by Lydia Deyes
Nyoka was the first to raise her paw, and several other rats joined her. “Excellent,” I continued. “You should blend in with the city dwellers enough to go unnoticed, but travel at night just to be safe. As for any other newcomers who might wish to join our family, I’ll need to make sure they are safe first. Without Samuel’s wards to protect us, we don’t know who we can trust out here, so make sure to introduce me to all new creatures so I can scan them for signs of darkness.”
Many animals nodded in agreement, and some were already exchanging pieces of blue fabric with those who’d fought alongside us. When I had their attention again, I continued. “Now, the other thing we all need to keep in mind is that we are encroaching on established territory. I need as many of you as possible to spread throughout the forest and talk to its current residents. We need to make sure they are willing to relocate, willing to coexist with us, or even better, interested in joining the family. Our total territory needs to be large enough to house all of us peacefully. Who is able to help with this important step?”
I was exhilarated to see over half of the animals step forward as one. Of those who didn’t volunteer, almost all of them were injured. “Thank you!” I cried. “Thank you all for your willingness to help rebuild our society. Before we disperse, I’ll let Anna talk about specific herbs and roots we need to treat the injured right now. Please look for them while you’re out and about, and bring back as much as you can. But always make sure to leave enough of the plant intact that it can grow back, or else we won’t be able to sustain our supply.” With that, I stepped down from the rock, letting Anna take my place.
“That was good, Sheer,” Amery said to me as I walked towards her. “See? I told you that you’d make a good leader.”
I simply shrugged, then turned to watch Anna. Even though I knew just as much about the plants needed for medical treatment, it was nice not to be the center of attention for a while.
When Anna had finished speaking, everyone who was well enough to scout the forest dispersed into the woods, following my instructions. Amery and I went together to get a more detailed scope of the land and look for landmarks we could use to mark the boundaries of our territory if all went well. With the wolf still on the prowl, Samuel’s army needed a defined border to defend in case of another war.
Amery and I traveled deep into the forest until we reached a brook that flowed gently as far as we could see in either direction. If we could convince everyone between the brook and city to relinquish their land to us, this would make a clear edge of our territory. Moving northwest along the edge of the brook, we stopped at an enormous pine that had fallen over a long time ago. Five of its branches had taken root and become their own self-sustaining trunks, stretching high into the sky in parallel lines. From the top of one of these, we could see the roof of the last tall building on this side of the city. To the west, I noticed a long ridge of dark, barren cliffs. It contrasted starkly with the tree-covered mountains in the east.
Has that ridge always been so dark?
It didn’t matter now; they were far beyond any territory we could possibly fill. Amery and I looped around to the other side of our potential territory and found a large clearing cutting into the forest on the opposite end of the city, then a sandpit next to the stream.
Having determined the four corners and outer edge ideal for sealing off our territory, we returned to the center of it all, where everyone had begun to gather in another clearing. We’d been too busy fighting a battle to have breakfast, and a few animals had gathered some supplies to prepare our first meal outside of the thirteenth floor. Clusters had formed based on diet. I realized I’d never learned where Samuel had procured all of the fish, grains, fruit, and vegetables all of the members had subsided on for decades. As much as it pained me that we’d lost so many lives in the battle, we could no longer afford to feed many more mouths than those who’d survived. I shivered when I saw a group of hawks huddled around the body of a vole, and hoped everyone would continue to respect the other family members, even when meals were tight.
Just as I was about to step into the clearing, something underneath a huckleberry bush caught my eye. I lighted down next to the soft ground, curious.
As soon as I stepped under the overhanging branches of the wild bush, I stopped short in horror. I could only stare, not wanting to look at it but unable to look away.
When Amery joined me, she asked, “What is it, Sheer? What’s wrong?”
“Don’t you see that?”
“What, the stem of the bush? It seems normal enough to me.”
“No, no… the claw.” A shiver ran down my entire body. “The bloody claw.” I continued to stare at the grotesque wolf’s claw, glistening with fresh, red blood.
“No, Sheer. I don’t see it. I’m sorry.”
A vision.
It had come too soon. I wasn’t ready for this — none of us was. I’d seen Nivek’s claw in my visions before, but it had always been clean and white. The change could only mean he’d shed blood and was gaining power. We would have to act quickly if we wanted to stop him.
I sighed. “The war isn’t over. It has only just begun.”
Amery looked at me, fear in her eyes. I wanted to protect her from what she was afraid of, but I felt powerless to do so. The only thing I could do was fight and hope no one else got hurt in the process.
“I hate this!” I cried, suddenly overcome with frustration and anger. “Why can’t we just live our lives? I haven’t had a single break since I woke up in that stupid fire. Every time I found a place that was safe, something terrible happened.”
“I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think,” Amery started to say, but I couldn’t let her finish.
“Not that bad? When I lived with the squirrels, fire struck wherever I stayed for more than a night. When I found the thirteenth floor, I was roped into this whole thing about fighting evil, or something. Of course Spike found out where I was and poisoned me. When that was over, I went out to try to do something good — to rescue my father and save the animals from the cave of smoke — but guess what happened then?”
“Sheer, you don’t have to…”
“No, listen to me! I lost everyone, okay? I lost my sister and my mother. I lost my best friend. And when I came back, Samuel was gone! I didn’t even get to say goodbye to him. He was just… gone. And now our home is gone, too. Everything I’ve ever gained, everyone I ever cared about, I’ve lost.”
Amery’s eyes wavered. “Everyone?”
Anger festering inside me, I spit out my answer without thinking. “Yes, Amery. If Samuel hadn’t risked his life for you, his leg would never have gotten infected and he wouldn’t have died. It’s your fault he’s dead. I wish he had never tried to save you.”
“Fine, Sheer. Thanks for telling me how you really feel.” Amery turned and flew past me to sit beside Anna, and I realized that some of the animals nearest to us were watching me. When our eyes met, they looked away.
“I just want my mentor back,” I mumbled, but my anger was fading, and I felt bad for hurting Amery. I grabbed a peck of seeds from the pile in the center of the clearing and sat by myself to eat, facing away from all the other animals.
XXV
When I was halfway through my pile of seeds, I felt a light tap on my wing. I turned around to see Amery standing next to me. I opened my beak in an attempt to apologize, but she averted her gaze and simply gestured behind me, where a badger was standing with a chickadee held softly but firmly in his mouth. As soon as I looked back at Amery, she was already walking away.
I’ll talk to her later, I decided, then addressed the badger. “What is it?”
The badger wrote his name in the ground with his claw. “My name’s Ryan,” he said, releasing the chickadee from his mouth. The tiny bird was sopping wet and trembling. “Everyone who was in the expedition to talk to the current residents of this part of the forest came back with good news, sir,” the badger continued, eyeing the bird. “But this is
a newcomer. I thought you’d want to see him.”
“Why’d you treat him so harshly?” I asked, examining the new bird. He was about my age, I supposed, perhaps a little younger, but it was hard to tell.
Ryan responded without taking his eyes off the chickadee. “He was struggling, sir. He wouldn’t allow me to escort him to you, and he didn’t want to wait until you had returned from scouting or until you had finished eating. He was too eager to see you, sir, and he wanted to find you on his own. I was afraid he might have intended you harm.”
“This little guy? He seems harmless enough. Thanks for your concern, Ryan, but I’ll take it from here.”
“Thank you,” he replied, then bowed and uttered another word or phrase I didn’t recognize. Perhaps he had called me something other than “sir” or “Sheer” or “sparrow.” It seemed respectful, anyway, so I didn’t worry too much about it. Instead, I turned to the newcomer.
“I’m sorry for your trouble,” I told him. “Everyone’s a bit on edge since we’re still new to the forest. Why were you so eager to see me?”
“I’ve heard a great deal about you, sir,” he said with wide eyes, shaking out his feathers. “Your name is well known where I’m from. I wanted to see you myself; to see if you were real.”
I chuckled, then stopped. No matter how long I’d endured this ailment, it was still awkward to feel the rumbling in my throat and tickle in my sides, but to hear nothing. It was far worse than not hearing my own voice, which I’d mostly gotten used to by now. I cleared my throat. “What’s your name, chickadee?”
He spoke his name, and I blinked. I’d gotten so used to reading body language, I’d forgotten I had no way to learn details like names. I glanced at Ryan, thankful he was still present. “Could you write it down, please?” Realization crept into the chickadee’s eyes, then a flash of pity — a look I’d seen many times before, whenever someone learned I was deaf.
“Kevin,” the badger wrote.
“Nice to meet you, Kevin.” I could feel Amery watching me from across the clearing, as if her eyes were burning into the back of my head. It was time to adhere to my earlier claim and scan the first new member of the family for any sign of the darkness that had pushed Nyoka and Spike to become villains. It felt silly to scan this tiny chickadee; he was so innocent and frail, like a child. But I had a duty to fulfill, so I would humor her.
“Stay where you are for a moment,” I instructed Kevin. When his composure shifted to fear, I comforted him. “Don’t worry; this won’t hurt, and it will only last a second. I just need to look at you… from a different perspective.” He seemed to relax a bit but was still tense. He’d never been reviewed by me and wasn’t a member of Samuel’s family, so he’d never seen me procure a vision before. He had no idea what I was going to do, and I didn’t know how to explain it any further, so I decided to act swiftly and get it over with.
I closed my eyes and willed the image to appear. To my dismay, the bloody claw from earlier snapped into view and overtook my thoughts. The darkness around the claw was dense and seemed… alive. It reached for me, trying to smother me, strangle me. I tried to shove it down, to bring the vision back to a perspective of my current surroundings, but the darkness only grew bolder and stronger. Finally, just as it reached me, I had no choice but to release it. When it cleared, I gasped for air. For a moment, it had felt as if the darkness really was constricting my throat. I shook my head, trying to clear my mind and compose myself.
“You’re fine,” I told him once I’d caught my breath. There was no use worrying about a harmless chickadee when there were much bigger concerns looming in the future. The deadly claw was a sign I couldn’t ignore, and we would need to prepare for another battle — perhaps one worse than the first. “So, do you want to join Samuel’s family? We need everyone we can get to help fight Nivek. That wolf is dangerous. I’m not sure exactly how, but I just know.”
“Yes, actually,” the little bird responded. “That’s why I came to see you.”
I could still feel Amery’s eyes boring into my skull, though when I shot her a glance, she looked away. It was making me uncomfortable. “Really? Why don’t you tell me about it? Let’s find a cozy spot to chat. I’d love to hear about your journey and where you come from.”
XXVI
Kevin and I flew a little further off, to a bush near the border stream. “I live with my family over there, where the forest edge meets the mountains,” he said, pointing to the east. It was very easy for me to read his body language, even though I hadn’t met many chickadees, because it was so similar to my own and full of extra flourishes — though he could have been adding those intentionally on account of my disability. Either way, I was grateful. I relaxed in his company, not burdened with trying so hard to understand what he was saying.
“Nivek and his wolves have invaded those lands,” he continued. “The mountains are no longer safe. The wolves have traveled from the far north and are making their way west now that they have come near the forest. They have already taken over all the barren land up there. From what I’ve heard, Nivek has gathered together more than a hundred packs of wolves, and there may even be a worse creature with him.”
“What sort of creature?”
“I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard rumors. It’s a creature of legend supposedly hovering over the dark western cliffs, where the wolves are headed. it’s a dark animal, evil beyond all evil, and answers only to Nivek. Some say it’s the spy and servant of the devil himself.” As soon as he said this, I recalled the myth Samuel had described to me.
Malvador. Could it be real?
Samuel had thought that perhaps, if it was real, it had something to do with the fires that had haunted me when I lived with the squirrels. I shivered, imagining this shadow vulture lurking in the darkest places.
“No one who ventures near the dark cliffs ever returns alive,” Kevin continued, “so no one really knows for certain whether Malvador truly exists. But it’s said that it can traverse miles with a single swift beat of its wings, and that every place it passes over is consumed by fire and turned to ash. I don’t know whether all this is true or not, but one thing I do know: Nivek has been terrifying both animals and humans into submitting to him. He burns any village or region that resists. On top of that, the numbers behind Nivek have been staggering ever since the wolf murdered his father just a couple days ago.”
“Wh…He did what?”
“You haven’t heard? Their pack was one of the strongest in this part of the country. He murdered his father, the original pack leader. He was second in command and next in line, but he couldn’t wait. Nivek’s lust for power was just too great. And his desire for power wasn’t satiated when he became pack leader. Oh, no. Now he wants to rule everything.”
Kevin’s last statement was so fierce, I was suddenly very afraid. I thought for a moment, realizing this enemy was far more evil than either of his predecessors. I could see the fear reflected in Kevin’s eyes and knew he’d come to me because he worried his community was next in line. Anger towards Nivek brewed inside me.
How could he do this? Why would anyone want that much power?
“I’m shocked to hear this,” I told him. “But why come to me? What could I possibly do to stop such a monster?”
Kevin’s countenance sank. “What do you mean? I’ve heard of your great strength in war, of your vast army. If anyone could defeat the wolf, it would have to be you. I’ve even heard rumors of your… special abilities.”
I was flattered, but at the same time confused. I hadn’t told anyone about my powers, not even my closest friends. Samuel would’ve been the first to know, if I hadn’t been afraid to let it show. I’d only used it openly in the heat of a battle, when everyone was distracted. How could anyone have known?
Spike, I realized, my eyes widening. He would know. I never told him not to share the information… there was no time. It hasn’t even been a full day since the battle.
“Who told you of m
y powers?” I asked.
Kevin hesitated. “I don’t know. I just heard talk of all the things you’ve done. You didn’t think actions that great would go completely unnoticed, did you?”
I thought for a moment. I supposed if Spike had started to talk about my powers, others may have attributed them to my assistance in the battle. After that, it wasn’t really that surprising to think the news would’ve spread like wildfire.
I wish someone had confronted me about it, though.
“What exactly do you know?”
“Only that you can control an object’s movement without touching it, that’s all. I don’t know how you do it, but I sure wish I did. It’s really cool.”
“You’re not afraid of me because of it?”
“No! Of course not, why would I be? I’m on your side, right? And you’re on mine. So, I’m glad to have your abilities in support of me.”
I had never thought of it that way, and it made me smile. After all, once I gained control of it, I had only used my power for good. Maybe it wasn’t something to be afraid of anymore. “Well, thanks. I don’t really know what to say, Kevin. It’s nice to have someone I can talk to about it.”
Kevin smiled. “Of course! So… do you think you can defeat Nivek?”
I shook my head. Even though I’d won over the snake and crow, this was an entirely different situation. “I know you think highly of me, and that you think I can accomplish anything, but how could I possibly fight him? We lost over half of our army fighting against Spike’s bears and crows. Forget Malvador; if Nivek really has hundreds of packs of wolves behind him, what can a few woodland creatures do against him? We’ll be obliterated.”
“I don’t know… maybe you don’t need to fight him. Maybe you could strike a deal with him so he won’t destroy the forest. But if you don’t do anything at all, the entire place will be nothing more than burned tree stumps, ashes, and millions of creatures without homes — if they survive.” He looked at me with big, pleading eyes. “Can’t you help?”