SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (44 page)

“
We had to haul you down here. Whoa!
”

The dragonkin ahead is gone and so is the
ledge for that matter. The obnoxious female has him by the tail.

“
This way.
”

Another push and he
’
s in a broad tunnel. Fresher air coats
him in the smells of leather and food. Why couldn
’
t they have just dumped him here? The
dryness in his mouth isn
’
t from the heat. It remains
and even his iffy stomach doesn
’
t object to the idea of a
drink.

“
In here,
”
she says and Soar steps
into a large chamber. It lacks the breeze that cooled the tunnel but the food
smell is strongest.

“
Master Soar,
”
Fire calls and in the
dark he spots the green embracing his sister, Lady Flay.

A clay mug of tepid water is shoved in
Soar
’
s hand and he kneels with Flay
and Fire. Smoked meat and hard crackers are laid out and Fire nods that Soar
should eat. Flay has already started. Before the first morsel reaches his lips
his senses are overwhelmed by the charred coating of hot peppers underlaid with
vodka. The pieces are so infused with flavour that Soar can only guess what it
was when it had fur.

“
You read our sire
’
s
letter?
”
Flay speaks around a mouthful.

“
Indeed,
”
Fire answers.
“
It is time, then?
”

“
Mm.
”

The spiced meat stings his mouth and his
eyes water as he shakes his head to try and knock the burn loose. Soar drinks
to soothe his fiery tongue rather than to quench his thirst.

“
It
’
s good,
”
he
mutters but his voice fades to the same horse whisper he got from his first
ever taste of Seth
’
s reserve.

“
It is,
”
Flay
agrees and offers him a smile. Her water is untouched.

“
Eat,
”
Fire pats his sibling
’
s hand as he excuses himself.

Soar expected more of a conversation
between the two but after only a few ambiguous words some sort of plan is in
motion.

“
That one,
”
Flay
tips her head at the female who followed him along the ledge. Fire stops to
whisper in her ear. The female grins at Soar, chilling him in spite of the
spicy food and the warm room.
“
Is heir to the rule of the
green dragonkin though it is my sibling who leads in this place. I do not know
her name nor the names of most of these dragonkin. They fear that if Aledaar
gets the relic he will punish all who assist us. That old gryphon has even
robbed them of who they are.

“
Our great city, Ochre
’
s Honour, has fallen to sadness and
surrender. Lord Ochre founded the cavern-city hundreds of years ago and his
dragonkin worked hard until it rivaled Skyfall in its beauty. We lived there
when I was small and I remember the daylight through the ceiling and the
brilliant robes of the dragonkin. Nobody wore armour then unless it was called
for. When Fire and I passed our fifth year my dame, Lady Eviscerate, and my
sire decided to move. It was safer for Ochre
’
s Honour to have the relic somewhere
else.

“
A few years later we returned to leave
her bones with those of our ancestors. It was the last time the dragonkin who
chose to leave were allowed to return. There are many dragonkin bones waiting
to go home.

“
Since then the elders remain and the
young come here. Our elders are prisoners and the young grow up in this dark
hole. Only a few of us on the outside know where Ochre
’
s Honour is.

“
The only truth we have is one day we will
have a chance to stop Aledaar. If he didn
’
t
control the golds, we would simply kill him for attempting to take the green
relic but with them forced to fight at his side there will be much loss of
life. Now that we have a way to kill Aledaar and free our gold kin, the balance
of power can shift to us.
”

The way to kill Aledaar is Tempest. Soar
’
s love will be in Calgary, alone and
facing who knows what as she attempts to bring the box to Cooper. Even now she
could be back in the hands of the Will. She
’
d be alive but only so Aledaar could
claim Soar
’
s children as his servants.
His only comfort is Tempest will never give up.

“
These young,
”
Flay continues.
“
Have never seen a gryphon. Gryphons are
feared because of Aledaar.
”

“
So what happens next?
”
Soar
asks.

“
Ochre
’
s Honour.
”

The dark haired female slips out the cavern
door after Fire and Flay gives Soar a soft elbow.

“
Hurry it up, Soar,
”
she says.
“
The
next leg of the journey will be much easier.
”

Damn, he thought the green dragonkin
lives were somewhat normal and never imagined their people would be as broken
up and depressed as the golds. The abject shame of Skyfall was haunting and the
greens are no different.

“
Flay,
”
Fire calls and they move across the
cramped floor to the tunnel. The fear he
’
d
heard earlier in the young dragonkin voices is now blessed with a small amount
of hope. The chamber goes quiet as the dozen pairs of dragonkin eyes watch.

“
Wait,
”
Fire says, blocking Soar
from leaving behind Flay.
“
Flay will show her the way.
Might want to stand clear.
”

If there
’
s going to be fire then Soar will stand
as far back as they tell him plus a few extra steps out of the way.

The female faces Flay and both spread
their wings in what appears to be threat, neither taking her eyes from the
other. For nearly a minute they negotiate their positions as the air charges,
standing Soar
’
s chest feathers on end. The
heat they create stings his exposed skin and he gets a hand up to limit the
dryness it causes his eyes. The subtle glow of green smoke forms a fist-sized
sphere between them. Just when it takes solid form, Flay cries out. The ball
slams into the other female, sending her spinning.

She stays on her feet and coughs as the
green smoke clears.

“
Ready,
”
Flay
claims. Her cheer sounds forced, however, and she straightens her armour before
binding her hair back with a length of leather cord.

“
So
we won
’
t get knocked around so much
this time?
”

“
No,
”
Fire mutters as he braids his own hair
but he won
’
t look at Soar. Something is
up, he
’
s just not certain what. A
young male steps forward to pass Soar his weapons and not just the daggers.
Several smaller blades Soar kept concealed deep in his armour appear to have
also been liberated from him during his stupor. These are secured as quickly as
the daggers. The smirk on the mouthy female
’
s face suggests she might have had a hand
in fleecing him.

“
Master Soar,
”
Flay holds out a hand
and he follows her down another hall to a broad ledge.
“
A moment, it is safest if the portal is
seeded before we jump.
”

Not only is a portal at the bottom the
only way to escape a fall it
’
s also the only way out.
Great.

“
Now!
”

Soar
’
s lungs are knocked flat as he tumbles
from the ledge in the arms of the black haired female. Far below the crack of a
portal opening bounces up the crevasse and goes right through them, shaking
bone and muscle as if they were no more solid than the air around them.

“
Flay!
”
he gasps.
Bitch.
God damned dragonkin. Is she too tired
from the last trip for a passenger? The chasm walls charge past and the heat
builds as they plummet deeper into the earth. All he can do is hold still and
press his head into the female to keep his ears from being scraped off.

For a split second they
’
re embraced by the plasma green edge of
the portal then with a bang they
’
re free, tumbling in the cool
salty mist of the West Coast.

“
What the hell?
”
Soar demands as the female lets him go.

She doesn
’
t listen and circles through thick fog
until she finds a rock outcrop on which to land. Soar follows and charges at
the female the moment his feet hit the ground.

“
Wait,
”
she holds her hands up
and takes a step back.

Yeah. Believe it, female. This gryphon is
not pleased.

For the second time he
’
s been dumped off at home. It wasn
’
t the way to Ochre
’
s Honour that Flay taught her. It was the
way here.

“
Please,
”
she
tries again and cowers though not from him. Wind makes the massive trees groan
and ache against each other and her head whips around as she tries to assess
the sound.

“
Understand, Master Soar,
”
she
gasps, eyes everywhere but on him.
“
We planned this before you
woke. Had you gone to Ochre
’
s Honour you
’
d be killed without question, Flay and
Fire too for bringing you, and you would never get a chance to ask my sire for
help.
”

Soar turns his back on her to hide his
feelings. He
’
s a gryphon and an envoy to
speak for Sire Lev himself, not some beast looking for trouble, but here he is
back on the Island with a young green dragonkin who, it appears, has never been
out of the underground fissure from which they just portalled.

“
What is your name,
”
Soar asks as he faces her. She still
gazes at the trees then spins at the sound of a loud breaker, smashing the rock
shore nearby.

“
My
n
…
name?
”

“
Yes,
”
he softens. One green dragonkin to help
is better than none.

Godspeed, Lady Flay.

“
Agony,
”
she breathes then a broad smile breaks
across her features.
“
Agony.
”

Soar bows as she tosses her hands up.

“
Agony!
”
her shrill voices pierces through the
trees and up into the dense fog.
“
I am Agony!
”

How long has it been since she was
allowed to use her name?

“
I am Agony,
”
she says again.
“
Heir to the rule of Ochre
’
s Honour. We can only wait for Lady Flay
to return. If my kin won
’
t send help I will bring the
other young dragonkin here.

“
What is that?
”
she asks. Another winter wave hits the
shore, driven by the wet wind that knocks great drops from the trees.

“
The ocean.
”

“
Ah,
”
she sighs and takes a step toward it. She
’
s overwhelmed with the outside world as
much as Tempest still is.

“
I will show you the ocean, Agony, Heir to
the rule of Ochre
’
s Honour, then I will
introduce you to Sire Lev and we will wait for Lady Flay.
”