Page 65 of Abducting Sarah

Its head bobbed side to side, as it came closer. It was then that I saw the feet were not what I had expected. They were much larger and had talons the size of my hands. I held my breath as its head dipped toward my foot. But instead of taking a bite, it poked my shoe with its beak. Not hard—it was like it wanted to touch me, not hurt me. Then it stood up to stare at me with those black holes, his head tilted to the side.

Does it want me to touch him?

Tentatively, I reached out for the odd bird with my foot and tapped its talon with my shoe.

The bird walked next to my leg and poked my thigh, a light peck as if to sayhello.

So, I reached out with my hand this time and touched its long, scaly leg, trying not to be too weirded out by its missing eyes.

Abruptly, the bird hopped onto my lap, startling me, but cozied up to me there, like I was a nest. It gently poked my leg with its beak again, so I petted his soft feathers. The bird made a cooing sound like a dove, seeming to be content with this arrangement.

More birds came to me from the roof and sat in a line on my left and right, with me in the middle. I had no idea what to do, but I petted the one on my lap and the ones next to me, as they poked each other, lovingly.

I’m the Jane Goodall of alien birds. What the fuck.

When Deacon returned, he froze when he saw my situation. His voice was tense when he asked, “Sarah, are you unhurt?”

I smiled at his formal choice of words. “I’m fine. I think these birds think I’m one of their own or something.”

Very softly, he said, “Remove the jem’hora from your lap.”

“Okay.” I assumed he meant the bird, so I gently scooped my hands beneath it, and lifted it onto the ground next to me. The little guy looked perturbed but accepted my choice and sat there. “Now what?”

“Slowly stand up and come over here to me.”

I did as he told me. “What’s wrong?”

“Camp Deo,” he said, raising his voice a bit so that his words traveled into the house, “there is a flock of jem’hora here.”

“What?” The android sounded panicked and rushed outside to join us. “Cover your ears.”

I stared at the android in confusion. “Huh?”

Deacon covered his, so I did the same.

Camp emitted a sound like a cross between a screech and a siren. It was deafening, even with my hands pressed against my ears. The flock of jem’hora squawked back at her, before they took off and disappeared into the night.

Once they were gone, she stopped making that noise, and asked, “Is anyone hurt?”

“No, we’re good, Camp Deo,” Deacon said.

“What is going on?” I asked, having no clue what had them both so fearful. “Do they carry some kind of disease or something?”

The pair looked at each other in astonishment. Then Deacon explained, “Jem’hora are fearsome predators. They are drawn to newborn Ladrians and will fight and kill adult Ladrians to get to them. It is likely they caught the scent of the twins—I do not understand why they did not attack you.”

“Maybe they don’t like the taste of humans?” I shrugged.

“You’re right—they don’t,” Camp said. “But they are known to kill humans for sport and leave the carcass behind.”

My blood ran cold. “Oh.”

“They are why Ladrians who come to Halla nearly always have an android with them,” she went on to explain. “We are one of the best defenses against the jem’hora. Fighting them is difficult—there always seem to be more. Chasing them away is the best strategy, so more do not come.”

“Well. That’s…bracing.”

“Did you feed them?” she asked curiously.

“No.” I shook my head. “One came right up to me, checked me out, and sat on my lap. Before I knew it, I was the middle of a line of them. I don’t know why.”

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