Page 57 of The Falconer

Thesluaghdive again with piercing shrieks, wildly flapping their wings. Talons grasp at my clothes and slice my bare shoulders. I drop into a crouch. All I can see are veiny, flapping wings.

Before I can get back to the crossbow, one of them hurls itself at me. I brace myself for the heavy impact.

But it goesthroughme. And I feel as if my soul is being torn from my chest.

I try to draw a breath, but the inhalation becomes a gargle at the back of my throat. My throat closes and cold constricts my lungs, spreading under my skin and freezing my heart. Thesluaghreappears above me, arcing its body to swoop down again.

Gavin.

I manage to turn my head. The faery is flying towards Gavin, who is turned away. Because he trusts me, trusts that I’ll save him.

I move, biting back a scream at how much it hurts to move through the ice. I leap through thesluagh’s frigid body and slam into Gavin, pinning him to the floor of the ornithopter as thesluaghglides over us.

For a second, I rest my cheek against the slick, wet skin of Gavin’s neck. My body aches and I shiver from the cold.

‘Your knee is digging into my spine,’ Gavin says.

‘You’re welcome,’ I murmur. My tongue is heavy.

I pull myself to my feet and stumble, my muscles protesting the sudden movement. My vision is dotted, unfocused and blurry. I close my eyes hard and shake my head once. If Kiaran were here, he’d tell me,Stand upandmove. A second spent dwelling upon pain is enough time for an enemy to regroup.

‘Are you all right?’ Gavin asks.

‘Fine.’

I grab for the crossbow and swing the weapon around on its stand, blinking through the stars in my vision to take aim. I yank the handles back. Another miss. I swear softly and try to still my body, clenching and unclenching my freezing fingers to make them warm again.

Calming myself, I look through the sight. Asluaghscreeches and heads straight towards me again, flying so fast I barely release another quarrel in time. It slices into thesluagh’s neck and the creature erupts into white vapour.

Faery power flows into me, warm and soft. My body is so charged, so energised, that my blood runs hot again. I aim the crossbow, swiftly firing one quarrel after another. I kill with such efficiency that thesluaghare unable to come near the flying machine. Gavin turns the ornithopter in circles and my wet hair whips at my face as I shoot anothersluagh. My sodden petticoats cling to my thighs and rain slaps my skin. Ice from dyingsluaghcoats my arms.

And each time I kill, my agility improves. My mind becomes clearer. Murder is the simplest thing in the world, uncomplicated by emotions. It’s just me and my victims. Hunter and prey.

My chest expands with triumph, with utter elation. My mind chants a single word as I kill. A benediction. A prayer.More.

Only onesluaghremains. It circles through the clouds, a wary ghost. My quarrels are gone and I have only my pistol left. My victim needs to be much closer for me to shoot accurately. I know what I have to do.

Thesluaghsweeps underneath us, still cautious. I reach into the middle compartment shelf to pull out a canvas bag and draw my lightning pistol.

‘Aileana,’ Gavin says.

Thesluaghrises towards us, preparing for an attack. I smile at Gavin, breathing so hard from my kills that I think my lungs might burst.

I pull my arms through the pack’s straps. ‘You take care of my bairn.’

He blinks. ‘I beg your pardon?’

‘My ornithopter.’

I step up onto the seat and fling myself into the sky. Air rushes around me. Gavin screams my name, his voice echoing through the clouds. What’s left of my skirts flutters upwards as I gain momentum and I have to shove them down to see.

I hold the pistol out in front of me and point the barrel at thesluagh’s head as I plummet.Steady now. I pull the trigger.

Thesluaghbursts apart in a cloud of electricity and mist. Cold, thick fog surrounds me as I fall through it, and ice adheres to my skin and hair.

I pull the cord attached to the pack on my back. Silk material billows above me and jerks me skywards. I close my eyes, shoving my pistol into its holster as I glide over the water. The sea laps below me, comforting, rhythmic. A soft breeze caresses my cheeks as I descend.

I take that last moment of calm to feel the faery’s power wash over me, tickling along the inside of my skin in a soft electric current that weaves its way through my body. I let myself relax in the comforting embrace of my parachute and listen to the waves, to the hiss of wind and patter of rain around me.

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