Refugees

  Chapter 32

  Trees - Brina

  The magpie that arrived at my home had a roll of tied up strings dangling from its leg. I had always loved the beautiful black and white messenger magpies. They were so intelligent that they seemed almost like people. The magpie cocked its head and looked at Papa as he removed the string from its leg, then it called out, “scoj cadom.” It sounded like nonsense for a moment. Then suddenly, I realized that in the cat rider tongue scoj cadom meant “take home.” Was it possible this magpie was speaking in cat rider? My heart leapt as I wondered for a moment if this magpie had been sent by Baskrod. Papa, who also seemed surprised by the strange sounding words, unrolled the strings to reveal the pattern of knots and anxiously studied the tied strings to find out what the message might be.

  He read it out loud: “The council requests that Brina report to the dungeon…”

  I held my breath. The magpie must belong to the dungeon guards, which explained why I did not recognize it.

  “…to read the attached message to the cat rider who is a prisoner.”

  I let my breath out. At least I wasn’t to be the prisoner; they meant the cat rider platform prison, not the dungeon pit.

  “Scoj cadom!” the magpie repeated. I was too intent on the knotted message to pay much attention to the bird.

  “The written message is quite clear,” said Papa, “but the spoken message is unintelligible.”

  "Maybe he’s just repeating something he heard,” Glorna offered.

  Papa winked at her. "Yes, that is entirely possible." He handed me the unrolled message. I hurriedly glanced at the contents and then explained to my Papa, “It’s a message explaining to the cat rider the findings of the council. It will be easy to translate.”

  “I don’t want you going alone,” Papa said. “I will accompany you.”

  “Scoj cadom,” the magpie cawed loudly, and I realized she was waiting for a treat. I hurried over to the kitchen, grabbed some berries from a bowl, and held them out in my hand for her. She grabbed them in her beak, hopped a few times, and then flapped her wings and flew away.

  “It almost seemed like she was trying to tell us something,” Glorna said. Glorna had a way with birds and animals. She was always sensitive to their cues and imitated their sounds better than the rest of us, though all Gliders were trained in imitation.

  “It’s best if we do not waste any time,” Papa said. “We’ll be back soon,” he assured Mama and Glorna. We grabbed our bows, and then we took off from the platform just like the magpie had done, but while her wings lifted her up higher, we first glided downward to another tree, then climbed and took off again.

  To reach the guard tree, we had to travel to the upper edge of the forest, beyond the houses. It was near the tree where the prisoner was sleeping on a platform built around the trunk, high above the ground. The guards did not need to man the guard tree all the time, but reported there periodically to take care of the prisoner’s needs. Stikale was waiting atop the guard tree platform with his bow.

  “Thank you for arriving promptly,” he said with a grin.

  “I want to accompany my daughter,” Papa announced in an authoritative tone.

  After a moment’s hesitation, Stikale responded. “No problem. Just follow me.”

  He climbed a little higher, then took off for the prisoner’s platform. The cat rider had been sitting on the platform, leaning against the tree trunk but when he saw us gliding toward him, he stood. He seemed amused to see me, which was very irritating. There was nothing to fear from the cat rider since he was at such a disadvantage on the platform.

  As we landed, he bent his right arm and lifted his open palm to face us. “Welcome,” he said in his tongue.

  I translated for Papa and the guard. They both nodded. I found it audacious for the cat rider, who was a prisoner, to welcome us to the platform on which he was imprisoned, but I tried not to show my irritation.

  His wavy, tawny colored hair fell over his ears and almost to his shoulders. His grey blue eyes twinkled as he smiled, which caused the dimples in his cheeks to appear while the cleft in his chin diminished. I was determined not to notice his good looks and to ignore any of his attempts to charm us.

  “I’m so glad to see you once again,” he said to me, as he gazed directly into my eyes with a slight upturn of his lips into a smile. As always, it was a bit unnerving.

  “I have been asked to read you a message,” I said in as even a voice as I could muster.

  He seemed very interested as I unrolled and smoothed the strings, then ran my fingers across the knots, preparing to read.

  “After considering all the evidence…”

  “Very impressive. I’ve always liked smart girls. Do you read as well as you translate?” he asked.

  I tried to ignore his obvious attempt to insult me, and began again, “After considering all the evidence, the council has reached a decision. According to our laws, as a prisoner, you could face death, banishment, adoption, or freedom. We have considered all options and decided that you will be banished. We have commissioned a band of colonists to set sail for new lands. They will take you with them and leave you at a place of their choosing.”

  I looked up at him and saw, before he could guard his face, a look of shock and confusion, then before I could react, he snatched the strings from my hands. As he reached toward me, my father reacted quickly and yanked him up by his neck, pushing the back of his head up against the trunk. The boy glared at him with guarded eyes, and seemed to be holding his breath.

  “Tell him that if he touches you again, I will find him, I will hunt him down, and I will kill him.”

  I had never heard my father speak in such an icy tone.

  “Tell him,” he repeated, more gently to me.

  “The man holding you by the neck is my father,” I said. “He says that if you ever touch me again, he will find you, he will hunt you down, and he will kill you.”

  The boy did not dare look at me, and of course, he could not speak since my father had him by the neck. My father slowly lowered his feet to the ground and released his hold. The boy gasped for breath and then rubbed his neck, but said nothing.

  “You have delivered the message, Brina. Our business here is done,” Papa said.

  I knew this meant it was time to go, and without even glancing back at the cat rider, I leapt from the platform. Papa and the guard followed. Papa did not say another word the rest of the journey back to our home. When we reached home, Papa still seemed angry.

  “What happened?” Mama asked.

  “I am going to speak to the council before Brina leaves. I am not comfortable with her being forced to interpret for that cat rider. I do not want him near her. I do not like the way he looks at her!” He hurriedly left the room and started to climb the trunk. I knew he was headed for the treetop platform. I had never seen him so angry in my life.