14 Unexpected Miracles

Each bird must sing with his own throat."- Henrik Ibsen

Julie gained respect for Monty faster than she ever had for anyone in her life. With Emil perched at the head of the stairs to keep watch for Colby and Delilah, Monty sat cross-legged in the center of the circle of cells and spoke under his breath. He told them what a good jailer Colby was, how no one had ever escaped from the Laburnum Prison under his watch. But that was without help, he promised them, his eyes flicking a little guiltily as he said it.

At first, Monty outlined the plan to all of them, trying to be inclusive in his explanations. He tried to look at each of them in turn. But as he expanded his ideas in a hushed voice, talking of timing and Colby's minute habits and the structure of the laburnum tree, Julie realized that the conversation was shifting subtly. Bit by bit, Seth was beginning to draw most of Monty's attention. Julie could see the visible change in the thief. Five minutes into Monty's discussion, Seth had pushed himself onto his knees and was leaning into the cell door of twigs, his green eyes glittering with a feverish light. It was like a need for him, a need for action and freedom and planning. And Monty somehow responded to that energy, his voice growing more confident as he began addressing most of his comments to Seth. Luke and Julie still jumped in occasionally to clarify something, or bring up an idea, but otherwise the planning session shrank to a rapid-fire, one-way dialogue between Seth and Monty. Julie supposed that it made sense, as Seth was probably the most well-versed in understanding this kind of thing. She and Luke had never been imprisoned anywhere in their lives.

Julie was so wrapped up in trying to follow the conversation that she almost missed the tread of footsteps below. A moment later, Emil peeped loudly in warning, just before Delilah came hobbling up the steps in a burst of feathers and hoarse croaking. Monty, with a presence of mind Julie wouldn't have expected given his usual nervousness, abruptly changed his hurried whispers to a snarl of, "Don't try that with me, you lying scum. Tamal's not that stupid, and neither am I." He smacked Seth's door of branches viciously, as if he wished he could deal the thief an actual blow. It was pretty convincing, Julie had to admit.

Monty looked up, as though he'd just noticed Delilah. He was about to open his mouth to address the heron when he froze. Julie understood the situation only by the positioning of the two birds and Monty and sheer guesswork. The night heron was staring fixedly at Emil with one scarlet eye, her beak hanging agape and her throat pulsing as if with some silent cry. The mockingbird was sitting on the floor, wings half extended and eyes fixed on Delilah as if listening intently. And Monty was staring horrorstruck at Emil in turn, his mouth open slightly. It was clear there was some sort of relay message passing through this chain.

"Here?" Monty whispered, looking from his own bond to Delilah. "He followed me here?"

The night heron looked even more agitated. She hopped from foot to foot and gave an immense, heavy flap of her wings. And then Julie heard the voice. It was low and rough, and female. It sounded a little like the voice of Lauran, a woman from the village who smoked rolls of leaves and breathed the thick gray air out again. Her speech had grown heavy and raspy over the years. This voice sounded a lot like her, but there was also something almost regal in it, proud and firm.

Quickly, Monty. Colby fears for you.

It took Julie a moment to realize that the voice belonged to Delilah. Instinctively, she shut the voice out. Mother Acko had told her once that in states of high emotion, birds sometimes broadcast their mind-voices too loudly and they could be overheard. But even if it was accidental, it still felt too much like eavesdropping to Julie, too close to breaking the taboo of not speaking with another's bond without permission.

And then another voice, definitely human, rose loudly from downstairs. It took Julie a moment to place it, because she was so used to hearing it as a hoarse whisper. It was Colby.

"He's just visiting them. I imagine he's giving them quite the piece of his mind; he's very loyal to Tamal you know. They're not going anywhere; what harm could he do?" The jailer's voice seemed unnaturally loud, and he seemed to be speaking to someone else. The thought entered Julie's mind that he was trying to warn Monty of something. Monty's reaction seemed to confirm this; his head whipped around so fast that his glasses slid almost off his face, and the eyes behind them were wide with fear. Emil shrilled, a high-pitched note of alarm. Delilah's words seemed far more ominous now. Colby fears for you. Who could have come now?

"I thought Tamal said no one was to see them," said a slow, deep voice. Their was something inherently menacing in that voice, a hint of a sneer in every syllable.

"I know Monty. As I said, he's not bothering anyone by scaring them a bit. They probably deserve it." Colby's voice held firm, and Julie could tell by the edge in it that the blind warden was not fond of his new visitor at all.

"And who are you to make judgement calls, you glue-eyed creep?"

Delilah turned her long head around abruptly and made a rattling sound, the twin thready feathers on her head lifting up in an unnerving way. Her red eyes seemed to glow. When Colby spoke again, his smoke-voice mirrored the heron's agitation. "Watch your mouth, Zephyr!"

Zephyr,. Where had she heard that name before? Her eyes flicked to Monty, and the memory came rushing back. The three of them; her, Seth, and Luke, walking up the aisles in the APO. The huge golden eagle that had attacked out of nowhere. Tamal's ringing voice shouting, "Zephyr! Call him off now!" Monty looking almost shamefully at the table and muttering, "He's my brother."

Zephyr, the bully from the great hall. Monty's brother. But how could your own sibling inspire that much terror?

"I don't care what you say, I'm going up to give my dear brother a piece of my mind." Julie heard Colby make a hoarse sound that might have been an attempt to stop Zephyr, but then there was silence.

The next moment, the stairs literally groaned under what was obviously a very heavy tread. Julie expected to hear them snap any moment. Monty looked desperately around the circular chamber, as if he wished for a moment that he could crawl into the cells with them. Emil shot to his shoulder like a tiny feathered arrow and pressed himself into the curve of Monty's neck, butting his sleek head against the Silva's cheek, whether in support or fear Julie didn't know.

"Oh, Montague..." singsonged that deep, menacing voice. It was growing steadily louder, as were the footsteps. "I hear you're playing nursemaid to the prisoners. Won't Tamal be pleased to hear that? And what will Fay think of you, you soft-skulled little runt?"

Monty looked like he wanted to vanish into thin air. Delilah hopped away from the head of the stairs, the feathers on her head now vibrating, matching the almost inaudible ululating rattle she was making. Julie reached up one hand to cup Icarus' back for comfort, and she scooted backwards until her back hit the curved wall of her cell, drawing her knees into her chest. She heard scraping sounds and thought maybe Luke was doing the same, beside her. Incredibly, Seth actually stood up across the way, his back hunched slightly under the low ceiling, but he pressed his palms to the woven door and looked almost...defiant. Julie thought perhaps she'd never understand him.

With a final set of thumps, Zephyr mounted the stairs.

In the last few moments, Julie had built herself a mental image of what Zephyr looked like, just based on the little she knew of him. It was a pretty scary picture. But the reality was almost worse.

He was tall; not thickset like Pete from the village, but not exactly whip-thin like Seth. He reminded her more of the way Luke was built; athletic and powerful, with set shoulders, tapering chest and arms, and firmly planted legs. His hair was short; shorter than she'd ever seen, cut close to his skull so that the pale skin showed through it. She supposed that she could see the similarities between him and Monty in his face; they both had the same hawklike nose, the same mouth, and roughly the same colored hair. But Zephyr had a brutish jaw that seemed to jut, whether naturally or on purpose, and his lack of bangs or other hair made his forehead seem broader. And his eyes were a thousand times colder than Monty's.

And there was one more thing. Sewn around the hems of his shirt and pants were small oddly-shaped ornaments. They didn't look like the standard beads or metal chips that Julie had seen adorning other Silva. They were a kind of yellow-white in color, and strangely familiar. The realization hit Julie with a chill, and she pressed down involuntarily on Icarus.

Bones.

Not human bones, but animal bones; the ribs, skulls, vertabrae, and claws of small creatures. Julie would have guessed things like mice, rats, prey birds, rabbits, and lizards. She shuddered; what an awful practice. But Zephyr was obviously trying to send a clear message with them.

On Zephyr's shoulder was the same massive golden eagle that had bullied them in the great hall. He stood a full half-head taller than his human counterpart, with a wickedly hooked beak and immense black claws that bit deep into Zephyr's shoulder pad.

"Monty, Monty, Monty. My crippled little bro, reduced to hanging out with the living dead." Julie felt a twinge of fear as Zephyr's eyes made a cursory sweep over the three of them. "Really, runt. I thought you would be over the damn moon that Fayola condescended to be around you. But apparently her company isn't enough for you anymore."

Monty swallowed so hard that Julie saw his throat jump. He tried to square his shoulders, but the lame one dipped too much for him to have an intimidating stance anything like his brother's.

"I was threatening them, Zephyr. They're no friends of mine." Monty looked Zephyr more or less in the eyes, which was more than Julie could have done.

Zephyr just laughed. "I've seen your threats. Fancy words and your eyes all squinched up like you got sun in 'em. You think that's threatening? A squirrel wouldn't be scared of you. This is threatening."

Without warning Zephyr whirled around and lunged at Seth's cell, digging his fingers into the interlacing branches. Clawing at them so fiercely that they snapped off in knarled chunks, Zephyr roared at the top of his lungs right against the door, "I'll peel pieces of this tree off and jam it down your worthless throat until it chokes you, you cursed son of a worm! You hear me? I could kill you!" He took a couple paces back, grinning jeeringly. The eagle on his shoulder beat his wings and screamed gleefully, a piercing sound that felt like it blew Julie's eardrums. She had ducked her head unashamedly at Zephyr's blistering outburst, and even Icarus was quaking against her.

Zephyr turned on Monty, who took an involuntary step backwards this time. "See? Don't you wish you could do that, twerp? C'mon, say you wish you were like me. Say it!" He surged forward and seized the front of Monty's tunic, hoisting him off the ground like he weighed nothing. Emil beat frantically at the air, barely managing to keep his clawhold on Monty's shoulder.

Monty's glasses were completely sideways on his face, ready to slip off at any moment.

"Say it!" Zephyr snarled. The golden eagle hunched, its head stretched forward eagerly, as if waiting for some command to slash out at Monty's unprotected face with that vicious beak.

And then, from behind, came the voice.

"Put him down, you primitive, unattractive, frankly brutish, bark-headed ball of pond slime," said a soft, deadly voice. For one astonished second Julie thought someone new had entered the room. Then she pinpointed where the words came from...and realized it was Seth.

He was standing against the now slightly mangled door of his cell, Corax hunched on his shoulder like a black scrap of shadow, palms against the branches. His emerald eyes shone dangerously through the gaps in the twigs.

Zephyr looked puzzled for a moment, his cruel face becoming almost comical in its confusion. Then he too zeroed in on Seth. His lip curled. "Did you talk, dead boy?"

"I did, although I am supremely disgusted that it has to be to someone of your brain capacity, you oafish, mud-sucking moron," Seth said levelly. There was something about his soft, almost hissed deliverance that made the words more cutting than if he had bellowed them.

Monty was giving Seth a desperate look from behind his crooked spectacles, as if begging him to shut up while he still could. Seth paid absolutely no attention.

Zephyr dropped Monty. Julie couldn't stop herself from uttering a little gasp as he hit the floor in an ungainly heap and with a heavy thud. She knew she heard glass crack, and guessed that his spectacles hadn't survived the fall. His brother didn't seem to notice at all; it was as if Monty had become abruptly invisible. All of his deadly attention was now fixed on Seth. Appallingly, Seth appeared to be supremely unconcerned by this. He hadn't shifted position nor expression. Julie wondered if their short time in confinement had driven the freedom-loving thief mad already. Maybe he had a death wish, and preferred beating to being poisoned by the laburnum.

"Who the hell do you think you are, you scrawny snipe?" growled Zephyr. "Didn't you hear anything I said earlier? I. Could. Kill. You."

"You. Wouldn't. Dare. You. Worthless. Bullying. Lout," responded Seth quietly and firmly, biting off each word in a clear mockery of Zephyr's threat.

Julie yearned to hiss a warning to Seth, beg him not to commit this suicidal act. But, like a coward, she couldn't find it in her to turn Zephyr's attention to herself. She felt ashamed, knowing that Seth was doing just that right now in order to spare Monty.

Zephyr roared again, his face purpling, and slammed his weight against Seth cell door. His eagle bond stabbed his beak furiously into the twigs, as if searching for a spot to drill through.

Seth pulled his hands back, but remained standing, and did not flinch. "Am I supposed to reel back and look terrified now, O King of Threats and Fear?" he asked snidely. "I apologize; I'm afraid I'm very bad at picking up social cues."

Zephyr dug his fingers into the branches and began to claw wildly at them, as if he intended to tear right through to Seth. "You'll answer for that, I swear it!" he spat. "No one cares if you die...I won't have to leave any marks at all. Or how about I have Saturn kill that mangy bird of yours...leave you empty and Bondless? Would you like that?" He laughed, sounding almost insane for a moment.

Julie felt sick. To be born Bondless was one thing; a terrible tragedy, but usually it occurred for a reason. But to be made Bondless, for a bird partner to be purposely killed, was the most hideous emotional offense that could ever be inflicted on a fellow Rathyan. Julie knew, from the hushed voice of Mother Acko whispering grimly to her in the dark when she was very young, that those who had had their bonds murdered either went insane, retreated deep inside themselves and never spoke again, or ended their own lives. Julie thought that just maybe, she could understand that, awful as it sounded. To have that strong, loving, ever-present voice in your mind silenced forever...it would be unbearable.

"Yeah, how about the crow goes first? Sounds good to me. What do you think Saturn; you think you can take him?"

The eagle shrieked again, clicking his beak.

"Corax is no crow!" Seth's bond croaked abruptly. His beady black eyes flashed, and he hunched his wings forward in aggression. "Corax is a raven, stupid worm-brain!"

"Would you listen to that?" snarled Zephyr. "Even your bond has a gutter-tongue. Well, all the more reason to shut him up first." Zephyr punched a fist into Seth's cell, it snapped a path through the branches with a crackling sound. Corax cawed and tried to strike at the hand now groping for him. Seth grabbed Zephyr's fist and forced it downward viciously, trying to trap him, but he had to recoil sharply when Zephyr's bond, Saturn, lunged at him and nearly laid the back of his hand open.

Julie was on her feet now, but only because her fear for Seth had overcome her fear of Zephyr. But there was nothing she could do but watch helplessly.

And that was when Monty moved. Without his glasses, and with blood running from a deep cut on his temple, the crippled Silva threw himself inelegantly onto Zephyr's back and locked his mistmatched arms around his brother's neck in a chokehold. Ignoring the golden eagle's furious cry, Monty turned his head sideways and hung on grimly. Julie could see his fixed, determined expression from where she stood. Emil, uttering ear-piercing shrills, dove at Zephyr's face and eyes, trying to distract him.

Luke was yelling from beside her, but she could hardly make out what in the chaos. All of the bird bonds were screaming, and Zephyr was swearing at the top of his lungs. Seth and Monty remained grimly silent, both fighting the same bully, united in that task.

Finally, Zephyr decided that fighting a two-front war was not working. He left off trying to reach Seth and Corax, and instead focused on Monty again. With a barrage of blistering curses, he twisted around and grabbed Monty by the shoulder. The crippled Silva yelped in pain as he was torn sideways off of Zephyr's back so hard that Julie was amazed he didn't go flying. He was swung around to face Zephyr again, and Julie knew that there was going to be bloodshed. It was going to be bad. Monty squinted, his eyes looking large and lost without his spectacles, and hung there, waiting for the blow.

"Blast you to the ends of the bloody planet, Zephyr. Put him down or I will kill you where you stand, damn what Tamal does to me."

It seemed to be a day for unexpected miracles.

Monty spoke first, and he seemed to do it out of pure, reflexive shock. "Fayola?" He narrowed his eyes nearsightedly towards the head of the stairs; Julie couldn't imagine his vision was improved by the trickle of blood running into his eyes.

"Do it now, Zephyr!" roared Fayola, in a voice that chilled Julie's blood. She would not have disobeyed that voice in a million years. "And if you drop him I will take it out of your hide, the First Bonded help me if I don't."

Julie had always thought of Fayola as sharper than most girls she'd seen; the lines of her face were hard and angular for her age, and her jet-black hair only set that off more. Her eyes were a deep, flinty grey, like chips of stone, and her body didn't seem to have any fat on it at all; only muscle. But now, standing there glaring daggers at Zephyr, she looked downright dangerous. Julie had thought Rhona had to be the toughest girl, being Tamal's deputy, but now she was forced to rethink that notion.

"Hey, Fayola," said Zephyr. His voice was almost...warm. And a little wheedling. Julie was shocked. Was he actually trying to downplay this whole scene to Fayola? Her mouth fell open at his next words. "I came in, and apparently this little slime had gotten through most of his cell door and was attacking my little brother! I was coming to see if he was all right. And to teach this one to mess with my brother." He glared viciously at Seth.

"That's a lie!" Julie was surprised to hear her own voice echoed almost immediately by Luke.

"Aw, Fay," said Zephyr gently, smiling in what seemed to be genuine friendliness at Fayola. "Don't listen to them. They're protecting their little friend, here. Traitors like them will try to lie their way out of anything."

"It's so nice of you to be concerned, Zephy," purred Fayola, giving him a false smile that was more like a snarl. "But Colby seems to have a different view of the matter. And since he is in charge here, I think I'll take him at his word. But the one who looks to be in real pain here is Monty. So why don't we ask his opinion?"

Zephyr's warmly smiling face melted abruptly into a very ugly look as he turned to face the still dangling Monty. "Well, little bro?" he asked under his breath, forcing a smile that was more like a grimace. "Tell Fay about how I saved you."

Fayola walked forward, her eyes now fixed on Monty. Her furious expression had almost given way, to something soft and concerned. "Put him down, Zephyr," she said again, not taking her eyes off Monty's face.

Zephyr made a great show of lowering Monty carefully and gently to the ground; a far cry, Julie thought furiously, from the callous way he had dropped him earlier.

Fayola walked quickly to his side, and knelt down, her arm sliding behind his mismatched shoulders almost instinctively. With her free hand, she brushed Monty's hair off his face so that it didn't stick in the sluggishly flowing blood around his face.

"Where's your glasses, Monty?" she asked softly, pressing him gently into a more upright position. "Bet you can't see a thing."

Monty shook his head slowly, then winced as if even that hurt. "Broke 'em," he muttered vaguely, bracing his hands against the floor. He didn't seem to want to look at Fayola, and Julie thought that his face looked red, even underneath the vivid scarlet ribbon of blood from his temple.

Fayola's eyes narrowed as she looked up at Zephyr, and Julie knew that she didn't believe for a minute that Monty's spectacles had been broken on accident. Her sharp eyes swept the floor, searching for them, Julie guessed.

Just then, a narrow head tapped Fayola's shoulder gently. The dark-haired Silva turned to find Delilah standing there, holding Monty's mangled glasses in her long beak. Both lenses, which had already been a little weak-looking, were totally shattered. It was hard to tell with birds, but Julie thought the night heron's eyes were apologetic.

Fayola swore and took the glasses from Delilah, poking one thumb through the frame to assure herself that the glass was gone.

Then she turned on Zephyr again. "You selfish idiot," she said darkly. "Don't you remember how long it took us to get these? Tamal raided caravans for months trying to find him a decent pair."

The change in Zephyr was incredible. He stood quiet now, his lip curled and his fists flexing in anger, but he showed absolutely no sign of attacking Fayola, although she was being at least as caustic to him as Seth had been. And underneath the simmering irritation was a different emotion, one that Julie wasn't sure she was identifying correctly. It seemed so utterly unlikely.

But as Fayola brushed Monty's hair back again, and Julie saw a muscle jump in Zephyr's brutish jaw, she thought maybe she was right. Zephyr was jealous of Monty. Maybe not in most ways, but when it came to Fayola...

Icarus? she asked silently.

Yes.

His voice sounded harsh, as if he were on the verge of uttering a shriek.

What's wrong, Ic?

This boy. His heart is twisted. He calls himself brother to Monty, and yet his actions are those of the hateful and the wicked. Why do the Silva allow him to be this way? Why are humans this way at all?

Julie was surprised by the gyrfalcon's vehemence. She wondered how often the birds looked at humans and were shocked or confused by their behaviors.

Ic? she ventured when he didn't say more. Do you think...is Zephyr jealous of Monty and Fayola? She didn't know if he would have a better grasp of it than she, but it seemed that Icarus, and indeed the bird bonds in general, could sometimes understand human interactions better because they were removed from them. They looked from a different, and Julie often thought clearer, perspective.

I think so, Icarus replied after a pause. Zephyr admires Fayola greatly...he wishes she would want to be with him. He is angry that Fayola instead wishes to be with Monty. He cannot understand how she could choose Monty, because Monty is crippled and worthless and stupid in his eyes. He is blinder than Colby, added Icarus bitterly.

Hang on, Julie said slowly. 'Wants to be with her'? Icarus, exactly how do birds see human relationships?

She could feel his surprise at the question. Birds have many feelings for each other. We know that humans sometimes feel the same, sometimes different. There are those whose company you enjoy, who you admire and trust. Those are your friends, correct? You and Luke are like this, but much deeper. You are what the birds call 'heartfriends.' It is a mystical and highly revered bond among us. Then there are those who stir you differently. They are like a friend, but you wish to be with them in a different way. When humans are young, don't they feel this way about those who they want to become mates with someday?

Um...Julie was unsure if she really should have started this conversation. I guess that makes sense.

Then this is how Zephyr wishes to be with Fayola. But she is smart. She does not want Zephyr's wickedness. She is not fooled.

Julie was struggling to follow all this, stunned by the parade of revelations. At least she had been right about Icarus having far more insight on the subject. So...you're telling me Zephyr is in love with Fayola? Her first reaction was revulsion. Wow, that's...kind of unexpected.

Humans are quite strange, Icarus stated as if it were fact. But as I said, do not fear for Fayola. She will not look at Zephyr that way. She chooses Monty.

Julie's eyes widened. Hang on...I thought they were friends. Maybe like those 'heartfriends' or something. But...Monty and Fayola...?

They may be that too, said Icarus unconcernedly. Often that is how it begins. But I think they are also starting to love each other in the mate-way.

Julie looked over at Fayola gently levering Monty to his feet, letting him lean all his weight on her. The hem of her brown tunic was soaked with blood where she appeared to have used it to clean Monty's face.

"Get out of here," she shot at Zephyr. "I will tell Tamal about this, you can bet. You can't keep getting away with this."

For a moment, it looked like Zephyr was going to defy her. Finally, he simply spit on the floor. "He won't do anything," Zephyr said with more confidence than Julie liked. "You know he won't." And then, miraculously, he turned and thundered down the carved stairs. Just like that.

There was a long pause where no one said anything, and then there were slow, cautious steps on the stairs. A moment later, Colby's one-of-a-kind, skeletal frame mounted the stairs. He stood there, looking lost for a moment, far more human than he had appeared when Julie had first seen him. Delilah stalked over and bumped his hand gently.

Colby looked away and muttered. "I'm sorry."

Fayola snorted. "Fat lot of good that does him."

"S'okay," Monty said quietly. "It's not his fault."

"He was down there the whole time," Fayola growled. "And he did nothing."

"He's not a fighter..." Monty protested weakly, but Colby cut in.

"No, I'm not. But this is my charge, and I'm supposed to control what goes on in here. You were in here under my jurisdiction, and when Zephyr came in, I knew what would happen. It was my fault." Colby's voice trailed away into a hoarse breathy sound.

Another silence. And then Seth said, "Excuse me, but has everyone forgotten that we exist? Or am I only important when someone is trying to kill me?"

"From what I heard, your own mouth got you in trouble," Fayola said, shooting Seth a sharp look.

"You heard all that?" Luke asked incredulously from somewhere to Julie's left.

"When I was coming up the stairs. I was waiting for the right moment to jump in." Fayola raised her eyebrows at Seth and gave him a nod of grudging admiration. "Nice volley, by the way. I doubt Zephyr's met many people who don't respond the way he wants to his threats. And fewer that bite back."

"I try," said Seth, with sarcastic modesty.

"Anyway, what kind of recognition do you want?" Fayola asked. "You may have gotten a little action today, but you're still prisoners."

Julie's heart sank as she soaked up Fayola's words. Somehow, all the chaos had made it seem like something would happen, like their position with the Silva would change. But it didn't really change anything.

"But Monty was…" Luke began, then cut himself off abruptly before he gave it away.

Colby gave Luke a sharp look. Then he sighed and rested a hand on Delilah's head again, using two fingers to smooth down the twin plumes on her head. "Yes, I know. Monty was planning to help you escape, because he's just so sentimental like that."

Seth said a very bad word without even trying to hide it.

Julie sucked in her breath. How on Rathya had Colby known?

"Please," Colby rasped. "I'm the prison warden. I'm blind, which means I can hear far better than you could dream of hearing. And Delilah takes after me and listens to everything." He folded his arms. "There's a reason why no one has ever escaped from the Laburnum Prison."

Julie rested her head against her knees, feeling despair sweep through her in a wave. Everything was ruined. Their one glimpse of light had just been snuffed out.

With a sudden surge of anger, Julie plunged her hand under her shirt and yanked hard on the chain that Silas the Walker had given her, the so-called Walker sign. The cursed symbol that had gotten them into this mess. The thin chain snapped under her pressure, and she balled it up in her fist and swept it under the door of her cell with vicious force.

"I can't believe this," Luke said in a blank voice from the cell next to her.

Fayola had bent quickly from her position next to Monty to pick the necklace up. "So this is it, huh?" she asked darkly, turning the oak leaf pendant this way and that. "Clever, hiding it like that. If Tam hadn't been in just the right position, we may never have seen it."

"I didn't know either!" exclaimed Julie. "I thought it would give us safe passage. I didn't know Silas was a traitor!"

Fayola shook her head. "Look, groundcrawler, I was fine with you before. But I really, really hate liars." Julie was reminded of the murderous snarl on her face when Zephyr had tried to wheedle his way out of being caught hurting Monty. "So just cut it out now, and save your breath."

"But what if it's true?" implored Luke. "What if Maeron and Silas were setting us up to get caught by you? They probably know how much you hate them. Hasn't it occurred to you that they marked us on purpose?"

"Fay…" Monty began slowly, but Fayola cut him off with a sharp headshake.

"I know you don't like it, Monty, but sometimes you're too nice for your own good. You meant well, wanting to get them out of this awful place…no offense meant." She glanced at Colby, who shrugged. "But sometimes people exploit trust like that, Monty."

"He stood up for me," said Monty quietly, rubbing the bridge of his nose as if habitually adjusting glasses that were no longer there. He looked nearsightedly over in the direction of Seth's cell. "Did you hear that?"

Fayola looked mildly taken aback. "Well…just because--"

"Zephyr was going to hurt me. Really hurt me. He called him out. I've never heard anyone but you talk to my brother like that, Fay."

Fayola let out a long breath. "Monty, I trust you. But just because he did something brave doesn't mean he's not working with Lord Maeron."

Seth laughed. It wasn't a pleasant laugh; it was sharp and bitter. Corax shuffled on his shoulder and gave a low, throaty caw. "Awkark…Whipper."

"Me, working with Maeron?" Seth's green eyes had that feverish, slightly frightening look again. "Oh, that's good. The irony is just too thick."

Colby, Fayola, and Monty were all giving Seth looks that suggested they thought he might be slightly mad.

"Good to know you have a sense of irony, I guess," said Fayola, looking at Seth distastefully. "And we do appreciate what you did for Monty. But talking isn't getting you out of here. In fact, I probably need to get Monty to the Medics." She tossed the necklace towards Seth. "Here, might as well keep this. Hopefully it'll remind you of why you should be careful who you trust."

"Then I guess we should have cut and run the second we met all of you," said Luke coldly.

Seth was staring at the false oak leaf necklace with a curiously dead expression. It had landed right up against the crack of his cell door, where Fayola had thrown it, the cruel-looking peregrine falcon on the back facing up.

"Well, we'll be going." Fayola guided Monty toward the stairs. "Colby, don't be too rough with them, all right? At least for Monty's sake." Colby nodded wordlessly, his milky eyes on his night heron bond.

"Get it away from me," said Seth softly.

Fayola stopped and looked back quizzically. "Huh?"

"Get that thing out of here. Out of my sight." Seth's jaw was set, but his eyes were riveted on the necklace, like he couldn't tear them away.

"I don't want it," Fayola said, annoyed.

"Just get it AWAY," Seth snarled, slamming the side of his fist against the screen of branches. He turned his head violently away, but Julie could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes before he did. Corax squawked loudly, crying, "Seth sorry, sorry Seth, okay now, okay Seth."

Fayola looked stunned for a moment, and then her features smoothed out into an expression of total astonishment. Monty looked just as surprised.

After a moment, Fayola let out a long breath. She blinked several times, as if thinking about something. Then she looked around at Julie, Luke, and Seth in turn.

Then she shook her head and kicked the wood floor hard with her boot. "Damn." She brought the free hand that wasn't holding Monty up to her forehead, looking weary. "Okay," she mumbled at last. "Colby…oh, for the love of the first oaks, let them out."

"Excuse me?" Colby's hoarse voice climbed an octave, giving his rasp an almost whistling quality.

"You heard me, let them out. Open the doors, cut the branches, whatever. They're telling the truth."

Julie was dumbfounded. All this time they had spent trying everything to convince the Silva that they were innocent, and somehow Fayola had suddenly believed them? What had changed?

The necklace. No, not the necklace. Seth's reaction to it. That was when Fayola had gotten that thinking expression on her face.

"Fayola, I have orders," said Colby slowly, as if speaking to someone stupid. "Tamal issued them, and Rhona gave them to me personally." Julie could only too well remember Colby's shadow looming out of the darkness to escort them inside the tree after Rhona had unceremoniously dumped them there. "I can't just decide to let prisoners out because I feel like it. Or because someone else tells me to."

"Colby, this is more than just orders, now. You're not stupid; you know what's been going on." She shot the blind warden a meaningful look, and then seemed to remember he couldn't see it. "Besides, I need them to give testimony."

A look of understanding flashed across Colby's face. "Oh Fayola…" he breathed softly. "Don't. You know it won't help."

"I've had enough of this, Colby," said Fayola fiercely, and her face and eyes were abruptly cold. "I have to try. And they could help; they saw everything. He was involved." She jerked her head at Seth.

"Others have tried too. They've all failed. Zephyr's a special case…Tamal won't touch him."

"That's as it may be," whispered Fayola darkly. "But at least I will have done everything I can before I take things into my own hands."

Colby sucked in his breath. Monty made a sound of weak protest and tried to stand up under his own power, pulling away from Fayola. But almost as soon as he did, he wobbled unsteadily and almost fell over again. Fayola had to catch him under both arms this time.

"You can't, Fay," he muttered, his words slurring a little. "It would be…bad." His eyes were starting to flutter closed.

Fayola looked alarmed. "Leaf scum, Monty, we really need to get you to Medics. I think you hit your head."

"Don't…take Zephyr…don't order…the Lanx…Fay…too dangerous…not you…" Monty's words mumbled together, and Julie wondered if some of them were gibberish.

"I'm taking him in," said Fayola grimly, hoisting Monty against her in a hold that was more of a carry than a support. "Let them out, Colby, that's the last time I'm asking you. We could make this easier or harder on ourselves. Things are changing, and we can't let Tamal's weakness kill us all. This could be huge, Colby, huge." And with that, Fayola was gone, taking the nearly unconscious Monty with her.

Colby stared after her for a long time. He didn't seem to want to turn around and face the fact that all three of his prisoners were staring at him, waiting.

Seth was sitting down now, looking calmer, though Julie noticed his face was studiously turned away from the necklace still lying on the floor. She wondered if his outburst had been an act to convince Fayola, but then thought better of it. She had no doubt Seth was a good actor, but he hadn't been faking that.

Finally, Luke broke the silence. "Hey, if you're going to let us out, just get it over with." He paused, and then said. "Think of it this way. It won't go on your record. No one will ever have escaped from the Laburnum Prison…we were released, technically. It's different."

Julie could have sworn the corner of Colby's mouth lifted slightly. "Oh, well, as long as the record's preserved," he sighed. He looked down at Delilah, as if seeking the bird's advice. Then he walked over to Julie's cell door and beginning working the complex root knots. "I will regret this," he said with certainty, as his bony fingers tugged expertly at the ties. "I know I will. But I know when I'm beaten, and no one will ever say that Colby Laburnum Silvason was left out when change was on the horizon." He seemed to be talking more to himself than to Julie.

Julie didn't care. A moment later, the woven twig door was swinging open before her, something she'd thought she'd never see. Colby gave her an impatient head jerk to get out, and then moved on to Luke.

Luke stumbled out, shaking his head like he couldn't believe it either. Athena ruffled her feathers and rotated her head, booming out a deep hoot and blinking her huge orange eyes. Then she stretched her wings out to their fullest extent, which was about five and a half feet across. She almost whacked Luke's head as she did so.

It was far too cramped in there. I need to get outside. Hearing the sound of Athena's deep female mindvoice was so comforting Julie nearly choked up. It wasn't until she looked at Luke's deeply relieved face that she realized she hadn't really seen him for nearly two days; one of the longest periods she could remember.

"We're out," Luke croaked, blinking like someone who has stepped out of a dark cave into sunlight. He put an arm around Julie and pulled her close to him in a one armed hug. The familiar feel of his wiry body made the knots of tension that had cramped her muscles in the cell dissolve.

"Thank Ichor." Seth stretched his arms over his head, rolling his shoulders. He had kicked the necklace away the second he'd stepped over the threshold. Corax flapped in rustling circles over his bond's head, making low grovelly sounds in his throat that Julie interpreted as pleased. Seth kissed the palm of his hand and slapped the S-and-C design he'd carved over the door before they'd entered the cell. "What did I tell you?" he asked Julie and Luke. "I knew I was going to see that sign from the other side of this door." He grinned, his teeth flashing white. He looked so confident and aglow with his newfound freedom that Julie reached out and embraced him too. Somehow, being locked in here with him, listening to him sing and banter with Corax, plan with Monty and fight back against Zephyr, had made Seth more familiar to her than she'd believed possible. It had given them a shared experience together.

Seth stiffened momentarily in shock, and then patted her shoulder awkwardly. Something told Julie he was unused to being hugged.

"Um…now what?" Luke looked over at Colby, who was watching the reunion impassively.

"Good question," breathed Colby. "Somehow I think someone might notice if three groundcrawlers are suddenly out among the Silva, especially if they've been advertising the fact that you were imprisoned in the Laburnum." Colby smoothed his nest of dark hair back ineffectually, his blind eyes roving thoughtfully. "Your best bet would actually be to follow Fayola to the Medics. They're a pretty aloof bunch, the Medics; a lot like me. Chances are, they won't have heard of you, and if they have, they probably won't care much. They have one focus, and that's healing and curing. Not much else concerns them."

"And we wouldn't be lucky enough to have these Medics be nearby, would we?" Seth asked, raising one eyebrow at Colby.

The blind jailer apparently caught Seth's tone, even if he didn't see the visual cue. He grinned, although Julie still found it more like a skull's grimace than an expression of pleasure. "Actually, the Medics are only a couple trees over. And their entrance is ground level, like this one, so hurt Silva don't have to climb. Or groundcrawlers," he added meaningfully. "Just walk west from here until you see a big maple. It'll have lots of really thick branches, even if the trunk is thin." He shook his head. "I still cannot believe I am giving prisoners directions."

"Thanks," Luke said, nodding at him. "I can't say it was nice meeting you, exactly…"

"But thank you for letting us out," Julie interjected quickly.

"Well, I won't say you're welcome…yet." Colby jerked his head toward the staircase. "Now get out of here. Things are going to get messy when they figure out