Windwalker: Forbidden Flight Read online

  10

  Skyhunter

  No backing out now, she thought, closing her eyes. The muscles in her shoulders would have been tensed, along with every other muscle in her body, even if Jonah hadn’t suggested it. Right about now, Zakai would be streaking down through the sky toward her back, preparing to collect her in his massive, razor sharp talons. The same talons that could easily open her up from end to end in a single swipe.

  Kiva felt her legs wobbling. It was so much worse not being able to see the kiraeen coming. Her fear returned with a vengeance, and she imagined the great beast bearing down on her. She experienced the sensation of slipping from his talons, and falling hundreds of feet to the rock and sand below. I need more practice! I’m not ready!

  Kiva opened her eyes, and saw Jonah looking back at her. There was worry in his eyes. He knows! He knows this was a mistake! Panic threatened to take her, and she suddenly felt the great wind preceding the kiraeen. Kivanya’s survival instinct took over, and she leapt aside.

  “No!” Jonah’s voice cried out, small and far away.

  The pain was sharp and sudden. Kiva was yanked forward by her right arm. The ground sped by below her, as she was dragged across it. Zakai screeched out, and Kiva’s eyes grew wide with terror. The pain in her shoulder was suddenly secondary to the tall stone formation they were speeding toward.

  Kiva screamed out in pain as Zakai pumped his great wings once, twice, three times. They climbed until they were just high enough that her toes slid across the top of the stone. Zakai again screeched as they continued out over the drop. Hanging from a single dislocated arm, Kiva looked down at the shadowy desert floor, hundreds of feet below. She reached up with her free hand, grasping desperately at Zakai. A new pain erupted in her palm as it met the sharp end of his long, curved talon.

  Zakai worked tirelessly, gripping her tightly. With each beat of his wings, brilliant red pain stabbed into her shoulder. The kiraeen awkwardly wheeled around, until they were back over the top of the basin walls. He quickly descended, and once they were several paces from the ground, he released her. Kiva fell, bracing herself, but never felt the punishing surface of the hard stone below. Instead, she landed on something softer. It grunted with the impact as she crashed to the ground.

  Kiva lay there for a moment, in shock.

  “Kiva!” Jonah spoke breathlessly. It was he who had broken her fall in an attempt to catch her. “Kiva,” he gasped. He shifted out from under her, and she was suddenly aware of the immense, throbbing ache in her shoulder and sharp stinging laceration on her hand. Her back arched, and she cried out as nearly every muscle in her body tensed at the pain wracking her body.

  “You’re bleeding,” he said with strained worry. He pulled a dagger from his belt, and quickly cut a strip of cloth from his pants.

  “This is my fault,” he said, pulling the cork from his waterskin and rinsing the wound on her hand. “I got too comfortable. The harab should never be attempted without a bonded kiraeen. I’m such a fool!” He gently wrapped her hand with the cloth.

  Kiva groaned at the stabbing pain as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her over to one of the shallow caves surrounding the clearing. He gently set her down, and hot tears streaked down her face, though not from the pain.

  “I’m sorry,” she said through clenched teeth. “I panicked. I failed—”

  “No,” Jonah insisted. “This is my failure. You and Zakai were doing so well together, I thought…” He frowned, clearly distraught. “There is no substitute for a bond. I should have known.”

  Now that she was stationary, the pain in her arm transitioned from sharp stabbing to a dull throb.

  Jonah leaned over her, his eyes stricken with concern. Despite the pain and trauma, Kiva thought she saw something in his eyes beyond an instructor’s concern for his pupil.

  “Can you forgive me?” he asked.

  “There—ah!” Another pain shot through her arm as she tried to shift. “There is nothing to forgive,” she finished. “Is Zakai alright?”

  “You can ask him yourself,” Jonah said, leaning back.

  Zakai chirped from behind him, tentatively peering around.

  “I think he might feel worse than either of us,” Jonah said.

  “I’m sorry Zakai. I should have trusted you…I just…”

  Zakai cooed quietly, nudging her hand with his beak.

  “It’s not your fault,” she insisted. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Had you been bonded to Zakai, you would have known exactly where he was. Your connection with him would have allayed any anxiety. It was neither your fault, nor his.” Jonah sighed deeply.

  “Then I will just have to bond my own kiraeen,” Kiva said, grimacing from the pain.

  “First things first,” Jonah said. “Your shoulder is dislocated. We need to re-set it. It will be painful at first, but once it’s back in place the pain should diminish almost entirely.”

  “Let’s get on with it, then,” she said, grimacing.

  Jonah nodded. “Here.” He removed his vest, folded it, and placed it under her head. He then moved to her injured side and sat with his legs stretched out before him, feet resting against her torso. Jonah then gently grasped the wrist of her dislocated arm, which was resting on her chest.

  Kiva grit her teeth, biting back the pain.

  He slowly extended the arm to a ninety degree angle, so that her hand was resting on his lap. Kiva tried not to cry out, but was unable to remain silent.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “Do it.”

  Jonah leaned back, bracing himself against her with his legs.

  Kiva couldn’t help crying out as her arm slid under the bone of her shoulder blade, and thunked back into its socket.

  Red faced and panting, Kiva could feel the sweat standing out on her face. The pain in her shoulder was greatly reduced, just as Jonah had said it would be. He tenderly placed her arm back so it rested across her torso.

  “I’m afraid you’ll not be doing any climbing for at least a few days,” he said. “The cut on your hand is shallow, but your shoulder will take time.”

  “What? No! I have to get back to my room,” Kiva said sitting up. “Can you fly me down into it?”

  “There’s no safe way to pull that off, especially not in your current state.”

  “There has to be another way down…?”

  “I am afraid not,” he answered bluntly.

  “Al’ama,” she cursed. “What am I going to do? If they think I’ve escaped, they’ll call off the trial. This will have all been for nothing!”

  Jonah placed a hand to his chin. “I might be able to buy you some time…wait here. I’ll be back in an hour.”

  “An hour?” she groaned, but he was already on his way out of the small cave. He returned a moment later with the torch he had been using to light the targets, and propped it between two stones beside her.

  “I’ll be back. You rest.”

  Kiva sighed and lay her head back on his folded windwalker vest.

  She had no way to track the time, but when she heard him landing in the stone clearing outside, it felt far longer than an hour.

  Moments later he rushed in, a stuffed satchel strung over his shoulder.

  “Sorry that took so long,” he said, crouching down beside her, pulling items from the overflowing bag. There were blankets, multiple jugs of water, clean bandages for her hand, dried aga strips wrapped in white cloth, and several other small necessities. He then lifted another strap she hadn’t noticed over his head. It was connected to a hardened leather tube, which he pulled open. Inside were rolled up scripts. He handed the tube to her.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  “Reading material,” he answered. “Windwalker history, philosophy, kiraeen care and temperament. That kind of thing. I thought this would be a good opportunity for you to catch up on the written part of your training.”

  Kiva nodded. “Thank you.” She wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prosp
ect of reading all day, but it beat sitting in Mica’s room, staring at the pattern on the rug.

  “Were you able to do anything? You said you could buy some time?”

  “I did have some success,” he said cautiously, “Though it wasn’t easy.”

  “Oh thank goodness,” Kiva said. “How? What did you do?”

  “I spoke with your mother and—”

  “You did what?” Kiva asked, turning to him aghast.

  “I spoke to your mother,” he answered, as if he hadn’t just committed a disastrous blunder. “Your father was there too of course. He is a very large man!”

  Kiva palmed her forehead. “Oh no.”

  “Listen,” Jonah said, removing her hand from her face. “It’s fine. Your mother agreed to help. She will spend the next few nights in your room, accepting your meals from the keepers. She will tell them you have become ill, and that she is caring for you.”

  “Uff,” Kiva exclaimed. “So they know you have been training me?”

  Jonah nodded.

  “My father must be furious,” Kiva said hopelessly.

  “On the contrary,” he said calmly. “Of course, they were rather surprised to see me showing up at their home at such an hour…but once I told them of your success, and convinced them I wouldn’t get their only daughter killed, they were both rather proud. Though your father did say that if anything happened to you, he would—”

  “Proud…” Kiva repeated in disbelief. “They were proud?”

  “Oh yes,” Jonah nodded. “Here. Let’s get that hand cleaned up.”

  Kiva held out her hand and Jonah took it, unwrapping the strip of cloth he’d cut from his pants.

  “Did they say anything else?” she asked.

  “They say they love you very much, and that they will try to come and see you again before the trial…once you’re back in your room, that is.”

  Jonah poured cool water over her injured hand, and re-wrapped it with clean bandages.

  Kiva felt the knots in her stomach slowly unwind. She hadn’t completely messed things up. The training would continue, and she still had a chance of being ready by the day of the trial.

  “Your mother was actually quite glad for an opportunity to help,” Jonah explained. “With the strike ongoing, she said it would give her something to do with all the extra time.

  “Strike? What strike?”

  “Oh that’s right, you’d not have heard…” he trailed off.

  “What? Out with it!” she pressed him impatiently.

  “Nearly every last woman in the basin has stopped working, both in home and sect. They are demanding equal representation on the council of elders. The entire basin has ground to a halt. It is quite a sight to behold,” he said with a grin.

  Kiva smiled. Her heart filled with pride at the courage and strength of her mother, the weavers, and the women of the basin. She was proud to be a part of it.

  Jonah unrolled her bedding and laid out the soft blankets and padding. Kiva shifted onto them using her sore, bruised limbs, and lay back.

  “I’ve got to head home,” he said.

  Kiva’s disappointment must have shown, because he quickly explained why.

  “I would stay, but Jado is holding a sect gathering tonight. If I’m not there, he will notice.”

  “Of course, I should get some sleep anyway.”

  Jonah nodded and stood. “I’ve eastern patrol tomorrow, but I will try to stop by to see how you’re doing. Tomorrow night, we will continue your training. Familiarize yourself with the scripts, specifically kiraeen origins.”

  “I will,” said Kiva.

  Jonah hesitated, and Kiva looked up at him.

  There was shame in his eyes, which was quickly replaced with resolve. “I will do better by you, Kivanya Fariq. I swear it. On my bond.” He turned and left the small cave, and Kiva watched as his dim form strode to the center of the clearing. He whistled, and Zakai landed beside him shortly after. Then, they were gone, and Kiva was once again alone.

  She stifled a yawn, glancing at the nearby torch, still propped up between two stones. Several more lay nearby, unlit. She decided to leave it burning, closed her eyes, and attempted to sleep. After several failed attempts to get comfortable, she sighed and opened her eyes.

  The tube of rolled up scripts was leaning against the cave wall nearby, and she idly reached for it. Squinting at the curving parchments in the dim torchlight, she leafed through until she found what she was looking for.

  Kiraeen Origins

  Klu albard, Ahn Ket Suun

  The Sahra’ home world of Tanusa, has fallen. Ahn Ket Suun, the Ancient One, leads his people through the great hollow between worlds. Within his immense body are housed those species of Tanusa worthy of preservation, including the kiraeen.

  The bond between Sahra’ and kiraeen began many centuries ago, before the exodus of our people. This Grand Rahil brought many changes, but the bonding between man and kiraeen was not one of them…

  Kiva stifled another yawn. She’d already learned of the Grand Rahil—the exodus of the Sahra’ from their ancient home—in her schooling. She understood the importance of knowing the histories, but it was over a thousand years ago. She flipped through the scripts, looking for something more interesting.

  The Bonding

  There is no bond more sacred than that of a windwalker and his kiraeen. To join with a skychaser is to forever change the reference point from which one frames his life. Once established, the bond is permanent, and nothing short of death will release it.

  Kiva continued reading, absorbing as much as she could, when one section in particular caught her eye.

  Once bonded, kiraeen skychasers must be kept separate from their female counterparts. Recognizable by their larger stature and bright red plumage upon the brow, female kiraeen are a male’s greatest threat. Under normal circumstances, a female will keep her distance, and a bonded male will not seek her out. Should a female approach, she must be driven off without hesitation, lest the skyhunter destroy every last male kiraeen in the roost.

  “Skyhunter,” Kiva whispered, and a shiver ran down her spine. It was the same name driven to her mind by the kiraeen of her windwalker challenge.

  A skyhunter is a female kiraeen, she realized. No wonder Jado had been so shocked to hear Kiva name herself one. She smiled, remembering the disbelieving expression on his face. She continued reading, lighting another torch once the first had burnt down. Soon that one too burned low, and the lettering grew blurred before fading into the darkness of dreams.

  11

  Mehalia

  “Kiva?”

  Kivanya stretched beneath the covers of her bedding. Parchment rustled as it fell to the floor beside her. Must have fallen asleep reading, she thought.

  “Kiva are you here?” Jonah’s voice called, and he appeared at the opening of her small cave.

  Kiva was genuinely glad to see him.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked, approaching and crouching down beside her.

  Kiva rolled her shoulder. It was sore, but nowhere near as bad as it had been the night before. “Better,” she said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and yawning. She turned to face him, and her eyes focused on his face.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  Jonah pursed his lips. “I have news…”

  Kiva sat up. “What is it? What’s going on?”

  “The strike was a success. The council has agreed—women have won equal representation.”

  “They did it? That’s wonderful!”

  Jonah nodded. “Four men, and four women. The eldest mystic, Sidi Yehiel, will cast a final vote in the event of a tie.”

  Kiva breathed a sigh of relief. Her chances for avoiding exile had just improved significantly.

  Jonah however, did not seem to share in her relief.

  “What is it?”

  “There’s more,” he said. “Sidi Yehiel has fallen ill. The healers say he will not last a week.”

  Kiva
’s heart leapt. “If Yehiel dies before the trial, his sister Suriel will become the eldest mystic.”

  Jonah only nodded, his expression serious.

  “Don’t you understand? This is good news! Suriel is far more likely to vote in our favor.”

  “There’s more,” he said flatly. “I overheard my uncle speaking with councilman Elam…”

  “And?” Kiva asked impatiently.

  “They are moving the trial forward, in order to ensure Sidi Yehiel’s vote.”