A Plea For Help
? Chapter Six
THE STORY SO FAR: Rainera’s father is one of three Elders chosen to climb the mountain and meet with the Eagles. Meanwhile, Rainera plans to ask Dalton to sneak up the mountain with her.
“Dalton! Open up,” Rainera called. “Open the door. It’s me. We have to talk!” Her breath billowed like steam in the cold air.
The door opened. Dalton appeared, blinking sleepily against the morning light, his hair all mussed. “Huh? What?” he mumbled. “Rain? It’s too early. What do you want? No, don’t tell me. Come back later. Or tomorrow. I’m going back to bed.” He started to shut the door, but Rainera slipped past him.
“Brrrrrr! It’s cold,” she said once she was inside. “You need a fire. Do you want to get sick?”
“What I don’t want is to argue,” he grumbled. “I’m getting back into bed. Make a fire if you want. Otherwise …” He shrugged. “I’ll make one later. I don’t want to talk till then, whenever that might be.” He slid back under the covers and closed his eyes.
“What if I light a fire and make breakfast?”
Dalton’s eyes immediately opened. “Over easy on the eggs, and I like my bacon crisp. Just wake me when it’s ready.”
The small house – kitchen, bathroom, workspace, library, and bedroom – was soon warm and filled with delicious odors. Dalton had washed, and had even combed his hair. Now he ate appreciatively, wiping his plate with a piece of bread to get the last of the grease and yolk. He downed his cup of grain coffee, then sat back listening as Rainera laid out her plan.
“So you want to go up the mountain and spy on the Eagles?” he asked dubiously, staring down into his empty cup. “You know it’s against the rules.”
“It’s not,” insisted Rainera. “It doesn’t show up in the rules at all. No one’s ever done it.”
“Well, it should be,” said Dalton. “And if no one’s done it, shouldn’t that tell you something?”
Rainera shrugged. “All I know is that it’s not in the rules,” she repeated stubbornly.
“No one wants to go, Rain. They just have to go – if they’re chosen.”
“Some want to.”
“Like your father?
“Yes.”
“And he’s not scared?”
“No.”
“No, huh? Not at all?”
“Maybe a little. But he still wants to. I know him. He wants to meet them, and I want to see what happens. And you, Dalton, have been there and know the way.”
“That’s true. But that doesn’t mean I should go. And I’m sure we’d be punished if we were found out. The Eagles aren’t kid stuff. Only official representatives get to meet them. Which we definitely are not.”
“No one will know. I just want to see them for myself. Don’t you?”
“No. I already saw them.”
“That was only a glimpse. I mean really watch them; see what they’re about, and what they do.”
“I’m not going back.”
“Then I’ll go alone.”
“Rain, that is so wrong! It will only lead to trouble!”
“Look, Dalton, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. I just didn’t realize it till now. But when you said that they’d come, I knew I had to see them, especially if Dad is going. So please, guide me to where they are.”
“I … can’t.”
“Then I’ll go myself. I’ll trail the Elders. I’ll leave you the dishes. I’ve got to get ready.”
Rainera put on her coat, looked at Dalton disgustedly, then opened and shut the door. A few flakes of snow settled on the floor and melted. Dalton shook his head unhappily.
Rainera walked through the snow-covered village toward her house. When she came to the Gathering Hall, she stopped. The slanted wooden roof was covered with a two-foot-thick blanket of snow. The huge, polished log supports and posts shone like gold against the whiteness. The old building had a solid, trustworthy feel.
“Dalton’s a coward,” Rainera told herself. But she knew that wasn’t really true. He was just being reasonable, which she sometimes was not. Besides, maybe he was right. Adults made tough decisions, then followed their own ways, of course – but only after careful consideration. Was she just rushing blindly ahead? Then again, there wasn’t much time. The Eagles had landed, and who knew if they would come again in her lifetime?
“Isn’t there someone I can turn to for advice?” Rainera thought, feeling very alone. Then it came to her. “Yes! Yes, there is!”
Rainera looked around to see if anyone was watching, but saw no one. So she went to the side of the hall, opened the door, and stepped inside. She shut the door quietly behind her. Her breath rose in the cold air. Dim light filtered through the high, frosted windows.
Rainera walked to the front of the hall and pulled aside the dark blue curtain. Behind it stood a solid oak door with a complex wooden bolt that she had been taught how to open during her initiation. Impatient, Rainera began to rush the process. However, after several wasted minutes, the old saying about haste came to her mind. She took a deep breath, slowed, and tried again. This time the bolt slid back and the door swung open.
A dim haze of light came through one little window way high up. The storeroom felt old. It was old. The records said that it had been built shortly after the Eagles first appeared. Five hundred or more years later, the great hall itself had been added onto it.
Rainera hesitated, for she suddenly felt a presence in the room, as if something were alive in there. The hair prickled up along her spine.
“She lives here,” she thought. “It,” she corrected herself. “Only an it. So why does my hair stand up? And why have I come? You don’t speak with an it.” Rainera sighed. “All right. Her. I want to speak with Her. She knows what’s right. Who else can help me?”
Heart pounding, Rainera walked into the ancient storeroom.
• NEXT WEEK: Eagle Mother