Chapters (45)
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- Prologue
- 2046
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- About the Author
A thing flies into view. Like a bee with broad stripes, but these are red and black instead of yellow and black. The size of a rugby ball with wings the length of Harry’s arms, but it moves like a bee, buzzing towards the nearest flower and hovering above as though scenting to see what’s on offer.
It glides away and the noise increases to a pitch like an electric drill that revs louder as it rises and reduces when it sinks down towards the next flower. They watch mesmerised as it drops to land lightly in the middle of the blossoming flower, which hardly moves from the weight bearing down. A big head stuffs face first into the middle and as the buzzing noise dies down so they hear a sucking that’s like a dog cleaning itself. Suck squelch swallow. Suck squelch swallow. Then the buzzing increases as the engine pitches to give lift and it soars up freshly drunk on pollen to zigzag along in the air.
A screech rips the air apart, making them duck down. Safa and Harry both raise their weapons. The rugby ball bee pays no heed as the treetops explode with leaves bursting up and twigs falling down.
The three get ready to flee for the bunker as a drumming noise that’s fast and furious comes from the foliage high up in the tops of the trees. Wood splinters and branches snap as a black object breaks free, soaring up on wings that beat furiously to gain height, and even from this distance they can see the immense size of the thing. It flies up as though desperate to be away from the trees as another beast of the same ilk explodes out in a shower of broken foliage that drops away as it soars to catch the first.
With enough height gained, the first creature flips in the air to point down and torpedo drops at an angle away from the one chasing it. The wings open wide and long like the sails on a yacht that catch the thermals. The second creature immediately copies until they’re side by side, soaring playfully on vast appendages that seem solid yet transparent and the closest thing to a dragon’s wings they can possibly imagine.
Undoubtedly the creatures see the people, for as one they adjust aim and glide lower through the sky, heading straight in their direction, but they’re so entranced that they don’t run or burst away, but stand staring with mouths hanging open. The creatures have long curved beaks and legs with vicious-looking talons clear against the sky and what looks like a long body coated in both feathers and scales: a seamless, beautifully woven tapestry.