bright black eyes.
He got another beer from the refrigerator and returned to the table.
He settled in a different chair from the one in which he'd sat before,
closer to the crow. Only an arm's length separated them.
'What do you want?' he asked, surprised that he didn't feel at all
foolish talking to a damned bird.
Of course, he wasn't talking to the bird. He was addressing whatever
controlled the bird. The traveler.
'Do you just want to watch me?' he asked.
The bird stared.
'Would you like to communicate?'
The bird lifted one wing, tucked its head underneath, and pecked at its
feathers as if plucking out lice.
After another swallow of beer, Eduardo said, 'Or would you like to
control me the way you do these animals?'
The crow shifted back and forth from foot to foot, shook itself, cocked
its head to peer at him with one eye.
'You can act like a damned bird all you want, but I know that's not
what you are, not all you are.'
The crow grew still again.
Beyond the window, twilight had given way to night.
'Can you control me? Maybe you're limited to simpler creatures, less
complex neurological systems.'
Black eyes glittering. Sharp orange beak parted slightly.
'Or maybe you're learning the ecology here, the flora and fauna,
figuring out how it works in this place, honing your skills. Hmmm?
Maybe you're working your way up to me. Is that it?'
Watching.
'I know there's nothing of you in the bird, nothing physical. Just
like you weren't in the raccoons. An autopsy established that much.
Thought you might have to insert something into an animal to control
it, something electronic, I don't know, maybe even something
biological. Thought maybe there were a lot of you out in the woods, a
hive, a nest, and maybe one of you actually had to enter an animal to
control it. Half expected Potter would find some strange slug living
in the raccoon's brain, some damned centipede thing hooked to its
spine. A seed, an unearthly-looking spider, something. But you don't
work that way, huh?'
He took a swallow of Corona.
'Ahhh. Tastes good.'
He held the beer out to the crow.
It stared at him over the top of the bottle.
'Teetotaler, huh? I keep learning things about you. We're an
inquisitive bunch, we human beings. We learn fast and we're good at
applying what we learn, good at meeting challenges. Does that worry
you any?'
The crow raised its tail feather and crapped.
'Was that a comment,' Eduardo wondered, 'or just part of doing a good
bird imitation?'
