Born of Wind - Of The Elements Series Book 1

Chapter 2

A falcon fought against the winds as he flew into the empty village of Pontai'Desa, his mossy mane blowing in the breeze.

The storm was abating such that he could now enter the orbit of the village. He swooped to avoid paving stones as they came loose and shattered cottage windows. A tornado spun: cottages burst apart as the tornado crashed through them until at last, the falcon swooped as the tornado dissipated at the village square. The form of a man replaced the spot where the tornado had been, his eyes shining silver pinpricks.

The falcon landed on one of the remaining cottages with a soft plop as soothing straw cradled its talons.

His master lit a torch, illuminating the square enough to inspect his surroundings. The silver of his eyes dimmed to their natural green, matching his military attire.

"Grimley, come here," the man beckoned. The falcon known as Grimley screeched and took to the wind, landing on the outstretched forearm of his master before the echo of his own screech had abated. Grimley's right wing brushed his master's thick black mane, which flowed over his master's shoulders. On his master's head were two protruding steer horns growing out from his temples: the falcon's favorite perch.

A creaking door caught their attention. The falcon could feel the tensing of the muscular perch under his feet as the master turned to face the door.

A slender woman stepped out. She was of his same race, a Warix, yet instead of ashen grey skin, she had the purplish hue of a velvetus tree. The falcon knew her, they served the same master.

She pouted her lips. Her youth brought insubordination. "Was it really necessary to destroy all those cottages, General Malotus?"

Malotus shrugged. "I can enjoy being destructive as long as it is also effective. As I predicted, Yulah, the Meruyans fled into the sea during the storm. We can search without interference."

Yulah's sharp-boned, foxy face shot upward in indignation and she combed her long purple hair into a twist with her fingers. "We're here to search the cottages, not destroy them! How am I supposed to look for the Pendant if there's nothing but rubble!" She swept her thin arms over the sight to indicate the damaged village. Loud wind still whipped around the edges of town as Malotus's men held the storm in place.

Grimley's mossy mane tingled from the breeze. The master and his servant continued to argue, and the falcon was transferred to perch on the level steer horn atop Malotus's head.

"They need to believe it was a real storm."

"Thanks for trying to cover our tracks... and yet again you've gone too far. And we've yet to find the Pendant. Maybe the villagers knew we were coming and took it with them?" She nervously ran her fingers through her hair, twisting it behind her curling horns.

"What? These fish-peasants? No... I think it is more likely our hostage was lying to us. Let's keep searching, and if we don't find it tonight, we can go back to headquarters to deal with our duplicitous little informant some more," the irked General Malotus commanded.

Several Warix soldiers appeared, their dark green uniforms matching General Malotus's in style. Malotus's soldiers appeared from the outskirts, showing signs of fatigue from powering the storm, and searched the remaining cottages.

"This is the cottage? Let me see." Malotus followed Yulah into the round cottage, ducking to enter the low doorway with Grimley the falcon still perched on his horn, who also ducked, his long tail streaming in behind them. Yulah led him down a hall and into a small library, where she had just been, candles still burning on the walls to light the way.

"I can't see any evidence you were even here!"

"I didn't want them to know, obviously!"

"Well, you don't expect them to leave it in plain sight! Come, let's get our hands dirty!" He grabbed a decorative chair from behind a desk and sliced open the stuffing with his clawed hand. He rooted around inside, letting the insides burst out, then chucked the chair aside with a sharp clack as the wooden legs met the floor.