The Conduit (The Gryphon Series Book 1)

by Stacey Rourke

  “Look!” I exclaimed, pointing at the sky.

  He casually looked up. “A shooting star. Cool.”

  “It wasn’t a star! It was a bird! It glowed!”

  Gabe shot me a questioning look. “What’d you do, doze off while you were standing there?”

  “No! I’m telling you it was a glowing bird, and it was right there.”

  With one quizzical eyebrow raised, Gabe snorted. “I’m sure it was. Hey, remind me to ask Mom if she hung out near power lines when she was pregnant with you.”

  “I know how this sounds, but I’m telling you the truth.”

  “Whatever you say. If there was something there, it’s gone now.” He wiped his hands on an old cloth from the garage as he walked inside.

  I stood alone in the darkness, watching the trail fade away. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a message behind it. A sneaking suspicion told me that message was “Follow me.”

  CHAPTER 4

  My tires crunched across the gravel as I pulled into the parking area at the base of the mountain trail. The sun blazed high in the sky on this gorgeous eighty degree day, with just a faint whisper of a breeze. I climbed out of my truck and flung my satchel of art supplies over my shoulder. This trip into the mountains held two purposes. The primary reason was to stretch my artistic muscles by sketching some magnificent Tennessee landscape. The secondary reason I wasn’t comfortable in admitting, even to myself. I secretly hoped to get another peek at that mysterious golden eagle.

  I stepped on to the path and felt as though I’d entered another world. One minute I was in the wide open space of the parking area, the next completely encapsulated by the beauty of the mountains. Sunlight filtered through the towering trees to cast a hazy, enchanted glow on the scenery. I breathed in the peace and serenity the mountains offered.

  A short hike later and the soft, bubbling of a brook told me I had reached my destination. I ducked under a low-hanging branch, and my breath caught. It was loveliness defined. There was a break in the trees which allowed beams of light to shine down on the tiny creek like a spotlight. It gurgled rhythmically as the water coursed over its rocky base. Next to the brook, a large tree had fallen. Wild flowers, moss, and leaves decorated their fallen comrade in a beautifully messy arrangement. I wandered over to it and sat down, then closed my eyes for a moment and tilted my face up to let the sun warm my skin. I inhaled the smells of the forest. Floral and pine intermingled. Every color in the rainbow was represented in the collection of wildflowers that peppered the soil. It seemed that the trees, in their massive size, had taken a step back to give their tiny friends a place to prosper.

  The desire to capture this breathtaking beauty invigorated me. I pulled out my pad and pencils and immersed myself in drawing after drawing. For hours I drew and sketched. Time escaped me. I lost myself in the shadows and details on the paper. When I stopped to stretch my cramping back, I was shocked to discover it was already dusk. Not wanting to be in the woods alone after dark, I bent down to collect my things. Something moved to the right of me. I wasn’t alone.

  Perched not twenty feet from me on a nearby branch was the eagle. A chill ran through me. Birds as a rule aren’t scary. Unless they can light up, in which case uneasiness is justified if not expected.

  I ignored the hair standing up on the back of my neck, swallowed my own trepidation, and called to it. “Hey, pretty birdie.”

  The eagle responded to my acknowledgment by lifting off its branch and landing on the fallen tree an arm’s distance from me. Up close it was bigger than I expected, a fact that made me bite back a squeal.

  “Aren’t you bold.” I noticed a slight tremble in my laugh.

  Careful not to spook the avian creature with talons that can tear flesh from bone, I moved at a pace that would make a snail look speedy as I reached into my bag for the sandwich I had brought. I broke off a piece of crust and laid it on my palm. As I extended my arm to the eagle I struggled to control my nervous shaking. A gasp escaped me as it snatched the bread with its sharply hooked beak.

  Its lack of hesitation made me wonder if it was a lost pet. The majestic colors would make sense if it was a rare, expensive bird. Maybe it wasn’t my most brilliant idea, but I decided to test this theory by attempting to touch it. With a trembling hand, I reached out to the mighty bird. It held perfectly still as the tips of my fingers made contact with its silky feathers.

  A sudden, blinding flash exploded around me. My head began to pound. I brought my hands up to massage my now throbbing temples. The eagle hopped closer to me. I looked up in surprise as it touched my arm with its beak. Another blinding flash overcame me, this time accompanied by a fun hallucination. As I looked in the bird’s eyes, I could’ve sworn they elongated—the pupils expanded. Its eyes became … human.

  I scrambled off the tree trunk, head swimming, vision blurring. A wave of nausea slammed into me, no doubt a combination of my intense headache and panic. I spun toward the bird, afraid to turn my back on it.

  “What are you?” I screamed, my voice bordering on hysteria.

  The eagle lowered its golden head and pulled in its wings. A soft glow began in the torso of the bird. In seconds the glow spread through its entire body.

  “Oh, no.” I gasped. “Not again. Look, you seem like a nice enough … mystical … thing. But you have to stop the glowing and brain flashes. I’ll…I’ll help you find your owner, who’s probably used to this stuff. But you have to stop doing … that. Okay?”

  The bird paused as if to consider my rant, then shook its head. My mind reeled yet again.

  It understood me.

  The glow intensified. I shook my head and backed away from the bird as if denial could stop this from happening.

  Before me, the luminescent creature began to grow. Its light reached a blinding level. I shielded my eyes but tried to peek around my arm. Its expanding size no longer resembled a bird. I couldn’t tell what it was anymore. I felt I should run, but the mixture of morbid curiosity and fear rooted my feet to that spot.

  Like a switch had been flipped, the light vanished. The eagle was gone. In its place was a woman—of sorts. Her face was flawless beauty, made odd by the golden feathers that cascaded from her head in place of hair. Her curvaceous body was absent of clothing but adorned with bronze feathers. Gigantic wings of the same color sprouted from her back and fanned out behind her.

  That was my brain’s limit. My fight-or-flight mechanism kicked in, opting to run. I tripped over my own feet and landed flat on my backside. The being extended a hand to me. I frantically crab-crawled away from her. Pine needles and rocks cut into my hands but didn’t slow me down.

  “Celeste, wait.” The creature spoke in a soft and whimsical voice.

  It knows my name! my brain screamed. I flipped over onto my hands and knees, scraping at the ground, trying to get enough traction to bolt. A hand touched my shoulder, and I screamed for all I was worth. My body tensed. This was it. I was about to die.

  The soothing voice tried to comfort me, “Shhh … I am here to help you.”

  Like heck you are, I thought. Finally, I got my feet under me and ran. I made it two strides before an exposed tree root hindered my retreat. My foot caught. I went down. Hard. My head cracked against something rough and unyielding. Warmth ran down my forehead as my vision swam in and out of focus. The blurred face of the woman came into sight.

  “We’ve been looking for you, Celeste. Your blood on the carving confirmed your identity. The changes will begin now. Not just for you, but for Gabe and Kendall as well. There is no stopping it. I am here to guide you, to help you.” Her voice grew faint, like she was calling to me through a tunnel as I moved further and further away.

  Then everything went black.

  CHAPTER 5

  “Celeste, can you hear me?”

  Fabric ripped, water sloshed, something damp touched a spot on my forehead that sent darts of pain shooting through raw nerves.

  My heavy eyes struggled
open. “Alec?” I croaked.

  “There you are.” For reasons unbeknownst to me his voice was riddled with urgency. “Can you tell me what happened to you?”

  “I … was … taking … a nap.” My tongue felt thick, causing my words to come out slow and slurred.

  “You were taking a nap in the middle of the woods?”

  I focused enough to make out the silhouette of trees above me. When had night fallen? I turned my head and nausea rolled my stomach. I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut, hoping it would stop the forest from spinning.

  “Easy, now. No sudden moves. You may have a concussion. Do you know how you hit your head?” He dabbed at my forehead again, which sent fresh shock waves through it.

  “Don’t know. Had a weird dream …” I trailed off, unable to recall what it had been about.

  “We need to get you out of here and have someone look you over. I’m going to pick you up. Will you be okay to move?”

  The idea of motion angered my upset belly. “No … think I’m going to be sick.”

  “I know you feel like crap, but the gash on your head is bad. You’re going to need stitches. Did you drive here?”

  I tried to nod, but even that slight move caused another groan to escape me.

  “Good. We’re gonna head back to your car, okay?”

  “Kay.”

  “Do me a favor,” Alec said as he slid one arm under my knees and one under my shoulders. “Warn me before you puke. Here we go. Ready?”

  “Mmm-hmm,” was all I could muster.

  As gently as he could, Alec lifted me up. My head rolled against his chest. The night breeze brushed over my skin and cooled my sore head. He did his best not to jostle me as he walked, but my stomach still gurgled in protest of the motion. As a frequent sufferer of motion sickness, I knew it would help to open my eyes. Alec’s face was close enough to mine for me to notice a light dusting of freckles across his nose and the tops of his cheeks. I liked them. Almost as much as his pretty eyes.

  “What were you doing out here?” I knew I sounded drunk but could do nothing to correct it.

  “It’s been a while since I’ve been home.” Alec tossed me up a little bit to get a better grip. “I really missed hiking in the mountains. So, I decided to take advantage of the situation. I didn’t even realize how far I’d gone until the sun started to set. I brought water but no flashlight. If you hadn’t been in the clearing, I never would’ve seen you.”

  His mention of the clearing brought the flutter of a memory. A light so bright I had to shield my eyes. Then … nothing.

  “Do you want me to try and walk?”

  He gave me a half-grin despite the beads of sweat that dotted his forehead. “You weigh all of what, a buck-five? I think I can handle it.”

  When we arrived in the parking lot, Alec carefully lowered my feet to the ground. I was thankful for the arm he kept around my waist. My wobbly legs were threatening to give. “Where are your keys?”

  My head still throbbed, but my case of cloudy brain had lessened. “In my satchel.”

  “Where’s your satchel?”

  I looked at the trail, then back to Alec.

  “Crap.”

  “There’s a spare key in the glove compartment. Doors are unlocked.”

  “Not safe, but helpful in this situation,” Alec muttered as he opened the passenger side door and helped me in. He rolled my window down before shutting the door. I didn’t mind. It might shake off the remaining fog in my brain. Alec climbed in and started the truck. I leaned my head against the seat and closed my eyes as he drove.

  “The changes will start now, Celeste. Not just for you but for Gabe and Kendall as well.”

  My eyes snapped open. Those words! I remembered those words. Where had I heard them? Fear coiled in my stomach. I glanced around to see how close to Grams’ we were.

  “Where are you going!” I yelled over the whipping wind.

  “To the ER to get your head stitched up.”

  I shook my head as adamantly as my current state would allow, “No. Take me home, please. Grams is a nurse. She’ll take care of me.”

  “She’s not going to put stitches in. And what if you have a concussion?”

  “Please?” I have a slight fear of hospitals because there are needles there. And I’m overwhelmingly, irrationally petrified of needles. “If she thinks I need to go, then I will. Okay?”

  Alec frowned but did as I asked. He U-turned us back toward Grams’. No sooner had the truck pulled into the driveway than the front door flew open and Grams ran out. Gabe and Kendall trailed her.

  Grams’ face was a tight, stern mask of barely contained anger. The sight of me changed that.

  “Sakes alive, Celeste! What happened to you?” She gripped my elbow and did a quick assessment of my visible injuries.

  “I fell on the path and hit my head. Alec found me,” I said.

  Alec wasted no time. “I wanted to take her to the hospital and get her checked out, but she refused to go.”

  “Let’s get her inside; I’ll take a look at her. If she needs to go to the hospital, she will.” Her tone left no room for argument. “I heard you were back in town, Alec. Thank you for coming to my granddaughter’s rescue.”

  They hustled me inside to the downstairs bathroom. I avoided the mirror altogether. I wasn’t ready for that train wreck yet. Kendall put the lid down on the toilet so I could sit. Grams grabbed a washcloth from under the sink and held it under the running water.

  “This may sting,” she warned. I concentrated on the mauve and burgundy swirls in the wallpaper to distract myself.

  She dabbed at my head. To my surprise, it didn’t hurt. Again she wiped and patted. Then she stopped. Her brow creased. She rinsed the washcloth and came at me once more. This time she swiped the cloth across my entire forehead.

  Grams took a step back, her head cocked. “I don’t understand where all the blood came from. Your scratch is already closed up.”

  “What? When I found her, her forehead was ripped open clear to the bone!” Alec pushed his way in to get a better look. I grimaced at his colorful choice of words.

  Grams took a step back so Alec could see for himself. Crouched down in front of me, he grabbed my chin between his thumb and index finger. Confusion filled his face as he turned my head from side to side.

  “That’s not possible. It’s just a scratch.”

  “Head wounds bleed like no other. It must’ve looked worse than it was,” Grams explained.

  Curiosity got the best of me. I pushed Alec’s hand away and stood up to see for myself. I tried to keep my focus on only my forehead. Smack dab in the middle of my head was a small pink scratch. I ran my finger across it. The pain was gone. Even my headache had vanished. Alec was right. That didn’t seem possible.

  My eyes wandered to the rest of my appearance. I didn’t know who the chick in the mirror with the crazed eyes was, but she was downright frightening. Trails of blood streaked my face and peppered the front of my shirt. The only clean part of me was where Grams tended to my scratch. Leaves, dirt, and pine needles covered me. I had a bird’s nest for hair. Pretty. I reached for the faucet to wash away the grime. My extended hand stopped me short. It was filthy. Both of my hands were. Dirt was packed under my fingernails as if I’d been digging.

  Or clawing at the ground.

  The room shrunk around me. I remembered. I remembered everything. My breath came short and fast as panic bubbled through me. I could feel the concerned eyes of my family and friend burning into my skin. On the verge of losing it, I bolted from the room.

  “I’m going to take a shower,” I stated and ran up the stairs to our bathroom.

  I didn’t risk another look in the mirror but stripped off my soiled clothes and stepped into the shower. I turned the water as hot as I could stand it and scrubbed my skin raw with my loofah. I couldn’t have seen what I thought I did. It was fodder for sci-fi movies, not real life. There had to be a rational explanation. There had to be. Wh
at did I know? I knew I hit my head, and I knew I was a chronic klutz. Maybe, just maybe, I confused the order of things. I could’ve fallen, in typical Celeste fashion, then dreamed the bird-woman.

  I sighed and let the tension leave my body. Of course that was what happened. It made sense. I climbed out of the shower, toweled off, then pulled on my pajamas and went straight to bed. After I flicked off the light, I pulled the covers up to my ear. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened other than a wickedly vivid dream. And if I told myself that enough, maybe it would remove that lingering doubt that tugged at the back of my mind.

  Worried I may have a concussion, Grams came to check on me frequently throughout the night. Each time she found me awake, staring into the darkness. I couldn’t fool myself no matter how hard I tried. I knew what I had seen.

  CHAPTER 6

  By the early hours of the following morning, Grams determined I was fine and left me alone to rest. Once sleep finally got a hold of me, it didn’t want to let go. I slept the entire day away and woke as the sun was beginning to set.

  I stumbled downstairs to find an empty house. According to the note Grams left me on the dining room table, Kendall was at Keith’s, Gabe was at football practice, and she had gone to Opry Land with her Red Hat Society friends for the weekend. She assured me she could be back in an instant if I needed her, but that was the last thing I wanted. After last night’s ordeal, I didn’t want anyone hovering over me, watching my every move. I needed normalcy. Time alone with my thoughts to convince myself I hadn’t gone completely loony.

  I poured myself a bowl of cereal and thumbed through the packet of information that came in the mail from Rhodes College. The campus was beautiful. All the buildings were stone with elaborate archways and impressive moldings. They looked like undersized castles. I tried to envision what my life would be like there. Cramming for exams in the library. Meeting friends at the Lynx Lair for lunch. Taking in a little culture at the gorgeous theater. A wonderful adventure, far away from weird birds that cause hallucinations.