Page 6 of Dragon Fire

“Sure thing.”

Gowan flipped his cloak off his shoulders. It was woven of sturdy wool in a light color to match Genlitha’s light hide. He placed it in front of the gryphon on a dry patch of sand. The creature was stretching in a cat-like manner, following Genlitha’s instructions.

His paws were large, to go with the mighty wingspan, but his body was still small enough to fit onto Gowan’s cloak. He stepped on daintily, holding his claws in so as not to damage the fabric. The gryphon had surprisingly good manners for a youngster.

“Thank you, ssir,” Flurrthith said as he settled. “I will do my besst not to damage your belongingss.”

“I am sending word ahead to the Lair that we are on our way, Flurrthith. They will be waiting to hear your message when you arrive, and then, you can rest your weary wings more fully,”Genlitha told the gryphon.

“Thank you, milady. I’ll be able to fly more, sshortly. It’ss jusst nice to ssit for a moment.” Flurrthith’s gaze went from Genlitha to Gowan and back. He seemed so very earnest. Gowan felt bad for the poor little creature. He’d been through a lot to get to them and would have to fly even farther before he could truly rest and recover his strength.

“Take what time you need, son,” Gowan spoke from his heart. “I can give you the snacks I packed, but I will also go and check with the farmer who lives just over these dunes and see what kind of provisions I can secure.”

Gowan placed a melon he’d brought along for Genlitha and a few apples he’d packed for himself on the cloak just in front of the youngster. Flurrthith’s eyes lit up when he saw the fruit, and he only waited for Gowan to back off before attacking it with his beak.

“Oh, thank you, sir!”Flurrthith spoke in his mind.“This is great!”

Gowan smiled and backed off farther to speak privately with Genlitha while Flurrthith ate.

“I’m going over the dunes. I’ll be back in an hour at the most. Is that enough time for him to regain some strength?”

Genlitha considered the gryphon.“More food would help, I think. At that age, dragonets are growing fast and need lots to eat. I would think gryphons are the same. Get what you can from the farmer, and if you need me, just call. I’ll be there in a trice.”

Gowan’s quest went reasonably well. The farmer only overcharged him a little for a slab of mutton, a bushel of pears and the sack to carry them. Gowan was back to the flyers in less than an hour, and the gryphon looked like he was napping. His head rested on his paws, and his body lay flat on Gowan’s cloak.

“Is he asleep?”Gowan asked Genlitha as he approached.

“Yes. Poor thing. But we can’t let him stay that way. His message needs to get through to the Lair. I’ve been in communication with the dragon council, and they will give him shelter, but the human leaders…”

“I take it they’re not being reasonable. Again.”

“They demand to see the child, unwilling to take my word that he is here and that he came to us for help. It is a snub of me, to be certain, and more idiotic behavior on their part. They delay organizing help for the gryphons because they’re mad at me for telling them how foolish they are. And their dragons are siding with their knights, protecting the cowards.”Genlitha’s tone was scathing, and smoke wafted out of her nostrils. She was mad.

If Gowan’s mind speech could reach back to the Lair, he’d have tried to intervene, but his gift wasn’t as strong as the dragon’s. All he could do was try his best to soothe her and fight on her behalf when they got back to the Lair. As far as he was concerned, this idiocy had gone on long enough.

Gowan roused the gryphon and gave him the food he’d procured. The youngster ate while they talked to him, learning about the island and his role there. He was just a child, really. A talented flyer who had been tapped to run the gauntlet of enemy ships with dangerous arrows because the larger and more experienced gryphons were all needed to repel the invaders. They also figured Flurrthith, with his compact body, would be a smaller target for the catapults.

The gamble had paid off, and the child had made it past the fleet of ships, but he wasn’t completely unscathed. When asked, the youngster admitted that he thought a few of the smaller, man-sized arrows had probably hit his wings, but he’d had no way to really check. With a little coaxing, Flurrthith allowed Gowan to take a look.

Sure enough, Gowan found at least a half dozen shafts stuck in Flurrthith’s feathers. Most hadn’t penetrated the skin beneath the layer of fluff, but a few had and were still there, even though the majority of the shaft had been broken off. Gowan was no healer, but he had his sack of supplies, and every soldier and knight received basic wound care training.

Flurrthith let Gowan remove the arrows, stop the bleeding and apply a few small bandages that wouldn’t impede his flight. Frankly, after he was done patching the gryphon up, Gowan was even more impressed with the youngster’s heart and gryphons’ overall sturdiness. The feathers might seem pretty, but Gowan had seen for himself that they were way more than merely decorative.

When he had done all he could and it was time to mount up again, Gowan silently asked Genlitha to send another message ahead to the Lair.

“Can you reach Seth and ask him to be waiting when we land? Bronwyn, too, if she’s up to it. I did the best I could for him, but I want someone with real healing experience looking at Flurrthith’s wounds.”

“Already done, my friend,”Genlitha assured him.“This child has my utmost respect, and I will watch over him as if he were my own dragonet. That includes making sure he has the best care we can provide. Seth said he’s happy to help and will stay with Flurrthith day and night if he must.”

“Good man.”

Without further comment, Genlitha rose into the air, gaining ground gently and making sure Flurrthith could keep up with her.

“He really does have the most remarkable wings,”she told Gowan as she watched Flurrthith gain altitude rapidly.“I had no idea feather wings were so strong.”

“And nearly impervious to regular arrows. The ones I pulled out from between his feathers only had normal hunting tips on them. I don’t know how he’d stand up to those diamond-tipped monstrosities, but the regular ones seemed to have trouble penetrating the layers of feathers and shafts to get to the skin, muscle and bone beneath. He’s got a few broken feather shafts, but I assume those will grow back in time, right? I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it myself.”

“Me either.”Genlitha changed the subject after that exchange and began including the gryphon in her thoughts while they flew, commenting on his gliding technique and how it differed only slightly from those she taught the young dragons.

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