The stone called and yearned for her as if she were just an extension of its powers. She raced across the base of the mountain and then shot straight up the side, heading for the tallest peak. Arsenio was much larger, his wingspan allowing him to move faster. He weaved around the mountain as it became narrower in girth.
"The winds are only going to get worse. I need you guys to go ahead and climb in. If you can sustain it, keep your eyes out for any enemies," Iris told Alo and Frodi telepathically as she continued to soar straight up toward the peak.
She curved to the left and to the right trying to avoid the massive gusts of snow that toppled from the adjoining mountain peaks. As she twisted around, the sound of small wings echoed off the mountain surface. Her Griffin's eyes zoned in, searching through the massive snow to find winged serpent-like creatures flying at them in large droves. They had come out of nowhere, and Iris didn't have time to dodge them. She put her head down and began flapping her wings stronger and harder.
“Watch yourselves,” she warned Frodi and Alo.
The serpent swarmed them, moving as if the wind paid them no attention. Iris glanced back as she tried to keep her balance, watching as they wrapped themselves around Frodi and attempted to carry his Raven of her back. "Hold on Frodi!"
She maneuvered back and forth, trying to throw them off as he pecked at them wildly. But the wind was so strong, and his small body began to inch out of the protective pocket where he sat. She glanced back and forth, the anger inside growing stronger and stronger as she watched them squeeze Frodi's black-feathered body. Her eyes began to glow a bright yellow, and she squawked loudly, sending a burst of energy from her feathers and her throat that slammed against the serpents knocking them into the coming wind.
“Are you all right?” Iris yelled out.
“He’s okay,” Alo responded. “He’s unwrapping the last of the serpents from his wings. They didn’t seem to be anything more than a nuisance, no fangs, and no real muscle to them. The wind is the only thing that gave them power.”
Iris let out a deep breath of relief as her eyes returned to their normal color. She tilted her wings back and pushed her head forward, soaring up through the wind currents, racing toward the top. As she erupted through the cloud cover, to the very top of the tallest peak, she spread her wings wide and hovered, looking down angrily as Hellforth stood tall and overbearing in the deep snow. There was no fire, no bellowing laughter, and the simplicity of his lack of power eased her mind just slightly. But Iris knew not to let her guard down.
Very slowly, she floated down to the snow, her Griffin claws shifting into her feet, and returning her fully to her human form as she landed. She stood triumphant, shrugging the harness off of her, not feeling the least bit affected by the cold and wind. Her jaw clenched as she stared at Hellforth, feeling what she assumed her great-grandfather felt when he had once stood before the mighty Bat Alpha Shifter. This time though, she was going to make sure he never came back.
Chapter Seventeen
Hellforth's face stayed strong and stern as he stared at Iris, standing in front of him in the snow. The wind seemed to diverge from her direction, and the same magical mist that she had seen cover Althea's body enveloped her. Iris didn't feel the ice and snow, and though she couldn't see her feathers like in her dream, she could feel their warmth against her skin. For the first time in her life, her Griffin and her human had combined into one soul. The magic that flowed through her flowed equally through her Shifter animal.
Hellforth looked her up and down, a slight smirk moving across his lips. "So, this is the great Griffin high Alpha." He bowed deeply to her. "I have to say, for all the hype, I'm a bit disappointed. While your grandfather wasn't exactly the best fighter, he held the stature of greatness."
Iris clenched her left fist and released it. "If you haven't forgotten, my grandfather thrust a sword through your heart, ending your sad little existence."
Hellforth tilted his head, putting up one finger. "But did he? It seems to me that I'm standing right here, flesh and blood right in front of you. It also seems that your grandfather is not. If I do recall as I was wrongfully turned away from the Fields of Moribund, I watched your great-grandfather enter. Despite a bit of training, you're still too weak to take me on. You're barking up the wrong tree little girl. I would say that even your mother, Omera, would have known better."
Iris gritted her teeth. "You never met my mother. And her name will never cross your lips again, or I'll cut your tongue from your mouth, and you'll spend the rest of eternity in silent torture."
Hellforth grinned, glancing over at one of his minions. "She's got fire. I like that. It's too bad, but I'm going to have to kill you. Thus, is life, the strong devour the weak."
Iris cracked her neck, feeling the energy vibrating down her arms, swirling around her fists. She readied herself, letting a smile crossed her lips. "Then let's get this over with because I'm telling you right now, I'm starving."
Hellforth immediately began forming balls of dark magic and thrusting them at her. They swirled through the air sizzling and cracking, forming sharp shards before impact. Iris stayed calm, throwing her arms up and down, deflecting his magic with hers. He growled loudly and threw his arms out to the side, pulling his dark magic in long spiraled waves. He stepped forward and thrust his arms outward, shooting a ball of magic straight at her.
She had to admit; she was surprised. They had thought Hellforth wouldn't be able to use magic at all, but she assumed that it was being fed to him through his sorcerer. Iris dodged the attack at the last second and rolled through the snow, changing into her Griffin as she slid to a stop. Hellforth laughed loudly, throwing his arms up over his head, clapping his hands together as his body shifted into his Bat. Only, instead of the small nocturnal creatures that his Shifter species was known for, Hellforth was a twisted combination of man and Bat. He stood tall, his base of a body was still human in form, his skin slick and leathery like a serpent. His large black bony wings unfolded, the same rugged material covering them to the points at the bottom edges.
She could see the sorcerer standing in a haze of falling snow, maneuvering his hands back and forth as he used his magic to transform Hellforth. Everything that Hellforth was able to do at that moment was because of the sorcerer. Iris snapped her head toward the wizard and let out a loud call, erupting a wave of energy toward him. As his hands twisted and turned in front of him, he slapped his left arm out, knocking away the energy as if it were nothing more than a bug buzzing around him.
Hellforth threw his head back and laughed wildly, holding his arms out in front of him, his hands curled into demon-like claws. "You stupid girl! I will forever be stronger than you. And when that stone is finally in my hands, you'll wish that you'd died before any of this had happened. The pain and agony you'll suffer watching your mates be torn to shreds slowly, one feather at a time will be your private hell to suffer through. And when you scream out, begging for my mercy, I will only let you heal, chaining you once again to watch her sisters befall the same fate as your beloved."
Rising from beneath the edge of the peak, Iris could see Arsenio, his massive lion head growling, his wings wide. He soared straight toward the sorcerer who only noticed him a moment before impact. As the sorcerer hit the snow, Arsenio pounced on top of him, attempting to slash at his throat. The wizard used his magic, throwing Arsenio backward, sending him sliding off the edge of the peak. Everything stopped. Even the wind seemed to settle. Iris swallowed hard, seeing the claw marks in the snow where Arsenio had plummeted over the edge. She stood there for only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. She refused to believe that he was gone.
As the wind began to pick up again, a small chuckle echoed from Hellforth; Iris started to turn back toward the Bat Shifter, livid. Slowly she raised her right hand, magic swirling wildly around it. Before she could attack, there was a roar, and Arsenio came charging over the edge, flying straight for the sorcerer.
Iris smiled, turnin
g back to the Alpha, narrowing her eyes. The fight continued, dark and light magic slamming into each other, sending sparks flying through the breeze. Iris charged toward Hellforth, dropping down onto her knees and bending backward as she slid toward him, magic missing her face by just inches. As she raised back up, sliding effortlessly toward him, she swiped her arm to the right and the left, her fingers curled into the claws of her Griffin.
Without even touching him, marks formed down his chest and across the side of his face. Iris had heard about projection before, actions done and sent out toward a specific person, but she never thought she'd be able to. As the blood ran down his chest, Iris realized she more abilities than she had ever imagined. She jumped to her feet and continued to wail on him, staying far enough back where he couldn't touch her. He tried to get shots off at her, but he was too busy blocking to attack.
The energy was filling her up, flowing from her like satin, billowing down her sides, and spreading across the ground. The fog of magic covered the snow beneath her feet, and she felt herself beginning to lose all control. Her new abilities were intense, and she wasn't used to it. In her confusion, she gave Hellforth enough time to fire back. The ball of dark magic slammed into her stomach, sending Iris flipping through the air, landing hard on her back. The Alpha charged her, and she quickly climbed to her feet back up to the edge of the mountain peak. In an attempt to keep herself from falling off the ledge, she shifted entirely into her Griffin form, attempting to spread her wings wide.
Hellforth clicked his tongue, swinging his arms from side to side as he sent out magical straps that whipped around her body and pinned her wings to her back. His feet never stopped, charging at her full force. Watching him, she feared he would push her right off the edge. Instead, he gripped her by the throat and picked her up with one hand, holding her dangling above him. She struggled, but the magic around her was heavy and strong. Alo and Frodi attempted to fight off the Bats, while Arsenio leaped forward and threw the sorcerer through the snow. As he flew through the air, the sorcerer sent out magic, grabbing Arsenio with a lasso, and slamming him into the ground.
Hellforth, still holding Iris high in the air, roared, shaking the rock from the mountain beneath them. With force, he slammed Iris into the ground, cracking the ice beneath her. She blinked wildly, trying to keep her vision from going black. Hellforth stood over her shaking his head. "I should have known you wouldn't head my warning. I'm going to have to kill you just like I killed your grandfather. By the time you make it to your mother, you'll be joined by your pathetic mates and your sister's as well. They should have known a woman could never fill the shoes of a High Alpha, not to mention a Griffin. The first race of Shifters will disappear forever when I burn their homes to the ground with them and it."
Iris breathed heavily, her energy running out. She let her head fall to the side, a trickle of blood dripping from her Griffin's mouth. Her eyes focused on the others, losing their fight, giving everything they had. The sorcerer stood, laughing at Arsenio, the magic flowing around him and through him trailing across the ground to Hellforth. The truth was, she hadn't lost yet, and she knew she had one last-ditch effort to save this Shifter species. Without his sorcerer, Hellforth had no powers. And without the stone, he never would.
Chapter Eighteen
Iris closed her eyes tightly, no longer immune from the cold that surrounded her. She could tell her body was giving out, and her Griffin wasn't far from gone either. The magic had taken a toll on her, but she couldn't give up. She blocked out the sounds around her, the constant battling of Hellforth, the flapping of the wings of the Bats above them, the roaring of Arsenio's lion. She focused on her three mates, building a wall in her mind. It was impenetrable, a place she could speak to them without Hellforth knowing her plan.
"Can you hear me?" She asked in her mind, pushing the voice out toward Arsenio, Alo, in Frodi. She waited a moment, hearing nothing but silence in her head. She asked again, hoping that her magic wasn't so weak from her injuries that she couldn't even talk to her mates. "Guys, can you hear me?"
“I hear you,” Arsenio replied. “Can they hear us?”
“No,” Iris said.
“I can hear you,” Frodi called out.
“I’m here too,” Alo said as he continued to fight above them.
Iris slowed her breath, calming her entire body, hoping that the few seconds delay that she had would be enough to heal her to the point to where she could continue. "We're down to our last play, and I have a plan."
The men listened as she laid out her plan quickly. There was no room for mistakes, not in those last-ditch moments where they were attempting to save not only the Shifters but a good majority of humanity as well. Whether losing control of one of her planes or losing control of her Griffin, when she faced stress, her mind was clearer than ever. Visions of her sisters flashed through her mind, smiling and laughing as they were the last time she had seen them. Her mother's face crept in as well, but her smile and strength were almost feeding Iris.
“If you think it’ll work,” Arsenio replied. “I’ve got it.”
“We’ve got it too,” Alo said, speaking for him in Frodi.
Iris took a long deep breath and mustered her energy. She turned her head to the other side, sensing the stone calling for her. Iris focused her mind on it, searching beneath the layers of snow and ice. She could see the path to the stone in her mind, the shimmering blue rock guiding her conscious straits to it. When she knew exactly where it was, she pulled the ball of energy she had been forming in her stomach and sent it as hard as she could towards the stone.
Hellforth stopped talking, looking bewildered as the wind died, the snow stopped, and small pebbles of ice began to shake on top of the layer of frost beneath his feet. A magnetic blue glow shimmered beneath the surface of the peak, escaping through the tiny holes between the snow and ice, sending beams of light up into the sky. Hellforth stepped toward it, his attention no longer wholly focused on Iris. It was exactly what she wanted.
As he took another step, her entire body rippled, a blast of her magic breaking through the dark chains that bound her. That rippling energy moved outward, hitting Hellforth hard in the back. He stumbled forward onto all fours, his head snapping up toward the sorcerer. He put out his hand, but it was too late, Arsenio charged, opening his mouth and grabbing the sorcerer by the throat. At the same time, Alo in Frodi dove toward the wizard, swirling around his hands, knocking the magic from his grip. Iris watched the flow of magic from the sorcerer to Hellforth as it slowly began to dwindle until their connection was broken. As soon as the dark magic stopped flowing across the snow, Arsenio whipped his head back, ripping the throat right out of the sorcerer.
He dropped the body at his feet and spit out the remnants, watching as the wizard's body began to wither, turning into nothing more than ash. Iris looked over at Hellforth, shifting back into her human form. He looked down at his claws as his body slowly morphed, no longer being attached to the dark magic. His wings contorted, and his body shook, the human taking over. He looked at Iris and then over at the stone, which was rattling wildly as it pushed through the top layer of ice and rose into the air.
Hellforth took off toward the stone, and Iris followed, both of them moving at an equal speed. The only difference was, Iris still had her magic, and she had several more tricks up her sleeve. She threw her arms back, sending her energy with it, creating a rocket effect that shot her two feet above the snow straight in Hellforth's direction. She put out her arms and tackled him, knocking him to the ground. Before she could fall with him, she put her hands out, stopping herself just inches from the ground, her body slowly tilting back until her feet touched down.
Reaching down and grabbing Hellforth by the throat as he had done her, she reared back and punched him hard in the face. She could hear her mates snickering in her mind, but the rage was overcoming her. She hit him again and again until she was out of breath. His body was weak without magic, and blood spilled from hi
s nose and mouth.
Hellforth put up his hands. “I call a truce. Take me to the Council and let them decide my fate. I’m no longer a danger without my sorcerer.”
Iris stared down at him, visions of the burning Griffins flashing through her mind. She looked over at the guys who stood firmly, fighting off the Bats that were still swooping down, attempting to pick off the Raven and the owl. She knew that they would have her back no matter what. She dropped his body to the ground and shook her head. "You're pathetic."
As she turned to walk away, Hellforth snickered under his breath. “Just like the Griffin were as they screamed for mercy.”
Iris' head snapped back toward him, and her eyes narrowed. She lifted her hand, her fingers spread. Magic began to intertwine beneath her palm and through and around her fingers. She whipped her arm downward, closing her fist as a dark purple magical dagger formed in her hand. Hellforth shook his head, attempting to scoot back away from her, but it was no use. Iris stomped toward him, lifting the dagger over her head and plunging it deep into his chest. She let go, stumbling back and watching as he gasped for air, the last bit of dark energy radiating out of his eyes and mouth. There was a hollow scream coming from his chest, and it bounced off the stone ridges throughout the mountain range.
The dagger glowed brightly until Hellforth's body burst into ash. Iris leaned forward, putting her hands on her knees, and looking up at the others. The Bats that were left quickly darted off, flying as quickly out of sight. Iris closed her eyes for a moment, but the light from the stone caught her attention. She turned toward it, taking slow steps, watching as it floated to eye level and hovered. She could feel the energy pulsing off of it as she reached up and took it in her hand. As soon as the stone was in her palm, the bright light receded. She ran her fingers over the warm surface of the rock and lifted it by the golden chain, sliding it over her head and letting it fall to her chest.
Her Sky Mates Page 10
