SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (49 page)

Tempest dives then brakes with a stiff
snap of her wings to alight on the small platform. It only takes a moment to
fish the small packet out from between her breasts and slip it into a deep
crevasse in the rock. Her arm sinks into the stone, swallowed up to her
shoulder, before she is satisfied the relic will neither come out or slide in
further out of reach.

If something happens to her then the
thing will eventually fall into the ocean and that will keep the green
dragonkin free.

The wind and waves still long enough for
her to whisper a quiet wish before she speeds south, undeterred by her growing
fatigue.

The eyrie entrance is busy.

Agony, Hunter, Tundra and an enormous
older green dragonkin circle along with several others and Tempest moves to
meet them. No words are exchanged in the open and she follows the direction of
the big green
’
s sternly pointed finger to
the water line where the salt-whitened gap in the stone is hidden by a few
defiant trees. The prevailing winds have shaped them so only branches facing
away from the water remain.

“
Lord
Render,
”
Agony kneels and Tempest
follows her lead. If Agony is heir to the rule of a dragonkin city and has to
kneel to him then there is no doubt Tempest should as well. After a moment,
Hunter imitates them though he places himself close enough to Tempest to make
it clear he
’
s looking after her.

“
Agony,
”
Render
says.
“
Stand my dear and introduce
us.
”

“
Lord
Render,
”
she nods once all three are on
their feet again.
“
Lady Tempest, daughter of Lord
Fury, Master of the Council
’
s Will, and Hunter who is the
sibling of Master Soar.
”

“
Fury?
”
Hunter gasps.
“
He
’
s a
dragon... kin?
”

“
Sshhh,
”
Agony hisses at Hunter before she
finishes.
“
Lord Render is my dame
’
s sibling. She rules Ochre
’
s Honour.
”

“
We are pleased with your safe return,
Lady Tempest, and on behalf of Sire Lev, welcome  to the Vancouver Island
Eyrie, Hunter.
”

Hunter nods, open mouthed, and Tempest
replies.

“
Lord
Render,
”
she says as the foursome makes
its way to the heart of the eyrie.
“
I must leave for Bolshevik
immediately.
”

“
I do not believe Sire Lev will delay his
assault for any longer than needed,
”
he agrees.
“
And things are more grave than you think.
”

“
Oh?
”

They enter the main chamber and Tempest
seeks out Shadow and Flay. The pair huddle together by a small fire with Cooper
and Firn
’
s daughter, Dove. Dove, like
her dame, is a royal gryphon gifted with healing magic and the reason for her
to stay behind among such a heavy guard of gryphons and green dragonkin can
only be because they expect trouble. Dragonkin, gryphons and their equipment
clutter the chamber and a mix of morning meal and unfamiliar spicy smells makes
Tempest
’
s
stomach rumble.

“
Tempest?
”
Shadow clings to Flay
’
s elbow as she
’
s pulled to her feet and Tempest holds a
hand to them to stay put.

“
What has happened, Lord Render?
”

“
Young Torch of the Council
’
s Will returned not a half hour ago. I
had half a mind to imprison the child here until the matter with Aledaar is
settled. I
’
m quite certain she is deeply
scared and will be of no use to Aledaar when we attack. She can
’
t be more than sixteen summers and will
only be killed in the bloodshed. Such innocence
—”

“
Lord
Render,
”
Tempest interrupts.

“
Alright,
”
he
re-orders his thoughts.
“
At midnight on Bolshevik Island and every twelve hours after that, Aledaar will order two gold dragonkin
to fight to the death until such time as he receives the key to the box.
”

“
You can
’
t take him the key,
”
Shadow says. In spite of Tempest
’
s request for a moment with Render,
Shadow and Cooper have joined them.
“
To subjugate the green
dragonkin is beyond even consideration.
”

“
Dame
Shadow,
”
Tempest takes her hands.
“
Our loved ones move to attack Aledaar
because they think I
’
m there. I must surrender. If
I don
’
t then my kin will die at each
other
’
s hands, that is certain, and
we will lose our chance to free them. They might kill Aledaar but that only
means Torrent will take the relic and things there will carry on as they do
now.
”

Shadow pulls her hands free and crosses
her arms, fiercely hugging herself between her adornment covered breasts and
her belly. As her lower lip begins to tremble, Tempest kisses the tips of her
own fingers and touches them to Shadow
’
s
mouth to still it.

“
I have never asked for a thing,
”
Tempest whispers as she embraces Shadow
to hide the shaking of her own hands.
“
My only wish has been to serve
you. To feel your love and to return it a hundred fold. I would be ashamed to
be your daughter if I stood by and let lives be taken when I could have fought.
When I could have saved even one.

“
I
’
m scared, Shadow, beyond any fear I
’
ve ever felt and all I need to get
through it without the burden of disobeying you is your pride and your blessing
that I do this thing.
”

“
Tempest,
”
Shadow says. Even considering her size,
she holds a fierce and powerful bravery in her heart that is an example to all
she serves.
“
I would go in your place, if I
could. Come, we
’
ll see to your preparations
then I need to rest. Talon
’
s gonna kill me if I can
’
t put up half decent wards.
”

Tempest laughs, an action that clears her
clouding eyes.

“
Hunter,
”
Agony says as Shadow and
Flay lead Tempest away.
“
Show Lord Render the chain.
”

Soar departs Vancouver Island at sunset
and arrives in the dark Russian Arctic.

The long hours since darken further, both
the sky and the deep worry he feels for Tempest and the coming battle.

Forty gryphons and dragonkin hide in a
cold, deep crevasse three hours from Bolshevik Island. Their quarters are
cramped and invisible from the gap above but Lev doesn
’
t plan on keeping them there any longer
than he has to. Once satisfied their portals hadn
’
t attracted the curious, he sent a single
gryphon to fly in close to the ground to assess the activity around the Island.

Until he returns, there is nothing to do
but wait which is something Soar isn
’
t
good at or happy with. His thoughts are of Tempest and his children and his
short temper is worse than usual considering what he
’
s heard about Torrent and how he singled
her out for mistreatment. The bastard has it coming and it will be a race
between Talon and Soar to see who gets the privilege. The honour will likely be
Talon
’
s since Soar and his team of
six will go to the dungeon to free Tempest but that doesn
’
t mean Soar won
’
t do his damnedest to get to Torrent
first.

Lev will take the bulk of their forces,
including Soar
’
s six, in through the front
door while Talon and a small group attempt to secure Aledaar after entering the
secret passage that leads directly to his chamber.

“
One coming in from the south,
”
Talon whispers from twenty feet above.

South?

Soar scrambles to his feet and joins
Talon at a small gap in the rock. The gryphon they sent ahead went north to
Bolshevik. Anyone coming in from the south is going to be a problem.

As they watch the lone flier approach,
the gryphons and dragonkin below fall silent. The seconds tick and after a
minute it
’
s clear whoever it is doesn
’
t wear red. The leather is lighter,
nearly the same colour as her wings and she
’
s close enough now to see she
’
s female.

“
Lev,
”
Soar hisses and the Sire joins them.
“
One
female gold dragonkin.
”

Lev points at Soar then up and Soar doesn
’
t hesitate to stand alone on the bare
rock hilltop. If Lev said hide then Soar would have but they
’
ve hidden long enough and he doesn
’
t welcome a return to the tense monotony
of the crevasse.

She alights no further than twenty feet
away. The gold is unarmed and Soar nods in recognition. He doesn
’
t know her name but he knows who she is.

This female saved Tempest
’
s life back at Skyfall when Soar had
nearly killed her with bee venom. She was never introduced and was barely
acknowledged by the dragonkin in the city.

“
Master Soar,
”
she kneels and holds the
position of submission.
“
I am Lord Fury
’
s sibling.
”

So much for a name.

“
And you found me how?
”
He doesn
’
t bother with politeness and won
’
t acknowledge there are any more of them
than him. If she
’
s not Tempest then she
’
s not free.

“
Daniel Cooper sent you here,
”
she states then she smiles.
“
This place is special to him. It served
him and Lady Eviscerate well as a sanctuary many times. I guessed that if
Cooper is involved with you then this was a good place to start.
”

“
That doesn
’
t make me feel any better about how you
—”

“
Lady
Spite,
”
Lev says from behind Soar. The
Sire
step
s into the open and is quickly
followed by Talon. Soar tries to help Talon get between Lev and the female but
Lev firmly pushes them aside.
“
Stand, my dear friend.
”