Casting my stare to the white tiles of the ceiling, I felt the lead weight of reality settle on my chest. Its heavy presence made each breath a struggle. “Except, she doesn’t know that side of herself anymore. If I were tah allow the wall blockin’ that memory tah crack, she would become a Gryphon.”
“You have to really want to see it as a silver lining,” Terin grimaced, her voice rising a few uncomfortable notches.
“Add tah that my vision of her gone full Dark Conduit,” I continued, ignoring her quip, “and not one part of this seems the least bit reassurin’.”
All activity halted. Silence crashed into the room, four set of eyes swinging my way.
“Get out. Now,” Terin barked to her staff in a tone that left no room for discussion or debate.
They scurried off at her command.
The very moment the door thumped shut behind them, Terin spun on me with wild eyes. “You had a vision?”
Pushing off my elbows, I sat up. When my head spun with a hot rush of vertigo, I dropped my chin to chest and filled my lungs with a calming breath. “I can’t say for certain that’s what it was. I nevah had one before. All I know for certain is that it terrified me tah my very soul.”
Her clawed hands rose in front of her like she was resisting the overwhelming urge to grab me and shake me. “I need you to tell me the exact details ... immediately!”
Dragging a hand through my sweat dampened hair, I struggled to recall the particulars. “She was herself, yet completely different. She had traits of the Gryphon—the wings, the talons, the fangs—yet they hadn’t consumed her. Not entirely. Not yet. They acted as her weapons—her armor. The world around her burned and smoldered. Death permeated the air. She reigned in the midst of the chaos, perched on high from a throne of the dead.”
Crossing one arm over her mid-section, she used the opposite hand to drum a beat against her lower lip with the pads of her fingers. Pacing the length of the room, she swiveled on the ball of her foot each time she changed direction. Her lips moved as she marched, working through the problem without offering me further details of how dire matters had become.
After a beat, she spun in my direction, hands slapping against the fur pelts of her coat with a muffled slap. “There’s no time to waste. We have to expedite your training. This vision is a blessing of knowledge we cannot ignore.”
Swinging my legs over the side of the table, I tucked myself into a bit more concealing posture. “If ya remember the circumstances, oxygen deprivation could be all there is tah blame for my disturbingly vivid dream. There’s no need for rash acts. Rowan is lost at the bottom of the sea. The Hellhound virus is—”
“Alive and well,” Terin interrupted, talking over me. “Our scouts have confirmed Rowan survived. If we can gather anything from your vision, it’s that he longs to reconnect with his little love muffin …”
“Let’s ne’er call her that again.”
“This is no time to jest, Caleb! He will go after her!” A bit of her former flame flared in her irises, blasting me with the urgency of the situation. “Right now, our girl is alone and powerless to protect herself!”
Flames ignited down the length of my arms, my chest swelling with a protective surge. “Yar right, one demonic sightin’ and all we’ve done tah grant her a normal life will be for naught. What do I need tah do?”
“You need to connect with your Spirit Guide. The two of you need to be earth bound and battle ready immediately.” Crossing to the door, she opened it a crack to address the sentry stationed outside. “Send him in.”
“Spirit Guide?” Shaking out my limbs, I tried to extinguish my building blaze that spread across my shoulder blades. “I don’t recall you e’er havin’ one.”
Letting the door fall shut, she backed to the far wall, away from my heat. She yanked a fire extinguisher from the clamp that housed it and held it at the ready. “I was a Phoenix for quite some time, and I could control my flame whilst wearing pants. Clearly, you’re not there yet, newbie.”
Arms falling limp at my sides in frustration, I felt the wandering flames tiptoe down my spine. “I need tah get back, Terin. Now. Tell me this guide is good. Tell me they have seen battle and know how tah help me get a grip on these new powers fast.”
The door flew open hard enough to bounce on its hinges, air moving through the space in a noisy whoosh that snuffed out the fire I couldn’t squelch. His hulking frame filled the doorway in a mass of bulging muscles. Earth-toned wings stretched wide behind him in an impressive arc. Casual as could be, he leaned one shoulder against the door jam and hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his linen slacks.
As if I hadn’t watched him die mere hours ago …
As if the sound of his spine crunching didn’t echo through my mind …
“Yeah, I’ve seen a battle or two,” Gabe Garrett snorted with a wry smirk. “As for the adjusting to powers thing … I’d say I have more experience than most in that department. Wouldn’t you?”
Mind spinning in a dizzying carnival ride, my head snapped from Terin to Gabe and back again.
Chuckling at my discomfort, my newly appointed Spirit Guide taunted in the tune of an Offspring song, “And all the girlies say ‘He’s pretty spry for a dead guy’.”
To be Continued!
About the Author:
RONE Award Winner for Best YA Paranormal Work of 2012
for Embrace, a Gryphon Series Novel
Young Adult and Teen Reader voted Author of the Year 2012
Turning Pages Magazine Winner for Best YA book of 2013
& Best Teen Book of 2013
Readers' Favorite Silver Medal Winner for Crane 2015
Stacey Rourke is the author of the award-winning YA Gryphon Series, the chillingly suspenseful Legends Saga, and the comedic Reel Romance Series. She lives in Michigan with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two giant dogs. She loves to travel, has an unhealthy shoe addiction, and considers herself blessed to make a career out of talking to the imaginary people that live in her head.
Visit her at www.staceyrourke.com
http://diaryofasemi-crazyauthor.blogspot.com
Facebook at www.facebook.com/staceyrourkeauthor
or on Twitter or Instagram at @rourkewrites
Inferno (The Gryphon Series Book 6) Page 7