Flight of the Golden Harpy

by Susan Klaus

  Shail leaned over John’s lifeless body and nuzzled his rough cheek. “You were a great protector,” he whispered to Kari’s dead father. “You even protected me.” He stood up. His arm dripped with Turner’s blood, and he glared at the humans, feeling the rise of rage. “Who else seeks my death?” he asked in a strong, threatening voice. “Step forth. Let us now put an end to all hate.” No one in the crowd moved or spoke. Shail shook, trying to throw off his anger. “Then honor this man, for he has saved you. He sought peace and paid for the peace with his life.” He walked toward the doors, parting the people.

  Waters ran after him. “Shail, wait,” he called.

  The harpy stopped at the doors and fiercely stared at him.

  “Are you still going to destroy the swarms?”

  “I shall keep my word, but you had better keep yours,” Shail said. “Harpies are not killers, but as you have seen, we can be, if we must.” He shoved the doors wide open and gazed at the swarms. Stepping out, he was airborne before any beetles could latch on. Shail’s golden wings glided over the backdrop of a black and deadly landscape.

  21

  Charlie flew the hover all night, following the two brown harpies. Every so often, he heard Kari’s sniffles for having lost her golden mate at the auction. She finally drifted to sleep, exhausted from worry and grief. Charlie also worried, but for different reasons. His concern was for John, who once committed to a cause was relentless. If the governor failed to help him, John would go to the range and free the harpy himself, no matter the obstacles. Charlie reflected on their conversation on the morning of the auction. John had said for Kari’s sake, he’d trade his life for Shail’s. His statement wasn’t to be taken lightly. John stood behind every word.

  The northern journey dragged on through the night, interrupted by brief rain showers. Charlie slowed the hover several times so the harpies could take a break, but they refused, waving him on. Their energy seemed boundless, but at daylight, Charlie grew tired and landed the hover near a stream. The harpies didn’t object and waded into the water to drink and wash off their sweat.

  Kari woke and joined the two males by the water. Charlie ate beef jerky and watched the three harpies communicate in silence and eat fruit. Kari returned to Charlie and the hover. “Before the light fades, we arrive.” After talking to the harpies, her manner of speaking had briefly changed to their broken tongue.

  Revived, the two males fluttered into the air and motioned Charlie to follow. They soon reached the mountain foothills, and the weather became cooler. Kari turned on the hover communicator to reach someone in Hampton, but there was no response. Even the emergency police channel was dead. She nervously glanced at Charlie. Apparently the swarms had struck and the city was under siege.

  Charlie reached over and patted her arm. “Don’t worry, Kari. Shail is safe. They won’t let a three-million-credit harpy get consumed, and your father can outsmart bugs. I wouldn’t be surprised if John and Shail were together right now.”

  She breathed deeply, obviously not convinced, and kept switching the com channels, looking for news.

  By late afternoon, they were in the high mountain range, and Charlie landed in a small clearing to give the harpies another break. He grew more amazed by their speed and endurance. They could easily out-fly a small hover and had the stamina of migrating birds. The two males leaned against a boulder, lightly panting and shaking their sweat-soaked locks. Charlie approached them with the offer of food, and their eyes widened with caution before hesitantly snatching the fruit from his hands. They uneasily watched him while nibbling the food. The browns weren’t as bold as Kari’s fierce golden mate.

  Charlie grinned and walked away, leaving them to eat in peace and admire them from a distance. Their slim muscular bodies glistened in the afternoon sun. Wet, tan, and high-strung, they resembled a sleek thoroughbred after a hard-won race. Though related to men, the harpies were totally different from their human cousins, and their highly evolved instincts were aware of every smell, sound, and movement. It would be a crime if they were tamed, he thought. Wild animals, like harpies, placed in a zoo became lazy and relaxed, lost their drive and instincts, while the same animal in the wild lived by its wits and skill. He glanced at Kari, and she was like a freed zoo animal. Bonding with Shail, she had embraced her wild harpy nature and cast out civilization. Even if her mate died, she’d never return to the zoo, the comfortable human world.

  They resumed the flight, and at dusk the harpies settled on a small plateau and Charlie landed the hover. He and Kari gathered their gear and started a steep climb up a mountain path led by the harpies. They had traveled only a short distance when the harpies stopped. One male took Kari and Charlie’s bags and flung them across his shoulder and wing. The other harpy stood in front of Charlie.

  Kari smiled. “He thinks you’re too old and wants to carry you.”

  Charlie frowned. “Too old? He can carry me when I’m dead.”

  The tall male sniffled at the short old Indian and walked away with no translation necessary. They continued the hike up a narrow rocky path, the cold wind blowing at their back. At dark they reached the cave. Kari entered a large expanse and found female harpies and fledglings gathered around fires. Seeing the blond harpy, they dropped to their knees and lowered their heads.

  “Please rise,” Kari relayed. She sat down by the fire and Charlie joined her, definitely feeling out of place as the only adult male and human. After a while he wandered out of the cave and was grateful to find one of the male harpies guarding the entrance. The harpy nervously backed away from him.

  “Easy, boy, I won’t hurt you, and I doubt if I could,” Charlie said. The male settled down and tilted his head at Charlie’s ramblings. Charlie was more comfortable with the mute male than the talking females in the cave. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped. The harpy curled up under a cliff, covering his body with feathers. Charlie said good night and returned to the cave.

  Kari smiled. “You found a friend?”

  “Yes, one that speaks less than me.”

  Kari took Charlie to his soft bed of moss, and after the long trip, he was quickly asleep.

  * * *

  Sitting by the fire, Kari stayed up and talked to the female harpies and discovered that two had bonded with men who worked for the governor, but they were reluctant to discuss it or disclose their involvement at the governor’s mansion. She wondered who could possibly demand their silence. In harpy culture, only goldens had such control over browns.

  Growing tired, Kari bid them good night and went to her moss bed. Mentally worn out with worry, she soon was asleep.

  Every night she found herself in the same exhausting dream, walking through the jungle and pushing the blue ferns aside while calling in search of Shail, but she never could find him. She knew now that he had been sold to hunters, so the dream grew worse, because she was more desperate. Lost and all hope gone, she sat down under a white-barked tree in the dream and cried.

  “I’m sorry, you cry, Kari,” said a soft male voice.

  She looked up and tried to focus through the haze of tears. “Shail, is it you?”

  “I am here,” Shail said, and pushed the foliage aside.

  Kari stood and rushed into his arms. “Is it really you or just the dream?” she cried. “Are you really alive?”

  “It is I, and no mere wishing dream.” He wearily lowered his head and nuzzled his face into her long hair and inhaled her scent. “I have so missed you.”

  Kari held him and stroked his head. “Are you well? Are you still caught?” she asked in her illusionary state.

  “I am free, but still fight my demons of hate, but a golden female helps me heal so I can find you in my dreams.” He gently kissed her. “The light comes, and I must go, but I shall seek you again with the darkness.” He pulled away from her and disappeared into the jungle.

  Opening her eyes, Kari saw the faint light of dawn entering the cave. She got up and made her way through the dark ca
ve and knelt down by Charlie. “Charlie,” she whispered and shook the old man from his sleep.

  Charlie woke. “What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked and sat up.

  “Shail is alive and free. He came in my dream. Everything is all right now.”

  Charlie smiled “I’m glad,” he said, “but it was just a dream—” He stopped.

  She returned to her nest and reflected on the golden female who was helping her mate heal. Like Shail, she presumed that she and her mate were the last of the golden harpies.

  During the day, Kari happily played with the fledglings. The little males practiced their flying skills and fluttered to the high cave ceiling. The small females chased them in the game. She kept herself busy, but like Lea, longed for the dark and the return of her mate. Charlie wrapped himself in a blanket and went outside. He apparently enjoyed the male harpy’s company.

  As evening approached, the group gathered around the fire and ate fruits brought by male harpies. An adolescent male flew into the cave and landed. Despite the cold weather, he was sweaty and puffed for air. Seeing him, Kari stood and walked to him. She barely noticed the teen, but focused on what he held, a three-foot yellow flight feather. The battered feather had separated quills and gray dirt nearly concealed the pale yellow. She leaned over and smelled it, confirming it was Shail’s.

  The young harpy stared at Kari. “Our golden ruler sent me. He wishes you to know he is free and shall come when swarms are gone and the land safe.”

  Kari bit her lip, trying to control her tears of joy. She, too, had distrusted the dream, but now she had proof. Shail was alive and well.

  “There is one other message,” said the teen. “The master says he loves you.”

  “Thank you,” she relayed. After a long savored moment, she went to Charlie and told him the good news.

  * * *

  Leaving the Hampton port, Shail started his flight back to the mansion, but changed his mind and flew toward the ocean. He didn’t want his harpies to sense his sadness. He soared along the ocean cliffs, and the strong winds and updrafts allowed him to glide with little effort. He had never mourned for a man, but Turner was different.

  Shail reflected on the day after the rape, the lowest point in his life. He had lost his courage, pride, and the will to live. Turner came to his cage and told him to be strong, that he would survive all that, and then the man had sworn to protect him. Turner made good on his promise.

  Closing his eyes, Shail drifted on the cool breeze and dwelled on Turner, the only man worthy of his respect. He wondered if he’d ever meet another, flawed yet good, devoted and brave. Like a male harpy, Turner lived to protect his family and died for his convictions.

  Flying back to the mansion, Shail set down amid his large flock. Aron approached, and Shail knew very little escaped his nest brother.

  “Your heart is heavy,” Aron relayed. “What trouble has come?”

  Shail stared down. “Turner is dead. He stepped in front of a weapon and saved my life.”

  Aron breathed deeply. “You and all harpies have lost a true friend. These past seasons you were right to protect him and his land from the swarms.”

  “We both loved Kari, and in the end protected one another.” Shail glanced toward the harpy gathering. “I must speak to them and tell of the new truce with the humans.” He flew to a giant tree stump and landed. He looked up at the sun. “See the light,” he said to the enormous flock. “It is different. From this light forward marks a time of peace between human and harpy. I have gone to the humans and said we would save them from the swarm if they would end the hunting and give us the western jungle where we can dwell in freedom and safety. They have agreed.”

  Sensing their minds, Shail felt disapproval among the flock leaders. Like Aron, they didn’t trust the humans or the peace. “I feel your doubts, and that you would rather the swarms rid us of these enemies. True, we would know peace, but it would be short-lived. Once the swarms were gone, more humans would come from the stars, and again we would face the hunters. This truce must come while the humans value the harpies. By saving them, they shall be grateful and see our honor. A friendship we shall reap, the same friendship that binds the bird and zel. The calling bird warns the zel of danger, and the moving zel chases the insects from the brush so the bird feeds. We shall dwell as these, moving through the land helping one another, apart yet together and no longer as predator and prey. I want our fledglings to grow not knowing fear and slaughter so I have taken this chance. Harpies are guardians of the jungle. We cherish all life. We shall save the trees, the animals, and the humans. To do not, we lose honor and become less. We go now into the perilous swarms. Fly swiftly, my brothers.”

  Shail spread his wings and leaped from the stump. The sky erupted with brown feathers and the huge flock followed him south to the city. Nearing Hampton, the dome stood in the distance, the only building left. Flying along the border between the colorful trees and blackness, Shail noticed a younger male that tried to match his wing stride. “We shall pair,” Shail relayed to him, “I the taker, and you the follower. Retrieve the wood.” The male tilted his wings and swooped down into the trees, and Shail slowed, allowing him to catch up. His harpy apprentice soon returned with a stick of wood. Other males also gathered pieces of wood before hitting the swarms.

  With the male following, Shail flew straight toward the port, knowing the beetles were threatening its doors. The male remained above as Shail glided down and hovered several feet from the ground, searching among the black mass. His giant wings rapidly fluttered and created a current of air that blew the beetles end over end. He finally saw her, lying exposed and no longer protected by her workers. He swooped down and seized the queen that was slightly larger than the average beetle, though a human wouldn’t notice the difference.

  Holding her so she couldn’t bite his hands, Shail waited. The queen made a desperate clicking sound. He watched the frantic workers and drones below who searched for her. They exposed their wings and prepared to fly. He darted upward and joined the young male. The swarm of thousands rose up to save their distressed queen that called to them. The chase was on.

  Shail and the male flew twenty feet off the ground at the same speed as the swarm. If he went higher or faster, the beetles couldn’t hear their queen, and Shail would lose the beetles in the hot pursuit. He and the young harpy reached the ocean and continued east for several miles. The swarm was so panicked by the clicking queen that it lost its fear of flying over open water.

  “Go ahead,” Shail said. “I do not want you caught.”

  The young male sped up, leaving Shail and the trailing swarm. In the distance the male placed his wooden stick on the water and then fled straight up to the sky. Shail reached the stick and quickly doused the queen with water, wetting her wings. and placed her on the wood. He furiously flapped upward and narrowly escaped the angry beetles. The beetles merged on the queen and landed on the watery grave. With their wings wet, they couldn’t fly and helplessly floundered on top of the waves, eventually drowning.

  The male and Shail headed back in search of another queen. They saw other harpies performing the same daring feat. Each one used speed, balance, and timing to lure the deadly swarms out to sea.

  Reaching the port, the male flew on to the jungle for another piece of wood while Shail waited and surveyed the ground. A slight mound of beetles usually held a queen.

  In the past the harpies had destroyed all new queens and kept the beetle population under control. By moving a queen, the harpies could move a swarm and this was how Shail had protected the Turner Estate and towns.

  The male returned, and Shail flew down and retrieved a second queen. Once she started click, the race was on to the ocean. Wetting her wings and placing the queen on the wood, Shail darted for a secure elevation beyond the swarm’s reach. Once again the swarm set down on the water in a mass suicide. The water churned as hungry fish feasted on the floundering bugs.

  Across the ocean Shail saw gree
n waves quickly turning black, covered with struggling and dead beetles. Among the floating palm-size corpses, he noticed logs clustered with scrambling beetles. Gliding into range to investigate, Shail’s heart sank when he discovered that it was not logs but two dead harpies. For lack of timing or too slow an escape, they had met their demise. He stared at their majestic wings and handsome but lifeless bodies ravaged by the beetles. Shail agonized about leaving them in the water and grasped a wing tip, but two beetles quickly clung to his hand. He shook off the insects before they could bite, and realized he could not retrieve the bodies for a proper mourning. He hovered over them. “Before the light fades, how many others shall meet this fate, a fate I chose by allowing the beetles to overpopulate?”

  Reluctantly Shail left the dead harpies and returned to land with the male. They continued the quest of search and destroy. Toward sunset, his flock had made good progress. The dome and the heart of the city, once known as Hampton, was beetle free, but many swarms still existed several miles away. Shail gave the order, stopping the crusade against swarms. His harpies were drained and the light was fading.

  Shail landed near the port, and Aron set down beside him. “Take the flock back to the gathering place for rest,” Shail said. “I shall soon come.”

  “You should come now.”

  “I must first speak with the human ruler and warn him. Not seeing the beetles, he might think it safe and leave the shelter. Humans lack wisdom about nature.”

  Aron nodded and motioned to the flock. He flew up, veered north, and the harpies followed. Shail walked to the port doors and tapped. A man opened the door and Shail walked inside.

  Waters greeted him. “I’m happy you’re here, Shail. We saw the swarms are gone, and we’re very thankful to you and your harpies.”

  Wiping his sweaty brow and pushing his damp locks off his face, Shail shook his head. “Do not be fooled by what is unseen. We removed the swarms that threatened the port, but others lie near. If you left the port, you would soon see more beetles.”