Of Gryphons and Other Monsters (Taryn's Journey Book 1)

by Shannon McGee

  “Unstimulating!” Michael’s voice rang through the fire, and I winced at the booming response it received from Father.

  Determined to try and ignore the three of them, I moved away from the fire. I removed my harness, setting it on the bed as I went to pull the packet that contained my oil and cloth out of the lowest drawer of my dresser. Rather than sitting on the bed, I took a place on the floor to tend to it. The first year I’d had the harness I’d cleaned it on my bed, but of course one evening I had spilled oil across the comforter. I’d found out the hard way that the stuff was incredibly difficult to remove from bedding.

  The task of oiling only took about ten minutes, even with extra careful inspection and scrubbing. When it was done, I put the kit away, then replaced the harness on its hook on the backside of the door.

  I pursed my lips in thought, my fingers finding their way to root at the base of a braid. What else was there to do? It was still a little early, but there was no reason not to prepare for bed, I supposed. I changed into my nightdress, and then grabbed my comb off the dresser. Carefully I removed my braids and brushed out my hair until it was smooth.

  I was combing out the last of my braids when heavy footsteps stormed past my room and then a door slammed in the direction of my brother’s room. Only moments later the back door opened and slammed shut as well.

  Since there was nothing left to be overheard, I opened the fire door the whole way, and a rush of warmth swamped over my toes. I stood there for a moment, arms wrapped around my middle, eyes closed, letting the heat embrace me. Then I crept back down the hall to the family room. My mother was still there, rocking in her chair and knitting, but her shoulders were slumped, and her eyes looked tired as they focused on her needles. She glanced up as I entered the room and smiled wanly at me.

  “I want him to be happy, and I don’t feel like he is.” She only spoke when I was near enough for her not to have to raise her voice.

  I sat on the part of the couch closest to her and matched her quiet tone, sensitive to Michael’s closeness, not wanting to rile him more by letting on that we were talking about him. “He thinks he’ll be happy in a bigger city,” I admitted. “He told me so yesterday.”

  She shook her head. “Your father and I have been to the capital once when we were young and newly married. We stayed with his sister. For all its excitement, it is a very cold place. Taryn, can’t you talk to him? He won’t listen to us, but he may well listen to you.”

  “Michael loves you both,” I offered lamely. “He’d go to the ends of the earth for you, and me as well, but I don’t think there’s anything I can do to change his mind.”

  “Michael loves us, but to him we’re two old folks, set in our ways. He thinks we just don’t get it.” She sighed. “Well, maybe he’s right.”

  “Then I must be old too,” I said stoutly, “because I sure as the gods don’t get it.”

  I did get it though, if I chose to think about it. Michael was smart, and he wasn’t smart in the way Father was or the innkeeper was. He was smart enough that when people came to town and they spoke with him their eyes widened. Strangers rarely talked down to him once they had spoken to him. City-folk thought we couldn’t tell when they spoke down to us, but we could, and as much as it irritated me, it burned Michael.

  Yet, what burned him worse was having to check himself from speaking in that exact same manner to the people he had grown up with. He felt out of place and odd talking to people. I wished I could fix it, but I wasn’t good enough with people to bridge that distance between him and the rest. Even the two of us had drifted apart. I could not even attempt to match him in learning, and honestly, I had never cared to, and he knew that.

  “Will you please go in and talk to him anyway? I’ll speak with your father and try and unruffle his feathers so he’s in a state to apologize for yelling, but you know he’ll only do that if he thinks Michael is sorry too. I swear the two of them get under each other’s skin so badly, it’s enough to make me want to pull my hair out.” Her frown caused the wrinkles at the corner of her lips to deepen, and she began to put away her knitting.

  “I’ll go talk to him.” I stood before she had finished packing her things away, and paced back down the hall. I knocked gently on the imposing wood that stood between him and myself. “Michael?” I whispered loudly.

  “I’m not in the mood, Taryn,” came the forbidding reply.

  I scowled at his response, “I didn’t ask if you were in the mood Michael, and you won’t throw that moodiness at me.”

  Michael let out a bark of laughter, and then, “Come in.” I opened the door only a fraction and slid inside, “But I don’t want to talk about it,” he finished.

  He sat on his bed, his back against the wall. His knees were drawn to his chest with his arms crossed on top. He looked like a little boy.

  “Floor board?” I asked, hopefully.

  “There’s nothing in it,” he mumbled.

  “Oh.”

  Feeling a little disappointed, I sat on the edge of the bed beside him. For a few minutes, I waited for him to say something, but his forehead now rested against his arms. It seemed he had no intention of moving.

  “Father only gets so mad because he thinks you think what he does has no meaning. This place is his whole life. Well, this place and the three of us.” I rested a hand on top of one of his feet. “I know you understand that.”

  “I don’t think this place is a waste.” Michael’s voice was tight. “I just know it isn’t for me.”

  I scooted backward so we sat side by side, our shoulders touching lightly. I stared at the opposite wall for a moment. “What is so great about a bigger city? You’ll be poor and you’ll be at the mercy of whoever decides to take you on.”

  “I won’t be poor. I’ve saved a decent amount, and I’ll be able to be pick my master. I actually…” he hesitated, “I have someone in mind.”

  My eyebrows darted upwards. “Who?”

  “It’s a man who came to town at the beginning of the spring. I’m not certain you’ll remember him—Master Noland?”

  I shook my head. The name sounded familiar, but I was terrible when it came to remembering the names of nobles. Too many of them sounded alike. Hadn’t I heard of a Master Nero? Or perhaps that had been Master Nicholas?

  “Did I meet him?” I asked.

  “Maybe not. I had gone in to town in the afternoon after my watch because I had heard from Glenn that a man had come from a distant city, looking to learn about gryphons in exchange for coin, or his own knowledge. By the time I got to him, he already had all the information he needed, but I offered to buy him a meal at the inn and got him to talk to me anyway.” As Michael spoke, his excitement caused the words to tumble quickly from his lips. “We ended up spending almost three hours talking, and by the end of it he paid for both of us—”

  “Michael!” I chastised, appalled.

  “No, but it was all right, because as it turned out, he was a duke Taryn. The Duke of Oswell— that’s to the south-west, towards the capital. He wasn’t some academic. He was well and truly wealthy in his own right. He could have had anyone come and collect the information he came for, but he didn’t like sending others to do his research for him.”

  “That must be nice.” I murmured. “Still, what does that have to do with you?”

  “He said he was in the habit of rooting out bright minds during his travels and taking them under his wing, back at his estate. He said he likes to keep his circle filled with clever men and women who are of use to him.” Michael’s voice held traces of awe at the remembrance of this great man’s approval. “He said if he wasn’t mistaken, I fell into that lot. He told me I could come and call on him at midwinter, when his travels concluded. I told him I would send word when I knew my answer.”

  “You never said…”

  He shrugged. “I was trying to figure some stuff out.”

  I mulled this over, chewing my lower lip. It was a strange feeling to know my twin had
kept something from me. We talked every day, about everything. He was the first person I’d come to when I began to fear none of the young men in town were going to grow into someone who I would be willing to marry. That had cost me a lot to say, since part of being a good shepherd’s daughter was finding a husband, and having children who the farm could be passed on to. I’d still told him. I hadn’t waited and brooded about it all to myself.

  We had talked about his wish to leave Nophgrin enough. Why had he kept this detail from me? Was there something wrong with this man? The offer he had received did seem too good to be true. A nervous voice in the back of my head whispered that it seemed a lot like keeping people as pets. Yet, I knew there were men out in the world with so much money to spare that they could afford to show such benevolence.

  “Have you looked into this duke and his lands? Have you asked other travelers if they’ve heard of him and what they’ve heard?”

  “I’m not an idiot. Duke Noland of Oswell is of very high rank. He’s said to be a smart ruler. He’s not an exceptionally public man and seems to keep to his inner set. Still, his lands have prospered since the king gifted him the lands—after the previous duke Erraswell fell ill and passed away ten years ago. None of his people or those who have traveled through his land have ill to say about him,” Michael recited confidently. I saw his fingers gripped his knees tightly, so that the knuckles were white.

  I felt blindsided, and my voice belied that. “Will you go in the spring?” Naturally, midwinter was not an option, which was a bit of a relief. A person would have to fly to get through the mountain passes after the snows began. Yet, spring didn’t feel like much more time to convince him to change his mind.

  He glanced over at me in surprise and then lowered his chin back down onto his arms. “I don’t know. I want to, but without them supporting me—without you supporting me—it feels impossible.”

  “I’ll support you whatever you decide to do, but I worry.” I pulled a hank of my hair forward, running fingers through it.

  “What do you have to be worried about?” he asked. “I’m the one who’d be risking it all, and doing that traveling in foreign lands.”

  “Yeah, you will,” I snapped back. “And if my twin ever comes home he’ll look at me as his backwater fool of a sister, and he won’t even know what to say.”

  He leaned against me a little more firmly. I wanted him to say “that’s not true,” but instead he said, “You could come with me, Taryn. Getting to him won’t be the easiest thing, and you’re smart and strong. I could do a lot worse than to have you at my back. I’m sure Master Noland could find something for you to do too. You’re wasted talent here, like me.”

  “I can’t.” Now my eyes pricked and I shut them, swallowing a lump that was suddenly lodged painfully in my throat. “I can’t leave Nophgrin, Michael. This is my home. Especially if you’re leaving, Mother and Father are going to need someone to help them look after everything. Elsewise they’ll have to hire someone, and Father is more likely to kill new help than wait for them to learn his methods.”

  Michael laughed wetly. “Yeah, I know.”

  We listened to the wind howl outside for a moment. We had sat together like this often when we were kids. The two of us used to drag my bed closer to the fire, and eat candy from his secret store beneath the loose floorboard. We would make bets as to how long it would be before Glenn claimed to have seen a gryphon. We’d jokingly guess at how long it would be before Father decked Glenn, but he never did.

  “I don’t want you to go,” I said fiercely.

  “I know.” This time the words were melancholy, and he brought his forehead back down.

  I slung an arm over his shoulder, and he tensed, “But I know you have to at least go and see.” His shoulders relaxed marginally. “Promise you’ll write and you’ll visit, ok? And if something isn’t right there, don’t feel like you have to stick it out—come home.”

  He squeezed me tightly. “Taryn, I may not belong here, but you’re a part of me. Always.”

  Dawn came too early the next day as Father’s gruff voice boomed down the hallway, telling us Michael and I needed to be up and ready. As I slowly obeyed those orders, the memory that Father and Michael hadn’t made amends the night before swam up through my groggy mind. I groaned and rubbed my eyes.

  After Michael and I finished our talk we had gone together back to the family room, but Mother and Father had not come back inside yet. Though we waited up, their talk must have gone well into the night. I thought we had both fallen asleep on the couch, but when Mother came in and woke me the cushions beside me were empty. Michael must have decided to forgo another chat for the evening and taken to his own bed.

  I was not looking forward to being out in the field with the both of them. Michael being mad was one thing, but Michael and Father being mad at each other was so much worse. They were like great thunderheads, rumbling and crackling at one another. I sighed. With any luck, they’d be too tired to lay into each other.

  Father was waiting for us in the kitchen when we finally staggered to attention. Mother bustled behind him, readying the slightly larger provisions for the long day ahead of us. Both of them were disgustingly awake for the early hour. Mother was humming something lively as she worked, and Father looked crisp, as though he’d had time to iron his cream tunic, embroidered vest, and breeches, though I knew he couldn’t possibly have.

  “I’m going to ride out ahead of you Michael to take a look at our field and Glenn’s markings,” he said tersely. “Tess is fast, but try and drive the sheep slowly to give me time to make sure everything is as it ought to be. Taryn, I’m told you’re going to go with your mother into town. When you’re through there, you can come out to the field and I’ll let you know if we have any need of you.”

  We grumbled our ascent and he nodded curtly. After he hugged his wife, and gave her a kiss on the cheek he accepted the parcel she gave him, and then he was out the door without so much as another word. I yawned hugely, my jaw straining with the action, which caused Michael to echo me a moment later.

  “Is there breakfast?” I asked.

  “I have porridge cooking, and we have a little bit of honey left and some milk that I got this morning to put into it.” Mother set the pot of honey and pitcher of milk onto the table, while I grabbed the bowls. I handed one to Michael and kept one for myself.

  “Have you eaten yet?”

  Mother shook her head. “Not yet, would you grab me a bowl?”

  I handed it down to her; Michael brought us all our mugs. We each served ourselves, and took our normal places at the table. Michael and I both loaded our porridge with the honey and milk, and Mother was only a hair more conservative. I drank a full glass of milk, and poured myself another before I tucked into my food. We ate in silence for a few minutes. I was only adjusting to being awake, but I wondered if the other two just didn’t know what to say.

  “It’s good porridge,” I mumbled around a bite.

  Michael cleared his throat. “Yeah, it’s great. Thanks for breakfast.”

  Mother took a few bites before responding. She was looking at Michael but he was fixedly concentrating on scraping the last few bites out of his bowl. “I talked to your father last night. He’s going to apologize to you himself at some point today. Try not to make it too hard for him.” Michael grunted, still not looking up. “Taryn says you want to go to a larger city.”

  Michael shot me a dirty look, and my heart flipped as I simultaneously cast a wide-eyed one at Mother. “Thanks a lot, Taryn,” he spat at me, and shoved his chair back. As he moved to stand Mother stopped him.

  “Sit back down Michael.” Mother didn’t often feel the need to speak firmly, but she did so now, and Michael’s bottom fell back into the seat as though the bones had vanished from his legs. I felt very small, and I hunched my shoulders as I sipped more milk and tried to be invisible. “As I was saying,” Mother put her spoon down, “Taryn told me you want to see the world outside of Noph
grin, and I spoke with your father last night. We’re willing to help you go for a year, to the capital.” Michaels jaw popped open at the same time mine did. “We have a little bit saved, so if we need the extra help, we can get it. Obviously, it won’t be until the spring, but you know your father’s sister married and moved south. She’s a possibility, though she has her own children. He has also built working relationships through her, with a few folks who live on the outskirts of the city itself. If all goes as we hope, one of them will let you stay in exchange for some labor. You can work during the day and see the sights of the city in the evening and on the days off they give you.”

  “How did you convince Father?” I burst out as Michael sat in befuddled silence. I leaned on my elbows on the table, rising slightly out of my chair in my eagerness.

  “We don’t want either of you to feel as though you’re trapped here. That’s not good for you or the family—or even the sheep. We work as hard as we do because we want the best lives possible for you. For us, that is this farm, but you should have the opportunity for more, if that’s what you want. The roads from here to the capital are busy in the spring, so I won’t have to feel too worried about you, and with any luck, one of your father’s contacts will be here in the spring and you can ride back with them.”

  I expected Michael to mention Master Noland at that point, but instead he collapsed against the back of his chair. “Mother, thank you. This is more than I could have ever dreamed of.”

  He had been pale this morning, with dark circles under his eyes that told clearly how little sleep he had gotten. When he grinned toothily, all that blurred away. It was nice to see him smile like that, so I held my tongue about his potential benefactor as well. I’d ask him about it later.

  Perhaps Mother realized as I did how hard it must have been to be a black sheep in such a small town. At any rate, the residual sternness vanished from her demeanor in the face of his gratitude. She stood and leaned over to hug him tightly, and he hugged her back.

  “There are a couple of months until this is all set up, so don’t thank me yet. You know your father is going to drive you extra hard until you go.” She began to gather our dishes.