He kicked the ground, grabbing Clara and Ava’s hands. “Hurry!” He shouted pulling them along and prompting everyone else to run as well. The beating of wings, and the wind whistling through the monster’s large feathers fast approached as they dashed uphill, back towards the Nesting Spire.

  “Inside!” Jason shouted. They ran up the steps, then through the half-open obsidian doors. A loud thud sounded – the sound of something crashing into the ground.

  “Everyone alright?” Alaric asked, quickly looking at the group. Everyone made it. A wave of relief washed over him.

  The creature landed in front of the heavy doors. Something scratched against the obsidian door, pushing it slightly open.

  Jason rushed towards the door and stopped it from opening further. Leaning his back against it, he dug his heels to the ground. A soft, barely audible grunt escaped his lips. He mouthed for help. Alaric rushed over, so did Reuban.

  The creature scratched the door a few more times before letting out a huff. It almost sounded frustrated. They could hear it pace outside. It beat its wings a couple of times, then scratched the door once more.

  Get bored and leave already! He wasn’t sure of what the creature was, but it was much larger than the bat-like monsters the witch sent, and his instincts continued to scream at him to stay away from the bloody monster.

  The scratching stopped. A few seconds passed in silence before Jason breathed a sigh of relief. He forced a faint smile as he looked at Alaric, then his eyes opened wide. His face went pale.

  With a racing heart, he turned around and came face to face with an enormous eagle’s head. It’s golden eyes stared at him with what he could only call primal hunger. The creature’s head was larger than a horse’s, its bloodstained beak dripping onto the feathers around its throat and neck.

  Gryphon.

  It couldn’t be anything else.

  The gryphon’s head retreated after a short moment, then they felt a weight push up against the door.

  “Fuck, close it!” Jason cried out, pushing against the door with all his strength. Clara and Ava rushed over to help. Luna and Sol howled, though they didn’t approach the doors at all. They were standing at the very back of the room, their tails between their legs, and their ears lowered.

  They were terrified.

  The weight on the other side of the door suddenly vanished. The door swung and shut close with a loud slam. Jason quickly pushed his sword between the two handles of both door wings, as a makeshift drawbar.

  “What the hell is that?” He asked, stumbling away from the door. “It was gigantic!”

  Clara shuddered. “There was blood on it already…” her voice was but a whisper. She sat with her back against the wall and hugged her knees. “It can’t get in here, right?”

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  “No, it can’t.” Alaric let out a sigh. “It’s a gryphon, I think. It looked like one. An eagle’s head, and a lion’s body. You saw its paw, right?”

  “But why is it coming after us?” Reuban glanced at the door. “Gryphons are supposed to be noble creatures.”

  Probably because of the Empyrean. Whatever it was. He shrugged. “It’s hunting? Protecting its nest?” It wasn’t too difficult to guess. The nest up on the balcony probably belonged to the damn creature. “I don’t know if we can beat it.” He hated to admit that.

  “With just swords? No way.” Jason shook his head. “If Victoria was here we’d stand a chance, but now? No.” He narrowed his eyes and stared at Alaric. “Unless…” he fell silent.

  He already knew what the man wanted to say. “I don’t know if I can use the Mark of Command.” How am I supposed to touch it? It could bite his hand off before he’d have the chance. “I need to touch its forehead.”

  “Yeah, that won’t be easy…” Ava paced the room. “It’s quiet out there. Maybe it’s gone?” She asked with a hint of hope.

  “I don’t think so.” Reuban approached the staircase. “I’ll look from upstairs.”

  Alaric hurried after him. “Don’t step out into the open.” They climbed the stairs slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible. The second floor was quiet, the creature’s nest empty. The sound of rustling feathers came from the outside.

  Reuban scrunched his forehead. “You just need to touch it, right?”

  Alaric nodded. “But don’t do anything risky.” It wasn’t worth risking anyone’s lives over this. The other man shook his head. “Just asking.”

  They creeped closer to the balcony and glanced down from the windows on either side of it.

  The gryphon was laying on its belly at the foot of the stairs leading to the door. It was quite a large beast, and had it not been for the bloody carcass it was chewing on, it would have even looked beautiful.

  Its front legs were clawed like an eagle’s, powerful enough to crush a person with ease. The hind legs resembled those of a lion. Behind it trailed a long, feathered tail. Its half-open wings stretched wide above the ground.

  It’s feathers were mostly a light brown colour, with white accents near the end of its wings, the tip of its tail, and around its eyes and beak. A golden-yellow strip of feathers stretched from the top of its head all the way to the middle point of its tail.

  We can’t kill it. Their swords wouldn’t pierce that hulk of muscles, and they didn’t have any other weapons. He gestured at Reuban to retreat and quickly went down to the half-point of the stairs.

  “We’re pretty screwed.” Reuban muttered as they crouched on the steps. “We don’t have the weapons to kill it.”

  “Yeah, I was thinking the same. Best chance we’ve got is waiting for it to sleep and make a run for it.”

  Reuban scowled. “What if it’s not asleep? We won’t have time to go back inside. It’ll be between us and the spire.”

  He wasn’t wrong. “What’s the alternative?”

  “We could try the underground path?” Ava chimed in, pointing at a dark hallway leading downwards with a dangerous slope.

  “…I’d rather do that as a last resort.” Alaric admitted. They had no idea of what was down there – it could be a walkway connecting the four spires, or it could lead them to a nest of monsters. It could be full of traps that kill or catch them before they even had the chance to react. “No. Let’s not do that.” He decided a moment later.

  Clara seemed relieved at his words.

  “Escaping is our best option.” Jason spoke up from where he was sitting. “But maybe we shouldn’t just make a mad dash and hope for the best. What do we know about gryphons?”

  Clara shrugged. “Nothing?”

  “They’re half eagle, half lion?” Ava offered.

  “They hoard shiny stuff.” Reuban sighed. “This is useless. They’re mythological creatures. How can we know these are the same as what the old Greek people believed in?”

  We don’t. Alaric sighed. “Fair point.” Guesswork was all they could do, and it wasn’t particularly useful. “Right… Well, it’s eating right in front of the door right now, so there’s not much we can do. Try to get some rest. Once it flies up to its nest, or goes hunting again, we’ll sneak out and head back to camp.”