Capering on Glass Bridges (The Hawk of Stone Duology, Book 1)

by Jessica Hernandez

  As they moved, Kaia’s attention was commanded by a mother and daughter. Although the former was as normal-looking as any other human, the latter was not. Nonetheless, the mother held on to her daughter fiercely, oblivious to the girl’s condition. She kept a comforting hand on the child’s back and gently rocked her from side to side. That something so horror-inspiring should need consoling, Kaia found striking. For the first time, she pondered the effects that the curse had on families. To have an affected loved one demanded that a difficult choice be made: one could flee with them to a town like Torsnem, or one could choose to face separation. If someone such as Elania were to show signs…. Kaia did not want to live as the people of Torsnem did, yet she wouldn’t be able to cut ties with her sister. Definitely not. Perhaps I’d be able to find a way to avoid both, she thought. I could take up residence in a nearby town. That way, I’d be able to maintain a sense of familiarity and still provide for all of her needs and keep her company. Yes! We’d both benefit from such an arrangement.

  The group turned onto another street; it was empty.

  “The children! They were affected!” said Kaia.

  “Yes,” said Nahv.

  “I did not realize that the curse extended to them.”

  “Kids can behave just as immorally as do adults.”

  “How can a child be immoral?” asked Lyon.

  “Especially since when a child does something reprehensible, it is usually not out of malice,” added Bennett.

  “Ignorance absolves no one—not in Mar,” said Nahv unfeelingly.

  As the group passed the final remnants of Torsnem, they noticed that a field of tall, black grass stretched out before them. All along its length, wooden stakes were posted.

  “Caution!” read aloud Lyon, standing close to one of the stakes. “That which is lost dwells here. Death awaits those who linger in this field for too long.”

  Aylin took out her map. “Nahv,” she called. “Have you ever seen this field before?”

  “No.”

  “How long would it take for us to go around it?” asked Thomas, arms akimbo as he took a few steps back and surveyed the field.

  “A day. Maybe more,” said Aylin.

  “And to go through it?”

  “Can’t you read?” asked Pelliab.

  “I just want to know. Aylin.”

  “Not long at all,” she answered, unsettled. “Possibly not even an hour.”

  Thomas took the map from Aylin and looked it over. “I propose we go through it.”

  “Are you insane?” asked Lyon.

  “Listen—”

  “No. Earnestly, I am asking, have you gone mad?”

  “Between us all, we have a dragon and two Speakers. What can we not handle?”

  “Death.”

  “The post says that death comes to those who linger in the field, not to all who enter. We will go straight through. No tarrying.”

  “No,” said Pelliab. “We go around.”

  “Thomas, what if there is something in the field?” asked Bennett.

  “Insee,” said Thomas.

  “What?”

  “Let’s have Insee fly over it. If there is something in there, she will see it and we will go around. Kaia, send her.”

  Kaia moved slowly. She retrieved the flird from her bag and stirred her. “Insee, do us a favor. Fly over this field and tell us if you see anything in there.”

  Insee did as she was bid.

  “We cannot truly be considering this,” said Lyon. “Something is not right here. Just look at it,” he said, motioning to the ocean of black. “One giant omen is what it is.”

  “Wait for Insee,” said Thomas.

  Pelliab shook his head. “It does not matter what she reports. We are not crossing through.”

  “Why not? If it is clear, why not?”

  “Don’t be a fool! There is no need to take such an ill-advised risk.”

  Insee returned. “Nothing,” she announced.

  “It’s safe,” said Thomas.

  “Nahv?” called Aylin.

  “I don’t know,” she answered dourly. “I’ve heard nothing of it.”

  “Perhaps there’s a reason,” said Warrin.

  Thomas leaned forward and opened his arms. “You want to go around even though there is no perceivable danger?”

  “That doesn’t mean that it’s safe!”

  “What isn’t safe is prolonging the amount of time we spend travelling out in the open, vulnerable. Have you forgotten of what’s out here? Have you forgotten of our opposers? For all we know, they—or others like them—are searching for us at this very moment. We need to get to Enbeck. Come on! Let’s go through!”

  Thomas walked towards the field. The others cast worried glances at one another before following. Kaia released Insee into the air. Ani hung from Elania’s neck; her body was tense, her eyes were squinted. Nahv rested her palm on Folken’s foreleg, encouraging the dragon to move forward. Pelliab drew his sword and cursed under his breath.

  They entered.

  ***

  After taking a few steps, Kaia watched in amazement as the field transformed. The grass was halved in height—it danced by her waist instead of above her head—and assumed a more becoming, greenish-yellowish hue. Elania was gone and so, too, were the princes, the Speakers, Ani, Pelliab, Nahv, and Folken. Perplexed, Kaia looked behind her. There was only grass where Torsnem had just been. Kaia called out. No one answered. Shrugging, she slowly advanced deeper into the field.

  To Kaia’s left was a stream. A small boy—of no more than three or four years of age—with a chestnut, wavy mane was crouched down beside it. Something in the water had him enthralled. He jumped up in excitement, clasped his hands, and moved further downstream; there was something familiar in his movements.

  “Ruelena! Come, Ruelena!” called the boy.

  Kaia approached the child and knelt down beside him. He lay on his stomach, his hands making circles in the water. The boy looked at Kaia. An enormous smile spread across his face.

  “They hatched! Look at them swim!” he said. “They wiggle,” he observed with a giggle. He bit down on his index finger as he watched. “Grab one.”

  “No,” said Kaia.

  “Why not?”

  “They’ll die.”

  “Why?” he asked, growing serious.

  “They won’t be able to breathe.”

  Folding his arms before him, the boy laid his head to rest. His eyes followed the lively tadpoles. “Where’s their mama?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Are they lost?”

  “No. They’re not like us. They don’t need their mama.”

  “They don’t?”

  “No.”

  “Who feeds them?”

  “They find their own food.”

  “Who takes care of them?”

  “See how many there are? There must be hundreds of them. They take care of each other.”

  “Are they all brothers and sisters?”

  “Maybe.”

  The boy dipped his right hand into the water. He bared his teeth. His dark eyes glimmered with joy.

  A gentle breeze caressed Kaia’s face, brushing away all concerns. It made her relax and forget. Kaia removed her bag and nonchalantly lay down on her back, staring at the cloudless sky. She did not want to move. She was inexplicably happy—so much so that she felt as though she could drift away.

  Something fell from above and landed near Kaia’s head; it brushed against her as it fell. Kaia could not see what it was. It’s either too far back or too close to the ground, she thought. Intrigued, she rolled over to investigate. Insee! Insee dared not move; her startled eyes were fixed on Kaia’s beaming face.

  “Ruelena! Stephan!” someone called.

  Kaia sat up. In the distance was a small house enclosed by a wooden fence. A woman, her arm extended in the air, stood at the front gate. That definitely wasn’t there earlier, thought Kaia. But where are the other houses? There sho
uld be more!

  “The garden!” exclaimed the boy. He rose to his feet and pulled on Kaia’s arm; untroubled, she allowed herself to be led by the child.

  When the pair arrived at the house, they found the woman sitting by a patch of dirt. To her side was a pile of rather large rocks. “First, we will want to enclose the area,” she said.

  Without asking any questions, Kaia took each rock that she was offered and placed it along the rim of the dirt-patch. The boy did the same, panting excitedly as he worked. When they finished, the woman took a stick, made five vertical trenches in the dirt, and gave Kaia and the boy a bounty of seeds.

  The child pointed at a fruitful garden near the opposite fence. “Will ours be like yours?” he asked.

  “Yes,” answered the woman, brushing the boy’s hair out of his eyes.

  Kaia dropped the seeds into the ground, one at a time. When she neared the end of the first vertical line, the woman began to push the soil into the hole. She grabbed Kaia’s hand and affectionately pressed her lips to it.

  Kaia heard a low voice call her name. It was Insee. She was standing directly beside her.

  “We must leave this place,” said the flird, alarmed.

  Kaia was silent. Her eyes scanned the ground. “Perhaps later.”

  “Now!”

  “No! I can’t. We are working on a garden.”

  “There is no garden. There is no we. Open your eyes.”

  “You are leaving us?” cried the boy.

  Kaia shook her head. “No.”

  “Yes, you are,” he whispered. Casting aside the seeds, the child threw himself into Kaia’s arms. “Stay with us,” he pleaded.

  Kaia felt a sadness come over her. She wanted to cry, though she did not entirely know why. A part of her was convinced that she had met her fellow gardeners before; she knew them somehow.

  “What you see is not real. Remember why you are here, why you came to Mar,” commanded Insee.

  “I don’t want to. I’m happy here,” said Kaia.

  “Remember Elania.”

  “Elania.”

  The boy tore himself away from Kaia and sat on the ground.

  “She needs you,” said Insee.

  Kaia flicked her wrist and resumed planting seeds. “She’s fine.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “Go check on her if you are so worried!” Receiving no answer, Kaia looked up; Insee was gone. Kaia filled in one of the trenches. The dirt was moist to the touch. “Did you already add water?”

  “No,” said the woman. “Recall, it did rain this morning.”

  “Hmm.”

  “How long will it take?” asked the boy.

  “For your garden to look like mine?” asked the woman. “It’ll take a while. You have to be patient.”

  “By when Dad comes home?”

  “That’s much too soon.”

  “And what will grow?”

  “Well, these are carrot seeds, so carrots.”

  Insee returned. “You were wrong,” she said to Kaia.

  “What?”

  “Elania is in peril.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Her life is in danger. She will die if you stay here and do nothing.”

  Kaia grew nervous. She felt as though she were waking from a dream. She suddenly remembered that which she had forgotten. Panic set in. For how long had she been in the field?

  “Follow me,” said Insee.

  Kaia ran away from the woman and boy as fast as she could—ignoring their protests—afraid that if she didn’t, she would slip back into absentmindedness. “Is she still in the field?” asked Kaia.

  Insee feigned deafness.

  “Insee! Is Elania still in the field?”

  The flird only flew faster.

  “Wait!” yelled Kaia.

  In an instant, everything changed. Kaia felt her body collide with something. She fell to the ground. It was Elania!

  “Kaia!” rejoiced the eldest Stone sister, hugging her sibling.

  Spinning around, Kaia noticed that the field was black anew. The house had disappeared; the woman and the boy were nowhere to be seen, either.

  “Elania!” exclaimed Kaia. “How did you get out?”

  “Ani. She saw it for what it was. She guided me here. And you?”

  “Insee. She told me that you were in trouble. She showed me the way. Are you alright?”

  “Yes, I’m fine.”

  “The others?”

  “They haven’t come out yet.”

  Kaia searched for the flird. Before anything could be said, Insee took off, flying over the field. Kaia, Elania, and Ani stood at its edge, shifting their weight, waiting.

  ***

  Pelliab was the first to be led out. He gasped for air—as a person who has been deprived of oxygen for too long does. He clawed at his chest with one arm while trying to push himself up from off the ground with the other. Just as he started to gain some altitude, he tripped; his chin smacked into the ground. Pelliab clenched his fist and let out a piercing, doleful howl. Kaia and Elania ran to his side; he commanded them to leave him. He hid his face from them as he recovered.

  Nahv and Folken were retrieved next—followed by Aylin, the three princes, and, finally, Thomas. Pelliab had been eying the wall of black, waiting for him, and he wasted no time. The three princes intercepted Pelliab, holding the furious man back.

  “You haughty little—”

  “Pelliab, stop!” pleaded Warrin.

  “Let go!” shouted the kingsman, struggling to break free, spitting as he spoke.

  Thomas looked around. “Is anyone hurt? No? No. Everyone…everyone’s fine,” he managed. His face was pale and forlorn.

  “You don’t listen!”

  “I’m sorry,” sniveled Thomas. “I’m sorry…I didn’t know…I didn’t think…but…I was wrong,” he said, feebly dropping to his knees.

  Pelliab relaxed, permitting the three princes to release him. He turned around and sat on a large boulder not too far off.

  “We won’t be able to go any further today,” said Nahv, looking up. The sky had changed gowns. It donned one that was yellow, pink, and purple, with only the faintest traces of blue. “Who will take the first watch?”

  “I will,” volunteered Thomas.

  “No,” said Pelliab. “I think it is clear that your judgment cannot be trusted. I will go first.”

  “I second,” said Nahv.

  “I third,” said Warrin.

  “I fourth,” said Bennett.

  “We all had a choice,” reminded Thomas. “You all followed because you chose to. You erred as much as I did.”

  “Thomas, if you are not more careful, and if you do not stop talking, I fear that you shall end up like your forefather Zavion—in want of a tongue,” threatened Pelliab.

  North of where the group stood was a cluster of boulders. Beyond that was a wooded area, cleaved by a road. The group planted themselves near the boulders so as to ensure that they were neither too close to the black field nor to the trees. They lay down close to one another to sleep; it was the easiest way to keep watch over everyone.

  “Elania,” called Kaia, when she was certain that most of the others had fallen asleep. “Are you awake?”

  “Yes.”

  “What did you see?”

  The elder sister opened her eyes.

  “In the field,” said Kaia.

  Elania hesitated. “I was back in Fiaru.”

  “Were you?”

  “Yes. You were back, too,” she added. “What did you see?”

  “I don’t know. It was strange.”

  “How was it strange?”

  “You know those dreams where you aren’t yourself? Where you’re someone else? It was like that. I was with two people—a woman and a boy. They knew me, and I felt as though I knew them, too. It was like if we were a family, though now I am almost certain that I’ve never seen them before in my life. Not almost certain,” she amended. “Rather, positiv
ely sure.”

  “What is it?”

  “I felt at peace with them—at home, even.”

  “That’s not so strange.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “Think about it. Perhaps the woman and the boy weren’t meant to be the focus. It may be that the field wanted to make you experience feelings which are lost to you.”

  “It could be. It has to be.”

  “Hmm.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I would have thought that you’d have seen—”

  “Aika?”

  “Yes.”

  “She is the only thing that is definitively gone from my life,” said Kaia. “And, yet, she was never really in my life—likely why I didn’t see her.”

  “Likely.”

  “So, tell me, what were we doing in Fiaru?”

  “Oh! Nothing sensational,” deflected Elania.

  “I told you what I saw.”

  “Kaia—”

  “Please,” she said, elongating the word.

  “I think that the post was misleading. I think that the field only shows you what you think you’ve lost, not what you’ve actually lost.”

  “What did you see?”

  Elania tightened her lips. “We were very, very happy. Happier than we’ve ever been.”

  Kaia scooted closer to her sister. “I don’t believe that happiness is lost to us.”

  “Nor do I.”

  ***

  Kaia knew not why she woke so suddenly. She propped herself up on her elbows and scanned the area. It was quiet. Pelliab was still keeping guard, so she couldn’t have been asleep for very long. Why was she awake, then? She didn’t feel rested at all. Something wasn’t right.

  Pelliab, his body tense, stood to his feet. “Wake up!” he called. “Wake up!”

  Kaia shook the others.

  “There’s something out there,” said the kingsman. “Something watches us. Thomas, Aylin, swords!”

  Nahv grabbed a weapon and jogged towards Folken. She slapped one of his hind legs twice, prompting the dragon to snarl angrily before standing up.