The Arrival

by Nicole MacDonald

  ‘Do you think I’ll be able to talk to Alek like this?’

  Loushka hesitated. ‘I wouldn’t think so, but you may be able to talk to one another through me.’

  That’s an interesting idea, I thought, then felt someone’s eyes on me and glanced up. Alek stood across the campsite from us, watching. I felt a rush of pleasure while I stared. Such a handsome man; tall and broad shouldered with rippling muscles everywhere, as I well knew. A shock of thick, ebony hair, long enough to brush his brows and deep blue eyes that complimented his tan. I continued to watch—okay ogle—him while he strode our way. His armor was unusual, with high armored boots that stopped at mid-thigh like mine and then another section encased the hips and protected the stomach but was jointed so he could ride comfortably. A breastplate, which I hoped I didn't still wear the imprint of, shoulder guards and a full cape which clipped to each shoulder and swung out when he walked.

  CAT APPEARED TO study him as he walked over and Alek took the opportunity to do the same. She sat on a large rock her feet out in front, ankles crossed and knees wide, the way a man might sit. It seemed to draw attention to her figure in an almost indecent way. His armor felt too tight all of a sudden and he hastily drew his eyes up to her face. 'Enjoying the conversation?' he asked.

  Cat sat straighter, her eyes meeting his and flashed him a delighted smile. 'I am. Loushka has such a beautiful voice.'

  Loushka made a soft noise, a cross between a trill and a purr and gently bunted Cat.

  SIAN FELT A little out of sorts. Loi had beaten her to standing during flight, and now Cat could talk to Loushka. It hardly seemed fair, she thought, letting out a quiet sigh.

  NESHA HEARD AND crept closer to Sian, brushing his beak against her. She seemed happy at the attention, stroking and combing his mane with her fingers.

  ‘You should teach her free-falling tomorrow.’

  Daron, in the midst of unpacking, looked up in surprise. ‘What?’

  ‘Sian. You should teach her free-falling. She needs something special to do that none of the others have done yet.’ Nesha explained, ‘Why not whisper the idea to her now, she can surprise the others tomorrow.’

  Daron glanced over at Sian and noticed she looked a little down. Making her smile would make him feel pretty good. He stood and went to sit next to the petite blonde.

  BEAUTIFUL WEATHER GREETED us the next morning and we stumbled around, packing up. I looked forward to getting to the castle and not needing to pack and un-pack each day.

  Kassie appeared to have had the same thought. 'I will be so glad to sleep on a normal bed again,' she exclaimed.

  Loi, in the midst of fighting to get her cot bed folded down, asked, 'When are we meant to reach the castle?'

  'Tomorrow?' suggested Kassie.

  'No, tonight,' Sian corrected her. 'Daron told me yesterday.'

  Sian looked much happier than she had yesterday and I felt relieved. The expression that flickered across her face when I’d told her I could hear Loushka had almost made me feel guilty; full of frustration and envy. I’m sure they’ll all be able to do it soon, after all I didn’t do anything special.

  I smiled at her. 'Looking forward to the last day of solid flying?'

  She nodded with enthusiasm, more than I expected and it made the three of us laugh. 'I am. And it’s only the last day for the moment.' She ducked out the tent with the rest of us close behind.

  DARON WORE A huge smile when Sian came toward him, delighted to see how happy she looked. She bounced the last step to him and flung her arms around his neck. He laughed and spun around, holding her tight, making her giggle. Everyone turned to watch.

  KASSIE FELT A glow of joy for Sian, a public display of affection so early on had to be a good thing. She turned and just avoided bumping into Rumal who stood right behind her. She felt the flutter of butterflies when he smiled, his teeth startling against his skin. 'Are you looking forward to arriving at the castle? It means no more cot beds.'

  She laughed. 'I won’t be sorry to sleep in a normal bed. Are there many people at the castle?'

  RUMAL SAW THE concern in Kassie’s eyes and reached out to catch one of the constantly errant curls around her face. 'You’ll be fine,' he assured her. ‘I’ll be there and so will your friends, of course.' Lucky meowed around Rumal’s ankles and he chuckled. 'See, even little Lucky will be there for you.' He helped Kassie onto Kerak’s back and the group set off.

  'IS LIFE AT the castle very formal?' Loi leaned back to speak into Sabyn’s ear.

  He wrapped his arms around her waist. 'Compared to camping out like this, yes, it is more formal. There are a lot of organized events and most meals are eaten in the Great Hall. But you and the others are different from everyone else. We don’t yet know entirely what Elena wants. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.'

  She felt a pang of nerves and concern at his words. What did he mean "you and the others are so different"? And what could Elena want? Loi had a horrible feeling she shouldn’t be so quick to fall into Sabyn’s arms. The thought made her back stiffen.

  SABYN FELT LAURA freeze up and leaned to her ear. 'Are you cold?'

  'What do you know about us?'

  He froze at the question. 'Err…'

  The pause as he scrambled for the right words felt noticeable and awkward, he knew his answer might affect their developing relationship. 'We’ve been told by Elena that you’re all very special and need to be protected. And I don’t really know anything else,' he finished lamely.

  LOI FELT BOTH flattered and frustrated by his words. It really answered nothing. She still suspected Sabyn hadn’t told her all he knew. Sure, if she was in his position she might do the same thing but it didn’t mean she had to like it.

  ALEK COULDN’T BELIEVE the image he saw; it looked incredible! ‘And this is real?’ he demanded to Loushka.

  ‘Cat says so, in fact, she says she’s flown in one.’

  ‘But…but look at it. It’s a mass of metal. How does that stay in the air?’

  ‘Apparently the two fires you see at the back of the triangular shaped wings are called engines. And they keep it in the air.’

  Alek laughed aloud at the thought and leaned to Cat’s ear. 'Show me another,' he begged. 'What other flying machines do you have?'

  I LOVED TO show him the pictures and sent an image of a helicopter to Loushka. That took a good twenty minutes to explain and I had to remind Alek that I wasn’t an expert on them. The three way conversation we had felt somewhat bizarre, but being able to show Loushka an actual image was fantastic and so much better than a verbal description.

  'Show me your family,' Alek spoke into my ear, his arms tightening around me. The request surprised me, but I complied and sent images of a recent visit I’d had with my parents.

  ALEK STUDIED THE images Loushka showed him. In a light colored room, a petite woman with short, nearly spiky, dark hair smiled at him and reached a hand out as though to touch his cheek. Another image showed a laughing man with an open, friendly face, blue eyes and short white hair. Next, an image of a small black and white dog wagging its stump of a tail and turning circles in excitement, while the dark haired woman shook her finger at him. Alek smiled. The sense of joy it gave him to see Cat’s family and how much love surrounded her, surprised him.

  THE IMAGE MADE my heart ache and a sudden wave of homesickness washed over me. I hunched in the saddle, biting the insides of my cheeks to try and stop myself from crying.

  I can’t stand the thought of not seeing them again. Please, please let Elena be able to help us out.

  ALEK FELT CAT hunch and leaned sideways to look at her face. She’d flushed red and blinked rapidly, her cheeks sucked in and lips pressed flat. He removed an arm from her waist and gently stroked the hair from her face. 'Cat, what’s wrong?'

  THE WORDS WERE spoken so gently that I couldn’t help it. The tears ran down either cheek. 'I miss them.' Alek leaned over me and drew my legs to one side of the saddle, then tucked me into his arms. It reminde
d me of my dad doing the same thing when I was little after I’d had a nightmare. I burst into tears, the stress from the past crazy week ebbed out of me.

  ALEK HUMMED THE lullaby he’d heard Gredel sing to his niece when she was little, while stroking Cat’s hair. Her tears slowed and then stopped. He felt her reach up to wipe her face and looked down at her. 'Okay?'

  She gave him a tiny smile and nodded. 'Thanks.'

  Her teary, reddened face touched his heart and he didn’t stop to think. Tipping her chin up, he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. A tingling sensation rushed through him and he pulled away while staring into Cat’s eyes, moving his hand from her chin to cup her cheek. He had the oddest compulsion to say words he’d never said to another and bit them back. Instead, he pressed his forehead to Cat’s as he felt another surge of warmth rush through.

  THE AIR BETWEEN us felt electric and I had to focus on breathing while I stared into his eyes. Whoa and I thought the last kiss was good.

  Loushka’s voice interrupted the intense sensations. ‘Okay, I won’t drop you both, though I’m sorely tempted. But, for the last time, would you PLEASE KEEP THOSE THOUGHTS TO YOURSELVES.’

  I blushed and Alek sat up straight, laughing.

  'Sorry, Loushka,' we chorused.

  I repositioned myself to how I’d sat before and attempted to put my thoughts somewhere more appropriate while Alek placed his hands chastely on either side of my seat.

  'YOU NEED TO shimmy down Nesha’s back, then crouch. When you have your balance, leap off with your arms out straight from either side keeping your legs together. Nesha will count to five then go into a dive and swoop under you. You should be able to guide yourself back into the saddle,' Daron explained.

  Sian nodded, more than a little daunted by the mental image she had of the dive.

  'HAVE YOU EVER done anything like this before?' Daron asked.

  'Kind of.' Sian answered, 'On Earth we have something called sky diving were you jump out of a plane with a parachute.'

  ‘Get her to explain.’ Nesha urged, ‘What’s a plane? And a parachute?’

  THAT TOOK AT least twenty minutes of detailed explanation, though Sian got the distinct impression it all seemed like fantasy to Nesha and Daron. She grumped to herself; it would be so much easier if I could just show you. Another twinge of envy ran through her. Lucky Cat, she thought, I really hope I can hear Nesha soon.

  WHAT SIAN HAD explained impressed Daron, but the concepts had him confused. Nesha chatted to Loushka, and Cat gave her images of both things.

  Daron gasped at the image that filled his mind, a tiny machine flying in the air. It had such an odd appearance with its pointed nose and wings that stuck straight out from either side. As he watched the images, an opening appeared at the side and a strange creature crouched in the space. It was brightly colored with bulging eyes and a shiny head.

  The creature grinned and then threw itself out of the metal thing. He watched it free-fall for a decent distance, turning and flipping, then it appeared to yank on something. A mass of fabric exploded from the creature’s back and assumed a tent-like shape which filled with air and yanked it up a little. Slow and graceful, the tent glided to the ground; the creature played with the ropes that held it to the tent. When it landed people rushed to it and it surprised him when he recognized Kassie and Loi. The creature pulled at its head and appeared to remove it. He laughed when he saw Sian shake out her long golden hair—it had been a hat. Sian was the brightly colored creature that had tumbled through the sky.

  SIAN TURNED WHEN she heard Daron laugh. 'What?'

  'Loushka sent Nesha an image from Cat. It was you in bright colors jumping out of a machine and free-falling,' Daron looked impressed.

  Sian blushed with pride. 'That was my first solo jump.'

  'I guess this won’t be too much of a shock then.'

  'The falling, no. The landing—well, that’s gonna be new to me.'

  'Not to worry, Nesha and I have done this often,' Daron gave her a hug. 'We’ll keep you safe.'

  I OBSERVED THE landscape. It looked a little different from the past couple of days, a little wilder, if that were possible, with denser bush and some high, rugged hills.

  Looking ahead I saw impressive mountains and leaned back to Alek. 'What’s that mountain range called?'

  'The Anguem, it borders the castle on its western and northern sides.'

  So beyond that sat the castle; a shudder ran through me and I had a sudden urge to ask Alek to turn around. Not that he would, but the idea of being surrounded (again) by many new people and finding out what Elena wanted of us, daunted me.

  'Are you cold?' Alek’s voice made me jump and he chuckled at my reaction.

  'No. Just nervous,' I confessed, a little embarrassed.

  He rubbed my arms briskly and spoke in my ear. 'Don’t think about it,' he suggested. 'Let me distract you.'

  Now that brought some interesting thoughts to mind. I banished them before Loushka could scold me.

  Alek pointed out some birds flying below us, asking Loushka to swoop down so we could have a closer look. 'Those birds are dahneks. They essentially live just in the canopy of the forest and you only occasionally see them on the forest floor.'

  I studied the green birds that he seemed so pleased to see. About the size of a large gull, they had soft looking wings and a large head with a curved beak. 'What’s weird about them?'

  'Not weird, interesting. They carry their young on their backs, look, see the one at the far right?'

  I craned my neck to try and see but couldn’t quite look around Loushka’s wing. He stood on the saddle and pulled me up, pointing again. 'Right there, see?'

  I stared hard and could just make out two small shapes on its back. 'What are they clinging to her with?'

  'They’re born with claws that drop off once they can fly.'

  ALEK SUDDENLY REALIZED she hadn’t stood on the saddle before and sat back down, fast.

  'Whoops.' He felt sheepish, 'You’re so much more confident on Loushka now. I forgot you hadn’t done that yet.'

  She slid back into her seat and laughed. 'It was the best way to do it, I didn’t even think about it until you mentioned it.'

  I REMEMBERED THE bird we’d seen when we’d first arrived and twisted to look at him. 'We saw a bird when we first arrived. It was the most beautiful bird I’ve ever seen.' I showed Loushka an image.

  ALEK WATCHED THE graceful bird flit around the tree trunk.

  ‘It is what I think it is, isn’t it Loushka?’

  ‘Yes, absolutely. I saw one once when I was small,’ the griffon sounded very impressed. ‘It’s supposed to be a good sign, one of the best, next to sighting a unicorn.’

  ‘These women just keep getting more and more interesting,’ he thought.

  IT TURNED OUT the bird was incredibly rare, to the point of being thought mythical (that amused me), and considered a sign of high magick. Which sounded impressive, but neither of them decided to elaborate. Another one of those things I would learn about at the castle, I guess. Loushka flew back up to join the other griffons.

  SABYN STILL HAD his arms around her waist. Loi felt grateful he couldn’t see the massive scowl on her face. Torn between the two, now very annoying, voices in her head that argued as to whether his apparent deceitfulness was fair or not, and if it even mattered.

  She sighed.

  'Are you okay?' Sabyn asked his voice hesitant.

  Loi considered her reply, getting a mild sense of vindication from the long, awkward pause. The rational voice in her mind pointed out that she would find out soon, while the grouchy voice said not soon enough.

  'When will we reach the castle?' She was careful to keep her voice neutral.

  'By this evening.'

  ‘SHE’S GROUCHY WITH you,’ Tomiar informed him.

  ‘I’m aware of that,’ he snapped.

  ‘My, aren’t we snippy. Well, Mr Snippy, I thought you might like to know that Loushka and Alek would like to show the
m the Wrenok basin.’

  Sabyn sighed. ‘I’m sorry. I just don’t like knowing she’s grouchy at me.’

  ‘I understand,’ Tomiar thought sympathetically. ‘But try to see it from her point of view—it must feel incredibly frustrating. Just try to ignore her mood, she’ll get over it.’

  Taking the advice, Sabyn spoke up. 'We’re going to fly through the Wrenok basin. It’s where we practice tricks and maneuvers with the griffons.'

  The five griffons rose even higher in the air and headed for the mountain range.

  Chapter Sixteen

  GREDEL ENJOYED THE flight today; Audi had settled into her new spot and appeared to enjoy the view. After he moaned to the other guys about the dog’s antics they’d come up with the idea to convert one of the saddle bags and put her in there. It worked well and she had an even better view now. The dog settled down to watch it all and Gredel could stretch out in the saddle in comfort.

  He looked forward to seeing the women's reactions to the basin. The highest peak, Mount Artonay, was where he’d taken Citaan when he’d proposed. He was quite proud of that, people so often proposed at an event where others could witness it but he knew Citaan would like such a special moment to be private and she’d loved it. So much in fact, they’d given serious consideration to getting married there. But, in the end, the logistics weren’t great, and several older members of Citaan’s family had been upset by the notion of not having a "proper" wedding.

  ‘I guess in the long run the normal wedding was easier.’ Phroma thought to Gredel.

  ‘I’d been thinking the same thing. Although our idea would have been far more interesting.’