A Whisper of Wings (38 page)

Kïtashii ran fingers through her tangled hair. Her arms trembled with fatigue, and the river sounded cool and soothing at her back.

“I don’t know. Let… let’s wait and rest for an hour. Maybe we’ll think of something by then.”

The Wrens collapsed. Here and there a hunter groped for a drinking gourd while Kïtashii closed her eyes and sighed.

They had until sunset. Somehow she had to find a plan. Something to draw the guards away. Now what would make a Skull-Wing want to leave his post?

The little girl rose and tottered towards the stream to drink. Behind her, Shadarii lay on a rock and stared down towards her enemies.

“It’s never going to work! Mrrimïmei, don’t be ridiculous!”

Tingtraka wrung her face up in distaste as she watched her team mate stepping into Shadarii’s clothing. Mrrimïmei rammed grass into the halter top and tried to mould herself into Shadarii’s shape.

“You’re not fast enough. No one flies faster than me! Kotaru’s in trouble, so I’m damned-well going!” The girl shoved more grass beneath the waistbelt of her borrowed skirt. “Anyway, you have black hair. They’d spot you a mile away!” Mrrimïmei tightened up her belts and straps. “There we are, all ready to go! Now let’s get this over and done with.”

Mrrimïmei jittered with excitement, having difficulty even sitting still. Shadarii delicately dabbed the girl’s wings with bright orange ochre dust. They would soon shed their colour, but for a brief while they should fool the waiting enemy.

Mrrimïmei rose and gazed through the trees.

“Right! We all ready? We all set?” No one seemed to have anything further to say. “Alright then! I’ll be off. Give me a fist of seconds and then move out.”

The girl spared a warm kiss for her fiancé and then rose high into the air. She glared down at Shadarii before disappearing in the shadows.

Shadarii checked the set of her knives and paced back and forth in silence, scowling as she slowly counted off the seconds.

Eight. Nine. Ten…

Rotïka tugged nervously at his mask straps. The tiny little man had spoken for them all, and the ten remaining Wrens all swapped nervous glances, slowly fingering their weapons.

Eighteen. Nineteen.

It was time to go. Shadarii tugged at her borrowed hunting leathers and took to the air, and the other Kashra swiftly leapt to join her. They clattered off into the shadows, following the gleam of Mrrimïmei’s ïsha trail.

A hunter gripped Daimïru’s arm, and the girl went stiff, her breath hissing as she saw a stir of motion in the clearing. A figure wandered out into the open, walking cautiously across the broken stones, and the sunlight shone from a pair of startling orange wings.

Shadarii!

Damn! She stood in the only place where Daimïru’s men were out of reach; the open rockface had offered them no place to hide. Shadarii stood well and truly out of spear cast. She was surrounded by clumps of mountain ash; small trees surrounded by great mats of resin, leaves and crackling bark. It would be impossible to even creep up on her by foot. Daimïru chafed, casting a quick glance all along the waiting line of hunters.

Down on the rocks, the prey’s antennae swivelled, then froze as one hunter let a twig snap beneath his heel. Suddenly Shadarii shot into the sky and raced downstream. Daimïru cursed and burst out of the trees.

“Don’t let her get away! Kill her! Kill Shadarii!”

Daimïru hurtled herself up into the pursuit, and twenty hunters thundered on Shadarii’s trail. Mrrimïmei swept out to hover high above the riverbanks, staying just long enough to be seen before dashing through the ferns. The Skull-Wings took the bait and shrieked out for her blood. Mrrimïmei gave a snort and whirled off through the trees, leaving her pursuers far behind.

“OK they’ve gone! Fan out and look for trails!”

Kïtashii and her friends sped out of cover then spread out across the clearing to comb for ïsha spoor.

Shadarii dashed up the slopes and plunged into the deserted cave. Her fur shivered as a thousand memories whirled into her mind; Kotaru’s smile, Kotaru’s laugh - the pain, the joy, the ecstasy! The girl squandered ïsha as she wildly searched for clues.

“Shadarii! Be careful, someone will see the light!”

Shadarii never even heard; she thrust past Kïtashii and scrabbled up across the rocks. They had only minutes before Zhukora’s hunters returned; Shadarii chewed her fist and tried to think just what to do.

Tingtraka carefully sifted through the ïsha auras of the cave, then followed the trail back to the little alcove where Shadarii and Kotaru had made love. After long minutes, the girl finally drew back in defeat.

Shadarii closed her eyes and tried to remember. The-the sun had shone; there had been cool, fresh water. She had smiled and waved. Something had smashed against her skull, the teapot shattering in her hand as she fell…

The waterhole!

Shadarii whirled and dashed down amongst the boulders. The girl thrilled as she retraced her actions move for move. She had stood right here in this spot, she had turned and looked straight back towards…

Kotaru…

Icy scorpions scuttled up her spine. Shadarii’s whole world narrowed as her gaze settled on a single darker patch of shadow. She found herself moving towards it, staring without any comprehension.

Shadarii gazed down, unable to make any sense out of the horror at her feet. A strange, light-hearted trance seemed to settle in her mind, and the girl fell slowly to her knees, her head cocked as she peered at the weird thing in the grass.

It lay like a burnt, dead log; foul, rotten and violated, like-like meat left too long upon a fire. Shadarii reached out to run her fingertips across the ashes. She slowly sank across the corpse, clutching the stinking thing against her breast. It fractured as she clawed at it in incoherent agony.

Kotaru! No! Not my Kotaru!

Tingtraka sank down into the dust, her eyes lost and drained of hope. Kïtashii hung back, terrified of intruding on either woman’s grief. The little girl tried not to weep, stifling back the tears. She mustn’t cry! They needed her. Someone had to be strong! Someone had to be strong! Someone had to…

Shadarii slammed herself against the corpse, willing it to break and stab her through the heart. She tried to rip her dao from its sheath, but someone wrapped their arms about her. Kïtashii dragged her back from the corpse and crushed Shadarii tight.

“Hold me! Hold onto me! Don’t let go.”

Kïtashii gripped her for an age, rocking the older woman back and forth just like a baby. Tingtraka hesitantly approached, tears leaving wet tracks through her dusty fur.

The Vakïdurii hunters stared down in disbelief at Kotaru’s corpse, while Shadarii threw back her head and tried to shriek Kotaru’s name.

Why! Why can’t I scream? Oh my love, I can’t even scream for thee!

“Shadarii, look out!”

Shadarii’s head snapped around in time to see a figure framed against the rocks above. The creature stared down at her and staggered back in shock.

“Daimïru! Leader, she’s here! Shadarii is here!”

The Skull-Wing shot into the air to find reinforcements. Kïtashii hurtled a spear with all her might; it arced up and somehow struck the hunter, just managing to jab beneath his wing. The Skull-Wing fell into an ash tree, whirling around to fix his blazing eyes upon Kïtashii. His woomera flashed forward, and Kïtashii could only gape as a spear streaked straight towards her breast.

Shadarii flung herself in the way. The spear tore to splinters as she blasted it from the air, and with a silent scream of rage Shadarii lunged for the Skull-Wing’s throat.

“Shadarii, stop!”

“What are you doing?”

The Skull-Wing screamed and punched out with his aura, and flame showered into the dried leaves at Shadarii’s feet. The girl smashed her enemy’s head against a tree and hurtled the unconscious body aside into the dirt.

Sparks caught in the tinder, and the ash trees instantly erupted into flame. Shadarii and the Wrens dragged their unconscious enemy aside, too stunned to fight the blaze. The plants were designed to be a fire trap; one by one they lost themselves in an orgy of self immolation. Their seedpods burst in ecstasy, showering seeds all across the blazing soil¹. Kotaru’s corpse was suddenly engulfed by a spreading storm of flame.

The Wrens backed away as bushfires spread into the surrounding forest, engulfing an entire mountaintop in flame. Shadarii stared as the funeral pyre closed over her beloved’s corpse, the whole hilltop disappearing underneath the blaze.

Finally she let the others take her. They drew her into the forest and left the clifftop to its fate.

***

“Snake! Conniving whore! Down on your face and pray that we look on your soul with mercy!”

The High Priestess foamed with rage as she whirled and pointed a commanding finger straight at Zhukora’s heart.

“Did you think we would forgive? Did you think we would do nothing?” The Priestess gave a laugh. “We shall have our due, Zhukora! We shall have either Shadarii or we’ll smash you down into the dust. I can break you more easily than I can snap a twig! Prakucha’s death condemns you; one word from me and you are finished!”

Zhukora leaned against a lodgepost, holding back a fit of laughter. She looked like a schoolgirl trying to hide her giggles from the teacher. The High Priestess looked around her ring of acolytes in shock.

Lamplight made weird shapes in the darkness, and Zhukora’s shadow flickered with an evil energy. No one saw the warning; the High Priestess knew nothing but her own blinding fury.

“Prakucha’s death hangs over thee, girl! From this day forth your life is only at my whim! We were to be a partnership. Hand in hand we could have ruled this tribe! Well now those days are fled from your grasp. We will use you, girl! You will be our puppet. The moment that you fail to please me, your life is gone!” The High Priestess swept out her wings. “Did you really think we - Aaaaahk!”

Something smashed the Priestess into the air and crucified her on a blaze of lightning. The woman tried to scream, her mouth half opening before she choked upon her swollen tongue. Zhukora watched it all with a vague air of amusement; she slowly walked around her victim as though examining a most extraordinary exhibit.

Serpent swirled around her shoulders, filling up the ïsha with writhing shapes of dark.

The Priestess’ fur began to smoke. Zhukora clasped her hands behind her back and coolly turned to face the priests.

“Now I shall tell you the way of the future. I shall tell you because you are stupid creatures driven only by your greed. You have betrayed our tribe; you have betrayed the Kashran race. You will now serve the destiny of the people, or I shall slaughter you like insects one by one.”

A priest beside Kanoochi bared his fangs in rage, then suddenly sent his spirit “rider” leaping through the air.

“Die witch!”

A bolt of lightning lanced straight for Zhukora’s heart. She contemptuously flicked the blow aside. The Priest squawked in shock as his power flashed and died.

Serpent seemed to draw a long slow breath. The Priest who had attacked Zhukora looked about himself in terror as the huge Ka slowly bent above him.

There was an agonised little whimper from the darkness, and Serpent seemed to sigh in delight. The Ka slowly drew away and rippled in delicious satisfaction.

The priests stared in terror at Zhukora’s prey. The Priest sat staring into space just like a corpse, and a long, slow string of drool gradually trailed down from his lips. Zhukora caressed Lord Serpent with luxurious sensuality.

“I will warn you only once. This is the only penalty for defiance. Defy me, and I shall reduce you to a living death.”

Behind her, the High Priestess hung limp and empty. Her Ka was gone, sucked and eaten like a plump, delicious fruit. Zhukora looked up at her and softly smiled.