Dark flight - Lore of the angelic book 1

Harpies

John

I crawl forward on my stomach, trusting the others to follow behind. the forest floor soaks my shirt, but now is not the time to worry about my bodily comfort. The wings beat overhead. I can hear them speaking now.

"Eyes out brothers and sisters"
And another calls,
"We'll get our claws in them ".

They can't have noticed us, but they are searching for someone. Likely, they are searching for us. Harpies are intelligent creatures, cunning and brutal and unfathomably bloodthirsty. They are creatures of the wild, not quite fae, not quite their own thing. They have societies, live in groups, build roosts and hunt for both beast and man. The Angels hate them, but apparently, they are ready to do anything to get to Alice.

It enrages me.

I lunge forward and press my back against a thick tree. I listen closely, doing my best not to breathe or make a single sound at all.
"No you fools, they said not to harm them!"
The coven Matron croons. She's a lithe, muscly form with pointy ears and a shaved head. she has talons like an eagle where hands should be, clawed feet, and is mostly naked, apart from a leather tied around her waist. feathers cover her back and scalp. Harpies are still descended from the same ancestors as the elves, so they too are beautiful in a deeply off-putting way.
"War with the Angels is inconceivable! Keep them alive, capture them! Not an eyeball scratched out!"

So they want us alive. I wonder if the council intends to use us as bait to dangle on a stick until they have Alice, or if they plan to torture the information about her whereabouts out of us. I reach deep into myself, for my weapon, and my wings appear. I can sense the shift in Michael and Nazeem as well.
"Alright"
I crawl back to them and whisper silently.
"There's seven of them and only three of us. It's only a matter of time before they notice we are here, and our best call is to be faster than them. Michael, how good of a flyer are you?"

He hesitates.
"I had... average marks."
I roll my eyes. that's just our luck.
"They are excellent in the air, so our best guess is to weave between the trees, that way Naz can try to grab some out of the air as well. I'll go for the coven matron first; you focus on the stragglers."

Both men nod, and I take one last deep breath.
"Ready?"

"As ready as I possibly could hope to be in a situation like this..."
I dig my heels into the ground, and push myself off the ground, forwards.
"GO".

I zip between the trees at breakneck speed, dodging trunks. I can hear the rush of air all around me, wings, behind, above me. Whether it's Michael, or they're already upon us I can't say. My weapon connects with the harpy matron, the blade slices, and tears through her wings. She rakes her claws over my face, but I can't feel the pain, just the adrenaline pumping in my veins like gasoline.

To my left I can see Nazeem. he is upon her in seconds, tearing at her throat. I don't even want to know how it tastes.

I beat my wings, frantically, slipping through the foliage with certainty. I just have to trust that the others follow my lead. another harpy plummets to the ground. that leaves us with only five to deal with. good.

Suddenly a set of claws bear down on my back. I howl in pain and stagger, trying to shake my opponent off. Beneath me I can see Nazeem trying to get two other harpies off Michael, who is pinned beneath them. A second arrives to help her sister, blocking my view. I slice at her helplessly, but she dodges every blow nimbly. it's no use...

I do the only thing I can think to do. I throw myself down to the ground, where I am at least at a slight advantage, but also cornered. I crush the one on my back, and she cushions my fall. Her sister howls with hatred. I jump to my feet and land a kick to one of the ones holding down Michael, which is enough for Naz to finish her. Good boy.

"You damn angels! you'll regret this!"
One of them cries, still high in the air. One of her brothers is hovering close behind her. Where is the third one left... I look around, but I can't see him anywhere. Harpies are matriarchal creatures; the males typically perform messenger and scout roles in combat... they can't have possibly been convinced to drag the whole coven out here for a goal that means nothing to them... What were they offered in exchange for the job?

I raise my sword.
"I've finished most of you, I'll pick off the rest..."
The harpy sneers.
"You think you alone can beat three clans?"

Three. Clans.

That's at least six covens. I have seen armies opposed by fewer harpies.

"I'll believe it when I see it, coven sister."
She laughs, and charges me, leaving her male companion behind in the air.
"Oh you will see soon, princeling..."

Her claws clash against my broken blade, as we exchange blows. then I hear it. the rushing of wings, of many, many wings. An entire swarm of harpies break through the trees, shred my clothing, my skin. I take down one, two, maybe four... in the gore I can't tell... but ultimately, I am thrown to the ground.

The harpy I was speaking with lands before me.
"not so cocky now princeling..."
I bare my teeth at her. it makes her laugh.

"I have one question for you before you deliver me... What did the council offer you in exchange for this little stunt?"
She bawks, and breaks into hysterical laughter, which echoes all around us, ugly, melodic cackling.
"Simple, little princeling. the council didn't offer us a thing for you... but a tenday ago a cousin elf from the grey city came, and she offered us something we had not seen in a long time. Meat, from a human child! The clans feasted well that night!"

The laughter continues, and I feel sick. The grey elves... not only did they kill a child to get to us... I don't know what they could possibly even want with me, or with Alice. maybe just gain political leverage over the council? I try to fight myself out of the claws, but before I know it, something hits the back of my head, and I fall unconscious.

I awaken in a cart, with a dull headache, my wrists have been tied so tight my fingers feel numb.
"You there, you're finally awake."
For a moment I have to orient myself, I swear I have seen this before- of course. My video game console... the one I never have time to play.

The woman across from me is not in fact a Norse man ready to offer me a monologue about our upcoming demise, and I frankly don't think any dragons will show up to conveniently intervene where we are going. I recognise her.
"Ophelia?"
I blink into the blinding sunlight, breaking into the covered wagon via a small gap in the upper corner of the door.
"So you remember me. I can't believe you... you were out cold for almost a whole day."

I rub my eyes as good as I can and groan.
"What are you doing here?"
She rolls her red eyes, which glow subtly in the half dark.
"What do you think I'm doing here, genius, I was captured, same as you and your friends. We were tracking the werewolf when those flying monsters suddenly descended on our party. Killed four men but kept Perce and me alive, night knows why."

"Leverage, maybe..."
I groan again.
"Probably. Well, wherever they are bringing us..."
"The grey city."
I interrupt her. Her eyes bulge out of their sockets.
"What do you mean."

"I mean, they are taking us to the grey city... most likely the ouroboros, that's where they keep high profile prisoners, typically."
The vampire becomes very silent.
"May the gods and the night have mercy on us."

She's right. Mercy is going to be in short supply where we are going.