Cosmo released her leg, got a grip on her tunic. It parted halfway up her back, leaving him dangling wildly from the huge quill. He caught her leg again, strained upward until he could grasp the saddle and heave himself astride.
He sat there, trembling with exhaustion, panting.
Mia still lay stomach down across the saddle sobbing with frustration. There were red finger weals on ankle, calf and thigh where Cosmo's iron fingers had dug into her flesh.
He flashed her his sudden grin. "You little devil," he panted. "I ought to dangle you over the Ormoo's side. See how you'd like it."
A shudder passed through the girl. "I hate you! I hate you!" she sobbed in frustrated rage.
There was a soothing tempo to the swish-lift of the giant Ormoo's flight. Mia dozed as the miles fled past, slumped against Cosmo's chest.
Then unexpectedly, the bird wheeled, flapped sharply upward. Its huge wing tips brushed the face of a cliff. Fog swirled, whipped into froth by the frenzied wings.
Mia MacIver awakened in terror, clung to Cosmo, pressed her damp quivering body against him. The bird wheeled again and again, always gaining altitude.
"We're in the Mountains of the Clouds." Cosmo's green eyes glittered. "We'll be at the roost any moment."
It was colder. Mia shivered. Then the Ormoo began to settle. Wings thrashing, it came to rest with a jar.