my arms around my legs and tried to think through all of my options.
Was I going to abandon everyone? Leave without telling Hemi and Kael? I was wrong for leaving and I knew it. Just when I decided to be strong and confront my fears instead of running, when I decided to accept who I was and Joss’ choice, I was attacked painfully from the inside out.
“AAAAHHH!” I cried and grabbed my stomach. It burned and I felt as if I were being ripped apart. Falling to my side, I curled in a ball and rocked myself, hoping the pain would depart as quickly as it had come. Sweat dripped from my face and I bit my lip in hopes of stopping the pain. It worsened and I screamed into the night, digging my fingernails into the ground. My breath was ragged and sent little puffs of dust into the air. Turning onto my knees, I tried to get up but I was crippled with pain. My hair had fallen out of its beautiful coif and dangled in the dirt, hiding my tears as they dripped onto the ground.
I cried out again and this time I heard an even louder scream. Only it wasn’t mine, it was higher pitched but it echoed my cries. Every time I screamed I heard a louder one, until loud voices could be heard in the distance along with a commotion. Shortly after, a great shadow loomed over me and the answering calls of my screams stopped. I heard the rustle of chain and felt something powerful nudge me in the side. I toppled over and saw the giant red head of the tower’s dorabill inches from my face. Painfully, I tried to crawl away from the bird but I watched as the bird’s great talons kept stepping in front of me, blocking my escape.
The manacle around the dorabill’s leg sported a foot of broken chain and I could see fresh blood from where the bird had struggled to break free. He had heard my screams and probably mistook me for a dying animal and fresh dinner. I was probably a more tempting piece of meat than a rabbit.
I heard a whimper escape my throat and I thought how pathetic I was, unable to gather the strength to put up a fight. The dorabill cocked its head and darted quickly forward towards my stomach as if it were going to attack. I threw my hands over my neck and tried to curl into a ball to protect my soft spots. Who was I kidding? I was all soft spots. The bird stopped inches away and turned his head back and forth before leaning back away and screeched loudly into the night. More voices could be heard and I saw torches coming lighting the night. The dorabill stepped back from me as men came rounding the corner.
The tower’s operator was the first one I recognized, still in his nightclothes but wearing boots and what looked to be a giant club and a bucket of rabbit. Other townsmen gathered around and froze when they saw me on the ground huddled in fear and pain. They looked confused and shocked. They were probably here looking to find someone who stole a dorabill, not an injured young girl.
“Well, the least you could have done is wait till morning,” the skycage operator fumed. “I didn’t think you had it in you to try and steal a dorabill?”
“I…I…d-d-didn’t,” I gritted out between clenched teeth as another painful cramp came on and I curled up and groaned loudly.
“Larn, she’s hurt!” came a female voice.
“Well, I can see that now!” The operator, whose name was Larn, shot back. Larn stepped forward and dropped the club and bucket on the ground. The dorabill shot out his giant neck and overturned the bucket to get at the pieces of rabbit and ate his fill in two crunchy bites. Larn leaned down and touched my forehead, which was hot to the touch. “Golly, she’s burning up!”
“Who is she?” the female spoke up again.
“She’s staying with Jesai family. I’ve seen her with their son.” This time another unidentified man spoke up.
“Quickly, we must get her back.”
I was lifted into the air and carried swiftly down the street. The mob of people that started with us died down as they stopped following us and one by one entered their home.
“No!” I tried to shake my head. I didn’t want to go back and the pain in my stomach