SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (6 page)

How can she sleep?

He can
’
t. Winged, aroused and shrouded in
blankets the smell of
her
- how can he? He could draw his wings in
so his human side ignores her enchanting gryphon scent but he chooses to be
tormented by it. They never slept together as humans so at least there would be
safety from memories.

When Soar went after Hunter he
’
d been angry about the one month remark
but by the time he found him, he realized it was true. He
’
d been shut off with every other female
even in private. Except with Cloud. She filled his nights with emotional
connection. She was happy with her life and adored Shadow and Talon. Her
endless questions, posed in his dark den, were insightful and she didn
’
t consider any answer complete until it
contained a little piece of himself.

Soar liked the gryphon she saw inside
him. During the day, however, the illusion failed and when she was accepted to
Sky
’
s program he stepped away,
secluded in his shell. It didn
’
t fit anymore and sure as hell
wasn
’
t comfortable but it was
familiar and it was his. It was so different from anything he
’
d learned from Cloud he convinced himself
he was wrong for her anyway. His only acknowledgement of her departure was a
brief communication to Hunter to keep an eye on her.

Through a narrow gap in the curtains,
Soar
’
s shift-blackened eyes pick
out every feather of her wing. She curls up beneath it with nothing but her
feet sticking out. As the minutes pass, Soar
’
s sensitive hearing detects her heart
speeding up and she stretches before standing and flexing her wings.

She pulls her pack over her front and
clips the belt behind before cinching the straps tight. Then she takes two
steps toward him.

For Soar, keeping his heart and breathing
as steady as sleep is easy, a skill all rangers have. It allows the enemy to
get close and gives their supposedly dozing target the advantage of surprise.
Except any half-smart attacker is wary of the trick and Soar
’
s attacker gets a few steps closer, using
her words for weapons.

“
I doubt you
’
re
asleep,
”
she whispers, her voice softer
than the wind.
“
I want you to know...

“
Whatever, I guess. If I don
’
t come home then remind Shadow how much I
love her.
”

She dashes away and Soar loses sight of
her after only a couple of steps though he hears the last ones she takes. Then
all that remains of her is the brush of her wings through the warm Tennessee air until it too, fades.

Soar slides from his bunk above the cab
and steps out the back door onto the soft long grass. She
’
s easy to make out in the moonlight and
he waits until she
’
s completely gone.

“
Tell her yourself, Cloud. If you
’
re not out in two weeks then I
’
m going in after you
.”

It
’
s
dusk when Cloud steps from an alley two blocks from Cooper
’
s bar in downtown Calgary. To conserve
energy, she took full advantage of the hot ground below and let the thermals
carry her. The hours gave her time to accept her decision to take Soar
’
s assignment and with acceptance came
resolve. Whether she earns her way back into Sky
’
s eyrie or not became irrelevant.

She sweats in the radiating heat to serve
her Dame
.
The decision leaves her
peaceful since service in any form protects her family.

Since all Council decisions are made in
private, even learning the names of Cooper
’
s allies in the Council can help.

Cloud
’
s skin crawls with perspiration since her
human body isn
’
t as good with the heat as her
gryphon form so she runs her fingers over her scalp to cool it only to have
them get stuck in the knots. Maybe she should have found a secluded spot on the
Bow River
run
ning through the city and
bathed. Instead, she hid behind a foul metal bin to remove her tunic and pull
on her bra and a sleeveless top. Otherwise she wears the same jeans she wore
the last day at Sky
’
s.

“
Crap,
”
she announces, getting the attention of a
couple of drunk males. One whistles and blows her a kiss, which she
automatically returns. When you don
’
t
know how to respond to a human then emulate them. She
’
d heard that once. In this case the male
laughs and approaches, leering at her breasts. His friend pulls him away,
apologizing.

I
’
m in so much trouble here.

She
’
s
an idiot when it comes to humans and an apologetic human is one she does not
want to befriend.

A gryphon never apologizes.

The vibrant mix of noises flowing from
the open doors to Cooper
’
s gets louder as she
approaches. Shouts and the smells of exhaust and human sweat mix with the
lightness of her step since her wings are gone and disorient her further. Cloud
spent a whopping twenty days of her twenty-six years in human places. A week in
hospital, a day in Talon
’
s rig and another ten days in
a cabin on a Tofino beach. Then the trip to Memphis.

At least in the dark they can
’
t see her ear. Cloud checks to make sure
her hair covers it.

The sign above the double door flashes
red neon.
‘
Cooper
’
s
’
glows in handwriting
cross-marked with diagonal lines to look like rope. To her right, human couples
and gryphon males line up and she can
’
t
see much inside. The hallway makes a turn to the left and other than flashing
lights there
’
s nothing interesting other
than a big male gryphon behind a window.

“
Looking for someone, Cherry?
”

Cloud startles at the loud voice. An
immense bald gryphon male appears in front of her and she takes a step away,
relaxing her knees and raising her hands. She quickly straightens up. He doesn
’
t seem bothered by her defensive reaction
and her magic says he
’
s not mistrustful of her.

“
Not really,
”
Cloud
answers. Her nervous hands recheck her ears as she realizes Cherry refers to
her red hair. "No ... Bald?" she guesses at his name.

An enormous laugh shakes him.

“
No cover charge for gryphon girls,
”
he whispers as he leans around to inspect
her bag.
“
Lie to me, Cherry. Tell me you
don
’
t have a weapon in there.
Weapons aren
’
t allowed inside.
”

“
But I don
’
t,
”
she protests. The knife
is in her back pocket.

“
I
’
m Lawrence,
”
he introduces himself as
he leads her past the front of the line.
“
Take a seat at the bar. Get a
drink.
”

“
Thank you, Lawrence,
”
she answers but he
’
s already returned to the door. The
gryphon under the coat check sign scrutinizes her then picks up a fat hardcover
book.

The inside of the bar assaults her senses
as much as the Calgary street. The music differs from the beautiful rich jazz
she loved in Memphis. She heard country there too but the saxophone and sultry
singer lit something in her spirit. The crazy lights and thumping bass in
Cooper
’
s make her stomach ache in a
pleasant way. A night club, maybe? They
’
d
passed one in Memphis but hadn
’
t gone in. The boom, boom was
similar.

Cloud
’
s feet crunch on the loose floor and her
nose wrinkles with the papery smell of sawdust beneath her feet. Bits of paper
glow blue in the black lights like the white clothes on the patrons. On the far
side, most of the stools sit empty and the wide, sunken dance floor surges with
the beat. Tables surround the outside of the room. A set of stairs to her right
leads down to another dance floor.

A large balcony rings the room. Winged
gryphons, invisible to any humans, loiter at the railing in contrast to the
wild goings on below. One male gestures behind him and two more approach the
railing.

She swallows, wishing Lawrence was still
with her. He
’
s a good one to know. Making
friends with the guard could get her in to places and keep her out of trouble.
One of the three at the railing, short black hair and lighter golden wings
flecked with ivory, nods her way and she reciprocates. Cloud resists the urge
to bow in the presence of all the humans even though she has the feeling she
should.

To this particular gryphon at least.

Even so, she dips one knee in respect. Another
male brings him a drink on a tray and he disappears out of sight as Cloud is
jostled from behind. A group of human females enters and several gryphon males
move toward them. Some of the males also have their eyes on her. The gryphon
patrons are mostly male which makes sense since females don
’
t stray far from their eyrie. Cloud
suspects she may be the only gryphon female in the noisy room.  

She pretends to check out the
surroundings as she keeps her eyes on two males who follow; a human and a
gryphon. They don
’
t head directly for her.
Instead they work their way to the bar. The small wad of cash in her pocket
should get her a drink and hopefully some food. She
’
s thirsty and tired from the two-day
flight.

The glossy wooden bar doesn't stick as
she runs her fingers over the smooth surface. She expected it would with all
the drinks flying around. The bottles sparkle in light shining up through the
glass shelves. Cloud has time to read the labels of dozens of them before the
male on the other side of the counter reaches her.

“
Thirsty, Cherry?
”
The gryphon places a glass of water on a
coloured cardboard square. His long sleeved white shirt says Cooper
’
s on one side in the same script as the
sign above the door.

“
Did Lawrence tell you I was coming?
”

“
Are you a friend of Lawrence?
”
he answers with another question.

Cloud nods as she sips then puts all her
money on the bar.

“
Thank
you.
”

“
Water is free,
”
he pushes it back with a laugh.
“
And anything else you want here. Gryphon
girls don
’
t pay.
”

“
Okay.
”

“
I
’
ll have what she
’
s having,
”
the
human gets to her first and takes a seat to her right.
“
And
I
’
ll buy her another.
”