Page 59 of When Ashes Fall

“Stay down!” he barked.

I wiped my wind-tossed hair out of my eyes and the dirt from my nose as I rolled over, but he was already gone. I stared at the dreary sky before pushing myself onto my elbows.

My irritation with him vanished when something soared out of the trees. It was so big that at first I assumed it was the shadow dragon, but then, to my horror, I saw it was a colossal eagle flying toward us.

The beast was easily the size of a horse with a fifteen-foot wingspan and talons bigger than my leg. It released a screech louder than Henrietta’s screams as its black, beady eyes focused on us.

Its arrival had at least caused the phantoms to stop shouting; their attention was probably as riveted on the eagle as mine and Knox’s. I didn’t get a chance to ask how we’d evade this monstrosity before Knox sprinted away from me.

He raced through the cemetery and around tombstones as he ran toward the creature. It screeched again as it bore down on him.

“No!” I cried, but the wind tore the word away.

Knox and the eagle were only feet away from each other when Knox leapt onto a headstone, propelled himself off it, and shifted into the beast. Shredded clothes fell away to litter the ground as his claws smashed into the eagle’s open beak, knocking the creature’s head to the side. The eagle screamed again as another one erupted from the trees.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Briar

“Oh no,” I whispered.

I had to help Knox against these things. Leaping to my feet, I planted them against the ground while I created an energy spell that swelled in my palm as the power of the earth fueled me.

The dark green color of the spell startled me. I’d never created one that color before; they’d always been white, but I didn’t have time to ponder this new development as the eagle swiveled toward me and Knox landed gracefully on all fours.

He glanced over his shoulder at me as the second eagle swooped down on him. When the first eagle came at me with its talons extended, I threw the spell. The fiery green light caught the creature in the neck and knocked it to the side a little.

When it banked to the right, its wing caught the top of a tombstone; the impact sprayed rocks everywhere as it shattered. I threw up my arms to protect myself from the debris as the phantoms shouted, “She is a caster!”

I had no idea why they were so annoyed by that when two giant birds were trying to eat us, but their indignation briefly drowned out the eagle’s screams and the howling wind. I couldn’t handle their incessant clamor as the first eagle turned back toward me while the other homed in on Knox.

In complete beast form, Knox raced through the gravestones as the second eagle dove at him again. Instead of punching it, Knox seized one of its talons as the second talon gripped his head.

“No,” I breathed, but as the word slipped from me, Knox swung up with his massive toe claws and buried them in the eagle’s belly.

The creature screamed, and the first, which had been coming back toward me, twisted its head to look back at its friend. Tipping to the side, the bird shifted its path and swung back toward Knox with a grace I would have believed impossible for the gigantic beast.

As Knox sliced down with his toe claws, blood and guts spilled out of the eagle. The bird screamed so loudly and with such distress, I felt a twinge of sadness for the creature; it was following its instincts and trying to feed, but I’d far prefer to see it die than us.

The first eagle screeched with what sounded like sorrow as the second one flapped and twisted to dislodge Knox. He didn’t let go as he sliced further down the eagle’s belly.

“No!” I screamed when the first eagle bore down on them.

Before it could also attack Knox, a roar filled the air and the shadow dragon swooped overhead. With its mouth wide, the dragon released a wave of black before crashing into the bird and knocking it off course.

The second eagle hit the ground and tried to rise before flopping down again and going still. Its wings moved as the beast climbed out from under it. When the beast shook itself off, blood sprayed everywhere as the first drops of rain fell.

The first eagle hit the ground shortly after. As its large body bounced through the cemetery, it knocked over headstones as it went. It started to rise, then let out an awful, keening noise. Slapping my hands over my ears, I tried to shut out the sound, but it was impossible as it flopped on its back, kicked its talons in the air, and flapped its wings.

No matter how hard it tried, it didn’t rise. That awful sound continued until its talons abruptly shot up and its wings fell open at its sides.

The shadow dragon landed beside it and used its beak to tear flesh from the bird’s belly.

“It eats,” I breathed.

I was so focused on the dragon that I didn’t notice Knox approaching until he shifted back into a man. The blood coating him ran in pink rivulets down his chest as it mixed with the rain. His muscles vibrated, his claws remained elongated, and his pupils slitted.

While the eagles didn’t cause panic to grip my belly, seeing him like this, on the verge of losing control, terrified me. When his hand wrapped around my upper arm, his claws clicked together as he ushered me through the cemetery to where Magnazius remained, watching the scene unfold.