A Fair Trade Read online

  The wind blew over the stones and twisted scrub trees, the sound of it whistling and screaming like a bird in flight. The land was old, and it told stories to any man who would listen. Stories of how the people came and how they went, moving on to a safer place.

  It told of the new men who came and tried to make the land theirs, and of how those men found it hard to live on the land, as well.

  Only the strongest could survive there, only the lizards and coyotes and the soaring hawks and eagles. And the ravens. Glossy and black and shining under the sun, they glided on the wind, cawing and calling to each other, as primal as the land itself.

  As lonely as the land.

  Their home had magic, though, and sooner or later, they knew it would bring them something special, a prize that they could keep, one that would surpass all others.

  So they waited, ever hopeful, together. Circling high in the sky, they waited. Searching for their treasure.

  ***

  Shiny.

  There was something shiny down there. Kasa could see it, sparkling in the late afternoon sun. The object was small, maybe small enough for him and Kaya to take it on the wind, if they worked together. Or maybe they could take it on the ground.

  They were not that far from home.

  He circled, his wings stretched out, the long flight feathers catching the wind, and he cawed at Kaya. Look. Look at the pretty.

  Kaya looked and darted down, spiraling too fast. Always greedy. With people, Kaya was the cautious one. But with the sparkles, he was always too quick to rush in. When Kasa settled on the ground, Kaya was already poking at the shiny thing, a pretty piece of metal, like the jewels their people wore about their necks.

  Kasa hopped over and pecked at it, his eye drawn again and again to the silver and stone sheen of it. He looked at Kaya and Kaya looked at him, and together they tried to lift it, but it was too heavy. Kaya made a sad sound, poking at it with his beak, and Kasa preened him for a moment, soothing him.

  They both hopped back to stare, and there were more sparkly things a little way over. Ooooh. Look at that. He left Kaya and went to perch on a boot, staring intently at the bright little wheel attached to it.

  Oh, he could have that, too.

  His claw worried at it, and when Kaya fluttered down beside him, Kasa pecked at his brother. No. His prize. His.

  Kaya squawked, but left him to it, poking his way back to the big, square shiny thing.

  There was no way they would get both back home as they were.

  They would have to...

  The sunlight glinted on something else, too, in the river. Something less shiny, but just as interesting. Kasa ran at Kaya to keep him away from the sparkly wheel, then fluttered to the riverbank to look at the man.

  The wet man.

  Oh. Bare and fine, hair the color of the sun, eyes the color of the sky. Pretty, pretty.

  Kaya came and put his head next to Kasa's, and they both stared. Yes. Pretty. Shiny. Very shiny with the water on his skin.

  The man was singing, picking up the water and pouring it over his skin. Over and over and over.

  He and Kaya flew up in a flash of glossy black wings, both of them swooping and chittering, trying to get the man's attention.

  "Oh, look at y'all." The man's voice was deep and warm, full of a husky laughter. He liked them! So many men tried to scare them away, but this one liked them! This one laughed at them and watched them and smiled.

  Kaya swooped at him, pecking his wing, making him wobble, and he screamed at his brother, shrill and mocking. Jealous one.

  The man headed deeper into the water, that laugh just filling the air. "Y'all be careful, there'll be feathers flying."

  Yes. Kaya's, if his brother was not careful. They swooped and played a bit longer, admiring the pretty man. Then Kaya dipped one wing, telling him it was time to go. Yes, go and get the sparkles.

  The man was watching them both, sky-eyes twinkling. Well, that was not smart. Making the man watch when they were going to try and steal his things. He bumped Kaya, landing them away from the sparkles, on the low branches of a scrub oak.

  It took what seemed all afternoon before the man turned away, began swimming lazily in the water.

  Chittering, he flew right for his little wheel, tugging at the straps that held it to the boot it went with. He could hear Kaya, struggling with the flat thing, little sounds of effort pouring out.

  "Hey! Hey, y'all!" Uh-oh. The man was splashing.

  Kaya cawed for him, taking off, the silly bird, but Kasa wanted the little wheel. He wanted it badly enough that he thought hard about losing his wings, about becoming a man like the one chasing them, and suddenly he was big enough to pick up the whole boot and run.

  "Oh, God in Heaven." The man was close, stumbling and reaching and dripping.

  Kasa tried to run faster, but his foot caught on something, something cloth, and he fell, landing hard in the dirt, the air rushing from his lungs. Sometimes he was not so graceful as man. Flying was much better.

  The man was right there, falling too, landing on him with a thud. "Hellsfire! What the Hell..."

  Kaya's scream sounded loud and clear, his brother coming to his rescue, hitting the man in the back. They knew the white man's words, and Kaya shouted them now. "Let him go!"

  "Whut?" The man was heavy, but not hurting him, more just pushing him down into the grass.

  "Let him go!"

  "Off. Off, off, off." Kasa struggled, panic edging in. They had been told of the bad things that would happen if a white man caught them...

  "Shit. Shit. I can't. Tell your boy to get off my back!"

  "Kaya! Stop!" He knew it would take long moments for Kaya to calm, but his voice got through finally, his brother slumping to the ground, panting.

  "Easy. Easy. What the Sam Hell is going on here?" The man backed off, fingers wrapped around the boot.

  His own fingers twitched, wanting to reach for the shiny wheel. Kasa looked at it with genuine longing before nodding to Kaya. As one, they shrank and grew wings, becoming crows once more and flying into the sky.

  They would just have to leave the pretty things and the pretty man behind.

  Even if it made them very sad to do it.

  ***

  Good lord and butter. Cotton reckoned them damned Injuns had slipped something into his chaw when he went out to trade. Birds turning into nekkid boys and back. Pshaw.

  Too much sun.

  Too much whiskey.

  Too much goddamn time out here in the middle of nowheres away from folks.

  He whistled up Bonner, stretching up from the campfire he'd been crouching by. "C'mere, you foul-tempered nag. I got to get that saddle off you so's I can get me my supper. Birds. Can you believe that nonsense? Me? Thinking I seen birds?"

  Bonner snorted and whinnied, head tossing as the big grey wandered over, nuzzling his pocket for a bit of something.

  "Yeah, yeah. I got carrots still. Just hold up." He tugged off the saddlebags and gave Bonner a bite, chuckling at the way them big yeller teeth rolled the carrot over and over.

  The flutter of wings sounded in the night, just beyond the reach of the light of the fire. Just behind Bonner's back hooves. His heart started going pitty-pat, pitty-pat and he gave it a hard lecture. There wasn't no such thing as magic bird-men.

  There wasn't.

  Even if that crow who came out of the dark and started pecking at the toe of his boot was the biggest damned blackbird he'd ever seen.

  "Good night." He blinked down, just staring. "You know, crows don't come out in the dark much."

  Lord have mercy.

  Bright eyes stared into his and the feathery lunatic started pecking at the strap to his spur. Just like that. Poke. Poke.

  "You'll mar the lea
ther now. Stop it." He moved back over, starting up some water to boil.

  The bird followed him, hopping along, squawking like mad. A second crow appeared out of the dark, too, coming right on up to him.

  Okay.

  Okay.

  He'd be hornswoggled. "I. Y'all aren't. I mean."

  Shit, this was plumb loco. Before he could blink and Bonner could snort, one of the crows shimmered, shivered, feathers growing into fingers. When he opened his amazed eyes again, there was a naked man in front of him, hair black as coal, eyes wide and shocked and dark.

  "Hey." Lord, his knees went all wobbly and he sorta stumbled. So, either he wasn't loco or he was serious, long-term, put him away crazy.

  "H-hello." Oh, now, listen to that. That voice was rough as a cob, but somehow musical. He got a tiny smile, and one bare foot reached out to sweep the crow that was still a crow away from him.

  "Hello." He nodded, tipped his hat a little, not knowing exactly where to look because, damn, he hadn't seen too many folks that was so... bare.

  "Kaya is impolite. I am Kasa. Pleased to meet you." So formal, those words, and the kid looked so pleased to be able to say them, holding out one brown hand to shake.

  "I. Howdy. I'm Cotton. Cotton Myer." He reached out and shook, just like this was one of them fancy dances up at the ranch and he wasn't burning his heels near a camp fire in the middle of nowhere with a naked bird-man and his feathery-assed... friend?

  The one that was still a bird pecked at the human one's tender, bare feet, making a raucous noise. Rude, indeed. Kasa, that was what he'd said his name was, Kasa frowned and swatted. "Hush. Bad, Kaya. We wondered if you wanted to make a trade."

  "A trade?" Okay. That wasn't exactly what he was expecting, but what the hell. Crazy was crazy. "Trade what? And y'all want to sit? I got coffee."

  That dark head tilted, echoed by the motion of the bird. Like they was one body. "Coffee?"

  "Yeah. It ain't fancy, but it'll be hot."

  "Hot." The feller nodded like that decided him. "Yes, I would like coffee."

  Kasa sat, crossed legged, right by the fire, the blackbird hopping up on his bare leg.

  "Okay." He dug out two little tin cups, eyes cutting over every now and again. "You. Uh. You want a blanket or something? For under your backside?"

  High cheekbones took on a load of color, the brown skin going deep rose. "Am I rude? I will cover myself, if you need me to."

  "Rude? I. No. I mean. I just. The ground don't bother your butt?" He guessed if it didn't bother Kasa, it would bother him none.

  After all, crazy folks didn't bother with much.

  "Oh, it is not so bad." The guy wiggled, looked to ponder a bit. "If you have a blanket I will take that as well as coffee."

  "I do. It's right soft, even." And probably smelled a little like horse, but that oughta be just fine. He dug out the blanket and handed it and the cup of Joe over. "Here you go."

  His Uncle Bridge never told him nothing about bird-men when he headed out West...

  "Thank you." Kasa wrapped up in the blanket, under and over, and that made it easier to look. The coffee got a sniff, sort of suspicious like, and Kasa made a little face. "It smells like earth."

  "Yeah?" He smelled. Smelled like coffee to him. 'Course, if dirt smelled that way, he wouldn't mind the rain at all.

  The bird cawed and dipped its beak into the cup, shaking little drops of liquid all over and making the best face he'd seen on anything in an age.

  That tickled him and he chuckled, shaking his head at the big ole bird. "I don't know if crows drink coffee..."

  Even mostly imaginary probably mirage-y crows.

  The blackbird hopped away from the kid, just a few feet, and...well, damn. He blinked. Another naked boy.

  "Hey. Uh. I only got the one blanket..."

  "That's all right. We can share. Kaya is my brother."

  "Yeah? Y'all... y'all sure look like family." They looked like nothing more than a dream, all nekkid and fine-skinned and all. Just alike. Twins, maybe. Lord almighty. The newly human one, Kaya, just nodded at him, looking a sight more skeered than his brother.

  "You... y'all hungry? I got some biscuit, some salt pork..." What did them birds eat? Corn?

  "No. No, we are not hungry." They exchanged a look, two pairs of sloe eyes meeting with a knowing air. "We have come to trade."

  Right. The one had said that before, and he'd heard that Indians liked to trade.

  "Trade for what? I can't give my horse up."

  "No. No, we have no use for your horse." That was the one who hadn't spoke yet, the voice rougher, harder. More like the caw of a crow.

  "Oh. Okay, what then?" He took another drink before his damn fool mouth got away from him. In trading, the guy that kept quiet, got the best deal.

  "Kaya wants the pretty metal there." The talkier one...Kasa. He pointed at Cotton's waist, where his belt buckle sat. "I want the wheels on your feet."

  "My buckle and spurs?" His hand went to the silver buckle. It was the finest thing he owned, had been his granddaddy's, onced upon a time.

  "Yes. That." Dark eyes smiled into his as the kid grabbed a leather pouch out of nowhere. "We have many things. All we could carry together."

  "Oh. I..." His curiosity caught him there, neck craning to see what the brothers had to offer.

  There was beads and trinkets, a couple of carved figures and what looked to be a twenty dollar gold piece.

  Lord have mercy.

  "Y'all... y'all've been busy."

  "We find things. Lost things. We do not steal." That was the tough one. The harder one. Defiant, sorta.

  "I ain't calling y'all thieves." He meant that, too. These two just didn't seem like banditos. Even if they had tried to take off with his stuff early on, he’d bet anything they woulda brought him somethin’ back.

  A sharp sound came from Kasa, some kind of chirping language that he couldn't even start to grasp. It ruffled Kaya right up, then had him hanging his head.

  "Sorry," Kaya said. "I did not mean to snarl."

  "Hey now. I ain't offended or nothin'..." He reached out, patted their joined hands.

  Lord, they was warm.

  "We are not...much with people." Kasa looked all proud again, like he'd found just the right words. "You will trade?"

  "I. Lord, honey. I'll trade the spurs, easy enough, but my buckle was my granddaddy's..." Lord knew he couldn't just leave that behind.

  "Oh. We do not want to take things important. Family things mean much." They nodded like two little birds on a fence.

  "Yeah. Yeah, it does. My granddaddy wore it when he rode. It's my good luck charm."

  "Good luck," one of them said.

  "Should always ride with you," the other finished.

  It was kinda eerie.

  "I hope it does, yeah." His fingers trailed over the buckle again, the smooth metal familiar as all get out. "Y'all sure you're not hungry?"

  "Kaya is always hungry." Smiling, Kasa opened the blanket, and his twin curled up under it with him, like two peas in a pod.

  "Well, then. Let's rustle up a bit of grub, huh?" The way they looked together made stuff tingle that shouldn't oughta be tingling.

  "Rustle?" They said that together, tilting their heads so that they clunked together, then chittering at each other.

  "Uh-huh. In the saddle bags. I got food." He started hunting through the bags, finding biscuits and salt pork.

  "We like food." Lord, it was odd to hear that from two mouths, all in tune, like a choir at church.

  "Well, I reckon you'd starve iff'n you didn't." He bent near the fire, setting it up to warm up his little footed skillet.

  When he stood up and glanced over he saw identical expressions again, this time with the twins leaning on each other and staring. Hard. With hot, dark eyes.

  His cheeks lit up on fire and his johnson? Woke up and started throbbing hard in his kit.

  "We would not want to starve," one said. The other nodded, looking fit to
eat him up, not his biscuits.

  "No. No, starving don't sound fun." He kept looking himself, wanting to see under that blanket again, even though he knew it was wrong.

  "No. We have more food. At our home." Kasa. The more open one. He was the one who said that. Despite Kaya elbowing him in the ribs.

  "Yeah? Where do y'all live?" The salt pork started sizzlin', smelling good.