Windwalker: Forbidden Flight Read online

  6

  Jonah

  Kiva ascended, hand over hand, until she reached the broad, flat top of the basin walls. She cautiously pulled herself up onto it, and looked around. It was a clear night. The three quarter moon was shining bright enough to hide most of the stars. Far overhead, a thin, curving band of white stretched from one horizon to the other; though it, too, was dimmed by the moon’s splendor.

  The top surface of the towering stone walls was flatter here, when compared with the jagged, toothy crags of the kiraeen roost. Kiva walked forward onto the sandy surface, until she stood at the center of a large, circular clearing. She stopped and turned in a circle, observing the weather-worn, natural stone formations surrounding her. Even in the moonlight, she could discern the striated layers of red, brown, and white. Some were pocked with holes high above, and others held darkened caves.

  The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and Kiva got the sensation she was being watched.

  “Hello?” she called out, slowly turning.

  There was a scrabble of stone, and the whoosh of wind. Kiva spun, and a kiraeen landed, even before she had fully faced it. It lowered its head, which was wreathed in black feathers. Its wings were slightly drawn from its chest, and its tail was fanned out, weaving in hypnotic figure-eights. Kiva knew better than to watch the tail, but she was unarmed.

  “Zakai! Ainhasar!” a man’s voice came from behind her.

  The kiraeen lowered its tail and raised its head, barked a screech of annoyance, and leapt forward into the air. Kiva ducked to avoid being knocked over as it sailed past her and drifted up on the breeze.

  She turned to watch it go, and saw the owner of the mysterious voice approaching from behind a stone. Kiva’s eyes widened. The young man walking toward her wore the light leather windwalker vest over a black tunic. His dark brown hair, which was neither very short, nor very long, hung in disheveled locks across his forehead. As he grew closer, Kiva saw he was only slightly taller than she was. His eyes locked onto hers. They were mostly green, but like hers, were spiked with yellow.

  He stood before her, arms crossed, and raised an eyebrow. “Took you long enough.”

  Kiva’s shock at his rudeness lasted less than a second. “Who do you think you are? Throwing your trash into my window?” she demanded, pulling out the rolled lizard skin and shaking it at him.

  “You lost your feather earlier today, I figured you might want it back,” he said, a hint of a smile playing on his face.

  Her hand went to the feather at her waist. “Sidi Jado rejected my right to challenge.”

  “Oh I know,” he said. “I saw the whole thing.”

  “Then you should know that I no longer have need of it.”

  “That so?” he said, glancing at the feather, still tucked into her belt. “Then why not toss it aside?”

  Kiva narrowed her eyes. “Who are you? Why have you asked me here?” Her attention was drawn away briefly as the kiraeen landed atop a stone formation behind him.

  “I am Jonah Basara, and back there,”—he glanced back, pointing a thumb toward the kiraeen—“is Zakai.”

  “We met,” Kiva muttered.

  “Yeah…sorry about that. I had to see if it was really true.”

  “What?”

  “That the kiraeen are compelled to attack women on sight. It would seem they are!” he said, satisfied with the test. “At least the male ones are.”

  “You said you saw the whole thing…you should already know they are aggressive toward me.”

  “True,” he shrugged. “but you were in their roost, stomping around, making a racket. Kiraeen are very territorial, you know…not to mention that female kiraeen showing up.”

  “I could have been kill—” Kiva furrowed her brow. “The what?”

  “The female kiraeen. I am sure you saw her—larger than the others, red feathers atop her head?”

  Kiva thought back to her windwalker challenge. The creature that landed in the cavern after her climb, it had red feathers on its head…as did the kiraeen that landed behind her before the windfaith trial.

  “Caused quite the stir, that one.” A brief look of concern came and went from his face like a passing cloud.

  “I don’t understand,” said Kiva. “I thought the females couldn’t be bonded.”

  “They can’t,” he confirmed. “Far too aggressive. I’ve never seen one come this close to the roost before. You know the last man who tried to bond a female kiraeen was eviscerated?” Jonah made a hook with his finger and dragged it across his belly.

  Kiva gave him a look of disgust. “Have some respect. He was a windwalker, like you.”

  Jonah shrugged. “It was a hundred years ago. I’m sure he’s over it.” He grinned.

  Kiva rolled her eyes, doing her best to ignore his undeniable charm.

  “I saw the female circling in the morning,” he continued, “and decided to follow her…make sure she didn’t kill any bonded kiraeen. That’s when I spotted you. Turns out she and I were both curious. She too took an interest in your windwalker challenge.”

  “So you saw the kiraeen hunting me, and did nothing?”

  “Oh I did plenty,” he assured. “I kept Zakai from joining in the frenzy when you stirred up the roost. Had I not been on his back, he’d have been on yours in seconds. Zakai is faster than any of his brothers.”

  Kiva didn’t answer, but she noted with respect how he spoke of his kiraeen with such pride.

  “Besides,” he said, “you didn’t need my help. That female kiraeen did more than I ever could have.”

  Kiva shook her head. “She tried to kill me, just like the others.”

  “She saved you. More than once. Only a female could have challenged so many…they are incredible creatures.”

  Saved me… Kiva had been so focused on her survival she’d missed what was in plain sight. The kiraeen had been protecting her from the males. That was why she hadn’t attacked in the tunnel.

  “You still haven’t answered my question,” she said, focusing on the present. “Why have you asked me here?”

  Jonah met her gaze, and the humor slipped from his face. “What you did, challenging in secret, was either very brave, or very stupid.”

  Kiva frowned, placing her hands on her hips.

  “But it was also an extraordinary display of talent. The effortless climb, the way you faced down that kiraeen…and the windfaith—zero hesitation. Spectacular!”

  As if I had any choice, she thought. Kiva relaxed slightly, but refused to give any indication of how much the compliment meant to her.

  “Jado is old fashioned,” said Jonah. “He thinks that if we simply hold to the old ways, things will go back to how they were.”

  “What do you mean, how they were?”

  “Windwalker numbers have dwindled over the years. People have begun to forget how vital we are to the survival of the Sahra’, simply because there haven’t been any large-scale attacks in the past two-hundred years. But the signs are there. This peace will not last forever. We must change…adapt.” He pounded a fist into his open hand, gazing off over her shoulder.

  “Signs? What signs?” Kiva asked.

  “Hm?” his attention returned to her. “Oh. One thing at a time. We need more windwalkers, and thanks to you, I think I know how to make that happen.”

  “Thanks to me?” Kiva asked.

  Jonah again turned his eyes to hers. He was so sure, so confident. Kiva couldn’t help being drawn in by his raw determination.

  “I’d like to train you to bond with your own kiraeen, and become a windwalker.”

  Kiva’s jaw dropped. “You want to train me…”

  “Yes.”

  “To be a windwalker?”

  “What do you say?” he asked.

  “But Sidi Jado—”

  “What Jado doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

  “But if he ever found out…you could be expelled from the sect.”

  Jonah laughed. “My Uncle deni
es the very existence of anything he doesn’t want to believe. He won’t find out.”

  “Wait a minute…Jado is your Uncle?”

  Jonah nodded nonchalantly. “He adopted me years ago…or rather, circumstance landed me in his care.”

  Kiva frowned. Given everything else going on with the council…this could make things complicated. Kiva studied Jonah’s expression, and found herself drawn to him. Very complicated.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “With the trial in ten days, there’s no way we’d have enough time—”

  “You know about that?” Kiva asked in surprise.

  Jonah nodded. “Me, and everyone else in the basin,” he said with a grin. “Your name is on everyone’s lips, for better or for worse.”

  Kiva sighed, pressing her palm to her forehead.

  “Listen,” he said, placing his hands on her shoulders.

  Her skin tingled as if tiny lightning bolts were jumping between them.

  “You’ve got the talent. I know you do. And I know windwalking inside out. I grew up on this stuff! We get you on the back of a kiraeen before the trial, and the council will have to acknowledge what you are.”

  “And what’s that?” she asked.

  “The first female windwalker,” he answered. “If we can convince them it can be done, they will have to open up the sect to men and women. Which would mean…” He raised an eyebrow, gesturing for her to finish.

  “More windwalkers,” she answered.

  “Precisely! What do you say?”

  Kiva placed a hand on her chin, considering. The fact that Jado was one of the council members complicated things greatly. If it were discovered that his own nephew, adopted or not, was training her in secret, it could derail everything her mother and the weavers were working toward. On the other hand, if she were to succeed, it would only serve to strengthen the argument that women deserved equal representation on the council. Then there was Jonah. Somehow she knew he would be trouble, yet the idea of bonding her own kiraeen…

  She sighed. When did everything become so complicated?

  After a long moment, Kiva answered, “Alright. I’ll do it.”

  “Yes!” he shouted.

  “On one condition.”

  “Name it.”

  “No one can know. Not a soul. Jado can’t find out.”

  “Done. My lips are sealed.”

  “I mean it,” she insisted. “There is something going on here that’s bigger than either of us. If he finds out, it could mess everything up.”

  “I got it, no one will know but you, me, and Zakai. He’s got a big mouth, but don’t worry, no one listens to him anyway.”

  Zakai chirped a screechy objection from his perch.

  Kiva frowned. “This isn’t a joke.”

  “You’re right, I’m sorry.” Jonah stood straight and placed a hand over his heart. “You have my word, Kivanya Fariq. I will speak not one word of your training.”

  “Okay,” Kiva said, nodding. “I accept your offer.”

  “Excellent! We begin tomorrow night. Meet me here, one hour after sundown.”

  Kiva felt a smile spreading across her lips, and fought to conceal it.

  I’m going to become a windwalker! she thought excitedly.

  “Oh, and don’t eat anything beforehand,” he added. Jonah put his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly. Zakai pushed off from his perch and climbed high into the sky, then dove suddenly, falling like a stone.

  “Don’t be late!” Jonah called, sprinting past her toward the drop.

  Kiva watched in surprise as he leapt from the edge of the wall she’d climbed moments ago. Seconds later, he and Zakai rose up again into the night sky.

  Show-off, she thought, and grinned despite herself.

  7

  Rüh

  Kiva spent the following day pacing her room, nibbling on the modest meals brought by shadestalker sect keepers. By late afternoon she’d begun to feel thoroughly stir crazy. There had been no visitors, and Mica’s room was decidedly bare, with no games, puzzles, or even any boring scripts to read.

  She approached the window and considered climbing out early, then decided against it. If she did have a visitor, or if one of the keepers were to return and find her missing…

  Kiva sighed, studying the pattern in the rug beneath her feet. She sat down cross-legged and waited, until the sun finally set behind the mountains to the west. About time, she thought.

  A gentle knock came at the door. “Dinner,” a muffled voice called from behind it.

  Kiva stood and stretched, then unlocked and opened the door. Behind it was the same keeper who’d brought her meal earlier—an elderly woman in loose fitting gray robes, tied at the waist.

  “Thank you.” Kiva accepted the tray of food. “No need to come back for the tray,” she added, shutting the door. Remembering Jonah’s warning, she set it down on the floor, and went to the window. The few clouds in the sky were lit by an array of vibrant pinks and yellows from the dying light beyond the horizon.

  One hour.

  Soon the light faded, revealing the moon, once again shining brightly down upon the desert.

  Close enough, she thought, and pulled herself out into the cool desert air. She began the climb, and soon stood once again atop the walls of Madina Basin. There was no sign of Jonah, so she decided to do a little exploring.

  Kiva walked to one of the weathered stone formations, and ran her hand along the smooth surface. She continued around it until she discovered a cave, and peeked inside.

  “Having fun?”

  Kiva nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun to find Jonah, trying to hide an obvious grin with his hand.

  She resisted the urge to strike him. “Do you always sneak up on people like that?”

  “Unfortunately, no. Most windwalkers can sense the currents well enough to avoid being surprised.”

  “Sense the currents? How? What do you mean?” she asked, her curiosity winning out over her annoyance.

  “Come,” Jonah said, gesturing. “Let’s begin your first lesson.” He turned and walked back to the center of the clearing, and she noticed a cloth bag slung over his shoulder, along with a large canister made from hardened animal skin.

  Once there, Jonah reached into the satchel and pulled out a brown leather harness, all straps and iron rings. He held it out, and Kiva took it, turning it over in her hands. The rings had been sewn into it in several places.

  “Go ahead,” he said. “Try it on.”

  Kiva held up the harness, eying it skeptically.

  “Trust me,” Jonah said. “You’re going to want to wear that.”

  Kiva held it before her, and stepped through the loops. She pulled it up, and put her arms through the straps. Jonah stepped behind her, adjusting the straps as she looped the leather through a buckle at the front.

  He stepped back, rubbing the stubble on his chin. After one more quick adjustment to her shoulder strap, he nodded.

  Kiva adjusted the strap around her thigh. “What is this—”

  Jonah interrupted her question with two rapid whistles. Seconds later, they were sharing the clearing with Zakai. Kiva took a step back from him, and his feathers bristled in a wave over his body.

  “Now now, you two are going to have to get along if this is going to work.”

  Zakai chirped, snapping his beak in Jonah’s direction.

  “Oh quit complaining, you big baby. Kiva’s not going to hurt you.”

  Kiva was on her guard, ready to dive out of the way should the unruly raptor attack. “Me? Hurt him?” she asked, incredulous.

  “Kiva, try to maintain a sense of calm. Kiraeen are highly attuned to those around them. If you are on your guard, then Zakai will be too. Try to relax.”

  Kiva took a deep breath, and attempted to calm her nerves. It wasn’t easy. One swipe of his talon, and Zakai could open her up like a ripe melon.

  “Good,” Jonah said, taking a step back.

  “Now Kiva, I
want you to reach out—”

  Kiva stretched her arm out toward the kiraeen.

  “No!” Jonah called out as Zakai snapped at her, and she jerked her hand away just in time.