Page 9 of Sea of Stars

A menacing growl awoke me from my slumber. I jumped to my feet. Terror filled every inch of me. Chinook looked as shocked as I felt. The rocks seemed to be coming alive. Chunks of the mountain broke off and started lumbering toward us. It was just like my papa used to describe. I tried to hop on Chinook’s back but he shook me off. He still looked exhausted. It was clear he could barely fly, let alone carry me.

“Aren’t owls supposed to be night creatures?"

The moon was high in the sky. We had slept through the whole day.

"Please, Chinook!” I begged. "We have to get out of here!"

More of the rocks came to life. Soon the mountain dwellers were closing in on us. I turned to run, but there were more beasts behind me. We were surrounded. All I could do was watch them descend upon us. I realized I was shaking more from fear than from the cold nipping at my skin.

As the mountain dwellers drew closer in the moonlight, I began to realize that they weren’t chunks of the rocks at all. They were gray like the mountain, their thick coats almost identical to the color of the rocks. Their bodies resembled those of the bears that lurked around the Forge Mountains, but these creatures seemed even bigger and more menacing. They had long snouts like wolves and huge, sharp teeth almost as long as my arms. Jagged ears sprouted from the tops of their heads. Their paws were twice the size of my head, and thick, pointy claws curled out from them.

Their growls grew louder and louder. They looked famished. Slowly, I reached my arm over my back and grabbed the sword from my knapsack, although I didn’t know how much help it would be. I glanced around me. I couldn’t fight off one of these huge beasts, let alone a dozen of them.

Saliva oozed from their mouths. Their lips pulled back over their large teeth as they growled. I tore the paper away from my sword and stuck it out in front of me. I had never used a sword before, but I wasn’t going to just stand here and be eaten. The blade shook as my hand trembled slightly, but in an instant the power I had felt earlier coursed through my body and the blade quit shaking. My grasp held firm as the blue symbols ignited once again.

Their growling grew even louder. I could feel their hot, smelly breath wafting down on me as they drew even closer.

“Stop right there,” I demanded, the power from the blade rushing through me.

They responded by lowering their heads to my level and prowling closer, ready to devour me. I pointed the sword at the closest mountain dweller’s nose. When he refused to halt I thrust the blade forward with all my might and slashed a gash across his long snout. Blue sparks burst from his nose as he roared with rage. I held my breath, knowing I had done nothing but speed up their onslaught.

“I hold the power of the Moira,” I blurted out. But the growls drowned out my words. I waved the dagger around me as panic rose through my chest. Tonight I would join my parents in the stars. “I’m sorry, Swishel,” I found myself saying aloud. “I tried.”

I drove my sword into a crevice in the rocks, ready to admit defeat. As soon as my blade hit the ground, the earth began to shake. Blue streaks shot out from the crevice in all directions. The growls faded, turning to loud whimpers. The mountain dwellers ran from the blue lights, stumbling over one another, racing towards their hiding places behind the boulders. The beast with blood oozing from his nose gave me one last menacing glare before he faded back into the rocks.

I stood there, staring, as the power from my sword surged into the mountain. Only when I was sure the mountain dwellers had truly retreated did I pull the sword from the ground. The blue streaks disappeared instantly and the mountain stopped shaking. The only glow that remained was

from the symbols etched across the glistening blade.

“Chinook,” I said, turning towards him. My eyes were glued to the symbols. “Where did you get this?”

Chinook answered me with silence. My eyes lifted from the blade and fell on my owl.

“Chinook!” I yelled into the night as I dropped to my knees. He was on his side, feathers strewn around him. His right wing was matted with blood. His body was completely still. I pulled my knapsack from my shoulder and dumped the contents onto the ground. Bottles rolled in every direction. I found the one that wasn’t quite full and screwed off the top. I pried open Chinook’s beak and poured part of the contents down his throat. I knew it was medicine. It was what I had drunk the night before. It had left a gross taste in my mouth, but it had also made my tongue numb. I drummed my fingers against my thigh, waiting for the medicine to course through Chinook’s body, but he remained still.

I spread my hair onto his chest, searching for the sound of his heartbeat. The light pitter patter of his pulse tingled the ends of my hair, and I threw my arms around him. I got up and grabbed random bottles, opening them and sniffing at their contents. As I pried one open, my nose was greeted by a stronger version of the strange smelling air around me. I dabbed a bit on my tongue and tasted the saltiness. Swishel had told me about this once. These mountains weren't next to a river after all. It was the ocean, and the ocean had healing waters. I poured the whole bottle over the gash on Chinook’s wing. He stirred and squawked angrily. I sighed with relief. I picked up the blanket from the ground and draped it over Chinook's body.

Then I made my way toward the edge of the cliff and stared down at the healing waters in shock. The ocean was glowing with thousands of fiery blue dots. The bright blue was almost the same hue as the symbols on my body. Swishel had never mentioned that oceans glowed at night. I watched the bright lights dance as the waves crashed down on the shore. The lights were brightest there, riding the waves. My eyes drifted to the sky. It was a clear night and all the stars shone brightly in the sky, but it didn't look nearly as bright as the sea. If I looked far enough though, the glowing ocean eventually joined with the starry night, one and the same. The ocean must have been reflecting the stars above. It was breathtaking.

I bit my lip and looked back at Chinook. If anything could save him, it was this water. I took a deep breath and started the dangerous descent. Climbing down the rocks was surprisingly harder than climbing up because they were sleek, either from the ocean's air or the night's dew. My footing was clumsy as I tried to hurry to the waters below. Several times I dangled in the air, barely holding onto the rock with my hands.

Grain like pebbles crunched underneath my feet when I finally made it to the base of the mountain. The bitter smell and the breeze were both stronger down there. The water was much louder than a river, crashing violently as it pounded the shore before pulling itself back, away from the sand. I made my way to the water, staring at the eerie glow the stars cast. I felt so small standing by the huge ocean. I lifted my head and looked at the stars in the sky.

“Lords, if you really are out there, please save Chinook. Please don’t take him away from me too.”

Tearing away small pieces of my cloak, I dipped them into the frigid water. My hands stung. The healing waters entered the cuts and scratches on my palms that the rocks had put there during my climb. I shoved the wet pieces of cloth into my bag and then refilled the bottle that had once contained the precious liquid. I also filled up some empty jugs that I had found in the basket.

Taking one last glance at the starry ocean, I drew the knapsack over my arm. It dug into my shoulders as I made my way back up the cliff. I ignored the pain and climbed as fast as I could. When I finally stumbled onto the top of the rocks, my body heaved as I tried to catch my breath. All I wanted to do was lay down and rest, but I fought the desire. I ran to Chinook and knelt down next to him, placing the cloths, wet with the ocean water, on his wing. He twitched uncomfortably, the sting hitting him.

I slid underneath the blanket next to him, in hopes that my body heat would keep him warm. I knew the symbols glowing on my skin radiated heat. My whole body was exhausted, and eventually sleep came.

Chinook’s beak nudged me repeatedly until I woke up. There was a look of urgency in his eyes as he continued to peck my side. I rolled over, wincing in pain, but it wasn’t Chinook's endless pecking that had caused it. I rolled the bottom of my shirt up and saw the bright blue symbols flash for the last time before they faded completely. Chinook was very disturbed, hooting loudly and pushing my knapsack toward me.

I tried to look at Chinook’s damaged wing to see if it was fully healed but he kept shifting his body to move the wing away from me. There was no way it could be healed yet, the gash had been too deep.

“Chinook stop it,” I said sternly. “You need to rest.”

He picked up the satchel in his beak and tossed it at me forcefully. Chinook spread out his wings and flapped them, attempting to fly, but his body teetered awkwardly to the right. He made a tiny, weak hoot. It was the saddest noise I had ever heard an animal make.

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