Close Encounters of the Magical Kind Read online

  Sarah detected movement in her peripheral vision and glanced over at her husband. He was staring at her with a confused look on his face. She shrugged and held a finger to her lips. Loryss looked up just in time to catch the tail end of Steve’s confused expression.

  “They were spiny coneflower seeds,” the griffiness said, in a matter-of-fact tone.

  “I take it they’re toxic?” Steve asked.

  “Those seedpods were harvested from the most poisonous pontal that existed in the forest. Of course they were toxic.”

  Steve nodded, “I get it. In your weakened condition you… drop it. Drop it or so help me I’ll have Loryss bite you clean off.”

  Startled, Sarah looked over at her husband. Steve had twisted around and was scowling at his tail, which unfortunately was long enough to touch the ground. That was the problem. It had curled itself around a long branch he had just stepped over and now it was being dragged along behind them.

  After a few moments the prehensile tail uncurled and the tree branch fell away. Steve shook his head and scowled at the tail before turning back to Loryss. He shrugged dismissively.

  “Sorry ‘bout that. Going back to what I had said earlier, you didn’t recognize those seed thingies for what they were and ate them.”

  Loryss’ head fell and she nodded.

  “I just assumed Ceraeon had picked them for me. There were only two of them and I consumed both. Those seeds were deliberately placed in my nest. I just know it.”

  “By whom?” Sarah asked. She shared a look with her husband. Both of them wore surprised expressions on their faces. What Loryss was suggesting was that one griffin murdered another! She hadn’t even known that was possible between griffins.

  “I suspect it was another female,” Loryss answered. “Hemera. It has to be her. She was my biggest rival and coveted my status. You see, Ceraeon, my mate, was being groomed to be the next Prime of our flock.”

  “So what exactly do you expect us to do?” Steve demanded. “Walk up to your mate and ask him if he’s been fooling around with another female since your death? I can’t imagine that’s gonna go over well.”

  “All I ask is you find Ceraeon. See if a griffiness with wings of black and blood red feathers has taken my place. If she has, inform Ceraeon of my fate and my suspicions. He deserves to have a better mate by his side than her.”

  The four unlikely companions, with the fifth still hiding inside Sarah’s jacket pocket, pushed through the line of trees bordering the jungle and emerged into the forest. Sarah took her husband’s hand and pulled him towards the eastern shore of the same small lake they had been at before. The two griffins automatically followed.

  “So after we find your mate,” Sarah continued, “you want us to make sure your rival hasn’t taken your place, is that right?”

  Loryss nodded, “Correct.”

  “What if Hemera didn’t poison you?” Steve asked. “What if she’s innocent?”

  “Then she wouldn’t be anywhere near my mate until an acceptable mourning period has passed,” Loryss told him.

  “How long is that?” Steve wanted to know.

  “At least a year, maybe two.”

  “And if she is?” Sarah prompted. “What then? How do we convince your mate that what you say is true? We can’t make an accusation like that without proof!”

  “The proof would be Hemera’s proximity to Ceraeon,” Loryss explained. “If she is by his side then she has completely disregarded my period of mourning and is guilty.”

  Steve hesitantly raised a hand.

  “I hate to bring this up, but, um, what if your mate is the one who is responsible for your current predicament?”

  Both Loryss and Nyx instantly shook their heads no.

  “You are not familiar with griffins,” Loryss said, giving Steve a piteous look. “I admit I know nothing of the mating habits of humans but when two griffins mate we do so for life. One griffin will never choose a mate they didn’t trust. I trust Ceraeon. Implicitly. Therefore I know it wasn’t him.”

  “Fair enough,” Steve decided. He looked over at Nyx. “What about you? What do you need us to do for you?”

  “Save my cub’s life.”

  Sarah gasped at the same time Loryss squawked with surprise.

  “Your cub is in danger? What happened? Why didn’t you say something before?”

  A fiery determination appeared in Nyx’s eyes. She squawked angrily. After a few moments of silence she began to speak.

  “Loryss is right. I am new here, having arrived two days prior. I will be honest. I despaired once I learned this was Ranal. It could only mean I was dead, and without help, my cub will be, too.”

  “What happened?” Sarah asked. “Will you tell us?”

  “It was foolish. I knew I shouldn’t have strayed outside our borders but to find an entire herd of typas? I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like that.”

  “What’s a typa?” Sarah asked.

  “A feminine version of a typo?” Steve suggested, raising an eyebrow. Sarah didn’t bother with her customary smack on the arm. She raised her left hand and, just like all the cartoon cats Steve had ever seen, claws began appearing, one right after the other. He hastily fell silent and offered her a sheepish smile.

  “I can get used to these,” Sarah softly murmured, looking at her claws.

  “I’ve never had to describe a typa before,” Nyx confessed, ignoring Steve’s quip. She paused a few moments as she thought about how to best define her favorite food. “Hmm. A typa is a macropod of incredible speed and dexterity. They are rarely spotted and incredibly difficult to catch.”

  “A macropod?” Sarah turned to her husband. “What’s that?”

  “Umm, it’s like a plant-eating marsupial,” Steve told her. “Provided ‘macropod’ means the same thing here as it does in our world.”

  “Like a kangaroo?” Sarah asked.

  “That’s the only one I can think of at the moment,” Steve admitted.

  “I’m sorry, Nyx,” Sarah apologized. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you. Please continue.”

  “Typas are not only my favorite food but are also Skeiron’s, my mate. They rarely emerge from the safety of the trees, so when I encountered several dozen of them all at the same time I had to pursue. I hid my cub, finished hunting, and returned to him later. We had a long flight ahead of us so we feasted on a few of my kills and prepared to depart.”

  “So far it sounds harmless,” Steve mused.

  Nyx regarded him with an unreadable stare, “Wait for it. It gets worse.”

  “Sorry.”

  “May I continue?”

  “Uh, sure.”

  Sarah reached out and took her husband’s hand in her own. Steve swallowed noisily and tried to pull his hand free. Sarah threw him a disapproving frown.

  “As I was saying,” Nyx continued, navigating around the slight rock formation that had reminded Steve of a pizza earlier in the day, “I had stashed my cub in a small cave at the base of a cliff. After we had eaten we were about ready to depart when I heard a loud rumbling. I looked up just in time to see a rockslide heading straight towards us. I was able to grab my cub and shield her but clearly I didn’t make it.”

  Sarah dropped Steve’s hand and slapped both of hers over her mouth with a look of horror on her face.

  “You died saving your baby!”

  Nyx nodded, “Aye. But don’t you understand? He’s not here. It means he is still alive! He’ll be buried in that rockslide! If he doesn’t get help soon then there’ll be no hope for him! No one is coming to help him and even if there was, no one would know where to look. I thought for certain my cub was doomed until…”

  “Until you saw us,” Steve finished for her. “I promise you we’ll do what we can. How much longer do you think he can survive?”

  “There were three typas left. If he’s smart then he’ll be able to eat those and survive for a few days more. The problem is, I’ve already been gone for a few days. He’ll be out
of food shortly.”

  “Your cub is alone, frightened, hungry, and missing the comfort of his mother,” Sarah breathed, horrified. “I’ll agree to your favor right now. We’ll find your cub. We promise.”

  Nyx described in as much detail as she could about what she remembered where she and her cub had been while hunting the small typas. The griffiness could only remember that there was a small lake to the west, open forest to the north and south, and the beginnings of a mountain range to the east. Sarah paled. Hopefully there wouldn’t be too many places that fit that description.

  Fifteen minutes later they were back at the base of the mountain. Loryss had said it was called Usol Peak. Sarah shaded her eyes and stared up at the distant waterfall. She squinted her eyes, straining to see if she could tell if the slight outcropping at the top of the waterfall were indeed hands. As before, she still couldn’t decide if the tiny formation resembled anything that looked like a pair of human hands.

  “Loryss – or Nyx – can either of you see the top of that waterfall?” Sarah asked, pointing up at the peak.

  Loryss angled her head up and studied the mountain’s distant summit. Nyx mimicked her. The elder griffiness finally nodded.

  “Aye, I see it. What is the nature of your desire to reach the top?”

  “Where there’s water there’s typically plant life,” Steve told the griffin. “We suspect there’s a rare flower up there. We know there are two specimens somewhere on this island and since all other areas have been searched, we’re left with the mountain. It has to be up there.”

  “What did you see?” Sarah asked Loryss. “Was there anything resembling hands?”

  Loryss nodded, eliciting a squeal of excitement from Sarah.

  “Before I tell you what I saw,” the griffiness began, turning to Steve, “perhaps you could tell me what you meant by having searched the entire island. You have been here less than a day. There’s no way to search this island in a single day.”

  They all heard an audible groan coming from Sarah’s direction.

  “Is there something you’re not telling me?” Loryss asked.

  Nyx stepped forward and inhaled.

  “So that’s it. That’s why you smell the way you do.”

  Sarah crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Excuse me? Are you saying I stink?”

  Nyx shook her head. She approached Sarah and sniffed again.

  “You’re carrying something. It’s emitting an odor that reminds me of what a fresh kill would smell like.”

  Steve had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. Thankfully neither griffin noticed. Loryss stretched her avian neck towards Sarah and took a couple of cautious sniffs.

  “Nyx is right. There is a nauseating aroma emanating from your person only that scent doesn’t match any other scent I can detect on you. It reminds me of carrion rotting under a full sun. Are you carrying a foreign object?”

  “Nauseating?” a tiny voice barked out. What appeared from within her pocket had Sarah slapping a hand over her mouth in surprise. “Carrion? You think I smell? Do you have any idea how badly this place reeks to a nose as sensitive as mine?”

  A tiny humanoid figure had emerged, but it certainly didn’t look like Thinian or the amphibious form he had been. Small, squat, and just as wide as he was tall, the grubby figure had wild unkempt hair, thick bushy eyebrows, a belly that would make a beer drinker envious, and several warts on his face and chin. Thinian’s increase in mass was now threatening to tear his clothes. The figure carefully climbed up Sarah’s shoulder and peered angrily at the griffin.

  Both griffins had jerked their heads back. Loryss looked at Sarah and then pointedly back at Thinian’s tiny form as he tried to find a comfortable position on Sarah’s shoulder. Apparently the increase in mass was threatening to tip the Fae off balance. Loryss snorted derisively before she looked up at Sarah.

  “You appear to be suffering from an infestation of bravi. I would recommend bathing immediately.”

  Nyx squawked with alarm.

  “Bravi? Kill it! Hurry! Don’t let it burrow under your skin!”

  Sarah stifled a giggle. By now her husband had doubled over with laughter.

  “Bravi? You cretins dare insinuate I am nothing more than a lowly bravi?”

  “What’s a bravi?” Steve asked in a hushed whisper.

  “I don’t know,” Sarah admitted. “Maybe it means some type of fat gnome thing with warts?”

  Overhearing him, Thinian turned angrily to Steve. “They’re scavengers and pests. They live in small tribes deep beneath refuse heaps. Those two ingrates are suggesting I am a foul-mouthed dim-witted imbecile not worthy of being stepped on. I’m not, you pathetic pinfeathered excuse of a flying monster.”

  Intrigued, Loryss moved closer and stared at Sarah’s shoulder.

  “It speaks? Nyx, I do believe we have discovered the first intelligent subspecies of the chrara family!”

  “I’M NO BRAVI!” Thinian angrily shouted. “I’m a Fae!”

  Both griffins stared at each other in shock.

  Steve gave a slight cough, “Not right now you’re not. Have you looked in a mirror lately?”

  “Do you see a mirror around here?” Thinian snapped, shaking a pudgy finger at him.

  “Come on, Thinian,” Sarah said in a soothing voice, “even you must know you’re not yourself.”

  Thinian leveled a gaze at the closest griffin.

  “I am a Fae, not a bravi. Forget about what I look like at the moment. Thanks to him,” the transformed Fae pointed at Steve, “I now get to suffer in this bloated form.”

  “I’m not the one that caused the tree to fall,” Steve reminded him. “You can thank whoever did. My guess is it’s the same guy who tried to prevent us from getting here.”

  “You really are a Fae?” Nyx breathed. “I thought they were extinct. I never knew Fae were allowed on Ranal.”

  “They’re not,” Loryss quipped, raising her beak. “You have no more business being here than the humans do. Why are you here?”

  “I’m here for the same exact reason they are,” Thinian clarified. “I’m here to find a rare flower. Trust me, as soon as I get it I’ll leave this wretched place far behind.”

  Sarah heard her husband clear his throat.

  “I think you mean that when we get the flower you’re planning on leaving, right? Remember, we are allowing you to tag along.”

  “You’re allowing?” Thinian sputtered, turning to face Steve. “In your dreams, human. I will be returning that flower to my people. I will be the one to earn all the accolades from the king and queen, not you.”

  Sarah snapped her fingers a few times. Once she had everyone’s attention she turned to point at the distant mountaintop.

  “Boys, boys. That’s an argument best left for another time. Talk to me about the mountain. How are we going to get up there?”

  Both griffins moved to the base of the mountain and looked up. Loryss tentatively placed one of her front avian feet up against the sheer rock wall and dug her talons in. Satisfied that she had a solid grip, the griffiness placed her other foot on the stone wall and briefly slid it around until she found another grip. She carefully lifted herself from the ground and waited to see if her grip would bear her full weight. It did. With a triumphant squawk Loryss turned to look back at her audience.

  “While dangerous, and not ideal, Nyx is right. It is possible. We will climb.”

  Chapter 10 – Usol the Outraged

  The climb was, Sarah would always remember, one of the most unpleasant experiences of her life. What they were doing was dangerous, no doubt about it. The only way she was able to stay on the griffins back – while Nyx was climbing – was to practically lean forward and encompass the young griffin in a tight bear hug. She risked a glance down to see Loryss and her husband about a dozen feet below them, slowly but surely rising up the face of the mountain. She noticed that Steve was watching her.

  “Are we having fun yet?” he shoute
d up at her.

  “Absolutely not,” Sarah yelled back. “And don’t even begin to tell me that you’re okay with this. I know you don’t like heights.”

  “I don’t,” Steve confirmed. “Don’t let my impressive display of machismo fool you. Internally I’m screaming like a little girl. You just can’t hear me.”

  Sarah sighed. She’d have to side with her husband. She didn’t relish the fact that if she lost her grip then she’d end up plummeting down to her death. Ten minutes after they began their ascent Sarah had already decided that if either of them fell off their respective griffins then she’d have no choice but to teleport the two of them back to the ground far below, thus ending their quest. And, Sarah sadly realized, that’d also end the hopes of the Fae, dooming them to extinction when their Tree died.

  Determined, she vowed it wouldn’t happen. She had been chosen for this particular quest. The Fae had come to her for help and by God, she would see it through. They had to succeed. She didn’t know how she’d be able to cope with the fact that, if they failed, the Fae would end up perishing.

  She felt Nyx slip. The tiny rock ledge that the griffin had been bracing her rear legs on had broken, sending small bits of stone tumbling down onto Loryss’ head. The larger griffin flattened herself against the rock face and waited for the falling rocks to subside.

  “Do watch what you’re doing,” Loryss snapped. “It is a long way down.”

  Sarah risked another glance at her husband. His eyes were now screwed shut and he was gritting his teeth. She sighed. Steve hadn’t been lying when he said he was truly not enjoying the experience. She couldn’t blame him. Her arms were tiring and her back hurt. To make matters worse, they were only a few hundred feet from the ground. She risked a look up and gave a silent groan. There were still hundreds of feet to go. At least they weren’t trying to ascend too close to the waterfall itself. The last thing she had wanted to worry about was either of the griffins slipping on wet rocks. Therefore they had picked a spot nearly fifty feet away from the falling water.