Bird of a Wing (Bow 1)

Chapter 52

Rain thundering down against the roof, Ryraso sat on the wooden floor watching the fire while Eyeri slept. When their clothes had dried, Ryraso had draped his cloak over Eyeri and gotten dressed. He wasn't going to sleep that night. He had already felt the seal on his wrist heat up a few times. Tai'ray looking for him but not quite ready to push through with the magic.

At the very least, the storm was moving away. The thunder was sounding less and growing more distant with every boom. Eyeri was resting more peacefully for it. The young man had stayed awake for a while in his curled up ball before falling to sleep. His face was peaceful but he had bags under his eyes.

Then he heard a shift in the wind. He inhaled and held his breath. Listening carefully as the fire crackled and water washed against the wood. There was a shift in the wind, the distinct sound of wings cutting through the air.

Ryraso shifted, gently waking Eyeri by tapping his shoulder. Eyeri woke up, his blue eyes bright but he was quiet. Ryraso pointed up to the ceiling. Eyeri was silent, clearly listening to the sound himself before nodding. His eyes glanced over at the sink with a meaningful sink was wide and deep. More importantly, it had a lid. Ryraso pursed his lips but nodded. It would be tight but they would just be able to hide in there.

Eyeri grabbed his clothes and pulled them on. Ryraso looked around and grabbed the bags. He dropped them into the sink. Eyeri walked over and climbed in. Ryraso climbed in after and pulled the lid over them.

Time seemed to slow down as they waited. The sink was made from stone and was cold to the touch and the bottom was still damp from them washing their clothes. With the lid on, it was dark, and Ryraso could feel Eyeri shivering where they were touching. Ryraso gripped the seal on his wrist and tried to breathe as slowly as possible as they waited for whoever was flying around to check in the hut.

Finally, the wooden door slid open with a brief increase in the rain as two sets of footsteps walked into the room. The door slide shut again.

"Smell that, Guardian?" an unfamiliar voice said. "They were here."

"Yes, I suspect they were," Fl'ex commented calmly, his voice tight.

"Do we have any word on Hiu'an?" the stranger asked, moving to check the room in the back for any signs of them. They hadn't even looked into them but Ryraso knew they were storage rooms.

The lid of the sink creaked loudly as Flex sat down on it. Ryraso held his breath, Eyeri gripping his arm painfully. "The Winglord has had a try at fixing the damage but we need a real healer," Fl'ex said softly. "Hiu'an isn't the only one hurt badly either."

"Damn healer," the stranger cursed. "To choose this time of any to run."

The wood creaked as Flex shifted slightly. Ryraso felt his chest tighten. Was someone hurt bad? He had to force himself not to gulp and make a sound. That complicated things.

"To be fair, he didn't know the storm would cause this much damage. Hasn't in a long time," Fl'ex said softly, almost sympathetically. "I need to rest a moment. Can you go scout out the area and see if we can work out where they went."

"Of course Guardian Fl'ex," the stranger said with a healthy dose of concern in his voice but he didn't ask if Fl'ex was ok or not. K'nairi to the core. It wasn't polite to bring up the health of an elder, especially one with a rank like Fl'ex. The stranger left, the sound of the pouring rain again increasing as the opened the door and fading as it shut again. Leaving just Fl'ex in the room.

"There has been a fire in the village. The lightning hit an oil store," Fl'ex commented out loud. Ryraso closing his eyes. Fl'ex knew they were there. "Hiu'um's wings got caught in the blaze. If you don't help, he won't fly again. He's sixty Ryraso. Younger than the Winglord even. I know our ages get confusing but he's still so young." Flex shifted again, this time standing up.