Witi Ihimaera - Sky Dancer

“Please don’t tell me you’ve found a way of getting Skylark back in Time,” she said.

“No, I haven’t.” Hoki sipped her tea.

“Good,” Bella said. “So that’s that. Now everybody can wake up.”

Hoki gave a sly smile. “But the answer could be in the Apocrypha,” she said.

Skylark awoke to the sound of shotguns invading her dreams, but she wasn’t dreaming at all. Everything was as real as it had been yesterday and, from the sounds outside, the seabirds had come up the valley with the dawn and were attacking again. Quickly, she got out of bed and went to the window. Bella and Hoki were silhouetted against the sky, shooting into the sun. Gulls and terns squealed and fragmented around them.

Skylark got dressed and hurried down to the kitchen where Bella had left her some breakfast on the table. There was a note: Morena, Sleepyhead. Bring Some Fruit And Drink For Morning Tea.

Skylark filled two bottles with water and loaded her backpack with apples and bananas. Then she was out the door and off, walking quickly up the path.

“Why didn’t you wake me?” she asked when she arrived at the cliff top. “Tomorrow, wake me.”

Bella grinned across at Hoki. “It’s the cavalry and I think she’s grumpy this morning.” She gave Skylark her shotgun while she had a drink of water.

“Hello Skylark,” Hoki said. “This might make you happier. Did I ever tell you that as well as the Great Book of Birds there is also an Apocrypha?”

Skylark’s mind went into overdrive. Part of her was excited. Part of her was really scared. What was she getting herself into?

“An extra volume? An additional testament?”

“Hoki thinks it will have instructions in it on how to build your time machine, “ Bella said with sarcasm.

“Whatever the case, we should consult it,” Skylark said. “It sounds like the only chance I’ve got.” She had no option, really. For Cora’s sake she had to follow the Mad Hatter down the rabbit hole to Wonderland.

“The problem is,” Hoki said, “me and Bella don’t have it. If you want to read it, you’ll have to go and see Birdy.” She looked at Bella. “Did you, by any chance, tell Skylark about Birdy?”

Bella shook her head.

Skylark hesitated. Sighted. Boom. “Will this get better or worse?”

“If we tell you,” Hoki continued, “we must have your word that you will keep everything you hear to yourself. Will you do that?”

“Yes, I promise.”

“Okay,” Hoki answered. “Well, the thing is, Bella and I are not the only guardians. There are three other handmaidens of the Lord Tane. Birdy is one of them. Of course there were more in the old days when the Great Forest stretched from one end of the country to the other —”

Skylark sighed. Here we go again.

“To be brief,” Hoki said, seeing that look on Skylark’s face, “we are descended from the first handmaiden, Hana. Thousands of years ago, she appointed the sisterhood of handmaidens to take upon themselves the task to look after the forest, the birds of the forest and, in particular, the knowledge about the first battle of the birds and the prophecies surrounding it. All this knowledge was written into the Great Book of Birds. It was important to make sure that the story was preserved so that, when the time of the opening of the sky arrived, the handmaidens of this generation would know how to deal with it.”

“The sisterhood was the first ahi kaa,” Bella added. “The mission of keeping the lore of the Great Book of Birds alive was passed from one generation to the next, from mother to daughter. The First People honoured our roles in the tribe as priestesses of the Lord Tane. They came often to our fires to hear us read from the Great Book and to ask us to mediate on their behalf with Tane. We were respected and loved.”

“Then,” chimed in Hoki, “the pale Second People arrived in Aotearoa, and they brought a new way of looking at things. They had no use for the handmaidens of the Lord Tane. After all, we opposed everything they stood for. They brought in laws which proclaimed us as being tohunga makutu —”

“Witches,” Bella translated.

“Before the handmaidens knew it,” Hoki continued, “they found themselves outcasts and hunted down. It’s the old, old story. During the Land Wars, only a few of them survived and, therefore, only a few copies of the original Book of Birds as well.”

“Our great-great grandmother, Taraipene, was one of the survivors,” Bella said. “She fled into the remotest part of the southern forest. She passed down the knowledge to Kararaina, our great-grandmother, who, when the forest began to diminish, migrated to Manu Valley. Why this valley? Because she realised there were only a few generations to go before the prophecies in the Book would come to pass. She intuitively sensed it would happen here, where the ancient tree was.”

“Luckily for us, Kararaina also knew how to write,” Hoki said. “It was she who transcribed her copy of the original Book of Birds into ledger books. Before she died, she passed her role, and the books, on to Turitumanareti, our grandmother. Grandma married a rich Scotsman, Angus McKay, and he helped her maintain Manu Valley as Maori land before anybody else could chop it down or the Government confiscate it. Turitumanareti passed on the role of handmaiden of the Lord Tane to our mother, Jane, and when we were born Mum anointed us for the task. Basically, I’m the brains —”

“And I’m the brawn,” Bella continued.

“So Birdy is one of you?” Skylark said, before the story could make another loop.

“Yes,” Hoki answered. “But we haven’t seen her for years. Anyhow, Mum told us that the Apocrypha, the extra testament of the Great Book of Birds, is a northern tribal variant to ours. It was written by one of Birdy’s ancestresses, and that’s why it’s kept by her family and by Birdy in our generation.”

“She’s older than us,” Bella said. “But I got a postcard from her last Christmas, so she’s still alive. Trouble is, she lives up north at Parengarenga.”

“Way up there! That’s at the other end of the country.”

“Yes,” Hoki nodded. “If you want to see what’s in the Apocrypha you’ll have to go up there yourself.”

Skylark paused. “Let’s cut to the chase,” she said. “I know this is probably a stupid question, but you couldn’t text her to fax or email a copy to us?”

Hoki stared at Skylark with a look of horror. “No self-respecting handmaiden of Tane would ever stoop to such modern mumbo-jumbo!”

“I thought as much,” Skylark answered, “but one of these days, please put everything onto a floppy.” She had a second, suspicious, thought. “You’re not sending me on a wild goose chase, are you?”

“Well …” Bella pursed her lips. “I wouldn’t exactly say that Birdy is a goose.”

“The next question,” Hoki asked Bella at lunchtime, “is how does Skylark get to Parengarenga? It’s a day’s drive from here to the Picton ferry, and half a day by ferry to Wellington. She’ll be lucky if she can drive from Wellington up to Parengarenga in a day; more likely, it will take her a day and a night.”

“You’re right,” Bella nodded. “And we have another problem.” She pointed to Kawanatanga, Karoro and Toroa circling overhead. “I’ve been wondering why those big brutes are keeping a lookout. Now I know. Kawanatanga’s keeping his beady eyes on us. If Skylark leaves, he’ll suspect something. He knows she’s the one to watch.” Bella turned the problem over in her head. “There’s nothing else for it,” she said at last. “Skylark can’t go by herself. Someone will have to go with her.” She rolled her eyes and drummed her fingers on the table, waiting for Hoki to take the hint.