Flight of the Golden Harpy

by Susan Klaus

  “Kari, I do not yet know all your words. What is a ‘space freighter’?”

  “This place is an old space freighter. It’s like a giant hovercraft that traveled through the stars. Men built it. Surely you knew.”

  “No, you are wrong. This is the creator’s sacred place, where the harpies began. It has always rested beneath the mountain, long before men came to our jungle.”

  Kari stood and walked to the moss-covered wall. She tapped it, creating a clang. “Do mountain stones sound like this? I’m telling you, Shail, it’s a freighter. How many harpies do you know that have traveled to the stars?”

  “You are the only one.” He rose and went to a wall, and caressed, sniffed and tasted it. “It is different from other mountain caves, but it was here before men came. The story of this place and our creator is long forgotten, but man’s coming is well remembered. They came from the stars and killed the males and stole the females.”

  “Maybe harpies once had technology and traveled through the stars. This craft is definitely hundreds of years old. It belongs in a museum.”

  He looked inquisitively at her.

  “A museum is a place for old things. Humans cherish their past.”

  He shook his locks slightly and returned to the nest. “No more talk. It is time for sleep.”

  Kari joined him under his wing. “Shail, what will happen to men like Charlie and Doc when you go to war? You know they’re good and would never harm the harpies.”

  “Like the women and young, they must flee our land. To stay, they perish. I do not have the means to separate the good from bad. I am sad by what shall come. We harpies take great pride and honor in protecting life, but Kari, we shall all die if we do not fight back.”

  Kari sighed. “I know Doc, Charlie, and my father won’t leave. I could lose you and everyone I love with the war.”

  He nuzzled the back of her neck. “If it is in my power to save the ones you love, I shall, but I make no promise. The light comes. Sleep.”

  * * *

  Kari woke and felt for Shail, but the nest was empty. She sensed another person in the room and sat up. A girl with long dark hair was placing a small log on the fire. She saw Kari and dropped to her knees, bowing.

  “Forgive me if I woke you,” said the girl, using her human voice.

  Slightly startled, Kari cleared her throat. She hadn’t spoken in weeks, and except for the crude hunters, she hadn’t heard a vocal communication in some time. “You didn’t wake me, and please don’t bow. I’m not a ruler.”

  The girl slowly rose. “You are a golden harpy. The brown harpies shall always bow to you. It is our custom.”

  When the girl lifted her head, Kari saw her large green eyes and lovely features. “Lea … You’re a…? You’re a harpy?”

  “I am sister to Aron,” said Lea.

  “No wonder I liked you.”

  Lea grinned and then became serious. “I am sorry. On the beach, I fled and failed you and our ruler. Aron sent me to help, but Carol’s harsh words drove me away. I hid in the dark bushes and watched. You were so brave, facing those hunters alone, and wise, twisting their minds to give you our golden ruler. No other female harpy has your courage.”

  “Lea, I didn’t know I was a harpy at the time, but I doubt if it would have changed things. If those hunters didn’t go for my trade, they’d have faced my laser gun. I’d steal Shail before letting more harm come to him. I was pretty desperate that night.”

  “Those hunters have paid for their cruelty. They are dead, even Carol.”

  “Carol’s dead? How?”

  “A beetle swarm attacked your vehicle and ate them. The swarms have changed and now seek flesh. This concerns Aron and our ruler, and they have sent all outback females and fledglings to the islands. Aron brought me to the sacred mountain to serve you. I hope not to fail you again.”

  “Poor Carol.” Kari leaned back in the moss. “She was obnoxious, but she didn’t deserve to die.” She glanced at Lea. “Stop fretting, Lea. You didn’t fail me.”

  “May I offer you some food?”

  Kari popped a few nuts into her mouth. “That darn mate of mine. Shail certainly knows how to keep his secrets. He never told me about Carol or the swarms. I’m glad you’re here. I miss talking, and at times, the telepathy is hard for me. Once in a while I feel like screaming at Shail.”

  Lea giggled. “You would dare scream at our ruler?” She became solemn and backed away from Kari and the fire. She knelt as Shail entered the room.

  “You may go,” he relayed, and Lea rushed from the room.

  “Why is she so scared of you?” Kari asked.

  “She is not scared. It is respect she shows.”

  “It looks like fear to me.”

  “I am the dominant male of all flocks.” Shail lifted his head. “It is the animal way to show meekness. If not for one leader, male would challenge male and cause chaos, exposing the harpies to more dangers. I keep peace and decide what is favorable for the harpies.”

  “So you rule because of your blond hair and yellow wings.”

  He frowned. “Always a golden has ruled.”

  “Because goldens are supposedly braver?”

  “You question my courage? In a challenge, I can defeat any male. All harpies but you know this. Taking a mate raised by humans can be trying.” He walked to the nest and plopped down on the moss.

  “I make you unhappy?”

  “I am happy with you. You are unlike all other females; beautiful, smart, and brave, but so brave you challenge me. This I have not known, but you force my eyes open to truths. You ask why I rule. In truth, I do not know. I do not believe the yellow makes me better than other males.” He placed his head on her leg.

  Kari stroked his hair, sensing he felt vulnerable. Normally Shail was lofty and confident, but she realized that only with his mate would he divulge his lack of knowledge and uncertainty. He didn’t know why he was chosen to rule, why the old spaceship was sacred, or who the creator of his people was. All the answers lay buried in the past. She also detected his worry of the coming conflict. Was he smart enough to outwit the humans? “I’m sorry I challenge you. My father raised me not to back down. If you wish, I’ll teach you all I know about humans.”

  “I do not desire the knowledge, but fear I must learn it. Against men, my mind is crippled like my wing. Soon I must fly, and hope to free our people.”

  Shail and Kari ate the fruit and he left, saying he would send Aron’s sister back to the room.

  * * *

  Shail walked down the torch-lit corridor and found Lea waiting. “Go to her and explain the harpy ways,” he relayed. “Though my mate is wise with humans, she does not know her own people.” Lea nodded and went back to Kari’s room.

  Shail tapped the metal walls while walking to meet Aron. The clinking echoed in the hallway. He entered a large room. Aron and several harpies lowered their head as he walked past them and headed for a counter with a sink. Shail turned the faucets, and rusty water trickled out. Like the cabin, the room held human things; chairs, tables, and a sink with faucets. The sacred mountain probably had been a spacecraft freighter.

  Aron came alongside. “It is unwise to handle the creator’s things.”

  “Send the others away. We speak alone.”

  With a nod, Aron dismissed the other males. He turned back to Shail. “What troubles you?”

  “For many seasons this place has remained empty and unused by female harpies, who dwell among humans and their objects.” Shail glanced up at the ceiling. “My mate came here and saw that this place once traveled among the stars, and these things were made by humans. I have seen such things in the human dwellings.”

  “She is wrong. This is the creator’s sacred mountain. Before men, it lay here.”

  Shail patted Aron’s shoulder. “I said those words to her, but who was the creator? Was he harpy or man? I wonder now if the harpies have failed by not learning from our females. They have knowledge of the human worl
d, and knowledge is a powerful weapon.”

  “To take the evil knowledge, we would become like humans. We would kill the trees for our homes and the animals for our food. We would no longer be harpies, but winged men. Why do you question the golden rules?”

  Shail walked to a table and sat on the edge. “The old rules were made when there were many harpies. Now there are few. It is time to change. I do not believe the knowledge is evil. The evil lies in those who use it. If we had shown men our intelligence, perhaps the hunting would have ended long ago. If not, we might have learned how to drive the humans from our land.”

  “You are no longer the Shail I knew. The hunters changed you.”

  “They changed me and taught me of fear and pain. I became like all animals that are caught, hurt, and bewildered by human cruelty, but in surviving, I grew in courage. Rather than fleeing, I chose to destroy them, but the knowledge I question comes from my mate. In her effort to discover herself, she forced me to accept many things, and with wisdom comes better judgment and strength. Though I lived in the human dwelling, I am harpy and still long for a jungle nest and fruit.”

  “Perhaps it is wise you learn of our enemy, whom we must destroy.”

  Shail took a long deep breath. “To destroy all would be wise if all were evil, but there are good men among them. One chose to spare my life. Understanding brings conflict to my decisions.”

  “Shail, we cannot attack the bad without attacking the good. Even now I question your judgment. You protect a known harpy killer and his land. He seeks to kill you. It is a mistake that our males defend him.”

  Shail slid off the table and arched his wings. “You challenge me and my decisions?” He walked to Aron until he was face to face with him.

  Aron submissively lowered his head and backed away. “Never would I seek a male challenge with you. Though older and larger, I learned as a fledgling of your unyielding nature. Because of my love and concern for your safety, I question your choice to protect Turner. Four lights ago he nearly hunted you down, and it is known he wishes to kill you as he killed your father.”

  Shail lowered his wings and folded them against his back, ending the challenge. “I accept your concerns, but I have reasons for protecting Turner. We may fail, Aron. My mate carries our future ruler, and she shall need the strong arm of her father to survive. If these swarms win the land, Turner shall send my family to the safety of the stars. He risked the dangerous night winds of the mountains to find us and would gladly die to protect Kari and my son. This man has the honor, devotion, and courage of a male harpy who gladly sacrifices his life to lure a hunter away from his family. Turner protected my flock for many seasons, and now I shall protect him.”

  “There is no doubt the man would protect his daughter, but I question your unborn fledgling. He shall be a golden-winged male. Turner may discard or even destroy him.”

  “As Turner loved his daughter and wife, he shall also love my son. I watched this man at the lake where he met his mate. After many seasons, he still grieves for her. I sensed his heart, and it is not black, only confused. When he sees his grandson carries the same blood, his confusion shall end. He shall fiercely protect the young golden monarch.”

  “As you wish, we shall continue to watch over him and his land.”

  “What of the swarms?” Shail asked.

  “They are a blessing and a curse. Now that the beetles kill, they drive the humans swiftly across the river. I know you planned to herd the humans, unharmed, out of our jungle, but daily the swarms grow in numbers with the emerging of new queens. They grow harder for the harpies to control. The attack on human villages draws near.”

  “Yes, the curse of them worries me. I allowed the beetles to multiply and now the blood of many innocent may rest upon my hands, and I fear for our females and young. The beetles might evolve to fly a great distance over water and attack the islands. While we still have control, we shall direct the swarms to known hunting camps. With the hunters’ deaths, the women and children in the villages shall flee east and beyond into the stars. Bring your males back in.”

  On a dusty table, Shail drew the outback with his finger, pointing out the western hunting camps to the harpy males. Once Shail had finished, he followed Aron and the other harpies outside the crevice.

  On the ledge, Shail stood next to Aron as the other harpies took flight. “I shall see you at the river, my brother.”

  “If you can force yourself away from your new mate,” Aron relayed.

  “It shall be hard. Kari is unlike any harpy. For ten seasons she lived among humans without harpies and the jungle. Most females would have died, but she came back strong and wise.”

  “And you survived the hunters when others could not and came back the same as her. As I have said, she is your match, Shail.”

  Shail shook his long hair. “At times she is more than my match.” They nuzzled one another’s necks. “Fly safe, Aron.” He watched Aron leap from the ledge and trail the other males until they were out of sight. He returned to the crevice and Kari. The war of nature against the deadly humans had begun.

  * * *

  Kari was delighted to see Lea when she came into the room. “Our ruler wishes me to teach you about our people,” Lea said.

  “I’ve been driving him crazy with my questions, but he’s so cute when he doesn’t know the answer and becomes frustrated. He’s normally too darn confident. It’s good to knock him off his throne once in a while.”

  Lea covered her mouth to hide her giggles. “You truly have the golden blood to treat him so.”

  “Do you have a mate, Lea?”

  “Yes, my mate stays near Westend and guards your father’s home. I miss him. Most female harpies have harpy mates, but some seek good men and the man knows their wife is a harpy. These men protect the identity of their mates, their mate’s female relatives, and all offspring. The female harpies depend on this help.”

  “So this is how all female harpies exist?” Kari asked.

  “Most of us live this way, since it is safer. When young, we are taught not to do or say anything that would reveal our true nature.”

  Kari raised an eyebrow. “I guess I broke the rules when I came back to Dora. I ran my mouth about how much I liked harpies and had the ability to communicate with them.”

  “Yes.” Lea nodded. “You took great risk when defending the harpies. Some humans might have guessed you were a harpy. The outcome can be very bad.”

  “I learned my lesson the hard way when three hunters caught me in the jungle. They planned to rape me. If Shail hadn’t come…” Kari shuddered.

  Lea put her arm around Kari. “Some hunters have discovered male and female harpies together in the jungle and learned of the female’s disguise. To choose a life with your mate among the trees is risky, but separation also is painful.”

  “So how can you have a relationship when you live apart?”

  “By day I live as a woman with my mother on the outskirts of Westend. We pick berries and make jams for the humans, but at night I become a harpy. My mate comes at dark and flies me to our jungle nest. One learns to treasure the night.”

  “You know, Lea, if the humans knew we were related, they might stop the hunting of the harpies, realizing we’re not animals.”

  Lea’s eyes widened. “No, our secret must be kept. We know the outcome of exposing our females. Have you not heard of the first men who landed on Dora?”

  “I know the Dorial explorers discovered the planet a hundred and seventy-five years ago. The settlers followed twenty-five years later. It’s in the history books.”

  “Yes, the human history books.” Lea sighed. “They do not hold the terrible truth of those explorers, and it was hidden from the settlers. From generation to generation, the harpies have passed along the story. The explorers landed on Dora and discovered the harpy community. The harpies, not fearing humans, welcomed those men. The men saw that our females looked like women and learned the harpies were a gentle race. Desirin
g the females, men caught, caged, and raped them. Many females died of shock and heart failure from the abuse. The males rushed to their mates’ defense and also died in great numbers, killed by human weapons. The men cut off their wings, bragging of their trophies. It was the darkest of all seasons for the harpies, yet the history books glorify those malicious men.”

  Lea added another log to the fire and continued the story. “Some females survived, and, to the men’s surprise, became pregnant. When the featherless winged males were born, they disgusted the men, thinking their offspring were four-armed freaks. The men cut the fledglings’ throats and started a ritual that exists today. A wounded male exposes his throat to the hunter and hopes to receive the same death as the past sacrificial fledglings. This courageous and honorable death proves we are the enlightened, the civilized ones over the lowly human beasts.”

  “What happened to the female fledglings?” Kari asked.

  “They were spared because they looked human. After that season, the pregnant female harpies hid their labor pains, feeling the male wings in their stomach. At night they gave birth, and through the cage bars, handed their male fledglings to the surviving free adults. The male harpies reared those fledglings as their own sons. The female fledglings remained with their mothers. These daughters grew, and when the settlers arrived, the females passed as women. A wicked partnership began between the Dorian explorers and the harpies; neither would divulge the true nature of the female harpies, and the deception still exists.

  “The male harpies were labeled as thieves when they attempted to reclaim their females. If a bonded harpy pair was found by humans, the male was killed and the female was returned to the human world, but she soon died of despair, unable to live without her mate. The second lie was hatched. The humans, thinking a female harpy was a woman, believed that women lost their minds and died after a male harpy took and raped them.”

  Kari rose from the nest and paced the room. “I know of the despair we face. On Earth, I was so miserable that I nearly lost my mind. I can’t imagine existing without Shail; I love him so much.”