A Flight of Raptors

by Ralph Vaughan

  “While you’re with us, you probably will not see the cats,” Levi continued, “for obvious reasons.”

  Princess sighed. “I hate my old companions.”

  “Hate is a very destructive emotion, one which you need to move away from in order to grow as a dog,” Levi said. “You cannot change the past, but you can put it behind you.”

  “Has anyone ever taught you the Precepts of Anubis?” Sunny asked.

  Princess shook her head.

  “What about First Dog?” Yoda questioned. “The Dog Who Came to the Fire?”

  Again, Princess answered in the negative.

  “Yoda and I will tell you all about it on the way back,” Sunny said. “It will be a nice slow walk, so there is plenty of time.”

  “Speaking of which,” Levi said, looking about, “we had better start back now. I will feel much better when we are back behind our gated driveway.”

  Levi took Princess’ collar and looped it through his own.

  “Why are you doing that?’ Yoda asked. “Shouldn’t we just get rid of it, bury it or something?”

  “No, we will have need of it later,” Levi responded, but he explained himself no further, instead setting off, the others following.

  As alpha, Levi took the point, with Yoda and Sunny walking easily on either side of the weakened Pit Bull. Stacker brought up the rear, not sure what to do.

  “Stacker!” Levi called back. “Come up and walk point with me.”

  The little Parson Russell bounded happily forward and fell quickly into step with the leader of the Three Dog Detective Agency.

  “I was really impressed with the way you handled yourself when that car came around the corner,” Levi remarked. “It showed great presence of mind, not to mention no small amount of courage.”

  “I didn’t have time to think,” Stacker said. “I guess I did what I did because I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “It’s in such moments that we find our true heart,” Levi said. “In such a moment, a dog who is all bluster and bravado is revealed as a coward, and a dog everyone has counted as flighty and timid might be found to have a heart of oak, a hero in hiding.”

  Stacker looked to Levi as they walked slowly up F Street, taking care not to get too far ahead of the other three. The little Parson Russell was just two and had not known Levi and the others for very long. His opinions were formed mostly from what he had overheard from others in the neighborhood, and which he only half believed. Levi, he had been told once, had started out a pure black runt, small and feisty, but the dog who walked next to him now was tough, muscular and anything but black; the passing years had left his fur heavily streaked with white, especially on his head where his muzzle and face around his eyes were nearly all white.

  “I am no hero,” Stacker finally said to the elder dog. “I was certainly no hero when that Hawk overflew us; I was so scared I nearly made a puddle.”

  “All I know,” Levi said, “is that no coward would have stopped that car the way you did. Don’t get cocky, young pup, but at the same time don’t sell yourself short, and don’t let other dogs define who you are. Find the truth in your own heart, follow it, and hold on to it like it was your favorite chew-toy.”

  “I will,” Stacker promised. While he did not totally understand everything Levi had said, he understood enough to think better of himself, to believe he was maybe more than the sum of all he had been told by his dam and sire, or his kennel-mates. “Thanks.”

  “Now, about that Hawk…” Levi began.

  “Yoda told me what happened with that Raptor gang in your back yard,” Stacker said excitedly. “Did it really happen that way?”

  “Mostly, but you have to remember Yoda is prone to…”

  “And do you have a refugee Parrot in your house?”

  “Well, yes, but…”

  “With the cats?”

  “Kim is keeping an eye on Little Kitty.”

  “It’s all really exciting,” Stacker gushed, the enthusiastic puppy pushing aside his inner hero. “I can’t wait till I tell everyone…”

  “Actually, that is what I want to talk to you about,” Levi said, fighting back a smile as he considered the innocence of youth, glad that Stacker possessed what had been stolen from him. “It would be for the best if you did not tell anyone about the Parrot we are sheltering, or about Princess, for that matter.”

  “Why not?”

  “The Parrots have remained hidden among us for a long time, the way they have survived, and this is not the time for their existence to become known,” Levi explained. “Yoda did not tell you everything about the matter, but, as it is, he probably told you too much.” He sighed. “What’s done is done. He was excited about the fight with the Hawks and had to tell someone, but, more than that, he must have felt he could trust you with what he did tell you. Seeing as how you were menaced by one of the Hawk sentries, I guess he had to tell you something.”

  “All right, I will not tell anyone about the Parrot,” Stacked agreed. “No use getting the neighborhood cats’ hopes up, I guess.” The young dog frowned. “But if the Hawks are –“

  “That is another matter entirely,” Levi interrupted. “The struggle is between us and the Birds of Prey, but, as you experienced, they can be a menace to all.”

  “I’m not nearly as big as Yoda and they tried to snatch him.”

  “Precisely,” Levi agreed. “Some of the smaller dogs in the neighborhood and likely all the cats – though they might be slow to pick a fight with a cat – could be menaced by the Raptors.”

  “What can we do?”

  “Vigilance and taking care of each other,” Levi replied. “While I do not want you telling anyone about the Parrot, I do want you to spread the word about the Hawk menace. Tell the dogs and cats of the neighborhood what happened to you with the Hawk – that should be enough to convince them to be wary.”

  “I…well, I…”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “If my dam and sire find out…” Stacker stammered. “Well, you know…no liver treats for a week, at least.”

  Levi grinned. “They don’t have to know how far down F Street you were, do they?”

  “No, I suppose…” Stacker grinned widely. “No, they don’t.”

  “I’m not advising you to lie – it’s just not in a dog’s nature – but you don’t always have to blurt out all you know,” Levi said. He glanced back at Yoda who responded with a what-did-I-do expression on his foxy face. “Silence is the beginning of wisdom.”

  “Okay, but why should I keep quiet about Princess?” Stacker asked. “She seems like a nice girl and has a rough time of it. She might like to make some friends.”

  “Do you remember how you felt when you found out she was a Pit Bull?” Levi asked.

  “I didn’t know anything about her then,” Stacker protested. “Once I found out…” He paused. “Yeah, I see what you mean. But won’t she be seen?’

  “It’s mid-afternoon.”

  Stacker tilted his head in confusion.

  “The mailman has come and gone, dinner is not for a few hours yet, and most companions are still at work,” Levi pointed out.

  “So…oh I get it,” Stacker said happily, proud he had figured out a puzzle from Levi. “Everyone’s sleeping.” Then he frowned. “Dogs, yeah, but what about cats? I don’t have much experience with cats…except to chase them of course.”

  “Cats sleep much more than dogs,” Levi explained. “Cats sleep more than they are awake. It’s not called a ‘cat nap’ for nothing.”

  “And if one or two pets do see her, they might not make anything out of it, I suppose,” Stacker mused.

  “Especially if there is no other gossip about the new dog in the neighborhood,” Levi pointed out. “Besides, we are going to work very quickly to find Princess a new home. When she is ready to travel, which will not be long since Pit Bulls really do have a tremendous constitution, we’ll probably spirit her away by night, with no one the wiser.”
>
  Stacker eyed the bitten-through collar dangling from Levi’s own collar. “I guess I understand why you took it from her – with no past she will have a new beginning – but keeping it…”

  “That info I am going to have to keep within the Agency,” Levi told the pup. “To operate efficiently and to keep others safe, sometimes we have to keep secrets.”

  “I’d like to be a detective,” Stacker said. “I’d like to investigate crimes and protect pets.”

  “You would probably make a good detective, seeing how you acted today, but you are a little young,” Levi said with a chuckle. “A few more years? Who knows? Maybe. Until then, however, you could join the Fifth Avenue Irregulars.”

  “I’ve heard my dam and sire talk about them, but I do not know exactly what they are.”

  “We cannot be everywhere at once, cannot keep watch over all the homes and apartments,” Levi explained. “Animals of every kind, both domestic and feral, let us know when something is wrong and help is needed. Your own dam and sire were Irregulars until they became busy with a family. You should ask them directly. I am sure they would think it a good idea, and maybe tell you some interesting stories.”

  “I will,” Stacker resolved.

  While Levi thought Stacker would make a good addition to their information network, he also felt a sliver of doubt. Small dogs were always a good source information, especially young ones since others tended to speak unguardedly around them, there was in this particular Parson Russell a tendency toward impetuousness that might lead to trouble.

  After a cautious dash across Broadway (during which Stacker did not have to stop any speeding cars) they made their way up F Street without incident, and in short order made the turn onto Fifth Avenue. As Levi had predicted there were no curious faces at any other windows, except for some fish in an aquarium, and who were they going to tell?

  As they approached the old brown house that was their home, however, the dogs knew something was wrong. The front yard, under the expansive spread of an ancient gnarled pepper tree, was aswarm with great black birds milling about.

  “Now what?” Levi sighed.

  Chapter Eight

  “Stacker, you head on home and remember what I told you,” Levi said, sending the pup on his reluctant way. He looked to his friends. “Sunny, Yoda – get Princess behind the driveway gate and see that she gets food and water; take care of her.”

  “What are you going to do?” Sunny asked.

  “See what these Ravens want,” Levi answered.

  Yoda frowned. “I thought they were Crows.”

  “Too big,” Levi pointed out. “Those birds are nearly two feet tall; crows are much smaller.”

  “You want us to come out after we get Princess settled?” Yoda questioned. “I don’t like their looks, or that there are so many of them.”

  “No, it will be okay,” Levi assured them. “I want you to stay with Princess, lie down with her when she rests. She is in a fragile state, and comfort from others will help her mind mend just as food and water will help her body. Go. I’ll be okay.”

  Neither the Golden Retriever nor the Pomeranian looked at all assured by Levi’s words, but they knew the futility of arguing. Levi had a head that was much harder than a dentibone.

  The three dogs eyed the Ravens warily as they made their way along the sidewalk, then up the driveway. For their part, the Ravens keenly watched the three dogs as they vanished behind the gate that opened at their approach, then closed with a solid clack of the latch, but whatever the glossy black birds thought, whether curiosity or alarm or enmity, remained hidden behind glass-like eyes that betrayed nothing of the birds’ enigmatic thoughts.

  Once Stacker was away (though Levi saw him out the corners of his eyes watching from behind a parked car on the other side of the street) and the others were safely inside, Levi turned his attention fully to the Unkindness[10] of Ravens, in particular, upon their alpha.

  “My name is Levi.”

  “We know of you, of who you are,” the Raven replied. “Your name has become known.”

  “And who are you?” Levi asked.

  “I am Pallas.”

  Levi wracked his mind for all he knew about Ravens and came up mostly empty-pawed. He had read the poem, but he somehow doubted it really gave a true representation of the race.

  On the other paw, Levi thought, there was definitely something grave, ghastly, grim, ungainly, gaunt and ominous about Pallas and the other members of his Unkindness. There was also a touch of the alien and exotic in the Ravens; though they had inhabited North America long enough to be considered a native species, there was about them an air of cultivated otherworldliness, their stilted and formal ways of speaking, their aloof carriage. Levi had at times seen and heard them around the neighborhood, but as they bothered no one and kept themselves to themselves, they had never come under the scrutiny of the Three Dog Detective Agency.

  “What do you want, Pallas?” Levi asked.

  “Your conflict with the Birds of Prey,” Pallas replied.

  “What about it?”

  “Is it your intent to destroy the Osprey’s gang?”

  “No, it is not,” Levi answered. “We have been asked to help the Parrots in…”

  “By the Parrots?” Pallas interrupted.

  “By a member of their tribe,” Levi informed the leader of the Ravens. “By Benedict, the grandson of their king.”

  “We have watched the Parrots and the Hawks for some time,” the Raven alpha asserted. “Our sentries watch from perches unseen and unsuspected, bringing their winged words to me.”

  “Then you know how the Parrots are being oppressed by the Hawks then,” Levi said.

  “I know,” Pallas confirmed.

  “Obviously, you do not seem motivated to do anything about it,” Levi observed. “So, what is your interest? Are you warning us off the case?”

  “We are not protectors of the Parrots,” Pallas said. “We are not allies of the Hawks.”

  “Surely you do not approve of the cruelty?” Levi said. “What of the way of the Thunderbird?”

  Pallas tilted his head to the left and for a moment there was a gleam in those otherwise expressionless eyes. Simultaneously, a low murmur passed among the Ravens behind him, but it swiftly subsided to an ominous silence.

  “A dog speaking of a Great Spirit of the Air,” Pallas murmured after a long moment. “Dogs are groundlings.”

  “Perhaps so,” Levi admitted, “but every creature with an awareness of self is also capable of recognizing there is something beyond self, a higher power that wishes us to aspire to be more than we are, to break free of limitations imposed by breed, from the material needs of our base instincts. We dogs look to Anubis, who was once a real dog who walked by the waters of the ancient Nile but who, by his own efforts and a faith in what he could not see, became more than he was, passing down the precepts that can guide us today, though, of course, not all dogs choose to follow a better way.”

  “It is the same with birds,” Pallas agreed. “Most aspire in some way to the purity of the Thunderbird, or Quetzalcoatl as he is called to the south, or Roc or Garuda elsewhere.”

  “Ravens as well?” Levi asked.

  “Somewhat,” Pallas replied evasively. “We follow The Two, the Ravens of primal times known as Huginn and Muninn when they served the force called Odin, whose true names are hidden. It was The Two who gave to us later-day Ravens the secret ways, known not even to other birds.”

  “What about these Raptors?” Levi asked. “These Birds of Prey? What higher force to they follow?”

  “Just as there are animal guides who challenge us to be better than we are birthed,” Pallas answered, “there are other forces of darkness, forces committed to destruction. You, of all animals, should understand that all living beings are continually caught in a war between good and evil.”

  Levi nodded.

  “The Birds of Prey serve Ripper,” Pallas announced. “And Ripper serves those destructiv
e forces so inimical to life.”

  “I think I begin to understand why you are here,” Levi said.

  “Go on.”

  “It is a test of sorts,” Levi surmised. “Having heard of our intervention between the Parrots and the Raptors, you need to find out who we are, what sort of dogs we are in our hearts, whether we walk in the light or in shadow.”

  “And we divine this just by speaking with you?” Pallas asked.

  “No, by looking within,” Levi answered, letting his eyes turn toward the assembled Unkindness before setting his unwavering gaze upon the leader of the Ravens. “By Thought, and Memory.”

  The Unkindness murmured and chattered in distress.

  Pallas silenced them with a sharp raucous squawk.

  Again, that ungainly fowl fixed the little Dachshund-mix with an unwavering glare, as did they all. Levi saw himself reflected endlessly in those black glassy eyes, as in countless obsidian mirrors or tiny pools of shimmering oil. He felt as if he were being drawn into the abyssal depths of those myriad eyes, and it was only by an act of will than he avoided being ensnared by them. He sank low on his haunches, splayed his forelegs somewhat and hurled outward a bark that began deep within his core and erupted from out his muzzle like a projectile from a naval gun.

  The Ravens reeled under an impact almost physical; they started to yammer, but Pallas silenced them with a forceful caw.

  “Let’s get down to business, Pallas, and you tell me why you all are here,” Levi demanded. “And no more Jedi mind tricks!”

  “No more…? Ah, yes, I suppose it is,” Pallas admitted. “How do you know the ways of The Two?”

  Levi shook his head and scratched behind his ear. “Dogs may be groundlings, as you charge, but we have senses which other animals do not. Our senses of smell and hearing, of course, but also of sight that goes beyond the easily seen, and perceptions not limited to the physical world. We can sense emotions in others, and under the right conditions project them into troubled hearts.

  “This is the first time I have been in close contact with Ravens,” Levi continued, “but I immediately sensed there was more to you than what I could see, a sort of reality hidden by a façade. It was at first nothing more than a vague impression, but it soon became apparent your words were as deceptive as your appearance, deceptive in the sense that you are not what you appear to be. That meant your reason for being here could not be what it appeared to be, a reaction to a simple conflict between dogs and birds.”