Captain Kittyhawk & The Cloud Wars

Chapter 3 Strange sheep

What direction the plane came from, no one noticed. It landed, sliding gently from the sky into the sea. It wasn't a new plane, but the engine hummed with a well cared-for efficiency. No one took much notice until the pilot pulled up to the harbour. He climbed out and tied his seaplane to a link on the harbour wall. People only began to notice him when he took his helmet off. The man had a Ram's head complete with curled horns and a scar on his left cheek. The right tip of his horn was broken. A stranger, and a changed stranger at that, made everyone feel a little nervous. Normally planes flew overhead. To many, Hompton was little more than a handy map reference point on the way some where else. Just to make himself stand out even more the stranger didn't ask about the price of fuel but instead walked into town. Trixie was looking out from the bedroom window when he came off the square and along the street.

"That be strange, a sheep man is coming into town," Trixie said looking down.

"That's wonderful, but I feel a little dizzy. I'm going to lie down for a second," Catharine told Trixie.

Trixie looked out and down at the man and went downstairs.

When Trixie came down the ram-headed man was chatting to her younger brother Jamie.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Jamie."

"Hello Jamie, my name is Nathan. Do you want to see a trick?" said the Ram man. Before Jamie could say much, the ram-headed man knelt down, pulled the sleeves of his shirt back, and spread his fingers out. He then reached behind Jamie's ear and pulled a triangular copper coin out. He then handed it to Jamie. Trixie came over as quickly as she could.

"So it's true then, that all the sheep people are magic."

"No," said the man with the ram's head, giving the impression of a sheep smiling. "Well not really. You see there is an old story as old as the oldest books. You see human people have magic people, wizards, witches, warlocks. They are magic all of their lives, but most people aren't magic. But for sheep it's all different. For sheep, no sheep is more magical than another. Any sheep can be magical but not for very long, a few hours, a few days."

"So how do they decide who gets to be magical?" asked Trixie coming closer to take Jamie away. She looked at the sheep; he had a worn gun and a boot knife. He had other scars; he had the look of a dangerous man.

"They don't, the magic has a will of its own. It jumps from sheep to sheep, then for an hour, for a day that sheep is magic. The sheep people call whoever it is the magic sheep."

"Any sheep can be magic?" asked Jamie.

"Any sheep, just not all the time."

"So how do you know when you're magical?" asked Trixie.

"You get a feeling and someone makes a wish."

"Well, if I was magic I would wish me a Laguna flying boat," said Jack, who had joined the small gaggle of children around the sheep man.

"Well, you can't do magic for yourself. You can only grant wishes for others, like a genie," said Nathan.

The children started to talk about what wishes they would all have if they got the chance.

"What would you have?" asked Trixie to the ram-man. He was being very friendly, almost too friendly and it worried her.

"Well, I would find an old friend of mine. She has - well had - a cat head."

"I know a cat-headed woman," said Jamie.

"Well, perhaps it is your turn to be the magic sheep today. Shall I wish on you?" Nathan asked.

Jamie nodded.

"Magic sheep, magic sheep won't you grant this wish for me. Magic sheep, Magic sheep this is what I want to see - my old friend Kitty." Nathan almost sang the rhythm.

"Her name's not Kitty," said Jamie.

"But you've seen her?" asked the sheep.

"Yes," Trixie butted in, "well yes and no. We have lots of cat-headed women on the island. There's Mrs. Mallory, Mrs. Hideland. Look at my ears, mother says I'm growing a cat head too."

Trixie had never seen disappointment on a sheep's face, but she imagined that the face he pulled was that.

The sheep-man called Nathan looked up.

"What is it?" said Trixie.

"Sky Kingdom seaplanes. Cruiser class." He looked down. "In about 7 minutes, five black dogs are going to fall from the sky. Four of them will block the streets. Their guns will be loaded, their knives sharp and their teeth bare. A smart girl like you would be best not be standing here when they arrive."

Trixie looked up, and after a while heard the drone of military seaplanes. Soon seven large planes flying in formation came overhead. When she looked down Nathan was gone.