SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (47 page)

“
Yes,
”
she sounds surprised with his courtesy.

“
Are you certain?
”
Soar
tries.
“
You are welcome to rest in
safety should you require it.
”

What is Soar doing? The sooner Torch is
gone and they can deal with the loss of Tempest and the relic the better.

“
Thank you, Master Soar,
”
she kneels one last time.
“
I will relay your respects and your
hospitality upon my return.
”

“
Safe journey, Torch,
”
Soar nods.

She turns and Tundra takes position at
her side to escort her from the eyrie. Once they are out of sight, Cooper steps
from his tunnel in time to see Soar drop to his knees. Soar
’
s hands cover his own mouth to ensure his
silence and Cooper is tempted to screech in rage on his behalf.

“
Hey,
buddy,
”
Talon pulls Soar to his feet
and the two hurry to Lev, beating Cooper there by only seconds.

“
We move now,
”
Soar insists but Lev shakes his head.

“
You know she won
’
t be harmed, Soar,
”
Cooper says softly.
“
Aledaar will want
—”

“
I know what he
’
ll damned well want.
”

Soar
’
s children.

“
And we will move soon, my friend,
”
Lev assures.
“
But we will not rush. Whether
Aledaar has forced Tempest to open the box or not is moot. If he hasn
’
t then it
’
s only a matter of time and while our
friends are here and in Ochre
’
s Honour they are still clear
of his reach. This could simply be a ploy to draw us out.
”

“
Sire
Lev,
”
Fire interrupts.
“
When we are certain the messenger has
portalled away I will go to Calgary and investigate my sire
’
s home for any evidence to support Torch
’
s claim.
”

“
Torch believed what she said,
”
Shadow
’
s voice rings from the far end of the
chamber.
“
But that does not make it
true.
”

“
You,
”
Talon glares at his female.
“
Should have been a fuck of a long way
down the tunnel.
”

Shadow crosses her arms and pouts,
causing Talon to hide his grin of surrender to his mate
’
s charm. Flay is quick to return to
Shadow
’
s side and casts Talon a look
of
‘
I had no idea she came out
here
’
in spite
of the fact she ordered herself to hide with Shadow. Again, Cooper is struck
with his daughter
’
s beauty. With her hair down,
Flay looks nearly the same age as Eve was when Cooper first met her.

“
Fire,
”
Lev
says. It
’
s increasingly difficult to
talk as the activity in the main chamber increases in volume and urgency.
“
Please, bring us what news you can. In
the meantime we will prepare to depart. We cannot discount a move on this eyrie
so between Shadow
’
s wards and the dragonkin and
gryphons left behind, my gryphons will be well protected and we should have
sufficient force to take on Aledaar.

“
I know most of the Council would never
consent to his treatment of the dragonkin without the threat of befalling the
same tragedy Torrent set upon this place and Welch Peak and I suspect when we
make our move many of his loyalists among the Council will withdraw.

“
Our attack is justified and our only
enemy will be the Will. We need only give Tempest her chance to take Aledaar
’
s life and the conflict will be over.
”

“
Soar,
”
Fire
nods.
“
I will return within the hour,
my friend.
”

Then he disappears through the crush
around the main tunnel.

Cooper stays back, allowing the gryphons
and dragonkin to prepare. The eyrie females hurry to provide dried meat and the
packets are tucked away in black and brown armour then the departing warriors
pair up. Each gryphon is matched with a dragonkin for transportation then half
the chamber is emptied to allow the dragonkin to share the rendezvous location
among them.

They plan to meet several hours flight
from Bolshevik Island. Far enough away they won
’
t be spotted by Will patrols and the
crash of the portals will not be heard and close enough to fly in with
sufficient energy to fight. Flay goes over the location of the hidden entrance
to Aledaar
’
s chamber then Lev, Soar and
Talon withdraw to a corner to modify their assault plans considering they now
involve freeing Tempest from the dungeon. It
’
s a huge complication and Lev decides to
bring six more, three gryphon and three dragonkin, to allow for a dedicated
team for that task.

“
Soar!
”
Fire runs in and skids to a stop on the
smooth stone floor, head snapping side to side looking for him.

“
Soar,
”
he says again and draws him close as
Talon and Cooper join them. The chamber becomes quiet and Shadow watches from
under Talon
’
s reassuring wing.

“
Your apartment is deserted,
”
Fire speaks to Cooper before turning his
attention to Soar.
“
The patio door is open as is
that of the stone chamber. The box is gone. There is no sign of Lady Tempest,
though there are signs of a struggle.
”

Shadow folds herself in Talon
’
s wings, her face torn with worry. His
lips whisper through her hair as he mutters soft words of encouragement. Though
Cooper can
’
t make them out, Talon
’
s tone and loving kindness are enough to
ease Cooper
’
s own fear.

“
My friend,
”
Lev
says softly as he lifts Soar
’
s chin.
“
We leave.
”

Inky?

Tempest imagines she sighs since actually
doing it will put her under again. The sky is definitely more inky than oily.
Through the first hour after dusk she could have sworn it was absolutely oily
but as more cold minutes passed she surrendered to the idea of inky. Her second
night on the mountain ledge would have found her gryphon form frost-bitten and
frozen but as a dragonkin she is surprisingly tolerant of the below zero cold.

Maybe Lawrence never got a chance to
fulfill his promise she
’
d be found before he was taken
by the Will.

“
Hey!
”

Tempest resists the urge to startle at
the distant female voice and focuses ahead to where it came from. Dawn wakes
the sky behind her and in the distance a flying being speeds toward her and
continues to shout.

“
Lady
Tempest?
”

When the female comes close enough,
Tempest recognizes it
’
s a green dragonkin dressed in
heavy brown armour. Short dark hair peeks out from beneath her helmet, curving
up over the edge either naturally or from the wind.

“
Oh,
no,
”
the female whispers. She
smells of the Vancouver Island Eyrie so Soar must have succeeded in enlisting
the help of the green dragonkin.
“
No, no, no, no, no.
”

Then she reaches for Tempest
’
s throat, fingers extended not in threat
but to feel for life. Tempest
’
s alarm isn
’
t that the green might harm her. If she
touches the chain then she
’
ll be stuck paralyzed on the
stone shelf, slumped over Tempest and waiting for help right there with her.

“
Stop,
”
Tempest exhales, barely forming the words
with her stiff lips and the green stays her hand.

“
Lady
Tempest?
”
she tries again.

“
Necklace... no... gryphon only.
”

The inky sky thickens to oily as
consciousness threatens to flee. Stars blur and slide, doubling and tripling
with uneasy speed and where the sky is dark it takes on a sickly sheen. When
Tempest
’
s vision is again clear the
green leans close, studying the chain.

“
Ach,
”
Agony
’
s lips draw back in disgust and a sharp
shudder rattles her wings as she studies the chain.
“
I am Agony. We received word you were
here and I have come. A gryphon, then? Where the hell am I supposed to get a
gryphon?
”

As she stands, she turns and her right
wing trails over Tempest
’
s shoulder.

“
Uhn,
”
Agony gasps as her right side collapses
and she stumbles to the ledge. Her limp right wing tangles around her right leg
as she lurches even closer to going over.

No,
Tempest wills Agony to get control of
her lurching two-step.

“
Wow,
”
Agony groans as she drops to her knees
then falls backward onto her brown armoured butt.
“
Just
wow.
”

With a heavy shake of her wings, she is
back on her feet. The first rays of dawn light behind Tempest bring out the
highlights of Agony
’
s deep green leather wings and
she stares, fascinated with the gold thread embroidering Agony
’
s heavy belt. Dainty flowers and vines
are revealed as the light strengthens. Agony stretches her wings and draws them
in, over and over, until the right moves as well as the left.

“
Don
’
t. Move.
”

She turns and points at Tempest. The
order is made with such authority Tempest believes she has a choice in the
matter and is almost willing to try.

Agony
’
s belt holds two heavy daggers, the gold
embroidery covers not only the sheathes but also the straps securing them to
her thighs.

The green releases a shrill cry and dives
backwards from the ledge. In the silence that follows, Tempest hears the
rhythmic beats of her wings as she rises somewhere out of sight and flies away.

By the time the sun hits the top of Welch Peak, a male
’
s shout followed by a rapid
stream of insistent curses approaches from the south.

“
Female,
”
he shouts and under the brush of Agony
’
s wings on air, leather rubs leather. The
male grunts and it becomes clear Agony struggles with him. Feathers rustle then
a brown winged gryphon tumbles past.