I wrapped my arms even tighter around Zara, hauling her against my chest as I tried to make us as small as possible. Zara didn’t even stir. Dread coiled in my gut. Had the Devourer taken too much from her? Was she dying?
Neo barely had time to carefully shift us to his other claw before a screech pierced the air above us.
This is going to be bad,Neo said in the obvious tone of someone remarking on the fact that it was currently raining.Hold on.
The wild eagle dove and collided with Neo in midair as theymet each other talon to talon with Neo’s one free claw. I gritted my teeth against the pressure of Neo tightening his grip on my ribs. As I’d feared, the other eagle was bigger than Neo, his wingspan so much wider that every beat of his wings pushed Neo back from sheer force. And with their talons locked together, their backs were nearly vertical.
My muscles strained to hold Zara against me as gravity tried inexorably to pull her back down to earth. We spun round and round in a deadly dance, the other eagle holding tight to Neo’s claw. The world tilted and twisted around us as the mountains rose fast below. Pressure filled my head, like it would soon burst. My vision narrowed, until it was like I was peering through a tunnel. I couldn’t imagine what it was doing to Zara’s already drained body.
And then suddenly the eagle released Neo. We somersaulted through the air, so violently that Neo lost control of his flight. My arms were on fire as I fought against the wind to keep hold of Zara. Neo’s hold around us weakened. Just as Neo leveled out again, the wild eagle dove, talons spread. At the last moment, Neo met the bigger eagle’s talons with his own, spinning us wildly around again. This time we flew only five hundred feet above the rocky ground.
The other eagle used his free claw to tear at Neo’s chest, his talons as long as swords. Neo’s strong feathers repelled the attack at first, but eventually, the other eagle made contact, puncturing his chest and tearing a scream from Neo.
I shouted his name helplessly as blood stained his golden feathers.
Neo’s grip on us loosened.
The other eagle took advantage of his weakened state by lunging toward Neo’s neck with his enormous beak. Neo thrashedand tried to avoid having his throat ripped out in midair. At the same time, his claw loosened enough that we dangled in the air.
I’m losing her!I shouted mentally and verbally as the wind tried to tear Zara from my arms.
The only thing that came through our link was desperation as Neo tried to defend himself from the bigger eagle. Finally, Neo wrenched himself free, but the force from the wind and the other eagle was so strong that it ripped Zara from my arms.
I watched her plummet past us, horror choking me as I watched the other eagle dive after Zara.
He’ll kill her!I shouted to Neo, and he, too, dove to catch her.
Just before she crashed into the rock, the other eagle snatched hold of her, cradling her in his claws. He turned and shot back through the sky, his speed even greater than Neo’s, until he was like a golden blur through the clouds. We pursued him, the blood pounding in my ears along with the screaming wind. The eagle was without a doubt taking her back to his nest, where he would kill and eat her. Now that my hands were free, I gripped the hilt of my sword; I didn’t care if it was an eagle or not, I would pierce his heart before I let Zara be killed in such a brutal way.
The wild eagles had no regard for humans and saw them as just another food source, though they tended to avoid us since we put up too much of a fight. Apparently, Zara falling through the sky right in front of him was impossible to resist. And I’d made it all possible by losing my hold on her in the first place. The thought made me desperately want to turn back time and not be so damned weak. Why couldn’t I hold on to her?
We’ll get her back,Neo said, but he didn’t sound like he meant it.
We will,I tried to assure us both. That thing will land, and then he’ll have to contend with both of us instead of just you in the air.
A plateau loomed in the distance. I didn’t think I’d ever wished for an arrow so badly. I pictured firing it now, piercing the eagle’s wings enough to force the bird to land. His nest could be anywhere—the top of a tree, the edge of a cliff, or even somewhere that would leave us little room to maneuver.
Do you think you can get above him?I asked Neo, quickly sending him my concerns about the nest locations.Force him to land on that stretch of land?
He’s too fast for me.
But it was the mountains that ended up helping us, slowing the wild eagle down enough while he maneuvered past craggy rocks and outcroppings, while a strong headwind made it difficult to push forward.
Neo soared higher and higher, until the clouds pressed thick around us. There was no headwind now, nothing to hold him back. He beat his wings harder, shooting forward until the wind was stealing the moisture from my eyes.
Without warning, Neo dove, forcing me forward against his claws. I couldn’t see—my eyes were too blurry from the wind—but I could see from Neo’s mind that he was now directly above the other eagle. Neo and I dropped from the sky like a stone. I soon saw that Neo had planned it so perfectly that it was a thing of beauty. His talons slammed into the other eagle’s back just as we flew over the plateau, forcing the wild eagle to land because of the sheer weight and momentum from above.
Pull up before he lands on top of Zara,I shouted, every muscle straining at the thought that the eagle would crush her.
Neo did so at the last second, and I watched with my heart in my throat as the other eagle laid Zara down gently before landing. Why would he do that if he considered her nothing but meat?When we landed seconds later, he stepped in front of her with his wings spread and screamed so loudly my ears rang.
I froze. He was clearly protecting her, but was he doing so because he thought Neo wanted to steal his meal? The way he was acting didn’t seem to just be aggression over food.
Can you talk to him?I asked Neo.
He doesn’t speak Zephyrian, he said.I’ll have to resort to half-remembered screeches and peeps.
Neo made a soft sound in his throat, almost a warble, and the other eagle answered with another deafening screech. It didn’t take a psychic to know he wasn’t responding well to whatever Neo had asked.
