The Conduit (The Gryphon Series Book 1)

by Stacey Rourke

  Kendall scooted closer and bent down to peek at me from under my knee. She spoke in a confidential whisper. “If you have some sort of sick or kinky thoughts that you’re worried about, maybe you should just tell Alaina. It might make you feel better to get it out.”

  That brought me around quick. I flipped my head up and glared at my sister, who wore the sincere expression of someone who thought they were helping. “I do not have any sick or kinky thoughts!”

  Gabe snorted his disbelief.

  “Oh, like your mind is squeaky clean!”

  “Never said it was.” Gabe shrugged. “I’m a twenty-year-old guy. If the Gryphon was in my head, he’d probably feel the need to shower often, if you know what I’m sayin’.”

  “You’re disgusting,” Kendall grimaced.

  “Yeah, he’s gross. But he’s making my point for me!”

  Alaina intervened as the voice of reason. “Celeste, the Gryphon is an imperfect being that makes mistakes just like everyone else. In my village, he took lives. Human lives. He knows what he has done. He will pass no judgments on you. You have nothing to worry about.”

  “Fine.” I huffed. “But I am not okay with this.”

  “Noted. Now, can we get back to the legion of killers heading this way?”

  “Sure, go ahead.”

  “Somehow the Dark Army learned of our plans to call on you.” Alaina resumed pacing. “However, they have not figured in the earthly time difference. It was a decade ago that … things … were put into motion to commence in choosing a Conduit. Yet they do not realize that and are looking for a child around eight or nine years of age.”

  I don’t like being the center of attention. More than that, I don’t like having a big, red bulls-eye painted on my back. “Uh, why are they looking for me at all?”

  Alaina paused and looked at me as if I should already know that answer. “Because you are the Chosen One. You alone are linked to the Gryphon. If you die, he will be weakened. He cloaks the portal to the Spirit Plane. In his weakened state, he would not be able to maintain that glamour, and the Dark Army would gain entry. If that happens, if we cannot stop them, darkness will gain dominion over the earth.”

  “My death could lead to the end of the world?”

  “Yes.”

  I looked longingly at Gabe and Kendall. “Does anybody want to switch callings?” To my dismay, they both shook their heads.

  Alaina continued on as if she hadn’t heard me try to pawn my sacred calling off on someone else. “The demons enlisted to track you down are called Seekers. They had been searching in Michigan but seem to have followed you here.”

  “The break-ins.”

  “What was that?”

  “The reason our mom sent us here.” Gabe sat down on the fallen tree trunk and scooped a handful of rocks off the ground. One by one he tossed them into our makeshift fire-pit. The set of his jaw and the tensed tendons in his neck hinted to the stress and agitation that still gnawed at him. “Houses in our neighborhood kept getting broken into. Nothing was ever taken, but the places were trashed. It must have been the Seekers looking for her. How will we know these guys if we see them?”

  “The Seeker that is here in Gainesboro is a shape-shifter that can transform into a…”

  “Panther,” I finished for her. “That’s why he was nosing around Ella. He’s checking out kids about the right age. We have to stop him before he does something crazy like randomly killing kids in hopes of stumbling onto the right one.”

  Alaina drew her wings in close to her back, which gave her a more human appearance. “No, he may threaten, but he cannot risk killing the Conduit. Barnabus wants to dispose of it himself.”

  “Could you not refer to me as an ‘it’?”

  “Apologies,” Alaina said with a formal bow of her head. “You must understand though that if a Seeker figures out who you are, it will notify Barnabus. Therefore, if the opportunity presents itself, you must not hesitate. It very much is a kill or be killed situation.”

  “Wait!” Kendall shrieked and hopped up off the ground. “We have to actually kill him? What if he’s not evil at all? What if he just fell into this like we did? We can’t destroy a life without giving the guy a chance to change!”

  Gabe leaned back and supported his weight on his palms. Condescension dripped from his tone. “You wanna try to reason with the demon, Keni? Maybe get him into an evil rehab group? Then maybe he could get a job as a candy striper at a local hospital and devote his life to helping others. What do you think?”

  Fury clouded Kendall’s normally perfect face. She pounced at Gabe, and slapped at any part of him he didn’t shield from her frantic blows. “I am a creature of love, dammit! Did you miss that part? I don’t want to hurt anyone!”

  Gabe risked a look up in between blows, “You sure about that?” he asked with a victorious grin.

  Keni backed off and straightened her clothing. I glanced over at Alaina to see how she felt about this show of sibling love. With one eyebrow raised, she muttered under her breath, “Kids have changed over the centuries.”

  Awkward moment over, Gabe bounced off the log and clapped his hands in completely manufactured exuberance. “All right! We have absolutely no choice in this matter at all. It’s do or die, and I—for one—don’t wanna die. So, let’s get our abilities up and running. Where do we start?”

  “I appreciate your enthusiasm.” Alaina totally missed his sarcasm. “For now, I am going to send the three of you home to get a good night’s rest. You are no good to me exhausted. First thing tomorrow, we awaken your inner warriors.”

  CHAPTER 15

  My thoughts turned dark as we headed back to the truck. It made sense for the Gryphon to make me his Conduit. I was his last resort. His panic button if Gabe and Kendall failed. But they wouldn’t fail. They never did. They would embrace their new talents and keep me out of harm’s way. I would remain an awkward, useless lump that they were now saddled with the burden of protecting. What kind of lives could they have if they constantly had to watch out for me?

  I threw the keys to Gabe. I probably shouldn’t trust myself to drive the real warriors around.

  Kendall climbed into the back seat and laid down. In seconds her rhythmic snoring filled the truck. I clicked on my seat belt, then stared out the window at the outline of the mountain range.

  “You know why he picked you, right?” Gabe asked.

  “I have some idea,” I mumbled.

  “I bet you do.” He pulled us out of the parking lot onto the road that led into town. “Want to hear my theory?”

  “Not really.”

  “Tough. It’s because you’re the strongest.”

  “Ha!” I spat. “Yeah, ’cause I was the one that pushed an entire football team 100 yards.”

  “I don’t mean physically. The physical strength he can give you. That’s easy. But the spirit to fight had to already be there. Like it is with you.”

  “The spirit to fight? Look at me. I’m no fighter. There are elementary school kids bigger than me. And I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t even win in a fight against them. Some of them bite.”

  “Are you capable of shutting up?” He snapped. “I’m talking about your spirit. Who you are, not what you are. You don’t give up. That’s just not you. When Dad died you made me get back into sports. You made Kendall go back to dance and cheerleading and every other thing she’s involved in. You got Mom out of bed each day during the worst of it. You put everything on hold to get us back on our feet. We were all ready to curl up and die, but you wouldn’t let us. You’re the real fighter. Maybe you just became the Gryphon’s Conduit, but you’ve been the power in our family for a long time.”

  That was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me. I blinked back the tears that welled up in my eyes. “Thanks.”

  He grunted. His quota for sentimental conversation had been reached.

  CHAPTER 16

  I couldn’t understand why I had to accompany Kendall for her first day of
training. If the Gryphon was just gonna download stuff into my brain Matrix style it seemed he could do that just as easily if I was home on the couch. Plus, Gabe had gotten an excused absence because of a football scrimmage. So, why the heck did I have to be there? But it’s next to impossible to debate things like this with a centuries old Spirit Guide. She used big words, rambled on about the fate of the world, duty and honor, until I gave in just to shut her up.

  I was still hoping for a distraction to get me out of going, which is why I rushed to the door when a knock rattled it on its hinges. When I glanced out, I didn’t immediately recognize the guy standing on our porch.

  “What? Is my fly unzipped?” Alec smirked and made a big production out of double checking.

  I made a concentrated effort to close my slack jaw. Turns out a great hair-cut and a fitted suit can do wonders. Alec had transitioned from boy-next-door cute to smokin’ hottie.

  “So?” he asked. He held out the lapels of his jacket and did a little turn. “What do you think?”

  “You look…” Awesome. Hot. Dreamy. “…different.”

  “Good different or bad different?”

  “Good,” I sighed, then blushed beet red. “What brought this on?”

  “That’s kind of what I came to talk to you about. I owe you an apology.”

  “For what?”

  “My behavior when I finally got you to go out with me. I let myself get really wrapped up in my story, and I think I came off as kind of a…”

  “Jerk?”

  “Yeah,” he cringed. “Sorry about that.”

  “You don’t owe me any apologies,” I reassured him. “It’s okay. You were just excited.” With the whirlwind craziness I had been going through, Alec hadn’t been top on my mind. He sure didn’t owe me anything.

  “Yes! Exactly!” His enthusiasm had him beaming. “I was excited because I realized what I’m supposed to do.”

  “What’s that?” I giggled.

  “I’m not supposed to be a cameraman. I need to be out there…” he waved his arm toward the outside world, “…finding the stories that need to be told and reporting on them. I talked to my producer at the station, and he made me a full-time field reporter. Apparently, he gave me this story in the first place because he thinks I have what it takes.”

  “And you do.” I fought to keep the resentment out of my voice.

  What a cruel joke for the universe to play—spruce him up to make him irresistible, then give him the job as a story chaser. And here I was sitting on the mother of all stories. A career maker, one that could get him killed if he snooped into it. With a heavy heart, I realized for his own protection I had to keep my distance from him. At least until the threats surrounding me subsided. My tension seemed to evade him.

  “I went over to my mom’s salon and made her day by letting her cut my hair. Then I visited a tailor and had some suits made that I’m hoping to be able to pay off someday. Now I’m all set to embrace who I was meant to be.”

  “There seems to be a lot of that going around lately,” I muttered.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. I’m really happy for you, Alec.”

  “Thanks, but I really am sorry about the other night. You mean a lot to me, Celeste, and I would never want to hurt you.” His voice grew husky as he moved closer. Warning sirens blared in my head. He had that “I’m going to kiss her” look in his eyes. He brushed the back of his hand down my arm. “I really would like to give us a chance.”

  I didn’t give myself time to consider if I wanted to kiss him or not. (For the record—I did). There was a psycho shape-shifter out there terrorizing children. I didn’t have time to play kissy face. Concentrating on my own reluctance, I brought my hand up to his cheek. With that seemingly loving gesture, I passed my hesitation on to him.

  His face froze inches from mine. I could feel his warm breath on my skin and fought my desire to close the gap between us. His eyes clouded over in confused hesitation. From his shirt pocket, his cell phone buzzed.

  “You should probably get that,” I whispered.

  His brow furrowed in uncertainty as he nodded and snatched his phone from its resting place. I backed away from him until I bumped into the wall. Temptation averted, he flipped open his phone. “Hey, what’s up? The panther? Where?” My pulse quickened at the mention of the cat I knew to be a demon in disguise. “Oh, man! Is it still there? Awesome! I’m on my way!”

  He snapped his phone shut and looked up at me like a kid on Christmas morning. “You are not going to believe this! The panther is on the roof of the grocery store. The fire department, the cops, and animal rescue are all there. They’re going to try to shoot it with a tranquilizer gun to get it down. I gotta go!”

  Before I could stop him, he grabbed me, spun me around, and dipped me back in a kiss straight out of Gone with the Wind. Then he stood me up, said “Call ya later” and ran out the door.

  With the back of my hand pressed to my mouth, I stared after him, dumbstruck. I wanted so badly for him to come back and kiss me again, but knew that didn’t coincide with my plan to keep my distance. My head and heart were battling it out when Kendall came pounding down the stairs.

  “Do we have company?”

  “It was Alec.” I licked my lips. They still tasted like him. “He just left.”

  “Oh.” She made no attempt to hide her disappointment.

  I glanced over my shoulder at her. “You’ll hear from Keith, Keni. I’m sure of it.”

  She gave a crestfallen shrug.

  “Right now though, we have way more important things to worry about.”

  “What’s up?”

  “For some moronic reason, the Seeker is currently on top of the local supermarket creating a huge spectacle. Cops and everything. Apparently being evil also means you have the IQ of a zipper. We need to go awaken your inner eagle and lure him away from town, stat.”

  “And what do we do if he actually shows up?” A fair share of panic crept into her voice.

  “I guess you better learn to fly quick so you can get us the heck out of there, huh?”

  CHAPTER 17

  Come to find out the first step in channeling one’s inner eagle is meditation. I do not have an inner eagle. Therefore it made no sense for me to be cross-legged on the ground focused on my breathing. Concentration on anything wasn’t coming easily. There was a Seeker in town doing God knows what—and my pants were soaked from sitting on the ground. I opened one eye and peeked at my sister. She was doing exactly as Alaina told her: eyes closed, head up, breathing deeply. If she was uncomfortable, it didn’t show. Maybe the ground wasn’t wet where she was sitting. If that was the case, I was probably sitting where some wild animal had recently…Eeew.

  “Celeste!”

  I sheepishly opened both eyes and peered at Alaina. With her hands on her hips and her cross expression, she was the picture of disapproval.

  “Sorry.”

  “Will you please try to focus?” she pleaded.

  “I’m trying. I am,” I lied.

  Again she began her instructions. “Close your eyes.” I did. “Now, inhale a deep, cleansing breath. Feel your lungs expanding to their fullest capacity. Exhale and blow out all the tension in your body. Good. Again, inhale.”

  I wonder what Alec is doing right now?

  “All the stress is leaving your body, leaving you refreshed and rejuvenated. Inhale. Exhale. Your body is relaxed and your mind is free to roam.”

  And roam it shall …

  “Let your subconscious focus on all those you love. Let your mind center on them. Open yourself to the love in your heart. Feel the warmth of it radiating through you. It’s spreading through your chest, castings its glow through each part of your body that it touches. It reaches your arms and legs, right down to the tips of your fingers and toes.”

  Blah, blah, blah. For a Spirit Guide, she’s surprisingly long-winded.

  “Up into your head, even your hair is tingling. Every inch of your body
is alive with the love that you possess. Let your entire being become encompassed in that beautiful feeling.”

  I wonder if Kendall is faking. She totally could be. I opened myself up to her to check. Love emanated off her with such a force that it made warmth explode through me. I had never felt anything like this. It was an amazing, euphoric high.

  I could also feel that she was teetering on the precipice of her change. She was so close, but seemed stuck, needing a nudge to push her over the threshold. I centered everything I was feeling, drew it into a tight circle in my chest, and with a touch of my hand gave it to her. The energy passed through me and into her. She jerked at my touch and then absorbed the weight of what I’d given her like a person being electrocuted. She convulsed from head to toe. Her eyes rolled back in her head. A foamy, gurgled scream tore from her throat.

  Panicked, I scrambled to get to my feet to aid my baby sister. Alaina intercepted me and physically blocked me from getting any closer.

  “No,” she whispered in my ear. “It’s happening.”

  The trembling stopped. Keni sat ramrod straight, still as the dead. Her eyes popped open and stared straight ahead. Fabric tore. Alaina took my hand and guided me around to Kendall’s side.

  “You’re going to want to see this.”

  I crinkled my nose. “I’m fairly certain I don’t.”

  Two mounds of flesh rose up out of Kendall’s shoulder blades. Slow and steady they grew. Thick stalks of cartilage drew outward to pull and manipulate the fleshy lumps into a taunt wing form. The bare flesh stretched out wide behind her. Fuzzy white down sprouted up to cover it. A beat later the down fell away to reveal silky, ivory feathers beneath it. Her wings shook and flapped off the remaining fuzz, then snapped open to exhibit the finished product. A gigantic pair of magnificent ivory wings protruded from my baby sister’s back.

  “Well there’s something you don’t see every day,” I gaped.

  “I do,” Alaina corrected.

  Kendall blinked rapidly as she regained the ability to focus. “What happened?”