Ariella and the Blood Curse

by Owen Crane

  “It"s Indio Griffinfriend. I"ve been telling my, not very smart, friends here

  that griffins are the finest beasts in all Dawnhaven. They"ve foolishly doubted

  me so I"ve dragged them down to see for themselves.”

  “Indio?” one of the guards asked, lowering his spear.

  “I think we just got lucky,” whispered Eleazar.

  “Rapha! What are you doing out here? I thought you were out in the far

  north fighting off Ghost Raiders?”

  Rapha laughed, “Nope, I"ve just got married so they allowed me back to the

  capital for a year’s posting. I’m part of the Royal Guard so I got to fly down

  here.”

  “You"re married! Congratulations, how did you convince her?”

  “I begged,” said Rapha, “and then I begged some more. She eventually took

  pity on me. How"s the life of a Guardian?”

  “Tough Rapha,” said Indio, “Shaking his head. I miss the mountains and the

  griffins. That"s why I brought my friends with me to show them how amazing

  griffins are. Rapha, may I introduce three of the finest Sojourners the Guardians

  have ever had the privilege of training, Ariella, Jaron and Eleazar.”

  The three friends nodded and smiled.

  “Greetings. Friends of Indio"s are friends of mine.” Rapha declared

  “Do you mind if I take them to see Thrace?” asked Indio, his voice dripping

  with innocence.

  “Be my guest,” said Rapha, “as long as you don"t mind going on your own,

  I"m starving.”

  “Not at all, enjoy your meal,” said Indio as he led the others away from the

  fire, the roasting pheasant and the two guards.

  “How lucky can one person be?” said Jaron shaking his head.

  “Told you,” said Indio smugly, “Simple.”

  Ariella ignored them. She was staring at the nearest griffin, her mouth wide

  in wonder.

  “She"s beautiful,” she whispered.

  “How did you know it was a she?” asked Indio suspiciously

  “I"ve no idea, she just looks like a she.”

  The griffin"s feathers were shining in the far off firelight. They looked like

  bronze shards of armour covering the beasts’ upper body. The griffin stared at

  Ariella, fixing her with a penetrating gaze. Ariella didn"t look away and for a

  moment she was lost in awe of the creature in front of her.

  “That"s the Queen’s.” said Indio, “Her name is Lavina.”

  Ariella reached out her hand and held it a few inches from the griffin"s beak.

  “Ariella,” Indio whispered, “Be super careful. Remember what I said about

  griffins ripping people"s heads off?”

  But Ariella ignored him, captivated by Lavina"s gaze. She kept her hand

  outstretched, her eyes never leaving Lavina"s. After what seemed like an

  eternity, the griffin leaned its head forward and placed its beak on Ariella"s hand.

  Eleazar exhaled sharply, “Bloody hell.”

  “You"ve got some insane courage in your heart Ari,” laughed Jaron.

  “You sure you"ve never been around griffins before?” Indio asked.

  Ariella shook her head.

  “Well in that case, that was pretty amazing. Now let"s find Thrace and get

  out of here.”

  Ariella stayed with Lavina while the others moved quickly past the other

  griffins and found Thrace. The griffin recognised Indio and gave a soft cry as he

  threw his arms around Thrace"s feathery neck.

  Jaron and Eleazar checked down Thrace"s side and found the weapon holster

  as Indio had promised.

  “Check it out Jaron.” said Eleazar “A couple of swords, a bow, a spear and a

  few knives. These boys from Khan certainly come prepared for a fight.”

  Ariella joined the boys as they were sorting the weapons.

  “I’ll take Jaron with me,” said Indio. “Ele you can fly with Ariella.”

  Eleazar hesitated “Er….”

  “What"s the problem?” she asked.

  “Well, it"s just that, well…you"ve never flown before and….” he stammered.

  Ariella smiled. “No problem, you can stay here and explain to Rapha where

  we"ve gone.”

  He pulled a face at her, “Fine, I"ll fly with you.”

  “Excellent Idea. We’ll take Lavina. Indio, you ready?” she asked.

  “Yep. You sure you"re okay taking the Queen"s griffin?” he asked.

  “She"s my Aunty. How mad can she be?” asked Ariella

  “Pretty stinking mad,” mumbled Eleazar.

  Ariella ignored him. “Give us two minutes to get on Lavina and unfetter

  her. Then get airborne and we"ll follow you.”

  “Got it,” said Indio climbing onto Thrace and giving Jaron a hand up.

  Ariella and Eleazar made their way back to Lavina. Ariella began to unfetter

  her.

  “Just thought of something,” said Eleazar, “back in a moment.”

  “What?” she hissed, “where are you going?”

  Eleazar had already slipped into the shadows.

  Idiot, what is he doing?

  Ariella carefully climbed onto Lavina"s back and sat down low, trying not to

  attract Rapha"s attention.

  Where the hell are you Ele?

  Just then he slipped out of the shadows and sheathed his knife he"d taken

  from the weapon holster.

  “What have you been doing?” she demanded

  Eleazar climbed up behind her, “Don"t worry, you"ll see in a moment.”

  Ariella looked over her shoulder through the twilight and could make out

  Jaron and Indio on Thrace"s broad back.

  Time to go Indio, give the signal.

  “Hey! What are you lot doing up there!” bellowed Rapha “That"s the

  Queen"s griffin, get off!”

  “Now would be good a time Ari,” said Eleazar

  “Go!” she heard Indio yell through the night. Out of the corner of her eye

  she saw Thrace spread his massive wings and kick into the air.

  “Wow.” she whispered

  “Sod „Wow", get going!” said Eleazar as Rapha came storming towards them

  with his spear held high and anger all over his face.

  It was at that moment that Ariella realised she had no idea how to fly a

  griffin.

  What have I done? You’re a fool Ariella and this is the dumbest thing you have ever done. Rapha was only twenty yards from them now and closing fast.

  “Ari!” said Eleazar squeezing her waist tight, “I"m sorry I was mean to you

  but please make this thing fly.”

  Think, Ari, think!

  Rapha was five yards away

  Then a loud voice called from way up above them.

  “Ride it like a horse! It"s been trained like a horse!”

  A horse!

  Just as Rapha reached out his hand to grab Ariella she kicked both her heels

  into Lavina"s flanks and the griffin leapt into the night sky.

  Chapter 20

  Ariella gasped as Lavina"s powerful wings beat again and again, driving

  them higher and higher. Below them she could hear Rapha"s shouts of anger

  grow faint as they climbed. The chill of the evening air blew on her face but she

  smiled and began to laugh an exuberant laugh.

  “This is amazing!” she cried

  She heard a groan behind her. “Enjoying the flight, Ele?”

  “I think I"m going to be sick,” he muttered.

  “Not here you"re not. I don"t think Lavina would take it well if you threw up

  on her feathers. She may be inclined to take you for a spin.”

 
; “That"s not funny,” grumbled Eleazar, “I thought we were finished back

  there. I can"t believe I let you talk me into this. We"ve just stolen the Queen of

  Khan"s griffin.”

  “Borrowed,” she corrected. “Besides what was your alternative? Buy a horse

  and ride off to who knows where with no friends, no help. You"d be miserable

  and probably end up dead with a butterfly dart in your neck.”

  Ariella felt him slump behind her but he said nothing. She scanned the sky

  around them trying to get a bearing on Indio and Jaron but the clouds had

  blocked out the light of the moon and stars.

  Where are you? I can’t see anything up here but great black clouds.

  Just then she heard the cry of a griffin ahead of them but higher up, beyond

  the clouds. Lavina gave an answering cry and beat her wings again taking them

  up towards the low hanging clouds. Then, to Ariella"s surprise she heard

  another griffin give an answering cry, just off to her left. Then another to her

  right, then another, and another. Then three more in quick succession.

  “Crap, they"re after us.” said called to Eleazar

  “Don"t panic,” he replied, “Look a little closer at them, I was hoping this

  would happen.”

  “What would happen?” but he ignored her as she felt him slump down

  again.

  I guess flying doesn’t agree with him, what did he mean by ‘I was hoping this would happen’?

  She peered through the gloomy night trying to make out the nearest griffin.

  It was only about twenty meters from them and was flying parallel but a little

  behind.

  That’s weird; he’s not chasing us. Something’s not right.

  Then it dawned on her. “There are no riders.”

  “Well spotted genius.”

  “I don"t think Lavina likes sarcasm Ele.” she replied. “I think if she hears

  anymore sarcasm then she might be inclined to do a few loops, maybe some

  rolls. What do you think Lavina?” Ariella stroked the great griffins feathers and

  she gave a friendly squawk. “I think she agrees with me.”

  “Easy, no need to be hasty. What I meant to say was, I figured the guards

  might give chase so I cut the tethers of the other griffins. I guessed there would

  be a good chance if two of them flew the other seven would follow.”

  Actually, that was a really good idea. Not sure I should let him know that, don’t

  want him getting an even higher opinion of himself do we? Ari, you’re being a cow.

  Give credit where credit is due.

  “Ele.”

  “What?” he muttered

  “That was a really good plan.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “Thank you.”

  Before they could say any more Lavina plunged into the low lying clouds.

  Immediately their visibility was down to only a few feet either side of them. The

  wetness of the cloud soaked their hair and clothes. Lavina didn"t seem to object.

  Droplets of moisture ran off her feathers and down her back.

  “I hope she knows where she"s going.” said Eleazar “I couldn"t find my feet

  in this cloud.”

  On and on Lavina flew. They neither heard nor saw any of the other griffins

  and just as Ariella was about to start panicking they burst through the cloud and

  out into the clear night sky.

  “Oh, my,” whispered Ariella in awe.

  The bank of cloud was laid out below them like a soft feather bed, stretching

  for miles in each direction. Around them the sky was filled with a million stars

  and the twin moons, Owr and Cashak shining brightly together. They were so

  close they seemed to be almost touching, the smaller Cashak moving around its

  larger sibling.

  “I have never seen anything quite as beautiful as this,” she murmured.

  A cry above them drew their eyes to Thrace. Majestic, soaring on his great

  wings. Indio was riding high on his back waving frantically down at them.

  “I think he wants us to go see him. Any ideas on how to make her obey

  you?” inquired Eleazar.

  “Give me a moment.” she replied.

  All right Lavina, how do we do this?

  Ariella noticed a thin metal collar hanging loosely around the griffin"s neck.

  Attached to the collar was a leather strap fashioned like a horse’s bridle. It was

  hanging down in front of her, resting on Lavina"s bronze feathers.

  Like a horse he said, they’re trained like horses. Okay, I can ride a horse, how hard can this be?

  She reached down and gripped the bridle.

  “Go easy,” said Eleazar, noticing what she was doing. “I don"t want her to

  suddenly decide she"s not happy with us riding her and ditching us through the

  clouds. I don"t think I"d bounce.”

  “Thanks for the encouragement, really helpful. Any more gems of wisdom

  to throw in?”

  “I thought Lavina didn"t like sarcasm?” he asked.

  “Your sarcasm. She doesn’t like your sarcasm. It"s a girl boy thing. You

  wouldn"t understand.”

  With that she gave a gentle pull on the bridle and kicked with her heels into

  Lavina’s soft flanks. She immediately rose gracefully up towards Thrace with a

  few beats of her wings.

  “Heck, it worked,” said Eleazar, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice.

  Ariella ignored him as she guided Lavina to where Indio and Jaron were

  circling on Thrace.

  “How"s it going?” called Indio when they were in earshot

  “It"s amazing!” she shouted back. “I"ve never felt anything like it. I"ve never

  been this free.”

  “What about you Ele, enjoying the trip?” Indio asked

  Eleazar waved a hand but didn"t answer.

  “What"s with him?” called Jaron

  “Ignore him,” she said. “He"s in a bad mood because Lavina doesn"t like

  him. He thinks she"s going to tip him off if he says anything mean to me.”

  “Ha, Ari, you"re hilarious.” said Eleazar

  “Was that sarcasm Ele?” she asked as she gave Lavina a sharp tug on her

  reins and dug her foot in on one side. Instantly Lavina tucked in her wing and

  dove sharply.

  Eleazar locked his arms around Ariella"s waist and screamed. “Knock it off

  Ari! Now! Right Now!”

  Ariella turned Lavina back towards Thrace and levelled her off. “I did tell

  you she didn"t like sarcasm, it"s not my fault if you can"t help yourself.”

  Eleazar sighed, “Okay, you win. No more sarcasm.”

  “Excellent,” she smiled and called over to the others. “Which way to Khan? I

  can"t see any landmarks through the clouds.”

  “Landmarks?” scoffed Indio “We don"t need landmarks. You see that

  constellation over there?”

  Ariella followed his gaze to a cluster of bright stars on the far horizon.

  “That’s Elbrathon, the chief of the Frost Giants. We follow those stars and

  we"ll be in Khan in a couple of hours.”

  “Frost Giants?” said Jaron “Did you say Frost Giants? They don"t sound like

  the kind of people I want to bump into wandering around the mountains.”

  “Just legends,” laughed Indio. “There"s plenty of real dangers without

  worrying about imaginary ones.”

  With that he pointed Thrace toward the constellation of Elbrathon and led

  them on through the dark. Behind them flew the seven other griffins, fo
llowing

  the cries of Thrace.

  After a couple of hours the clouds began to thin beneath them and the

  foothills of the Khan Mountains came into view. Ariella knew from the stories in

  the Great Library that these foothills were only the beginning of the massive

  range. There were peaks in the Khans that were so high you would have trouble

  breathing on the summit.

  Indio pulled Thrace in beside Lavina and pointed to a valley that Ariella

  could just make out in the gloom.

  “That"s where the Willowbank flows down from the mountains into

  Trevena,” he said.

  “Then that"s the place to start,” she replied. “Let"s get the griffins down and

  find a safe place to rest until morning. Then we can start the search.”

  Indio guided Thrace down close to the foothills looking for a place for them

  to land. Thankfully the clouds had all but gone and the moons shone bright

  enough for them to see a small piece of flat grass on the side of one of the hills.

  Thrace landed without a sound, Lavina following behind.

  “I"m not sure I want to get down,” sighed Ariella

  Eleazar didn"t hesitate, sliding down to the ground and collapsing in a heap.

  “That was not the most fun experience of my young life,” he muttered.

  “I can"t believe you didn"t enjoy it,” scolded Indio, “The way the wind blows

  in your hair, the way the land drops away from you as your soar up through the

  clouds, the way…

  “Enough already,” pleaded Eleazar “I think I"m going to throw up.”

  “Hey,” called Jaron, “Our new friends are sticking around.”

  The others turned to look as the seven remaining griffins landed next to

  them and gathered around Thrace.

  “I guess he"s the boss.” said Jaron “Is that how griffins live?”

  “Pretty much.” replied Indio. “Good news is we won"t need a sentry

  tonight. Nine griffins makes us as safe as we could ever be.”

  “Then let’s get some rest and be up at first light.” said Ariella “Who knows

  how long we"ve got before a massively annoyed Karlov comes rampaging

  through the hills looking for us.”

  “Wow, that"s a cheery thought to sleep on, sweet dreams Ari,” said Eleazar

  and he pulled his hood over his head and settled down for the night.

  Jaron and Indio found a soft patch of grass and made themselves

  comfortable, quickly dropping off to sleep. Ariella went to say goodnight to