Swordbird

Chapter One

The Red and the Blue

Just north of Stone--Run Forest, a war party of cardinals glided in and out of the shadows as the light of dawn slowly slipped into the sky. They traveled swiftly and low, each grimly wielding a sword in one claw. The leader, Flame--back, a sturdy cardinal distinguished by his larger and more powerful wings, reviewed their plan of attack.

"Circle the camp, wait for my signal, attack. Simple. Everybird understand?" Crested heads bobbed in answer.

The idea of violence frightened a young cardinal, who wrapped his claw tightly around his sword hilt. "Flame--back, are the blue jays awake? If they are, we'll die! I don't want to die!"

Flame--back looked at the blurred land in the distance and, flapping his strong wings a couple of times, tried to reassure his band.

"The blue jays don't wake up so early, and nobird's going to die. Nobird's going to kill. Hear? We just scare and attack. No hurting." Pausing, Flame--back added in a more comforting tone, "And we must find our eggs. We can't let anybird, anybird at all, steal our unhatched offspring." The speech calmed his band, especially the youngster, whose wail dwindled to a sniff and a sob.

The cardinals were deep in thought. They all knew that Flame--back was right. There were no sounds except their wings, whooshing and rustling against the wind as they flew--red figures against a blue sky. They soared over the Appleby Hills and across the Silver Creek. Dewdrops trembled on delicate blades of grass; dandelions and daisies peeped over their leaves to greet the sun. Near the fringe of the forest, beech trees stood still, and only the morning breeze occasionally disturbed them. Those trees were ancient ones, covered with moss and vines, leaning over to touch branches with one another. Small creeks gurgled gently as they rippled along, under mists that covered the ground. But the cardinals were in no mood to enjoy such things. They were on a mission. The war party made a sharp turn along a boulder and flew over the Line, the border between the territories of the blue jays and the cardinals.