Jim spun around to face his team, pointing to the flighted members, Terry, Vik, and Euryale. "You three! Quick—can you rescue that boy?"

  "I'll get him!" Euryale shouted as she charged her submachine gun and lifted into the air.

  "Let's go then!" Terry said, tightening her grip on Vik as he nodded, spreading his massive wings and leapt to the sky.

  The trio flew in pursuit of the harpy carrying off the terrified child.

  The ravine ran wide, with jagged rock formations jutting out along sheer cliff faces. A narrow stream wound its way through the valley floor, flanked by scattered bits of natural debris.

  Naturally swift, Euryale had no trouble gaining on the harpy. Vik, however, lagged slightly behind because of the weight of his armor and rider. Vik pushed himself to the limit.

  "Terry, can you get lower?" Vik called out. "I can fly faster if you lie flat!"

  "Got it!" Terry pressed herself flat against his back, arms wrapped tightly around his neck. With the added aerodynamics, Vik surged forward.

  The pair closed the distance. The harpy remained oblivious to their approach, focus consumed by its squirming prey.

  "All right, Euryale, I have a plan," Vik instructed. "I need you to get directly below the harpy. I'll come in from above and slash it. When it drops the boy, you catch him and fly him back to the village. Think you can manage it?"

  Euryale gave a look of uncertainty mixed with hesitation. "Never done this before, but I think so!"

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  "Good! Let's get into position."

  Vik flew over the harpy while Euryale glided beneath it, flipping onto her back midair. The harpy, still unaware of the incoming rescue, flapped steadily toward its nest.

  With Euryale in place, Vik readied his next move. "All right, Terry—hold on to me. I'm diving now!"

  Terry braced herself, gripping Vik as he tucked his wings and plunged downward. Body streamlined, head stretched forward, claws extended in anticipation of the strike.

  The harpy never saw it coming.

  Vik's claws hit right on the mark, raking across the creature's body in a flurry of slashes. Feathers exploded into the air. The harpy shrieked in agony, instinctively releasing the boy. The child tumbled through the air, screaming.

  Euryale stretched out her arms. "I got you!" she yelled, catching him mid-fall and holding on tight.

  Meanwhile, the harpy flailed, mortally wounded. Blood sprayed from its wounds as it spiraled downward, its last cries fading away as it crashed into the ravine below.

  Vik watched Euryale fly away, the boy clinging to her with all his strength. Relief flooded through him as he saw the child hesitantly look up at his rescuer. When Euryale smiled down at him, something warm loosened in Vik's chest. We did it. We actually saved him.

  "Let's get you home," she said gently, her wings beating harder as she changed course toward the village. The boy nodded weakly, and Vik could see the tension finally draining now that he understood he was safe.

  "Hey, Vik," Terry said urgently, scanning ahead. "I see their nest—and it doesn't look good. A shitload of Harpies just saw what we did and headed this way."

  Vik groaned. "Exactly how many is a 'shitload'? I hate when you use terms like that!"

  "I don't know, like a lot more than ten!"

  "Not good!" Vik muttered. "I'm turning us around and withdrawing immediately!" He banked sharply into a 180-degree turn and flapped his wings as fast as he could.

  Terry spun around on his back, facing the incoming pursuers, her eyes going wide. The harpy swarm shrieked behind them—a churning black mass of talons and feathers that blotted out the ashen sky. Their collective screeching rose to a fever pitch.

  "They're gaining on us!"

  "Naturally—I bear considerably more weight than they do!" Vik snapped.

  "I'm calling for backup." Terry pressed her radio button, "Juliet Bravo, this is Victory Two-One! Come in!"