Hey everybody, I can't believe this is only the second chapter for this story. And really I'm sorry this took so long it's the end of semester and for some reason Professor's believe that it is a good idea to give extra homework. I've been working on a portfolio for my creative writing class plus a whole bunch of other stuff. Excuses, I know.
Anyway, a big humongous thank you goes out to SarahE7191 who is my Beta for this story. And who also runs the C2 Community Kel Kicked Out which I am a staff member. Go on and check it out there are tons of stories on there. Also check out my other stories and leave reviews for them.
Grace of Masbolle: You are my first reviewer for this new story, so thanks. And thanks for the review.
Uncertain Destany: Thanks, I know this one took forever to put up. I feel so bad about it. But thanks for the review and I hope you aren't disappointed.
Eclipsa: Ohh I didn't even think about that with the baby griffin, it's a good idea though.
LadyKnightSusan: I did a cliffhanger last time and I'm sorry to say that this time isn't any better. Sorry, but thanks for the review.
MysteryLegend: Sorry another cliffhanger but I hope this chapter makes up for it although I think maybe the end might not make you to happy, another cliffy.
SarahE7191: Yes, Kaven is pronounced like Haven and Gaven is like umm well…. Gaven I guess.
LadyEnli: Thanks, it really annoys me when I can't figure out where the passages come from. I can't pick a favorite passage but I know this one is near the top.
Luna A. Dust: I don't know why but your review made me laugh my butt off. Maybe it was the way I read it in my mind.
Neith4Weiss: Update didn't come fast but at least it came. Sorry for the wait and thanks for the review.
Lady Knight Keladry: I got Sarah to be my Beta but I'll add your name to the list for my other story if you'd like.
Daydream Princess: I'm still working out the kinks in this story I have a vague idea of where I want to go with it and as I think about it I think it will be longer than I anticipated. I hope this clears up a few questions you might have had. If not ask me and I'll try to clue you in unless it is something that I want to remain unknown.
Krae Z. Rokke: I actually didn't know that but thanks for letting me know before I did something embarrassing. I don't think that she will be able transform into a griffin but I don't really know yet.
Mrs. Dom Masbolle: That would be funny but unfortunately she is not the Shang Phoenix.
I feel like I'm forgetting something…….. Oh well, On with the story!!!!!!!!!
Oh yah, I own nothing that you have ever read in any Tamora Pierce books.
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Kel ducked and covered her head with her arms trying to make herself as small as she could. She shut her fist firmly around the still warm object she clutched so she didn't lose it. The griffin shrieked as it dove towards her, extending its talons. Kel felt the air ripple around her and looked to see a barrage or arrows and streaks of magic forming just over her head. The griffins maneuvered away from the projectiles and flew higher into the sky. They shrieked again and prepared for another attack. Raoul was barking orders to his troops to get torches to light up the courtyard. Kel looked around and saw heads sticking out of windows in the inn and people gathering at the stables. She caught sight of a man from the village knocking a crossbow and aiming for one of the beasts. His grip was inexperienced and Kel knew if he shot the arrow, it would most likely end up in the ranks of soldiers.
"Stop!" Kel's voice sounded through the courtyard at a magnitude she didn't know she even possessed. The humans stopped moving and looked at her surprise and unease written on most of their faces. The griffins shrieks abruptly halted and they banked their wings so that they could form tighter ranks. Kel got up from her crouch as she listened to the griffins talking to each other. She could hear Raoul calling orders to be on guard but not to attack till he commanded. Kel couldn't make out what the griffins were saying but she could definitely pick out certain words. They broke ranks again and flew in closer to Kel, cocking their heads to the side in confusion.
She doesn't look like a fledgling. One in the back said, his voice grating and loud in her mind, scrutinizing her.
Kel's heart was pounding. "Do you understand me?" she asked the biggest one, a male with gold feathers and a rusty orange colored underbelly.
He flapped his wings several times lowering himself so that he landed directly in front of Kel. The other two landed behind him moments later folding their wings in so that they didn't hit each other. Gaven, Raoul, and Kaven came up behind Kel, standing at ease but with their hands on their sword hilts. She felt something pushed into her empty hand and saw that Tobe had run to join her and had brought her glaive with him.
You can understand me, can't you? He asked her matter-of-factly.
"I… I…Well, yes I guess I can." She answered.
Are you a goddess or a Wildmage perhaps? You are not the Wild mage who I have spoken with before. His voice had an edge to it that caused Kel to wince when it fluctuated to higher levels.
Kel shook her head. "No I'm not a Wildmage or a goddess; I didn't even know I could talk to griffins."
The griffin that Kel had first heard talk shifted on his feet. You feel like a griffin, a young one. He stepped closer to her his eyes accusingly looking her over.Kel heard the stretch of bow strings and the hiss of metal on metal as swords were drawn. The griffins reared back and hissed flapping their wings to appear bigger.
It occurred to her that everyone else only heard half of the conversation. "We don't have any of your young but we promise not to harm you if you wouldn't mind talking with me for a bit. Maybe I can help you." Kel spoke calmly and loud enough for everyone to hear.
The older male looked for the first time at the men around him. He looked Gaven, Raoul, Kaven and Tobe who peaked out from behind Raoul's back, in the eyes then back to Kel, he nodded his head once. We agree not to harm you and speak with you.
Raoul bowed to the griffin's then walked away to give orders to his men not to harm them.
"Maybe we should get closer to the fire." Gaven suggested when he saw Kel shiver. Kel led the way over to the main fire and sat down in the same spot she had been in before. Gaven picked up her discarded blanket and placed it around her shoulders then sat on her right side. Kaven sat on her left and picked up the meat pie he had been about to eat before the griffins had arrived. Tobe looked at Kel wondering what to do. She motioned for him to take a seat between her and Gaven picked up another blanket and wrapped him in it. She shoved the charm that was in her hand into her pocket. The three griffins crouched down in a row on the other side of the fire, the biggest male in the middle, the female on his right, and the other male on his left. Raoul joined them at the fire and found himself sitting next to a crouching immortal.
Kel introduced herself. "I'm Keladry the Shang Griffin." Pointing to each of them she introduced the men sitting with her. "This is Lord Raoul, Gaven the Shang Raven, Kaven a Black Robe mage, and my manservant Tobeis Boon. The rest are members of the Kings Own under Lord Raoul's command."
The bigger male spoke. My name is Acacius, this is my mate Cyriaca and our offspring Alaric. I am curious how you feel so much like a griffin but are not one.
She's no griffin but I agree she feels like one of us. Do you speak to other Immortal animals? Cyriaca asked. Her voice took Kel's breath away, it was like the tinkling of crystals and the crash of waves rolled into one.
Kel translated what they said to the others before answering. "I have a gift given to me by a god when I went through my Shang ordeal. I've never found out what my full abilities are. Just that they are controlled by my emotions. When my emotions get out of control anything can happen. Like you, I can't lie and no one can lie around me. I can see through illusions and now apparently I can speak with griffins."
Look into my eyes. Acacius told her. Kel stood up so she was level with his eyes and stepped closer to the fire. Her eyes were awash in gold as she met the amber eyes of the griffin in front of her, the red fire leaping up, reflecting in each of their eyes. Kel saw a reflection of her own eyes in Acacius's and suddenly Enan's face appeared smiling back at her. He held up a chain with something dangling just out of view and mouthed a few undistinguishable words. The fire roared up beneath her and Kel jumped back just before it engulfed the air she had been in moments before. Kel's blood was buzzing and her whole body was warm to the touch. She shrugged the blanket off of her shoulders and looked across the now much smaller fire, at Acacius. He regarded her thoughtfully for a moment as she took her seat. Who is this god who bestowed you with such a wonderful gift? He asked her not paying heed to the obvious magic that had just happened between them.
"The only name I know for him is Enan; he is the god who rules over the chambers of ordeal throughout the mortal world. He is my patron god."
Acacius looked at his mate knowingly then back at Kel. He is our patron god also. The griffin told her. In the divine realms we are his guardians. Before I left the divine realms I was Enan's personal guard. Cyriaca as well as Alaric and his mate served under me. We came through with the rest when the barrier was down on a mission from Enan. He asked us to stay as intercepts between him and other griffins that stayed here.
Giving you a gift and not explaining it to you sounds like something Enan would do. Cyriaca told Kel in what she could only describe as a motherly tone.
Kel nodded her head. "I didn't even really meet him until a few months ago."
He fancies himself as a mysterious god. Really he is just very absentminded. Alaric commented.
Kel hid a smile. "What did you mean when you said you wouldn't let us steal your young anymore?" She asked Acacius.
All three griffins shifted on their feet in unease. All over the mortal realms fledglings have gone missing. There was always the raiding of nests by mortals but in the last two or three years it has grown. But these are different. The fledglings are called away and they follow, they can't resist the call. Acacius told her his voice hard with emotion and anger.
If the fledglings are discovered and we try to hold them back their hearts stop beating. If you follow them they fall from the sky, dead. Whoever or whatever is taking them knows. They are too young to pass the divide into the divine realms. There is nothing we can do. Alaric growled from across the fire.
Alaric's fledgling was lost last year as well as his wife when she tried to follow him. She attacked a group of warriors who had nothing to do with it in her desperation to find her offspring. Cyriaca told her. Kel glanced at Alaric; he was looking into the fire digging his sharp claws into the earth.
We tried to find Enan and ask for help but he has moved since we were last in the Divine Realms. We sent scouts to look for him but no word has come back yet. Acacius explained.
"I cam probably find him." Kel told them biting her bottom lip as she thought. "There are certain spots were meditation to the divine realms is made easier for people chosen by the gods to be messengers and the like. I'm not at all familiar with the area and it can take some time to find a spot and create a link. I've only ever done it once with help."
"What about Alanna?" Raoul asked catching on to what she needed. Kel looked at him thoughtful. "If she has ever done it she might know of a place."
"We are still about two days ride to Pirates Swoop." Raoul told her.
Kel turned to the griffins. "Do you know where Pirates Swoop is?"
The castle by the sea, we used to have nests there several years back. Acacius told her.
"There is another woman there who is like me, a god's messenger, The Lioness. If she knows how to contact her god through meditation it will be easier. If not it is a good place to create a link because of the ocean." Kel told them.
We will meet you there in two days time. Acacius said standing up. Cyriaca and Alaric stood up with him. Kel followed them as they walked out of the circle of fires so they could fly away easier.
We will try to think of ways to test how much of a griffin's gift Enan gave you and help you learn to control it without your emotions or at least make it easier to handle. Acacius turned his head toward Alaric. You stay with the Shang Griffin she is the only thing we have to help us get back our offspring. Don't let anything happen on the way. Alaric bowed his head to his father and nudged beaks with his mother before they opened their wings and flew away into the night sky.
I will find you in the morning Shang Griffin. Alaric said. Kel nodded and stood back as he also took flight. She headed back to the campfire not able to believe what had just happened.
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The next morning they formed ranks and rode out of the inn's courtyard. Kel was completely preoccupied with her own thoughts and didn't even hear the first griffin call. When Alaric called down to her again she snapped her head up and saw him flying in plain view above their heads. His orange wings caught the rising sunlight and shimmered as he beat them up and down, speeding away higher into the air. When he flew in closer he and Kel talked with each other after Kel found out she could speak with him in her mind. Kel told Alaric about herself and what she had learned to do with her gift. Alaric enlightened Kel to an extensive history of griffins. Then he would fly off again as Kel quizzed Tobe on his numbers and letters; and found happily, that he was coming along well. He could spell his own name and say the alphabet with only a few hints from Kel, he knew his numbers and was already working out simple math problems in his head. "If I knew you were this smart I would have sent you to the university to stay with one of my brothers." Kel teased him. Tobe blushed and mumbled that he would rather stay with her.
They traveled all day, taking breaks to feed and water their horses when needed. During one such stop Kel reached into her pocket to find a handkerchief pulling out instead the small charm she had pulled from the fire. Turning it over in her fingers she examined it closer, it was a small crystal griffin no bigger than her thumb. It was crouched down on its hind legs with its front legs clawing the air. On the end of one of its unfurled wings was a small hole. Kel pulled a chain that Kaven had given her out from her collar, took it off and thread the griffin charm through it. She tucked it into her shirt for safekeeping then joined the others in mounting up.
Just before the sun sank behind the tips of the tall pine trees that were on either side of the road, they came to a rather large town named Harrowden. Just before they passed the short side road leading into the town's center, Raoul raised a hand and the company stopped.
Raoul turned Amberfire and addressed his commanders and riding guests. "We'll stop here for the night. We made good time; we're only about seven hours ride from Pirates Swoop. We should make it by tomorrow evening. There's a Royal Way Station here also, just behind the inn. The men will stay there and we will get cozy rooms." Raoul said smiling before turning and raising his glove again bringing it down in a chopping motion. The riders took up a slow procession down the short road.
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Kel and Gaven settled into the room they would be sharing, and Tobe had placed his bed role on the floor between Kel and Gaven's beds. Soon after Kel took Tobe down into the inns dining room to practice his writing; something they hadn't been able to do while riding.
Tobe set out his supplies carefully on the table: a jar of ink, a brand new quill, the writing book Yuki had given him, and several pieces of clean parchment. Kel wrote the alphabet out on it and instructed Tobe to copy it till there was no more room left on the paper. While Kel watched diligently a serving girl came over and stood at her elbow.
"Miss are you goin' to order something?" she asked not taking her eyes off of the writing Tobe was doing.
"Perhaps just some fruit juice and Midwinter buns, if you have any." Kel replied.
The girl broke into a broad grin and finally looked at Kel. "Just pulled 'em out of the oven, Miss. I made 'em myself, best in Harrowden."
"We'll take a dozen then." Kel told her. "And I insist on you enjoying one with us." The serving girl curtsied and hurried away into the kitchen twitching her stained skirts inside the door before it latched.
Kel took a piece of parchment from Tobe's stack and picked up another quill. Quickly and in large neat letters she wrote out the alphabet on the top of it. She pushed it away from her and Tobe so that it could dry and not smudge the ink. The girl returned with the buns on a wooden plate and a pitcher of juice she took three cups stacked together out of her apron and poured the juice into them. She curtsied to Kel and sat at the edge of a bench sipping on the juice.
"I'm Kel and this is Tobe." Kel told her placing a warm bun in the girls hand and giving one to Tobe also.
"My name's Melissa Mayes." She told them. Kel wrote the name out on another sheet of paper and set it on top of the other. Melissa and Tobe both watched her as they took large bites of their buns.
"Do you bake a lot Melissa?" Kel asked the girl.
Melissa's eyes grew bright. "Oh yes, I make all the deserts here. I want to go to Corus and bake at the palace for the King and Queen." She began. "Only…You have they would never take anybody like me."
Kel wrote a few other things on the paper then folded them both up into a tiny square. She handed it and another Midwinter bun to Melissa. "When you learn that I want you to go to the place I wrote on the paper. Tell them that the Shang Griffin sent you. You'll be put to work as a pastry chef in training and maybe one day you'll be making spun sugar sculptures in the palace." Kel told her smiling. Melissa looked back from Kel to the square of paper several times her hands remained clasped in her lap. "You don't have to go right away. The offer is open as long as you need it to be."
Melissa took the papers and slipped them into her apron pocket refusing the bun politely. "Thank you so much." She said barely able to keep the tears from her eyes. Sniffling she filled their cups again and left the half full pitcher on the table. "I'll make you proud, I swear." She whispered before going off to collect dishes from other tables.
Kel watched Melissa until she realized Tobe was watching her and turned to look at him questioningly. Tobe ducked his head. "You do that a lot don't you?" he asked the table top.
Kel picked up a bun of her own, broke off a piece and ate before thinking how best to answer him. "I guess I do. I just think that everyone should have a fair chance. Just by writing her a reference and making it easier for her to learn to read and write I gave her an extra chance she might not have had."
"Peachblossom told me that if you didn't take him when you did he was going to be killed. He said you did the same for the Sparrows."
"Animal's deserve just as much respect as humans." Kel told him as she finished the bun.
"And me?" Tobe asked. He looked up at her. "Why did you save me?"
Kel opened her mouth to answer him when a loud crash came from the middle of the room. Melissa stood there a tray at her feet filled with shattered clay plates and mugs strewn around it. Food was splattered all over her worn boots and the bottom of her skirt. A chair was knocked down between her and the man standing in front of her. The front of the man's shirt was covered with the remnants of a meaty stew and other foods. Automatically something about him set Kel's skin on edge. She could see his body tense up and his arm move almost in slow motion. Kel jumped up from the table and took three long steps towards Melissa. She caught the man by the wrist with her hand as it swung down.
"You don't want to do that." Kel told him her voice icy. "Melissa, why don't you go get something to clean this up with? I'll deal with this lovely fellow." Kel watched her curtsy then run into the kitchen. She could feel every eye in the room on her. "You should leave now." She told the man. "If you haven't paid for your meal I will." She looked at him closer; his face was scarred and shielded with the hood he had pulled over his head before standing. He wasn't much bigger than Gaven but there was something about him that Kel hated. An odd odor was coming from him that she had never smelt before. Her grip tightened on his arm and he growled deep in his throat.
Kel felt a slight twitch in his body and before he could punch with his other arm she swung him around bringing his arm around his back and grabbed his other arm doing the same. Her captive brought one of his feet back and hooked it around her boot trying to bring her to the ground. Kel brought her boot up and kicked him in the back of the knee. He twisted and fell towards the wall.
"You don't want to fight me." Kel told him loudly. "I'm a Shang, It's not fair."
"Kel what's going on?" Kel looked behind her quickly and saw Gaven standing with Raoul and Kaven. Tobe was standing just behind them breathing hard from running up the three flights of stairs to get them.
"Nothing is going on Gaven. I'm simply stopping this man from being rude to a child."
"Like when you stopped that man in Tusaine from stealing an apple but accidentally cut off two of his fingers instead?" Gaven asked dryly.
Raoul walked up to the man and turned him around after Kel let go of his arms. Raoul yanked the hood back from his head so he could get a better look at him. When his flesh was exposed Kel nearly gagged with the stench she felt rolling off of him. When she looked back at the man she looked into a pair of familiar eyes that belonged to someone who had tormented her for years someone who she thought was dead. He smiled back at her stony expression mockery in every one of his movements.
"Hello Kayolina. Or should I say Keladry?"
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So, another cliffhanger, sorry. Everybody please review it keeps me motivated.
