Writing Prompt Wednesday: A snippet from the novel!

For the month of April, being that it is Camp NaNo month, all Writing Prompt Wednesday posts will be small sections of the part of the novel I am currently writing.  For today, please enjoy this little bit of Chapter 12, as of now the first chapter in Act 2.  Keep in mind, however, that this *is* still the rough draft, heh.

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She never thought she would wish so hard for the familiar trials of a modern airport – long lines, lots of waiting, lots of procedure, sure… but warm.  Enclosed.  And not nearly so lonely.

Hours now, and she’d had only her own thoughts to occupy her.

Down below she had watched the field give way to forest, and the forest to field again, and now the craggy heaps of mountains blurred by on her right, and it had gotten so much colder still.

Mabi and the Protector called Barrott Darrenger flew ahead of her, each on their own hybrid eagle-horse, and behind her the two younger Protectors Christopher and Zoe brought up the rear.  She could not see if the others were as unhappy as she was; her mount appeared to be flying in the air stream of the two in front, and as such their expressions were hidden from view.

It was too cold to try and see anything, anyway.

She had her head down and shoulders hunched, checking her buckles for the umpteenth time, when the piercing cry of an eagle tore the air and sent shivering chills racing down her spine.  She jerked her head up only to see Protector Darrenger’s black hippogriff veer off violently to the left, and a moment later something searing hot and liquid slapped across her face.

She jumped, squeezing her eyes shut and pressing her mouth tightly closed, lifting her right arm to swipe at the wetness with the sleeve of her coat.  It had already mostly dried cold and sticky to her skin, but when she looked down she swore the color was dark red, even against the black of her sleeve.  Another shriek made her heart wedge into her throat, and just as she looked around again Mabi’s hippogriff plunged out of view.  She twisted in her seat, opening her mouth to call out or scream at the other Protectors, but before she could pry her voice from her throat something whistled up in her peripheral vision and a burst of silver feathers exploded on her right.

Clara yelped, turning forward just at the moment her hippogriff gave a long keening moan, the strong rhythm of his wings faltering.

No.  No no no. The sight of his mangled left wing registered somewhere among the panicked jumble of other thoughts as their flight path began to sharply decline.  No no no no no.

She clenched the saddle bar in white-knuckled hands, her breath coming high and shallow in her chest as the speed of their descent increased rather than decreased.  She was not a hippogriff expert, but she did know enough about flying in general to know that anything that flew was supposed to slow down before it landed, not speed up.  She wanted to look for the other Protectors, to yell for them, for them to do something, for them to help her, but her voice was as frozen as the rest of her.

All she could do was cling helplessly to the saddle and watch as the ground rushed up to meet them.

***