A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying

by Kelley Armstrong

  We’re going to die. We are all going to die.

  “Rowan?” Alianor says.

  I barely hear her. I’m frozen there, unable to move, unable to even blink.

  Alianor says my name again, her voice rising in fear. I catch it that time, and I numbly look over to see her staring at me, her eyes wide.

  Staring at me because I am the royal monster hunter. Saying my name because I am the royal monster hunter. And this is a monster.

  I swing my gaze back to the gryphon. It’s still advancing, its feline tail flicking, like a cat spotting trapped mice. It’s still thirty feet away, in no hurry to get to us.

  “We need to drive it off,” I say, my voice quavering. I swallow hard and come back stronger. They need me to be stronger. “Don’t try to kill it,” I say. “We just need to drive it off.”

  “How?” she says.

  “Dain and I will handle that. You shoo the filly away. She can fly faster than a gryphon. Get her gone. That’s what the beast wants. The pegasus.”

  Alianor runs for the filly, shouting and waving at it. The pegasus whinnies, but I keep my attention on the gryphon.

  “How many arrows do you have?” I ask Dain.

  “Only four. I used the rest on Alianor’s brother. But I have a slingshot, too.”

  “Use that then. Save the arrows.”

  The gryphon is still taking its time, amber eyes fixed on us.

  Malric charges. The gryphon rears like a horse, its talons flashing, but Malric feints to the side. When the gryphon twists to parry, Malric leaps, teeth sinking into the beast’s foreleg.

  As the gryphon writhes, I grab a rock. I race closer and whip the rock at its head. It bounces off the gryphon’s beak but still makes the creature squawk. Dain launches a rock from his slingshot. It hits just below the gryphon’s eye, and the beast shrieks. Malric still hangs from its foreleg, his jaws clamped tight.

  I glance over my shoulder, hoping to see the pegasus long gone. She’s still there.

  Alianor runs at her, yelling, “Hie! Hie!” The filly only dances past, snorting in annoyance. Then she runs for me. Straight for me. Straight toward the gryphon.

  “Keep firing!” I shout to Dain.

  I charge at the filly, my arms waving. She stops and tosses her head.

  “Go!” I say. “Please! Get out of here!”

  She whinnies and dances. She’s decided to stay with me, and she isn’t going anywhere. But I need her to leave. If she doesn’t, the gryphon will kill her.

  I told Alianor we’d drive the gryphon away, but it’s obviously not going to be that easy. Instead, I need to drive her away—the pegasus filly. If we distract the gryphon while the pegasus leaves, it might give chase, but the smaller and faster filly will easily escape.

  My gut seizes at the thought, and a little voice inside me screams that I don’t need to do this, that she can defend herself, that the gryphon might not go after her. Even if I drive her away, the gryphon could stay and attack us. What if the gryphon actually wants me? What if it knows I’m the one who hurt it?

  No, I wasn’t the only person who hurt it that day. A human might want revenge, but a predator only wants dinner, and that would be the pegasus.

  I finally won the filly over, and I want to keep her, and that doesn’t matter. It can’t. I earned her trust, and if I don’t do this, I betray that trust. I made her a promise. That I’d keep her safe. I need to do that…even if it means losing her forever.

  To save her, I must give her up.

  I reach down for a rock. Then I heft it.

  “I’m sorry,” I say…and I pitch the stone at her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  he filly backs up fast, her wings fluttering. The rock glances off her shoulder, and she turns on me with a look of shock.

  “Go!” I shout, my voice thick. “I don’t want you anymore. Get out of here!”

  I reach down for another rock. She whinnies and stamps.

  Dain shouts behind me. Alianor shrieks, “Rowan!”

  I turn to see the gryphon charging. It has thrown Malric off, and it’s running straight at the pegasus.

  Sword raised, I plant myself between the charging gryphon and the pegasus. The beast lowers its head and rushes at me. Then it rears, shrieking. It whips around, and I see Malric, the huge warg lifted in the air as he clings to the gryphon’s rear leg. The gryphon grabs him with its beak.

  I run and slash at the beast. I know better than to stab its thick hide. But I slash at its foreleg, right where it’s bleeding from Malric’s initial attack. The gryphon swings on me. Its giant beak strikes my shoulder, and I fly through the air, thumping down flat on my back.

  I lie there, dazed. Then I remember where I am, and I bolt upright just as the gryphon flies at me again. I leap to my feet. A stone hits the gryphon square in the eye. It shrieks. Alianor pitches a bigger rock and strikes it in the throat. I race out of the beast’s path. Malric jumps at it again. As the gryphon twists to deal with the warg, I see a shadow far off to my left. It’s the filly, disappearing over the canyon walls.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

  I tear my attention from her and grab a rock. Alianor and I keep at it, throwing stones as Dain slings them, and Malric lunges and bites. Even Jacko dashes in, distracting the beast when it goes after the warg. The filly is gone, but the gryphon isn’t leaving.

  “Shelter!” I shout. “We need to take shelter.”

  Alianor points to the canyon wall. High above us, a dark patch marks a cave entrance. It should lead into a series of tunnels—a perfect escape route, too small for the gryphon to follow.

  “Go!” Dain says. “Take Jacko and run. Malric and I will distract it.”

  “No, you need to come—”

  “We’ll be right behind you.”

  Alianor and I back toward the cave while pitching rocks at the gryphon. I hold Jacko under one arm, and we keep pelting the beast while we retreat.

  We must climb to reach the cave mouth. Alianor goes first. I want Dain to follow, but he insists I go next.

  I position Jacko on my shoulders. Then I grab a rock ledge. That means putting my back to Dain and Malric. It feels like escaping. Like I’m turning my back on my friends. Like I am, once again, hiding in that haystack as Jannah fights the beast.

  The more I hesitate, the longer we are all exposed. The longer they are in danger.

  As I heave myself onto the ledge, the gryphon snarls behind me. Dain’s rocks thump off its thick hide. Malric roars. A cry rings out. A canine cry of pain, edged with a whimper.

  “Malric!” I shout, and I twist, hanging from the ledge, Jacko sliding on my shoulders.

  “Keep going!” Dain yells. “He’s fine!”

  Malric is not fine. He’s lying on the rock, thrown there by the gryphon. The gryphon is bearing down on him…just like it did with Jannah.

  Malric whimpers and lifts his head. My hand tightens on my sword. As the gryphon advances on the warg, Dain runs for the canyon wall. He runs right past Malric, not pausing to help the warg at all. I tense, ready to leap down.

  “No!” Dain shouts. “He’s fine! Keep going!”

  Fine? Fine? Malric lies battered on the rock, unable to do more than lift his head and whine. The gryphon has launched itself into the air. It’s poised over the wounded warg. I have to—

  The gryphon drops. I scream…and Malric nimbly leaps out of the way. He runs in the other direction. Then he staggers and falls again.

  Below, Dain says, “Move, princess! Malric’s not wounded. He’s—”

  A screech of frustration from the gryphon drowns out Dain’s words. The gryphon has dived, only to find its prey gone again.

  Malric is drawing the gryphon off. He’s faking injuries to lead it away as we climb. Dain smacks the bottom of my boot and says, “Move, princess!” I climb as fast as I can. When I near the top, Alianor bends to lift Jacko off my head. He chatters at her but lets himself be taken as I get up onto the ledge. I reach for Dain. He grab
s the ledge with both hands and heaves himself onto it.

  “Show-off,” I say.

  He passes me, heading into the cave as I crouch on the edge and shout, “Malric!” The warg sees that we’re up and comes running. Behind me, Dain whispers, “No!” His footfalls pound deeper into the cave.

  “What’s wrong?” I say.

  As soon as I turn for a better look, I see the problem. From below, the opening looked just big enough to let us through. That was an illusion. What we find is a massive cavern…one that the gryphon can fly right into.

  I jump to my feet. “We need to go! This won’t—”

  “Over here,” Alianor says. She’s running for a hole off to the cavern’s right side. She leans into it. “This one’s too small for all of us to fit inside.”

  Dain’s at the back of the cavern, on his knees, peering into another opening. “Here! This’ll work!”

  I look down the canyon wall. Malric has leapt onto a ledge. He hunkers down and jumps but doesn’t make it to the next. His claws scrabble against rock as he slides. The gryphon is in flight and coming straight for him.

  I pitch a chunk of rock as hard as I can just as the gryphon swoops for Malric. The rock hits the top of the gryphon’s head. It shrieks and loops back.

  Malric reaches the ledge. He crouches and leaps for the next one. This time, he makes it. Then he jumps again. His paws hit the one I’m on. They hook it, but he’s fallen short again and he’s slipping.

  I drop to my knees and grab one paw. Dain runs over to grab the other. Alianor reaches to seize the scruff of Malric’s neck. We drag him up onto the ledge just as the gryphon flies at us.

  We fall back in a tumble of legs and fur. Then we scramble to our feet and run for that hole in the back. I push Alianor in as Dain grabs Jacko and motions for me to follow Alianor. Malric comes after me.

  The warg is too big for the opening, and Dain has to shove him as I pull his ruff. Finally, Malric pops through. Then Dain passes the jackalope to me. He starts through…and then I hear the gryphon scream. In a flash, its beak closes on Dain’s leg. I drop Jacko and grab Dain by the shoulders. I yank as hard as I can, and Dain flies in, one foot bare.

  The gryphon drops Dain’s boot. Its beak pokes into the hole as we all scramble back. It manages to get its beak inside, but it can go no farther. The air fills with the sweet smell of gryphon breath. It hisses and growls, but we’re out of reach, and after a moment, the gryphon withdraws into the cavern.

  We take a moment to catch our breath. As Alianor checks Dain’s foot—and declares it unhurt—I lie on my belly, far enough from the opening that the gryphon can’t grab me. I watch it in the cavern. It has enough room to move around, to be comfortable. But there’s not enough room for us to sneak by it.

  I look over my shoulder. Past the low opening, the rear cave expands. It’s big enough to fit all of us. We can even stand up if we move farther back. We cannot, however, go anywhere. There are no passages to crawl through. It’s a blind cave.

  We’re trapped.

  No, not trapped. Safe. For now, we are safe. We can breathe. We can rest. After that…

  After that, I don’t know.

  * * *

  The gryphon isn’t leaving. It’s smart enough to realize it has its prey cornered.

  “It’ll get hungry eventually,” Alianor says, an hour or so later, as we watch it lounge on the cavern floor.

  “Gryphons are like wolves or mountain cats,” I say. “They can go a week without eating.”

  “And we can’t,” Dain says grimly.

  “We actually can,” I say. “But we can’t go a week without water.”

  We check our water skins. They’re only half full.

  “What about the gryphon?” Alianor asks. “How long can it last without water?”

  “Longer than us,” I say.

  “Then we’ll wait until it sleeps.”

  I shake my head. “Gryphons sleep like birds. It’ll doze, but as soon as we try passing, it’ll wake up.”

  “Then as soon as it dozes, I’ll go for help,” she says. “You can distract it while I run.”

  I look at Dain. He shakes his head. He doesn’t trust her to bring help. I think he’s wrong. She will tell her clan, but that doesn’t mean anyone will believe her. She already lied to them about my being paralyzed by a spider.

  So now the princess is trapped by a gryphon? What are you up to, Alianor?

  I crawl to Malric. There’s blood on his fur, but when I tried to check him earlier, he snapped at me. This time, when he snaps, I snap back. Jacko hops over and chatters, as if telling the warg to be still. Malric grunts and lowers his muzzle to the ground.

  I examine him. Some of the blood doesn’t have a wound below it. That means it isn’t his. The rest are shallow scrapes and cuts.

  I feel for broken ribs. He doesn’t even flinch when I rub my hands over his chest. He’s fine. He really was only faking it with the gryphon.

  Alianor crouches beside me and watches intently. When I look over, she says, “His wounds should be cleaned, but I hate to use the water. They’ll be fine until morning.” She straightens. “I’ve trained under our healer. That’s what I’m supposed to be when I’m grown.”

  “A healer?”

  I must sound surprised, because she smiles. “Couldn’t you tell by my amazing bedside manner?” She shrugs. “I like healing. I’m pretty good at it, too. I just want more.”

  “You want to be a leader.”

  “Honestly, I’m not even sure. Right now, my main concern is making sure Lanslet doesn’t become warlord of our clan. If he does, I don’t think we’ll be a clan much longer. A lot of our clansmen won’t follow him. They already think he’s incompetent.”

  “And your father doesn’t realize that?”

  “He does. He just thinks they’re wrong.”

  I nod. She continues examining Malric.

  “Does he seem well enough to walk?” I ask.

  “Walk, yes. Fight, no.”

  I move to my pack and remove my field journal and quill. I write a message. Then I slide it into the slot in Malric’s collar.

  “He can take that to the castle,” I say. “Then he can lead Berinon back. The problem is getting him out of the cavern. I’ll need to distract the gryphon so Malric can run past.”

  “I can handle that,” Alianor says. “The best way to raid a camp is to divert attention. I’m an expert at that game.”

  I hope she’s right.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  he gryphon lies curled up, as if sleeping. Its eyes are shut, its chest rising and falling. I’m not sure if it’s faking or actually dozing. It’s not fully asleep, though. I can tell that by the way its ears twitch at every sound.

  So we make some noise. We bustle about the rear cave, talking and bumping into the walls. The gryphon peers our way several times. It soon realizes that these sounds don’t mean its prey is emerging, though, and it stops peeking.

  As Dain and I talk loudly, Alianor creeps out. She’s left her boots in the rear cave with us, and she moves silently, rolling her feet. I watch the gryphon’s ears. They don’t move. Alianor reaches the back corner of the cavern. Then she looks my way.

  I take a deep breath. This is the part of her plan I don’t like. The part where she needs to wait in that corner while we help Malric through the very tight hole into the cavern. His entire body fills it, which means we can’t see out. Can’t see Alianor. Can’t see the gryphon. There’s a moment where Malric sticks like a cork in a bottle, and all we can do is push. If the gryphon spots Alianor, we’ll be powerless to help her.

  Finally, Malric is through. The gryphon hasn’t moved. When I motion to Alianor, she races across the cavern floor, her bare feet slapping the rock. The gryphon’s eyes fly open. It leaps to its feet, front talons and back claws scraping the rock. Behind the beast, Malric creeps as quietly as he can. Alianor whoops so the gryphon doesn’t hear Malric’s nails clicking. The beast lunges toward her, and she
slides through the opening into the smaller side cave, the one we couldn’t all fit into.

  The plan is for her to slide into that side cave and leave her feet sticking out. To kick and make a commotion, so the gryphon will try to grab her. I don’t like that part either. It’s necessary, she said, to make sure the beast doesn’t give up too easily and notice Malric sneaking out.

  Jacko lets out his alert cry from where he’s wriggled up under me to watch. Alianor is safely plunging into the hole, but all the baby jackalope understands is that the gryphon is going after Alianor, and I’m not doing anything about it. Maybe I don’t see my companion in danger. So he needs to tell me. As soon as he sounds his alert cry, my hand slaps over his mouth. It’s too late. The gryphon is already turning.

  I withdraw fast, and I hear Alianor valiantly trying to regain the gryphon’s attention, but his head whips the other way, past us and over to…

  The gryphon spins and lunges at Malric. The warg dodges, and the gryphon’s beak snaps the end of his tail. Malric runs for the cavern opening. He makes it through, and he’s crouching to jump when the gryphon grabs him around his neck.

  I burst into the cavern. Dain shouts in alarm. Jacko squeaks. I don’t care. I run across the cavern floor, sword in hand. But I’m already too late. The gryphon throws Malric. The warg hits the cavern wall, and that crunch rings out. That terrible crunch I will never forget—the one I heard when the gryphon pitched my aunt head-first into a rock.

  I scream, and I rush at the gryphon. It doesn’t even look my way. It’s going for Malric, lying motionless on the floor.

  I take a running leap and stab with my sword. The blade plunges into the gryphon’s haunch. And then I’m hanging there, gripping the hilt, my sword embedded in the beast’s thick hide. The gryphon screams, but the short blade is barely halfway in. My feet aren’t even touching the ground. I’ve done nothing but enrage the beast. When I try to yank the sword out, it won’t budge.

  The gryphon wheels and slams me into the cavern wall. I’m crushed between the beast and the rock. The fur of its haunch presses against my face. I can’t breathe. I let go of my sword—I must. I punch and claw at the gryphon. Then it shrieks, and I look up to see something on its back.