by E. G. Foley
With a taunting glint in his eyes, Janos blew her a kiss goodbye, then stepped into the portal to take the medicine to his hideous vampire hatchlings and his many wives.
As if he needed another—namely her!
Yuck, she thought with a shiver. Bloodsucking charmer.
But she knew he was only toying with her. For some reason, it seemed to amuse him. As she turned away, she hoped she did not seem as forward and annoying to Maddox as Janos did to her, with all of his too-suave flirting. Even more than that, she hoped Henry would be safe, and still more fervently, she hoped their efforts could avert a war.
The portal vanished, and as the dark of night returned, she wondered where Derek had gone. She was not privy to that answer, but one thing was certain. He was a Guardian, so it was bound to be a place full of danger.
But not even Isabelle knew how right she was.
# # #
Through binoculars, Guardian Derek Stone scanned the Black Fortress carefully. They had been lucky enough to find it, considering the Dark Druids’ stronghold had a nasty habit of magically disappearing and showing up again in some far-flung location. For now, at least, the Order had pinned it down, and here they were.
Though his battle senses were on high alert, his weapons within easy reach, Derek was thinking of the kids, hoping they were safe. He crouched out of sight behind some boulders alongside the inimitable Tex.
They were waiting for Aleeyah to return. The djinni could move with an incredibly light step. She had gone ahead to scout out the faint sliver of light coming from the bottom of a door near the base of the building.
“Any sign of ’er yet?” Tex whispered.
“No,” Derek breathed.
“So,” he said at length. “What about you and that little shapeshifter gal o’ your’n? You gonna marry that Miss Helena or what?”
“Not now, Munroe! Honestly.” Derek shook his head in disapproval.
“Easy, pardner, just flappin’ ma gums to pass the time.”
“Oh, you’re bored?” he retorted in a whisper.
Tex gave him a droll look, whittling a piece of wood while he waited, and obviously appreciating the knife in his hands, given the nearness of pure doom.
Derek homed in on a flicker of motion in the darkness, tensing. “Here she comes.”
Aleeyah glided out of the night, bounding lightly up the rocks despite being barefooted. She vaulted over the boulders without a sound, her curved knife in hand, and crouched down between the two men. Only then did the little magic bells that adorned her ankle and her waist begin to tinkle again—as if they’d been holding their breath.
“What did you see?” Derek asked urgently.
She shook her head. Given her skill at hiding her emotions, she was difficult to read, but even Derek could see that the djinni looked shaken. “I don’t know how to tell you this.”
“What?” the men asked in unison.
Aleeyah glanced back toward the fortress with a look of anguish. “They have a prisoner in there. He’s guarded by demons.”
“Demons?” Tex echoed in grim shock.
“Two of them.”
“Then that’s a high-value prisoner,” Derek murmured.
“You might say that,” she agreed in sarcasm.
“Well, lil gal? Don’t keep us in suspense. Who they got in there? A Lightrider? It is, ain’t it? Well, come on. Let’s go mount a rescue!” He started to stand up, but Aleeyah pulled him back down.
“No, Munroe! That would be incredibly foolish, even for you,” she said sharply.
“Why?” Derek asked.
“Because the prisoner is an angel.” She stared at them. “That’s the light coming from under the door. They had him in chains. I…I think they’re torturing him.”
Derek stared at her, a chill running down his spine. “But that’s impossible. They don’t have the power—”
“I know what I saw.”
Tex was glowering at the fortress, sizing it up with a dangerous look coming over his sun-leathered face.
“We need to get back and tell the Elders about this,” Aleeyah whispered.
“Naw, we ain’t goin’ nowhere till we get that feller outta there. Now, come on, ya’ll, or I’ll do it my dang self. But you ain’t gettin’ home without me, remember? Let’s go.” Six-shooters at the ready, the mad Lightrider crouch-walked behind the rocky ridge that wound down to the Black Fortress.
Derek and Aleeyah exchanged a slightly exasperated look. But neither of them protested. They both knew he was right.
“Ladies first,” Derek whispered wryly.
Aleeyah snorted under her breath, silencing her bells again with a mystic wave of her hand. Taking out a second dagger, she followed the Texan, a nasty curved blade in each hand.
Derek braced himself, bringing up the rear. He glanced around to make sure they had not been discovered and then shadowed his fellow spies.
This is bad.
If the Dark Druids had somehow recovered the ancient knowledge of how to take down one of the ethereal Light Beings—the strongest race of all known creatures—then the Order, indeed, the entire world was in more trouble than anyone had yet suspected…
The End
Now Available!
It’s Jake’s first Christmas with a family, but nothing’s ever quite what you’d expect. Celebrate a Victorian Christmas with a Gryphon Chronicles holiday novella.
JAKE & THE GINGERBREAD WARS
Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men…And Gingerbread Men?!
A Word from Lightrider Tex
Now, listen up, you young’uns! You learned in the dad-gum wood elf’s class (well, if you was payin’ attention) that the United States is a-crawlin’ with strange critters of all kinds. Reckon some o’ you might be mighty curious about the kind of beasts I deal with on a daily basis across the Pond, as they say. So let me open up a portal here and you can zip right on through to a whole new passel of excitin’ tales from this here fine author, E.G. Foley.
But first, better warn ya. Don’t get yer head in a twist, but we’re traveling through time here, as well. I’m sending y’all up to them modern times. Have fun, but watch your tail. Werewolves and such can be downright nasty by moonlight, even if they look like normal folks by day. Turn the page to explore…
50 States of Fear
(Spooky Tales for Kids in all 50 States)
THE HAUNTED PLANTATION
(Alabama)
Welcome to Alabama, y’all! By day—sunshine and Southern hospitality.
But by night, the ghosts of the Old South come alive…
Four nights in a haunted mansion? When 12-year-old Colin Donovan leaves New York with his mom and sister on a road trip to visit his sweet ol’ Southern grandma, he doesn’t expect to encounter—ghosts! Unfortunately, Grandma’s new apartment lies within the walls of Sycamore Hall, a mysterious old plantation house shrouded in local lore. That night, Colin hears chilling spectral voices, comes face-to-face with a phantom—and gets scared nearly out of his wits! But nobody messes with his grandma. So, to protect her, the mild-mannered seventh-grader turns ghost hunter, vowing to find out who or what is haunting the place. Some of the restless spirits he faces still hold antique grudges. And none of them want their home invaded by a kid in a Yankees t-shirt!
LEADER OF THE PACK
(Colorado)
High up in the Rocky Mountains, hit the slopes in sunny Colorado.
But watch out for the full moon! Fangs, Fur, and Family Secrets…
Eighth-grader Rusty Kendall comes from a family of winners—doctors, lawyers, senators, CEOs—all with big personalities and huge egos. His rich, powerful grandfather owns the Apex Hotel, a five-star Aspen ski resort. Rusty never really wondered why the whole clan gathers there during every full moon. But when the close-knit Kendalls meet once again for their monthly ritual, he discovers the shocking secret to his family’s success—the killer instinct goes much more than skin deep. At each full moon, all the Kendall men turn into we
rewolves! What’s worse, now it’s Rusty’s time to join the pack and run wild in the Colorado woods. Horrified, he’ll do anything to escape this gruesome fate. Even if it means going up against the big dog—Grandpa Henry, the ruthless leader of the pack.
BRINGING HOME BIGFOOT
(Arkansas)
“The Natural State” – Outdoorsman’s Paradise…
with “Wild Man” sightings since 1846!
The lone computer geek in a family of Eagle Scouts and football heroes, Nate Dunning would rather play video games than go camping any day. But after a run-in with the bully of the middle school, Nate’s rugged, outdoorsman dad drags him out into Nature to toughen him up and teach him some survival skills. Just his luck, everything goes horribly awry when his dad forces him to stay out overnight in a tent all alone. Except that he isn’t alone. Turns out the crazy old man at the country store was telling the truth. “Thar’s bigfoots in them woods!” Talk about a hairy situation.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
E.G. Foley is the pen name for a husband-and-wife writing team who live in Pennsylvania. They have been finishing each other’s sentences since they were teens, so it was only a matter of time before they were writing together, too.
They are the authors of The Gryphon Chronicles historical fantasy adventure series, as well as a contemporary series of shorter books called 50 States of Fear – spooky stories for kids set in all fifty states.
“E” is a 7-8th grade teacher of students who regularly use more than 10% of their brains, world traveler, ice cream connoisseur, and martial arts enthusiast. “G” loves big books and small fluffy creatures, and if she hadn’t become a writer, would have pursued a career as either a princess or spy—or possibly both! With millions of copies of her twenty adult novels from Random House and HarperCollins sold in sixteen languages worldwide, she has been hitting bestseller lists regularly for the past decade.
Visit them on the web at EGFoley.com for fun story “Extras” as well as videos, creative games, and tips for aspiring writers of all ages. While you’re there, please sign up for the E.G. Foley Newsletter, so you can be notified as soon as their next book is available.
Click here to sign up for the E.G. Foley Newsletter to be notified as soon as our next book is available!
Thanks for Reading!
Other Books by E.G. Foley
The Lost Heir (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book One)
Jake & The Giant (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book Two)
The Dark Portal (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 3)
Jake & The Gingerbread Wars (A Gryphon Chronicles Christmas)
The Haunted Plantation (50 States of Fear: Alabama)
Bringing Home Bigfoot (50 States of Fear: Arkansas)
Leader of the Pack (50 States of Fear: Colorado)
The Dork and the Deathray (50 States of Fear: Alaska)
Copyright & Credits
The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 4: Rise of Allies
Copyright © 2014 by E.G. Foley.
All Rights Reserved.
Cover Illustration by Josh D. Addessi.
Cover Design by Kim Killion.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, recorded, or stored in any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations for review purposes.
First edition, 2014
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