Chapter 18‘Hold!’ roared Aeneas. ‘Don’t panic.’
Nobody listened. People started running left and right. Screams rose all around.
The shrill cries of birds came from above. Wind from beating wings raked the back of Aeneas’s neck. The beasts alighted in the pines, encircling the Trojans. Aeneas snatched up a carving knife, but it was useless. The Trojans had been caught unarmed and unprepared.
‘Do not try to flee, humans. There is no escape.’ The voice scraped and rasped like glass on gravel. Aeneas looked up into the branches. The creatures were wrapped in shadow. In the darkness he could tell they had wings like eagles. The smell of rotting meat made his eyes water.
‘Who are you?’ he called. ‘Show yourselves.’
A dry laugh dissolved into a hacking cough. ‘Who are you, to command Kelain
