Back at the village, Jim and his team were busy loading villagers into helicopters when the call came through. Jim keyed his radio. "I read you, Terry. Did you secure the boy?"

  “Affirmative! We got him, but we’ve also got a problem—a bunch of harpies on our tail! We need help!”

  Shit. Somehow the rescue had stirred up a nest. "Roger that. We're lifting off now to provide support. Stand by for instructions once we're airborne."

  "Copy. The sooner the better!" she replied, tension clear in her voice.

  As soon as the transmission ended, Jim spun around to face his squad, “Everyone! Listen up! Vik-Terry are in trouble. They’re headed our way with the boy but there’s a swarm of harpies chasing them. We need to get up there and help ‘em. Who’s with me?”

  Phineus grinned and nodded, already moving toward the helicopter.

  "I want to help!" Maddie said without hesitation, following close behind.

  Veronica checked and racked her rifle as she sprinted to the helicopter and jumped in.

  Jim leapt into the Black Hawk and signaled the pilot. The rotors spun up with a thunderous whine, kicking up a whirlwind of dust. Moments later, Shepherd Three-One lifted off, banking hard toward the ravine.

  Jim scanned the terrain through his binoculars. He spotted Euryale and Vik, their wings beating frantically as they tried to outrun the harpy swarm. The creatures screeched and hissed, talons outstretched, slicing through the air as they closed in.

  Terry sat facing backward on her saddle, braced against the wind, shotgun gripped tight. She fired round after round, each blast scattering the nearest harpies—but they kept coming. Several dove toward her, claws swiping dangerously close. She ducked to avoid them between shots, never letting up.

  Despite her efforts, the swarm pressed on, their shrill cries echoing across the sky.

  "There they are!" Jim pointed. "Euryale's in the lead with the boy. Vik-Terry right behind her."

  He turned to the squad. “All right, listen up. We’re swinging broadside to face them. Euryale and Vik-Terry will fly underneath us. Once they’re clear—Phineus, shoot the harpies on the left and work your way to the center. Maddie, cover right to center. Torres, take out anything that gets close. I’ll handle any that try to climb in. Everyone ready?”

  “Yes, sir!” the squad answered in unison.

  Jim signaled the pilot again. The Black Hawk turned to present its side toward the incoming fliers. Through the open door, he saw Euryale and Vik-Terry approaching, with the massive swarm trailing closely behind them.

  “Vik, can you hear me?” Jim called over the radio.

  “I hear you loud and clear! Now would be an opportune time to engage the wretches behind us!”

  “Hang in there, Vik! Push hard and fly under us. Once you’re clear, we’re unloading everything we’ve got!”

  “I understand!” Vik’s voice crackled through the comm, tight with strain. Through the binoculars, Jim could see his wings faltering, each beat slower than the last.

  Terry’s voice came over her open mic, rising with panic. “Come on, Vik! You can do it—just a little longer!” Jim could see her clinging to him, her head pressed against his neck.

  “Many thanks, Terry… I am most grateful.” Vik replied through ragged breath, the kind Jim recognized too well—the sound of someone digging past their limits. “Now—let us make this final effort!”

  Jim watched Euryale fly under and past the helicopter, the boy still clutching her tight.

  “Euryale’s clear!” Jim relayed into the mic. “Now it’s just you two—come on!”

  Vik’s silhouette wavered as the Black Hawk’s rotor downdraft hit them hard.

  “Terry, brace yourself! I shall now plunge beneath!”

  With a powerful snap, Vik folded his wings and dropped into a narrow dive, cruising beneath the chopper’s belly.

  “Now!” Jim shouted. “Open fire!”

  “Gladly!” Phineus grinned and unleashed a barrage of rounds from his machine gun. Harpies screeched and spiraled from the sky, their bodies torn apart midair.

  Maddie gripped the helicopter’s frame, leaning out. She pushed her sunglasses up, her glowing eyes locking onto the harpies mid-flight. One by one, they turned to stone, their petrified forms plummeting like falling hail to the forest below.

  The noise of the battlefield exploded in Jim’s ears, gunfire, piercing screams, and the thunderous cracking of stone shaking him as the squad tore up the advancing enemy.

  Veronica took careful aim, firing at the few harpies that evaded the barrage and Maddie’s petrifying gaze. Jim fired furiously with his pistol, struggling to keep pace. They brought down most, but a few harpies slipped away unscathed.?

  Veronica turned her head. “Hey! There’s some underneath us!”

  A series of thuds reverberated through the floor as several harpies latched onto the Black Hawk’s underside, claws scraping, bodies scrambling to reach the opposite side opening.

  Jim turned to the noise, spotting jagged talons piercing through the other doorway’s threshold.

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  “Holy shit! They’re getting in!” he yelled.

  He stomped down hard on one harpy's claw, then kicked it square in the face. The creature shrieked and released its grip, wings beating frantically as it tried to recover. Jim drew his pistol and fired. Bullets ripped through its shoulder and wings, sending it spinning down the ravine.

  Another harpy lunged at him from the right. He fired more shots, dropping it to the floor and kicked it off the helicopter.

  Before he could reload, a third lunged from below and clamped its fangs into his pant leg. It braced its feet against the chopper's side and wrenched backward, using the leverage to drag him toward the edge.

  Jim hit the floor hard, his fingers scrambling for purchase. Grab something! His hands found a metal fixture and locked around it, arms straining as the harpy pulled him toward the edge. These animals are relentless!

  "Help!" he cried out.

  Maddie turned around, eyes widened. She saw him! Thank god!

  She sprang into action. The serpentine woman lunged forward and gripped a nearby fixture with both arms, coiling her massive tail tight like a bowstring.

  With a fierce grunt, Maddie unleashed a devastating strike, whipping out her tail with explosive force.

  With a fierce grunt, Maddie unleashed her strike. Her tail whipped out with explosive force, landing with a thunderous crack against the harpy's face. The sheer power reverberated through the air as the creature let out an earsplitting squawk. Its head snapped sideways, jagged teeth shattering on impact.

  Bloodied fangs flew from the harpy's jaw, glinting as they scattered through the air. The creature's grip on Jim's pant leg went slack. It reeled backward, talons flailing at empty space, and tumbled into the void.

  Maddie helped Jim back up. “Are you all right?”

  Jim checked himself to see he there were no serious injuries other than a few scratches. “Yeah, thanks. I owe you one.”

  Her expression shifted as she pointed down. “There’s more beneath us. I must eradicate them!”

  Maddie slithered toward the edge. Jim grabbed her by the wrist. “No—you’ll go over the side.”

  Maddie gave him with an exasperated look. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

  He tightened his grip, eyes locked on hers. His palms trembled as the thought of Maddie overtook him, fear lighting his eyes brighter than the surrounding gunfire. “I can’t lose you,” he whispered.

  Maddie met his gaze, her eyes softening. She took both of his hands in hers.

  “I have faced much worse than this. Now please—let go and allow me to help you.”

  Jim hesitated, then nodded reluctantly and released his grip. He watched as she began her descent.

  Maddie quickly wrapped the tip of her tail around a sturdy handle inside the Black Hawk, anchoring herself. She leaned her upper body over the edge and flipped upside down, scanning the underside of the chopper.

  Six harpies were clinging to the belly of the aircraft, talons embedded in the metal.

  Maddie ripped off her glasses and locked eyes with the closest one.

  A bright white flash erupted—followed by a shriek and a flash of stone. The harpy writhed, petrified mid-scream, and dropped away into the ravine.

  She swept her gaze from side to side, hissing and growling to draw the others’ attention. Harpies turned—one by one—and dropped as stone, plummeting like dead weight.

  Only one remained, gripping tightly onto the front landing gear.

  Maddie focused. Another blinding flash—and it turned to stone.

  But this one didn’t fall.

  Its petrified body clung fast to the gear—an immovable mass now anchoring the chopper’s front end.

  Inside, alarms blared. The pilot yanked hard on the stick as the Black Hawk pitched forward. Everyone inside fell to the floor.

  Phineus and Veronica scrambled for anything to hold. Jim grabbed a nearby fixture, the floor tilting violently beneath him as the helicopter wobbled and spun, teetering like a top losing its momentum.

  “Hey, Lieutenant! Get that thing off the landing gear!” the pilot shouted, voice strained with urgency. “I can’t stabilize with it hanging there!”

  He gestured toward the stone statue clinging to the front wheel, its dead weight throwing the helicopter dangerously off balance.

  “Got it!” Jim lunged for the rescue axe mounted near the pilot’s seat.

  He peered over the side and spotted Maddie still clinging to the helicopter’s frame—her tail tightly wrapped around a support, one hand gripping the edge, the other free and steady.

  Jim extended the axe toward her, waving the base at the statue’s arm. “Right there—at the elbow!”

  Maddie nodded and cinched her tail’s grip tighter. With one hand, she seized Jim’s outstretched wrist. With the other, she grabbed the axe.

  Jim held her steady as she stretched out, positioning herself to strike. Below, the statue’s arm remained latched onto the landing gear.

  The powerful downdraft from the blades sent her snakes into a wild frenzy as she braced herself.

  The aircraft lurched again, the pilots fighting to stay aloft.

  Maddie took a deep breath, arched her back, and swung.

  Thonk!

  A deep crack splintered across the statue’s elbow.

  “That’s it! Keep going!” Jim called.

  She struck again. And again. More fractures spread through the stone, but the arm still held firm.

  “Flip it around! Try the other side!” Jim yelled, tightening his grip on her wrist.

  Adjusting her grip, Maddie rotated the axe, bringing the sharp blade into position. With one final, forceful swing, the axe connected with a resounding crack. The statue’s arm shattered completely, sending the heavy chunk of stone plummeting toward the ground far below.

  Freed from the extra weight, the helicopter suddenly lurched upward. Inside the cabin, the abrupt shift sent everyone bouncing against their restraints with a collective groan.

  Jim scrambled to pull Maddie back in, but with so much of her weight hanging outside at such an awkward angle, even his strength wasn't enough.

  “Torres! Phineus! Help me pull her in!” he shouted.

  Shaking off their dizziness from the jolt, Veronica and Phineus sprang into action. Veronica lunged forward, grabbing Maddie’s free hand, while Phineus steadied Jim, gripping his belt tightly.

  Together, the trio struggled against gravity, straining to pull Maddie up.

  Jim gritted his teeth. “Everyone—on three. Ready?”

  Both nodded.

  “One… two… three!”

  With a synchronized heave, they pulled with everything they had. Inch by inch, Maddie was lifted over the edge—until, at last, she tumbled into the cabin, landing squarely on top of Jim.

  For a moment, they simply lay there—breathless, wide-eyed, staring at each other in exhausted relief.

  “You all right?” Jim asked, chest rising and falling.

  Maddie gazed down at him, a slow smile spreading across her face. “Yes. Better now.”

  Jim chuckled, reaching up to gently stroke one of the snakes on her head. “You were amazing today. You saved us all.”

  Maddie’s expression softened, her eyes shining. “Thank you. I’m glad that’s over.”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Let’s hope we don’t have to do that again anytime soon.”