As Soot and Seppo came out of the forge to meet the riders, Eva noticed for the first time who their visitors were: Lord Commander Andor and his dashing young rider, alongside a surly girl Eva hoped she never had reason to meet. With a mop of spiky dark hair and a sharp nose, she looked every bit as fierce as the giant half-eagle she rode.
“Soot!” the lord commander shouted, slapping Eva’s foster father on the shoulder. “By the sky, it’s good to see you, old friend. How are you?”
Although Soot looked uneasy, a small smile crossed his face, surprising Eva. “I’m well enough. It’s been awhile, Andor.”
“Too long,” the lord commander said. “I saw Seppo with your…assistant at the market the other day — I hoped you would have been there with them.” Stepping back, he gestured to the two riders standing behind him. “These two are wing leaders in training: Tahl, and the young woman is Sigrid.”
As the lord commander started telling Soot about the egg theft, Eva stared at the young rider from the market. Tahl. His wind-tousled hair only accented his good looks. Eva wasn’t sure, but she imagined he looked around the yard while the older men talked, as if searching for her.
“— don’t know how this is going to turn out. Devana was one of our greatest,” Andor continued. “And we still haven’t found her egg or the thief.”
“How’d they do it?” Soot asked
“There was a Choosing,” Andor said, “But Devana wasn’t ready to give up her egg — she was back in the nest. That’s how the thief got away: Most of the riders were in the city for the night. Whoever stole the egg killed Devana and somehow escaped the Gyr before anyone knew something was amiss.”
Eva felt a sickening burning, like a lump of iron in the bottom of her stomach. She slid down onto her bed and looked at Ivan.
“You…” she said, fighting the urge to throw up. “You killed a gryphon?”
“No!” Ivan hissed. “No, I never! I found the gryphon like that — I told you I stole the egg to protect it.”
Eva shook her head. “I-I don’t know what to think,” she said. A million thoughts raced through her mind, the beating of the egg muffling and mixing them even more. Before she could say anything else, however, the lord commander’s voice carried through the window.
“Speaking of which, where is the girl?”
“I let her sleep in a bit this morning,” Eva heard Soot say. “She wasn’t feeling well last night, but she should be up by now. Eva! Seppo, go see if she’s awake.”
Fear coursing through her, Eva snatched up the gryphon egg and held it out for Ivan. “Quick! Seppo’s coming; you’ve got to go!”
Ivan took the egg for a moment and then held it out to her again as Seppo’s iron-shod footsteps neared Eva’s window. “I can’t take it — it’s hatching!
Before she knew what was happening, Ivan passed the egg back into her hands. Sure enough, the egg wobbled and jerked. Eva’s head spun, and she pushed it back to Ivan.
“Take it! Take it!
The Scrawl folded his arms and shook his head. “Look, you’re just not getting it, Eva,” he said in a tone far too condescending for his age. “And I’m tired of explaining things.”
“What’s he doing here?”
Eva squeaked in surprise and almost dropped the egg as she spun around to find Seppo’s head poking through her open shutters. She glanced at Ivan. Beneath his dark blue rune markings, the Scrawl’s face went pale. The gryphon egg continued to shudder in Eva’s hands, tiny cracks spreading across its smooth surface like spiderwebs
“Eva, what’s going on?” Soot asked as more footsteps approached. Finally deciding it might be time to leave, Ivan yanked opened the bedroom door.
“Not this time!” Seppo yelled. Eva heard the front door slam open, followed by a brief scuffle. Rooted to the spot, Eva could only stare at the egg as the pounding in her head magnified even more and a little beak poked through the blood-red shell.
“Aha!” Seppo’s voice rang out triumphant. At the same time, Soot, the lord commander, and Tahl appeared in the window. When they saw Eva standing inside with a hatching gryphon egg cupped in her hands, their eyes went wide.
No one spoke.
“I…I can explain.” Eva began.
Before she could say anything else, an angry peep filled the silence. A curved talon burst out of the egg, followed by another. Eva lowered the half-broken shell to the floor, and in one sudden motion the entire gryphon hatchling burst free of the egg.
A crashing sound rose in the kitchen, and Eva’s bedroom door flew open. Seppo held Ivan tucked under one arm and ducked down to fit his head inside. His eyes fell to the gryphon chick on the floor, and he shouted in delight.
“Now that’s something you don’t see every day!”
Chapter Six
Eva opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. No one else said anything either. Shaking the last of the eggshell and ichor free from its rusty fur and rose-colored down, the gryphon chick growled and screeched again. It was about the size of a half-grown cat, tumbling around as it tried to stand on its little paws and talons.
“I see you’ve had some adventures since we met,” Andor said. The tone of his voice matched his piercing, cold eyes.
“How?” Soot began. “Why —”
“I meant to tell you,” Eva said. Like a dam overflowing, the words rushed out. “He just showed up two nights ago, and he told me he’d seen this vision and the egg had to stay with me and I didn’t know what to do because it felt so strange but Ivan wouldn’t go away and —”
Soot held up a hand. “Slow down. Take a deep breath.”
“I believe I can be of assistance,” Seppo said in a cheerful voice. “We found this Scrawl in the woodshed two nights ago. He had stolen the gryphon egg. I wanted to tell you right away, but Mistress Evelyn said not to.”
Eva groaned. “Thanks, Seppo.”
The golem missed the sarcasm. “Of course!”
“Do you realize what you’ve done?” Soot asked. “That stolen egg could start a war, and you were the one hiding the thief from the king and the Gyr!”
Eva looked at the floor, fighting the urge to vomit as she started to quake. The gryphon hatchling let out an angry squawk and turned its bright yellow eyes to her. Kneeling down before she collapsed, Eva stretched out a cautious hand to comfort the chick.
“Ow!”
The gryphon’s tiny beak bit down hard, and Eva yanked her hand back, blood welling out of a gash in her finger.
“Careful!” Andor warned. “That’s no stray kitten.”
While Soot and Tahl left to search for a pair of irons to place on Ivan — the Scrawl had remained tucked under Seppo’s arm throughout the whole ordeal — the lord commander and the dark-haired girl, Sigrid, joined Eva in the kitchen, where she’d carefully picked up the nipping gryphon chick and placed it on the table. When she sat it down, it screeched louder, drawing a series of concerned cries from its full-grown relations outside.
“Sigrid, go calm them down, will you?” Andor asked. The girl nodded, a deep scowl on her face as she watched Eva and the hatchling before leaving the room.
“He needs fresh meat,” Andor said, watching the chick stumble across the table, pecking and scratching at the wood with its beak. “I’m afraid one of your chickens will have to serve.”
“What are you going to do to Ivan?” Eva asked. “Please don’t hurt him! I…I think he’s telling the truth.”
Andor studied her for a long moment. “Don’t worry,” he said at last, “the Scrawl boy will get a fair trial according to the king’s law. Right now, you’ve got plenty of your own problems, Evelyn.”
Eva’s fear rushed back tenfold. “Am I…will I be arrested, too?”
The lord commander shook his head. “No, but I hope you know you did a damn foolish thing and got very lucky.”
“I’m sorry,” Eva said, staring at the floor. “I guess I made a mess of things.”
Andor’s expression soften
ed. “It could have been worse. But this little terror needs to be fed. Let’s get him taken care of, and we’ll talk more.
As soon as Soot and Tahl had a compliant Ivan secured and placed under Seppo’s watchful eyes once more, the smith stomped off to the chicken coop, returning soon after with a limp Ms. Cluck Cluck swinging from his fist. To stave off the guilt when Soot began to pluck the dead chicken, Eva reminded herself of all the times the hen attacked her when she’d gone to gather eggs.
“Tahl, let the Gyr know the egg’s been found,” Andor said as soon as the young rider joined them around the table. “Let the Council know everything is fine. I’ll give them a full report later this evening.”
Shooting her a reassuring smile, Tahl tapped his right fist against his heart in salute to his commander and left. Eva watched him go — until Soot walked in, with the plucked chicken, blocking her view.
The smell of fresh blood drove the chick wild, and Eva stretched across the table to grab him before he fell off, intent on reaching Soot as the smith cut the meat into small chunks.
“Watch your fingers this time,” Andor cautioned when Soot handed Eva the first bits.
“Sorry, Ms. Cluck Cluck,” Eva said under her breath. She held out the first bit of raw chicken to the gryphon hatchling. The chick’s head shot out and snatched the meat from between her fingers faster than Eva expected. With a flick of his tiny head, the baby gryphon swallowed it whole and hissed for another.
By the time it stopped shrieking for more, the chick had eaten almost half of the hen. Hunger sated, the baby gryphon curled up in a fluffy ball on the middle of the table and fell asleep almost at once. Under Andor’s guidance, Eva slid her hands under the chick and transferred it into a crude nest made of her blankets, careful not to wake the gryphon.
“Eva, please excuse me to talk with Soot for a moment,” Andor said.
Exhausted, Eva nodded and stepped out of the cottage, shutting the door behind her. By now, a small crowd stood on the edge of the street, talking and point at Sigrid and the two remaining gryphons still standing in the yard.
“Everyone, stay back!” Sigrid commanded the onlookers. “Windsworn business; be on your way.”
Eva ducked around the house out of sight before anyone thought to come question her about what was going on. There she found Seppo standing over Ivan. The Scrawl’s wrists and ankles were in irons, and a strip of cloth kept him from uttering any kennings. When he saw Eva, his face brightened, and he raised his manacled hands in greeting as if they’d just run into one another on the street. Eva shook her head, wondering how the Scrawl could be cheerful as she sat bound in chains and about to be arrested. Part of her thought she might trade him places, though, given the chance.
“My, what an exciting day it’s been already!” Seppo said as if it all were some treat. “I wonder what’s in store for the rest of it?”
Not feeling like talking, Eva slumped down on the ground beneath her window and buried her hands in her face. Instead of relief, however, she heard the lord commander’s voice from the kitchen.
“She can’t stay here, Soot. The chick bonded with her.”
“You know she can’t go to the Gyr,” Soot replied. “What if —”
“It doesn’t matter now. The egg hatched for her, Soot. The red egg. The gryphon of a generation.”
Eva sucked in a sharp breath, a lump forming in her throat. After a long pause, she heard Soot sigh.
“I’ll go speak with her,” Andor said.
Eva blinked back her tears and stood, pretending like she hadn’t heard anything. When Andor rounded the corner, she met him with a blank expression.
“Come with me,” the lord commander said and gestured toward the forge.
The murmur of the crowd faded, and Eva felt like she was walking down a tunnel. Inside the forge, Andor led them out of sight before turning to face her. Her chest tightened. Twice, Andor opened his mouth to speak. Eva couldn’t do anything but stare, wide eyed, heart pounding.
“Eva, there’s something you should know,” he began.
A long paused followed. Eva didn’t know if she was supposed to ask what, or if she could talk even if she needed to.
“When the chick hatched, it bonded to you,” the lord commander said at last. “Do you know what that means?”
“I…” Eva surprised herself by speaking. “I’m not sure.”
“It means you have to return to the Gyr with us,” Andor said not in an unkind voice. “You will live with the other new recruits and train to become Windsworn.”
Eva felt her world crashing down around her. “No! You don’t understand. I…” She trailed off, not sure where to even begin. “I’m not Windsworn material. I belong here, with Soot and Seppo!”
For some odd reason, Andor’s lips twitched in a brief smile at that. “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice in the matter,” he said, serious once more. “Had the egg not hatched, it would be a different story. But the bond between gryphon and human is not something that can be broken. And Devana’s egg held a very special gryphon.”
If that was intended to make Eva feel better, it didn’t. She felt tears welling her eyes again but couldn’t stop them a second time. “I didn’t mean for it to hatch,” she said. Alone with Andor in the forge, she felt small and alone. “I only did what I thought was right.”
“I’m sorry, Eva,” the lord commander said. It sounded more like a remark on the weather than an apology and left no room for debate. “It’s not like you’ll never see Soot or Seppo again, however. You’ll be allowed to visit them on leave. Right now, I need you to be brave and trust me. Please go pack your things and say goodbye.”
And that ended it. Tears rolling down her face, Eva nodded. Body numb, she walked across the yard in a daze, struggling to grasp the morning’s events. Lost and confused, she almost ran into the cottage door. Instead, Soot opened it and beckoned Eva inside, out of sight of the growing crowd.
As soon as the door shut, Eva collapsed into her foster father’s embrace, sobbing. Soot didn’t say anything, just held her tight, which somehow made it all worse. After a few minutes passed, Eva shuddered and pulled herself away, gulping air while she wiped away the tears with the back of her hand.
“I’m sorry,” she said in between gasps. “Don’t make me leave, p-please. I’m s-s-sorry…”
She looked up and saw tears running down the grooves in Soot’s forge-beaten face. “It’ll be okay, Eva,” he said and forced a rare, awkward smile. “You weren’t meant to stay here forever! This is an opportunity hundreds of boys and girls all across Rhylance would die for.”
Eva swallowed and nodded, wishing Ivan had hidden in one of the sheds of those hundreds of boys and girls. Soot gave her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. “Remember what I always say: when you’ve got a job to do, it’s better to face the fire head on.”
It didn’t take long. Although Soot’s business prospered and they never went without, Eva had few personal belongings. Her mother’s Wonder stone, a few coarse shirts and leather leggings spattered with tiny burn holes from working in the forge, a dress for festivals and holidays, a carved bone hair comb, and a couple of battered books made up the extent of her belongings.
As she placed each item in the bag, Eva’s mind whirled, still trying to grasp everything happening. Two mornings ago, she’d just been a smith’s assistant. Now…she didn’t know what she was now, but she would have given anything to go back.
In the kitchen, a basket with lid straps sat on the table. Soot stood in the middle of the room, looking lost and unsure, for the first time Eva could remember. Outside, Eva heard the crowd gasp and the calls of at least one more gryphon.
“They’re coming to get the Scrawl,” Soot said, voice dull and muted compared to its normal booming ring. He gestured to the basket on the table. “Andor put your gryphon inside.”
Eva rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her foster father once more. “Oh, Soot!”
The smith wrapped he
r in his arms, once more patted her on the back. “You go up to that mountain, and show everyone what you’re made of, Eva,” he said. “You’re like good steel; you bend, but you don’t break. Just remember that — when things get hard.”
Eva pressed her face harder against Soot’s rough leather apron, trying to fight back the tears. Soot cleared his throat again.
“Your parents…they’d be proud of you,” he said at last. “I know I am.”
It was high praise from Soot, who didn’t dole out needless compliments. Swallowing hard, Eva nodded and wiped her face. She blew out a long breath then turned for the door.
Outside, two more gryphons stood in the yard, sunlight shining on their bronze-and-tan bodies. Their riders escorted Ivan between them, toward the large creatures. A long line of city and palace guards separated the crowd from the proceedings.
“Where are they taking him?” Eva asked, awful images of Ivan being fed to the gryphons or dropped out of the sky flashing across her mind.
“To the Gyr,” Andor said, taking the basket with the gryphon chick from Eva. “He’ll be held there until a trial is set. Sigrid will take the chick, and you will ride with me. Ready?”
Eva felt her stomach sink and a dull emptiness fill her. So, this was it.
“Goodbye, Mistress Evelyn,” Seppo said. He spread his arms in an awkward invitation for a hug. Eva let out a dry laugh at how funny it looked but wrapped her arms around the golem’s waist anyway.
“Goodbye, Seppo,” she said after. “Take care of Soot for me, all right?”
“An almost impossible task, but I will do my best,” the golem said. Eva laughed and looked at Soot, who scowled at Seppo. When his eyes met Eva’s however, he looked away, shifting from one foot to the other.
Windsworn: Gryphon Riders Book One (Gryphon Riders Trilogy 1) Page 4
