Inked

31

They had been flying for hours. Resa could have kept going, her wings fueled only by sheer determination to find her daughter and her husband and yell at both of them before giving them the biggest hug ever. How could they do this to me again? Valor's presence gliding in the air next to her was the only thing reassuring her; at least she wasn't completely alone this time.

Speaking of Valor, though, his bird form was almost the same size as hers, but by the way he swayed and dipped in the air was beginning to look more like exhaustion than childish excitement. Damn being alone, her poor son was in no condition to keep up with her on this ridiculous journey, swift or not.

Spotting a welcoming cluster of tall trees just ahead, Resa aimed for an opening between the heavy green canopy. Valor alighted next to her on the shadowy ground, albeit a little clumsier, and Resa allowed her bones to lengthen and reshape themselves into her human form. Valor remained on the ground, staring quizzically up at her over his beak.

"Come on, Val, it's time to change back," Resa said. It took a minute of coaxing - more time than Resa would have liked - but soon Valor was back to his smiling, chubby self. Sitting against a tree, Resa cradled Valor onto her lap. "My boy. My beautiful boy," she whispered into his fine white hair, brushing the dirt off his cheek. "I couldn't have left you, Val, you know that right?" Valor only stared at her with his big, bright eyes.

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Valor had not been able to transform until late the next morning, so by the time the black spires of Argenta Castle rose up between them, the sky had begun to darken. Her tiny heart thumping in anticipation, Resa flapped her wings with renewed energy. Valor struggled to keep up but Resa encouraged him, Almost there, Val.

Landing on the railing of a small balcony, Resa and Valor caught their breath. The sun had gone down behind a mass of dark clouds, and shadows ran along the ground and the walls. Resa already didn't like this place. She hated the fact that Mo had lied to her and put himself in such danger -- again.

But she would not get upset, she told herself. Her family was a magnet for danger, it seemed, and it was now her duty to unstick them from this mess as smoothly as possible. Oh, Val, I thought all this would be over by now. Valor glanced at her momentarily, then his confused gaze returned to his surroundings, and, for the millionth time since his first transformation, Resa feared the bird would take over his young brain, and she wouldn't get her son back.

A piece of paper drifted by, interrupting her worry. Snatching it in her beak as it went by, Resa cautioned Valor to stay still and transformed, just for an instant, just to hold the paper in her hands and read what it said.

She recognized Mo's handwriting immediately. On one side of the scrap of paper, a few sentences were written: "As the ink soaked into the page, the message came to life: DEATH HAS COME. He kissed the words and the page took off, through the window and out into the night, off to find its recipient, the only one in this castle he could trust, where, upon its reading, the page turned to dust.

Resa could picture him, deep within the castle, scribbling these words, reading them aloud, willing them to hold true.

And she had interrupted its delivery. Dustfinger - for who else could Mo be referring to? - was probably waiting to hear from Mo, and she had intercepted the message. Resa tossed the paper in the air, praying it would take flight and continue its journey. Instead, it dissolved into ash and floated away on the breeze.

Shrinking back into a swift, Resa cursed her curiosity for possibly putting Mo in danger. Bidding Valor to follow, she took off toward the woods surrounding the castle, determined to find Mo or Dustfinger, whichever came first.

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High up above Argenta, looking over the kingdom and all its dark glory, Dustfinger paced in the tiny tower room. Sitting against the door across from the window, Meggie said, "Well? Anything?"

Sighing, Dustfinger called the fire again, whispering the sweet words that produced that friendly, familiar flame. "Nothing. The castle's warded against..." Dustfinger trailed off. He had been about to say that the castle was warded against anything but dark magic, but he knew if he told Meggie that, she would make him use it. And, stuck in a cramped room with nowhere to hide, he would not be able to avoid her stubborn pleading.

Picking at the hem of her dress, Meggie whispered, "Mo will come get us. He has to." Behind Dustfinger, something flew by the window. They both turned to look, but it was only a couple of birds...