Rose Tremayne's Arc

Chapter 1 of 6

Rose scattered peanuts across the cabin's porch rail and waited. Within seconds, seven crows landed in a row. She'd spent twenty years training these birds to do what no law could: make polluters pay attention. Blackbeak tilted his head, studying her with both eyes. She pointed at the cigarette butt near her boot—someone had dropped it by the trail again. The crow hopped down, grabbed it in his beak, and took flight toward the parking lot. Rose walked past the wooden feeding perch she'd built last month. More crows arrived for their morning meal. She filled it with premium unsalted peanuts, watching as One-Eye and Crooked-Tail fought over the biggest ones. The birds trusted her now. They brought her coins and bottle caps, but also cigarette butts tangled in their feet. Every gift was a message. Every piece of trash proved someone wasn't respecting this place. The old barn stood at the edge of the clearing, sunlight streaming through holes in its roof. Rose pushed open the door and stepped inside. This would be her headquarters. She'd coordinate patrols from here, send her murder out to shame the polluters who treated sacred land like a dumpster. A woman who littered had already endured six months of aerial attacks. The crows knew their targets. Rose hammered the last nail into the bulletin board she'd mounted on the barn wall. She pinned up drawings of crows and images showing clean trails. This board would rally others to her cause. The sanctuary deserved protection, and her crows would deliver it. Blackbeak landed on the windowsill, watching her work. She mimicked his call—caw-caw-CAW—and he answered back. The mission had begun.