Part 6 (1/2)

”Oh, the clue!” said Wind-voice eagerly.

Fleydur's head jerked up. He was looking at the crest of the hill where the archaeopteryxes had disappeared.

”I think perhaps we should think about the clue later,” he said, staring hard at the sky. ”I think-”

And then the others heard what he had: steady wing-beats thumping through the air.

Archaeopteryxes are invincible!-FROM THE B BOOK OF H HERESY

8.

SCATTERED TO THE W WINDS.

The friends exchanged panicked looks.

”We can outrun them!” Winger cried.

”Too late,” Fleydur said grimly. ”Listen to that. There must be a hundred of them.”

”Where did they come from?” Winger whispered.

Stormac shrugged and tossed his staff from claw to claw. ”Who knows? They met an army regiment who were sent to receive them, maybe. How we're going to fight them is more important than where they came from.”

”We need to distract them,” Wind-voice said abruptly.

They came over the crest of the hill, an armed band of archaeopteryxes, swords flas.h.i.+ng, maroon banners fluttering like ribbons of blood. Teeth glinted. Eyes flashed under leather headgear.

Rattle-bones was in the lead. ”There they are!” His cry drifted to them faintly. ”Seize them!”

”Ewingerale, keep the Leasorn safe and fly away!” Wind-voice shouted. ”Quick! That new emperor can't get this gem. We can't let him know anything about the hero's sword! Fleydur, go with him!”

Fleydur flew with the woodp.e.c.k.e.r, slas.h.i.+ng a path in the sky. Stormac drew his staff and planted himself back-to-back with Wind-voice.

Again and again Wind-voice brought down his sword, beating away the talons that raked at his eyes and clawed for his heart. He knew he and Stormac could not last more than a few minutes, but those minutes might be enough to let Winger and Fleydur escape.

A huge archaeopteryx came from behind the ranks and swung a cutla.s.s that swept Wind-voice and Stormac apart. Gleefully, the large birds surged forward to fill the gap and keep them from each other. They were all laughing now.

Kawaka, Wind-voice realized with horror. Wind-voice realized with horror. The big archaeopteryx is Kawaka. Oh, Stormac, The big archaeopteryx is Kawaka. Oh, Stormac, he thought sadly. He could not see the myna anymore. He opened both wings wide and whirled toward where he had last seen him. The archaeopteryxes in his vision blurred into a muddied sea. They backed away as his sword tip whisked about their faces, but not for long. he thought sadly. He could not see the myna anymore. He opened both wings wide and whirled toward where he had last seen him. The archaeopteryxes in his vision blurred into a muddied sea. They backed away as his sword tip whisked about their faces, but not for long.

Wind-voice's blade smashed into Kawaka's helmet. It rang like a gong. His claws felt numb from the impact. He flew a little higher.

Kawaka cursed and roared a command. ”That one-don't kill him! Take him alive!” A cudgel crashed full force between Wind-voice's shoulders, and he tumbled down. In a last attempt he spun again. The cutla.s.s sought him and slashed across his back and chest.

Everything dimmed and swayed and he saw twisting colors. His wings faltered. He came to again as he fell on the ground, and he simply lay on his back on the bloodied gra.s.s, staring through the layers of wings above him at a small patch of sky, a sky gray with despair.

They did not kill him. Instead, he was bound and blindfolded and dragged behind the soldiers to Castlewood.

”We have him,” growled one of the archaeopteryxes, and at last the blindfold was removed. He was in a room. An archaeopteryx pacing there stopped and turned. It was the head of the scholars.

His eyes flashed. ”Where is it?” he demanded, swis.h.i.+ng his sleeves left and right.

Wind-voice tried to look steady. ”What do you mean?” His head felt too heavy for his body to hold upright.

The scholar seized the feathers on the back of Wind-voice's neck. ”Where is it?” the archaeopteryx screeched. ”Where is it? The gemstone in the sack! You had other birds fly away with it, didn't you? Where did they go? Don't pretend you don't know!”

”You won't get it anyhow.” Wind-voice's sight went fuzzy.

”Tell me! Tell me!”

”No,” gasped Wind-voice.

Then a smaller archaeopteryx scuttled in and spoke to the scholar, whose anger subsided at his words. He smoothed his robes. ”The Ancient Wing shall see to you!”

Ewingerale and Fleydur huddled inside a hollow tree that had toppled onto its side, waiting to be sure all sounds of the archaeopteryxes' pursuit had faded away before they ventured out. The toothed birds had come close. A spear had actually been thrust through a knothole of the log where they were hiding and nicked one of Fleydur's flight feathers. But the soldiers had not found them and had moved on.

”What will Wind-voice and Stormac do?” Ewingerale clutched the bag, holding the gem to his chest.

”Let's hope for the best,” the eagle murmured, unwilling to admit what he knew-that there was no hope. Wind-voice and Stormac must be dead birds or prisoners by now. Wind-voice and Stormac must be dead birds or prisoners by now. ”We must get this treasure to safety first. They would want that.” ”We must get this treasure to safety first. They would want that.”

”Safety,” muttered Winger. ”Where can we find a place of safety? What about the healer, Rhea? Can she help us?”

Fleydur shook his head. ”We can't ask her to take such a risk. The archaeopteryxes seem to want this gem badly. They will search everywhere nearby. If Rhea were caught with the stone...”

Winger shuddered. ”How about just digging a hole and burying it? Or hiding it in a hollow tree?”

”You know how chaotic these times can be. We might not find it again.”

”But then where?”

”I don't know.” Fleydur's feathers drooped. ”I can't...I can't think of a place. The archaeopteryxes are everywhere these days. I was supposed to keep you all safe from them, and I failed even in that. Perhaps there's no hope. There's nothing we can do.”

Ewingerale gripped the red gemstone and was startled to see through his tears the eagle, who had so much more experience and had traveled so much farther, looking hopeless. He realized that this time it would be he, and not Fleydur, who would give the encouragement they needed.

”It's not the end,” he cried.