Warrior Bronze by Michelle Paver

Author:Michelle Paver
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141970455
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2016-06-21T04:00:00+00:00

The falcon is burning hot and aching all over. Everything sounds fuzzy and unfamiliar and she can’t see, except for a tiny spark of brightness, very far away. She knows she has to reach this, although she doesn’t know why, and she’s too weak to fly.

Somehow, she finds a way to spread her wings, so that the wind can do the lifting for her. It isn’t proper flying, she’s merely gliding, but it’s all she can manage because she’s so weak.

Glancing down, she spots the she-lion very far below. The she-lion is racing after her, glancing up now and then, to check that she’s still there. The she-lion is doing her best – in fact, the falcon has never seen her move so fast, her paws scarcely touching the ground as she hurtles around pines and leaps over rocks – but like all earthbound creatures, she’s no match for the Wind, and with a pang, the falcon sees her slipping behind.

The bright point is growing steadily bigger as the Wind spirals upwards, carrying the falcon towards it. The earth is dropping away fast. She doesn’t want to leave it, and she knows that if she goes too high, she will never get back.

Now someone else is coming after her. She sees who it is and her spirit soars: it’s the girl, and she’s flying. Her strange beakless face is pale and intent, and her long hair is streaming behind her, dark locks shot through with brilliant glints of purple and red. She is utterly determined to stop the falcon leaving her. The falcon feels the strength of the girl’s love, pulling her back.

But being human, the girl is no good at flying. Slower than a pigeon, clumsier than a fledgling, she’s wobbling about on the Wind, and when she comes to a bumpy bit, she nearly falls off. The falcon wants to slow down, so that the girl can catch up, but the Wind won’t let her.

The girl is calling her back in her deep, slow human voice. It sounds muffled, and beneath it the falcon feels the heat of the girl’s fiery spirit, desperately tugging at hers. And yet – like the she-lion – the girl is slipping behind. It isn’t fair. The falcon doesn’t want the Wind to carry her towards the light. Once she reaches it, she will never return. She will never see the girl again.

With an enormous effort, the falcon tilts the tip of one wingfeather, trying to shift herself sideways, off the Wind. It isn’t enough, and she hasn’t the strength to do it again – but somehow, she does. And again … and again. With an ungainly lurch, she topples off the Wind.

Mustering the last of her strength, she draws in her wings, tucks in her head and feet – and plummets back to earth.

Towards the girl.

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