Circles of Ciridia: The Windtalker's Amulet

Chapter Twenty-One ~ Fly

Kiäna's stomach swirled as Thea's cloud zoomed through the air. She held on for dear life.

Kiäna! Vespera's voice boomed in her head.

Vespera! She turned back to see if she could see her panther, and what she saw made her heart stop.

The eagle beastman flew right behind them. He had feathers in his hair, his nose looked like a beak, and his beard looked like owl fluff. His eyes were abnormally large and distinctly yellow like an owl's. Rather than arms, he had wings that propelled him forward. He lifted his legs up, and her eyes caught on the owl talons where his feet ought to be.

She screamed as the owl man caught up to them.

Where the cloud lacked in speed it made up for it in mobility. Thea sent her cloud dodging the owl beastman's talons, and thankfully, Kiäna held onto the cloud. They veered to the side and descended far too quickly. Her stomach did a flip inside.

Kiäna screamed again. Then she saw a second owl beastman winging his way toward them from a fair distance away.

The cloud made it to the ground, and Thea hopped off and shouted at Kiäna. She could only shrug in cluelessness. Thea enlarged Pax and vaulted onto his back.

Kiäna scrambled off the cloud and raced over. Thea reached down to help Kiäna scramble up into the saddle in front of her friend. She gripped the handle on the saddle so tight her hands shook.

Vespera?!

Don't worry about us. Just get out of here, Kiäna!

We'll lead the owl beastmen away from you and then lose them in the dark. But how will we find each other? she asked as they took off into the night, zooming by so quickly she nearly let go of Pax's saddle pommel.

Thea held on as she sat behind Kiäna, supporting her position on the saddle. But Pax flew so very fast, and Kiäna felt her hands slipping. One hand slipped, but she held on with the other. She gripped the saddle pommel hard again with both hands. With each beat of Pax's wings, she took a jarring breath.

You're heading toward the rising moon, Vespera said. I'll try to tell Pax to keep that heading, and you will be able to fly back toward the setting moon to make your way back to us, once you lose the owl beastmen. I'm sure we'll find you.

Okay. Stay safe! Kiäna gave a backwards glance to see that the two owl beastmen still pursued them as they flew away on Pax. "Go, Pax go!" she yelled.

Every beat of Pax's wings set them bobbing up and down on the air as he flew them away, with the beastmen pursuing them. They pulled away, slowly but surely, until the owl beastmen became small in the moonlight, and still they flew onward, determined to escape. Kiäna's hands grew tired from holding the pommel, and her legs began to ache from sitting astride the winged panther.

Vespera, are you all alright?

We're hidden and safe, he replied. We will catch up with you...

His voice trailed off as their connection broke from the sheer distance between them. Kiäna felt tears burst from her eyes, and she cried out. She turned her head to see that the owl beastmen were only shadows in the night, so far away she could only make out the dusty white of their feathers.

Pax veered off to the right, and Kiäna groaned as she fought to keep her hold on the pommel. Thea shushed her as Pax went into a dive toward some trees. Kiäna's body swayed and Thea grabbed her to keep her in the saddle.

Then Kiäna felt the oddest sensation of falling in place while everything around her seemed to tower over her. As the world grew bigger and bigger, she realized Thea was shrinking them.