Lisa Smedman - Realms of Shadow

Release me, a voice, shrill with panic and indignation, vibrated in Kaeralonn's mind.

"Is that you?" Kaeralonn asked the kenku, then he thought, That was you, wasn't it?

Release me, the kenku repeated into Kaeralonn's mind, the voice less shrill now and more insistent.

Kaeralonn could feel the spell he'd just cast fill his own mind, wrapping around the kenku's silent speech.

You are among friends now, Kaeralonn thought to the kenku. / would like you to stay.

"I will take my leave now," the priest said, almost startling Kaeralonn, certainly annoying him.

Kaeralonn waved the chubby little man away and didn't watch him shuffle out and slam the door behind him.

Who are you? the kenku asked. Kaeralonn stepped closer to the kenku and held out his right hand. I am Kaeralonn Jurneille of Shade Enclave. I would like us to be very close friends. Please, tell me your name and take my hand.

The kenku tipped its head to one side and stared hard into Kaeralonn's eyes. I am known as Amidst the Blue, the creature responded.

Amidst the Blue, Kaeralonn sent. That is a beautiful name.

The kenku reached out with one feathered arm and put its strong hand into Kaeralonn's.

Good, Kaeralonn thought. You will be a leader among your people, Amidst the Blue. Your name will be written in all the histories of the kenku, for a thousand generations to come-a thousand-thousand.

Leader? Amidst the Blue asked, obviously confused. Written? Histories?

Kaeralonn smiled and responded aloud, "First among many… chief… The rest, you'll learn. I'll teach you magic, as well. And you will teach your people."

Teach, Amidst the Blue repeated. Magic. Yes. You are a friend.

Kaeralonn laughed and drew back so the kenku could step down from the table. There was another rustle of wings, and Amidst the Blue sank to the floor, still a good head taller than Kaeralonn.

The human didn't want to give himself away so he kept the words "charmed'' and "enchanted" out of his mind. He never let himself think the word "slave." He knew what the kenku was and what his people would be-the kenku would figure it out soon enough.

Astride the Wind smashed his curved blade at the human's midsection, but the man with hairy hands was fast enough to drop his heavy black sword to his side and smash the kenku's weapon away.

The mountains, brothers, Astride the Wind sent to the other kenku. Withdraw and let the fools follow.

Astride the Wind faked another slice to the man's mid-section, and when the human drew his blade around to block it, the kenku tucked his wings tight against his side. Astride the Wind fell back and kicked up with one thin, bony leg. At the end of the frail-looking leg was a formidable four-toed talon. His own red cape billowed up behind him and momentarily blocked Astride the Wind's vision. The talon scraped against the human's golden armor with a thin shriek that made the fine feathers along Astride the Wind's spine fluff.

The human dodged backward a step, though, so was unable to take advantage of Astride the Wind's ill-considered, failed attack.

Under the clouds, brothers, Astride the Wind sent as he slid his wings through the air and drew himself back up-just in time to see the hairy-handed human whip his black blade at his neck.

Astride the Wind spanked it away with his scimitar and grabbed the flying boat's thick-walled gunwale with one talon, lifting himself up and out of the way of the human's follow-on attack. One of the magical images passed through him and drew itself up as well. The human's sword connected with the image's scimitar. The resulting clang made the savvy human squint with suspicion.

A flash of green and brown drew Astride the Wind's attention sharply upward. Borne on the Drafts passed close over his head and flew fast away. Looking back down, Astride the Wind sent his scimitar fast and hard in an overhand chop at the hairy-handed human's unprotected head. The two images followed, and the human made a startlingly effective attempt at blocking all three of them. The result was that he actually dodged two of the triple chops-including Astride the Wind's very real and very deadly strike. The human slid his sword up the second image's blade and found the weak space under the image's left wing. The image popped out of existence, eliciting a frustrated grimace from the human soldier.

Two of the other soldiers stepped up, their heavy-booted footsteps sending resounding thumps through the dense wood of the flying boat. Astride the Wind turned and flapped his wings furiously at his sides. The remaining magical image did the same, of course, and the result was three startled, confused human soldiers. Unfortunately the confusion didn't last long-at least for two of them. The human with the scar on his cheek danced forward and pushed the tip of his wide black sword into the image's abdomen. The phantasm disappeared, leaving Astride the Wind alone, standing on the gunwale with his wings outstretched behind him.

The human with the hairy hands came on strong and fast, and Astride the Wind parried one attack after another until the human's blade finally found a way in, slashing the kenku across the chest. The cut wasn't deep, but blood and feathers flew, and Astride the Wind cawed in pain.

Astride the Wind's cry turned into a more complex vocalization as he kicked out with the talon that wasn't still locked onto the gunwale. He spun to the right and kicked at the man with the hairy hand. The human dodged back, and the kenku's claws pinked harmlessly off his gold armor. The man with the scar on his face tried to take advantage of Astride the Wind's failed kick and attempted to cut the kenku's wing off. Astride the Wind tucked his wing in and down quickly, sending the man with the scar on his cheek off-balance.

Astride the Wind brought his scimitar around fast into the stumbling human with the scar on his cheek. At the same time he kicked his free talon back up into the face of the recovering man with the hairy hands. The kenku took hold of the hairy-handed soldier's face as the scimitar bit deeply into the throat of the man with the scar on his cheek. Blood flew from the scarred man, and Astride the Wind released the power of the spell he'd cast. The man with the hairy hands kicked impotently, and there was the smell of burning flesh. The man's black hair stood up on end as if he were fluffing his plume in some sort of dying ritual.

Both of the humans fell to the deck, dead. One pumped his blood in ever-decreasing gouts onto the old wood of the deck. The man with the hairy hands shivered and tensed, his face black, and his eyes rolled back white.

Astride the Wind saw the man with the copper ring- the man who'd killed Atop the Sky and Suspended in Air with magic fire-pulling another stone from his belt. The human was stepping backward and was pressed against the rail farther along the boat and on the other side. The human's legs touched the solid rail. The copper ring glinted in the sunlight, and Astride the Wind twitched. The man brought the stone up, and Astride the Wind tensed to spring but felt confident he'd be blown to bits, burned, frozen, or disintegrated before he could cut diagonally across the boat. The human's mouth drew up in an unreadable expression, then his eyes rolled back in his head and his eyelids flittered closed. The soldier slumped back, sitting on the rail for half a second before he flipped back and over the rail.

Astride the Wind opened his mouth in surprise and looked back. The other kenku were riding the currents forty yards or more from the boat. Astride the Wind made eye contact with Whirling on High, who had cast the spell.

My thanks, brother, Astride the Wind sent. Whirling on High's thoughts drifted silently across the distance to echo in Astride the Wind's head, Are you with us?