Jasper Jaquin's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

The sun dropped behind the trees. Jasper's wings still hung half-open, shaking. The red macaw folded them for him with careful hands, one joint at a time, and showed him how the feathers locked back against his spine. Jasper's shoulders ached down to the bone. He could not have climbed back down the pyramid if he tried. The sky serpent slid back over the platform without warning. "You sleep inside tonight," he said. "Both of you. Dawn comes early." He nodded toward the dark doorway at the top of the pyramid. A cool draft came out of it, smelling of old stone. Azure walked in first. Jasper followed, wings tight against his back. Inside, the room was small and square, the floor swept clean. A shallow bowl of water sat by the wall. Jasper lay down on the stone and closed his eyes. Azure settled across from him, beak tucked, sandals off. Before Jasper drifted, he heard the serpent speak again outside. "Sora. Watch the door until dawn. No one comes in. They do not come out until I call." Another voice answered, low and even. Jasper opened one eye. A second winged jaguar stood at the doorway. Gold fur, blue spots, gold wings folded high on his shoulders. He was bigger than Jasper. He sat down across the entrance like a gate and looked in. His eyes passed over Jasper's black feathers and stopped. "You have wings like mine," Sora said. His voice was flat, not unkind. "You do not know how to use them." "No," Jasper said. "I did not either." Sora looked out at the dark trees. "He taught me. He will teach you. Sleep. You will need it." He did not turn his head again. Jasper watched him a while, the shape of another cat with wings, sitting still on stone. The red macaw walked past Sora with a nod and stepped out onto the platform to keep his own watch. Jasper heard him settle at the edge, plain and quiet. Jasper closed his eyes. His shoulders burned. Tomorrow he would jump. He did not know if the wings would open on their own, or catch air, or fold wrong and drop him. But another jaguar with wings sat at the door, awake, and had once been where Jasper was now. Jasper slept.