The Cavalry is Dead

Chapter 14: We Disturb A Nest of Very Angry Carnivorous Birds

If nothing else, Jax was getting some great writing material.

The next three days presented ample opportunity for inspiration. Gigantic crab monsters eating their tent in the night? Genius. Asa discovering a scorpion in his shoe? Inspired. Xander following a will-o'-the-wisp into the foggy marshes? Cliff-hanger in the making. The downside, Jax thought, was that they were almost dying on a daily basis.

But, you know.

Great artists had to suffer for their craft.

"I hate that tunic," Romes observed.

They were sitting around the campfire, watching it spit golden sparks into the darkness. Romes' eyes reflected the flames. Asa — who'd been in the process of fanning the damp tunic in front of the fire — frowned.

"What's wrong with my shirt?" Asa demanded.

He turned the shirt over; it was a rough brown material, like a sac with short sleeves. Romes leaned back on her palms.

"It's ugly," she said.

Asa scowled. "It's cool."

"You look like a ten-year-old squire."

"You," Asa said, with great dignity, "have no taste in fashion." Romes took the last chunk of rabbit off the spit, and his scowl deepened. "Oi! That's mine."

She bit into it. "You've had six already."

"So?"

Romes wiped juice from her chin. "Gods, you're ridiculous."

"I'm twice the size of you," Asa said. "I need to eat twice as much as you." He shrugged, lowering his tunic. "Simple."

"Oh, yeah?" Romes waggled the meat. "Come and take it then."

Asa rose, a bright glint in his eye. Xander and Jax exchanged a look. It was like watching a dormant volcano, Jax thought; you just never knew when it was going to boil over. Asa took a step forward.

"Guys," Xander said, looking chagrined.

Asa made a swipe for the rabbit. Romes dodged.

"Guys."

Romes waggled it above her head, looking smug. Asa's hand darted out.

"Guys," Xander said.

They paused. Xander held up something yellowing, and it took Jax a moment to realize that the other boy had folded a piece of parchment into the shape of a bird. It was, Jax had to admit, actually very impressive.

"Look what I made," Xander said, delighted.

He wiggled the bird. Asa flopped down on the log. Romes polished off the rabbit, licking her fingers in a way that made Jax look away.

"Is it time yet?" Jax asked.

Xander looked up at the sky. "Ten more minutes."

"I can't believe I'm about to say this," Asa said, "but I'm so bored that I'm excited to face a pack of carnivorous birds."

Xander patted his crane. "They're called spearbeaks."

"Whatever," Asa said.

Jax leaned back, watching as an invisible paintbrush painted the sky a pale lilac colour. Xander had insisted that they wait until dawn to cross the River of Blood. "Spearbeaks are nocturnal," he'd explained, "so the optimal time to cross the river is when the birds are exhausted from a day of hunting."

Jax had considered asking Xander why the birds were nocturnal, but Xander had already been cheerfully chatting about the acidic lining of the bird's duodenum, so he'd thought it best not to mention it.