Unleashing a measure of his own true strength, Daku’s vision cleared as he cried out a shrill roar and rolled twice to the side, sprang up and swiped. Four deep wounds sliced Cage’s flesh from his right shoulder to left hip. White hot pain seared his body while blood flowed freely. “Finally!” both shouted together, finding one who can truly fight back. They grinned for a moment before each started laughing and fighting in a whirlwind of strikes, pecks, kicks and all manner of attacks. Cage’s powerful fingers ripped a piece of Daku’s shoulder muscle out as the other took an inch deep by five long strip out with a sharp beak from Cage’s right waistline. Neither gave up as blood soaked them both and the deck. Flesh and fur flew. But Cage quickly realized that Daku’s flesh isn’t like human for it was more like treated leather. It was harder to pierce the flesh with his fingers, but years of upper body exercise couldn’t slow him down.
The end of the fight happened as Cage plucked out Daku’s right eye while Daku countered with a talon cutting through the carotid artery on the side of Cage’s neck. The fight lasted only a minute, not a second longer.
Both crumpled to the ground bloody, tired, and filled with firing pain receptors. Cage knew he had to act quick and focused through the pain, something he always did. Blue light enveloped his neck first as he felt every part of his flesh knitting back together and the itching of rapid healing told it was working. The cut was clean and easily repaired. Then he began multiple healing spells all over. His body had been shredded by Daku’s beak and talons and not even his expensive leather pants survived. Pain became replaced by the itching.
Brooke and everyone aboard could do nothing except stare in shock at what they just saw. She knew her man held back from every fight she witnessed, but nothing prepared her for what she and all others got to see. He had struck with such speed, precision and strength that she truly believed now that his skills could easily have defeated her whole tribe singlehandedly after watching that. She stared in shocked awe as the two of them tore into each other without restraint. Even mortally wounded he didn’t stop, like a man possessed. His grin remained where any other man would have cried out and surrendered. His glory in battle was only matched by Daku’s sinuous grace and raw power. Her heart pounded with a torrent of mixed emotions. Lust and worry were the dominant pair. Every woman has a liking for men to do battle, but she knew if she had seen this before he came into her tribe, she would have laid down without fighting. He had an overwhelming dominance that made any women want to fill her with the power he possessed. Broken and bloody they dropped and she watched Cage heal wounds that would have certainly killed if not for magic. Shock held her and everyone else in place.
Flesh repaired rapidly and places that lost chunks took slightly longer to regenerate. Swelling receded. A minute passed before his body became as it was before, only with some lost blood coating everything. His eyes turned to a struggling Daku with one blue eye twinkling and in tremendous pain. Cage found the large removed eye rolling on the deck because of the waves and caught it before it got out of reach. He came closer and popped the eye back in the socket. Magic began to flow into the griffin, sealing wounds and stopping bleeding. It seemed healing magic wasn’t negated by griffin magic. The most difficult task was reattaching the nerves from the severed eye. Cage worked till everything seemed in order. He then put a bloody hand over Daku’s unharmed eye and asked “Look around with the other eye I put back in. Can you find anything different?”
Daku’s eyes focused ahead and spun with proper muscles. “It is as it was.”
Cage laughed and wrapped his arms around the griffin’s neck. “That was by far the best fight of my life! I’ve never felt so alive.”
“The same can be said by me.” Daku hooted and wrapped his blood-soaked arms around his warlock. “Best fight indeed. I feel truly alive again.” They laughed and rolled each other around like playful children.
Megdline let the barrier drop along with her jaw. She walked over first as she fought her own fears and awe. “How can you laugh so easily after nearly killing each other?”
They laughed louder and managed to disengage and stand as if nothing happened. If not for the copious amounts of blood and Cage’s ruined pants they could have pulled it off. The Familiar said “There is so much you need to learn about warlocks and my kind. We love to fight, especially each other. We push each other to greater strengths and no warlock of the past ever wounded me like Cage has done this amazing day. I feel like a young cub again!” He cried happily to the sky. “Oh how I’ve longed for a worthy adversary.”
Cage punched his Familiar’s shoulder. “Ditto!” They laughed again. His heartbeat slowed and a calmness he knew all too well overcame him. He looked into those happy blue eyes. “We will make a great team. I’m already going over our fight and want to do it again someday soon.” The griffin smiled in a macabre way as his lovely form was saturated in a mixture of their blood. It made Cage look at himself more closely.
Ruined pants slid down to the ground and were removed. He held a hand over the deck and willed all the blood to gather before he threw the softball size glob overboard. He then jerked his thumb towards the water and said “We need to do a quick swim now.” Daku looked at himself before laughing. Together they ran for the rail, jumped and dove into the sea. They swam and let the ocean do most of the cleaning of blood off their bodies. Cage though helped scrub out the really soaked in crimson in fur. Daku rolled to float on his back as he got a wonderful belly scratch. They played in the water for about five minutes, getting a thorough sea bath.
The Familiar said “Cage, climb and sit behind my back.” and Daku grew several more feet as his partner climbed up and wrapped long legs around a fur soaked neck. Cage wondered how in the world they were going to take off from an impossible, liquid platform. His curiosity ended after he heard “Hold your breath.”
Breath held, Cage felt Daku’s powerful muscles bunch and dive beneath the water. Cool water surrounded them and then white wings propelled them deeper, forcing Cage’s ears to pop. They sped through the water like a shark on the hunt. Before the pressure became unbearable they began to ascend like a rocket, powerful wings shooting them faster and faster. Legs tightened to hold on and then they shot out. Wings snapped straight, spraying excess water to replace it with wind. A powerful pump shot them twenty feet above. Cage’s shout for joy made his friend cry out as well. “What a rush!” Cage exclaimed. To keep the excitement going and to dry off, Daku spun upside down and showed the power contained in no other species. He flew near vertical and did aerial maneuvers no machine could ever match. Much to the Familiar’s surprise, his partner moved with him, as if they were one. He pushed himself, but none other before had ever held on or made a flight through the sky so thrilling, amazing and new again.
But they couldn’t play all day long and with a look, decided to get ready.
Below, not one pair of eyes could look away from them. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience to see something so beautiful happen before them. For the first time in over ten thousand years a griffin and warlock flew together. It was an aerial dance that truly warmed the heart.
A swift decent and expert precision brought their flight to a halt. Cage unclenched his legs from around his Familiar’s thick neck and lightly landed on the balls of his feet. Brooke came over with a pleased smile. “Are the two of you done playing?”
“Never!” Daku replied, but it caused a round of laughter because his fur stood out in every direction and made it look as if he had the mange. “What?” He blinked. To show what he looked like, Cage conjured a mirror and the griffin eventually laughed at himself. Cage then helped the drying process by directing a spell which extracted the water from feather and fur. Daku then began to preen himself with his beak.
“Dad, you are amazing!” Sean exclaimed as he and many others approached with awe clearly exposed on their faces. “You were like WHAM and Daku was like CHAA! I’ve never seen anything like it, Dad. All the blood was scary,
but WOW! I want to fight like that one day!” All the children became just as animated and wanted to speak. What was funny to watch was Sean trying to mimic some of the moves. It was adorable.
A delicate touch drew Cage’s attention back to Brooke as she brushed her fingers over every place she saw him get torn. “There is no scars, just fresh pink skin. Cage Love, that fight filled me with desire while also making me worry for your health. I see no injury, but your color is paler. Are you well, My Love?”
“It will take a few days to replenish my blood, but the healing spells are far better than healing naturally. Scar tissue doesn’t seem to be a problem. Everything is working properly. The blood loss will work well, in fact it will sell my idea on infiltrating the ship. Can you go find me a set of old sailor clothes?” He asked.
Brooke’s eyes glazed as she licked her lips when her gaze dropped lower. He didn’t miss the desire she had consuming her. Her nipples were hard and her flower was swelling in preparation for what she wanted. Before she could act and disregard all the witnesses he snapped his fingers, startling her back into reality. Brooke shook her head and smiled seductively. He also noticed that his mate wasn’t the only woman not thinking clearly as most looked hungrily for him to be with them. He felt quite flattered because these women only allowed strong men to sleep with them and his fun fight with Daku must have thoroughly impressed them all on a primal level. The men were both jealous and admiring his prowess in combat. The Utala Priestess finally composed herself enough to ask someone to fetch a set of clothes. Someone went off to do just that. Even Frill asked questions and gave praise to witness such a profound battle.
The group began to ask questions to both Cage and Daku about their fight and how they got to be so skilled. Both basically said it was mostly lots of experience and training. A pair of pants and shirt was offered. They were dirty, greasy and smelled so much they nearly had a life of their own. They did fit, but just barely. He then asked “Is there a small rum barrel or something I could use to float on? I’ll need it to be airtight or just enough to hold me up.”
“Oh!” Sean said and turned to a little girl. “Did you say you found bad tasting water that burned your lips?” The girl brightened and ran off to return in a few seconds with a cask of rum that could be carried beneath an arm. The boy grinned and patted her back before they offered it to Cage who found it nearly empty.
“Good work!” He praised and rubbed their heads. Cage looked at Brooke. “Daku and I better get going before the slave ship gets any closer. See you in a few hours or by morning.”
“Be save, Love.” She gave him a quick kiss, holding her desire back by a thread. Brooke looked to Daku to smile. He cleaned up quickly and looked radiant again. “And you, good hunting. Try to not have too much fun without us.”
“No promises.” Daku returned with a laugh.
Cage tucked the barrel under his left arm as he threw a leg over Daku’s head and slid back till he sat on strong shoulders, between the magnificent pair of wings. Brooke and the others wished farewell as the griffin walked over to the railing, leapt, extended his wings and took to the air. Cage held on as his friend flew higher and higher, till the fleet of ships were tiny dots as they headed south. The air was cooler in the altitude Daku leveled off at and Cage had to admit, he loved being in the air, especially with his lifelong companion. He patted the thick neck and the wind humming in his ears weren’t strong enough to take away communication. “Daku, this is absolutely wonderful. I love it up here, it is so peaceful. When I figure out how to use magic to fly I would love to stay up here with you and play.”
“It is quite majestic up so high is it not. Makes you realize just how big the world is while we are so small in the grand scheme.” Daku turned his head nearly all the way around. “I can still remember my first flight after hatching and my feathers came in. Only now that I have you up here, I do not miss my flock as I did for so long. As for flying, it will be a pleasure to fly with you. When you learn to do so, I will teach you about the sky’s dangers and benefits…”
Sharp black eyes scanned the area and pointed to the right. “You mean like the gathering storm over there? I can see the turbulence in the air that would make flying near impossible… or if you glide to the left just a bit we’ll get hit by an updraft that would eventually blow us into a headwind and make your flight grind to a near stop.”
Daku looked in the direction Cage gestured to smile. “Then it appears I do not need to teach you about the sky. Your teachings have been quite thorough back on Earth. For creatures who could not fly without mana, how do you know about flying?”
“Because we made machines that allow us to fly or glide. When I was being trained on how to kill, blend in or find a weakness to exploit and infiltrate, I learned how to fly nearly every machine there ever was. When I fought for the country that betrayed me and my brothers and sisters, I had been trained to take one look at the sky to know, or at least guess with some certainty, what to expect in atmospheric conditions. The skills came in quite handy on many occasions. Reading the weather isn’t easy because it always changes, but I have a good idea on what to be aware of.”
“Indeed.” Daku said.
“I do have a few questions that have been nagging at me. Since I have you alone, maybe you can clarify them.” Cage then went on as Daku turned his neck to look back. “What was this pact you make with warlocks that actually made your whole race Familiars. Why could only my ancestors summon you?”
The Familiar smiled. “It was actually before my time, but I do know what happened. I’ve already told you my kind cannot actively use magic to do anything except alter our size or in rare cases, our yell can stop a summoning and magics. Warlocks can do great spells for so small of bodies. Our ancestors got together because of a war actually.”
“A war?” Cage asked.
“Yes, with each other. It happened about two million years ago when warlocks made all-out war on griffins. Many flocks and humans died. But the dragons didn’t have the power to intervene between our two species going at each other’s throats. Eventually when it became clear that less than a quarter of the original population from our two species remained, that the cost of victory was too high. The survivors would be left with nothing except regret.” He flapped his wings and continued. “The eldest white king of the remaining flocks was the first to seek an end to the slaughter and the dragons gladly facilitated the initial meeting between our two species and find a beneficial compromise. It took twenty years and during that time it was outlawed for any fighting to break out. It was a hostile time and some tried to reignite conflict because hatred ran deeply between us.
“What it came down to is we griffins wanted to do things warlocks could and warlocks were envious of our ability to change size to fight any opponent equally with nothing but our claws. Like you, your ancestors loved to fight. Not to kill usually, but to enjoy a worthy adversary and struggle to win. Because magic cannot harm us directly, we were hard to kill thanks to our thick skin and hard wings while and humans could reproduce quickly. Griffins wanted to be part of freely used magic and warlocks wanted a good fight. It was determined we would magically bind our species. I do not know specifically how warlocks implemented such a spell that circumvented my kind’s resistance to magic, but it bound us together forevermore. It took another ten years to create such a spell, but I do know that the superior griffin got the same of their warlock. The rare elite warlocks got white griffins while the lesser got grey, red or brown. The weakest warlock got common animals and weren’t seen as worthy of a griffin Familiar.
“And when I was born, my power was the greatest the flock had ever seen before and no elite warlock before you, Cage, could claim me.” Daku wrapped his hands around Cage’s ankles and smiled. “I believed that there would never be a warlock powerful enough to claim me.”
“Then how did the dragon’s take it? I don’t think they would want two species as strong as they are to bind themselves together. Wouldn’t t
hey be afraid?”
“Yes, and apparently they spoke of the dangers posed… which came to pass ten thousand years ago when they finally acted to remove our united threat. At the time, our three races were relatively equal, one on one. But together, the dragons feared for the first time in generations that we would turn on them so we also made a pact to not make war for five thousand years after the binding. If we didn’t show promise, the magic to cease aggression with them would be reapplied. For over a million years our species didn’t declare full war even once. There were battles, but never a war as devastating as what our ancestors did to each other. What truly tempered our races is what we just did on the floating tree.” Cage looked back at the fading fleet. “We partners fought whenever we pleased and since warlocks could use magic freely, we healed immediately and could fight whenever the need took us. It kept our talons sharp and griffins gained immortality so long as their human lived. We could be ripped and scattered into the wind, but our warlock could always bring us back.”
That piqued Cage’s curiosity. “What about your brain? Wouldn’t you cease to be who you are if your brain got scrambled?”
“No, it is part of the magic linking mage to Familiar. So long as you live, I live. My mind and body remain the same. A being’s spirit is permanent and only leaves the body in death. I cannot die truly till you do. Why, is it on Earth that people cease being who they are if their mind is injured?”
Cage nodded. “Yes, it is usually referred to as amnesia. Sometimes they remember who they were, many become completely different. Amnesia is rare, but common knowledge without a cure. It must mean that without mana, a person’s spirit ends with the mind.” He sat quietly and contemplated such new knowledge. He also felt glad Daku would always live with him and not die alone. His heart eased. Cage recovered to ask “You said many thousands of generations will be needed for humans on this planet to use magic commonly, but how can that be if everyone has inferred warlocks were born by warlocks. How did there become cousin species? I mean, wouldn’t all humans be warlocks over the years? Humans mages here seem to be, as a whole, nearly an eighth of the overall common population?”
Familiar's Ancient Throne (Book 2 of the Death Incarnate Saga) Page 47