The Conduit (The Gryphon Series Book 1)

by Stacey Rourke

  I rushed to untie Kendall. She stared up at me in amazement.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “I’ll be fine, just surface wounds. I can heal myself as soon as I get my wings out. But, Cee, that was amazing! He killed himself just to get away from you. You’re, like, a badass! How the heck did you do that?!”

  “I have no idea! But it was cool!” I gushed. “Did you see the kicky, twirly thing I did? I don’t know what that was, but it was friggin’ sweet!”

  “Yeah it was! There was only one problem.”

  “What?”

  “Here kitty, kitty?” She raised one mocking eyebrow. “Really?”

  “That was lame, I know. I’ll work on my snappy one-liners for next time.”

  Her hands now free, Kendall rubbed her red, chaffed wrists. “That seems to be all you need to work on! It was a good thing the Gryphon picked today to soup you up. I was convinced I was a goner.”

  “I know,” I grumbled. “I didn’t think I was going to get here in time.”

  “But you did!” A wiggle of her shoulders and her wings appeared.

  “Which was great because he didn’t seem to care if he accidentally killed the chosen one or not. He just wanted the info. Barnabus must be coming down hard on these guys. The gloves are off.”

  “That means they’ll send a replacement quickly.” I looked her over and evaluated her injuries. Her neck wound was only skin deep. But her shoulder was sliced to the bone. “We’ve got to get your arm looked at Keni. It’s bad.”

  “Not necessary,” She grinned. “Watch this.”

  Her wings drew in around her, forming a tight, down cocoon. The feathers began to glow with a soft luminescence. After a moment, it subsided and Keni retracted her wings. Her injuries were gone. Not even a scar remained.

  “Impressive.”

  “Not too shabby, huh? My dress on the other hand is DOA.”

  “Our calling has been detrimental to your wardrobe.”

  “Right?”

  The sound of heavy footfalls landing on the rooftop behind us cut off our conversation. I didn’t kill the Seeker! He’s back! I whirled around and delivered an effective right hook without pausing to look.

  My fist connected with its target as Kendall cried out, “Celeste! Stop!”

  It was too late. I cold-cocked my brother right in the eye.

  “Oh, crap! Sorry, Gabe!” I was going to have to leave a message. Gabe temporarily checked out.

  He let out a shocked “ooof” then did a clumsy side-step. His eye instantly swelled shut. He would’ve hit the ground, but his sprawled legs locked up to prevent it. He hung his head and waited for the fog to clear. After a moment, he began slowly shaking his head. Blinking hard with his good eye, he peeked up at Kendall and me.

  “Guess what, Gabe?” Kendall chirped weakly. “Celeste got her powers. Yay! How’s your head?”

  He let out a feeble grumble. I knocked a gigantic lion for a loop. If that doesn’t stroke the ego, I don’t know what does. I tried to look concerned while I internally gloated. “We should get you home and ice that eye. It’s turning a lovely shade of purple. Do you think you can make it down from here?”

  Gabe took a tentative step forward. His leg buckled under his weight. We rushed forward to help him back up.

  “There’s no way he can make it down,” Kendall fretted.

  “Can you fly him down?”

  She shook her head. “No way. I’m like a quarter of his size. I couldn’t lift him by myself. Unless …” She looked my way with a speculative eye.

  “Unless what?” I didn’t like where this was going.

  “You get an arm, I get an arm, and we jump.”

  I had been super strong for all of ten minutes. I had been afraid of heights a whole lot longer. “Isn’t there a way into the building from up here? We could just break in and take the stairs. Easy squeezy.”

  Kendall rolled her eyes at me. “You would rather commit a crime by breaking and entering instead of just jumping down? You jumped up here you big wimp, you can jump back down. No big deal. And, if you do get hurt, I can heal you.”

  “Thank you, that’s very reassuring,” I muttered wryly. I turned to my stunned and befuddled brother. “Can you change back, Gabe? Make this a little easier on us?”

  The lion half-heartedly raised his head, then let it drop again. I guess that answered my question.

  “No biggie,” An annoyingly up-beat Kendall shrugged. “We can just lift him up on his back legs. We’ll drape his front paws around our necks.”

  That seemed like a monumentally bad idea. “Look at the size of him, Keni. No way can we keep hold of him while we jump.”

  “Sure we can, now that you have the super strength.”

  “Already you’re taking advantage of my powers? If I’m doing all the heavy lifting, what the heck are you going to do?”

  She put her hands on her hips. “I will make sure we have a smooth landing instead of crashing to the ground, if that’s all right with you.”

  “Fine,” I scoffed. “Let’s just get this over with.”

  We finagled Gabe up onto his hind legs, draped his gigantic paws around our necks, and shuffled to the edge of the roof. I peered down over the ledge and got a nasty case of vertigo.

  “Nope. Can’t do it,” I declared.

  “Yes, you can,” Kendall said. “Just don’t look down. On the count of three, we’re going to jump. Ready?”

  “No, I changed my mind.”

  “One …”

  “Please don’t make me do this.”

  “Two …”

  “I’m going to die.”

  “No, you’re not. Three!”

  I took the mother of all deep breaths, squeezed my eyes shut, and jumped. My hair whipped off my neck and lashed at my face as we plummeted toward the ground. To my shock and amazement, we landed without incident in the alley behind the library. My body reacted to the jump like I had done nothing more than hop off a curb.

  No sooner had our feet touched the ground than a menacing hiss jerked our heads to the right. A pair of wild, luminescent green eyes peered at us from the shadows as it growled out its warning. My heart leapt into my throat with enough force that I almost choked on it. Another Seeker! I fumbled to free myself from Gabe’s heavy arm when what turned out to be a stray cat charged past us. It sent a garbage can clattering to the ground in its panicked rush to get away from the lion that just fell from the sky.

  Kendall’s pink glossed lips split into a wide grin, “See? No biggie.”

  Easy for her to say…she wasn’t the one having heart palpitations. Between the terrifying free fall and the “mysterious wild creature,” I had a sudden need to go hide under my bed in the fetal position. “Let’s get home,” I gasped as I expelled the breath I’d been holding. “Immediately.”

  CHAPTER 23

  Gabe had a score to settle. Actually, I think it was bigger than that. It was more like a deep-seeded vendetta against me for what he considered to be a “sucker punch.”

  For the last twelve hours, I had been forced to listen to him whine and moan about it. According to him, if he had been expecting it, I wouldn’t have been able to touch him. Granted, I had limited fighting experience, but I was pretty sure people didn’t normally give written warning before they threw a punch. Not to mention the guy’s supposed to have cat-like reflexes, but whatever.

  When Grams got home he even bellyached to her about it. She told him to suck it up and quit being a crybaby. Scoping out his black eye, she added, “Geez, Gabe you must bruise like a peach to get a shiner like that from a little, bitty thing like Celeste.”

  He glared daggers at me until Grams left the room. Then he snarled, “Tomorrow, when we go into the mountains to train, I’m kickin’ your butt.”

  “I said I was sorry,” I reminded him for the millionth time.

  He scowled and shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Has to happen.”

  I opened my mouth to protest when Kend
all cut me off. “He’s, like, on testosterone overload, Cee. Save your breath. You’re gonna have to spar with him to shut him up.”

  The next day he could barely contain himself. His trash talk entered a whole new plateau. He probably would’ve resorted to insulting my mama if she wasn’t his mama, too. I tuned him out. A maneuver I had perfected over the last eighteen years. We entered the clearing together where Alaina awaited us.

  She gave us a maternal smile as we approached. “Good morning. I see Kendall is taking the first shift watching over your grandmother today. Gabe, we can start with some endurance exercise if that suits you?”

  Gabe’s eyes flicked to my face. Apparently Alaina didn’t get a memo from the Gryphon about what took place last night. “Actually, Kendall isn’t watching over Grams. She’s running an errand, she’ll be here soon.”

  Alaina’s eyebrows drew in and her lips pursed in disapproval. “No one is watching over your grandmother? At any moment the Seeker could venture into her home searching for you. She could be hurt. This is not acceptable. One of you needs to get back there immediately.”

  Gabe threw his hands up, palms out. “Whoa. Chill out. Celeste finished off the Seeker last night.”

  A bird-like twitch of her head and Alaina’s avian eyes focused on me. She examined me so intently that it made me fidget. Her gaze settled on my face. Whatever she saw there softened her expression and brought the grin back to her lips. “Our warrior has been awakened.”

  “Looks like,” I blushed.

  “That being the case,” she steepled her fingers under her chin, “you can actually participate today. I suppose it would be a better use of our time to have you spar in preparation for the next Seeker who comes.”

  “Yes!” Gabe exclaimed and pumped his fist in the air.

  “Hey, Gabe, can you give Alaina and me a minute please?” I asked. “Go warm up or something?”

  He bounced up and down, shaking out his limbs. “I don’t need to warm up. I was born ready for this!”

  “That’s great. Can we please have a sec?”

  “Take all the time you need. It’s not going to help!” He did his best tough guy saunter toward the creek.

  “What is his posturing all about?”

  “I accidentally punched him in the face last night and he’s having a hard time coping with it.”

  “Ah, I see. What is it that is on your mind, Celeste?”

  “I’m fairly certain he’s going to fight dirty. His masculinity being called into question and all.” I drew a line in the dirt with the toe of my tennis shoe. I was a “warrior” now. I wasn’t supposed to be nervous about stuff like this anymore. “But—uh—yesterday was the first time I’ve ever been in a fight…”

  “Come on, Cee! Wrap up the pep talk! It’s not going to help anyway!” Gabe threw a left jab and right hook in the air.

  “Just a minute!” I snapped.

  “You are worried he is going to overpower you?”

  “Completely. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

  “Trust yourself and the Gryphon. He has instilled in you the abilities. All you need to do is channel them. It will come as naturally as breathing or walking.”

  “Easy for you to say…you don’t trip over your own feet on a daily basis,” I muttered.

  “You two can plan your mani-pedis later. Let’s do this!” Gabe yelled.

  “You know in my day, the men provided for and protected their families.” Alaina reflected. “Their ability to do so successfully defined what kind of man they were.”

  “Are you telling me that for the sake of his fragile male ego, I should let him win?”

  “Oh, goodness no!” She clarified and waved her hand at the thought. “He is being a pompous pig. By all means go knock his lights out.”

  I let out a heartfelt laugh. “Will do!”

  “I will perch up there.” Alaina pointed to the top of a tall maple tree overlooking the trail. “If I see anyone coming, I shall alert you. Please try to remember to listen for me.”

  “Don’t worry, Alaina,” Gabe smirked. “It won’t take my full attention to knock her on her butt.”

  I snorted at his comment. “From what I saw yesterday, Gabe, you fold like a sheet of paper.”

  “You sucker punched me!”

  “Not my fault you’re slow.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “Oh, it is so on.”

  “I will be in the tree.” Alaina morphed and flitted up into the branches to get out of striking distance.

  Gabe and I squared off at opposite sides of the clearing. I hit a crouch first.

  “I won’t hold back if you don’t,” I offered, hoping that wasn’t just me blowing smoke.

  “Fine by me … I’ve got no problem kicking your butt.” He growled and fell down on all fours.

  I wanted to get one last jab in before he transformed. “Maybe I could find a big ball of string to distract you. Whattya say, fuzzball?”

  His voice dropped octaves as the change neared. “I say, I’m going to enjoy this.”

  The transformation seemed easier on Gabe now. It wasn’t easier to watch. I couldn’t help but crinkle my nose as his bones cracked and popped to allow his other form to emerge. Like a well-cared for Chia Pet, hair sprouted all over his body. It only took seconds before my brother disappeared and the tawny-colored lion stood before me. He let out an intimidating roar.

  “Ooh, scary. Ya know if you lose again to a little girl like me, maybe we should take that old game show host’s advice and have you neutered.”

  Gabe didn’t like that idea. He galloped straight for me, his fierce eyes fixated on my head. I matched his speed as I darted forward. As soon as he got within striking distance he sprung up to swipe at my face—which, by the way, I find rude. However, all his claws found was empty air. I spun down into a low swing kick and swept his back legs out from under him. He fell flat on his side, then leapt back to his feet.

  “Less than a minute.” I waggled my eyebrows at him. “I’m good.”

  He snarled his response.

  “I tell ya what. I’ll even give you the advantage.” I shut my eyes and turned my back to the lion. “Go ahead. Take your best shot.”

  Yes, I was being arrogant. But I couldn’t help it. I was thoroughly enjoying this.

  I sensed it when Gabe ducked down. I knew his every move as his stomach skimmed the ground as he crept toward me. He was the perfect model of feline stealth, but I remained one step ahead of him. Silent as a grave, he extended his razor-sharp claws and swiped. At the last possible moment, I jumped into the air. I’ve never had a gymnastics class in my life, yet I managed a back-tuck with ease.

  Gabe interrupted my evasion maneuver with a counter-assault. He sprang up and swatted at me. One of his dagger-like claws tore into my arm while I was in mid-rotation. He knocked me slightly off kilter, but I still managed a somewhat graceful landing. I assessed my sliced tricep. My slashed skin healed before the blood could spill. The flesh pulled itself together and left no blemish or mark.

  Gabe’s eyes bulged at my amazing disappearing booboo.

  “I knocked you out. You sliced my arm. That makes us even.”

  Gabe’s topaz cat eyes flashed. “Nnooo wwaaayyyy …”

  I lost my warrior posture and indignantly snapped straight up. He’d been practicing talking in his feline form. It assaulted my ears worse than nails on a chalkboard. “Ah!” I wagged my finger at him. “None of that! That creepy voice sounds like Satan! Or a blender. Or a blender possessed by Satan. You start that up again and I’m leaving. Understand?”

  He rolled his eyes and clamped his mouth firmly shut. With a pointed stare, he made it clear that he would adhere to my rule.

  “Thank you. Now, where were we?” Simultaneously, we returned to our prowl. We trailed each other, both looking for an opportunity. Mine came when Gabe stepped wrong and gave me a straight shot at his ribs. I took advantage of it and bolted directly at him. He started to turn, but didn’t make it
in time. I hit him square in the midsection.

  His air escaped in a loud “Huynh!”

  I wrapped my arms around him and took him down, just as I had seen him do countless times on the football field. I bounced to my feet, bubbling with pride. My whole life I had been the wallflower, the awkward kid that watched from the sidelines just to spare herself the humiliation. For the first time, I came out on top. My happy dance was required. I bebopped around and gloated, until I noticed Gabe hadn’t gotten up. He lay motionless on the ground where he fell. Fear coursed through me. I hurried over to find the burly lion gasping for air. I knocked the wind out of him, and he couldn’t seem to reclaim it.

  “Oh, geez! I’m so sorry, Gabe. You okay?” I bent down next to him, trying to figure out how to give CPR to a lion.

  In an instant his breathing stabilized. His head lifted off the ground, and he grinned wickedly at me. A monstrous paw whacked me square in the chest and sent me tumbling. I turned my tumble into a back somersault and was back on my feet in seconds.

  I shook my head in disdain. “I knew you’d fight dirty.”

  He pulled himself up to full height and roared. I gave him the evil eye then swooped in for another attack. I only made it two strides before the shrill call of an eagle stopped me in my tracks.

  “Someone’s coming!” I yelled to my brother.

  I started one way, then darted the other, not quite sure what to do with myself. I settled for the log by the stream as my destination. I scurried over and sat down. I crossed my legs, sat up straight, and tried to look casual. I realized too late that my pose would seem odd for someone sitting alone in the woods. Gabe must have hidden by now. The rustle of leaves coming from the path told me I didn’t have time to come up with anything else. Whoever the hiker was, he or she was going to find me sitting there looking like I was waiting for a bus. Brilliant.