High in the canopy of Hania Forest a wooden, round dwelling clung onto a massive tree. Below through the thick branches and plumes of leaves, the forest floor lay hidden. Concealed in the darkness were dangers that not even a skilled hunter would venture alone.

“Where’s Darik?” Talon said of their only tenderwing.

“Oh no! The front door!” his newlywed wife said.

Talon burst through the opened front door. Diving through the forest canopy, he used his keen sight to magnify his view. His son, Darik, plunged toward the forest floor. Terror burned through Talon’s body.

He needed a weapon. Looking back up, he yelled, “Throw my swords!” His dwelling retreated in a hurry.

Air boomed in his ears.

He drew his wings in tight, straightened his body like a spear, gaining speed. Normally he had to be careful about terminal recovery. If he dove too fast, he wouldn’t be able to stop from hitting the ground. Or maneuver around branches. He didn’t care.

The thickening foliage engulfed his baby boy.

“Darik! Come back!” Talon roared. He tucked his arms against his sides and felt the wind tug at his extending wings. They shaved the surging air as he cut around the branches. Daylight dimmed as he dove deeper. His eyes hadn’t caught up to the darkness, yet. His hearing and awareness heightened.

The temperature plummeted. The bare webbing of his wings expelled precious body heat. The air smelled earthier. Cold nipped through his black silk clothing and pinched the skin of his wings. Sounds of the forest masked Darik’s position, but he focused beyond them, using his pointy ears to grab any foreign noise. Finally reaching the forest floor, he couldn’t pick up his son’s scent. It was dangerous for any Harton to be here, but Talon had no choice. He shivered, flying, frantically searched.

Talon heard a cry.

His heart leapt, and he shot toward his son’s voice. An unpleasant quiet fell. Something crashed through the branches. Two broadswords were trapped in the branches high above. He left them. Darik would be tired from the long descent and be tempted to sit, despite being taught not to. Patches of wormgrass grew all over the forest floor. Their white moon tentacles would pull him into their acid stomachs.

Talon beat his wings as fast as he could against the sludgy air. It was quiet. Something hunted them. Darik screamed. A sticky tentacle was pulling Darik’s wrist.

“Darik!”

Trees began to creak, bearing additional weight—a bad sign.

“Raaaaahhhh!” The prowler’s cry sounded as if it screamed while inhaling through its mouth.

Talon flinched. The high-pitched wail tore at his ears. A prowler headed for Darik like a rushing river. Talon roared.

Turning toward him, the prowler’s long, massive body and dark skin, akin to its surroundings, glided above the ground. Chunky sinuous tentacles spit out like a spider’s web through various orifices, grasping tree trunks. The prowler lunged for Talon. Its long tail arched, checkered with square scales, aimed a forked stinger.

“Raaaaahhhh!”

Die. Talon charged. Wings beat at a rapid pace.

The prowler opened its massive jaws, able to engulf Talon in one bite. Sharp random teeth profusely filling its mouth gleamed in the darkness. It was a bit intimidating to say the least.

Right before being consumed, Talon tilted his wings. He flew close to its side. His chest almost scraped the neck of the prowler. Talon clawed its thick skin. Out of pain, Talon shoved his hands under his arms. Blood drizzled out.

The prowler overshot. Its sheer weight and velocity prevented it from turning quickly. Its tentacles made quick work of the surrounding trunks.

Talon swept around to rescue his son from a wormgrass tentacle.

“Raaaaaauuuhhhh!”

Crow!

The tail of another prowler struck Talon against a tree trunk. Struggling to recover, Talon roared to draw the attention of the second prowler. It didn’t work. He shot straight at it as fast as he could, ignoring the sharp pain in his right wing. But he lost many of his claws in the first attack.

His wings seized as much air with each pump. Talon struck the second prowler hard with his feet. His hair and wings fell forward. Despite the hard impact, the prowler charged toward Darik. Talon squeezed his front toes and hallux, his claws pierced the hard checkered scales of the neck. That diverted the attention from Darik to its own preservation. Talon clamored up, grabbed one of the two thick antennae and sunk his fangs. The prowler veered off.

Talon pushed off of the predator and looped back. He landed by Darik and wrenched the tentacle off. He picked his son up by his yearning arms. Darik’s wings flapped, blowing Talon’s blonde hair back.

The lone warrior backed up against a tree trunk. Prowlers weaved in and out between the surrounding trees. Talon smiled at his son and kissed his swollen wrist. His right wing stung. Darik kept eyeing the creatures, pressing himself against Talon’s chest. Prowlers tightened their circle. Talon covered his son’s eyes. How am I going to get out of this?

“There’s only enough for one of you. So who’s it going to be?” Talon leaned back. Both hallux claws hooked on the bark. He crept up, knees bent.

Prowlers fought each other to see who would get the small meal. With its tail, one of them tried to whip the other, while another snapped its jaws at a larger prowler. The sign Talon needed.

“Hold on tight,” he said, securing his arms around Darik’s tiny wings. The frightened child dug his claws around his father’s chest. Talon leaped into the air, dove and flew under the commotion. Wings beat hard. Pain stabbed his back. Passing the main group, he flew toward a beam of sunlight. Prowlers hated the sun but pursued.

The chase was on!

They were catching up to him, screaming. Talon focused everything he had to reach the light. Prowler tentacles latching onto trees got louder. The creatures were bearing down on them. A tail whipped in front of Talon. He dove under, banked left and right, avoiding chomps on his wings that echoed deep into the forest.

Light!

They knew where he was heading and blocked his way.

Talon swung around. The Harton warrior dug for more strength and flew toward a large tree. The creatures closed in fast. He cut around the broad trunk and exploded upward. Prowlers swerved around.

Talon latched to the side of the tree. Prowlers passed below, but would soon make their way back. He couldn’t fly to the canopy fast enough with his wing hurt. Even the flight up to the thinner trunks where the weight of the prowlers couldn’t be sustained was far. The sunbeam was their only hope.

He saw it! Tightening his hold on Darik, he jumped.

“Reeaaaaaahhh!”

A massive predator below shot up. Talon looped away from the massive jaws and dove. He gained speed. Darik cried. The beam of sunlight drew close.

The wind was knocked out of Talon.

On the ground again, a blunt pain pounded his back, turning to prickly needles. His arms were empty. Dark’s silk shirt floated to the ground. “Darik!”

Darik screamed.

Oh, no.

Talon dragged himself up. A small prowler blocked his way. He feinted to the left. The prowler lunged for him instead. Talon swiped upward and knocked it to the side. His hand screamed with pain.

Darik flew up to his father. A prowler swung in, scooped Darik into its jaws and snapped shut. Little wings protruded out of the clamped teeth, fluttering.

Talon screamed. All of the prowlers circled him. His wings went limp. Closing his eyes, Talon stood there and waited. Arms hung by his sides. His breathing was slow and calm against the surrounding darkness.

Darkness faded. He opened his eyes.

Beams of sunlight hit the forest floor. Above, warriors opened a path through the branches in the canopy. Many of the beams hit the prowlers. Their translucent black skin turned white and wrinkled. They dissolved back into the dark looming forest.

Talon picked up the ragged silk shirt. He had Darik in his arms. Had him. The warmth of his son was still on his hands, arms and chest. The last he would ever feel it.

He hung his head and flew up. Blonde hair cascaded down his face.

Talon took one last look at the spot, then turned away.

Raven hovered above the opening in the canopy. Talon’s arms and the surrounding area were empty. Panic took hold of her face. She dove past Talon.

“Darik! Darik, come to mother!” Raven said. Talon dove and stopped her. She roared at him, pushed him out of the way. “I’m going to get my baby!”

Talon held her back and said, “He’s gone.”

“No, he was just with me,” she said, trying to throw herself into the forest, crying. “Stop grabbing me!” She clawed his arm.

“I saw him get—” Talon broke off.

She turned her attention to her husband. And fell.

#

Their dwelling felt lifeless. Talon walked over to the nook where Darik hung when sleeping. Tiny claw marks had roughened the wooden bar. Talon’s fingers ran over the hang. Tears welled. His soul flooded with despair. The space felt empty, not remembering the days when Darik wasn’t in their lives. He couldn’t believe just a moment ago his son was home playing.

He brought Darik’s silk shirt to his nose. Flashes of Darik’s bubbly cheeks, dark brown eyes, and giggles haunted his mind. A surge of pain and shock rang through his body. His hands covered his eyes. Tears burst through his fingers and ran down his arm. The anguish enveloped his body like a thin layer of fire burning under his skin. A lump of agony grew in his gut, pulling Talon into a deep hole.

Tears continued to stream down his arm, dripping off below.

He was about to drop to his knees.

“Is there anything I can do, my Warlord?” a solemn voice said. She climbed through the oval door on the floor.

Talon stuffed the shirt in his pant pocket. Rumee’s voice felt uninvited. “No.”

She began to walk over to him.

“I need to be alone,” he said, hiding behind his wing.

“Of course. Anything I can do let me know.” She left.

He listened to the soft breeze blowing across the canopy. Leaves rustled. Summer was ending. Outside the window, the lone moon overpowered the surrounding stars.

He descended through the oval door, landed on the second floor. Raven lay on a bed of leaves. She slept on her stomach and twitched every now and then. Talon could still feel Darik’s grip on him, his tiny breath on his chest, and the look of fear in his eyes. It was unbearable. He did his best to stop feeling. But it was impossible. Maybe if Talon had held him tighter. Or if he wasn’t so…

Raven raised her head. She curled her legs under her. Her shoulders sagged, wings drooped. Her cheeks hung as if an invisible weight clung on. Talon and Raven stared at each other for a long while. Raven looked at her wooden hang attached to the ceiling.

“You fainted,” he said.

“Oh.” Through the small window, the smell of food cooking entered the room. “I don’t feel like eating.”

Talon sat on the ground, his wings draped over the floor. They felt cold, numb. He caressed her hands and buried his face in them. “I’m sorry.”

She sniffed.

“I did everything I could. But there were just—I was just—”

She took his bloodied hands and saw he lost most of his claws. She kissed them. He looked into her beautiful sad eyes. She couldn’t hold it anymore. She started to cry, body convulsed. They embraced.