The Broken Promise

Blue Heron

Ragtag and Tattler followed Loki across acres of woodlands, wetlands, and grasslands teeming with life. Every hill they passed seemed to deliver something new to marvel at.

What a beautiful place, Ragtag thought as he swooped left and right to capture insects in his beak. If it weren't for the blue heron and her egrets, this might be an ideal refuge for the Feathered Alliance.

Ragtag suddenly remembered Hoogol, and how the Talon Empire had conquered the woods of his youth, forcing him to flee to the city. And how now, many years later, the raptors were expanding their domain, sweeping over the city like a great tide.

These poor creatures, Ragtag thought as he spotted a flock of geese high overhead. They don't know the danger lurking just over the horizon. There could be no refuge here. If the Talon Empire is allowed to hold the city, it will be only a matter of time until they spread east.

"How much farther?" Ragtag yelled over the wind.

"Almost there," Loki shouted back.

They crossed a dune peppered with oddly shaped plants, then followed a road north until it finally ended in front of a domed building. Two cars and a van were parked out front.

Loki landed atop the roof. Ragtag and Tattler quickly joined him, and together the three gazed through a skylight. Six empty cages sat on a workbench in a large white room beneath them. A familiar-looking eagle was asleep in a seventh.

"Baldur!" Ragtag called, flapping his wings to try to get the eagle's attention. There was no sign of movement.

"Baldur!" Ragtag yelled again.

"Maybe he's dead," Loki said.

"He's asleep," Tattler replied. "Look, you can see him breathing."

Ragtag banged his beak against the glass in an attempt to wake Baldur. "I have to get in there."

Loki and Tattler combined their strength and used their beaks to raise the skylight. It slowly rose an inch.

"Higher!" Ragtag said as the birds redoubled their efforts.

"Hurry," Tattler grunted. "We can't hold it for long."

Ragtag flattened himself and slipped through. He dropped down and landed next to a table, his eyes blinking in the bright light. Strange instruments were strewn about, and the hum of machinery filled the air. There was no sign of humans.

Quickly he flew over to Baldur's cage. The last time Ragtag had seen him, the eagle had been injured and bleeding. Now he was clean, his feathers groomed and his wounds healed. Ragtag was amazed anew at how large he was. He would be more than a match for Surt!

"Baldur," Ragtag said. The great bird rolled over and sighed. "Baldur!" Ragtag said louder. "Wake up!"

The only response was a loud snore. Ragtag glanced around the room. There was still no sign of humans. He didn't want to think what they would do to him if they found him here. A vision of himself trapped in a cage for the rest of his life sprang to mind.

"Baldur!" Ragtag cried. He grabbed the bars of the cage with his claws and fluttered his wings, shaking them as hard as he could.

The eagle came awake with a start. He sat up, yawned, then climbed onto his perch.

"Baldur!" Ragtag said.

Baldur looked around, trying to locate the source of the sound.

"Down here," Ragtag said, hopping about to get the eagle's attention. The eagle peered at the bird near his feet.

"Who are you?" Baldur asked sleepily.

"It's me, Ragtag!"

"Rag who?"

"Ragtag! Remember? I helped free you when you were trapped in the city!"

The eagle lowered his massive white head and peered at the swallow with curiosity.

"Well, I'll be!" Baldur declared. "It is little Ragtag."

Ragtag suddenly felt hurt. He remembered how Baldur had promised to stay in the attic while he went to fetch the clan leaders and how he'd arrived with them to find the eagle gone. Everything that had happened since then—the invasion of the city, the death of Hoogol, their quest across the Great Water—could have been avoided. Even though he already knew the answer to his question, he had to hear it from the eagle himself.

"Where did you go?" Ragtag cried. "You promised me you would stay. I came back and you were gone. I trusted you!"

"I'm sorry, little Ragtag, but it wasn't my fault. The humans came as soon as you left. They brought me back here."

Baldur yawned again and stretched his wings. "Speaking of which, what are you doing here? You're a long way from the city. Are you on holiday? The beaches here are very nice, you know."

"I've come to find you!"

"Me?" the eagle said. "Why, I'm touched, of course. But whatever for?"

"We need your help," Ragtag told him. "The Feathered Alliance has been attacked by the Talon Empire. The city has been overrun. You've got to come back with me. You're our only hope!"

Baldur cocked his head to one side and gazed at the swallow. "I'd love to help you, Ragtag, I really would, but I'm afraid it's impossible at the moment."

"What? Why?"

"Something has happened since I was recaptured." The eagle indicated the cages next to him. "I'm no longer alone. I have a mate now. Her name is Freya, and I've been invited into her clan. I'm actually quite happy."

Ragtag stared at the empty cages.

"Oh, they're not here now," Baldur said in answer to his unasked question. "They've been released on an island south of here. I'm going to be joining them in a few days. So you see, I can't come with you. If the humans caught me trying to escape a second time, I might never get to see my beloved Freya again."

Ragtag glanced at the metallic object attached to Baldur's leg. "But you'll still have that thing attached to you," Ragtag said, indicating the device. "Don't you want to be free?"

"Well, yes, I guess you have a point. But to tell you the truth, I don't really care about being free any longer."

Ragtag was too stunned to reply.

"Being free and alone is quite depressing," the eagle continued. "I just can't bear the thought of being separated from Freya. She's very beautiful. I think you would like her. Maybe you'll meet her someday."

Ragtag fluttered his wings in anger. "You promised you'd help me!" he cried. "You gave me your word of honor you'd come to my aid if I ever asked!"

"And I would help, if it were in my power. But I just can't risk it. I'm awfully sorry about this problem you're having with these raptors. Maybe you can find another eagle who can help you?"

Ragtag's beak fell open. Find another eagle? He didn't know what to say. Baldur wasn't even listening. Ragtag had worried so much that he, Tattler, and Loki wouldn't be able to find him. The possibility that Baldur would refuse to return with them had never crossed his mind.

A key suddenly jiggled in the door to the lab.

"Thanks for visiting," Baldur said hurriedly. "If you're ever in the neighborhood again, do drop by and say hello."

Ragtag quickly darted behind some boxes as the door opened. A woman wearing a white coat entered, opened Baldur's cage, and removed him. Ragtag watched as the giant bird was fed and groomed. He waited until the woman's back was turned, then fluttered his wings to get the eagle's attention.

"Go away!" Baldur said. The sound attracted the woman, who cooed at the eagle, then placed him back in his cage.

Ragtag watched in despair as the cage was put on a cart and wheeled out of the room. The woman turned off the lights and shut the door, leaving the swallow alone in the dark. He shook himself out of his stupor and flew back up to the skylight. Tattler and Loki again used their beaks to raise the glass and Ragtag slipped out.

"Well?" Tattler asked breathlessly.

Ragtag stared at her. He didn't know what to say. How could he tell her that after all they had gone through, all they had sacrificed—the eagle had simply deserted them. The Feathered Alliance was doomed, and it was all his fault.

"He's not coming!" Ragtag finally managed to choke out.

"Why not?" Tattler asked.

Quickly Ragtag recounted what Baldur had told him.

"But that's not fair!" Tattler said. "He promised."

"I know," Ragtag said. "He said he wouldn't leave without Freya."

Loki yawned and stretched his wings. "Well, you gave it your best shot. Nobody can say you didn't try. Personally, I think the best thing for both of you to do is forget about returning to the city. This looks like a nice place to live. I think I'll—"

"Shut up, Loki!" Ragtag yelled. He suddenly felt a burning hatred for the crow. How could he even suggest they forget about the city? Bobtail and Blue Feather were there, risking their lives along with the rest of the clan leaders.

"Sorry," Loki mumbled.

"Loki, you kept your promise," Tattler said coldly. "You brought us to the eagle, and we thank you for that. You're free now."

"Free?" Loki repeated.

"Yes. We have no further need of you. Go your own way, and we'll go ours."

Tattler turned her back on the crow and tried her best to comfort Ragtag. Loki leaned on one foot, then the next, not quite knowing what to do.

A door slammed somewhere beneath them. The birds hopped to the edge of the roof and looked down. A man was loading Baldur's cage into the back of the van. As soon as the eagle was secure, he jumped into the driver's seat and started up the engine.

"What do we do now?" Tattler asked.

Ragtag wasn't ready to give up yet. "Follow that eagle!"

Ragtag and Tattler launched themselves from the roof as the van pulled out and headed down the road. Loki, not knowing what else to do, followed them at a distance.

The van picked up speed and headed away from the building. In front of them lay a deserted stretch of road. If they were going to do something, it would have to be now.

"Tattler, we have to stop Baldur at whatever cost!" Ragtag cried.

"Leave it to me!"

Tattler folded her wings and dove toward the road. At the last minute, she pulled up and flew straight through the van's open window, fluttering her wings in the driver's face.

Ragtag and Loki watched from above as the van started weaving erratically. It left the road, climbed a dune, and flipped onto its side. The back door fell open and Baldur's cage rolled out. The eagle protested loudly as his cage bounced down the road, finally coming to a stop upside down in the sand.

Ragtag spotted Loki trailing behind him. "Loki, can you work a lock?"

"Hmmph," the crow replied. "I thought you didn't need me anymore?"

"Loki, please!"

"All right, all right. Although it has to be said, to suggest a crow can't work a lock is a bit of an insult."

Loki flew down to the cage and pecked at the handle while Ragtag watched the overturned van. He sighed in relief when he saw Tattler suddenly emerge from the window, followed by the unhurt driver.

"Tattler, you okay?"

"Don't worry about me!" the sparrow yelled as she continued to distract the driver.

Loki finally managed to get the cage open. Baldur sprang out, took flight, and landed atop a nearby telephone pole. Ragtag alighted next to him.

"How dare you!" Baldur shouted. "I have a good mind to rip you to shreds!"

"Baldur, please!" Ragtag said. "I had to do it. You've got to listen to me. If you don't return with us, hundreds of innocent birds are going to die! You gave me your solemn promise. You told me the promise of a bald eagle was the most sacred promise in the world!"

"It is, but I also promised Freya I would join her!" Baldur said. "I can't break my promise to her to fulfill the one I made to you. I'm sorry, Ragtag, I really am, but I won't leave her behind."

And with that, Baldur took off and headed south at a speed Ragtag could never hope to match. Tattler fluttered up and landed next to him. The two birds watched as the eagle vanished into the clouds.

"What happened?" Tattler asked.

"He's not coming," Ragtag replied.

"Then we've failed! It's over, Ragtag. We've lost."

Loki landed next to them. "I hate to tell you this, but we're also out of time."

The birds gazed with a sinking heart at the full moon.

Ragtag, Tattler, and Loki flew north, following the coast to a small village nestled at the water's edge. There they found an outbound ferry on its way back to the city.

The three birds landed on the bridge of the ship. None of them spoke for a long time. Ragtag watched as Loki flapped down to the bow and spread his wings to feel the spray coming off the waves. The swallow felt embarrassed about his earlier outburst and had apologized to the crow. Loki had stuck with them after Baldur had flown off. He had told them that it was only because he, too, wanted to return to the city. Ragtag had the strange feeling that the crow was sad at the prospect of their separation.

Whatever the reason, Ragtag thought, he was glad Loki was still with them. Loki had made inquiries among the local crows. Without their help, they would never have been able to locate the right ferry to return them to the city.

The swallow glanced up at the moon hanging in the sky. Even if the ferry traveled at top speed, he doubted that they would get back in time to prevent the Winged Regiment's attack. Bobtail, Headstrong, and the sparrows would all be killed.

I've failed, Ragtag thought. He remembered his mother's words about how he was a symbol of hope—the young swallow who would defeat the Talon Empire. For a while, Ragtag had almost believed in his own myth. Now his wings sagged in despair. Bobtail and the clan leaders would launch their attack at noon, expecting Ragtag to arrive with his eagle.

But there would be no eagle. Baldur was gone. Even if the eagle did change his mind, there was no way he could reach the city in time. The Winged Regiment would be crushed and the clan leaders killed. The Feathered Alliance had come to an end.

Ragtag thought of Hoogol, of the great weight that the old owl had carried for so many years. Hoogol's father had died thinking he had been betrayed by his son. And now Blue Feather, Bobtail, and the others would die thinking Ragtag had failed them. And they would be right.

For the first time in his life, Ragtag realized what a horrible burden it was to be a leader. He had always envied Hoogol for the power he wielded and for the respect and admiration he commanded. Now he realized the price of power. "You did your best, Ragtag," Tattler said. "It's not your fault."

"It is my fault," Ragtag replied quietly. "For better or for worse, I accepted the leadership of the Feathered Alliance. I told the clans I would bring back an eagle. I thought I had worked everything out. I thought I could be just like Hoogol. What a fool I am. I'm nothing but a pathetic swallow."

Tattler shook her head and sighed. "I can't believe Baldur just flew off."

Ragtag's gaze fell on Loki, standing proudly on the bow of the ship as it rose and fell with the waves. Hoogol had been right about him.

"Loki risked his life twice to save me, while Baldur broke his promise," Ragtag muttered. "What sort of a world is it when a crow proves more honorable than an eagle?"