The Stillness of the Sky (31 page)

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Authors: Starla Huchton

BOOK: The Stillness of the Sky

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“I do not help humans,” I called down to her.

“I see very well why, but I promise you it’s safe.”

Stunned, I stared at her. That woman knew my words?

“Wait a moment and I’ll come to you,” she said, adjusting her cloak.

As I moved to fly away, the woman spun, her shape expanding and shifting as she turned from human into bird. She rose into the sky, hovering before me as a reflection in a still lake.

“You see then? I’m a friend,” she said. “I’ve a mind to save those creatures down there, but I’ll need your help to do it. Can you carry one of them?”

I looked at the cows and considered it. I didn’t generally carry such heavy things, but the cows were on the small side, and underfed by the look of it.

“I believe so, but—”

“You’ll feel better for the good deed done, trust me,” she said. “There’s a farm not three miles back that had very happy animals. It isn’t all that far.”

“Why should I do this for you?”

When she laughed, it reminded me a little of my lost Rin, cracking my resolve. “It isn’t for me, silly thing. It’s for the cows.”

Confused beyond belief, I relented, unable to give her a valid reason why I shouldn’t. Following her lead, we swooped down to carry the cows off. I strained under the extra weight, but the pasture the bird woman spoke of was fairly close, as she’d said. The two animals amongst fatter, happier friends, we lit off once more, heading back towards her carriage.

When we were stopped again, her form returned to the woman she’d been before. “You see?” she said. “They’ll be well off there, and the girl has something valuable to sell. Don’t you feel better for having helped?”

“Only for the cows,” I grumbled.

She clicked her tongue at me. “You shouldn’t feel that way. Not all humans are so bad. You never know what might come of the slightest measure of trust.”

I flapped my wings and rose into the air. “I do not trust humans. You fear too much and love too little.”

She smiled sadly. “Better too little than not at all. Good luck in your travels, wherever that may lead you.”

Without responding, I flew away, putting my curiosity behind me. There was no love left for me in the world, and none would ever understand that.

As the carriage rattled down the road away from me, I sighed to myself. For a moment, I thought perhaps the bird woman would see my truth, but she only carried echoes of the past. With a course set for the mountains, I wondered what pretty lie the great white tree would tell me next.

If only I could believe its words.

There was no hope for me.

About the Author

A geek of all trades, Starla Huchton has been crafting stories in various genres since 2007. Her first novel,
The Dreamer’s Thread,
was released as a full cast audiobook podcast, becoming a double-nominee and finalist for the 2010 Parsec Awards, which opened the door for other audiobook and podcasting projects to which she lent her voice. Her steampunk adventure,
Master of Myth
, was the first place winner in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category of the Crested Butte Writers Conference contest, the Sandy, in 2012. A veteran of the US Navy, she took her service training as a Lithographer and applied it to a degree in graphic arts. She is decidedly a nerd with boundless love for superheroes, steampunk, British television, science, and hoarding craft supplies for projects she’ll get to “some day.”

When not writing, she trains three Minions, a black lab, and a military husband whilst designing book covers for independent authors and publishers at
http://www.designedbystarla.com
.

Connect with the author on the Starla Huchton Author Page on Facebook, @riznphnx on Twitter, or at
http:/www.starlahuchton.com
.

Other Books by the Author

Flipped Fairy Tales

Shadows on Snow

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OLHRYIE

The Stillness of the Sky

Ride the Wind
(Coming Soon)

The Antigone’s Wrath Series

Master of Myth

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MV4D93I

Master of Machines
(Coming soon)

The Dreamer’s Thread