Winged Raiders of the Desert (10 page)

J
ake did not disturb the others, but for the rest of the long night he was awake. Always before it had been Josh or Sarah or Dave—one of the others—who had received information from Goél. He remembered suddenly how at their first encounter with the Sanhedrin and the Dark Lord they had been imprisoned. The dungeon had been as dark as this one, and their outlook just as gloomy. It had been Sarah who had announced suddenly that Goél had come to her, and Jake had been one of those, he remembered, who had said, “We didn't see him. You must have been dreaming.”

Now, as Jake looked over the sleeping forms, he wondered if they would have the same reaction when he told them.
Doesn't make any difference, he thought, I've got to do what Goél commands.
He felt inadequate and wondered why it hadn't been Dave or Josh or Reb who had been entrusted with this thing. But Jake was a stubborn young man and now knew that the plan Goél had revealed to him he would have to share with the others. He hated to be teased or doubted, and he knew that was exactly what he faced.

Finally Dave began to stir, then sat up groaning. In doing so, he bumped against Reb, who moaned and said, “Let me alone!” Then he, too, came awake. Their stirrings roused the others, and Jake watched as one by one they came out of their sleep and began to look around.

Josh blinked and licked his lips. Looking around the cell, he said, “Well, seems like the story of our life, doesn't it? Always in a prison of some kind or other.”

Reb stretched hugely, yawned, and said, “Sure does, and this time it might not work out as well as it has before.” He looked toward the door as if expecting the executioner to come walking in, then turned to look at Jake, who was standing off to one side, his back to the cold wall. “What's wrong with you, Jake?” he asked.

Jake cleared his throat and said, “Well, I think we're all right—in a way.”

“All right!” Wash yelped. “Here we are in a dungeon, going to be executed, and you say we're all right! I don't think your elevator's going all the way up, Jake.”

Jake had to smile at the small black boy. He said quickly, “I had a visit from Goél.”

Instantly every one of the other Sleepers turned and stared at him. It was Reb who demanded, “Well, what did he say, Jake?”

Jake was warmly grateful to Reb for not questioning his statement, and he saw the same assurance in the others' eyes.
At least we've learned something,
he thought.
To trust each other.
Aloud he said, “He told me that it was the right thing to do, to come here, and I guess I've got to apologize to you, Josh, and the rest of you for being such a pain in the neck.”

“Did he say why he never
told
us to come?” Dave demanded.

“Yes, he did,” Jake said. “He said that we had to learn to walk sometimes without direct orders. Somehow that seemed important to him. He called it a walk of faith.” He shrugged his shoulders, adding, “I don't like it, and I know you don't either, but that's what he said.”

Josh came over to stand next to Jake. Excitement was in his face, and he said, “What else did he say, Jake?”

“He said a lot, but the first thing is that we've got to get an audience with the chief before we get killed.”

“Better before than after, I always say.” Reb grunted. “Did he say how to do it?”

“No, but I guess we just ask for it.”

As it turned out, they did not find it difficult. Sure Flight and his daughter, Lareen, came into their cell not thirty minutes later. Lareen ran at once to Jake and said, “Garfield, are you all right?”

“I am right now,” Jake said, “but things don't look too promising.”

Lareen looked at her father and said, “Can't we do something?”

Sure Flight said, “You know what he's like. When the chief gets stubborn, I don't think anything could change his mind.”

Jake said, “I believe I can help if I can just talk to him. Won't you please try to get me an audience?”

Sure Flight looked at him carefully. “I will try,” he said.

He turned and left the cell, and as soon as he was gone Lareen said, “I know you're worried about Sarah. I am too. And Swiftwind. They're in the hands of terrible people.”

There was a silence that ran around the room, and then Josh said, “We've been in some tight spots, Lareen, and always before Goél has gotten us out of them.”

Lareen did not look convinced. “I'm not sure about that,” she said, “but I'm worried sick about Swiftwind.”

At once Abigail went over and put her arm around the girl. “I won't tell you not to worry,” she said quietly, “but I will tell you that we've seen Goél do great and mighty things.“

Lareen stared at her and then shook her head.

For a while the group talked quietly among themselves, everyone listening for a footfall out in the corridor.
Finally the lock on the door made a loud click, and the door opened.

Sure Flight came in, saying, “Quickly, you have an audience with the chief.” He looked at Jake. “You will have to speak quickly. He is very hard.”

The guards were waiting outside and accompanied the Sleepers all the way to the chambers of Chief White Storm. Darkwind was there, as was Jalor, and Jake wished they weren't.

“You have something to say to me?” White Storm said in a forbidding voice. His face was stern, and his eyes were cold—or perhaps one might say hot—with anger. He loved this son of his and blamed the Sleepers for his capture.

Jake at once knew that it was up to him. He stepped forward and said, “Chief White Storm, I understand your grief over your son. We know grief too, for our friend Sarah is also a captive.”

“She will not be killed. She will only be made a slave,” White Storm said harshly.

Jake wanted to argue that being a slave of the Shadow Wings was not much different from being dead. However, he said only, “I will not quarrel with that.” He knew he had to speak quickly and said at once, “I have a plan to get your son and Sarah back.“

“A plan? What is it?”

Jake glanced quickly at Jalor and Darkwind and said, “I am under command of Goél. I can speak only to you, Chief White Storm.“

At once Jalor said, “He's a liar, like all the rest.”

Darkwind nodded. “He's only trying to get out of being executed. You can't blame him for that, but you can't believe anything he says.”

Lareen said quickly, “Chief White Storm, you know how I feel about Swiftwind, and I know how you feel about
your son. Please, this may be our only chance. We have gotten to know Garfield very well. He is not a liar. Please listen to him.”

Silence fell around the chamber. It seemed to be thick, and the Sleepers waited, seeing their lives hanging in the balance. Finally White Storm nodded slowly. “I will hear what you have to say. The rest of you, leave us.”

Jalor began to protest, echoed by Darkwind, but one look from White Storm quieted them. They left with the others, their brows dark with anger.

As soon as they were out of the chamber, Jake said, “First, I thank you, Chief, for listening to me. I know that you are hurt and grieving over your son. I only ask you to believe that I, too, am grieved. All of us are.”

“What is this plan you have?” White Storm demanded harshly.

“From what I understand, you are planning to go with your warriors and attack the Shadow Wings.“

“There is nothing else I can do.”

“But it looks pretty hopeless, doesn't it?” Jake asked. “They'll be waiting for you.”

“Yes, they will, but what can a man do?” White Storm hesitated and said, “He is my only son, the hope of all our people.”

Jake said, “Let me tell you just a little about our adventures. I know time is short, but you need to know more about Goél.”

Again White Storm hesitated, then he nodded. “Tell me,” he said quietly.

For the next thirty minutes, Jake spoke as rapidly as he could. He was actually a good speaker and a fine storyteller. He traced the adventures of the Seven Sleepers since they had come out of their time capsules. He told of how they had been in hopeless situations, sentenced to death, and trapped. He painted the grim problems they
had encountered, the dangers, the weariness. And then he told how in each case Goél had given them escape. Then he said, his eyes bright, “Chief White Storm, Goél came to me last night.“

“Impossible! He could not get inside the jail.”

Jake shrugged. “I don't know how he does it. Maybe it was in a dream. That's the way he does sometimes, but he's always there, and he told me how we could get your son and Sarah free and also how you could conquer the Shadow Wings.”

Chief White Storm once again fell silent. His dark eyes were thoughtful, and finally he leaned forward and said, “Very well. There is no hope in a direct attack. Tell me what Goél commands.”

Jake felt a thrill of victory as the chief said this. He knew that it was a hard thing for this man to say, a man who was accustomed to having his own way. He was a stern, hard man, but deep down Jake felt he could become a much better man.

“Here is what Goél said.” Then he repeated exactly what Goél had told him. When he had finished, he nodded. “That is what he said, Chief. Now you must decide what you will do.”

White Storm dropped his head. He seemed to be studying the floor as if there were some intricate pattern there. The silence ran on. Jake dared not say a word.

Finally White Storm lifted his head, and there was a flicker of hope in his dark eyes. “We will try the way of Goél,” he said heavily, then rose to his feet. “Come, we have much to do!”

C
hief Ali had arisen early. He had been despondent, for he could not help but think of how his people had been made captives. Each year more of them were taken by the Winged Raiders. Only two nights before, the Shadow Wings had taken three more of his most promising people and slain two of his best warriors.

He sipped slowly at a cup of water, thinking of how little hope there was ahead for his people. Abdul came to sit beside him, and for a time the two talked of the problems that had beset the tribe.

“I had hoped that the Sleepers, as they are called, might have helped us,” Chief Ali said.

Ali looked downcast. “I, too, had confidence in them, but they are beyond hope now. They've either fallen to the Shadow Wings or to the Winged Raiders of Chief White Storm. In any case, no one escapes either of them.” The two men sat silently, and finally Ali rose slowly. “We will have to take our bands out, away from our homes,” he said finally.

“We cannot leave our homeland, Chief Ali,” Abdul protested.

Pain was in the chief's eyes. He stood there, a tall figure, his skin burned to the color of old copper and set off by his white hair. “We have no other choice. We must leave here, or we will all be the slaves of the Winged Raiders.”

All that day, Chief Ali wandered, looking up often at the sky as had become his custom. The Raiders never
made a direct attack on the camp, for there were armed men there ready to protect the Desert People. It was the wandering bands and the isolated families that got too far away whom they made their captives. He finally turned wearily and headed back toward the camp. Even as he turned, something caught his eye—something overhead.

Instantly he shaded his eyes with his hand. It might be only a bird, but there was always the chance it was one of the Raiders.

As soon as he looked, he murmured, “It is not a bird.”

Almost he lifted his voice to cry aloud, but he did not. “There is only one of them,” he said. He quickly removed his sword from his sash and stood waiting. He could not believe that a Raider would come alone. Yet still, as he watched, he saw surely it was a flying man, not a bird.

Closer and closer the form came. At first, only a dot, then growing larger. Ali realized that he had been seen. He planted his feet and gritted his teeth. “Come to me,” he whispered, “I will feed your body to the jackals of the desert!”

The wind whistled, drowning out his words. He kept his eyes fixed steadily on the Winged Raider and saw that he was dropping straight toward him. Planting his feet, he said, “Now, we shall see.”

Steadily the Raider dropped. Then the huge wings suddenly spread, and Ali held his sword in the guard position.

“Chief Ali, it's me, Jake Garfield.”

Chief Ali Shareef had never been so shocked. He knew, of course, that the Winged Raiders wore wings that were made, not grown, but still . . .

“Is it you, my son?” he gasped and ran forward to meet Jake. He stared at the young man stopping in front
of him and shook his head in wonder. “How is it that you fly? Are you now one of the Winged Raiders?”

“No, never that,” Jake said quickly. His eyes were tired, for he had had a long flight. He had been afraid that he would lose his way over the trackless desert and indeed he had, but he had received good instructions from White Storm and now, though he was tired, he said, “I bring you good news,” he said. “Goél is with us.”

Chief Ali stared at the young man. He could not help examining the wings curiously and asking, “How did you learn all of this? How is it you are not a slave?”

“There's no time to explain right now,” Jake said wearily. He lifted his shoulders, and his body almost ached with the effort he had made. Flying was harder work than it looked. It took constant adjustments to change the flight to meet the different changes of the wind. He said quickly, “We must go at once to the Citadel, you and all your armed men.”

Chief Ali stared. “What is this?” he asked quietly. “Tell me what has happened.” He stood listening as Jake recounted his adventures, and his eyes grew wide with wonder. Finally he interrupted to ask, “What does it all mean, your coming here? If the others have wings, why could they not escape too?”

“Because there's a war between the Shadow Wings and the Winged Raiders.”

“They're all the same to me,” Chief Ali snapped. “Those who come out of the sky never bring anything but evil to my people.”

Jake had thought about this on his long journey. He had also planned a speech. “There is a difference, Chief,” he said quickly. “The Shadow Wings are the servants of the Dark Lord, whereas White Storm and his band are not. What we must do is to assist the Winged Raiders to
defeat the Shadow Wings. Then we can arrange a peace between your people and the people of Chief White Storm.”

Chief Ali listened as Jake outlined the plan. He had difficulty accepting what the young man told him, but Jake became very persuasive. At last he said, “You'll find Chief White Storm a man of honor even as you yourself are. If you could only sit down and talk to him, the two of you would learn to respect one another.”

“I can hardly believe that,” Chief Ali said. “Nevertheless, if there is any hope, I am willing to try. Tell me more of this plan you have come with.” He continued to listen and, when he had heard it all, he took a deep breath and stood impassively, his eyes fixed on the face of the young man.

Jake could not read beyond the features of the chief. He thought at first Ali meant to refuse, but then the chief nodded, saying, “We will try it.” He hesitated, then said, “We will see if Goél is with you or not, my young friend.”

* * *

All around the camp there were stirrings as the Winged Raiders prepared themselves for the battle to come. Ever since Jake had come back and held a secret conference with Chief White Storm, all knew that great things were underfoot. The chief at once gave the order that all warriors were to be prepared, but he gave no details.

Jalor stood watching as the warriors worked on their arrows, sharpened their swords and daggers, and balanced their spears carefully to be sure they were true. Sure Flight, the chief's second-in-command, would lead the attack. He came now to stand before Jalor. His dark reddish hair gleamed in the early morning sunlight, and he demanded, “Well, Jalor, will you fight with us?”

Instantly Jalor nodded. “Yes, I will be honored to be among the ranks of the valorous Raiders.” He smiled, but
as soon as Sure Flight turned and left, he also moved away.

He was walking along the edge of the huge cliff staring out in the direction of Shadow Wing territory when he heard footsteps. Turning, he saw Darkwind approaching. “Were you able to discover the plan?”

“No, they will tell me nothing,” Jalor snapped. “That is your responsibility; you are one of them. You should be able to uncover the strategy.”

A snarl curled Darkwind's lips upward. “I have tried, but the chief will say nothing, nor will Sure Flight. We are told simply that we will leave the Citadel, and tonight we will be told the final battle plan.”

“White Storm is a wise battle leader,” Jalor said slowly. “No chance of a leak that way.” He fingered his dagger thoughtfully, murmuring, “We will have to make our plans as we go. As soon as we find out the plan, I will slip away and alert our friends on the other side.”

The two men parted then, and Darkwind went at once to his unit. Jalor wandered among the warriors, studying their faces and wishing he knew what was in the mind of Chief White Storm.

Jake looked around the circle of his friends and said, “Well, this is it—our last chance. If we fail, I think we'll all be executed. Chief White Storm has given us this one chance, but he's still not totally convinced. Only a victory will do that.”

Josh looked over his shoulder. They had been released from their confinement and were to join in the attack, for Sure Flight believed in them, and the Winged Raiders needed every warrior they could get. “What is the plan, Jake?” he asked. “All the warriors are a little confused. I don't think it's usual to go to a battle without knowing how they're going to fight.”

“That was my idea,” Jake said, then grinned. “Well, not really. It was Goél's idea. He said to let no one know the battle strategy until just before the attack. But I can tell you.” Even though the nearest Raider was fifty feet away, he lowered his voice and whispered, “You see, the Shadow Wings have never been attacked except from the air. In the last war with the Winged Raiders, that was what it amounted to. The Shadow Wings live like the Raiders, on a high peak. It takes a great deal of skill just to get up there. But there is a way.”

Reb said, “I know, just like Old Stonewall Jackson. He was always sneaking around and coming at the enemy from behind. He done that at Chancellorsville.”

“You're right, Reb,” Jake nodded. “What we will do is make what we call a feint. The Shadow Wings will be looking up at the sky, expecting the enemy to come from there. They won't be looking behind them at the passes. They'll have every warrior they've got right on the front line. So we'll draw them off, draw them away from safety, and as soon as they leave, Chief Ali and his men will come up the slope and take the ground.”

Dave exclaimed, “And they won't have any home base to go back to!”

Abigail said, “It was like that in one of the wars in Oldworld when they had aircraft carriers. Once a group of pilots left the deck they had no place to go. If the carrier was sunk, they were lost.”

“That's it. Pretty simple.” Jake nodded. “The timing is the tough thing. Chief Ali can't move up the slope until we draw the Shadow Wings into battle, and we can't move the Winged Raiders into battle until Chief Ali is ready.”

“Sounds like a hard thing to me,” Wash said. Then his white teeth flashed. “But I guess you can handle it, Jake.”

Jake flushed. “We all know better than that,” he said, “but it's our one chance. All of us are going,” he said. “Not that some of us are any good as warriors, but at least we add numbers, and that's what we've got to do—impress the Shadow Wings with our force.”

“Well,” Josh scratched his head thoroughly, worry in his eyes, “I'll do anything to get Sarah back. We all will. Let's agree here that once the battle starts, our job is to find Sarah and Swiftwind. Goél won't let us down. We'll find them.”

* * *

An early dawn attack was the plan. The force had left the Citadel after dark so that no spies from the Shadow Wings could see them crossing the skies. Sure Flight led them in a roundabout direction, and they spent the night on a peak not five miles away from the mountain where the Shadow Wings had their camp.

Now all the warriors were gathered around, listening as Sure Flight gave them their instructions. The wind was cool, and the Sleepers stood huddled in a bunch, listening carefully.

“We will attack at dawn,” Sure Flight said. “We must allow ourselves to be seen. That way we can draw the enemy's attention to ourselves.”

Instantly Darkwind cried out, “Why should we allow ourselves to be seen? I say always we want to surprise the enemy.” His eyes met those of Jalor across the way, who nodded shortly. “I say the battle plan is bad.”

Sure Flight raised his voice. “You're not the battle chief of the Raiders, Darkwind. Not yet. There is more to this battle plan than you know, and now the time has come to reveal it. We have allies in this battle.”

A murmur went around the warriors, and Jalor asked the question they all had. “And who are these allies, sir?”

Sure Flight kept his eyes fixed on Jalor and said evenly, “The Desert People—they will fight with us against the Shadow Wings.”

“They are our
enemies,”
Darkwind cried in astonishment.

“Not any longer,” Sure Flight said firmly. “It is our only hope. We will draw the Shadow Wings into the air. Chief Ali and his troops are waiting at the foot of the mountain, well hidden. When the Shadow Wings take to the air to pursue us, the Desert People will charge up the slope and take the base. And then there will be no place for the Shadow Wings to return to. They will be trapped.”

Sure Flight gave firm instructions. “You will come in squadrons. I will lead the first. We have two purposes: one is to defeat the Shadow Wings, but more important, we must rescue the son of Chief White Storm. We must have Swiftwind and the Sleeper Sarah.”

Jalor said smoothly, “I believe I can help with that. I know something about these people. I believe I could find the captives if you would permit me to pursue it.”

Sure Flight hesitated. He knew that Jalor had some knowledge of the Shadow Wings. This had been the flaw in the plan. He and White Storm and Jake had all considered the possibility that the Shadow Wings would kill the captives before allowing them to be retaken. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded. “Very well. You will take the Sleepers and lead them to the prison and set the captives free.”

Jake leaned over and whispered to Josh. “I don't like that much. I'd rather we just hunted and found them ourselves. I don't trust that guy.” But there was no time, for Sure Flight was calling out for an instant departure.

“The sun will be up. See, already it turns the eastern skies red.” He lifted his fist and shouted, “We will win this
battle! The Winged Raiders will defeat their enemies! Come, by squadrons—”

None of the Sleepers ever forgot that flight! The sky seemed filled with winged men led by Sure Flight and the other squadron commanders. Jake and the other Sleepers flew in the last wave, and he could see as they looked down that they had been noticed.

“Look, they're coming up! They must have been ready!” Jake called to Lareen, who flew close to his side. She had elected to come with the Sleepers despite her father's objections.

“Yes.” Lareen clasped a bow in her hand and notched an arrow. She called out, “We will stay as far from the fighting as we can.”