Refuge (30 page)

Remy would know exactly what to say, but he
was the one person I could not talk to. I took a deep shuddering
breath. It looked like I was on my own for this one.

“Are you okay?”

My body tensed and my head jerked up when
Nikolas spoke from a few feet behind me. I’d been so consumed by my
thoughts that I hadn’t heard or sensed him approach.

“You left without eating and you can’t train
on an empty stomach.” He came to stand near me. “These are your
favorite, right?”

I looked up to see him holding a wrapped
blueberry muffin, and I stared at it for several seconds before I
took it. “Thanks,” I said thickly without meeting his eyes.

“Are you going to tell me what is wrong with
you?”

“I’m fine.”

“I think I know you well enough to know that
is not true.” He sat on the grass beside me, and I became
hyperaware of his scent and his arm almost touching mine. I tried
to swallow, but my mouth was dry.

“I didn’t sleep last night and I’m tired,” I
managed to say. I picked at the muffin’s plastic wrap and hoped my
explanation would satisfy him.

“Is that all? You sound upset.” The concern
lacing his voice made me want to cry on his shoulder and run away
from him at the same time. Why couldn’t he be overbearing, annoying
Nikolas right now instead of the nice one?

I stared at the foaming water; half wishing
it could take me away from his perceptive gaze and unsettling
kindness. “Not getting any sleep messes me up.”

He was quiet for a long moment, and I felt
his eyes on me. “Perhaps we overdid it yesterday in training.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

“We’ll skip training today,” he said to my
surprise. “Is there anything else you want to do instead? We could
take that trip to town.”

My pulse quickened at the idea. But then I
remembered my resolve to put some distance between us. “I think
I’ll eat my muffin and then I’ll go take Hugo and Woolf for a
walk.”

“Just as long as you don’t do anything to
tire yourself too much.” He stood, and I felt his presence towering
over me before he turned to walk away. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you, and thanks again for the muffin,” I
called after him.

“Anytime.”

I didn’t talk to Nikolas again that day, a
feat I accomplished by eating lunch with Sahir in his office and
then by grabbing a sandwich to take to my room for dinner.

The next morning, as luck would have it,
Nikolas was called away on Mohiri business. I was actually glad to
train with Callum again, something that surprised both of us. I
surprised my old trainer by demonstrating my new ability to use my
Mori’s strength to pick up heavy objects. It was the first time I’d
ever received a nod of approval from him. We worked on my reflexes
after that, and though I managed to avoid being pummeled only once,
he admitted I was finally making progress.

It wasn’t until that evening at dinner that I
saw Nikolas again and only in passing. He entered the dining hall
as I was leaving, and I was immensely relieved that none of the
crazy feelings resurfaced. I couldn’t imagine how awkward it would
have been living under the same roof with someone, having to see
them every day while harboring unrequited feelings for them. We
were both immortal and forever is a long time to try to avoid
someone. But now things could go back to normal – as normal as my
life could be.

I was in the common room after dinner
watching an awful sci-fi movie with Michael when a
flustered-looking Sahir found me. “Sara, there you are. Can you
come with me? I need your help.”

“Sure. What’s up?” I got up from the couch
and joined him by the door.

“We got a new creature in today and it is . .
. ” He exited by the main door. “Come on, it’s easier if I just
show you.”

A new creature? Bursting with curiosity, I
hurried to catch up with him. “What kind of creature, and what to
you expect me to do with it?”

“She’s a griffin, and she is – ”

“Whoa!” My feet skidded to a stop on the
grass. “A . . . a griffin?”

Sahir stopped a few feet ahead and looked
soberly at me. “A young griffin. From what I can tell she is little
more than a child.”

My mouth refused to close so I slapped a hand
over it. “Oh my God.” If there was one race more elusive and
protective of their children than trolls, it was griffins, and they
were just as vicious when one of their young was threatened. Not
that I’d ever seen a real live griffin or had dreamed of doing so.
Griffins are not native to North America; they live in the most
remote mountains of southern Africa. Capturing one, especially a
young one, was almost unheard of.

“Some of our people raided a warlock in Los
Angeles who was raising demons, and they found her locked up in a
cage. Griffins have powerful blood, and we believe he was using
hers to create a protective spell against the demons.” Sahir shook
his head in disgust and started walking again. “He refused to say
how he got his hands on her, so we have to try to track down her
flock. It won’t be easy; griffins don’t like to deal with
outsiders.”

“What can I do?”

“She flew up to the rafters before we could
shut her cage door, and she’s been throwing herself at the windows.
You obviously have a way with Hugo and Woolf, and I’m hoping you
can help calm her before she hurts herself.”

We were almost at the menagerie when the door
to the arena opened and Nikolas and Chris stepped outside. Judging
by the swords they carried, they had just finished sparring.

“Where’s the fire?” Chris asked.

“The young griffin we got in today is in
distress, and Sara is going to help me with her,” Sahir told
them.

Chris gave me a lopsided smile. “Griffin
wrangling? Another one of your talents, cousin?”

Nikolas strode toward us. “Griffins can be
very dangerous when they are cornered. Sara is not going in there
unprotected.”

Ah, now there’s the old Nikolas I know and –
I let
the thought die a quick death. “She’s just a child, Nikolas.”

He stepped in front of me. “That child could
easily rip a grizzly bear apart with her claws.”

“So could the troll you thought was going to
kill me,” I said, reminding him of the night he met Remy.

Sahir stared at us. “Troll?”

“I’ll tell you about him later. Let’s take
care of your griffin first.” Excitement curled in my stomach. I was
about to meet a real live griffin.

Nikolas didn’t move. “Not without us.”

I let out an aggravated sigh and moved around
him. “Fine, but you better not frighten her. You two can stay by
the door unless the
vicious
griffin attacks me.”

“I think she’s gotten bossy since she came
here,” Chris said to Nikolas in a stage whisper. “What have you
been teaching her?”

Nikolas muttered something in Russian. I knew
he was just being . . . Nikolas, but it wasn’t like we were going
to face a pack of crocotta for heaven’s sake. This was a frightened
child who had been stolen from her family, and she needed
compassion, not force.

We entered the menagerie, and Nikolas and
Chris stayed just inside the door while Sahir and I walked toward
the cages. Hugo and Woolf started to whine as soon as I drew near
them, and I had to stop and pet them, then order them to go lie
down so they did not upset the griffin.

Alex was crouched in the back of his cage as
usual, and I called softly to him while giving him a wide berth. He
watched us with that unblinking stare of his that never failed to
give me the willies. People who trained wyverns must be either the
bravest or the most insane people on earth.

A golden feather floated in front of my face,
and I looked up at the ceiling. “Wow, oh, wow.” I stared at the
creature perched on the highest rafter at the center of the glass
roof. She was as big as a Golden Retriever with a leonine body, the
head of an eagle, and wings folded against her sides. Even from
this distance, I could see that her feathers were ruffled and
dirty, an unusual state for a creature known for its preening and
cleanliness. At the sound of my voice, she tilted her head and
peered down at me with a sadness that tore at my heart.

“Sara, this is Minuet.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off her. “She’s
incredible,” I breathed.

“She won’t be that way for long if we don’t
get her down from there and get her to eat something,” Sahir said,
reminding me why I was there.

“Right, sorry. I’ve just never seen anything
like her.” I studied the griffin a minute longer, then looked
around for a place to sit. This might take a while – if it worked
at all. I settled for a spot on the floor with my back against the
cage across from Minuet’s. “Sahir, could you stand with the others
so you don’t frighten her?”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m just going to talk to her for a
bit.”

He walked over to join Nikolas and Chris, and
I felt their eyes on me as I began to release my power into the
air. Trying my best to ignore my audience, I spoke to the young
griffin.

“I hope you don’t mind me keeping you
company, Minuet. I bet it’s pretty scary and lonely for you here.”
She blinked and turned her head away. My chest tightened. “I know
how you feel. I miss my family, too.”

She did not make any sounds, but I saw her
shift from one foot to another. Another feather drifted toward me.
According to Remy, griffins are very intelligent, and they can
understand every spoken language. I wasn’t sure if young griffins
had the ability, but I hoped my soothing tone would put her at ease
– that, and the power rising through the air toward her.

“Minuet, would you like to hear a story about
a girl who got lost far away from her family? Kind of like you, I
guess. It has a happy ending, I promise.

“The girl’s name was . . . um . . . Mary, and
one day she disappeared and none of her friends or family knew
where she’d gone. They all thought she was lost to them forever.
But what they didn’t know was that Mary was very sick, so sick she
almost died, and some good faeries had taken Mary home with them to
heal her. For a long time, Mary lay in a deep sleep while the
faeries worked their magic on her. And then one day, she woke up
and found herself in the most amazing place she had ever seen.”

I looked up the griffin and caught the slight
tilt of her head toward me. Hiding my smile, I continued with my
story. “Mary was lying in the softest bed you could ever imagine
surrounded by walls made of vines and pretty flowers. Then the
vines moved and in walked the most beautiful red-haired sylph who
told Mary they had healed her. Then she shocked Mary by telling her
that she was actually half faerie, which was why the faeries had
saved her. She took Mary outside and gave her the most delicious
food and drink, then took her on a walk to show her a place so
beautiful it brought tears to Mary’s eyes.” I described a glassy
lake, lush greenery, a brilliant blue sky, and the birds and
creatures living there.

“Mary and her new friend talked for a long
time, and the sylph told her this was her home now if she chose to
stay. Mary looked around her and knew she might never feel as safe
or as content as she did at that moment. She could have that
forever if she gave up her life in the human world and stayed in
Faerie.”

I stopped when I heard a scratching above me,
and I looked up to see Minuet sidling along the rafter. I held my
breath when she ruffled her wings as if she was going to take
flight, but she stopped moving as soon as she caught me looking at
her. I quickly lowered my gaze until I was looking straight
ahead.

“Most people would never want to leave Seelie
once they saw it. But Mary thought about her family and how they
must be worried about her and – ” I froze as a gust of air lifted
my hair and four paws landed on the floor less than five feet from
me. Slowly, my eyes travelled up the feathered body until they met
Minuet’s golden eyes. A sound near the door drew her attention away
from me, and I knew Nikolas had drawn his sword.

I looked away from her and continued my
story. “Mary knew that, even though the human world can be
dangerous and scary, she could never leave her family and friends
behind. So she asked the sylph to bring her home. The sylph was
very sad because she had been so happy to find Mary and thought of
her as a sister. But she did as Mary asked and brought her right to
her front door. Mary was overjoyed to be home, and soon she was
reunited with her family and friends, who could not believe she was
alive and well. And they were grateful to the Faeries for taking
care of Mary until she could come home again.”

Minuet made a small squawk, and I met her
sharp, intelligent eyes. “I know it’s scary being away from home. I
don’t know if you can understand me, but I promise you’re safe here
with us until we find your family.”

She stared at me for another long moment.
Then she walked forward until she stood over me and all I could see
was a wide feathered chest. I held my breath as her head lowered
until it was beside mine, and then she began to slowly rub her beak
and face against my hair. After a minute, she pulled away and
walked into her cage where she began to tear at the whole raw
salmon in her food dish.

No one said anything as I got up from the
floor and shut her cage door. I turned to face the others and saw
that their shocked expressions mirrored my own.

Chris was the first to speak. “I thought I’d
seen it all when I met the troll, but this . . . ”

“Sara, do you realize what just happened?”
Sahir asked with some difficulty, and I shook my head. “She marked
you with her scent. To her you are one of her flock now. I-I have
never seen anything like it.”

“So, I’m like an honorary griffin? Cool.” I
smiled as I walked toward them, still dazed from the experience. My
eyes met Nikolas’s. “See, piece of cake.”