Splendid Fall

Ch.17 A sign

Chapter 17

With her knees drawn to her chest and her arms tightly wrapped around them, Birdie sat as still as a mountain. Her breathing was even, the air slowly moving in and out of her lungs.

Should I tell Wren about Earth? Birdie asked herself.

He could help me...

Or he will follow me with his army and take over Earth.

Birdie felt her thoughts jumble in her mind like strings. She took in another deep breath and let it out, hoping it would release some of the tension in her shoulder.

Baba, she called out through her mind-link. Mom?...Hayden?

But it was like trying to hold air in her open palm. Birdie could not reach her link. It was as if it had never existed. Just the thought was enough to frighten her.

"What are you doing?"

Gently, Birdie opened her eyes to find Mina standing before her. The large woman had a small curious smile on her face as she folded the laundry.

"I'm trying to open my mind-link," Birdie explained.

Mina's brows furrowed before she shook her head and went back to her chores.

"Why don't you guys have mind-links?" Birdie asked, placing her chin on her knee. She looked up at the woman through her lashes and waited for an answer.

"Baby, I don't even know what that is," Mina laughed. "How can I explain to you why we don't have it? Why don't women have an eel?"

"Because of the Y chromosome," Birdie said.

"The what?" Mina laughed once more. "Girl, you are a basket of crazy. Just like those old Tyveers my mama used to entertain when I was a little girl in Deserati. They would say some wild stuff that had me and my mama laughing our-"

Birdie's head snapped up, "The what?"

"One time, one of them told us the most horrifying story of men that can turn into beasts," Mina continued, not noticing the way Birdie's eyes had widened.

"Tyveer," Birdie said, her heart hammering. "The Tyveer court? They're here?"

"They're here alright," Mina chuckled. "A load of drunk, good for nothing crazies who sound just like you som-"

"Where are they? How do I find them?" Birdie sat up and clutched the woman's arm.

"Baby, you don't want to meet them," Mina frowned. "They're crazy."

"No, I have to go to them," Birdie stood up. "Do they have a sultan? An army?"

Mina stared at the girl as if she had grown two heads, "The Tyveer live on the outer edge of Desarati. You can't go there."

"I have to," Birdie said, looking at the door and then the window.

"And how will you do that?" Mina pressed her lips into a thin line. "You have Xaiba brass on you. You are not allowed to cross the Glass Sea."

"How do I take it off?"

"Good lord!" Mina threw down the dress she had been folding. "I want no part of this. Jasmeen! Come deal with this crazy girl."

"No, wait!" Birdie stopped the woman. "Tell me more about the Tyveer. Who are they? Where are they?"

"I told you," Mina shook Birdie's hand off. "They're just crazy old drunk men who live outside of the town."