SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (8 page)

It only took Lawrence
’
s resources a couple of hours to find out
who she is; the adopted grand-daughter of Sire Lev of the Vancouver Island
Eyrie, and before that she
’
d been raised as
an orphan in Jasper.

Cooper shudders at the thought of his
birthplace. If his sire, Sher, suspected she was dragonkin she
’
d have been raised by the Council and
forced into the Will during her sixteenth year and if Lev knew he never would have
let her out. Cloud would have been hidden and not sent off to train under
Master Sky. Ranger training explains how she handled the drunk gryphon in the
bar but not her mysterious absence from Sky
’
s
eyrie.

The only logical reason is nobody,
including Cloud, knows she is dragonkin. She could be one of the few gold
dragonkin not subjected to service in the Council
’
s Will and her continued ignorance of her
true bloodline will be the only thing protecting her from joining their ranks.

Cooper still has to be careful. Even
though his attunement to the relic allows him to identify dragonkin by sight
and his mate
’
s tears protect him from their
influence, Cloud's motives remain unclear. She could still order another
gryphon to harm him.

According to the gryphon Lawrence stationed to listen in the room beside Cloud
’
s,
she laughed like a child playing with the shower, turning it off and on over
and over until the pipes banged. Then she pulled off the bedspread, took wing
and fell asleep on the floor. No TV, movie orders or phone calls like he
expects from a gryphon familiar with the human world.

The small key in Cooper
’
s pocket isn
’
t the same size as the lock on the box
but the lock shrinks to fit. When he opens the lid, a small ancient green
dragon bone mounted on a gold bracelet illuminates the room with a brilliant
emerald glow. His mate
’
s eyes shone the same colour.
It would lick over the whites, brightening with lust and he would kiss them
with a consuming hunger as her small moans filled their den. Her breath would
heat with pleasure, singeing his chest feathers then she would turn her head
away before release cast flames from her mouth.

Cooper undresses, tosses his clothes
aside and takes wing before kneeling by the open box.

“
Eviscerate,
”
he whispers as he fixes
the bracelet around his wrist. He pictures her long blonde hair and smile and
feels the true inner beauty of her kind.
“
My beautiful Lady Eve. What do
I do with this gold dragonkin? Kill her or protect her?
”

Cooper curls up on the mat, comforted by
the magic of his mate
’
s kin and in a few breaths is
asleep, waiting for an answer.

It
’
s
mid-morning when he puts the bracelet away and steps from the dark chamber.
After showering, Cooper conceals a small handgun beneath his jacket, a knife
around his calf and goes downstairs for breakfast.

In an hour, he
’
ll find Lawrence and together they
’
ll knock on Cloud
’
s door and act on Lady Eve
’
s advice.

The long flight to Calgary left Cloud
feeling oddly out of shape; overworked in some areas and soft in others. When
the clock says 10
am
, she pushes the furniture to
one end of the room and starts on a set of challenging exercises designed to
change every muscle in her body into painful jelly. Then she runs through the
set a second time, dripping sweat on the carpet and lingering on any moves that
work muscles unused in flight.

The open curtains expose the streets far
below where Calgarians move about in cars and on foot. She faces west toward
home. The other side of the building looks east to the campground where Soar
waits. He should be there by now and she has eleven days until she
’
ll be there with him.

Then home with her head hung in shame
although she can
’
t be any more shamed than she
is now. Every day she learns about this strange eyrie in the sky will earn back
a little more of her lost pride.

Cloud puts her soiled clothes in the
laundry bag as Lawrence instructed the night before. He explained that Cooper
owned the building and the top four floors were restricted to gryphon
residents. Her room sits on the second highest floor and the one above is off
limits to everyone but Cooper and his guard. The stone of a mountain eyrie
belongs to the Earth but this isn
’
t stone so Cooper
’
s ownership makes a small amount of
sense. How he created it is beyond her.

 
She steps into the
shower, squealing with surprise as cold water blasts her hot skin. She
’
s barely towelled off and dressed in
clean human clothes when three loud knocks on the door get her attention. Cloud
freezes and concentrates on her surroundings. Only the shuffling of two large,
unwinged males reaches her and after a moment the scents of Lawrence and Daniel
Cooper ease in under the door.

“
Cloud?
”
Lawrence
calls.
“
Open
the door, Cherry.
”

Cloud doesn
’
t much mind the nickname since he
explained it on the way to her room. She blushed like mad and he pretended not
to notice.

Lawrence
stands between her and Cooper when she
figures out the locks and pulls the door open.

“
May we come in?
”
Lawrence
looks past her, directing her attention
to the room and not the hallway.

“
Of course,
”
Cloud
steps aside.

“
Problem with the room, Cherry?
”
Lawrence
asks. He strides toward the tumbled up
furniture. Unlike the night before when the guard master wore black pants and a
white shirt, he wears loose sweats and a short-sleeved T-shirt. Cooper, on the
other hand, is better dressed in a grey suit, copper coloured shirt and a black
tie.

“
Um, I needed space for conditioning,
”
Cloud says as she kneels to Cooper and
then turns to bow to Lawrence.

“
Why are all the pictures crooked?
”
Cooper asks so she turns again, amused by
his laughter.

“
I couldn
’
t remember if they were all crooked or
strai
—”
she starts but cold sharp
steel presses against her throat as Lawrence somehow gets his elbow behind her
back and under both of hers. It only takes a moment for Cloud to calm so she
exhibits as little threat as possible.

Cooper hasn
’
t moved other than releasing the smile
from his face.

“
Do not speak, Cherry,
”
Lawrence
whispers.
“
Daniel
is going to ask you some questions. We know more than you think so don
’
t take a chance by lying. If you speak of
anyone but yourself I
’
ll cut through your voice box
and watch you bleed to death. Carpet is cheap and I
’
m very good at installing it.
”

Cloud raises her chin with respect though
she
’
s confused by the screwy
instruction to talk only about herself. A frightened bead of sweat escapes down
her spine and she
’
s certain they can smell it.
Maybe they think she
’
s afraid she
’
ll be caught lying but then she has a
knife at her throat and that would scare anyone.

“
Weapons?
”
Lawrence
asks.

“
Back pants pocket,
”
Cloud replies and Lawrence
’
s hold tightens enough to give her well
worked shoulders a good stretch. She doesn
’
t resist as Cooper feels one pocket then
the other and removes the knife.

Then he feels her sides and around her
bra before before lifting her shirt. Cloud tenses with her scars so exposed and
Lawrence hisses. When the shirt drops, Cooper feels her legs and socks before
stepping away.

“
Is Cloud your real name?
”
Cooper asks.

“
Yes.
”

“
Tell me where your home eyrie is.
”

“
Vancouver Island
,
”
she whispers, afraid to
even swallow.

“
Indeed. Is that your birth eyrie?
”

“
No, I was born at Welch Peak and raised in Jasper.
”

Cooper looks at Lawrence as he considers
her answer.

“
Your dame moved you?
”

“
I was the only survivor of the massacre,
”
her voice deepens with bitterness, unable
to completely shake the idea that Cooper was responsible.
“
I was raised by Tawny until Dame Shadow
arrived and I left with her ten years ago.
”

Cooper turns aside and appears to study
the furniture pile. The seconds pass and he opens the button of his jacket
before tucking his fists in his pockets.

“
Tawny passed a few years ago.
”

“
I attended her blessing with a small
delegation from Vancouver Island,
”
Cloud says, her words no
more than the movement of lips. The flight had been urgent and sad and Cloud
struggled to keep up with Firn and Dove, dame and daughter in Shadow
’
s guard. They arrived before the blessing
was complete and Firn and Dove spoke at the climax of the ceremony, blessing
Tawny
’
s old spirit with magic
protection for its passage to the heavens. Cloud didn
’
t speak. As much as she wished to, doing
so would have betrayed her royalty and the three positions at Tawny
’
s shoulders were taken anyway.

It wasn
’
t like her strongest magic was beneficial
in any way; more like manipulative. What could she have said that didn
’
t sound like a curse?

Cloud becomes aware of Lawrence
’
s slow breathing in sync with hers.

“
Tell me then,
”
Cooper says.
“
What drove you from Vancouver Island to
where you are now?
”

“
I left two and a half years ago for
Master Sky
’
s.
”

Cooper waits and doesn
’
t ask any more.

“
I left there six days ago and came here
because I have nowhere else to go.
”

“
Ah, I see. Describe the circumstances of
your departure.
”

“
I took an oath and will not discuss it
for another day.
”

Lawrence
stretches his thumb across Cloud
’
s windpipe and presses the blade to her
skin like he
’
s about to slice through an
apple. Cloud can
’
t help it; certain he
’
s going to kill her, her heart beats out
of control and her knees shake.