Luky and the Birdmen

The thunder roared. Luky covered his ears because it was loud and unpleasant.

They’d been lucky with no rain for the past two days they’d walked in this jungle. Now, it was pouring, bringing back uneasy memories of the storm at sea.

Ezra turned around, his jacket over his head. “The wind has changed!” he shouted through the rain. “We must be close to the shore!”

Luky had found a giant leaf to protect his mane, but the leaf was getting too heavy for his tired paws. He wanted to throw it on the ground and stomp on it.

He was done with this! This island, this rainforest, this rain!

Luky wanted to run to the shore, into the sea, and swim away from here. It was enough adventure for a lifetime!

He wanted to go home and rest by a warm fire.

He wanted to eat a whole buffet instead of these sour fruits and bitter nuts.

He wanted to return to Bravoure’s olive gardens and play with the butterflies.

He missed his father, who was probably worried sick about him right now.

“We’re almost there, Luky. Keep on walking,” Aurielle said with a gentle voice.

She’d probably noticed how irritated the boy-lynx was. Luky exhaled deeply and paused. That’s when he realized it wasn’t the rain soaking his eyes, and those water drops were his tears.

What kind of stupid idea had it been, sneaking into the night on the first boat he’d seen. Into a storm, for that matter. He could have had an adventure in the suburbs of Shelb! Why did he have to get on that boat?

Did he do it to upset his father? Was Luky that petty?

A crack of a branch. Even in the pouring rain, Luky had heard it.

His ears flickered. It was nothing—Ezra had probably stepped on a branch. No, wait... There were no branches by Ezra’s boots!

Where had the sound come from?

Luky turned around, alarmed.

Not again…

There was one moment he’d felt exactly the same as he did now.

That split second right before meeting the birdmen.

A loud shriek pierced through the rain. Three shadows dropped through the tall grass and scattered around the adventurers.

Ezra instantly flailed his sword out of its red sheath, and the blade gleamed, even though there was no sun.

“Stand behind me,” Ezra bid as he pulled Aurielle towards him.

Luky flicked his claws into existence. He focused on the sound these shadows made in the grass and braced. Whatever those were, they were headed straight towards him and his friends.

Once the shadows surged out of the green, Luky could take a good look at them.

Birdmen, but quite different from the colorful creatures they’d met before.

Come to think of it, those weren’t even birdmen. They were just...monstrous grey birds, with small-clawed wings, and one horrifyingly large talon!

Luky ducked a strike of a wing.

“Cockatrice!” Ezra yelled, then he swung his sword, clashing with a sharp beak.

Ezra couldn’t take on all of them at once. Luky had to do something.

The boy-lynx jumped in the air. He was agile enough to reach a cockatrice’s back.

He managed to secure himself at the base of its neck, then, just to really be sure he wouldn’t fall, he planted all of his claws into the beast’s skin.

The cockatrice craned its neck and shrieked. It started hurling itself back and forth to force Luky off its back.

Luky could hold on, but was it enough? Frustrated, the cockatrice swung its neck forward, then made a run for it.

On the back of an enraged cockatrice, Luky darted through the tall grass.

He was barely able to keep his balance, clinging to the bird’s neck, but maybe he could give Ezra enough time to take care of the other two.

Once he was far enough from his friends, he set his paws on the bird’s back and pushed himself off, jumping and turning in the air to land on his feet. The beast was still disoriented, so Luky took his chance and ran back.

One bird was down. Another to go.

Ezra had blood dripping from his sword. After Luky surged out of the grass, he exchanged glances with Ezra, silently agreeing that they’d fight this last beast together.

That cockatrice was slightly smaller but way more ferocious.

It immediately tackled Ezra, who was cast aside, forced to let go of his sword. The beast was headed straight for Aurielle, like it knew how important she was.

Luky couldn’t let anything happen to her!

He put his front paws on the ground and began to gallop, scraping the ground under his feet to move faster. He was almost in reach when Aurielle closed her eyes.

Luky first thought she was afraid of the approaching bird, but soon, Aurielle moved her hands close to each other. She was mumbling something herself, before a searing light burst from her hands.

A loud, shattering cry like the roar of thunder rolled through the forest. Strong winds rushed in a radius around her in a shockwave of energy so bright, Luky had to cover his eyes.

Mage.

Aurielle was a mage.

The forest fell silent, and the cockatrice ran away.

“Wow...” Luky yowled once he could see again.

The lady’s eyes were the color of the sun.

Ezra got up and fetched his sword from the ground. He looked dazed and confused.

“You are full of secrets, Your Highness,” he said, apparently impressed.

Aurielle’s eyes returned to normal. “Are you surprised?” she asked, bitter.

She exhaled deeply, leaning against the tree beside her. That level of magic must have taken a toll on her.

“Wow!” Luky was now energized, and he rushed to her. “Can you teach me, Miss Aurielle?”

Her chest was heaving. She held a hand to her forehead, keeping her thoughts calm. She had trouble standing.

“Are you okay?” Luky asked, worried.

“I’ll be fine,” Aurielle assured him, her voice frail. “I just need a moment.”

“I don’t think we have a moment,” Ezra warned.

He was looking beyond the tall grass. Something was moving out there.

The jungle lived again. This time, it wasn’t the usual bird call.

Multiple shrieks surrounded the adventurers, drawing closer and closer.

Luky closed his eyes, analyzing the sounds. Ezra looked like he had no idea what would happen, and Aurielle didn’t look like she could do much if something happened.

The boy-lynx caught the heartbeats of at least ten more cockatrices charging. They were coming back with a vengeance.

“We need to run!” Luky pressed. “There’s way more coming!”

Aurielle swallowed hard and started rushing through the grass towards what they definitely believed to be the shore. Ezra motioned for Luky to follow her, then he brandished his sword and guarded their tail.

They were running as fast they could, but would it be fast enough? Now, multiple cockatrices were after them, causing a stampede on the ground.

Luky looked back. One of the beasts caught up to them, its beak snapping around Ezra’s blade.

Ezra peered over his shoulder and looked straight at Luky. His eyes were stern, sending orders for Aurielle and Luky to keep running.

Then, with a twist of the arm, Ezra unhooked one of his vials off his belt and smashed it on the ground.

A cloud of purple mist invaded the area. No one could see anything anymore. The cloud smelled like burned paint. Luky heard the confused calls from the birds around them.

Ezra had created a diversion, a big enough one for them to escape. The man caught up to Luky, but he was limping.

“Let’s go!” he urged. “Before they realize what’s going on!”

The grass was shorter, and they were now running up a hill. Beyond the hill was definitely the shore. Luky could hear and smell it!

Snap.

Ezra howled in pain. A cockatrice had bitten him right in his leg.

He stumbled over and rolled on the ground. Luky stopped and turned around to help his friend, but a black cockatrice stood above the man.

Ezra flailed his sword and ran it through the bird’s belly. He staggered up and started running, coming in Luky’s reach again. His gait was much worse than just a second ago. Aurielle was already up the hill.

But more and more birds rushed after them. Luky and Ezra were caught between beaks and clawed wings. It was a fight they wouldn’t win.

Luky saw an escape between the legs of the tallest cockatrice, though Ezra wouldn’t make it through. Ezra saw the way out, too, because he caught Luky’s arm and pointed at it.

“You go ahead, boy!” he ordered, not leaving Luky a choice. “Go ahead and save yourself!”

Luky didn’t want to leave him here. He used Ezra’s grip to shoot himself up into the face of a cockatrice. Luky pulled out his claws and scratched the beast deep.

When he fell back on solid ground, Ezra had another vial in his hands. The pyramid-shaped vial.

Ezra leaned forward and forced it into Luky’s paw.

“Take this,” he said. His eyes were begging Luky to comply. “No matter what happens, don’t ever lose it.”

Luky clutched the vial. His eyes watered.

“Now, go, boy! Run.”

“But—”

“Run!” Ezra yelled.

Luky slipped through the tallest cockatrice’s legs. The beast snapped at his tail, missing the boy-lynx by a hair.

Luky hurried up the hill. One last look over his shoulder, and he saw a veil of darkness whirling and spreading. His last vision of Ezra was the man flailing his sword, howling a battle cry, before he disappeared into the dark.