Long Ways to Go Part XIV

Dawn’s light was just a few minutes away.  Uncle and Petra were in the lead.  Raven and I followed a bit behind them.  We’d come back to the little cave and picked up the trail of the Enemy’s children.  It was easy to see where I’d been injured.  I didn’t realize I’d bled that much.  Strange to see my blood dried on those branches.  It was a lifetime ago.  The bridge was still in sight, the one I had been headed to.
This time, it was slightly different.  I could see the colors shimmering off it.  And it was further away than it had been.  Between it and me were the solid high walls of rock cliffs going way up in the sky.  I understood how it was, Uncle’s determination to get back home.  I could see it.  I could see a barrier, a wall, shimering all around it.  Petra said that’s what we came through.  I wanted to examine it.  Uncle said we’d have to find the Magicians first.  The Enemy was too close.  So, here we were on the trail of those babies.  I wasn’t sure I really wanted to meet the grown-up versions.
We changed course and headed for a range of hills in the distance.  I blinked my eyes to get the farthest range.  I hadn’t been paying attention and of course, I missed whatever it is was they’d seen.  It turned out to be that baby.  It was following that bird creature along a river.  I frowned.  Where was that fish?  There!  A flash of light in the stream.
I leaned forward, trying to make out more details.  Raven jerked a bit, then settled on a course towards that flash of light.  I closed my eyes, hoping the spinning would stop.  By the time I opened them, we’d closed the distance and were heading for an outcropping just behind the children.  I slid down to the ground and stood on shaky legs.  Uncle was already moving to the edge at a fast crouch.  I tried to follow.  My legs wouldn’t move.  I reached up to grab Raven.  She was staring at me again.  I shuddered at that look.  When uncle and Petra turned to wave us forward, they stared at me.  Now what had happened to me?
“We’d better not waste any more time.  You’re changing again.  Your eyes look more like Petra’s and Raven’s.  What do you see?”
“The same as I did before.  Cept I got dizzy a couple times, especially after I saw that fish.  My head feels different.  Got a head ache too.”
“Your head is a bit larger.  Not much, mind.  More in the front.  Well.”  He tilted his head to study me carefully.  “You might not want to go back, if this is permanent.”
What could I say to that?  Not a thing.  I had no idea what they were talking about.
Petra and Raven began talking in that warbling language of theirs.  I took a deep breath and walked to the edge to look down.  Yep, something was definitely different.  My balance was off.  My head was a tad bit bigger.  Just enough to make me wobble on the way to the edge.  I rubbed my face, my heart leaping to my throat and trying to climb out.
I sat down.  Pain exploded all through my body.  A wrenching, stretching sort of pain.  I couldn’t breathe.  Then. friends and neighbors, it was done.  I did’t hurt anymore.  My head felt light, my heart settled back where it belonged and I took a deep breath.  I stood up.  My sight was back, better than before.  I looked over the edge.
There was the flash of light, off in the distance.  Those two babies were following along the shore, not a care in the world.  I started tracking that fish.  It flashed for a few more seconds, then was gone.  I checked the kids.  Yep, they’d stopped and were setting up some sort of netting.  I frowned.
“What kind of creature needs that big of a net?”
“Where do you see it?”
“Near the river.  Right about where the fish stopped.”
“Petra?”
He’d turned his head in the direction of the river.  “I see.  They set trap for something.  We fly there.  Not see us coming.  They too excited.”
I sighed.  Flying was not a good thing for me.  Got a pleasant surprise when I climbed on Raven.  I fit better, didn’t feel as clumsy when she took off.  Wind rushing against my face wasn’t as cold.  I leaned into it, closer to her head.  We glided into the trees near the river and came to rest on a branch high enough to see them.