The Invisible Planet

Part 21: SkyTail

It had been two weeks since the crash. Angeline woke in her bed, a comfortable arrangement modified from the ship's mattress with extra stuffing, cotton sheets, and a warm fur blanket.

The home was humble, but it was what she wanted. Between her window and the village fence was a small garden area where Dekita had helped her plant various herbs and vegetables to grow for food.

Shay had done well convincing most of the village that they could be happy on Serenia and learn a new way of living. Due entirely to Niko's efforts, the name 'Guardian' had caught on quickly with the others.

Every evening, the villagers would gather for a communal dinner. While Calvo still hadn't forgiven Angeline for their situation, he was at least more subtle about his hatred of her. His anger instead turned into complaints about the lack of technology.

No ComWatch, no digital entertainment, no contact with the outside world. No late night restaurants, or clubs, or music. No way to tell if they had been assumed dead yet.

"It could've been worse," argued Gwynalie, a thirty-something Midelianite with wavy light brown hair and pale skin. "We could've crashed on Oceana."

Though Mikal and Marita did their best to keep a brave face, Angeline could tell that they were suffering from the realization that they would never see their daughter again. Each day that passed with no hope of leaving was precious time lost that they might've been able to spend with her.

Angeline did her best to ease their minds, helping them around the house whenever she could. She would sweep, cook, and help with the gardening while Mikal fiddled with spare parts off the ship.

"You don't have to do that, mila," Marita said, using her favorite Kespian term of endearment. "I'm sure being stranded here isn't easy for you, either."

"Don't worry about me. Really. If I'd known this place existed, I would have been trying to get here from the day I was born," she joked. "I'm happy I'm here. I'm only sorry that the rest of you got stuck here with me."

"Well, it's not your fault, mila."

Marita's kindness made Angeline wish she had never accepted her offer. The guilt she felt was crippling.

"Good morning."

She turned with a smile to see Shay leaning against the door frame. "Hi."

"I have an errand to run on the other side of the island. I wanted to ask if you'd like to come with—"

"Yes!" she interrupted.

He chuckled. "It's not all fun like last time; it could be dangerous. We're going through Goliath territory."

"Hide, don't run," she recited.

"Well, I can see your mind's made up," he said. "Come on, then."

She gave Marita a quick hug. "I'll see you when I get back."

"You had better not let anything happen to her," Marita said to Shay.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He gave a polite bow, and Angeline eagerly followed him into the forest.

"The other side is far, right?" she asked.

"Yes."

"How long will it take to get there?"

"Not too long; about half the day." He lowered his hood and brought his finger and thumb to his lips, whistling a high pitched note.

Angeline stared at him in shock. "What was that?"

"Haven't you ever seen someone whistle before?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah. But why?"

As if on cue, there was a distant screech from above. A winged creature easily the size of a horse with wings each the length of a bus swooped from the air and landed several feet away on its two strong legs. It had three long toes with massive talons on each foot and a beak large enough to take someone's head off in one bite — and a good chunk of torso with it. A single horn protruded from the back of it's head, rounded and not quite as long as its beak. Its eyes were large, with round pupils and orange irises. It was covered in shimmering iridescent scales, not unlike some of the clothes she had seen the Guardians wearing, and had a long tail with a downward curved fin at the end.

Shay stepped up to its face and ran his hand down the front of its beak. "Hello, love," he said softly. "This is a SkyTail. Her name is Kyte."

"You named your bird Kite?" teased Angeline.

"Kyt-eh, with a y. She named herself."

The creature made a shrill chirp, ruffling her wings.

"She spelled her own name?" Angeline crossed her arms with a disbelieving look.

"Of course not. But I thought Kite with an i was a bit too on the nose, and she didn't seem to mind the spelling." He nodded his head toward the bird. "Come on, give her a pet."

Angeline cautiously approached, flinching back as the creature moved and snorted.

"It's alright. She won't hurt you."

She hesitantly held out her hand and Kyte nudged her beak against it with a sniffing noise. A deep croak came from the bird's throat, and Angeline flinched back again.

Shay laughed. "She's not going to eat you. She eats fruit and fish."

Kyte squawked.

"So... where are we going?"

"Sunstone Mountain. Gwynalie's upset that Jess keeps borrowing her Sunstone, so I'm going to get her another one. They're only found on the mountain, at the far end of Goliath Valley. The safest way through the valley is to start on the other side of the SkyTail Cliffs. Kyte will get us there a lot faster than walking, but she won't cross the valley — so we'll have to go on foot from there."

"We're gonna ride her?" Angeline asked in surprise.

"I hope you're not scared of heights."

"No, but I am a little scared of falling to my death."

"I won't let you fall. Do you still want to come? You could sit this one out if you prefer."

"Not on your life. But if you drop me, I'll never forgive you; not for the whole ten seconds it takes me to fall to my death."

"I'm not going to drop you," he said with an eye roll. "Kyte, sit please."

The bird squawked and crouched toward the ground, moving her wings a few feet from her body.

"Come on," said Shay. He grabbed onto the bird's back and pulled himself up, straddling the middle dip in her spine. He held out his hand for Angeline and she climbed up behind him, locking her arms around his waist. "Hold on tight," he said.

Her heart jumped into her throat as Kyte spread her wings and launched up into the sky. The ground below shrank gradually into the distance as they climbed higher and higher, leaving the village behind.