Page 83 of Suncatcher

Not even Driz’s attempts at courting her with the harmonica worked, as it had that very first time. Pearl asked her to play each night, but then she would just smile instead of falling on her, all hungry and needy. So Driz must have been doing it wrong.

She tried not to be disappointed. She missed Pearl’s touch like a raging inferno, but she craved Pearl’s company more. And if this was all Pearl could give her, Driz would accept it. If this was her curse, she would learn to bear it.

On the fourth night, when Driz tested her wings, she was relieved to fly without discomfort. She pushed up into the sky, cheered by the sensation of the air rushing past her. She circled above the cave they’d found the night before and touched down at the entrance.

Pearl had just started a fire, smoke filling the poorly vented space and reminding Driz briefly of the mines, but the sight of Pearl chased those thoughts away. Driz was about to share the good news with Pearl when she heard the familiar bellow.

“What’s wrong?” Pearl asked.

“A Meeting. But we just had one.”

“What’s that mean?”

“I do not know.” Why would the speaker call for another so soon? It had never happened more than once per season at most in Driz’s recollection.

“You have to go?”

“I am afraid so.” Driz scowled. “I have not hunted for you yet.”

“I’ll do it myself. I’ll be fine. How long will you be gone?”

“I do not know. But I will return as soon as I can.”

The bellow came again. Driz leaned in for a quick kiss, but Pearl angled her face so Driz’s lips caught the edge of Pearl’s mouth, the interaction jarring and forced. Before Driz could ponder it, the renewed call drew her to the sky.

She was one of the last to arrive, touching down near Torrent. Driz looked for young Gully, but he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Torrent would not meet Driz’s gaze or answer her tentative greeting.

Everyone shifted, confused as she was about what was happening.

The speaker stepped onto the ledge. She appeared even more serious and subdued than the last time Driz had seen her.

“Two goyles are dead,” the speaker announced without preamble. “We must leave now and not wait another year.”

“What happened to them?” someone asked.

“Humans,” the speaker said simply. “There are too many in this area.”

“Which humans?” Driz asked, pushing closer. Everyone moved out of the way, their eyes taking in her tattered but very human clothes.

“One entered a town to the south. And the other attacked the new human railroad.”

“Who died?” Driz asked, her stomach dropping.

“Gully and Rush.”

Horror pierced through Driz as she thought of Gully’s shy smile. And Rush was only a few years older. Driz glanced back at Torrent.

“Young are always more curious and emotional, but we must never approach humans,” the speaker continued. “This is what happens.”

“Humans are not always dangerous,” Driz protested, aware of the bullet wounds that still scarred her body, and the hair on the half of her head starting to regrow.

“Be silent, Drizzle,” Torrent snapped. She was looking at Driz now, her gaze hard and hateful. Driz retreated a step, the look cutting through her as it had so very long ago.

“This is a reminder for us all,” the speaker said. “Make certain to teach your young better.”

Torrent flinched. It was a cruel thing to say when Torrent had just lost her fledgling, and Driz instinctively moved to comfort her mother. She started to approach, but Torrent snapped her wings and growled, baring her teeth as her aggression flared.

The goyles around them scattered, leaving space for a fight. Driz didn’t intend to fight and she crouched, keeping her wings tucked.