will now die, quail,” was all he said. And with that, he drove his beak into the back of Cotur Ada’s neck, piercing his skin and straight through his spine, killing him instantly.
And thus Cotur Ada, the wisest of the quail, passed from the known world. And because of his noble sacrifice, five quail lived that day. And hidden in the brush, Ysil wept. Monroth shook in fear.
Chapter Seven
Visitors in the Darkness
Y SIL AND M ONROTH lay as immobile as their terrified bodies would allow. Ysil told himself there was nothing he could have done to save his beloved grandfather. However, he felt a burden of guilt within his heart. He had been useless and powerless. They watched as Cotur Ada’s body was shredded and his head carried away to the Murder’s Tree, his skull to be spiked upon a dead branch. From their hiding place they could still see a few of his gray feathers blowing in the wind as the day’s light waned and the promise of dusk befell the Murder’s Field. The crows one by one returned to their tree in preparation for the night’s nesting.
Quail, really most all birds, do not fly at night. The reason is simple: they can’t see. Of course, there are some birds that see just fine in the dark. The whippoorwill, the nightingale, and, indeed, the owl. Oh, for the grace of the wind, the owl! Ysil prayed they not see an owl. Surely Strix was not close. He was not welcomed by the crows. But the night was his realm, and how could the crows know if he were to fly through seeking mice or perhaps two little lost quail? However, he felt certain it would be known if Strix had been carousing and hunting. The crows’ count of mice would be in descent and he would have heard.
Quail nest at night on the ground and do not move through the descent of darkness, which is when the foxes and coyotes begin to prowl. Tonight, Ysil and Monroth would have no choice. They would have to move away from the field through the gathering dark and get at least a fair distance away before they settled to nest. If they were too close come morning, the crows could see them and suspect they’d secreted a view of the Reckoning; this suspicion would be enough to get them killed.
So they lay there silently until the last crow was gone from the field and evening began to fall over the place they called their home. Then, with as much quiet and stealth as possible, they moved through the brush and away from the field.
Ysil felt certain he could find the trail in the shadows. “It has to be this way!” he called softly to Monroth, gesturing in the direction that he believed Cotur Ada had flown to intersect Banka and Incanta.
“No, Ysil! That is not the way to the path.” Monroth was adamant, and not only that. Ysil felt heartlessness in his voice. They had just watched the death of the elder, but now that Monroth’s life was no longer in immediate danger, he was prideful. Ysil said nothing about this.
“I know it’s this way, Monroth,” said Ysil. “I remember seeing Incanta and the two chicks right here.” He stamped his foot on the ground. “I’m going this way, and you may as well follow.” Ysil set off down the path.
“Well, I am not going that way,” said Monroth. “I’ll just sit right here for a while, and when you get lost and start crying, I’ll come rescue you.”
“If you sit for long, you will fall asleep,” Ysil whispered back. “We have to get farther away.”
Monroth considered this. “All right. I’ll follow you. But when we get lost, I will lead from then on.” The bigger bird smirked and followed, surely hoping to prove him wrong.
On Ysil led through a batch of thick brush and to a red ash he knew especially well. He had sat perched in the tree just the week before and counted ducks as they flew overhead in groups of two or three. They passed the tree and, within moments, were on the trail.
And though his heart was broken by the loss of his grandfather, Ysil raised his beak to Monroth
Craig Taylor
Tara Quan
Dani Lovell
Richard Laymon
Jason Luke
Laura Andersen
Faye Kellerman
Stephen Zanzucchi
Eileen Charbonneau
Tyler Whitesides