CITY OF TOVA （DISTRICT OF ODO）
YEAR 1 OF THE CROW
A conflict between enemies may lose the battle, but a conflict between allies risks losing the war.
—On the Philosophy of War, taught at the Hokaia War College
Okoa was deep in conversation when he heard the noise. It started low, a sound easily ignored, like the crack of a flag snapping in the breeze. But it was more rhythmic than the wind, more deliberate, and it continued to increase in volume until it was impossible to ignore.
“What is that?” he asked, cutting Maaka off.
The man had been talking about gifts the Odohaa had brought to present to the Odo Sedoh. Weapons, by the sound of it, and something they had found on Sun Rock that they swore must belong to him. Okoa had been surprised that they had gone to the blood-soaked mesa, but Maaka had insisted it was the place of Carrion Crow’s greatest victory. Okoa didn’t want to argue the point, knowing Maaka’s mind was already set, but he could not agree to giving Serapio any weapons. He was formidable enough with only his hands, as Okoa had discovered. Arming him seemed parlous until they knew more.
Maaka paused with his mouth open to listen. They had stepped into a private corner away from the great room and the crowded receiving area where Feyou, Maaka’s wife, and a handful of other Odohaa waited under Shield guard.
There it was again. More of a muffled thump now, like the sound of something hitting a distant wall.
The two men looked around. Okoa could see nothing amiss.
Maaka climbed the handful of steps up the wide, winding staircase and leaned forward to look out the narrow window. The sound again, and Maaka reared back with a curse on his lips.
“What is it?” Okoa asked, concerned.
“Crows, Lord.” His voice was breathy, and he stepped to the side to let Okoa see.
Below, a mass of crows circled, a black-bodied whirlwind, hammering against the closed doors of the terrace directly below them.
“They’re hurting themselves.” Maaka was at his side again, eyes on the strange scene.
“They want in.” But why? They had never done anything like this before.
His eyes met Maaka’s. “The Odo Sedoh.”
The leader of the Odohaa took off at a run.
“Open the doors!” Okoa shouted. There had to be guards down there, although he doubted they could hear him. He was about to follow where Maaka had gone, when he heard the deep, resounding boom of the terrace doors being flung open.
He rushed back to the window.
Maaka stood in the open doorway, arms outstretched, as the mass of crows surged past him. Okoa could not hear him, and his form was soon lost among the corvids, but his last glimpse of the Odohaa had been that of a man in ecstasy. And that frightened him more than anything else.
The next moment, the birds were upon him. Okoa ducked, covering his head, but the flock hurtled past him, leaving him untouched.
Footsteps pounded up the stairs, and Maaka was back, laughing wildly. “They want us to follow them!”
“How do you know?”
But Maaka was already climbing the stairs, pursuing the flock.
“My lord?”
Okoa turned to find one of the Shield, staring wide-eyed.
“Stay here with the rest of the Odohaa,” he commanded, and then he was hurrying after Maaka. He caught him on the next landing, and then the two followed the corvids together, up to the second-highest floor in the Great House, just under the aviary. The flock streamed down the hall, and Maaka made to follow.
“Wait.” Okoa gripped him by the arm. “This can’t be right.”
The older man turned. “What is it?”
“This floor is abandoned.”
“What was it before?”
“Cells for criminals. With sky doors.” He gave Maaka a pointed look. He had almost fallen from Maaka’s sky door once.
The birds continued their frenzied flight, more urgent than ever. The noise of it made it hard to think. But Okoa could only imagine one reason the crows would bring them here.
“Check the cells.” His voice was terse as he hurried down the hall. “I’ll take the far side, you take the other.”
Maaka did not argue but strode down the hall, testing the doors that lined the inner wall of the rounded hallway as Okoa inspected the outer. The first door had warped from disuse, and he had to force it. The cell beyond was empty and dark. The second was the same, and the third. They worked their way around the hall, all the time accompanied by the flock. And then the second-to-last door opened smoothly, and Okoa almost closed it out of habit before he realized it wasn’t empty.