"Alizeh, time to go.” I scooped up my bag from the ground and launched myself between her shoulders. “Take me to Edwin Macario."
The spire of golden light rose into the sky as we soared closer to the temple. Below us, the gilded statues and babbling waterfalls glittered in the afternoon sun. I scanned the yard, hoping to see Veda standing in the garden or sitting on the grand staircase, but they both sat empty. The entire yard lay quiet, just like the first time Veda brought me here.
Except as we circled closer, something seemed different. A large box loomed at the end of the yard in the farthest spot from the temple. Something moved inside the box, back and forth, its shadow darkening the ground beside it but barely distinguishable through the series of bars that constructed the top and sides. As we neared closer it looked more like a cage, one fit for a tiger or a bear, or maybe worse. I shuddered and steered Alizeh to the opposite side of the yard, away from the box. She reared her head back at me as she touched down and I shrugged. She scratched her feet along the ground, refusing to stay still as I stroked her feathers and nearly tossing me off as I tried to dismount.
Snarls and growls emanated from the cage. Alizeh bucked, her head tilted toward the sky.
“Easy, girl.” I shushed and tried to calm her, but she wasn’t interested in my comfort.
The inhabitant of the cage roared again, and I froze, the terrifying sound too familiar to be a coincidence. It smacked its large hairy paws against the cage bars, and its razor-sharp claws clicked against the metal. A rough and tangled mane framed its enraged face as it bared a row of lethal teeth.
“Dad? Is that you?”
The beast growled and rammed the side of the cage with his shoulder. The bars rattled but still held him captive.
“Dad, it’s me, Fallon.” I ran across the yard, nausea building in my gut. “Don’t you remember?”
He growled again and tossed his head back, then slammed the cage again. I jerked away, keeping my hands far from the bars. Who knew how long he’d been locked up here? Had he eaten? Did he think I did this to him on purpose? The questions flooded my brain, but only one answer rang through the noise--I needed to get him out.
I walked around the outside of the cage until I found the door and the iron lock holding it in place. My father followed my every movement and mimicked my steps. Stalking me like a lion does its prey. I examined the lock. Pretty standard from what I could tell, but once it came off, how would I get my father off this mountain? I grabbed the side of my head as my mind reeled. Only one problem at a time.
"Don’t worry, Dad, I'll get you out of here”
I gripped the side of my shoulder bag and yanked the metal buckle from the front. My fingers ached as I stretched out the metal to a long strip with a pointed end. I stuck the end in the lock and fished around trying to move the tumblers, but it wouldn’t work. My father paced inside his cell growling and banging on the bars, the lock shaking in my hands every time he smacked the wall.
I dug deeper trying to find the sunken spot where I could pop the lock. The number of doors and private cabinets I'd invaded should have made this an easy task, but the lock wouldn't budge. Either it had some other mechanism or the adrenaline coursing through my limbs scrambled my technique.
I pressed harder then heard a snap as the thin metal buckle broke off in the iron lock.
Banging my hands on the bars I tried pulling again rattling the bars of the cage and the door, but the lock stayed shut tight.
From the ground, I grabbed a sharp rock and smashed it as hard as I could against the latch. Sparks flew on contact, but I reared my arm back and smashed it again. Barely a scratch showed on the metal.
"What do you think you're doing?"
I smashed the rock one last time against the cage. More sparks flew. I whirled around, the rock clasped in my fist, and came face to face with Edwin Macario.
"I'm trying to break the lock on this cage. What does it look like? You can't just lock up my father like this."
His face exploded in a rainbow of colors, each one angrier than the last. “Of course I can. And I should."
He grabbed the rock from my hand and chucked it over the side of the mountain. "Your father is dangerous. A danger to me, to everyone else, and most likely himself. The cage is for everyone's safety. Do you honestly not think before you act?"
The purple fury crept up the sides of his face from his neck, and he pushed me away from the cage. I regained my balance and tried to circle around him, but he stood directly in front of the door.
"You expect me to believe that you're trying to keep him safe? He's been missing for days. My mother has the entire royal guard searching for him. She is sick with worry. If you were protecting him, why wouldn't you tell someone that he was here?"
“Because he asked me not to and I wouldn't betray his trust like that,” Edwin shouted and my head jerked back as the words smacked across my cheek. “Your father came to me, I didn't find him. If he wanted me to tell the castle, I would've, but he wanted to be left alone.”
I tossed my hands through the air, the anger rising from the
