“You’re the fire thrower? You look like a puny human to me. Prove it.”
“You don’t like humans,” Steve casually remarked as he ignited both hands. “I get it. I don’t have a problem with that. You want me to prove I’m the fire thrower? In the middle of the forest? Come on. Even you aren’t that crazy.” He held up his flaming hands. “Have you met many humans that can do this?”
The Prime eyed him for a few seconds before purposely striding up to him. Her husband, Sarah noted, had yet to extinguish his hands.
“Why are you here, human? What do you want?”
Ready with an excuse, since the last thing she wanted to do was inform the leader of this particular flock of griffins that they were looking for Ranal, Sarah stepped up to her husband’s side.
“We’ve been all across this kingdom,” Sarah casually explained, hoping she sounded sincere, “and we’ve yet to ever come across an actual griffin village, or community, or whatever you call it. We’re friends with Pheris here, so we thought we’d stop by and see if we could look around your home. Er, is that okay?”
The Prime rustled his wings irritably. “Fine. You’re here. You saw our nests. Now you can go.”
Surprised, Steve looked around the quiet patch of forest they were in. Their nests were here? Where?
Sensing his thoughts, Sarah started studying the trees. Her gaze traveled up over a hundred feet of the nearest tree trunk to the canopy high above their heads. She squinted her eyes. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. Where were these nests the Prime insisted they were standing in the middle of?
Three trees away she saw it. Well, she saw one, she supposed. Less than twenty feet below the tree’s canopy Sarah saw a large irregular mass sticking out in all directions from the trunk. The mass was at least as large as her SUV. Sarah checked the surrounding area. Half a dozen trees away she spotted another. Then another. She suddenly turned to the Prime and gave him her friendliest, most disarming smile.
“You know what? You’re right. That was awful rude of us, just barging in on you guys like that.” Out of the corner of her eye she saw her husband give her a quizzical look. “Pheris, would you show us your nest before we go?”
She felt the Prime’s eyes on them as they hurried away. Sarah risked a glance back. There he was, shaking his head as if he had decided all humans were just as imbecilic as he had originally thought them to be. No doubt the Prime was probably wondering why Pheris was so fascinated with the humans. Sarah shrugged. It wasn’t her concern.
Once they were well away from prying eyes Steve pulled Sarah aside, forcing Pheris to stop and look back at them.
“What the hell was that all about? Why did you just give up like that?”
“Who said I was giving up?” Sarah countered.
“Okay, so what are we doing now?” Steve wanted to know.
“We need an excuse to hang out here for a little bit so that Pheris can discreetly check their elderly members.”
“So that’s why you wanted to see my nest,” Pheris guessed.
Sarah nodded, “Right. How long do you think you’ll need?”
Pheris paused to consider.
“Perhaps an hour, maybe more.”
“Where is your nest?” Steve asked.
“We’re nearly there. My tree is the one with the split trunk.”
Sarah stared at Pheris’ tree. Sure enough, the trunk looked as though someone had at one point in time split the tree from top to bottom, leaving only several feet near the roots intact. The split tree had flowed around other trees growing nearby, forming a veritable net of interlaced branches as it continued to grow upward. Perhaps that had been why Pheris had chosen it?
“I was very surprised you didn’t give the Prime a proper demonstration,” Pheris lamented. “I really wanted to see the look on his face when he saw the full extent of your jhorun.”
“I didn’t think it’d be a good idea,” Steve explained as he walked around the trunk of Pheris’ tree. “A huge blast of fire, in the middle of the forest? That’s just asking for trouble.”
“You’re the fire thrower,” Sarah reminded him. “Couldn’t you have extinguished any fires that would have popped up? I know you can do it. I’ve seen you do it before.”
“Smartass. Yeah, I could have, only how bad would that have made us look? ‘Hey, thanks for showing us around your nests. Now let’s see if I can set the whole damn place on fire’. No thanks. It wasn’t worth it. I wasn’t going to put Pheris in that position.”
Pheris nodded, “Appreciated.”
“Will you go find us a griffin who’s willing to look for Ranal?”
They heard a loud squawk of surprise. Unfortunately, it didn’t come from Pheris. A large griffin moved out of the shadows and into the light. It advanced on the three of them with its wings spread. It strolled right by Sarah and her husband and approached Pheris. Their griffin friend, Sarah noted, was remarkably holding his ground, although his feathers did appear ruffled, as though he was trying to look as intimidating as possible.
“I knew something wasn’t right,” the Prime accused, eyeing Pheris dangerously. “Why else would you bring two humans into our midst?”
Steve snapped his fingers twice, causing the Prime to look his way.
“Nuh uh. If you have a problem then you come to us, or me specifically. We’re the ones who convinced Pheris to come here. I was the one who suggested we go to him in the first place.”
The Prime abandoned his advance on Pheris and rounded on Steve.
“Humans have no say here. This is a griffin matter. Kindly keep your flat, ugly nose out of our affairs. If you… what are you doing?”
Steve had raised his hands and was now pointing both his palms at the griffin. Sarah noticed both of her husband’s hands had turned dark red. She began inching behind Steve, motioning Pheris to do the same.
Steve released his jhorun into his hands, blasting out jets of fire. His flames, bereft of a target, became whipping tentacles of fire that snaked through the air like an unattended fireman’s hose. Steve threw his hands up high in the air, blasted even more jhorun into his hands, and then instructed the fire ropes to dance around the Prime’s body.
You can scare, Steve instructed his jhorun, but do not touch.
The Prime remained motionless as the jets of fire whizzed by close enough where he could tell that a few feathers were singed. The old, grizzled griffin eyed them a few moments more before he snapped his wings closed and let out a loud squawk.
“Enough. You have made your point, fire thrower.”
Steve allowed the fire ropes to extinguish and returned the Prime’s defiant look. Sarah stepped forward and inserted herself between her husband and the griffin leader.
“I’ll admit we should have contacted you first. However, we’ve known Pheris for years. He was the natural choice.”
“What do you want here?” the Prime demanded. “Why do you seek Ranal?”
“Because there’s a flower growing on that island that I desperately need to get my hands on,” Sarah answered.
“Pontal? You seek pontal? Look around you. Pontal grows everywhere.”
“Not this flower, er, pontal,” Steve pointed out. “Trust me, we’ve checked. This damn flower only exists on that island.”
“Why do you need it?” the Prime asked as he slowly pulled his wings back to his body.
“I’m afraid that part must be kept secret,” Sarah answered. “I wish I could tell you more but I can’t.”
The Prime looked back at Pheris.
“What are your intentions, Pheris? Ranal can only be found under the right circumstances. I know you know this.”
“I am aware, sire,” Pheris meekly said. “I was hoping to circulate amongst my flockmates and see if there’s anyone who’d like to, that is to say, if there’s anyone who, uh, er…”
“You are actually planning on asking the members of my flock if they are ready to start their last journey, is that it?”
“Yes, sire.”
“That’s a very sensitive subject to bring up, don’t you think, Pheris?”
“Yes, sire. I am sorry, but it must be done. Our flock numbers over 200. There must be someone who is ready to undertake the Journey.”
“Try Achelous,” the Prime suggested in a quiet whisper.
“Excuse me, sire? What was that?”
“Try Achelous,” the Prime repeated, marginally raising his voice. “That cantankerous old buzzard does nothing but bitterly complain day in and day out.”
“Sire! He may be ornery but he appears to be in good health.”
The Prime lowered his head and sidled up to Pheris.
“What about Nessus? He hasn’t left his nest in weeks. Or perhaps Arden?”
Pheris’ eyes practically bugged out of his head.
“Sire, you’ve just named three of your most outspoken foes! Was that intentional?”
The Prime chuckled with amusement.
“Surely you jest. I do not know what you’re referring to.”
Steve stifled a chuckle. The Prime glanced his way.
“If I allow this then I do believe you will, as you humans would say it, owe me a favor.”
Steve glanced over at Sarah, who nodded.
“Fine. We’ll owe you a favor provided you help Pheris with his search.”
The Prime looked at Pheris and nodded back in the direction of the nests.
“Very well. I like the notion of the humans owing me a favor. This ought to be interesting. Pheris, let’s go ruffle a few feathers, shall we?”
An hour and a half later they had their answer. Or, more specifically, they had their griffin. Tesur, an elderly griffin whose once tawny fur was now streaked with silver and whose wings were practically covered with white feathers, had agreed to open his senses tomorrow at sunrise to see if he could feel the Pull. It hadn’t taken much convincing at all, Pheris told them later.
“He wanted to know why we wanted to go there,” Pheris had reported. “I told him it was important to the humans. He agreed almost immediately. He doesn’t know if the Hand of Ranal will guide him in but at least he’s willing to try.”
Surprised, Sarah looked over at their griffin friend.
“The Hand of Ranal? That’s an interesting way to describe it.”
“Do humans not feel a desire to undertake a Journey when their time nears?” the Prime asked, curious. Sarah noticed Pheris had cocked his head in their direction, anxious to hear the answer.
She shook her head, “No, we don’t.”
“Not unless a ride in a Hearse qualifies,” Steve muttered to himself. Sarah elbowed him in the gut to shut him up.
“I certainly hope Tesur is ready,” Sarah added, looking up at the rapidly disappearing sun. “We’re running out of time.”
Chapter 6 – Gateway Arch
Sarah awoke well before dawn. There was so much to do today that her spinning mind wouldn’t stop pestering her with questions. What if Tesur didn’t feel the Pull? What if he did feel the Pull but they didn’t find the island in time? What if they found the island in time but couldn’t find the flower?
Sarah groaned and rolled on to her side. She and her husband were back in their small cabin after she steadfastly refused to spend the night out under the open stars. That was what their cabin was for, she had argued. Why run the risk of sleeping with insects – and who knows what else – when they had a perfectly comfortable bed indoors that she could instantly teleport them to?
Sleeping with bugs. Sarah shivered. She couldn’t think of a worse way to wake up. For that matter, she was fairly certain she’d never be able to sleep knowing there was a chance something could crawl into bed with her.
Sarah gently crept out of bed and made her way to their tiny kitchen. She was desperate for a cup of hot tea. She pulled out a box of tea bags, brought from her expansive kitchen back home in Idaho, filled a mug with water, and dropped the tea bag in. As she silently headed back to the bedroom she grabbed a towel that had been left on the small dining table. Entering the bedroom, Sarah approached her husband, who was now sleeping soundly on his back. As was often the case when her husband slept on his back, he was snoring. She tapped his shoulder.
“You’re snoring.”
Steve stirred, shoved his left arm up under his pillow and rolled to his side. The snoring stopped almost immediately. Within seconds he had fallen asleep once more. Sleeping on his side, with his arm jammed up under his pillow, Steve’s right hand was now sticking out the covers, as Sarah knew it would be.
She walked around the bed and quietly knelt down by his side. She gently placed her cup of tea in his open hand and then in a practiced motion, readied her towel. She leaned close so that she could whisper in his ear.
“There’s a guur getting ready to bite your right hand,” Sarah quietly informed him, referring to the heavily armored ten-legged insect that they fought during their first trip to Lentari.
Steve’s hand instantly flamed up, bringing her tea to a boil in seconds. Sarah waited a few moments then used the towel to carefully pluck the cup from Steve’s hand, being careful not to slosh the hot liquid.
“You got ‘em, honey. Good job.”
The flames snuffed out. She let her husband sleep an additional 20 minutes while she enjoyed her tea before she decided they needed to get going.
“What happens if our griffin guide doesn’t feel this pull thing?” Steve wanted to know as he munched on a granola bar. “That’s going to cause a few problems, isn’t it? Do we have a backup plan?”
“Think positive,” Sarah instructed as she finished her tea. “Tesur will feel the Pull. I know he will.”
“How is this going to work?” her husband asked as he wiped a crumb of granola from his face.
“How is what going to work?” Sarah wanted to know. “Are you asking about the Pull? I guess once the griffin decides he, or she, wants to die then some unknown force guides them to wherever they need to go.”
“That’s not what I was asking. What I mean is, this griffin. Tesur? He’s old, right?”
Sarah nodded, “Tesur. And yes, I would assume so.”
“So he’s old and definitely not in his prime. How is he going to carry the two of us? Wouldn’t our combined weight be too much for him to bear?”
Sarah stared at him, aghast. He was right, of course. There was no way that poor old griffin would be able to carry their combined weight. What were they going to do?
She glanced out the nearest window. The sun hadn’t come up. Yet. However, it was close.
“You didn’t think of that one, either,” Steve guessed.
“No, I didn’t. What are we going to do? We’re due back at the nests in ten, maybe fifteen minutes!”
“Take us to R’Tal. We’re going to let the king figure this out.”
Sarah took her husband’s hand.
“The king probably isn’t up this early.”
“Then we’re gonna wake him up.”
****
“I’m very glad you’re an early riser, your majesty.”
Sarah and her husband had just been ushered into the Antechamber where the king had sunk down into his chair.
Kri’Entu nodded, “As am I. I wouldn’t want to miss any opportunity to render assistance. Now, what can I do? What do you require?”
“We need to find a way for the two of us to safely ride on the back of a griffin,” Sarah quickly told him. “And I cannot even begin to tell you how much of a rush we’re in.”
Kri’Entu’s eyebrows shot up.
“The two of you? On the backs of griffins?”
“Just one griffin,” Steve corrected. “And an elderly one at that. Even if the griffin were in perfect health, he’d still be unable to carry the two of us. Therefore we need to find some way where we can both ride this same griffin at the same time.”
“Without wearing him out,” Sarah added.
“That is a dilemma,” the king agreed. He pulled a familiar small gold device the
size of a pocketwatch out of a desk drawer and tapped its surface. When there was no immediate response the king scowled and tried again. Shardwyn’s tiny disheveled face appeared on the surface of the small device.
“Your majesty? This is an odd time of the day for you to call. What can I do for you this fine morning?”
“Come to the Antechamber at once. I have a dilemma that needs an immediate resolution.”
The elderly wizard’s face sobered.
“I will be right there, your majesty.”
Steve coughed. Both Sarah and the king glanced his way.
“Yes, Sir Steve? Do you have something to say?”
“Perhaps we should, ah, bring in Shardwyn’s apprentice, too.”
Kri’Entu smiled.
“You’ve noticed as well, haven’t you?”
“What?” Steve asked, in mock innocence. “That there’s a wizard in the tower who doesn’t blow things up on a weekly basis?”
A smile briefly formed on the king’s face.
“Do you know that since young Gareth has become Shardwyn’s apprentice that the number of explosions coming from that tower has dropped by over 90%?”
Sarah giggled, “Wow. That’s impressive.”
Kri’Entu summoned a guard.
“Find Mister Gareth, Shardwyn’s apprentice. Have him report here on the double.”
The guard bowed, “Aye, your majesty.”
Sarah tapped her husband’s shoulder.
“You know what? I’m worried about what would happen if we miss our friend up north. I’m going to go back up there and wait for him. That way I can have him wait while I come back here to get you. Are you okay with that?”
Steve nodded, “It’s a good idea. I really don’t want to have to find another candidate.”
Sarah blew him a kiss and vanished.
“Find another candidate for what?” the king wanted to know.
“Oh, just a very specific task we need someone to undertake for us.”
“Ah.”
A few minutes later Shardwyn strolled through the door with an air of importance. He angled straight for the king and bowed.
“Your majesty. How may I be of service?”
Close Encounters of the Magical Kind Page 12
