by Ruby Ryan
"I've only done it once," I said. "And since then the ruby on the totem has been cracked."
"So?"
So, the dragon pretended that was a victorious blow. I could still hear his taunts in my head, the joy in his eyes once he realized the totem had been damaged.
My silence must have spoken volumes, because Harriet grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "We won't know until we try."
"You're right."
"It's okay to be afraid."
"I'm not afraid!" I blurted out, but the words sounded hollow. I was afraid. Or at least, anxious. Now that I'd had time to process everything, now that Harriet and I were together and on an adventure and away from the danger chasing us, I didn't want there to be anything else. Why couldn't things just be normal?
But I knew normal was a state of being we would never again know. Our lives were different, now.
I was a gryphon, my friends were gryphons, and we had to save this world.
When I couldn't delay any further, I pulled over to the side of the road and stopped the van. I listened to the engine gurgling for several seconds before finally getting out.
Harriet followed me as we walked a short distance from the road into an open field.
"Take it out."
She pulled the totem from her pocket, where it had been warm against her hip. The crack on the ruby made me flinch, but otherwise the gem glowed faintly red in the African sun.
"According to Ethan, you have to press the gemstone. Like a button."
"Oh hey!" Harriet said. "That's what I did on the plane!"
"I know," I muttered, remembering the night outside Boris's bar. "That's how it works, supposedly. You might want to step back, love."
Harriet took five steps back and cradled the totem in both hands. "Are you ready?"
No, I thought.
"Yes," I said.
Her thumb slid across the ruby. I could almost feel it, like she was running her fingernails along the back of my head, caressing...
She pressed on the ruby.
It clicked inside the totem, and there was a brilliant flash of light. A supernova in the ruby, scarlet sunbeams shooting and spinning in all directions.
I felt my transformation with every nerve in my body. Bones cracking, and stretching, and re-fusing together until they were long and hollow. Muscles extended beyond what was natural, widening to form the powerful muscles of my back. Skin shredding to give way for an extra set of limbs, the wings expanding and unfolding and blossoming on my back, powerful and strong, with the wonderful ache of stretching a limb after a long period of dormancy. I cried out, pleasure mixed with pain, as my head twisted and warped and then my vision returned. I saw the world in sharp contrast, eyes like telescopes that could see for miles.
My transformation was complete.
I felt vulnerable and ashamed, as if what had just occurred was a grotesque display nobody should witness, but Harriet's face ended that. She wore an expression of wonder, eyes wide and mouth in the shape of an O.
"Holy potatoes," she muttered.
I sensed a difference between now and the last time. My strength was diminished; I doubted I could remain in this body for very long. Already it took conscious effort to not fall back into my human form. Focusing would be difficult.
The cracked ruby was responsible.
But I didn't care, because then I felt Harriet's love. It radiated from her like a star, brilliant and warm. She ran her fingers over my feathers with curiosity. Whatever journey was ahead of us, she was going to be part of it. We were going to experience it together.
And that made everything okay.
"Can... can I fly?" she asked, eyes wide as she looked up at me.
I opened my beak in what I hoped was a grin.
34
HARRIET
"That was the coolest!"
We drove along the road again, nearing the border with Malawi. With the window down and the air blowing on my face it was easy to remember how incredible flying was.
"I was there, aye," Roland said, trying to hide his smug grin. I could tell he was pleased with himself.
"That's going to be so useful during my research. We won't need to use the drones!"
"Assuming a giant bird of prey flying in the air doesn't terrify the elephants," Roland pointed out. "Besides, if Ethan's to be believed, we need to... recharge my abilities."
"Babe," I said, smiling at his freckled face, "we're going to be doing a lot of that, even if it had nothing to do with your ability!"
"I dunno if I'm in the mood," he said, flashing white teeth at me. I punched him in the steel beam that was his arm and he laughed.
"What about your friends?" I said. "Are you sure..."
"Fucken positive," he insisted. "There's nowhere in the world I want to be except by your side. We can deal with them later, when your research is done."
His fingers found mine and he gave them a squeeze to add emphasis to his words.
"How much longer?" he asked.
I unfolded the map and measured out the route, comparing the key with the width of my thumb for reference. "Umm. 700 kilometers? 800?"
"So about 12 hours to go," Roland said, his auburn hair blowing all around. "A peaceful drive."
"That sounds perfect."
With a van full of equipment and the open plain ahead, I took a deep breath and sighed. It wasn't the adventure I'd expected. Heck, it wasn't even the adventure I originally thought I wanted! But it was the one we were on together. And experiencing it together, just the two of us, made it that much more exciting.
I reached over to hold his hand and closed my eyes, savoring the African wind in my hair.
Epilogue
ETHAN
I stood in the hotel room with my phone to my ear, trying to think of something convincing to say.
But Roland could not be convinced.
"Dude, Roland," I begged, "you're making a mistake. You need to get back here before--"
"Sorry mate," he drawled, "but Harriet and I've got plans. I'll be back in the states in a month, when her research is done."
I looked at Sam, who was sitting on the bed and shaking his head.
"You're not listening. We're stronger together. Sam and I can feel it. With Orlando's issues getting here, and Andy's complete denial of the situation, we need you more than ever."
"And we still don't know who the diamond is," Sam chimed in, as if I could forget.
"And you need us, since your totem is damaged. If you helped us convince--"
"I'll help you when we're back," Roland interrupted. "Until then, take a look at the video I sent you. A little present from me to you. Took a fucken hour to upload on the shitty hotel Wi-Fi, but it should be there soon. Say hi to Samantha for me."
"Roland, wait!"
The line went dead.
I closed my eyes and squeezed the phone in my hand. How in the world could he go vacationing on safari while all of this was happening? Was the whole world going mad?
"He's always been stubborn," Sam offered.
The adjoining door to our hotel room opened and Jessica came storming on. "Honey, are you alright? I can feel your anger..."
"I'm fine," I said, which was a lie. A pointless lie, since Jessica and I shared a bond that allowed her to feel what I felt. A convenience or a curse, depending on the day.
But having her put her hand on my cheek did calm me down. A little bit.
"So he's not coming?" Ezra asked, leaning on the door frame.
"It will be fine," Sam said. "He'll come when he's ready."
"He said the gem was damaged," I admitted. "Cracked. Which explains why the ruby on the sword is dimmer..."
"It'll be fine," Sam insisted, though the confidence in his voice was waning.
"I'm going to get us all some food," Jessica announced. She was a planner, and had taken on the role of chaperone of our little team. "I'll bring back some of everything. The casino buffet has to-go boxes. Ezzy, come with me?"
&nb
sp; "As long as we can get some beer," Ezra said. She'd protested against Jessica's nickname for the first few days, but had finally given in and accepted it.
When the girls were gone I pulled my laptop off the desk and opened my email. Sure enough, I had an email from Roland with a Dropbox link attached.
"What is it?" Sam asked, looking over my shoulder.
I didn't answer because I didn't know. I downloaded the file, double-clicked it once it was done, and turned up the volume.
The camera rotated and wobbled, with the hiss and roar of someone rubbing against the microphone. When it steadied we were looking down at a man lying on yellow-orange dirt. His face was swollen and still bore the stain of recently-wiped-away blood. One eye was completely stained red, as if the whites in his eye had been replaced with blood. His muscular body was completely nude, and hate shone in his bloodshot eyes.
"Say hi for the camera," taunted Roland's voice from off-screen.
The man gritted his teeth and said, "Fuck you."
"This here's a dragon," Roland said, in a mocking tone like he was narrating a documentary. "Angry fucker, and ugly as sin, as you can see. No doubt sexual inadequacy is to be blamed for his species' raging temperament."
The Ruby Dragon. Sam and I shared a look.
"My brothers and I have woken after a hundred years of slumber," the dragon intoned. "As we have done a thousand times before, and as we will do a thousand times more. As long as it takes to defeat the gryphons and end this world."
"Now why would you want to do a nasty thing like that?" Roland asked, still off camera. "I happen to like this world, present company aside."
The dragon sneered, showing teeth that were stained red with blood. "You know why."
"Afraid not, mate."
"You and your brethren killed her," the dragon said, hardly more than a whisper. "You took her from us!"
"I haven't killed anyone, and that's something I think I would've remembered."
The dragon spit a ball of pink phlegm to the side. Even on a video, I could see the agony in his eyes.
"We could have lived in peace," he hissed, "but you gryphons took her! Our love, our precious Dionna..."
Roland appeared in the video, crouching next to the dragon. His voice was a great deal softer than I'd ever heard from Roland. "Friend, I'm sorry for your loss. I truly am, cause I can feel the pain in your voice. But I don't mean you any harm. None of us do. We only want to live our lives in peace." He looked up at the camera, no, at the person holding the camera. "We only want to be with the ones we love. Can't you understand that?"
The dragon's face twisted in confusion, and then anger, and then pain.
"What I understand is that we will continue to fight. As we fought you above the trenches of the Somme in France. As we fought in the sky while Napoleon cut down Prussians like grains of wheat. As we burned the Spanish Fleet off the coast of Sicily in 1719, and scoured the Catholics in flame in the Thirty Years' War, and helped lay siege to Vienna a century before that." His broad chest rumbled with laughter. "What I understand, oh ancient ruby foe of mine, is that when we are released from our prison every hundred years we will battle you with righteous passion. We will do so as we have always done until you and the other gryphons have paid for your actions, for what you did to Dionna all those centuries ago. And when we are done, and this world has been reduced to ash and flame, our souls can finally rest."
The words appeared to sap the remainder of the dragon's energy, and he closed his eyes and laid his head against the ground.
"Who is Dionna?" Roland whispered. "What did we do to her?"
The dragon's chest softly rose and fell, but he spoke no more.
"Turn it off," Roland said, and then the video went black.
I sat back in my chair and processed what I'd seen.
"What does he mean?" Sam asked. He sat on the bed and put his hands in his lap, and he stared off as if trying to recall a memory.
I took a deep breath, then let it out gradually. Memories flickered in my brain; memories from distant places and different lives. Memories I'd never known I had.
"I don't know what he means," I said slowly. "But I think he's right."
Sam's eyes widened.
"I think we killed Dionna."
ONYX GRYPHON, the fourth book in the Gryphons vs Dragons series, is coming soon! Click here to buy it when it's available, or keep reading for a special preview!
1
CASSANDRA
I sat in the conference room and pretended to listen, even though my mind was on tonight.
"I just don't think they're sold on the campaign." That was Jimmy, an empty-chair Vice President and the one who'd called this last-minute meeting. He also happened to be my boss. He swiveled in his chair and shook his head. "We might need to come up with new ideas."
"That's not the impression we got," Amy said with barely contained frustration. I noticed, but doubted Jimmy would. "Their reaction to the March proposal was more enthusiastic than we'd ever seen."
I could hear the subtext in Amy's statement: we saw their reaction, not you. Jimmy was famous for introducing himself to the clients on the first day, skipping all the important meetings, and then swooping in at the last minute to give his unrequested (and unsubstantiated) opinion. Even after working with him for three years I wasn't sure why he did it. Maybe it made him feel more important. Or maybe after skipping most of the client meetings he felt the need to justify his role in the process by saying something before a campaign went live. But whatever the reason, it was always a pain in my team's collective ass.
"Well..." Jimmy began. Amy shot me a here it comes look. "I had lunch with Thomas Roddick yesterday. Their VP of marketing? Now, he didn't say so explicitly, but I got the impression his people aren't satisfied." He put up his hands defensively. "Just telling you what I'm seeing."
It took every ounce of willpower not to roll my eyes. It was always some vague bullshit with Jimmy. Thomas Roddick could have coughed at the wrong time during their special executive lunch and Jimmy would have taken it as a sleight against my team.
I could see the steam rising in Amy's ears. It was time to intervene.
"How about this," I quickly cut in. Six sets of eyes swung toward me. "I'll speak to Sharee discretely. See if they're truly satisfied with our proposal. If not, we can go over the backup proposals we had and see if anything else catches their eye." I nodded at Jimmy. "It's always good to make sure we're bringing as much value to our clients as possible."
It was what he needed to hear: that his input was being considered. He nodded as if there wasn't any other possible conclusion we could have come to and rose from his chair. "Great work, ladies. I don't say it enough, but you're crushing it out there."
Amy waited until he was out of the room and the door had closed with a click.
"Ladies," she muttered. "I swear he says it more condescendingly every time."
"He means well. He's just..." I scrunched up my face. "He's just too high up. Doesn't realize he doesn't need to micromanage every client anymore."
"We're not really going to dig up the backup proposals at this stage in the campaign, right?" Amy asked. "We've already purchased the air time..."
"Of course not," I said. "Not this far along. I'll send an email to Sharee to make sure they're satisfied with our direction. I know we are, but it'll give us something in writing to show Jimmy." I put on my best manager's voice. "I've got it taken care of. Don't let this distract from the rest of the campaign. Not when we're so close to launch. Are there any questions, comments, or concerns?"
The women around the table all shook their heads. I met each of their eyes one at a time, decided they were all comfortable with the direction, and then nodded.
"Sorry we had to have this last-minute meeting," I said as I rose. "Next time I'll try to head Jimmy off at the pass."
They began shuffling out, and Amy put a delicate hand on my shoulder in passing. "Thanks, Cassie. You're the best."
Ego-stroking aside, I was good at my job. Advertising wasn't just about picking a good idea and blasting it on television and billboards; it was about reading people. Finding out what your clients wanted, especially when they themselves didn't know what that was. That was the true talent in a job like this, beyond all the client-massaging bullshit that Jimmy did.
And reading people made me an expert in my other job.
"You got lunch plans?" Amy looked at her watch as we left the conference room. "I'm thinking Chang's, but I'm not sold on Thai food..."
I gave her an apologetic smile. "I brought a salad."
Amy blinked. "Salad? Saving up those calories so you can splurge on the weekend?"
"You know me."
"Well then enjoy your salad." Amy made a face and broke off down the hall toward her office.
I strode along with extra strut in my step. It was true that I'd brought a salad for lunch, but that wasn't the real reason I was staying in. I had other plans. The plans I'd been thinking about all morning.
My name was Cassandra Kim, and I was the most sought-after escort in Chicago. And Friday was when I picked my weekend clients.
*
I carried my laptop into the office lunch room, choosing a secluded table up against the far wall. The view from the 32nd floor was normally breathtaking, but today the fog rolling off the lake made it impossible to see farther than a few blocks. I sat at the table with my back to the window so nobody could see my screen.
I opened my salad, took a few bites, and then got to work.
First I disconnected the laptop from the company Wi-Fi, choosing instead to connect to the hotspot of the burner phone in my pocket. The symbol in my system tray spun, then gave a green check-mark. Once that was done I navigated to the folder deep on my hard drive with the TOR browser installed. I launched that and waited for the VPN to initiate, then logged into the ProtonMail account I shared with my "recruiter."
