Familiar's Ancient Throne (Book 2 of the Death Incarnate Saga)

by H. Lee Morgan, Jr

  And they looked back.

  The barrier around Cage dropped when his focus turned solely upwards. He knew the creature from old tales and mythology.

  It was a griffin.

  The wings gave one massive flap that turned the land beneath it into an instant hurricane. The hands and feet spread out and houses were completely crushed beneath them before it hit the ground with a resounding boom that made the land quake and resulted in more nearby buildings collapsing. None nearby could stand due to the earthquake that resulted, but instinctively some stood. Everyone in the city stared dumbfounded as the griffin stood taller than any building in all of Bepop. The magnificent wings came in and folded to lay across its body. All heard it take in a deep breath of air and watched its chest swell. The griffin threw its head back to cry out a shrill roar that made a perfect union between an eagle’s cry and a lion’s roar, but it came from such a source that everything for many miles around could hear and feel the sound vibrate in their chest. All went into silent shock afterwards as birds took flight and animals hid.

  Every tingling sensation of magic was vanquished.

  The griffin looked down as it had placed its house size hand to either side of Cage with twenty feet to either side of where he stood. Cage looked up to see emotion fill the great eyes as they looked upon each other for truly the first time. Facial muscles in the eagle-like head and the fleshy corners of its pearl white beak allowed it to smile and give emotion to show for anyone who beheld it that it is no beast. The griffin took another breath and opened its beak to show a flat, humanlike pink tongue. “You are indeed worthy, My Partner.” The voice Cage remembered in his mind not days earlier matched what his ears heard now and it held power, but the tone was softer and kinder this time.

  The enormous blue eyes turned forward towards the mages in front of it and Cage to become darker. The voice of the griffin reverberated with cold malice. “You dare strike at my partner?! Only the weak use numbers to win.” He growled deep within his chest with fiery rage in those blue eyes and lifted his right clawed hand. And with a single giant swipe, gouged stone and street like soft sand to kill many of the mages and knocked only those who maintained a barrier far away. Three of the five who lived were smacked through a building as if the walls were made of paper.

  One single swipe took out every mage and over ten feet deep of ground.

  “We leave.” The griffin said with a pleased look and took the same hand he used to kill so many to gently encompass both Cage and a screaming Megdline in it. His blue eyes caught labored movement in a pile of blood and fur. “You come as well, Proud Warrior. You have earned my respect.” He also picked up Frill in the other hand. Wings outstretched and rose until the tips touched just under three hundred feet from the ground. He took a three leap sprint, destroying more buildings, jumped with great strength and brought the wings down. Nearby houses blew apart from the wind created by the wings. He took off and powered his bulk forward to take flight. Bepop became a small dot before he turned towards the sea and glided. He turned his hand around and reached over his shoulder to deposit his partner and the female on his back.

  Light returned and Cage rolled to spring up on his feet to realize he stood on the back of the griffin. The great head turned to say “Megdline, Frill needs you to heal him.” And then the great hand dropped sand, dirt and a bloody clump.

  Megdline shrieked “Frill!” and rushed to his side, thinking only of him. Half his jaw was missing as was his back left leg that had been ripped off. Half his chest was crushed. She could tell he was in great pain and she made her gem glow to first deaden the nerves before sending her mana into him while adding a healing spell to re-grow the lost parts. Frill jerked as the magic itch hurt, though he felt no pain. His body began to repair and regenerate rapidly. His gold eyes finally relaxed when he could breathe again and stop drowning in his own blood. After a few tense minutes Frill became whole, even his fur grew back though much of his blood wet the fur. He got up and looked around to stare with wide golden eyes. He saw her shoulder and made her fix it before her robe finished repairing itself.

  Cage passed them as if in a trance. Megdline and Frill could only watch as they couldn’t believe where they were. Cage walked steadily up the back and neck and he knew the griffin could feel him doing so as he held completely still in the flight. He walked up the furry white neck that looked like fresh snow, over the head, down the bridge between the eyes and halfway down the pearly beak. Cage turned around and had plenty of balance to stand with the wind pushing against his back and stared at the blue eyes staring right back at him. Cage smiled and saw the smile the griffin gave. “Thank you for dropping in. I thought we were goners back there. It is good to finally meet you, but we’ve just delayed the inevitable I’m afraid. And I really don’t give a shit they will be coming after seeing you now here and now. You are one handsome creature. Do you have a name? I’m Cage.”

  “My name is Daku, My Partner Cage. You need not fear the wrath of the Magical Council. They will not dare do anything with me as your Familiar.” Daku rumbled a confident laugh. “Their power is nothing to my own.”

  “How do you know they are who I speak of and furthermore how do you know Megdline and Frill’s names?” Cage asked.

  “We have much to discuss, Cage. It will take time, but you must wait a few more minutes. We must fly low so I can reunite you with your mate and your new cub. Climb back and stand with the others. We will speak aplenty when I take all of you after your other mate by the name of Meeka.” Daku said.

  Cage went to open his mouth, but realized that if Brooke doesn’t have Meeka, they aren’t together. He nodded and hurried back up the head and down the neck. He said “Did you hear him?” Neither the cat or woman could coherently respond. Cage gripped Megdline and a few large colorless hairs that acted more like rope as Daku looked back and saw they were ready enough. He tilted forward and glided down towards the beautiful blue of the ocean. His outstretched wings flapped to right them and they glided over the clear blue water, with less than fifty feet beneath the griffin’s chest. He began to turn slowly from the west to the south.

  Land came within sight a few minutes later and Cage noticed the tiny image of a fleet of seven ships. One large battleship lingered behind and floated. Daku glided near that one and there came a launched harpoon when they got close. The spear bounced harmlessly off Daku’s hard wing. A dozen bolts from crossbows followed and none did a thing. He flapped his wings and leaned back to slow down and land in the water where his feet touched the bottom sea floor nearer the red sand beach. The waves displaced of the giant Familiar made the sailboat rock. Screams and shouts could be heard, but Daku’s voice rose higher. “Enough, Humans! You are not my prey or an enemy. Do not attack me again.” The ship silenced immediately. And stared at his pure magnificence. His large blue eyes spotted a tiny fire to him and he looked to the trees. “Sean, I know you are in there. You have no need to fear me, Cub. If you look above my shoulder, you will see your father. I am Daku, his Familiar. Come close so I may bring you to the floating trees I see your mother on.”

  Cage looked over to the boat and clearly saw Brooke near the railing among the others on the boat. He let go of the ropelike white hairs and walked around Megdline. He yelled to the tree line. “It is safe, Sean! He is my friend I so longed for! Come on out! He’s practically harmless!” That got Daku laughing and purring at the same time. “Oh… and don’t forget the packs.”

  A tiny figure slowly extracted from the tree line and Cage noticed Sean scared witless, but he still struggled to come closer. Sean nearly ran away for his life as Daku slowly reached out his fury hand, turned it over and laid it flat on the beach. Sean looked at claws longer and bigger than himself, but not finding anything aggressive, he came closer. Cage waved and it seemed to help lower the boy’s fear as he tossed the three packs in the palm of the wet, furry hand. He then managed to climb up and sit down. Daku said in a kind, calm and deep tone “Be still for a moment.�
�� as his arm lifted and flexible joints turned the gigantic hand around and put it near his shoulder. Cage confidently approached and held up his hands. Sean understood and tossed the bags over before jumping into his dad’s strong arms.

  Daku put his hand down and turned to slowly walk over to the ship. Everyone stood beyond words as the Familiar was larger than the entire boat over eighty stood upon. He flexed a wing as he pulled alongside and lowered his body into the water and turned his head almost nearly all the way around to look meaningfully.

  “Looks like this is where we get off.” Cage quipped and picked up the three packs by his feet. He laid a hand on Sean’s shoulder. “Watch your feet and follow me.” Cage walked towards the wing and across the metal hard feathers as it made a decent ramp to the ship’s railing. The people stepped back, but only Brooke remained near. Cage jumped the missing foot, landed on the rail and stepped down. He turned around to find Sean hesitant to leap and offered a hand. “It’s alright. I won’t let anything bad happen and I doubt Daku will either.” Reassured, Sean took it and successfully jumped the gap and landed on the ship. “Hey Granny! What’s the hold up?!”

  Their stupor ended at that and they looked into Daku’s patiently waiting eyes and understood it was time to get off of him. They walked off his back, down the half extended wing and leapt the gap to the boat.

  Freed of their burden his eyes looked far to the north. Daku’s voice rumbled “Get the tree moving… never mind, I will get you down with the others. All of you better find something to hold on to.”

  “You heard him.” Cage said, obviously the only one who could actually think somewhat straight. When he commanded everyone to hold onto the rails, not one person waited to be left behind. Cage stood between Brooke and Sean while Megdline and Frill stood down beside the boy. The tribal people were frightened and few could manage to whisper. Cage shouted “All set!”

  The giant griffin nodded his great head and made the boat bob as he moved around and placed his large left shoulder against the back of the boat and his head stretched forward as his muscles dug against the seafloor and propelled the ship ahead. Daku remained seriously focused on guiding the ship south, towards the others in the distance while maintaining to walk on a natural sandbar that was deep enough for him to walk and push the ship at the same time. His beak came close and he felt a heavy tap on it to look down and see Cage smiling. “Thank you for this. All of them need to stay close. Any attacks will be diverted if the boats stay together.” Daku nodded and smiled before pushing his bulk faster.

  When Daku reached a set pace, Cage stepped away from the rail to look at all who were there. He saw six people laying down, covered in blood and wounds. He recognized Moril and put the packs down and hurried over. “I’ll fix you up in a jiffy.” He said to the unconscious woman. Cage sent his magic into her and could feel all her injuries. Much of her back began to glow blue as it knitted together. The sudden itch roused her instantly, but before she could scratch, it was over. He grew tired quickly, but went to the next person and healed the life threatening abuse the next woman sustained. She woke more slowly, but did wake. Moril blinked and asked “Chief?” as he sagged during the fourth healing of a man shot by a crossbow. Her eyes instinctively went up when she heard something out of place to ask aloud “What in the spirits is that?!” sharp blue eyes turned down upon her and she gulped.

  Moril’s exclamation broke many reveries, mainly of Lanna and Brooke as they turned to see her getting up. The two women rushed over to embrace her. Brooke noticed Cage pass out after healing the fifth person enough that they weren’t in any danger. She rushed over to turn him on his back. The strange voice of Daku said “Do not let my partner use magic when he wakes. He is weakened and needs to recover before we leave.”

  “Where to?” Brooke found the nerve to ask.

  He still pushed the ship to say “Wherever it is they’ve taken this Meeka female the two of you won’t stop worrying over. I know she was not there where the cruel humans like to harm their own kind.”

  “Do you know where she is… and how do you know of her or me and my mate’s worry?” Brooke wondered.

  “All will be explained soon, but no, I do not know. I will of course make sure my partner gets there and gets her. Hold your questions, I almost have this floating tree closer to the others.” Daku said, ending further discussion. Even Brooke could understand one mistake from her and the creature could effortlessly break the boat.

  Few moved for the next ten minutes as Daku pushed them swiftly to the other boats. Megdline and Frill were like many others and stared openly at him. Cage began to rouse at about the same time Daku stopped pushing. He opened his beak to tell them to lower the cloth that captured the wind and the captive sailors hurried to do so. His large body started walking to shore and Cage gathered enough strength to see where Daku was going. Streams of water began to fall from his fur and wings. A monumental shake shed much of the seawater and he stood proudly on the beach.

  The next scene became burned into Cage’s memory forever.

  Chapter 13

  Beyond what could be imagined yet seeing it is conflicting on so many levels. Sure Cage believed in magic, wyrms, wyverns, spirits, ghosts, zeether snakes hanging from the roof of a cave, houses literally grown from the seed of a tree and that of living on another world, but watching Daku made everything he had ever seen on Raliea utterly insignificant.

  After shaking off most of the seawater, Daku closed his eyes and Cage felt an intense surge of magic emanate from the Familiar. Then the impossible happened as the griffin actually began to shrink in size. That alone became a spectacle for he lost several dozen feet in size every second. In about fifteen seconds Daku went from over four hundred feet in length down to something difficult to see in the distance as the boat sailed further and further. Daku stood no larger than a silver coin on the beach. Such a size difference boggled the mind of Cage and everyone else who gawked.

  The crowd watched on as Daku turned and shot into the air like a sparrow. The griffin flew right to the boat, made a swift circle and landed directly in the middle of the deck in the current size of a large tiger. Cage about shouted that Daku’s weight would sink the ship, but it appeared that weight changes with size.

  Much of his fur remained wet, but neither that or his current size diminished the beauty of his coat and feathers. Cage moved closer as Daku sat on his haunches and wrapped a long tail around his body. Cage had just enough strength to stand and smile. “So you are not always so big?”

  Daku chuckled and opened his pearly beak. “Not always. My size changes how I will it. I get only as big as I need to be, to defend those in my flock.” The blue eye stared levelly back into his partner’s. “Say the words you first used to summon me.” Cage rose an eyebrow, but wondered without asking why. He sat down before the griffin to find the words deeply engraved into his very being. His black eyes opened.

  “I beckon for the one who sits upon the ancient throne! Come forth and face any who try to usurp the forgotten kingdom you alone rule and destroy them into nothingness. Power and strength is forever at your call, but as long as you protect others you shall never fall. Alone you shall never be, so long as you are part of me. Darkness and light we are, to balance life both near and far. COME!!!”

  Daku shivered from beak to tail as he stood up and seemed to glow brilliantly in the light. Clouds started to gather overhead swiftly, but before anything bad happened or could weaken Cage further, Daku threw his head back and cried out as only he could, with a harmonious shrill roar. The summoning ended immediately. With his Familiar so close, Cage finally understood what happened back then. “It was you way back then.” He accused as the clouds began to disperse. “You were the one to stop the summoning the first time. You just stopped it again.”

  Daku nodded. “Yes, it was I.” His blue eyes scanned everyone looking upon them. “There are things I’m not willing to discuss so openly… Megdline, Frill, Brooke, you will come with me to the fr
ont of the tree. And use a spell to not allow any others to hear.” Daku saw Sean pout and sighed. “Very well, you may also listen… And Cage, no more magic till you feel better.”

  The eagle/lion hybrid moved confidently to the front and sat down. None dare challenge Daku or try to get closer for they couldn’t comprehend what is happening or wanted to upset a creature that could grow within moments and destroy them by no more than a tail flick.

  Each one the white being spoke to moved hastily closer as he laid on his belly and crossed his hands like many felines do. Megdline immediately created a barrier so their words weren’t overheard. The moment it was up she said “A Griffin! A real live griffin! Frill, can you believe it’s even conceivable? Daku, I thought your whole race was lost. I… I don’t know where to start.” She panted breathlessly.

  “Rest, Young One.” He said and patted the deck meaningfully. All of them sat in a semicircle around the griffin. “I’m quite surprised you even know of my race.”

  “On my world, you were a myth. Griffins were portrayed as protectors and tricksters. There are many references and sculptures of griffins back there.” Cage said to try and not sound ignorant.

  Daku smiled “Yes, that readily portrays my kind… Wait, you mean there are no living griffins on Earth?” Cage shook his head. “But how can that be? Ten thousand years ago nearly all flocks were taken there to be with their partners. What happened to them?”

  “I don’t know. Wish I did, but the griffins were believed to be myth. If there were documented cases it would have to have been more than a thousand or two years because stories get mixed up from generation to generation.” Then Cage had a thought. “Why did you say ‘nearly all flocks?’ Did many griffins become Familiars?”

  “Only to the warlock clans. It was a pact made long ago when warlocks were tribal. Only they had the fortitude to be our lifelong partners, but it seems that the ancient magic still works. Lesser human mages cannot withstand partnering with a griffin.” Daku stated and saw all of them become full of questions. “Let me speak first before you start questions, for my story might answer some. I will start from when I initially heard you calling for me.” His blue eyes softened on Cage. “I have been alone for many, many years and when you said those words, I felt truly alive for the first time in over ten thousand years. And before you ask, I’ve lost track of my age after the first million. I am old yet young.” He smirked and so did Cage. “I felt your need to have someone who will never leave you and I needed you as well. I was the only one worthy to be your destined partner. But that would not be enough for just any warlock to call for one such as I. As the last white king of the griffins, and also the purest of color, only an elite among the elite class of warlock would have the power to take me as their equal. I felt your loneliness and wanted to fill it for I too have felt the same. There were many emotions running through me, for I did not know a warlock had returned to Raliea. The pull for you wasn’t as I expected, it was weak, but as I saw you before my eye I did not care. I was very happy. Then I could feel you struggle and knew you were reckless and stupid to call for me. It wasn’t till later that I understood you knew nothing of what a warlock is or their methods. I could not fault ignorance. It would have killed you, and through the new connection with me, I too would have died. I resorted to a yell, for only the king griffins, like myself, can stop certain magics by doing it. My scream was the only way to save us both.