B21C19

Here was the situation. We were all in birds-of-prey morphs. We were flying high. Too high for birds of prey at night with no thermals to lift us up. We were working at it, I can tell you that. We were flapping like idiots, fighting for every foot of altitude.

And to make things worse, we were carrying things. I was carrying a teardrop-shaped lead weight. It wasn’t all that big, maybe four ounces, but try carrying even four ounces when you’re a peregrine falcon. Falcons aren’t all that big.
Tobias, Cassie, David, and Ax were all carrying similar weights: plumb bobs, fishing weights, and even an awl. We’d found them with some old tools and fishing tackle in Cassie’s barn.
Rachel was carrying Marco.
And Marco was a snake.