Sacrifice (The Gryphon Series Book 3)

by Stacey Rourke

  

  No one in the living room spoke or made eye contact. The only sound came from the television murmuring quietly in the background. Gabe had dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. Alaina sat huddled on his lap, her eyes red-rimmed from crying. He held her tight, offering the only comfort he could while the life of her only sibling hung in the balance.

  Grams sat in her leather recliner, her freshly painted nails rested in her lap. The grim set of her mouth did nothing to reassure me. Shockingly, Rowan was still there. He leaned against the doorway that led to the foyer, as if prepared to bolt at a moment’s notice. Apparently the brotherhood he forged with Caleb over the years ran deeper than his selfish desires—for now. In the center of the room Bernard paced back and forth on Grams’ thick nap white rug. His tiny cane sank in a good inch with each purposeful step. Kendall, dressed in her two-piece pink flamingo pajamas with slits cut for her wings, lounged on the floor beside the couch. Her wings hung limp behind her as she massaged the spot where I ripped her feathers out. The area was still red, but soft fuzzy down had begun to grow back.

  She glanced up. Her blue eyes deep pools of sadness and sorrow. “I’m sorry I can’t heal him for you.”

  I plopped down on the floor beside her, reached over and pulled her wing toward me. I traumatized the darn thing, the least I could do was take a turn massaging it. “He’s a demon. Your powers won’t work on him.” I nudged her with my shoulder. “I know you’d heal him if you could.”

  She nodded through her tears.

  A red-faced Bernard spun on me. His words spewed from his mouth as if he couldn’t hold them back a second longer. “Conduit, this matter is of dire importance! Demons are walking among civilians, causing mayhem and destruction, yet you sit here doing nothing because of him!” He jabbed a short, stubby finger towards Grams’ bedroom.

  I bit my tongue hard enough to taste blood, but fought to keep my composure—aka not punt the gnome. Instead I purposely focused my gaze on Kendall’s injured wing. “I know where you’re going with this, Bernard, and I suggest you take that idea and shove it … ”

  “There’s a way to save him!”

  My head snapped up so fast I’m surprised I didn’t give myself whiplash. “Okay…didn’t see you going there.”

  Determination burned in his beady eyes. “We need you out there fighting and ridding the world of the Titans and you will only do that if that boy can remain safe. Is this correct?”

  Shocked and downright confused, I forced myself to muster a slight nod.

  “If he’s open to the sacrifice it will require, he can be saved.”

  Despite her lack of feathers, Alaina flew off Gabe’s lap with a bird-like elegance. Her long auburn ponytail swayed from the rapid movement. She twisted the hem of Gabe’s Detroit Lions football jersey with anxious hands. “A binding incantation? If he agrees it would free him from the Titans forever!”

  Alaina’s exuberant reaction made me feel this was a matter I should be standing for. I dropped Kendall’s wing and rose to my feet. “What? How?”

  “He has to agree to bind the demon within him and let it be destroyed.” Alaina’s mouth opened to add something, but she quickly clamped it shut.

  “That’s a good thing, right? He’d be free and I could kick some Titan butt all the way back to the Underworld.”

  Alaina’s shoulders slumped, her fidgeting hands stilled. Bernard cleared his throat and stared at the TV, suddenly very interested in what was happening on Jersey Shore. Gabe, Kendall, Grams, and I exchanged confused looks at the piece of this puzzle we were obviously missing.

  Rowan pushed himself off the wall with an exasperated sigh. “What they don’t want to tell ya, Poppet, is that he’ll then be human and as vulnerable as a newborn babe.”

  Ice ran through my veins. I shook my head slowly at first, but it quickly progressed into me spastically flicking my head from side to side. “No. Absolutely not. Not an option. Not after what happened to Alec. I worry constantly about Grams and Alaina being in the middle of all this demonic crap. But Caleb was one of them! He’s viewed as a traitor. Being human would be a death sentence. We have to find another way.”

  Alaina slammed her balled up fist against her leg. “There is no other way! The Titans are going to keep coming. You have to stop them, and if you don’t let us bind Caleb’s demon first he’ll die!”

  “I’m not going to help you paint a bull’s-eye on Cal’s back,” Rowan spat through his teeth, then vanished in a puff of smoke.

  Bernard stood on his tiptoes to place a calming hand on Alaina’s arm and spoke in a reluctant whisper. “There is something we could do. It will be exceedingly difficult for you all, but it will keep Caleb safe from harm.”

  She clasped his tiny hand, her voice bubbling with hopeful expectation. “Anything! I’ll do anything! Just name it.”

  Bernard slowly pulled his hand away and folded both in front of him. He pressed his joined hands to his lips and peered at me with a weary gaze. “Celeste…” This must be serious, he had never called me by my name before. Honestly, I didn’t think he even knew it. “You know the Gryphon has the ability to cloak reality. That’s how he hides the entrance to the Spirit Plane. After we destroy the demon within Caleb—if you are willing—the Gryphon could create an entirely new identity for him. Far from the dark forces that could harm him. Unfortunately that will also take him away from … you.”

  My heart momentarily forgot how to beat and my breath caught. To protect him I had to lose him? I went on autopilot and struggled to manage coherent thought in light of this new revelation. “How can we be assured the army won’t find him?”

  Bernard leaned on his cane with compassion and understanding in his eyes that I didn’t know him capable of. “His energy and every aspect of him will be cloaked. Even if the Countess herself walked up to him she would get no traces or inklings of his true identity.”

  “And if I saw him?” My voice betrayed me by cracking.

  “You wouldn’t recognize him, and he won’t remember you,” Bernard cocked his head and attempted to reassure me, “but he’ll be safe.”

  Alaina grasped my arm hard enough to leave white indentations. “We have to do it, Celeste! We have to protect him!”

  Her willingness to accept this so easily while a knife of pain hacked away at my heart only angered me. “Even though it means losing him forever? You’re okay with that? What if it was Gabe? Would you let him go?”

  She dropped her hand and glanced over her shoulder at my brother. “If his life was at risk I’d do whatever it took to keep him safe. No matter what.”

  The couple exchanged loving gazes that only added fuel to the fire of my irritation. “Well I guess you’re better people than me for being so willing to sacrifice your relationship.”

  Grams rose from her chair and flung her arm around my shoulders to squeeze me tight. Normally her nearness calmed me, made me feel protected and loved. Right now it only added more stimuli in a stressful situation that had me teetering dangerously close to my breaking point. “We all care about Caleb and want to keep him safe, honey. You just have to give it some thought and decide what’s best for him.”

  “No,” a weak voice interrupted.

  We all turned. Caleb stood in the hallway, the palm of his hand pressed against the wall to steady himself.

  While I had done nothing wrong, I still shifted guiltily under the weight of his stare. “No one is decidin’ what’s best for me except me.”

  “But, Cal … ” Alaina tried to interrupt, but was silenced by his glare.

  “I’ll happily become human and give up the burden of my demon half. But I won’t leave Celeste. If I have tah die tah keep her safe, that’s exactly what I’ll do. But until then I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

  “Then you won’t become human.” I shrugged out of Grams embrace and crossed my arms over my chest.

  We locked eyes. The bullheaded Irishman stared with an infuriating stern scowl. His adamant stanc
e on this issue didn’t faze me. I’d sooner walk through fire than allow Caleb to become human.

  CHAPTER Seven

  “You can, and should, make this decision for him. But you won’t because of your feelings for him.”

  “We are not having this conversation again. Besides, this isn’t even you talking. It’s Alaina. When did you become her overly hairy messenger?”

  “I’m not her messenger. We’re a couple, and couples should communicate and make their decisions as a team.”

  “I see she’s still making you watch The View.”

  “Shut up. Some of those women make very good points.”

  “Sure they do. Now please keep your voice down. You’re going to blow our cover.” I shifted on the balls of my feet and peeked out the window of the lifeguard shack. Sand blew and churned outside with enough force to leave welts on skin. What civilians thought was nothing more than a nasty storm ravaged the Florida Gulf Coast line. Waves slammed against the shore, each swell larger than the last. But this was no normal tropical storm. Another Titan could be thanked for this onslaught, one that held power over the water.

  These situations had been commonplace ever since that night at Grams when Caleb and I had a massive fight over his humanity. Much screaming occurred and no resolution whatsoever was reached. It ended when he claimed I was a, “Stubborn woman that let her emotions override common sense.”

  I came back with the rebuttal of, “Yeah? So’s your face.”

  Unable to form any kind of rebuttal to that, Caleb threw his hands in the air and stomped off.

  Over the next two weeks Gabe, Keni, and I traveled to various spots around the globe to deal with natural disasters caused by Titans. Caleb joined us as soon as he healed enough to fight. Together we stopped a tsunami in Thailand, an earthquake in Oklahoma, a tornado in Texas, and a wildfire in California. Our latest thwarting mission led us to a hurricane in the Sunshine state. It worked in our favor that the local media blamed these freak weather related bouts on climate issues caused by global warming. We saved the world and inadvertently raised awareness. Go us!

  Rarely were we allowed the luxury of rest. No sooner would we get one matter under control than another would pop up. I missed sleep, a wonderfully delightful task I sincerely hoped to get reacquainted with soon.

  “Blow our cover?” Gabe snorted and yanked off his t-shirt to prepare for his change. “We’re hiding. The Chosen One is hunkered down out of sight like a scared little kid. We should be killing these things. Not subduing them until Bernard comes along and blinks them off to God only knows where.”

  I ducked back down and leaned my forehead against the window ledge. A few deep breaths helped me regain control of my rapidly rising blood pressure. To keep Caleb safe we went for the knockout instead of the kill. I hated holding back during battles, but if it kept Caleb alive it was worth it. Bernard agreed to help us by transporting the demons to a plane where they couldn’t harm anyone. Yet everyday a new wave of them came at us with no signs of the onslaught slowing or stopping.

  I glanced over my shoulder at Gabe and gave him an easy to read ‘drop it’ look. “I’m respecting Caleb’s wishes. You should tell his sister to give it a try.”

  “Actually, his wish was to be human, but you gave him the death stare and clucked at him like a demented hen for even suggesting that.”

  “Human isn’t an option, not with the chaos going on right now. And we’re done talking about this.” I glared at my brother and hoped that would be the moment the Gryphon bestowed death-ray laser vision on me.

  He held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I’m just stating the facts. No need to call forth the PMS Queen.”

  A fireball blazed into the sky from a shack further down the beach. It saved Gabe from getting a punch to the throat for that remark. “There’s the signal. Time to go.”

  Instantly we became all business. The savage roar of the wind muted the sickening snaps and pops of Gabe’s transformation. I shuffled on my hands and knees to the door. It took both hands and a fair amount of super strength to pry it open. What I saw on the other side made my jaw swing open and my bladder control threaten to fail.

  “Celeste, look out!” someone screamed. There’s a high likelihood it was me.

  I shook my head in an attempt to erase the unbelievable image before me. A shark surfed toward me on top of a wave. Sharks can’t surf, I know that. But—terrifying as it was—this one excelled at it. The wide open mouth of a Great White, if I had to guess, soared my way ready to devour me. My legs forgot how to move and my brain switched into an operating speed the equivalent of a hamster running on an exercise wheel. Fear paralyzed me where I stood.

  The black eyes of the gigantic fish rolled back in their sockets as its rows of razor sharp teeth extended out, hungry for my flesh. A mighty roar pierced the air as my lion sentry soared over my head and intercepted the killer fish. He hit it head on and the two rolled across the sand in a frenzied explosion of gnashing teeth and snapping jaws. Only then did I realize the shark sported legs.

  So that’s what a Water Titan looks like—pants wetting terrifying.

  The two savage beasts clung together. Both sets of bone-crushing teeth snarled and grappled to tear into the other’s flesh. Wet sand clung to them as they blurred together in their violent flurry. A flash of a silver fin. The swipe of a tawny claw. The flip of a long tail fin. Flying chunks of chestnut fur.

  Caleb and Kendall ran across the beach. Keni’s wings shielded them from the hammering winds and sea spray. They didn’t need to hurry. None of us could do anything. Getting between the shark and lion would mean a loss of limbs … or a nasty flare up of deadness. I tried to part them with my telepathy, but even mental means couldn’t get between them. I could do nothing but watch—until the unthinkable happened.

  The shark flung its head to the side and sunk its teeth deep into Gabe’s hip. Our lion roared in pain. Blood bubbled and poured from his gaping wound. Muscle and tissue ripped from bone and hung off him like limp spaghetti noodles. Bile rose in my throat and I slapped my hand over my mouth. Instinct prompted my feet into action. I rushed to my brother’s aid but quickly found he had no need for me. His lip curled up and he lunged on the shark. The pupils of his feline eyes dilated and blood lust took over. Claws and teeth shredded and devoured the fish’s course skin in a violent fury. Blood sprayed through the air and splattered me from head to toe.

  “Gabe! Stop!” If he heard me my warning failed to resonate. Instinct had dragged him to a dark place where only one thought got through—kill or be killed.

  The land shark’s blood soaked into the sand and stained Gabe-lion’s muzzle a deep rust color. With one last twitch the massive fish fell to the ground—lifeless. Seconds later nothing remained but black tar.

  Only then did Gabe glance up. His eyes blinked back to human. Pain and shock forced his change. “Celeste, I’m sorry. I … I couldn’t stop.”

  Blood loss quickly claimed its spoils. Gabe sat down hard in the sand, his skin ghostly pale and covered in blood. His head lolled to the side and his eyes rolled back. In a flap of feathers, Kendall stood by his side, easing him to the ground and pouring healing warmth into him.

  Icy prickles ran down my spine. Caleb wasn’t with her.

  I spun in a circle and found nothing except empty beach. The storm stilled as if holding its breath.

  Caleb was … gone. My breath came short and shallow. The world whipped around me like a crazy carnival ride. I didn’t get to say goodbye. I deserved a split second to try to save him. How dare I be denied that? Lack of oxygen caused black spots to dance before my eyes. The ground rose up to meet me as my knees buckled.

  I didn’t even get a chance …

  A pair of arms caught me, manifesting out of black smoke. “Lovey! I’m here! I’m right here! It’s okay!”

  Grasping his shirt in tight fists, I clung hard to Caleb as my heart struggled to find its rhythm. I buried my face into his chest and desperately breathed
in his scent. Despite his proclamation, things were far from okay. The universe just showed me how easily it could steal him from me. Nothing would ever be okay again.

  CHAPTER Eight

  The rocking chair creaked as I kept it in motion with one foot and stared out into the night. I rolled the piece of parchment paper Bernard gave me earlier between my fingers, but tried not to think about the words etched on it. Instead I focused on the snow, one flake at a time. I followed each one on its journey all the way to the ground before shifting my gaze to another. Shutting my brain off this way was mandatory. Only by keeping myself at an emotionally neutral state could I avoid the breakdown that threatened.

  I quickly stuffed the paper in the pocket of my winter coat when the front door squeaked open.

  Grams poked her head out, her thick zebra print throw blanket flung around her shoulders. “Sakes alive, Celeste! You’ll catch your death out here! When you weren’t at dinner I thought you’d gone to Caleb’s.”

  “I was supposed to—” I pulled my phone out and checked the time. I had missed four calls from him. “—an hour ago.”

  Grams chewed on that information for a moment. “And instead you’ve been out here this whole time?”

  My chin quivered in betrayal as I nodded.

  She took a seat in the rocker beside me before she asked, “Want to talk about it?”

  I shook my head no but proceeded to unleash a geyser of emotion. “I thought I lost him today, Grams. For a split second, I thought I failed him. The tie needs to be broken so I can kill the Titans. But if he’s human he can’t be around me. It’s too dangerous. One second I think maybe it would be easier to know he’s out there somewhere, safe. Then I hate myself for even entertaining the idea of giving up on him. But what are we doing now? We’re fighting the inevitable. Sooner or later I’ll swing too hard, or Gabe will lose control like he did today, and that’ll be it. Either way, no matter what I do from this point on … I’m going to lose him.”