Thief of Time - Watched

Lu-Tze sighed, and pinched out the end of his cigarette. 'We're being watched,' he said.

Lobsang spun round. There were only trees, and insects buzzing in the early-morning air.

'Up there,' said Lu-Tze.

There was a raven perched on the broken crown of a pine tree, shattered in some winter storm. It looked at them looking at it.

'Caw?' it said.

'It's just a raven,' said Lobsang. 'There's lots of them in the valley.'

'It was watching us when we stopped.'

'There's ravens all over the mountains, Sweeper.'

'And when we met the yeti,' Lu-Tze persisted.

'That settles it, then. It's coincidence. One raven couldn't move that fast.'
'Maybe it's a special raven,' said Lu-Tze. 'Anyway, it's not one of our mountain ravens. It's a lowland raven. Mountain ravens croak. They don't caw. Why's it so interested in us?'

'It's a bit... weird, thinking you're being followed by a bird,' said Lobsang.

'When you get to my age you notice things in the sky,' said Lu-Tze. He shrugged and gave a grin. 'You start worrying they might be vultures.'

They faded into time, and vanished.

The raven ruffled its feathers.

'Croak?' it said. 'Damn.’

***

The Thief of Time - p209-210