#nick keller

The Desolation of Smaug art by Nick Keller

The Hobbit by Nick Keller #3

Disentomb - Misery (Nick Keller)

by Nick Keller.

Nick Keller

The eagle comes not as a club, but as a fork—not slamming, but gripping and pulling the big bird upon impact. It cannot lift the moa, but it can unbalance it, clutching the flesh under the shaggy hide and sweeping its wings to pull the bird this way and that until both fall. The eagle is fast. It leaps from the falling moa so as not to be crushed, then dives in, striking with its beak, tearing a hole in the moa's gut, letting loose intestines and offal. Then it flaps up to a tree and watches. There's no need to do anything more than wait as the moa swamps the forest floor with its blood, whistling final cries, breathing final breaths. When the moa's heart stills, the eagle waits another minute to ensure it doesn't get kicked by a cadaveric spasm. Cold patience is the eagle's sharpest honed weapon.