Ol' Flint the Crow

Flint's Second Tale pt. 15

Behind the same pile of discarded wood where we first met Birch, I huddled down and made sure that nobody was in eyeshot. My beak nervously twitched like it was warning me not to go through with what I was planning. But in spite of these misgiving, I would not go back now.

Little by little, I opened the bag. The marbles rolled around, sending an ominous clamor all around me. While I shivered, I dug my wing among the imprisoning orbs and searched for the hawk.

No bigger than a peppercorn, the spirit animal floated in the center of the marble. His finger roughly tapped against the side of his scrunched up bill. With a pompous curl of the corner of his lip, he briefly stared haughtily at me. Then the hawk scoffed and spun around, showing me his arched back.

Growling as I shook his prison in between my fingertips, I shouted at him, "Hey! I know ya can hear me. So stop with the cold shoulder! I wanna to make a deal with ya."

'Oh...' Not bothering to look me in the eye but still interested in what I had to say, the hawk's voice echoed in my head. 'A deal, hmm? Why should I make a deal with a traitor?'

I twisted the marble to face the animal and hissed, "I ain't a traitor!"

'Could have fooled me,' scoffed the hawk. 'So, tell me traitor. What do you want?'

I stuttered, "Y-ya were right! The humans are gonna go back to the way things were once me and Edvrick are gone. They need to be stopped. I ain't gonna have 'em hurt another animal again. I swear it! B-but I need help!" Puckering my lips, I explained my plan. "I can get ya out of there. All I need to do is break this prison. I've seen Edvrick do it. He'll never know. He's already forgotten all about you. After we're gone, ya will stay here... S-show these humans what they deserve!"

'Kill them, you mean?' Asked the hawk with a venomous smile.

I shut my eyes so tightly that they started to hurt and mumbled out the word, "Y-yes!"

'Well, well. Now that's a deal! However, I don't feel exactly certain that your friend won't discover your treachery. What can you do that will assure my safety if I agree to the terms?'

"I-I promise! H-he won't find out! We'll be long gone before he even thinks about ya again, and even then he'll never know that ya were set free. I swear!"

'Not that I don't trust you, but how about a little collateral,' the hawk asked, grinning from ear to ear. 'I have been examining your friend's bag and seen some rather amazing things! Things like that wand and the ball of light which both caused my downfall in the first place. There are plenty of marbles here, your sylph friend won't miss a few them.'

Angry at how the bargain was turning out, I bartered with him. "Ya get those two, that's it!"

'I want five.'

"T-three!"

'Goodbye traitor!' answered the hawk as he turned his back on me.

"Four!! Errr! Alright. F-FIVE!!! But that's it!"

'And I get to choose,' the spirit added and smirk at me. 'Because I think I've found some good ones in here! Hehe! You surprise me. And to think I thought you didn't have a back bone. The poor sylph. What would he think of you right now?'

Frowning, I huffed, "Just do the deed! We ain't gonna stop ya."

'You better not!' he hissed. 'If your friend DOES disrupt my vengeance again, I will not hesitate to kill him. Well... it was a real pleasure to meet you Flint. You're doing the right thing. Your kin on the other side will thank you.'