It was thirty feet above the road and still dropping when the bolt of flame opened wings to reveal the blazing, monstrous bird within. The heat deformed the air around it - Harper saw it through a blur of tears. At the sight, she was struck through with wonder, with terror. ... It was twenty-four feet across from burning wing tip to burning wing tip. Its open beak was large enough to swallow a child. Feathers of blue and green flame, yards long, rippled from its tail. It made no sound at all, aside from a rushing roar that reminded Harper of a train passing through a subway tunnel.
Time snagged in place. The bird hovered less than a dozen feet above the road. ... Every window on the street reflected the bonfire light of the Phoenix.
Then it was moving - and so was Harper.