The Last Griffin

by Wendy L. Koenig

  He became his in-between form and used his hooked claws to grab the edge of the shelf. The water buffeted his body like a boxer pummeling an opponent in a prize fight ring. Dizziness from lack of oxygen filled his head and his starved lungs ached. If he could just hang on until he reached the shallow end of the basin, away from the falls and the whirlpool there. Pulling with every last bit of strength he possessed, he entered the swirling vortex and scraped around the boundary of the pool. Fighting to reach the surface got him nowhere.

  The blackness of unconsciousness crowded his reason. It seemed to him there was something else he had to do. Something important.

  The river bed changed beneath his feet. It was softer. Sand. He’d been brought three-quarters the way around the pool and pulled by the channel down the river. Blindly, Brian reached out and hooked his werewolf claws as deep as he could into the river bed. The river tide pulled against him, but he held on. Flexing his muscles, he pulled himself toward shallower water. Again and again he drove his claws into the shifting floor and pulled himself toward land. At last, he lay on a beach, of sorts, panting and regaining his bearing.

  As he began his shift to man, something struck his head and he lost consciousness.

  Chapter 53

  A large group of ten or twelve assorted changelings had the white Bengal surrounded. Olivia noted two of the bears from the night attack in the park near Brian’s house. She hadn’t seen Hall in bear form and wondered if he was the big grizzly nearest to Tony. A behemoth of a black bull pawed the ground, preparing for a run at the tiger. She filled the air with a shattering cry, which, given the situation, sounded scary as hell. The two grizzly bears on the near side of the tiger saw her, cringed, and fell back immediately, but the third animal, a leopard of some kind, had no clue. He held himself low to the ground, still as stone except for the twitch of his tail. All his attention was focused on Tony. She snatched him by the head as she flew past, clubbing the bear she thought might be Hall with her wing on the way. She flung the cat into the melee around the white Bengal. Turning, she aimed for a second pass over the scene. The remaining shifters had formed a tight circle as if they were intent on finishing the tiger off before she had a chance to attack again. She saw not a single bird.

  As she closed the distance, Tony bunched his hind legs beneath him. He sprung high into the air, landed on her back, and dug his claws into the thick mat of feathers on her shoulders. The changelings that had surrounded him roared in frustration. Shots rang out from somewhere near, but only one clipped her wing feathers.

  Tony leaned close to avoid the wind shear threatening to throw him off her. He panted and grunted with the pained effort of staying on board. Without hesitation, Olivia brought him to the falls. Truthfully, she’d expected to find Brian walking beside the river or trying to scale the chasm side. Setting Tony on the floor of the gorge, she changed out of the griffin. Her nakedness was not a concern; her thoughts were all about Brian. “He fell, but I couldn’t find him.” Her voice was tight, thin-lipped, and her stomach lurched at every word.

  In silence, the Bengal paced the edge of the maelstrom of water, and searched the banks of the river. Olivia shifted to griffin again and dove into the pool, finding no body, no Brian, nothing. She flew into the falls, coming out between the water and the rock face of the cliff. There wasn’t room here for the full extension of her wings, except if she was facing the rock or the water. So, she raised and lowered herself, moving back and forth along the wall. No Brian. She should have been happy there was no body, but her worry had changed to heartsickness. Something had happened to him. Something bad. He would have found a way to her, if he could.

  She heard a cry and dashed through the curtain of water, hoping to see Tony with her beloved wolf. Instead, the cries had come from the ledge above where various shifters were trying to get down. The three birds were circling low over the white tiger emerging from the woods. She jetted toward them and they scattered, squawking in raucous defiance. She joined Tony, both of them shifting to human. He shook his head before she had a chance to ask. “He’s not there.”

  “He has to be.”

  “Look.” He pointed to the cliffside where some of the more agile shifters were coming down in human form. “We have to go.”

  “We can’t leave Brian.”

  “He’s not here.”

  “We have to find him!” Olivia was frantic now. She wasn’t leaving her wolf behind. He could be hurt and in need of medical help.

  Tony gripped her shoulders with both hands, giving her a little shake with each word. “He’s…not…here.”

  A panther had made it halfway down the rock face and jumped to the gorge floor. He approached, snarling; his tail whipped back and forth like a wiry pendulum.

  Olivia nodded and changed to her beast. Tony chose to stay in his human form and, once he was perched on her back, she took off. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to leave. She swooped back and forth, searching the banks and peering deep into the pool for her beloved wolf. The birds pretty much left her alone. With only three left, they weren’t ready to meet her claws and beak. She worked downstream, past the lower falls. Still, there was no sign of him. She soared higher and continued searching the same area, working in widening circles.

  There was a possibility that one of the birds had come for Brian while she was helping Tony. They could have taken him and dropped him almost anywhere. In the distance, she spotted the American eagle with the gnawed leg and bolted after it. Tony lurched at the sudden increase in velocity. He hunkered down low and grabbed thick handfuls of her neck feathers.

  The bird saw her coming and beat its wings valiantly, trying to get out of the way to no avail. The creature had lost a lot of blood and couldn’t gain full speed. Olivia sailed above it and snagged it in her talons, screaming her battle cry. She bore it to a high tree deep in the valley and dropped it there.

  Alighting off Olivia to land next to the bird, Tony said to the eagle, “You better change, or she’ll just get angrier.”

  The bird was no fool. It changed to woman. An ugly smirk played across her lips. She let her gaze rove up and down his naked muscles. “Well, aren’t you quite the specimen.”

  Tony scowled and asked her, “Where’s the man who fell?”

  The smirk didn’t leave. “I dropped him over the edge. That’s all I know.”

  Tony let out a low Bengal growl and asked, “Did anyone else pick him up?”

  “Not that I saw, handsome. And we pretty much all flew together.” She turned a disgusted gaze upon Olivia while she spoke. Then she asked, with same that nasty twist to her lips, “What happened? Did you lose your friend?”

  Olivia didn’t hesitate. She flung the eagle woman from the tree and lowered herself so Tony could get on. He frowned, but didn’t hesitate. She had a feeling she’d be hearing plenty from him later. He’d preach about keeping better control of the beast inside her.

  The thing was, the griffin wasn’t out of her control at all.

  Olivia flew them back to the cabin. Though the battle wasn’t finished, she had no taste left for the fight with Brian gone. Tony made no objections, either. They both altered into their normal selves and entered what had been their home for over two weeks. They stood like lost children. Without Brian, the cabin was an empty shell. Tony moved first; ever practical, he dressed them both and tended their wounds. Then he went into the kitchen to cook. After that battle, their bodies needed nourishment. She watched him for a few seconds, but then turned and went outside again, changing to griffin. She heard him call her name as she flew away.

  Most of the shifters had returned to the trucks Hall’s men had arrived in by the time she arrived. Those that hadn’t cleared the gorge, she easily dispatched. She started searching for Brian again, first in the air: back and forth, circling wider and then circling narrower. She dove deep into the pool, looking into every crevice and tidal hole. She flew behind the curtain of water that fell over the cliff. There, she changed to her p
rimary body and climbed the rocks from one side to the other. Satisfied Brian wasn’t there, she began searching the forest on foot.

  There was no hollow, no tangle of roots, or depression that she didn’t find. She searched all the way down the river, both banks, flying and walking. Still nothing. Tony came with food and helped her look for a few hours at a time, but ultimately he left her to the task alone. He knew, somehow, that she needed to do this by herself.

  For four days, she searched, going over the area again and again. Finally, the only thing she could say with certainty was that Brian was not in the valley. She sat high on the cliff near the falls, looking down on the river gorge. She kept seeing the scene in her mind. It replayed like an old-time silent movie stuck in the projector.

  Someone had to have taken him. The eagle could have lied, but Olivia had been able to account for the bird's every minute except for the brief time she’d spent rescuing Tony. Initially she’d thought that the bird shifters were the only ones who could have taken him far enough and fast enough in that initial foray. She’d searched the river at least a million times. Someone else must have met them and taken Brian farther. Maybe in a truck.

  Olivia heard Tony come up behind her. He sat and they stared at the water in silence. She looked into his brilliant blue tiger eyes and smiled. It was a sad smile, but it was the best she could muster. Truthfully, she was glad to have his company just then and she was trying to figure out how to tell him what she’d decided when he said, “Olivia, it’s been four days now. He’s gone. You need to accept that.”

  She shook her head. “No. Someone stole him away. He’s alive. I know it.”

  He took her hands in his. “Please, Olivia. If they were holding him as leverage to force you to capitulate, someone would have contacted us by now. He can’t be alive.”

  She had no argument for Tony. Weakness infused her body, and she wanted to tumble off the cliff to join her love in death, but Tony pulled her into an embrace meant to comfort her. He held onto her for a long time before he pulled her to her feet and settled a robe over her shoulders. He led her to his pickup and then to the cabin. He spoon-fed her broth and tucked her in bed. She slept for a long time.

  Waking somewhere in the middle of the second long, dark night at the cabin, she reached for Brian, but found his side of the bed empty. Confused, she sat up and looked around the room. Then it hit her like a wrecking ball. Brian was gone. She delved into the pool of numbness within her, even as she thought of how he had sunk into the pool where he’d disappeared. Still, she couldn’t cry or grieve. She stood and walked to the window, staring out at the tree branches scratching at the night sky. Was he up there? Was there a heaven for such as them? Did God even love them, or were they some kind of joke brought about by the Devil? A mistake? She pushed open the window in their one-room cabin with the intention of leaving. Yet, she couldn’t step through. Closing it again, she turned to Tony.

  He was awake, staring at the coals in the fireplace. It took him a moment, but he eventually turned his pained gaze upon her.

  “I need answers,” she said.

  He nodded, swung off the couch, and doused the fire. “Let’s go. The truck is already packed.”

  She looked around the room and, indeed, it was empty of all their usual clutter. The house had been just a shell since Brian…died. But now, it was a hunting cabin again, waiting for its real owner to show up. She followed Tony out the door and to the truck.

  They drove to Fort Collins and turned south through Loveland, then traveled southwest from Longmont on the Diagonal, through the Gunbarrel area and farther, into Boulder. Neither of them spoke a word. Olivia sank into the unfeeling well deep inside her and stayed there for the entire trip. The sun wasn’t even rising yet as they reached Boulder city limits. She said the first words of their journey, “Where do we reach Carl Hall?”

  “He’s a construction worker. Has his own crew working up near Chautauqua at the southern end of 10th street.”

  “Pricey.”

  “Yep. He does well.”

  And he’d just thrown it all away. She set her lips in grim determination.

  Tony navigated the streets of Boulder until they reached a home construction site with a sign: BEAR CONSTRUCTION BY CARL HALL. Catchy name. She snorted her derision.

  Tony agreed. “Nothing obvious about that, is there?”

  They parked half a block away and waited.

  Tony made a coffee and donut run at a gas station up Baseline road, and she later made a bathroom dash to the same place.

  At six-fifty-five that morning, a familiar-looking pickup pulled onto the lot. Two women with richly-colored hair climbed out and unlocked a dirty trailer. Secretaries entering the office? They didn’t look like anyone Olivia remembered from the valley. Had they been there? That truck certainly had. Were all of Hall’s employees shifters?

  She and Tony watched all day. One or the other of them snoozed or ran for food or bathroom breaks while the second kept watch. Pickups and construction vans came and went. Many had business in the office trailer. She recognized one or two of the workers from the valley, but neither Hall nor his son showed. Where were they? She was itchy to get moving.

  “Where do they live?”

  “In a quiet neighborhood where any intruder might be noticed,” he said. That ruled out surprising them at home.

  The work crew wound down for the day as did the short winter sun. Dusk brought out the men, and they were all men except for the two women in the office, which meant this crew wasn’t the only group at the valley. They all climbed into their trucks and headed to their respective homes or other destinations.

  Only two vehicles remained in the lot: the truck the women had arrived in and a battered blue SUV.

  As Olivia reached for the door, Tony gripped her wrist. Surprised, she faced him. He said, “Olivia, I just need to know you have absolute control of that beast. That this is for answers, not revenge.”

  She nodded. “I promise I’m completely in control of the griffin. I’m here for answers.” And then revenge.

  That seemed to satisfy him. He let go and opened his own door. “All right, I’ll barricade any back entrance and then come around to the front. We don’t need anyone wandering in by accident.”

  “Good idea.” Because if anyone wandered in, she’d have to kill them too.

  Chapter 54

  Brian opened his eyes to dim light filtering through cracks in the walls beside him. The walls themselves were made of tree branches piled close together to form a lean-to. His bed was nothing more than a blanket on the ground and, when he tried to move, he found that logging chains bound his arms against his naked body. More of the thick chains wrapped around his legs. No one was visible, yet he had the distinct impression he wasn’t alone.

  He called out, “Who’s here?”

  Immediately, a dark face peered around an odd conflux of branches that Brian realized must be a door.

  “You’re up. Good.” The man moved the rest of the way into the shelter. He was short, with long, dirty blond hair. A gray bandana was wrapped around the crown of his head and dirt smudged his face. As the man came closer, Brian saw that what he’d assumed was a faded military camouflage uniform was in actuality a white jumper with painted streaks of gray and medium brown across it as camouflage.

  It struck him that the man was actually a survivor nut. He’d known a couple of them from the time after the war…somewhere. “Who are you?”

  His captor gave a thin smile. “Hunter.”

  “And I’m your prey, is that it?” Brian rattled the chains. He couldn’t keep the derision from his voice.

  “Not at all. You’re no threat to us. You’re just in the way. I’m safekeeping you until this whole mess is over.”

  “What mess?” He searched his memory, but found nothing that helped illuminate Hunter’s words. Was this some kind of a joke?

  The smile twisted into a sneer. “The Griffin War.”

  “The Griff
in War?” What the hell? The last thing Brian remembered was sitting in his kitchen reading…something. Panic filled him, tasting sweet and desperate in his mouth. “I don’t remember any griffins. And why would I? There’s no such thing. They’re extinct. The Griffin War was long ago.”

  Hunter reached over and fiddled with something on Brian’s head. “You’re right. There’s no such thing. Just testing your memory.” He sat back. “You’d better rest. You got a nasty bump on your head in your underwater adventure.”

  Brian frowned. Underwater…? “What the hell is going on?”

  “What’s the last thing you remember?”

  “I was sitting in my kitchen, reading the newspaper.”

  “Can you tell me the date?”

  The date? “December twenty-first. Wednesday.”

  “What about your name?”

  “Brian Merullo.”

  Hunter nodded. “The good news is that your amnesia seems to be located in just your short-term memories.”

  “Amnesia. And that’s the good news.” Sarcasm dripped from his words, and Brian wondered where he’d picked it up.

  “The bad news is that you’ve lost a hell of a lot of memories.”

  “Such as?”

  His captor considered for a moment, and then said, “There was a battle a little over four days ago.”

  “You said something about The Griffin War. What does this battle have to do with that? Who was fighting this battle?” Something pushed at Brian’s mind. Something important. He reached for it, but it retreated.

  “You and Silver fought against just about everyone. You were on the losing side. I had circled behind you and was coming up the valley when someone tossed you over the edge of the cliff into the pool below.” He tipped his head toward his right, in the westerly direction. “I climbed down and rescued you.”

  “Now I’m here.”

  Hunter nodded. “Now you’re here.”