Fanclaire: I'm glad you enjoyed reading the first chapter. You'll love the series, if you have audible, the series is on there. It's called, The Gryphon Chronicles by E.G Foley.
Beach2000: Thank you for your review. I enjoyed reading your stories.
Jake climbed into the nest that his griffin Red was sleeping in. The powerful griffin didn't seem so majestic now that he was molting. Most of his feathers were gone, making him look like a plucked chicken.
"Cawwww!" Red pulled a blanket over his body, trying to hide under it.
"Come on, boy; it doesn't look that bad." Jake yelped when he sat down, his backside still stung.
"Caw?" Red examined him carefully for any signs of injury on his owner.
"I'm okay, Red," he said, repositioning himself, then patted the griffin on the neck. "Let's get out of here, boy, the both of us. We can run away and find a new home." A feeling of dread kicked him in the gut; there was no way Red could fly right now. Plus, there was no way the majestic griffin would allow himself to be seen by others with all of his feathers gone.
"Cawwww?" Red tilted his head at the boy.
"Don't be such a mother hen, Red. I'll be fine out there. I'm used to living out on the streets; before Derek found me, I was just another orphan kid living on the streets." Jake let out a small sigh, "I can't stay here, Red. It's all stupid Maddox's fault! If he had never gone on the trip today, nothing would have happened. He ruined everything!"
"Caw? Red cawed out as if to ask what had happened.
"We went on that trip I had told you about. Derek, Tex, Maddox, and I had gone to this land that had these dragons. One of these dragons had scale rot, so he had to capture her and give her medication. The entire time we were out there, Maddox kept...well...He was just there! He's only a couple of years older than me, but he acts like an adult. Derek treats him all special like like he's the coolest thing in the world. I got tired of it, so I used my telekinesis to throw dragon dung at him."
"CAWWW," Red shrieked at him.
"What? It was only a joke. I didn't expect him to react the way he did. He grabbed me and was about to toss me into a heap of dragon dung when Derek walked up, you see. I could have gotten away with it, but Tex had to say that I was the one who started it. When we came back through the portal, Maddox, still covered in dragon dung, had fallen. His crush may or may not have seen him lying here. I also may or may not have laughed."
"CAWWWW CAWWW!" Red nipped at his shoulder.
"Ow! Come on! Anyways, Derek got all mad and sent me to my room. When I refused, he whooped me in front of the others! He acts like I'm such a little kid. I'm 12. I'm way too old for that." Jake pouted.
"Caww," Red gently nudged the boy's neck.
"So, I'm going to run away. I was going to take you with me, but without your feathers, you can't fly. Once you get them back, you can come find me."
"Caw!" Red raised his featherless wings in a huff.
"Sorry, boy, but you can't fly right now. I can't say here, I need to go." He glanced up at the setting sun; it was now or never. "Find me when you've gotten your feathers back." With one last pat, he climbed down the large tree that Red had taken refuge on. Once on the ground, he took off at a run in the direction of the fairy market. All the kids had been warned about going there, but with no supplies, he needed to buy a few things before setting out.
"Let's see what we've got here, boys," a tall man said as he emerged from behind a tree. His face was badly scarred; he had an eye patch over his left eye, which reminded Jake a lot of a pirate.
"I think he'll do nicely," a man said, standing behind him, cutting off his escape route.
"Yes, very nicely." Two identical men came up on either side of him, making him surrounded.
"What do you want?" Jake demanded.
"Aww how cute, the little one wants to know what we want," he said with a laugh.
"He's such a little doll; he'll fetch us a nice bit of money." The pirate-looking man said with a smile, "GRAB HIM!". Jake raised his hands and used telekinesis to shoot the pirate. While he was distracted by the pirate guy, the twins rushed him and grabbed him. Jake tried to shake them up, but the older man had roughly tied his hands behind his back. "RED!" Jake screamed out to his griffin, he knew there was nothing the mighty warrior could do, but there was no one else to call.
"Shut it," the pirate man yelled, punching him in the stomach and causing him to double over in pain." The boss will be pleased with us," he said with a laugh.
Back at the castle
Derek glanced over to where the children were sitting at the table, having tea. Danny had her little terrier, Teddy, in her lap; she had whispered something into Isabella's ear. Archie munched on a biscuit, then turned to Maddox and said, "That was great work out there on the course. you'll make a fine guardian when you're older."
"Have any of you seen Jake?" Derek interrupted their conversations. The kids jumped in surprise, not hearing Derek walk up.
"We haven't seen him since you guys came back from the mission," Isabella replied.
"Hum..." Derek ran a hand through his unruly beard and said, "He's not in his room."
Archie stared at him in shock, asking, "Where is he?"
"He..." Danny hesitated a second, "he's run away before. Back when his apprentice masters would beat him, he'd run off."
Derek let out a frustrated sigh, "I want you kids to stay here; I'll go looking for him."
"I'll accompany you," Maddox said as he stood up.
Derek nodded, "be ready to leave in ten minutes; meet me outside." With that, Derek turned away from the children.
"Where do you think he could have gone?" Archie asked Danny
"Before, he'd go to our secret meeting spot. But that's way too far from here." Danny gave Maddox a worried look, "please find him."
"Don't worry; nothing will get past Derek and me." He gave the carrot head a wink. "Hopefully, he grows some brains and shows up before we leave, or else Derek will make him regret it."
"Don't say that!" Danny begged, "If you grew up the way he did, you'd understand him. He didn't grow up with parents as you did; he lived on the street, stealing to survive. He learned not to trust adults because they always failed him. He's never had this sort of family life before and doesn't know how to handle it."
Maddox took a step back. The young girl was usually polite and quiet, but she just about bit his head off. He let out a sigh that sounded almost like Derek. "Fine," he let out another sigh. "We'll find him and bring him home safely." He gave them a nod, then dashed up to where his room was. He quickly changed into his training clothes; it was much easier to fight in than his everyday clothes. He quickly strapped his scabbard to his leg. He never went anywhere without some sort of weapon. Once he had everything he needed, he hurried outside to where Derek was standing.
"You feel it, don't you?" Derek asked in a worried tone.
"Yes, Jake's in trouble, isn't he?"
With a curt nod, Derek took off toward the zoo. Years of being a guardian taught him to listen to his instincts. It was like an invisible rope was pulling him there.
"CAWWWWWWW CAWWWWWW CAWWWW!" Red shrieked from his nest. He wanted nothing more than to save his little master, but without his feathers, he was weak and vulnerable. His only hope was that the two guardians would hear his call.
"Easy, Red,' Derek called to the beast. He glanced around at the clearing, "he was taken," he muttered to Maddox. Derek knelt down, examining the scruff marks. "It appears to be four adults..."They dragged him this way," he said as he stood up."Keep your eyes open in case one of them tries to jump us. We can't be that far beh..." he said as he followed the track out of the zoo. His voice cut off at the sound of Jake shouting. "Let's go!" He sprinted toward the sound of Jake's voice; his heart pounded with each step he took.
"Derek, there!" Maddox pointed to a large boat that was pulling out towards the ocean. Jake's yelling was coming somewhere from the boat. "If we hurry, we can get a boat and reach them."
"They're too far out; we'd never catch them. Maddox, run back to the castle and gather the elders. I want you to bring them out here and follow us."
"What do you mean, follow us?" Maddox asked.
"I'm going to follow them on one of the smaller boats. I won't be able to catch them. However, I'll know where they go. I'll be able to find where they dock and what their plan is for him." Derek explained.
Maddox shook his head. He wasn't one to disobey orders, but there was no way he'd leave his mentor alone out here. "We both should follow them; you can't go alone."
"I don't have time to argue about this. If we both follow, then no one will know where we are. If we don't have reinforcements, we'll end up in a strange place without help."
"Yes, sir, I'll go get help," Maddox said,"what do you think they'll do with him?"
"I can only guess, but based on rumors floating around, some kids have been kidnapped and sold."
Maddox stared at him in shock, "I'll be back with help." He spun around, then ran back to the castle. He had to find help.