Authors: Ian Alexander,Joshua Graham
From The Ashes (22 page)
Presently, she became aware of the rising and dipping of her own body as she straddled Lao-Ying's tree trunk of a neck.
As they floated up higher with each flap of his wings, the wind grew stronger.
The village below grew smaller.
Clouds of black smoke arose from the center of her family's hut.
A sharp pang twisted inside her chest.
Ah-Ma.
Shao-Bao.
Fading behind as they soared away.
Sharp blasts of wind streaked tears across her face.
She sniffed wetly and wiped her eyes on her shoulder.
One last look, please.
Then stretched her neck back, but could not see her home.
Her left hand releasing a feather, she twisted her trunk around.
Right away, she lost her balance.
Nearly slippped over the right side of Lao-Ying's neck.
She shouted in terror.
// AHNDIEN! //
The entire horizon fell diagonally as Lao-Ying banked upwards on his right and reestablished Ahndien's balance.
She spun around, leaned forward and grasped as many of his feathers as she could.
As she leaned against his neck, her heart pounded so hard he must have felt it.
// ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? //
Silently, she nodded, her face buried in the silk and steel feathers.
// I'M SORRY, LAO-YING.
I WANTED ONE A LAST LOOK //
He righted himself and soared towards the top of the Maw-Shuh Mountains.
From his beak, a sound rose above the beating wind, like steam escaping a large and tightly covered cauldron.
A sigh.
//LOOK BACK AND YOU SHALL SURELY FALL //
// I UNDERSTAND //
// AND NOW, DEAR FLEDGLING, THE TIME HAS COME TO LEAVE BEHIND THAT WHICH CANNOT BE RECOVERED, AND CONFRONT THAT WHICH CANNOT BE ESCAPED //
[END OF EXCERPT]
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Once We Were Kings
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