by Rena Rocford
Felix wilted.
Joe pointed a claw at him. “Get back to the Aerie and start the preparations. I’ll warn the centaurs.” Joe looked at me for a minute. “Go with him, Dragon, and don’t do anything stupid.”
I nodded. Don’t do anything stupid left plenty of room to do something dumb.
“Yes, sir,” Felix said, and we watched as Joe stepped into the wind.
“We should go.” Felix turned to me.
“I thought you didn’t believe in magic.”
Felix shook his head, his feathers flashing in the sunlight. “I don’t care about magic. I just want my mother back.”
have a plan,” Felix said, as we landed on the rock ledge at the Aerie. “Just be patient and help out.”
He shifted to his human form, still wearing his racing leathers from the night before, then strode toward the trees.
I cleared my throat, but it came out as a deep growl.
He cast a glance over his shoulder at me. “What?”
“I’ve never turned back,” I said.
“Oh.” His eyes grew wider. “Oh. Ah, why don’t you wait here and I’ll be right back.”
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to let people know I’m… you know.” I pointed at my head with one giant blue talon.
He blushed bright red and took off his jacket. “Okay, right. Well, just think of your body the way you remembered it from before. Like, the feel of sheets, or a bath, or something really human.” Felix focused on the ground as he spoke.
I scowled, but nothing was ever as simple as remembering something. I thought of a time I cut my leg with the razor. That had to be the least dragonish experience of my life. I couldn’t imagine a mere razor blade taking out these scales–that would require something more like a katana. I closed my eyes and envisioned the razor rash, and my balance shifted as the world tilted.
Dizziness took me, and cold rushed over my skin, sending waves of shivers across my body. I staggered, balancing on my toes for a second before the spinning sensation stopped. My long hair tickled across my back.
Goose bumps pricked up all over my skin.
My completely naked skin.
“Aaaaghhh!” I squeaked as I folded in half, covering as many important parts as possible with my arms. My cheeks burned, and my heart pounded in my chest. I had never been fully naked in the locker room, let alone standing on a picturesque ledge.
In front of a hot guy.
And for the record, screaming while naked only increases the number of people who actually look. In this case, just the one person. His eyes briefly met mine, and his cheeks flushed scarlet. He looked away, but couldn’t hide the grin that spread across his face. Making sure to avert his eyes, he took a couple steps toward me and held out his jacket.
I slipped into it quickly.
“The first time’s the worst,” he said.
“Your clothes came back with you.”
“That’s because I didn’t burn mine off as I manifested. You did.”
My cheeks burned. I wanted to hit him, but he’d given me his jacket. It covered just enough for me to not feel completely exposed, but the hem of his jacket was barely long enough to cover all the girly bits.
He gave me a sympathetic smile. “I’ll walk you back to your cabin, okay?”
I nodded, scanning the surrounding forest. Plenty of startled eyes peeked out from the trees. This hadn’t been as private as I’d hoped. Great.
Beth trotted up, out of breath. “You okay?”
“Fine. I’m fine. I’m just standing in the middle of camp naked.”
“Well, actually, you’re wearing a jacket, so it’s like wearing a really short dress.” Beth winked.
Felix hid his mouth behind his hand.
“I can hear you snickering, gryphon,” I said.
“I’m not snickering–much.” He turned to Beth. “If you can help Allyson back to her cabin, I should get to work. I’ll come see you later.” He gave Beth a pointed look. “Both of you.”
“All right,” Beth said, confused, but going along with it. We watched as he took off at a run. “What’s eating the Bossman’s kid?”
“We should wait until we’re indoors,” I said. “But the short of it is that they’re going to move the Aerie.”
“No kidding?”
“Long story.”
“And the story about how you came to be naked with the hottest guy here? Is that a long story too? I didn’t even see evidence of kissing. I expected more from you, Drake.”
I glared at her, but Beth appeared impervious as she held open the door to my cabin. “So,” she said. “Do you have any other clothes with you?”
“My jacket and a pair of underwear. I thought I might get a chance to use the facilities back in Ely. Everything else was in the car.”
“Which is parked on the side of the road collecting parking tickets and bullets,” Beth said, pursing her lips. “If you’re okay here, I’ll see if I can round some up.”
She took off before I could say anything else.
I sighed, looking around the sparse cabin. In the last twenty-four hours, I’d been shot at, flung from a speeding truck, taken my first flight, and been found naked in the forest with a guy.
Before I could pace a hole in the wooden floor, Beth came back with Beatrice. She wasn’t in her ranger outfit today, and she had a stack of clothes over her arm.
“How’s the air?” she asked.
The image of the world sailing by beneath me leapt into my mind. “Great!”
Beth cocked an eyebrow, and Beatrice smiled.
“Well, I hope you had fun, but it sounds like you stirred up a whole hornet’s nest of trouble,” Bea said.
“I didn’t mean to.”
A mischievous smile spread across her face. “They’ll probably tell naked dragon stories for a decade.”
“Oh, right, that. I’d thought you meant the, um…” I remembered Joe had asked his son not to talk about some of it, but what parts? “So, what’d you bring?”
Beatrice winked. “Don’t worry, I already know more than I should.” She dropped the pile of clothes on the bed and handed me a pair of boots. They were combat boots, but they looked to be in my size, the black leather softened by wear and age. The rest of the clothes looked normal, t-shirt, jeans, and a sports bra.
“Take care, you two. And, Beth? If something comes up, good luck.” Bea tossed a small set of keys to Beth.
“Thanks again. I hope this won’t, you know,” Beth said.
“It will, just try not to damage it, okay?”
“I’ll be careful when I can.”
Beatrice gave me a hug. “I hope everything turns out well for you, little dragon. And if the shit really hits the fan, you’re welcome in my home. Both of you.” She stood up straight, her eyes misty. “Don’t be seen.”
And then she disappeared out of the cabin and into the bustling masses of gryphons running back and forth through the camp.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
Beth inspected the keys in her hand, then put them in her pocket. “We got to talking last night, and we have a lot in common.”
“Like?”
“Like we both hate unicorns, and the unicorns took your aunt’s car, so we needed a ride to San Francisco. She said I could take her bike.”
I blinked at Beth. “You know how to ride a motorcycle?”
“Sure. The monohorns like to show off, and they have me wash them and park them.” Beth pawed through the clothes. “So, what’s the real plan?”
“I’m not sure, but Felix has something in mind. Do you see any socks in there?”
Beth handed over bits and pieces as I dressed into someone else’s clothing. The jeans were a little too big and the bright yellow t-shirt with the words “Oh, yeah?” across the chest was at least a size too small. Though, in truth, even tight, it did nothing to accentuate my tiny boobs, made smaller by the second hand sports bra–but still a million times better than naked.
Beth and I made sandwiches before offering to help. For the rest of the morning, we schlepped boxes either to the cliff or to one of the trailers. By lunch, all children under the age of ten were missing from the Aerie. I caught sight of someone flying off with a toddler in his claws and knew that they were protecting the littlest people first. My respect for the gryphons continued to climb throughout the day as they worked tirelessly.
The plan was to break down everything except the Lodge and the garage, which they’d lay some booby traps in before leaving in the morning, taking all the drivable things. By mid-afternoon, centaurs came with a herd of horses, and the heavier things were strapped to the pack animals. It took less than two hours to secure all the loads, and by the time we saw the backsides of the horses, my hands were practically rope burned from tying all the bundles down.
Beth and I sat in a group of tired gryphons, eating another round of barbeque as the sun set. They’d built a bonfire out of the papers they weren’t going to move, and some people roasted marshmallows. It was just like camping, except they didn’t have to hunt for the firewood.
A gryphon produced a battered guitar and started to sing. My hands twitched to get the feel of something so normal as a guitar under my fingers.
When the first song ended, he passed the guitar to the right, and so it went around the circle. People who didn’t play called on people who did, but the guitar continued its journey until it landed in my hands.
The instrument was bigger than mine, but tuned. Racing stickers covered the back, and someone had plastered the rampant gryphon symbol across the front. I strummed a chord, then slapped my hand onto the strings when I realized what chord I’d strummed.
I couldn’t sing My Father’s Eyes here.
I played the very next song in my mind, the one my aunt gave me for my birthday.
As my fingers played across the strings, the firelight winked back from the eyes of the others. I tuned them out and played my aunt’s song. I filled the air with each note, and drove away all thought of panic and fear. For a few brief minutes, I filled my world with music and failed to exist in any other way. When the last note faded, I felt them take the breath they’d been holding.
Felix stared at me, jaw hanging open.
I blushed, then passed the guitar to the next person.
Felix stood. “It’s late, and we all have an early morning. We should get some rest. Sunrise will come too soon.” He paused and looked directly at me. “And tomorrow is going to be a very big day.” He widened his eyes very slightly at the end.
The gryphons started to split away from the dregs of the fire, but some remained. I knew how they felt. I never slept the night before a move. At least, I couldn’t sleep the night before a move if I knew it was the night before a move. We’d moved the same day a bunch of times.
Then again, maybe I didn’t know how they felt. This had been their home for eight years, how much harder was it to move after eight years rather than eight months?
Felix smiled at me and winked. “I’ll see you bright and early.”
What are you planning?
Oh crap, play it cool. “Uh, yeah, I like dawn here. Nice view.”
A smile caught on his lips, and I realized he must be thinking about this morning with me naked on the cliff. I blushed and swung at him.
He ducked out of the way, laughing. “I’ll be around,” he said, and headed off, catching up to someone else leaving the food tables.
We left the fire pit and went straight to the cabin. I didn’t know where Beth stayed last night, but I was glad to have her near me tonight. It would make sneaking away easier if we didn’t have to go hunting for Beth.
“What was that all about?” Beth asked when the door closed.
“We’re leaving tonight. Probably sometime after midnight,” I said. I rolled clothes into tubes and laid them in a pile next to my backpack.
“How did you get that out of what he said?”
I dumped my backpack out on the bed, and tried to figure out what I could leave and what I needed to take. “He had that I’m not telling the whole truth look in his eyes.”
She picked the Kornus Blade out of the pile of clothes from my backpack. “Isn’t this that thing your aunt gave you?”
“Yeah, but I can’t get the sword out.”
She turned it in her hand. “That’s because you’re not a monohorn. Only the touch of a unicorn horn can break their little stasis-shrinky-things,” she said. “Is this the Kornus Blade?”
“What? How do you know about the Kornus Blade?”
“The monohorns. It’s made from one of their horns. They have pictures of it in their history books. They made it as a gift to all humanity, but it wasn’t much of a gift. More like ‘here, do it yourself if you want to kill dragons.’” She held out her hands in exasperation. “So unicorn.”
I choked and sputtered. “Dragon slaying? Seriously?”
“Oh yeah, dragons are really tough. I mean, look at what you’ve been through, and not much besides a unicorn horn can actually injure a dragon. The Kornus Blade is supposed to give someone the power they need to actually kill a dragon.”
The Kornus Blade stared back at me from its magical casing. No wonder it almost killed the table. “So, how do we get our hands on a unicorn horn?”
“I’m sure Dr. Targyne would love to let you use his,” Beth said.
I barked out a laugh. “Right after he skewered me with it.”
“Why did your aunt give you a dragon killing sword?”
I sat down in the pile of clothes. “I’m not sure. Maybe to hold it? Maybe she thought I was friends with the unicorns or something.” I shook my head as it occurred to me. “My aunt is supposed to use this sword to kill my father.”
“Oh, crap,” Beth said.
“Yeah, crap is right.” I tipped my head back until it hit the bunk bed post. “I have a sword I can’t use, an aunt who can’t wield it, and a father I don’t want to kill.”
Beth nodded her head for a moment. “So, how are we going to fix it?”
“I have no idea.” I stuffed clothes and books into my backpack.
“I guess we wait for your boyfriend to come up with a plan?”
I flushed. “He’s not my boyfriend,” I snapped, but the thought of him made my heart race.
“Sure he’s not,” Beth said, drawing out her words. “And I sure didn’t catch you naked with him either.”
My face burned, and I snatched the Kornus Blade from her. I stuffed it into my backpack and zipped the whole thing shut. “All things considered, you might want to get some rest.” I pointed at one of the bunks.
“Thanks.” She smiled. “Don’t mind if I do. It’ll be nicer than sleeping on the couch at the lodge.” Beth stretched out across a bunk while I made a show of getting into my sleeping bag. By the time I arranged myself, Beth snored.
I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep, but before I knew it, someone knocked on the cabin door. My eyes shot open and I scanned the room. It was blacker than the inside of a closet, and Beth’s snores rattled the floorboards. The knock came again. I jumped out of bed to get the door before he tried to knock again.
Felix stood in the moonlight, dressed in his racing leathers. “We have to move quickly. My dad drank with the others, but I don’t know if he’s sleeping.”
“He’s gonna freak when you’re gone.”
He sighed, deflating. “I know. He reminded me of his decision three times, but those are our people Stein has.” His jaw tightened for a second. “He told me about the fire. I think he k
nows I’m going.”
I nodded and squeezed his shoulder. “Thank you. I don’t think I could do this alone.”
He nodded, then pointed his gaze at Beth. I stepped back inside and shook Beth awake.
“Huh?” she asked.
“Shh,” Felix hissed from the door. Beth got up, and I slung my backpack over my shoulder.
“What’s the plan?” I asked.
“We’re going to take a couple bikes and get out of here,” he said.
“Walk them out, so it’s quiet?” Beth asked. “I don’t want to be rushed, I’ve never ridden Bea’s bike.”
Felix’s eyes went wide for a second and then settled too normal. “Yes, exactly. We’ll walk them out.” He bit his lips, as if he could bite the lie out of his words.
She didn’t notice as she fiddled with her shoelaces. “Good, just like the Sound of Music.”
Felix and I both looked at her.
She shrugged. “What, I like the classics.”
“Come on.” Felix led the way to the garage.
We walked quietly, and all through camp, gryphons in their feathered forms lay sleeping here and there. A group of people had camped out on the rock ledge, probably to keep Felix and me from flying off. But there were no gryphons in front of the garage.
Inside, the garage had an unnatural silence; my footsteps didn’t echo like in most large spaces. The room swallowed sound.
Felix went to the red bike and walked it over to the rolling garage door. He pushed a helmet at me. “Put this on and be ready to move.”
Beth struggled with a dirt bike on the far wall and retrieved a red and white helmet that matched the bike. She brought the bike over and pointed at the person-sized door and held her hands out like she was judging the size of a fish.
“They aren’t going to fit through the door,” Felix whispered. “I’ve tried. Allyson, you’re going to have to pull up the doors, then jump on behind me, fast. You got it?”
I nodded and went to the chain next to the bay door. The chain ran up to a winch above the door. These doors made a terrible noise, like a thunderstorm in a metal barrel.