The Last Griffin

by Wendy L. Koenig

  “Who were we fighting against?”

  “Carl Hall and most of the families.”

  All of this was too much for Brian, and he rocked his head back and forth on his pillow. He needed to remember. What was so important he and Tony would risk coming up against everyone else in an open fight? No matter what he tried, no memory jumped out at him. After a moment, he asked, “So, you work for Hall?”

  The man nodded again, the filthy strings of his hair bobbing. “I do.”

  “Go get him. I want to talk to him.”

  Hunter stood and moved toward the door. “No can do. He doesn’t know you’re here.”

  “What are you going to do with me?”

  “Do? Nothing. I’ll wait until things settle down and let you go.” Then he left.

  Alone again, Brian lay in the chains on his blanket. Perhaps the best way to approach his memory loss was to back up to what he remembered and try to go forward from there. He closed his eyes and envisioned the scene in the kitchen.

  He’d been sitting at the center island, reading the paper. He’d made some white chili, and a bowl of it was steaming beside him on the counter. Rising, he walked to the refrigerator, and took out some sour cream and a small bowl of freshly chopped tomatoes and cilantro. He dropped a healthy spoonful of the cream into the bowl, followed by a sprinkling of the veggies. Tasting his chili, he decided he had indeed created perfection. He loved his kitchen.

  That, of course, was when Tony had called. No preamble, no niceties. His friend started in. “We have a problem.”

  “No. I’m eating supper. You have a problem.” He continued to eat while he listened.

  He heard an exaggerated sigh. “Brian. My problem is your problem too.”

  “Oh? How’s that?”

  “Cujo heard a rumor that Carl Hall and his men are threatening to kill someone, but we can’t find out anything.”

  Brian set down his spoon. “Well now. That certainly is a problem.”

  “Right. Our problem.”

  “Yes it is.” He’d nodded to himself, worried. “Where are you? I’ll meet you.”

  The memory ended there. No matter how Brian tried, he couldn’t get the memory to extend beyond that point. He had no idea where he’d met Tony or who Hall and his men had been after. But he was willing to bet that the battle Hunter had referred to had been the outcome of that initial conversation.

  Why had Hunter mentioned The Griffin War? What did that have to do with this? He gently tested the chains. There was a little room, but not enough to wriggle free. The wolf was smaller of limb than he was as a man. If he rolled to his side and then shifted, he just might be able to escape. He’d have to make it fast: the werewolf was too big and would be in trouble in bonds so tight. The chains rattled.

  Hunter’s head appeared from behind the door. He watched silently.

  Brian said, “Can’t sleep. Never been good at it on my back. Just trying to change position.”

  For a moment, the military man said nothing. Then, “Get used to it.”

  Whatever. Brian wasn’t about to apologize for trying to relieve some of his pain. That “something” again pushed at his mind. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, couldn’t remember it, but it was important. For a while, he’d thought it might be some kind of trouble for Tony. That didn’t ring true, however. Tony wouldn’t let himself get into a situation he couldn’t flee, if needed. No. It was something else. Something more important than his best friend.

  He needed to escape, to go back to where Hunter had found him. Then up that cliff he’d been thrown over. There had to be some kind of answer there.

  But first, he needed a plan.

  Chapter 55

  When Olivia entered the office at Hall’s construction site, only one of the women sat in the front room. The nameplate on her desk identified her as Tanya Hall. Family business. She was busy typing on her computer. She looked up with a friendly smile. The expression changed to terror the moment she recognized Olivia. So, this woman had been at the valley. Olivia snapped her hand into the eagle claw, snatched the woman’s throat and shoved her back against the wall, still in her chair. She tried to change into a grizzly, but Olivia tightened the grip, cutting off her air. She leaned in, whispering hoarsely, “What did you do with the wolf’s body?”

  Confusion crossed the bear woman’s face. “Wolf’s body?” She could barely speak from the pressure Olivia had on her throat. A sound came from down the hall somewhere. Another woman and a man were talking softly. The woman stopped speaking and her footsteps approached the front room. Olivia repositioned herself so she could watch this new intruder. This new woman caught sight of them and her mouth opened into a giant O, but she said nothing to stop Olivia, nor to warn the male left behind in what was most probably a second office. Instead, her clothes ripped at the seams and she shifted into a hissing komodo dragon that hadn’t been at the party in the valley.

  “You don’t want to do that.” Olivia tightened her grip on Tanya’s throat and nodded toward a soft chair at the far end of the desk, by a water cooler. “Sit there.” The komodo became a naked woman again and obeyed without hesitation, watching them.

  Olivia moved Tanya to get a better look at the komodo woman’s face. She spoke into Tanya’s ear. “What did you do with him after he was dropped?”

  Again, the confusion. “Nothing. I was in the fight with the tiger.”

  Olivia actually found herself believing this woman, but she again tightened her grip on the woman’s throat until her breath turned raspy. She turned her attention to the second woman. “Did you?”

  “Did I what?” The second woman’s face filled with confusion.

  Tanya whispered, “She wasn’t there.”

  “And why was that?”

  She teared. “We couldn’t trust her or her boyfriend to take their part.”

  The second woman’s face flamed and she looked away, saying, “We warned you and Carl.” Really loyal, that one.

  “Where is Carl?”

  Tanya said nothing, so Olivia turned her attention to the other woman. She bit her lip, but after a moment said, “Dandoritto’s.”

  Olivia nodded. She knew the place. She let go of Tanya and stood. Then she said, “You should have listened to your friend.” She changed both hands to the eagle claws and within a split-second she’d killed them both.

  She met the man halfway down the hall. “Were you at the valley?”

  It took him a few seconds before he could manage a shake of his head. He’d proven worthless to her as well. She killed him.

  Oddly, Tony was waiting in the truck for her. It actually surprised her. She figured he’d seen what was in the office and washed his hands of her completely, or maybe was even at a phone booth making an anonymous phone call to the police. He started the truck when she got in and they drove quietly up the street. Once they reached Arapahoe, he turned left toward the Flatirons, drove past the library and Fine Park to get on Boulder Canyon Drive.

  She had a feeling she was in for one of Tony’s famous lectures. They drove in silence for a couple miles until they reached Four Mile Canyon and the trailer park there. He pulled to the side of the road and turned off the engine. He spoke, but didn’t look at her. “You said you had the griffin under control.”

  “I guarantee you, I do. What I did in there was me.”

  He glanced at her, but looked quickly away. Pain was plain on his face. He’d lost Brian and now, it looked like he lost her too. “And did you find out where Hall is?”

  “Place called Dandoritto’s. It’s on the Hill.”

  He nodded, still staring straight ahead. “You promised this wasn’t about revenge.”

  “I made no such promise. In fact, I said nothing at all about revenge. What I told you was that I was there for answers. Which I was. Which I got.”

  “Brian wouldn’t have wanted this.”

  “I don’t doubt that. But I’m not him, and I needed it.”

  He was silent f
or a long time. Then, “He was my best friend. I loved him like a brother, but I can’t go down this road with you.”

  “Then this is where we part ways.” Olivia got out of the truck. Before she could lean in and say anything else, he fired up and left without even looking her way. She should have been angry. The griffin should have bristled at the betrayal, but well, she figured she’d betrayed him first and she pretty much deserved being abandoned. Still, he hadn’t even looked at her while he kissed off their friendship.

  She stood in the road for a few more minutes, then decided that, covered with blood as she was, she should probably get out of sight. Tony was most probably going directly to Hall, and if she wanted to stay in the loop, she needed to get there before him. She changed, feeling the bulky muscle build as her bones became denser. The burn of wings scored her shoulder blades and she sprouted a tail. Her clothes ripped and fell to the ground. Rising to the sky as the griffin, she flew directly to the bar, passing Tony’s pickup on the way. She figured the traffic in his way would give her about fifteen minutes, maybe twenty, to get her answers before he’d arrive and spoil her fun.

  Chapter 56

  Brian readied himself. He finally had a plan that he was pretty sure would work. If all went well, he would be free within a few minutes. Even if it got a little painful for him, it was something he could handle. He’d waited until dusk, rationalizing that it would be easier to hide in the shadows of the dark once he escaped.

  He couldn’t just shift and escape. His experience earlier with his chains rattling had shown the sensitivity of Hunter’s hearing. He didn’t need to be fighting his captor while at the same time trying to free himself. First, he’d take care of Hunter.

  Raising his upper body as high as he could, given the thick logging chains that wrapped around him, he held himself up by the strength of his abdominal muscles. He screwed his face into what he hoped looked like extreme pain and called out, “Hey! Hunter. Come here.” He cracked his voice, and let it fade at the end.

  A split second later, his captor poked his head through the doorway. “What do you need? Don’t tell me you gotta piss. If you do, you’ll just have to wet your diapers. I’m not helping you with that.”

  “You got anything for a headache?” He barely moved his lips, letting his words slur, like any migraine sufferer.

  “Nope.” The head disappeared.

  “This damn thing hurts worse and worse. I’m getting dizzy.”

  There was no movement from outside the shelter. Brian hadn’t really figured Hunter would be that easy to fool. Time for more drastic measures.

  He retched, twisting his head and shoulders to the side. Once. Twice. Three times, trying to bring something up. He had a strong constitution, but sometimes that was a disadvantage. Like now.

  As if by magic, Hunter appeared beside him, probably worried he’d choke on his vomit.

  “Man, I gotta tell you, this hurts bad.” Brian groaned. He retched again as if to throw up on the man. Looking at Hunter, he said weakly, “Help me.”

  He leaned toward the wall, making like he was trying to turn that direction.

  Hunter reached over and put his hand on Brian’s shoulder, supporting him and helping him turn. He leaned in to add support.

  It was all the opening Brian needed. He changed most of the way to wolf, leaving his arms human and shrugging them loose from the suddenly slack chains. At the same time, the bandage that had been around Hunter’s head slipped down, momentarily blinding him until it fell to the floor.

  Hunter was caught flat by the sudden shift. But even as he fell closer to Brian, he was grabbing for the skinning knife he kept on his belt. He shifted at the same time.

  Brian, however, had anticipated that he might go for the weapon. It was either that or shift. It really depended on Hunter’s alternate form.

  Since Brian had left his hands as a man’s, he wrestled away the knife, even as his arms were forced apart by the changing mass of the shifting man. Whatever he was, it was big, and getting bigger. It made no sense to Brian that the man should want the knife and shift. Then, the unmistakable odor of ape filled the tree branch lean-to. One of the only creatures who could handle a knife. His werewolf would be the other.

  He wrapped his arms tightly around the ape's throat, exerting pressure. He growled a warning. Hunter’s breath rasped through his mouth, yet he didn’t stop shifting. Either the man was stupid or he truly believed he would win any fight.

  Brian wasn’t waiting to find out which it was. He didn’t want to kill his captor, just make him pass out. He tightened his arms and held on with all the force he had. He was in a corner of the shelter, and if he let go of Hunter and tried to escape the chains the rest of the way he’d be in range of those ape claws. So, he held on, always forcing the ape to stay in front of him.

  Hunter slowed and ceased his movements. Brian kept his grip for another few minutes to make sure the ape was really unconscious. Then he let go and wriggled out of the chains, changing his arms now to a werewolf’s too.

  He stared down at the giant, light brown body and the long, bare face. A baboon. It was the fiercest of the apes, but Hunter was way bigger. He was the size of a huge silver-back gorilla.

  In a fair fight, the wolf would have lost. The werewolf might have made an even match. Might have. But it could have as easily gone the other way. He shivered.

  He sniffed at the wounds inflicted by Hunter. A few were deep, but not disabling. He’d live.

  And right now, he had something important to find out. Like why he and Tony had been in the valley. And who they’d been protecting.

  Chapter 57

  Olivia landed beside Dandoritto’s in a dim alley filled with trash. The odor of refried beans, rancid grease, and burnt cheese bore down on her and she almost choked. She decided the best option she had was a frontal approach, which would catch them off-guard. With that plan in mind, she rounded the corner. The big bouncer’s eager gaze glued to her approach in her birthday suit. Without a pause, she put her claw through his chest and stole his boots, belt, and coat. She left his pants behind, given his size. She didn’t want to look like a homeless waif. Instead, she cinched his oversized ranch coat with his belt, like she would a dress, and cuffed the sleeves. His boots were a bit big, so she scuffed the ground when she walked. She wouldn’t be using them long anyway. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

  It looked like any other college town bar. The seedy jalapeño decor was meant to entice jailbait girls to party and drink too much alcohol. The place smelled like perfume and old sweat near the door-side dance floor. Jalapeños hung from the warehouse ceiling. More jalapeños filled the tabletops and bar.

  She scuffed toward the group of eight or nine construction workers gathered in the back around a pool table, swaying her hips like a girl on the make. She kept her head low; she didn’t want anyone to spook until the last minute. A runty fellow with a blonde girl in tow was headed toward the door. Olivia had seen him at the valley, but not her. She was an innocent and had no place in what was about to happen. Olivia stepped between them and, placing her hands on his chest, she said in her cutest southern drawl, “Where you goin’ cowboy? The party’s just gettin’ started. Tell this tramp to go home. I can take care of you.”

  As the cursing girl stormed out, Olivia steered the fellow back toward the way he’d come, to the green corner with the beefy construction workers. She kept her head tilted so he couldn’t see her features completely. He didn’t fight. In fact, his attention was focused on the deep cut of her oversized coat. Good boy. She heard one of the boys in the back mutter in a graveled voice, “Look at this cherry comin’ here.” The sound of his voice echoed off the walls and seemed to fill the tiny bar.

  She smiled. She was close enough now to smell the piss, stale beer, and vomit from the bathrooms. Or maybe the stench came from the stains along the baseboards and wood floor. She stopped and lifted her head and glared from man to man. A few blank eyes looked back, but most
slowly dawned into angry recognition.

  The cowboy she’d been pushing started hard and backed away as fast as his feet could go. His pale eyes widened, and he almost fell in his rush to get free from her. “Shit! Shit!” Five men shifted to animal, and she noted the panther was there as well as more than a few bears. Carl Hall and his son, Brett, stayed as men. Most of the workers, animal and not, took a fighting stance. A couple broke pool cues for weapons. Snarls echoed from the walls. The bartender moved to the near end of the bar. Olivia saw no shifter women.

  She raised her hands to ward off any combat. That would come later. “Calm down. I have questions.”

  Carl Hall jutted his chin aggressively at her and asked, “Questions? What do you want?” Brett and some of the workers edged to the right side, trying to outflank her. Others, including the panther, worked around the other side of her, but she stepped against the wall. This promised to be a good fight. Her hands tingled in anticipation.

  “I want to know what happened to the wolf your crew dropped over the side of the ravine. We can’t find his body.” Her voice took a harsh turn at that last word, and she knew they’d heard it do so. The connection would soon be made that they weren’t getting out in one piece. They’d attack.

  Hall shrugged. “He’s dead. What does it matter?”

  Way wrong answer. Brett had worked his way close enough that she grabbed him and changed her arms to bird talons. She gasped at the spasm of searing pain that lanced through her bones. It wasn’t the first time she’d changed that fast, nor the first time it had hurt that much, but she doubted she’d ever get used to the pain, as Brian had said she would.

  “It matters.” Even as she said it, she again saw Brian that first day in the hospital, his face close to her stomach, saying those very same words. He’d said them again and again while training her. He’d even said them the day of the fight in the valley. The memories almost undid her. Despair washed over her. She savagely shook her head to clear it and lowered her voice. “What did you do with the wolf?”