Luka skystorm's Arc

Chapter 5 of 9

Luka turned the falcon toward the mansion, but a heavy tread stopped him. Brush cracked behind him. He looked back, sure the spiked gorilla had found their trail. Instead the long-necked calf pushed into the clearing again. It swayed on three legs and stretched its neck toward him. "Wait," it said. "Don't go alone." Luka held the reins tight. "You've done enough. You gave me the truth." The calf shook its head. Its trunk pointed at the pink stump where its leg had been. "I want to see the house that took this. I'm slow, but I remember the way in." Jaxon drifted between them, ears low. "The grounds are guarded," the cat warned. "The gorilla nearly killed us both." The calf did not move. Luka studied the small creature. He saw himself years ago, silent, alone, told he had dreamed his own loss. He could not send it back to that. "You'll ride behind me," Luka said. "My falcon is strong." But the bird was built for one rider, not two. Luka pulled the saddle straps loose and worked fast. He looped one strap under the calf's belly and knotted it to the saddle. He clicked his tongue. The falcon spread its wings and beat the air. The calf lifted an inch, then two. Its legs left the grass. "Hold your neck still," Luka called. The bird strained. Feathers snapped hard. They rose above the trees, the calf swinging beneath the saddle, Jaxon gliding at their side. Then the branches below burst apart. The spiked gorilla charged into the clearing, its metal tail lashing overhead. The tail whipped up and caught the trailing strap. Leather tore. The calf dropped a body-length and screamed. Luka grabbed the loose strap with both hands. The gorilla yanked from below, dragging bird and rider down. Luka wrapped the strap around his wrist and pulled. His cape flew back, showing the empty space where his feet should be. He did not care now. "Climb!" he shouted at the falcon. The bird screamed and clawed the air. For one moment nothing gave. Then the metal tail slipped off the wet leather, and they shot upward. The gorilla roared and fell behind. The falcon cleared the treetops and steadied. The calf hung safe in the torn strap, breathing hard. Below, the gorilla paced the clearing, then turned and ran toward the mansion. "It's warning Greg," Jaxon said. "He'll know we're coming." Luka looked at the calf swinging beside him, then at the roofline rising through the trees. He had wanted to burn out the curse quietly. That chance was gone. "Then we go now," he said, "before the doors lock." He turned the falcon toward the mansion. Speed was his only cover left.