Close Encounters of the Magical Kind by Jeffrey M Poole

Author:Jeffrey M Poole [Poole, Jeffrey M]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy, magic, wizards, dragons, rescue, griffins
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10 – Usol the Outraged

The climb was, Sarah would always remember, one of the most unpleasant experiences of her life. What they were doing was dangerous, no doubt about it. The only way she was able to stay on the griffins back – while Nyx was climbing – was to practically lean forward and encompass the young griffin in a tight bear hug. She risked a glance down to see Loryss and her husband about a dozen feet below them, slowly but surely rising up the face of the mountain. She noticed that Steve was watching her.

“Are we having fun yet?” he shouted up at her.

“Absolutely not,” Sarah yelled back. “And don’t even begin to tell me that you’re okay with this. I know you don’t like heights.”

“I don’t,” Steve confirmed. “Don’t let my impressive display of machismo fool you. Internally I’m screaming like a little girl. You just can’t hear me.”

Sarah sighed. She’d have to side with her husband. She didn’t relish the fact that if she lost her grip then she’d end up plummeting down to her death. Ten minutes after they began their ascent Sarah had already decided that if either of them fell off their respective griffins then she’d have no choice but to teleport the two of them back to the ground far below, thus ending their quest. And, Sarah sadly realized, that’d also end the hopes of the Fae, dooming them to extinction when their Tree died.

Determined, she vowed it wouldn’t happen. She had been chosen for this particular quest. The Fae had come to her for help and by God, she would see it through. They had to succeed. She didn’t know how she’d be able to cope with the fact that, if they failed, the Fae would end up perishing.

She felt Nyx slip. The tiny rock ledge that the griffin had been bracing her rear legs on had broken, sending small bits of stone tumbling down onto Loryss’ head. The larger griffin flattened herself against the rock face and waited for the falling rocks to subside.

“Do watch what you’re doing,” Loryss snapped. “It is a long way down.”

Sarah risked another glance at her husband. His eyes were now screwed shut and he was gritting his teeth. She sighed. Steve hadn’t been lying when he said he was truly not enjoying the experience. She couldn’t blame him. Her arms were tiring and her back hurt. To make matters worse, they were only a few hundred feet from the ground. She risked a look up and gave a silent groan. There were still hundreds of feet to go. At least they weren’t trying to ascend too close to the waterfall itself. The last thing she had wanted to worry about was either of the griffins slipping on wet rocks. Therefore they had picked a spot nearly fifty feet away from the falling water.

Sarah had a disturbing thought. What would happen if their griffin friends became exhausted? It’s not like they could simply fly back to the safety of the island floor.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.