Chapter 37 - Food! Food! Food!

  Attacking the first bird left me vulnerable to the other two that were winging my way. One of them turned its glide into a sharp dive and slammed into me from behind, giant claws catching hold of each of my shoulders. That hurt! This one was tier three, and even though my skin is still tough enough that it would be difficult for it to punch through with beak or claws, the bird was still strong enough that I felt it. I reached up with both hands and grabbed hold of its legs, just above the claws. We were only a couple dozen feet high, but I still didn't want it dropping me.

  Oh yeah—I had a Flight spell now. If it dropped me, that would be a good thing. That was going to take some getting used to, wasn’t it?

  I held on anyway, simply because it made me feel better. The third roc swooped in toward us, beak extended like it wanted to steal the tender morsel away from the other bird. As it swept in to snap at my legs, I kicked it hard in the beak. The blow sent it spinning off. I hadn't had enough leverage to do any real damage, though, so it remained airborne. It stopped its fall with a few heavy wing beats, steadied itself, and then came sweeping back toward us again.

  I couldn't just sit there. Eventually, they'd peck me apart. I knew bird bones were supposed to be weak. They were usually hollow and fragile, or something like that. I didn't remember the details, but I knew they needed light bones to be able to fly, and even though these were magical giant birds, I was hoping the same physics might apply here. Still holding the bird's ankles with everything I had, I used the grip for leverage and whipped both of my feet up toward its chest. My boots slammed home with the sound of snapping bones.

  The bird released me instantly, and my Flight spell took over, keeping me aloft. It fluttered its wings weakly a few times before landing beak first next to the first one I'd taken down and just lay there, unmoving. I was getting a pretty good pile of the things, but there were still far too many left to take a win for granted.

  One of the other birds had landed next to the nest where Emmy was hiding. I poured on the steam, flying downward as fast as I could. The bird fluttered and stepped up onto the edge of the nest . It raised its beak, preparing to peck or bite, I didn't know which, but either way, Emmy didn't have Natural Armor to defend herself against its blows like I did. With a desperate cry, I crunched into the thing's back with both fists first. The force of the impact drove it down into the pile of twigs that made up the edge of the nest, shattering some of them and sending others flying.

  The bird was dead. Was Emmy still okay?

  I glanced her way and saw her sitting up, her eyes wide.

  "You okay?" I asked.

  She nodded mutely. A tiny smile grew on her face. I was so glad to see that.

  "You're like a real-life superhero!" Emmy said.

  I laughed. What else could I do? I felt like the farthest thing from what she was describing. A comic book hero would have just swooped in, stopped the bad guys, and saved everybody without any trouble. I was just bumbling my way through this, one crisis at a time, as best I could.

  But it was a nice thought. I let the kid keep her illusions.

  "Thanks, Emmy. Listen, I need you to stay down, okay?" I said. There were still too many birds in the air all around us. If I grabbed her and tried to flee now, they'd be on us in seconds. I couldn't fight them off and protect her at the same time. I needed to deal with more of them first. "Just stay down. Stay hidden. I won't let them get you."

  She nodded and then crawled under the giant bird I’d just killed. It was a smart idea. I doubted the other birds would go after one of their own dead, at least not right away. She'd be out of sight and at least relatively safe down there.

  "Is this okay?" Emmy asked.

  "It's perfect. Hang tight, I'll be right back," I said.

  Before I could take to the air again, the fight came to me. A whole flight of the birds dropped toward me all at once. Before I could blink, the air above me was full of feathers, claws, and beaks. I was buffeted this way and that by their wing beats, my clothes slashed by their claws. One of them grabbed my left fist in its beak and tried to drag me away. That was a mistake. I swung with my other hand, my fist connecting with the closed beak. Because it was trying to pull me, I had good leverage. The bird let go and fluttered weakly away.

  I used my Flight power to shoot skyward about fifteen feet. The birds followed, right on my heels. They raked at me with their claws, but my Agility allowed me to sidestep in midair. Each time one of them attacked, I twisted out of the way and then returned the blow in kind. These things were fast, but as I'd already discovered, they were also pretty fragile. I took down three more of them before I was overtaken by a wave of weakness and nausea.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Like my batteries had just run out, I plummeted from the sky. Thankfully, I hadn't been that high, but the impact against the pavement still hurt like hell.

  For a few seconds, I wasn't sure what had happened. Had I lost my magic? My powers just given out on me? If that was the case, I was about to get eaten. Without the magic keeping me alive, I was dead meat against this many enemies.

  But no. Reaching back into the memories the Flight crystal had given me, I found the answer right away. I'd simply run out of mana. Everyone only had so much of the stuff, and Flight apparently burned it really fast. I'd tapped myself out completely. It would take time to replenish it, time I was going to have to spend fighting from the ground instead of the air.

  Alex said something about Will stones granting more mana. I made a mental note to check in with him about that, because if it was true, I definitely wanted some. In the meantime, I'd have to make do with what I had.

  More birds dove at me. One of them tried to grab me by the shoulders with its talons. I grabbed the talon, instead. With both my hands on the claw, I swung the bird in a sharp hundred-and-eighty degree arc and smacked it into another of the attacking avians. Both of them crashed to the ground, dazed. I rushed in and finished them both off.

  I was right next to that same damaged nest again, the one where Emmy was hiding. Seeing that pile of shattered and broken wood left from where the bird busted in the side of the nest gave me an idea.

  I rushed over, looking over the broken pieces of wood for something useful. It turned out there were plenty of options to choose from. These were big birds, so they hadn't built their nests out of little twigs. Instead, they'd gone to the trouble to grab entire saplings, roots and all. There were also wooden boughs longer than I was tall, and a stack of cut wood stakes, each about three feet long. Where the bird got those, I didn't know, but they were exactly what I needed.

  Snatching one of them from the ground in each hand, I turned to face the onrushing horde. With the snap of my wrist, I sent one of the wooden stakes skyward toward the nearest bird like it was a javelin. My aim was shit. I missed entirely. But I threw the second one right after it, and that one tagged the creature's wing. With one wing broken, it went spiraling headfirst into the ground. I snatched up two more of the stakes and threw one to finish it off. Then I looked up for more targets.

  There were still a half dozen of the things circling above me, all of them looking at me like I was a french fry. But I was surprised—and glad— to see that the majority of them had flown off. Apparently, they decided there was easier prey out there, and discretion was the better part of valor. That was exactly what I'd been hoping. I didn't want to fight all of these things, as much as getting a few more Flight stones might be useful.

  Still, those last ones remained a threat. I tossed a few more stakes in their direction, but they'd figured out that game. They just dodged, flying twisting paths to avoid the weapons. The way they were moving, maybe there would be some Agility crystals out of all of this.

  I knew they were biding their time, getting ready to rush me all at once. They were just waiting for me to give them an opening, so I did. Instead of looking up, keeping an eye on them, I let my gaze drift back to the ground and started walking toward one of the dead birds. Like it was a signal, all six of them dropped toward me at once.

  These birds weren’t stupid. They’d figured out I couldn't fly anymore, and they were trying to use that to their advantage. What they didn't know was that even with my mana critically low, my Strength crystals were still working just fine. I jumped upward and punched one of the birds out of the air. It landed against the pavement with a crack.

  I had replenished a tiny bit of mana, and I used it now, pushing out a little boost of flight. It was just enough to carry me onto the back of the nearest bird. Once I landed there, I brought both hands down on its back. The creature let out a horrible screeching sound and fell away toward the ground below.

  There wasn’t enough juice left to keep myself aloft, so I let myself fall down as well. I landed on my feet, bending my knees to soak up the impact. That was two more of them down, but the other four were still right behind me. I looked up as I landed just in time to see the massive beak of one of the birds about to close down over my face.

  "Holy shit!" I shouted.

  I reached out with both hands, grabbing the top and bottom of the beak, forcing its mouth to stay open. The bird beat its wings heavily, almost taking both of us back into the air. I let go, and its wing beats carried it backward. That one decided it had enough, too. It turned tail and flew away as fast as it could.

  Smart bird.

  "Emmy!" I shouted. I couldn't see her. "Are you still alright?"

  "Yup!" Emmy called out. She was still hiding under the dead bird, exactly where I'd left her. She concealed herself so well that I couldn't see her at all. Smart kid, too.

  The last of the rocs raced in toward me. Most of the others had given up. They had either flown off or were staying in their nests, keeping watch. I wasn't worried about those ones. It was the four flying straight at me that concerned me now.

  One of them led the way, racing just ahead of the others. I used that to my advantage, grabbing it by the beak with both hands. Grunting with the effort, I dug in my heels as the creature flapped its wings, trying to escape. With every bit of Strength I could muster, I twisted, pivoting hard on my heels. I swung the massive bird around in a full circle, clubbing all three of the remaining ones out of the sky as they dove in for their piece of what they must have seen as a tasty snack.

  But I wasn't a snack. I wasn't going to be dinner, and neither was Emmy or anyone else under my protection.

  All four birds were stunned and grounded. I snatched up the biggest, heaviest looking tree bough I could find from the ruined nest and hefted it over my shoulder like it was a caveman's club. Using it like a bludgeon, I made short work of the grounded birds.

  Still wary, I glanced around and checked the skies, but it was finally over. The remaining rocs were hiding in their nests or had fled. Either way, they weren't a threat to Emmy or me anymore.

  I’d done it. This fight was finally over. But there was still a city to defend, an invasion to stop, and people who needed my help. Exhausted in spite of my Stamina crystals, I staggered in the direction of the nest. It was time to collect Emmy and get her someplace safe. Then I’d deal with the rest of it all.

  One thing was sure—I was done running from this. These monsters came in to slaughter us and take our homes? They were about to get a rude awakening.