Winged Raiders of the Desert (6 page)

“Some do.” Lareen nodded slowly. “But my father thinks it would be foolish to make an alliance with them.
He has spoken with Chief White Storm about this many times.”

“But Darkwind doesn't agree, does he?”

“How do you know that?”

Jake shrugged. “Oh, just a guess.” He hesitated, then said, “I hope your father and the chief don't get involved with these Shadow Wings. They're not like your people, not if they're the servants of the Dark Lord.”

For a long time the two sat there talking, and finally Lareen rose. She put out her hand, and impulsively Jake took it. “You saved my life, Garfield,” she said. “I will never forget. Can I do anything for you?”

Jake grinned crookedly at her. “Well, one thing. Please don't hit me with that stick again!”

F
or two more days Jake found himself practically an invalid. The venom of the serpent had been worse than he had imagined, and he was so weak that he could barely feed himself. Lareen kept close watch over him, and her father, Sure Flight, stopped by from time to time to inquire in a kindly fashion about his condition.

On the third day, Jake managed to get to his feet and take a few tottering steps. He was dizzy, and his legs felt as though they were made out of rubber. Just as he was about to make his way back to his bed, a young man came through the cave opening and startled him.

“Who are
you?
” the young man demanded. He was no more than seventeen or so, trim and wearing the wings of a raider. His eyes were dark, as was his hair, and there was a look of authority about him.

“My name's Jake Garfield. Who are
you?
”

The question seemed to irritate the young man, but he answered, “I am Swiftwind, son of Chief White Storm.” He examined Jake with a rather suspicious glance, then demanded, “Where is Lareen?”

Jake's legs were getting even more shaky, and his dizziness increased. “I don't know where she is,” he muttered.

The young man called Swiftwind seemed to take his mutter as an insult. He reached out and struck Jake across the chest. Ordinarily the blow would not have disturbed Jake, but in his weakness it was enough to drive him backward. He sprawled on the hard stone floor, and his head rapped the surface. It sent stars flashing across his eyes,
and for one moment he seemed to lose consciousness. When he awoke, it was only a few moments later, but he heard voices and felt hands on his head.

“Who do you think you are?”

Jake opened his eyes and saw Lareen, bending over him and holding his head off the floor. She was glaring at the young man Swiftwind and proceeded to give him a dressing down. “If you can't behave any better than that, Swiftwind, you can just take yourself out of here!”

The young man looked sheepish. “But, Lareen—”

“Never mind.” Lareen helped Jake get to his feet, and he slumped over on the couch that was built into the wall. “Are you all right, Jake?” she asked anxiously.

Jake felt the back of his head, which had a slight swelling, but nodded. “Yes, I'm all right. Not much stronger than a baby though.”

Lareen turned to Swiftwind, her eyes flashing. “I suppose you're proud of yourself, pushing an invalid around. You're a real son of a chief, you are! Why don't you go out and find some babies and whip on them?”

“Wait a minute,” Swiftwind protested. “I didn't hit him that hard—and I didn't know he was sick. Who is he anyway?”

“He's one of the captives that Darkwind brought in five days ago. I was about to be bitten by a snake, and it was Jake who jumped between me and the awful thing. He took the bite in his leg that would have been mine.” She glared at Swiftwind and snapped, “I'm not sure anyone else would have done that.”

Jake watched as they faced each other. It occurred to him that perhaps Swiftwind had come courting Lareen. He wanted to make no trouble. “Wait a minute, Mistress,” he said. “I'm sure Swiftwind didn't mean any harm, and he didn't really hit me that hard. I'm just not very strong yet.”

Eagerly Swiftwind said, “That's right. Sorry about that.” He glanced at Lareen and laughed sheepishly. “I never thought I'd hear myself apologizing to a slave—but sometimes my temper does get away from me.”

Lareen seemed to relent. “All right,” she said. “Now, sit down and tell me everything you've been doing.”

Jake listened carefully as Swiftwind began to describe his adventures. He was seventeen years old, as Jake had suspected, and was beginning his training with the more adventurous arm of the Raider branch. They made long sweeps over the desert, looking for plunder and slaves. As he spoke he grew more excited. Finally he looked at Jake and asked, “Why are you so white? You look like you'd burn up out in the sun.”

Jake, who did as a matter of fact burn easily, nodded. “That's right, but in the country I come from the sun isn't as hot as it is here. As a matter of fact, some places are covered with ice.”

“What is 'ice'?” Swiftwind asked curiously.

Jake tried to explain ice, but to the two young people who had never seen anything like that, the explaining was a total failure.

“You mean you're telling me you can actually walk on water?” Lareen asked, doubt in her eyes.

“Well, it's just not like it is here,” Jake said. “I know it sounds like a big lie, but that's the way it is in part of this world.”

As the three young people were talking, Lareen's father walked in through the opening of the cave.

“Well, you're back from your mission, Swiftwind,” he said. “I hope it went well.”

“Very well.” Swiftwind nodded. He hesitated, then said, “We saw some of the Shadow Wings in the sweep over to the south.”

At once Sure Flight's face clouded. “Did you talk with any of them?”

“Darkwind did. He was leading the mission.” A frown came to Swiftwind's face, and he shook his head. “He had a parley with their leaders, but I don't know what they said.”

At once Jake thought of the conversation he had heard between Darkwind and the other raider. He thought to mention it but didn't want to appear to be a spy.

The two men talked for a while, and from their conversation Jake learned they were very suspicious of the Dark Lord. Finally Sure Flight turned to Jake and said, “I've been thinking much about your leader, Goél. Tell me more about him.”

Eagerly Jake began to explain the powers of Goél. It was difficult for him, because he could not say for certain that Goél had sent them here. But the best he could, he told some of their past adventures, how Goél had led them to defeat the powers of the Dark Lord and of the Sanhedrin. At last he said, “All of Nuworld is under some kind of attack, sir. Everywhere we Sleepers go, we find some who believe in Goél. But others have become slaves to the Dark Lord.”

“That's what I've always felt.” Swiftwind nodded. “I think we ought to be more careful.”

“I've tried to talk with your father,” Sure Flight said slowly. “He's coming around, but he still listens to Darkwind.” Then he turned to Jake and seemed to put the matter away. “I have good news for you.”

Jake grinned suddenly. “Well, I could use some, sir. What is it?”

“I went to the chief and told him what you did for my daughter. He was quite impressed, and he was feeling very lenient, I think. So I asked a favor of him.”

“What was it, Father?” Lareen asked eagerly.

“I told him that by your act of courage you had merited some reward, and he agreed. We talked for a long time, and finally I persuaded him to do something that has never been done.”

For one instant Jake thought that Lareen's father had negotiated freedom for the Seven Sleepers. But then he knew that that could not be true. “I'd appreciate anything. All of us will,” he said quickly.

“Well, I persuaded him that it would be good to treat all of you better. So what we're going to do is let you learn how to fly.” He continued quickly, holding up his hand, “The chief said at once that it can't be done.”

“I think he's right,” Swiftwind said slowly. “Most of us start when we're four or five years old. They may be too old and their muscles too weak to control the wings.”

“That may be,” Sure Flight said, “but in any case, the chief agreed to let them try.” He looked at Jake and studied him carefully. “If any of you do learn to master the wings, it may be that we can admit you to the fellowship of the Raiders. That too has never happened before,” he observed, “and I think it unlikely, but at least you have a chance.”

Jake thought about launching himself off a cliff such as the Citadel with nothing but a few feathers and had to swallow hard. He was not particularly fond of heights in the first place. However, he saw at once the possibilities of escape.
If we had wings,
he thought,
we could get away easily.
Aloud he said eagerly, “Thank you, sir. We'll do our best.”

Sure Flight left soon afterward, taking Swiftwind with him.

At once Lareen said, “Oh, that's wonderful, isn't it, Garfield! And I can teach you so much. We'll start as soon as you're strong enough.”

Jake managed to smile. “I hate to tell you this, Mistress, but… well… I never was good at getting up on high things.”

“That's because you never had wings.” Lareen nodded. “You were afraid you'd fall, but with wings you can soar like a bird.”

“Well,” Jake said slowly, “I'm willing to try if you'll help me.” He looked over at the young girl and asked, “You like Swiftwind pretty well, don't you?”

Lareen shot him an embarrassed glance, and her face turned red. “He thinks he's really somebody,” she muttered.

“Well, he
is
somebody! He's the chief's son, isn't he?” Jake teased her a little. “I bet lots of young girls would be tickled pink if he would come courting.”

“What is courting?” she asked.

“That's when a young man comes calling on a young girl. Sometimes he brings her flowers and candy.”

“Candy? What is candy?”

Jake spent the next half hour trying to explain courtship to Lareen, but in the end she shook her head. “The first thing is to teach you how to fly, Garfield. Come on, let's go pick out a pair of wings for you.”

T
his sure beats hacking rock, don't it now?”

Reb looked over with satisfaction toward Wash. The two boys had been quick to answer the summons that had come. Both had simply been told they would be relieved from their duties for a while. Now, as they found their way to the spot where the others were gathered, Wash sighed deeply with satisfaction. “It sure does, Reb. I thought I knew what work was, but I guess I'm just really beginning to find out.”

They joined the other five Sleepers, standing with a young woman and a young man of about seventeen on a slope that ran rather gently downhill.

“Hello, Reb,” Josh said, “and you too, Wash.” He gave them both a quick smile. “I hate to pull you away from your work, but I thought you might enjoy this.”

“What's going on?” Reb demanded. He gave the young woman a careful look, then shifted his eyes to the winged warrior. “I don't mind telling you, I'm glad to be here.”

“This is Lareen, the daughter of Sure Flight. He's the chief lieutenant of Chief White Storm. And this is Swiftwind. He's the son of the chief.” Then Josh said, “Here's the deal. Jake here has proved himself to be a blooming hero.”

Sarah interrupted, “Yes, he has, and I think we owe him a vote of thanks for that. I mean, he didn't want to come here in the first place.”

“A hero?” Reb asked. He laid his pale blue eyes on
Jake and snorted, “The most heroic thing I ever saw him do is eat.”

“Well, he did do something,” Lareen spoke up quickly. She related how Jake had saved her life, and then her eyes sparkled, and she said, “And my father went to the chief. As a reward you're all going to be given a chance to become full-fledged members of the tribe.”

“Well, how do we do that? Sign a pledge card?” Wash asked.

“No,” Jake spoke up, his eyes glinting with amusement. “All you have to do is learn to fly.”

“Fly?” Josh blinked with shock, and Reb was quiet too, stunned with the thought.

“What do you mean? With these wings?” Wash demanded.

“Well, they're not going to give us a Cherokee airplane,” Josh said emphatically. “I guess at this point I'll have to say I'm grateful to Jake—but I'm not sure any of us will be able to master this thing. It looks pretty tough tome.”

Jake spoke, “Aw, we can do it. Come on, Mistress Lareen, just show us how.”

Lareen and Swiftwind gave each other an amused glance. They had learned that Jake would try practically anything.

Swiftwind said, “Anybody that'll tackle a snake can learn to fly. Why don't you show them how, Lareen, then I'll give them a little demonstration when you finish.”

Lareen said at once, “All right. Come, I'll show you how it works.” She led them over to a level spot where a large table and several chests rested on the stony floor. Opening one of the chests, she pulled out a pair of wings and said, “These are mine. Let me show you how to put them on.”

The Sleepers watched carefully as Lareen began to don the wings. It was not as simple as it looked. Basically, the wings were joined together at the center and fastened to the body by two straps that crossed over the chest. That, however, was only the first step. An intricate system of tiny cables had to be carefully threaded along the limbs and fastened on the ankles, down the arms, and around the waist. Lareen put it on quickly, but they could all see it had taken long practice.

“Now,” she said, “the wings are folded against my back, you see?” She turned around to show them. “But when I move this cable, they unfold.” She gave her body a slight twist—very slight, and suddenly the wings that had been folded like a bird's spread out so that they were at least fifteen feet from wing tip to wing tip. “When they're spread out like this, they catch the wind, you see.”

“Well, what are those other cables for?” Jake asked.

“Oh, all sorts of things,” Lareen said. “Some move the feathers set in the trailing part of the wing so that they move up and down. That way, you can control them better.”

“Can you do it without using your hands?” Sarah asked.

“Oh, yes—it wouldn't do much good to fly if you didn't have your hands.”

“That's right,” Swiftwind spoke up. “Learning to fly is only the first thing. You've got to learn to shoot a bow or use your sword or throw a spear at the same time you're flying.”

Abigail shook her head. “I would never learn how to do all those things at the same time. Why, I can't even pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time.”

Lareen looked at her curiously. “Why in the world would you want to do a thing like that?” Then she shrugged her shoulders, for she had learned that the Sleepers had odd ideas. “First things first,” she said. “I'm going to take
just a little flight, nothing fancy. You watch carefully. As I leap into the air, I'll spread the wings. There's a nice breeze, you see. If I do it right, it'll pick me up, and I'll begin to rise. Watch now.”

The young woman had the wings folded. She took two or three short steps and threw herself forward. At the same time she pulled at the cables with her body so that the wings shot out. Instantly they caught the breeze. Her body was drawn into a diving position parallel with the ground, and at once the huge wings began to lift her up.

“See!” she cried out, “It's easy!”

Josh watched the girl sail gracefully through the air for about a hundred yards.

Then her voice came back, “See, I'm turning now, dropping one wing and raising the other.”

Josh stared at her and whispered to Sarah, “Kinda like a hang glider when you think of it that way.”

But Sarah shook her head. “It's more complicated than that. I don't think any of us will ever learn.”

Lareen came back and said, “Now, that's how it's done. Swiftwind, you show them some of the more difficult things.”

“All right.” Swiftwind threw himself in the air, his wings spread, and he rose up swiftly. His wings were much larger than Lareen's, both in width and depth.

Josh was able to see that by means of the cables the wings moved almost as if they had life of their own. “Look at that,” he muttered to Sarah.

They watched as the young man practically turned flips. He made abrupt turns, rose as if on a huge elevation. Then suddenly, when he was high in the air, he folded his wings and headed straight for the earth. When he was only a few hundred feet away, the wings spread and he made a swooping recovery, coming to light at their feet and folding the wings as he did so. He white teeth showed
as he smiled pleasantly. “There! That's all there is to it. Who wants to try it?”

“Not me!” Wash said. “I get dizzy when I step up on a curb.”

“What's a curb?” Swiftwind demanded, then shook his head. “Never mind. Lareen, you do your best. I've got to go on a mission. Teach them the fundamentals.” He leaped into the air and soared away.

“That sure is a neat way to get from one place to another,” Dave said as he watched Swiftwind disappear. Then he added doubtfully, “But if something goes wrong, he's got a long way to fall.”

* * *

As the days went by, almost all the Sleepers despaired. For the first few days they did nothing but learn how to put on the wings. “Most of these are old and pretty worn out,” Lareen had said. “It takes a long time to make wings. I don't know how many thousands of feathers and seams go into them,” she admitted. “But they'll do for now.”

“I don't think I'll ever learn how to judge the wind,” Josh said ruefully. That was one of their hardest subjects, learning wind currents. They learned that there was an updraft under certain conditions and also downdrafts. So they had to study at least theoretically how to catch the updrafts.

“This is probably the only spot in the world where this kind of thing would work,” Jake said to Josh one day as they were going over their lessons. “I don't know many places in Oldworld where the wind blew
all
the time.”

“That's probably right,” Josh admitted. He looked out over the wide sweep of terrain, noting how the land fell far away and the desert floor was so far away that the sheep below looked like tiny white dots. Carefully he
walked to the edge, stared down, then turned back. “I don't think I'll ever be able to jump off this thing.”

“Well, we've just got to, Josh! It may be our only way of getting out of this place. We can't climb down. The only way anybody ever leaves here is to fly.”

“I supposed that's right.” Josh shook his head. “But we haven't done a thing toward our mission. I guess I was wrong to lead us here, and you were right after all.”

It was what Jake had been wanting to hear, but now that it came he did not seem particularly pleased. “Well, I don't know about that,” he mumbled. “We'll just have to see.”

Josh gave him a sharp look. “What are you thinking, Jake?”

“Well, there's something going on between the Raiders here and the Shadow Wings. That's the other tribe we've heard about far off to the north. From what I hear, they come straight from the Dark Lord himself. I've been trying to talk to Swiftwind about it, and he feels kinda the same way.”

Josh grew excited. “Maybe
that's
why we came,” he exclaimed, “—to do something to save these people from falling into the power of the Dark Lord!”

“Yeah, well, we can't save 'em while we're slaves.” Jake shrugged. “So let's learn the best we can.”

It was a week later that the seven were all gathered together on the slope, listening to Lareen explain more about flying. A sudden twinkle came into her eye, and she said, “Well, I think it's time to see what you've learned. Who'll be first?”

A silence fell over the group, and she laughed. “That's the quietest I've heard any of you. Come on, let's have a volunteer.”

Dave spoke up, “Wash, you're the smallest and the youngest, and I think you ought to try first.”

“What kind of thinking is that? You're the oldest and the biggest, so you ought to try.”

An argument ensued, and finally Reb urged, “Go on, Wash, you can do it.”

The others joined in, and finally Wash agreed reluctantly. He put on his wings and then said, as he stood there, “I feel like a buzzard.”

“You'll do fine,” Lareen said. “Now, we've gone over it a dozen times. Just throw yourself forward and spread your wings.”

The others watched eagerly.

Wash took a deep breath and then began to run. He leaped into the air but evidently had not mastered the art of spreading the wings. One of them popped out, the wind caught it, and he began to spin in the air like a corkscrew. He hit the ground, and the dust puffed up. The others ran to him, and Reb pulled him to his feet. “Are you all right, Wash?”

“Oh, yeah, I'm all right,” Wash said disgustedly, “but I don't think I'll ever learn how to fly.”

“We all had falls. That's just like learning anything,” Lareen said.

“Sure,” Jake said, “it's like riding a bicycle.”

“What's a bicycle?” Lareen asked.

When he told her, she said, “Wings are much better. Come on, Jake. I want you to try it next.”

Jake stared at her, then nodded. “All right, I'll give 'era try.”

He put the wings on, got a few last-minute instructions, then said, “Well, here goes nothing.” He made a longer run than Wash had and, trying to remember everything at once, flung himself into the wind. He did manage to get the wings open, and suddenly a thrill shot through him. “Look! I'm flying!” he hollered. He felt the wind lifting
him, and the ground fell away in an alarming fashion. “Hey! How do I stop?” he yelled.

Lareen yelled a few instructions, and awkwardly Jake hauled at the wings. He went into a dive and heard Sarah screaming, “Come out of it, Jake!”

At the last minute he managed to spread the wings again and hit with a dull thud. He rolled in the dirt and got up in disgust, but the others were cheering.

“You did fine! Fine!” Josh said. “I hope the rest of us do that well.”

“Yes, you did very well,” Lareen said. Her eyes were shining, and she said, “Now, try it again. This time, I'll go with you and call out some instructions.”

This time the two of them left the earth, Lareen gracefully and Jake still floundering, trying to do everything at once. “That's fine, Garfield,” Lareen said, calling out instructions. “Now, let's just make a long glide.” She hovered over him, explaining what to do, and Jake found to his delight that he was able to maintain a steady flight. “Now, we're going to turn,” she said. “Remember the cable's on the right—twist your body.”

Jake did as he was told and found to his surprise that he was turning. “I'm doing it! I'm doing it!” he yelled. “Look at me! I'm flying!”

The two came back to where the others were standing, and there was loud applause from the Sleepers.

“Well, that proves that one of us can learn anyway,” Josh said. He looked a little pale but said, “Now, let me try.”

All day they practiced, and, sooner or later, all of them made a successful flight, even Wash. It took all of them to convince Abigail to even try. But to her surprise, being so small, she found she could stay aloft easily. She was not afraid of heights as some of the others were and made good progress.

Sarah did not fare as well and took several hard falls.

Josh ran to her once and pulled her to her feet. “That was a tough one,” he said. “Are you all right?”

Sarah wanted to just rest in his arms and say, “I'm through with this,” but she knew she could not. “Yes, I'm all right. Let me try it again.”

When they finished their lessons that day, Lareen said proudly, “You've all done well. Another week of fundamentals and you'll all be flying like birds.”

Later, when she and Jake arrived at the cave, she said warmly, “Garfield, you did very well. Maybe someday you'll be a full-fledged warrior. Maybe even a chief.”