WingSpan (Taken on the Wing Book 1) (30 page)

“Who is protecting the eyrie?” Shadow asks.

“Those who remain,” is Firn’s cryptic answer. A wide leather collar like Talon’s is laced up behind Shadow’s neck as Dove braids her hair.

Shadow frowns. The Vancouver Island gryphons have been through enough. How few look after them in their cold, dark cave while the biggest ones cram into a hole in a Jasper mountain?

“Wait—”

“Hold still,” Firn orders. Shadow hadn’t noticed the long slender pockets on the sides of her boots until the ranger started jamming knives in them. “Or I’m certain Master Talon will make you.”

Sure enough, Talon’s arms cross and even with his back to her she’s sure his look says to keep out of the ranger business.

“I use my only good knife on tomatoes,” Shadow protests only loud enough for her new guard to hear. The rattle of Talon’s wings says don’t push it so she shuts up but only because she can’t think of anything else to say.

“I can assure you these knives are better,” Firn insists as another is strapped on using a heavy belt around her waist and thigh. Then one up her pant leg into a cleverly concealed pocket. “If you don’t know how to use them leave them be. I promised Master Talon you wouldn’t take a finger off on your first day with the new gear.”

Shadow laughs, remembering sharing the first day thing with Talon and he gives her a wink. His smile dries up just above his lips and her unsettled feeling returns. Talon notices she’s dressed and gives her a nod before approaching Lev and Soar. The three get their heads closer than their wings and size should allow and try as she might Shadow can’t make out any more than the occasional click of their tongues.

The last thing they put on her is a vest like all the others wear in addition to their dark chest pieces. Not heavy leather, its function appears to be more like a pack or purse.

“See,” Firn explains as she pulls out a flask. “The ones around back aren’t for drinking. Moonwater, just in case. Get it?”

She does. Just in case there’s a dead gryphon.

“We tend to use more than necessary when we have the luxury of being in the eyrie. Each flask is enough and we each carry several. Between the four of us there is one for each gryphon on the trip. Otherwise there’s drinking water and jerky in the front pockets. We cached more food and water on the way here so your vest carries enough to hold you over if the weather grounds us.”

“You’re set,” Firn announces as Dove rechecks all the buckles and ties.

Shadow’s guard steps back to huddle with Talon for a moment before he excuses himself, leaving them with Lev and Soar. Nobody has lied to her but the mood has darkened. She feels like she’s wearing a corset and ski boots since the footwear is stiffer than it looks. The bare arms are cause for concern since it’s winter in the Rockies.

“You’re bothered,” Talon says as he looks her over. He only brushes the ties with his fingers and doesn’t adjust any of them. Shadow feels like he sees her as nothing more than a collection of knots.

“I told you not to read my mind.”

“And I told you I can’t help it.”

Shadow acquiesces. Of course he’s worried about her. She’s worried about them all.

“Lev and his guard will fly above us, you and me in the middle of the lower wing below. There are four food caches between here and the Island otherwise we travel straight through and should arrive before dawn. If you need sleep, I’ll carry you.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she says. God, he looks tired and she doesn’t want to be any more of a burden than necessary.

“This is what I do, Shadow,” he says. “I’m a lot of things. This is one of them.”

Warrior gryphon. Judging by the age and wear of his armour he’s been one longer than her thirty years can appreciate. Shadow takes his chin and forces him to make eye contact until she’s satisfied there’s still something she knows under the surface.

“What bothers you?” Talon asks.

Shadow forces a smile. Other than the huge guard and the first step from the eyrie...

“Nothing.”

“Trust me?” Talon asks. Then he’s soft again like some switch has been thrown; kissing her, fingers in her hair before he straightens up at Lev’s approach.

“What the hell is she doing here?” Shadow’s sire demands.

Shadow looks past Talon toward the door. Cloud scans the room and smiles when she sees Shadow. She’s dressed in mismatched armour and wrings her hands. Her long red hair has been hacked short, blunt chunks three or four inches long stick out everywhere since she still suffers from the tangles.

“Sire’s pinfeathers,” Talon mutters barely audible over the talk and shuffling in the room. “Get her out of here, Dame Shadow.”

With a protective hiss for Cloud, Shadow shoves him with her chest.

“If I want her to come, she comes,” she insists, angering Lev and Talon. Shadow tunes out their shared growl as she turns, determined she won’t be pushed into leaving without Cloud.

As she makes her way across the room however, Shadow nods to gryphon after gryphon. More than one bears terrible healed wounds like Firn; gashes line up with gouges in their armour. How many of them lost their own ‘Treasure’ the day she was born or later when the rogue army returned? How many are here ready to do it again or have loved ones back on the Island who are sick with worry?

The Dame in Shadow turns to Lev and Talon, giving them a brief bow acknowledging what she was about to do. Bringing Cloud would mean two inexperienced gryphons to protect and Shadow’s word would make them fight as hard for the teen as for her. They would be spread too thin and had already made their plans based on defending only Shadow. They may even be spread too thin already.

“Hey, look at you,” Shadow exclaims to Cloud. Her hobbled together armour is a child’s reflection of what every other gryphon in the room wears and its sad lack of protection cements Shadow’s heartbreaking decision to leave her behind. “Let me see.”

Chin high, Cloud turns. Her tail sways as she holds her wings up with happy pride.

“I found pieces the rangers cast away,” Cloud explains as she completes her turn. “I’ve been working on it for a while and stayed up late finishing it for the day I would finally fly from this place. To your eyrie. With you.”

Oh, damn. Shadow is torn between joy Cloud wants to join her on Vancouver Island and guilt for turning her away.

“Today’s the day?”

“Yes, Dame Shadow,” her eagerness is wonderful.

“Let’s step out,” she takes Cloud’s elbow and they move into the tunnel. The air is so much fresher than the hot noisy chamber full of fighters and their sweat. Shadow and Cloud don’t belong there.

“Cloud,” Shadow whispers.

“Please,” Cloud drops to one knee and holds up her palm while pulling out a small dagger with her other hand. A tuft of her red hair is caught around the handle. “I will kneel at the entrance to your eyrie and open my hand to promise my blood to your eyrie, my spirit to its gryphons and my love to its Dame. With all my heart, Shadow, I will follow you anywhere.”

Shadow gets down on the floor and takes Cloud’s hand, running her thumbs over the smooth young skin.

“I’m so glad you want to come and you are welcome to join me.”

“Thank you,” she sighs as she puts the knife away.

“But they’re keeping things from me, Cloud,” Shadow hopes it comes out in a way that makes her want to stay behind. “Look how many there are. They’re expecting trouble.”

“You need me then,” Cloud closes her eyes and Shadow feels the scratching in her throat like in the bath when Cloud tried her persuasion. All it takes is a swallow and a deep breath to recover her voice.

“They will have two of us to protect if you come because I’ll insist you’re as precious as I am. Even then you would only have half the guard which may not be enough.

“Cloud, I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. We grew up together yesterday, true sisters. We’ve both known loss and loneliness and what it’s like to be surrounded by people who don’t understand us.”

“But not this trip,” Cloud sits back on her heels in submission. She knows there is no getting around the big but.

“Not this trip. You will come, but not with us.”

“I understand, Dame Shadow,” she pulls Shadow up as she stands and accepts a hug.

“You will come, but not with us.”

Cloud stiffens in her arms like she’s hurt but then she smiles and kisses both of Shadow’s cheeks. Maybe she’s just never been hugged.

“I love you, Shadow,” Cloud whispers and dashes away into the darkness as a flash of orange dawn light sets the tunnel behind Shadow on fire.

“It’s time,” Talon says softly. “You did the right thing.”

“I thought we would say thank you to Sher and Arden before we leave. This eyrie has been through so much because of me.”

“They have withdrawn to their chambers until Torrent returns. He is their only heir and the gryphons here must heal from his act if he’s ever going to serve them as Sire. Lev has given our formal thanks to them already.”

“But you’d still like to see Torrent punished,” Shadow says. Talon’s eyes flash and he pushes her against the wall, his hands against the stone at her shoulders. It’s a quick, rough and desperate act to avoid her question. It’s also sexy as hell. After two days touching his bare skin and patches of golden brown feathers the Talon scent overload from his armour mixed with the sharp smell of steel bound to his back works like a charm. Shadow abandons whatever it was she’d asked about.

Then on an unspoken queue the room behind him empties. The orange light flashes and moves around the tunnel as the rangers step around the corner to be swallowed by the waiting sun.

Shadow’s stomach knots. This isn’t going to be a leap of faith in Talon’s arms like the day before.

She’s about to be reborn.

“Hold still,” Talon says as he pulls her helmet on. It’s as snug as the rest of the pieces and he laces it up tightly under her chin. The soft sheepskin lining warms under the hard leather.

The last gryphons to jostle past are Shadow’s guard and as quickly as the tunnel was jammed with activity it’s only Talon, Shadow and Lev.

“Dame Shadow,” the corners of Talon’s lips tease as she takes his offered elbow in one hand and grabs Lev’s with the other. Only twenty feet further they turn left and she squints at the blinding dawn light.

“Holy shit,” Shadow breathes. She knew she was in the Rockies but the peak they face is at eye level so they must be a hell of a long way up. “What if I forget and put my wings in and fall?”

“I will of course catch you,” Talon rolls his eyes as Lev drops behind them. “But I can’t believe you’d do something so embarrassing.”

The sky opens brilliant gold before them as the stone gap nears and Talon has to pull her within a step of it. Snow and rock fall away vertically below and as her pupils narrow to pinpricks, vertigo tricks her into thinking she’s falling out already.

“Like yesterday—”

“Enough, Talon,” Lev hisses. “This is my job.”

And with a solid boot to her ass he launches her from the opening.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Shadow doesn’t seem to weigh anything in Talon’s arms. It isn’t as easy to keep their speed up at night without daytime thermals. Her heart beats a little harder so he knows she’s awake but she stays relaxed and doesn’t try to move. The clear night and full moon grant a decent view of everything but not nearly as far as they’d like. Although there isn’t much to see other than ice and rock, the view is still magical even when the ice is the colour of the moon and the rock is plain black.

Shadow endlessly questioned the whistles and chirps of the guard right up until the first food cache, demanding Talon translate. It was mostly orders from Soar, the Master aloft, assigning areas to scan and sending the occasional gryphon even higher for a better view.

After eating, Shadow speculated about other things Talon could do with his lips until he was so completely distracted he missed his turn to go up and earned a shout from Lev. But shit, even bound up in leather she teased him with the sway of her long tail until he charged at her to make her stop. Shadow dropped behind, he figured to sulk, and when she didn’t return to her position after a few minutes he wasn’t alarmed. It wouldn’t take her long to figure out this wasn’t the place for foreplay.