CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The summer season began to wind down to its glorious close. With the heat and humidity dying off, a cool breeze began to sweep across the tropical cloisters of the jungle landscape. Trees swayed in a unified dance in celebration of surviving another season, for tomorrow would mark the first day of the autumn season, unquestionable to anyone, thanks to the ever-changing color of the leaves which continued to draw forth in their intensity as they basked in the last few remnants of the evening's sunlight. Despite the Brazilian winters failing to bring the cool arctic conditions and a very little probability of snow, the millions of birds remained bunkered within their nests and hollows, doing very little except for preparing for another long season of intense weather ahead.
Just like the change of the weather, so did the health conditions of Maria. At first, the change had barely been noticeable as she remained strong and healthy but as time slowly drifted onwards, her color became grayer, her skin pastier, and her strength gradually diminished inch by inch. Soon, she could not stand and spent her days within her nest. These sorts of things were not lost to Marco. He hovered in place for quite some time. His wings cut through the breeze at an even pace. He did not move an inch forward, though he remained well sustained in flight. Even though Sabrina's false memories began to subside, and her spell began to fade away into nothingness, his open heart continued to surge with an extreme evil unquenchable as it reached deeper into the darkness. He could not deny that this was his true self, a cold-blooded murderer. In a way his father had not done a thing, he had only served as a key to unlocking the floodgates which housed emotions never experienced by the Hawk. Upon the first taste of freedom, these emotions overpowered the goodness inside of him, leaving only a cruel heartless monster to rampage unchecked. As the last signs of the sunset disappeared upon the horizon so did the chances of Maria living long enough to see another day. As his eyes regained composure and returned to their former cloudless state, he began to take note of where he flew. The world reformed around him like a bright blur. He found himself needing to blink several times to clear his vision enough to see. Confused, he peered at every limb of his body. His glassy eyes returned to their former glory. Full of life, full of emotion, but they remained full of hatred. His beak curled into a savage snarl. The energy which flowed within his entire being renewed his strength and stamina. He could feel his one true self emerging for the first time. He stood now as a truly wicked and demonic figure with a heart and demeanor to murder someone.
Without a word, he threw his body downwards with all the force he could muster. His tail feathers and wings drew back allowing him to pick up speed. He could feel the wind brush past his wings. His eyes filled with delight at the feeling. Downwards he flew, with all the speed of a bullet. Never breaking, never stopping, until he needed to straighten himself before landing. Before long he stood on the path, deep in the middle of the jungle basked in the deep twilight.
"Ah, there you are,"
Marco's eyes narrowed as he listened to the familiar voice whisper in his ears. It surrounded him, coming from every direction. He shifted his head left, then right, in a futile effort to find the creature who spoke to him. His beak curled into a vicious snarl; this game infuriated him to no end. Without a word, he strained his eyes and took in the sight of a figure emerging through the darkness. Like a phantom, she made no noise, except for the occasional clicking of her beak. Marco arched his head back, surprised by the sudden appearance of his sister. He could not make out a single identifying facial feature instead he could only focus upon her eyes which cut through the darkness like a pair of twin fireflies.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, "You are only going to blow my cover."
The robed figure let out a cruel laugh and held up her wings in an innocent manner. Marco could only assume that underneath her hood, she held a wicked and vengeful smile. She shook her head, her eyes never moved off the Hawk, no matter which direction the hood shifted. Marco made a careful note of that but found himself remaining silent and awaiting a response.
"Does it matter?" Sabrina asked, "I have come to check on your progress. Did you give Maria the poison as I instructed?"
Marco straightened his posture and stood to full height. Despite that, the robed female still towered over him. The Hawk did his best to avoid any contact with his sister's cold cruel eyes. They frightened him to no end. He could not think straight. His beak trembled as he tried to come up with a satisfactory answer.
"Yes, I did, but it's not like it's dealing with any problems. She's losing her strength slower than I thought, in fact, at first, I was not even sure if I had done it correctly. This stuff is far slower than anything Jollo could have whipped up."
The hooded creature nodded in understanding. He began to pace back and forth though she never removed her eyes off the Hawk who stared down at his wing. The bright purple mark glowed brightly within her presence. Marco watched his sister's movements in secret. He did not want to fight her, he needed to follow his orders and bide his time, however, he also wanted results. He frowned and turned his full attention back to the robed Hawk. The two creatures glared at each other for a few seconds in silence.
"I can read your thoughts," Sabrina hissed in a flat emotionless voice. "You want to quit living the boring life which you have been forced into. You ache for some excitement, you want an unconquered challenge, am I correct?"
Marco swallowed a large lump in his throat. He nodded a reply but remained silent. His eyes filled with conflict towards his sister who seemed to know so much about him, even his own private thoughts. How could she know things that even he himself had not known until just a few seconds ago? Before he could speak, the robed bird held up a wing.
"You wonder how I knew this, don't you?" she asked, "Some questions do not have answers, my young friend. However, I do know that you will soon return to the life you seek. The time of patience is almost over."
The robed bird shook her head and began to step forward. With a flick of her wings, she flipped off the back of his hood to reveal her face to her brother for the first time. Her blank red eyes shimmered in the peaceful twilight, cutting a thick ominous feeling deep within Marco's soul. Her feathers looked pale with no natural color. Her curved black beak looked very sharp and very lethal. The outline of her face held dead peeling skin. It fell off in clumps allowing thick black patches of the skull to be brought to the surface. With each step forward, Sabrina became much more threatening becoming engulfed with light. Step by step, the light became stronger until nothing of her features could be seen at all. Marco found himself shielding his eyes with his wing to stop any permanent damage to his eyes, within seconds the light disappeared, and three new figures stood before him.
Each one dressed in a white robe though they all looked similar and yet different at the same time. One was a large hulking brute of a Hawk far taller than his two companions. Scruffs of gray hair poked out covering his organic eye while a bright blue robotic eye kept a permanent watch upon him. A large gray beard reached from beneath his beak down to the ground. Out of the three, he gave the coldest glare which sent chills through the Hawk's very soul. He held a permanent scowl upon his face showing a wave of constant anger that would never be put aside. Beside him a thinner Hawk stood. He too held a permanent scowl upon his face and a bright red robotic eye kept a permanent watch upon the hawk. At his waist, he carried a sword. Finally, the third one appeared to be little more than a child. His beak curled into a wicked smile as he cackled and admired the bird standing before him. A bright green robotic eye glistened as he pointed a wing to the sky. Marco's attention followed the young bird's wing where upon his eyes widened in horror as he took in the sight of a large city hanging in the sky upside down.
"What the…?!" he gasped, "What is that? Who are you?"
"We're the ones pulling the strings," The young Hawk cackled. "Now bow your head and show the proper respect when you address us."
Marco's face darkened with rage as he reached out and grabbed hold of the white cloth covering the body of the young bird. His eyes glistened dangerously as he felt his anger rise to an uncontrollable level.
"And why would I do that? I don't know who you are. I am Marco leader of the Dark Robed Society, this land is mine, so you better tell me just what is that in the sky? Tell me before I break your neck."
The young Hawk cackled once more and grabbed hold of Marco's wing. Without any warning, he squeezed his wing into a closed fist forcing Marco to his knees. He could not move or break free from the firm grip. The young Hawk's grin widened as he continued to speak.
"You talk too much, it's kind of annoying. But really, do you honestly believe someone like you could be any kind of match for someone like me? I can almost laugh at that sort of stupidity."
Waiting no longer the young Hawk delivered a devastating kick right to the gut of his would-be attack. Marco let out an audible gasp as he flew backwards and landed upon the back a few feet away. Upon realizing what had happened, Marco's eyes widened in horror.
"W-W-What?" he gasped, "There is no way that could have happened? How are you that strong? Who are you?"
Marco stood up onto his talons and charged forward swinging his wings as fast as he could but found himself continuously missing as the young child dodged his attacks time after time, not because of his poor aim, in fact, his aim was perfect, but rather he missed because of the Hawk's speed which outmatched him tenfold. The Hawk's face darkened with rage as he continued his assault against the young child.
"QUIT MOVING?!" Marco demanded, growing angrier. "I WILL BREAK YOUR NECK!"
The small childlike Hawk struck out his wing landing a punch right into Marco's gut. Once more Marco fell to the ground. "How pathetic, you couldn't even land one hit against me. I have you outclassed."
"Nathanial, that's enough." The largest of the three birds instructed. "We still need him for our plans."
"Your plans?" Marco arched a curious eye. "No offense but I follow my own orders and once again I don't even know who you are."
"They are the three Pure Emperors." Marco turned around to see Sabrina walking into the clearing. "And what you see in the sky is the Divine Temple which houses the Divine Master. It is that very structure that decides the future for all living creatures. That is why you were revived from death. I decided that your purpose was not yet completed. You still have to fight your father, kill off his wife, sell Rico into slavery, and rid the world of all of the Spix Macaws."
"I like the sound of that last one," Marco grinned.
Sabrina nodded her head and peered into his eyes. "I thought you would, my dear brother."
The largest of the three Emperors raised his wing. "Indeed, the time has for you to prove your worth. It is time for you to kill Maria. You will do so tonight, or you will die."