by Drae Box
Aldora turned to Raneth. “Are we sure he’s not walking us into a trap?” she asked him.
“Nope, but we’re walking and trusting.”
“Well, that’s dumb,” uttered Rider as he pushed his way between Aldora and Raneth and walked beside them. “Ma’am, just give me the order to go and stab Thane in the back, and I will.”
Aldora wrinkled her nose at Rider’s offer. “Why... Don’t call me ma’am,” she requested firmly. “I hate being called that. Aldora will do, Mr Catagowli.”
“Fine. Call me Rider. I don’t care.”
Raneth smiled at the two of them, catching Aldora’s attention. What’s so funny, Raneth? She watched as he stepped into the building first, but when she tried to follow, Rider rested a hand against her shoulder.
“Me next,” he insisted, before stepping into the darkness beyond the open door.
For goodness sake. Aldora stepped in behind Rider.
“Close the door,” ordered Thane, standing at the other end of the small building, his arms folded as he rested against the back wall.
Aldora shuffled forwards with Rider as the hands of a Frey Follower forced her to make room for them. The sooner we dodge the Frey Followers at least, the better, she decided. I need to get Raneth to go to Icoque without Thane and his guys, if I can. Maybe without this Rider guy too. Rider’s looking out for Raneth, which also seems to mean walking between me and Raneth. Which means he’s protective and doesn’t trust me. I don’t need that if I’m to get close to my uncle and convince him not to hurt them and the other royal officials.
The light streaming in behind her slid away as the door shut behind the Frey Followers. Aldora blinked, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dark.
“Thank you,” uttered Thane. He turned to the wall he was standing against and pushed a brick deeper into the wall. Aldora heard a clunk and the floor beside Thane’s feet began to slide back, revealing a set of wooden steps nailed into a brick wall below the building.
“You’re not seriously expecting us to go down there?” she asked. “That looks dark.”
“Yes, I do. It’s lit at the bottom, just not on the stairs. We couldn’t risk the tunnel being discovered if the owner of this place changed hands,” explained Thane. He smiled and gestured to it, turning his gaze to Raneth. “After you, Raneth.”
Aldora gripped Raneth’s elbow. “No, don’t. Let me or Rider go first.”
“Aldora, I’m trusting him for now.” He glanced towards the dark gaping square mouth of the tunnel. “The longer I leave the kingdom in your uncle’s hands, the greater the risk of harm coming to Cray and his family. They’re probably in the Southern Kingdom royal palace, but that place isn’t magic like ours – there’s a good chance that someone could creep inside and murder them all in their sleep. I want to get this done quickly, and if that means trusting Thane, I’m going to have to risk it.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “Again,” he added with a slight grumble.
Reluctantly, Aldora nodded. “Alright. But I’m coming in right behind you.”
Raneth shrugged. “OK. Thanks, A.” He gave her a quick smile before striding over to Thane and peering down into the smuggling tunnel. “Here goes nothing, I suppose.”
Aldora hurried after him, quickly stepping onto the wooden steps as he trotted down them too quickly for her to follow. “Slow down,” she urged, even as his body started to be illuminated by the lights further down.
He slowed on the last few steps and turned to face her. “It’s OK,” he promised.
“I don’t care,” she said. “Just wait for me.”
She stepped off the bottom step onto an uneven pouring of concrete. Wooden beams held the tunnel up around them, with large sections of dirt between them.
“This feels vaguely familiar,” she muttered and nodded towards the walls.
Raneth nodded. “Very similar to those used by Cray’s kidnappers,” he confirmed. “But if Thane relies on them for his criminal activities, he probably hired professionals to dig them.”
A soft thud made Aldora turn around. Rider and Thane were standing behind them.
“Of course I did. My Frey Followers and I have better things to do than dig around like moles.” The Master Frey gestured down the tunnel. “Head to the end. That will get us out of Green City and you’ll be able to form after that and head to Icoque.”
Aldora stepped past Raneth. “I’ll go first.”
Raneth followed her without argument. “You realise, if we’re gonna fly, I need to change out of these clothes and put on some of the feathered ones in my bag?” he asked her. “Otherwise I’ll reform back into my human-self naked.”
Aldora smiled. “I don’t mind watching you change.”
“I’m glad you like the idea of me changing in front of Thane amusing, but I’m gonna be vulnerable as soon as I start stepping out of my trousers.”
“I’ll watch your back, don’t worry,” promised Aldora. And your butt. She took a steadying breath, knowing there was something she had to say to her partner. “And I’m sorry, Raneth. About before. Our argument and leaving Ali’s.” She resisted the urge to nip at the inside of her cheek as she looked up at him.
“Thanks. And don’t worry about it. I know we approach things differently. You’ve always tried not to bloody your blade and I’m a soldier. It’s why we work, right?”
Aldora nodded. Considering I nearly made him cry, I’m surprised that he doesn’t want to say more about it. She glanced towards Rider and Thane. Unless that’s why.
“And Thane’s not coming with us to Icoque if we can help it,” stated Raneth.
“I like that plan,” replied Aldora, looking briefly over her shoulder at the others again. “What do we do if he has his riding dragons nearby?”
Raneth grinned. “Oh, they were confiscated last year by the Society of Rare Creatures. They’re in zoos now.”
A small laugh escaped Aldora. “I take it you had something to do with that?”
“Well, considering how many crashed into the ground when they were chasing me in the air… I may have reported some bad flying.”
Aldora laughed again but she quietened as Raneth strode to Thane.
“Thank you for the help, Thane.”
The Master Frey looked down at his prey and smiled. He clapped a hand onto Raneth’s shoulder, making the Bayre flinch. “Good luck, Raneth. And remember, as soon as Cray’s restored to the throne, I’ll be hunting you again.”
“That’s where the Suncrest factories are,” said Rider, sitting behind Aldora on Raneth’s griffin-form’s back. The sun had fallen as they flew to the village on the kingdom’s northern shore, past Aldora’s village and the royal palace, but the sight that greeted Aldora, Raneth and Rider when they reached Icoque was a familiar one. As Raneth dove down through the air, careful not to dislodge his passengers, Aldora took in the state of the village. Many of the rooftops were hidden by plumes of black smoke curling into the sky. Other buildings had tongues of orange and red fire reaching up into the cool air, fighting for every lick of oxygen they could get.
“Is there even anyone down there fighting the fires?” asked Aldora, resting a hand against the top of Raneth’s feathered white head.
The griffin’s triangular ears twitched at her voice and he tilted his head to see the village better with one of his eyes. Then his head straightened again and he gave a nod.
“That’s something, then.” Aldora looked at Rider over her shoulder. “Do you know which factory it is we want?”
“That one, I think, if I remember right,” said the royal official, pointing towards one of the factories near the village park at its southeast edge.
Aldora watched the village as Raneth circled around it from above, dodging the curls of smoke and the tongues of fire to give them a better view.
“Don’t fly us for too long, Raneth,” she said. “I don’t want you to tire yourself out. We haven’t had a proper rest since getting over the border – you especially, with the fl
ight to my village.”
The griffin grumbled under her.
“I know you don’t mind, but I do. I don’t want you slowing down because you need a nap.”
The griffin huffed.
“Hey, where are we gonna land?” asked Rider, wrapping his muscular arms around Aldora’s waist a little tighter. “Because I don’t like flying, but I don’t see many secluded spots for Raneth to land in without scaring the pants off anybody, or alerting the Brethren. The park has too many trees for his wingspan. He’ll just hurt himself.”
“I don’t know,” admitted Aldora. She slid her hand from Raneth’s head to his white-feathered left shoulder and rested it there. “Raneth, where’s a good place for you to land?”
“It’s so crowded down there,” uttered Rider. “Is there even any streets wide enough for his wingspan? Maybe we can land outside the village and walk in. Are the gates open?”
Raneth curved around and glided down towards the ground, close enough that his four lion paws, which were tucked under him, brushed the grass as he swept past one of the village’s three gates.
“That one’s shut,” stated Aldora as they glided past the south entrance. “Let’s try the west and then the east one.”
With a speed that Aldora took comfort in, Raneth swept around the village one more time. She hugged his neck as he strove back into the air, flapping the large, white-feathered wings either side of her. She glanced over her shoulder at Rider, checking how he was sitting, making sure that his legs weren’t restricting Raneth’s wing movement, but the other royal official was still sitting as if he was kneeling on the ground, with his ankles tucked beside his bottom.
“For the record,” stated Rider, “this is more uncomfortable than you probably realise.”
“I’ll swap with you next time,” offered Aldora.
“I’d like that.”
Raneth grumbled, catching their attention. Aldora looked down and spotted a fireball burst up into the sky. “That’s not coming for us, is it? It’s the wrong angle.”
“Doesn’t look like it,” stated Rider. “Maybe somebody wants a little light down there? Looks like their street lights are out.”
“What do theirs run on?” asked Aldora.
“Gas,” replied Rider. “I quite liked Icoque. It’s quiet, but it has no end of illegal fighting rings.” He paused as he frowned. “Not that I take part in those.”
The griffin huffed.
“Uh-huh,” said Aldora. She pointed at a clearing on the other side of the village, which looked to be a small field. “Raneth, how about there?”
The griffin purred.
“Then let’s go. I don’t want the next fireball to hit us.”
“It’s not going to. Look,” ordered Rider, tapping Aldora’s shoulder and pointing. The fireball swept downwards, smashing into a building near the west entrance.
“Those are houses,” stated Rider. “I think that’s the street the village leader lives on.”
“Do you think the village is resisting Broken Crown? That the fireball is theirs?” she asked.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to land first and see what Raneth wants us to do.”
“Why?”
“He’s my boss right now. He has more experience in the field than I do, so that makes him my senior. And he graduated before me.”
That’s interesting – so Raneth can keep Rider in check, but do they realise I still want to find and talk to my uncle once we’re in the village? She rubbed Raneth’s shoulder as he slowed his speed and drew closer to the field Aldora had spotted.
“Please don’t crash,” murmured Rider.
The griffin snorted then dropped down. He landed gently on his paws and then looked over his white shoulders at Aldora and Rider.
“Time to get off,” said Aldora.
She waited until Raneth had folded his feathered wings at his side, then she climbed off his shoulders. She rubbed his white bird cheek as Rider wiggled down Raneth’s back, before rolling off and landing on his front on the grass.
“Ow.”
The red-and-white griffin flicked his tail at Rider, smacking the tail’s red tip against his back, and then he stepped a little away from the two humans. Aldora watched as the proud chest — speckled red amongst the white feathers — started to suck inwards towards the rest of the torso. The red front legs started to change shape, growing more slender as the feathers merged together, leaving an impression of their outlines against human-like arms, before changing colour and seeming to sink into a black sleeve. The griffin’s white hips cracked as they shifted position and became human. Aldora grabbed Raneth as he fell forwards. The wings drooped as the bones slid towards Raneth’s back before dissipating. The sharply curved yellow beak swept back into Raneth’s face, revealing his nose, and his eyes shifted and changed to blue. The tail was the last to go.
“Thanks for catching me, A,” he said.
Aldora nodded and helped him to stand on his feet.
“Can we rest before we do anything else?” she asked. If I can find my uncle, all I have to do is encourage Rider and Raneth to leave without me. I’m not sure how I’m gonna do that though.
Raneth took hold of her hand and led her closer to Rider.
“Yeah. I need to rest,” he said as Rider looked at him and Aldora expectantly. “I won’t be able to form in the morning if I don’t get a good enough sleep, and we don’t know if we’ll need my griffin-self, so I’d like to have it available. I nearly screwed up my reforming back into my human-self; it’s been a while since I’ve fallen over.”
“Okie doke,” uttered Rider. He rubbed his hands together. “Want me to scout ahead and see if I can find a good building to hole up in? Or a sewer entrance?”
“No sewers,” replied Raneth. He looked at Aldora. “You OK with us maybe helping ourselves to a building?”
“We’re not going to hurt anyone, are we?” she asked.
Raneth shook his head.
“Then no, I don’t mind.”
“Let’s find a business property,” suggested Rider. “They won’t have anybody in them and there will be more of them around.”
Raneth led Aldora into a walk. “I’m pretty sure this field belongs to the fire station,” he told her, “which means we’re on Chestnut Way.”
They walked over the grass in silence, until they came to a wooden fence. Aldora climbed over it and barely needed to wait as the men vaulted over with one hand. I need to learn how to do that without falling face-first on the floor. When Raneth held out his hand to Aldora, she eagerly snatched it into hers, and they walked away from the fire station, which stood behind them at the edge of the field, its wide barn doors ajar, revealing that both fire wagons were out in the village somewhere.
“I forgot this place got bigger,” stated Aldora as they stepped onto the yellow paving slabs that made up the road and path of Chestnut Way. “I read about its expansion though – it’s supposed to be as big as a town now.”
“It is,” said Raneth. “I don’t know the new bits or the changes in the older streets yet, but it’s not a problem if we get lost – I’ll just move us along a specific direction until we reach a street or a landmark I recognise.”
They found a warehouse on the end of a row, with four doors that led outside. Most only had two, usually on the same side of the building so the royal officials chose that one. They made quick work of one of the warehouse’s doors with Raneth’s lockpicking set. As Aldora lay on the cold ground in a corner of the building, she watched Raneth and Rider talking in low voices by a workman’s table a few metres away. She pulled the clean black jacket Raneth had reformed into closer around her frame, grateful that he had given it to her to help combat the warehouse’s chilly air. The edges of the tiny white feathers sewn into its seams tickled her neck.
The guys glanced her way. She gave them a small smile and was rewarded with one from Raneth in return. I don’t think Rider likes me, decided Aldora. But is that just because he’s looking
out for Raneth? They must be close to see each other as brothers. Rider uttered something to Raneth, causing both to look away from her. How long are they going to make me wait? What are they even talking about? Me? Cray? Uncle Denzel?
“We should go to sleep,” said Raneth, louder, slapping a hand against the outer side of Rider’s shoulder.
Rider nodded and glanced back at Aldora, before prowling to the opposite corner of the warehouse and curling into a ball on the ground.
Raneth joined Aldora in her corner. “Snuggle?” he asked as he sat next to her and wrapped his arms around his knees.
Normally I’d say yes, she thought as he smiled at her hopefully, but he’s a light sleeper. I might be able to sneak off if he’s tired enough, but not if we’re touching.
“Not tonight.”
Her best friend and partner nodded, and Aldora waited as he lay down on his back and folded his arms over his chest.
Rider started snoring.
“Is he seriously asleep already?” asked Aldora.
“Yep. He mastered the falling-asleep-anywhere training,” explained Raneth, grinning with his eyes shut as Rider snorted and then continued his loud rumble. “My griffin-self made me fail that, but the instructors didn’t worry too much about it as it’s not considered a necessary skill.” He draped his left arm over his eyes. “Probably more easy for him than normal – he’s had an eventful day.”
“We’ve all had an eventful day,” stated Aldora.
“Yeah,” agreed Raneth. “Goodnight, Aldora.”
“Night, Raneth.” She hesitated. What if he thinks the worst of me when he realises where I’ve gone? Assuming I can sneak out of the same building as two highly trained law enforcing soldiers. “I love you, Raneth.”
His arm lowered from his face and he rolled over to face her. “Love you too, A.” He gave her a small smile. “Are you OK?”
Bummer. Now he thinks I’m worrying. Which is true. I am worrying, but about sneaking past him and what he’ll think of me. Not whatever he’s thinking.
“I don’t want you to worry about me,” said Raneth gently. He shuffled closer to her side but didn’t let their bodies touch. “I’ll be OK, especially with us three working together. We just need to stay focused, get the job done, and then ask for a day off work.”