His mind began filling with visions of jeweled riches and praise from his clansmen and Elders. He had to reach it. He wouldn’t be climbing here again until late summer, or just before winter set in. It might not be there then. If he didn’t get it now, he might not be able to find it again, even if it stayed exactly where it was.
He cleared his head by shaking it, then tried to spot a way to surpass the open gap between him and the prize. If he just climbed a few dozen feet higher, he could reach across a narrow place in the fissure, and then he could climb back down to the thing. It was risky, but he told himself he could do it.
As he started up toward the niche, the sun passed over the ridge and sent the whole of the cliff face into shadow. It took him longer than he thought it would, but he finally reached the place where he could stretch across the span of open space. He positioned himself on a tiny ledge, and when he leaned into the cliff, he could stand with all his weight on his feet, leaving both of his hands free.
His palms were wet and slimy from the numerous patches of excrement he’d encountered in this higher, more heavily nested area. He shook his arms at his sides, letting the blood flow back into them while waiting for the muck to dry. A warning began to sound in the back of his mind, telling him that he should already be headed back down, but he chose to ignore it. He gathered another egg on the way up to the niche, so he now had the full half-dozen he’d promised Hyden. All he needed to do now was reach the little treasure beckoning him. Once he had it, he could start down.
After a few moments, he rubbed his hands on his hips briskly. The crusting stuff on them powdered and fell away. He then took turns scuffing the toes of his old boots on the ledge until they gripped with ample traction. He found a good handhold with his left hand not too far above him, and stretched his body out to the right, reaching across the gap as far as he could. He was still at least two feet shy. He harrumphed in frustration and pulled his body weight back over the little ledge.
He repositioned himself so his handhold was lower. This would allow him to reach farther. He tried again but found his right foot was still some inches away from a safe purchase on the other side. As he started to retract himself this time, his left foothold slipped a fraction. His heart fluttered up through his chest like a startled bird. He almost fell, but instinct and common sense took control. After a few deep, calming breaths, he gingerly started easing his weight back over.
He would have to give up the prize and make his way down. It was the only sensible thing to do. If he started to hurry down now, he could still reach the canyon floor by nightfall. Hyden would be happy to take the six eggs and the Elders, along with the rest of the clan members, would praise his efforts and his skill as a climber.
A quick glance back over at the object caused him to change his mind. He was here, and he didn’t want to waste the chance the Goddess had granted him. He would retrieve it, whatever it was.
Gerard squinted. In the shaded light, the object finally revealed itself to him. It was a ring. Golden and shiny, it had a fat, yellow gem mounted on it, and it looked extremely valuable. He rolled his neck across his shoulders. It would be his, he decided. He could reach it and still get down before dark. If not, he could even sleep on the Lip if need be.
He looked at the other side of the fissure and studied it intently. He took in the subtleties, the nooks, the crannies, and the shape of the stone. Then, he sucked in a deep breath, resolved himself, and leapt for it.
Hyden was pacing nervously. His cousin was almost back down to the Lip, but Gerard was still way up in the heart of the nesting shelves. To Hyden, he seemed to be frozen in place next to a wide vertical split in the rock. As it was, Hyden figured Gerard would have to sleep on the Lip this night. Hyden wasn’t sure his brother could even climb that far back down by nightfall. He was about to pull his hair out with worry.
“It’s my fault,” he told himself aloud. He knew no one had ever made it down the cliff face in the dark, and it looked as if Gerard was running out of time. “I should’ve never let you climb for me. Damn the bravado, Gerard! Just get yourself down before it’s too late.”
Hyden stopped pacing and stared up anxiously as his brother stretched across the gap for the second time. He thought his heart stopped beating in his chest, until he saw his brother shudder and slip. Then, his heart exploded like a pounding skin drum.
“Oh Gerard, don’t fall,” Hyden pleaded to no one that could hear him. “Take a breath, and steady yourself. That’s it! Now quit fooling around and get down here before the darkness takes you!”
Hyden’s neck muscles were raw and sore from looking up all day, but he couldn’t look away. Gerard seemed to have regained his composure, and Hyden assumed he was about to start back down. A few seconds later, when Gerard leapt into the open air, across the fissure from one side of it to the other, Hyden was certain his heart really exploded. So violent was the thunderclap that went blasting through his chest, that even he felt the strange and horrifying sensation of falling.
Chapter Two
Of the two brothers, Gerard had the better landing. His lead foot stuck perfectly into the crevice he intended, and his fingers grabbed true in a little crack on the far side of the fissure. He paused only a moment to catch his breath, as if he hadn’t just jumped across a gap of empty space more than seven hundred feet off the ground. Almost casually, he looked down at the little gleaming prize and started after it. It was his.
Hyden didn’t fare as well. He had been looking up at Gerard while pacing. At the same moment his brother had leapt, Hyden’s feet had found a shin-high boulder and his momentum sent him sprawling. He was so transfixed by Gerard’s leap that he didn’t even look down as he fell. It was probably for the best, because he didn’t have to see the pile of jagged rocks into which his head slammed. When he next opened his eyes, it was almost completely dark outside. Blood leaked from the gash in the side of his head and formed a matted clot in his long, black hair. He wasn’t quite sure where he was or what was happening.
“Hyden?” a familiar voice asked sheepishly. “I thought you’d never come around.”
Through his pain, Hyden’s world began coming back to him. It was Little Condlin who spoke to him. His fingers found the split lump over his ear, and a sharp pain shot through him when he touched it. As he caught his breath, Gerard’s leap flashed through his mind.
“Gerard!” he croaked in a panic while trying to climb back to his feet. “Where is Ger—?”
“He’s nearly down from the Lip,” Little Condlin said, not understanding Hyden’s worry. He didn’t seen Gerard risk his life like a fool jumping from hold to hold. He took Hyden by the arm and helped him to his feet.
Hyden winced as the world swam back into focus. It took him a few minutes, but eventually he steadied himself. In the near darkness, he found the boulder he had eaten lunch on and sat down.
“Gerard’s really almost down?” he asked.
“Aye,” Little Condlin grinned. “He’s as good a climber as you are; maybe even better.” He tried to suppress his adolescent mirth, but it was impossible. “What befell you down here?” With that, he burst into laughter.
Hyden snarled menacingly at the fourteen-year-old boy’s wit. It was enough to make Little Condlin’s glee vanish instantly. The boy quickly averted his attention to a dark pile of rocks at his feet.
A few moments passed in silence, but Hyden finally spoke.
“How was your harvest?” he asked.
Little Condlin’s eyes lit up. He was bursting to tell someone of his good fortune this year. “Five eggs, Hyden!” he held an excited hand up, all his fingers extended and wiggling. “Five!”
“Great!” Hyden said, a little more flatly than he intended. He was glad for Condlin, but he was still a little bitter at being cheated out of his own climb. Last year, Little Con harvested one egg. This was his second year of harvest, and five eggs was an excellent yield for a more experienced climber, much less a novice.
“I di
d just as father told me to do,” Little Condlin rambled excitedly. “I didn’t try to go high like Gerard does. I went way out to the sides.”
“I saw you,” Hyden said, with a nod of respect.
Hyden only retrieved three eggs before nearly falling over the edge of the Lip during his second harvest. The memory made him think about Gerard again. It was almost full dark now. He stood up and started toward the base of the cliff to look for his brother.
“What happened to your face, Hyden?” Little Condlin asked. Even though he was at a safe distance, he made sure that his voice carried nothing less than concern in its inflection.
“I was attacked by big, hairy scufflers,” Hyden deadpanned. His expression didn’t hold though, and thinking about his earlier folly, he broke into a sarcastic grin, “What do you think happened?”
Little Condlin took on a frustrated expression and sighed heavily. He was the fourth of five brothers, so he knew where he stood in the pecking order with Hyden and his other cousins. He had hoped his successful harvest would have gained him a little more respect. Gauging the distance between him and his older, faster cousin, he gathered his courage and prepared to run away. “I think you fell down and busted your fat head.”
“Aye,” Hyden laughed at the boy’s well-placed caution. “I did. I was looking up, watching Gerard act like a fool, and I wasn’t watching where my feet were leading me.” He made a silly face, and his cousin relaxed a little bit.
“Well I have to say, you look quite a bit better than you did before. That bloody knot brings out your eyes.”
Hyden burst out laughing at the boy’s boldness. He started to say something about it, but was cut off by a welcome voice.
“What’s so blasted funny, Hyden?” Gerard said from the darkness, near where the cliff face met the canyon floor.
Hyden felt the wave of relief wash over him. It was followed immediately by a flood of anger. “What’s not funny is what you did up there today! You could’ve gotten yourse—”
His voice stopped cold and Little Condlin gasped loudly. Gerard thrust the ring out of the darkness at them. Even in the starlight, its amber gemstone captured enough illumination to sparkle brightly. It almost appeared as if it were glowing.
“Where did you find that?” Little Condlin asked with a voice full of awe.
“In your sister’s pantaloons,” Gerard replied sarcastically. He was sore, tired, raw in several places, and in no mood for silly questions. He looked at Hyden, judging his brother’s anger. “It was high up in an old broken nest by a fissure. The one I jumped across,” he said in a way to let Hyden know that he knew the risk he had taken, and didn’t want to hear anymore about it. After a moment, he reluctantly handed the ring to his older brother.
Hyden looked at him oddly. It took him a minute to grasp the meaning of the gesture. Gerard had been climbing for him, not for himself. He was offering him the ring. Hyden refused it with a nod.
“You wanted it bad enough to risk your life for it. It’s yours. You earned it.”
Gerard cocked his head and studied Hyden some more. To refuse such an offer could be considered an insult. If Hyden was refusing him out of anger for taking that jump, then he wouldn’t know what to do. Hyden had never insulted him before. He looked deeper and saw so much love, respect, and relief in his brother’s eyes that there was no room for doubt. Hyden truly did want him to have the ring. He took it back and a broad grin spread across his weary face.
“If you refuse these, I’m going to kick you where it counts.”
Gerard took off his pack and thrust it out to Hyden proudly. “Half a dozen, just like I promised.”
Hyden passed the pack to their cousin and grabbed up Gerard in a big bear hug. Gerard hugged him back. While his hands were close together behind Hyden’s back, Gerard slipped the ring onto his finger. After a moment, Hyden held him back by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes.
“Don’t scare me like that again.” He pointed to the gash on his knotted head. “You almost killed me.”
It was too dark even to think about starting back to the harvest lodges. They ended up building a fire where Hyden and Gerard camped the night before. The three of them exchanged stories, and had a great laugh at the fact that Hyden was the only one who hadn’t left the ground, but was the only one who fell.
While Little Con boiled some dried beef into a stew, Hyden inspected the eggs his brother brought him. He was pleased beyond words at what he saw. All six of them were safe, sound, and nestled in a bed of fresh keep moss. He made up his mind to buy Gerard a whole wizard’s costume—the robe, the hat, and even a staff, if that was what he wanted. He didn’t think it would be, though. Gerard seemed to have matured a great deal since just that morning. The sparkle of the ring in the firelight and the tired, serious look on his face made him look anything but youthful. Hyden saw a man where only this morning, he’d seen a boy. It was a strange sight to see, because most of the time he didn’t even consider himself an adult yet.
“Wendlin, Jeryn, and Tylen are the only ones left to harvest now,” Little Con informed them. “They’re camped at the other end of the canyon. They probably think I fell, since I didn’t come back to camp tonight.”
“If they thought you fell, they would be out looking for your carcass,” Hyden said matter-of-factly.
“Or dancing a jig,” Gerard added with a laugh.
“They probably saw you come down,” Hyden reasoned. “Same as I did.”
“How could you have seen him, knot-head?” Gerard smirked, “You were busy kissing rocks.”
They all laughed heartily at that. Little Condlin dished the stew into Hyden’s and Gerard’s bowls, then waited for one of them to finish. His bowl was back at his brothers’ camp. Hyden ate a healthy meal while Gerard and Little Condlin were busy climbing, so he slurped a few mouthfuls, then passed his bowl to his young cousin. Gerard, on the other hand, attacked his meal like a starving dog.
“Are you going back to the lodges with us in the morning or what?” Hyden asked.
“Back to Tylen’s camp,” Condlin answered. “Wendlin and Jeryn climb early in the morning. Tylen goes last, since he is the oldest in the clan who’s not on the council.” Little Condlin always spoke of his brothers proudly, but when he spoke of his oldest brother Tylen, his chest swelled bigger than usual. “Tylen’s gonna break my pap’s record this year.”
Hyden knew in his heart that Gerard could have brought back a dozen eggs today if he hadn’t been sidetracked at that fissure by the ring. A climb that high up into the thick of the nesting band was rare. Gerard went higher than anyone Hyden had ever seen. The weather had been exceptional and the hawklings themselves were far less aggressive than most years, but he still wasn’t sure if even he could have climbed as well as his brother today. He would have never risked that leap, that’s for sure. Another thing he knew for certain was Tylen could climb like a lizard, too. If tomorrow was as perfect a day as today had been, then Tylen really might have a chance to break Big Condlin’s record. Hyden kept his thoughts to himself though, because Little Condlin’s chest and head were already swollen enough.
As soon as he finished eating, Gerard lay back and went to sleep. Little Condlin wasn’t far behind him. Hyden took the time after he ate to clean the dried blood from his head. He covered Little Condlin with his blanket and lay down close to the fire. It had been a long and eventful day, and sleep found him quickly.
The next morning, Little Condlin was anything but quiet as he gathered up his things in the predawn light. He woke up Hyden and Gerard with eyes full of excitement and pride. With a mouth full of chatter he wasted no time leaving. He was off to his brothers’ camp in the hopes of catching them before they started their climbs. Gerard wanted to throw a rock at him for waking them for no real reason, but he couldn’t find one that wouldn’t crack his head in half if it hit him.
The day started with much moaning and groaning from both brothers. Hyden’s head hurt badly. It was not so mu
ch the actual wound that bothered him, but a deep, inner ache that felt like a hot rock was loose inside his skull. Every little move he made caused the rock to roll around and scald another part of his brain.
Gerard was no better off. Like burning wires cutting through his muscles, his pain spread throughout his shoulders, back and legs. His movements took great effort and came with audible strain, but he didn’t dare voice a complaint. He didn’t want to hear Hyden razz him for whining.
Hyden managed to boil some water over the fire. At least Little Condlin built the blaze up before he left. Hyden added chicory root and some gum leaf to the pot and the warm, thick smell of the brew brought Gerard to the fire with his cup in hand. The dark, flavorful liquid put a little energy into their bodies and helped leech out some of the aches and pains. After a few cups, they felt well enough to break camp and start back to the harvest lodges.
While Hyden doused the fire, Gerard was waiting to go. Hyden went to grab the shoulder pack that held the eggs his brother harvested for him, but stopped suddenly. He heard a sound coming from inside the bag.
“Oh no!” he said, thinking that one of the eggs had broken.
“Are they all right?” Gerard asked with concern. He watched Hyden’s face from where he stood, trying to gauge his brother’s reaction to what he saw as he peered into the bag. He expected to see either relief or anguish spread across Hyden’s face, but what he saw was a strange, somewhat confused look. The odd expression slowly morphed into a wide-eyed grin full of wonder and amazement. The curiosity to know what Hyden was looking at overwhelmed Gerard, and he hurried over to his brother’s side to see for himself.
Hyden reached into the bag carefully. His cupped hand came out with a squeaking little hawkling chick in it. As Gerard knelt down beside him, Hyden worked a piece of jerked venison from his pack with his free hand. He tore a piece off with his teeth and chewed it vigorously.
“Do you think it’s the prophesy bird?” Gerard asked, with a look from the bird to his brother and back. “Or was it just bad keep moss?”
The Long Journey Home (The Legend of Vanx Malic Book 8) Page 12