Page 5 of Dragon Fire

“Flurrthith, if you don’t mind my asking, how old are you?”Genlitha asked gently, including Gowan in the conversation.

“I have seen ten summers, milady,”the gryphon answered. Gowan inwardly cursed. Things had to be really bad on Gryphon Isle if they sent a child out with their message. Gowan assumed it meant that all able-bodied fighters were otherwise occupied…or injured…or dead.

This news was grave, and Flurrthith hadn’t even delivered his message yet. Gowan frowned, thinking what dire situations could have caused the wizard Gryffid to send out this child on such a dangerous mission, when he was purported to love his creations—the gryphons—so very much.

Genlitha began to curve her wings, tilting so she looped around and came up flying beside the small gryphon, both headed in the same direciton—toward the mainland. He really was small, but he had enormous wings for a youngster. No wonder he was the fastest of his age group. After watching Genlitha train the young dragons at the Southern Lair, he knew what to look for in wingspan and shape.

“All right, Flurrthith,”Genlitha said softly, coming up alongside the youngster.“Just stay in my draft, and it should be a little easier for you. You’ve done marvelously well to get to us. We will help you get the rest of the way.”

“Thank you, milady. Land is a lot farther away than I imagined.”His comment made Gowan want to both laugh and comfort the young creature.

Flurrthith was about half Genlitha’s size. Gowan’s instructors had claimed full-grown gryphons were as large as dragons, so judging by his size, Flurrthith was definitely a juvenile.

His wings were feathered, and the fur on the lower half of his body was mottled brown, tan and white. He had small spots in places, little stripes in others, as if the lower half of him couldn’t figure out what kind of cat it wanted to be…tiger or leopard. Maybe he was a bit of both? It was said Gryffid was still experimenting with his creations on his island. Perhaps he was improving on the gryphons in some way and this remarkable youngster was the result?

Gowan would not ask. It seemed too personal a question and would probably be considered insulting. Even as a juvenile, a gryphon was not a creature to insult lightly. Flurrthith might look cute and fuzzy, but he was also deadly. Of that Gowan had no doubt.

“You have a very nice wingspan, Flurrthith.”Genlitha conversed with the gryphon, probably trying to put him at ease and perhaps learn more before they reached the Lair.

“Thank you, milady.”Flurrthith seemed tired, but they still had a long way to go. His aim had been a little off, but luckily, Gowan and Genlitha had been in the right place at the right time to intercept him.

“Genlitha was sent here to train the younger dragons,”Gowan put in, hoping to help the cause of friendship.“So she knows good wings when she sees them, even if yours are feathered and hers aren’t.”

“I love to fly, but I have never been this far before,”Flurrthith told them.“The island has never come under attack before in my lifetime.”

“Can you tell us more about the attackers?”Genlitha asked gently. They could both hear the despair in the juvenile’s thoughts.

“They came in ships. Many ships with ragged sails. Some were burned on the edges. And they have dangerous weapons that can kill a gryphon outright. Then Gryffid came and did something magical to repel the ships, but he said there were too many, and that his protections wouldn’t last for long. That’s when they decided to send me to tell the dragons what was happening and ask if maybe some of them could come help us.”

“We were also attacked not long ago by a fleet of ships,”Gowan told the youngster.“They tried to overrun the town of Dragonscove, which lies below the Lair.”

They were flying over land now, far up the shore from the town and Lair. Flurrthith had overshot to the west, in the scrubland where few people lived. He looked tired to Gowan, though he was no expert.

“Shall we land for a few minutes, to catch our breath?”Genlitha suggested just as Gowan thought it. She sent a private message to her rider.“The child is at the limit of his endurance. He needs to set down before he falls out of the sky.”

Genlitha began a slow spiral toward a sandy stretch of beach. Gowan spotted a house and barn nearby, over the sand dune. Somebody lived out here, just in case they needed human help, but with any luck, they would be moving again once the youngster was rested.

“Have you eaten recently, Flurrthith?”Gowan asked, thinking ahead to how he might be able to help the gryphon.

Genlitha made her usual flawless glide to earth, not jarring Gowan much at all. By contrast, Flurrthith was a little less poetic with his weary wings. His hind feet landed hard, bending and skidding along the sand until his front feet caught up and his wingtips dragged a bit in the wet sand before he got them folded up properly. They were long for his small body, which probably had a lot to do with his awkward landing. When the rest of him grew into the wingspan, he’d be a lot more graceful.

“Not since I left the island, sir. It’s not good to fly on a full stomach, so my teachers say.”

“Are you hungry, child?”Genlitha asked in as motherly a tone as Gowan had ever heard from her. The juvenile responded to it, coming closer to her.

“Yess!” He spoke aloud, thessounds reverberating through his beak. Gowan remembered then that unlike dragons, gryphons could actually speak aloud and be understood, though they were said to have a thick sort of accent.

Gowan thought through what was left of their supplies. He had brought along some snacks for himself as well as for Genlitha, but if the gryphon was very hungry, he’d have to either do some hunting or, perhaps, take a walk over the dunes to see if those at the farmhouse could provide something for them.

Gowan dismounted and took his bag of supplies with him, walking closer to the gryphon. He approached slowly, remembering the briefing he’d received on proper etiquette when meeting a gryphon for the first time. He stood several feet from the small gryphon, his gaze raised as he bowed his head slightly, in respect.

“And now I offer you proper greetings, Sir Flurrthith. Welcome to Draconia,” Gowan said aloud, hoping he was doing this right. Even a half-size gryphon could slice him to ribbons with those claws and beak, and they were known to be extremely formal creatures.

But the youngster seemed friendly, returning the bowing gesture in his own way.

“Greetingss, Ssir Gowan. Thank you for the welcome.” He seemed too tired to say much more, and Genlitha came closer, craning her neck over Gowan’s shoulder.

“Stretch your muscles before you sit,”she advised the youngster, comfortable in her teaching role.“Gowan, it’s a bit cold today. Can you let him sit on your cloak? His muscles will be overheated from the exertion and it’s not good for them to cool too quickly against the damp earth.”

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