Guardians of the Gryphon's Claw

by Todd Calgi Gallicano

  The aswang was listening to Sam with increasing interest and growing frustration. She eyed him, then the claw she held in her talons. “You lie, boy. This is the genuine claw.” The doubt in her declaration was clear, and Sam hid his glee. It was time to ride this bluff as far as it would take him.

  “Nope. It’s not. The Guardian showed me the proof that it’s a fake. But don’t listen to me,” Sam suggested. “Go ahead and break it. You’ll see. It won’t end any curse.”

  The aswang snarled, “Where is this proof?”

  Sam stretched out his hand. “Here, I’ll show you.”

  The aswang hesitated. “If this is a trick, I shall eat you whole.”

  “It’s not. Just give it to me, already. I’m surrounded by abominable snowmen. What am I going to do?” The aswang eyed him, then slowly handed over the claw. Sam pretended to study it closely, and cast an eye toward the prison. C’mon, guys, he thought.

  “Well?” the aswang said. “Show me, boy! Or I shall—”

  “Eat me whole, I got it,” Sam responded. “Just give me a second. It’s not that easy to see. That’s why it’s a really good fake.” He was running out of time. Still no signal, and the aswang was getting wise to his ruse.

  “Enough of this. Give me the claw. If it is a fake, we will find out soon enough.”

  “We?” Sam inquired. “As in the yetis, or is there someone else? Like someone above you? I kind of thought there might be. No offense. But you don’t seem like the top-banana type.”

  “Give it to me,” the aswang said, irritated.

  The moment of truth. Sam had played his hand and lost. He was about to return the claw when it finally happened. An electrical charge shot into the sky and illuminated the valley. Sam’s eyes went to the origin—the prison! That was the signal. It was enough to briefly distract the aswang and the yetis so Sam could do as Knox had instructed him: run like the dickens. The aswang quickly realized Sam was making off with the claw. She yelled to the yetis, and the creatures were instantly in pursuit, the aswang leading the charge.

  Sam clutched the claw tightly to his chest as he ran at a full sprint through the village and toward the narrow mountain passage they had taken to enter the valley. He pulled the cylindrical device that Knox had given him from his pocket, pressed the button on the tip with his thumb, and dropped it to the ground. He spotted a collection of wooden carts the yetis used for food and quickly dove for the closest one, sliding beneath it and hiding between the cart and a short ice wall. He peered back to where he had dropped the device and could see that it was now spinning. In fact, it was spinning so fast it began to lift off the ground like a miniature helicopter. He could also see that it was flickering with light. And that was when something extraordinary happened: the yeti village was suddenly overrun by Guardians in full warrior dress! The yetis reared back and total chaos ensued.

  While the yetis scrambled to face their new opponents, Sam began to notice that something didn’t seem altogether right about these Guardians. Sam focused on the one closest to him and could see that it shimmered. These weren’t Guardians, Sam concluded. His suspicions were immediately proven correct when the aswang ran right through the one Sam had his eye on. These Guardians were holograms. The aswang grabbed the device that was projecting the images and crushed it in its talons. All the Guardians instantly disappeared. Sam’s eyes darted over to the scores of yetis who had been preparing to face off with their imagined enemies. They froze, confused.

  Suddenly, Sam was being dragged out from under the cart by his feet. His body slid across the ragged ice and into the open. He spun himself right-side up and saw the aswang pulling him toward her with her talons.

  “I will have the claw, boy!” the aswang squealed. “And then I shall have you for dinner!”

  Sam kicked at the creature and managed to connect with her chin, stunning the aswang. He broke free from her grip, climbed to his feet, and took off running. The aswang regained her bearings and pursued, but now she used her wings to fly a few feet above the ground, swiftly closing the gap between them. She barked orders to the yetis, who joined the chase.

  Sam glanced back to see that he was now being chased not only by the aswang, but also by an entire village of abominable snowmen. There was no way he was going to make it to the narrow mountain passage in time. Track was another one of those sports he wasn’t very good at.

  The aswang reached Sam and swooped down, slashing at him. The creature’s talons tore the back of his jacket and caused him to lose his footing on the icy terrain. He tried to keep himself upright, but the momentum was too great. He tumbled to the ground and slid several feet. He could hear the aswang land behind him, stalking him like prey.

  “No escape now,” the aswang jeered.

  Sam was tired, his breathing rapid and heavy. He began to feel a sense of resignation—it was similar to the feeling he had experienced with his near-fatal injury in the Himalayas. The difference was that the pain was replaced with paralyzing fear. And there was a sound filling his ears that seemed to make the situation all the more frightening. A dull roar that grew louder by the second. The ground was vibrating beneath him. At first he thought it was the yetis vocalizing before pouncing on him. But when he saw the aswang stop and peer around curiously, he knew it wasn’t coming from the yetis. The aswang’s focus had turned to the mountain passage, which was obscured by the low cloud cover. Sam followed the creature’s gaze. And then, out of the dense white mass, the source of the roar made itself known.

  Hundreds of Guardians emerged from the clouds and stampeded toward the village. They let loose a terrifying war cry and wielded their shekchens, ready for battle. It was an astonishing sight. The hapless yetis believed them to be holograms, which gave the warriors time to get closer.

  “They’re real!” the aswang tried to warn them, but her voice couldn’t be heard over the noise of their boots on the ice.

  The yetis’ slight hesitation was all the Guardians needed to overcome their enemies and overwhelm the village. The aswang ignored the army and charged after Sam. She lifted him by his jacket and flapped her wings. The two were several feet from the ground when the aswang was struck by an electrical charge. She fell back to the ground, losing her hold on Sam and allowing him to roll away.

  “Are you okay?” Tashi asked him as she rushed over with Dr. Vantana and Chriscanis. Sam nodded and Vance helped him to his feet.

  “I think so,” Sam said as he got his bearings. “What took you guys so long?”

  “You’d be surprised just how difficult it is to break out of a yeti ice prison,” Vantana replied. “You did good, kid. Real good.”

  “That you did,” Chriscanis added. “You saved the whole lot of us.”

  “I thought I was toast when the aswang—” Sam turned to gesture toward the creature, but she was already gone.

  “There she goes,” Vance said, pointing to the sky. The aswang had taken flight and was disappearing into the cloud cover.

  “And with her, the answers we need,” Chriscanis concluded. Tashi let off a few bolts from her shekchen, but it was too late. The aswang had escaped.

  “Did you get any good intel out of her?” the doctor asked Sam. “Anything that could help us figure out who might be behind this mess?”

  “Not much, but she’s definitely not working alone. She kept using the word ‘we,’ and she knew who I was,” Sam revealed. “I think there’s someone above her. Someone calling the shots.”

  “The aswang have always been trouble,” Chriscanis said. “But I’ve never known them to be the type that enjoyed being bossed around.”

  “Nor the yetis,” Tashi chimed in.

  “Right, right,” Vance added, pursing his lips as if trying to make sense of it all. Sam caught his eye and shrugged. The doctor smiled. “I think this belongs to you.” He handed Sam his book bag. “I’m pretty certain this book bag has been places no other book bag has been.”

  “That’s for sure,” Sam replied.

 
; Dr. Knox and Yeshe approached. Behind them Sam could see that the yetis had ceased fighting and stood stoically, surrounded by Guardians.

  “The yetis have surrendered,” Dr. Knox announced. “They offered little information on the aswang. It contacted them a few months ago and preyed on their jealousy of the Guardians to persuade them to help retrieve the claw.”

  Sam looked at Tashi, curious. “Why are the yetis jealous of you?”

  “They were the gryphon’s sworn protectors before Phylassos cursed humanity. Once the curse was in place, the gryphon believed the claw would be best protected by those who weren’t a part of it. That is why we were created. Our loyalty would never be questioned,” Tashi explained.

  Yeshe continued, “But the yetis rebelled and Phylassos punished them, prohibiting them from ever leaving these mountains.”

  “Apparently, one of the aswang’s promises to them was their freedom,” Knox added. The old man stepped closer to Sam and put his hand on his shoulder. He smiled kindly. “We owe you a great debt, Sam London. You are the hero of this day, if not the century. It is an honor to have met you, and I thank you for saving us and the claw.”

  Sam’s grin would have made the Cheshire cat envious. “You’re welcome….Oh, and here.” He handed the claw to Knox, who handed it to Yeshe. “Dr. Knox?” Sam asked sheepishly.

  “Yes, Sam?”

  “Could I ask you a favor?”

  “Now is a good time. I would be hard-pressed to refuse a request from my liberator.”

  Sam pulled the gryphon book out of his book bag. “Would you sign this for me?”

  “I think I could manage that,” Knox answered with a wink.

  —

  The journey back to Kustos was Dr. Vantana’s chance to question his mentor and fill him in on recent events. Knox was particularly intrigued by the gargoyle attack and the encounter with Cernunnos, who had always had a particular dislike for Henry. It appeared his grudge went back quite a few years. Knox didn’t seem as disturbed by Penelope’s sudden amnesia as Vance thought he would. Vance questioned him about the last time he’d seen Penelope, and Knox explained that he’d met with her right before he decided to go “silent,” as he called it. Vance remembered Penelope talking about the hologram device when he’d been in her lab just days earlier. She had found the specs for the device, and evidence that she had completed it, but couldn’t locate the actual unit. Now Vance knew that Knox had taken it. The doctor continued to wonder why there was no record of Knox’s having removed it and why his leaving coincided so perfectly with Penelope’s amnesia. Knox discounted it as merely chance.

  According to Knox, he had been receiving messages from Phylassos regarding a threat to the curse and attempts to steal the claw. He learned through his sources that claw relics around the world had been stolen. However, because of the delicate and secretive nature of this investigation, Henry decided it would be best if he unraveled the mystery himself and didn’t mistakenly tip off whoever was behind it. His search led him to Tibet, where he got caught by a group of yetis on his way to Kustos. Now that he knew about the aswang’s involvement, the case would take him and Vance to the Philippines. Time was of the essence, since the creatures behind this conspiracy might already be adjusting their plan in response to the DMW’s investigation.

  With Vance and Henry heading to Southeast Asia, Sam would have to return home, although Henry couldn’t be certain Sam’s purpose had been fulfilled, either in connection with Phylassos or the investigation. It appeared he had done his part, and they were putting him in too much danger by including him any further.

  Dr. Knox decided it would be best if they waited until their return to Kustos to break the news to the boy. As expected, Sam was quite upset, which in turn made Vance upset. To make matters worse, Henry directed Vance to counter the injection he had given Sam days earlier. It would dilute the bigfoot blood in Sam’s body and return him to normal. Having the sight taken away was a devastating blow to Sam. Vance felt terrible, but Henry was right. Until Sam was of age, he would need to return to his life outside this strange new world. Constantly seeing magical creatures flitting about would make that impossible.

  Fortunately, Yeshe compensated for the bad news by arranging for Sam to receive a medal for his heroism and to be named an honorary Guardian of the gryphon’s claw. Yeshe noted that the medal was forged with the same gold Alexander the Great had used to plate the claw. Chriscanis volunteered to escort Sam home, while Vance and Henry prepared to leave for the next stage of their investigation. As Vance said goodbye to Sam, he found that the connection he had made with this boy was stronger than he realized. He had always been a loner, but Sam London had him reconsidering his life and his solitude. Vance was most certainly going to miss him. Of course, he wasn’t sure Sam’s part in this mystery was over. He took solace in a sneaking suspicion that this would not be the last time they saw each other.

  So many questions lingered in Vance’s head about Sam and his meeting with Phylassos, and now the doctor had even more questions surrounding his mentor, Henry Knox, and his unusual disappearance. But the question that weighed on Vance’s mind the most was simply: Where was the gryphon in all this? After everything that happened, why had he not chosen to appear again?

  Vance couldn’t help but feel that Henry wasn’t being entirely forthcoming. What did his friend and mentor know about Phylassos? And when would he decide to tell him?

  To Sam London, the boy who saw the gryphon and saved us all. Your friend and biggest fan, Dr. Henry Knox. This inscription by Dr. Knox in The Great and Powerful Gryphon was one of the few reminders Sam had of his extraordinary adventure. He had already read and gazed lovingly at it several times since returning home. It made him understandably nostalgic. There was a world he never knew existed, a world in which he felt like he finally belonged. In that world there was something special about Sam London. Everyone had heard of him, everyone wanted to know him—for better or for worse. That certainly couldn’t be said for his life in Benicia, California. Here he instantly went back to average.

  It was two nights earlier that Sam had returned to Benicia. He hadn’t been pleased when Dr. Vantana had informed him that he would have to leave Kustos and return home. And while he appreciated and adored the medal awarded him when he’d been named an honorary Guardian, it felt like a deliberate attempt to soften the decision to send him back. However, the worst part was having the sight taken away. He had protested this decision passionately, but Dr. Knox had insisted. Knox believed having the sight put Sam and his mother in too much danger. If the DMW ever required his services in the future, they would reinstate it. But for the time being, it was important that Sam return to his mother the same way he had left. According to Vance, the loss of the sight wouldn’t be immediate; it would take several hours to kick in. By then he would be home and wouldn’t even know the difference. Sam found that hard to believe.

  Sam said goodbye to Tashi, thanking her again for saving his life on more than one occasion. She just bowed her head, saying, “It was my honor and my duty, Sam London.”

  Sam wasn’t sure what Tashi meant when she said it was her duty to save him. But he did notice one detail regarding the young Guardian that he hadn’t had time to notice until now: she was cute.

  Saying goodbye to Dr. Vantana proved much more difficult. They had been together since the night in Bakersfield. The doctor was the person who had revealed this incredible world to him. Sam had experienced so much these past several days, and the doctor had been by his side through it all. Vantana had saved him, taken care of him, and worried about him. Sam didn’t know if he’d ever meet his real father, but if he did, he hoped he would be a lot like Vance Vantana.

  Chriscanis, the cynocephalus, escorted Sam home before returning to England. Fortunately, the Guardians knew of a dvergen subway station that was less than a day’s hike from the village of Kustos. Sam was starting to enjoy his rides on the dvergen subway, though the ancient nature of the contraption was at ti
mes unnerving. Chriscanis reminded him how ingenious dwarves were with these types of mechanisms, and that he didn’t have a thing to worry about. They rode the subway back to the waterfall near Castle Crags, where Penelope had arranged for a car to be waiting. Chriscanis drove Sam back to Benicia, and the two spent the last few hours in the car talking about what it was like to be a cynocephalus.

  “Too many of our species believe that our culture somehow makes us stronger,” Chriscanis explained. “But I know the truth. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Family makes you stronger.” He then shared his secret desire to be human, to see what everyone else saw when they looked in the mirror.

  “Don’t you like being a cynocephalus?” Sam asked.

  “When you work and live among humans, when you come to appreciate their…humanity, it is hard to feel like you belong.”

  Sam could relate to this sentiment. He confessed his own feeling of not belonging and how he thought of himself as “unspecial.” Chriscanis grinned as Sam recounted all the activities he’d attempted in his search for that one unique skill.

  They arrived at Sam’s house in the late evening. As he walked Sam to the door, Chriscanis admired the quiet neighborhood. Realizing they would need to get Nuks’s attention without waking Ettie, Chriscanis barked toward Sam’s second-floor window.

  Nuks peeked out, spotted the two, and was at the front door in seconds. He cracked it open, still appearing and sounding like Sam. He was excited to see his twin.

  “Sam!” Nuks exclaimed in a loud whisper. “You’re home!”