The Game Bird by Aidan R Walsh

Author:Aidan R Walsh [Walsh, Aidan R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-04-01T22:00:00+00:00

Then from the sad west turning wearily,

I saw the pines against the white north sky,

Very beautiful, and still, and bending over

Their sharp black heads against a quiet sky.

She blushed. ‘Sorry, that was pretentious.’

‘Never apologise! Educated and beautiful – you don’t have any sisters, do you?’ Tom asked.

She was saved from having to reply when a fat man in blue coat and old-fashioned wig emerged from one of the buildings and waddled in their direction.

Tom glanced back over his shoulder. ‘Oh dear, it’s the commandant.’

‘Captain Faulkner! As I live and breathe. What an honour,’ the man puffed as he approached.

Rather disappointed at being discovered, Faulkner stood and doffed his hat. ‘Knight Admiral Trollope, what a pleasure. I was just about to come and see you.’

‘I should hope so, boy! We don’t get nearly enough naval visitors out here. Soldiers are all well and good, but they do get a little dull,’ the old admiral confided.

‘Tom, perhaps you could show Sophia around while I speak to the admiral.’

The admiral beamed. ‘That’s a superb idea. Now come inside, Captain, I want to hear firsthand about the Asare Roads. A frigate capturing a third rate! I tell you, I almost choked on my port when I heard it!’

‘It was a small third rate, Admiral,’ Faulkner was saying as they passed out of earshot.

‘So how long have you had him?’ Sophia asked, patting the neck of Billy, Tom’s pegasus. Almost luminously white, Billy stood slightly taller than a draught horse. Even at rest and with his enormous wings folded along his flanks, the pegasus radiated a look of nobility and speed.

‘He’s three now.’

‘Why is he called Billy Ruffian?’

‘Everyone calls theirs “Northwind” or “Dawnstar” and other pretentious bloody things like that. I thought “Billy Ruffian” had a nice ring to it.’

‘So you named him then? You were already on the island when he was born?’

Tom nodded. ‘When, and more importantly if, you qualify as a flyer they send you out here to the college. Then it is just a question of waiting. If there is a bad run of stillborns you might wait a year or two to receive a mount. I was lucky and only had to wait about ten months.’

‘When do you graduate?’

‘Assuming I pass exams, this Saviour’s Day. Can’t say I’m sorry either, it’ll be nice to get out in the field.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘You Faulkners are positively called to adventure, aren’t you?’

‘We are.’ He laughed, but it echoed hollow and false in the airy stable. ‘But even for us, hunting this leviathan in your little ship seems suicidal.’

Something about his sudden honesty caught her off-guard and a cold stab of fear slid through her. She had been so focused on her taint and her selfish decision to come to sea, it had been a while since she had thought about how incredibly dangerous the leviathan was. ‘Do you think?’

Tom shrugged. ‘James is the sailor, but yes, I’d hazard that hunting a beast that eats large ships in a small ship is quite suicidal.

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