Chapter Thirty Nine

They kept the horses running so long that steam rose from their backs and their coats frothed with sweat. Rannok sighed with relief when the mountains gave way to a vast plain and Sasha pulled hers up. Sweetgrass rose up to their knees. Mountain peaks dotted the horizon, but a vast sea of grass stretched for miles in front of him. He couldn't help admitting it was beautiful.

She said nothing for a long time while they traveled, occasionally spurring the horses into an erratic jog that only served to make everyone more tired. The crow rose above them onto the clouds, wings outstretched, making Rannok wish he could follow it. But after a while, even it got tired and settled back down on his horse's neck. 

There were so many things he wanted to ask it. Things it probably didn't know the answer to, and he didn't know how to ask, besides. Its mind melded with his, so slowly he barely noticed it, though it should have been an unwelcome intrusion. He thought of Erean, and how frightened he looked when the door had sealed, shutting him inside. The nesting grounds had really given him more questions than answers.

The crow poured an image into his eyes, like water spilled from a drinking glass. Rannok closed his eyes and let the horse guide him. A man with dark skin and a funny hat settled down on the ground. He drifted off into a deep sleep and fell through the world, so far down he could not see which way was up. And when he awoke again, he had glossy black feathers and a loud call and a journey to undertake.

A new image flashed into his mind, one of an angry crow and an angrier man. Magic flowed from the crow's beak and feathers burst from the man's back. The crow's regret seeped into his bones like a poison. Rannok's breath caught in his throat as he remembered that pain, like a dream he had forgotten. Rannok opened his eyes. He felt as if he'd lived a thousand lifetimes as the prairies shifted back into focus.

"You gave him wings," he said, as he moved his own on his back. "It wasn't your uncle. It was you."

He understood now, why the crow would never have been able to take them from him. They were a part of him, like Erean's sickness was a part of Erean. Rannok's bones ached with a memory that was not his. 

"My purpose was completed when I took you to the nesting grounds."

"What purpose was that," Rannok asked. His voice remained calm and level, because it didn't matter anymore. There was nothing that could be done to change it. 

"I remember being human like you remember being a babe," the crow replied. "It is a memory blurred badly by time, but I still remember."

Rannok nodded as a new understanding dawned on him. Erean had not died, because he had never left. He'd simply been reborn into a new body, one which had wings and a loud voice. It made sense now, why the crow had taken such an interest in him. Why it had worked so hard to keep him safe and followed them even after it had no purpose in doing so anymore. It remembered.

"I am sorry I cannot take your wings," the crow said. "We are flawed like humans, and young things are prideful and angry. One makes mistakes one cannot undo out of anger."

"More powerful, though," Rannok said. It wasn't the crow's fault any more than it was the crow's fault he'd come to Horizon in the first place. He couldn't bring himself to be angry that it had lied to them. 

"In some ways, yes. In others, no. It is a grave sin for a crow to form bonds like a human. It is why I left."

"Where will you go," Rannok asked, because he knew the crow could not follow them forever. He felt its mind pull on his, even now. It would only take time before it could not leave at all, and then only a little more time before Rannok would scarcely be able to tell the difference between the crow and himself. He didn't know how he knew. He could feel its blood course through his veins like something that should not be there.

"I do not know. Perhaps I will die. Death is not the worst thing."

Rannok shivered. A deep, sad ache filled his heart, like he was losing a part of himself. He wanted to reach out to the bird and hold it so it could not leave.

"I have died before," it reminded him, but it did not make Rannok feel any better. He didn't know what happened to crows when they died. If it was painful, or where they went. He only knew that people were usually burned or buried, and that sometimes before they died they screamed and made horrible noises. He shuddered as he remembered the man dragging his leg, without meaning to. He imagined being alone again, with nothing but the prairie to keep him company, and nothing to keep the nightmares at bay.

"You are not alone," the bird said. Rannok stared ahead at Sasha as she swayed with her horse's movement. He swallowed hard. She would leave once they got to the next town. Maybe to go home. Probably to find her own way elsewhere, where she didn't have to worry about his nightmares or his fear or the fact that he couldn't speak Ascaran. And it wasn't fair, but he'd realized a long time ago that the world rarely was.

He didn't know where he was going. At least when he'd gone to Horizon, he'd had a plan. He thought he'd be able to find work, or perhaps to stay on the ships. But Horizon wasn't an option anymore. He didn't know what was.

The bird said nothing more to him. Its mind retreated from his. Rannok winced as it pulled back, then took off into the sky. He wanted to shout at it as it soared overhead. His heart raced as it took off behind him. His eyes felt hot, the weight of his fear crushing his chest like a steel vice. He followed it with his eyes, a shadow as it sped across the horizon and into the sky. 

And then, like a mirage, it was gone. Rannok had never felt so alone.

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top