The White Gryphon

‘“I might even offer my own services to the Emperor,” he said, only half in jest. “Then, at least, there would be a substitute for you. You often said that I am the one pupil who is your equal.”

“You surpass me, and beware lest I hold you to that,” she murmured, but she managed a wan smile. “And meanwhile—I shall consult with Leyuet. There may be something that the Spears can do quietly to help search for Skandranon.”

“Thank you.” He took her hands again, squeezed them gently, and stood up. “I must go back to Zhaneel before she begins plucking her feathers. I will let you know if we learn anything.”

“And I, you.” She smiled up into his face, this time with more feeling. “Odd, how we can forget our troubles in the troubles of others.”

“Isn’t it?” he responded.

She escorted him to the door of her suite herself, and let him out with another embrace.

But the moment he left her presence, all the fears for Skan and for their entire precarious situation came back a hundredfold. He hurried back to the gryphons’ quarters, half in hope, and half in fear.

Zhaneel was where he had left her, but her muscles were the tiniest bit less tense. “I have spoken to Kechara,” she announced before he could ask anything.

“I think she understands the concept of shields, and she is going to look for them. Snowstar is to show her one, and he will teach her to break in if she can. He thinks that she should be able to, especially since these people do not know as much about mind-shields as we.”

He heaved a sigh of relief. At least that was one bit of good news in all the bad.

“So now we wait,” she finished, with tired and worried resignation.

“Now we wait,” he confirmed. “But—we also hope. After all, isn’t he the Black Gryphon again? And hasn’t the Black Gryphon always been able to return, no matter how harsh the odds?”

She nodded. And that seemed to be all the answer she needed, at least for the moment.

Ten

Amberdrake paced the floor of the gryphons’ suite, surrounded by the rest of the White Gryphon contingent, who were fretting and worrying each in his own fashion. While he knotted and untied a length of satin rope, Zhaneel preened her feathers with exquisite care for each one—preening to the point where she was doing them damage around the edges. Judeth sharpened a knife; by now, it must be the sharpest knife on the continent. The rest of her Silvers were following their leader’s example, including Aubri, who sharpened his claws. And Winterhart braided, unraveled, and rebraided the fringes of her sash.

It had been two days since Skan’s disappearance, and in all that time Kechara had not been able to contact him.

What she had been able to do was to learn what longdistance mind-shields “tasted” like, and how to break or bypass them. That had taken her a day, and Amberdrake was astonished what she had learned in so little time. He had not thought she had the mental capacity to learn anything in so short a time period, much less something fraught with so many sophisticated concepts.

She had been searching for mind-shields since dawn, and systematically getting past them. Most of them, predictably enough, were crude things, masking only the minds of those who were Gifted and had shielded themselves against the outside world. Some had been put in place over temples or the minds of Haighlei priests, which again was not surprising, given how these people felt about Mindspeaking in the first place.

Faithfully, she reported every shield found, and every shield broken, although Snowstar was reportedly growing worried that she was nearing the end of her strength.

But time was growing short as well. The Eclipse Ceremony would take place beginning at dawn and ending later tomorrow. Everyone intending to take part in the Ceremony—which was everyone except Zhaneel and Amberdrake—was supposed to meet with the Haighlei priests for a special cleansing that would take until sunrise. Amberdrake was excused by dint of his insanity, and “Hawkwind” because “he” was supposed to be guarding Amberdrake. The servants were due at any moment to come and fetch them all.

There was a knock at the door in the next room. Gesten went to answer it, coming back with the expected result.

“They’re here,” he said in a toneless voice. “We’d better get going.”