Page 51 of Mastering Mayhem

The griffin seemed to glow in the late morning sun, her white feathers gleaming, fading into shiny brown fur. She screeched, sending the forest critters scampering, and I widened my stance, my muscles tightening, my thoughts narrowing, pinpointing on my task.

Because if I stopped to think about what just happened with Mayhem, I might crumble into dust.

The beastie circled above us, half-screeching, half-roaring her disapproval. Shade threw his rope, yanking it back to tighten the loop when it hit her paw, but she flapped her wings, ascending before he could get ahold of her.

A growl rumbled from her chest, and she did a little loop-de-loop above us before perching at the top of a tree. Its branches groaned beneath her weight, a few of the smaller ones snapping and falling to the ground.

“Here, kitty, kitty.” I crept toward the tree. “Pspspsp.”

“Her head is an eagle.” Shade rolled his eyes. “I doubt cat noises…”

“Reow,” the griffin replied, her eyes darting in their sockets.

“She’s scared. Can you calm her down?” I glanced at the demons.

“We will not harm you,” Mayhem said. “Give us the amulet, and you are free to return to the Underworld, where you can nest in peace.”

She let out a nervous mewl and adjusted her perch.

“Where is the amulet, guys?” Patrice inched toward the tree, pointing at each paw before circling her finger to indicate the griffin’s beak. “I don’t see it.”

“Neither do I.” I strode toward the beastie, my stomach souring. “She must’ve dropped it somewhere.”

The griffin let out an ear-splitting screech. Her claws extended from her murder mittens, her giant bean-toes curling around the branches, snapping them as if they were twigs. I stumbled back as she scrambled to grab another branch, but the tree couldn’t support her weight anymore.

She tumbled, smacking her head against the ground before sitting up, stunned. I tossed my lasso, using her temporary immobility to loop it around her neck. She scrambled to her feet, and Ash got a loop around one paw.

“Why are we trapping her if she doesn’t have the amulet?” Miles asked.

“She has it,” Mayhem said. “I can sense it nearby.”

“As can I,” Chaos said, “but you must act quickly. If this rift gets any larger, we won’t be able to stop the horde gathering on the other side.”

“Big demons?” I tightened my loop.

“Many big demons,” Mayhem said.

“It’s okay, sweet girl.” I inched closer, wrapping the rope around my hand to take up the slack as I approached. “Do you have a pouch somewhere or did you drop the amulet?”

She let out a nervous chuffing sound as she eyed our demons and the rift, stomping her paws like a bull ready to charge. I held up my hands, widening my stance and feeling an awful lot like the raptor-tamer guy fromJurassic World. There I was, trying to calm a ginormous animal that shouldn’t even be in this world, when she could take my head off with one snap of her massive beak.

“What do we do, guys?” I took another step forward, and she growled. “Okay, I won’t get any closer. Can you talk to her?” I looked over my shoulder at the demons.

“She’s an animal,” Mayhem said. “She understands as much as a house cat would.”

Patrice said something under her breath. I snapped my gaze to her as she tossed a pint of blue liquid on the griffin’s side. “She must have it!” Her voice took on a shrill edge, her eyes widening and her nostrils flaring as she recited a binding spell I’d never heard. “Ties that bind and control. With this spell, I have full hold.”

The griffin jerked her head toward Patrice, yanking Ash’s rope from her grasp. I’d coiled mine around my hand, so I kept my grip. But as the beastie roared and snapped at Patrice, she hauled me with her, knocking my feet out from under me and dragging me across the ground.

So much for the new binding spell.

Patrice screamed and stumbled into a tree. The griffin huffed and stomped, and Shade pulled out the enchanted dagger, pointing it at the beastie’s rump and releasing a blast of Miles’s energy.

She screeched and snapped at Shade, swiping out a paw. Lucky for Shade, the tip of her claw barely nicked his arm. Sure, she opened a massive gash in his biceps, but if she’d been five inches closer, she’d have sliced him in two.

“What happened to not agitating her?” I dusted off my pants.

The griffin unfurled her wings.

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