'Were you a right little terror?' Catherine teased.
'I had my moments.'
'So, did it work?'
He chuckled. 'Do I seem so irresponsible? Yes and no. Zane and I were inseparable. If there was ever any mischief going on it meant we were both involved.' He continued to talk about Zane and successfully distracted Catherine.
BACK AT THE campsite Rumal and Kassie sat deep in a conversation about which creatures that she knew of that existed in this realm. Kassie felt vaguely comforted to discover lions, tigers and bears—oh my!—existed here. Cats, dogs and chickens did too. Ridiculous as it might seem, but right at the moment Kassie needed those familiar things, little as they were. The sky still showed blue and the people seemed normal-ish. The enormous griffons lazing around them enjoying the sun, thrilled one part of her mind and terrified the other. What else could be here? What if we can’t get home? What’s happening at home?
'Pigs?' Rumal suggested breaking her panic for an instant. Kassie blinked then nodded with a half smile, relief and fear making her more anxious. Making an effort to relax, she let a breath out.
'Yes. We have them too.'
RUMAL SMILED AT Kassandra, amused at how relieved the girl looked to recognize some of the species he’d rattled off. Is where they come from so very different, he thought, Kassandra doesn’t look any different to a normal woman. The mass of crazy curly locks she had reminded Rumal of an older woman he’d met at court years ago, with similar hair. Surely if she and the others seemed so normal to them, there must be a lot in common with their realms.
KASSIE COULDN’T HELP staring at Rumal, distracted by the dark skinned man and his incredible liquid gold eyes. Every motion he made looked graceful, almost feline and the slanted gold eyes only added to the illusion. His black hair was shaved so short it looked almost nonexistent.
'Rumal, where are you from?' Kassie asked, curious. 'You don’t sound like Alek or Sabyn and you certainly don’t look like them.'
He smiled down at her. 'I’m from an island called Delanta in the Delos Sea. East of Elion.'
'Where are the others from?'
'Alek and Sabyn are from Plusian and are distant cousins. Daron is from Gartolle and Gredel is from Vo’Arum. When Elena felt our griffons call us she summoned us to the castle along with the griffons so we could begin training.'
The shock at the idea of this place being so large that it had islands and countries almost took Kassie’s breath away. Anxiety made her stomach cramp and she sat straighter to try and ease it. She still wanted to pretend this wasn’t really real, but the truth of them being on an entirely different planet kept eating into her mind.
RUMAL WATCHED WHILE various emotions flickered across her face and felt a surge of protectiveness at the woman’s predicament. Elena hadn’t had much time to explain but had said that the women they were being sent to collect weren’t from this time or place. She’d told them to think of them like newborns in the sense that they would have little idea about what was dangerous here and what wasn’t. He reached out and gently placed his hand on her arm. She jolted in surprise and looked up. 'Are you alright little one?' he asked very quietly. 'I understand this must be all so strange to you.'
THE GENTLE CONCERN in his voice bypassed any annoyance Kassie would have usually felt at being called “little one” and hit the spot of fear and confusion she’d fought to stamp out. She burst into tears.
GREDEL GLARED AT Rumal from the other side of the clearing, a what-have-you-done? look and Kerak looked up to see what had happened.
‘Rumal, what’s wrong? Is she hurt?’ the young griffon demanded in concern.
Rumal gathered the sobbing girl into his arms and replied, ‘She’s okay I think. Just missing home and I suspect yesterday was the first time she’s really fought for her life.’
Kerak came over to where Rumal sat, rocking back and forward, gently stroking Kassandra’s hair.
KASSIE FELT MORTIFIED to cry all over a man she barely knew, but the need to sob out the stress from the past few days overrode her desire to stop. The strong arms around her, cradling her, offered a sense of security she didn’t realize she’d needed. No wonder Lucky likes pats so much, she thought when Rumal stroked her hair, it’s so comforting. She blushed when that thought registered and sat upright, wiping the tears from her face.
LOI AND SABYN observed quietly from a distance. It’d been hard for Loi not to run to her friend but Sabyn had caught her arm when she’d made to move toward them. 'Don’t. She probably needs a good cry. Rumal will understand that.'
She watched her friend a moment longer then turned to Sabyn. 'You’re right. It's just hard sometimes, we’re all so close.'
SABYN NODDED BEFORE smiling at her, hoping to distract her from the couple, to give Kassandra the space she needed. 'Would you like to learn a game we play at home?'
She looked astonished. 'Err?'
He explained, 'I thought it would give us something to do without feeling the need to interrogate one another, it needs three people so Gredel can join in.'
IT SOUNDED A good idea and Loi had no desire to burst into tears like Kassie, which she knew she probably would if she thought about all the events of the past few days. 'That sounds fun. Why don’t we play it on the other side of the tent, so they have a little privacy?'
GREDEL HEADED OVER to where Sabyn and Laura stood. At least she wasn’t crying, weeping women always made him fall to pieces, he reflected sourly.
Phroma chuckled, a strange husky cough when she picked up on Gredel’s thoughts.
‘Citaan seems to have noticed that’ she thought to Gredel, who gave her a dark look. The griffon chuckled again. She adored Gredel’s wife; a tall woman about Laura's size and build, but with mid-length, wavy, turquoise hair and striking light gold eyes, showcasing her water sprite lineage. Traits she’d received from her grandmother—a full blooded sprite. Thanks to that heritage Citaan had the gift of water and it made her one of the rare people who could tune into Phroma and communicate with her. It had taken a couple of years before it became second nature to her though, so they had a legitimate excuse to gossip—for practice!
SABYN HUNTED OUT the pack of cards for the game while Gredel, Loi and Phroma looked for a variety of small objects; pebbles and snail shells. Having found a good handful of small pieces for the game, Loi went over to Sabyn, who worked at setting the cards out.
'Sabyn, look,' Loi held out her hand. 'I found these funny colored stones. Do you know what they are?'
SABYN GLANCED INTO her hand while she prodded the green and pink spotted “stones”. He studied them without saying a word, then stood and walked to the tent. Laura looked after him in confusion, as did Tomiar who thought to him.
‘What is it? What’s wrong?’
Tomiar could feel Sabyn’s amusement which confused her further, until Sabyn sent her an image of what Laura had in her hand. ‘Oh I see. Oops guess we didn’t think to mention that.’
TOMIAR SEEMED TO regard her in amusement which made Loi feel a tad uncomfortable. Then Sabyn came back out the tent, carrying something. He gave her a broad smile.
'Why don’t you place your findings over here,' he indicated and he dug a hole in the ground with the heel of his boot. 'Then I’ll walk with you to the river so you can wash your hands,' he waved the soap he’d fetched at her.
She gave him a long look, then gingerly dropped her findings in the hole and resisted the urge to wipe her hand on her pants. 'Okay what are they?' She demanded when he covered the hole over.
'Ifanip droppings, rather noxious. Next time you spot funny colored stones, I suggest you leave them where they are and ask one of us to identify them for you first.'
Her look of disgust made those watching laugh. Sabyn bowed to her and said. 'I would offer you my arm but…'
Rolling her eyes at his bad joke, she grabbed the offered soap. 'C’mon then, walk me to the river. You can mock me on the way.'
THE OTHERS WATCHED Laura stomp off toward t
he river while Sabyn teasingly left a safe distance between them as he followed her.
‘Humans can be such odd creatures,’ Tomiar thought to Loushka who agreed, then let out a sigh.
‘I’m so looking forward to flying tomorrow, I know it’s only been a day without but it feels like forever.’
Kerak and Phroma agreed.
Tomiar chuckled and flicked an image out of Catherine’s astonished face from the river incident. ‘I bet it’ll be an interesting flight for you, Loushka. Alek hasn’t appeared so interested in a female for a long time.’
Loushka agreed. ‘And I can’t wait to see the look on Rayna’s face.’
They turned and observed all the humans coming back from the river, now in good spirits.
GREDEL RESHUFFLED THE cards and divided them into four piles. He looked forward to the flight tomorrow as much as Phroma and the other griffons and, of course, it meant they’d be closer to Citaan. He wished again that they’d had enough time to fetch her, but she’d been at work in the Scrodian Mountains on a task Elena had set her. He let out a soft sigh at the thought of his golden eyed, mischievous wife. She would have loved to have been here to meet the women. She’ll demand all the details when I get back, he chuckled to himself. I’ll bet she even interrogates Phroma.
WE WANDERED OVER to where Gredel had set out the cards. In his husky, surprisingly quiet voice Gredel said, 'I thought you’d want to pair up, so the girls can learn how to play.'
The griffons dozed in the afternoon light and Audrey decided to help Gredel, though I don’t think she improved his game at all, but she did take great delight in somberly chewing any winnings he made; leaving the remains in a nice soggy pile for him.
IN THE HEIGHTS of the sky far above, the air began to chill and Daron wrapped his arms about Sian, tucking his thighs around hers. They’d had a fantastic afternoon. Nesha's skills had astonished her and the breathtaking scenery—like nothing on Earth and yet so familiar. Daron had fallen silent for the past hour while they enjoyed the ride. At least with her back to him he couldn’t see her blush when he’d tucked her in. It was getting cold and she appreciated the warmth he radiated. Like a heater, she thought in amusement.
BREAKING THE SILENCE Daron said, 'I think it’s time we headed back, it’ll be dark soon.'
Sian glanced back up at him. 'Okay.'
A strand of hair fluttered around her eyes and Daron tucked it behind her ear, pleased when she blushed.
‘Nesha, let’s go home,’ Daron thought to his friend.
‘Good I’m starving and the conversation sucks, although some of your thoughts are certainly interesting,’ Nesha chuckled.
‘What? You weren’t supposed to be listening in on that!’ Daron protested angrily, embarrassed.
‘What else was I supposed to do? It's not like I could do the tricks I like to practice, what with you two lovebirds wrapped around each other. You’d fall off,’ Nesha snapped.
‘Sorry,’ Daron sheepishly thought. ‘I didn’t know it would be like this.’
NESHA SWOOPED LOWER until he spotted the campsite then with careful strokes of his wings, lined himself up and dropped, all four paws hitting the ground at the same time. He lowered his upper body and Daron slid down, then turned to catch Sian. When Nesha went to walk to where the other griffons lounged, he heard Sian’s voice.
'Nesha, wait a moment.'
NESHA’S HUGE EAGLE head swiveled to stare at her and she felt that instant of astonishment at being faced by a real-life griffon. She shrugged the thought off then stepped forward and beckoned Nesha to lower his head. He did so and she placed a hand on his mane then cuddled into him. 'Thank you so much for that amazing flight. I can’t wait for you and Daron to show me all your favorite tricks.'
Nesha watched her curiously then headed to where the others lay in the sun, settling down next to Tomiar and sent a thought to Daron. ‘She’s not bad friend. Not bad at all.’
DARON AND SIAN appeared comfortable in each other’s company. I exchanged a look with Loi and Kassie. The trouble with sharing a tent meant we couldn’t grill her for information without the men hearing.
Alek touched my leg, bringing me back to the game and I frowned over the cards. We played late into the evening and when the symbols on the cards began to blur, I decided to call it a night. 'I’m done.' Audrey staggered up from snoozing beside Gredel and made her way over to me on wobbly legs. I bent down to give her a hug and giggled at her little kisses. Kassie, Loi and Sian stood too, and the men escorted us to the tent.
I pushed through the dividing curtain into our section and sat on my cot to undo my boots. I heard a loud meow from Lucky when Kassie greeted her. The cat had slept all day, not surprising I guess, she’d probably had enough excitement in the last few days to last a life-time—I know I had.
SIAN ENTERED THE tent last and gave Daron a shy smile when she went to pass him. Reaching out, Daron grabbed her hand, making her look up in surprise. Feeling his stomach twist into knots, he decided against trying to speak and lifted her hand, pressing a kiss to it. Her eyes glowed and she flushed a pretty pink. She gave his hand a quick squeeze before ducking through the curtain.
Chapter Ten
THE NEXT MORNING Gredel woke us before dawn. The burly man had gotten over his nerves around us and we’d discovered he had a pretty good sense of humor. We simply weren’t in the mood to appreciate it first thing in the morning—sure, we may have had eight hours sleep, but a dozen more would have been nice.
Waking to the sudden clashing of two tin plates wasn’t the best start to the day. Gredel retreated from the room at a decent pace when all our heads jerked up at the racket. Loi growled some not-so-polite words after him and a pillow flew from Sian’s direction but fell short, bouncing off the edge of my cot. I dropped my head back with a groan and grinned when I heard Kassie do the same. It took another five minutes of grumbles and groans before we reluctantly climbed out of bed and shuffled around our small tent space, getting dressed and packing up.
Keeping busy almost allowed me to ignore the annoying voice in my head that mumbled about flying and heights (and lack of safety belts, parachutes, and oxygen masks). My pack ready, I glanced at the others. 'I’m just gonna pop to the river to wash my face and,' I shrugged and tried to work up a smile. 'De-stress for a moment.'
Kassie and Sian nodded while Loi gave me the evil eye. 'Just make sure you don’t try heading off down it. You know we’ll catch you!'
I sketched a salute to her. 'Yes ma’am.' Calling Audi, I ducked out of the tent.
LOI WATCHED CAT disappear with a little trepidation. The last time they’d been on a flight with her she’d clutched the arms of the chair for dear life with an enormous insane grin, for the entire flight. Needless to say, everyone had stared and even the flight attendants appeared hesitant to approach her.
It hadn’t concerned Kassie and Sian; according to them she’d been much better this time. When she’d last traveled with them the grin had been accompanied by a constant nervous giggle.
SIAN CAUGHT SIGHT of Loi’s frown.
'Don’t worry, Loi. Cat appears to get better with each flight and this is quite different to what she’ll be expecting. She might even enjoy it.' Sian mentally crossed her fingers.
'C’mon,' Kassie said. 'Let’s take our stuff out and get breakfast.'
The three of them, with Lucky draped around Kassie’s neck like usual, walked out the tent to where the men waited. Or rather, where four of the men stood. Sian’s eyes narrowed for a moment when she registered that Alek wasn’t there. 'Where’s Alek? He isn’t swimming again is he?'
Sabyn and Gredel laughed which caused Daron to look up from the packs on Phroma’s back. She flushed when he gave her a sexy smile, turning her attention to Rumal whose freaky gold eyes looked amused while he observed.
'No, I believe he saw Catherine head for the river and thought to spend a few moments with her to alleviate her concerns.' Rumal gave Sian a polite smile then moved his eyes to Kassie
’s face, his expression softening. 'At least that was his intention.'
ALEK STRODE DOWN the path and thought over the assurances he could offer Catherine. Loushka listened in while he mentally rambled away.
‘Why don’t you just see how she’s feeling first and take it from there?’
Alek considered her suggestion. ‘Probably a good idea. Thanks.’
He stopped when he reached the river and spotted Catherine. She lay on her stomach on the bank that leaned out over the river and had one hand dangling down to the water. Her fingertips traced the surface and the ends of her long red hair trailed in it.
Audrey, in the midst of paddling, let out a 'wooofwoff' in greeting when she caught sight of Alek which caused Catherine to look up.
AUDI’S HELLO SNAPPED me out of my daydream and I looked up to see Alek watching me. My stomach did a flip flop as I stared for a moment. He wore his armor again and damn, he looked good.
ALEK SAW CATHERINE’S eyes widen a bit at his outfit. He stepped closer to her and, after an instant of hesitation, lowered himself beside her. 'Good morning, are you ready for your flight?'
THE WORDS I wanted to say froze on my tongue so I lied.
'Good morning yourself. Yes, I’m looking forward to it.' I could feel his disbelief so changed the subject. 'What’s with the armor? Are we expecting trouble?' At least now I could check him out without seeming rude.
He smiled and leaned back on his hands, arms stretched out behind him. 'No. We always fly in our armor, just in case,' his sapphire eyes watched me. 'It’s best to be prepared.'
The Arrival Page 12