Winged Raiders of the Desert (11 page)

Jalor, who was close by, said, “As soon as the fighting starts, we will slip away and come in from the easterly direction.”

The battle began at once. It reminded Reb of movies that he had seen of air war. The Shadow Wings were indeed as black as night. They came furiously, and soon the air was filled with arrows and with a clash of sword on sword. Warriors grappled, fighting fiercely with daggers. Jake saw two of them drop toward the ground fighting until one of them slipped away limply to fall to the earth. There were screams and cries of battle and such confusion that the Sleepers could make nothing of it.

At that moment Jalor said, “Come, this way!” He soared off to the right, and the Sleepers followed him. Soon they were out of range of the battle sounds, and Jalor made a swooping turn. “This way!” he cried.

The little group landed on an open space in a wooded plateau. “The prison is that way,” Jalor said. He looked at Jake. “Garfield, you lead the force. I will cover the rear. That is where the trouble will come from.”

Jake was glad to be rid of Jalor. “Where is it?” he said. They all listened as Jalor gave the simple instructions, then turned and ran across the rock. Jake's heart was beating like a trip-hammer, and he looked across to see that Wash was panting hard too. “Don't fall behind, Wash,” he said. “We've got to stick together.”

Reb and Dave led the attack. They found the entrance to the cave guarded by only two warriors. The Shadow Wing guards let out a cry, but both young men had brought their bows. They loosed an arrow apiece, and both guards went down.

“Come on!” Reb yelled and uttered a wild, screeching cry. “Let's get them Yankees!”

“They're not Yankees,” Dave said. “They're Shadow Wings.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot.”

Then they were inside the cave. It was dark, but they made their way to a large steel door. Reb had brought the key from the belt of one of the guards and unlocked the door.

At once Sarah burst out. She threw herself at Josh, who grabbed her to keep her from falling.

“Sarah,” he said, “are you all right?”

“Yes, I'm so glad you've come. I knew you would.”

“Come on. We've got to get out of here. Are you all right, Swiftwind?”

Swiftwind stared at Jake, his face wearing an odd expression. He was silent for a moment, then nodded. “I see now that the servants of Goél are faithful, and so it must be that I will serve Goél. I and all my people when I am chief.”

“No one is serving Goél.”

They all whirled to see Jalor standing there, and behind him a group of Shadow Wings all carrying swords.
Jalor grinned triumphantly. “The plan has failed,” he announced. “Now all of you are my prisoners.”

What happened at that moment triggered what would later be called the Battle of the Cave.

The smile on the face of Jalor infuriated Lareen. “You traitor!” she cried and threw herself forward, pulling the short sword out of her belt.

Jalor, caught off guard by the audacious young woman, managed to draw his own sword, but her blade caught it and sent it spinning. At the same time, Jake yelled, “Sleepers, fight for the honor of Goél!”

Fortunately Jalor had brought only four armed men. They attacked, but two of them died at once as Reb and Dave loosed their arrows. The other two went down as Wash, Jake, Abbey, Josh, and Sarah threw themselves forward. Ordinarily it would not have been possible for young people to overcome these warriors, but the fury of their attack overwhelmed the Shadow Wings.

Lareen held the point of her blade to the throat of Jalor who began crying, “Don't kill me! Don't kill me!”

“You're a traitor,” she said. “We will let the chief decide.” Then she turned to Swiftwind, who had joined in the attack and said, “Now we will see what Goél can do for our people. Come. Let us see how the battle goes!”

T
he victory banquet was a tremendous success! Chief White Storm sat beside Chief Ali Shareef, and after a sumptuous feast Chief White Storm stood and lifted his silver goblet. “May I have your attention!” He waited until those who packed the banquet hall, which was carved out of stone in a magnificent cave, paused to listen. The chief raised his goblet again, saying, “I give you our gallant allies, Chief Ali Shareef and the Desert People.” He turned to face the chief, a smile on his face. “Our history will record the beginning of a time of peace between the Winged Raiders and the People of the Desert.”

At once Chief Ali Shareef arose and lifted his own goblet. “And I propose a toast to Chief White Storm, a gallant warrior, and to his gallant people. May our two peoples live together in peace and harmony.”

A cry ran around the hall, and Jake leaned back and basked in the admiration of the elders of both tribes. After the battle, which had been won by the arrival of the warriors of Chief Ali's band, the negotiations between the two chiefs had been brief and very cordial. The animosity that had existed between the two peoples seemed to go up in smoke.

Jake leaned over and whispered to Josh, “I guess they'll be able to get along now, but they'll always have lots of arguments about how to do it, I suppose. Any big group's like that.”

“The big thing is,” Josh said, a warm smile on his face, “they've found how to work together. The Desert
People can supply the Winged Raiders with things they need, and the Winged Raiders will agree to live at peace with them.”

Lareen, sitting across the table with Swiftwind, looked at them quickly.

Swiftwind said, “It'll mean no more slavery. That's part of the agreement my father made with Chief Ali, and a good thing too.”

“Yes, the slaves were so happy to be going back to their people!” Sarah exclaimed. She glanced over at Jake and said, “Well, Jake, you're the big hero. I expect they'll give you a medal or something.”

Jake said slowly and thoughtfully, “I don't need a medal, but I sure learned a lot from this. Mostly about how to have faith in Goél.”

“It did look pretty dark, didn't it?” Wash said. “I felt like I was walking through a graveyard at midnight, expecting somebody to get me at any minute. But it's all right now.”

The banquet went on for some time, and at the end, when Josh as leader of the Seven Sleepers was asked to address the chiefs of both tribes, he rose and said, “I will not make a long speech, but I will say how happy I am to see the Winged Raiders and the Desert People come together.” He hesitated, then said, “I have one request.”

“Nothing you ask will be refused,” Chief White Storm said instantly.

“It is a hard thing,” Josh warned.

Chief White Storm said, “You will see that the Winged Raiders of the Desert know how to keep their word. What is your command?”

“Not a command, but a request,” Josh said quietly. Every face was turned toward him, and absolute silence reigned. “I ask that you show mercy to the Shadow Wings,”
he said quietly. The silence grew even more profound, and then a murmur ran across the hall.

“The Shadow Wings!” White Storm was shocked. “But they are our enemies!”

“So were the Desert People, but now you are brothers,” Josh said.

He began to speak of love and of how love could transform. His words were simple, but both chiefs and all their men appeared to be caught up in them.

“I never knew you could be so eloquent,” Sarah said after the banquet was over. “I could tell that Chief White Storm was impressed.”

The following day the two of them were walking along the edge of the Citadel, looking down on the desert far away. The Sleepers had come together for one final flight. As the others were putting on their wings, Josh said, “I think it's what Goél sent us here for—to bring the message of love to all of these people. Now, let's have one more flight.”

Thirty minutes later, the Sleepers were soaring over the Citadel. They caught an updraft and rose in the air like birds. They turned and wheeled and glided, and, when they finally came to earth again, Josh said, “I'm going to miss all of this. We all will.” He looked up and said, “Look! I believe the whole tribe's come to tell us good-bye.”

“Well, I'm glad we don't have to ride a camel all the way back. At least we get one last long flight,” Jake said.

They advanced to where the tribe was waiting with White Storm and Sure Flight. Beside them were Swiftwind and Lareen. Off to one side, Darkwind with a shamed look on his face watched but said nothing.

Jake had to feel sorry for him and muttered, “I'm trying to feel some of this love Goél is talking about, but it's hard to do with a cat like that!”

White Storm said, “I wish you would change your mind and remain with us,” he said. “We would be proud to have you as members of the Winged Raiders.”

Speaking for the group, Josh said, “It is an honor that we must refuse, O Chief. We must be obedient to Goél.”

Lareen said, “But you will come back, won't you, Garfield?”

Jake said, “I sure hope so.”

Chief White Storm said, “We will send an honor guard with you. They will see you safely to your homes and bring your wings back to the Citadel. They will be waiting for you when you come back.”

It was a hard moment for Jake, for he had learned to love the people here. And as he sprang into the air he heard Lareen calling out, “Come back, Garfield! We'll be waiting for you!”

It was a long flight, but finally the honor guard, led by Sure Flight, set them down close to their village where they had first conceived the idea of visiting the Citadel. Sadly they removed their wings, gave them to the attendants, and Sure Flight bade them good-bye.

“Come back,” he said. “We will be your people.”

The Sleepers watched as the Winged Raiders rose and became mere dots and then disappeared.

“Well, back to the old drawing board.” Jake sighed. “It seems like we do this over and over again, just one task after another.”

Abigail slipped her arm through his. “Come on, Jake. You can tell me again what a big hero you are.” The others laughed, but Abigail squeezed him. “I really mean that, Jake. You came out better than any of us this time. I believe you've taught us how to have more faith.”

“Well, I was the one who didn't want to go,” Jake protested, “but I'll be more ready next time, you can bet.”

The Sleepers trudged back down the road. It was growing dark, and, as usual, Sarah fell into step with Josh. “It was hard, but I wouldn't trade it for anything,” Sarah said.

To her surprise, Josh reached down and took her hand. That was an unusual thing for him to do, and she looked at him with surprise.

Josh was aware of her eyes and said, “I guess a fellow can hold hands with his girl if he wants to, can't he?”

It was something that Sarah had wanted to hear him say for a long time. She became choked up and was unable to speak. His hand was warm and strong and made her feel secure.

Finally he said, “You
are
my girl, aren't you, Sarah?”

Sarah gave him a warm smile. “Whose other girl would I be?” she whispered. “Come on, Josh,” she cried, “let's go see what Goél has in store for us next.”