Chapter Seven: What You Are In The Dark – The Gryphon
"Greg!" Marina cried as she saw his ghost flinch back, free hand rising to his head.
Determination warred with pain as he locked eyes with her. "Marina. Listen. I don't have much time." He leaned forward, intensity glowing despite his wispy state. "Tell Eddie he needs to remember everything I said the night we went to Houston. Everything, understand?"
She nodded. "Everything you said the night you went to Houston. I'll tell him, Greg, I promise."
He doubled over, crying out, fading despite the demon's grip on her and him. Even so, the grimace was one of stubborn defiance. "Tell him – where we go one, we go all." A scream cut the air and he almost completely vanished, save for the faintest outline of his form. But she could still hear him, thrusting forth one last warning. "Tell him that this time, he has to choose the other."
She snatched for where he'd been as his voice cut off, outline winking out at the same instant. "Greg, please! Don't leave me alone!"
He didn't answer, but the demon reached out with its now free hand, pulling her chin around to face it. "Not. Alone. Promise."
Her lip trembled. "But you… What are you?"
It reared back, releasing her. Though it nearly overbalanced from its crouch, the bird wings flared, going as flat and wide as they could, and it managed to rock forward onto its paws. Its right hand fell, coming to rest on Greg's gun, still tucked in the holster now fastened around the fur of the demon's leg instead of the leather-like leggings her Greg had been wearing. It blinked down at his weapon as if perplexed by its presence. Two fingers stroked the very top – the slide?
When it glanced back up at her, she was taken aback by the almost shy expression in glittering scarlet orbs. The nervous twitching from its wings and tail – and the furry, feathery lion ears she hadn't noticed before, looking rather out of place in the remnants of Greg's brown hair. Although…hadn't he had a little more gray mixed in with the brown before? Resting its right hand on Greg's chest, it said, "I. Magic. Shade." Its shoulders slumped, an unhappy whine escaping as its wings sank down and the feathers on its tail wilted. "No name. Must earn."
Marina sucked in a breath, recalling that brunette's last few statements before the sisters had left her all alone with the furious demon. "You are Greg!"
It shook its head. "Not my human. Not…soul." It spread its hands. "You? Understand?"
She forced herself to hold that sinister scarlet gaze. "But you are part of him, right?"
The demon – gryphon? – considered for a long minute before nodding. "Darker." The furry, feathery ears flattened. "Wild." It stopped, grimacing as it fought to speak clearly. "When…he…talk…I…fight…"
"The darkest part of his soul," Marina murmured. "You…you're the part of him that's ruthless. That does whatever he has to do to protect the people he loves."
It perked up, nodding.
"And you're…his magic?"
Another nod. "I. Gryphon."
Well. Gryphon might do for a name. But… Marina tapped her lip, thinking hard. Recalling Greg's stories of his undercover assignment and how he'd had to fight to maintain his authority over the criminals working for his alter ego.
"Would you mind if I call you Elias?" she ventured.
The gryphon jerked, scarlet going so wide that she could see the black pupil at the center. "You? Give name? After I hurt?"
She met its gaze unflinchingly. "Well, you don't seem to like me calling you Greg. You don't have to keep it if you don't like it, but I have to call you something."
Silence hung as those feathery, furry ears pricked forward and the gryphon studied her with predatory intensity. Not so much as a feather twitched during that scrupulous examination. At last it said, "Hurt my Fledglings."
Marina swallowed nervously, but forced herself to meet that burning gaze and nod.
"Hurt my human."
Fresh tears budded as she nodded again.
"But…regret…?" It – he – was suddenly hesitant, testing the uncertain waters between them.
"Yes," she half-sobbed, lifting a hand to her mouth. "I wish I could take it back. I wish that so much."
His ears flattened. "Can't." The word was condemning, but his tone held a hint of sorrow that echoed her own. "My human. He Judge. Cast you out. Yes?"
"Yes, he broke up with me," Marina confirmed, realizing that this was the gryphon's – Elias's – Judgment. Greg had interrupted the first one. "He took back the engagement ring and we…we hadn't spoken since until today."
"Hurt? Inside?"
"Every day," she gasped, unconsciously clutching her chest. "I never stopped loving him."
Scarlet narrowed and Elias thrust himself up, whirling away as soon as he was on his paws, wings almost hitting her. Stalking to the door of their cell, he glanced over wing and shoulder. "My human. Would take you back."
Hope flared to life in her chest, but she held still. Watching her Judge, Jury, and Executioner.
"Hurt my Fledglings and I Judge."
She drew in a deep breath. "Is that just Lance and Alanna or do you care about Dean, too?"
He snapped around, wings arching and a feral snarl resounding in his chest as he bared the vampire-like fangs in his mouth. "Mine. All mine! My Flock. My Pride."
Marina cringed away from that furious gaze, wringing her hands. "I can't… I can't promise to be perfect."
A snort. "No," he agreed.
She met his scarlet, refusing to flinch. "But I promise I will never intentionally put them in danger again. I won't try to drive them out of Greg's life and I'll do my very best to regain their trust."
Elias considered her words, studying her even more intensely than he had before. It took so long for him to speak that when he did, she jumped. "Promise. Accepted."
A part of Marina expected that Emilia and her sister would reappear. After all, Elias had gone on a rampage, only to stop just short of killing her. Not exactly the outcome the sisters had planned on, though she was very grateful her Greg had been able to negotiate with his…feral side.
Unfortunately, Elias had ripped the front of her blouse at some point during the tussle and the cell they were in was in a very drafty part of the building. Once the…excitement…died down, she finally become aware of just how cold she was. Then she had to explain what shivering was to her Greg's animal side. He wasn't cold at all, a combination of his fur and his magic – apparently magic was a natural insulator? Or perhaps an internal furnace of some sort; despite his broken English, Elias managed to insist on tucking her in on his left side. With his arm around her shoulders and one wing curled around her whole body, she felt warm. Safe. Protected.
She leaned against his chest, listening to Greg's heartbeat and wishing they were back in his apartment. Somewhere safe, in a world where she hadn't treated his niece and nephew so badly. A world where she'd never even heard the name 'Malison' or met the sweetly vicious Emilia.
Elias rumbled, bringing her head up. His eyes still sent shudders up her spine, but each time she looked at them, she saw another detail that just didn't match with her idea of possession. Once he'd calmed down and the scarlet glow dimmed, she realized she could still see the whites of Greg's eyes. The black pupil at the center of Elias's scarlet irises. Regular, ordinary eyes, even if they were colored red.
He tilted his head, studying the opposite side of their cell. The corner jutted into the building, marked by two sets of bars welded together and lightly tacked onto the ceiling above. At first, Marina had been confused – the bars were tall enough to keep them in without adding a ceiling, but if that witch had been right, if Elias could fly, then it made perfect sense.
Marina reached up, tentatively resting a hand on Elias's arm. Though wary of setting him off again, she was coming to realize that he was Greg – a wild, untamed version that relied solely on instinct, with instant recall of every slight, but at his very core… He was Greg, plain and simple. She would have to earn his trust before she even had a chance to earn Lance and Alanna's. "Do you see something?"
Scarlet examined her before he dipped his chin in a brief nod. "Warm now?"
"If you need to get up, I'll be fine," Marina reassured him, already scooting away.
His wing pulled away and he drew his lion-like legs and paws up underneath him, taking her at her word. Literal – without Greg's innate understanding of human nature and language, his feral half took everything at face value and struggled to understand concepts that were second nature to her.
Gazing up at his winged back, Marina frowned as she realized something. Greg. Greg was trusting her to remember everything he'd said – and she did – but those weren't the only clues to that…that curse that they had. "Elias?"
Partway to the far corner, he turned back, arching a brow even as he cocked his head – he looked so much like Greg that her heart stuttered.
"Do you know why Greg told me to turn my phone off?"
His head tilted further to the side, a frown appearing. Then his ears perked forward and he nodded. "Magic. Break."
Oh. "Will it break my phone now?" she asked anxiously. "If I can turn it on, I could call…"
"Break," he repeated, shaking his head. Wings spread and he gestured around them. "Wards. Magic." She sank down in disappointment and he padded back to her, ears twitching. "Why? Need?"
She wrung her hands, but explained, "I thought I could call the barn and they could trace our location. Or, um, write down all the clues we have. So they can free you – and Greg."
Lion ears flexed back and forth as he reached up and rubbed his chin. His wings bounced for a moment before settling back in place and she caught a glimpse of his tail arching upwards. "My human. Have…phone… You…use?"
"I can try."
He nodded and reached into his armor, jaw furrowing as he dug around for a few seconds before scarlet lit up and he pulled Greg's phone out. He proffered it and she took it, holding her breath as she hit the power button. If Greg had a PIN, she'd be out of luck – the odds of Elias knowing it…
But the phone came to life, opening right to the home screen. One finger darted for the call button, only to freeze as her gaze snagged on the notification bar. No signal. Heaving an internal sigh, she cautiously navigated through Greg's apps until she found a note-taking app. If she couldn't call for help, at least she could start documenting things. She'd been in enough client meetings to know that detailed notes were invaluable down the road, even if 'down the road' was later that same day.
Elias studied her, but when she didn't look up from the phone except to flash a grateful smile, he rumbled satisfaction and turned back to his examination of the cell they were trapped inside.
She'd forgotten just how frustrating it was to 'type' on a tiny digital keyboard. Type – hah, more like Hunt-and-Peck 2.0, the Smartphone Edition. Nevertheless, she persevered, growing ever more familiar with the Backspace key – she kept accidentally hitting the wrong keys and was forced to erase what she'd just typed.
Thankfully, she'd had the wit to start with Greg's warnings, capturing those rather cryptic – but potentially most crucial clues. Marina opted not to even attempt to remember Morgause's spell; it had been in a foreign language babble and she'd never been particularly gifted with languages. Instead the veteran consultant and computer programmer captured the highlights and then backtracked to start fleshing out her 'skeleton' of a report.
She'd just finished up adding details to the second section when she heard a snarl, followed by a whoosh and something clinking against metal. She looked up to see Elias clinging to the roof of their cell – or was it the bars? – growling and slamming his feet-paws against the exposed corner of the cage. His wings flared out beneath him, extended so wide that the outermost feathers were brushing the bars on both walls at the same time.
Over and over, he slammed his lion paw feet against the metal, snarl growing louder with each strike. She was about to cry out for him to stop when she heard a groan of metal; freezing, she stared up at the ceiling, which was bouncing and vibrating more and more and more.
"Elias, the roof!"
He arched backwards, red eyes glittering from his upside-down position. The snarl shifted to a triumphant screech-roar as he kicked, one last time, pushing off and spinning in midair to shoot right at her. Before she could scream, he hit her, bowling them both over as his wings curled and metal collapsed around them.
Once the crashing and rattling stopped, Marina opened her eyes, swallowing down a yelp at the sight of Elias's brilliant scarlet only inches from her. The savage grin on his face widened and he eased back, thankfully pushing off the ground rather than her. As he pulled away, Marina gazed upwards, gray widening at the way the ceiling was slanting downwards at a sharp angle. She forced herself to take the time to tuck Greg's cell phone away in a safe pocket of her light tan slacks before sitting up.
From her new vantage, she saw what Elias had done. No longer were the walls of bars at a perfect ninety degree angle with the building's concrete walls. Instead they leaned outwards like inanimate drunks, bent at the bars and studs attached to the outer walls. Without support, the metal ceiling was left to drape down, hovering only inches above the ground at the outermost point, where the barred walls had once been welded together.
Dust from the concrete and the walls coated the floor of the cell and some had landed on her clothing. As Elias stretched and turned to and fro, inspecting his work, she saw that the majority of the dust had adhered to his wings, tail, and back. There was probably dust on his legs, too, but his fur was a dark enough color that it was hard to tell in the dim lighting. Before she could say anything, Elias advanced to where the ceiling hung down in front of him. Reaching out, he pushed it upwards, rumbling satisfaction as it lifted easily, opening up a gap large enough for them to slip underneath.
Glancing over his shoulder and wing, he growled, "You. First."
Marina stared between him and the ceiling, realization dawning. His inability to speak proper English had led her to believe he was simple. Brutish, unintelligent, and incapable of anything beyond violence. Foolishly, she'd assumed Greg had retained all the intelligence, leaving Elias with mere instinct, ruthless resolve, and perhaps some of Greg's SRU expertise. She'd been so very, very wrong.
His tail lashed and a subvocal snarl rattled the air. "Now."
Broken free from her stupor, Marina nodded and pushed forward, rocking onto her feet and then back onto her palms. Wary of the metal's sharp edges, she crawled underneath, inwardly cringing at every bounce it made, but Elias kept it well up and away from her.
Once she was clear, Marina stood up, ignoring the coat of dust now on her hands, shoes, and slacks. Elias examined her, nodding approval before he walked forward, still pushing the ceiling up as he moved. The metal rose higher and higher in the air until he reached the very tip, right where it had been tacked onto the bars now sagging towards the floor. He halted, wings twitching as he calculated his next move. Marina hastily moved sideways, determined not to block Elias's path – she had no idea how strong those wings of his were, but she was betting it would hurt if the metal managed to catch them.
He tipped his head in thanks, then focused back on the metal. With a snarl, he thrust it upwards and darted forward, tucking and rolling in his haste to get away. The metal let out a groaning sound as it arched upwards for the merest instant. Then it crashed back down, only just missing the feathers on Elias's tail.
Marina scrambled to Elias, anxiously scanning him for any injuries. His wings flared, the feathered tail lashing, and he bounced in place with a rumble that almost sounded like a purr. The savage grin reappeared, out of place on Greg's face, but perfectly matched with the triumphant glow in Elias's scarlet eyes.
"Free," he declared, satisfaction mixing with feral delight.
"Now we just have to get out of here," Marina agreed. About to take charge, she paused and studied Elias. "How did you know that would work?"
He shrugged, the movement emphasized by his wings making the same motion. "Strong. Just knew." Turning, he lifted his head, examining their surroundings. Then he snorted and started to walk. "Follow."
Well, there went her chance for taking charge. Nevertheless, Marina hurried to catch up with her Greg, unwilling to risk being left behind by his wild counterpart.
As the pair moved through the building, Marina kept most of her attention on Elias. It was the easiest way to keep herself from panicking – and he intrigued her. Broken English and operating on pure instinct, yet he clearly understood everything that was happening. He'd been able to figure out the one weak spot of their cell and exploit that vulnerability without either of them getting so much as a scratch, demonstrating complex reasoning she'd thought beyond him in the absence of 'his human' – her Greg.
He moved with confidence, head up and eyes scanning their surroundings, yet whenever his right hand brushed Greg's gun, it shied away, as if he was afraid of his one real weapon. Which wasn't good – if the witch sisters caught them escaping, they would need Greg's gun and she certainly couldn't fire the thing.
Speeding up a bit more, she dared to reach out and tug Elias to a halt. His ears flicked in confusion as he turned, studying her. "Marina?"
It was the first time he'd said her name and it was so tentative. So uncertain. So much like Greg. She forced her emotions down, swallowing hard. "Elias, why are you scared of Greg's gun?"
He whined, ears flattening and his wings curling inwards. "My human's. Not mine."
"I know, but it's our only weapon," Marina reminded him, earning another whine. "You said when Greg talks, you fight."
Elias nodded, cocking his head to the side.
Gently, Marina grasped his right hand and pulled it down to the gun. "Well, this is how Greg fights when he has to. If you're the fighter, then you're who fires this, right?"
He pulled his hand away, but the blink in her direction was thoughtful. Considering. Reaching down himself, he ran one finger over the gun grip. "My human fights?"
Marina nodded. "When we were still together, he told me that he trains with his gun several times a week to keep his skills sharp. Every year, his team has to requalify and part of that is fighting." A faint smile peeked through. "The SRU may be talk before tactics, Elias, but if they have to fight, they make sure they win."
"But…my human…?"
She almost laughed at the disbelief in his voice. "You have Greg's memories, right?"
Scarlet eyeballed her for a moment as he rumbled and nodded. Then it unfocused for several seconds, going wider and wider. When he refocused on her, his eyes were so wide, she could see the whites even with the glow. "My human fights."
"Yes," Marina whispered, wistful. "He's really very good at it, isn't he?"
Elias grinned, fangs glinting, and he nodded once. His right hand wrapped around Greg's gun with all the confidence he'd been lacking before. "Yes. Protects his own." Another nod. "Protect my Pride. My Fledglings." He tugged the gun up an inch before releasing it and letting it settle back in the holster as his attention fixed on her. "Marina. Thank. You."
She bit her lip, uncertainty surging. "I, um… I just knew we needed it if they come back again. That's all," she finished, gaze dropping to the floor and her shoulders hunching.
She was caught off guard when one hand gently pushed her chin back up. The shy, tentative glitter in scarlet was so Greg that she felt tears trickle out. He cocked his head. "Make wet. Sad?"
Marina surged forward, grabbing him and crying into his armored chest. She heard a chirrup of surprise and felt a twitch under her fingers where she was touching the base of his wings. Then his arms came around her, pulling her close, and his wings folded forward, sweeping around her whole body as he rested his forehead on hers.
Author note: As ever, I hope all my readers enjoyed. As ever, I treasure all reviews and I respond to every signed review. = )
In Real Life news, it's been a busy two weeks. I have been scribbling away on Small Beginnings, pounding away at the computer keys for my job, and working to find my place with this new team. I can already tell that my new supervisor is a bit of a workaholic, so keeping my life-work balance is going to be interesting.
I would appreciate some prayer for my car - on Tuesday of this week, I made a rookie mistake and back-ended a fellow driver in the right turn lane. No injuries to anyone, just damage to both our cars. My poor Dodge Journey also lost its front license plate - I rescued the plate, but I will need a new bumper and a new front license plate. Fortunately, I have full coverage, so my insurance company will pay for both cars as well as a rental for me while my car is fixed.
For me, personally, I am continuing to praise the Lord for my new job as well as the forward progress on Small Beginnings. I also thank Him that the accident wasn't any worse than a fender-bender, with no injuries to anyone.
If any of you, my faithful readers, should like some prayer, please let me know in a review or a PM - I would be very happy to pray for you!
Have a great two weeks, everyone!