This is CJ'S POV!
We also get to meet a new character! A shapeshifter!
Enjoy!
-November 6th-
I pulled my knees closer to my chest before reaching out to warm my hands by the fire. I looked around the cave my current company occupied. There wasn't much to look at; only a bag full of what little belongings he had and a pile of leaves and other materials covered by a worn down blanket that he used as a bed. It was very temporary; something he can quickly abandon when he needs to.
Then my eyes moved towards the said company standing at the cave's entrance, black to grey gradated wings stretched out behind him. It was because of him I was alive and not a pancake on the ground. It was no surprise Saga had followed me into the new dimension, no doubt trying to kill me, which she nearly succeed if it wasn't for him. Plus, without my Guardian powers, I was weaker than she was. So, to make my demise swift after running from her for almost a day, she opted to push me off the highest cliff in this dimension; even if it did not sound like her. To me, she seemed like the type to slowly torture and watch as her victims wither away and eventually die but I guess I was wrong.
Luckily, before I could even reach the tops of the trees, I had felt something grab ahold of my waist, flying me away from death and Saga. I remembered hearing Saga cursed at the creature who saved me, then I was dropped on a different cliff's edge and was finally able to see my savior. A griffin. One with gray and black fur and feathers and a wing span almost four times longer than me.
He had hovered closer, intent on landing, so I backed up, stumbling over my own two feet and found there was a hidden cave behind the over grown greenery on the rock face by tripping into it. This gave the creature enough room to land without stepping on me. I froze in place as he cautiously walked over to me and when his face was inches away from mine, I noticed three scars across the right side of his face. Subconsciously, I had reached out to touch the scars but what happened next was something I was not expecting. The once pick-up truck sized griffin shifted into a fully clothed man; the same scars more apparent on his tanned skin.
To say the least I was confused, shocked and slightly in awe.
But that was almost a week ago and now we were still taking shelter in the hidden cave with only a few sentences said between us. Like the dimension I was in. Blackshadow. His name. Cyrus. But not my name, he didn't ask nor listen when I said it. He did listen however when I told him that I was a Guardian and why Saga was after me but after that more silence. I have never felt so awkward in silence before.
Cyrus walked back into the cave, picking up his bag. "We need food and other supplies. There's a town nearby."
He said it more as a demand and not a request. Meaning I was to go with him. I stood, dusting off my black jeans, the same ones I wore to the homecoming dance. Not the best feeling in the world but it definitely could be worse. Hopefully in this village I'll be able to find fresh clothing and not ones that smell like the boys' locker room.
"How are we getting there?" I asked, kicking dirt over the fire to put it out then going to the cave's entrance with him.
"By flying."
My eyebrows furrowed together, questioning his words but before I could asked him, he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me tight against him before jumping off the cliff. I let out a startled yelp but that quickly died down as he glided over the tree tops.
"A little warning would've been nice," I yelled over the wind.
I heard him let out a huff but couldn't tell if it was a laughing huff or a huff of annoyance. I rolled my eyes but stayed quiet and held on for the rest of the flight, enjoying the feeling of flying. A feeling I came to love over the last few months thanks to being a Guardian.
We landed some distance away from the town. From what I saw from the sky, it seemed to be a descent size town with an open market and stores you were able to go in and out of. Probable a tavern or two as well. We entered the town and were greeted warmly by the locals, some even asking if they could help us find what we were looking for but Cyrus politely declined them and made his way around the market. By the looks of it, this dimension was Cyrus' home dimension; everyone had various colored wings and different features of a griffin. However, he seemed to be a little on edge; a hood pulled over his face, blocking out anyone's wandering eyes. But that was a topic for another time.
While Cyrus was picking out fruit looking items, I wandered to the stand across from him. The older lady running it smiled brightly at me as she began telling me about the several types jewelry and clothing laid out. After browsing briefly, I picked out a gray long sleeve linen shirt and a pair of leather pants just as Cyrus came up behind me and handed the woman a small handful of coins, paying for the items.
The woman pointed to doorway covered by a cloth. "You are welcome to change over there."
I thanked her, going over to the area and pulling the cloth close as Cyrus waited outside the doorway. Even though I haven't showered in days it still felt nice to be in clean clothes and not the pirate outfit that was completely covered in dirt and a some of my blood. I pulled open the curtain only to be seized by the neck, slammed into the back wall of the changing area and suspended inches off the ground. My breathe got knocked out of me the moment my back hit the wall.
There was a pounding in my head as I tried to open my eyes, meeting the electric blue eyes of Saga. Her pointed ears stuck out from her blood red hair, nearing matching it as her anger was apparent.
"You little bitch," she split out. "You just won't die, will you? And now you got yourself a traitor of a protector. Pathetic!"
At that, I noticed her right arm extended behind her, holding Cyrus in a familiar blood red rope. I could hear the rope singeing his skin and the feathers of his wings as he struggled to get free.
"Says the… one who keeps coming… after the ones kicking your… ass!" I snarled back as best I could with her hand tighten with each word.
She just scoffed, looking very full of herself.
"Says the ones who only figured out only one of the Shadows human identities," she said, mocking my own tone with a bit more desperation to it, making me sound like a damsel in distress.
My fingers skimmed over the pocket knife I normally carried and thankfully transferred over to the current outfit I was wearing before the attack. I gripped the knife and in one swift motion I pulled the object from my pocket, popped out the blade and swung my arm out in front of me, slicing Saga in the side.
She let out a sharp cry, dropping her hold on both Cyrus and I. Before I could fully catch my breath I felt Cyrus' hand yank me from the changing space, throw me over his shoulder and darted out of the village entirely. Cyrus took flight the second we were in a large enough area to spread his wings.
I could see the building I was in minutes before up in flames and a faint outline of Saga standing just outside the flames' reach, no doubt glaring up at me. But I was able to get my breathing under control, even with Cyrus's shoulder digging into my gut.
At this angle I could see some of the damage the Witch did to his wings and body. His shirt was practically melted to his skin and feathers were missing in the places the rope had burned.
"Go back to the cave so I can treat your wounds," I yelled over the wind whipping by.
He didn't say anything but seemed to agree since he shifted his weight in the direction of the cave. He landed, not so gracefully, at the mouth of the cave but gently placed my feet on the ground before I stepped back, looking over his wounds on the front of his body. I lightly pushed him into a sitting position, knowing it would be easier to see what I was doing in the daylight then inside the darkness of the cave.
I patched up his wounds in silence, neither one of us feeling the need or the want to talk. I was finishing up applying an ointment Cyrus had to his back when a familiar sensation washed over me.
"A portal?" I mumbled, fingers lingering on his back as I looked around for the source of the feeling.
"A what?"
Footsteps inside the cave interrupted my thoughts as the steps made their closer to Cyrus and I. Both of us felt something off about them and backed up until our heels skimmed the edge of the cliff, Saga emerging from the cave's mouth.
"So, this is where you've been hiding all this time, little griffin," she said, amusement playing in her voice. "Where it all began."
Cyrus stepped between Saga and me. "What the hell do you want with CJ?"
At the reveal of my name, I whipped my eyes to Cyrus, confused. I hadn't given him my name or even mention something that could hint at it. So, how could he know it? But my thoughts were once again disrupted.
"To kill her."
Her blunt phrasing sent a chill through my body and made me more eager to find the portal. With Cyrus blocking me from Saga's view, I had a glance around the immediate area, seeing nothing but I could still sense the portal or what I hoped to be one. It was the same feeling I had no doubt the others would get too every time Wynter opened a portal. Then it hit me, I looked over the cliff's edge and finally saw the shinning purple portal close to the bottom of the cliff. Wynter, Izzy and Khloe visible through the other side, waving at me to hurry.
"Cyrus!"
My eyes motioned to the edge when he briefly glanced over. Understanding, Cyrus grabbed me around my stomach again and fell from the edge.
"The portal!" From the look he gave me I saw he didn't fully trust me or the portal. "It was created by the Keeper of the Heart! Trust me it's safe!"
Cyrus grunted but nodded, using his wings to guide us to it. In the distance I could hear Saga cursing before seeing a fireball barreling towards us.
"Close it!" I yelled the moment we made it through.
With the portal closed, Cyrus landed and set me down. Wynter, Izzy and Khloe ran over to hug me before letting go to ask about what had happened and why there was a shirtless man with me. To which I told them I would explain after we got Dakota and Isaac back safe.
I will also be posting Khloe's chapter too! So be sure to read it too!
Thank you for reading! Hope you are enjoying everything so far!