A Betrayal of Storms by Ben Alderson

Chapter 19

When I was a child Father had brought a conch shell back from a visit to the eastern trading port of Ralarn. Alongside the shell he had unpacked stories of the crescent-shaped harbours filled with ships, large and small. I had held the cold, curved body of the conch as though it was my most prized possession. It became a habit to run my little fingers over the divots and ridges, imagining the vast waters of the seas of Stafster and the world far beyond them. Father whispered tales of the shells of Stafster holding onto secrets of the unknown, only to be heard if held up to one's ear.

So I did that, young and naive, prepared to listen to wonders the shell would unveil, but all I heard was a static roaring.

When I had grown older I had realised that even a shell from the depths of the Stafster had nothing of importance to reveal, that it was all a lie, that it was the roaring of my own blood instead of the whispers of the ocean's secrets.

That was what I heard now as Althea had repeated her aunt's name, a thundering roar of my own blood.

Orion was laughing, nervous eyes unblinking as he waited for the punchline of the joke. "Our aunt is as frail as a feather and as self-absorbed as the peacock the feather comes from. She could hardly organise herself let alone a ploy of this kind."

"I am not suggesting she planned this, but it was her hand that gave me the note." Althea's stare was lost to a place on the ground before her.

"And what is there to gain from organising this?" Orion's laughter faltered back into his stern snarl. I could see from the shifting of his gaze that he too was beginning to realise that this was not a joke.

"It was too easy," Althea muttered, echoing what I thought inside. I knew little of court politics, but it seemed pointless arranging this meeting through secrecy for no gain beside the fumbling man-child still held beneath Gyah's grip. "There will be an explanation for it, one I will question when we return to Aurelia. Tie the Hunter up and prepare yourselves. We have got all we require-"

A scream woke the night around us. The noise sliced claws down the spine of my subconscious, turning my body to ice where I stood. We all tensed, Erix loosing a raspy swear as he surveyed the dark surrounding us.

"What is that...?" the Hunter spluttered, trying to stand but getting nowhere beneath Gyah's effortless hold.

I knew the answer as clear as I knew that we were in trouble. Desperate trouble.

"Gryvern," I said, chest aching as my heart's patter turned into a thundering canter.

One scream become two, became more until it was impossible to know the number of Gryvern or the location they flew from.

They were all around us, that much was clear, but in the dark I could not see a single one of the winged demons.

Suddenly, the flames of the campfire exploded to great heights, the fire fuelled by Orion's power. The orange halo of light burst across camp, casting heat over my cheeks as it unveiled the mutilated bodies of the Hunters around us. The flames grew so high that even the Sleeping Depths could be seen.

I craned my neck, unable to catch a breath as I surveyed the horror that flocked above. In the dark skies, cast deep navy above the firelight, revealed countless shapes of the Gryvern as they soared towards us.

The Hunter's scream was a chorus of horror and terror. Erix was shouting, putting his strong body before me as if that would do much to stop the Gryvern as they dived down upon us. Althea and Orion screamed commands, each gripping onto their weapons as they looked up at the scene above them.

"This was her plan..." Althea's panicked voice made it through the chaos. "The Gryvern knew we would be here!"

"Bitch!" I did not care to know who shouted.