When she saw no sign of it, she turned her head in the other direction, staring at her backpack, and all of her things strewn across the surface of the plateau. She strained her neck, looking at her back, finding the leather and metal brace she had created mangled and twisted, barely hanging on to her body. With a groan, she let her head fall back down and took in a deep breath as she shifted back into her human.
Once her bones had reset, and her delicate flesh began to sting from the scrapes and cuts she incurred with her graceful landing, Iris put both of her palms down and slowly lifted herself to her feet. As she stepped forward, she tripped over the remnants of her brace, cursing loudly and grabbing her toe as she hopped forward. Her wavy blonde hair blew wildly around her, the purple tips slowly fading out.
Iris stood on the edge of the plateau, glancing around curiously. She had never known Lordone to have such enormous birds. She had spent years there, flying in and out of the caverns, hunting, and letting her Griffin free, but never had such a violent winged creature approached her. The tingle in the pit of her stomach made her think there was something more to it than just chance.
In the pile of her things spread out across the plateau, her phone began to ring. Iris glanced over and hurried along, pushing random items back and forth, trying to find it. She grabbed her bag and unzipped the front pouch, the only thing that didn't seem to burst open upon landing. Smiling, she gripped her phone and tugged, ripping it from the pocket, seeing Milly's face on the screen.
"Do you know if there's a random species of blackbird, roughly the size of a small hog, flying around the caverns?"
Milly sighed in frustration. “I’ve never heard of anything like that. Are you sure it wasn’t a hawk or maybe an eagle?”
Iris rolled her eyes, putting her hand on her hip. "Did you forget that I'm a Griffin? I'm pretty sure I know the difference between a hawk, an eagle, and a freakishly huge blackbird with its little beady eyes."
“Was it one of your Shifter friends?” Milly asked.
Iris glanced back at the sky. "I don't think so. I can sense other Shifters. I didn't sense anything in this bird. And it seemed wild, natural in its habitat. But at the same time, it came right for me. I'm, of course, way larger than it, but the beak on that thing tore a hole in my wing. It healed fast enough that when I changed back into my human, it was half the size, so I don't think I'll need stitches."
Milly groaned. "Good, because I think I'm almost out of supplies. I've sewed you up more times in the last four years than most nurses do in a lifetime at the ER. I think it's time you start paying me for it."
Iris grinned. "You are paid. You're my best friend, and you know my big secret. I just wanted to get in one last flight before heading out. I needed to clear my head. I knew I had to come back here and take care of the business and let you know what was going on before I go in search of these magical noblemen that are apparently the key to my powers."
Milly scoffed. “Leave it to history to make three men the key to a woman’s power.”
Iris laughed. "Calm down fembot. I'm sure it will all work itself out."
Milly started to talk, filling Iris in on what she had missed at the airport since she was about three hours late returning. But Iris's attention shifted from her phone as the sound of a barrage of squawking echoed through the cavern. A shadow fell over her on the plateau, and Iris furrowed her brow, glancing back and forth. Very slowly, knowing she was in for it, she turned around and stared up at the sky above. Instead of the bright blue shimmering canopy, it was jet black and moving fast toward her. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of birds cut down through the gorge, their eyes staring right at her.
Iris pulled the phone back to her mouth. “Uh, I’m gonna have to call you back.”
She clicked the phone off and dropped it to the ground, her eyes wide. As the birds descended, Iris put up her arms, blocking her face as she prepared for the attack. She screamed out in a Battle cry as the sea of birds enveloped her, pulling her deep into the tunnel of feathers and claws.
Chapter Three
Iris held her breath, feeling the pull from the cyclone of blackbirds swirling around her. She had braced herself for pain, but after a few moments, she realized that they weren't even touching her. Slowly she opened one eye and glanced around at them. It was almost fantastical, standing within the dancing and swirling bodies of her feathered Ancestors. They were wild and squawked loudly, but they kept their talons tucked up into their feathered bodies, and their beaks pointed forward, almost robotic in their movements.
Slowly the tornado of feathers lifted up and off of her, reversing their movements and diving straight for the plateau’s solid stone ground. Iris winced, assuming she was going to see the inevitable suicide of hundreds of blackbirds following one after another to their deaths. But as she watched, she realized that there were no bursts of feathers, no blood, and the darkness of their feathers created a void in color slowly moving up, morphing into a person.
She watched until they had all finished, and tilted her head, staring at a tall, thin, middle-aged man with a twisted black beard. Their eyes met, and they stood at the defense, staring back and forth at one another. Their bodies jolted, bucking back and forth at one another. But after a few moments, a smile graced Iris's face, and she hurried forward, throwing her arms around the man that resembled the wizard. "Brier!"
The man patted her back with a grin. “How did you like that entrance?”
Iris pulled back with a chuckle. “That was a good one. I should’ve known it was you from the start.”
He laughed, patting her back. Brier was the Griffin Shifter Alpha advisor, and also a very accomplished magician or wizard that Iris had known since she was a little girl. When she was growing up, her mother would bring her over to fly with the Griffins and spend as much time at their sanctuary as they could. While she wanted a place to be able to fly freely, moving to Lordone had everything to do with the fact that the Griffins clan headquartered near the caverns.
“Man, how long has it been since I’ve seen you?” Iris asked.
Brier stroked his long black beard. “Quite a bit of time. Too long. It’s so good to see you.”
Iris stared at him for a moment and then pointed at the cut on her arm. "You know you don't have to be all theatrical with me. You clipped my wing. It hurt, not to mention the fact that it sent me into a winding spiral that I barely pulled out of safely. If you came to say hi, you might want to try not killing me next time."
He laughed, watching the sun drift behind the clouds. "My apologies. I had to slow you down somehow. I couldn't keep up with you."
Iris smiled but furrowed her brow. "What are you doing here?"
His eyes shifted over to hers, and then around the caverns. He put his fingers to his lips and shook his head. Taking a deep breath, he sent his magic outward, trying to pick up on any living beings that were close enough to overhear what they were saying. Iris had seen him do that on multiple occasions.
When the magic had returned to the staff he held, Iris juggled her brow. "All safe?"
He turned to Iris and shook his head. “We cannot talk here. There are too many possible ears listening to us. Besides, I’m not the one to talk to you. Calvary Armstrong, the Griffin Shifter Alpha, as you know, has asked that I find you and bring you to the Clan headquarters. He would like to speak to you in person.”
Iris looked around at the debris left behind after her tumble from the sky. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt anything. You kind of took me out to the point where I have nothing left. Before Brier could shift back into his blackbird, even though he wasn't a Shifter, more of a magician than anything else, Iris reached out and grabbed his arm. She looked at him with a serious face. "She came to me in a vision. Does this have anything to do with the…"
Brier clamped his hand over her mouth and shook his head. “If you are about to say what I think you’re going to, you cannot speak about it here. I’m telling you, and though my magic cannot sense
them, I know that there are others out attempting to hear our conversation. We must go to the Griffin sanctuary first.”
Before she could ask another question, his body burst into dozens of blackbirds, squawking and flying off. Iris rolled her eyes and stomped forward to the ledge, jumping straight off and turning into her Griffin as she fell. She swooped up and followed the gaggle of blackbirds North, beyond the deep jagged depths of the caverns. Soaring along, she could feel a twinge of pain in her wing, but the cuts had already healed. They raced toward the cavern wall and, at the last second, shifted their momentum, heading straight up the side and over the edge that led out into the barren and clay-colored flatlands. The temperature was almost ten degrees hotter over the edge, and Iris wished she had her provisions carefully strapped to her back.
She knew the way to the Griffin sanctuary, as she had been there so many times before. Still, she followed behind Brier, allowing him to lead her way. Miles out into the flatlands, she watched ahead as the swarm of blackbirds disappeared over the hill. She picked up speed and put her head down, cresting the top and diving straight down through a narrow underground latch that slammed shut behind her. She wavered back and forth, navigating the twisting maze of stone beneath the ground.
Coming up on the wire and steel gates, she slowed her speed and touched down, turning into her human as her feet still moved. She jogged up next to Brier, who had already shifted back into his magician and grinned. Taking his staff, he tapped three times on the stone ground, and Iris watched as a deep purple cloud of magic, reminiscent of her mother's enchantments, swirling around her legs and arms. As the mist faded, Iris smiled at the jeans, sneakers, and Griffin T-shirt she was suddenly wearing.
Brier nodded, satisfied with his magic. Iris shook her head. "I look like one of those people that go to New York City, and the first thing they do is buy a New York City T-shirt and wear it the entire time they're there. You couldn't flick me up something more stylish?"
Brier chuckled as they walked through the gates and into the city. Iris was always amazed, no matter how many times she visited just how beautiful the underground metropolis was. All the stone along the walls and the sidewalks were etched and carved. As a child, she was told that they were stories of the Griffin. As she glanced around at the other people, the Griffin Shifters milling in and out of the different buildings, she felt a pang of sadness in her chest. The Griffin's, and the underground sanctuary were older than even the Castle she grew up in. Yet, visiting there that day, she couldn't help but notice that the crowds of people were smaller, and the excitement of the city was just a little bit less bright and shining.
As they headed through the grounds, Brier smiled at the different people they passed. They all recognized him, and when their eyes fell on her, they immediately bowed their heads in excitement. “None of these people have gotten to see you yet. They know that a Griffin is finally a High Alpha, something that hasn’t existed in a very long time.”
Iris stepped up a small staircase into the gardens that surrounded the area in which the Alpha lived. "It doesn't seem as busy as I remember."
Brier shifted his gaze toward her. "It's because it's not any longer. Griffin's lives last a very, very long time, but just like the other Shifter breeds, when your human body grows old, there is a point where you can choose to carry on your life as your Griffin for many, many more years, or give up your ability to shift and die a human. With the way that things have been going for the Shifters, a lot of them choose a human death over continuing living for decades."
Iris's heart broke. While the city was beautiful, she could understand why they would look at it as a prison, and leaving put them in incredible danger. Brier stepped to the side, allowing Iris to walk through the doors in front of him. They turned left and headed down a long marble corridor, leading to a set of enormous oak and gold doors. Brier waved his staff, and the doors opened on their own. When they reached the opening, Brier stopped and nodded at Iris. "He waits for you inside. This is as far as I go."
Iris pulled down on her shirt, and stood up straight, nodding her head. She was trying to get the courage that she knew existed in her since she used it almost every day in her everyday life. But there was something about meeting the Griffin Alpha that was far more intimidating than Iris had anticipated. It didn't cross her mind for a second that she was now higher up the chain of command than even he was.
None of that mattered now, she was new in her role and hadn't earned her place beside the greats like Calvary Armstrong. She knew that others would argue that, but she had heard stories of his bravery. She had heard stories of his Battles won, his valiant efforts to save thousands of Shifters, beyond just the Griffins. When she was a girl and visited the Griffin sanctuary, Brier would tell her stories of the tremendous one-on-one Battles that Alpha Armstrong had encountered when traveling with just a hundred men toward the Second Great Wars.
To a child, they were amazing, bigger than life. For Iris, the excitement and awe of those stories didn't change as she grew. Out of all the years she had spent at the Griffin sanctuary growing up, she had never met Calvary Armstrong. It had been documented that the Griffins had been around for centuries. Calvary Armstrong, a legend within the whole of the Shifter community, had been the Alpha for three of those centuries.
Iris could only imagine the amount of knowledge that Calvary had, and just from the experiences that he had been through, his stories should be captivating. She was told that as a reward for his honor and enormous contributions to the health and welfare of the Griffin, the Ancestors had granted Calvary the ability to change between his human form and his Griffin beyond the usual restrictions of time. From what she had heard, his human form no longer aged, staying a strong and burly middle age. It was fascinating to Iris, and the flutter of nerves was growing ever stronger. She wasn't sure how she could ever stand up next to a man like that.
Chapter Four
The room was enormous, the echoes of Iris' feet reverberating all around her. The floors shimmered beneath her, and long rows of pillars spread out on each side of the room. Her eyes shifted upward, finding it necessary to tilt her head back in order even to catch a glimpse at the high ceilings. The room was dimly lit, torches holding fire crackling every ten feet or so. Though the Griffin sanctuary had electricity, running water, and all the things that they had up above, the inside of the Castle where the Alpha lived was more like something from the time of knights and fair maidens.
Between each of the pillars, painted on the smooth white walls, were depictions of the Great Wars, different historical Shifters, and other important beings to the clan. As Iris approached the fourth painting, she paused, finding a beautiful picture of her mother, a smile almost perfectly painted, and the colors more vibrant than any of the others. All around her were tall green fields with beautiful blooming flowers, a bright blue sky, and a whimsical air of magic flowing around her. Iris felt as if she could almost reach out and touch the soft fabric of her dress.
From behind, a shadow fell over Iris, and she quickly turned, unsure of what she would find. Her fists quickly unfurled as she stared up at Calvary Armstrong, looming over her. Iris' initial reaction was to kneel, something that the Griffins were taught from the moment they were old enough to learn. Alpha Armstrong was greatly revered, and not just among the Griffins, but throughout the Shifter community. He had won multiple battles, aided in the defeat of the Dark Shifters generations before, and had been known for bringing peace and comfort across a multitude of different Clans.
Iris stared down at the floor, one knee on the ground, the other bent with her arm resting on it. She felt the hand of the Alpha on her shoulder and glanced up, finding a kind smile on his face as he motioned for her to stand. “If anyone is kneeling today, I should kneel to you, a High Alpha.”
Iris tried not to laugh at the ridiculousness of that statement. Nonetheless, she took his hand and rose to her feet. "Unless it's required in public, I would never request the Alpha of my t
ribe to kneel before me. You're a man of great honor and have been protecting the Shifters long before I was even a thought, where my mother was even a thought. Without your victories, I'm sure that I wouldn't be here today. So, when I see you, I will always pay my respects."
Calvary smiled at Iris and looked up at the picture of her mother. "I remember when that picture was painted. We had to take a picture to do it because your mother wasn't one for standing still for very long. She was very pleased with that, though, and I couldn't believe how close the painter had gotten to her likeness. Walking through this enormously empty room, when I pass your mother's painting, I feel as if she's almost there with me."
Iris grinned, looking at her mother's face. "But she is with you. Beyond the veil, to the Fields of Moribund, she watches us and protects us. And I can expect that if she loved this painting, she comes and visits it often."
Calvary crossed his arms over his broad chest and nodded. "I like that. Your mother was very well respected among the Griffins. We'd always had a good relationship with her. I learned from your mother that sometimes looking beyond your clan and doing what is right for all Shifters of all races, can bring an abundance to your people. And not only that, but it can bring love to your heart."
Iris took Calvary's lead, walking beside him as they strolled further into the room. "My mother always told me stories about your battles. She was so lively with them as well."
Calvary laughed. "Your mother's brightness shines still today, and I see it in your eyes. While people may call me biased because you are Griffin, I've always thought you would be a wise choice for one of the High Alphas. Growing up, though you didn't meet me, I watched you. Your brightness you got from your mother, and I saw the strength and vitality in you even as a young girl. I knew that one day you would begin a quest to reunite the Shifter Clans, and I would like to join with you."
Her Sky Mates Page 2