The Shadow's heir

he sniffed, and she could feel the immense strength in his touch.

Apparently satisfied, Skandar raised his head and looked down on her, inscrutable.

“Touch him,” said Arenadd. “Be gentle.”

Laela glanced at him and reached out very carefully. Skandar tensed but didn’t move, and she stroked his chest as lightly as she could. He didn’t react. Emboldened, she combed her fingers through his feathers, feeling their soft warmth.

Good bloody gods, it’s like touching a giant chicken, she thought suddenly. If a chicken could rip yer head off, anyway.

Skandar tapped her on the back of the neck with his beak. He did it lightly, but she felt a chill go down her spine, realising that if he wanted to, he could break her back as easily as if it were a twig.

She took her hand away.

Skandar’s head descended to her eye-level. His own eyes focused on her face, and he rasped at her.

“What does that mean?” Laela asked, not without fear.

“He said, ‘Skandar glad you save human,’” Arenadd supplied from somewhere behind the griffin’s bulk.

“Tell him I said it was no trouble,” said Laela.

Arenadd clicked and rasped a griffish phrase. Skandar kept his eyes on Laela and grated a reply.

“He said, ‘You good friend to human. Give Skandar back human, so friend to Skandar, too.’”

Laela smiled. “Thanks, Skandar.”

“Krrree an oo,” said Skandar, and turned away abruptly.

“He said, ‘Not eat this one,’” said Arenadd.

Laela’s smile vanished. “Er-”

“Don’t worry; he was just joking,” said Arenadd.

He spoke to Skandar some more, and Laela watched as the two conversed briefly.

“Settled, then,” Arenadd said afterward. “Are you ready to come with us?”

“Where to?” said Laela.

“Well, to the Hatchery, of course,” said Arenadd. “I think it’s high time you saw the inside.”

“What? Oh.” Laela paused. “Why?”

“You’ve done a great service to the Kingdom,” said Arenadd. “And you’ve done a great service to Skandar and me. This is the least we can do in return.”

“What is?” said Laela. “Showin’ me the Hatchery?”

“Showing you to the griffins,” said Arenadd. “I think they might just be interested in you, Laela.”

The Hatchery was even noisier and looked more dangerous than she remembered, and she probably would have refused to go in if Arenadd and Skandar hadn’t been with her. The King unceremoniously shoved the doors open and limped in, upsetting the few human beings present.

“Sire!” one of them blurted, dropping her broom. “What. .?”

“Don’t mind me,” said Arenadd. “I’m just visiting.”

Skandar came in after him, and the effect on the griffins was astonishing. Before, they had been all over the place-flitting in and out of the rafters, squabbling with each other, eating, sleeping, or screeching at each other for no apparent reason. But when the great black-and-silver griffin appeared in their midst, they went silent almost instantly.

They stopped what they were doing. Some lay flat to make themselves look smaller; others bowed their heads. Some actually fled, flying out of the openings in the roof or using the hatches at floor level.

Skandar held his head high and looked majestically at his inferiors, like a King watching his subjects.

Arenadd took Laela by the arm and muttered to his friend in griffish. Skandar rasped back. Then he turned his attention to the griffins. They raised their heads to listen as he said something to them. Whatever it was, it sounded vaguely like a command, and that idea was proven to be correct when they stood up and began to come forward.

Arenadd pushed Laela toward them. “Stand in front of me,” he said. “Let them see you; you’re being presented to them. Skandar’s telling them about you. They’ll come forward to inspect you; keep still and let them. Don’t show fear. Don’t. They don’t have any respect for someone who shows them she’s afraid.”

“Right,” Laela muttered back, and stumbled forward.

The griffins were all staring at her. She felt dizzy. To be surrounded by so many of them. . each one horribly strong and full of magic. .

She kept still and stood as tall as she could, raising her chin and trying her best to look fearless and dignified.

Skandar stopped speaking, and a horrible silence fell while the griffins regarded her, their eyes full of cold curiosity.

Finally, one broke away from the group and loped toward her. It was one of the smaller griffins, fortunately- its head was level with her face. Laela stood still, heart pounding, and the griffin circled her, sniffing at her clothes. It pushed at her a few times with its beak, and then peered at her face.

After a few moments, it made a dismissive noise and walked away. Several other griffins left with it.

After some hesitation, another one came to look at her, but it, too, left. So did the next.

As if that was a signal, the group suddenly began to break apart and wander off. Laela watched them go, crestfallen. It wasn’t that she wanted to be a griffiner that badly, but it was such a clear and obvious sign of rejection and disinterest that it hurt her more deeply than she would have expected.

Arenadd stepped forward. “Kree!” he shouted.

Many of the griffins stopped to look back at him.

Arenadd came to Laela’s side and spoke in loud and rapid griffish, emphasising whatever he was saying by thumping his stick on the floor.

Some of the griffins hesitated a moment longer at this; some turned away and left regardless, but others stayed.

Finally, one of them came closer. It was small-barely bigger than a large goat-but it had the same aura of danger that all griffins had. It came to sniff at Laela, and Arenadd quietly moved away while it did.

Laela braced herself while the griffin examined her up and down and looked her in the face. Then, without warning, it reared up onto its hind legs and planted its front talons on her chest. Keeping still then was much harder, especially given that the thing’s weight nearly pushed her over, but she managed it somehow, and squeezed her eyes shut while it sniffed at her face. Gods, its breath was awful. .

The griffin moved away and dropped back onto its forelegs. When Laela opened her eyes again, she found it staring at her in a way that made her more than slightly nervous.

“What do I do?” she hissed out of the corner of her mouth.

“Just keep still,” said Arenadd. “Don’t panic, no matter what-”

The griffin kept staring at her. It looked like it was going to pounce on her, like a cat with a mouse. And a heartbeat later, it did exactly that.

Laela had never imagined that a creature so big could move so fast. One moment it was crouching back and staring at her, and the next it had sprung straight at her, wings open and talons spread. She yelled and backed away, but it came after her, screeching. It caught up with her without any effort at all, and hurled itself at her. Its talons caught in her clothes and pulled her toward it, and its beak opened wide, ready to strike. .

“Help me!” Laela yelled. “For gods’ sakes, do somethin’!”

A moment later, she had fallen over, and the griffin was on her. It bit her, using its hooked beak to tear at her as if she were food. Its talons wrapped around her body, holding her tight. Any moment they would go through her clothes and sink into her flesh.

She struggled wildly. “Get off! Get off me! Arenadd, get it off me!”

But the griffin continued its attack, and neither Arenadd nor Skandar appeared to help her. It loosened its grip on her and reared up, its beak aimed at her face. .

Instinct pushed Laela into action. She freed her arm, and punched it square in the throat.

The griffin backed off, hissing furiously. She managed to get up-before it attacked yet again. It knocked her