A painful crick ached in Maddie’s neck. She tried to readjust her position, but something held her in place. Soft fur tickled her nose. Briefly she snuggled closer, but the pain in her neck and shoulders intensified. She wiggled free, stood, stretched her arms above her head, and worked her sore muscles.
Darkness still blanketed most of the cave. The last rays of moonlight filtered through the vent overhead. Eyes adjusted, she could just make out Alasdair. Even as big and powerful as he was, he looked harmless and peaceful sitting upright against the wall, his arms still positioned in a circle as if they held her.
A strange energy surrounded him, calling to her. She squatted. Heat flushed her face. They had spent the night together and she hadn’t been terrified. She’d slept in his arms unafraid.
Light in their hiding place brightened as dawn approached. Grandma would be frantic with worry. Maddie groaned aloud as she remembered her plans with Chase. She needed to get home. What would she say if she was late? Sorry, but I spent the night in a cave with a furry gray gryphon?
Maddie bent over, grabbed Alasdair by the shoulders, and shook. “Wake up!”
His eyes popped open. Before she could blink, he jumped, whirled through the air, and threw her to the hard earth. She sucked in a swift breath as the wind was knocked from her.
“Why did you do that?” she gasped.
His lion-shaped face grimaced. “It was a thoughtless action.” His deep voice sounded gruff, as if he was angry with himself. He crouched beside her. “Are you all right?”
“I’m not sure. You may have broken a rib.” She felt her ribs, but nothing hurt worse than bruises. She started to rise.
But he pushed her down with a gentle touch. “You mustn’t move.”
She ducked beneath his arm and stood anyway. “Alasdair, I have to go home.”
“What? B-but you may be injured. We mustn’t move too quickly. Perhaps we should—”
She interrupted. “Look, I have… well, I have a date and I don’t want to miss it.”
“A date?” He sounded displeased.
So she tried to explain. “Yes. A boy from school is taking me to church and he’ll be coming by to pick me up any minute now. Plus my grandma is sure to be worried sick.”
“Who is taking you to church?”
Did she detect jealousy in his tone? Could a flying beast be jealous? She hedged. “I don’t think you know him.”
“Tell me,” he said, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him.
Maddie stared into his eyes. His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed. Yup, he was jealous. “His name is Chase.”
“Chase,” he repeated, drawing out the name.
“Yeah, Chase. We go to school together. He’s expecting me to be home this morning, not buried in a cave with a— well, whatever you are. He’s going to think I’m crazy when I tell him what happened to me last night.”
Alasdair clenched her shoulders. “You mustn’t tell him.”
“B-but—”
“You must not tell him. Promise me.”
“But why?”
“Promise me!” he said through clenched teeth.
She shook his hands off. “All right, all right, I promise. He wouldn’t believe me anyway. Now will you take me home?”
He nodded and swooped her into his arms.
“You don’t have to carry me yet.”
“Maybe I want to,” came his gruff reply.
Alasdair stepped from the cave, his wings flared and flapped down, and they took flight. Maddie held tight, burying her face against the fur at the nape of his neck. The air rushed past her like a small storm. Strange, how safe she felt in his arms.
They arrived at the edge of the woods and he backstroked down. He’d done the same the time he saved her from the swerving car. He seemed to always be protecting her.
They landed like a feather. Alasdair placed her upon the solid ground, but she didn’t move away. They stood a hair’s breadth apart. It felt colder than it had in the cave. The morning air wafted around their bodies and their breaths came in white wisps. She waited for him to speak, but he remained quiet. Finally she said, “Thank you.”
He nodded.
“Will I see you again?”
He lowered his gaze.
Something unhappy stabbed at her heart. She twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “No pressure, of course. It’s just that— well, quite frankly I don’t have that many friends and I could use all I can get.”
Again he didn’t respond.
“Okay.” She drew a deep, shuddering breath. “I guess I’ll go.”
Maddie wanted him to say something, anything. Would he be there if Doran returned? Would he continue to watch over her? But he stood like a statue, unmoving and not speaking. She gave up, turned, and walked away, and her footsteps squeaking in the wet grass sounded like the shards of her heart pattering down around her.
****
A tear dislodged from his eye as Maddie turned her back. He hated disappointing her that way. But extreme agony wracked his body. He had stayed in his gryphon form for too long. The threat to Maddie had come and gone and the urge to turn human nearly overwhelmed him. And he just couldn’t face her learning the truth, not yet. Not after Mom’s reaction.
Flying toward home, he rehashed the morning’s events. Something drew them together. For no matter what form he took, the desire to protect Maddie seemed ingrained in his soul. It was as natural as breathing and he was powerless to stop.
Chase reached his bedroom window, flipped his wings along his back, and slid inside. Immediately he transformed. The relief left him shaking. Weak, he fell onto the floor and gasped in shock as a blanket fluttered through the air and covered him. Before he could thank his father—
“Where were you all night? What happened? Are you okay?”
“Dad, please. I’m very tired. Give me a moment and I’ll tell you everything.” Well, not everything, but at least what you need to know.
Resting took a while, plus some biscuit sandwiches stuffed with bacon. After Chase regained his strength, he relayed the events. Dad listened with rapt attention. When he’d finished, Dad pointed to the pile of books littering Chase’s bed.
“What is it? More information on the legend?”
“Kinda, yeah.” Dad grimaced, as if his thoughts tasted sour.
“Well, what do they say?”
“I haven’t read them all. But look at this.”
He handed Chase the top journal, open halfway. Beneath the sketch of a gryphon, someone had scrawled a single word. His pulse thumped madly in his ears as he spoke the word aloud. “Doran.”
****
Maddie had waited on the front porch, her heart thumping strangely, until Alasdair flew off into the morning sky. For a moment he had hovered, a beast with agility and grace. The first morning sunlight flashed off his damp feathers, then he pumped his wings down, gained altitude, and vanished over the treetops. She’d wanted to stand there and stare, remembering that reflection from his feathers, like sunlight on window glass. But too much time had passed since she’d left home.
She eased the front door open and slid into the hallway. The house was silent, eerie and strange, as if it were empty, abandoned. No pots or pans slammed on counters in the kitchen. No water ran and jarred the ancient copper pipes.
Two steps took her into the living room. Her lips tilted in a smile. Grandma Draoi lay on the couch bundled in a cover, just as she’d left her. Maddie bent and kissed her forehead.
Grandma Draoi stirred and blinked. “Good morning, dear.” She stretched and grimaced. “Did I sleep on the couch all night?” Maddie hesitated — what to say? — and Grandma continued. “I guess it doesn’t matter. Help me up from here and we’ll get ready for church. Unless I’ve got the wrong day…”
Maddie shook her head, pulled her gently upright, and Grandma shuffled toward her room. She released a pent-up breath and ran to her own. Dresses flew from her closet and onto the bed as she sought the right one. They’d found so many great outfits in the attic chests… then she’d had no choices, now she had too many. Smooth, silky fabric stroked her hand and she tugged a green dress from the rack. She held it before her and surveyed the effect in the mirror. The dress had no straps and wasn’t weather appropriate, but it made her jade eyes sparkle. Maybe if she threw on a sweater? Yeah, that would work.
“What do you want for breakfast?” Grandma Draoi’s voice drifted up the stairs.
Maddie leaned over the top railing and yelled, “Toast is fine.” She headed back to her room, but stopped. “Oh, and Grandma?”
“Yes?”
“Can you call your friend and tell her we won’t need a ride this morning? Chase is picking us up.”
No reply, just an unneeded pot banging back on the shelf. Maybe Grandma didn’t care for the idea. The clock chimed nine, and she rushed to her room and gathered her morning supplies and her clothes. She would ask about the trip to church after a shower. She couldn’t detect any smell on her skin from sleeping with a furry creature, but if someone at church was allergic, it could be awkward.
Dressed and downstairs, Maddie asked, “Are you okay with Chase taking us?”
Grandma plopped into the opposite chair and brought a piece of toast coated in strawberry jam to her lips. She chewed, causing Maddie’s stomach to knot. Just when she thought she would burst, Grandma nodded. “I don’t mind riding with your beau, but that truck of his is awful small, and high. I’m not sure I can get in the cab. Maybe you should just go on without me.”
“No, I didn’t—”
“Nay, it’s no problem. I’m a little tired today anyway. I think I stayed up too late watching movies. I keep telling myself I won’t do it on Saturday night, then I turn around and forget how old I am and I do it anyway.”
“You’re not old.”
“Ah, don’t play that game with me, sweetie. I know I’m old and I don’t consider that a problem. I’ve learned a lot in my lifetime and one of the things I’ve learned is that when you’ve got to rest, you’ve got to rest. I’ll catch the service on the radio.”
Maddie didn’t argue, sure that Grandma would ask her to stay if she really wanted her to. Besides, she couldn’t say she minded sitting alone with Chase in his truck again, and she chewed toast to hide her grin.
****
Chase dressed for the morning church service while his father argued against it. “You can’t go.”
“But I have to go,” said Chase.
“Why?”
“Because she’s expecting me! She doesn’t know I was with her all night and if I don’t show up this morning, it’s going to look suspicious.”
“But Chase, you need to rest. There are black circles under your eyes.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Dad’s voice rose an octave. “How can you say it doesn’t matter? This is your life!”
“That’s right. It is. And my life is to protect Maddie and to love her.”
“You can’t know that already,” Dad said, his voice breathless.
“Yeah, I can. I understand Cian Conn’s feeling for Arin. She was in his blood. Life meant nothing without her. He was born to protect her, to love her.”
“But…”
He gazed into his father’s eyes. “No, Dad, listen. I know you’re worried about me, but I know what I’m doing. I’m not giving up my life; I’m gaining a happier, fuller one.”
“But you’re just a child!”
“It’s true I have a lot to learn. But one thing I know is that I love Maddie Clevenger and there’s nothing I won’t sacrifice for her.”
Finally Dad relented, but made Chase promise they would discuss more family history after church. Headed down the highway, the old truck rattling around him, he found it hard to believe he’d just left Maddie two short hours before. Okay, Alasdair left her. But he was Alasdair, only she didn’t know that.
This could get complicated real fast.
Chase pulled in front of the house and honked his horn. When Maddie didn’t run out, he parked then jogged to the front door and knocked, peering through the parted curtains. She grabbed her sweater and raced out to greet him, tugging it on.
“Is your grandma coming?” She looked pretty in her green sundress and taupe sweater, her auburn hair loose atop it and her eyes sparkling like emeralds. He reminded himself to breathe.
“She doesn’t feel up to it.”
He paused, remembering the active old woman who’d stuffed a biscuit down his throat. “Are you sure you should leave?”
Maddie gnawed on her lip and looked back at the house. “I’m sure she would have asked me to stay if she wanted me to.”
Surely she knew her grandma best. He shrugged and they climbed into the truck’s cab. The trip to the church was quick. He parked and assisted Maddie. His parents waited for them at the door, but he could barely see them through the crowd of strangers around the ragged lawn.
“Who are all these people?” he whispered in Maddie’s ear.
“All the townsfolk of Coal Creek.”
“Everyone?”
“Pretty much.”
“But—”
“I’ll tell you what my grandma told me, but don’t go sharing it. The fact is, Coal Creek Community Church is the only church in town and anyone who is anyone attends. Whether you have a faith or not, you come to church. Some come to worship, but there are those who come to socialize and be seen.”
Stephanie and Dougal passed them. He winked in their direction and Chase stepped in front of Maddie so she wouldn’t see. Yeah, that made her point.
The service was interesting even if he was distracted by all the people and their oblivion to the proceedings. Didn’t they know they were there to worship and not make noise?
He laid his arm behind Maddie, along the top of the pew, and forced himself to relax and pay attention.
****
The service riveted Maddie to the edge of the pew. The pastor explained a Biblical passage in Revelation that described a throne made of jasper and sardine stone, which he said was also called carnelian, with a rainbow top like an emerald. She couldn’t visualize what he said, but just the thought kept her enthralled.
Service ended and the Donovans invited her over for lunch, but Maddie declined. She’d already been away from Grandma for too long. For some reason worry had started to gnaw at her. Going home would settle her mind.
Chase held her hand as they drove home. “What would you think if I called you later?”
“That would be nice.”
He nodded.
She studied their intertwined fingers. It had only been a week since they’d met and somehow it felt like years. She still found Dougal attractive, and his flirting made her heart race ten times faster than normal, but Chase was the one. He was attractive, sweet, and considerate. He also didn’t like anyone but her, which was the biggest plus of all. If Dougal hadn’t taken up with Stephanie… no, Chase was it.
He parked in front of the house, cut the engine, and faced her. “I had a good weekend.”
She leaned forward, her hair covering her face. “Me, too.”
He lifted her chin and rubbed the pad of his finger over her bottom lip. “Call if you need anything.”
She gulped. He released her, jumped out, and strolled to her door. It was open before her heart went back to a normal rhythm.
He leaned against the truck, his arms crossed over his muscular chest, ankles crossed, until she entered and waved at him through the curtains. She stayed put, her nose pressed to the glass like a loyal puppy until his tail lights disappeared.
Her back to the door, she slid to the floor and sighed. Her legs felt like jelly. Wonder when you get used to attention. She hoped it never happened.
She pushed herself up and strolled into the living room. The lights were out. She flicked on the switch. Grandma Draoi again lay on the couch. But something wasn’t right. Her breathing was shallow, her skin pale.
Pulse quickening, Maddie yelled, “Grandma Draoi! Grandma Draoi!”
But she didn’t respond.
Maddie grew frantic. “Answer me, please!” She dropped to her knees. “Oh, no. She’s not waking up. No. No. This can’t be happening. No!”
She stood, tripped, and stumbled into the hallway, grabbing the phone and dialing 911.
“911 operator, how may I help you?”
“I need help.”
“Slow down, miss. Tell me what happened.”
Maddie tried to be calm and rational, to give clear directions, but it was impossible. The operator gave up and agreed to send the paramedics.
The phone died in her hands and she hung it on the old dial phone’s hook. Frantic and shaking, she paced. Wasn’t the operator supposed to talk me through CPR or something?
The lady probably thought she was too crazy to administer it. She was probably right.
Oh, why had she left? Tears slipped from her eyes and ran along her cheeks. Grandma Draoi couldn’t die; she just couldn’t. Maddie had no one else.
Back and forth she paced the length of the room. Each pass she stopped and made sure her grandma still breathed.
Sirens wailed as the ambulance shuddered to a halt before the house.
After another quick glance at Grandma, Maddie ran to the front door and jerked it open. She pointed the paramedics in the right direction. Outside, the emergency lights mesmerized her…
Fire trucks with flashing lights lit up her driveway. Neighbors filed along the sidewalk and gawked. Gurneys rolled onto the pavement. Paramedics shook their heads…
Maddie jumped when a paramedic touched her arm.
“She has a pulse but it is very faint. We’re taking her to the county hospital. You can follow us.”
“No, I can’t. I don’t have a car.”
The paramedics settled her in the cab’s passenger seat. The driver talked nonstop, asking questions and trying to get a response, but she didn’t feel like speaking.
It was all her fault. She brought death to everyone around her.
****
Church had ended, and Dougal was settled next to Stephanie and her entourage at the diner. Stephanie twittered on and on about what people had worn to the service and he looked away.
He’d lost Alasdair and Maddie in the woods. Sure, he could have kept chasing them, but by then he’d been bored with the entire event. There were other ways to get to Maddie. He’d flown back to the lair and fought with Serena, then made his way to Maddie’s grandma’s house. While he’d waited and watched, he’d wondered about that Alasdair. Serena had hinted that another gryphon, an Ancient One, still survived, but the grey he’d fought felt like a pup, strong but green. Where’d he come from?
Then Serena had materialized. She rarely left the lair, so why had she now? Questions, nothing but questions.
She had slunk inside the house, looking both ways as if searching for him. He made sure she was inside, then he’d lowered himself to the window and peered in. Serena had leaned over Draoi and spoke, but Dougal couldn’t hear what was said. Sometime later, Serena had left, a chilling smile on her face.
Dougal had stuck around until Maddie arrived home. He’d wanted to grab her before she went inside the house, but decided to wait. It wasn’t long before Chase had showed. He’d followed discreetly until he determined they were headed to church. He’d rushed to call Stephanie and invite himself. Of course she’d been more than accepting and he’d shown up at her door fifteen minutes later, ready to escort her.
And of course after the service Stephanie had clung possessively to his arm. He’d found himself carted off to the diner, trying to devise an excuse to leave.
An ambulance sped past, lights blazing and sirens wailing. Heads turned.
“Wonder who that is?” said Stephanie, sipping her drink.
Dougal sensed Maddie. She was in that ambulance. He shoved Stephanie’s side and she slid from the booth with a frown. “Why are you pushing me?”
“I need to get out.”
“But what about our food?”
“You can eat it. I have something I have to do.”
He wanted to transform and fly, but he couldn’t leave his vehicle at the diner and nor could he afford that kind of attention, not yet. He climbed into his SUV and followed the ambulance at a safe distance, arriving at the hospital not long after Maddie. Now he needed to find her and make sure she was okay. The eochair could not come to harm.