Chapter 199

It had black eyes! Round, shiny, very intelligent black eyes. Emma stared at it for fully two minutes. That wasn’t normal, she was certain. Very slowly, so she wouldn’t startle the creature, she backed across the room to her bookshelf. Still looking at the bird, she slid her fingers over the animal books which she had gotten acquainted with yesterday, until she found the one she wanted.

It slipped off the shelf into her waiting hand, the pages already turning to the very entry her mind was seeking. Strangely, the bird was observing her just as intently, an intelligence in its gaze as it watched the pages of the book open without her hand. She brought the book in front of her and glanced down to look at the photograph of the harpy eagle. The eyes were round and shining with intelligence, but they were not black. The eyes in the picture were a bright amber with a black pupil. She let out her breath slowly. Something was wrong with her bird.

You aren’t blind, though, are yo