OMG! I'm sooo sory this has taken so long! I got the chapter half-way done & BLAM! Hit the writing block WALL.
OK, you know the drill! I don't own anything in this story. Most of the characters are mine, but the entire universe they inhabit belongs to Mercedes Lacky.
Silent heat engulfed him, searing and comfortable. Protecting him; consuming him...
"Kardæn!" Jayleen's voice had not risen in volume, but it was all he could hear. "STOP!"
There was nothing he could want more than to obey her command. He regained his composure and breathed out his held breath, this time imagining his breath blowing out the flames. The roaring flames guttered and quelched as Kardæn got them under control.
He opened his eyes back up and took in the room about him. There was soot on the ceiling and the walls were slightly singed, but all in all there was a lot less damage than he had expected.
"You'rrre Velcome." He heard a pleasant tenor voice chuckle an answer to his astonished thoughts from outside the door.
He gathered himself up, running his hands through his sweaty hair and taking a deep breath. He stepped to where Jayleen was standing, just inside the door, and peeked around the door post.
The huge, black and brown raptor that was waiting for him gave a whistling guffaw before settling down to speak to the humans.
"Don't look ssso timid! I won't eat you." the gryphon tried to comfort him. "I preferrr rrrabbits."
"Ah... That's reassuring..." Kardæn faltered, then added lamely, "I do too."
"Grrreat!" The gryphon chuckled again, "We ssshall have dinnerrr sssometime."
"I'm sorry about the, uh..." Kardæn waved behind him at the practice chamber.
"No, I ssshould apologize." the gryphon rebutted, "I am a big guy. I ssshould have announsssed myssself. I am Phyrvith." The gryphon ducked his head, imitating a bow.
"I'm Kardæn." He clasped his hands in front of himself and bowed politely.
"I have heard of you, Kardæn. The fire mage in the earth priessst temple." Phyrvith cocked his bird-of-prey head so that one, fist sized, golden eye could focus better on Kardæn. "How did you do that vith yourrr ssshields? It's not verrry efficient, but could be ussseful."
"I'm not sure," Kardæn shrugged, "I was startled and they went 'POOF'!" He ended the sentence by flinging his hands into the air over his head.
"Ve ssshould sssee if you can do it again ssso I can follow what you do and trrry it myssself."
"Uh," Kardæn looked from the big, four-legged bird to Jayleen and back, "We?"
The Phyrvith and Jayleen exchanged a weird look. "We told you that we were going to bring in a mage to help you with the fire, Kardæn." Jayleen reminded him. "Phyrvith is a Master mage from Iftel with an affinity to fire."
"That isss how I vas able to hold yourrr fierrr ssshieldsss in."
"Oh." Kardæn frowned a bit, then shrugged. "Ah, I don't think I can do it again, right away... I feel like toppling over right now."
Phyrvith gave a weird rolling twitter that sounded almost like a chuckle. "I can guessss asss much." He cocked his head again and opened his beak in the approximation of a smile. "Ve vill have time laterrr. I'm ssstarrrving, sssshall ve eat?"
xXx
Kardæn fell back onto his bed roll, utterly exhausted. He was bruised, scraped, strained and burned. His head ached down to the middle of his shoulders and he could barely think, much less think of what to make for supper.
"You need to eat." Phyrvith cautioned; but Kardæn could only manage a grunt in reply.
They had trekked into the wilderness, just the two of them, in search of things less flammable and now Phyrvith thought that he could just torture his poor apprentice. They had reached an old cabin at the edge of a lake and Phyrvith had concocted an obstacle course of sorts once Kardæn had gotten them settled in. Day in and day out, Kardæn ran the course, trying to focus enough to use his magic without getting 'killed' by the 'enemy'. Phyrvith was always changing small things in the course to keep Kardæn from becoming too comfortable with it and today he had added magic to the mix of things that wouldn't quite kill his apprentice.
"I am not too sssure you want me to make yourrr sssupperrr..." Phyrvith called to him from outside the cabin. Kardæn felt Phyrvith's magic stir then the energy of a cheery fire start in the pit outside.
What seemed like moments later Phyrvith nudged Kardæn awake and used his hand-shaped talons to put a bowl beside him.
"I told you that I am not a good cook..." Phyrvith said in an apologetic tone.
In the bowl was a fist-sized chunk of meat that the gryphon must have torn off his own venison dinner, an orange root that had been cut into bite-sized chunks and oddly shaped, soft chunks of apple in a thin broth.
"I made yourrr tea too, but you have to pourrr it." Phyrvith backed out of the cabin so Kardæn could get to the fire.
"Thank you." Kardæn reached out and took the kettle Phyrvith was holding for him.
The meal wasn't that appetizing but Kardæn wasn't really awake enough to taste it. He crawled back into bed and fell into a deep sleep without even taking his shoes off.
xXx
Kardæn awoke with a start and shivered. At first he couldn't figure out where he was; he was still mentally wrapped in his dreams. He had dreamt of Maelith, of being in her arms; then there was something menacing, foreboding...
The foggy sleep started to clear from his head as he looked about the single room of the small cabin. He was sitting in his bed rolls, Phyrvith was on his mat with his head down on his paws for sleep. He looked closer at Phyrvith and saw that his eyes were open and alert; glittering in that special way they do when he's about to kill something small and tasty.
Kardæn heard something moving about outside their cabin and froze. All the hair on his body started to stand on end and he instinctively tightened his shields. There was a faint rustling sound just outside the open door and something dark with odd lumps on four legs came into view.
:Be ready, brother.: Phryvith silently warned him.
Kardæn closed his eyes as Phyrvith lit the creature in the doorway like a flint and steel in tinder. The thing let out a raspy scream that was answered by at least three more throats. These had been mountain cats before being caught in a change circle. Kardæn reached out to the pile of tinder by the fire pit and snapped that special place in his mind sparking the pile into a pyre, lighting the entire work yard.
Kardæn could see a couple of the other creatures now and wanted to weep for them. The once proud creatures were warped, twisted into shapes that should have been painful. Their fur was matted in places, skin bald and shiny in others, their claws didn't seem to retract anymore but were broken and dull.
The creature that was on fire didn't seem to know what to do about it Where a normal mountain cat would jump into the lake this misbegotten thing just stood in the work yard crying until Kardæn reached out with his healer-sense and released it from life.
Phyrvith jumped to his feet, fine feathers bristling, and leapt out of the cabin with a blood curdling war screech. Kardæn followed at a safe distance from the violence-lusting gryphon.
The rest of the pride had pushed into the clearing, now; eight in all. Kardæn watched, astounded as Phyrvith rushed the largest of the monsters, a creature who was at least half Phyrvith's size. The creature met him with arms outstretched like an enormous kitten at play. It gave that odd roar once before Phyrvith tore its throat out. The rest of the pride saw their strongest member fall and melted back into the forest.
Kardæn looked around the work yard, shocked, as Phyrvith wiped his beak on a patch of grass.
"I hope you know that you arrre gathering morrre tinderrr today." Phryvith told him.
Neither one of them slept another wink that night.
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