Mia cried out, but no sound from her throat reached her ears. She winced as the pull changed direction, and the sharp swoop of a wing caused her hair to fly across her face.
She lifted one hand to brush the strands away, but not before she was thrown against the landward side of the pathway, her back striking the flat, smooth rock there.
She flinched, more from the surprise than from pain, and her eyes, which she'd snapped shut, flew wide open.
Pressed against the rock face, she could feel, but not see, Ford's body against hers. She could sense the outline of his form, huddling her against the cliff, sandwiching her between the rock and the protection of himself.
An invisible shield for an invisible girl.
The vast cloud opened up as several of the enormous birds swooped close, looking for the prey that had so recently occupied the ledge.
