Jasper Jaquin's Arc

Chapter 6 of 6

Jasper climbed the pyramid's steep face one step at a time. His shoulders burned from the first flight. Bits of moss still clung to his feathers from the crash through the vine. He kept his eyes on the platform above, where the sky serpent circled in a slow, patient loop. Halfway up, the light changed. The sun went gray. Jasper stopped on a step and looked west. A wall of cloud pushed over the canopy, dragging rain behind it. Wind moved through the trees below in one long shove. Leaves flipped pale side up. A storm was coming fast, and the platform was the highest point for miles. Jasper reached the top with his tail plumage snapping sideways. The serpent hovered just off the edge, scales bright against the darkening sky. "Wind's turning," the serpent called. "You cannot jump into that. It will throw you off the stone before your wings open." Jasper looked over the edge. The air below the platform was no longer still. It shoved up the pyramid's face in hard gusts, then dropped away. He had felt the lifting floor yesterday. This was not that. This would flip him. "Inside," the serpent said. "Both of you. Now." Jasper turned. A second winged jaguar stood at the doorway of the sleeping chamber, gold fur and blue-spotted wings half open against the wind. It was the guard who had treated his cramped shoulders the morning before. The guard did not speak. He jerked his head at the dark opening and waited. Jasper ran for the door. The first fat drops hit the stone behind him. He ducked inside just as the wind hit the platform full force. Rain came sideways across the opening in a white sheet. The chamber was dim and dry. The guard sat down across the doorway, wings folded, blocking the wind with his body. "You wanted to jump," he said. Not a question. "Yes," Jasper said. "Good," the guard said. "The serpent grounded you. Not the storm. He decides when you go." He looked Jasper over. "Your right shoulder is dropping again. I can feel it in how you're sitting." Jasper shifted. The guard was right. The muscle on that side was tight and pulled low. "Lie down," the guard said. "I'll work it before it seizes. When the wind breaks, you'll want that shoulder loose. He'll send you off the platform the moment the sky clears." Jasper lay on the cool floor. The guard set a heavy paw against his shoulder and pressed. Pain flared, then eased. Outside, the storm hammered the pyramid. Jasper listened to it and felt the tight muscle give under the guard's steady work. He had not flown into the storm. He had not been thrown. He was grounded, treated, and waiting. The next jump would come from a higher step, into cleared air, with a shoulder that could hold.