Hi everyone! I'm really sorry that it's taken me awhile to update, but I've been super busy the past few days. Anyway, thank you so much for the continued support. Enjoy!
"We've gotta get outta 'ere," Jedediah's voice was a small whisper.
"This is all my fault," Ahkmenrah moaned, feeling sick. It was clear now. Only Kahmunrah had an army of griffins to fight for him. And Ahk knew they weren't attacking just to be attacking. They were hunting for him.
"People are being killed," Lancelot pointed out. "We must defend them from these strange bird-cats." He began to unsheathe his sword that he had brought, to Tilly's dismay, but now it was going to prove useful.
"Not yet, Lance," Tilly put her a hand on his to keep him from pulling out the sharp blade in the tight space. "We need to get somewhere safe."
"You guys do what you want, I'm getting out of here," the cab driver leaped out and took off down the street and was pursued by a small flock of griffins. They disappeared behind several cars.
"I hope he makes it," Octavius said.
"I hope we make it," Jedediah countered.
"We'll make it if we keep our heads," Tilly assured them.
The reddish-brown griffin strode calmly about the cars and it's yellow eyes pierced anyone nearby. If it saw someone, it signaled the others and they attacked the victim ferociously. Now it stood a few yards in front of their cab and continued to approach them. Suddenly, there was a loud screech and a jet-black griffin landed on the car that the reddish-brown one was currently standing on.
The pair appeared to be having some kind of conversation and it didn't seem to be going well, because their tails were flicking, their feathers and furs stood up, and they spat at each other.
"Quick, let's go while they're distracted," Tilly pushed Ahk and Lance out of the cab. Jed and Octavius had jumped off Lance's shoulders and into his jacket pockets. Lancelot zipped them up to keep them safe, while Ahkmenrah grabbed the backpack that held the tablet that he had brought with him.
As quietly as possible, they crept away, keeping low and out of sight. But the griffins had even better vision and hearing then they expected. Before the gang knew what was happening, a whole flock of griffins was upon them, screeching with delight as though this was a game to them.
"Run!" Tilly screamed at them. Ahkmenrah clutched the bag harder and wove between the cars. Nicky had been right about the jeans. He could sprint a lot faster in them without the extra fabric of his regular clothes.
"Keep going, I'll hold them off!" He heard Lancelot yelling from behind. Ahkmenrah turned around and was nearly run into by Tilly. He saw Lancelot had jumped on top of a vehicle and was waving his sword wildly at the flock circling him.
"LANCE!," Ahkmenrah and Tilly screamed in unison. Lancelot was holding his own though. He had injured two of them and they flew away screeching in pain.
"We have to help him," Ahk said mostly to himself and charged towards the fighting. He dropped the backpack and leaped onto on of the griffins. Oh, I wish I had my weapons, he though as he held tightly to it's neck feathers. He tried to strangle the monster, but it was to strong and to big. It shook him violently.
Ahk held on for dear life and just when the griffin began to take off, he heard, "Watch out, Ahk!" And suddenly there was the sound of flesh being torn and a cut off scream as the griffin crumpled to the ground. Ahkmenrah rolled off the limp body and looked up. Lancelot was smiling proudly and cleaning his bloody sword.
"You did bravely," he said. "You'd be worthy of knighthood in my time."
"Thanks," Ahkmenrah said. "But I'm a pharaoh, basically a king, and isn't that better than being a knight?" He smiled teasingly.
Lancelot huffed. "Say what you want, pharaoh, but I'd best you in combat any day of the week."
"I don't have my weapons though," Ahkmenrah pointed out. He knew Lancelot would beat him at pretty much any physical fight and he wanted to avoid a duel as much as possible. Fighting had never really been his forte. Besides Ahk's expertise was intellectual and he could beat Lancelot at that easily.
"Then you ought to-" Lancelot was suddenly cut off by Tilly yelling, "Look out!" Before he could move, he was swept off the ground, carried away in a snow-white griffin's talons.
"Lancelot!" Ahkmenrah called after him and made a run for it, because he was beginning to be surrounded by more bloodthirsty griffins. "Tilly, they've got Lance! Run!" He yelled.
Tilly had picked up the backpack and hit one of the griffins with it straight on the beak and it flew off whimpering. "C'mon, Ahk, we've got to get somewhere safe," she ran faster than Ahk had ever seen her run before.
Dodging the cars, screaming pedestrians, and griffins, they searched frantically for hiding place. Finally the found a small alley and hid behind a large trash container.
"Did we lose them?" Tilly panted.
Ahkmenrah peeked out from behind the container. He didn't see any griffins. "I think so," he said as he collapsed onto the dirty concrete. Tilly slumped down next to him.
"We've got to find Lancelot," Ahk felt guilty that he hadn't been able to save him. All he could do now was pray that he was able to fight back and escape.
"I know," Tilly said. "But we've got to get out of here firs-oh my god, he's got Jedediah and Octavius with him!"
Ahkmenrah suddenly remembered the miniatures being hidden in Lancelot's pockets. "What do we-"
SCREEEEEEECH. Out of the blue, a large griffin jumped onto the container and saw them. It called to its flock. Ahkmenrah and Tilly jumped in fright and scurried farther down the alley. The griffin chased after them and was joined by several other griffins. They ran as fast as the possibly could, but they hit a dead end and were trapped.
The griffins didn't attack right away, they just circled around, hissing and spitting at them. Suddenly, the sleek jet-black one and the bigger reddish-brown one swooped down and landed on the ground smoothly. Their bodies began to morph into human ones.
"Kahmunrah's going to be pretty be thrilled about this," the girl with short jet-black hair smiled sadistically. "Get 'em, boys," she ordered the griffins and the reddish-haired boy next to her who had bared teeth.
They were about to pounce, when suddenly Ahkmenrah felt talons wrap around his chest and waist. Before he could react, he was airborne and the ground below spun and shrank away. He lost his breath and his heart pounded heavily in his chest. He closed his eyes from the rush of wind.
When he finally opened them again, he twisted head and saw he was being carried away by a griffin with blue feathers. He wasn't sure if they were actually blue or if it was just the wind and sun in his eyes making him see colors wrong. Not far below, he saw Tilly being carried by a crimson and an apricot colored pair. She was struggling with them the whole way and they nearly dropped her several times.
He was beginning to feel safe and somehow out of reach of his brother's savage army, but for all he knew, the griffins that carried him and Tilly could probably also be part of his army.
Suddenly, there was an angry screech and streak of black feathers to his side. Ahkmenrah felt the talons lose their grip on him and he fell. The wind was deafening and cold and he couldn't hear his own yells in terror. Oh, gods of my forefathers protect me, he pleaded.
Under him was the city getting bigger and bigger as he dropped. A gust of wind from his side flipped him over and he saw far above him, the blue and jet-black griffins tangled up in a fight. The blue one broke free and shot down towards him, chased by the jet-black griffin and the whole legion of her griffins that filled up the sky.
Ahkmenrah swore he was about to die as the pavement grew closer and he could make out the cars below, but the blue griffin reached him in the nick of time and grabbed him in its talons and shot back up, nearly getting caught in the talons of the other griffin. He felt dizzy with the sudden change in gravity and was pretty sure he heard the griffin talking to him. But he must have imagined that.
The sky in his eyes became fuzzy and he couldn't make sense of what was happening and it all faded into darkness as he blacked out. I hope the others make it.
Thanks for reading! I'll try to update sooner this time. (Oh, and thank you angelicfrosty and luckyrosey 12.) :D
