In the midst of exhaustion, fear, danger, and loneliness, beauty can be a refuge. Difficult things are happening to the Wingibys. The last few weeks’ excerpts have been hard, and next week’s is likely to be hard as well. But for now, just rest here a minute.
The hollow seemed safe enough. It was the first peaceful spot they had found in the Stony Mountains, and he hated to leave. They gathered enough sticks and scrub for a fire and settled in to cook a meal.
The setting sun broke through the clouds and shot a golden beam at Mog-Balgrik. The light transformed the hideous semblance of a face and showed the peak for the ancient beauty that it was.
Janner pulled his gaze from the bright mountain and saw what appeared to be a cloud of yellow flower petals floating down from the slopes to the lake. Then they heard the flutter of wings and the twitter of birdsong. Thousands of yellow birds alighted on the surface of the lake, so many that it looked like the water itself had turned to gold. They sang and groomed their wings in the twilight and were visible long after night fell.
“Hmph,” was all Maraly said, but Janner noticed that she wiped her eyes.
The children fell asleep to the pleasant play of the birds on the water. Janner woke more than once that night to see the starlit creatures still floating on the lake, and he went back to sleep with wonder in his heart.
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Toward the end of the day Janner and Maraly climbed a slope that seemed to go on forever. The hill was barren, but for one leafless elm at the top. Maraly pointed at the tree.
“It’s a snickbuzzard,” she said.
Janner wasn’t sure he believed her at first. Nothing in the tree moved. Then a black shape at the top spread its wings and adjusted its position.
“Is it dangerous?” Janner said.
“Yeah,” she said, “but there’s just one.” And she charged it.
Janner watched helplessly as the snickbuzzard swooped down at the girl. She screamed as she ran. When the bird dove, she dropped into a roll and the snickbuzzard’s talons just missed her. Maraly spun around and flung her dagger. The bird squawked, tumbled to the earth, and lay still.
Maraly brushed herself off, dragged the snickbuzzard to the tree, and gathered branches for a fire. Janner shook his head and climbed the hill, wondering what other surprises Maraly Weaver had for him.
I love how competent Maraly is, especially when it comes to handling the various beasts they encounter. Janner had to adjust to having her as a traveling companion, but he couldn’t have found anyone more capable of getting him safely through this section of their journey. She may be lacking in other areas (like hygiene, for example) but if he had rejected her help because of that, Janner’s journey would have ended much more quickly and much less happily.
Ugh. Might they have thought of something else?