Tense with excitement, Aisling took out her hand terminal and turned it on. She transposed the letters of the first few words of the Arkandu oraculum, and though it wasn’t exactly right, she knew she was close.
“Did it work?” Olaf asked.
“Not quite,” Aisling replied. “But I think I’m close. I never thought of reversing the letters.” She put the terminal back in the protective bag and returned it to her pocket. She would crack that code, but not right then.
Karma gasped softly and Aisling turned quickly to see what was wrong. A moment later, she gasped as well.
The canal opened into a broad marina that was thick with boats, most of them tied to short docks like the one they’d use to board earlier, a few of them drifting casually along the line of docks. The boats were in a rainbow of colors, some with stripes, some solid, but all of them had stylized figures of some sort depicted along their bows. Even as colorful and interesting as the boats were, they paled in comparison to the sight of the buildings along the banks.
Aisling’s first impression was that it was a city made of stone, and she wasn’t wrong. From their position on the boat, the buildings appeared to be either square or rectangular, with flat roofs and tall columns holding up deep overhangs that shaded the doors and windows. The buildings seemed huge even from a distance, much taller than anything she was used to seeing outside of a modern city.
About half way into the marina the boat turned toward a dock that was much larger than the rest. There were several boats tied it, with one empty spot near the end. As their boat floated gently toward the empty spot a procession of people came rushing between two buildings. A large man with a gray beard wearing a red cloak trimmed in gold led the party onto the dock.
“That’s the King,” Captain Singer said in surprise. The Gryphons nudged the women back from the railing, and they all waited respectfully as they watched the group hurry toward them.
“Lo, Captain Singer, I ask for your aid,” the King shouted before he reached them.
“Certainly, Highness,” Captain Singer agreed at once. “How can I be of assistance, Your Majesty?”
“My daughter was out fishing this morning and her retinue was attacked,” King Rhobar said, stopping beside their boat. He was close enough now that they could easily see the man’s real distress. “One maid survived long enough to tell us that Princess Kapia was taken. We do not know by whom, but we know from the tracks they left behind that they were riding on machines that go very fast. My Hunters track them, but they cannot hope to catch up to them on foot before they leave our land. I ask that you use your machines to help us rescue my daughter.”
Olaf studied the King, carefully but quickly. He did not sound weak or fearful, only anxious for his daughter, which instantly earned him a measure of respect. Nor did his retinue appear to be the usual group of sycophants Olaf had encountered on many other worlds that had a monarchy as a form of government. Rather, they were mostly gray haired, holding themselves as aged warriors would, all of them armed. Olaf scented no fear, but plenty of worry and anxiety from the group.
He bowed to the King. “Forgive me, Highness, for interrupting,” he said. “I am Olaf Gryphon. My brothers and I would offer our assistance in this matter.”
The King looked at Olaf with hope in his faded brown eyes. “Do you have devices such as Captain Singer?”
“Highness,” Captain Singer said, “I am willing to offer all the help I can, but I believe that the Gryphons would be of far more immediate use to Your Majesty. They are shifters, and can fly like the birds in the sky.”
“I will take whatever assistance I can get if it will bring my daughter back to me,” the King said.
“Can you tell us where she was last seen?” Olaf asked.
The King waved another man forward who immediately gave Olaf the information he asked for.
“What does your daughter look like, please?” Rand asked the King while Olaf listened to the other man.
“Kapia is sixteen years old,” the King said, his voice breaking. He swallowed hard and squared his shoulders. “She has long black hair, to her waist, and was wearing a brown and silver day dress.”
When Olaf was certain he had all of the information the man had to give him, he bowed to the King, then turned to face his brothers.
“I’m coming with you,” Aisling said before Olaf had a chance to say anything. “This girl is going to be terrified of you three.”
Olaf’s first thought was to say no, but the gleam in Aisling’s eyes caused him to quickly reconsider. She was a warrior, just as he and his brothers were warriors. He had to accept her as she was.
“Very well,” Olaf agreed. “Karma, if you, Captain Singer and Torl would be so good as to move to one end of the boat, I believe we have enough room to shift here.”
The three immediately did as Olaf asked, moving to the corner where the cat still sat, watching the activities with an air of boredom. Olaf walked to the center of the boat deck and called his gryphon, leaping into the air before the transformation was complete. There was a gasp of surprise from the people on the dock, but Aisling ignored it as she hurried to where Olaf had stood and called her gryphon. It took a moment longer for her transformation, and she had to wait till it was complete before launching herself into the sky, but she was proud of herself for how well it went. Next Rand, and finally Rudy joined Aisling and Olaf as they circled low over the harbor.
Karma watched the King as he watched the gryphons circle overhead, then speed off to the north. When they were out of sight there was a collective sigh from the men on the dock. The King looked over at Captain Singer, who offered him a reassuring smile.
“Do not worry, Highness, the Gryphons are honorable warriors. They will find and return your daughter.”
“I thank you, Captain Singer,” the King said as he eyed the remaining people on the boat. “Are you also able to transform yourselves into beasts such as those?”
“No, we are not,” Captain Singer replied. “I am human, as is Torl and Karma. The Gryphons are Clan Jasani, all of whom are shifters.”
If Karma hadn’t been watching for it, she would have missed the tiny sigh of relief from the king. She didn’t really blame him. It wasn’t every day you saw four perfectly human looking people turn into impossibly huge half lion, half eagle beasts and fly away before your eyes.
“Come,” the King said after one last glance into the northern sky, “let us return to the palace and await the Gryphons’ return with Princess Kapia.”
Chapter 35
Olaf flew north along the river, past the point where the two forks rejoined. He dropped down until he was nearly skimming the water, looking for the small cove of reeds that the King’s man had described. Moments later he spotted the cove and flew in a slow circle above it, searching for tracks and scents.
“I smell Urwin,” Aisling said in surprise. “That’s just weird.”
“Why is it weird?” Rand asked.
“I don’t know,” Aisling replied. “I’ve never identified anyone by smell before.”
“There are the tracks,” Olaf said, flying lower to the ground where the sand was disturbed near the shore.
“Those are speeder trails,” Rand said as he followed several long strips of smooth sand leading away from the river. Speeders glided just above the ground on a cushion of air, which left no sign on rocky or graveled terrain. On this terrain, the wind of their passage left trails of smoothed sand beneath them. There were perhaps a dozen trails, but it was difficult to tell as they overlapped.
Olaf turned east and followed the trail away from the river and into the desert, realizing the speeders were heading toward the energy signature. The scent of a young female was faint among the heavier scents of the males that were with her, but the scent of her fear stood out strongly among the others Olaf flew faster.
“We’re getting closer,” Rudy said a little while later. “The scents are getting stronger and I hear the sound of the speeders.
”
Olaf scented the air and immediately increased their altitude. He wanted to get a good look at their quarry without being spotted. People didn’t often look into the sky without cause, so if they flew high enough, they probably wouldn’t be noticed.
Before long, they were so high up that their breath froze in clouds of tiny ice crystals. In the distance, they saw a group of people so far away they seemed tiny dark specks.
Olaf flew faster, studying the landscape ahead of the speeders. His gryphon eyes had no trouble seeing that the speeders were going to have to travel around a large area of scattered rocks and shallow trenches bordered by a row of low hills. He quickly formulated a plan, told the others, and then cut west, aiming for the far side of the hills the speeders would have to go around.
Moments later, the gryphons were circling high above the area they expected the speeders to reach in only a few minutes.
“The Princess is tied to the man driving the speeder in the center of that group,” Rand said.
“If we use Earth magic to create a pit, I’m afraid that the Princess will be harmed,” Olaf said. “Nor can we risk killing Urwin until we have the memory crystal.”
“Then we need to make them stop,” Aisling said. “We need a diversion so shocking that they stop before they even think about it.”
“Such as?” Olaf asked warily. There was something in Aisling’s tone that made him cautious.
“Such as a woman appearing out of nowhere,” Aisling said.
“And what if they do not stop when they see this woman, but continue on, perhaps running over her in the process?” Olaf asked.
“If they don’t stop, I’ll just shift and get out of their way,” she replied.
Olaf didn’t like Aisling’s plan, but he couldn’t think of another that wouldn’t risk the Princess. He reminded himself once again that Aisling was a skilled warrior. A skilled warrior who was also now a true Clan Jasani, and therefore far faster than any human. And much more difficult to kill.
“Very well,” Olaf said finally, keeping that last point firmly in mind. “But keep your distance, and at the first sign that they do not mean to stop, you must promise to shift and get out of the way.”
“No problem,” Aisling replied.
“While you distract them from the front, we will come up behind them and begin dropping them into pits, one by one,” Olaf said.
“Don’t trust Urwin,” Aisling cautioned. “Not for a moment.”
“Don’t worry, we won’t,” Olaf promised. “They’re coming now. Ready?”
Rand, Rudy and Aisling all indicated that they were not only ready, but impatient to get started. Olaf gave Aisling the signal, then watched as she flew away from them.
“Don’t you let yourself get so much as a scratch, Aisling,” Olaf warned. The sound of Aisling’s laughter in his mind eased some of his tension as he turned to the west, his brothers right behind him.
As the gryphons came up behind the speeders they reduced their altitude so that they were only twenty feet off the ground, the sound of their wings drowned beneath the roar of the speeders below them. Just as they reached the position Olaf wanted, they saw Aisling flying low along the ground directly toward the speeders. The riders in front of the pack swerved in surprise when they saw the strange creature flying straight at them, then braked as the creature transformed before their eyes into the figure of a beautiful woman with flame red hair dressed in a very snug, green outfit.
The speeders behind those in front, some carrying two riders, had no choice but to brake, bringing the entire pack of ten speeders to an abrupt stop in a cloud of dust and sand.
Beginning with the speeders at the back of the pack, Olaf, Rand and Rudy began opening deep pits in the earth just wide enough to swallow each speeder and it’s riders, and deep enough to prevent them from climbing out easily. They managed to drop half of the speeders before those in front realized what was happening. They were too intent upon the woman walking toward them from the front to pay much attention to their yelling companions behind them.
Aisling watched Urwin, barely noticing the men between them. This was the man that had murdered her parents so he could steal her inheritance. The man who had destroyed the lives of who knew how many young women so he could steal their money.
He had ruined so many lives and stolen so much money, and yet it would never, ever be enough for him. Here he was again, kidnapping an innocent sixteen year old girl because she was a Princess and he expected to get a good pay-off out of her father. He didn’t care that he was destroying her life. He didn’t care that she was little more than a child. All he cared about was himself, his gambling, and his greed. That was all he ever cared about. It never changed. Until now. This time, he wasn’t going to get away with it.
Aisling stared directly at Urwin and saw the fear in his eyes when he realized who she was. She was a little surprised that it took him so long, but maybe the sight of a gryphon transforming into a woman had thrown him off.
She stalked toward him, ignoring the other men as though they were not even there.
“Stop!” Urwin yelled when she was still several yards away. Aisling took two more steps before he pulled a hand laser out of his pocket and reached behind him, placing the muzzle against the Princess’s head.
Aisling stopped.
“Turn around and leave,” Urwin said, his voice shaking with either anger or fear, Aisling wasn’t sure which. Nor did she care. This man had ruined so many lives. She would not allow him to walk away this time.
Aisling was so focused on Urwin that she didn’t notice the two men sneaking up behind her until it was almost too late. She wasn’t sure if it was the scent of them, the sound of sand shifting beneath their feet or simply an internal sense that warned her, but suddenly she knew they were there. In one fluid motion she reached for her sai with both hands and spun around, swinging both hands out and up. She missed the man on her right, but sliced the man on the left across his abdomen deeply enough to knock him to his knees. She faced the man still standing, both sai spinning in her hands as she waited for his next move.
Suddenly a roar sounded behind her, so loud that it hurt her ears. She knew that it was Olaf of course, and she would have rolled her eyes if she hadn’t known better. Her opponent, on the other hand, glanced toward the sound, leaving her with an opening that she took. Seconds later the man was flat on his back, a long shallow wound across his chest and a jaw aching from the heel of her boot.
“I wouldn’t move if I were you,” she said softly. The man gave his head a slight shake, his eyes fixed on the sai in her hand.
Aisling backed a few steps away from the man before risking a glance up to Urwin. She was not surprised to find that Olaf had shifted back to his human form and was standing beside Urwin, the hand laser a crumpled wad of smoking metal on the sand nearby.
“I’ll watch this one,” Rudy said as he walked toward her. “It might help the girl if she could see you.”
“Thanks,” Aisling said. She started to lean up to give Rudy a kiss when she heard a faint slither of noise from the man behind her. She spun around and flung her arms out, releasing both sai without pausing to aim, burying them deep within the man’s chest. The man’s arm fell back, his blaster dropping into the sand at her feet.
“Idiot,” Aisling said with a shake of her head. “At least he wasn’t a local.”
“I’ll retrieve your sai,” Rudy said, leaning down for his interrupted kiss. “You go on and help the Princess.”
“Thanks,” Aisling said. She reached back for her second pair of sai and moved them to the front loops on her belt. Then she hurried toward the speeder and the girl Olaf was untying from Urwin.
The girl looked at Aisling with wide eyes, her pupils dilated with shock, her face gray with fear. Aisling clenched her fists and bit her tongue in an effort to maintain an air of calm as she studied the girl’s face. There was a fist sized bruise forming at one temple, a red hand print across one cheek,
a swollen lip trickling blood down her chin. Aside from the bruises and the blood, the girl was strikingly beautiful.
“Are you Princess Kapia?” Aisling asked gently.
The girl nodded slowly, then glanced fearfully at Urwin’s back.
“I’m Aisling,” she said, stepping behind her to untie her hands. “You’re safe now.”
Kapia whimpered softly as the strain on her shoulders was released. She immediately pulled her hands in front of her and rubbed her wrists.
“Let’s get you off of that speeder and away from this piece of garbage,” Aisling said, offering the girl her hand. She kept her tone calm and relaxed, deliberately calling Urwin a name so that the girl would see she had nothing to fear from him.
Kapia looked at Aisling for a long moment, then glanced quickly at Olaf before dropping her eyes to her hands. She swallowed hard, then lifted her chin. Aisling had the distinct impression that she had just made up her mind about something.
The girl placed one cold, shaking hand in Aisling’s, and started to swing her leg off the speeder. She fell forward, placing her other hand against Urwin’s back to catch her balance. Pressing hard against his back, she pushed herself away from Urwin who jerked forward with a hiss.
Both feet safely on the ground, Kapia took one step and stumbled. Aisling reached out to steady her, shaking her head at Olaf who also stepped forward. She didn’t think the girl would react well to a strange male touching her at the moment. Once Kapia had her balance, Aisling guided her away from the group of men and speeders and urged her to sit down in the sand.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“I think so,” the girl said softly. She reached up and rubbed the side of her head with one hand and winced.
“Careful, sweetie,” Aisling said as she reached up to gently pull the girl’s hand away from her face. “You have a few nasty bruises is all, but there’s no need to aggravate them.”
Laura Jo Phillips Page 29