Wings in the Darkness, Jason Richard [free novel 24 txt] 📗

shouldn't lose this!" and he handed Terin his sword.
"Better to lose that than you Chief!" cried Terin.
The next moment something heavy struck one of the bodyguards from above! He fell swiftly and straight to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust! Terin saw more objects falling. He and the bodyguards dodged the falling missiles. They were small rocks, but they kicked up clouds of dust as they landed on the ground. Something is wrong. Thought Terin. They shouldn't be that heavy.
They dodged and weaved, and then escaped the rocks and flew up. Over the palace and the battle they saw the goblins throwing these stones at the main gate of the palace. The rocks, after leaving the goblins hands, glowed brightly for a second and hit the gate with a powerful force! More Magic. Thought Terin. The rocks get heavier when they leave the goblins fingers. And we thought all the magic we needed was a palace out of reach of our enemies.
For he knew that this scheme of the goblins would break down the gate quickly.
I hope Kareen is ready. He thought.
...
The call came out from the top of the great hall. Soldiers shouting, "The gate will be breached! The gate will be breached!" Kareen gathered her children at the edge of their perch and hefted her bow. The time was coming. Mila started crying and Jenin looked up nervously. Kareen aimed up. She knew the great hall was in the lower part of the palace, so the goblins would come from above while they escaped out the bottom of the nest. She was scared for her children, but she couldn't let it show.
"Courage Children," she said. "Courage."

Chapter Nine
The Inner Sanctum Breached.

Terin soared through goblins swarm, cutting down every goblin he could. He even grabbed an enchanted rock before a goblin threw it and launched it at another. It flashed when it left his hand and the goblin was struck by a force equal to a thousand hammers!
And still the goblins threw these weapons at the main gate!
The wicker nest palace in the sky would be breached soon, and no matter how many goblins Terin struck, more kept coming. They would breach the palace.
Kareen and the children would be in danger.
...
Underneath the nest palace, in the part of it that looked like a nest, a small hole was made. Sticks fell to the distant ground below and a head with brown feathers instead of hair peeked out. He looked around, but the goblins were all above the palace, fighting the warriors. He sent the word back quietly.
"All clear!"
The word passed to the great hall where a few warriors, the women, the children, and the elderly gathered. Most of the women had bows, though Kareen knew one had a sword. Or at least, one should have had a sword.
Where is Lailen? She asked herself, but her sister was nowhere to be found. Still, she couldn't search forever. She had a job to do. Lailen will follow the others out. She told herself, even though she knew she hadn't been the best predictor of Lailen's actions in the past.
Kareen flew to the top of the hall, staring down at every crowded perch. She could see fear in everyone's eyes, fear that she felt for her family.
But she knew she couldn't show it.
"Listen!" she cried. All eyes turned to her. "We must escape! The goblins are breaking through the main gate! When the hole at the bottom is wide enough we must fly in single lines straight down! Are you ready!"
"We are!" came the replay.
"Good!"
"Our escape is ready!" cried a soldier from below.
"Alright!" cried Kareen. "You know what..."
A blood-letting screech filled the hall, like a cricket, but somehow terrifying. Then more came. The goblins were inside!
"Fly!" cried Kareen. "Fly!"
The elderly and the children began flying down in a line as instructed, dive bombing to the bottom. The women who could lift a bow drew theirs and aimed high! Kareen flew to her perch and took her bow.
"Jenin!" she said to her son. "Get your sister out of here!"
"Mommy!" cried Mila, but Jenin took her, telling her it would be okay. He also drew his knife. He and his sister dive bombed with the rest of them.
Kareen looked up and saw the first goblin come, and then more, and she made ready to fire her bow. She held a long range weapon against fearsome creatures. She couldn't afford to be scared.
These things would die before they reached her children!

Chapter Ten
Supposed to be here, or not.

TWANG! Kareen's bow shot a goblin right out of the sky...or roof as the case was. More twangs and more goblins fell. The eagle women in the hall had true aim. They were holding the goblins back as the elderly and the children escaped out of the bottom.
"Look out below!" shouted Kareen. Several eagle people dodged falling goblins. The women were doing well, keeping the goblins at bay. Jendra, the baker's wife, had her husband's furnace with her. Her husband was no doubt in the actual battle, so she wasn't going to let him down. Her flaming arrows were easier to see, but the goblins kept dodging them only to get hit with other arrows, and when a goblin did get hit with flame he panicked, causing trouble for other goblins.
Hawla, the old widow, never missed. Between her and Kareen dozens of goblins fell, but now the rest of the elderly and the children were out, and the goblins kept coming.
Through it all, Kareen kept thinking, where is Lailen? But she couldn't think about it now. With her children safely out of the hall it was time to go.
"Flee!" cried Kareen. "Flee!"
Kareen dived bombed with the others on the highest perches. The ones on the lower perches kept firing until those above were gone, then they dived with the others. As Kareen tucked in her wings to soar through the hole at the bottom, she thought again, where is Lailen?!
...
Lailen found the armor heavy. It wasn't meant for her, but it was the best she could find. She stood at a narrow window, overlooking the aerial battle. There were no goblins here, so she could open the window from the inside. Just a catch inside the wicker that allowed her to separate the sticks. She opened it and got ready to fly. Kareen meant well with her bows and arrows, but Lailen couldn't use them. Kareen's purpose of keeping the goblins away from the elderly and children was best served with bows. A single sword in that wouldn't be useful, so Lailen decided to go where it would be. She would just have to fight and avoid being killed by goblins.
Or caught by her own people.
She climbed out, pulled the wicker closed behind her as best she could, seeing as how the catch was on the inside, and took flight. She drew and raised her sword, joining the fight.

Chapter Eleven
Needing Saving.

Kareen would be the last person out of the hole in the bottom of the nest palace. As she kept her wings close to her body, she kept thinking, when I get out, find Jenin and Mila.
That was easier said than done.
The moment she was out she spread her wings to descend with the rest of the group, and a swarm of goblins was approaching! She drew her bow and fired along with the rest of the women archers. Goblins fell, and the eagle women and children diverted, away from the goblins, but a few of those creatures got to them!
"Jenin! Mila!"
Kareen fired at every goblin she could, but she was running low! She had to shoot a few goblins that had grabbed people. She hoped her children were not being grabbed by goblins now!
"Jenin! Mila!"
One arrow left. The goblins chasing them were few now. They all flew low to the ground, eagle people and goblins alike, diving under treetops. The children and elderly were getting away, with a few goblins attacking the armed women. Kareen searched for her children, calling their names again. One goblin broke away from the archers, through the trees and towards a pair of children
"Jenin! Mila!"
Kareen raised her last arrow, speeding through the trees to her children. A goblin grabbed Mila. Kareen aimed her bow to strike it...
When Jenin knifed it!
That's my boy! Though Kareen proudly.
She turned over, firing her last arrow backwards at the nearest goblin, and flew on to join her children, narrowly dodging a tree. She shouted back...
"I'm out of arrows! Keep fighting!"
"We can handle this!" cried the widow Hawla, firing her bow. "Go save your children!"
Kareen joined them, but beamed at her son. It seemed they didn't need saving. She just hoped her husband didn't either.
...
Terin kept dodging and weaving through the swarm of goblins, cutting down any goblin he could. He kept the chief from getting too many, but some got to him. However, that turned out to be a mistake for them! An axe stroke from the chief was practically a death sentence!
Then a goblin flew close to Terin! They exchanged blows, flying through the air, and the goblin punched him! Stunned for a moment, he fell, and the goblin attacked him! They dueled as he fell, and the goblin kept slashing at his wings so he couldn't fly! They neared the ground, and Terin didn't know what to do...until an eagle man swooped down and cut the goblin down!
As Terin spread his wings, he thought he needed to thank that eagle man later.
And that he looked familiar.
As Lailen flew away, she thought, I hope he didn't recognize me!

Chapter Twelve
Safe for now.

It was only a temporary shelter, but it would hide them from the goblins perfectly. It was a bit ironic that the goblins now left caves, only for the eagle people to descend into them. It was cold, and dark, and her children were scared, but there was a back entrance that they could fly out of. Kareen and her family would be safe there.
But she wondered about Terin.
There were plenty of trees outside, and one of the women had a saw, so they were able to cut one down, bring it into the cave, and start fashioning more arrows. As Kareen sat with her children, carving wood with the knife she borrowed from Jenin, she was thankful.
She would have to use the feathers from her head for the end of the arrows, tied off with threads from her clothes. She needed the ones in her wings, and there weren't animals to take feathers from, but it didn't matter. She used the longest feathers, and by the time she was done she looked short haired.
"You could have used my feathers mommy," said Mila.
"That's sweet of you dear," said Kareen, kissing her daughter on the cheek.