Bronze Magic (Book 1) by Jenny Ealey Page B

whole procedure,
she alternated her baleful stare between the food and Tarkyn. Overall,
Tarkyn felt that his gift had probably antagonised the eagle more than
pacified her.
Minutes later, the male eagle landed on the nest and, ignoring
Tarkyn, used beak and talons to rip apart a large crow and feed it, piece
by piece to the squawking chick. At last the chick’s cries subsided and
Tarkyn felt his nerves settle slightly as silence descended. But now he
had two huge birds glaring at him from inches away and the ledge had
become extremely crowded. Slowly he stood up so that he was taking
up less space. As he rose to his feet, he saw a deep recess at waist
height. With a very slow wave, he changed his shield from a dome to
a curved wall in front of him. Then he reached into his pocket, drew
out the leather pouch and, keeping his eyes all the time locked with
the eagles’, pushed the leather pouch deep into the crevice with his
right hand. All was going well until his hand flinched back from a
sharp piece of rock.
At the sudden movement, pandemonium broke out. Both eagles
spread their wings and battered at the outside of his shield, shrieking
and snaking their heads towards him, their beaks and talons hooking
onto the bronze hazy barrier. In the background, the chick squawked in
alarm. Breathing hard, Tarkyn resisted the urge to back away. Bringing
to bear the natural arrogance of his heritage, Tarkyn outfaced everything
the eagles threw at him. He would not let them drive him from the ledge.
He brought his hand slowly down to his side and forced himself to stand
motionless before them, keeping his eyes on theirs.
Gradually, as their aggression had no effect on the intruder, the
eagles quietened and after ruffling their feathers into place, reverted
to glaring at him. Slowly, more slowly than he had ever done it before,
Tarkyn faded his shield away. After a minute, the female jabbed her
head forward and used the rounded part of her hooked beak to push
Tarkyn in the chest.
Tarkyn kept rigidly still. Then slowly, keeping his eyes trained on theirs,
he placed his hand over his heart and gave these lords of the air a small
bow, as the acknowledgement of one equal to another. He doubted that
they had any idea what he meant by it, but it felt the right thing to do, to
pay them homage and to thank them for protecting his valuables. They
cocked their heads at him, as though studying the gesture. Suddenly with
a parting shriek, the female took off and with a few strong wingbeats,
rose swiftly on the air to become a silhouette against the sky. The male
stepped into the nest and settled himself on top of the chick, muffling
its cries.
Tarkyn could hardly believe his eyes. Returning stare for stare with
the remaining eagle, he muttered under his breath, “ Ma liefka ” and rose
gently into the air. The eagle stayed where he was and let Tarkyn go.
When at last Tarkyn had levitated and clambered his way to the top
of the cliff, he stretched himself out on the grass and found that he was
trembling, whether from exertion or reaction he wasn’t sure. He was still
dazed by his escape. He reflected ruefully that even for a man with no
future, his venture into the eagle’s domain had been foolhardy.
ver the next few days, Tarkyn skirted villages and farmsteads, losing
all idea of where he was heading. Twice he waylaid a small child to
ask him to buy something for him from the village shop in exchange
for a small fee, but these villages were so small that everyone knew
everyone’s business, and both times he had had to run for his life as
suspicious villagers had come looking for the stranger. By the fourth day,
he was living mainly on berries and some apples he had found in an old
gnarled tree by the side of the road. His big frame demanded more than
this and his stomach growled constantly as he walked along mile after
mile of dirt roads.
It was nearing sunset on the fifth day away from