Flight of the Nighthawks (2 page)

T
he boys burst through the door.

Chickens scattered; one moment they had been peacefully pecking the ground, seeking spilled grain and the occasional insect, the next they were squawking in protest and scurrying in all directions as the two boys landed in the village street with loud grunts.

To passersby the boys appeared as a flurry of fists, elbows, and knees rolling on the ground pecked clean by the chickens. As they thrashed about, their blows were ineffective but heartfelt as each boy sought enough leverage to land a winning strike, while at the same time prevent his opponent from punching back effectively. The result appeared to be more of a pointless wrestling match than a serious fight.

The boys appeared to be roughly the same size and
age—about sixteen summers old. The dark-haired youth wore a maroon-colored tunic and leather trousers. He was slightly shorter, but possessed broader shoulders and was arguably the stronger of the two. The boy with dark blond hair was dressed in a blue tunic and leather trousers. He possessed a longer reach, and was arguably faster.

They had been raised as brothers for almost their entire lives and, like brothers everywhere, were prone to conflict in an instant. Both were handsome after a rough fashion: sunburned and possessing the lean strength gained from long hours of hard work and barely adequate food. Neither boy was stupid, but at this moment they were not behaving as if they were particularly bright.

The cause of their current conflict hurried out of the door after them, shouting angrily. “Tad! Zane! Stop this right now or I won't go to the festival with either of you.”

The struggling combatants appeared oblivious to her warning as they rolled in the dust. “He started it!” shouted the dark-haired boy.

“No I didn't!” countered the other.

The girl was the same age as the erstwhile rivals. She had brown hair like Zane, and green eyes like Tad, was smarter than both of them put together, and was arguably the prettiest girl in Stardock Town.

An older woman followed Ellie from the house carrying a bucket of well water and she unceremoniously tipped it over the boys.

Shouting at their sudden drenching, the lads released each other and sat up. “Ma!” shouted the blond boy. “What'd you do that for? I've got mud all over me now.”

“Then go clean yourself up, Tad.” The woman was tall and regal looking, despite her plain homespun dress. Her light brown hair had some gray, and her face was sunburned and creased, but her expression was youthful. Looking at the darker lad, she added, “You, too, Zane.” Her brown eyes were merry though her expression was stern. “Caleb will be here soon and then we're leaving with or without you two hooligans.”

The two boys stood up, dusting themselves off as best they could, as the woman threw a large cloth at them. “Get the mud off with this,
and then go to the well and rinse it out!” she admonished the two boys. “It's one of my good kitchen rags.”

Ellie stood looking at the hesitant brawlers. “You idiots. I said I'd go with both of you.”

“But you said it to me, first,” said Tad. “That means you'll dance with me first.”

“No it doesn't,” said Zane, ready to resume the fisticuffs.

“Stop this before it starts again!” shouted the older woman. “Now get out and clean yourselves up!” Grumbling, the two boys complied.

“Marie, why are they always fighting?” asked Ellie.

“They're just bored.” Then she looked at the younger girl. “When are you going to tell them?”

“Tell them?” said Ellie, feigning ignorance.

Marie laughed. “You'd better tell them soon, girl. It's a poorly kept secret and they might hear about it at the festival.”

The girl's brow creased and her eyebrows raised as she made an expression of exasperation. “We used to be like family, you know?”

“All things change.” The older woman looked around the town. “When my family first came here, Stardock Town was still a small place. Now it's twice the size. The Academy was only half finished, now look at it.”

Ellie nodded as they both stared at the distant island across the lake. “I see it every day, Marie. Just like you do.”

The massive building dominated the island in the middle of the Great Star Lake rose, rising like a massive dark mountain. The village that rested at the academy's edge now engulfed the entire northeastern end of the island. Only those who served in the Academy of Magicians lived there. Stardock Town had grown around the ferry station to the island—at first just a simple trading stop, but now a bustling center for commerce in the region.

“Well, if Grame Hodover's anything like his pa, he'll start yakkin' as soon as he has some ale in him.”

“And Tad and Zane will be throwing punches before anyone can talk sense into them,” finished Ellie.

“So, best sooner than later,” said Marie as she motioned for Ellie
to follow her back into the house. They entered a large, single-roomed building, with room for a hearth, a table, and bedding for three. Once inside she said, “The boys are your best friends, though they don't realize it right now. Each thinks himself in love with you, but that's born from competition rather than for any serious reason I can see.”

Ellie nodded. “I do love them, but like brothers. Besides, even if I wished to marry one of them, Father—”

“I know. Your father is the wealthiest shipper in Stardock Town and Grame's pa is the only miller, so it's a natural match.”

“I do love Grame,” said Ellie. “At least enough to live with him.”

“Love is not the simple romance that the tales make it out to be,” cautioned Marie. “Tad's father was a good enough man, but we had our moments. Zane's pa treated his mother well enough, though he had a sore temper when he drank. Marriage is mostly about taking the good and the bad together, Ellie. Zane's ma loved her family no matter what trouble they brought, and as she was my best friend, it was natural for me to take Zane in when they died.” She put out her hand and gently gripped Ellie's arm. “As I would have taken you in, had your pa not survived.”

Zane's parents and Ellie's mother had died during the last troll raid in the region. The bloody attack had cost the lives of dozens of townspeople before the magicians across the water had reacted and driven the monsters away.

“I know, Marie,” said the girl. “You've been like a ma to me for most of my life. I mean, I do remember my ma, at least bits about her, like her voice and the way she'd hum melodies while she cooked and I played on the floor. I remember her holding me.” Ellie's eyes became distant for a moment, then she looked back at Marie. “But in truth, you're the only ma I've really had.” She laughed. “My pa has certainly never said anything about how to deal with boys, 'cept to stay away from them!”

Marie smiled and hugged the girl. “And you've been the daughter I didn't have.”

The two boys returned and Tad's mother inspected them. “You'll dry out before the fun starts,” she said. “Now, I want you to promise there'll be no more fighting today.”

“All right, Ma,” said Tad.

“Yes'um,” added Zane.

“Why don't the three of you make your way to the square now. I'm sure all the other boys and girls are doing the same.”

“What about you, Ma?” asked Zane, his face betraying his eagerness to be off.

“I'm waiting for Caleb. He should be here soon.”

Zane and Ellie said they'd see Marie later and left, but Tad lingered. He seemed to choke on his words, but finally said, “Ma, are you going to wed Caleb?”

Marie laughed. “What brought that up?”

“Well, he's been here three times in the last two months, is all, and you see him a lot.”

“His father built Stardock, if you remember what I told you.” She shook her head. “Are you worried I might or that I won't?”

The boy shrugged, his lanky frame suddenly appearing more manlike to his mother. He said, “I don't know. Caleb's a good man, I suppose. But it's just—”

“He's not your pa,” she finished.

“That's not what I meant,” said Tad. “It's just…well, he's gone so much.”

With a wry smile, Marie said, “There's more than one woman who'd count her husband being away a blessing, boy.” She put her hands on his shoulders and turned him around. “Now, catch up with the others. I'll be along soon.”

Tad ran off after the others, and Marie turned her attention to her small home. Everything was neat and dusted; she might be poor, but she had pride in an orderly house. Keeping it tidy was difficult with two boys underfoot, but they usually obeyed her without question.

Marie then inspected the soup simmering over the hearth and judged it to be ready. Everyone in the town was expected to contribute to the harvest festival, and while her soup was simple fare, it was delicious and welcomed, even by those who contributed far more.

Glancing at the door, she half expected to see a tall man silhouetted against the light, and for a brief, bitter moment she realized she
wasn't sure who it was she wished for more to be the one to fill the portal—her late husband, or Caleb. Pushing aside such irrelevant thoughts, she reminded herself that aching for what you couldn't have was pointless. She was a farmer's wife, and knew the nature of life: it rarely gave you choices, and to survive you looked forward, not back.

 

A short while later, Marie heard someone approach and turned to find Caleb at the door. Wearing half a smile, he said, “Expecting someone?”

She crossed her arms and gave him an appraising look. Only a few years younger than Marie, Caleb had a clean-shaven chin and a long, unlined face that gave him a youthful look, despite the gray creeping into his shoulder-length brown hair. His eyes were also brown and fixed on her like a hunter's. He wore well-made but plain cut garb, fit for a woodsman, a large floppy hat of black felt, a dark green wool tunic cut snugly over his broad shoulders, and leather breeches tucked into buckskin boots around his calves. He had a long face, but she thought him handsome, for he carried himself proudly. He always spoke calmly and thoughtfully and he wasn't afraid of silence. But the main reason she was drawn to him was because when he looked at her, she felt that he saw something of value there. Caleb smiled. “I'm late?”

“As usual,” she answered with a slight smile. Then her expression bloomed as she laughed. “But not too late.” She crossed the room to stand before him. Kissing and hugging him, she said, “The boys left a few minutes ago.”

He returned the hug, then said, “How much time do we have?”

Marie looked askance at him and said, “Not enough, if I read your mood correctly.” She tilted her head toward the hearth. “Help me with the kettle.” She moved to the hearth and picked up a long oak pole leaning beside the stonework chimney.

Caleb unslung his bow, hip quiver, and backpack, and stored them in the corner. As Marie slipped the pole through the iron handle of the large kettle, he took the opposite end.

They lifted it from the iron hook which held it above the flames and started toward the door. “You first,” he said.

Once outside, Caleb swung around so they could walk side by side with the kettle between them. “How was your journey?” Marie asked him.

“Uneventful,” he answered.

She had learned not to ask about his business or where he had been, for she knew he was working on his father's behalf. Some claimed that Caleb's father had been the Duke of Stardock once, but at present no one claimed dominion over the island or its town on the opposite shore. Patrols from the Kingdom garrison at Shamata would occasionally spend a day or two at the local inn, or Keshian patrols might ride up from the border fortress in Nar Ayab, but neither side claimed the Great Star Lake or the surrounding countryside. This region was under the control of the Academy of Magicians on the island, and no one disputed their authority.

But Pug was no longer in control of the Academy, and like all those who lived in Stardock Town, Marie was unsure how that had come to pass. Yet his sons—Caleb and his older brother Magnus—were still occasional visitors to the Academy. Whatever the relationship between Pug and the ruling council of the city of magicians, it was an enduring one, no matter what estrangements might have occurred in the past.

Marie had met Caleb when she was a young girl and he little more than a scruffy woodsboy. They had played together from time to time, but then he had vanished. Some said he had gone to live on an island in the Bitter Sea, while others said he stayed with the elves. They had been reunited when Caleb was Tad and Zane's age, and Marie just four years older. Though her parents disapproved of them spending time together, they said nothing because of who Caleb's father was.

But, after the summer during which they had become lovers, he vanished once more. His last words explained that he had to leave on his father's business, but he promised to return. Marie had waited more than a year before bowing to family pressure. She married young Brendan, a man she eventually came to care for deeply, but
who could never set her heart racing the way Caleb had. Years went by and Caleb didn't return.

But whatever the reason for his long absence, Marie had wed, birthed two sons—one who had died as a baby—and lost her husband before Caleb had appeared again, without warning, three years ago at the Midsummer Festival of Banapis.

Her heart had soared at the sight of him, and while she chided herself for allowing the memories of a silly girl to overwhelm her, she had still sought him out as soon as she knew of his arrival.

That night she had indulged in far too much wine and dancing, and it had been the most fun she could remember since before her husband's death. After the boys were sound asleep, she had slept in Caleb's arms.

And the next day he was gone once more.