Apparently, I wasn’t unconscious long, because I was still flying upward when I came to. I struggled to free myself but the talons buried into my shoulders made me scream in pain as the world dropped further and further below me. I saw the boundary of the trail of destruction the army had left. Tears formed in my eyes north from the pain and the loss. I stopped struggling and hung limp as I was taken higher and higher above the clouds.

I stared upward and saw the creature that had taken me. Its face was long and angular. Its enormous wings made me gasp as they pushed through the air. The animal had legs like a chicken but much larger, with talons as large as my head. The creature looked like it was made of rock, but I knew it for what it was.

I had been taken by a gargoyle—a creature of the sky. Moisture formed on me and a chill ran through my body as we soared through the clouds. I had been caught by a gargoyle. I knew I was already dead.

Several long and painful minutes later the upward rise slowed. I gasped as the talons released. I plummeted and fell, only to pass out.

I regained consciousness, and stumbled to my feet. The motion caused a stab of pain in my shoulders. My vision cleared and I saw the blood stains in my shirt. Gingerly, I pulled the cloth that had caked against the wounds free. My head spun from the loss of blood. I dropped to sit and take stock of my situation.

I had landed in a field of rubble that rose on every side. Among the stones and small boulders, bones and remains of gristle and flesh peppered the landscape. Where was I? I pushed myself off the ground, and stumbled forward. I turned and stopped when I saw the large stone structures that had been behind me. Terror gripped me. I was in the gargoyle’s nest and stood in front of three eggs that loomed over me.

I ran across the nest’s clutter to peer over the edge. I shrank back. My head spun and my stomach felt like it fell to the distant ground. I’d never been higher than an apple tree. The land and farms below were a multicolored patched quilt. I saw no tree supporting the gargoyle’s nest. Nor did I see the gargoyle., but I knew it would return. The eggs in the center of the nest drew my attention again. Sounds came from the two closest to me. I knew I’d have more than one gargoyle to deal with. The sounds grew louder and despite their weight and size, the eggs shifted.

I dashed past the eggs to the far edge of the nest where a large stone wall stood. I saw that a small outcropping in the wall supported the nest. I stared up. The wall soared skyward as far as I could see.

Many had spoken of seeing gargoyles in the distance, but none in my now non-existent village had ever see what I saw. No one had mentioned a wall to the sky. But here it was and so was I. I was far from home. Loud sounds from the eggs startled me back to my predicament. I saw no way up. I glanced down the wall. I saw no way down. I considered dropping down the wall, but even though there were frequent stone outcroppings, I doubted I had the strength to maneuver my way to the ground far below.

A sudden loud crack brought my attention back to the eggs. A large crevice had formed in one as it rocked back and forth. The second still made sounds but showed no such crack. I grabbed the sword, I’d found, and my dagger. If I were to get down, I’d first have to deal with the gargoyles.