The Arrival

by Nicole MacDonald

  I gave him a shove. 'Conceited much! You wait. IF there is a next time I won’t even spare you a glance.'

  ALEK LOOKED DOWN at the feisty redhead, her green eyes gleaming with mirth and laughed at her threat. 'I’ll have to try harder then.' He stood and helped her to her feet. The others still chuckled and the formal mood had gone completely. Daron and Rumal chatted to Sian and Kassandra, and Sabyn had appeared with a plate of food for Laura who beamed in delight.

  I ACCEPTED ANOTHER plate from Sabyn and sat down to eat. Afterward Daron and Alek carried our gear to the river so we could wash it. It seemed the chivalrous male was normal here. Nothing wrong with that, I winked at Loi when she arched an eyebrow at me.

  Chapter Nine

  I SCRUBBED THE gunk off the daggers with handfuls of river sand, relieved to see the blades shine again. Even my clothes survived a vigorous wash while I made sure no trace of gragnoll remained. After rinsing everything a last time, we walked back to the campsite and spread our clothes over low bushes in the sunlight. The men waited for us and when we’d finished we all sat on the logs in the dining area.

  ALEK CLEARED HIS throat then began, 'Have any of you seen griffons before?'

  The women paused, glancing at each other for a moment then Laura said, 'No, never.'

  Alek nodded. 'I thought so.' He indicated the men and griffons. 'As griffon riders we’re linked with our griffons from a young age. Griffons use telepathy and when you link with a griffon you can speak with them via telepathy. It’s useful, because it’d be hard to communicate in the air otherwise. Griffons can roar when challenged but not much challenges a griffon, especially not five of them.'

  WOW, IT LOOKS like we'd fallen in with the right people—I wonder how? I shifted in my seat and exchanged impressed glances with the others.

  Telepathy, I guess that explains Gredel and Phroma this morning; I froze when I realized something else. If you use telepathy couldn’t you then exchange images? Such as when Alek viewed my beetroot face when I tore off from the riverside. I smothered the blush that tried to rise at the realization they’d probably seen me fleeing the river… Guess that explains the hilarity.

  Alek continued so I tuned back in.

  'The Griffon Guard is under the command of Elena, the Sorceress of Elion, our acting Regent since our King passed. The heir made a promise to the King before he died and until the promise is fulfilled won’t accept the throne. Elena commanded we find you when she foresaw your arrival.'

  KASSIE’S EYES WIDENED at that and she glanced at the others. They wore the same expression of surprise. A happy coincidence or another part of the spell? I hope so, she thought. Maybe that means the Sorceress knows where we came from. Maybe she can help us get back. A surge of hope went through her at the thought.

  'Elena has asked us to bring you all back to the castle so she may meet you. The journey will take us about a week.'

  'A WEEK?' I interrupted, 'We were told it’d take a month.'

  Alek smiled at me and a breath caught in my throat for an instant. Whoops, I thought, blinking rapidly, pay attention, he probably has a beautiful wife or girlfriend back at the castle anyway.

  'Griffons can travel quite far in a day.'

  'You traveled a week to find us?' Loi stared at Alek and he turned his attention to her. The pang of jealousy I felt when Alek’s eyes moved from my face to Loi’s astonished me and I swallowed, shaking the bizarre sensation off, and listened to Alek’s response.

  'NO, WE LEFT the castle at dusk on the evening we found you,' Alek could see the astonishment on their faces. 'Elena told us she had seen your arrival and that you either were, or soon would be, in grave danger and she needed us to protect you.'

  Sian spoke up, 'But that’s only a matter of hours? How did you do that?'

  Alek explained, 'It only takes moments for us to travel that far but it took a bit longer to pinpoint where you were.' He took a seat and the other men settled themselves comfortably, they knew the story well.

  I WATCHED WHEN he closed his eyes for a moment, a slight frown on his forehead. A lock of his dark hair fell over one eyebrow and my fingers tingled with the urge to brush it away. I decided to sit on my hands for the moment, it seemed the safest course. Kassie caught the slight movement and smirked. I gave her my best innocent look. Alek cleared his throat and we turned our attention back to him.

  'Were you aware there are dragons in this realm?' Alek stared questioningly at us. Sian nodded enthusiastically making everyone smile. He continued, 'Dragons have the ability to leap through space and time, allowing them to think of a place, then, appear there.'

  We sat up, intrigued. What a fantastic ability, I thought, so griffons can do it too?

  ALEK SMILED AT the sudden change of mood. The women went from polite interest to complete fascination. He continued to explain while he watched Catherine’s green eyes.

  'Griffons don’t normally leap, but when the Griffon Guard was formed the late King and Elena decided to see if they could be taught. The five of us came into our abilities within several years of each other and, with the exception of Rumal, have been with our griffons since then. You must understand Loushka isn’t a pet like your Audrey is.' He spread his hands in a calming gesture when Catherine’s eyes narrowed. 'I mean no offense, Catherine, but Loushka is a citizen in her own right. All the griffons of the guard are. The care of griffons in our society is a vital duty. Griffons don’t reproduce often, very rarely in fact and only have one pup at a time. Anyway, Elena befriended a green dragon named Orion who spent quite a few years training us. Tragically Orion was murdered by Jenviet who didn’t want us to succeed. At first we thought she’d won.'

  Laura jumped in at his pause. 'Who’s Jenviet? Why didn’t she want you to succeed?'

  Alek smiled at Laura and held up one hand. 'Let me continue with this first.'

  She flushed. 'Sorry.'

  'Then Kerak joined us and finally it began to work. We practiced traveling distances and increasing them slightly each time. The only downside is that it’s incredibly tiring for the griffons and they can only leap once or twice a month, hence we’ll be traveling back to the castle at normal griffon speed.'

  I LOOKED OVER at the griffons, a bit concerned now. Loushka lounged on the ground, sunning herself. Kerak and Audrey played a game they’d invented which involved Audi trying to nip Kerak’s paws while he whipped them out of the way. It created a decent dust cloud but they both seemed to have a lot of fun. Gredel had Phroma’s enormous head cradled in his lap and gently scratched her above the eyes and around the top of her beak. She had a dopey look on her face, like Audi when I scratch behind her ear. Gredel looked in sharp contrast to the nervous wreck from before. I studied the man for a moment; he seemed so happy and content with Phroma, it made me smile. I hope his wife is lovely.

  LOI WAITED FOR Alek to answer her questions but he didn’t. She took the opportunity to get closer to Sabyn’s griffon. She’d covertly watched the man since their arrival. She didn’t usually go for blonds but he had such an aura of quiet confidence and self-sufficiency that she felt intrigued. It made quite a change from the boys she’d met on Earth.

  The dark, almost black griffon twisted its head to look at her, the gesture just like that of a hawk spotting prey. Loi stilled, feeling her eyes widen. 'Hi Tomiar,' she whispered, feeling self conscious. The griffon made the softest warble, a hint of melody and turned her body to face Loi, watching her with sun sated, half-lidded eyes. Shuffling, Loi inched closer, staring in fascination at the beautiful deep green that almost appeared to emanate from the griffon’s dark wing feathers. Keeping a respectful distance, she sat back, enjoying the sun too.

  SIAN WATCHED THE griffons relaxing in the sun and turned to Daron, seated on the ground near her. 'So we fly on the griffons with you?'

  He nodded. Now curious, she began to question him about it; where they sat on the griffons, how the saddles worked, and if they needed special clothes for flying.

  DARON SMILED DOWN a
t the enthusiastic woman and offered her his hand. 'Come, I’ll show you.'

  She gave him a brilliant smile and placed her small hand in his. Daron felt a jolt pass between them when his hand closed around hers. Sian appeared to feel it too and kept her grip firm while she stared into his eyes curiously.

  They walked over to Nesha who dozed under a tree. At their approach Nesha rose slowly and stretched his limbs in a distinctly cat like manner.

  ‘Yes, friend?’ Nesha studied the small female that his friend held. ‘Good choice, I like that one.’ Nesha gave a purr of satisfaction.

  Daron blushed and dropped Sian’s hand, feigning a sudden itch on his arm.

  ‘Cut it out,’ Daron growled at Nesha, ‘I brought her over to show how the saddle works.’

  Nesha gave him a smug look then showed the image of his face when Sian had smiled at him.

  Daron gulped. I’ll just ignore that, he thought and turned to Sian. 'The saddle has two loops for the hind legs and two straps for the front with a joining chest strap. This way Nesha can flap his wings without any interference.' Stepping back he pulled Sian with him then gestured to Nesha who slowly extended his huge dark tan wings. When he moved them up and down they caught the light, showcasing a beautiful blue color within.

  Sian watched the movement, her head to the side while she considered it. 'Wouldn’t the saddle hinder the muscles in his back when he uses his wings?'

  Daron had Nesha pull his wings back in and then led her forward to look. 'No, the saddle’s a narrow design and actually lifts off Nesha’s spine so the weight is carried just behind the wing muscles. This way, it’s very comfortable for him, even if another rides with me or we have lots of gear.'

  SIAN LISTENED WHILE Daron enthusiastically showed her Nesha’s saddle. He has such an open smile, she thought, it just makes me want to smile. She snapped out of her daydream and blinked, looking up into Daron’s expectant eyes. 'Sorry? What was that you said?'

  He smiled. 'Would you like to go for a little flight? As practice for tomorrow?'

  She stared at him for a second then nodded. 'Yes, yes! I’d love too!'

  DARON LAUGHED AT the blonde who almost danced in excitement. 'Well come on then.'

  ‘Nesha can you lean down so I can get her up easier?’

  Nesha obliged and bowed his upper body low and, with Daron’s help, Sian scrambled up.

  SIAN SAT UP in the saddle when Daron smoothly leaped up from Nesha’s bended knee. For such a muscular man he’s really agile, she thought, impressed. I’ll have to learn how to do that, I want to look like I know what I’m doing. Daron settled into the front seat easily and turned back to Sian.

  'You’ll want to hold onto me until you’re used to it. Once you’re confident enough you can use these hand holds.' He pointed at the sides of the saddle. 'At least at first if you’re holding me I’ll know you haven’t fallen off.'

  When he turned back to Nesha she scooted forward and slipped her arms around his waist, her face pressed against his back.

  'READY?' DARON CALLED back to Sian. He felt her nod against his back.

  ‘Okay, Nesha, let’s go.’

  Nesha growled in excitement, making Daron smile. No matter how aloof Nesha liked to hold himself, he was always like a pup when flying.

  SIAN HUNG TIGHT to Daron when Nesha crouched low his muscles bunched underneath them, then sprung up at least twenty feet into the air. Heart in her mouth, Sian managed to respond to Daron’s query. 'I’m f-fi-fine,' she stammered. 'I had no idea that was how they took off.'

  Daron gave her hands a gentle squeeze. 'You’ll look like an old pro at it tomorrow.'

  Yep, thought Sian, and Cat will freak. Leaning her head against Daron’s back Sian watched in awe at Nesha’s huge wings and the enormous power in his muscles. The smooth easy flight didn’t appear to require a lot of effort from Nesha. Wanting to see how high they were, she squirmed in her seat to try to find a good view. Being so short she couldn’t see over Nesha’s wings but she could if she leaned a little to the side of Daron and peered over his knee and through the gap by Nesha’s shoulder. She gasped and clung tight to Daron, then leaned a little further forward; we’re SO high.

  DARON FELT SIAN shift and leaned back to her. 'Did you want to sit in the front? That way you can see better and I’ll point out places if you like.' Absurdly pleased by her nod, he let Nesha know.

  Nesha sent him a mocking look, ‘Take it nice and slow, you don’t want to drop her.’

  SIAN SAT UP and let go of Daron’s back when he turned to her then unexpectedly gathered her up in his arms and moved to the back seat of the saddle, placing her in front. She blinked in surprise at the sudden change of view and felt a flush of pleasure when he wrapped his arms round her waist and leaned to her ear.

  'If you look to our left you’ll see the end of the Orlan forest, you were at the beginning when we found you. Over to the right is part of the main river in Elion, the Wegrive.'

  His pleasantly deep voice and the lips that gently brushed past her ear now and then allowed Sian’s thoughts to drift to a rather agreeable place before her rational voice butted in, reminding her to pay attention. She made an effort to focus on what he pointed out and felt delighted when he indicated to Lothost. Sian twisted in her seat a little so she sat sideways to Daron. 'That was where we went when we arrived. Can we fly a little lower?'

  DARON STARED INTO Sian’s sky blue eyes for a moment before he registered her question.

  'Yes.' He smiled at her, eyes fastening for an instant on the soft lips temptingly close to his. 'Of course.'

  ON THE GROUND the women watched Nesha’s take-off in awe. Kassandra and Laura both questioned the men closely about the griffons and flying. Alek smiled at their obvious enthusiasm. Then he noticed Catherine who sat and listened, but with a pale face and her lips pressed flat together.

  KASSIE GLANCED UP and noticed Alek’s confused look at Cat’s expression. They watched when she stood and called for Audrey then walked off toward the river.

  'Is something wrong?' Alek asked.

  'Not exactly,' Kassie hesitated a moment, knowing Cat wouldn’t really like her weakness exposed. 'You see, Cat’s… well… Catherine’s really scared of heights. Actually, terrified is probably a better description.'

  Alek looked astonished then concerned. 'Do you think she’ll manage?'

  'Oh yes,' Kassie assured him earnestly while mentally crossing her fingers. 'But she’ll need to psych herself up for it. Which is probably why she wandered off.'

  Alek glanced at her. 'Are you or Laura scared of heights?' He smiled wryly. 'I can see Sian isn’t.'

  Loi, who listened to the conversation, gave a little laugh. 'No, Kassie and I can handle heights fine. Actually, its insects that tend to creep us out more, Cat deals with those for us.' Then Sabyn caught her attention again and she turned away.

  ALEK DIDN’T LIKE the thought of Catherine being uneasy with flying, especially with a week of it ahead of them. If it turned out they were who Elena hoped them to be, then they’d often ride with the Guard. I really hope Kassandra’s right, Alek thought somberly.

  I SAT BESIDE the river and stripped my boots off, dipping my feet in the wonderfully cool water. I could see why Alek went for a swim; the sun shone directly over the deep and meandering river, making it a very pleasant place to relax. Audi climbed onto the bank beside me, dripping wet after enthusiastically chugging around in circles in the water. I gently stroked her head and focused on calming myself. I know I will be safe. I’m very sure I will be safe. Pretty sure…

  I lay back on the grassy bank and sighed, of all the stupid fears, mine had to be heights. Hearing the crunch of footsteps I sat up and shaded my eyes. Alek smiled down on me and I flushed, his gorgeous smile causing my breath to catch. Maybe it won’t be so hard to handle the heights, I thought, subtly studying his muscular form. There certainly were worse ways to travel.

  ALEK TOOK A seat beside Audrey who’d obviously been swimming. She sat up and wa
gged her tail at him. 'Why don’t you go see what Loushka’s up to?' The dog perked up at the griffon’s name and disappeared off down the track.

  'You know, she’s very bright,' he commented to Catherine.

  She glanced fondly after the dog. 'She is. Sometimes too clever though and she does naughty things when she knows I can’t see her.'

  He laughed. 'As they do. What’s she done before?'

  Catherine frowned while she thought about it and Alek watched her with a smile; she has such an expressive face, I’ll bet she’s an awful liar.

  'I know. One time after we’d had a roast chicken I’d removed the meat we didn’t eat from the bones and placed it in a bowl to cool. I’d made sure it was far back on the counter, so out of the way, but when I came to look for it later it was gone. Just a clean, empty bowl on the bench. I checked with the others, in case they’d put it somewhere, but no, they hadn’t touched it. Then as I came down the corridor, Audi passed me and just as she did she cringed ever so slightly.' Catherine smiled triumphantly at him. 'And I knew it! She got a smack on the backside and had to spend the rest of the night outside. She was not a happy girl.'

  He laughed at the thought of it, he could just imagine Audrey being that sneaky. 'She cleaned the bowl completely? And no noise? Such a pity for Audrey that she’s so honest.'

  Catherine agreed, 'Yes. She’d committed the perfect crime. If only it weren’t for her conscience.'

  He laughed again then proceeded to tell her about a dog he’d had when he was young. 'His name was Zane, father and I chose him from a litter when I was five. My father decided it would be a good way to teach me compassion and responsibility.' He smiled at the memory of the stocky, determined puppy he’d selected.