Once In a Blue Moon Read Online Free

ignoring the harsh creaking sounds from his joints. He was careful not to look at Hawk and Fisher. He tended to forget, until it became necessary for them to demonstrate, just how fast and dangerous they could be. That they were, in fact, highly experienced trained killers. He made himself concentrate on the bodies of the dead birds before him. He sniffed the air carefully but couldn’t detect any scents out of the ordinary. He leaned forward and looked the small bodies over as thoroughly as he could, while being very careful not to touch anything. Their eyes were open, dark and unseeing, not a breath of movement anywhere, not a mark of violence on any of them.
    “Not predators,” said Hawk.
    “Not natural predators, anyway,” said Fisher.
    “It’s almost like someone’s gone out of their way to give us a sign,” said Hawk.
    “They didn’t have to shout,” said Fisher.
    “I’ll send some of the witches out here to take a look,” said the Administrator, straightening up again with a minimum of fuss. Exaggerating his various infirmities seemed small-minded in the face of so much casual death. As though some force or power had reached out and slapped the birds out of the air. Just because it could. He looked out across the plain, at the city of tents grouped around the Tree. “It could be one of the students, I suppose, showing off, but . . .”
    “Yes,” said Hawk. “But.”
    “Let some of the more advanced magic students investigate,” said Fisher. “Be good practice for them. If nothing else.”
    The Administrator looked around him, at all the dead bodies scattered across the stony ridge. Dozens of the things. And then he looked sharply at Hawk and Fisher.
    “Is there any chance this could be connected with your decision to leave so suddenly?”
    “I don’t see how,” said Hawk. Which wasn’t really an answer, and they all knew it.
    “Some old enemy, caught up with you at last?” said the Administrator.
    “Unlikely,” said Fisher.
    The Administrator glared at both of them. “There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”
    Hawk grinned broadly, a sudden but very real moment of affection. “More than you ever dreamed of, old friend.”
    “I think we should get back to the Millennium Oak,” Fisher said briskly. “We have to prepare for the Auditions. Get ready to sort out the potential heroes and warriors from the deluded and the wannabes. One last time.”
    They turned away from the dead birds and made their way back down the stone ridge and onto the dry and dusty plain. The mystery of the dead birds would have to wait until after the Auditions. Because some things just couldn’t wait. But it was silently understood among the three of them that this . . . matter wasn’t over yet. The Administrator never let go of a problem once he’d sunk his teeth into it. Particularly if it posed any kind of threat to his beloved Academy.
    “You don’t always produce heroes,” he said roughly. “Even the best students can let you down. The Black Prince of Land’s End—he was one of yours, wasn’t he?”
    “Unfortunately, yes,” said Fisher. “Hawk and I had to go all the way down there to sort him out personally.”
    “I know,” said the Administrator, just a bit pointedly. “You were supposed to bring back an erring student, not a collection of bits in a box! We’re still getting dunning letters from the Land’s End Council, demanding we pay for all the damage you caused, taking the Black Prince down!”
    “You’re not actually planning on paying them, are you?” said Fisher.
    “Of course not! I’m just making the point that your problems don’t always stop just because you’ve killed your enemy.”
    “Exactly,” said Hawk.
    The Administrator decided he really didn’t like the way Hawk said that.
    •   •   •
     
    H awk and Fisher made a point of walking back through the middle of the tent city surrounding the Millennium Oak, instead of sticking to