“Bête!” Chase called out. Sam had heard that word before…just hours earlier, when the cynocephalus had summoned his horrifying pet: the Beast of Gevaudan. The audience parted and the Beast began a slow, snarling approach. It was understandably unnerving; what made it even more so was how the beast was staring Sam’s way, as if it could see him. But that was impossible! Surely the magic would render them invisible to all magical creatures. And then it dawned on Sam: the Beast was a hybrid creature. He hadn’t considered that when concocting his plan with Phylassos. Chase had found a loophole; unfortunately, it was large and hairy with a scratch that was fatal.
“Tashi!” Sam bellowed, but the Guardian was in midleap.
“I am a little occupied at the moment,” she replied, breathless.
“It appears you are not invisible to everyone,” Chase snickered. The Beast was closing in fast. Sam tried the only move he had left: he ran.
Sam sprinted through the crowd, maneuvering around an assortment of bizarre and terrifying creatures. But the Beast followed close behind. Once through the throng and out in the open, the Beast of Gevaudan lunged for him. Sam spun and lost his footing, along with the claw, which flew from his hand. The Beast leapt on Sam and reared back with its deadly sharp claws. He was done for.
Suddenly, the Beast was struck from the right side and thrown off Sam’s body. Sam quickly got to his feet and found the creature wrestling with a figure. It was Vance Vantana! Sam panicked. The last time he had watched someone tangle with the Beast of Gevaudan, they’d wound up dead—or rather, absorbed by Gaia, as Tashi had explained. He had already lost Chriscanis to this nightmarish creature; he couldn’t fathom losing Dr. Vantana as well. The two struggled mightily as Sam looked on in fear.
“Vance!” Sam yelled worriedly. “Don’t let it scratch you!”
Then he heard a distinctly human groan, followed by a yelp from the Beast. The struggle abruptly ceased. Sam rushed over to find the Beast on top of Vantana. Both appeared unconscious. Sam wondered if the doctor had managed to kill the creature—but at what cost? Did he sacrifice himself in the process? When Sam saw the grass grow wet with blood, his heart sank. He could feel his entire body react to the thought of Vantana’s death. It was like the world was spinning and he was losing his balance. He wanted to surrender to the sensation and collapse to the ground…and just give up. He shut his eyes, consumed by a feeling of total despair.
“Now, that is one big, mean ol’ critter,” Dr. Vance Vantana muttered under the weight of the Beast. Sam’s eyes sprang open and his face erupted into the biggest smile he could ever remember smiling. “Reminds me of a mama grizzly I wrestled when I was ten. For fun, of course.”
“Vance!” Sam said, overjoyed.
The doctor pushed the creature from his body and staggered to his feet.
“I found him guardin’ the entrance,” Vantana explained. “We took a tumble, and I managed to get a few good jabs in with my lucky knife, but the hairball refused to go down.”
“Yeah,” Sam replied. “It’s ’cause he was half magical, I think.”
“He almost had me until his master called him back.”
“How did you—” Sam started to ask.
“With the only weapon that could do the job,” Vantana said as he lifted up his hand to reveal the gryphon’s claw. Its golden veneer was now stained with the Beast’s blood.
Of course, Sam thought. The gryphon’s magic was the only thing that could kill the Beast, but Phylassos’s oath to protect magical creatures made this impossible.
“No!” Chase screamed when he saw his fallen pet. He turned back to the stage, enraged. “Kill the Guardian!” he ordered.
Sam could now see that the gargoyles and aswangs had managed to get ahold of Tashi. One had an arm, another a leg. Tashi struggled, still clutching her shekchen as they pulled and yanked on her limbs. Sam burst forward, charging toward the stage to help his friend.
“Sam!” Vantana called out in warning as he followed behind.
Sam jumped onstage and Tashi tossed the shekchen to him. “Once more!” she yelled. Sam caught the staff, touched it to the ground, and let another bolt of blue energy shoot from the shekchen into the gryphon’s iron cage. In the process, Sam felt his body freeze up. It reminded him of the effects of the banshee cry, only ten times more painful. Fortunately, it was worth the pain. The electrical charge surged into the cage and triggered a massive explosion of light and sparks, which blanketed the stage in a gray, shimmering smoke. Sam was thrown back by the blast, his hair standing on end from the electrical current. Vantana caught him and held on as the two hunkered down and waited for the smoke to clear.
A second after, there was a rush of wind that blew Sam’s and Vantana’s hair back. It was followed by another, and then another, until there were steady and rhythmic gusts of air emanating from the now-dissipating cloud of smoke. The source of these gusts soon made its presence known in grand fashion. It rose above the cloud of smoke and emerged from the gray fog, quickly instilling terror in all who were gathered.
It was Phylassos! The gryphon was free from his prison and hovered above the stage; his mighty wings flapped as he released a deafening roar that ended in a birdlike screech. That was when the place erupted.
The magical creatures that sought the destruction of the curse and the gryphon himself had a sudden change of heart. With Phylassos free—and tremendously displeased—the crowd made a beeline for the exit. The melee following the gryphon’s appearance sent the aswangs and gargoyles that were holding Tashi into a petrified stupor. It was enough to allow Tashi to break free and perform another of her perfect flying somersaults. She stuck the landing, coming down alongside Sam and Vantana.
“Well done, Sam,” Tashi said. She fetched her shekchen and rejoined the two.
Phylassos swooped down and hung in the air a few feet above them. “I would request that the three of you cover your eyes,” the gryphon instructed in a firm but friendly voice. Sam, Vance, and Tashi obliged. Sam wondered why the gryphon would ask that of them. Was it for their protection? What exactly was Phylassos going to do to these traitorous creatures? Sam covered his eyes with his hands, then opened them ever so slightly to catch a peek. He watched as Phylassos closed his eyes and the enchantment that was hiding the amphitheater sparkled and glowed a bright electric blue. The attendees of Chase’s vengeance were now trapped inside.
“For those of you who wished to see the curse lifted and for those who wished to see harm come upon me,” Phylassos bellowed, “I forgive you.” At that, some of the creatures paused to look back at the gryphon. “But you will be punished for these crimes.” This got the group panicked once again. As the creatures scrambled for safety, Sam noticed something, or rather, the lack of something. Both Chase and Capiz were missing. Did they escape before the gryphon could reverse the enchantment?
“Close those eyes for real now, Sam,” Phylassos whispered. Sam turned a cherry shade of red and shut his eyes tightly. Yet even with his eyes closed, a blinding white light bled through Sam’s eyelids. It was so bright he scrunched his face. When the light subsided, Phylassos spoke.
“It is safe now,” the gryphon said in a solemn tone. “It has been done.”
Sam opened his eyes, uncertain of what he would find, but awfully curious. The doctor and Tashi followed suit. The gryphon had landed and stood on the ground in front of the amphitheater stage. He appeared sad and still weak from the ordeal. Sam gazed back toward the amphitheater’s stone seating area and beyond to find it was completely deserted. All the creatures gathered to watch the fall of Phylassos were gone. At first, Sam thought the blinding white light must have vaporized them, but then he looked more closely and noticed aspects of the landscape that had not been present just moments ago. Strange-shaped rocks, small grassy knolls, patches of overgrown weeds.
The gryphon had sent them all back to Gaia. Their punishment was to be reabsorbed by the earth itself.
“I’m sorry,” Sam said to the gryphon, s
ensing the creature’s sadness.
“Thank you, Sam,” Phylassos replied. “Thank you for all you’ve done.”
“I second that,” Dr. Vantana added. “You saved our hides and protected the curse.” Sam shrugged humbly. And then he remembered.
“Wait!” he exclaimed. “What about Chase and Miss Capiz? They disappeared before you sent those creatures back to Gaia.”
The gryphon nodded. “Unfortunately, the aswang known to you as Miss Capiz eluded capture.”
“And Chase?” Dr. Vantana asked. “I would have very much enjoyed settling that score with my bare hands.”
“Ah, yes. Chase,” the gryphon said. “He should be coming into view right about…now.” Phylassos peered skyward. Sam, Vantana, and Tashi followed his gaze. A shadow passed across the sun and the distinct screech of the roc echoed through the valley. It was followed by a voice….
“Help me!” the desperate voice cried out. It was Chase, and he was in the clutches of the roc as it soared across the valley and headed home.
“I thought it only fair,” the gryphon explained. “After all, you did tease him with that yak in Tibet.”
The cynocephalus known simply as Chase was not the criminal mastermind in the DMW case that came to be called the Guardians of the Gryphon’s Claw. This seemingly contradictory point was stipulated by Dr. Vantana in the case notes and elucidated to the gryphon as the doctor stood in the creature’s cave high above the Guardian village of Kustos.
Now alone with his mentor—recently revealed to be Phylassos as well—Dr. Vance Vantana divulged an interesting nugget of information he had kept secret since they had left Hérault. Once the enchantment broke over the area, the amphitheater was flooded by Guardians and several bigfoots sent by Carl. As they poured in, Vance noticed a curious figure standing atop a cliff, overlooking the valley. He could tell it was a woman. She had long black hair and a flowing black dress.
“Marzanna,” Phylassos instantly concluded. She was the sorceress Vance and Sam had encountered in Cernunnos’s lair. Vance nodded.
“I think the ol’ dog was a pawn,” he suggested. “Rotten to the core, but a pawn, nonetheless.”
“We have had our share of run-ins with Cernunnos in the past, but this…this is something unique,” the gryphon said.
“He’s growin’ more brazen,” Vance asserted. “Our kidnapping was a bold move. If it hadn’t been for Chriscanis…” Vance was suddenly reminded of the loss of his friend from the Agency for the Welfare of Mythical Beasts.
“I learned of his return to Gaia,” Phylassos said. “He was a brave soul whose courage saved many lives.”
“Including my own…and Sam’s,” Vance noted. Phylassos nodded.
“He’s not dead, Vance,” Phylassos reminded the doctor. “Not in your sense of the word.”
“I know it, but…” Vance let his thoughts trail off. “So what do I call you? Henry? Doctor? Arrigo Busso?”
“I was first and will always be Phylassos,” the gryphon replied. He stepped across the sea of golden treasure and eyed the gryphon’s claw, which was back on its perch. “It is damaged, Vance,” Phylassos revealed.
Vance approached to get a closer look. Sure enough, there was a crack in the gold-plated claw: a small but distinct zigzagging fracture about an inch in length.
“I reckon it must have gotten smacked around mighty good,” Vance said. “Question is, what does it mean, if anything?”
“Of that, I am uncertain. However, it is the talisman that retains the magic, that makes the curse possible,” Phylassos noted.
“So damaging it might what? Compromise the magic?” Vance asked.
“That is one possibility,” the gryphon answered. “But how it will manifest itself remains to be seen.”
“Things aren’t gonna be like before, are they, Doc?”
Phylassos shook his feathered head. “As you can probably surmise, I am quite old, Vance.”
“Well, you look great,” Dr. Vantana said with a smile. The gryphon smiled as well.
“It is time for me to retire my human identity for good,” Phylassos explained. “I shall remain here, in my home, so I may preserve my strength and help when necessary.” Vance’s eyes met the gryphon’s, the disappointment clear in his expression. “Apologies,” Phylassos offered.
“None needed,” Vance replied. “I understand, but you will be missed by everyone, especially me. I wouldn’t be here if—” Vance was getting choked up, despite his valiant attempt to suppress his emotion. He was never a guy who was comfortable expressing his feelings and this conversation was making him all kinds of uncomfortable.
“I know,” Phylassos replied. “This is not goodbye forever, just for a time. Of course, your new partner is much younger and much sprier than I ever was.”
“New partner?” Vance asked with surprise.
Phylassos nodded. “I always knew that when it was time, someone would appear.” Vance considered that a moment.
“You’re talking about Sam. But he’s just a kid.”
“So were you at one time,” the gryphon reminded him. “And there is more to Sam London than you know.”
“But not more than you know?” Vance countered.
The gryphon smiled his great, kind smile. “There is a lot I know. Some of it need not be said. At least, not yet.”
“Still keepin’ secrets?” Vance chided him.
“Not keeping, Vance,” Phylassos said. “Protecting.”
—
Sam London had a multitude of questions for the gryphon. Questions about the dream that had started it all, about the sudden sight he developed, about the future—the queries went on and on. Sam met with Phylassos when they returned to Kustos and the gryphon thanked him for his efforts in exposing the conspiracy. Unfortunately, Phylassos had little to say regarding his sudden appearance in Sam’s dream or the significance of Death Valley. He seemed as perplexed by these events as Sam.
“As I began my investigation into reports that the gryphon claw relics were disappearing from sites around the world, I asked the universe for assistance in determining the culprit,” Phylassos explained. “The dreams with you started shortly thereafter.”
“Where did you go after what happened at the gas station?” Sam asked. “I saw you save Miss Hartwicke, but then—”
“Events took an unexpected turn in Death Valley, and with Miss Hartwicke’s announcement on television, suddenly everyone knew the gryphon was back. That complicated matters. So I returned to human form and traveled to Kustos to meet with Yeshe, to let him know something was brewing. What, I could not say, exactly. On my way to the village I was apprehended by a group of yetis who were spying on the Guardians.”
“Why did you stay in that prison?” Sam asked. “You’re the gryphon!”
Phylassos smiled. “Revealing my secret would have hindered the search for those behind this rebellion. I thought it best if I allowed the conspirators to believe they had the upper hand. Perhaps they would reveal their identities and ultimate goal.”
When Sam asked about suddenly receiving the sight during his altercation with the chupacabras, Phylassos theorized that the connection the two made via dream might have spurred some unintentional side effects. That left one remaining mystery Sam was anxious for the gryphon to clear up.
“I was bait, wasn’t I?” Sam asked. “That’s why you put the claw in my book bag.”
“Yes and no,” the gryphon confessed. “After the battle in the yeti village, I knew it was going to take something bold to expose the real force behind the conspiracy. I also knew the universe had brought us together for a reason.”
“So you gave me the claw to see who would come for it,” Sam confirmed.
Phylassos nodded. “My apologies for using you in this manner, but I believed it was the best way to draw whoever was after it into the open. Of course, it was not without its risks and clearly did not go as I’d hoped. I didn’t realize the aswang was masquerading as your teacher, nor did I anticip
ate the ambush in the Philippines. Perhaps these are all clues that I’m losing my touch. A possibility that compels me to make a request of you, Sam.”
“A request of me?” Sam inquired, surprised there was anything he could do for such a powerful being.
“As I’ve said, there is a reason you and I were brought together,” the gryphon explained. “I believe part of that reason played out these last few days and culminated in your bravery and quick thinking in Hérault.”
“What’s the other part?” Sam asked.
“To join the DMW, become Dr. Vantana’s protégé, as he was mine all those years ago.”
Sam was overwhelmed by the idea. His inner voice immediately began throwing up obstacles. “But I have school…and my mom…and…”
“All things that can be worked out,” Phylassos assured him.
“I would be honored,” Sam said thoughtfully. This was an extraordinary moment in the life of Sam London. It was more than an honor; it was an affirmation that he had found his one thing. He was good at this. Not great, he cautioned himself, but good. He was certainly better at this than all the other things he had attempted over the years. And the best part was this counted; this made a difference. He was going to work alongside Dr. Vance Vantana…and he was going to have many adventures and meet fantastic creatures.
Yet in the shadow of this life-changing news, there was an unspoken sadness about a life cut short. Chriscanis was gone. Sam promised himself that he would never forget his friend. Their time together might have been brief, but they had shared a great deal about themselves. Sam would miss him. He hoped to meet Chriscanis’s mother one day so he could tell her all about her courageous, selfless son.
After his meeting with Phylassos, Sam waited at the Guardian training ground for Vance. He watched as Tashi sparred with three of her fellow Guardians and easily bested them. It was only when the trio joined forces that they gained the upper hand on her, but even then she didn’t go down without a heck of a fight.
“It’s time to take you home,” the doctor announced when he arrived. Sam grinned from ear to ear.
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