Prince of Flight Read Free

truth of Lazar. He was rightful king of the Falconi. Soon, they’d make a move and help him regain the throne from his twisted half-brother. In the meantime, they were busy fighting off recent attacks on the edges of their kingdom from the vultures.
    Keonae glanced around the table. “Dare I ask what the vultures have been up to? It’s bad enough they seem to rise from obscurity, but now it is as if they have a hand in nearly all that is going wrong back home.”

Chapter Two

    The men present shared concerned looks, probably fearing he might break upon hearing anything in the way of news on the vultures. Keonae lifted a hand. “Worry not. I have put the past behind me and will not shatter to pieces with talk of them. I asked because I wish to know and because I sense you’ve been leaving a lot out of our last meetings in regards to them.”
    Sachin cleared his throat. “We believe we can account for their large numbers.”
    Keonae waited, saying nothing more.
    Sachin glanced to Lazar and then to Keonae, hesitant to speak further.
    “Tell me.”  
    “It is merely a theory for now,” said Sachin.
    Rossi spat to the side, cursing the bird gods before returning to ranting about the vultures. “Carcass feeders!”
    Lazar lifted his beer to toast the statement. “Agree. They are bottom dwellers.”
    Most had assumed the vultures had permanently tucked themselves away to lick their wounds from the wars of two centuries ago. Some were even rumored to have fled to the human realm to escape being tried for war crimes. Keonae himself could attest to the vultures being comfortable with passing between realms—he’d been ambushed by them upon human soil and that was why he had not healed as he should have. On Accipitridae, he would have been left whole, perfect as he had once been, not marred. Not still with pain at random times. He should have had full mobility. He didn’t.
    It had been hoped the vultures’ numbers had dwindled as had those in most of the bird kingdoms. Those hopes had been dashed in recent months as verification of the increase in vulture numbers came to a head. They were attacking all kingdoms within the bird realm and in numbers that took everyone by surprise. It was clear they had successfully overcome the low birth rates that had beleaguered the realm for so long.
    They were poised to be a serious threat to Accipitridae once more. Keonae touched his scars gently and then let his hand fall away to avoid bringing attention to them. Vultures had left their mark on him, a permanent reminder of their cruelty.
    “What theory do you have on their numbers being so high when all the rest of the realm struggles so with new births?” asked Keonae.
    The men were quiet for far too long and Keonae knew the information they had was not good. It was Lazar who finally spoke. “They have found a way to artificially breed. They have perfected this over the last century through aid of human technologies in the fields of reproduction, DNA cloning, and something they refer to as genetic engineering. Kabril is meeting with a team of scientists from here, learning all he can of this.”
    “They played gods?” inquired Keonae, his breath nearly stolen at the idea of something as sick and vile as vultures managing to create an army from scratch. “They did this within the realm?”
    Rossi shook his head. “Not all of it. No. From what we are learning most took place here in remote locations. We know very little beyond this.”
    Keonae found himself lost in worry and thoughts, his mind a mess and his body tense and tight. After a while, he noticed no one else dared to speak, giving him time to absorb the news.
    “Are you well?” asked Sachin.
    Keonae nodded. “Reflecting on matters best left in the past.”
    “Hard to keep it behind you when we come and set it before your table, yes?” asked his friend.
    Keonae slid him a knowing look. “I need to be kept abreast of the situation back home, regardless of what that