trying little half-flying jumps from the side of the nest. Very soon he would be ready for true flight, and after that he could begin learning how to hunt.
One day, while the black chick was sleeping, Saekrae took the opportunity to leave him and go hunting again. It was a fine, clear day, and she flew up over the valley, feeling the sun on her wings. She liked summer. Hunting was better and the weather more pleasant.
She flew in a leisurely circle, looking for prey as always. The goat herd generally came to the stream to drink at this time of day.
They weren’t there today. Instead she found them at the centre of the valley, in the marshy patch, browsing on the lichen that hung from the trees. Saekrae closed in, choosing her target. She selected a large one that was near the edge of the herd and swooped down on it at full speed before it saw her shadow. But she had acted too hastily. The animal moved as she began her dive, and then glanced up. It saw her and bolted.
Saekrae changed direction in midair, angling to head the goat off. It banked sharply to avoid her, and as she turned again, a tree suddenly reared up in front of her. She hit it hard, the branches shattering under the impact of her outstretched forelegs. Unable to recover herself, she ploughed headfirst into the ground. The collision knocked all the breath out of her. She lay in a tangled heap for a few moments and then struggled to her paws. One of her forelegs was sprained, and there was a fragment of wood stuck in her chest. She wrenched it out with her beak and limped away from the tree, shaking her head dazedly.
The goats had fled, and blood was trickling from one of her toes where a talon had been ripped clean away. She took off with a slow, clumsy beat of wings and regained the air. The tree that had robbed her of her prey seemed to mock her with its waving branches, and she screeched her rage.
And she was answered.
Saekrae’s head jerked upward as the loud and unmistakeable cry of another griffin echoed over the mountains toward her.
Her fury hardened in her throat. She thrashed her wings, straining for extra height, and opened her beak wide to scream her name. “Saekrae!”
A few moments later the reply came back. The intruder had heard her and was not backing down.
Saekrae forgot about the aborted hunting trip and forgot about her chick. She flew straight upward, making for the peak of the tall mountain that backed her nest. From there she would be able to see a long way and the other griffin would not be able to hide from her. She beat her wings with all her strength, flying as fast as she could, bent on reaching her goal before the enemy arrived.
But as she neared the peak looming overhead there was another screech, and the other griffin soared up over it and into the valley. Even as Saekrae pulled up short, wheeling around to pursue him, something happened that struck fear and confusion into her.
Two more griffins appeared, following on the tail of the first. Both of them were large adults.
Saekrae knew what this meant.
Perhaps she should have fled, but she did not. She would not abandon her young. She rushed at the first of the intruders, foretalons pointed straight at him.
The other griffin—a female a little smaller than her, with pale grey feathers and fur—turned to face her, but instead of flying at her she simply lowered her head and shot past. But then, as the two of them passed close to each other, pain spiked into Saekrae’s body. She screeched and bucked wildly in the air, and then the two other griffins were on her. Talons struck her hard in the back, tearing great wounds down over her flanks, and a beak hit her in the neck, at the base of her skull. She turned in the air and latched her claws into the belly of one of her attackers, her beak aimed for her throat. The other griffin tore at her, trying to shake her off, but she would not let go, and the two of them fell from the sky, locked together and ripping at each other.
Mere inches from the treetops Saekrae suddenly let go and twisted free, opening her wings to catch an updraft. It carried her to where the two