“There won’t be any help from the other birds, Tor said. “But we won’t let you face him alone.”

  “Certainly not,” agreed Mellori, “especially with an injured wing.”

  Cawnor flapped it twice.

  “It’s okay, a little sore.”

  “You don’t have to act brave for us,” Mellori told him. “We all saw him fly in. He’s a monster. Still, that big he can’t be as maneuverable as we are. Together we can drive him off. Right?”

  Antsie scratched the dirt for a non-existent worm and muttered something inaudible.

  “Of course,” said Tor.

  Rebecca looked on the verge of tears and nodded weakly.

  Wia might not have heard anything for all of the reaction she showed.

  “Thank you,” Cawnor said. “But Mallec won’t be driven off easily. He won’t be hunting for a meal. He’ll be hunting for revenge. I’m the one he wants. There’s no need for anyone else to get hurt.”

  Rebecca looked stricken, but Tor just shook his head.

  “Cawnor, sticking together is our best chance of no one getting hurt.”

  He shrugged. “Okay. All of you have my thanks. I think we should face him out over the water. We’re used to it. He may not be. Tomorrow morning, we will wait on the beach for him. Until then, stay out of sight. He probably won’t discriminate one crow from another.”

  The others nodded in agreement. Tor and Mellori flew off together toward the ocean. Antsie, somewhat shaky, hopped away and waited until Wia took flight before trailing along behind her.

  “Cawnor,” Rebecca said. “I’m sorry about the things I said. I was too harsh. I...you’ve done a good job. We wouldn’t be here without you. I was unfair. Can you forgive me?”

  “Of course,” said Cawnor, coming close. “I already did.”

  Rebecca smiled and came closer still, so that they were nearly touching. “I’m glad. Because there’s something that I’ve needed to say. I...”

  “Stop. Whatever it is, we should wait to talk about it until after tomorrow.”

  “But...”

  “No, please. It’s better if we wait.”

  She looked doubtful, but nodded. “Okay. If you think so.”

  “Don’t worry, Rebecca. It’s going to be alright. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  Before she could say anything, Cawnor leaned in, kissed her very quickly on the cheek, and then he flew away.

  twenty-nine

  Endless Water

  Just past dawn, the day was already warm and muggy. The humans would be thick on the beach soon. Normally, it would be a day to glut on scraps of corn dogs and cheese-on-a-stick, but today was different.

  Tor and Mellori were the first ones there. They shifted anxiously while scanning the sky for the others, or for Mallec.

  “Tor, do you really think we can get through this? I mean, maybe this isn’t the place for us.”

  “Nothing worth having is ever easy to get.”

  “Dead racoon entrails?”

  “You have to watch out for cars.”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “What I mean is that Cawnor brought us here, and it’s a good place. There will always be adversity. If we stay together, I really believe that there is nothing that we can’t overcome. Look at all that we’ve done already.”

  “Okay, I...look there’s Rebecca.”

  Rebecca swooped, circled them once, and landed next to Tor. A moment later, they were joined by Wia and a reluctant Antsie.

  There was only one of them missing now.

  “Where’s Cawnor?” asked Rebecca. “He was already gone when I woke up. I assumed that he had come here ahead of me.”

  Mellori shook her head.

  “We haven’t seen him yet. I wonder where he could be.”

  “He’ll be here,” Tor said, looking back over the road where the estuary was.

  “Cawnor wasn’t the only one gone; nothing was moving. I didn’t see an animal or bird smaller than a pelican.”

  “They’re hiding,” said Mellori. “Scared.”

  “I’m scared,” said Antsie.

  “Wia, do you have any idea where Cawnor is? Can you see him?” asked Rebecca.

  Wia’s head hung lower than usual. Her shoulders were slumped.

  “I can’t see him at all. I haven’t been able to see anything past today. Only water, endless water.”

  They all turned and looked out of the ocean that had become so familiar. It was certainly endless. Endless and enduring, providing a bounty beyond anything they had known back in the Flock of the Mesa.

  “We all see endless water,” Antsie said.

  Wia shook her head, “Not like this. I see wild water. Water that consumes everything, destroys everything. I see water that brings death. So much death.”

  thirty

  The Meeting by the Hawk's Nest

  Mallec emerged from his nest looking every bit as big as an eagle. He dove down, almost straight, beat his powerful wings three times, caught and updraft and soared up one hundred feet – where he nearly ran into Cawnor coming from the opposite direction.

  “Crow! Are you him? Are you the one?”

  “I’m Cawnor. I fought your mate; I wounded her wing. I didn’t know she had chicks. I’m sorry.”

  “Our chicks have gone hungry these last few days because of you. I would feed you to them, but crow meat would probably poison them.”

  “I was protecting my home.”

  “Liar! Skriah said she never attacked any crows.”

  “But she attacked the other birds in the estuary, our friends. We were protecting them.”

  “Why? They won’t even protect themselves. They deserve what they get.”

  “I’m not here to argue with you.”

  “Then why did you come?”

  “To give you what you want, a fight.”

  “Your death.”

  “Maybe. Probably. But I want your promise to leave the birds of the estuary alone. You and your mate both.”

  “Why should I?”

  Cawnor shrugged, coasting along beside him. “It’s the only sure shot you’ll get at me. If I run, can you be sure you can catch me? I out flew your mate. I’ll bet she can outmaneuver you.”

  Mallec thought it over.

  “Agreed. We fight to the death. But after I kill you, I promise that neither Skriah nor I will hunt the birds of the estuary.”

  “How do I know that you’ll do what you promise?”

  “You dare? Unlike crows, hawks have honor.”

  Cawnor nodded.

  “Alright. Here I am. Let’s do this.”

  thirty-one

  A Shift in the Deep

  Miles offshore, deep at the bottom of the ocean, a massive plate slipped at the fault line, causing the ocean’s floor to shake and convulse. On the surface, the water churned and dropped like a waterfall. It gushed in and then out, sending a massive wave in every direction. The wave gained momentum and mass with every foot it travelled.

  thirty-two

  Water Flows Out

  “Did you feel that?” asked Rebecca, startled.

  “A tremor,” Tor said. “A small one. Most of the humans didn’t even notice.”

  “A small tremor here, but I fear what it forebodes,” said Wia. “Today is the day.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Antsie, nervously looking back and forth.

  “Today is the day beyond which I can see nothing. I don’t think that we should stay on the beach.”

  “But what about Cawnor?”

  “Rebecca, I don’t think Cawnor is coming. If he is, it doesn’t matter. We should leave.”

  Around them, the humans continued to swim, to throw their footballs, laze in the sun, and eat their hotdogs and hamburgers.

  The crows looked to one another. Wia said nothing, letting the others come to their own decisions.

  Nearby, a loudspeaker crackled. A moment later, a muffled voice boomed out of it. The crows did not understand what the voice said, but the humans on the beach became nervous. They twittered to one another. A few began to pack up their belongings. Most simply stood and looked around.

  “Look at the water!” said Antsie.

  They all turned and looked at the ocean. The water was drawing back like the retreating tide, only much faster and much lower than the lowest low tide.

  It grew very quiet. For a moment, everything was still.

  thirty-three

  The Wave

  Mallec charged, dagger sharp talons extended. Cawnor swerved, feeling the wind of the larger bird’s pass. Mallec flapped his wings twice and made a wide turn, ready for another try. So far, Cawnor had been able to evade the hawk’s attacks, but he was tiring, whereas Mallec was still focused and fresh.

  Something by the ocean drew Cawnor’s attention. Mallec noticed too. He paused in his attack, dropping down ten feet into a comfortable glide.

  The ocean water had pulled back farther than Cawnor had ever seen. All manner of fish and other sea creatures were momentarily stranded on the wet sand beneath the hot sun. If he had not been so far up, he might have thought that the water had disappeared entirely. Most of the humans on the beach appeared to be standing around watching the phenomenon. Only a few of them were hurrying away from the water. The animals and birds, on the other hand, were leaving the waterfront in a mass exodus. Whatever was going on was unusual, and so best avoided. From near the pier, a high-pitched siren wailed. The people began to flee.

  From his vantage point, Cawnor now saw the water begin to rush back in. The edge swelled and became a large wave that grew ever faster and larger as it approached the shore.

  “Corvus!” he swore.

  The wave was huge. It was taller than the pier that jutted out into the water, taller than the human buildings that lined the shore.

  The humans panicked. They were running inland, trying to escape. There was no chance of that. The water was travelling much too fast.

  The giant wave crashed against the shore. The pier shuddered and then was swept away like twigs. The buildings along the boardwalk were engulfed. The people, and even their cars, were picked up and carried off like flotsam.

  The wave broke and leveled out, but the water continued rushing inland. Behind the first massive wave were others, not as large but still massive.

  In seconds, the estuary was flooded with deep, fast-moving water that sounded like the trains that used to run by the mesa in what felt like a lifetime ago.

  “No!” Mallec said.

  Cawnor followed the hawk’s gaze. The tree in which the hawks nested was tilting dangerously. The force of the water was too great for it. It was going to go over.

  “This isn’t through,” Mallec said, as he flew toward his nest, leaving Cawnor behind.

  Cawnor wanted to go and find Rebecca; it had just occurred to him that the others had expected him to meet them by the beach. He wanted to make sure that she and his friends were alive and well.

  Mallec reached his nest. The huge hawk tried gripping the nest in several places, apparently hoping to carry the whole thing to safety. It was too large, even for Mallec, to be carried that way.

  Skriah had her wings around the chicks protectively. With her injury, it was all she could do. And there were too many for Mallec to save alone.

  The tree was almost flat in the water. The nest tilted precariously. Any moment it would fall, or the tree would give way.

  Cawnor dove toward the nest.

  Mallec helped Skriah out. The mother hawk was able to fly with some difficulty, but not while holding even one chick. She saw Cawnor diving toward them.

  “Mallec! Watch out!”

  Mallec looked at Cawnor with eyes full of pain and hatred.

  “I don’t have time for you now! Can’t you see that?”

  “I want to help you save your chicks. There isn’t much time.”

  That was obviously true. Only seconds remained until the tree and the nest were gone.

  Mallec nodded. “Help me save them.”

  Five chicks were in the nest. They were still small enough that Cawnor was able to grasp one in each of his feet and still fly with only moderate trouble. Mallec did the same. It left one chick still in the nest.

  “I’ll take her in my beak,” said Mallec.

  “No. You’ll hurt her,” protested Skriah. “I can carry her.” She saw the doubt on her mate’s face. “I can!”

  The tree lurched. The determined mother lowered herself and grabbed the last chick, just as the whole thing gave way. The tree, the nest, both finally succumbed to the tremendous force of the water and were gone. Skriah hovered just a few feet above the rushing water, grimacing as she flapped her wings, struggling to stay aloft with the added burden of her chick. Cawnor, with his own wing injured, did not think he could keep this up for long either.

  “We have to get inland,” Cawnor said. He spied a patch of dry land not too far off, the top of a muddy hill. “There! Let’s make for that.”

  Mallec made it easily enough. The chicks did not like being carried and squirmed, trying to free themselves, but it was nothing their father could not handle. Cawnor clenched his beak and pushed through the pain in his wing and arrived a few moments later. Skriah had to devote more concentration and effort into simply staying aloft.

  After Cawnor set the chicks he carried down, he turned back to see how she was faring. Skriah was inches from the water. She faltered. The chick in her talon slipped from her grasp and splashed into the cold brine. Skriah shouted and chased her chick instinctively. Too low, she was unable to pull up and crashed into the water as well.

  Mallec screamed and jumped forward.

  Cawnor blocked his path. “No! Stay with your children. I’ll get them.”

  The water was still flowing forward, but, Cawnor thought, perhaps losing momentum. He saw Skriah fighting to stay afloat, but he couldn’t see the chick. Wait-he caught a glimpse of something small and slick. Was it the chick or debris? It was difficult to tell.

  Cawnor dove at a steep angle straight for the water. He pulled his wings in tight, like he had seen Gaudio do so often before, and plunged into the murky water.

  For Mallec, the next few seconds were an eternity. The frightened chirps of his remaining children were the only thing that kept him from braving the water himself. Finally, Cawnor emerged with the chick held in his beak. He beat the surface of the water with his wings until he was able to clamber up the edge of the muddy ground. He handed the child over to his father.

  His chest heaved and his muscles ached. But he wasn’t done yet. Cawnor spied Skriah fighting against the current. She was almost past them. Cawnor took off and flew in low, almost skimming the water.

  “Take my talon!” he shouted.

  It was no good; she couldn’t reach him. It was all she could do to stay afloat. He matched his speed to hers and grabbed what he could, a shoulder and just behind her neck. She was much heavier than he was.

  “Help me,” he told her. “Try to steer for the hill.”

  Cawnor thought his heart might explode, but, working with her, he managed to help Skriah reach the high ground. Mallec came to the edge of the water and pulled his mate up. Cawnor let go and flopped down into the mud next to them.

  They were safe, but what about his friends? Where was Rebecca? Where were Tor and the others?

  The current was slowing. Hopefully, the water would recede soon.

  The hawks huddled together, Mallec and Skriah shielding the chicks with their wings. Cawnor wasn’t certain what would happen with Mallec later, but their truce would hold for now.

  Without another word to Mallec or his mate, Cawnor took to the sky.

  thirty-four

  A Crow Lost

  The destruction was terrible. All along the coast, human dwellings had been flooded and many destroyed entirely. Trees had been uprooted in great numbers. Many were dead. Mixed in with the dozens of human corpses were bodies of rabbits, dogs, cats, squirrels, even a few of the small deer that lived in the estuary. There were birds dead, here and there, but not many—flight is a handy ability to possess during a tsunami.

  Cawnor circled the nesting trees, which still stood, thank Corvus. But the nests were empty. He flew back toward the beach. Along the water the devastation was almost total. Later, there would be plenty to eat. But there was no time to think of food now. He had to make sure that Rebecca was safe.

  “Cawnor!” someone yelled from the direction of the ocean.

  He turned toward the sound of the voice.

  “Gaudio!? Where have you been? It’s been days since anyone saw you.”

  “I just took a bit of a vacation up the coast. There’s a spot I like...”

  “Have you seen Rebecca? I have to find her. There was a wave—it was like nothing I’ve seen.”

  “Yeah, I caught that, nasty business. Rebecca I haven’t seen. But listen, you should know...”

  “It’ll have to wait. I have to find Rebecca and the others before I do anything else. Will you check the coastline? I’ll go inland. If you find them, I’ll check back at our nests in an hour. Have them meet me.”

  Without waiting for the gull to reply, Cawnor trimmed his wing and turned east.

  A fire truck with flashing red lights and a blaring siren sped toward the beach. It was followed by another and another. Then police cars and ambulances. The lights were dazzling and the sounds deafening. So, it was little wonder that Cawnor almost missed them.

  Rebecca and the others were in the center of a field a few blocks beyond the range of the wave. They had sometimes gone there for a change of scenery. It was a place where humans gathered and played games or ran in circles on the path that surrounded the field. There were no people there now, just birds.

  Lots of birds.

 

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