As Fire is to Gold- The Complete Chronicles of the Ilaroi by Mark McCabe

Author:Mark McCabe [McCabe, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780648491835
Publisher: Serotine Press Australia
Published: 2019-06-12T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

The door to Tu-atha stood closed. Kell had a clear view of it from across the small clearing that surrounded the entryway. From there, he could easily make out the wooden beams and thin metal bands of the large door that gave entry to Golkar’s manse. He stared down at the construction intently, as if he might somehow see through it and into his colleague’s abode. His mount moved nervously beneath him. The surrounding forest was unnaturally quiet.

“Steady, Thyfur,” Kell crooned softly to the beast beneath him. “He’s there, I sense it now. Soon he will sense me as well. It’s time I removed the masking spell.”

In an instant, Kell was aware of his companion’s reply. Silently he cursed himself. It was hard to get used to telepathic communication when he hadn’t used it for so long. Thyfur’s message was curt and to the point. I long to be at the brute, mage. The deep rumble that emerged from the beast’s throat conveyed some sense of the mood that accompanied the thought.

The wizard resisted the urge to stroke the flanks of his mount. He had always found it hard to accept that the creature could feel anything through its metal plumage. Although, like any other winged beast, its feathers rippled and moved as it shifted its weight from one clawed talon to another, even after all this time, Kell’s mind still resisted the knowledge that the gryphon responded to tactile contact like any normal creature of flesh and blood.

For normal it certainly was not. None, not even Kell, knew the tale of where the creatures had come from, though few that had seen them doubted their genesis was elsewhere than in Ilythia. One look at the beasts was enough to confirm their alien origins.

The creature was huge, for a start. From his position astride its neck, Kell looked down on the door from at least double its height, if not more. Its wingspan was equally awesome. In flight, the gryphon would spread its immense wings like those of the great eagles its upper body so closely resembled. From tip to tip, when fully extended, they covered a distance of more than a score of paces. It was its appearance, however, more than its size, which made it such a daunting sight.

Its head and wings closely resembled those of an eagle, albeit a huge one at that. Its hooked beak, given its size, was an intimidating weapon in its own right and the steely eyes that glared out from beneath the tufted feathers of its brow gave it a look that was both cold and menacing. The feathers themselves were equally off-putting. Metallic in nature, yet strangely flexible nonetheless, they dully reflected the bright sunlight of the cool forest morning. Similar plumage adorned the rest of the creature’s upper body. Although its wings were folded at the moment, tucked back along the length of its massive body, razor-sharp talons could be seen, if one looked closely enough, nestling beneath the feathers of its forequarters.

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