open throat.
Ray stood behind him, holding a bloodied knife in his paw. “Damn perverts.”
Violet scrambled to retrieve Ernie’s knife, and pointed it at Ray.
“Stay back!” she said, waving the knife wildly at the black squirrel. “I’ll cut you!”
“No, Violet!” Lisa said through the bars. “Ray’s on our side!”
Violet raised her eyebrows. “He is? Since when?”
“Ray, Cecil told us about your daughter,” John said. “We’re here to help.”