Copyright © 2009 Ardyth deBruyn
All rights reserved, Wild Child Publishing.
The way Mama shouted her name told Reina she needed to hide again. She dropped the broom she'd been using to sweep the bedroom floor and raced into the kitchen. Mama, her face white, stood by the door, holding Austyn's arm. She thrust him at Reina.
"Into the woods--hurry."
Reina nodded, pushing down her fear, and grabbed Austyn's hand. "We have to run," she told her little brother, keeping her voice calm. "It's a race."
His eyes wide, he nodded. Although he was only six, he understood the situation just as much as she did--but he played "the game" along with everyone else. It was a beautiful May morning, with puffy white clouds in the sky and birds singing, no sign of evil anywhere--but that didn't fool Reina. She pulled Austyn forward, and they dashed across the grass towards the line of trees marking the woods.
She heard a cry and glanced off to their right, where her friends Lilia and Bryan also ran towards the woods.
"Let's win," she said to Austyn as they hurried forward across the field. "We'll get a prize." Safety is the prize. At eleven years old, Reina had experience with raids. Not getting caught was all that mattered.
A piercing cry split the bright morning. Reina looked back and saw black shapes in the sky. She snapped her gaze forward again; the edge of the woods seemed too far away! Lilia and Bryan had almost reached it. She pulled on Austyn's hand, and he gave a little sob while stumbling after her. Someone screamed behind them, but Reina didn't dare look back.
Austyn fell, and, grabbing both his hands, Reina dragged him towards the woods. As they reached the trees, she looked back and saw Kylen, one of the village boys, running, a harpy swooping down at him. She bared the fangs on her cold, human-like face. Her black wings spread wide, she reached for him with clawed feet. Reina had never seen one so close. The warning had come late this time. The harpy's claws grasped Kylen's shirt. Pushing Austyn into the bushes, Reina grabbed two rocks and hurled one of them at it. The first rock fell short, and she hissed in annoyance. The harpy yanked Kylen into the air.
The sky above the village had turned dark with more harpies, driving the men and women of the village out of their homes. Reina forced herself to concentrate. She hefted the second rock, and, to her surprise, it smacked the harpy straight in the face. With a blood-curdling shriek, the harpy dropped Kylen.