| Raven's Brew Story Contest Winner |
| Raven and Coyote by Sue Babcock |
Raven soars over the city as the creature below howls in its hunt for food. Raven
flies into the sun, frightened by Gaagii’s screams that fill the skies. He follows her
upward until his sharp beak rakes her leg, blood wells and drips to earth. Her heart
pounds as she dodges him and dives back to earth. But she knows the torn flesh is
an accident. The creature would never hurt her. Not on purpose. It is hers; her and
Coyote’s offspring.
They’d learn the secrets of metamorphosis, changing from human to animal and
back again. But the price was the creature they’d spawned; a monstrous beast
with four legs, and wings as black as the cave of Cerberus. It’s snout-like beak
ripped human flesh. It dove from the darkness of clouds into streets and hid in dim
alleys until it found its prey.
Despite its voracious appetite and brutal hunts, Raven loved it in the way of
mothers, completely, unconditionally. It was hers, the only thing left of Coyote,
who’d shown her the power and taught her the magic. Coyote, whom she loved as
if he were a part of her. She had killed and bled for him so he could gain power
and control their kind. She would gladly do it again, but he’d vanished. No word of
him for the past six years, no scent, no sight. The mist had swallowed him. She felt
bereft and cleaved in two, and she let her creature, her Gaagii, sooth the wound.
On the one year anniversary of Gaagii’s hatching, Raven had led him deep into the
forests of the western mountains. His size already shadowed hers as he flew above
her in the skies. They’d landed near a stream and she held her hands against the
gray fur of his body and the black feathers of his wings. She’d pulled the power
from the earth, it flowed through her and into him, giving him powers for his life:
clearer vision, stronger wings, sharper claws. She’d shook with the energy as it
gripped her and pounded through her bones and muscles and flesh. Gaagii was
hers, she gave him everything, but she could not make him human.
flies into the sun, frightened by Gaagii’s screams that fill the skies. He follows her
upward until his sharp beak rakes her leg, blood wells and drips to earth. Her heart
pounds as she dodges him and dives back to earth. But she knows the torn flesh is
an accident. The creature would never hurt her. Not on purpose. It is hers; her and
Coyote’s offspring.
They’d learn the secrets of metamorphosis, changing from human to animal and
back again. But the price was the creature they’d spawned; a monstrous beast
with four legs, and wings as black as the cave of Cerberus. It’s snout-like beak
ripped human flesh. It dove from the darkness of clouds into streets and hid in dim
alleys until it found its prey.
Despite its voracious appetite and brutal hunts, Raven loved it in the way of
mothers, completely, unconditionally. It was hers, the only thing left of Coyote,
who’d shown her the power and taught her the magic. Coyote, whom she loved as
if he were a part of her. She had killed and bled for him so he could gain power
and control their kind. She would gladly do it again, but he’d vanished. No word of
him for the past six years, no scent, no sight. The mist had swallowed him. She felt
bereft and cleaved in two, and she let her creature, her Gaagii, sooth the wound.
On the one year anniversary of Gaagii’s hatching, Raven had led him deep into the
forests of the western mountains. His size already shadowed hers as he flew above
her in the skies. They’d landed near a stream and she held her hands against the
gray fur of his body and the black feathers of his wings. She’d pulled the power
from the earth, it flowed through her and into him, giving him powers for his life:
clearer vision, stronger wings, sharper claws. She’d shook with the energy as it
gripped her and pounded through her bones and muscles and flesh. Gaagii was
hers, she gave him everything, but she could not make him human.
Gaagii chases Raven to earth and closes in
behind her. Below her is a lake and she
plunges deep into its water. She surfaces and
hears growls and snapping, a resonating sound
that spirals upward until it reaches Gaagii. She
gasps at the sight of Coyote, his fur bristling
with anger, his predator eyes glaring at the
sky, his scent strong in the valley. She sees
Gaagii hesitate above her, drift briefly before
he angles his wings, wheels and disappears
into the clouds.
Raven shudders and moans, her human form
emerges, her dark hair swirls around
shoulders the color of night.
behind her. Below her is a lake and she
plunges deep into its water. She surfaces and
hears growls and snapping, a resonating sound
that spirals upward until it reaches Gaagii. She
gasps at the sight of Coyote, his fur bristling
with anger, his predator eyes glaring at the
sky, his scent strong in the valley. She sees
Gaagii hesitate above her, drift briefly before
he angles his wings, wheels and disappears
into the clouds.
Raven shudders and moans, her human form
emerges, her dark hair swirls around
shoulders the color of night.
“Come back, Gaagii,” she says to the sky. Her anguish chokes her. “I know you
didn’t mean to hurt me. Please come back, my son.”
Tears drip down her face, splashing and blending with the cold river. She feels a
hand on her shoulder and shrugs it away.
“You bastard,” she says, as she turns towards the tall man standing behind her.
“You know nothing. I’m the one that raised him and gave him the name of my
kind. I’m the one that taught him to hunt. You hid like a rabbit in a snow storm.
Not a word, not a message, nothing from you. I would have done anything for you.
How dare you chase my son away.”
“Gaagii, as you call him, tried to kill me, just as he tried to kill you,” Coyote says;
his yellow eyes flash as he stares at Raven. “I forgot how beautiful you are.”
“And I forgot what a liar you are.”
The air ripples, as if a stone were tossed into the lake of time, and Raven is once
again a proud bird, beating her wings against the air as she climbs over the trees
and flies towards the city.
***
didn’t mean to hurt me. Please come back, my son.”
Tears drip down her face, splashing and blending with the cold river. She feels a
hand on her shoulder and shrugs it away.
“You bastard,” she says, as she turns towards the tall man standing behind her.
“You know nothing. I’m the one that raised him and gave him the name of my
kind. I’m the one that taught him to hunt. You hid like a rabbit in a snow storm.
Not a word, not a message, nothing from you. I would have done anything for you.
How dare you chase my son away.”
“Gaagii, as you call him, tried to kill me, just as he tried to kill you,” Coyote says;
his yellow eyes flash as he stares at Raven. “I forgot how beautiful you are.”
“And I forgot what a liar you are.”
The air ripples, as if a stone were tossed into the lake of time, and Raven is once
again a proud bird, beating her wings against the air as she climbs over the trees
and flies towards the city.
***
Raven nurses her leg as she waits for Gaagii to return
to their concrete roost high above the asphalt
ribbons. The torn flesh exposes white bone but the
bleeding has stopped. She’s in human form and her
ebony hands rip pieces of tape. She sticks the pieces
across the wound, pulling the edges together. It will
heal, but the scar will be deep and long.
Raven’s sits on the roof of the skyscraper for days,
and Gaagii does not appear. She needs to find
Coyote, hunt him down, peck his eyes out for what he
did to her and Gaagii. The echoes of Gaagii’s cries
ring in her ears and she feels her heart pound. Maybe
he has pushed her away, maybe he needed to hurt
her so he could gain his independent. But he’d never
kill her.
to their concrete roost high above the asphalt
ribbons. The torn flesh exposes white bone but the
bleeding has stopped. She’s in human form and her
ebony hands rip pieces of tape. She sticks the pieces
across the wound, pulling the edges together. It will
heal, but the scar will be deep and long.
Raven’s sits on the roof of the skyscraper for days,
and Gaagii does not appear. She needs to find
Coyote, hunt him down, peck his eyes out for what he
did to her and Gaagii. The echoes of Gaagii’s cries
ring in her ears and she feels her heart pound. Maybe
he has pushed her away, maybe he needed to hurt
her so he could gain his independent. But he’d never
kill her.
The image of the tall man with yellow eyes and gray hair flashes before her.
Coyote. Her anger ebbs. Oh, how she’s missed him. Her throats tightens and her
face grows hot at the thought of his touch. She should find him. He’s alive, he’s
near by, she knows it. She can almost smell him, his scent a mixture of desert dust
and thunderstorms. She closes her eyes and turns her head, seeking out his smell
from the stink of the city.
Coyote. Her anger ebbs. Oh, how she’s missed him. Her throats tightens and her
face grows hot at the thought of his touch. She should find him. He’s alive, he’s
near by, she knows it. She can almost smell him, his scent a mixture of desert dust
and thunderstorms. She closes her eyes and turns her head, seeking out his smell
from the stink of the city.
Black wings unfold and she floats across
the red mesas freckled with green
shrubs. She circles and turns, following
the scent, drifting westward towards the
mountains.
***
The hut squats in red dirt atop a mesa
and Raven crouches, her knees dig into
the sand, dry from weeks of hot skies.
Coyote’s scent is strong here, as is the
stench of something else, something
more powerful then she’s ever
experienced before. The scent is of dead
marshes, hot habaneras and musk.
Feral. She gags and coughs, her eyes
burn as tears spill, rinsing the sting
away.
the red mesas freckled with green
shrubs. She circles and turns, following
the scent, drifting westward towards the
mountains.
***
The hut squats in red dirt atop a mesa
and Raven crouches, her knees dig into
the sand, dry from weeks of hot skies.
Coyote’s scent is strong here, as is the
stench of something else, something
more powerful then she’s ever
experienced before. The scent is of dead
marshes, hot habaneras and musk.
Feral. She gags and coughs, her eyes
burn as tears spill, rinsing the sting
away.
Lightning flashes in the distance but the darkness hides her as she walks towards
the mesa. Yellow light flickers from the hut as if dozens of candles burn within. The
smell overwhelms her and she pauses as she passes her hand over her face. She
grits her teeth and steps on the small front stoop.
A beast rushes past her, out of the hut and into the night sky. It brushes her
shoulder and a searing heat scorches her. She stumbles backwards and turns to
study the black sky, lightning burns the air as thunder booms around her. An odor
she hadn’t noticed before reaches her, an odor almost hidden beneath the
overwhelming stench. It is Gaagii.
“Gaagii,” she says, “My son, my life. What has happened to you?”
“He’s grown beyond his childish form.” Coyote is at her elbow. “He doesn’t need
you anymore. He and I, we’ve made a pact. He’ll do my bidding and I’ll teach him
to use all of his powers.”
Raven turns and looks at Coyote, his eyes glowing red in the night, his body a
black silhouette against candle light. Large raindrops smack the ground as her
stomach lurches. Coyote is powerful and ruthless. With Gaagii, he could destroy
her world. She loves Coyote, she loves his strength, his loyalty, his intelligence.
But she is not blind, she must stop him, and she must save Gaagii from a fate that
will destroy him.
“Did you always know he’d be like this?” she says.
the mesa. Yellow light flickers from the hut as if dozens of candles burn within. The
smell overwhelms her and she pauses as she passes her hand over her face. She
grits her teeth and steps on the small front stoop.
A beast rushes past her, out of the hut and into the night sky. It brushes her
shoulder and a searing heat scorches her. She stumbles backwards and turns to
study the black sky, lightning burns the air as thunder booms around her. An odor
she hadn’t noticed before reaches her, an odor almost hidden beneath the
overwhelming stench. It is Gaagii.
“Gaagii,” she says, “My son, my life. What has happened to you?”
“He’s grown beyond his childish form.” Coyote is at her elbow. “He doesn’t need
you anymore. He and I, we’ve made a pact. He’ll do my bidding and I’ll teach him
to use all of his powers.”
Raven turns and looks at Coyote, his eyes glowing red in the night, his body a
black silhouette against candle light. Large raindrops smack the ground as her
stomach lurches. Coyote is powerful and ruthless. With Gaagii, he could destroy
her world. She loves Coyote, she loves his strength, his loyalty, his intelligence.
But she is not blind, she must stop him, and she must save Gaagii from a fate that
will destroy him.
“Did you always know he’d be like this?” she says.
A rough ugly laugh rings out into the
heavy night air.
“Don’t be an idiot,” he says. “This is
what I wanted, this is what I planned
for and dreamed of.”
Raven tenses; it was never her he
loved, but the power and the creature
he turned her into. And the beast they
created. She pulls her hand back and
swings at Coyote, but he catches her
arm and flings it downward. She glares
at him, dry eyed and cold faced. How
could she have been so foolish. Her
heavy night air.
“Don’t be an idiot,” he says. “This is
what I wanted, this is what I planned
for and dreamed of.”
Raven tenses; it was never her he
loved, but the power and the creature
he turned her into. And the beast they
created. She pulls her hand back and
swings at Coyote, but he catches her
arm and flings it downward. She glares
at him, dry eyed and cold faced. How
could she have been so foolish. Her
heart aches, she still loves him, he was a good man - is a good man, she is sure of
it. Can she destroy the evil without destroying the man, she wonders.
Gaagii dives from the heavens and soars over the hut. Wind from his flight howls
past Raven as she looks into the night sky, his monstrous form stark against the
crackling light. The way ahead becomes as clear as a moon path on a lake.
it. Can she destroy the evil without destroying the man, she wonders.
Gaagii dives from the heavens and soars over the hut. Wind from his flight howls
past Raven as she looks into the night sky, his monstrous form stark against the
crackling light. The way ahead becomes as clear as a moon path on a lake.
Without a glance at Coyote, she
springs from the porch, wings
unfurl and carry her upward.
Coyote leaps to grab her, but she
is quicker. The animal Coyote
appears, snarling and snapping
below her. She races upward until
the hut is but a yellow speck.
Gaagii wheels and dives toward
her. She ducks and climbs, then
soars towards his back, her talons
splayed, her beak parted. He
dodges and she misses.
She turns again for another try,
her heart pounding, her mind
whirling, and sees Gaagii against
the luminous clouds as he rushes
towards her. She beats her wings,
desperate to climb higher, but he
is too close. She stretches her
body and uses her beak to rip at
his neck, her talons to tear at his
heart. Rain soaks them and the
lightning explodes around them.
springs from the porch, wings
unfurl and carry her upward.
Coyote leaps to grab her, but she
is quicker. The animal Coyote
appears, snarling and snapping
below her. She races upward until
the hut is but a yellow speck.
Gaagii wheels and dives toward
her. She ducks and climbs, then
soars towards his back, her talons
splayed, her beak parted. He
dodges and she misses.
She turns again for another try,
her heart pounding, her mind
whirling, and sees Gaagii against
the luminous clouds as he rushes
towards her. She beats her wings,
desperate to climb higher, but he
is too close. She stretches her
body and uses her beak to rip at
his neck, her talons to tear at his
heart. Rain soaks them and the
lightning explodes around them.
She clings to his underside and with a savageness she’d never known, clamps her
beak on his wing and rips. Gaagii screams with pain and with the effort to stay
aloft. She takes another hold of his flesh and pulls. Blood gushes from wounds as
Gaagii plummets towards the ground, his shriek filling the darkness. She can’t let
go, she needs her weight to propel them downward. She clings to him as the
ground spins upward.
beak on his wing and rips. Gaagii screams with pain and with the effort to stay
aloft. She takes another hold of his flesh and pulls. Blood gushes from wounds as
Gaagii plummets towards the ground, his shriek filling the darkness. She can’t let
go, she needs her weight to propel them downward. She clings to him as the
ground spins upward.
Raven closes her eyes and lets go, but it is too late. She hits the ground moments
after Gaagii crashes into the mesa. A howl pierces the blackness that closes in, and
she imagines a howl of a Hellhound in the realm of the dead. A snarling near her
ears awakens her; she still breathes. She jerks her eyes open and sees Coyote in
his animal form, larger than before, a monster with bared teeth and raised
hackles, water pouring off his shaggy coat. She tries to fly, but cannot. She is in
human form and scrabbles to her knees and drags herself across the desert mud.
Coyote laughs.
“You’re broken and powerless,” he says in a growl. “Your son-creature is dead and
useless.” He advances towards her and she sees paws the size of her hand. He
towers over her and laughs again.
“I loved you,” she says.
“And I love power,” he says. “I have Gaagii’s power now.”
Coyote howls in pain and Raven glances at a movement behind him. Gaagii lives.
The Gaagii Raven raised and loved, vicious and innocent, grabs hold of Coyote’s
rear legs with his teeth. Raven scrambles backwards and rises to her feet,
tottering, battered. She looks into Coyote’s yellow eyes and hobbles towards him
as another lightning bolt sears the earth. Coyote screams as he struggles to free
himself from Gaagii’s teeth, but with the last of his strength, Gaagii holds on.
Raven touches Coyote and feels the shock of his power rush through her body. She
channels the energy into the ground where it belongs. The power of the storm
gathers around them, lightning flashes through the air, as her body trembles and
shakes. Coyote shrinks and Gaagii gasps as he lets go and sinks into the mud and
sand.
The storm drifts off towards the east and stars flash in the night sky. Raven stares
at the still body of Gaagii and shrieks as she grasps hold of Coyote’s fur, but the fur
melts away. Her hands grip human flesh. She opens her hands and Coyote
collapses to the ground.
“I did love you once,” he says, his voice a whisper.
“I know.”
She bends over him and brushes stiff strands of hair from his forehead. If there is
goodness in him, it should survive and he shall live, free of the evil. She presses
her hands against his chest. He closes his eyes and takes a breath. And another,
the air rasping in his chest. Then silence. He is as still as the creature beside him. A
piercing cry fills the air as Coyote and Gaagii return to the earth from which they
came.
after Gaagii crashes into the mesa. A howl pierces the blackness that closes in, and
she imagines a howl of a Hellhound in the realm of the dead. A snarling near her
ears awakens her; she still breathes. She jerks her eyes open and sees Coyote in
his animal form, larger than before, a monster with bared teeth and raised
hackles, water pouring off his shaggy coat. She tries to fly, but cannot. She is in
human form and scrabbles to her knees and drags herself across the desert mud.
Coyote laughs.
“You’re broken and powerless,” he says in a growl. “Your son-creature is dead and
useless.” He advances towards her and she sees paws the size of her hand. He
towers over her and laughs again.
“I loved you,” she says.
“And I love power,” he says. “I have Gaagii’s power now.”
Coyote howls in pain and Raven glances at a movement behind him. Gaagii lives.
The Gaagii Raven raised and loved, vicious and innocent, grabs hold of Coyote’s
rear legs with his teeth. Raven scrambles backwards and rises to her feet,
tottering, battered. She looks into Coyote’s yellow eyes and hobbles towards him
as another lightning bolt sears the earth. Coyote screams as he struggles to free
himself from Gaagii’s teeth, but with the last of his strength, Gaagii holds on.
Raven touches Coyote and feels the shock of his power rush through her body. She
channels the energy into the ground where it belongs. The power of the storm
gathers around them, lightning flashes through the air, as her body trembles and
shakes. Coyote shrinks and Gaagii gasps as he lets go and sinks into the mud and
sand.
The storm drifts off towards the east and stars flash in the night sky. Raven stares
at the still body of Gaagii and shrieks as she grasps hold of Coyote’s fur, but the fur
melts away. Her hands grip human flesh. She opens her hands and Coyote
collapses to the ground.
“I did love you once,” he says, his voice a whisper.
“I know.”
She bends over him and brushes stiff strands of hair from his forehead. If there is
goodness in him, it should survive and he shall live, free of the evil. She presses
her hands against his chest. He closes his eyes and takes a breath. And another,
the air rasping in his chest. Then silence. He is as still as the creature beside him. A
piercing cry fills the air as Coyote and Gaagii return to the earth from which they
came.
