Night Calls the Raven (Book 2 of The Master of the Tane) (8 page)

The foothills were a mix of rolling, grassy hills and frequent rock outcroppings breaking from the sea of grass and jutting out in different angles. Occasional pockets of shrubbery made their stand in small groups that clung to each other and anyone else that got too close. The first time such shrubs blocked his path he tried to go through them but was quickly turned back by their vicious needle-like thorns that grabbed relentlessly onto his pack refusing to let go. Teek
rubbed at one of the scratches left on his forearm from the fray, the burning it left finally beginning to abate. Now he eyed the shrubs warily when they blocked his way, deciding instead to take the long way around.

As the morning wore on, the sun finally broke away at the previous
night’s chill and Teek found himself singing in spite of the ache knotting his shoulders from his heavy pack and new axe. Finding a small grove of aspens, he decided that it was about time for lunch. Near the center of the grove, a small stream meandered through the trees on its journey to the river below and invited him to sit along side and rest for awhile. Releasing his burden to the ground, he helped himself to a soft plot of earth and leaned back against a neighboring tree to enjoy a little rest.

Digging through his pack he pulled out a big round of cheese and a couple of carrots. “This should make for a decent little lunch.” Though unlike the crab and crawfish he was accustomed to at home, it filled his stomach properly and actually tasted rather good. A cool drink from the creek washed it down nicely and he settled back against the trunk and enjoyed the moment. The trees seemed to be whispering to each other overhead as the wind brushed through their leaves generating a soothing sound that mingled with the bubbling creek creating a soft melody. He gave himself over to the sound without a fight and was quickly pulled into restful slumber.

Pushing his tiny canoe through the Teague swamp, he wove his way through the labyrinth of giant Teague trees that leant their name to his homeland. His traps had all been full and he was anxious to return to the hut with the treasure of crabs, crawfish, and even a large turtle. His mother would be thrilled, as would his little brother and sisters. But suddenly, a large cloud covered the sky completely blocking out the sun’s rays and throwing the area into an unnatural darkness. A loud scream echoed across the swamp. “Mother!”

His eyes snapped open. Something large hovered over him forcing him to his feet in an instant as he grabbed for the large axe but was pulled into a pile as the axe’s weight was greater than his strength to wield it. Releasing it he rolled away and popped up again, this time pulling his dagger free from its sheath. The weapon was not as threatening as the axe, of course, but it didn’t throw him back to the ground either.

Another scream shattered the air followed swiftly by a gentle cooing sound that sounded strangely like laughter. It was then that Teek finally caught site of his attacker. I large white bird stood near his pack, its head bobbing as it continued to coo. “Tchee!” Teek screamed, pushing the dagger back into its casing. He ran to the large bird and threw his small arms against her chest burying his head into the soft down. 

“Oh, Tchee, it is so good to see you again! How did you ever find me, and so quickly? I had given up hope that I would ever see you again. You’ll never guess what happened to me.” Teek stepped back and looked into her gem-like blue eyes. She considered him for a moment and then shrieked a tremendous noise followed by tiny growls in her throat that made Teek suddenly feel like a tiny morsel of meat. He stepped back quickly looking quizzically at her as she continued to growl and squawk.

“What?”

Tchee bobbed her head back and forth and growled and squawked again and then shot her head forward so fast that Teek had barely enough time to throw his hands back to soften his collision with the ground.

“Hey, what’s that for?”

Tchee loomed over him now and shot her head down at him her razor-sharp beak coming frightfully close to his tender skin. Again she squawked and growl and bobbed her head.

He tried to scramble back away but she was always right over him still making a fuss. Then it hit him. “You’re not mad about the dwarf thing are you?”

She raised her head skyward and released another harsh scream that sent birds into flight that had been roosting farther down amongst the trees outlining the Underwoods.

Teek felt sweat beginning to run down his cheek as the answer came without doubt. “It’s all right,” he soothed. “They didn’t hurt me too bad. I know I should have listened to you the first time but it was all a misunderstanding.”

Tchee’s head was suddenly on top of him again, her beak so close to his face that he could smell the fish she’d had for breakfast that morning. Low garbles churned in her chest and then rumbled up to her throat. He could tell she was not pleased with him. He was beginning to feel like he was being lectured just like his mother did when he got hurt after doing something she had warned him not to do.

“I’m sorry, Tchee. Really. Who would have thought I would be mistaken for someone who would steal weapons from royalty? Really, my head is better now and they even gave me the dagger back. It’s not a big thing, honest.”

Tchee eyed him closely for a moment longer and then raised her head and stepped back giving him enough room to stand. He rubbed his chest where she had hit him and felt the tenderness from the quick forming bruise.

“I won’t be upsetting you again. You hit harder than the dwarfs.”

Tchee just stared at him and then suddenly started bouncing around bobbing back and forth while warbling a cheerful melody.

He smiled, happy to have his friend back and even happier that she hadn’t taken his head off. “What have you been doing this whole time that I was locked away inside the mountain? I have to say that you weren’t much help at the river when they gave me a big knot on my head.”

Tchee screamed out in protest raising her head high into the air and then bouncing it up and down in short, quick gyrations. The low growl returned to her throat causing him to raise his hands in submission.

“I know, I know. It was my fault. I was only kidding. It wasn’t all bad though.” His voice suddenly filled with excitement. “You wouldn’t believe what I saw and did. Of course, the first part wasn’t that great, and I was afraid they were going to kill me more than once, but I did get to meet a real king and stay in a real palace. Then they fed me all of this weird food. Well, not at first. First they just gave me a little bit of mush that didn’t taste like anything, but later I got bacon and cheese and vegetables and eggs and other strange things that were all really good. But what was the best of all was that I got to meet the prince my mother met when she was on her appeasing journey!”

He threw his hands in the air and then plopped them back onto the top of his head.
“My mother! I need to get back home. Who knows how long I’ve been gone and now that I have a gift for Twee I can go home! I can’t wait to get there. Boy was Twee right about home being the greatest adventure. I don’t think I ever want to leave the swamps again, although it was kind of exciting and I did meet some nice people, well not at first but they were later on.”

Tchee just stared at the Waseeni boy as he babbled on and on about his little adventures dancing about and waving his hands acting out certain parts that excited him most and then parading around about one thing or another. She didn’t interrupt, but had Teek been paying
attention he may have caught the slight glint in her eye like a mother patiently watching her child amused by his self discoveries.

Finally he stopped. “I want to get home soon. Can you take me? I know it’s a lot to ask,”
he paused putting a hand on his stomach, “and I did just eat but it will take me days and days to get there by walking and canoeing.”

Tchee squawked amicably and bobbed her head back and forth before dropping a wing for him to climb up. He smiled and then turned and got his pack. He was still amazed at how Tchee seemed to understand everything he said to her and how easily she was able to get her point across to him. Hoisting the heavy pack back onto his shoulders he grabbed the front of the outstretched wing as best he could and then scurried up and onto her back. “You should see the great axe that Bardolf gave me. Mother will be so surprised when I tell her I met them!”

Ignoring his chatter, Tchee moved slightly to the left to clear herself of the aspen branches and then leaped suddenly into the air. Teek’s stomach dropped and he quickly clasped her about the neck trying to hold onto his lunch and keep his perch while Tchee pumped her massive wings and glided swiftly and smoothly higher and higher into the air. As they gained altitude his stomach settled to the point of almost becoming civil again allowing him to sit up some and look around.

The mountains quickly shot into view in the west, stretching out for miles, the highest peaks still covered with last winter’s snow. Looking to the east, he had a grand view of the dark Underwoods Forest that, although pretty from the air, still gave off a feeling of darkness and foreboding. Straining his eyes ahead while squinting through the rushing air, he thought he could just make out the water and trees of his homeland swamp. From this distance it was difficult to see where the Underwoods ended and the Teague began but he knew that he was headed in the
right direction and that home was not going to be so long and hard to reach. It gave him a great rush of excitement. Home. He had wanted to trade it most of his life for the big world of adventure and discovery, always feeling he was missing out. Now that the opportunity had been given him, it was home that gave him the greatest thrill.

Scanning the distant trees while trying to get a clearer view he thought he saw a flash of bright light on the horizon. Straining his eyes to see better, he saw it happen again, and then almost immediately it flashed again and again in quick succession. The thrill he felt only moments before suddenly vanished replaced by an overwhelming sense of doom. “Did you see that, Tchee?”

Tchee screeched and then turned slightly to the left heading toward the flashes.

“What do you suppose that is?” His stomach suddenly felt sick but this time it was not from Tchee’s flying. It felt different. Almost like it felt when Twee died. Something wasn’t right.

For the better part of an hour he watched the horizon as the strange lights continued to flash each burst hitting him like a fist to the gut. He could taste the acid in his throat as his stomach reacted. Tchee remained quiet but seemed to push harder as if sensing Teek’s mood and fear.

Then the flashes suddenly stopped replaced by thin black fingers of smoke snaking their way into the air. He was still too far away to be certain where it was coming from but the direction seemed to be right to put it fairly near to his home. Tchee pushed even harder.

Neither said much the rest of the day. Teek kept his eyes locked on the smoke that billowed dark for a couple of hours before finally beginning to settle into a grayer line of haze. They stopped only once for a quick drink and to allow Tchee to rest. She tried to make him eat some of the fish she caught but he wouldn’t be bullied this time, his mood wouldn’t allow it.

His thoughts turned dark and frightening and all he could think about was getting home to his family and finding them all healthy and well. “I’m sure they’re all right,” he whispered, almost to himself. Tchee looked at him for a moment and then squawked. He turned to stare at his brown and white friend. She shrieked again and then lowered her wing inviting him back onto her back.

They flew for the rest of the day pushing as hard as Tchee could go. The urgency that had welled up in him that morning had long been replaced by a dull sense of wrongness. Something didn’t feel right inside. He couldn’t quite make out what it was but it only added to his worry. He tried eating something once or twice but the food seemed to have lost its flavor. As the sun finally dropped below the mountains, forcing Tchee to slow and look for a place to nest for the night, tears began to roll down his face. He didn’t know exactly why he was crying but he couldn’t hold back the tears. A sense of doom had overshadowed him and would not be pushed away. It had been there with him since he first saw the flashes but now it had become almost overbearing. When Tchee finally touched down and leaned over so he could slide off, Teek just dropped to the ground and then curled himself into a ball and wept. Tchee crouched down next to him laying her soft feathers over his body for warmth and comfort. And that is how they both stayed for the remainder of the night.

The next day dawned cold and clear. Teek rushed through a quick meal of dried bread and cheese and washed it down with a cold drink from a nearby stream he hadn’t seen when they landed. The feeling of sorrow and loss that had built to a crescendo the night before was still rooted firmly in his breast but his eyes would no longer produce the tears to release his feelings. Though feeling somewhat silly and fatalistic for having collapsed as he had, he still couldn’t shake the ominous emotion. He knew it had to do with his family and the flashes but he was
unable to face what it might all mean. He still had hope that he would find his mother smiling at the door of their hut and his brother and sisters crowding out to knock him over with their hugs and kisses but it was all overshadowed by dread.