Hoodwinked: The Summoning Book One

Chapter 10

Klav looked to the northern sky as the first explosion of lights burst from afar. The first to explode, was a large red firework. The rest were white.

A second set of fireworks that were several kilometers to the south lit the night sky in the same order of colors. A third round of fireworks to the east, burst into the sky and a fourth set to the west followed the same pattern. Several meters away, Caslon lit only one red and several blue fireworks, thus completing the signal.

The king would be arriving this very night, along with several other dragon riders. His royal majesty will not be very pleased to see blue fireworks to the south. It signaled to Draconians that Captain Greypol's mission was incomplete. At least the queen was captured and the witch was dead.

Klav's thoughts turned to the falcon. He removed his cloak to drape it over the girl that will now have been returned to her natural state. When he turned around, he abruptly stopped. The falcon was still in bird form, tethered to the log.

"Shouldn't she have changed by now? The white fireworks were used. The witch is dead," Caslon echoed Klav's thoughts as he quickly approached their camp.

"What witch? You mean to say Creselda is dead?" Lord Briggon asked from the other side of the small camp fire. With his feet and hands tied, the old man sat against a tree stump opposite the log the falcon was tethered to.

"Yes, the queen's witch, Creselda," the captain answered, never taking his eyes off Cyan.

"How can this be? Unless the bird was enchanted by another witch," Caslon conjectured.

Captain Greypol stepped up to the falcon who was shuffling about and flapping her wings. She was nervous or excited. Klav's eyebrows shot up as she let out her first vocal screech.

Cyan paused for a second before she let out several cackling calls. Klav recognized this call as a warning sound. He looked about them to see if Cyan was raising alarm for any particular reason. He sensed no threat, so he peered back at the peregrine falcon.

"What is all this? Is the witch truly dead? What of Queen Hilvasha?" Lord Briggon asked.

"It is of no concern of yours, Lord Briggon," Caslon said.

"Cyan is screeching for the first time. I wonder if that is the only enchantment from Creselda or merely a coincidence. She did take voices from young girls," Klav said to Caslon, ignoring Lord Briggon.

"This is not your falcon?" Lord Briggon asked a moment later as he studied Klav crouch in front of the hoodwinked bird of prey.

"No, we captured her four nights past," the captain explained without looking at the speaker. He reached for the hood and carefully unlatched it to allow the bird to see. "We knew from the color of her eyes that she had been enchanted. She also behaved much like the several cursed animals that have been brought to Zyvon the Great in Draconia," Klav explained, placing her hood into his pocket.

The peregrine falcon looked immediately to her right where Lord Briggon sat. The three men watched as she flapped her wings in quick succession while shuffling her feet once again.

"She was quite animated when we caught her. This tells us she has been in this form for quite a while. We need to find the witch that turned her. I believe the falcon comes from Firshire, so you may know her. She has Cyan eyes, they look just like the blue topaz," Klav announced.

He turned his gaze to Lord Briggon, who quickly looked to the fire, avoiding Klav's inspecting eyes. "Do you know the girl?"

When Lord Briggon refused to answer, the captain straightened to his full height and stepped over to Lord Briggon.