I turn back to the chaos on the mountaintop and scan the rocks for Faith and Hope. The shade circles Tress as she tries to land a hit. As it swings out over the desert sand, I dash around the corner and call, "Faith! Hope!"
From a small rock crevice comes Faith's cry, "We're over here!"
They extricate themselves from the rock just as I reach them.
"Is it gone?" Hope asks.
Behind us, there's a loud boom as a bolt of orange light shatters a mound of rock.
"Does that answer your question?" I reply.
"Then what are we going to do? It's not as if we can hurt it. You're the only one with a knife." Faith cries.
"We're focusing on getting to Tress now. Okay? Then we can worry about what comes next."
I grab their arms and pull them towards where I saw Tress last. Our makeshift shoes crunch into the snow and pound into rock. I sweep the air, looking for our attacker. The night sky obscures the shade's form until it dips closer to the mountain. It shrieks and we drop to the ground to cover our ears. Claws formed of wind grab at my dress and try to lift me into the air. Then the force disappears as another bolt flies over my head.
Tress is beside us before I can scramble to my feet. She quickly raises her rod and the shield surrounds us. Faith and Hope rise and gather around me and Tress. Outside, the shade slams itself up against the force field again and again, but the shield only ripples.
My heart pounds as I watch the force field, wondering if it will hold. I have one arm around my sisters, but the other is clutching the knife in my pocket. It might not do any good against it, but the feel of the handle in my hand gives me the illusion of control.
"How long will it hold?" Faith shouts.
Tress doesn't answer and when I look up, her probing gaze is fixed on the shade.
Hope is trembling in my arms. Her eyes are tightly shut and her grip on my arm is like slaver's cords.
"Hope. Hope, it's okay. We're safe for right now."
"It's just like the nightmares."
"Except that it can't hurt you." I pull her closer to me, "It can't get through the shield."
I throw a warning gaze at Faith and she nods.
The shade stops pounding on the shield, choosing to glare at us instead. It's purple eyes burn like minuscule bonfires as it stares at Tress and her rod. While we watch, the cloud of darkness begins to dissipate little by little until only the eyes are left. A moment later, they wink out of sight, replaced with the stars instead.
"Is it gone?" Faith asks.
"We can't be sure." Tress says, "It may be waiting for us to let down our guard."
"So what now?" I ask.
"We will wait until the Griffin Riders return."
"Then it will attack them."
Tress's trunk curls up and she surveys the area. She glances down at me and then taps the top of her head with her trunk.
"What?"
"Listen closely. It isn't safe for me to let down the shield so long as we do not know if it is here. So you and you're sisters will help me hold the shield until our friends come."
"And then?" Faith asks.
"Then I will take my best shot at it."
I go to one side of Tress and prop her arm up. Then I stand, watching for the shade's violet eyes.
After several minutes, I trade off with Hope and let my arms fall to the side. I join Faith is sitting on the ground and let my arms droop. The minutes of the night stretch into what seems like hours. When Hope has Faith switch out, Tress's trunk is quivering.
"Do you want to switch arms?" Hope asks.
Tress nods and carefully raises her arm above her, carefully grabbing the handle with both hands before letting go with the former and letting it drop to her side.
"So I guess I'm not needed then." Faith says.
Tress smiles, "Perhaps not for a few more minutes."
Faith nods and crosses her arms, turning to look around once more.
"Do you think it gets bored? Sitting and watching us?"
I smirk, "Let's hope so."
In the distance, a shadow blocks the moon and then multiplies into five. Once again, I grab the handle of my knife. One of the griffins' whistle slices into the silence. A shriek explodes in the night and a cloud of blackness forms an instant before it starts flying towards the griffins.
"Now!" Tress yells.
We bolt for the safety of the rocks as the protective tendrils slither back into place along the rod. Out of the corner of my eye I can see the shot Tress fires at the shade. I trace its path with my eyes. I slowly come to a stop, as the bolt gets closer and closer to its intended target.
The orange bolt explodes in the shade, giving it the look of a fireball atop the mountain. Its shrieks rip across the ground like storm winds as it hurtles out of sight.
Silence falls over the mountaintop. I look at Hope and Faith, standing in awe. Maybe now Hope won't be afraid. Mabye now her nightmares will cease.
Tress's arm drops to her side. The griffin riders shout in relief as they land on the mountain. Korban is the first to jump off the his griffin and come towards us.
"It certainly took you long enough." Faith says with a smirk.
"I guess our help wasn't actually needed."
"Not your help, just your griffins." She replies.
There are five griffins and their riders here. Every rider is dressed in much the same armor that Korban is and the griffins resemble one another, the chief differences being their size and pattern of spots. But from the way each griffin carries itself, one would think they have personalities. When I look at Stoneheart, I see him assessing Faith. One of the other griffins looks bored and is grooming itself.
"Each of us can take one. But you'll need to take one all for yourself." Korban points to Tress and then walks over to explain how to maneuver the griffin. Faith and Hope come to me and stare at the griffins.
"I guess they are real." Hope says.
"Didn't I say so?" I ask.
"I guess you did." Faith admits. She laughs and I can't help but smile too.
Korban returns a moment later and explains, "There is only room for two on each griffin. So we'll be splitting you up between the riders."
He assigns us to the different individuals standing nearby—Faith is going on Stoneheart—and then helps us get situated in the saddle. When we are all strapped in, he mounts Stoneheart and calls to the Griffin Riders, "Let's go home!"
No sooner has he said it than the griffin spreads its huge wings and begins to flap. Cold air whistles past my ears as it drives the tiny rocks and snow over the ground. Moments later, I'm floating several feet off the ground, watching as the others rise into the air beside me. My stomach has dropped into my feet and churns as the mountain gets smaller beneath me.
The griffin pitches forward and my stomach shoots back up into my mouth. We fly what seems like inches above the rocks. Crevices and outcroppings whiz beneath me faster than a horse could ever run. When we dive into a canyon, all I can do is scream as we hurtle into darkness. When we level out, water roars beneath me, louder than the wind screaming in my ears.
Before I can fully process what's going on, we're flying towards the cliff wall without any sign of slowing.
We're about to crash.
My first instinct is to jump, but the griffin spreads its wings and arrests its flight, almost lifting me out of the saddle. We land on an outcropping of rock neatly tucked beneath an overhang at the top of the cliff. I drop to my knees as soon as I stumble off the griffin's back. Footsteps approach and an orotund voice clips, "I'm glad to see that you're all back in one piece."
The speaker is a woman wearing the same armor, except it is midnight black and has gold trim. She's holding a lantern made of black iron that casts orange light into the air. Her straight black hair is laced with silver and tied behind her head in a ponytail. Her eyes the color of chestnuts assess us and the riders. Her gaze pauses as it lands on me. For a moment, her face looks familiar and elicits a tightness in my chest. The moment passes as Korban responds, "It turns out one of them was able to chase it away."
"And how did she do that?" The woman asks, turning towards Tress.
Tress strides over to stand in front of her and looks down her trunk, "Who wants to know?"
The woman glowers at Tress for a moment before answering, "I am Isra, Captain of the Griffin Riders."
"Captain, how much do you know about the zho?"
"They live across the sea. How did one come to the deserts of Nakhot?"
"I was sent here." Before Isra could ask another question, Tress's trunk went up, "And before you ask any more questions, know that the zho have many secrets. I will chose to reveal what I see fit."
Isra purses her lips, "There are no secrets amongst the Griffin Riders. If you cannot abide by that, then you have no place here." Isra says before turning and marching back down a roadway hewn from the rock.
Korban drops down beside me and offers his hand. I ignore it as I push myself to my feet and ask, "Where are we?"
"You're at the home of the Griffin Riders."
When I stand up, I can see that this place is not just a cliff face. It's a village, built on top of the contours of the cliff. The buildings, built from sandstone and cement, stand in ascending lines, pockmarked with tiny windows. Some of the windows glow with candlelight, but most are dark. The buildings are riddled with verandas and balconies, where large shadows slumber. The entire village curls upward into the cliff, where there are caverns that extend in the darkness. Nearby, there's a circular dugout where a bonfire ringed with sitting mats crackles, tended by another griffin rider. Against the wall, another griffin lounges.
"Wow." Hope marvels, spinning around to take it all in.
"It's quite something, isn't it?" Korban replies. He gestures and says, "Welcome to the Aerie."
He beckons to us, "Come on. I'll show you where you will be staying."
He leads us down a walkway that snakes through the village and between the buildings. As we rise in altitude, we have to climb ladders to get up to the next level. By the time he stops, it's like we've climbed half a mountain again. We're now standing outside a squat, square building with a door that faces the road. It's only distinguishing characteristic is a circle on the door woven from multicolored fiber. There's a bright spot in the middle, surrounded by black fiber.
"Here it is. As long as you stay, this is where you'll live."
Korban opens the door and ushers us inside, saying, "Sorry for it being so dark."
I can barely see anything as I walk into the little square room. There's a hole in the cieling from which a ladder descends, but that's it.
"There are sleeping mats on the roof. Once it gets bright outside, you'll be able to see in here. Most of the activity happens outside in the pits in the ground. That's were we eat and socialize. If you need anything you can always ask for help there. But while I'm here, do you need anything else?"
"You have any food in this secret headquarters of yours?" Faith asks.
"Oh! Yes! Is there a kitchen?" Hope emphatically bursts.
"Of course. There's a community kitchen down by the entrance. I'll show you where it is."
Hope quickly claps her hands, "I'm so excited!"
"Follow me." Korban says as he walks out the door. Hope almost skips after him while Faith follows closely behind at a more moderate pace.
"You aren't going with them?" Tress asks.
"If I eat anything right now, I'll vomit."
"You need your strength."
"And throwing up won't help. I'll get something in the morning."
Tress lets me climb up the ladder and onto the roof without any more pestering. It's fenced off with gray-brown wood and peppered with the sleeping mats Korban mentioned. I'm too tired to wonder why all of this is prepared for us and so just slump onto one of the mats. I look at the stars and feel relief sweep over me like a blanket.
We made it.
If only Dad could have seen it.