Chapter 8: Happy Revenge to You!
At the crack of dawn I went to sleep, still angered by the words of the vulture which didn't even make sense. Ebony was a female yet she had the highest status in the city! I figured it was a bit more personal than that but I wasn't given enough time to think about it. I woke up only an hour later.
"Wake up, girl!" said the Master in a foul mood.
I held onto my pillow for dear life as she nearly yanked my wing out of my body. "Ok! I'm up! Stop it!" She finally let go and I crawled from under the comfort of my bed. "What is it?"
"I discovered it was your birthday today and I just thought-"
"Wait a sec, I didn't even tell Jet and Storm that so how could you...unless you've been reading my diary!"
"Well it's your fault for leaving it lying around and for not having a tight seal on it. By the way, I didn't know you were so fond of that green-feathered delinquent…"
She read everything! "I don't care for either of them ok?"
"Right…" she was being so sarcastic, "anyway we all have something special for you so get ready."
I couldn't understand why but I felt good hearing her say there would be something special for me. And I thought she was a bad person…
Before I left outside Jet and Storm popped in front of me. They had suspicious grins on their faces like they were up to no good, and they probably were. Only because it was my birthday did I give them the benefit of the doubt.
"Ebony told us it was your birthday today so we got you this." Storm handed me a lengthy box with poor wrapping on it. I was afraid of what it would be at first but when I opened it I was filled with so much joy I cried. "It's a…19mm Combination Wrench! I've been wanting this my whole life! Thank you!"
"Yeah we know you like to tinker with stuff and we've…kind of been nosing around in your tool kit. We noticed you only needed this," Jet added.
"Well this time I'm grateful that you guys have no respect for my things. This time," I repeated.
"Gotcha, no more going through your things. So let's hurry up and get outside so we can see what all the fuss is about!"
My birthday as of then was better than I expected but it easily got frightening. Seeing the Master walk across the top of the stairs calmed me for a second, then I saw some masked vulture next to a table holding out a needle and I thought to myself, this woman is going to perform some kind of ritual on me! But then she spoke the people.
"My brothers and sisters, today one of our guests has come to the age of honor…the age of 13! We must begin the ceremony which will make her an honorary member of our city!"
"Did she say 13? I'm only 11! I guess she didn't read everything in my diary…"
"Actually we told her you were 13 so you could do this. She said we could do it too."
"WHAT!" I yelled out loud, my voice echoing through the city. Master motioned for me to come by her side but I hesitated.
"Come on now, Wave. It only looks like it will hurt I assure you," She coaxed.
And then he came, the jerk from last night who was supposed to teach me how to fight. He ignored me intentionally and stood by the Master.
"Your majesty I don't think she is worthy of becoming an honorary member. She's only a hatchling and an outsider."
The citizens began talking amongst themselves and I started to beat imaginary sweat from my forehead.
"Well Bane this hatchling will someday have the world worshipping her through fear and force, and you won't be here long enough to witness it. Anymore statements?'
Anyone could see Bane was getting steamed. He balled the tips of his feathers into a fist and flung it up to meet only a centimeter away from the Master's face. The crowd fell on deaf ears.
"I challenge this girl to a Battle of the Winds here and now! My mastery over the skies against her boarding abilities!"
All of a sudden the people cheered and clapped with excitement while I, the birthday girl, was tense and anxious. Jet and Storm kept rooting for me but I couldn't hear what they said. All I could focus on was Bane, the one who got me into this mess in the first place.
"Do you accept his challenge, Wave?" asked the Master.
I nodded with hesitance. Racing against a native was one thing but I had no idea how good this guy was. The fact that he wasn't using a board scared me even more.
In the middle of the desert, racing was of an entirely new breed. The sand could slow you down, the sun could make you blind, and the overall atmosphere was scorching and unbearable. Somehow I'd have to overcome all of this and come out on top.
By the snap of a finger the vultures had made a pathway to the outside. On the left stood Bane and I was on the right tuning up my board using my new wrench. Jet and Storm came up to me with concern.
"You sure you want to do this Wave? I mean I could go in your place…"
"No way Jet. I'm going to prove this guy wrong even if it kills me, and besides it's my birthday so I get to race."
"Ok…" he sighed.
"Knock him dead, Wave!" cheered Storm.
Giving him a smile I readied myself for a sprint across the starting line. Bane merely glanced at me while shaking his head with distain. "You got something to say to me?"
He scoffed. "Just don't look at the sun when you're out there."
It was weird, but I think he just gave me a tip on how to win. My suspicious nature suspected he wasn't doing it for my own good.
Master stepped out in front of us and lifted her wing. "Ready…set…GO!"
As she moved I bolted out of the city, leaving Bane in my dust. Confidence burst inside me because it looked like I was going to win…until he makes a flashy appearance right above my head! No longer were his wings just stubby fingers but fully spread masters of the sky and it would take many years for my wings to be like his. Still, I refused to give in.
To build momentum I made a sharp turn to reach a sand dune. It propelled me into the air and also added air to my board. Unfortunately this gave an opportunity for Bane to get ahead of me.
"Finding it hard to keep up, girl?" he called out now flying backwards.
"Not even a little!" I replied.
"Heh, you will in a second." He snickered while soaring into the sunlight.
The light slipped from his shadow and cast right into my eyes, blinding me for what seemed like forever. I stopped but caught up against some bones and lost my balance. Once again Bane got ahead of me and I became enraged at his actions. Time I got on the offensive.
When another sand dune came up I lowered down closer to my board then sprung up at the right moment, now I was as high as he was. Catching a glimpse of me from behind he flapped harder and faster until a deadly wind shifted him closer to me. Too angry to notice the danger I took out my wrench swung it into the back of his head. Before I knew what I had done the wind took us both in its wrath and we fell back into the sand.
I can't remember how long we were buried but when I finally made it out I couldn't find Bane. Figuring he'd made it out of the sand and went to the finish line I quickly grabbed my wrench and rode my board slowly back to the city. What surprised me when I got there was that everyone, even the Master applauded.
"Uh, I thought I lost…"
"You didn't lose, child! You won! This makes you an honorary member of this city, as well as your friends!"
Storm then pointed at my wrench. "Aw, Wave you got some red, chunky stuff on the present we gave you!"
My eyes grew wide and watery with his words. Bringing the wrench to my face I immediately recognized it as blood, and as for the chunky parts…
"Is that what I think it is?" asked Jet with a cringe.
"I…I killed him…I killed him…"
And for some reason the crowd grew louder when I said this. "I killed one of your own! What's wrong with you people!"
"This is an even greater achievement than merely defeating him! You are hereby promoted to a Rogue!" declared the Master.
As I heard the crowd riot, the three of us climbed up the stairs and sat down. After more words we were given tattoos of flames on our wings and according to the Master I was the first Rogue in years. This made Jet jealous, but she said that they both would get a chance to become Rogues if they did things that were highly dangerous.
Even with having a higher rank than Jet I still wasn't feeling proud of what happened to Bane. I wanted to get back at him, not kill him. Yet that incident was only one of many I had to deal with.