CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
As the evening hours set in, the rain grew heavier though the thunderstorm itself had subsided. The slate gray sky bubbled and surged as it filled with an electrical life, draining itself down upon the jungle below. As the sky darkened into the nocturnal hours, a cold breeze swept through the clearing bristling Marco's feathers as he eagerly waited for Amber to return. He did not need to wait long, as the last few traces of light diminished Amber returned to the small group, carrying a handful of mangoes in her talons. Panting and taking in sharp breaths after her long flight and exposure to the dangerous weather conditions, even though she felt unusually light while carrying the large fruit. She landed upon the ground and tossed the mangoes over to the hawk who studied them for a mere moment.
"Is that all you brought?" he asked.
"It's enough," she admitted, rolling her eyes. "Besides, those are the only fruits I could find on such short notice. I'm not a miracle worker, Marco. Next time, go yourself. I am not your slave. I am here for my own reasons."
The Hawk nodded his head and chuckled for a moment. His eyes narrowed as he pointed a wing at one of the pieces of fruit.
"Right, distribute them out to each member of our society, and tell them to be ready to move out at dawn. I don't want to waste another second longer in this miserable jungle than I have too. This place is already getting on my nerves. I take solace knowing that when I'm done here, we'll be heading to my sister's hideout near the Rio Grande."
Amber nodded her head and immediately got to work on her assigned task. As she did so, Marco's eyes narrowed as a wicked smile crossed his beak. It would not be much longer until he and his father met once more upon the field of combat. This time with Amber blocking off any escape route, and Roger bringing the tyrant who would enslave Rico, the chieftain would meet his end. He would not be able to run this time. Marco became lost in that thought as his smile deepened.
"Amber, have everyone finish their meal quickly, I am going to head off and find just where my father went. Remember, do not let him escape or you will die in his place."
Amber nodded her head in understanding as Marco spread his wings and took to the sky.
#
Luciano sat within the comforts of his hollow. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Marco would find him, however, he did not intend to run. Pushing aside the false piece of bark, he readied the weaponry of a master thief and wielded the sword which served generation after generation of his ancestors. Seven generations of father and sons held this very weapon within their wings. It had served each of them well. Its cold metallic blade forged from a meteorite which had struck the Earth just outside of the city of Rio, shined in the dim moonlight. He stood up on his talons and rose to his full height at the sight of the hawk entering uninvited into his hollow. The Hawk arched a curious eye but kept a stern look in his eyes. He stared at Marco, more than a little annoyed by the intrusion.
"So, you found me. I must say that you took your sweet time getting here. However, you won't live to see another day."
Marco bowed, feigning great respect for the elderly bird. He shook his head and held up his wing for a moment. His voice rang out in a cold cruel hiss.
"You are such a fool. When you ran from our last battle, I thought you would have shown a bit of good sense and ran for your life, and yet I find you here, standing within your home? Why? What possible reason could you be here for?"
Marco spit with disgust as his eyes burned bright. "No matter, whether you came here for being a fool or you secretly hold some sort of strategy, I will not allow you to escape again. You're going go back to your grave, father, and this time you're going to stay there."
Luciano swung the thin metal blade through the air and listened to the hum it made. His eyes narrowed as he glared at his treacherous son.
"It was never my intention to run from you. There is no point in running from something that you are not afraid of. I came here for other reasons, and that was so we would not disturb Maria's grave. She deserves to rest in peace, not have her resting place a war zone. You, however, hold no sanctity in life. You are just like how I used to be. It is not too late though, come back to the light, you can still be redeemed."
The two hawks eyed each other, both dropped down into a fighting stance, raising their wings to strike the other. Luciano, however, did not waste a moment. Charging forward, he swung the sword overhead and proceeded with a second strike aiming for the lower-left half of Marco's body. The evil Hawk forced a smile as he managed to deflect both attacks with his cold metal gauntlets. His eyes shimmered with sheer delight as he watched the sparks fly from the impact of metal against metal. Luciano swung his weapon once more, aiming for Marco's head, but found himself striking only air as Marco leaped over the blade and behind his father. In a speedy movement, the evil creature unleashed a vicious kick into his elder's spine and Luciano fell to the ground.
"It's over." Marco cackled, raising his bladed gauntlets and resting them against his father's throat. "You failed your son, your wife, your grotto, and yourself. Now you will die for your failure. Goodbye, Dad."
As Marco raised his wing to deliver the finishing blow, a large blunt object slammed into his spine throwing him across the room. The hawk landed with a sickening thud and turned to see Rico standing over top of him. His eyes drew to his father as he spoke frantically at a rushed pace.
"Dad, you can't trust Marco. He's going to try and kill everyone in the Grotto, starting with you and mom. We need to get everyone out of here, right now, while we still can."
Marco's cruel laughter broke through the air, drawing Luciano's attention away from his son. The hawk looked more menacing than anything he had ever seen before in his life. Nothing about him resembled a good caring creature. Instead, he looked in every way like a demonic figure from the fiery pits of hell. Luciano's and Rico's faces darkened with rage. The large elderly Hawk pointed an accusing wing at his eldest son. His eyes filled with the look of a betrayed victim. The realization of the situation still eluded his complete understanding and it all seemed like some horrible nightmare.
"So, you plan on hurting everyone. Not just me and not just Maria. You truly are pure evil. You poisoned my wife; you killed her and even then, you weren't satisfied. What I don't understand is why? Maria never hurt anyone. She was never a threat to you. So why would you destroy her."
Marco shrugged his wings and spit with disgust. "She was nothing more than a pathetic fool. Life is a gift that should be given to those who are strong. If you spend your time helping others, you leave yourself vulnerable. Emotion, love, caring for others, these are the ways of the fools that must be wiped out… and I am the one who can carry out that extermination."
"You're insane!" Rico piped in.
Marco turned to peer at the macaw, he forced a confident smile. "Call me whatever you want but it is your fault that I'm here. You have a very special destiny ahead of you. You're my desired target. Everyone else is just an added bonus. Luciano destroyed my life back when he was the cruel and heartless Storm, King, however, I killed him once and I always knew I would kill him again. This time I planned to do it where I would thoroughly enjoy myself. The urge to kill is just overwhelming, even now I can feel it calling out to me. You, Rico, will not be so lucky. You're going to suffer for the rest of your life."
Luciano's eyes widened in horror as he turned to his youngest son, he threw his wing through the air and screamed in his direction.
"Rico, get out of here! Fly as far and as fast as you possibly can. Don't you dare question me; I am your father and this is one time I am going to demand that you listen to me. Go now, before Marco completes his plans. Do not worry about me."
Marco's smile deepened; he never removed his eyes off the young macaw. He shook his head. "Don't you even think about it, Rico," he said. "If you even think of leaving this hollow, the girl will die."
Rico's eyes widened further as he peered at Adriana who stood rooted to the spot with fear. She couldn't move. Her wings remained cupped over her beak. Rico knew that he couldn't place her life in danger. He slumped forward and nodded his head. "You win, Marco…" he sighed, "I won't run, but you better not hurt her. Do we have a deal?"
"Yes," Marco nodded. "Your precious girlfriend is safe… I will not hurt her. You have my word."
Despite his promise, the Hawk forced a wicked smile. "Victory is mine."