Gryphon Paladin, Book 2: The Order of Hurgran

The small group travelled at a measured pace through the woods, heading eastward. The National Guard had a relief camp set up near Richmond. Danny was having trouble still remembering the last few days, but right at that moment he was caring less and less about his memories.

Claire coughed yet again, a tremor tearing through her as she staggered. Dan paused and looked back at her, concerned. "Claire, are you alright?"

She nodded slowly. "I'm fine." She was going increasingly slowly, her pale face downturned.

It was obvious she was anything but fine. Daniel stopped and slowly lowered himself to the ground. "Get on," he said firmly. "You're sick." She hesitated for a moment, then slowly scaled his back. She lowered herself into the feathers between his wings and trembled – and he knew deep down it wasn't the cold.

The trek was slow and the tremors racking Claire's body eventually subsided. This lifted the Gryphon's spirits. The feathers were keeping somewhat warmer.

Unfortunately, it didn't last. He had just spotted the chainlink fence ahead when the weight on his back vanished and dull thud resounded as Claire hit the ground, having fallen off his back. Phillip immediately landed next to her and Danny knelt down. "Claire." He nudged her, a steep dread suddenly filling him. She was still breathing, but there was bruising along her abdomen. His stomach bottomed out as he realized she was bleeding internally. ~Oh, God…~ Realization came crashing down on him, remembering how she didn't tell him about what happened over those 3 days…

His head jerked up and swiveled, ears at full alert as 2 humans approached. They were armed, rifles leveled. He felt the urge to hiss at them but resisted. They were soldiers. They stopped 15 feet away and one of them spoke into a radio, incomprehensible. His mind on these 2 before him, he didn't even realize a third was approaching from behind before a small object struck him in the back of the neck. Blackness overtook him a moment later.

Daniel slowly emerged from unconsciousness, head pounding and vision swimming. He clutched his head in his left talon…and instantly felt leather. Eyes flying open, he stared uncomprehendingly at his surroundings. Cold steel bars surrounded him, caging him in. A thick leather muzzle clamped his beak shut. His mind had trouble wrapping itself around the situation, but slowly his memories came back and with it he remembered what happened.

He shot to his feet, almost instantly banging his head on ceiling of the cage, forcing him back to his stomach. He rubbed the back of his head with his left talons and peered out between the bars. He was in a military camp inside a large steel cage. The prison was elevated several feet above the ground on a trailer. He tested the door with his left talon, but it held fast, tightly locked with 3 padlocks.

Shaking his head, he turned his attention once more to his surroundings. He was in a large clearing in the tents, with several soldiers going about their business around him. They kept their distance from the cage, but he earned several glances as people passed.

His ears perked as he spotted 3 of the humans approaching the cage. 2 were in standard Army fatigues, rifles at the ready, but the third…with a start, he realized he KNEW the man. "Jack?" he tried to chirp, forgetting for a moment he was muzzled.

The man wore civilian clothing, a thick brown jacket and black snow pants. His brown hair was unkempt, uncombed and untidy, definitely not regulation length, and his blue eyes held a great deal of curiosity as he approached the prisoner. His escort remained at a distance, guns lowered but pointed in the Gryphon's general direction. He stopped about 5 feet from the bars, gazing into Daniel's eyes. Daniel returned the look unblinkingly.

"So, it's been a while, Avery," he began conversationally. "We know that's your real name. We've been trying to track you down for almost 3 months now, ever since we tested your blood back in October. Your joining up with the Hunters made things very complicated."

This grabbed Danny's attention but made no sense. Why the hell would Jack be interested in his blood? Last he heard, the man was working for Jared.

Jack shook his head. "I'm sorry about the rough treatment. We couldn't risk allowing you free reign until we verified the potion actually worked. Having you sedated was unfortunately necessary. The truth is…we actually need your help, Avery. Or do you prefer Daniel now? We're tracking a group of Mystics, survivors from the attack on Camp Ranelk on New Year's. They're heading east and we believe they're making for the coast. The problem is…we don't know why." When Danny continued to remain silent, he pulled a small device out of the coat's pocket and tapped a button. A second later, the muzzle fell off and hit the cage floor with a dull thud. Daniel flexed his jaws, reworking the circulation, but said nothing. "This conversation isn't going to get far if I'm the only one talking. We have a lot to talk about." Silence. "Claire and Jess are…"

At full alert, Danny jumped to his feet, once again meeting the ceiling and bruising the back of his head. Panic set in. How long had he been here? Was Claire alright? "Where is she?" he demanded, hitting the door futilely with his head. "I need to see her!"

Jack raised a hand, stopping the soldiers behind him from leveling their rifles at the Gryphon. "Calm down," he ordered and they reluctantly obeyed. "Daniel…you've been here unconscious for 2 days. Claire is…" he hesitated, "…I won't lie to you: she's not doing well. I know what you're thinking, but it wasn't you that hurt her. She's suffering from severe Pneumonia. The doctors assure me she'll recover, but she's very sick." He paused, looking away. "To add to the problem, we found severe internal bleeding from a gunshot wound, a .35 caliber rifle. The wound was treated with magic, but she overexerted herself trying to help you, causing internal damage and complications with her condition."

Daniel remained silent for a long time, feeling sick to his stomach. "Oh, God…Claire…" He lowered his head to the floor, looking away.

Jack looked over at the soldier on his right. "Open the cage." The man hesitated and Jack's demeanor softened. "He's not a threat to anyone here. We've gone through this process twice already, once with Ben and again with Alex. I'll take full responsibility for any incidents if and when they occur."

Reluctantly, the man drew a key ring from his belt and unlocked the padlocks one by one. The surrounding area was notably empty of personel as the cage door was slowly opened. Daniel wasn't sure what to do at first, uncertain, but remembering Claire's condition ended the uncertainty and he stepped out of the cage, dropping to the ground on all-fours. One of the soldiers uneasily gripped his rifle but his finger remained far away from the trigger.

The civilian and the Gryphon regarded each other for a few moments and Danny couldn't stop himself from asking, "Who are you? You're not Jack."

Jack shook his head. "A Peacekeeper – a Keeper, if you will. We'll talk more about that a little later." Daniel nodded and followed Jack between the tents as the man set off, but something suddenly stopped him dead in his tracks. He stared at Jack for a second, the man's words registering and a sly smile entering the man's expression. "I'll explain everything in time."

It didn't take them long to reach the medical tent and the entrance was wide open, more than enough room for the Gryphon to enter comfortably. His eyes zeroed in on a Kitsune in the far corner on a bed. He tried to hurry, but unfortunately his size made it difficult to navigate the beds and it took almost 10 minutes to reach Claire. His heart plummeted as he looked down at her. She was on life support, much of her torso wrapped in bandages. Her breathing was ragged, a catheter feeding her oxygen. A hand patted him on the shoulder and he looked over to see Jack at his side, staring solemnly down at the Mystic.

"She's stable, for now," he said quietly. "But she needs rest." Danny nodded, a tear streaking down his face. "For now, there's some…people you need to meet." The Gryphon looked at him curiously, but Jack didn't elaborate and turned to walk away.

Following him, Danny analyzed the military camp around them. It had the basic facilities, mostly medical and housing, but his gaze inevitably found their destination. There was a large clearing among the tents near the center of the camp. The ground was barren, but it was the inhabitants that pulled his gaze. He recognized Phillip immediately, perched on a tent at the edge of the zone, but the other 2 he had never seen before. A small reptile, about the size of a Great Dane, lay off the side, curled up on the ground. It was clearly a draconian, covered in dark green scales and head crowned by 6 horns, but it had no wings and had 6 legs. He thought it was asleep at first, its eyes closed, but its head raised at his approach, following his movements as he entered the clearing. Its eyes remained tightly shut. The second inhabitant caught him by surprise. It was obviously a Gryphon, but it was unlike any Gryphon he had ever seen or heard of before: it was almost half his size and its beak was narrower. Its plumage was gray and tan, more like a Peregrine Falcon than a hawk. Also, its long tail sported the tail feathers of a falcon, quite different from his own lion's tail.

Jack patted Danny on the shoulder again. "Meet Alex and Ben. They've been through a lot in the last few months, but even though Ben doesn't talk much, the 2 of them have been bonding. Guys, this is Daniel. He's like you." The two of them nodded solemnly and Daniel suddenly came to a realization:

They were Descendants like he was…