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CAPTAIN SMATHE APPEARED in the open doorway, just then, great coat open in front and showing the blue and white tabard of the Sky Guard over his mail shirt, face reddened by cold wind. The hilt of a longsword protruded above his left shoulder, his round, dark helmet was tucked under one arm, and round-lensed goggles dangled around his neck. “Ah, here you are, indeed,” he said. “Forgive the intrusion, but I believe haste is needed.” You didn’t need to be a mind reader to see that he was not at all happy. Parick followed right on his heels.
“I believe the Abbey has been compromised,” Captain Smathe said without preamble. He strode into the room and sat heavily on the unused chair, then stood up quickly and offered the seat to Parick. The Prince declined, but Smathe remained standing. “I have just returned from there. For the first time ever, I was not taken directly to the Abbot, but to a so-called aide. The Abbot was ‘indisposed.’”
“That could be the case,” said Sid.
“That may be, and the Abbot is not a young man,” Smathe replied. “But this aide — I am not at all sure of what race of men he might be. By the glimpse I had of his face, well, he was no ordinary member of the Brotherhood!”
“What makes you say so?” I asked.
“I would swear his skin, under the hood of his robe, had the hue of a man long dead,” Smathe replied. He grimaced and added, “There was something wrong with his eyes!”
“Let me guess,” I said. “He was also a big man? Broad shouldered? Heavy brow ridge?”
“Yes.”
“Damn!”
“He was a Moj,” Trey replied. “And this is most unwelcome news. The Abbot is more than merely indisposed. He is a prisoner!”
“If he’s still alive,” I added. “Damn it!”
“Well, we wanted to force Edren’s hand,” said Sid.
“It would seem we’ve succeeded,” Trey muttered. “Though this isn’t quite what I had in mind. If the Regent should learn the Stone is at the Abbey, our situation will not improve.”
“No shit!” I took a breath and worked to settle myself. Just goes to show, when things seem to be going too well, it generally means they’re going too well.
“What could have prompted him to send a force to the Abbey now, after waiting two years?” Sid asked.
“He knew Parick was with the players,” I replied. I gave them a nutshell account of my last conversation with Korl.
“They would have seen Parick leave with us, astride a gryphon.” Trey looked grim, violet eyes narrowed as he frowned. “He knows who the player named ‘Orlis’ really was. If he has, as you suspect,” and he nodded to me, “found a way to use manticores for air transport, descending upon the Abbey would be his logical next step. He almost certainly didn’t expect us to come here instead of the Abbey.”
“Our plan worked fine in one way,” I said with a nod toward Parick. “In others...” I let it go at that. There was a bitter feeling as I considered the caravaners who died because we’d uncovered Parick. But it was done, and nothing for it. “The Abbey would be the perfect base from which to launch a bid to reclaim the throne, so of course Edren moved to deny us that option.” I turned to Smathe and asked, “Captain, when was the last time anyone spoke directly to the Abbot?”
“I did,” he replied. “Not two weeks ago.”
“Much can be done in two weeks.” Sid shook her head, frowning
I nodded agreement, thinking that the Abbey, as we’d overflown it, had seemed unusually quiet. Two weeks with Moj and manticores — it was worrisome to say the least.
“My instructions to the Abbot were to conceal the Gryphon Stone in the Abbey, and to speak of it to no one,” Parick said. “If he did so, it will not be easily discovered.”
“He revealed it to me,” Captain Smathe said. “And that only once, more than a year ago. He deemed it wise that someone he trusted outside the Abbey know it was there, though how it had come to him was something he did not say. He said it would be shut away beyond sight.”
“My cousin is very good at getting information out of people,” said Trey.
“Which is why I’m afraid for the Abbot’s life,” I said. “Two weeks? The Regent probably has that damned Stone by now!”
“If he had the Stone, surely we would know of it,” Sid suggested.
“No,” Trey said flatly. “He can interfere with it, but is unlikely to be able to use it by himself. Only a handful of Alvehn can directly interface with the device. I am one of those. The Regent is not.”
“But in time...?” I let the question dangle.
Trey’s shoulders sagged. “Yes, in time he could gain access to its functional capacity.”
“How long?” I demanded.
“There is no way I can predict that,” Trey admitted. “But it would surely take more than two weeks.”
“God and Goddess,” Sid whispered, and she was not alone in making the sign of the Two.
“We need to get into the Abbey,” said Trey.
“Agreed.” I looked at Sid. “The three of us are probably the best available for a covert operation like that. If the gryphons are willing to help, we’ll drop in on the Abbey tonight and see what we can find out.”
“Four of us,” said Parick.
“No,” I replied. When he glared at me I let some impatience show. “Use some sense! You’re the King and you have no heir! If you’re killed or captured, this all ends up being pointless. You’re sitting tight.”
“I have no wish...” Parick began.
“No!” I have this habit of forgetting when I’m talking to royalty. You could tell Parick noticed this.
“Sire,” said Captain Smathe, with a look of warning directed at me. “I must agree with him. You cannot place yourself in harm’s way so lightly.”
“I do not make such a decision lightly,” Parick replied between clenched teeth.
“We’ve done this sort of thing before,” I told him, making an assumption about Sid. She gave me a tiny nod when I glanced her way. “Have you?” When he looked away without answering I said, “Look, if this were an all-hands-on-deck, do or die fight, where every sword and any sword might make a difference, I’d need you in the thick of things. Hell, I’ve seen you fight. I know you can handle yourself. I’d want you there. But this isn’t an attack. We’re going in there to gather intelligence. If it works, they’ll never even know we paid the Abbey a visit.”
Okay, some of that was bullshit for the sake of a young man’s pride. I had no doubt we could get in. There was a good chance Edren would let that happen, hoping to catch us. Escape detection and leave unnoticed? Unlikely in the extreme. But we had no choice. Attacking the place blind could turn into a suicide mission. We had to at least try to give the Aerie and the Sky Guard an idea of what they were up against. I only considered a recon mission because having an Alvehn of our own on hand leveled the playing field, more or less. No matter how good your team is, no matter the plan, there’s an element of luck. But Trey’s knowledge, and the Alvehn devices he had implanted within him, might make the difference.
“Very well,” Parick said at last, looking and sounding very unhappy about giving in.
“I will send word to Ironwing of your plan,” said Smathe. He bowed to Parick, then to us, and hurried away.
“Will the gryphons fly you in?” Parick wondered aloud.
“Cirrus will,” Sid replied.
“Ironwing will arrange something, I’m sure.” I remembered our conversation the night before. “She did say she intended to help us.”
Concerns over transport did, indeed, prove groundless. Word came from Ironwing in short order that a squadron of gryphons would meet us outside after full night had fallen. They would take us to a place they knew that should give us access to the Abbey, then conceal themselves until called in for extraction.
“Use one of these,” Captain Smathe said when he brought the good word. He handed each of us a long, slim, silver whistle. “The sound of these will reach a gryphon’s ear, though you will hear nothing. They will come as quick as can be.”
We thanked him, then went back to our rooms to rest and prepare.
“You don’t need to do this,” I told Sid. “Trey and I can handle it.”
There was nothing of annoyance in her response; it was quite matter-of-fact. “Of that I have no doubt. But my heart tells me I should be a part of this. You’ve no doubt had such feelings. You should understand.”
I nodded, because I did understand. “Still, I’d hate it if something happened to you.”
“So would I!” She laughed, then came forward and took my hands in hers. “The same concern for your safety is in my heart, as well. But are we not safer if we draw these Alvehn swords together?”
“Good point. I’ll stop fretting.”
“No, you won’t,” she said with a fond smile. And she kissed me.
“Forgive the intrusion,” said Trey from the doorway. “But if I have the size wrong, I need to know about it sooner, rather than later.” Folded over the crook of his arm was a bundle of Alvehn second skin armor. He gave Sid a quick explanation of what the stuff was. “For you, my lady,” Trey said at the end, and presented the gift to her with a courtly bow that swept his pale hair down over his face.
I hadn’t realized his fabricator could produce armor. It was a happy discovery, believe me. “Can you manage a set for Parick?”
“I was able to produce two sets,” Trey replied. “The Aerie is a bit short of what I need. Parick already has his. He was quite pleased with it.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Sid took the offering and a look of wonder lit her face. “It weighs next to nothing!”
“You’ll barely know you’re wearing it,” I said.
“Until a blade strikes you,” Trey told her. “The impact will hurt, but you will be no worse than bruised as you take your enemy’s head.”
“If I take his head.” Sid did not look away from what she held as she spoke, so she didn’t see Trey’s grimace. He’d apparently let recent events slip from his mind. But Sid didn’t pursue the matter. Instead she stripped — with no apparent self-consciousness — and put the armor on according to Trey’s instruction. The fit was, of course, perfect. She grinned at us and did a pirouette. “I’ve worn silks that weighed more! How can this stuff be so nearly impenetrable?”
“Alvehn magic,” I said.
“I thought you didn’t believe in magic?” she said with a derisive laugh.
“He doesn’t,” Trey replied. “That just means he's clueless on the matter.”
“And I’ll happily remain so,” I said, slapping my chest and feeling the layer of the stuff over my own heart, “so long as I have a set of my own.”
Sid put her clothes back on and as she dressed said with a smirk, “I’m tempted to let you try to stab me, just to see what would happen.”
“You’re probably going to get enough bruises tonight as it is.”
“No doubt.” Then she frowned and said, “Has either of you been in the Abbey before?”
“Several times, for me,” I said. “The last visit, Trey and I lived there a few months.”
“Good,” she said with a short nod. “I was concerned about going in blind.”
“We won’t be,” Trey assured her. “Here, this is the basic layout, which has not changed much in hundreds of years.” He set a disk the size of a quarter on the table, and a miniature of the Abbey sprang into being. He let Sid catch her breath — she literally gasped in amazement — then gave her a guided tour to familiarize her with the place.
After a while, Sid stood away from the projection and said, “Good enough. I would be able to find my way in a pinch. It would be better if we stay together, of course.”
Trey nodded. “I agree.”
“So, what is the plan?” Sid asked.
“First we get there and get in,” I replied. “And do so unseen. Then we lurk.”
“Also unseen,” Trey put in.
“We need to find out what has happened to the Abbot, if we can, and the current state of the Abbey itself,” I went on. “We need to know to what degree they are under the control of the Regent. He certainly did not go there alone. How many troops are with him? How many are Moj? And how many manticores does he have there?”
“We also need to see if we can locate the Gryphon Stone,” Trey added. “If we find it, we must acquire it.”
“Should the opportunity present itself,” I replied. “Absolutely, we will. But the bottom line is we learn for sure what’s going on, then get the hell out of there. It’s imperative that we get that information back to Parick and his supporters. Because if we don’t get lucky and grab the Stone tonight, we’ll need to retake the Abbey as soon as possible.”
“Agreed,” Trey conceded with a nod and a grave look.
I knew he wanted to argue, to insist that our mission be the recovery of the empathy bridge so it could be restored. But if the Abbot had hidden it well enough or, worse, the Regent's henchmen had already found it, that would be impossible. We couldn’t risk overstaying our welcome. The damned stone would have to be practically lying on the floor for the taking, if we were to recover it this trip. More than likely we’d need to use whatever intel the three of us could gather to plan an assault on the Abbey, with an eye to freeing it, and recover the Stone that way.
“Good enough,” Sid said with a calm look and a nod. “All that’s left is to wait.”
Sitting around for hours, waiting to embark on a risky mission that might well end in your death, that’s a trial. By that point in my life I had done it many times. It’s not easy, and it never gets any easier. But it felt right. I’d been so sure, back on the ranch in Arizona, that this was all behind me, that I wanted it all to be a thing of the past. Sitting there in the Aerie of Gryphon Heights, the idea of quitting held no appeal. Anxiety remained, for we were surely and deliberately going into harm’s way, but I was where I needed to be. Where I was supposed to be. The sense of purpose was rock solid.
We changed our outer garments, putting on black leather and clothing provided by the Guardians. It was the stuff they would wear on a night patrol. We darkened each other’s faces, to better blend with the shadows that would dominate an ancient monastery at night. Trey rubbed black dye into his hair, then braided it, but even then we pulled hoods over our faces that left only our eyes exposed. The Alvehn have a version of the body armor we wore that could provide any sort of concealment we required, but unlike the passive protection we wore, Alvehn camouflage was an active technology, easily detected by someone else with Alvehn tech. So we went old school.
In due time Captain Smathe came to tell us night had fallen, and the gryphons were ready to fly.
“The moon will not yet have risen,” Trey observed. “The timing is good.”
“That matters not,” Smathe replied. “Clouds have filled the sky. You won’t even see the stars.”
“How will the gryphons find their way?” Sid wondered aloud.
“Their eyes are keen,” Smathe said. “And they have other senses to guide them. An experienced gryphon could find the way simply by feeling currents of air.”
“Amazing!” Sid declared.
“Yes,” said Captain Smathe. “That they are.”
He led us back through the halls and caverns until we were once more in the broad chamber that served as the entrance hall. Six Sky Guards were there, dressed as we were, all of them armed as usual. One of the riders was Harta; she would lead the flight in, and the extraction.
Cirrus was there, and greeted Sid warmly, happy to bear her yet again. I didn’t know the gryphon who sauntered up to Trey and ducked his head in a show of respect. The third gryphon I did know, and was surprised to see her.
“Ironwing,” I said with a bow. “Is this — wise, my lady?”
“Almost certainly not,” she replied. “But you appear set on this course, all the same.”
“That isn’t what I meant.”
Ironwing made a low, chortling sound deep in her throat, a gryphon laugh, but said nothing in response. I bowed again, and chose not to argue the point. I might have tried a version of the argument I’d given Parick, but there was no time, and in this case I was sure to lose. Even as I thought of this, Parick, Grevin, and Veresa strode into the cavernous chamber and approached.
We bowed to his Royal Highness, who maintained a calm demeanor for a few moments. “May the grace of the Two guide and protect you, my friends.” Then there was a worried frown. “And please — come back to us alive and well! All of you,” with a pointed look at Sid, who made the sign of the Two and gave Parick a half bow. “This is important to me!”
I stepped forward and took his hand in a firm grasp and said, “We intend to!”
Veresa hurried to Sid and put her arms around her, awkwardly, one hand and wrist being encompassed by a complicated-looking splint. They held each other tightly for a moment. No words were exchanged, just knowing looks and nods as they parted.
“It is time,” said Ironwing, who extended a foreleg to facilitate mounting. A moment later I was astride her neck, my feet tucked into the feathered mane where it billowed across her chest. I pulled my goggles from the pouch on my belt and slipped them down over my eyes. With long, smooth strides and the clicking of talons on bare rock, she led us out onto the landing. A moment later Sid and Trey, likewise astride gryphons, appeared on either hand.
Shrieking something hard and short to her fellows, Ironwing lofted, and with a single downstroke of her dark wings sent us over the cliff and into the night.
