151
THE BLUE FEATHER
sooner than you might have expected. We should be able to
return in only two kins.”
“I wish for the both of you the strength and swiftness of The
Feathered Dragon, Kukulcán,” said the Queen. Then as all
mothers would do, she added, “Please look after my son. He is
all I have left.”
“Don’t worry, we will bring him safely back home to you,”
Bardala said, as they turned and left the palace’s royal throne
room.
The grateful people of Tonga joyfully lined the broad stone
street, as Bardala, Tital, Ronú, Zorin and Ah Chun Caan rode
proudly on their way to the closest transportation portal. The
people were very aware that The Healers, as Bardala and Tital
were known by to the tribe, would be returning with a great
number of wild horses and burros. The young twins, whose
lower legs had been restored, smiled and waved, and cast Blaze
and White Dawn rose petals in the path of their heroes as they
proudly rode past. Tital knew at that moment what an honor it
was that he had been chosen to receive his healing powers. A
tear was in his eye when he saw these two youngsters so happy,
and he waved back enthusiastically. The sun was blazing at its
zenith when Tital reached the edge of town. He pulled out his
DeLorme’s Earthmate PN-40. This incredible devise gave him
access to topographical maps and high-resolution aerial photos
from Huracán’s vast library about Vivia. He calculated that if they
broke a new trail, they could be at the portal within six hours
time. An hour into their ride, Brilloso stopped suddenly. His ears
went stiffly up, and he crouched into a frozen position. This was
an alert to Tital that the dog’s alert senses had picked up deadly
danger ahead. Bardala stopped her horse, Belleza, and pulled
out her small Leupold high-performance binoculars, and
searched the green-on-green open forest straight ahead. Sure
enough, Brilloso’s senses were accurate, as one hundred meters
dead in front of them, in the dark shadows of Norrin trees, was a