Page 35 of Rise of the Melody
“It’s Mo!” Aunt Lorna exclaimed, and she sounded younger as she lifted onto her toes in excitement. We both went down to greet Motifa, who had a bag of goodies.
“I come bearing glutinous gifts.”
She handed it to me, and I took it with a smile, smelling cinnamon and blueberries. “Thank you!”
“Come in, come in!” Aunt Lorna said, taking Mo by the crook of her arm. “It’s getting cold.”
They went into the kitchen and Aunt Lorna opened a bottle of red wine. I watched the two of them sit at the table, knee-to-knee, and immediately fall into conversation.
“I’m gonna go up,” I said.
Aunt Lorna swung her head to me. “Oh, I’m sorry, sweetie. Come here.” I came over and gave her a hug, getting a kiss on the cheek, and hugging Mo, too. It was strange and wonderful to see my aunt with a close friend. They had some catching up to do, so I went upstairs.
I got on my cotton shorts and snuggled into the rounded window seat of my room. I cracked the window open to hear the waves better, and held my knees, closing my eyes as my head rested against the wall. Now this, I could get used to.
A flapping sound and series ofclicksmade me open my eyes. I jumped and covered my mouth against a squeak, startled at the sight of a massive bird perched on my windowsill looking right at me. I scrambled to my feet away from it, my heart racing as I stared in shock.
I swear, the thing was two feet tall, if not bigger. Its beak was thick, yellow, and sharp, made to kill and eat. Its wings and body were spotty brown with a lighter tawny head, but I could see a flap of white feathers in the back on the sides. Its feet were also yellow. I’d never been this close to a predatorial bird, and never a bird of this size. The wings were so thick, probably an eight-foot wingspan! It stared at me with no fear, and I stared back. If it weren’t for the window between us, I’d have plenty of fear. This thing could claw out my eyeballs.
I slowly slipped out my phone and did a Google search. From the looks of it, this was a white-tailed sea eagle. But they weren’t native to Maine. What was a bird from the Netherlands and Scotland doing here?
CooShee was suddenly there with both paws up on the cushion, staring at the bird with big eyes. He huffed air into his cheeks.
“Coosh, no!” I hissed. “Don’t scare it away!” But the bird didn’t budge from its spot. CooShee, however, turned and ran toward the door, grabbing the doorknob in his mouth and opening the dang thing easily. “Hey!”
Where did he think he was going? Outside to get the eagle? He couldn’t jump that high. I chased him anyway, down the stairs. And to my shock, I watched as CooShee stared at the massive door. The deadbolt began to slowly turn, and the bam. Just like I’d done earlier, the door opened magically. Except CooShee didn’t have to use any words.
“You can do that?” I exclaimed.
“What’s going on?” Aunt Lorna shouted.
“It’s Coosh!” I said, never stopping.
He ran onto the porch, and I followed in a rush. To my surprise, CooShee didn’t run toward the turret of the house where the eagle had been perched one floor up. He stood in the yard and sniffed the air, then ran to the edge of the land toward the sea. What was he doing? I jogged after him and stared where he was staring down by the water’s edge. It was pitch dark with only a sliver of moonlight through the clouds. CooShee made an airy sound at the back of his through, like a dry cough.
My eyes began to adjust, and I froze in terror. A man stood down there on the rocks. Not an older man. A young man based on his physique and stance, wearing something on his head and dark clothing. My immediate instinct was to sing. It was so strong that I literally covered my mouth and made a whimper. The stupid cuff felt heavy on my wrist. Everything was dark and shadowy, but I could tell, my gods…he was staring up at me. My mind went straight away to the stranger in New York, and my skin flushed with warmth, but there was no way he’d come here too. If he did, there could only be one reason.
He was following me.
I didn’t stick around to find out who he was—not that I could see details anyway. I ran back to the house at a sprint, with that crazed feeling that someone was behind me with an ax.
On the porch I took one last glance but only saw CooShee sitting there at the edge, still staring. I ran inside, slammed the door closed and locked it, then hollered for Aunt Lorna. She hustled out of the kitchen with Mo at her side to find me shaking by the door.
“What is it?”
“There’s a guy outside on the rocks. Down by the water.”
“What?” Her face went slack. “Stay here.”
“No way!” I said. “Take off my cuff and I’ll help.”
“Absolutely not!”
She opened the door, me holding the back of her robe with Mo’s arm pressed to mine. CooShee was standing on the porch now. My eyes darted all around the darkness.
“Where did he go?” I asked CooShee, whose tail gave a single wag, like it was no big deal. “Was it just a human?” His nonchalance made me think we weren’t in danger, but what in the heck was a dude doing down there staring up at my home? It wasn’t a beachy area. You couldn’t just walk down the coast and get to our land. There were cliffs and major rock formations blocking us. Had he come by a boat that I hadn’t seen?
“Well,” muttered Motifa, “At least the harbinger isn’t barking. That’s a good sign.”
