by Lydia Deyes
And then, suddenly, Kevin flew beside me. I couldn’t tell where he’d come from, but was overcome with relief that he was alive and here to help. “Sheer,” he said, slowly and calmly so I could understand, “Nivek is coming to speak with you. I heard him myself.”
Kevin’s calm mannerisms helped me relax, but I had no time to react. As if on cue, the scarred wolf and two others lunged through the bushes behind the chickadee. Now that I was face-to-face with him, Nivek was even more terrifying. The formidable glare in his yellow eyes, the ragged scar across his face, the razor sharp teeth in his maw, the pitch black fur standing up from his back, his immense size… and his long, sharp, blood-stained claws evoked the deepest fear I’d ever felt. His gray-coated companions seemed like pale, harmless puppies in comparison. I was no longer astonished that he’d be capable of murdering his own father.
Kevin and Amery stood perched behind me, shaking with fear. The sky seemed to darken with the wolf’s very presence, and I could feel the dead silence, even though I couldn’t hear it. It felt as if the world were holding its breath. I sensed a deep, rumbling tremor as Nivek began to speak. I tried to pretend I was brave, brave for Samuel’s family and Kevin and Amery.
“I have heard of you, Sheer,” he snarled, “though we have never officially met. I am Finsternis. Your worst nightmare.” I barely had time to register that the wolf had used his longer name before a high-pitched ringing blasted through my head, flooding it with pain. The sound dimmed for a moment, and I heard a voice in my head, just like Samuel’s so long ago. This voice was different — higher pitched and tinny, but a welcome relief when compared to the ringing resounding in my mind.
“He’s trying to control you, Sheer. Don’t let him in, and don’t let him fool you. The name Finsternis is only a cover, to conceal his true identity. You know his true name, but he doesn’t know that and wants to keep it secret. Names have power; knowing a name can make the bearer vulnerable. Trust me, and I can pull you through this.”
I forced my eyes open through the pain, and through my bleary surroundings, spotted Kevin’s eyes boring through me.
So it’s him.
I was surprised at Kevin’s ability to speak in my head like Samuel had, but I was too distracted to care. I bent over, cringing in pain at the sound in my mind as it amplified again. Kevin could apparently hear my thoughts as well, for he responded, “I didn’t want you to be afraid of me, but I figured you needed some help right now. With me by your side, you can evade Nivek’s mind games.”
As soon as he said that, the pain and ringing faded away. I had collapsed on the ground, and I noticed Amery was watching me with concern from a distance, not wanting to be too close to the menacing wolf. As I stood, I felt the hot breath of the wolf next to my head and stumbled backwards. I had no idea I’d fallen so close to him.
Why didn’t he just kill me?
“I know who you are, Nivek,” I proclaimed. “And your tricks won’t work on me.”
He only smirked. “We’ll have to see about that.”
“What do you want?” I asked, confidence and strength blooming inside me now that I had Kevin’s help. “If you want my friends, forget it. You will never have power over them. I will fight to keep them.”
“Feisty, aren’t you? But you see, I have no interest in fighting you, puny one. I could destroy you in a heartbeat if I wanted to. However, I believe I could make good use of you, with a little… adjustment. So, I’ll make you a deal. Surrender yourself to me, or I’ll make you watch all your little friends die, slowly and painfully, one by one, until you do turn to me. Starting with this pretty little one,” he said, turning a claw towards Amery.
My heart pounded. Deliver myself, or deliver my friends? That wasn’t a choice I wanted to make. Samuel’s family depended on me, as their leader, to defeat Nivek. How could I give up on the quest and the prophecy now, when I was so close? I looked at Amery, and the expression in her eyes tugged on my heartstrings. Even though we’d been fighting lately, perhaps especially so, I couldn’t leave her. Not now. Not like this.
I had only one choice. “I will never surrender,” I declared. “And I will not let any of these innocent creatures die. We will fight together, and you will be defeated.” My thirst for vengeance and justice surged with my declaration. I needed to kill him. He was the reason all of my family and best friends, and so many others, were dead. He wouldn’t get any more of them.
Nivek growled, sending vibrations through the air. Amery flinched, just within my peripheral vision. The scarred wolf looked ready to kill, but so did I. “You have until next full moon to surrender yourself,” he snarled, pointing a curved, shining claw to the sky. He lowered his paw and dug two channels into the dirt, then poked a hole into the intersection. “You will meet me where two streams merge into the one that borders your territory. If you haven’t showed up by then, you and your entire settlement will be nothing but blood and ash when I’m finished.” Without another word, he and his two companions turned and stormed out of the clearing.
I hung my head with a sigh as soon as they were out of sight, my mustered courage withering away. What could I do? I had promised a fight, but we were nowhere near ready to face the terrible wolves. “You did the right thing, Sheer,” Amery said to me with soft and gentle eyes. But when I looked to Kevin, he remained silent, and I wasn’t comforted.
More animals streamed into the clearing now that the wolves had left. Something needed to be done. I couldn’t surrender. I couldn’t just let them all die, and I still had anger and vengeance burning inside of me. We would have to fight, and somehow we had to win. “You’ve done it twice before,” Amery said. “Maybe you can defeat Finsternis, too.”
“Nivek,” I corrected. “Finsternis isn’t his real name.”
“Well, Sheer?” Kevin asked, landing on the ground beside me. “What will you do?”
“We will fight,” I said softly.
“We will fight!” Amery exclaimed, and I could feel the roar of assent from Samuel’s family. I flapped my wings with conviction.
“We will fight,” Kevin agreed, his eyes narrowing with determination.
Since everyone appeared to be in the clearing already, I decided to start battle plans immediately. There was no time to waste.
“Commanders!” I called out. “Come forward. Nyoka.” The rat scurried up to my side. “You’re in command of small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.” She nodded.
“Spike, birds of prey.” He flew to my side.
“Ryan, all large mammals.” The loyal badger leapt forward and nearly trampled Nyoka in his eagerness and excitement of being included.
“Amery,” I asked, turning to her, “would you take command of the other birds?” She nodded solemnly.
I called other elders and loyal creatures to serve as lieutenants under the chosen commanders. I found Swift among the crowd, the peregrine falcon who’d helped find recruitments for the battle of the thirteenth floor. He and a fish eagle joined Spike; a fox and beaver walked up to Ryan. A weasel, garden snake, and toad stood next to Nyoka. Finally, I asked a robin, duck, and woodpecker to join Amery.
“I need scouts,” I declared, “to find Poison and her beetles again, and Rebekah’s hummingbirds, plus any others who might join us. I’ll take Spike’s place while he goes to fetch his crows. Does anyone volunteer to go out and look for allies?”
I was amazed at the sheer number of animals that immediately came forward. Only a few took a step back. I went among them and picked out a few that seemed the fastest or most fit that would be able to endure the journey and come back quickly. Most of them had joined after we came to the forest and had no injuries from the battle, but some were from the thirteenth floor. The hawk, squirrel, wild dog, bald eagle, kingfisher, and mole left right away.
“Anna, could you come forward? Is there anyone else experienced with medical herbs?” Samuel’s granddaughter approached me, along with three others: a field mouse, an otter, and a lizard. I had all of t
hem set up a medical facility adjacent to center camp, with the help of a pair of beavers.
“Patrols will be triple what they were before,” I announced, “to watch in case Nivek breaks the agreement and ambushes us earlier. I’d like one animal each from Spike’s group and Ryan’s, and two each from Amery’s and Nyoka’s command, to check the camp border during each shift. We’ll switch shifts at dawn, noon, sunset, and midnight, when the moon is the highest. The commanders can choose who goes on each shift. Does everyone understand?” I felt and saw the mass consent expressed by the crowd.
Finally, there were no more positions to be wanted. “We only have one cycle of the moon to prepare,” I warned. “So we must begin training immediately. Commanders and lieutenants, make sure that no one in your group falls behind. We are only as strong as our weakest member, and all should reach their maximum potential. This is Nivek we’re dealing with this time. Who knows what he’s capable of doing.” I then dismissed them to their tasks and watched the animals hustle off to various potential training grounds. At that moment, I felt a tap on my back. I turned around to face Kevin.
“What should I do?” he asked.
“I need a friend,” I replied.
“I can do that.”
XXX
No more than half a day later, I sent Spike off to get his crows. As I’d promised, I took his place as commander over the birds of prey. The group had grown since we left the thirteenth floor and now consisted of over a hundred birds. In fact, all groups of loyal warriors had increased in number, just from newcomers to Samuel’s family since we’d moved to the forest. There wasn’t enough room for all the additional members in our territory, so many animals of all kinds continued to live in their previous homes but came to our part of the forest for news and training. Thankfully, the initial expeditions for more blue fabric had been successful, and we had an abundance of blue scraps to mark all the new members. I sensed some were joining just for the protection against predators, who were now sending hunting parties far from the territory borders to bring back large game to feed multiple animals. At this point, though, we needed all the help we could get. I didn’t care what their motivations were, as long as they were willing to fight alongside us.
I’d lost count of the number of new devotees that had come to seek my approval for entry into the army. Ever since Kevin came, the others didn’t seem as important. I was still unable to procure any vision other than the bloody claw or, if I concentrated hard enough, the wolf himself. Kevin’s presence helped me forget about the apparition momentarily, but it always came back. I was tired of seeing it and afraid of what it could mean. I knew Nivek had murdered his father, but was another even more dreadful act being foreshadowed? Something that might affect me or Kevin or Amery? Chills slid down my spine every time I contemplated it.
I shook myself and tried to focus on the task at hand. It was the first day of training, and many of the hawks, eagles, and other birds in Spike’s group were incredibly inexperienced when it came to fighting. Only those few that had been original members of the thirteenth floor had any experience at all. I’d have to start from the beginning, with the basics. I realized that this would be harder than I’d thought, and waited impatiently for Spike to return so I wouldn’t have to do all his work for him.
I thought about what a bird of prey would need to be proficient in to fight well: mainly flying, diving, and scratching or grabbing with talons. For each of these movements, the birds would need the strength to carry heavy objects or fly to great heights, and good endurance to last throughout the fight.
With this in mind, I decided flying strength would be a good place to start. I gathered the hundred or so birds of prey before me, standing by the river bordering our territory, and began to instruct them for their first training exercise.
“I want each of you to fly as high as you can into the sky, while holding the largest riverside rock you can carry. When you get tired, hold on a little longer, then make your way back down. Then you may rest, take a swift drink from the stream, and begin again. Start now, warriors.”
I stayed on the ground while they lifted into the air as I’d ordered. I wouldn’t participate, of course. Sparrows simply weren’t made to fly as high as these birds, nor did we have claws large or strong enough to grip stones.
As I squinted into the sun, watching the birds under my command, I slowly saw some beginning to come back down. Four came around the same time. Three sipped from the stream, flapped their wings, then struggled into the air once more. The other, a fish eagle, glanced at me… then switched his rock for a smaller one.
“Hey! What are you doing?” I called out to him.
He answered me without meeting my eyes. “My other stone was too heavy, sir. I won’t be able to fly back up while carrying it.”
“That’s the point,” I retorted. “To push yourself, in order to become stronger. I want you to use the same stone as before.”
He hesitated, testing my patience. “I’ve lost it now, sir. I don’t know where I left it. May I use this one instead?”
“No! It’s right behind you. Quit fooling around.”
After spinning briefly, he argued back. “I don’t see it.”
I thought about using my power to lift the rock and drop it on his wise head. Instead, I sighed and flew over to the side of the river, landing on the stone he seemed unable to find.
“This one. Now get back up there.”
“Yes sir,” he said, nodding unwillingly.
Incompetent bird, I thought to myself as I flew back to my previous spot. Without warning, my head suddenly seared with pain, accompanied by the excruciating ringing sound. Even though Nivek was further away, he was still somehow reaching me. Help me, Kevin! I cried with my mind.
“I am with you,” I heard in my head, and the pain diminished to a dull throb. I wasn’t sure how he did it, but I was glad he was able to assuage the attack. “Just wait it out,” Kevin said. “And soon the pain will be gone entirely. Just wait.”
I did, and slowly the ringing and pain faded into nothing. Back to normal, I looked up at the soaring birds to make sure none of them had noticed. I saw the fish eagle, climbing in the sky. He stopped short of where the rest of the birds were circling, then began to descend again. This time, he didn’t try to switch his stone. He obeyed the command and continued to work after a quick drink of water, which made me glad. He wasn’t as strong as the others yet, but soon he’d be able to fly as high as the rest of them, heavy stone or not.
When the sky began to change colors and the birds seemed exhausted, I allowed them to stay on the ground after drinking from the stream. Once they’d all returned, I dismissed them to their nests.
“Good work today, warriors.”
XXXI
Yawning, I snuggled into the nest I’d built a few days ago, in my favorite bush beside the stream. I was thankful for Samuel’s wards keeping me safe — I’d been out in the forest for over a month now, and nothing bad had happened yet. Besides the wolf, of course, but I figured even the most powerful of Samuel’s wards wouldn’t have been able to keep him out.
Kevin lighted down onto the branch next to me, still wide awake. “You asleep yet?”
“No,” I replied, stifling another yawn. “Do you want to talk?”
He nodded. “That’d be nice. I enjoy talking to you, Sheer.”
“Yeah, same. What’s up?” I perched myself up to see him better. It was always so easy to talk to Kevin that I rather enjoyed our conversations, too.
“How was your day with the predators?”
“Oh, it was okay. One of them didn’t want to put up with the task I gave him. He tried to dumb his way out of it.”
Kevin was aghast. “He back-talked you?”
“Not exactly, but I guess you could put it that way.”
“How can you tolerate that? It must be terribly aggravating. Animals should obey their commander, no questions asked.”
“I suppose you’re right,” I
said. “But he behaved after I talked to him, so I think he’ll be okay.”
“I still don’t think you deserve to be treated that way,” Kevin replied, shaking his head. “You’re the leader of the army and the possessor of many great powers. You’re practically a celebrity, and you deserve more respect from the rest of the animals here.”
“Thanks.”
“What exercise did you have them do?” Kevin asked.
“They flew up as high as they could, carrying heavy stones.”
“While you stayed on the ground?”
“Well, yeah. I couldn’t see any way around it. I wish I could be more involved, so they trust me more, you know? Like, fly with them. But I could never do that.”
“That’s probably true in this case, but… if you’re ever going to have them fly long distances, you definitely want to be with them. They could develop bad flying techniques, and you wouldn’t be able to correct them. I think some of these birds don’t even know how to catch a good draft, even though they’ve been flying all their lives.”
“I was going to have them do something for endurance training. What should I do? I can’t keep up with them or fly as high.”
“What if you rode on one of their backs? Maybe that weakling you mentioned. Even though you don’t weigh much, it would still help train him for strength at the same time.”
“That’s brilliant! I think I’ll do just that. I’m glad to have you here; you have great ideas. And before I forget… thank you. For keeping me safe from Nivek again today.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” Kevin replied. I yawned involuntarily, though I tried to hide it. “Well, I’ll leave you to your sleep,” Kevin said. “Goodnight, Sheer. See you in the morning.”
“Goodnight, Kevin.” My friend lifted off, sending the gentlest breeze through the leaves, just enough to move them softly. I wondered if they made a sound, and what it was like. But I shook the sadness from my head. I had a friend again, and I was happy.