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Climbing onto a gryphon was simple, although my fitted suit stretched uncomfortably around my thighs. My cat instincts told me that I should be chasing this bird, not riding it, but I quashed that down. The elf mounted behind me and reached forward to grip the reins.
I opened my mouth to ask a question, but the wind stole the air from my throat as the gryphon ran over the edge of the cliff. A strangled yowl escaped my throat as we plummeted towards the emerald-green ground.
The gryphon’s wings snapped open, and we slowed to a glide just before we hit the tops of the trees at the bottom of the valley. I gripped on tight as we flew towards the elven city of Breconia.
Chapter Three
The gryphon touched down in an open landing space among the trees. Several paths meandered away from the clearing into a well-maintained forest. Any leaves had been swept to one side to keep the soft, mossy paths clear. The paths curved through the forest, gracefully carving a route around the trees. Shafts of sunlight beamed through the foliage, creating a pattern of light on the mossy floor. The trees themselves were huge. Red and brown wooden trunks reached towards the sky where a canopy of green and gold leaves shimmered in the breeze.
I half slipped, half staggered from the gryphon’s back. Both my human and lynx halves were thankful to be back on solid ground. I resisted the urge to hug the moss-covered forest floor and instead straightened my suit and checked my bag was secure. Once I was sure I could speak without my voice wavering, I turned back to the elf.
“So where’s the manticore?”
The two men glanced round as if it would appear between the soaring trees at any second. They’d recovered from the flight faster than me. Lucky dzrakers.
“Follow me,” the elf captain said, setting off towards the main, inhabited part of the city.
Winding staircases made of thick vines were twisted around each large trunk as we got closer to the city centre. Elves walked up and down the trees on different flights of steps and disappeared into the trees through doorways that looked like knots in the trunks. Vine bridges without handrails connected the trees together just below the canopy, meaning that none of the elves had to touch the ground to go from one end of the city to another.
I walked just behind her, easily keeping up with her long strides. A small band of guards accompanied us, walking with the eerie silence that elves had perfected. Fear rolled off the civilian elves that scurried across the treetop walkways. A frown creased my forehead. Manticores were nasty, but an elf could avoid them by climbing a tree.
“What’s wrong with them?”
The elf guard eyed the citizens. “Just wait ‘til you see.”
“See what?”
“This.” The captain stopped abruptly, and I walked into her back.
Utter destruction lay before us. I stepped into the centre and took it in. A sharp tang curled my nostril hairs; the stench was like lion’s piss, only worse. The manticore had scented this place. I moved to a tree that leaned at an angle; it was out of place in the neat, curated elven forest. I ran my hand along a claw mark etched deep into the wood.
Large splinters littered the ground along with scraps of clothing. A smear of blood darkened the pale trunk of another tree, and the metallic tang of it fought with the manticore’s scent mark. My teeth lengthened as my fighting instincts kicked in, an automatic response to danger.
I took a moment to get back under control. “It killed someone?”
Sylvana nodded, her face a grim mask of grief. “A civilian.”
“A manticore did this?” Disbelief laced my voice. Manticores weren’t much bigger than a lion, even if they were a lot more dangerous. There was no way they could knock over an enchanted tree.
“It was like nothing I’ve ever seen. Huge, half as big as one of our home trees, and –” She swallowed. “It had wings.”
“Then it wasn’t a manticore.” I folded my arms. “I need to know what we’re dealing with. Has one of your gryphons gone rogue?”
Even as I said it, I knew I was wrong. Gryphons didn’t get that big.
She marched over to me, invading my personal space. The elf pushed my shoulder. “I know what a gryphon looks like. This wasn’t it. It’s nothing I’ve seen in the forest before.”
That was saying something. The elven reserve of Breconia that surrounded their city was home to all sorts of creatures.
“Alright, we’ll figure this out.” I held my hands up in a placating gesture. Sylvana backed up. “Let’s go hunt a manticore or whatever this thing is.”
Chapter Four
We tracked the trail of destruction away from the inhabited part of the city and into the surrounding forest. The further we got from the dwellings, the wilder the woods became as manicured topiary and perfectly spaced trees gave way to the chaos of nature.
An elven arrow stuck out of a gnarled oak tree. I sniffed. More blood. My fingers twitched over the crossbow I’d strapped to my thigh. Standard issue for the Magical Liaison Office, the weapon could cope with most magical threats. With the ash bolts tipped with silver, it usually gave me comfort, but having heard about the size of this thing…I longed for something more high-powered.
“Was this the manticore too?” I whispered, the closeness of the forest making me more aware of the predators that lurked within. It wasn’t just rogue manticores that roamed the wilds of the Breconian nature reserve.
