Fire Hawk by Justine Dare Justine Davis Read Free Book Online Page A

long moment. She had been concentrating so hard on willing him to come back, she hadn’t really dealt with what she would actually say if he did.
    And then he stunned her by taking it out of her hands.
    “Begin, Jenna of Hawk Glade. Tell your story so we may get this over with.”
    It was less than she’d hoped for, but more than she’d expected; at least he would listen. She pondered for a moment where to begin, then decided. She must convince him of why the Hawk clan should be saved, before she asked him how to go about doing it.
    “What you have heard of Hawk Glade is true. It is a place of peace and magic, of fruitful life and happy people.”
    “Nothing less than a miracle,” Kane said dryly.
    Jenna refused to let him sway her from her task. “My people had fled a bloody, ancient war, had journeyed far and endured much before they were led there. Perhaps they deserved a small miracle.”
    “Perhaps. Led there?”
    She nodded. “They were weary, ready to give up. Then a bird appeared, circling overhead. It came low in the sky, then cried out and flew toward the setting sun. Moments later it returned, and did so again. And again. My ancestress took it as a sign, and led her small band west.”
    Kane’s mouth quirked, and Jenna spoke quickly to forestall the laughter she was sure was coming; what other reaction could she expect from this hardened warrior whose cold ruthlessness had elevated him to the status of legend?
    “I know it sounds odd, to take a wild bird as a messenger, but—”
    “No.”
    She drew back a little, surprised.
    “No . . . what?”
    “I don’t think it odd, a bird as messenger. But most would. They followed this . . . ancestress of yours? On such a fool’s pilgrimage?”
    Jenna drew herself up straight. “Marrifay was a very wise woman. It was only due to her leadership that they had survived thus far. Of course they followed her.”
    “And she was your . . . grandmother?”
    “No, this was much longer ago than that. She was the grandmother of my grandmother’s grandmother.”
    Kane’s mouth quirked again. “So that is . . . seven generations?” Before she could answer, he went on. “Impressive. Not many can know their lineage back so far.”
    Something in his voice made her uneasy, but she could read nothing in his face in the rapidly fading light. Nothing except the sternness that seemed his usual expression. She wondered that he dwelt on such unimportant things, then, with sinking heart, wondered if all she was saying was unimportant to him. Wondered if he had no intention of bestirring himself to help her, and therefore nothing she told him was of any consequence.
    It could not be so. She could not let it be so. She went on determinedly.
    “They soon came to a thick forest that ran rich with game and was dotted with clearings full of harvestable plants. It was, as you say, a miracle. The clan wished to stop right away, but Marrifay made them continue. At last she came to the largest clearing they had yet encountered, and she declared them home. For there, the bird sat waiting.”
    She waited then, again expecting laughter at the least. Instead, he merely nodded.
    “I see. The bird was a hawk. Hence Hawk’s Glade, and the Hawk clan.”
    “Yes.”
    She was pleased that he had guessed the rest of the story, and seemingly accepted it so easily, but it was that very ease that worried her; he did not seem a man to take well to such things. And she had more of the same to tell him, and she was certain he would laugh before she was through; to an outsider the tale could sound nothing less than absurd. To accept it would be to admit belief in inexplicable things, a belief that could cost one dearly were it found out by those many who looked upon such things as coming from demons, or worse. But she had no choice; he must know what they were dealing with in order to help them.
    And he must help them. He must.
    “It was not until they had been there some time that it