Giacomo Pater raised his pistol and fired it just as Max screeched to a halt. The bullet hit her somewhere—her whole body jerked.
I saw surprise on her face and tried to scream. I tried to say Mom but I couldn't.
Max's face looked like it was carved from stone. Then one long, strong wing whistled through the air and smashed into Giacomo just as he shot the pistol again.
His face crumpled like rubber as his neck snapped, the sound loud in the tunnel. His head flopped grotesquely to one side like a puppet's just as Max crashed to the ground, her feathery warmth covering me. Her body limp.

- Hawk, Chapter 112