'WHAT'S NESHA DOING?' LOI TWISTED to look up at Sabyn. Wow, his eyes are gorgeous, she noticed; a real glacial blue. He started to speak then stopped, staring at something beyond her. Loi turned back just in time to see Sian plummet past them.I FELT THE BREATH WHOOSH out of my chest. Sian, her arms outstretched, had just hurtled past us at an immense speed and, unlike on Earth, without a parachute attached.Oh holy Goddess!Terror flooded my limbs making them heavy and useless while everything appeared red to my eyes.KASSIE WHIMPERED IN HORROR AT the sight of Sian falling to her certain death. She could feel a strange rushing sensation through her limbs and the outer edge of her vision glowed yellow.LOI GASPED, HER BODY TREMBLED in anxiety and shock while an immense feeling grew within, her eyes seeing things in a green light.THE THREE WOMEN GLOWED WITH energy and the effect on the griffons was electric. Tomiar, Loushka and Kerak all screamed in alarm at the energy sw
THE GRIFFONS LANDED IN SEQUENCE with Loushka foremost. Alek gave me a swift hug then swung his leg over the saddle and slid down. I heard muffled thuds when the other men slid down. I stared wide-eyed across at Sian and Loi on one side, then to Kassie on the other. Turning back, I watched Alek and the others approach the group gathered to greet us. He stopped a few meters from the front of the group, the four men halting behind him. All those in the group waiting bowed deeply. Hmm okay, must bow when introduced, I thought, taking mental notes. Alek spoke briefly to someone then turned and beckoned us.THE WOMEN EXCHANGED ANOTHER GLANCE, then slid down from the griffons. Kassie gave Kerak's leg a squeeze before she left and the griffon made a soothing noise like a purr. Feeling nervous, she headed toward the other three. She saw Audrey waiting for Cat by Loushka's foot and the dog shadowed them while they moved. They strode forward in a line and stopped just behind the men.ALEK T
ELENA FINALLY STOPPED IN FRONT of a large set of double doors and opened them. 'This is your suite,' she announced and gestured for us to enter.I felt my eyes go wide at the sight of the very large room. Nice!Four double beds were set out, two in each front corner, heads almost touching, one under the window and the other against the wall. Each wide bed was dressed with a thick embroidered coverlet and four large matching pillows plumped at the head. A sigh slipped out of me at the thought of a soft cushy pillow and bed. Two large dressers stood in the middle of the room, back to back, and two armoires stood against the wall beside either door.Elena watched while we looked around the room and then cleared her throat. We turned and she walked over to a door in the far-right wall.'This is your wash room. I do recommend having a bath or shower either early morning, or late evening as there is usually more heated water then.'We squeezed together to peek past her at a propermake t
SIAN HAD JUST FINISHED TYING a belt around her waist when someone knocked on the door. Cat went to answer it and Sian checked her reflection again. The light blue dress made her blonde hair and blue eyes appear brighter. Pleased, she smiled at the reflection.'WE'RE TO FOLLOW THIS MAN to the Great Hall,' I said when the others came to stand beside me.'For breakfast and then to meet with the Lady Elena,' the page explained. 'And you can bring your dog. I will bring some food for your cat to your room.'Again we passed through a maze of corridors, and I marvelled at the workmanship of the castle, wishing I had time to admire it.We heard voices as we neared the Great Hall and two guards opened the enormous doors for us.ALEK FELT ODDLY NERVOUS AT the thought of seeing Cat and he couldn't understand why. It had only been overnight. Elena had arranged for an extra seat next to each of the men. Having the space beside him made him feel lopsided and every courtier in the room had s
'WHEN YOU FOUR ARRIVED IN our world,' Elena arched an eyebrow at us. 'You each threw off a massive power surge. Something I haven't seen in quite a while. As you might have noticed, there are people in this world who are gifted. They have special abilities and anyone with these abilities will have sensed your arrival too. Even more so after the incident on the griffons.'Abilities? And what did she mean by power surge? All we'd done was freak out when we thought Sian was in serious danger. I interrupted her. 'Elena, I'm sorry, but I don't think we understand what you're talking about.'The Sorceress looked surprised.'Are you saying we have abilities?''Yes. You must have. To have given off such an energy wave is absolute proof.''But we didn't do anything,' Sian said, looking like the rest of us, very confused.'Yeah, all we did was pass out,' Kassie said. 'That doesn't sound like an impressive gift to me. Passing out when something scary happens.'I agreed, 'Totally useless.'
SIAN WATCHED CAT FLUSH AND spoke up, hoping to give her a few moments to compose herself. 'What is it you want with us then, Elena? Or was it solely to keep us out of the way of those who would take our abilities?''I would like the opportunity to train you all to use your powers. If you do have the abilities that I suspect you do then you would be very valuable allies,' Elena said frankly.'How do we know you're the good guys?' Loi asked. 'We could be allying with the wrong side.'Elena let out an exasperated sigh. 'Here is the offer I make you. I will train you and provide for you. You will have free reign to explore as you like and ask what you like. All I ask is that you give it at least one month before you make any final decisions as to what you are going to do.''Why one month?' queried Kassie.'Because it will take a month to develop your abilities to a level that will be of any use to you. Hopefully to a level that will allow you to defend yourselves if necessary,' Elena
WE STARED AT ELENA, OUR expressions a mixture of shock and horror.'Are we meant to be excited about this?' Kassie looked understandably dubious. 'We may have super powers and if we do a family of nutters is going to hunt us down and suck us dry?' Her voice increased an octave.Sian stared icily at Elena. 'Well put, Kass.'Loi and I gave the Sorceress similar unimpressed looks.Elena appeared a little stunned by our not so rapturous response and stared at us in shock before exclaiming, 'No, NO! That is not what's going to happen at all. There are a couple of reasons, please let me explain. Do you know how the late King died?'Loi, Sian, and I shook our heads but Kassie spoke up.'Yes. Well, I think I do. Rumal told me it was in a fight, and his first griffon, Ofelaan, died in it too.''Yes, but there is more to it than that. The late Queen Ariadwen, Alek's mother, died not long after she gave birth to him. We thought at the time that it was an unfortunate complication from the b
SIAN WALKED AROUND THE ROOM, stopping at the huge portraits of King Nikias and Queen Ariadwen. The King had been a handsome man with dark hair and blue eyes, though not as blue as Alek's. The Queen had strawberry blonde hair and had been a beauty. Alek didn't appear to take after either of his parents in particular. Cat wandered over with Loi and Kassie and they all silently studied the portraits.The guard glanced at the paintings then shook his head. 'It was a real tragedy losing the King like that. Especially for the Prince.'Sian glanced at Cat, reflecting on what Elena had told them.'How did the Prince handle it?' Cat tentatively asked.With a sad sigh the guard shook his head again.'Not well. Not well at all. The Archduchess immediately declared herself Regent as was expected, but the Prince withdrew. He spent most of the time with his griffon. It's only in recent years that he's been back in the public eye. Now of course, he's head of the Griffon Guard and has refused the