“His name is Aleron,” the Juarag woman said. “His message is for your commander An-Andor only.”
“Holy storm.” Eva felt the words pass her lips but it was like someone else had said them. She staggered backward and stumbled, landing hard on the ground.
“Aleron?” Ivan said. “Eva, wasn’t that your father’s name?”
Chapter Two
Eva looked for something to focus on as the ground reeled beneath her. Ivan rushed to her side and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She wondered if she was dreaming, but if so she didn’t seem to be waking up.
Snarling, Sigrid forced her spear point back against the Juarag woman’s throat until it pressed against her skin. “Where did you learn that name?”
The young warrior shook her head. “No tricks, I swear it.”
Ivan helped Eva back to her feet and she clung to him, mind whirling. “How — how do you know that name?”
“That is who sent me,” the woman said, swallowing against the tip of the spear at her throat. “I must speak with your Commander Andor.”
Eva and Sigrid exchanged a glance. However this woman knew these names, they couldn’t just leave her out here without questioning. The Juarag seemed to know it, too and smiled at their look. “You will take me to him, yes?”
Sigrid jerked her head to Eva. “Ivan, keep an eye on her.” She pulled back her spear and Ivan stepped forward, cracking his fingers and stretching. The woman sat up, but he wagged a finger at her.
“Uh uh, you stay right there,” the Scrawl said. Muttering something under his breath, Ivan squeezed his hand then opened his fingers, revealing a small fire burning on his palm. The woman hissed and made a sign across her head as if to protect herself from his magic, but did as she was told.
“Eva, I know what she said, but it’s got to be some kind of trap,” Sigrid said in a low voice once they’d walked a few paces away. “There’s just no way…”
“We don’t know that,” Eva replied, sounding more irritated than she’d intended. Even now, she fought back a rising hope inside her, tried to jam it down and crush it before it could take hold. “Even if she hadn’t said those names, she’s still Juarag. We have to take her back to the Wing Commander.”
Sigrid studied her for a moment and Eva knew her friend could see right through her reasoning. At last Sigrid nodded. “We’ll bind her and put her on the back of Belarus, then. Let’s be quick — the light’s about gone.”
Although they could see as well at night as most other creatures, gryphons preferred to fly during the day. Eva glanced up at the sun, already dipping behind the Windswepts. As it was, they’d already be past dark returning to camp and she knew Vance wouldn’t be happy. But then again, he wasn’t counting on them bringing a prisoner, either.
Eva drew her sword while Ivan and Sigrid tied the Juarag woman’s hands behind her back and led her to Belarus. The gryphon hissed as she approached, but a stern look from Ivan made him hold still as they helped her onto his back.
“You try anything and he’ll dump you off,” Sigrid warned. “And it’s a long way down without wings.”
The Juarag nodded, clearly displeased at being bound but complacent nonetheless. “You have nothing to fear from me. I told you, I come in peace.”
“We’ve got a saying about that,” Sigrid said. “They say the only peaceful Juarag is a dead Juarag. So make sure to mind your manners.”
The young woman rolled her eyes, but gave no reply. After checking over the knots and bindings one last time, Sigrid returned to Sven and signaled for them to take flight. Tied into Eva at the waist, Ivan clung to her as Fury lifted them both into the air with no more effort than if Eva were riding him solo. They soon rose high in the sky, flying west toward the last rays of the dying light. Up above the plains, the air turned cold, reminding Eva of how far they had to go to reach camp.
“Do you think she’s telling the truth?” Eva asked Ivan over her shoulder as they flew.
She felt the Scrawl shrug behind her. “Seems like it,” he said. “If not, I’d like to know how else she knows those things. What do you think?”
Eva paused before answering. She had a history of trusting people, for better or worse. In the case of Commander Celina, her misplaced trust nearly resulted in Eva being smashed to a pulp by a giant iron golem. On the other hand, she’d trusted Ivan when he’d shown up at her home in the middle of the night almost three years ago carrying Fury’s egg, which he’d stolen from the Windsworn.
Whether believing the Juarag woman would result in an outcome similar to the former or the latter, Eva couldn’t say. She did her best to force down the hope growing inside her. At this point, she told herself, it would do more harm than good to assume her exiled father was alive.
“I don’t know what to think,” Eva said at last. “It’s…strange that she would be wandering the Endless alone, so close to an outpost that was just attacked. And even stranger that we just happened to come across her.”
“She did attack you when she could have just shown herself,” Ivan pointed out. “It’s not like she didn’t know you were a gryphon rider.”
Eva had no reply to that. The rest of the trip passed in silence until they reached the foot of the mountains where the rest of their patrol camped. As Eva and the rest swooped down in the dark, she heard the sentries shout. By the time they landed and dismounted, Wing Commander Vance was already stalking toward them, an ugly look plastered on his face.
“Where in the sky have you lot been, eh?” he asked Sigrid. “Sunset was almost two hours ago and you were supposed to report back no later than that I was just about to send Twick and Corra out to find you.”
Eva glanced at Sigrid, hoping the other girl would keep her temper. Sigrid didn’t take much flack from anyone, even if it was a superior officer. To make matters worse, Vance loved to throw around his rank, especially when he had a crowd to show off in front of.
“There wasn’t anyone alive at the outpost, so we scouted out farther,” Sigrid said, eyes narrowed and hands wrapped tight around a pair of the many knives she wore at her belt. She jerked her head toward Belarus. “And we caught a Juarag.”
Vance looked at the charcoal-colored gryphon, face morphing from anger to surprise. The other Windsworn around them started muttering as well.
“Part of the raiding party?” the wing commander asked Sigrid, his thick eyebrows raised.
“Don’t think so,” Sigrid said. “She was all alone, didn’t have a sabercat, either. Says she’s got information for the lord commander himself and no one else.
Sigrid looked at Eva as she finished speaking and Eva felt a swell of gratitude. It was a three-day flight back to the Gyr, the mountain fortress of the Windsworn, but once they got home Eva knew how fast rumors of the legendary Aleron would fly, whether they were true or not. But Vance wasn’t going to let things slide that easy.
“What’s the message?” he asked, frowning. “Don’t sound right to me. Could be an assassin. Could be one of their shamans.”
Sigrid rolled her eyes. Fortunately, the wing commander missed it in the dark. “She doesn’t have any runes, so she can’t do any magic and we’ve already searched her for weapons. I doubt she’ll murder us all by looking at us crossways.”
Vance ignored Sigrid and strode past her to Belarus. He grabbed the Juarag woman by the chin and forced her face toward his. She scowled down at the wing commander and twisted her head away.
“Fiesty one,” Vance said. “How’d you know she’s got a message for the lord commander, eh? Did she come with a note?”
A couple of the other Windsworn looked at one another and chuckled.
“No, you dumb buffalo,” the Juarag woman said. “I told them.”
The Windsworns’ laughter died at once and they looked at her in disbelief.
“She speaks our language!” Vance said, eyes widening.
“Better than you do,” Ivan muttered under his breath, low enough only Eva could hear. She sti
fled a laugh.
“Right then, girl, who sent you? What’s your message for the lord commander?”
Eva tensed, but the Juarag woman only shook her head. “My message is for Lord Commander Andor and the Windsworn Council only.”
“Why you smart-mouthed little —” Vance drew back to strike her, but Sigrid stepped forward and caught his arm. The two glared at each other until Vance shrugged loose.
“I promised her safe conduct to the lord commander,” Sigrid said. “And that’s how it’s going to be.”
The wing commander looked ready to teach Sigrid a lesson about respect for her superior officers, then reconsidered. Eva guessed Vance didn’t want to get knocked flat on his back in front of the rest of his wing. Eva had no doubt who would have won the bout. Aside from that, Sigrid, Eva, and Ivan weren’t technically Vance’s riders anyway, they’d just been assisting the patrol.
“We leave at first light,” Vance said in a loud voice like it’d been his idea all along. “It’s your head if something goes wrong, Sigrid. You’re responsible for keeping a watch on her tonight, too.”
“No problem,” Sigrid replied, still scowling at the wing commander.
Vance and his closest cronies stomped away. The rest of the riders went back to their business, leaving Eva and her friends to unsaddle and care for their gryphons in the faint glow of the campfires.
While Eva stood guard, Sigrid and Ivan untied the Juarag’s hands and gave her a moment to shake the feeling back into them before securing her wrists once more. Eva dug through her saddlebags and tossed the young woman a few strips of dried meat and an apple, along with her canteen. Their prisoner wolfed down the food and drained the water skin in a few gulps like she hadn’t eaten or had a drink for days.
She handed the canteen back to Eva who took it, then raised her hand, arm held out to the side, elbow square. “My name is Eva,” she said.
Grinning, the girl nodded at Eva’s gesture. “What does that mean?”
Eva blushed and dropped her arm. “Sorry…thought it was how you Juarag greeted one another.”
Despite her situation, the young woman laughed and shook her head. “You are strange people, sky warrior. I am Chel.”
Chapter Three
Eva let out a long sigh and smiled as the colossal peak of the Gyr rose before them. On the outside, the home of the Windsworn didn’t look like much. Pale gray rock, a few stubborn trees, and desperate bushes clinging to the mountainside gave little hint of the magnificent halls and chambers within. Although it hadn’t always felt that way, it was home now and she was always glad to return after a long mission. Eva looked forward to the reassurance of solid rock surrounding her. That, and a long dip in the mountain’s hot springs that stayed just the right temperature year round to loosen even the tightest knots and aches.
Across from her and Fury, Eva saw Chel’s face fill with awe at the sight of the mountain. Living on the Endless Plains her entire life, Eva guessed Chel had never seen anything like the Gyr, which made the nearby Windswept range look like mellow hills in comparison.
They flew toward an opening about three quarters to the top of the mountain, a large cavern that served as the Roost and hatching grounds for the gryphons. When Fury tucked his wings and dipped down toward the landing rock, Eva saw a collection of Windsworn already waiting for them. In an attempt to show off, the young gryphon came in at full speed, checking their descent at the last moment. The force of the landing nearly jolted Eva out of her seat and she gave Fury’s reins a reprimanding jerk.
Sliding from her gryphon’s back, Eva turned around just as a young man rushed forward and wrapped her in his arms.
Eva laughed and smacked his chest as he spun her in a circle. “Put me down, you idiot — everyone is watching!”
“I don’t care if they are,” Tahl said, grinning. Nevertheless, he did as Eva asked. “I’m glad you’re back. Sounds like you found some trouble to get into.”
Eva winked. “Always.” It’d been almost two weeks since they’d last seen each other due to separate patrol assignments. She started thinking about doing more than hugging the tall boy with the brown, wind-blown hair when a sharp cough stole her attention.
“I’m not too old to understand young love, but that was a bit much, don’t you think?” Lord Commander Andor stood behind Tahl, the corner of his bearded lip twitching. Whether it was amusement or annoyance, Eva couldn’t tell. Right away she stepped back from Tahl and pressed her left fist against her chest in salute.
“Yes, uncle.” Head bowed, Eva could feel her face reddening and was painfully aware of the surrounding crowd.
“That’s lord commander to you, miss.” Eva knew it rankled Andor to be addressed personally in public and grinned after he returned the gesture and walked past her to Sigrid, Vance and the rest of the patrol. Before turning to follow, Eva shot Tahl a look that promised they’d pick up later on where they left off.
“Lord commander, I trust you received my dispatch?” Vance saluted then gave Chel a short push toward Andor. “We captured this —”
“Eva and I found her while on patrol, sir,” Sigrid cut in before Vance could finish.
Andor frowned as the two glared at one another, the prisoner caught between them. “I received the flier’s message. We will speak of this more in the council chamber and not before.”
The lord commander extended a hand in greeting to Chel, who looked at it like he was holding a snake. “It sounds like we have much to talk about.”
Chel nodded. “You look much like your brother, although a few more gray hairs.”
Eva saw a pained look cross her uncle’s face and felt something similar inside herself. “Bring her to the council chambers,” Andor said, gesturing to a pair of winged-helm guards. Without waiting to see his orders through, he turned and left, the crowd parting for him, in silence.
A man and woman moved to either side of Chel and took her by the arms, leading her out of the cavern. The rest of the guard fell in behind, walking after the lord commander. Sigrid and Vance picked up behind them, leaving Tahl and Eva to bring up the rear as the other riders tended to the gryphons.
“Behave yourself,” Eva said to Fury as they left. The gryphon rolled his head like he always did when she tried to give him a lecture, but Eva tapped him on the side of the beak to show she meant business. “I mean it. If I hear you’ve been misbehaving again, you’ll be out of the sky for a week. Understood?”
Last time Eva had left the young gryphon in the care of another, he’d almost taken off the unfortunate recruit’s finger. Fury narrowed his yellow eyes then let out a low, annoyed hiss, the closest thing to a promise Eva knew she’d get. Without waiting for her to say goodbye, he stalked off toward the meat locker where a half side of mountain sheep awaited him as soon as he was unsaddled and cared for. Normally, Eva would have done all that for Fury — the first rule of being a gryphon rider was to take care of your partner before yourself — but the council wouldn’t wait.
She strode to catch up with Tahl, who waited at the entrance of the Roost while the others carried on ahead. When she joined him, he took a quick glance around before swooping her up again and planting a long, firm kiss on her lips.
“Put me down!” Eva squealed, blushing again. When her feet touched the ground she made a hasty look to see if anyone had noticed.
“That’s all you have to say to me after two weeks? ‘Put me down?’ Hmm.” Tahl’s face dropped into a pout, but Eva knew he was just trying to get a pity kiss.
“Come on, hero,” she said, grabbing his hand to pull him down the long flight of stairs instead of playing into his game. “I’ve got places to be.”
As they walked, Eva told Tahl everything that’d transpired on the patrol, from the burning outpost to her encounter with Chel on the Endless.
“I don’t like it,” he said as she finished. “There’s just too many coincidences. She just happens to be passing through the same area as a recent raid and it just happens to b
e you that she finds?”
Eva shrugged. “It doesn’t make any sense,” she agreed. “But then, if it doesn’t make any sense, maybe that makes her story all the more believable.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Eva wished she’d kept them to herself. Tahl stopped as they neared the Main Hall and took Eva’s hand in his, turning her to face him. “Look, Eva…,” he trailed off and she knew he was trying to say something in a way that wouldn’t hurt her or make her mad. She doubted he’d succeed. “I know what it would mean to find your father. But you shouldn’t get your hopes up just because a captured enemy says he’s alive and well.”
Eva narrowed her eyes and pulled her hands back. “I know that. I’m not a child, Tahl.”
“Eva that’s not —”
Before he could finish, Eva turned away, hurrying to catch up with Sigrid and Vance. She didn’t know why it bothered her so much that’d he’d told her not to get her hopes up. She’d storming told herself the same thing for the past three and a half days. Even so, it irritated her that Tahl would write off the possibility of her father being alive without any consideration. Entering the council chambers, she pushed the conversation out of her thoughts, focusing on the moment at hand.
The first time Eva stood before the Windsworn Council, she’d been a brand new recruit to the Gyr, a timid blacksmith’s assistant with a newly-hatched gryphon and no clue what it meant to be a gryphon rider. Andor had brought her alone before the council and called a vote to see if she was allowed to stay. The council, comprised of Windsworn veterans and senior officers, had elected to keep her, but only by one vote. At the time, it’d felt more like defeat than victory and certainly no vote of confidence.
Standing before them now, after dozens of reports, Eva still felt a trace of that same anxiety that’d almost overwhelmed her the first time. These were hardened warriors — men and women who’d spent almost their entire lives as gryphon riders protecting Rhylance.
Toughest and hardest of them all, Uthred, the lord commander’s second-in-command, sat like a stone statue beside the lord commander. His pale, slate-colored eyes passed over Eva and rested on Chel as if his gaze alone could pry loose whatever secrets and lies she might be holding. All but two of the guards at Chel’s side left the room. Tahl took a spot near the door, out of the council ring, leaving Eva in the center with Chel and her guards plus Sigrid and Vance.
Windswept: Gryphon Riders Book Two (Gryphon Riders Trilogy 2) Page 2
