Alaina’s spine straightened. A flash of her self-assured Spirit Guide demeanor broke through, but only for a second. “It is not a security blanket,” she argued, but her voice bordered on a whine. “I would never need such a thing, I just had a traumatic experience and…”
“Blah, blah, blah,” Caleb interrupted, making his hand flap like a jabbering puppet. “Claims of unyieldin’ internal resolve are reserved for those not currently grippin’ their security blankie.”
Alaina’s mouth snapped shut. Renewed resolve flamed to life in her eyes. She pressed her lips together in a firm line, then pulled her wings in without saying a word. It seemed no matter what century you were born in the annoying brother trait was a constant.
Caleb’s face split in a wide, toothy grin. “There now, the strong, confident Guide to all things supernatural returns.”
Any hopes I had of Caleb and I finagling any alone time that night were dashed when Alaina plopped down on the edge of my bed with an exaggerated eye roll. “Yes, you are very wise. Now, tell us all about your trip.”
I’d take time with Caleb in whatever form it came in, so I joined the rest of the group as they settled in to be regaled with tales of his travels. Gabe joined Alaina on my bed. I shoved Mr. Hoofington aside and sat down next to Keni. Caleb took a seat on the floor, by my feet. His arms were crossed over his chest, but his thumb traced back and forth over my bare leg. He was in the middle of a story about accidentally teleporting into a crash of rhinos when a sharp knock rattled the bedroom door.
Keni cringed. “Oops, think we woke up Grams.”
Sure enough, the door flung open and in stomped a perturbed Grams. She was wrapped in her red velvet bathrobe and her grey hair looked like she’d been electrocuted on the way up the stairs. She wasn’t alone. A woman who looked like a feathered librarian followed her.
At the sight of the other feathered woman Alaina sucked in a shocked breath. Her reaction made me size up the newcomer. By her onyx feathered gown it was easy to see she could shift into bird-form, like Alaina. I guessed her bird of choice to be a raven. Her prim and proper dress started high on her neck and flowed down to the floor. The only exposed skin on her was her chalk white face and hands. Ebony feathers were arranged on her head in a makeshift bun. A severe widow’s peak, and haughty, pinched face gave her a stern, no-nonsense air.
Grams jerked her thumb in the direction of our guest. “I was zonked out, dreamin’ I was on the beach with George Clooney, when Miss Personality here magically appeared in my room.”
“The stick she swung at me said ‘Louisville Slugger’ on it,” the uptight woman stated, her hands folded in front of her. “That particular form of human greeting seems barbaric.”
“Don’t show up in my room after midnight, and you won’t get a baseball bat swung at your head,” Grams countered, with a hand on her hip.
The raven-lady turned her upper body to curtly address Grams. “I am confused as to why my arrival warranted violence. Is it because you sleep in the nude and would prefer others not know this?”
All the air seemed to be sucked out of the room, as that disturbing visual burned its way onto all our brains. Five pairs of bulging eyes fixed on Grams, who straightened her spine and adjusted her robe.
“I’m gonna go,” she replied icily. “You kids enjoy your incredibly unpleasant guest.” Head held high, she turned on her heel and marched out.
“Your wrinkled guardian is openly hostile,” said the raven-woman.
From the hallway Grams barked, “Call me wrinkled again and I’ll show you hostile!” She stomped her way down the stairs.
“Grand Councilwoman, wha…what are you doing here?” Alaina stammered.
The Councilwoman’s gaze locked on Alaina. Her lips pursed in disapproval. “I would think you would know the answer to that.”
Gabe wrapped a protective arm around Alaina as she cast an anxious glance his way. “Is this about our relationship?” Her voice wavered with fear.
“We tried to overlook your indiscretions,” the snooty-shifter stated with a condescending lift of her ink black eyebrows. “However, when your goings on with the Guardian began to hinder your ability to do your job, we had no choice but to intervene.”
Alaina vehemently shook her head. “No! That’s not true! I have upheld all my duties as their Spirit Guide!”
“Perhaps a few examples are required? Isn’t it true that on your watch the Conduit took up with a demon?” She shot Caleb a look of pure disgust.
“Hey!” I interrupted. “I don’t know who you are, or what “council” you represent, but let’s get one thing clear—the Conduit makes up the Conduit’s mind who the Conduit chooses to date.”
“Thanks, lovey.” Caleb gave my knee a squeeze.
The Grand Councilwoman peered down her nose at us. “As a simplistic human female you cannot be blamed for your inability to resist his draw. However, you can rest assured that your muse is being punished accordingly for allowing you to be turned in his direction.”
There was so much upsetting crap in that statement I didn’t know which part to pounce on first. I decided on, “My muse?!”
“Sophia,” she declared. My mouth fell open. “Your distant and elusive behavior prompted us to call in her services. It was her job to help engage you in life by motivating you to establish romantic ties. However, muses are impossible to count on.” She waved her hand in the air dismissively. “It is simply unheard of for a Chosen One to consort with the dark side. And yet she and your ‘Guide’ allowed it to happen.”
I rose off the bed and glared her down. “First of all, how about if you and your Council stay the hell out of my personal life? ‘Kay? Secondly, what do you mean a Chosen One? I’m not the only one?”
A flicker of alarm registered on the Councilwoman’s face that she quickly tried to hide. “Don’t be absurd. I said no such thing.” She avoided meeting my gaze and instead busied herself smoothing down her feathers. “We are getting off topic. The issue here is that Alaina has been neglecting her duties.” She turned her stare on Alaina, who shriveled under it. “The most crucial being that just a few short weeks ago you allowed the Conduit to venture into battle injured just to save your precious lion.”
I balled my hands into tight fists to curb their urge to “accidentally” choke the life out of this obnoxious woman. “That had nothing to do with her, or any alleged failure on her part…”
“Stop,” Alaina muttered softly. Tears filled her avian eyes and threatened to spill over. “This is about me. I know what I have done. All I need to know is if punishment is warranted?”
The Councilwoman scoffed. “I would not make the trip between realms just for a verbal warning. Kindly use your head, Alaina.”
Gabe bristled. His back rounded and a low rumble tore through his clenched jaw. Alaina laid a delicate hand on his chest. “No. Don’t,” she whispered. With as much dignity as she could muster, Alaina rose to her feet. “I have failed in my duties. I will take the punishment I have been sentenced with.”
With great flourish the Grand Councilwoman extracted a scroll from within the sleeve of her feathered gown. Adopting an obnoxiously authoritive voice she read, “Alaina, Guide to Those Who are Called, you have failed in the duties you were entrusted with. It is the verdict of the Council Master that you be suspended from your role as a Guide for the duration of one human year. All your powers will be revoked…” Alaina sucked in a shocked, horrified breath, “..and you shall live out your sentence as a mortal here on earth. During that time you will act only as an observer to the methods of the Guide assigned to your former position.”
As soon as she finished reading the Councilwoman tossed the scroll into the air. It vanished in a series of twinkling sparks. My heart broke for Alaina. The one thing she’d been desperately clinging to was about to be torn away from her…again. Yet as gut wrenching as that had to be, she nodded, and bowed her head in preparation for what was to come. The rebellious tear that broke free and s
treaked down her cheek was the only visible indicator of her anguish.
“By the power vested in me, I hereby sentence you to mortality,” the Councilwoman declared. And so it was done. Our Guide’s feathers and wings faded into oblivion. Her tie to the supernatural severed.
Before us was the girl Alaina had been back in Ireland. Her hair was a waist length curtain of curly auburn locks. Her eyes the bright green of fresh cut grass. The Councilwoman had granted her subdued clothing; a knee-length black shirt, and a white satin blouse buttoned all the way up to her neck. Alaina peeked down at her normalcy and gave a choked sob. She covered her face as the tears began to flow. Gabe, Caleb, Kendall and I rushed to her side to surround her in a group hug. Our only means of comfort to offer.
“You’re beautiful, baby. You are.” My brother soothed as he peppered her face and hair with kisses.
The Councilwoman nodded in my direction. “I assume you will keep her safe in her vulnerable form?”
This bossy chick just waltzed across my last nerve. “Without a doubt. Unlike your hypocritical Council, I don’t turn my back on my own.”
Her feathers ruffled and smoothed. “You speak of things of which you have no knowledge, or foresight. Perhaps your new Spirit Guide will be able to improve upon your obvious lack of respect for authority.”
I snorted a laugh. “Yeah, don’t count on it.”
“We shall see. He is a strict and well respected Guide. No time like the present for an introduction. Bernard?” The Councilwoman dipped down into a formal bow and held her arm out to present him to us.
He stepped in to view from behind her. Whether he’d been in the hall or just teleported in from another dimension, I couldn’t say. Bernard. His cane sunk into our thick plush carpet as he shuffled to the center of the room.
My breath caught. I clawed at Caleb’s T-shirt and grabbed handfuls of the fabric in a white knuckled grasp. Unable to hold back my terror I let out a blood curdling scream.
Bonus Read!
The Sidekick Chronicles
Vol I
A Gryphon Series Novella
By
Stacey Rourke
Keni’s Turn
I soared through the air, the wind whipping my cheeks rosy—which was great because I forgot to touch up my blush. Gusts of air tickled through my feathers with each flap of my ivory wings. Yeah, I can, like, totally fly. Cool, huh? I normally loved these moments when I could let my inner eagle stretch her wings, but today was not a normal day. I held the strap of the nylon bag, containing my adorable pink strappy sandals, between my teeth so I could use both hands to fiddle with my hair. One hand curled a section into a tight blonde pin curl. With the other I retrieved a bobby pin from where they were stuck to the top of my dress and pinned the curl in place. The wind helped out by holding my hair back. I had wanted an entire afternoon of primping and preparing before the Homecoming Dance, but of course that didn’t happen. Some uber nasty demon with a name I couldn’t pronounce had to pick this day of all days to attack. It was releasing some gross, smelly chemical that brought tears to my eyes and could apparently kill with its stink if you breathed it in for too long. Our Spirit Guide, Bernard, can call that thing whatever he wants, I know a Fart Demon when I meet one and that’s exactly what that thing was. Silent, but deadly—literally.
So it was goodbye day of beauty, hello epic—but thankfully short—battle with Mr. Stinky. Now I had to get ready on the way to the game, where the other members of the Homecoming Court and I would walk at half time and the Queen would be named. It was way rare for a sophomore to get selected, but I was still holding on to hope.
I lowered my left wing and raised the right, allowing myself to glide in a wide arc over the mountains of Tennessee. Off in the distance I could see the stadium lights of Gainesboro High. There was a wooded path off the back of the school where I could drop down and be hidden enough for me to retract my wings and walk out looking all normal and stuff.
The wind shifted as I turned and I lost my hold on the bag. I let out a shocked gasp as the beautiful shoes I special ordered to go with my sparkly cotton candy pink dress disappeared into the foliage beneath me.
“No!” I squealed and then altered my course to buzz after them kamikaze style.
My bare feet sunk down on a damp mat of pine needles and rock. The towering trees enveloped me as I landed and hid me with their shade. I made no attempts to stifle my groan when I saw my fear had been realized. My shoes fell in the creek.
“Craptastic!” I kicked at the ground and stubbed my toe on a rock. “Ow! Okay, sorry,” I said to Mother Nature, because that had to be her way of punishing me for acting out.
I adjusted the top of my strapless dress and then eased my way carefully over the rocks to the edge of the water. The water was only about a foot deep and my dress was cut to my knees so I didn’t mind wading in to retrieve my shoes. I had just hooked the edge of the bag with my finger when I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. A beautiful, long necked swan careened through the water so smoothly it didn’t even create a ripple. Behind it trailed four grey, fuzzy little cygnets. (Big word, right? You can thank my older brother, Gabe, for teaching me that. He knows all kinds of useless crap.)
My free hand fluttered up to my mouth. “Aww! Mama swan with her babies! You’re so pretty!” Ever since getting my wings I felt a kinship with birds. Like I could frolic in the woods and sing with them; just like a princess in a Disney movie.
Come to find out, this particular bird was more the Alfred Hitchcock type than Walt Disney. Its head snapped my way and lowered menacingly. I took a step back at the “I’m gonna peck her eyes out” look that altered the swan’s formerly lovely demeanor. Its beak parted and a raspy hiss leaked out. I had no idea birds could hiss. It’s terrifying.
I held up my free hand, palm out. “Easy, I’m not going to hurt you. You and your babies are totally safe. Look, I’m just like you.” I rolled my shoulders and expanded my wings out wide behind me.
Did you know one bird expanding their wings at another is viewed as a threat? Yeah, neither did I. Why couldn’t Gabe tell me useful stuff like that? Instead, I learned that lesson the hard way when the swan charged me, head lowered, wings out and hissing like a tire going flat. With one flap of my wings I was off the ground. Not that it helped, the swan followed me into the air. Pecking at my legs and ankles and slapping at me with her wings and webbed feet. FYI-swans fight dirty! Feathers swirled around us and I honestly can’t say if they were hers or mine.
“Stop it! I don’t want to hurt you!” I kicked and swung my shoe bag at her, which I instantly felt terrible for. “I’m leaving, okay! Now stop! I don’t want to hit you with my wings, they’re impenetrable and I think they might turn you into pâté!”
Maybe she didn’t want to get too far from her babies, or maybe my message got through to her, either way the swan turned with an indignant huff and flew back to the creek. I landed on a thick branch and heaved a deep sigh of relief. A feather wafted down and tickled my shoulder and I plucked another from my hair. I dug into my shoe bag and pulled out my hand held mirror to assess how my “do” had held up through the bird brawl. Good on this side. Tighten the pin there and I’m golden. I paused. Why was the branch moving? I turned my mirror slightly and leaned to glance down at the ground. Seeing nothing, I shrugged and went back to primping. But it wasn’t my face I saw in the mirror this time. It was the snarling Bobcat behind me.
“Whoa, big kitty!” I jumped and my mirror fell to the ground.
I spun around but couldn’t take off because of the thick, leafy branches right over my head. All I could do was keep my eye on the cat and scoot away real slow in search of an opening I could retreat through.
The Bobcat’s lip curled to show off its glossy white fangs as it crept in closer. The rumble of its growl shuddered through me.
“I like cats!” I blubbered and steadily backed up. “My brother actually is one. Well not all the time, but sometimes! He’s a big
, giant lion. Maybe you’ve seen him around? Big dude, kind of abrasive, morphs into a cat? No? That’s too bad. I think you two would really hit it off.”
Clearly the Bobcat wasn’t in a talking mood. It rushed at me all claws and teeth. I screamed and dove off the tree. Claws sliced through the left side of my dress and scraped my skin, but failed to draw blood. With my arms shielding my face, I flew through the pine trees as fast as I could. Needles lashed my arms and legs. Sap clung to me in a sticky mess. Pinecones pelted me in the head, but I wasn’t catnip so it beat the alternative.
I rose above the tree line to get my bearings, and then bee-lined it right for the school. I was cutting it super close to halftime and the crowning. Instead of the path, I opted for behind the porta-potties on the edge of the field. I pulled my wings in and did a controlled fall to the ground. I landed with a thud then hurried to slide on my shoes. Rounding the corner, I found the other members of the Court lining up for our entrance and scampered over to find my place with the sophomore class. Many shocked gasps were expelled as I walked by, but I kept my head held high and tried to rock my wilderness girl look.
“Lookin’ fierce, Keni. Very Ke$ha with the shredded dress,” one of the senior princesses commented with a wink.
“Thanks,” I beamed, despite my overwhelming desire for a shower and a mirror. I found my place in line, but to my surprise my boyfriend, Keith, wasn’t there. I scanned the bleachers and the nearby concession stand hoping to see him jogging over. No Keith.
Jessica Schnieder, a freshmen princess, gave my arm a quick squeeze. “He’s probably just with the Lacrosse team bragging about how much cooler they are than the football players.”
I gave her a tight-lipped smile and a curt nod. When Keith and I met he was sweet, insecure, and adorable. A growth spurt this summer and a new cocky attitude thanks to learning he was, like, a Lacrosse god changed that. If it wasn’t for the fact that I told him absolutely everything about my family and our mystical calling—and my desire to not want to hurt his feelings in the slightest—I probably would’ve broken up with him. But now it seemed our relationship had naturally progressed to a point where he couldn’t be bothered to even escort me on to the field on a day he knew meant a lot to me.
Embrace (The Gryphon Series Book 2) Page 19