Crow Boy

by Maureen Bush

  As Gronvald stepped closer to Aleena, she froze, terrified. Maddy and I locked eyes and counted. One. Two. On three, Maddy yanked Aleena towards her, and I pulled Maddy as I fell to my knees in the stream.

  Gronvald laughed. I ignored him while I drew magic up through my body and imagined becoming water. I slipped into the stream, pulling Maddy and Aleena behind me. Gronvald screamed and lunged at Aleena but she shrank under his grasping hands, slipping beyond his reach. I could hear the crows mocking him as we became water.

  I took us down the stream into the ocean and stopped, not sure where to go. Once the water soothed her, Aleena took over. Holding our hands, she dove deep into the ocean. Then we travelled inland, squeezing through small spaces between rocks, and flowing under mountains. We travelled for far too long, until finally we started to flow up and I knew we were back in the mountains.

  Chapter 6

  Endangered Snails

  The water was icy cold as we rose up between rocks, until suddenly it was as warm as bathwater. We emerged into air and total darkness. I took a deep breath and choked on an overpowering smell of rotten eggs. I gagged and Maddy coughed.

  Even once I’d grown to full size, I was standing in water up to my neck. It was too deep for Maddy; she was splashing and choking. I held her so she didn’t have to keep swimming.

  Aleena sighed from deep in her throat. “Thank you,” she said, her voice shaky and low.

  “How did he find us?” asked Maddy, sounding very small.

  “He wants the nexus ring. He can track it – he’ll do anything to get it back.” Even in the dark, I could tell Aleena was shuddering. “But he hates water.”

  Darkness pressed against my eyeballs, so black I lost all sense of direction. I reached out a hand to feel for a wall or bank, and touched something slimy. I yelped and yanked back my hand.

  “What is it?” asked Maddy, clinging to me.

  I shuddered, and whispered, “Something really slimy.”

  Aleena laughed. “You guys sound so scared.”

  “Where are we?” asked Maddy.

  “In the human world it’s called the Banff Springs cave,” she said, sounding proud.

  “Banff?” I said, totally confused. “We’re in Banff?”

  Maddy tapped my shoulder. “Remember, Josh? We toured here last year.”

  I did remember. The smell was sulphur, and the slime was algae growing around the hot springs. “Why did you bring us here?” I asked.

  “I love it.” Aleena sighed. “The water feels so good.”

  Good? I waved my hand through the water. It felt kind of like being in a bath – a big, slimy bath. “I can’t see a thing,” I grumbled.

  “Use your firestone,” said Aleena, laughing at me.

  “Light a fire here?” I asked. “In water?”

  “No, silly. Just pull out a thread and use it as a light.”

  Puzzled, I pulled the firestone out of my pocket and let it drip for a moment. I closed my eyes and drew magic into my hand. I danced it around the firestone, reached in and touched a thread. Slowly I pulled it out; it dangled from my finger, a pale thread of fire. It was a pathetic little worm of light in this huge space.

  “Let magic flow through it,” Aleena said. I could hear the grin in her voice.

  I focused on my hand, and let magic flow through it into the thread. It flared into a blazing torch.

  Maddy gasped and hid her eyes.

  “Not so bright,” said Aleena, an arm across her face.

  I pulled the magic back until the light was comfortable, and looked around. The cave was huge, with a massively high ceiling. I could see twinkling through a hole in the roof, far above us. A waterfall splashed down one wall. The falling water was cold, but warm water bubbled up under my feet, the bubbles tickling as they bumped against my legs.

  Algae floated on the surface of the water in spotted white mats. I poked at one, and pulled back my finger in disgust.

  “Just push it away,” Aleena said.

  I shuddered and pushed, and it floated away, the surface quivering.

  Maddy started exploring the edges of the cave, where the water was shallower. Aleena lay back, relaxing in the warm water.

  I copied her, one hand holding up the firestone light. The water was so buoyant I could float easily. “This is fun,” I said to Maddy.

  “No,” she said. “It’s dark and stinky and closed in. I don’t like it here, not at all.”

  I turned to Aleena. “We should go.”

  Aleena sighed and stood. “Okay, we’ll head outside.”

  She grabbed our hands and before I could fill my lungs or put out the firestone light, Maddy and I were pulled down into the water. We shrank and flowed up a stream of water onto a wet mountainside.

  In the moonlight we could see water seeping down a hillside coated in white, with grey algae mats creating a patchwork on top. Aleena helped us walk to firm ground.

  The moon was bright and the stars incredibly lively, twinkling back and forth at one another. As I gazed at them, I felt like I could see across the universe. I wanted to linger, to plan a painting in deep blue, but Aleena led us on.

  “There’s a doorway over here,” Aleena said, leading us towards nearby trees. “We’ll go to the outdoor pool in the human world.”

  “We can’t,” said Maddy, her voice firm.

  Aleena just shrugged and faced the doorway.

  “I’ll do it,” I said. I stepped forward and focused on magic while Maddy scowled.

  When the doorway was open, Aleena stepped up to it and paused. I could see she was trying to look like she didn’t care, but she actually wanted us to come with her. Maddy saw it too.

  Did she enjoy showing us around and teaching me magic? Maddy must have thought so, because she said, “We’ll only come if you promise to talk about the ring.”

  I held my breath as I thought, Oh, Maddy, are you sure? What if she just leaves?

  “Fine,” sighed Aleena. “I’ll talk about your precious ring.”

  I let out my breath in a whoosh.

  Aleena turned, her cloak swirling, and disappeared through the doorway. Maddy nodded for me to follow.

  I slipped into the doorway just as Aleena disappeared in the fog. For a moment, something felt odd. Perhaps I’d been too close to Aleena.

  Maddy followed me through the doorway, and behind her flew a crow, large and rumpled, with a flash of white on his wing tips. This was the first crow I’d seen that wasn’t all black. With a rough “craw,” he flew past us and landed high in a nearby tree.

  Bright lights shone on buildings just below us; the town of Banff gleamed further down the mountainside. Near us a tidy wooden walkway followed a stream and circled pools of water.

  It was only now that I’d left the magic world that I realized I’d been feeling something new, a special kind of magic. I sketched on my leg as I struggled to figure it out. The feeling had been small, but intense; tightly coiled, a little wild – as it would have to be to exist among sulphur, hot springs and algae mats. It was so strong that when I was quiet and checked for it, I could still feel it, faint but unmistakable, the slightest touch of wildness.

  Maddy poked me to pay attention as Aleena pulled us into the stream. We shrank into the flow of hot water and emerged in a warm outdoor pool. As soon as we surfaced, Aleena whispered, “Stay low, and don’t say a word.”

  The pool was surrounded by cliff walls and wooden walkways, backed by a building and wooden fencing. Water bubbled up from the bottom of the pool.

  While Maddy and I clung to the edge of the cliff, Aleena wove her hands in the air, drawing steam off the surface of the water, collecting it around herself until she was surrounded by a cloak of fog. Hiding in it, she climbed out of the pool onto the walkway and stepped up to the security camera. “A little water in the wiring usually works,” she whispered, as she closed her eyes and touched a finger to the camera.

  I braced myself, but all I saw was a quick spark.

&n
bsp; Aleena jumped back into the water and called out to us, “Go ahead, have some fun.”

  Maddy worked her way around the edge, finding shallow places. I waded into the middle of the pool and looked up. There was moonlight here, but it wasn’t the same as in the magic world. Somehow it was dimmer, and the stars were less alive.

  “We have to talk about the ring,” Maddy said.

  Aleena frowned at her. “In a minute. In a minute.”

  Maddy made a face and turned away. I lay back and floated. I liked this pool. It had enough starlight and moonlight to see by, and not too many disgusting algae mats. I could just float, warm and quiet, and watch the stars.

  Maddy called out to me, “Josh, look at these.” Her nose almost touched an algae mat as she studied it through her ring.

  I swam over and took a look. “Those really are gross,” I said.

  “No, look closely. Here.”

  She pointed at a little dark spot on the mat. I leaned closer, trying to see in the dim light.

  “They’re snails,” Maddy said.

  Those little spots the size of orange seeds were snails? “How do you know?” I asked.

  “Because I remember!” she snapped. “These are the Banff Spring snails, and we shouldn’t be here!” She turned and climbed out of the pool.

  “They’re just snails,” said Aleena.

  “They’re an endangered species!” Maddy lectured from the deck. “In all the world, they only live here! And we’re swimming in their home!”

  While they argued I studied the snails. I could feel them radiating an energy I recognized. These tiny snails were the source of that tight wild magic, strong enough to feel even here in the human world.

  “I can’t hurt them,” said Aleena. “I’m part of their world.”

  “Just being in their water hurts them,” said Maddy. “But you don’t care who you hurt. That baby crow, the snails, tears in the veil of magic. You only care about having fun, about yourself.”

  Maddy was close to tears. She yanked off her ring and held it out to Aleena. “Look at the snails. Even in the human world you can see that they’re magic.”

  Aleena shook her head, refusing to take the ring. “Yap, yap, yap,” she said. Then, at Maddy’s scowl, she sighed. “Fine. We’ll leave the itty bitty snails alone.”

  Aleena gestured for me to join Maddy at the edge of the pool. As we climbed out a flock of crows arrived, Corvus at their centre. While the other crows circled, the white-tipped crow cawed to Corvus. The flock landed and strutted around Corvus, cawing to him and listening while he muttered back. Then they flew up in a cloud of black, lined up along the roof of the building by the pool, and began to caw together.

  Aleena hissed, “Corvus, be quiet.”

  He cawed back.

  “Corvus, go away!”

  But he didn’t. They didn’t. They just cawed and cawed until the pool echoed with it.

  Then a voice boomed, “Hey! What are you doing here?”

  I jumped in surprise, my heart pounding.

  A man wearing a Parks Canada uniform burst through the gate and raced down the walkway. He slid to a halt as he saw us standing at the edge of the pool, water dripping off our clothes.

  “What are you doing?” he asked. “You could be charged $2000 for being in that pool. Each.”

  I gasped and stepped back. “For what?”

  “For disturbing the snails! Disturbing an endangered species is a criminal offence.”

  He pulled out a notepad and a pencil. “I’ll have to call the warden, who will legally charge you. What are your names?” he demanded, staring at Aleena.

  Aleena just turned and dove into the water. Fog began to build around her, hiding her as she retreated to the far corner of the pool.

  “Hey,” shouted the man. “Where did she go?” He shone his flashlight around the pool, trying to see into the fog.

  “Aleena, take us with you,” I called to her.

  She stepped further back as the fog deepened.

  “We rescued you from Gronvald!” I cried. “You can’t just leave us here!”

  The fog was still. The man stepped closer to us.

  “Aleena, please!” I said.

  The dark figure in the fog moved towards us, the fog flowing with her. A delicate hand reached out, the nexus ring gleaming darkly on one finger. I grabbed Maddy’s hand and reached for Aleena’s.

  She yanked us into the pool and drew us down into the water. As we touched the water we began to shrink. The last thing I saw was the man’s stunned face staring as we disappeared into the pool. I laughed as I thought, How is he going to explain this to the warden?

  Chapter 7

  Storm Mountain

  Aleena pulled us down through warm water, flowing into smaller and smaller spaces. Then the water became bitterly cold and we squeezed up and up. We arrived in an icy stream in a moonlit meadow.

  As I grew I stepped over the rocks to the shore, Maddy beside me. Once I’d reached my full size I was almost dry – only my runners were damp.

  I was cold anyway. A sharp wind blew down the mountain behind us. We were surrounded by mountains lit by an almost full moon. A few lights flickered in the valley far below us, and a sheer rock wall towered to our left.

  Aleena said, “There was a fire here, years ago.” I could hear the fear of fire in her voice. “It was started by a lightning strike.”

  I looked down the mountain at tree trunks burnt clean of branches, still standing long after the fire, with new growth surging up from below. In the moonlight it was all in black and white and shades of grey, but I didn’t think it would be much different in daylight. To paint it, I’d just need to add deep green for the new growth, and a few spots of colour for late-blooming wildflowers.

  The wind gusted and we shivered. “We need to cross the veil back to the magic world,” said Aleena. “I can keep you warm there.”

  “We can’t keep taking the ring across the veil,” Maddy said, her teeth chattering. “Why won’t you listen?”

  Aleena sighed. “I’m going to cross, and I’m not leaving the ring here. Not for that troll to sniff out.” She walked towards the sheer cliff face.

  I squeezed Maddy’s hand. “I’ll open it,” I said. I ran to catch up with Aleena. Drawing magic into my lungs, I exhaled a patch of mist near the base of the cliff.

  On the magic side of the veil, the mountains were the same but the slope below us was dark with tall trees. There’d been no devastating fire here.

  The wind was just as sharp, though. Maddy shivered.

  Aleena said, “If you’d like, we can use the veil to cross time to morning, when it’ll be warmer.”

  “No,” Maddy almost shouted. “No,” she said, a little more softly. “No more crossing the veil. We can wait for morning.” She yawned. “We need to sleep.”

  We lit a fire, carefully clearing a site on rock, with nothing that could burn nearby. Once it was burning, Maddy and I lay down near the fire. Aleena surrounded us with a blanket of magic to keep us warm while we slept. It was an oddly gentle gesture, for her.

  I slept dreaming of failure, of gaping tears in the veil, of Keeper’s disappointment, of magic slowly leaking out of the magic world.

  ~

  When I woke at dawn, Aleena had fish ready to cook for breakfast, but she asked me to light the fire.

  While we ate I realized where we were. I’d sketched near here last summer. Behind us loomed Storm Mountain, partially hidden by deep grey clouds. Below us lay a wide valley, with a river winding through forests. The first of fall’s colours showed in flashes of yellow on the river bank.

  I knew the highway to Radium followed this valley in the human world; here it seemed darker and more wild. I could feel magic deep in the mountains, and could feel more of it in me, like it had been soaking in while I slept.

  “Why did you bring us here?” Maddy asked. I couldn’t tell from her voice if she was just interested, or warming up for another lecture.

 
; “Well, it’s not far from the Banff Springs,” Aleena said, “and we can walk up to the glacier.” She glanced down at me. “Humans call it Stanley Glacier.”

  A glacier? I thought. Why would she be interested in glaciers? Of course! Glaciers are made of ice – of water – and Aleena loved anything to do with water.

  Maddy didn’t ask any more questions, but I could see her thinking, planning, trying to figure out how to get the nexus ring back.

  As soon as we’d eaten and washed, Aleena was eager to hike up to the glacier. I wanted to linger, to study the colours of the wildflowers in the meadow and to memorize the shape of the mountains. But Aleena was restless, and Maddy and I needed to keep Aleena happy.

  I thought about Keeper as we walked, how he felt he’d failed because Aleena had the nexus ring again, how Maddy and I needed to get it back for him. But how? I couldn’t see a way.

  I could feel magic all around us, in the trees and the milky blue creek and the mountains, each with its own flavour. The creek was light and playful, the trees strong, and the mountains deeply powerful. As we walked I focused on first one magic and then another, getting to know each one.

  We followed the creek up a wide valley. Sometimes, as the path twisted, we could see Stanley Glacier gleaming above us. Finally we reached a plateau close to the glacier. The ice looked as if it had poured off the mountain behind it, filling the valley with white. Below the glacier the slopes were covered in small rocks – scree, Aleena called it.

  Trees and bushes covered the plateau where we stood, with small purple flowers blooming in patches. A stream wound past, icy with glacial meltwater.

  I stared above us at the glacier. It was fascinating, white with shades of blue and grey. It felt alive, almost pulsing. I stood totally still and listened; I could hear creaking. I remembered that glaciers are not unmoving lumps – the ice flows like a river, only very, very slowly. As I watched the glacier I started to feel it, a deep, old magic.